Friday, June 29, 2012

Top Things I Learned After My House was Broken Into


Two years ago today, the older kids (age 2 and 1 at the time) and I (8 months pregnant) came home to find our house was actively being robbed in the middle of the day. Luckily, in the end we are all no worse for wear but I did learn a few things from the experience. So here are the top things I learned after my house was broken into:
  1. No matter how much time passes I will still be leery every time I approach my driveway and hope that there isn’t a strange car parked there. 
  2. Don’t be a genius and hide your belongings in a “safe” place. You won’t remember where they are.
  3. Lock all your windows before you leave the house. That includes the tiny window in your bathroom that is on the second floor. There are skinny, acrobatic, bad people in the world and that’s the mo fo that’s going to end up in your house.
  4. Bad things happen to good people. Be cautious but move on because otherwise you’ll drive yourself crazy thinking about it. Plus, what’s the chance the house will be broken in to again, right? Right?! RIGHT?!
If the door's locked, please don't try the window instead

Monday, June 25, 2012

Kidville's Rockin’ Railroad: Does it Rock?


The kids and I recently started attending Kidville’s Rockin’ Railroad classes. As a mom with three small children we have done the rounds with music classes. The kids usually have fun and the classes are pretty predictable – not the case with Rockin’ Railroad.  I was blown away to see that they have a live band (guitar, keyboard, drums, vocalist) performing at each class. They sing and dance to both your typical children’s songs as well as to grown up hits. My favorites so far have been Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” and Guns N Roses “Sweet Child O Mine.” Hello…what other kids’ class sings these songs? I’m not gonna lie sometimes I’m rocking out more than the kids. In addition to the great music they also have a new musical instrument for the kids to play each week, scarves to dance with, drums to play, and bubbles to pop. We honestly can’t get enough of it. 




As if the music class isn’t enough, the super friendly staff lets us use their amazing, clean play space afterwards.  Final Verdict: We mega heart Kidville.



*Disclosure: I won a Kidville contest in which the prize was a free half session of Rockin’ Railroad. All opinions are my own*

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Giveaway and Discount Code: How To Train Your Dragon (DCU Center, Worcester, MA)

***Congratulations to the winner, Bridget W.!***



DreamWorks How To Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular is coming to the DCU Center this summer!



Unleash your inner Viking and prepare for the invasion of DreamWorks How To Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular!  Feel the heat and experience the adventure of high-flying, fire-breathing dragons with wingspans of up to 46 feet.  Astonishing animatronic technology and world class performers bring to life the heartwarming story of DreamWorks Animation’s Academy Award® nominated film.  This groundbreaking arena show breaks all the rules of traditional live entertainment for the entire family.  You don’t want to miss it! 

Do you have your tickets yet? If not, Dollops readers can save 25% on the $51.50 seats for Wednesday and Thursday performances and the $61.50 seats for Friday’s performance with the code MOM . That’s a savings of $12-$14 per ticket. You can purchase your tickets here.

Is a discount not good enough for you? How about a family four pack of 4 tickets to see the opening show on Wednesday, July 11, 2012 at 7pm?!

Want to enter for a chance to win? Simply leave me a comment below letting me know. It’s as easy as that! (Mandatory Entry)

Looking for additional chances to win? For one additional entry each please…
  1. Like Dollops of Diane on Facebook
  2. Follow me on Twitter
Leave a separate comment letting me know you have done the above. All entries will be verified. Winner will be chosen at 8pm EST on Monday, July 2nd.  Winner will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Please ensure that you provide me with a valid way to contact you if you should win. Good luck!

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Building Your Own Swing Set


My husband, Tim, is a do it yourselfer. He sees things and thinks of how he could do it. He’s also got mad skills so he often can do it better. The problem is that I am always the Debbie Downer of the project. He is smart, motivated, and dreams big. I am practical and would rather pay money to have someone else do a project so that he can spend more time with the kids (aka I can pawn them off on him on weeknights/weekends). We also often disagree on the logistics and the layout of projects. In the end, I have to remind myself that when he decides to do something himself that he is not going to give in and that in the end, I’m going to be pleased with the results. His latest project that he finished today? A totally kick ass swing set for the kids…




He purchased a kit that contained the hardware and swings for the basic structure (similar to this one). He then purchased wood, added extra space for a third swing/rings (a must with three kids!), and added on the side structure/accessories on his own. The kids love it. Isabelle literally swung on the swing for two hours the other day. Yesterday, the play area was Henry’s space ship. Today it was a pirate ship. So in the end after all of my complaining about the time it would take for him to do it, how safe it would be, how much I just wanted to order one and have someone put it up, I can admit that I was wrong. I couldn’t have asked for a better swing set for the kids. Tim wins (just this once!).



"Woop! Woop! My Dadda built me a swing set!"


Thursday, June 14, 2012

Last Day of Pre-School!


My little girl graduated from pre-school today. It seems like just yesterday that we were preparing for her first day of school. Time goes by so fast…

Isabelle on her last day of school holding a picture of her on her first day

Why Do People Wear So Much Perfume?


Last night I went to TOTEM – Cirque de Soleil. It was my first time seeing a Cirque show and I honestly had no idea what to expect. I was a little nervous that it might be too artsy or “weird” for me but it was so good. Annie and I were completely baffled for most of the night as to how they could do the moves they were doing. They were amazing and the show was great. However, there was one major downfall to the evening. The woman who sat in front of us had BATHED herself in perfume before heading to the show.  I could smell her coming before she even got to her seat. I am one of those people who is blessed with ridiculous allergies to just about anything and am especially bothered by smells. I spent most of the night blowing my nose and sniffling. What I don’t get is how do people not realize that they have put on WAY too much perfume? Do they think it smells good? Clearly, the guy she was with didn’t mind since they were making out during parts of the show.  I don’t get how he could stand the smell. Is his nose broken? Does he think a normal smelling woman wouldn’t love him? So I’m asking all my Dollops readers - Does someone you love suffer from overperfumism? If so, I encourage you to have an intervention. The snifflers of the world would really appreciate it. Thank you kindly.


Thursday, June 7, 2012

All You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Me


I recently was blog tagged by 4 Under 4 Plus 2 and High Heels& Dirty Dishes who are two pretty great bloggers. The idea behind it is that they answer questions about themselves and then “tag” other bloggers to answer questions. The game then continues on with more tagging. Well since I was never very good at the game of tag (hello…that requires running!) I decided to make up my own rules for it. Honestly, if I had stuck to the original rules I never would get this post done. So the lovely 4 Under 4 Plus 2 and High Heels & Dirty Dishes both asked me ten different questions but instead of answering twenty questions (again, I’m a rule breaker!) I chose ten of the twenty and here they are!

  1. If you could have supper with any three people, be they currently living or not, who would you choose? My Dad, My Mom, and My Brother
  2. Why? My father passed away when my brother and I were both babies. My Mom passed away before I reached thirty. I think it would be really cool to eat that family dinner together that we never had a chance to have.
  3. Complete this sentence: The world needs more ______ in order to be a better place. Doers.  There is so much to be done in the world (both big and small) yet very few people who take it upon themselves to get things done. Stop talking about it, stop making excuses, stop putting it off. Just do it (maybe I should work for Nike?).
  4. If you won the lottery, what are the first 3 things you would do? I’d buy a big house with lots of land (for Tim) and lots of space to entertain family and friends (for me). I’d put money away for the children, college, retirement, the future, and all that “fun” stuff. Then I’d travel.
  5. If you had only one day left to live, how would you spend that time? I would spend it at home with my close family. I would play with the kids – really play with them not just half ass. I would listen to them – really listen. I would tell my family that I love them and I would take lots of pictures for them to remember the great day that we had. Having lost both of my parents I know first hand how important it is to have those kind of pictures.
  6. If you had to choose only 3 words to describe yourself, what would those 3 words be? Honest, Thoughtful, Planner
  7. If you had a hired hand to do just one thing for you all of the time, what would their duty be? Clean the bathroom. With two little boys now using the potty the thought of going in there without a Clorox wipe in hand scares me.
  8. List 3 of your guilty pleasures in life. Large amounts of cookie dough, peanut butter by the heaping spoonful, and a Diet Pepsi first thing in the morning.
  9. You’ve been given an all-inclusive trip to one place, anywhere in the world, and could bring 1 guest. Where would you go and who would you take with you? I would go with Tim to Italy. It’s just always somewhere that I’ve wanted to go.
  10. The older I get, the more I ________. Realize how fast time goes by. Didn’t I just graduate high school (15 years ago!)? Didn’t Tim and I just meet (9 years ago!)? Didn’t we just move in to this house (5 years ago!)? Didn’t I just have Daniel (almost 2 years ago)? Didn’t Isabelle just start her first year of preschool (“graduating” next week!)?

So there you have it folks. This is the part where I’m supposed to tag additional people to keep the game going. However, I’m pretty sure we’ve already covered that I’m not good at following the rules so I’m just going to call it a night here. Thanks again 4U4+2 and HH&DD for thinking of me!

Ever try to find a picture of yourself alone? Not easy. Isabelle took this one of me on St. Patty's Day.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

A New Word for Daniel!



Daniel started saying “Henry” today which is pretty big in our world.

(PS – He calls Isabelle “Ju Ju” because that is what Henry has always called her)


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