Celebrating Kids Day In Costa Rica

It was a different way to celebrate kids day this year, where each class had their very own celebration instead of celebrating with the entire school.  There were no moon bounce inflatables or magicians.  It was simple and every parent volunteered a fun food item to donate to the special day.  The kids had so much good food to eat from donuts to popcorn, from sandwiches to candy.  And of course, they played all day to their hearts content.  In my 6 year old's kindergarten class and my 10 year old's 5th grade class they watched a movie, while my daughter's 6th grade class played video games.  It was the perfect way to celebrate the day for kids.

Just To Be Fair

As if a birthday bash was not enough fun for a weekend, we decided to take the kids to the local fair near our house the day after the party.  It was something different to do on a Sunday and a nice change of pace before the kids headed back to school on Monday.  And to state the obvious, of course they had fun. 

The best part of the fair to me is the food, so the kids all got a chance to indulge because why not!

 

Celebrating His 6th Year Of Life

August 29th marks a very special day for us as a family, as it was the day everything changed and we became a family of six.  Having a fourth child was not in our plans but I am so thankful life turned out the way it did and I can now celebrate my youngest child's 6th birthday.  It's remarkable how life has a way of making sure we get what we had no idea we wanted.  What a beautiful gift he has been.

The Best Birthday

The Toy Story theme was a hit and the party was a huge success; another one in the memory books for sure.  My son's sixth birthday party was so much fun, people are still talking about it today.  We had the perfect amount of people and the weather, although atrocious the day before, was absolutely spectacular the day of the party.  I had enough goody bags for all the kids and more than enough food to feed an army.  And the moon-bounce and trampoline were big hits.  Honestly, I could not have asked for anything more. 

                                                            The Decor and Setup

I had almost forgotten how stressful planning such a big party can be, but it was worth it.  Even though I spent more money than I wanted to spend and made way too much food, the party turned out amazing and all my guests had a blast.  And most importantly, my 6 year old had the time of his life.

A Family Tradition

As a family, I have started so many traditions with my kids to last us a long time.  I feel it's important to built those memories that kids will take with them into adulthood and pass on to their families when the time comes.  Some traditions can be as big as how you celebrate a certain holiday or where you go on vacation each year or as small as a weekly movie night.

For us, movie nights have become a tried and true tradition that we look forward to each and every Friday night.  We go through the process of choosing a movie and then we pop popcorn and dim the lights for the movie theater experience.  My kids and I love this tradition and to be honest, I can't even remember how or even when it started.  Now, movie night is as constant in our lives as our bedtime routine. 

Most Fridays, it's a Netflix movie that we all enjoy.  Sometimes, on the rare occasion, we might head to the actual theater and watch a movie we've been dying to see.  But usually movie night is at home, in front of the TV with all the comforts we know and love.  So if you want to start a tradition with your family, I encourage you to start small.  Try a monthly game night or family day (i.e. bowling, mini golf, the trampoline park, dinner out) to kick things off.  After you've established a set routine, you can move to a weekly tradition of whatever it is your family loves to do, whether it be baking or game night.  And most importantly, when it comes to traditions, make sure they are FUN!  After all, whats the fun in being stressed out about something you feel you have to do.  Let it come organically and your family will reap the benefits in the long run.  After all, for our family, movie night is an opportunity for us to spend time together as a family without any other distractions.

From Good To Worse

Don't you just hate when a perfectly great day turns to shit?  Well, let me tell you how my perfectly great day ended up in the crapper because of one little stupid decision.

The morning started like just about every other Tuesday school morning.  After dropping my hubby at the office, I came home and got the kid's lunches packed and ready.  My 19 year old sort of handles things for the 30 to 45 minutes while I'm gone, so that even my 5 year old is dressed and ready to go by the time I get back home.

I dropped the kids off but today was the day I decided to volunteer to help sell pop-sickles to raise funds for my daughter's 6th grade class, so I came back home and got ready to head back out to the school again.  This particular day, my 5 year old had a one hour late start, so it worked out perfectly that he was heading in to kindergarten the same time I was heading in to volunteer.  The day could not get any better.  The pop-sickle sale went as well as to be expected and I actually had a really good time.  The other mom volunteer and I even chit chatted about mom-life for a bit.  It was nice.  Then the shit hit the fan.

Right after we called it quits on the pop-sickle sale, I got a call from one of my son's friends' mom.  She was telling me that the transit police was giving me a ticket and that I needed to get out to my car right away.   I started to panick because HOLY F BALLS!  I had parked right in front of the school in a no-parking zone!  Everyone parks in that zone for drop off and pick up, but I had parked the car and left it in that zone for over 2 hours.  I should have know better.  And what gets my goat is that I had the car parked in front of the kindergarten drop off zone, a well designated parking zone, and I decided to MOVE IT! ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH! 

Once I got out to my car, I noticed that not only did I get a ticket but the police had taken my plates.  I could no longer drive my car around.  I wanted to die!  I am a mom that basically lives in her car.  I bring my kids to school, I pick them up.  I run daily errands and take my kids to their various activities. Plus, you know, I have a life.  I rush to find information on what I needed to do and was told to head to the local municipal office.  Once there, I was told I would have to go to the San Jose DMV by appointment to pick up my plates, but that would take THREE DAYS!  What I am to do without a car for THREE DAYS!!!  I could not help it, but I started to just bawl right there in front of everyone. 

After the initial shock wore off and I calmed down a bit, I was able to try and process the information I was given.  I made a HUGE mistake,  It was my fault and I had to pay the price.  It sucks not having a car and it sucks that I have to pay a $100 fine.  BUT it could have been worse.  I can wait three days and  I can pay the $100 fine.  And I have learnt my lesson.   

Spending Time With Friends

You know how they say it's important to have friends?  Especially as a mom, friendships can help keep you sane.  It's good to let loose once in a while with a good group of friends and just sit, chat and have a good old time.

That's what I try to do with my mommy friends at least once a month.  We alternate houses, everyone brings a treat and we just sit, eat and talk for hours.  Something so simple, yet it feels so damn good. Taking the time to make the time to be with friends is definitely worth it.