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Aug 22, 2012

End of Summer Trip, Day 1: Cedar Point

August 22, 2012 By

Last week we had the chance to get away for a couple of days before the start of the school year. With only a couple of days to get in some fun, we stayed closer to home and traveled up to Lake Erie. Day one was an amusement park adventure to Cedar Point. We went there last summer, and at that time it was the first amusement park for both girls. We didn’t know what to expect last year, but Cordy surprised us by wanting to go on roller coasters, with her favorite ride being the Cedar Creek Mine Ride.

The entire drive up, Cordy talked about how she wanted to go right to the Mine Ride, followed by the Iron Dragon. We were impressed with her bravery, but reminded her that we had to make sure we went on things that Mira could ride, too. Mira, who was too small for anything but the little kid rides last year, was hoping she’d be tall enough to try some “big kid” rides this year.

When we arrived, we had the kids measured to determine ride height. Doing this outside the gate saves a lot of time, because the kids get colored wristbands that let everyone know how tall they are, so they don’t need to measure at every ride.

Mira was leaning in this photo

Cordy added several rides to her available list with her new height of 52″, while Mira was still a little too short for most coasters, but at 46″ squeaked by for the Iron Dragon.

Going on a Thursday in August is just perfect. The park was full but not too crowded, and lines for most of the rides were under a 15 minute wait. (The big coasters of course are a longer wait.) The weather was also gorgeous that day, with a cool breeze from Lake Erie.

After a few warm-up rides, Cordy really wanted to go on the Mine Ride. So Aaron took Mira to the antique cars while Cordy and I took on the Mine Ride. Cordy suddenly got anxious on the ride, which was a surprise considering how much she wanted to ride it. After the ride, she still said it was a lot of fun.

What a difference a year makes, eh?

Cedar Point has three areas specifically focused on rides for kids, so we wound through the frontier area and then into Camp Snoopy, where both girls tried out just about every ride in the area. Mira loved that she was tall enough for each ride, and thankfully Cordy was still short enough for each ride.

Mira as the Red Baron

Eventually we found our way to the front of the park again, and Mira begged to go on the Iron Dragon, since she’s tall enough to ride it. It’s a suspended coaster and has always been one of my favorites. Cordy and I rode it last year, and while it scared her a little she wanted to go again this year.

But as we stood in line, Cordy started to get anxious again. I reminded her how much fun she had last year, but by the time we climbed into the seats, she flipped out. As the shoulder harness snapped into place, she looked at the attendant and cried, “Please don’t make me ride this! They’re trying to kill me!” Want to know the fastest and most embarrassing way to get booted from a ride? That would be it. The attendant signaled for the harness to be released and asked Cordy and I to please exit the ride, with no chance to explain. I’m amazed he didn’t call security over that one.

We waited for Aaron and Mira to finish the ride as Cordy calmed down. Mira came out of the exit beaming and shouting to me, “Mommy, I LOVE the Iron Dragon! I want to go AGAIN!” It appears we now have a coaster junkie on our hands! (I’m so proud.)

Cordy did calm down after a little break, but decided she didn’t want to try any other “big” rides for the day. We were disappointed, but understood that her anxiety sometimes gets the better of her. She still enjoyed several other smaller rides, and I’m sure next year she’ll want to try again. While Mira was bummed that she was too short for some of the other coasters, she was still big enough for the Jr Gemini and the Woodstock Express. Despite being small, she had plenty of thrill moments to keep her screaming and cheering.

Note: Cedar Point has a neat feature called Parent Swap to make sure you can ride the rides. You can sign up at Guest Services, then one parent waits in line for a coaster. After the ride, they give their parent swap pass to the ride operator, and the other parent can then walk up the exit and get on the ride immediately. It’s great for those who still want to ride but have kids who can’t go with them.

In the late afternoon, we played games and browsed the shops. Mira rode the Iron Dragon one more time with me so I’d get the chance to ride it. Oh, let’s be honest – she wasn’t doing me any favors, she REALLY wanted to ride it again. At the games, Mira won a stuffed Pokemon in the water gun races (with some help from Aaron), and Cordy won two stuffed frogs.

We were quickly losing our energy around dinnertime, and took one final ride on the midway carousel before going to our hotel.

long arm, in-motion shot

I loved getting to spend the day having fun as a family. There were so many laughs, and smiles and sighs of happiness. Yes, Cordy did have a meltdown, but those certainly aren’t uncommon for us, and she did recover to enjoy the rest of the day.

The kids got to ride just about every ride they wanted to (and were tall enough for), some multiple times. It felt awesome to see our daughters so happy as they skipped through the park, clutching their stuffed animals and looking for the next ride. We had a good mix of thrill rides and taking moments to relax and get ice cream, play games or enjoy a slow ride on the Cedar Point and Lake Erie Railroad.

and hang with Snoopy

There are still things we didn’t get to see, but there’s so much at Cedar Point that it’s hard to do it all in a single day. I think we can call the day a success, though, judging by how hard the kids slept that night. Mira said she dreamed about growing just two inches by next year so she’ll be tall enough for many of the roller coasters at Cedar Point. She has big plans to conquer them all!

Giveaway!

Want to make some of your own family memories at Cedar Point? I’m giving away a pack of FOUR tickets to Cedar Point for one lucky reader. These tickets are good only through the end of the 2012 season (including HalloWeekends), so please be aware of the short date on them!

To enter, just leave a comment below telling me the first amusement park you ever went to. Be sure to leave a way for me to contact you if you’re randomly selected as the winner. Contest is open to anyone 18+ but be aware you have to get to Cedar Point on your own if you live far away.

Entries will be accepted through August 28, 2012. Good luck!

(And if you don’t want to win but just want to leave a comment telling me how my kids have grown a foot since last year, feel free!)

Full disclosure: I was provided with four tickets to Cedar Point as the result of winning a blog contest. (Thanks, Tracey!) Our wallets will show that no other compensation was received, as it took several tries to win the stuffed animals we went home with. Tickets in the giveaway are being provided by Cedar Point. All opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of Cedar Point or the folks who witnessed Cordy’s meltdown.

Filed Under: Aaron, Cordy, family time, giveaways, Mira


Aug 20, 2012

End of Summer

August 20, 2012 By

School begins on Wednesday, and it couldn’t come soon enough. It’s been two weeks since summer camp ended, which means it’s been two weeks of a new, less structured routine for Cordy that has kept her on edge every day.

I hate this period between camp and school – I can’t keep her entertained when I have to work, but she gets anxious and frustrated by no solid routine. Mira picks up on her anxiety and, right out of the Little Siblings Handbook, chooses to antagonize her. It’s really a two week period of survival around here, and we all celebrate when school begins again.

The good news is that Mira will be attending Cordy’s school for kindergarten. There was some question last year about if they would find a seat for Mira, since the school isn’t our home school and they didn’t accept any students from the lottery. The prospect of having two kids at two schools on opposite sides of Columbus was less than ideal, so I appealed to the principal at Cordy’s school, begging for Mira to be admitted.

Begging isn’t an exaggeration, either. I considered sending flowers and baked goods as well, but the principal told me at the end of May that it was looking good for Mira and to just be patient through the summer.

Patient is hard for me.

It took all summer, but two weeks ago we finally received the letter telling us that Mira was accepted. Whew. Now I only need to worry that they won’t get kicked off the bus for fighting with each other every morning. Or that Mira will make the principal regret her decision when she finds out that Mira is the opposite of Cordy.

Even though I’m counting down the hours until I can hand them their backpacks and send them back to school, we did get the chance to take a quick family vacation before the end of summer. Mini-vacation, I guess you could call it. Last Thursday and Friday were spent in northern Ohio at Lake Erie. (Hence why this blog sat quiet last week.)

I’ll be writing more on it this week, but here’s a quick preview:

Full report coming soon, including details of how Cordy and I got booted from an amusement park ride.

Filed Under: Autism, Cordy, Mira, school


Aug 13, 2012

Life Isn’t Fair, Kid

August 13, 2012 By

Conversation with Cordy last Sunday after I got home from BlogHer.

Cordy: Mommy, life just isn’t fair.

Me: Oh? Why do you say that?

Cordy: Because sometimes there are things you can’t do that others get to do.

Me: Yes, that’s true, sweetie. Life isn’t always fair, but you should be thankful for what you do have. Are you upset I went to New York and you didn’t?

Cordy: NO, mommy! I mean like saying things. Grown ups gets to say things that kids would get in trouble for. It’s not fair.

Me: Sorry, Cordy. There are just words that are only for grown ups to say and even then we probably shouldn’t be saying them.

Cordy: Like the other day when daddy called a man f**king…

Me: YES! Uh, yes, like that. Daddy shouldn’t have said that word. At least not in front of you. And you shouldn’t repeat it either.

Cordy: See? It’s just not fair.

Me: No, no it isn’t.

(Psst: If you weren’t at BlogHer and want to see a clip of me in the fashion show, check out the BlogHer TV widget over at the top of my sidebar! They currently have the fashion show running!)

Filed Under: being a mom, Cordy, daily life


Aug 9, 2012

That One Time I Walked In A Fashion Show At BlogHer ’12

August 9, 2012 By

You may have seen the reports that while I was at BlogHer ’12, I was in a fashion show.

I know, I know. Stop laughing – I’m serious!

When I was first contacted about participating in the first ever BlogHer fashion show, I almost wondered if I was being punked. Except the email was from Elisa and I know she’d never do that to me. She had noticed me discussing BlogHer fashion on Twitter – of course, I was discussing why my jeans are perfectly acceptable conference wear, since that’s how I dress in real life. My jeans are practically my brand!

I’ll admit I went through a lot of emotions on the subject. First, I was completely flattered to be asked – what an honor that my name was considered to be in such a big event! I’m not a big name blogger by any means, and fashion is not a topic I generally write about.

Another emotion was giddy. Never before in my life have I considered being in a fashion show. Ever. While some little girls dreamed of being a model, I dreamed of being an astronaut. And as I got older – and heavier – it simply wasn’t on my radar. When you’re presented with quite possibly a once-in-a-lifetime experience like this, it’s easy to quickly add it to your bucket list.

But then the fear set in. Me. On stage. Dressed up. And walking. Being on stage I can handle, even being on stage and dressed up. But add in walking or talking and I suddenly fear making a fool of myself in front of a crowd. I have lost a lot of weight, and I’m ready to celebrate that, but I’m not model perfect.

Would people make fun of me? The big girl on stage wobbling in her heels? When I was younger I was the fat, ugly girl, a message I internalized after so many others had declared it to be true.

I didn’t want fear to win this time, so I quickly accepted before I could talk myself out of it. But even in the days leading up to it, that nagging voice of low self-esteem kept filling my head with doubt. Even at the fitting it was hard to accept a compliment from anyone. And being unable to fit in the first dress I tried on just provided ammo for that little voice that I would fail. I anxiously awaited Saturday night.

Then the magic happened.

I was still feeling like an ugly ducking as I sat down for makeup just hours before the show. I joked with the Elizabeth Arden team that my usual makeup regimen was face wash and a moisturizer with sunscreen. For special occasions I’d switch to a tinted moisturizer. Rebecca Restrepo, a woman who deserves the title of world-famous makeup artist, took her time and provided tips on how to use makeup to highlight my own natural beauty. She took my own makeup habits into account and created a look that was natural and simply luminous. I glowed.

No really, I love this woman. She works magic.

Next, the Paul Mitchell team took control of my hair. My stylist asked what I’d like, and I showed her a photo of my outfit and gave her free reign to do what she thought best. The finished result was stunning.

We had to wait to get dressed, and I remember going into the bathroom and just staring at myself in the mirror.

bathroom instagram

I was beautiful. But my hair wasn’t drastically different. And my makeup wasn’t that heavy either – hell, she used a tinted moisturizer as a foundation! So with the changes being so minor, why did I feel and look like a different person?

It wasn’t until my dresser had helped me into my outfit (jeans! imagine that!) and I turned around and found myself face-to-face with a different me in the mirror that suddenly it all made sense.

All of this fuss to make me look beautiful for the runway also made me feel beautiful on the inside, and what was reflected in that mirror wasn’t just makeup, hair and clothing, but also an inner beauty and self-confidence that had been hidden for most of my life. A simple trick of prettying the facade had convinced my self-esteem that I really was beautiful now, but logic also kicked in to say look closer – it’s still the same you. You just never noticed.

We were then lined up and prepped backstage for our big moment. The nerves were still there, but they were partially mixed with excitement. I had made a last minute decision to keep my phone with me, and even though we hadn’t rehearsed it, I was going to photograph the crowd at the end of the runway. This was a blogger fashion show, right? Well, that’s what this blogger would be doing in this circumstance!

The walk was a blur. I remember taking a deep breath right before I climbed the stairs to the stage. I remember the cheering and hearing my name, although I couldn’t see out into the crowd because of the lights. I remember letting those cheers fuel my walk as I strutted to the center of the stage.

Photo credit: Mark Von Holden Photography

I remember lifting my sunglasses and giving my best surprised act – omg! look at all of you out there! how ya been? – at the end of the runway. I remember my sunglasses falling low on my nose as I tried to take a photo of the crowd (it didn’t turn out – too bright) and fumbling with my phone as I tried to get it in my coat pocket.

Showing the crowd some photo love. (photo credit: Melisa Wells)

I remember walking back towards the main stage and seeing friends in the front row, yelling and cheering me on, and then as I neared backstage seeing Kelly standing in her row of chairs and whooping as loud as she could. And as I stepped backstage, I remember thinking wait – it’s over? No! I want to go back out!

Now I had all of the confidence in the world. I was unstoppable. I sat backstage while others took their turn on the runway and couldn’t stop smiling.

And after? I felt like a new person. It was amazing. I felt beautiful. Powerful. Worthy. I happily jumped into photos with friends at the CheeseburgHer party. I even photobombed a few folks, too.

Sorry, The Next Martha, I couldn’t resist.

I didn’t want to go to bed that night, mostly because I didn’t want to wash off the makeup. I took self-portraits in my hotel room bathroom before pulling out the face wash, sad to remove this pretty face. But you know what? I still woke up beautiful. (Well, aside from the bedhead and lines on my face from the pillowcase.) Taking off the makeup didn’t remove what I had discovered the night before.

Thank you, BlogHer, Kathryn, Darlene, Sheila, 6pm.com, Elizabeth Arden, Paul Mitchell, Petsmart, all of the other fantastic blogger models, and everyone involved with the fashion show, for giving me the experience of a lifetime, and helping me find my inner beauty.

You helped this 36 year old mom, who has never in her life considered herself worth a second look, much less a fashion show walk, blossom into the swan I always wished I could be. It was there the whole time, but I couldn’t see it until now. Real beauty is feeling comfortable in your own skin, accepting who you are, and loving yourself.

(And a special thank you to two lovely women I had never met before who approached me at CheeseburgHer to tell me how fantastic I was in the fashion show. You have no idea how much your kind words meant to me!)

PS: The full video of the fashion show can be found at BlogHer.com. Elizabeth Arden has a great set of photos from the event, too.

Filed Under: big issues, BlogHer12, love, me me me, shameless bragging, shameless promotion


Aug 6, 2012

Hey, I Just Met You, And This Is Crazy…

August 6, 2012 By

…but here’s my blog, so read it maybe?

If you’re new here, it’s possible you just met me at BlogHer ’12 or BBSummit’12. And you might have typed my url into your browser to find out a little more about the person you had a (hopefully positive!) encounter with. So why not cover some of the basics today, shall we?

So…A Mommy Story, eh? Not exactly the most original blog name.

Well, yes. I do know that. But way back in ancient times (you know, 2005), when blogging was just becoming a “thing,” blog names were FAR easier to obtain thanks to little competition. You could get all the good domains then. Now you have to do crazy stuff like get a .net or misspell something or add an extra word in to get the domain you want. It’s led to some creative names, I’ll admit.

So where did the name come from? Well, when I was still a brand new mom, I remember watching all of those “stories” on TLC – A Wedding Story, A Baby Story, etc. and so the name was born.

OK, I’ve looked around here a little. You really want to stick with A Mommy Story? Doesn’t seem to really fit you.

Not really. I’ve outgrown – or rather my kids have nearly outgrown – the name and it doesn’t quite cover all of the topics I blog about. Not that any blog name could sum up all the random around here, unless it was Christina’s Random Blog or something like that. Which, in today’s world, is probably already taken as a domain name. I may change it someday, but it’s hard to give up all of that Google page rank and other mumbo jumbo that I’m told is Very Important in the world of social media and influence.

You really seemed to know a lot of people at the conference – did I just meet a high-profile blogger?

Nope, sorry to disappoint, but thanks for the compliment! I do know a lot of people, though. I’ve been blogging since 2005 and have attended every BlogHer from 2006 until now. That’s several years to meet people, both online and at conferences. And so I’m now lucky enough to walk through any hall at BlogHer and have a very high chance of seeing someone I know, even if I can’t remember their name. (I’m awful at remembering names. And faces if you’ve changed anything since we last met, or if you look nothing like your Twitter/Facebook photo.)

But while I know a lot of bloggers, including some “high-profile” ones, I’m not one myself. I guess you could say I have influence but don’t let that influence fool you into thinking someone’s offering me a book deal or I make a living at this kind of thing.

Wow, you’ve been blogging since 2005? You’re like a grandmother of blogging!

Um, well, at least you didn’t call me ancient. True story, BlogHer ’09, by the elevators. Which is also where I was called a grandmother of blogging (but they had never heard of me). Yes, this blog has been around since 2005, and before that I had a LiveJournal blog for a few years. It was the perfect outlet to find other parents to commiserate with early on, and since then I’ve developed several awesome friendships with people all over the world. And? It’s fun. This hobby isn’t just a fad for me.

Besides, does this face look old enough to be a grandma?

 Over Times Square

Wait – if you’ve been around that long, how come I’ve never heard of you? You must not be very good at this.

It’s a fair criticism. Unlike some of the famous bloggers, I’m not all that funny, I rarely make people cry, and I’m no good at exaggerating for effect. And my posting could be more frequent. I’ve never been a professional blogger – I’ve kept this blog updated while working a day job.

Early on it was a part-time job, then I was in school getting another degree, and then I spent the last three years working hard full-time jobs on third shift. (Working overnights.) That hell has now passed, though, and I’m happily comfortable with a work-from-home job that doesn’t require me to stay up all night.

Also, I’m not all that good at business. Oh sure, I have some fantastic ideas in my head, but it’s hard for me to nail down a business plan and see it through. I’ve tried, but then I get bored and something shiny comes along and distracts me and then I’m chasing my next big idea.

So the blog continues as it is. I take opportunities when they present themselves, but don’t actively chase down opportunities. I promote issues and brands that I feel strongly about. And I don’t promote myself as much as I probably should. You could call me coy, I suppose. Which is better than calling me lazy.

Speaking of distracted, you seemed, uh, mighty distracted at BlogHer. Just being honest, sorry.

No, no, it’s fine. I really do have ADD, and you must have caught me at one of my overwhelmed moments. BlogHer is like the ultimate collection of shiny objects, and sometimes it’s hard for me to keep my focus. Don’t take it personally, please. I’m a very good listener and love meeting new people – just because my eyes are wandering doesn’t mean I’m not still engaged. Hopefully you snapped me back to attention so you had my full focus.

And if I said I’d come back and didn’t, well…I screwed that up. I’m sorry, and I promise it wasn’t because I didn’t want to come back. (Looking at you, Annette. Luckily we kept running into each other!)

While we’re on the topic, and please don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re a little odd. Odd in a fun way, but odd.

Yup. It’s taken me 36 years to accept this. You could say I’m geeky, or lacking in social graces. My older daughter has autism, so it seems to run in the family. I can put on a good show of being social, but it eventually gets to me and I start to break down.

If you saw me in the Kohler bathtub at BlogHer, it was because I was overwhelmed and discovered the VibrAcoustic tub music provided the perfect sensory block for me. Or maybe you saw me squeal in delight at receiving a copy of Goodnight Pond from Leila and wondered why a book about some doctor in a sci-fi TV show (Doctor Who) would elicit such a response.

So I can embrace the odd label. And let’s be honest, most bloggers are at least a little odd, right?

You seemed to have a knack for directions.

That’s my superpower. If you were one of the folks finding yourself lost at the conference or in NYC, I hope my directions helped you. If I’ve been somewhere once, I can usually remember it all and find my way back again. Or orient myself to know which direction we’re going. It’s like having a GPS built into your head. Even I get lost sometimes, but I find it fun and once I find my way I never get lost there again.

You can really knock back a drink, too.

Why yes, yes I can. Except tequila – that stuff is evil.

Hope that gives you a little more information about me beyond the often short connections made in person at the conference. If there’s anything else you want to know, aside from my bank account number (which you’d be disappointed in, anyway) drop me an email or leave a comment.

Filed Under: BlogHer12, me me me