Our Staycation On Lake Norman

 

This last month was hard on my family with our long-time Aupair's departure. Our bond was so strong and our goodbye so devastating for us and the kids. I wanted to give everyone a little distraction, so we booked a staycation! 

We have actually never done this with the kids before. We would normally hop on an Allegiant flight and head to my mom's house in Florida, but this was so much easier! No flights to catch. No car seats to haul. No strollers to break during plane-side check. 

We found our perfect vacation destination right here on Lake Norman. I had no idea this even existed (outside of Airbnb or VRBO), but there is a company called Southern Charm Vacations. They rent out vacation homes all over Lake Norman and Asheville! They specialize in beautiful lakefront and mountain properties in the Carolinas!

Living in Ballantyne, our family doesn't make it to the lake much. We don't have a boat of our own, so we don't typically have a reason to go but it's so close! Lake Norman is truly one of Charlotte's precious gems. They have lakefront restaurants, like Toucans and Hello Sailor, beautiful coves, and great beaches for the kids to play on! 

When we started planning our staycation I never thought we would be able to find a house to sleep our 14-person posse, so we were pleasantly surprised when we found a lakefront home that slept 17! Booking our vacation was so simple. When you go to LakeNormanVacation.com you can either put in your dates or browse a list of homes and plan your vacation accordingly. 

Personally, I think it was easier to book than Airbnb or VRBO because there is a phone number on the site for any questions you might have about the property. Plus, it's one management company taking care of all the properties so you don't have to wonder about their quality of clean or care. (Let's just say I've had some bad Airbnb experiences). Southern Charm was fully staffed, responsive, and super hands-on throughout the whole process. 

Check-in was 4pm and the house was pristine! You could tell that someone from the company had personally walked through and check the house before we got there. I guess that is the benefit of working with a small business... personal touch. 

Our weekend was so relaxing. We spent our time napping in hammocks, enjoying family dinners, and getting competitive in the game room! We also spent afternoons on the pontoon boat. I think this might be my favorite feature that Southern Charm offers. We were able to add a pontoon boat to our rental. The boat was delivered right to our dock and was already there at check-in. 

In fact, Southern Charm offers a whole concierge service where they can help you find anything from a chef to a personal trainer to use during your stay. They can even fully stock your refrigerator so you don't have to drag coolers and groceries to your destination.

I really do love the concept that Southern charm provides! It's great for renters and owners! Owners can ease their worries knowing they have a company managing their property while sitting back and receiving passive income and renters like us can take advantage of their good fortune!  

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Arrivederci To Our Sweet Elena

 

As I sit here with a box of tissues, it is an understatement when I say, " I am not ready to write this blog." 

How have 913 days passed since our sweet, vivacious Elena came crashing into our lives? I remember picking her up from the airport like it was (legit) yesterday. I was late (of course) and she was patiently waiting for me in the baggage claim area at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. She smiled warmly at me as I walked up to her and she gave me the biggest hug, melting away both of our fears. Neither of us knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into. I was inviting a complete stranger into my home to live with my family and she was leaving behind everything she called "home". 

However, in the most unlikely of ways, we fit each other's puzzle perfectly. She quickly merged into our family seamlessly, like she was always here, and now I can't imagine our life without her. She is the most AMAZING person and caretaker for Cashton and Jaxson and she has truly become my best friend. 

Many have asked, "will we get another Cultural Aupair?" The answer is yes, but Elena will forever have a place in our hearts as our "first". She taught me exactly what this program is all about. When I signed up to host an Aupair I thought it would be a "cool" cultural exchange for us and the kids, while solving our childcare needs. Little did I know my party of four was about to become Strager -Party of Five with Elena at the helm! 

Sure, I didn't learn one lick of Italian while she was here (which was one of my goals... I even took an Italian language class that I failed out of) but I learned a new love that my heart didn't know before and for that I am eternally grateful. 

Elena has touched so many people during her time in the USA, that includes not only our immediate family but our extended family as well. You know a person really has a special soul when family members from all over the US from Montana to Florida go out of their way to spend time with her. It's easy to see how Elena has made so many friends along the way and has even won the hearts of our Kiss 95.1 listener family too. 

Elena has been there for me in ways that not many others have. She knows a side of me that few will ever see. She can sense when I am stressed or something is weighing on me and she knows just how to brighten my day. We instinctively know what each other is thinking before either one of us ever opens our mouths and her love is felt by just a look. In short, she has become the sister I never had and I truly know she will ALWAYS be family now.  

She has been so instrumental in Cash's development, Jaxson's joy, my laughter, Dallas's sanity, and for truly making our house feel like a home. She completes our family in a way that is hard to understand from the outside looking in, but to us, she will ALWAYS be a Strager. 

She is a woman of strength and many talents and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for her. As we say our "see you laters" I say countless prayers that Cashton continues to thrive and that Jaxson remembers her. I pray that she will visit often and that we can take the children to visit their "extended family" in Italy one day. And I pray that we have made a profound, lifelong impact on each other's life and path in this world. 

Thank you Elena, for 2.5 of the best years I could have asked for (even with covid). I love you so much and I hope you truly know how much you mean to me and our family.  

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. 

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Salt Dough Ornament Recipe

I love family activities and I know with the kids about to be on Christmas break you will too! This is a fun project to work on with the kids while they are cooped up in the house during the holidays. As much as I would love to take credit for this idea it was our Aupair Elena, who is a former preschool teacher who came up with this one. She is great about creating fun ideas and games for our family to do together.

When I came home from work, Elena asked me if we had flour and salt. My reply to the items most people keep in their household was, “of course we do”.  We followed a simple recipe involving just 3 ingredients.  My son Cash loved helping mix the blend together, squeezing the concoction in his fingers until it turned to dough. Then, he helped roll out the dough and created little trees, gingerbread people and stars to be put in the oven for 2-3 hours.

After they were cool Elena used her artistic skills to paint the most beautiful ornaments to hang on our Christmas tree!

To see the recipe we used watch the YouTube video below:

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