Good old Drive-in

Last weekend my wife and I took the kids to the drive-in, yes that’s right, the drive-in.  For my generation and those before me, the drive-in was a common thing that we did in the summer; however for this generation the drive-in is not something you see very often.  There are a few popping up here and there but not nearly as many as there used to be.

In Jackson Mi. where my wife and I grew up there used to be two of them but that was a long time ago.  We did go down to Coldwater a couple of times to see a movie at the drive-in but that was before we had kids.  So now that we live in Brighton Mi. we have to go up to Flint to go to the U.S. 23 Drive-in.  It really is not that far and it is a real drive-in.  I mean it still has the poles that the speakers used to hang on.  It does have 3 screens and you use your radio to hear the movie but it is still brings back those memories.

Don’t get me wrong there are down sides to the drive-in just like anything else.  First, you get a flyer on your way in that tells the radio stations and rules etc.  One of the first rules says “park next to a pole and put your chairs in front of your car so that two cars can park between the poles.”  Of course you see people parked in the middle of two poles taking up the whole area which means less spots to park.  Second, people just don’t get the fact that if you drive through with your lights of those of us who are already watching the show cannot see.  Third, if you are going to bring kids and constantly have to speak up to them then role up your window so those of us next to you can’t hear you.  And finally if you are going to bring a van full of kids you need to keep them under control.  Please don’t let them run all over the place, darting in front of the rest of us and being just plain disrespectful.

Even though those issues exist it is still a good thing to have around.  Going to the drive-in in jammies and staying until 1:30am to watch movies is something I remember and my girls will always remember.  In my opinion there should be more drive-in theaters around for more families to enjoy.  I know we will probably go again later this summer maybe with some friends or maybe just our little family but either way it will be fun.  

Soccer Mom's Use Coppertone

Every spring (and early summer) many of the hours that I don't spend at work or sleeping are spent watching soccer.  I have two daughters and they both play on travel teams, which can result in multiple games every weekend.

Over Memorial Day weekend both girls played in the Canton Cup, a ginormous soccer tournament in a neighboring town.  It was steaming hot that weekend and with all of the craziness of preparing for the tournament and making sure everyone had their cleats before we hit the road, sunscreen was far out of my mind.

Luckily as a Coppertone Water Mom I received a great pack of awesome Coppertone products and I've had some great chances to hand out samples to my fellow soccer moms and dads, and as a result of that great opportunity I had some in my purse.

It worked out well.  I was able to protect my kids and share the wealth with others.

I also wanted to share with you the Little Miss Coppertone contest!  Little Miss Coppertone symbolizes summer. She is outgoing, energetic, wholesome, charming, and full of optimism. This year, Coppertone is celebrating little girls in search for the one who best personifies the spirit of Coppertone. The winner gets a dream family vacation and will be featured in a Coppertone print ad!

No Purchase Necessary. Contest Ends on 6/22/12. Click for Details

Disclosure: I was entered for a chance to win a gift card in exchange for this post.  No monetary exchange took place.

"As a member of the Coppertone® Water MOMS group, I receive product samples and promotional items to share and use as I see fit.  No monetary compensation has taken place and any opinions expressed by me are honest and reflect my actual experience."

Full Circle

I spent 17 years in retail with 12 of them in management and I made the decision to quit with no other job to fall back on.  I chose to go to school and work some odd jobs.  Then I landed a fairly good job with benefits and decent pay at Brighton Hospital only to lose that position due to cut backs.  I did keep a position at the hospital but I took a big pay cut and lost hours, but still had benefits and my sanity.

In the meantime my wife left her job basically for the same reason I left my first one, sanity!!  Needless to say we had a couple of rough years struggling to make ends meet but we kept it going together.  We are people that truly believe “everything happens for a reason” and we had faith that things would work out the way they were supposed to.  Our biggest challenge has been keeping our girls from feeling any of the stress we were going through.

Now, as you may know things seem to come full circle.  Stacy stayed in the advertising business by working freelance for different companies, and low and behold a few years later she is working fulltime at a new agency that she loves.  And now I have officially started a new position at the hospital and yes I have come full circle also, I am back in a supervisor role running the gift shop and I am also the volunteer coordinator.  It is strange to think I left management in retail because it was not worth it and after six years of working at the hospital I am now back in management and I could not be happier.

To sum things up, we both left jobs that really were not worth the money we were making.  We struggled though some tough times together, but we made it work. We both were able to volunteer at the schools and other activities our girls are involved in. Now we both are back working fulltime doing what we love to do and we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.  We will finally be able to get things under control and be able to relax together.

So my opinion is if you work hard and take care of each other things will work out.  Money is not everything and we both gave up money in order to be better at home.  This was all made possible because we are a strong family and we have great family and great friend support. 

Faith is a powerful force and as long as you have it things will work out. I had faith that I made the right decision to give up the money I was making to be with family and coach my girls and in my opinion it was definitely the right thing to do; I would not change a thing.  In this situation my opinion and my family’s opinion are the only ones that matter- because family is what really matters.

Kids "on the grid"

Years ago, when I was in my late teens and early 20's I was the "go to" girl in my family for technology problems.  If the time on your VCR was blinking then I was your girl.

As I got older, and specifically after I had kids, this knowledge disappeared from my head.  I could no longer tolerate reading instructions and I could no longer apply simple logic to the tasks.  Basically when my children came out of my body so did my know-how of anything electronic.

With two girls of my own now I am constantly amazed by what they figure out.  And how they take technology for granted.  But most of all I am irritated.  Not by what they know, but by how they use it to annoy the crap out of me.

My youngest is 8 and she bought herself an iPod Touch with her birthday money, because I refused to buy her one with my money.

In addition to games and music, she also likes to FaceTime me from across the room and text me (using Text Free) at 11 pm when I think she has been sleeping for hours.

On Wednesday night I arrived home from work when everyone else was still at my oldest daughter's  soccer practice.  Jayden was not happy that she had no choice but to go with.  Practice was at a different locale that evening due to an event at the school, and with her "Touch" in hand she managed to mooch someone's wifi and send me this:

Seriously?  She had 20 minutes left.  This text was followed by a few more and two FaceTime requests.  All of which I ignored.  I was home alone and all I planned to do was sit and enjoy avoiding technology not conversing with my poor, "dieing" child using technology.  And that is what I did.

Thirty minutes later she walked through the door.

"Mooooommmmmmmmm!  Didn't you get my teeehhhhhxxxxxtttttttt?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about. But since you're home can you help me with this computer problem I am having?"