Making a chocolate birthday cake
Silas turned five this week!
In typical Silas fashion, he walked into our room the morning of his birthday and said, “I can’t believe I’m five years old.”
We can’t believe it, either! On the one hand, it seems like he was just a toddler a few months ago, and on the other hand, it seems like he’s twice his age.
Silas asked to go to Chuck E. Cheese’s for his birthday… And he’s been looking forward to it and earning money for it for the past few months.
{He LOVES to pay for things, so he asked if he could earn money to pay for part of the price of tokens for his party. Because he was so excited about doing it, we let him… however, we pitched in quite a bit of extra. :)}
It was my first experience at Chuck E. Cheese’s. (Can you believe I’ve never been there before?) We ended up pretty much having the whole place to ourselves! Even with coupons, it’s nowhere near a frugal outing, but birthdays and memory-making are worth the occasional budgeted splurge! 🙂
In other news, I am thrilled to have a washer and dryer again! Jesse did a lot of research on which set would be best and I’m really happy with the ones he decided to get.
I’m also beyond thrilled to have a true laundry room! Our washer and dryer hook-ups have been in many places in our various houses: in the basement, in a bathroom, off the kitchen, or in the garage entryway… But we’ve never had a true separate laundry room.
I’m envisioning all sorts of ways to organize and dress this place up to make it a little oasis. I figure that since I’ll be spending a lot of time in there, I might as well make it a welcoming haven. 🙂
We did about five loads of laundry today to get all caught up and then had a laundry folding party. With everyone helping, it went really quickly!
As I was getting Silas ready for bed tonight, I noticed something strange in his armpit. Upon further investigation, I discovered it was a tick that was attached. Ick!
It hadn’t been there for longer than 24 hours (gratefully!) and we were able to get it unattached fairly easily. But it was still an eventful hour tonight!
Growing up in the country, I’ve dealt with ticks before. But my kids had never seen one, so it turned into a science lesson about the different types of ticks, how they attach themselves to your body, what the risks are with ticks, and which ticks are the most dangerous. Now we’re all a bit paranoid! 🙂
Crystal, do you think your LG washer would work for cloth diapers? I’m in need of a new washer/dryer, but I want to make sure it will be able to handle the diapers! Thanks!
Since I don’t have anyone in diapers anymore (yay!), I don’t know. Maybe searching online on diaper forums would be helpful?
(I should add it is by Brett Harris, co-author of Do Hard Things. I think I remember you reviewing that book a few years ago. )
This is a great article on lyme disease and ticks written by Brett Harris. His wife, Ana, has been suffering from Lyme disease for over a year. Brett and Ana want to spread the word in hopes of keeping others from experiencing the devastating effects of Lyme disease. Would you consider sharing the article link on you blog if you post further about your experience with the tick? And if you can, please pray for Ana, Brett and their family.
http://therebelution.com/blog/2014/04/how-to-protect-yourself-from-lyme-and-tick-borne-diseases/#.U20y7mS9Kc1
My husband managed a Chuck E Cheese for 12 years, he just “retired” last year (took a better job). It is an adventure, to say the least, he caught more childhood illnesses during his time there than our 3 kids combined. It was a frugal outing for us, because we ate & played for free, but has set a high bar for outings now that daddy doesn’t work there 🙂 No more Chuck E Cheese birthday parties, they are too expensive!
Watch for “lone star” ticks (they have a white spot on their backs). My father was bitten by one last year and it caused him to develop an allergy to mammal meat (weirdest allergy ever). After weeks of testing, they finally narrowed it down to the lone star tick and it’s becoming more and more common. He breaks out in head to toe hives every time he comes in contact with meat. Craziest thing. The ticks are awful in TN this year, I have pulled several off our kids.
Welcome to TN, we are so happy you guys are here!
Happy birthday, Silas!! I cannot believe that he’s already five!! I first stumbled upon your blog way back when you were pregnant with him! Glad to see you settling into your new home.
We moved to Tennessee about fromwinneg Manitoba a month ago and one of my sons also had a tick. As we were having a picnic in the backyard my other son jumped over a four foot snake, so now I’m a little paranoid about letting my four boys playing in the backyard.to me it sounds like we are both having about the same experiences, we also moved to Tennessee without seeing our house and we were speechless we moved from a900sq.ft mobile home to a 1700 sq.ft house with a basement and a laundry room. We also experienced the friendliness of the south, we have metal most all our neighbors and the boys found friends already it’s like they’ve always known each other. Since we’re homeschooling I let them hangout with the every day after school for an hour and they look forward to it. I just thought it was neat that we wew having a
Most the same experiences. All the best to you and your family. I would love to meet you one day!
Sorry that’s Winnipeg Manitoba Canada 24hrdrive from here! Sorry about all the misspelling I hope you still know what I mean:) ( that’s the wonderful thing about technology;)
I am so happy you are writing more of your personal posts. I really love the deal posts and recipes, but the personal posts are really sweet to read too!
Surprised me that you have never been to Chuck-E-Cheese before! How fun for you and for the kids, especially Silas! Congrats on you 1st time laundry room!
UGH, ticks!!!
Is there much Lyme Disease in Nashville?
I wonder if you guys can use some kind of natural bug repellent to keep them away. Does that even work on ticks?
But glad little boy had a great time for his birthday.
Happy Belated B-Day to Silas. He seems like such a sweet boy!
And, I have to say that I am a bit jealous of your laundry room. We have hookups in our apartment but haven’t purchased a washer/dryer because they are too expensive, and they would have to stack up in order to fit in the small closet. I tried to find used ones but they were still too pricy.
I have to take all my clothes to the laundromat every two weeks, but I am grateful, because I found a good location that is kept clean and with lots of machines that work. I can get all my laundry done at once, including bedspreads and sheets. It’s a lot of work at one time (4+ hours), but when I am done, I’m done for two weeks, so it has its benefits.
On another note, I am terrified of bugs so I am grateful that where we live, we only get some small spiders. We are over 9,000 feet high so the bugs can’t make it – it’s too cold and dry for them, I guess. That means that we are still getting snow this time of year (today & this weekend), but I will happily put up with the snow & cold to avoid the bugs. 🙂
Oh, I relish your laundry room! Our washer/dryer, which stack, are in our bedroom closet. Sigh.
But while I love the idea of a laundry room, that would mean a bigger house, which I don’t want. So I will live vicariously through your laundry room…:)
Love your post…I love the personal posts the best. Can’t believe you’ve never been to Chuckie Cheese’s…I’ve only been twice but don’t go on a weekend-crowded. Funny you should mention ticks. My husband just mentioned this morning that he’s already pulled 6 off of him this week. he works outside so he gets them a lot anyways. he had a scare with one about two years ago so we are very cautious. It just becomes our nightly routine to check every where. My daughter seems to get them on the back of her neck underneath her long hair.
My kids’ doctor told me about this trick for removing ticks a couple of years ago and I’ve used it a number of times. It’s worked every single time! Put liquid soap (hand or dish) on a cotton ball and rub it on the tick. Cover the tick really well with the soap. Next, rub the cotton ball counter clock-wise over the tick and it should release its grip. It may take a couple of minutes, but the tick will eventually come off.
Crystal – FYI, I live in Nashville and we’re so glad you’re here. There are a lot of ticks here so it’s good to look over your children daily in the summer. We have even had to do a treatment on our yard, which happily helped a lot.
My 7 year old had a tick on his neck last week. I got it off with no problems and then checked him and my 5 year old thoroughly…this was the first tick on either of them. My 5 year old later asked me to check him again and when there weren’t any, he said in the saddest 5 year old voice “why do the ticks only like {my brother]?” I was shocked, but this is my bug-loving, exploring little boy who proudly carries around whatever little bug will let him catch it. I am still trying to teach him to leave spiders alone, and now we’re learning all about ticks :0.
Judy, I laughed so hard at this! Thanks for brightening my day!
I just discovered another money saving tip for CEC – on the website (in addition to the great coupons) there are rewards and calendars you can print for your child. Everything from using the potty to losing a tooth, and even finishing a grade (perfect for homeschoolers without a report card!). Anyway , you fill them out and kids can turn them in for 10 free tokens! Since every child can turn in their own, thiis a big help when you have several.
We had a great time in Philly this past weekend. Between gas, food, hotels and fun stuff it can be really expensive but I found ways to save a lot of money. I wrote about it here http://freeisfun.blogspot.com/2014/05/cheap-weekend-in-philadelphia-reviews.html
Yes, please share which washer & dryer you all chose!
Why did Silas have to pay for his own birthday party? Not being critical, just wondering.
I’ve been to a few birthday parties at Chuck E Cheese. It’s last place on earth I’d want to go, but kids like it. It’s all relative, but compared to other party venues, it’s very cheap.
Whoops, I realized that part of my post could have been confusing! He LOVES to pay for things, so he asked if he could earn money to pay for part of the price of tokens for his party. Because he was so excited about doing it, we let him… however, we pitched in quite a bit of extra. 🙂
I just updated the post in case someone else might be confused, too. Thanks so much for pointing that out so I could update the post.
Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the clarification. You’ve posted recently about how your kids earn their own spending money (which I thought was great!), but I really did wonder about them earning their own birthday party.
🙂
Luckily tick season is limited where we live. Only lasts about a month or so. I hope that is the same for your location.
I’ve been to chuck-e-cheese once (before I had kids). No desire to go back. 🙂
My middle child had a tick once and we never realized it until he had Bells Palsy and the doc did a Lyme test. He was 5 at the time and VERY unhappy about the needle involved to get blood. He took an rx for 21 days and was fine. Whew!
Love you new washer & dryer. In our last house we made a laundry room in our basement (finished). It was nice (except I had to haul wash up & down stairs). 😉
I’m so grateful your child was okay!
Please be careful with ticks. I don’t want to scare you but I know of many people including some of my family who have had Lyme’s Disease. Here is a place I used to send a tick for testing. It is expensive but they get back to you in 10 days so you know if you need to get on antibiotics right away. Enjoy your new place!
Thanks so much for the word of caution!
Our homeschool co-op issues report cards, and we take the report cards to Chuck E Cheese and receive 15 free tokens per child each grading period. Since we go during a weekday, it’s not crowded so it’s a fun, free experience.
Oh wow! Thanks for this amazing tip!
“Tick season” is coming soon for us in PA. Last spring/early summer, I think we found a total of 8 ticks on our 4 children. We bought something from I think Amazon called a tick twister that is simply amazing at removing ticks. If you learn of any great repellent, I’d love to hear about it. I hate putting actual bug spray on the kids every time we are in the woods, but I hate ticks more. I saw some natural repellent made with vinegar but haven’t tried it.
Becki, here in our corner of PA the ticks are getting worse every year. We find ticks on the kids (or the carpet!) several times a week. So far 2 of my 8 children have Lyme disease, with one having permanent damage to a facial nerve from Lyme-induced Bell’s palsy. I too would be interested in any natural repellant suggestions!
I am so sorry to hear about the health problems you’ve had because of ticks. We went out early April and the dog was covered with them. I was shocked because I thought the cold winter would help but apparently it doesn’t work that way. They just get worse each year. I’ve been putting Cedarwood oil on him everyday and that seems to help. This company I joined has a blend called Terrashield for repellent. http://www.mydoterra.com/stephs/
Becki: I am SO sorry to hear about the Lyme disease you all have dealt with. 🙁
Thanks for the the suggestions! I’m going to check out the Terrashield. I put On Guard on the tick bite area as soon as I removed it.
I dislike using chemicals, so I’d love to find a natural alternative that really works!
Loving these personal stories! I look at your blog for deals, but it’s nice to stop once in a while to read an everyday-kind-of-life post. Keep it up!
Thanks so much for your kind encouragement! I’m *loving* getting back to my roots of blogging… and I SO appreciate all of you who have been so encouraging about me making this move as a blogger. You all are the BEST!
Your new washer/dryer set looks like mine. LG? Love it! First our washer died so the dryer didn’t match for about a year or two, but now I have both and love them!! Can’t tell you how thankful I am that I have the sanitary cycle! We have used it often 🙂
I have this LG set also! The only problem I’ve had (in over three years) is the area around the bleach tray rusting. Other than that, I love them!
Your washer looks like mine! LG? I love it soooo much! The dryer doesn’t match, but I don’t care. The washer fits so much without an agitator in it that I can do a lot of clothes in very few loads.
Yes! It’s an LG! I was *amazed* at how much I could fit in there in one time yesterday. I’m loving it so far!
I think I have the same washer/dryer set (???)– Maytag Bravos XL. We’ve had our’s for about six months now (when we moved into our new home), and I still LOVE how much laundry I can get done because of them. The washer cleans great (we also have a whole-home water softener, for the record) and the dryer dries very quickly. The only way I could be happier is if they folded and put away the laundry for me…this is the year 2014, right. 😉
I’m still waiting for the folder and put-awayer. If someone would invent that, they’d be RICH! 😉
I’m glad you have had such a positive and great transition. TN is truly a beautiful place to live. 🙂 I am a bit biased though as we live in East TN. 😉
As for exciting events at our house: We received our LOA (letter of acceptance) for our daughter! That has pretty much taken over events in our house and in homeschool. It’s alright though. I’m learning I can turn just about anything into a lesson. 😉
Congratulations! How very exciting for your family.
SOOO exciting!!! I’m *thrilled* for you!
Ugh on ticks!! We just went camping. As I was washing up our three boys, we found three ticks in one, and one tick in another boys. I hate trying to get them out. One was funny looking back. It was on his chest and just as I was about to grab it with the tweezers, he would breathe and I’d loose it. Thankfully we got it!!
Yikes!!
May I ask what washer and dryer you ended up picking? We are going to be in the market soon and would love the input.
I’m also looking into washer and dryers. What one did you pick?
Thank you
We went with an LG top loader set. My husband did a lot of research (he’s the resident researcher here!) and then showed me these as his top pick and asked for my input. I said to go for it, and so far, I really like them! Time will tell, though. 🙂
I’ve never been to Chuck E. Cheese either…my kids haven’t discovered it yet and I’m trying to keep it that way 🙂 It looks like you guys had a great time celebrating.
And ticks – yuck! We’ve already found 6 so far this season…I HATE ticks. They were so bad last year that we brought chickens into our backyard to help thin out the population so our kids could play outside without having ticks every night.
Yuck on all those ticks! I’m glad to hear the chickens are helping!
Ticks are common in this area so always check your children for them after being outside. I think close proximity to lakes and rivers play a big part in this. There are yard treatments that can be used to treat areas but I have never been a big fan of using pesticides.
Thanks so much for the heads up… I hadn’t even *thought* about the possibility of ticks, so now we’ll be sure to check thoroughly!
I’m going to say this before I forget, but I heard a story tonight about how Young Living oils can be used on ticks and apparently they have been known to “crawl out” of the victim. I thought that was interesting!
I’ve been putting Cedarwood oil on the dog each morning because the ticks are so bad here. It seems to be working!
Thanks so much for the suggestions! Keep them coming!
The CDC and Lyme Disease specialists warn against this. The tick will empty its stomach contents back into the person. This can increase the risk of tick born illness. If you have a dog you will want to get them the vaccine.
We live in Maine which has terrible ticks. We have to spray our yard each year. We also have some African Ginnea Fowls to help control the ticks. My boys still get bit a few times a year though.
When we put essential oil on the ticks that were on our cat they regurgitated before they let go! I will not do that again.
I have read many times that essential oils should not be used on cats ever. I didn’t look into it further as I do not have cats, but just wanted to mention that in case it’s dangerous.
For tick repellent for my dogs, I put a few drops of essential oils on their harness or collars (never straight onto their skin!) before going out on hikes or into areas where there are known ticks. The combination of oils I use is rose geranium and rosemary. My one dog was a tick magnet and would come home with several ticks on her after each hike. After starting to use this combo of essential oils, we have only found 2 ticks on her in the past several years! Seems to work. We have never picked up any ticks ourselves but if I ever saw one I would make a spray using those oils mixed into a carrier like a light oil or maybe even witch hazel.
Ticks are definitely nothing to be messed with; I have 1 friend who contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and almost died and have another friend with Lyme disease who had to have a port implanted in her chest to deliver antibiotics going on almost 2 years now.
Aww, I remember going to Chukie’s when I was a kid. Fun memories!
The ticks seem really bad here (we’re in central TN too) this year, we live way out in the sticks, so we always had them – but not like this! At least now your kids have been initiate. Hehe.
And pertaining to your previous post, I would be totally stoked about a pantry too! That’s awesome!
Yes, I’m grateful that at least we’re now all on high tick alert! I wouldn’t have known to check our kids for them daily without this incident… so in a way, I’m very grateful!
Please, please keep a close watch on Silas’s tick bite for the next few weeks! I don’t know how long it takes to develop but if he starts getting a red “bulls-eye” type ring around the bite, take him to the doctor immediately and get checked for lyme disease! Never worried about them growing up but now that lyme disease is getting so prevalent and can wreck havoc on the body, I’d sure watch a bite area now!