No nap to a 4 hour nap, thanks be to God!

I had a pretty good birthday. We did buy our wood floor--yippee!! and it won't actually be in for about 60 days which will give us plenty of time to get through our crazy July and do some painting. It will be really nice when it is done. And my mom has been talking to me about how easy it is to make Roman shades, so I may try to do that myself for our Living Room and Dining Room (western facing rooms that get some pretty horrendous afternoon sun!) when I have free time this fall. : )

Aidan didn't really nap on Saturday, so he was a bit out of control by dinner time, but my friends daughters had him in hand and I was able to go out and enjoy myself with my friend for a nice birthday dinner at the Wine Kitchen. And because these folks have Maggie's mommy and sister, I knew the dogs would be okay with them as well! Sunday, however, Aidan took a 4 hour nap!! Mama was loving that. . .

Pat left for Kitty Hawk on Saturday and we will join him on Thursday. We're really looking forward to that. The funny thing is that Aidan doesn't really understand about Daddy being at Kitty Hawk and that we won't see him for a few days so I have just been telling him Daddy's at work. He understands that! Poor kid. . .

My tooth is getting better. The swelling is no longer noticable, but there still is a little knot along my jawline. It doesn't hurt anymore. The medicine is starting to make my stomach not feel so great, but I'm sticking to it until it's all gone! I go back in July after we get back from the beach to finish the work started. This isn't really my favorite way to lost weight. . .Meanwhile, Aidan will go for his first dentist appointment on July 9th. Can't wait. (did you hear my sarcasm?)

And finally, Aidan played dress up the other day with some things my nephew Tyler sent. . .I think he has Buzz Lightyear clothes and Woodies hat on! Funny kid!



P. S. I tried out taking Aidan to the Nursery and then going to get him just before Communion at church yesterday. . .wow. How great is that????I actually heard a sermon and enjoyed myself with the lessons and Aidan was perfect for Communion! I think we have found our church solution. . .

A New Year of Life, Love and Learning

Today is my birthday. . .again. . .I am 46. Sheesh! I know it's just a number, but really! Most people say they are 29 when they start to reach, what I would call, mature ages. Well, I'm not so sure I could pass for 29 anymore. Don't get me wrong, I don't feel older than, say about 25, but I know I look older than 29. so, maybe I'll stick at 39. That's not so bad sounding! 46 just sounds so much closer to that 1/2 century mark! Yikes! Pretty soon Aidan is going to start telling his friends how many changes his mama has seen in her life. . . : )

Yesterday I woke up with an infected tooth. I hate it when that happens. I brush and I floss and I still get tooth issues. Yuck. We've been in the process of looking for a new dentist, one that all three of us could go to, and I have heard some really good things about this one that is right by Aidan's pediatrician. So, at 8:00 am I called them. Not only did I set up initial appointments (for later in July) for Pat and Aidan, they were able to see me yesterday morning at 10:45! I came out of the appointment already beginning to feel better, got my prescriptions filled and went back home to nap a little before picking Aidan up from the sitters. I still have some swelling in my face, not a lot, but I feel so much better today! I even was able to sleep 9 hours last night. Compared to the possible 1 or 1 1/2 that I had gotten the night before, it feels like days of sleep.

So, as I said, today is my birthday. I have received a couple of presents from my mom and my sister that I have on the table in the dining room-waiting for today-and Aidan asked about them. I told him it was my birthday. He wanted to know if he was going to get a present! As a three year old, it's always all about him, you know? : )

Pat is leaving for a week of work at Kitty Hawk today. Before he goes, we're going to go and order our wood floors (yippee!) and then go have lunch at this awesome Mexican Restaurant we used to go to when we worked in Fairfax and Chantilly. Pre-kid days. It's called Picante's. I can't wait. I love that place! And tonight, I am going out with one of my girlfirends whom I haven't seen for a while. We're just going down the street to this new place called the Wine Kitchen. It should be pretty good. Her daughters are going to watch Aidan for me while we're out. Funny, I remember when her oldest daughter was born--23 years ago! Wow.

One other funny little note: Yesterday morning, Pat and I took Aidan out to breakfast--the cleaning lady was at the house early, and I wasn't really up to fixing anything--When I was putting Aidan into the car, the radio was already on and was playing Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. Aidan started to dance. In fact, he was really moving, in a way I have never seen! It was so cute and funny. And then he asked me to turn it up! What a funny little guy. When I got him into the carseat, he looked at me and said, "I just want to dance, mommy!" I guess I'm going to have to buy him Thriller in CD form so he can dance!

Well, on to a new year of life, love, and learning!

"Love you, Mommy. Thank you."

Yesterday, when I picked Aidan up from the sitters, he was flushed and hot and very sweaty. Overheated, in fact. Our sitter said he and the other kids had been outside playing all day (mid to high 80's all day), except during lunch and nap. She went inside and got him a cup of water and we were on our way. Turns out, I really am not too sure he had had much to drink in the afternoon.

We went immediately to meet Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa for dinner where Aidan exhibited his recent usual not so good behavior. But, by the time we were finished eating and leaving the restaurant, he had calmed down and was actually being very good--and continued to be good all the way home. I think he was definitely overheated and possibly a bit dehydrated. He had finally had a chance to cool down, drink something good for him and relax for a while.

Hmmmmmmm. . . we may be on to something here. . . .

When we got home, I gave him his bath, which went very well and after getting pj's on and some more cool Cranberry juice mixed with water, Daddy took Aidan off to bed and I was able to go on to bed myself with my book. But, here is where we hit our next snag. . .Aidan is used to the way Mommy puts him to bed! He was okay during the book time with Daddy, and okay with the rocking, but it just wasn't how Mommy does it! (baths that Mommy does aren't as good as Daddy's, either.)

He started to cry. . .and the sound began to grow. . .Daddy went back in a few times, but I finally realized I needed to go in myself. So, I did. I told him I would rock him for a couple of minutes but that he needed to then go back to bed and go to sleep. "okay." And so I rocked him for about 3 minutes. Seriously! I'm not joking! It was really only about 3 minutes later and I set him in bed, kissed his forehead and said goodnight, sleep good, see you in the morning. And Aidan replied with a little hand on my cheek, "Love you, Mommy. Thank you."

Huh! He thanked me! Teary eyed, I went on back to bed with a song in my heart and a smile on my face. I think we'll make it through this stage afterall.

But, unfortunately, we're going to cancel on meeting with some blogger friends at Kings Dominion this weekend. Aidan needs to have a quiet weekend. . .too many weekend in a row with excitement and especially with the next three weekends in a row travelling to and from the beaches of North Carolina!

Tantrums. . .Tyranny. . .Tired. . .

Is Aidan a descendant of the Tyrannical Tsar by the name of Ivan the Terrible???? I'm beginning to think it's possible. . .

On Saturday, I took Aidan to Target where we purchased several more toys to take to the pool and to the beach. Thinking we would be able to make it to the pool on Sunday, I opened the packages and put his initials on the floaties and inner tubes. My plan was to go to the early church service, come home and get the toys, towels, sunscreen and bathing suits, head to McDonalds for Chicken nuggets and then hit the pool for a couple of hours before nap.

Unfortunately, Sunday dawned cloudy, windy and there was a little chill early in the day. . .it did warm up later--when Aidan was napping. So, change of plans. We hung out and had a leisurely breakfast and then went to the later church service which starts at 11:15. Aidan was an absolute angel. . .until 11:16. From that point onward his inner tyrant came out and would not go away no matter what I tried to do to mollify the little demon. At one point, I picked him up to try and soothe him and talk him down to a quiet roar. . .no such luck. In fact, he decided to try out doing raspberries and basically spit in my face! sigh. . .then he started to hit me, but did stop himself. But, that was it. I packed us up and left the church right before communion (something I never thought I would do!) and took us home. Once home, I got Aidan out of his throne, I mean carseat, and told him to go straight to his room. He cried all the way there and then stood in his doorway and cried. I listened for 15 full minutes before I felt calm enough to go and talk to him. I think he understood me. We'll see! But, next time I take him to church he is going to the nursery (another thing I never thought I would do!). This behavior is getting so exhausting. . .

I can't wait for him to start Preschool and have more constant structured time--7 days a week!!

Happy Father's Day & First Day of Summer!

To all Father's out there, Happy Father's Day! Kudos to you all. . .you are always there to lend a hand, ear or a general sense of purpose. It sometimes even comes through for a three year old! (even if it didn't seem to this morning at church!)

On this Father's Day, I share with you a picture of my two favorite guys:



Of course, and however, here is what the picture usually is:



Whining is the norm these days!

We celebrated Father's Day yesterday in part because Pat had to work today--which ended up being a double shift, too; and, in part because Aunt B and UB were able to come up. Aunt B's birthday is tomorrow so we decided to celebrate that as well as my birthday (next weekend) at the same time. Pretty good time, too, aside from the day long deluge that continued until mid-afternoon and was followed by high winds!

Pat leaves next Saturday, my actual birthday, for his first week in Kitty Hawk. Before he leaves, we're going to order our wood floors! Yippee!!! And then we'll have a nice lunch before he hits the road. Aidan and I are going to be stuck with just the two of us until July 2nd. . .Yikes! : )

Yesterday we also made it to Target and bought all kinds of things for the pool and beach. . .arm floaties, inner tubes, more sand toys, and even a small child's sized kick board for Aidan. It's shaping up to be a great time at the beach. . .with some added fun for the pool, too.

That's it for now. Hope you all have had a fantastic Father's Day and First Official Day of Summer.

The Lazy Hazy Days of Summer. . .

Summer is supposed to be a slower paced time when you should be able to stop and smell the roses. . .right???? Not so much for us! Listen to our schedule for this summer:

This weekend, Father's Day weekend(and the first official weekend of summer, by the way) my sister-in-law and her husband will be coming up to celebrate Father's Day, her birthday and my birthday (hers is the 22nd and mine is the 27th).

Then, the following weekend, Pat will leave to go down to Kitty Hawk to work for a week on the 27th--Virginia Power is apparantly having trouble getting someone to work down there and has taken volunteers for a week at a time throughout the summer--rough gig! So, the company has booked his ocean front room at The Hilton in Kitty Hawk through the 5th. Aidan and I will join him on the 2nd and stay through the 5th. Perfect way to spend Independence Day!

Meanwhile, Aidan and I are going to meet some folks at Kings Dominion on the 28th--more details about who this might be at a later time. It should be an exciting day all around!

On the 10th, my mom arrives to join us on our beach trip to Emerald Isle, NC. We leave on the 11th for a glorious week away from home for fun in the sun and surf! Can't wait!!

When we get home from the beach on the 18th, I'll need to do some fast washing of clothes because Pat will leave on the 19th for a second week at Kitty Hawk. Mom also leaves on the 19th. Pat will then get home on the 25th. . .

Meanwhile, Aidan will start at his new all day Preschool on the 20th. I'm so looking forward to that and all that he will learn there!

And then it will be August. . .and the only plans I have for August happen the first weekend when Virginia hosts it's Second Annual tax free weekend and I will go shopping for Fall and Winter clothes for Aidan. . .

Whew!! What a summer!!! So, I thought I would start painting my Foyer in my spare time. Seems reasonable, right? : )

Happy Flag Day

On this day, 23 years ago, my husband proposed to me. Wow. 23 years ago! Little did we know what we would be doing once we doubled our age!

I have heard, and experienced, the Terrible Twos. . .what is it called when they get to Three??? Terrifying Threes??? Tempermental Tantrum Threes??? Tyrranical Threes??? Well, by whatever name you pick, it isn't pleasant.

Aidan was so not good during the first part of this past week. It left me drained and exhausted. It was all I could do for a couple of days to just get through the day. It finally came to a head on Wednesday morning when he purposely spilled his orange juice on himself, the chair and the floor--and yes, when you pick up the cup and turn it upside down on top of yourself, it is on purpose--just about 5 minutes before we had to leave. I stripped him down, started to swat his behind but didn't, and sent him to his room so I could clean up the mess in peace. I started crying. . .I was so upset with him! I had myself under control again when I got upstairs to re-dress him, but I was still sniffling. Well, apparantly my crying broke through his haze of Threedom because he was really upset that I was upset!! He wanted to cuddle and comfort me and he kept telling me he was sorry!! I let him. I had a flash of insight that told me that he needed to do this and how wonderfully excellent it is that, in spite of it all, he has incredible empathy and sensitivity! I think that that is a really good sign of what kind of person he will be as he grows so I really want to encourage that behavior. After that, the rest of the week went really well and any time he started to act up I asked him if we needed to have another talk, at which time he straightened up immediately. Amazing.

Last night, our church hosted a Parent's Night Out. The Youth Group watched the children in our Parish Hall from 5:00 to 10:00 and we were free to do whatever we wanted. So, we dropped Aidan off at 6:00 and headed into town for our first solo date in about 15 months. It was heavenly. We walked around town and found a new restaurant--A Cajun Experience--I had the Shrimp Maque Choux and Pat had the Sausage Red Beans and Rice:




It was awesome! Then we went to listen to the Accoustic Concert on the Town Green and then finished off the evening with a nightcap at Lightfoot Restaurant before heading back to the church to pick up Aidan. The only fly in the ointment was that it started to rain, again, on our walk back home.

And so, we begin a new week. . .oh and by the way. . .my birthday is coming! You know how I know??? The Fireworks Stands are back!



















My birthday is one week before Independence Day, so when I was little, that was how I knew my birthday was coming. : )

Firsts. . .

Now that it is Spring-almost Summer, there are several things that happen around here that we don't get to do in the Fall and Winter. Last year, Aidan was too young to try any of these things. But not this year!



Corn on the cob. . . ummmmm. . . yummm!!. . .





Our first Giant Slide. . .which Aidan and Catherine called "Toys!"











Saw the horses and walked around the course at the 156th Colt and Horse show at Upperville. . .

















Went for our first pony ride at the Upperville Colt and Horse Show!! Way cool!!!! Aidan didn't want to get off!



And, yes Catherine, we loooovvvved your hat! : )

We've Hit The Wall!

So, I bought some Cherrios. . .let me explain. . .

Aidan is doing phenominally well with going on the potty. He always tells us when he has to go, albeit sometimes it is at the last minute, but he always seems to make it to the potty. Even last night, just when we were leaving the grocery store about 2 miles from home he told me he had to go potty. "Can you make it home, honey?" yes. And so he did the little bouncy thing all the way home, sort of crying, but not really. Then ran into the house and made it just in time. Good Boy!!! Big time potty treat for that one!!

Fast forward to this morning:

We had just sat down to breakfast when he said, "I have to go potty." When you have a 3 year old, and you know they wait till the last minute, you don't hesitate: "Okay, let's go!" And off to the potty we went.

Now a little sidebar: since last weekend when we were walking home from the Herndon Festival and he had to go, Daddy took him into the woods where he learned the fine art of standing up to go potty. That has been all the rage with this kid since then.

Back to this morning: We arrive in the bathroom and prepare to go potty and. . . . . . . . . .hit the wall instead of the water in the toilet. "Aidan!" I scared him at which time he then hit the trash can. " Aidan!" And he started to cry. Mama felt so bad! He finished up in the toilet while I cleaned up his misses and then I told him I would get him some Cherrios to put in the toilet to aim for.

I think that might work.

Life's Little Highways. . .

We've been busy navigating the highways of life!

First off, we went to the Herndon Festival last weekend. Not so fun! We used to know everyone at the festival. . .now we don't know anyone. So much for the small rural town of Herndon!

We now have a new front door. Yeah! It is not only in, but we have a new door knob!

Today I told our sitter that Aidan will be going to an all day Preshool. It was hard. It was very hard! That's what happens when you let your friends be business I guess. I had a very hard time telling her that Aidan would be leaving. It's for the best, though. Aidan will be getting a fantastic education at this Preschool. . .he'll learn math, science, Spanish, Latin. . .and he'll be working on a computer beginning in the fall. Next year he'll be reading some and writing. . .enough to write in a journal! Wow. . . And so, it was time to let our sitter know. I had put Aidan there because I didn't want the Institutional thing, having just come out of the orphanage. But, we've been out of the orphanage for a year and we're looking at preparing for Kindergarten. . .so, we have to think about Aidan's future education. Time to worry about his foundational education!

And I leave you with this picture of Aidan. . .he loves Daddy's fourwheeler!!!