Adventures with Aidan

Mundane, but Trying to Find the Excitement!!

2012-02-10T05:46:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday we bought Aidan a new Hockey bag. One with wheels. So he can manage his own equipment. Well, it works in theory! Anyways, the bag is huge! All of his pads, his helmet, gloves, jerseys, tights, hockey shorts, and his skates all fit in there. Daddy's skates fit in there too. But, when I asked if I could put my skates in there, here is the response: "No, Mama. Finger skates don't go in a Hockey bag!!!" Okay. So, no Finger skates! : )

Speaking of hockey, love how the Caps are playing lately! The blanked Florida on Tuesday, but got beaten last night by Winnepeg in a shoot out. . .great game though! Tough playing a bouncing puck, otherwise they would have won it in regulation.

Also on hockey, and in the interest of mixing things up a bit, I found some pasta with hockey shapes. So, the other night I cooked some up and mixed it with some of my homemade spaghetti sauce, put it into a caserole dish, sprinkled cheese on top and then baked it for a half an hour. Sounded and looked kind of strange, but pretty good! Think we'll do it again. Can you see the pasta hockey player on top??

Trying to find things to do during these waning days of winter has been a bit of a stretch. Fortunately, Santa brought a few Lego projects. So, we've been working on Space City and the Space Shuttle. Pretty cool!!

When the boys aren't working on Legos, this is how they look:

Mario Brothers has control of them. . .I could run around the house making all kinds of noise and they wouldn't notice when the Mario Brothers Wii is on!!

Aidan's health this winter has been awesome! (knock on wood) But, the other night, I heard him snoring. In the morning I checked out his throat and, sure enough, his tonsils looked huge! So, I took him to the doctor to get checked. Although one of the tonsils was so big it was pushing that thing that hangs down over, the doctor said he was fine. She didn't swab his throat or anything and said he was probably fighting something and to just keep an eye on him. If the tonsils don't go down and he starts feeling bad, then we'll see. Okay. Mama was just checking to be sure, okay? Can't be too careful! : )

We've been working on trying to find a beach house for this summer. We're planning our vacation for the week of Fourth of July--ready to NOT be at the house everyone wants to come to for fireworks--Hopefully, we'll find THE house this weekend. Meanwhile, we continue to take Aidan to the Ice House for Free Skate. We work on his backward skating, speed and turns wheil there. But, last night was a bit crowded!! Might have to switch to Sunday afternoons. But, here are a few cute shots I was able to get while on the ice. . . without falling, I might add!!

Aidan is continuing to do well in school. However, homework has become a challenge. Not to actually do it, but the part where we actually start it! These last two weeks I let him talk me into letting him play first. Big mistake!! We were scrambling on Wednesday night to finish both weeks--homework is due on Thursday. This Mama can't handle that stress so we're going back to working on it first thing on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Aidan has also continued to have issues with not paying attention. We had a note home in his backpack this week that he hadn't been paying attention during Guidance. I want him to feel he can tell me anything, so I asked him how his day went. When he didn't offer up the about getting in trouble, I asked him if they had Guidance that day. When he said yes, I asked him how it went. Then he told me what happened--he hadn't been paying attention and then he answered the questions wrong. Ahhh. . .so I talked to him about paying attention and then I told him how proud I was that he had told me the truth about it. Since then, when I drop him off, I tell him to always listen and pay attention. Hopefully, positive reinforcement will do the trick!

That's about it from this boring family! We really got nothin'!! Hopefully, things will shake up a bit soon.

We need to find some fun times!

2012-02-06T05:39:00.001-05:00

Well, we had a little excitement over the weekend. . .we had some snow! It had been sunny but chilly when we went to the Ice House on Saturday for Aidan's skills class and then Mini Mites. During the two and half hours we were there I could see that it was getting steadily darker and darker. By the time we came out, it was raining really hard and the temperature was in the low forties. We drove home and by the time we got to Goose Creek, about half way, it was rain and snow mixed. Back in Leesburg, it was all snow and it was accumulating on the grass and parked cars. Our friends who were coming for pizza and Wii cancelled (the live up across from Mt. Weather) and the roads, by then, were getting icy. So, we went out for a quick bite and then came home and watched Miracle (again!). It was a nice quiet evening.

We were sorry to have missed the Caps shut out win over Montreal, but we did get to watch Aidan win several face offs against boys in the 7-9 year old range in his skills class and then he scored a couple of times during Mini Mites!!! Woo Hoo!!! Now to work on his power turns some more. . .

Aidan has decided to have his birthday party at the Ice House again--totally his choice!! But, we're going to limit the numbers to 12 boys this year. Last years 25 was a bit much--space, noise and expense! But we still have a couple of months to get the numbers nailed down.

Yesterday, one of Aidan's school friends came over for a play date. The boys seemed to have a great time. And because he actually lives in our neighborhood, we'll be able to go to the pool together this summer! Yeah!! I'm so glad Aidan has such a good friend and I'm hoping we'll be able to get the boys together more.

We really have nothing going on in the near future. Just hanging out, working, going to school and hockey. Nothing exciting at all. I need to remedy that! But, in the meantime, here are some pictures from the Monster Jam that Pat and Aidan went to last week!

And so, we are now officially in the search of fun things to do!

PS My mom seems to be doing pretty good following her hip replacement surgery. She went home on Saturday and has been moving about, with a walker, pretty well. She even went to the grocery store yesterday with my sister! Amy will be there until Wednesday and mom should be able to do more, by then, on her own.

Here we Go Again!

2012-02-02T05:42:00.000-05:00

It's six o'clock here in Punxatawny. . .and it's Groundhog Day!!!!!!!

Yep, that's how things feel these days. Just like that movie. I wake up. I run. I make two lunches and a snack. I shower and get ready for work, wake Aidan up and get him dressed/fed and off to school. Go to work. Come home. Fix dinner/do laundry/fix bedtime snack/read to Aidan/go to bed. . .and then the alarm goes off again and it's, in the words of Mario, Here we go again!

I need to mix things up a bit. . .so, last night I started our taxes. Basically finished them too! All I need is the tax ID number for Winwood--can't seem to find it in my taxes from last year. . .I'll get that today and then finish those up tonight after I get my hair cut and while the boys go skating.

Friends are coming for Pizza and Wii on Saturday after Aidan's Mini Mites and then on Sunday Aidan has a playdate--not sure yet what we'll do, but Aidan will have fun!

Aidan's Second Quarter Report Card came yesterday. He is doing really well. He is all E's (Exceeds) or M's (Meets) on the requirements. He only had one N (Needs Improvement) and that was not being a distraction to others--apparantly he has a hard time sitting still during Circle Time. We'll work on that. Basically, I'm very pround of his progress at school. I knew he was a smarty pants!!

And so, we're in the Winter Doldrums. It's February 2nd: too early to really Think Spring although we've had a warmish winter; and there's really nothing fun on the near horizon--Easter and Spring Break are still a couple of months away! So, we need to find some fun things to do. . .any suggestions???

On other, less good news, my mom had to have hip replacement surgery yesterday. It went well and she will be in the hospital for a few days. I spoke to her breifly last night and she sounded fine. She won't be getting out of bed to walk until later today because her bones are pretty brittle from all of the Chemotherapy and Radiation she had when her cancer was initally treated.

And, my Grandfather is actively dying. That sounds horrible, I know, but really it's not. He's almost 96 and he is ready to go be with my Grandmother. He talks about wanting to see her again all the time! So, I pray he passes peacefully.

And that's it. Nothing big, new or exciting. Just life as it happens in our neck of the woods. Hopefully, next time I'll have something fun to say and some cool pictures to share!

Happy Groundhog Day! May your Spring come early!!

Ramblings and Snippets

2012-01-27T05:38:00.000-05:00

The high temperature on Sunday in Krasnoyarsk will be -26* F. Yes, that will be the high. Now that we're nearing the end of January, I just thought we might need a reality check on how bad it can actually be.

Speaking of the end of January, unbelievably, this blog will be four years old in a couple of weeks! Four! Can you believe it???

Aidan has decided he wants to continue with Mini Mites Spring League and through the summer. He really enjoys it. His face is always beaming smiles when he's on the ice. So, we bought him a new hockey stick last night and we'll get it taped up this weekend. He was invited to try for the Spring Mites League, but I think we'll wait and revisit that this fall. He's fine for now.

Loudoun County Public Schools will hit the 100th day of school for this school year next week. Apparantly, the Kindergarten class makes a big deal out this and plans a kind of party for it. I have been asked to send a 1 pound bag of Skittles. . .they will be making a Trail Mix with the Skittles and other supplies.

On the subject of school, Aidan has been asking, A LOT, lately "How long until I'm in First Grade?" Too soon, if you ask me!!

Last Friday, I noticed that Aidan's Kindergarten class has posters of teeth up on the wall. Each one has a month at the top and below that are lists of names of who lost a tooth that month. I've seen the same thing in his room at Winwood. . .poor Aidan!!! He has not lost any and none are loose! The dentist already told me last August it will likely be sometime between the ages of 6 and 7 for Aidan. So, I just ask Aidan to see if his bottom center teeth wiggle. He likes checking!

This Sunday, Pat and Aidan will be going to Monster Jam down at the Verizon Center. Aidan likes watching this on TV sometimes and has collected many of the Monster Trucks to play with. They'll be taking the Metro and will eat hot dogs and drink juice. . .Aidan has no idea!!! I'm excited for him to do this.

Meanwhile, Mommy has an appointment at Red Door Salon for a massage and Pedicure. . .after church, of course!

And, finally. Here are a couple of pictures for comparison:

This is Aidan's Kindergarten school picture.

This is Pat when he was in First Grade--about 7 or so.

Seriously, if you didn't know, would you know??? Not that it matters, but don't they just look so much alike????

To Raleigh and Back

2012-01-23T05:37:00.000-05:00

On Friday, I had the day off and had signed up to go to Aidan's Kindergarten class to read a couple of our favorite books. What a great experience!!! I am soooo doing that again! I read them "The Magic Hockey Stick" and "There was a Coyote". Next time I will do "Down by the Cool of the Pool" for sure. Aidan got to sit next to me and he even helped some by turning pages. It was so fun!

We picked Aidan up a little early from school and then headed down to Raleigh to see some friends of ours. It was about a 4 1/2 hour trip each way, but so much fun! That night we went to see the Carolina Hurricanes play the Capitals. . .we, of course, were in our Caps gear and were cheering loud and strong for our team. . .but, alas, they didn't win. But, we had so much fun! Our seats were awesome!!!

Dollar hot dog night, too!!

We were kind of surprised at how many Caps fans there were. We were definitely not alone!!

On Saturday, Pat's birthday, we got up leisurely and had some pancakes and sausage for breakfast--YUM!! and then headed back home. We got back in time for Aidan's Mini Mites, where he did really really good, although he was a little rough with a boy who made him mad. . .but that's for another time. Then we headed straight to Grandma's and Grandpa's to bathe Aidan and then headed out to Clydes for a birthday dinner, which was super yummy! After cake and presents, we collected the dogs and headed the rest of the way home. Another late night for all!

We decided to just sleep in on Sunday. When we got up, we went out to breakfast and then to the grocery store to replenish the pantry and then just hung around doing laundry, watching hockey and football. Dinner in and then the weekend was over. . .

But, now we have freezing fog!! Wonderful! After the ice storm on Saturday--which we followed up I95, this should make some great roads. . .

Happy Monday!!

Happy Busy Continues. . .

2012-01-19T05:38:00.000-05:00

This has been a crazy week. . .actually, I'm not sure when things haven't been crazy around here the last time! Anyways. . .

Pat has been on the midnight shift, which always adds a bit more crazy to our already craziness, but we have still been able to get a few things done. Last weekend we went over to Home Depot and FINALLY! bought a Storm Door for our front door. It's only taken us 12 1/2 years of living in this house to decide on the exact one we both like and wanted! Problem: Pat is having to adjust the frame around the door in order to make it work. So far, it's looking goood, so we're all happy. We're really looking forward to opening that front door up as often as we can!

We also picked out the door knob for the Man Cave. Yes, I know that doesn't sound very exciting, but it's a big decision! We put a fancy glass door on that room and we wanted a really cool door knob that would go with the hunting/fishing/sports theme going on in there. The bar will be begun next week and then we're hoping to put in a small gas fire place in one of the corners surrounded by stone--the floor is slate and we have barn boards on the walls where the bar will go. Anyway, here is the knob. Isn't it cool? It will also have a covered locking device in above it (Aidan will one day be a teen). The door is wood framed and has an old fashioned door bell.

While working in the Man Cave, we had the hockey game on and I looked up and there was Aidan wearing one of Pat's hunting vests. So cute! He had picked up the Turkey caller and was doing a pretty good job!

Pat comes off the Midnight shift this morning. . .yeah!!! Tonight we're going to the Free skate with Aidan and then tomorrow I have off and will go to Aidan's school to read a couple of our favorite books to his class room.

We're picking Aidan up early from school--only 45 minutes--and then heading down to Charlotte to see some friends who have gotten tickets for us all to go to a Hurricans vs. Capitals game!!!We'll be wearing our Red and yelling Go Caps!!! So, look for us if you watch that game!

Parenting Perils

2012-01-16T05:22:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's been a week since I updated here. Our weather has been so crazy: warm and really spring like one day followed by two or three days of absolutely frigid weather that makes me want to just hole up with an afghan, nice big fire in the fire place and a good book. These cold days have meant that poor Aidan has been a bit cooped up! And add to that, Pat has been on the midnight shift. . .a recipe for some not so good behavior.

For the most part, Aidan is a very good and very well behaved little boy. Further, he is kind, sensitive and caring--traits I absolutely cherish in him. In fact, I am really proud of how well he has been doing lately. However, a bad day does happen every so often. . .who among us has not had a bad day every so often??? Friday was Aidan's.

When I went to pick him up at Winwood, he got very whiny and downright mean and told me he didn't want to go home. In fact, he said he really just wanted to live at Winwood. Now, when he says things like that, I know he doesn't really mean it. But, that doesn't make it hurt any less. So I got him into his coat, grabbed his backpack and we headed out to the car. It was a very silent ride home.

The entire way, I wrestled with the thought of how to handle this situation. Meanwhile, a very pouty, whiny and generally disagreeable Aidan sat in the back seat. Finally, I decided I needed a couple of minutes without him right there in order to compose myself so that I could talk to him about his behavior with love showing on my face. . .not the angry hurt I knew was there. So, when we got home, I told him he needed a time out and to go to his room. I put things away and got organized to start dinner--but didn't start it--and then sat down and took a couple of deep breaths. Then, I called him down--about 2 1/2 minutes had gone by, but it was enough to separate the situation to calm me.

I talked to him about how mcuh I love him and how I look forward to seeing him all day and then can't wait to get there to pick him. So, when he acts the way he did, it's really hurtful. I asked him to imagine looking forward to see me and that when he finally did I was angry with him and told him I didn't want to live with him . . .the look on his face! I could see that I had spoken to his heart: Aidan is a very sensitive and caring boy. I then told him that I could understand if he didn't want to stop playing, but that there are better ways of saying so without hurting someones (mine, especially!) feelings. I then gave him a huge hug and told him how much I loved him and then said he could go and play.

Before he left, I had started opening his backpack only to discover there was a note from his teacher at Leesburg Elementary about how he had not sat well during a class discussion and was actually acting up. Before I could stop myself, the words "Well, that's disappointing." had come out of my mouth. My poor Aidan immediately started to cry. . .oh man. I grabbed him up and cuddled him on my lap and told him again how much I love him and that every one has a bad day every so often. He was actually trying to stop himself from crying!! I told him it's okay to cry and that he should let it out. He did. . .I held him until it was over saying over and over how much I love him and that it's okay to have a bad day every now and again. Poor baby!!!

After Pat got up, I told him, quietly, what had happened and then heard Aidan crying again! Apparantly, he was upset because now Daddy knew. . .So I told him it was okay and then I made him some homemade hot chocolate.

And, it just occurred to me that it's possible he didn't want to come home was because of the note in the backpack! This parenting thing has a lot of perils involved. . .

Our Rising Food Bill

2012-01-08T13:11:00.001-05:00

Do you ever have that niggling sense in the back of your mind that something is on the verge of possibly being out of reach??? Lately, that feeling has increased for me as I watch my son eat. And eat. And eat. . .This child has been an eating machine. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that he is eating. And so far, I am able to keep up with providing enough quantity and variety of food. But, he is only five! What will happen when he is fifteen?? Will I still be able to keep up? What in the world is my grocery bill going to look like???

I know Aidan is going to be a big fellow when he grows up. He is already four feet tall. Incredible! He has grown 4 inches in the past year, 2 1/2 since his birthday last May and nearly 2 inches just since the start of school on August 27th!

Yesterday morning, he got up and had a cheese omlet, 3 slices of bacon, a large glass of orange juice. Then, he then followed that up with some cheese and crackers, string cheese and apple cider. Lunch consisted of a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich, lemonade, milk, apple slices with peanut butter and cheese puffs. This was followed by a ho ho and chocolate chip cookies. For his post hockey snack (some of which got eaten in between his skills class and his Mini Mites game) he had more string cheese, apple slices, cheese and crackers, chocolate chip cookies, teddy grahams and a gatorade--all of this was gone by the time we got home. Dinner was a lite affair of milk, mac and cheese and two hot dogs. . .pre-bed snack was warm milk and strawberry slices. Seriously, where does he put all of this food???

The funny thing is, he is growing so fast that when I give him a bath I notice that I can still see his ribs. . .and this child has the true growing pains--he'll get in bed with us in the middle of the night nearly in tears and saying how much his legs hurt. Poor kiddo!!!

The jeans I bought him before school started and those I replenished the supply with are a bit too short now. Sorry to say, my son will be wearing floods for a bit! I just can't afford to buy him new pants every month! : ) Fortunately, Coach Joe told me yesterday he has some shoulder pads Aidan can have and some skates, so I don't have buy that again for a bit. . .

I'm just wondering how long this growth spurt will continue. So far, it's lasted nearly four years. . .Isn't that taking the good diet and exercise thing a bit long? Additionally, that knocking noise is me knocking on wood for the good health we've been enjoying. . .nothing since last June for Aidan! And I actually only used 4 sick days last year-2 for him and 2 for me! Wow.

I was informed by Aidan on Friday, that he now wants me to send snack with him to school instead of buying it at school. . .Apparantly he hasn't been getting enough. For tomorrow, he has chosen apple slices, cheese and crackers, teddy grahams, and chocolate chip cookies. He will continue to buy milk at school. . .sheesh!

Finally, I just have to report my success on week one back at Weight Watchers--2.6 pounds down! 9 to go and then hopefully I won't have that big bum any more! : ) I'm so enthused, that I already have everything completely ready for at least the next two days and a little bit ready for a couple of days after that!

A Joyous Epiphany to You

2012-01-06T14:39:00.002-05:00

Burning the Christmas Greens

by William Carlos Williams (1883-1963)

Their time past, pulled down
cracked and flung to the fire
--go up in a roar

All recognition lost, burnt clean
clean in the flame, the green
dispersed, a living red,
flame red, red as blood wakes
on the ash--

and ebbs to a steady burning
the rekindled bed become
a landscape of flame

At the winter's midnight
we went to the trees, the coarse
holly, the balsam and
the hemlock for their green

At the thick of the dark
the moment of the cold's
deepest plunge we brought branches
cut from the green trees

to fill our need, and over
doorways, about paper Christmas
bells covered with tinfoil
and fastened by red ribbons

we stuck the green prongs
in the windows hung
woven wreaths and above pictures
the living green. On the

mantle we built a green forest
and among those hemlock
sprays put a herd of small
white deer as if they

were walking there. All this!
and it seemed gentle and good
to us. Their time past,
relief! The room bare. We

stuffed the dead grate
with them upon the half burnt out
log's smouldering eye, opening
red and closing under them

and we stood there looking down.
Green is a solace
a promise of peace, a fort
against the cold (though we

did not say so) a challenge
above the snow's
hard shell. Green (we might
have said) that, where

small birds hide and dodge
and lift their plaintive
rallying cries, blocks for them
and knocks down

the unseeing bullets of
the storm. Green spruce boughs
pulled down by a weight of
snow--Transformed!

Violence leaped and appeared.
Recreant! roared to life
as the flame rose through and
our eyes recoiled from it.

In the jagged flames green
to red, instant and alive. Green!
those sure abutments . . . Gone!
lost to mind

and quick in the contracting
tunnel of the grate
appeared a world! Black
mountains, black and red--as

yet uncolored--and ash white,
an infant landscape of shimmering
ash and flame and we, in
that instant, lost,

breathless to be witnesses,
as if we stood
ourselves refreshed among
the shining fauna of that fire.

A New Year a New Routine

2012-01-03T05:19:00.000-05:00

Here we are at the start of a new year. We've completed 12 days off from work and school and are now heading back today. I have mixed feelings about that: I'm glad to get back to a routine, but I am very sad to not be spending all day with Aidan. He and I had some fun!!!

I felt a little sorry for him, though, because everyone had family plans for much of our time off. We don't have much family in our area and definitely no children his age. We did get him out a few times playing with the neighbor children, but we don't know too many yet. That will change next year when he starts 1st grade and meets more of the children in our actual neighborhood (because we had to have him in morning Kindergarten due to Day Care, he isn't with our neighborhood kids yet).

I did make some plans: the museum, ice skating, watching the Caps practice. And we played a lot of games, watched movies and when for a bike ride/jog around the block a few times. Yesterday, our last day off, Daddy was also home so we had a family breakfast and then headed to Kettler to watch the Caps practice again. Daddy hadn't done that before and so he has a new appreciation for why we were so excited about that the other day! He confessed last night that he really really liked that and is now determined to get to an actual game! : )

Aida was hilarious this time while watching the Caps. . .he asked who everyone was and, of course, became extremely excited every time Alex Ovechkin got anywhere close to where we were sitting. At one point, though, he actually said he wanted to get on the ice to show them how to skate!!! Too cute what a 5 year old thinks!!

Afterward, we went to Chik-fil-A for lunch where I discovered that the medium chicken soup and salad with fat free Italien dressing is only 6 points so I was good on my new weight loss plan. . .then we dropped off a few things at Grandma and Grandpas and headed to Home Depot to see about getting a Storm Door. . .which we will order this weekend once we add some brick molding around the current frame.

Dinner was a homemade and just the three of us affair followed by some TV and then we headed to bed early.

Today we get back to our usual routine which will include ice skating on Thursday and then Aidan will be back on the ice on Saturday for Hockey Skills and Mini Mites. But, the routine will also include Mama being much more careful and watchful on the diet. After going back to Weight Watchers on Saturday and discovering that I am now 11.6 pounds above my goal, I am determined to be good and stay on track.

More of our routine will include the annual clean out and organization of the file cabinet to which I'd love to add the Office Closet to that. . .and I need to clean out Aidan's closet and trunk. That's where I will start on this years organization. There are so many other areas that need organizing, but that's where I will start.

And so, with that, I bid you a Happy New Year and may your coming days be filled with joy, blessings, good health and all your dreams come true.

Resolutions Smesolutions

2011-12-30T19:22:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you just need to stop being so organized. . .if you can stand it that is!

It's that time of year again where I am looking around at all of the things I want to do to get us more organized and to be better about so many things. I have to say we did accomplish a lot this past year. We are more organized in a lot of ways. But, we still have a long way to go in others.

One thing I really want to do this year is get better about staying disciplined about our meals even when Pat is working overtime. I was doing really good until the earthquake/Hurricane Irene/October snow, which were quickly compounded by Hockey and Hunting! Then everything fell apart and I have gained. . .big. . .so back to Weight Watchers I am going. . .tomorrow!!! Wish me luck! And strength and fortitude to stay disciplined!!!

This has been a really fun week. Monday, Pat was off and we hung out as a family all day and even went to an early dinner together. Tuesday was rainy so Aidan and I hung out in the basement reading: me and playing Mario Brothers: Aidan. Wednesday was a big day. We bought a piano from some folks who are moving to a smaller house and Wednesday was the big day when it was delivered. Check it out!!!

I love it: it's a 1910 Sheidmeyer Grand piano and it takes up about half of our living room, but isn't it great???

Thursday, our friends Kelly and Catherine came over and we all piled into the Tahoe and headed down to D.C. to hit a museum or two. . .it ended up being just one, but we tried! We took the metro for part of the trip and then did the Air and Space Museum where we saw all kinds of different planes, missiles and even a movie of the last Discovery Shuttle Lift Off!

Then, today, I took Aidan down to the Kettler Iceplex and watched the Caps practice!!! Awesome stuff!!!

I got some video too, but it won't upload. . .I'll keep trying!

We really had so much fun! We're going to go again on Monday with Daddy!!!

And so, as far as resolutions are concerned, I'm just going to try and keep being a better Mama/wife/person and get back to Weight Watchers! I think that will be all I can handle for a while. . .

Merry Merry Christmas! Merry Merry Christmas! Ho Ho Ho!! Ho Ho Ho!!!

2011-12-26T08:15:00.000-05:00

Well, I would have to say that this is the year of the video game and hockey clothes. What an awesome Christmas we had!

Christmas Eve, Aidan and I did some final touches around the house: put up the Christmas Cards we had received, rearranged the presents one last time after getting all the final ones wrapped, and we got the table set with our latest Center Piece idea--borrowed from Colonial Williamsburg, of course.

Dinner was a festive affair complete with English poppers that had crowns in them! We had our usual Prime Rib roast with roasted potatoes and some Red Cabbage Salad on the side. Dessert was a choice of Cheesecake Factory cheescakes and coffee.

Later in the evening, the Baby Jesus was put in the manger, stockings were hung, the Night Before Christmas read, and cookies were put out for Santa. . .and Aidan had to say goodbye to Steopa the elf, who goes back home to the North Pole--he'll be back next year!!

Christmas morning, Aidan actually slept in until 8:00!! He hasn't been feeling too well lately, so I was very glad he slept so late.

After stockings, we were off to the Living Room to open gifts! Aidan was surprised to receive not only the skate board and guitar he asked for, but also a really cool telescope--that we need to figure out how to use!!! He aslo got some really cool hockey clothes from Aunt Gini and Uncle Dennis and a super cool BlackHawks sweatshirt from Aunty Amy and Uncle Todd!! But, the big hits were the Ovie jersey, Leap Pad and the Mario Brothers for Wii. . .we may have to put time limits on the Leap Pad--after school gets back in, of course!!

There was a point, just like last year, at which time Aidan needed a break from presents. Fortunately, I had it planned this year to have breakfast at that time and had a Southwestrn Quiche and Orange Juice and coffee ready.

Later in the day, Aunt Gladys and cousin Kurt came and we exchanged gifts with them and then sat down to a nice Ham dinner catered by Grandma and Grandpa--Thank you!! Thank you!!! Thank you!!!

After everyone went home, Aidan went back to the Mario Brothers while I took a bit of a nap before bed. . .exhaustion has set in. . .

But we have a fun week of activities planned for this week off!!! Stay tuned for more information!

Eve of the Eve of Christmas Eve

2011-12-22T22:30:00.001-05:00

I'm so tired. . .We've been so busy!!! But, it's all been good stuff.

I've been wrapping a little at night and in the early morning, baking something nearly every night, making sure the house is still neat and still trying to keep up with my running--although, as my previous post suggests, my eating habits have taken a nose dive!

I have one more gift to buy and then wrap, which will happen tomorrow. I have made Christmas dessert--white chocolate mousse stuffed in a chocolate tulip shell with crushed candy canes on top; Christmas Eve salad--red cabbage salad; am defrosting the Prime Rib Roast so I can start marinading it tomorrow and even found time to finally figure out how to set up Aidan's Leap Pad that Grandma and Grandpa are giving him!!!--the secret was in disabling the firewall, virus scan and the virus shield! Now if I can just figure out have to re-enable those things!!!

Tonight we took Aidan ice skating. Fun stuff! And we got his picture taken by the tree at the Ice House:

I checked out the Stick and Shoot class that a friend has gotten him for Christmas. . .wow. This is going to be fun for him. Hopefully, Coach Joe will be able to be there with him and help him out. Aidan really listens to him. I'll find out for sure next week.

Aidan and I are both off now until January 3rd. We're hoping Daddy can spend some good family time with us, too, but we will still have a lot of fun. We have much planned! So much so that that will need to be saved for another post.

Meanwhile, goodnight. Sleep tight. May your dreams be filled with sugar plum fairies and silvery Christmas bells. . . .

Lessons in Discretion Needed

2011-12-20T08:53:00.000-05:00

So, this morning, while making my bed, my young son came up behind me and said, "Mama! You have a big bum! I mean really big!"

Sigh. . .gotta get back into the groove of watching what I eat.

Pat has been informed that we will now be back on a good eating plan beginning January 1. . .He thinks it's all Aidan's fault! Of course, the big breakfasts and the going out don't help! I can't blame me, ya know! : )

You Can Be Anything You Want, After Law School

2011-12-15T05:36:00.001-05:00

One of the things I forgot to mention about our trip was our walk around the campus of William and Mary.

We have always told Aidan he can be anything he wants to be when he grows up. . .after he goes to Law School! He is so conditioned that he now says what he wants to be and then adds on after I finish Law School of course! He even said the other night that he wanted to play hockey instead of having a job. . .but he'lll finish Law School first! : ) Love it!

Well, folks, I think he should go to William and Mary! It's a great school, it's only three hours away so this Mama can go see her baby anytime. . .maybe we'll even move there!

So much history here! The American troops were gathered and camped here in this depression area on the campus, in preparation for the fight with the English for our Independence . . .most of whom had been students at the college!

. . .And maybe I could even take classes there too! Pat rolled his eyes at me more than once becuase I kept walking around and just staring and saying with that longing in my voice, "I want to go to school here."

It's a beautiful school and has such a great reputation. . .why not aim for the highest???? Did you know that it is the second oldest school in the USA? Right behind Harvard!

The school was named for King William III and his Queen, Mary II and was originally built in the late 1600's. The main building is the Wren Building, named in honor of Christopher Wren, a great archetect/philosopher/alchemist in England who was actually still alive when the school was built!

The Wren Building

It's a nice dream. . . .

Twenty Five

2011-12-14T07:41:00.000-05:00

Yep. That's right. Today is our Twenty fifth Anniversary! Can you believe that??? It's hard for me to believe, so I can't really expect you to believe it. . .What's that? What did we do to celebrate this momenteous occasion? Well, pull up a chair and I'll tell you the story of our last several days of fun family time. . .

It began Thursday evening with us frantically trying to do some last minute packing to get out of town. We had planned a get away. . .for the three of us because we're not ready to leave Aidan yet. . .to Colonial Williamsburg with a stint at Great Wolf Lodge thrown in for good measure. We didn't really know what to expect for either place, so we sort of were packing on the fly without much of a plan. It worked though!

We left Friday morning and drove the little more than three hours down to Williamsburg. We arrived at about lunch time so we stopped to eat and then headed over to our hotel to check in. Upon entering the hotel, Aidan immediately spied the pool--indoor, or course!--and began badgering us to go swimming! But, we had plans to go to Colonial Williamsburg. We got our bags into the room and then headed over to the Visitor Center where we got checked in and received our passes. I had prepurchased what I had thought were two day passes for us and discovered at check in that these were actually multiday (three day) passes!! Cool!!! Pat looked at me dubiously, but didn't really say much.

We got our passes clipped on, grabbed a map and off we went, on an adventure back in time. . .back to 1775. They have this set up really neat in that there is a path you must follow from the Visitors Center over to the Colonial Section. In the path are brass plaques which count backward: 1950's--you accept that schools are segregated; 1940's--your evening entertainment does not come from television; 1920's--you accept that women do have the vote; 1865--you know people who own other people; 1820's--you can travel as much as 70 miles in one day; 1790's--your most current news is a week old; 1775--you are a subject of His Majesty, King George the Third. I think I missed a few, but you get the general idea. It's a pretty neat trick to get you mentally back into the 18th Century frame of mind.

The first stop is at the Great Hopes Plantation. Aidan LOVED it here!!! There were yoked oxen, a male slave starting a fire with a flint and steel, a chicken coop, slave quarters, and two different gardens--one for the plantation owners and one for the slaves. There were also horses and hogs. . .a very well to do plantation, although we, by today's standards, would never have guessed it!!

After the plantation, we moved on to the town proper. . .we first encountered the Governors Palace where were informed that Governor Dunmore and his wife would be hosting a ball that evening. We were provided a tour of the Palace and given subjects to discuss with Lord and Lady Dunmore as we saw fit. For anyone into history, Lord Dunmore had been Governor of New York for one year prior to coming to Virginia. . .after he left, a bit on the run from us American rebels, he was assigned a post in the Bahamas.

Anyway, Lord Dunmore had his weaponry on display as decor within the Palace walls. When you first enter, in his studdy and lining the stairwell. Quite impressive!!

Other nifty things seen at the Palace were the sconces , bed linens and the beautiful fireplaces:

To his credit, Aidan only looked like this a little bit. . .

At first Pat was a little upset with him until I reminded him that Aidan is a 5 year old boy. . .and by the way Pat, are you really truly enjoying this??? Pat smiled. . .yes, I know my husband!! I, on the other hand, couldn't get enough!! Much to my boys dismay. . .

The Kings crest remains over the door of the Palace which can be seen when exiting on the way to the beautiful boxwood maze, that Aidan absolutely loved!!!

From here we toured the Palace kitchens, yes cooking with the fire in the fireplace, and then on to the Town Green. Trying to find things to amuse Aidan, we found the Foundry and Gunsmith. This was cool as we were shown how a gun is rifled and how bullets were made. Interesting, though, in that it wasn't very near where the town aresnal was kept. . .

From there, were went over to Bruton Parish. We walked into the churchyard and I noticed some gravestones. Realizing we were walking over graves, I went up behind Aidan and whispered "Hey! Get off me!" He turned and looked at me in horror! I love doing that, but it isn't nice. Aidan was fine after a bit and even laughed about it.

We went into the church proper and saw the interesting pew boxes. Most of the pews had been inhabited at one time by some very famous Virginians. . .George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Patrick Henry. . .Bruton Parish is the oldest Episcopal Church in the United States. It was initially founded in 1674, as an Agnlican Church and then became Episcopal after the Disestablishment of the Anglican Church in the 1780's.

The building was built in 1715 from plans drawn by Governor Spotswood (of Blackbeard fame). It is really beautiful and it's amazing how well the Parish (still active) has been able to preserve it.

I would have loved to attend services there--still active with four services each Sunday, and we actually toyed with the idea, but judging from the look on Aidan's face, we determined it was in everyone's best interest for us to forego that pleasure.

And while passing the Court House, we made sure we tried out the stocks!!!

Other really cool buildings we toured were the Arsenal, which is Octagonal shaped and first above, and the Capital Building. Both were really beautiful. It's amazing to see these buildings and realize how much of our American history was hatched here.

After this, the light was failing and it was very cold, so we wandered over to Raliegh's Tavern for some Hot Cider and Gingerbread cookies all consumed standing near an outdoor fire. . .awesome!!!

That evening was spent at the Hotel pool enjoying ourselves and relaxing. . .

Day Two, we went went back to Colonial Williamsburg and saw much of the same sights with the addition of the Wheelrite and Blacksmith shop. But the big fun for Aidan started that afternoon when we checked into Great Wolf Lodge. . .a humongous waterpark built for kids of all ages!! Waterslides, wave pools, lazy rivers, fountains, geyers and a giant bucket of water that dumps a 1000 gallons every five minutes. . .what's not to love??? Well, Aidan loved it. Pat and I have done this now and know we don't have to do it again. . . : )But, Aidan loved it!!! Did I already say that???

Because the waterpark was a bit strenuous and not really adult friendly (with the exception of the money mom and dad needed to spend!) we decided to spend the mornings at Colonial Williamsburg and the afternoon at the waterpark. . .this seemed to satisfy everyone. However, the end came too soon for Aidan, who was none too pleased at our departure for home!

But home we went. . .while on the way, though, we stopped at a Bass Pro Shop--have you ever been to one of these??? It's an amusement park for hunter/fisher gatherers! Aidan liked it too. . .we stayed for a couple of hours and had lunch there before making our final trek home. . .but we had to get a picture with the Bad Boy Bear!!

Aidan went back to school and Pat and I still had one more day so we did some Christmas shopping and went out for a really nice lunch. . .oh! And, he surprised me by taking me to a jewelry store for some new diamond earrings!!

Whew!!! What an Anniversary!!

A Visit with St. Nick

2011-12-06T05:56:00.000-05:00

In years past, we have not been as good about getting Aidan's picture with Santa done in a planned sort of way. When he was two, we saw Santa after the Leesburg Parade, at Winwood and at a Hot Chocolate with Santa event at our park. But, no mall Santa picture that year--he came down with RSV about this time so we couldn't really take him a lot of places.

When Aidan was three, we did get the picture with Santa at the mall. . .on a day I had kept him home due to Bronchitis and Pat decided we should go to the mall. . .jeans had a hole in the knee, he was wearing an older shirt that just barely fit and his camoflage shirt. . .oh and he had gum in his mouth!!

When Aidan was four, we did basically the same thing. Although this time it was double ear infections and a terrible cold. But, the outfit was the same! Holey jeans, camoflage boots and an old shirt. I don't thing he had gum in his mouth this time, though.

Don't get me wrong, these were adorable pictures as any picture of my child can be! But, it wasn't the sort of thing that we planned!

So, in a burst of holiday energy, we decided to buy the VIP pass and head to the mall after work yesterday. I prepaid for our pictures which then guarenteed us a place in line (#2 as it turned out!!), Pat picked up Aidan, gave him a bath and got him dressed in his special Christmas outfit (although he didn't do the nice shoes I had set out and left him in his ratty old sneakers! sigh. . .) and off we went as soon as I got home!

We had told Aidan we were going out to dinner but that we were going to stop and see someone special first. . .is it Nana??? no. . . .I want it to be Nana!!! How cute is that?!?! : )

We got to the mall and parked and I woke Aidan up (he falls asleep in the car all the time!) and he saw where we were. . . is Santa here??? YES!!! Inside we went. . .

Where Santa was on a break!! So, we went over and got our line placement and did a little Christmas shopping--now all the teachers are done!! 5 of them!!! And then headed over to Starbucks so Mama could have a coffee while we waited. Pat and Aidan went off to the Sport Store to look at Caps pictures. . .and came back with about 15 minutes to spare. . .

When can I see him??? When will Santa be here???

And here he is, all dressed nicely, talking it over with the big guy. . .And when asked if he'd been good, Aidan replied. . ." yes. . .and no." Santa looked over at us and smiled big! What a good boy!!!

Fun night and finally a nice picture of Aidan with Santa. . .

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

It's Official. . .

2011-12-04T07:09:00.000-05:00

I am a Hockey Mom. Sounds a bit like a confession, doesn't it?? But, really. I think it's true!

Yesterday found us back to the Ice House after a week off. Didn't realize we missed the place! But, we did. Aidan's little face lit up when we got there, although prior to that he had been tired and cranky all day. The minute we walked in, smelled the ice, heard the sound of skates on the ice and he brightened up and started laughing and was super excited. In fact, I couldn't get him dressed fast enough!! He was afraid he would miss one minute of ice time!! He didn't. He was dressed and ready to go the minute the Zamboni finished.

In spite of an early bathroom break (something about having an entire can of Tomato Soup and a huge glass of milk for lunch!. . .) he did really really good in the skills class. I would say he was in the top ten of all the kids on the ice, about 30 or 40 or so and he is definitely the youngest out there. They had to this one skill where they had the stick out in front and to the side, skate fast down the length of the rink while controlling the puck. Aidan did it perfectly!! I could hear Coach Joe saying something to him about being in the NHL. . . : )

Other skills worked on were taking the puck in a tight turn and then going for the goal. Aidan needs to pick up his speed a bit on the turn, but otherwise did amazingly well on this. And the final skill was two players came from opposite sides, received a pass from the coach and then had to battle it out for control of the puck and then try to score. Aidan beat the much bigger player to the puck both times he had a turn and then scored!! I was beaming, needless to say.

Then, after our jersey change and a quick snack, Aidan went out for his Mini Mites session. Normally on the first Saturday of the month, they work on skills but I had gotten a message from the head of the Hockey Program that they were going to play instead because we just had a week off and December is a short month.

Aidan went back on the ice enthusiastically and scored 7 goals against the three teams he played. It was awesome!! Of course, by the time we got home, he was saying it was ten goals. . .already with the exxageration!! : )

The funny thing about Mini Mites was that all of the Ashburn XTreme coaches were there watching the boys play. I could hear them talking about each one--the good and the areas that need improvement. I heard nothing but good things about my Aidan! When Aidan came off the ice, they all congratulated Aidan by name and told him about how good he had skated and played! Aidan was beaming. . .I was thinking to myself " I think my baby just got recruited for the XTreme!"

After changing (and snacking on what we brought) we went to say goodbye to Coach Joe and to tell him we wouldn't be there next Saturday, but we'd be back on the 17th. He is so awesome. He told Aidan he wanted his autograph so he could show people he knew him when! : )

On the way home, Aidan gobbled the rest of the snacks I had brought and was a littel chatterbox about hockey the entire way. Quite a difference from the sleepy grumpy kid I'd had in my car on the way there. . .

I insisted he go to bed after the second period of the Caps game last night. . .it was after 9:00. You would have thought I was the meanest Mommy ever!!! But, he fell asleep quickly. My little Hockey Player. . .tuckered out by an afternoon of hockey. . .

Thanksgiving Review. . .and Happy Advent!

2011-11-27T07:38:00.001-05:00

Wow. Here were are at the beginning of day 5 of our 5 days off. Our, meaning me and Aidan, that is. We have been off since Wednesday and we have been having a great time!

When I picked Aidan up on Tuesday, we already knew Daddy would have to work late. So, we came on home and made our brine for the Turkey and did some chopping. Wednesday, we got up early and began chopping and we cleaned the bird, set it in the brine, made our pie, dressing and several otherside dishes. Daddy had to work day shift, so he wasn't home again, but Aidan was a huge help! He insisted that we play some Christmas music while we stirred and chopped.

I loved that Aidan ran up to get his Home Depot apron on in order to help me out. . .while wearing his camoflage hunting hat!!

It rained heavily all day on Wednesday so we weren't able to go outside during our breaks, but we made due with some dancing while we cooked. We went out for our annual night before Thanksgiving dinner with friends and Daddy was finally able to meet us there for that after having to work late again!

Thursday dawned clear and cooler. Aidan helped me get the table set and do the last minute preparations in anticipation of sharing this wonderful meal with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt B and UB.

But, because Daddy had to work (again!) the bird didn't get put into the oven until 1:00. But, boy did it look and smell good when it was done!

And, finally, we were ready to eat!!!

Later, I discovered that someone was playing with the camer again. Can you guess who?????????????

Hmmm. . . .

Anyway, after dinner, we had our dessert and then decided to get a family photo. Fun times coordinating 7 people and 2 dogs!!! But, we laughed all the way through it. . .

Maggie ended up not being in the group photo. . .she just wouldn't cooperate with everyone else!! : )

Thanksgiving was a fun family day. I had started off feeling gritchy and irritable but was able to remember that it was a day of Thanks. . .which has now reminded me that I really should sit down and write out 100 things I am thankful for. It might help keep me grounded and humble! I'll let you know how I do.

Friday was another beautiful day. In the morning, Aidan and I got ourselved going and went to pick up Aunt B and UB who were staying at Grandma and Gradpas. We had decided to venture down to the Capitals Kettler Iceplex at Ballston. It's a bit of a trek for us out here in Loudoun County, but we did it! I did make the mistake of depending on the GPS to tell me where to go, so we made a couple of bad turns. Once I went back to depending on myself, we had better luck.

Unfortunately, when we got there, we discovered that the Caps weren't practicing that day because the game was at 4:00. . .but we had fun skating anyway! And I got a couple of fun pictures, too!

The ice got pretty chewed up, although it didn't seem any more crowded than at Ashburn. But, we had fun anyways and will likely go down there again over our Christmas break. Hopefully, next time, the Caps will be there practicing! I know Aidan will love that.

Friday afternoon, when we got back, Pat got off work around 3:00 and had enough time to put up the outside Christmas lights. Then we went off to dinner at a good Mexican restaurant. . .no leftovers on that day for us!! Mama was not cooking. . .

Satruday, we finished with the lights and put our fake tree together. Aidan read off the instructions on which color came when. I think the boys had a good time working together on this project. Meanwhile, I decorated the rest of the inside of the house.

And now, we have a new visitor. Steopa the elf has returned. It looks like he brought a movie and filled the Advent Calendar up. This will be exciting for Aidan. Today is the first Sunday of Advent, but the Calendar does not start until December 1st. So, he'll have to do some waiting. But, that is what Advent is. . .a time of waiting.

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you all had a good one!

Travels with Tigger

2011-11-22T05:44:00.000-05:00

A little over four years ago, I purchased Tigger in order to have some kind of stuffed animal to give my baby when I met him. When we packed our bags and left the US on November 20th, Tigger was stowed safely in my suitcase as one of the gifts for our son. We took off from Dulles airport and flew to Atlanta and then to Moscow, arriving in Moscow on the morning of the 21st. We were picked up and taken to the Novatel where we stayed a few hours and got some much needed sleep and then showered and repacked up and left at 6:00 for the Domodedovo airport, where we met Tamara and Bill Holsinger-Robinson (our partners and lifeline to the US for the next few days) and our over night flight to Krasnoyarsk. We landed in Krasnoyarsk at 5:30 am and were then taken into the city to a rooming house that had no wi fi and our phones didn't work (passports were taken from us too!). We were told to sleep and then be ready to be picked up around 11:30 or so.

It was now November 22nd and Thanksgiving Day back at home. We were in Siberia! We were taken for a pizza lunch at California Pizza and then off to the Ministry of Education to discuss why we wanted to adopt a child from Russia and to find out anything we could about our baby. Then. . .

off to the Baby Home we went!

Our son was brought in. . .he took one look at us. . .and started crying! : ( I went over to pick him up and the care taker didn't let him go right away, so I handed him Tigger. Still crying, but now clutching Tigger, my baby finally relented to being held by me. Although he remained tearful for a while, he allowed me to feed him and even opened up a lot to play with both me and Pat. We discovered he liked bubbles and that he was very ticklish. And, best of all, he called Pat Papa. And Tigger? He went with Aidan and I presume stayed with him the entire time after that.

Four months later, we brought Aidan out of the Baby Home and Tigger was still there with him. A little more worn looking, but still there!

And now, four years later, Tigger has the look of a well loved animal. He sleeps with Aidan every night and Aidan told me the other day he is glad we'll be home for five days later this week because then Tigger won't fee lonely (Tigger no longer goes to school with Aidan.)

And, so, here is our friend Tigger who came from Target, went to Atlanta, Moscow, Krasnoyarsk, Sosnovoborsk, back to Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Atlanta and has now also been to North Carolina, Virginia Beach, Washington, D. C., Nevada and California! Travelin' Tigger. He's awesome!

Happy Birthday Tigger!!! Four years with our baby boy as his constant companion, confidant and friend!!!

A Big Birthday Present

2011-11-20T07:44:00.001-05:00

Friday was my mother in laws birthday. When asked what she would like for her birthday, she replied that she wanted to see Aidan play hockey. Okay. We can do that.

So, yesterday, we headed out as usual for Aidan's hockey skills class, which is followed by Mini Mites. Aidan did really well in the skills class. He's really learned a lot during the last several weeks of this class and he is fortunate that he has Mini Mites right after to put into practice what he has learned.

Yesterday was spent mostly on Stick Skills, which Aidan LOVES to do! He practices moves at home, but they usually work on foot skills, power turns and endurance during the Skills class. So, yesterday was a treat for Aidan. I think his red jersey is a bit big so the fact that he is doing so well in this class is really amazing. Here is a little of some of what they did:

Mini Mites, as I said immediate followed and during the end of the skills class, Pat went to pick up his parents. Meanwhile, I got Aidan to eat a quick snack, have some Gatorade and change his jersey to the smaller Yellow jersey for Mini Mites.

And, for the first time all season, he scored!!!! Four goals!!! AND had a beautiful assist where he had gone behind the goal, turned and saw a teammate in front of the goal and passed the puck perfectly to his team mate. And, did I get any pictures of any of this??? No. I did get this, though.

Not very revealing of what he accomplished yesterday. I wish I could show you the huge shining grin he had when he came off the ice. I will say that it was so nice to hear the official skate over to Aidan after his assist and tell him what a great pass that had been. The grin was stretched ear to ear! Pat hadn't actually seen Aidan play since the beginning of October and boy was he surprised at his progression!

After this excitement, we came back to our house for a nice steak dinner, cake and presents for Grandma.

Wish the Caps were doing better. Not sure what's going with them. But, it's still early in the season.

Daddy had to go back to work today, after being off for the last two weeks hunting, so Aidan and I are taking it easy but will go outside and rake our front yard. There seem to be more leaves than usual this year!

First Report Card

2011-11-17T05:36:00.000-05:00

Well, it's here! My baby's first report card.

The funny thing about Loudoun County is that for Kindergarten they give dots to denote that there is some knowledge or skill in an area that is not assessed at this time; E for Exceeds; M for Meets; P for Progressing Towards Standard; and B for Below Standard.

I am happy and very very pleased to tell you that Aidan received E's on all areas that were assessed in LAnguage Arts and dots in all areas not assessed!!!! For Math, he received an E for Identifies, describes and extends patterns and M's for every other category!!! He can recognize and read all sight words presented as well as most into what he needs to know in the third quarter. In the category called Characteristics that Affect Learning, he received S's (Satisfactory) in all areas except two where he received N's (Needs Improvement). The two N's are for Listens attentively and Uses self-control. Hmmmm. . .same areas he has needed to improve in since he was two!

Seriously, I am really proud of him. He is doing so incredibly well! We read every night: he reads a Bob book to us and we read a book to him. I cannot express how pleasantly amazed I have been at his reading progress! He was doing really well last year at Winwood, but whatever manner of teaching they are using in the Loudoun County School system is obviously a key for him. The door has been not only unlocked but has been pushed wide open!

Did I tell you that I am really really proud of him????

Stacy's Big Award

2011-11-14T05:30:00.000-05:00

So a few weeks ago, Pat handed me a form to fill out and mail in to enter a Washington Post Capitals Giveaway contest. I never win contests, so I dragged my feet about it. I didn't want to enter a contest that I knew I wouldn't win! Finally, I filled the form out and sent it in thinking that I had missed the deadline--I mailed it on October 15th or so and I think the deadline ended up being October 17th.

Well, I got a message on my cell on October 31st from someone at the Post saying I had won some contest and to give her a call back. I had completely forgotten the contest already and erased the message and did not call back.

I got a second message from this same lady a few days later saying she really needed me to give her a call about the prize I had won. I rolled my eyes and called her back thinking this was some scam to get me to buy something.

Boy was I surprised!!!

My name had been drawn for the Capitals Giveaway contest and I had won a Hockey Stick!!!! Signed by Alex Ovechkin!!!!

I had to fill out an Affidavit saying I understood that this prize has a monetary value that is subject to taxes and then arrangements were made to get the stick to me. Kind of hard to mail a 6 foot hockey stick, so it was hand delivered this past Saturday!

Aidan is not happy here because the stick is all wrapped up with bubble wrap and I had just told him he was not allowed to use this stick! : ) He wanted to take it to Mini Mites!!!!

A little happier here because we had gotten the bubble wrap off and I put him in his Moscow Dynamo Ovechkin Jersey.

About as close to a hockey stance a 5 year can get in while wearing a jersey that is 5 times too big and holding such a big stick!! But, I think Aidan may decide to be #32 in the future. . .

And there you have it. My big excitement for the weekend!!

When I Grow Up. . .

2011-11-11T05:17:00.001-05:00

Aidan frequently tells me how things are going to be when he grows up. They mostly make me smile, but sometimes they give me a good laugh. In addition to being a big time Hockey player, here are a few of my favorites that he has told me:

When I grow up, this closet (pointing to his Dad's closet) will be mine and yours will be my wifes!

Aidan: When I grow up, Mama, where will you live? Me: Well, right here, I guess. Aidan: No you won't. You'll have to live somewhere else because my wife and I are going to live in this house! (I guess I should be happy that he loves his home so much that he never wants to leave it!! )

When I grow up, Mama, I'm going to have six. Six what? Six kids. I'm going to bring them all home from Russia! (so sayeth my only child. . .)

And finally, I have won a major award! (Doesn't that make you think of the movie A Christmas Story??) It is scheduled to be delivered around 10:00 tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for pictures. . .and yes, it is tall and nicely shaped, but it isn't a leg lamp! Although I will have to keep Aidan's hands off of it!!!

Happy Veteren's Day!

Mommy Freak Out Moments

2011-11-09T05:31:00.000-05:00

Everybody has them. The differ for each kid, depending on who they are and what they tend to do. Admitedly, most of mine occur when Aidan is on the ice. I see him fall and my heart goes into my throat. But he is so padded up that he practically bounces. And he gets up really fast too. . .so fast that I sometimes wonder if he actually fell!

But there are other moments I don't get over as fast.

Lately, Aidan has been showering on his own. He's not really interested in baths anymore. He has even insisted on big boy shampoo and big boy bar soap. No more baby stuff for him! I know it's inevitable and I even think I remember the same thing happening for me when I was his age. But he's my baby, ya know????

At first I was allowed to stay in the room with him. But, now I have been banished. I am allowed to leave the door cracked open a little bit. A Very Little Bit. And, he has gotten used to yelling out wehn he drops the soap, "I'm okay!" in that kid voice that says "Don't freak, Mama, really, it's just the soap!"

But, now we're on to a new big boy trend. One I really am not liking at all, but am not at all sure what to do about it!!! The Public Bathroom situation.

Aidan prefers. . .no, insists that I no longer accompany him to the bathroom. He wants his privacy. Okay. I'm all about that! But, does he have to insist on this when we're out in public and I can't send Daddy with him????

The first time it became an issue we were at Costco. I had just finished checking out and had a cart filled to the brim with our purchases. Aidan told me he had to go potty to which I said, okay, let's go. Down the hall we went when all of a sudden, the little bugger ran into the Mens Room. I was left standing there nervously pacing back and forth trying to see in without trying to see in, if you know what I mean. An elderly couple had come up right behind us and the gentleman had gone into the Mens Room. Realizing I was very nervous about the situation, he came out and told me Aidan was okay and that he was just washing his hands and would be out momentarily. The gentlemans wife came out shortly after and they waited with me until Aidan came out. I was grateful to them for being so kind.

I did admonish Aidan to not do that again and explained that not everyone is nice (how to say this without saying what could happen???) I don't want my son to live in fear, but I also want him to be prepared. So, we did talk about good and bad touches and that because he is still small he will need to have me go with him if it is just me and him. He doesn't like it one bit. And keeps trying to go into the Mens Room at the Ice House by himself too. He says the Mens Room is better because the toilets are on the wall and the flusher isn't as loud. . .hmmmmm. . . . : )

But, I think he understood that Mama can't live with her heart in her throat all the time!

A Really Good Saturday

2011-11-07T05:36:00.000-05:00

Before Aidan came along, our fall was usually kind of hectic. We would move from Pat's hectic work schedule of lots of overtime in the summer to Pat going off each weekend, as well as many weeknights, to go hunting. Throw in a few overtime days due to fall storms and I had a lot of alone time.

Now that Aidan has joined our little family, I am no longer alone, but we've added Aidan's hockey schedule to the mix. . .and now school activities and homework, too!!! Life is crazy, but so much fun!!!

This Saturday, I had my usual errands to run. . .Dry Cleaners, Home Depot, Target. . .all before noon so we could get home and have lunch and then get dressed for an afternoon at the ice house and hockey. We packed up the car and headed out about a quarter to ten.

And there in front of the stores was a set up from the Purcellville Fire House!!!! A kids dream complete with the boots, pants and jacket for a certain little boy to try on. After I made my drop off at the Dry Cleaners, over we went!!

A happy boy. . .and we added a new shiny red fireman hat to our fireman loot! After finding out that he can join the volunteers in 11 more years, we went on our way, heading over to Home Depot, where I had promised that Aidan could try out the tractors (lawn tractors) as usual.

But. . . .guess what we found there!?!?!?!?

You got it! ANOTHER set up of Firemen! This time, it was the Leesburg Fire Department giving kids a tour of the Tanker Truck. . .

It was really cold, so we didn't linger, but Aidan was some kind of happy! A shiny Black Fireman Hat joined the loot. . .He jabbered all the way through the store and then all the way to Target. . .where there was nothing. . .but it didn't dampen Aidan's high spirits!!!

At Target, we discovered a great Potatoe and bacon soup that Aidan loved--three helpings of the tastings--so we bought several cans for later use. We finished our business and headed home for some lunch.

At the Ice Rink, Aidan had Hockey Skills and, because it was the first Saturday of the Month, Mini Mites was skills class, too. So, Aidan spent 2 1/2 hours on skills this week--with short games at the end of each session. And he did awesome!! The Ashburn Extreme coaches were there as was the manager of the entire Rink doing the coaching and instructing this time. At the end, as per usual, Coach Joe came over and told Aidan how great he was doing, but also Coach Rob came over and made a special point of telling Aidan how awesome he did on charging ( a new skill he just picked up! and he's good, too!) on the ice and still controlling the puck. Aidan was so excited he told me he wanted to go home and practice his stick skills some more. . .I just have to smile at the confidence this kid has gotten and how great he is doing!

After we got home, we did do a little work with the stick and puck, but it was cold outside and a bit blustery! So, in we went to do our bath and have some dinner. Then we headed down to the Rec Room to watch some TV and finish laundry. . .where I found Aidan has now mastered Mosby and gotten him to listen and lie still. . .with his head on Aidan's lap!

All in all, a really good day.

Aidan is off school for the next two days (Quarter End and Election Day). He'll be spending both days at Winwood and will then go back to school on Wednesday. Meanwhile, I'll be happy when this years elections are done. No more crazy phone calls or mail packed with fliers!!! I just have to dodge them tonight. . .

Jackolanterns, Homework, Hockey and Being Thankful

2011-11-05T07:52:00.001-04:00

Well, I found the Jackolantern pictures. . .on my phone!!! I forgot that I had taken them with my phone because a friend dropped by right after I took them and we started talking, etc. . .Anyways, here they are! Pat did one of the big ones; Aidan did the littlest one; I did the really weird and goofy looking one; and Aidan and I, together, did the other big one. The beautiful human face mixed in is Aidan. . .in case you didn't know!

And the furry face belongs to Mosby. . .

We have been so hectic around here. It's fall. It's how it is. But, really, now that we are adding homework and school activities in with the hockey and hunting, whew! I'm getting some kind of tired! But, it's a happy tired and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Aidan brings home his homework for the week on Mondays. So far, he's been awesome about trying to get it done right away. It's not due back until Thursday, the same day as his library book, but we have not handed it in any later than Wednesday. And he's doing so good with it too! He is sounding out nearly every word he sees now and, I think, is on the brink of full blown reading. Miss Mandy, at Winwood, says they will be working on reading in the after school care beginning in January and I just know Aidan's reading abilities will really explode then! He can read all of his sight words. Now I need to work on writing them with him. I'm going to pick up some paper today at Target to get on that. His report card is due on November 16th. I already know he'll be below on the counting to 25 part, but I also know he'll be exceeding in all other areas. He has difficulty in saying thirteen and fourteen. . .it extends to when he says the thirtys and forties when counting, too. We're working on that. I know he knows it, it's just a matter of saying it correctly. Meanwhile, we're also keeping up with his reading assignment that Mrs. Taylor has given him online. We try to do a book or two every other day.

Pat hunts most evenings after work and usually on Saturdays, so dinner and Saturday's hockey has been up to me. Aidan and I have been having fun though. On Thursdays, I pick him up and we head to McDonalds (not my best choice, but he loves it) and then we go to the Ice House to play and practice our moves. The last two Thursdays in a row, we have run into his coach who takes the boys aside and works with them on their moves. He's awsome with them. At the end, they skate, in follow the leader fashion, around the rink and have to do the moves that Coach Joe does as they follow him. I told one of the Dad's the other night that it reminds me of the Pied Piper. . .in a good way! I do stay on the ice with him, but I hang back. You can't imagine how it warms my heart to see Aidan stepping out confidently and not being clingy with me!! Such a confidence builder this has been for him!! Anyway, here is a brief clip of Aidan working on turns and skating faster.

Well now. . .today, I am working on my shopping list for Thanksgiving dinner. . . I can not believe we are less than three weeks away from Thanksgiving!!!! AND I need to start thinking about the Advent Calendar and it's surprises. . .THAT begins in FOUR weeks!!!! Yikes!!! I have my menu set for Thanksgiving and know where and when I want to purchase things. I just need to write it out so I can feel more organized in my mind about it.

Meanwhile, I have been gathering things for Christmas gifts since late summer. I am nearly ready for my western living family and working steadily on my immediate and local family. I'd love to be ready to ship things right after Thanksgiving. It is such a relief to get that portion done and on it's way!! I have been working on one item for each person while I watch Aidan at his hockey. Sorry, I can't share what it is because those who will recieve it read this here blog! : ) But, I'll show you on Christmas!!

And finally, before I head up to shower and get ready to take Aidan to Home Depot to make a birdhouse. . .I have to share that today marks four years since I saw my baby's face for the first time. I got a call from our Social Worker at work, impatiently wanting me to open my email (funny thing, that!! I had been checking it up to that day every 5 minutes and the one day I didn't!!!. . . )

When I opened my email, I saw this face and burst into tears because my heart was so full of love!!!

I am thankful today for this little person who has become so huge in my heart and in my life. God is so good!!

The Great Pumpkin Has Come And Gone

2011-11-02T05:40:00.001-04:00

So Halloween weekend has come and gone and All Saint's Day passed quietly enough. I am finally able to sit down and put some Halloween pictures up on this here blog. . .

As you know, Saturday was quite snowy around here. I think we got about 5 or 6 inches of snow. It didn't all stick, but the world was white, nonetheless for several hours. Aidan even commented that all of a sudden everything was all one color. We do like the snow, but not the ice. At least not the ice that happens on the roads, powerlines and anywhere else that might be dangerous for us humans! And because our trees had only lost about 20% of the leaves so far, they were holding a LOT of snow in them. . .causing branches to come down. . .causing power outages. And Daddy went to work.

I think Pat left around noon on Saturday and didn't get home until about 8 or so Sunday morning. Our friends cancelled for Saturday night so it was just me and Aidan. We went to his hockey lesson (the Ice House rarely closes for snow!) and I'm really glad because we were able to be out for a bit. Aidan did great, as usual and his coach even came up after Mini Mites and told Aidan how proud he was of him and how really good he's getting. He's such a good coach for these little guys! Aidan beamed the rest of the evening. . . .

We watched movies and just hung out in the basement that night and made the decision to skip church on Sunday in favor or sleeping in. So glad! Aidan and I slept until when Pat got home. While Daddy slept for a few hours, Aidan and I got started carving pumpkins. It was really chilly, even in the garage, so we decided to work on the two smaller ones in the kitchen. Luckily, Daddy had brought our frozen pumpkins inside when he got home in the morning and they had defrosted by the time we got to work!

Aidan helped a lot, even with getting the gross glop out!

Visualizing how to carve this bad boy up. . .

And I put him to work. . .with a very small carver. . .with almost over bearing supervision! : )

Aidan's pumpkin ended up having it's mouth wide open and Aidan told me he was saying, "Why Mama???" LOL. . .little stinker says that a lot to me and now I know he knows he says it a lot!!

And the really goofy other small pumpkin. . .

Then, after Daddy got up, we went to work on the two larger pumpkins. We took them out to the garage where it was still chilly, but not as bad as it had been. We worked for a couple of hours on them, Daddy on his and Aidan and I on the other one. And when we were done, we had some really nice scary pumpkins. I sprinkled them with some cinnamon on the inside (makes them smell better when lit) put in the special candles and we lit them to see how they looked. . .oooooohhhhhh!!! And forgot to take pictures of the final product!! But, here we are at work!

Monday was still chilly and because Aidan's costume was kind of thin, I made him put some warm PJ's underneath. I knew we would have a big fight if I tried to get him to wear a jacket, so he wore some flannel PJ's and all was good. He fussed at first, but later didn't say a word. He seemed fine the entire evening. Some friends came for some dinner and then we got the kids together and went to the parade. . .which was awesome!!!

Introducing. . . .Aidan the Astronaut and Erin the Witch. . .Aren't they adorable???

After Trick or Treating, which Daddy took Aidan to while Mama stayed home to hand out candy, we gathered back at the house and went through the loot. Have to check it all carefully, you know!!

We ate a fair amount and then, sufficiently sugared up, we all went to bed. Until next year, Great Pumpkin!!!

Now to get my shopping list in order for Thanksgiving!

Trick or Treat!! We Got a Trick from Mother Nature!

2011-10-29T08:23:00.002-04:00

I should explain that last post. . .the kids in our area have a little fun superstition that if they flush ice down the toilet and wear their pj's inside out, we will get a lot of snow. . .enough that they won't have to go to school. When we were having our huge snow storms in early 2010, my father in law jokingly told Aidan that he wasn't allowed to flush anymore ice down the toilet. We did get over four feet in two really big whopping storms, plus several inches in various "smaller" storms. So, Grandpa's concern was valid!

Last night we really didn't think we would get snow. It is only October, afterall, and we live in Virginia. A place that will maybe see some snow in January, February and possibly early March. Sometimes in late December, but not usually until January. Here we are, the 29th of October and I am here to tell you that yes, indeed, there is snow coming down. The grass and trees are coated. . .as are the pumpkins!

It is supposed to snow all day and into the evening. It is pretty, just very early! And, I have a feeling that Grandpa will forgive Aidan. . . : )

Meanwhile, we're still getting ready for Halloween. Some friends are supposed to come over this evening for dinner. . .provided they don't get snowed in. . . they do live at the top of the mountain up by Mount Washington along the Appalachians. I'm making some homemade Jambalaya with chicken and Louisiana spicy sausage and garlic bread on the side. The children will have chicken tenders (one has reached a saturation point on mac and cheese, and the other reached a limit on hot dogs!) We will have lemonade punch with a green ice hand floating in the bowl and devil's food cupcakes decorated with spider webs, sprinkles and pumpkins. Fun! Then we'll do some Wii bowling. Fun times at the Harrison's!

Aidan has his Hockey Skills class and Mini Mites this afternoon as usual. He's doing really well. He has gotten the stop down pretty good and is learning now how to do power turns and how to defend the goal better. He was exhausted by the end of Mini Mites last week (2 1/2 hours on the ice!), but look how well he was doing regardless! Ignore my blathering in the background. I was bragging about my son's educational achievements and kept getting distracted by his playing! : )

We went to Free Skate on Thursday after work and saw Coach Joe. He's really an awesome coach for these little guys. He spent a good 30 minutes (FREE!!) with a group of the boys just working on stopping, power turns, and how to turn around while skating forward and then going on backwards. And then playing tag! He's very encouraging with the boys, always praising every little thing. It's nice.

And so, on to our day! Happy Halloween Snowy Saturday everyone!!

Snow? A Message for Grandpa. . .

2011-10-28T21:51:00.000-04:00

Film At 11:00

2011-10-22T08:03:00.001-04:00

Don't you just hate it when you're watching the news and they tantalize you with a big story but say they will tell you all about it at a later time???? Well, that's what I'm doing to you! Stay with me and you'll see Aidan later doing something amazing!

Yesterday was an awesome day. Aidan got up in the most amazing mood. He came down to breakfast without any grumbles and ate quite a lot. Then he proceeded to work on his sight words for school instead of watching TV. . .totally uncoerced by me, too! He did so well with his sight words that he even created a couple of sentences. . .we're going to show Daddy tonight! "I" "Can" "Go" "And" "See" "The" and Mommy added "Caps". I didn't even have to tell him what Caps said. . .he knew! : )

I did have to coerce him on wearing a jacket though. He's still coughing and so I really wanted him to wear something warm. Incredibly, I had to brow beat him into wearing his hoody with his jean jacket. Kid doesn't like his jean jacket! What's up with that??? Aren't I raising him to be an all American kid??? Okay. . .film at 11:00. . .

Typically Friday is Blue and White spirit day at Leesburg Elementary. But, Aidan's long sleeved LES shirt has not arrived yet and I felt it was too chilly to wear just a short sleeved shirt so I sent him to school in his long sleeved Mickey Mouse shirt. It's cool looking. And, because it was Crazy Hat Day (so Aidan told us on Thursday night) I sent him wearing his Mickey Mouse ears that have Lighting McQueen and Mator on them. Of course, when I dropped him off, he was wearing his ears and I did not see another single child wearing any kind of hat. . .so then I worried all day that I had opened my baby up to ridicule. . .what if it was Crazy Hat Day at Winwood???? Pat wasn't sure either so I did not get any relief until he picked Aidan up around 4:00 and found out that, yes, it had been at Leesburg Elementary. . .I'll be glad when we only have one school to worry about keeping up with!

Yesterday morning, we followed our neighbor to the school who was dropping off her son who is in the third grade. Logan is awesome and always likes playing with Aidan. Aidan really looks up to Logan so when he saw Logan hop out of his Mom's SUV he said to me, "Mama, you can drop me off at the curb today." Really sweetie? Are you sure? "Oh yeah. I can do it." Okay. . .And then he followed that up at dinner last night with a "You can drop me off at the curb from now on, Mama." Okay, if you're sure. . .I've been waiting for this to happen--it does cut about 5 minutes off my time on getting to work--but now that it has, I feel kinda sad! : ( My baby is really growing up.

Public School is changing him in so many ways. . .good and bad. But, now for that film, and this is a good thing!!

And there you have it. He is being Americanized as I thought.

A Friendly, but Weighty, Wager

2011-10-21T05:27:00.000-04:00

I am an underwriter for an insurance company in Western Loudoun County. I have agents all over Virginia whom I work with on a daily basis. They are all a great group of people. One, however, who is located in Richmond, happens to be a Penguins fan. . .boo hiss!! : ) I think it's because he's from Pittsburgh or something (I have a taunting voice here). He knows I am a Caps fan and he tries to give me a hard time about it all the time. Says I'm brainwashing my son--really Aidan loves the Caps all on his own!! He says he wants to be one one day!

So, this agent and I entered into a friendly wager. The best of the Caps v. Pens series: the loser has to wear the jersey of the other team to work one day. Doesn't seem like much, so I decided to add a twist to the wager. For every point scored by both teams, I will donate 10 pounds of food to our local food pantry--Interfaith Relief. He will do the same for his local food pantry. So far, the teams have played one game and we're already up to 50 pounds of food!! (Caps won 3-2 (sing songy voice : } ) ).

They play again on 12/1 and then twice in January 1/11 and then 1/22. So, the food will then be donated near the end of January. . .at a time when most people will have moved on from the holidays and won't be giving as much. This is a really hard month for charities and especially the food pantries.

So, this got me to thinking: what if Aidan and I gathered ten pounds of food for each goal the Capitals score each month and then take it to the food pantry at the end of each month for the entire season? Not so much per month, but that could end up being about a 1000 pounds of food or more in total! So far for October, the Caps have scored 23 points with 3 games to go. . .that is already 230 pounds of food!!! Aidan and I are going shopping tomorrow to get on this thing.

Go Caps!!

Do You Decorate for Halloween?

2011-10-18T05:29:00.001-04:00

A few years ago, my mom told me that now that I have a little one in my home, I was going to have to have to decorate for all of the holidays. Sure, I said. I do that. I go all out at Christmas with the lights outside and beautiful tree, wreaths, greenery. I even do elves and a Rudolph. AND I have a Nativity scene.

No no no, said my mom. I mean ALL of the holidays. In horror, it dawned on me that she was talking about Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, the Sun God of all creation Day. . .you get my drift.

These past couple of years, I have decorated as usual. Tasteful Fall decorations that can easily go with Halloween or Thanksgiving:

Beautiful Fall Leaf wreath on my front door--see how it contrasts nicely with my black front door??

And I have a beautiful center piece made out of colored material that looks like fall leaves on my dining room table on which the cool ceramic pumpkin sits that Pat grew up with.

In other areas, I have nice orangy cinnamon candles, and even a couple of other cloth pumpkins. With the exception of the ceramic pumpkin which I can exchange for the nice glass turkey, everything can stay as it is through Thanksgiving.

Meanwhile, I have gotten Aidan's costume ready and bought the candy and all we have to do is get the Rocket ship going--this weekend. . .We even have this really cool pumpkin that Aidan's friend Catherine made for us out of a paperbag! Cool!

So imagine my feeling of horror when my wonderful beautiful son said to me, "Mama, when are we going to decorate for Halloween??? Look, see Scotty and Logan have skeletons, witches, and ghosts out in their yard. Where's ours???" sigh. . .it was good while it lasted. . .

So, on Sunday, after church, we headed to the store. Thinking I could get away with a Scarecrow, I snatched up this little baby:

It looks really cute on the front porch with our SEVEN pumpkins that we now have!

Thinking we were done, I then saw the look on Aidan's face and grabbed the clingy things for the windows, which are now all over the house windows. . .

Still not satisfied, I realized that I was going to have to go all out. And so, I did it. I bought the witch, which is now hanging from the tree out front!

I think he is finally satisfied, especially since I have hung pumpkin and spider streamers on his bed and ceiling fan in his bedroom. . .

But. . .

I have a new fear that I will be buying one of those deer that lights up and moves for the front yard for Christmas this year! As long as I don't have to put a snowman on my roof. . .

Love his Words!!

2011-10-15T22:14:00.000-04:00

Tonight...Aidan watched "Panny McPhee" (Aidan speak) while I watched the Caps win game #4 in row. . .Love "Panny McPhee!" ; )

First Parent Teacher Conference

2011-10-14T05:34:00.000-04:00

I met with Aidan's teacher yesterday for the first parent teacher conference. The first 9 weeks period is coming to a close and this was an interim report, so she told me that although these things will be on the report card, Aidan has already improved.

In all skills, Aidan either meets or exceeds the County requirements for this stage except in one. . .counting to 25. I really think Aidan can actually count to 100, but for some reason he always skips 13 or 14. He's been doing this for a little while, but we didn't really work with him like we should have been. Now that we are, I see that his slight lisp has caused him to somehow combine and confuse these two numbers. My thought is to make some flash cards and then have him put them in order, saying the number out loud, to try and help him remember that there are actually two numbers there. Fortunately it's not a huge concern.

Mrs. Taylor also showed me a picture Aidan had drawn of a bike and then when asked to write something about it, he wrote, "I Can RD." She said she was stunned that he had already picked up R and D for Ride! I was too, truth be known. She said that was a skill most Kindergartners don't get until the end of the year. Aidan is obviously reading a lot already, and is even beginning to really comprehend what he is reading to be able to do this.

Aidan can also read some of the words that are on the list to learn for the second quarter already. So, she gave me the list for the entire year and we'll see what we can do with him on these.

I knew he was a smarty pants!

So far, he has been awesome with homework. His homework comes on Monday afternoon and is due back by Thursday morning. I always give him the choice to either do it all Monday night; do some of it Monday, some Tuesday and some Wednesday until it is complete; or do it all on Wednesday. I do always tell him that once it is done, we don't have to worry about it and can then play. I give him the choice because, although I always want him to do the homework and then play (rule for when he gets older), I want him to understand and develop that kind of ethic by his own choice. So far, he has opted to do it all on Monday night. I'm so proud of him on that!

As smart as he is, I just can't correct him, though, when he says things like, "Mama! Look at that Jet! It's hunormous!! And it doesn't have any japellers, either!" : ) I like the words "hunormous" and "japellers"!

Active Boy Makes Mom Happy, But Tired

2011-10-11T05:45:00.001-04:00

We had a nice three day weekend, but now I need a day off to rest and recuperate! But, alas. . .

Friday, Pat and I had a date night and went out to dinner with friends. Not our favorite restaurant, but we had a nice time anyway. Aidan spent the time with Grandma and Grandpa. It was their maiden voyage on watching Aidan and from what I can tell, everyone survived and even came out smiling! We neglected to call on Saturday to see how they were doing, but did finally check in yesterday. All is well. We may try that again in the near future, if they are game, of course!

Saturday, Aidan and Pat went fishing at Franklin Park in Purcellville. Wow!!! Did they bring home some fish! Trout is so yummy so we had some on Sunday: stuffed with lemon, onion and butter, a sprig of rosemary and a dash of lemon pepper, wrapped in foil and cooked on the grill. Magnificent!! We have enough for another trout night too! The boys had a lot of fun and will likely go again this afternoon for a bit.

I don't know why that one is rotating, but it is a cute picture.

Later, I took Aidan to a birthday party for one of his new friends in his Kindergarten class. Not a part of town I typically go to, so I was a bit uncomfortable, but Aidan had a blast! There was a moon bounce and a pinata and the parents had tons of food for the adults and the children. Very nice folks.

On Sunday, I took Aidan to church where he complained mightily of being sooooo tired!!! He said he was too tired to go to Sunday School. . . But, of course, he was okay for Pumpkinville. So, I told him that if I took him to Pumpkinville, as planned, I expected that he would be going to Children's Chapel and Sunday School without complaint next week. We'll see if that happens! But, off to Pumpkinville we went. . .

Cheesy and expensive ($26.00 for us to just get in!!) but a lot of fun.

The long slides were fun. . .

So was pretending to be on the bus!

The rope swing rocked. . .

And so did the funny little car. . .

But the maze was a favorite. . .even though Mama kept getting worried because she couldn't see Aidan. . .

Where's Aidan?????

Aidan, where are you???

Seriously, Aidan, where are you????

Here I am, Mama!! Little stinker. . .

And back to the big slide!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!

Finish it up with a "free" pumpkin Aidan got to paint and then we met Daddy in the patch to pick our last pumpkin. 2 1/2 hours and almost $50. later, we finally ended our 2011 Pumpkinville visit.

Monday Aidan and I scrubbed the basement. The Rec Room was a wreck, the laundry room floor needed to be mopped and the bathroom needed a major scrubbing. We spent a little over two hours working on it and then headed to the ice rink for some play time on the ice (Aidan is free because of his lessons, thank goodness!). But, while we were in the laundry room, I happen to look over and saw Aidan standing near the wall chart where I have been measuring him. I noticed that his head was way above the most recent marking. So, I asked him to take his shoes off so I could measure him. Sure enough!!! He has grown!! I last measured him on August 27th, two days before school started and he has grown 3/4 of an inch since then! And it is 1 1/4 inch since his birthday on May 15th!! No wonder his jeans are already looking like they are shorter. . .

In all, he's grown just over 14 inches since coming home in April 2008. . .wow.

In other news, The Caps have won their first two games!!! And both were against Southeastern Division rivals!! We're off to a great season and we are excited about it!

More Of The Same

2011-10-05T05:34:00.001-04:00

This past weekend, Aidan started his Hockey Skills class. He is on the ice with children up to the age of 13. I was a little nervous about that at first, but Aidan is really a good skater and was definitely not the worst of the group. The ages for this class are supposed to be 7-13 (remember Aidan is 5) making Aidan definitely the youngest there but he is about middle of the pack on skills level. Pretty cool! And what was really really cool was that the older boys acted as mentors to the little ones. They line up in groups and the biggest and oldest goes first and then they encourage the smaller boys behind them. As each one completes the skill, the older boys give the little ones knuckles. Definitely a nice sight!

After Hockey skills, Aidan had Mini Mites. So. . . he ended up being on the ice for 2 1/2 hours straight! He was a tired boy and was ready for a snack and a nap but perked right up and got excited when Coach Joe came over and offered to play tag during free skate on Thursdays. I guess we'll be doing that next.

Here are some pictures of the Hockey Skills and Mini Mites. Aidan wears red for Hockey Skills and Yellow for Mini Mites. He will have many jerseys to choose form next time they have Jersey Day at school!!

In the second picture, Aidan is in the back next to the boy in the blue.

Uncle Todd wants film of Aidan playing, which I will do next time they play. They do skills on the first Saturday of the month, so there was very little game play this time.

On Sunday, it was cold and rainy but Pat and Aidan insisted on going out to go fishing. They caught some Blue Gill and Crappie at a friends farm in Aldie. Aidan really had fun and did catch some decent ones. But, Daddy was teaching Catch and Release. It was great practice for the Trout Fishing that they will do on this coming Saturday.

But, being out in that weather did not help his cold. He has had a nagging cough and when I took him to the pediatrician yesterday, a slight fever. Nothing major. But, enough that he was given a three day dose of Prednisone and I was told to dust off the nebulizer and make sure the Albuterol supply was up to date. Could be one of those winters. sigh. . .

Today Aidan has Kids With Purpose. For their activity, they will go to a farm in Purcellville and glean apples to be donated to Interfaith Relief here in Loudoun County. What fun! Daddy will take him and possibly get a pumpkin. I have to miss it because I will be going to Wintergreen for my works annual meeting. It will be beautiful there but I will miss my two boys.

Thursday is Aidan's flu shot day--pediatrician said it is okay to have it--and then Friday Daddy and I have a dinner date with friends while Aidan will go watch movies with Grandma and Grandpa.

Fun and busy times with the Harrisons.

Like I said, more of the same! : )

Crazy Busy; Hockey; and a Sneak Peak!

2011-10-01T08:59:00.000-04:00

This has been a crazy busy week. I'm so glad it's the weekend so we can relax! We had Parents Night Out last night but were so tired we picked Aidan up at 8:30!

Let's see what's on tap for today. . .

-need to get to mall and spend the Gymbucks I have ($125. worth!). Aidan needs new winter PJ's and I'd like to go ahead and get him his nice Christmas outfit.
-need to be at the Ice Rink by 1:45 to get Aidan suited up for his Hockey Skills Class that begins at 2:10.
-Mini Mites is at 3:20.
-we'll have to rush home to give Aidan a bath after Mini Mites so we can get out to Bluemont for dinner with our friends by 6:00. Aidan loves playing with Catherine!

Okay, how about tomorrow. . .

-church is at 9:00 followed immediately by Sunday School.
-home for lunch and a change of clothes and then off to Winchester where we are going to Cabela's to buy some fishing supplies for next weekends fishing adventure. Home in time for dinner.

Oh well! Perhaps next weekend won't be so busy! At least we're having fun. . .

But, here are some pictures that I haven't posted previously--Aidan is in the Yellow jerset with the red and white showing on his socks:

Aidan was right there waiting for the puck but kinda sorta knocked the Blue kid off it. The Blue kid fell. . .not hurt.

Aidan hustling back to the other end! Go Aidan!! (Mama pounding on the glass)

Aidan ready for the puck drop on a face off. He won. Of course.

Surveying the scene.

Hustling over to get the puck.

Got it!!! Sent it over to another Yellow team mate who scored!!! Yeah Aidan!!! (Mama pounding on the glass)

Um. . . Aidan. . .your not supposed to mess with your own team mates, dude!

That's better! Go after the Green guy!

Controlling the puck even in the face of the opponent coming up to him. Way to go Aidan!!!

Aidan won this face off again and passed it to the Yellow team mate with the one black sock and one white sock. . .who. . .

Socred!!!!! Way to go Aidan!!!! What an assist!!!! (Mama pounding on the glass)

When Aidan gets older, he's going to roll his eyes and say, "Yeah, that's my mom. . ." in that quietly disgusted voice that pre-teens and teens get. : )

So, now it's October and Halloween is coming. We've decorated our house--never really thought I'd have to do that! but Aidan insists. And we're getting ready for the big day at the end of this month.

And so, without further ado, here is a Halloween Sneak Peak!!!!

I'm going to add a nose cone and after burner to the wagon, cover it in foil and then create flames with tissue paper to have a rocket. I'm thinking USA will have to be on it! : )

If this incessant rain would ever end, I'd like to take Aidan up to Bears Den and do a little hiking on the Appalachian Trail. I think he's old enough now. In the next few weeks, the colors will be beautiful!

Laughter through Tears

2011-09-29T19:40:00.002-04:00

Dana's funeral was last Saturday. We went as a family and met others who came as families. We were one in our grief, in our mourning and in our joyous reunion and recognition of Dana's resurrection. We cried. . .and we laughed. It was beautiful. And it was sheepish.

Dana was a very special person and she graciously orchestrated and organized her funeral just as she did her entire life.

She was dedicated to Jesus and she knew she was a sheep and that Jesus is our Shepherd. Her license plate and her email were Mysheeep (hear the bleat of the sheep there?)

The sheep thing happened while I mentored our EFM (Education For Ministry) group of which Dana was a part. We had laughter. . .we had fun. . .we learned a lot.. .we became sheep.

The readings from Dana's service were as follows:
Isaiah 61:1-3
Psalm 139:1-11
Revelation 7:9-17
Psalm 27
John 10:11-16

If you read these, you will find an ever increasing revelation of Jesus the Good Shepherd and we, the people, as the sheep. We are sheep.

Throughout the service up to this point, there were several songs sung, one of which is a particular favorite of mine. . ."For you oh God, my soul in stillness waits. . .Truly my hope is in you." It's a particularly moving Advent song. Love it. It makes me cry.

Crying became a large part of my reaction to the service, up to and including the Gospel reading and even into the Homily. At this point, the service had already gone on for an hour and I was mildly surprised at the patience of my young son. And still he maintained his good behavior! Even though we still had the Homily and the Service of Communion and the Committal to go!! What a good boy he was/is.

The Homily broke down the why's and wherefores of Dana's choices in the readings. It all relates back to the sheep. After touching on the Gospel reading, Pastor Jeunee expanded on it all and explained the roots of our sheepishness. And here it is, per Jeunee in a not so exact translation:

In late 2003, Stacy was attending Shepherd College in Shepherstown (mild laughter at this, mainly from the clergy in attendance due to all the sheep imagery). She was required to go to a play directed and produced by one of her English Professors and roped some of her EFM group in to go with her. Dana, Dana's husband Rob, Allison and Robin all agreed to go one Saturday night. It was early December and the play was, "The Second Shepherd's Play." (more mild laughter). Stacy organized everyone into going in one car (HEY!! MAMA!! THAT'S YOUR NAME!! my young son said VERY loudly. yes, honey, it is. . .SHE'S TALKING ABOUT YOU!! yes, honey, she is)

snickers abound. . .

When they arrived, they noticed the four piece band at the back of the stage. They were wearing sheep hats. Throughout the play, there would be a barely discernable sound. . .baaaaahhh! After a while, it became clear that it was one of the musicians making the baaaaahhh! sound. By the end of the play, the five were laughing uprouriously waiting for the baaaahhh to happen again!

The congregation was giggling loudly. ..

The five discussed it, laughingly, all the way home afterward. Sheep were bound to become a theme with them.
The next day, at church, Allison and Rob were LEM's and preparing to administer the wine at communion. Allison said to Rob, "Wouldn't it be funny if, when Dana comes to the rail, I say, "The Bloooooood of Christ. . .The cup of Salvation." Rob, horrified, said NO! This is a Sacrament. You must take this seriously! So, when Dana came up, Allison said it as she should, to which Dana replied, "Baaaaahmen!"

The congregation erupted in laughter.

Laughter.

Through tears.

What a special way to have remembered Dana. What a special way to have been given the chance to lighten our hearts.

Thank you Dana for the wonderful memories; for the reminder to remain true to Christ; for the reminder to be His sheep.

The Follow Up Call From The School

2011-09-27T05:32:00.001-04:00

So yesterday, I marched with righteous (trying not to be self righteous, of course) indignation into Aidan's school. Aidan was a little confused when I came with him past the entrance of the library, but seemed happy enough. When we entered his classroom, one of the teachers said hello, you are Troy's gran. . .and the other teacher jumped right in and said Aidan's Mom! Right. . .do I look like a grandmother? Okay, I am old enough, but come on!!!

My righteousness deflated a little. . .

But, I forged on ahead. My son had been wronged! I will stand up for him!! I stumbled through a little of the early story and basically said we didn't have the book that was missing and indicated that I felt Aidan had been confused about it because when asked he pulled out his legitimately checked out book. I also told them that he felt like he would be in trouble if it was not returned on Monday, which was why I was there instead of having written a note.

The main teacher, Mrs. Taylor (who is the one who started to call me someones grandmother), jumped right in with apologies and assurances that Aidan wasn't in trouble and that we looked and didn't find it and that's all they can ask for. All is well. All is good. And out the door I went.

Feeling a bit maneuvered! But, well, okay. I did what I had to do. Onward to work!

Where I got a call about an hour later from the librarian at Aidan's school. She had been out on Friday and had no idea of what was going on. She had already found the book. In the library. She was horrified that we had been involved at all and offered to talk with Aidan with an an apology to him for his being involved at all. Feeling pity for her, I said thank you but no. We had already talked to Aidan and assured him all was well. Let's all put this behind us and move on. I thanked her for calling.

Lesson learned: not all of the facts will be clear from the school. Ask questions before getting upset with them. They don't always know what is going on either!

Next up: All of Aidan's Halloween Costume is here and we took pictures of him in it last night. I'll post sneak peaks in a day or so, if you ask nicely! : )

The First Call From School

2011-09-26T05:36:00.000-04:00

It's not really a bad call, but I was dreading the first call from school. It came on Friday morning.

I received a message from Aidan's teacher, Mrs. Taylor, indicating that a little boy in his class had checked out a library book and then failed to return it. His excuse was that he had given it to Aidan. When asked, Aidan replied that it was on his book shelf at home. The teacher simply asked that I check and let them know.

Well, without even checking I knew we didn't have it. I check Aidan's backpack every day and knew what had come out of it and what had gone back in to go back to school. And because either Pat or myself pick Aidan up at Day Care, we would have noticed something in his hands, which there wasn't. Further, we read to him two to three books every night which means we are looking at his books every night.

Realizing that there are three Aidan's (the other two spell it different, but it is pronounced the same) in Aidan's class, I called the school and left a message for his teacher asking her to call. I wondered if perhaps they had the wrong Aidan. Not getting a call back, I emailed her in the afternoon, thinking that she could possibly either call or email me after the children left for the day. No response at all. Either way.

So, I asked Pat to double check Aidan's cubby at the Day Care to be certain the book wasn't there and then I double checked his book shelves when I got home. Nada.

When questioned, Aidan pulled out the library book he had brought home on Thursday, which we had already read twice at that point. Still thinking I would resolve this matter by writing a note and sending it to school on Monday morning saying we don't have the book and that perhaps they have been checking with the wrong Aidan, I heard my young son say, "Mama, Mrs. Brown (the Assistant teacher) said I would be in trouble if I don't bring the book back on Monday so we better put this in my backpack!" Say what?!?!?!?

Needless to say, I will now be personally dropping Aidan off to his classroom today to give the teachers a piece of my mind! Whether those were the words used by Mrs. Brown or not, it is definitely the impression Aidan had. And it hadn't even been determined if he really had the book!!

Grrr!!!!

According to Aidan

2011-09-22T05:22:00.001-04:00

"Mama, you know what? Some planes have lots of big jets to make them fly and some have japellers!"

And you know what?

"Tonight, if we have 'nuff time, maybe we can watch Panny McPhee."

And you know what?

"The finger skaters are still on the ice!"

And you know what?

"Daddy is going start the ferwheeler drive so I need my earspeakers!" (said while covering his ears)

And you know what?

"I heard a fire truck going down the road with a loud siren this morning so I'm glad my school is safe cuz I want to learn lots of stuff!"

And you know what?

"Daddy said he wasn't going the speed lemon after he picked me up at Winwood today." (Daddy!?!?!?)

And you know what?

Yesterday, when I left Aidan at the entrance to the library, he walked half way down the hall and then looked back at me and smiled! This was a first. He has not looked back at me before and always looks sad walking down that hallway all by himself. Huge!!

And finally, I will share a story from the middle of the night hours at the Harrison house.

I awakened to hear my young son get out of his bunk bed, walk across his room, down the hall and past his bathroom, into our bedroom, negotiate his way around both dogs and past our bathroom, around our bed to my side, climb up the side of our bed and then over me, get under the covers and then turn to me, putting his little hands on each side of my face and said in a very loud whisper, "Mama! I have to go to the bathroom!!" : }

All of this is said to me with that cute little earnest face, sprinkled with freckles, and a slight lisp that I just can't correct yet because I just don't want him to grow up out of this stage yet!

I just love this kid!!

Mini Mites Rock!!!

2011-09-19T05:25:00.000-04:00

Saturday, Aidan had his second Hockey lesson in the morning. He was less than enthused. I am positive he was bored because they actually spent time marching. Aidan learned to march on the ice back when he was in the Toddler skate class when he was two. It was so bad for him that he was slow moving and usually last in line. Like I said, less than enthused.

Then we got to the rink for Mini Mites. Pat and I were a little nervous considering how Aidan had been in the morning. We checked him in and got his new Mini Mites jersey--Aidan is on the Yellow team (there are Red, Green, Yellow and Blue) and then went to wait for our turn on the ice.

Aidan looked out at the ice and said, "Mama, look. The Finger Skaters are on the ice." : )

The boys waited and waited. . .and then finally, the zamboni was on the ice!!!

And then, they got to take the ice!!!! The Yellow team played the Green team on one end of the rink while the Blue and Red teams played eachother on the other end.

Aidan is the one in the yellow jersey with the red and white portion of his socks showing. He is crowding the boy playing Center on this start.

Aidan loves Mini Mites. He was always pushing to be first on the ice and even got a lot of ice time. Out of the 60 minutes, I would guess that he played at least 35 to 40 minutes. He won each time he was the one up for the drop of the puck, he chased after the puck and took it away from the other team (and from his own team mate a couple of times!) several times, he guarded the goal and deflected the puck away several times and he could be credited with many many assists. He didn't make any goals himself, but he was really into it!

He showed an interest and enthusiasm that was really awesome. I think we're going to pull him from the lesson and see about getting him into the Hockey Skills class instead. That will mean two hours straight on the ice on Saturday afternoons into December, but I think he will be much happier. And, it will make our Saturdays a bit easier too!

On the way out of the Ice House, we saw the Mites coming in to play next. I think they are 7, 8 and 9 year olds. Not sure. Aidan looked at them and said, "I want to be one of those guys." Okay. If you continue to like it!!

Meanwhile, on the way home, Aidan crashed in the car and slept so soundly on the way home that we had to practically pull him out of the back of the car to bring him in the house! Total exhaustion.

Mini Mites Rock!!! Go AJ!!!

Will You Pat My Back?

2011-09-17T08:23:00.002-04:00

This has been another incredible week. While my friend Allison was busy helping coordinate the final days of our dear friend Dana's life, I was keeping Aidan busy while Daddy was finishing up his insane work hours. Dana, I am sad to say, lost her battle to cancer Thursday morning. She was a special and dear person and will be missed by all of us whom she left behind. I know that she is no longer in pain, and that is a good thing for the last few days of her life were filled with pain. Her personality was such that she would find happy in everything. "Isn't the sun really sunny today? Aren't these dark clouds just beautiful?" She was always upbeat and always wanted to share responsibilities. For and about everything.

Wednesday evening, we had some thunderstorms coming through heralding our change from late summer to early fall weather. I knew that the end was near for Dana and that we were looking at mere hours. Trying to keep him occupied and not focused on the storms, I asked Aidan to draw Dana a picture of a rainbow. He wanted to know why a rainbow so I explained it is a nice reminder of Gods promise of loving us. This is what he drew:

Children absolutely amaze me with their understanding of things.

I ended up being the caretaker of caretakers. I have tried to be there to listen when Allison came home and needed to talk about Dana and things going on there and I tried, on Wednesday to make sure that Rob, Dana's husband, had a priest available to talk to when and if he needed it. I am grateful that our priest at St. James' help me out tremendously in trying to make sure that was covered.

Dana's funeral will be huge. It will be held at St. James' on Saturday, September 24th at 11:00 am. It will be presided over by Bishop Johnston of the Diocese of Virginia and there will be a plethora of clergy there. Dana was a part of the first group of folks to ordained Vocational Deacon, a very historic event in Virginia.

The storms continued all of Wednesday night and into Thursday morning. It was a tough sleeping night. Aidan woke up several times and wanted me to pat his back. I did so, and couldn't help remembering my mother patting my back to help me fall asleep. There is something so comforting about Mama patting your back, you know? Aidan did ultimately end up sleeping part of the night with me. I am pretty sure I fell asleep patting his back. : )

Tuesday night was Back To School Night at Leesburg Elementary. There were several sign up sheets to bring party supplies and to come and read. I would love to come and read to his class. I have a conference for the end of the first quarter already set up. Perhaps I'll see if there is something still available for me to sign up for.

I had been concerned about Aidan always saying he is bored and that he doesn't really like school. He seems to like Mrs. Taylor and he is making some friends. I have been thinking it is because he is bored. I think was was right. Mrs. Taylor said, without me even asking, that some of the children, like Aidan, are more advanced because they have had the benefit of an excellent Preschool. Some have not. They are trying to bring those who have not up to speed which makes things a little slow for those like Aidan. It should even out. In the meantime, they are giving the children like Aidan a few extra things to do and Aidan's Day Care teacher is also giving the children some things to challenge them as well. That will all help. And Aidan is still loving Library Day!!

Speaking of Library Day, Aidan is now getting homework each week. It comes home in the backpack on Mondays and is due back on Thursday--the same day the library book is due back. That's awesome because it is something more for a Mom to remember, but at least it is the same day as something else I have to remember! Mrs. Taylor was hilarious as she, knowing how things work at most homes, even said it would be one less thing for the Moms to remember!! : ) Aidan's first homework assignment was to trace his name three times and then write it three time. Simple enough, however the Loudoun County schools use a specific handwriting technique that he has not learned. I gave him the option of saving it for another night or doing a little bit each night or doing all of it on Monday. . .he opted to do it all on Monday night and we handed it back in on Tuesday!! Awesome kiddo!! And he did pretty good, too. Now we need to start trying to be consistent on that style of writing.

We have been thinking about going on a short trip to celebrate our Anniversary this year. I've never actually been to Williamsburg, so I think that is where we are going. It should be pretty neat as it will be decorated for Christmas. We'll leave on a Friday morning and stay in Williamsburg until Saturday afternoon; then we plan to go to the Great Wolf Lodge and stay there and enjoy the water park until Monday afternoon. Aidan will love that! Then we'll come home, send Aidan back to school on Tuesday and we'll have the day to ourselves to do some Christmas shopping and have a nice lunch somewhere. I'm really looking forward to this time with my family!!

And now, on to decorating for fall. Afterall our temperatures have dropped and we are now in the 40's in the morning with highs in the 60's. . .love it!!

If only I could find my black wreath hanger!!!

And now, today, we are off to the ice rink for lessons and then Mini Mites this afternoon!!!

Remembering and Protecting our Normalcy

2011-09-12T05:45:00.002-04:00

I have posted before about where I was and what I was doing 10 years ago when the attacks happened. So, I won't restate those now. What I will write about now is the days after. How strange it was to not hear airplanes and then to all of a sudden hear an F16 fly over. Being so close to Washington D. C., the fear here was palpable. We were afraid because one of the planes had taken off from Dulles Airport, 13 miles from where I live. And the FAA tower for the mid-Atlantic is located right here in Leesburg. I believe at least two of the planes were tracked there. Mt. Weather is just to the west of us about 20 miles up the road and Camp David is about a 1 1/2 hour drive north of us, straight up Rt. 15. With D. C. and the Pentagon 30 to 35 miles to the East, we felt too close.

Even having grown up in the Cold War, this felt different. This was not the old comfortable enemy. This was some strange new breed of enemy. . .one many of us weren't really familiar with.

I did think about the events of 10 years ago yesterday, but I did not watch the tributes and memorials. I found myself avoiding television because I think some of the images would have been too much to explain to Aidan. He already asks if the bad men who crashed the planes went to see God. I have talked to him about what happened, but I think too much is too much for a 5 year old. But that does not mean we didn't pray for all those affected by the tragedies. And we prayed for our country, the United States.

One happy thing about yesterday, I discovered that Aidan is learning the Pledge of Allegiance! I didn't know that! I was impressed and really really happy. When he gets it all, I will record it and put it on here. It's really cute.

And, now on to what's up with Aidan:

I had been really worried about him all last week. On Friday, I took him to McDonalds for a Happy Meal, the box of which ended up on his head. Perhaps the box was inspiration for he told me about the boys whom he is befriending in school. They have been playing together and getting up to some antics in his Kindergarten class. He sounded happy and content with these boys, of which he says there are about 10! I explained to him that he would likely go to school all the way through high school and possibly college with these boys and he said, "Maybe we'll be police men or firemen together, too!" That's right, sweetie!

Also, Aidan started his hockey lessons on Saturday. I had signed him up for a class I thought would be challenging for him. It is for 7-9 year old boys. All the way to the rink he was complaining that all he wanted to do was Mini Mites. I explained he needed work on stopping and that I really think he should do the lessons to be better in Mini Mites. Complaining continued, though, all the way there. Then we got there. We put on the skates, helmet and gloves (pads, etc. will be for Mini Mites only) and he got on the ice. You should have seen him smile! He was so glad to be back on the ice you could just see it! He was at least a half head shorter than the other boys and much smaller in size--big as he is. I'm thinking most of the boys were an older 7 and possibly 8 or even 9 years old. But, Aidan out-skated them all! And he learned some new tricks on stopping so it was a good exercise all the way around. I think he was glad afterward that he had gone.

Saturday afternoon, Catherine came over and we walked over to a playground where the kids played for about an hour. We had been home a short time when one of the neighbor kids came over and invited them over for a water balloon fight. Awesome! Aidan and Catherine headed over and had a blast getting soaked!!

Sunday I took Aidan to church and then he went to Sunday School. He loved it!!! After he told me the whole story of Moses with Pharoahs daughter and Moses' sister Miriam. It was awesome. So, between Children's Chapel, Sunday School, and the stories I read to him, maybe Aidan will get a good religious education after all! : )

Once home, Aidan decided to try on his Halloween costume that Aunty Amy gave him for his birthday. He is going to be a really cute astronaut!! All we need to get are the gloves, helmet and boots. . .to be ordered next weekend. And, I have plans to turn the wagon into his rocket ship!!! Fun!!

But, those pictures will have to wait until the whole costume is here. : ) Aidan is soooo excited for Halloween!!!

Finally, we did actually sit down and watch the Redskins play the Giants. I have to say, they were pretty impressive! I might even watch more again! Aidan wore his Redskin shirt, which I will need to buy a new one of, but has been a bit brainwashed by my friend Allison in that he kept saying Go Cowboys! Now, if you know us Redskin fans, you know that that is practically treasonous sacrilidge. I'm going to have to work on this boy.

Until next time, have a great week!

A Mixed Bag

2011-09-09T05:35:00.000-04:00

We have had a mixed bag of everything this week. It's been cool and fall- like and it's been tropical including deluges of rain. In fact, it's been raining for darn near a week now. We have been under flood watches in Loudoun County for the last couple of days--most of the streams and creeks are over the banks. Areas to the east of us are under water completely, having already been saturated from Irene. We had the remnance of Lee and now an outer band of Katia is drenching us, thereby extending the flood watch until this afternoon.

Perhaps because of the weather, Aidan has seemed down about school this week. He is unhappy and upset that he has to go. He is so much more mature than even a year ago that when I explain he has to go, he dries his tears and puts on a brave face and then gets ready to go. I think it's a combination of things: he misses Winwood and asks if he can just go there all the time; and he is bored at Kindergarten. Things are taking off slow because the teachers want to make sure they know where the kids are and they apparantly don't want to go to fast for those not ready. We have our Back to School night next Tuesday. I think I'll talk to the teacher and see what's up.

Meanwhile, we did talk to the teacher at Winwood and she will try to do some curriculum types of things with the kids--apparantly they are all acting the same as Aidan--so that their little minds will stay on top and stay sharp. Poor little guys! They are used to being challenged and now they are not. . .in fact, I suspect most of them are way ahead of their classes.

Someone mentioned having Aidan tested to move up into first grade. . .while I think he is big enough and smart enough, I don't think he is emotionally mature enough. Our schools cut off the age when you can start kindergarten on August 31st. Aidan's birthday is May 15th, making him a young 5 in his class. And he is only 5.

On a brighter note, Aidan has been hands down the best behaved little boy I have seen in forever this past week. He is sitting through dinner (mostly), not questioning our authority, enjoying games with Mama and Daddy (we had a really fun family Wii night the other night), and going to bed without any fuss at all. Truly an angel. Makes it even harder when I know he isn't happy about the school situation. . .Thank goodness for Thursday's Library Day! He loves that. . .

Last weekend we were able to go for a playdate with Catherine for a while. Somehow the kids even got to play outside a bit, in between downpours. We're trying for another one this weekend at some point.

Hockey lessons start on Saturday morning and then next week we add in Mini Mites in the afternoon. I think Aidan will be happy to be back on the ice!

My friend Allison arrived on Wednesday evening. She has come to be with our friend Dana until the end. I guess Allison will be staying with us until that happens. The latest on Dana is that she is on Morphine round the clock and has had to have a couple of Dilaudid's as well and is still in some intense pain. She has, so far, refused hospice care. Although she knows she is at the end, accepting hospice care is likely like putting the period on the sentence. Meanwhile, many of us have volunteered to take meals to her husband Rob and we also try to have him over about once a week for dinner--providing a place he can come and talk if he wants to or not if he doesn't. He and Pat hang in the mancave and smoke cigars and watch sports. Good male bonding time and good rejuvenating time for Rob.

Aidan has grown another half inch. . .he is closing in on that four feet tall marker! Defintiely before he turns six. . .one of the teachers at his school thought he was a first grader because of how tall he is! : )

That's it from this mixed bag. Hoping and praying for a little sunshine to come back into our lives! I think we'll have a beautiful fall. . .

A First Week of School Review

2011-09-04T07:30:00.001-04:00

We have had a great, but exhausting week! Aidan is really enjoying going to Kindergarten. At first I noticed that he wasn't really talking about it much. Then he would talk about it, but seemed to be mixing things up between the Kindergarten classroom and with Winwood. Then, by the end of the week, he had it straight.

He has quicly become very independent. This little boy would cling to me every day when I dropped him off at Pre-K. He would pout and tell me he didn't want me to leave him. Now, I walk him into the school and leave him by the library where he then walks all the way down the hall and then around the corner to his classroom. He told me that he wants me to drop him off at the curb starting next week. . .sniff. we'll see! Next he'll probably tell me he doesn't need a hug and a kiss! (note my whiny voice in that statement).

There has been a few days of paperwork associated with Kindergarten and I have set up Aidan's online payment center in order to pay the $20 a month in snacks. There has also been a couple of evenings of homework--we had to find a picture of Aidan reading a book and then we had to do a page that included a picture of Aidan, a picture drawn by Aidan, and a story about who he lives with, pets, hobbies, sports, etc. I think these assigments and paperwork have been designed to make sure the parent remains in a constant state of panic making sure he/she checks the backpack every night! Did I check it? Did I do everything I was supposed to ??

Wait a minute! I'm not back in school! Aidan is! Right?? Okay, I'm the parent so I have to remain responsible. I get it. . . : )

A wonderful side effect of the school thing has been bed time. This is amazing. While in Pre-K--even through the summer--Aidan had to lay down on his cot from 12:30 until 3:00. Yes, 2 1/2 hours. He didn't have to sleep, but he had to be on his cot. It's a rule of the Commonwealth of Virginia that requires all children in Day Care classes designed for children up to Kindergarten that they have to be on the cot for 2 1/2 hours. Aidan lays down, he's going to go to sleep. Especially since we have to have the pillow pet and blankie and Tigger with us each day--everyone else has theirs Mama! I did take a Quiet Bag--activites that he could do, quietly, on his cot. I then asked that if he fell asleep, please get him up by 1:30 and no later! For the most part, I think the teachers did get him up, but sometimes maybe not. In any case, up until the end of last week, we were lucky if Aidan was in bed and asleep by 9:30 at night. I get him up at 6:45 in the morning. With 2 1/2 hour nap/quiet time, that's a lot of rest!

This week, I am so very happy to report, we no longer have naps--we were no longer doing them during the weekend, either. And, drumroll please, we have a new bedtime!!!!!!! 7:30!!!!!!!!!! And, he sleeps now until 7:00 the next morning!!!!!!!!! Truly amazing!!!!! It does create a little bit of pressure to get home and do dinner, bath and have some fun family time before he is off to bed, but it is working. Bedtime and book time have become quiet and relaxing. It is no longer a struggle to get him to settle down--poor little guy just wasn't tired before!!!! On Friday, I let him stay up a little longer, thinking he'd sleep a little later. He came to me at 8:30, crawled in my lap and said, "Mama, I'm really tired. Can I go to bed now?" Who is this child??? : )

The other really cool thing about last week is that Aidan was introduced to the library at school. I am terribly ashamed to admit that I have not ever taken Aidan to the library. And we have a beautiful one right across the street at Ida Lee!!! : / I know how it sounds. Honestly, I didn't just not do it, it just didn't happen for some reason! We have lots of books. But, I always buy them--I have never felt that a book fee was a frivolous expense. Okay, I am lame. I know. I will need to change my ways. Aidan LOVED the library! He goes every Thursday at school and gets to check out any book he wants. We then read it at home. Fun! So, now I need to plan a day when I take him over to the Ida Lee library and get him a library card. . .

We have not done much this weekend--Daddy is STILL working insane hours. We stayed quiet yesterday, much to Aidan's dismay. I had a horrendous sinus headache that made my forehead and face feel huge. It's much better now, just a little residual pain in my eyes and that seems to be going, too. I have promised Aidan he could play on the playground at church today. Hopefully, it won't rain. Tomorrow we have plans to have a little playdate with Catherine and her mommy and I can get caught up.

We have crazy times coming: my friend Allison will be arriving on Wednesday to stay with us for a week. Our friend Dana is giving up the fight on her cancer so we are all gathering to say our goodbyes. Terrible. We also start hockey next weekend with Aidan, so the crazy weekend schedule is about to get going.

The geese have been gathering at the park across the street. The sun is definitely coming up later and going down earlier. The leaves on the Cherry Tree out front are beginning to change. Fall is upon us. A few more weeks and we will be raking leaves and having fires in the fireplace. These are some happy family times. . .tinged with a little sadness. . .but still happy times.

The First Day of School

2011-08-29T19:02:00.000-04:00

Well, it happened. The first day of school arrived and we all survived. But my emotions were all over the place! I have stories and pictures to share, but I thought I would start with a picture of Aidan from two years ago. It was his first day at Winwood and my emotions that day were similar to todays.

Look how huge that backpack looks!!

So, today came. Although I had the day off, I got up early so I could get my workout and shower in before Aidan got up. I had enough time to make him some chocolate doughnuts. . .the only problem with these was that, although I had bought the mix and the pan from the same place, they did not specify that the recipe would make 10-12 regular sized doughnuts. . .I have the mini doughnut pan! So, they turned out funny looking. Good, but funny looking!

But, without further ado, here is my baby, posing on the porch, ready for his first day in public shool: Kindergarten here he comes!!!

Yes, the backpack is the same. He looks so grown up here!! His legs look like they grew two feet in the past two years! Yes, these pictures are only two years apart. Crazy!!

Daddy was able to go to work a little late and joined me in taking Aidan to school for the first day. Yippee!!! Consdering he is on 16 hour days for the foreseeable future, this was awesome!

So, we headed to the school where Aidan and I got out and then waited for Daddy by the front door.

A little trepidation was starting to set in, so I tried to comfort him. . .as best I could without letting him see the tears starting in my own eyes! But then we headed in:

Okay so far! But then we got to his classroom where a little boy started crying. . .and my watery eyes got more watery. . .and Aidan looked back at us with a very pale and pinched face and. . . I realized we had to leave right away!!

While Aidan was at school, I kept myself busy so as to not be obsessed with him being there. . .okay, I tried! : ) But, really, I did get to the post office to mail my sisters birthday present and then came home and baked chocolate chip cookies so Aidan would have a great after school snack! Then, at 11:00, I headed back to the school to hide out and make sure he got on the Winwood bus safely. . .it worked! I ran into Pat who was working a trouble call across the street from the school (convenient, eh???) and he and I hung out, surreptitiously, watching the school for signs of our son. He came out and was ushered onto the Winwood bus as planned and then he was off to his after school care. I, laughing at me and my husband, headed to the jewelers to get my pearls restrung and a watch fixed. . .

The really cool thing was that Winwood called me to tell me that Aidan had arrived there safely and that he seemed happy and fine. Awesome!! When I got home, I checked him out on the Winwood cameras and then planned a little final quiet time for myself (cleaning and organizing the file cabinet!) and then headed up to Winwood to pick up my son. Who didn't want to leave yet!!! sigh. . .

Once home, the snack was appreciated and he's been playing the rest of the afternoon.

While he has been occupied, I took care of the moutain of paperwork that arrived in the backpack.

According to Aidan, I will not need to take him all the way to his room tomorrow (a small feat today, I might add). He says he'll be able to walk himself once inside the school! : |

Aidan says he is really really tired. . . : ) (I can't make that a bigger smile!!) so I think we'll be off to bed about 7:30 tonight. . .this is huge considering he's been known to stay up until 9:30 most nights due to naps at Winwood. . .but. . .No. More. Naps!!!! Can I hear your hallelujah????

I think the jury has come in with a favorable response on this school thing. Hopefully, they don't change their mind over the coming days!

2011-08-28T07:34:00.001-04:00

What a week! What a weekend!!

After the earthquake and the fun of taking Aidan to meet his teacher, he was off all day on Friday. In order to conserve a little time, Daddy stayed home in the morning with him and I came home for the afternoon.

Friday afternoon, I took Aidan to the Dentist for his bi-annual cleaning and check up. When he was called back, he looked at me and said, "I don't need you to come back with me Mama." Oh. Okay. : ( When did he grow up all of a sudden??? I was called back when the cleaning was done, which he did very well, I'm told. His teeth look great. When I asked the dentist about possible tooth fairy visits, he said all of Aidan's teeth are still firmly in place and that I should not look for that to happen for about another year. Okay. Sounds good to me! No sign of the next set of molars, either. Cool!

Then we were off to the barber shop to meet Grandma, Grandpa and Daddy for hair cuts for the boys. We got there first and we went ahead with the cut. It was sorely needed--his hair in back had gotten soooo long!!! Aidan was finished up right about the time everyone else got there so I snapped this picture of my baby with a fresh hair cut and clean teeth!

Not long after this, though, Aidan said he wasn't feeling well. In fact, by the time we got to dinner, he felt decidedly warm. I took Aidan home after dinner and took his temperature-- 101 Degrees!!! I gave him some tylenol and put him in his pj's and we sat down to watch some TV while we waited for Daddy to get home. But, Aidan fell asleep at 7:15

He slept, in his bed after I carried him up there--two flights!--until 7:30 yesterday morning! He said he was better and he no longer had a fever, but I stayed cautious with him We did go to a birthday party after which he napped for two hours and then off to bed before 9:00 where he slept again until 7:00 this morning. At least I had the excuse of Irene to keep him quiet!

We seemed to have been spared the worst of Irene's wrath, thanks be to God! We did have some heavy rain and some heavy wind, but no damage that I can see. We'll be off to church in a little bit so we might see some then. Crews from Pat's office did go down to Virginia Beach where power outages are pretty high. So, he'll be working 16 hour days for the foreseeable future. Well, that's the nature of this Power Company business! I, on the other hand, should be spared the brunt of the damage phone calls as I will be off tomorrow for Aidan's first day at school. I am sure I'll get my share on Tuesday though!

Although we are starting Kindergarten tomorrow, we're hoping for a quieter week to come!!

The Jury Is Out. . .

2011-08-25T20:04:00.000-04:00

Today was the big day. . .but then again, what day this week hasn't been big?? Seriously though, today I took Aidan over to his Elementary School to meet his teacher and to see his classroom.

We arrived a little early and had to wait to go in. This is Aidan's reaction to being there. The look followed him saying, "Mama, I just want to go back to my school."

Then we headed into the classroom and Aidan was asked to look for his name tag while I filled out the transportation form. He had a little trouble because the 'i' was not what he is used to. He will be wearing this nametag every day for the coming week. Hopefully, he'll get used to it.

He wore the nametag for a short time while we walked around looking at the new room.

But, then it came off. Luckily, he seemed a little happier once he found some puzzles he could play with.

The Principle came in at one point and came to talk to me for a while. I guess I looked lost, or unsure, or something. I think he tried to reassure me by telling me that both the Teacher and the Assistant Teacher are both certified. I know I was supposed to impressed, but all three of his teachers for the past two yars in Preschool have been certified. I'll try, though.

We stayed the full half hour, but Aidan was antsy to go about 10 minutes into it. I did speak, briefly, with his new teacher, Mrs. Taylor. I don't know how this will go, but she said I will need to drop him off with her or Mrs. Brown, the assistant teacher, out front of the school. I should not come into the room because Aidan might be too clingy that way. As if he won't be clingy any way I drop him off!

Aidan's reactions broke my heart. I am really hopeful he comes around and will open up and be the wonderful little boy I know that he is. Maybe the excitement of being out with Mama in the middle of the day, uncharacteristically, is to blame. I hope so because I don't know how I'll bear it if he is this down this coming week!

I guess I can chalk my reactions up to the fact that we are now moving from a safe very private closed environment into a public domain. I just need to relax! : /

Now if Irene would just go away! I might be able to relax! But, alas, I hear her eye is going to be about 50 miles to the east of Washington, D. C. . .we live 30 miles west of that. . .we're very likely going to feel full hurricane force winds unless she chills out some!

And so, our last weekend before public school does not appear to be the calm relaxing one I was hoping for. . .

EARTHQUAKE!!!

2011-08-23T19:18:00.001-04:00

Up until 1:51 this afternoon, all anyone was talking about was Hurricane Irene. Where is she coming ashore? How high will the winds be? As of this morning, it looked like it had a bead on Virginia. . through the area of North Carolina we love the most, Wilmington and Emerald Isle. . .sigh. . .

And then 1:51 came and . . .

We are not prone to earthquakes, but they do happen from time to time. We had one in 2003 that was centered in Lynchburg, Virginia (about 3 hours drive south of my house) that measured 4.3 and we felt it here. Then there was one in 2008, which I don't know the strength of. Then in July of last year we had another one about 4.3 that woke me up around 4:00 am sounding like a humongous Mack Truck driving down the road. And now todays: 5.8! Yikes!! That's kind of a big one, especially for us!

The epicenter was in Mineral, Virginia which is 90 miles south of D. C. and about an hour to hour and a half south of us.

We have friends in Mineral who did report widespread damage that was pretty extensive and the North Anna Power Plant was shut down at Lake Anna to check for possible damage. Everything appears to be in good order, thanks be to God.

So, not much got done this afternoon, what with everyone laughing and sort shaking off (sorry) the shake up (I'm really sorry) we had had. I was able, after a time, to check on Pat and Aidan and found them doing okay. Aidan did not nap today so he'll be off to bed shortly. And my sisters and my mom checked on me to make sure I was okay--via texting because our cell service was not working for a while. Very nice of them and I was happy to report we were all okay.

The only thing that happened at the house were a few things fell. Fortunately, it was in the Family Room which is still carpeted--for the time being! The foundation and chimney all appear in good order and we did not see any cracks in the walls, always a good thing, too.

And so, now back to our other pending natural disaster. . . where will Irene hit? And since we had an earthquake, can't we just take a bye on this one???

Busy Week and Interesting Conversations

2011-08-23T05:35:00.000-04:00

Wow. Here we are at the final week of summer. . .well, not actually, but school starts next week already and my baby is heading to Kindergarten! Time sure did fly fast!

5 years ago, about now, we decided to adopt from Russia and four years ago this week we sent our Dossier off and now we're preparing to send our baby boy off to Public School for the first time. . .please treat him kindly and help him to maintain his sweetness!

On Thursday we, Aidan and I, are going to his new Elementary School to meet his teacher, Mrs. Taylor and to see his classroom. I'm excited. Aidan seems a bit non-commital about it, but maybe that will change when actually get there. Friday Aidan will be home in the morning with Pat and then I'll take over in the afternoon. We are going to the dentist for a routine cleaning--at which time I also plan to ask about when we should expect our first visit from the tooth fairy--and then we'll head off to get a hair cut. Dinner with Grandma and Grandpa will complete our day.

I have tentative plans to head to the pool--it is only open until Labor Day so we gotta take advantage of that!--but that will depend on what Irene is doing. She could be making a nuisance here for us. If she does come up here, then we'll go to the Ice Rink, if the winds aren't too bad, or we'll stay here and play games. Basically, I'd like a low key last weekend before school starts.

Aidan has been asking a lot of questions lately about where he comes from. I attribute it to his age and understanding more. He recently asked Pat if his name used to be Steopa. It's been a long time since we called him Steopa--more than three years. He has heard the name, but I didn't realize he associated it with himself at all. When I asked him yesterday if he remembered being called Steopa, he said no. So, then I asked him how he knew that had been his name. He just said he knew it. I started to ask him another question and he pointed to a bunch of mushrooms and said, "Look at all those mushrooms, Mama! We can't eat those because they might be poisonous!" Okay, enough for one day.

I'd like to go over more details of his story with him before school starts, so that he is aware that he is special and loved more than anything. I guess we'll give him more of the details and then leave it alone again and wait for him to ask questions as he is ready. That seems to be working so far and he is absolutely accepting of it all.

The Day The Iron Curtain Came Down

2011-08-20T16:43:00.001-04:00

20 years ago today, there was a coup in Soviet Russia. . .the Soviet Union. It marked the beginning of the end of the curtain hiding the land our son came from. It was the beginning of Americans going to Russia to bring our babies here to raise them. Thanks be to God for Mr. Gorbachev and Mr. Yeltsin and even Mr. Putin who have made it all possible.

It was not an easy time for them nor has it been an easy time for them. But, they have come a ways in those 20 years. It may not be the Democracy those of us in the West dreamed of and hoped for, but it is not the closed book that existed before. It is a start.

Great relationships are like fine wine. The longer they age together, the better they become. I am hoping ours will continue to age and meld and become something great.

It's All About Planning

2011-08-18T05:34:00.001-04:00

I am a planner. I am one of those people who makes lists for everything. . .even when I clean house! I get immense satisfaction out of crossing things off my list. I know it sounds weird, but I just can't help myself. Because I am a planner, my calendar fills up with fun things to do and I get my Christmas shopping done early! This year I am making one Christmas gift for each person and I started this project last night. It's going to be great!

This weekend, we are getting together with some friends who have a daughter about six months younger than Aidan. The kids get along really well together. I think it is safe to say that they don't remember not knowing each other! We're going to make homemade pizza--yes, we're even letting the kids do their own-- and will then do the Dance Wii in the basement after. Can't wait!

Last weekend we took Aidan to the new Cobb theatre that we have in town. Wow is it nice! The seats are really comfy. We went to see The Smufs. I wasn't sure about it, since it is PG, but there was no bad language and the action was no worse than what Aidan sees on cartoons each day. And judging by the hilarious laughter coming from the seat next to me, it was definitely a hit for him. Pat and I were okay with it except that the song was old after about 5 minutes. . .don't care to hear that again so Santa will be informed that he is not to buy that one for Aidan!

The other day we were talking about marriage and what it means with Aidan. We explained that two people say vows and pledge to be together forever, loving eachother and taking care of eachother. Yes, a bit simplified, but he is five. Liking the idea, he said he wanted to get married. Someday, sweetie, but Mama is going to really have to like her too!! : ) "How about Miss Mandy?" Oh, honey, she's already married. . .to Mr. Jonathon. Remember? "Oh yeah." How about Maya? (really really cute little girl in his class at Winwood). "Wellll. . .is Kendall married?" snicker. . .I love this kid!!! Kendall is my neice--my 15 year old neice!! Whom he has loved since the moment he met her. In fact, he usually says, "I luuuuuuvvvvv Kendall!" So cute!

We are now on the final countdown of how many days left in Pre-K and how many days until Kindergarten starts. Counting today, there are six days left in Pre-K. I am ready for him to move on to the After School Care. I'm tired of the chaos and the not knowing from day to day what teacher will be in his class each day. And there is one teacher in there whom I always think she should not be working with small children every time she opens her mouth. This has been a particularly chaotic summer. But, I'm trying to hang in there and not complain about it because our time there is really short. In fact, next week, Aidan will really only be there all day through Wednesday. Thursday I will pick him up for two hours in the middle of the day in order to take him to his new school to see his class room and meet his teacher. That will be fun! So, last night I told Aidan that he only has five more nap days left. . .: ) I think his biggest issue will be that he won't be taking Tigger with him every day anymore. Poor Tigger could use a rest. I think he'll be better off hanging out on Aidan's bed waiting for him to come home!

Finally, please keep my friend Dana in your prayers. She just had the second of three massive blast treatments of chemo therapy. She became so weak this time that she has gone into a Rehab facility. I'm not sure when she'll get out of there. To make matters worse, she contracted MRSA while she was in the hospital during the first treatment. So, her weakened system to another hit. I just don't know how much more of this she can take. Her husband confessed that he really thinks they are just chasing the cancer around her body and that she'll be gone in five years. . .I know she's a fighter, but I really think, in my heart, it will be much sooner. Please say a prayer for her and her husband Rob. Thanks.

That's it for now. Have a great day everyone!

Uh oh. . .

2011-08-16T05:20:00.000-04:00

And here is my little cutie. . .ready for church and wearing his size 6 slim jeans (which I only had to put on the second hole over). . .do you see much growing room?

sigh. . .well, I guess I'll be buying all new jeans by Christmas again! I wonder if this will slow down some soon?????

End of Summer Project Mode

2011-08-15T05:31:00.001-04:00

Well, the weathermen had it wrong again! They had said we would have sunny skies Saturday morning with building clouds in the afternoon and periods of rain. Sunday was supposed to be rainy all day with periods of heavy downpours. I planned our weekend based on that prediction. . .Saturday was cloudy all day with some rain in the afternoon and then Sunday was mostly sunny with big white fluffy clouds all day. . .it did rain, and heavy too, but not until after the sun went down!!! Yes, big thunderstorms right at bed time, which meant that I had a little sweatball named Aidan plastered to my side all night! : ) Ah well. I still had a very productive weekend!

Saturday I exchanged a jacket I had bought for Aidan--a 5/6 for a 7/8. . . and then we had a nice dinner with Grandma and Grandpa at On The Border--definitely going for the salad next time and fewer chips and salsa!! : )

Sunday we made it to the 9:00 service at church--all three of us!! And we almost convinced Aidan to go to Children's Chapel. . .maybe next week. Definitely need to get him to understand we don't interrupt people when they are praying.

At home, I converted a whole lot of Basil to Pesto and then made salsa with the plethora of tomatoes and some onions and cilantro from our garden. All I had to add to that was some store bought jalepenos. Later this week, I'll need to stew some more tomatoes too.

Then we took Aidan to see The Smurfs. Very cute and funny movie! Aidan really enjoyed it. The song got old after about 5 minutes, but we had fun!

This week I'll be back in Project mode: Aidan's closet is next. And next week I'm hoping to work on one of the Guest Rooms which has become a catchall. I need to sort through all the things that have accumulated in there and pitch and toss!

I wonder if I'm focusing on all of the Projects so much right now because it's the end of summer??? I think I was supposed to be working on these all summer long. . .

I'm also going to be working on Aidan's table manners. He's never been very good at the dinner table, but lately it has become really horrible. Im looking for ideas on how to handle this situation. He's a good kid, but has become a little undisciplined lately--maybe it's just because of it being summertime. Probably a lot will change once school starts. . .I hope!

One thing I also want to try with Aidan is signing him up for the Kids With Purpose program at our church. They get together every other Wednesday for an hour and a half and they go out and do things for other people. It's an Outreach and Service ministry for children. They go out and make a difference in our community by helping out with homeless shelters, women & children's shelters, animal rescue, senior centers, Interfaith Relief and so on. This will be an excellent way to help Aidan focus outward instead of on himself all the time. The sessions will run from 4:00 until 5:30, which will work out perfectly with our schedules--Pat can drop him off and I can pick him up.

Aidan is also signed up for his next Hockey lesson, which will be Saturday mornings. Next week I'll be signing him up for Mini Mites again, which will be Saturday afternoons. . .Saturdays wll be at the Ice House and Sundays will be free for just church! Yeah!!!

That's it for now from the land of the Adventurous and Project Minded Harrison's!

You Be The Judge!

2011-08-12T05:29:00.000-04:00

Wasn't it just a day or so ago when I said I didn't look anything like my Mom???

Every December I make a calendar for the coming year comprised of the pictures from the prior year. It makes a nice Christmas gift and it's fun then to see the pictures as they come up each month. It really highlights how much Aidan is growing (probably more than I want to notice!) not to mention how much I change my hair. . . : ) It's fun to make and fun to see each month unfold of all the pictures from the prior year.

But, a really funny thing happened the other day. Aidan was looking at the calendar, which I had just turned to August--a little delayed because of our vacation--and he saw the picture below. He asked me, "Mama, were you taking the picture of me and Nana right then?" Looking at the picture, it didn't immediately occur to me what he was talking about, so I just said "No, honey. What do you mean?" "This picture right here! (pointing at the one below) Where are you? I am with Nana, but where are you?" Oh! He thought that was him and my Mom! laughing. . .Well, that IS me. That's not Nana! : ) (My mom is going to love this)

And here is a current picture of Nana, also posted just a few days ago. You tell me. We look nothing alike, right??? : )

And no, Mom, you do NOT look fat in this dress. . .sheesh!

Happy Birthday Smithsonian and the Final Days of Summer

2011-08-10T05:37:00.000-04:00

Happy 165th Birthday Smithsonian!!

We are so lucky to live so close to the largest museum in the world. We can take the metro down into D. C. and get off in the Mall right in the midst of all the museums for the Smithsonian. We go 2 or 3 times a year. Aidan's favorite is the Museum of Natural History, but the Air and Space Museum is a very close second. Frequently, we'll go to a monument or two as well, since they are also all right there!

Now that we have been home from vacation for a few days, I think it's safe to say we have unpacked fully, completed about a gazillion loads of laundry and are now settling in for the final couple of weeks of summer. We even got to the Mall last weekend and stocked up on all of the clothes and shoes Aidan will need for the coming fall. I bought mostly size 6 and 7, but did do one really nice jacket that was a size 5/6. . .it just fits. Back I will go to the Mall this weekend to exchange it for a 7/8! Yikes!!!

All of the jeans I bought Aidan are a size 6 slim. (love those tabs and buttons on the inside of the waist band!) They still look a little big in the bum area, but the length is just a little too long, so they are perfect! He'll probably outgrow them by Christmas. . .this child is going to be very very big. . .

Our adjustment back to Eastern time has had it's successes and some not so successful moments. Last night in particular was a very difficult night. Pat and I were exhausted, but Aidan not so much. I finally went to bed (where Pat was snoring happily away), but I think he was still awake after 10:00. And then he still came and got in bed with us about 3:30 this morning. I may talk to his school just to be sure they aren't letting him sleep more than an hour at nap time--when he does it creates all kinds of bed time havoc.

Speaking of Aidan's school, we have an Open House on August 25th to go and meet his new Kindergarten teacher and see his classroom. It is, of course, in the middle of the day so I'll have to take and extended lunch and make up the time during other lunch breaks that week. But, we're very excited about it! At the Day Care, we only have one more week to pay at the current higher price and then we go down in our rate substantially. Looking forward to that! Aidan will begin the transition process to the After School Care room in about a week and a half and will take a ride on the Winwood bus so he'll be used to that experience.

AND. . . there is a lady who will be teaching piano lessons to the children at Winwood on Monday afternoons beginning August 29th! She is only charging $12.00 per lesson, so I signed Aidan up! I figured this would be a great way to introduce him to the piano and then perhaps, once he has the basics, this lady might teach him privately. No, we don't have a piano yet. But, it is on our definite plan to do probably around Christmastime. In the meantime, we'll hook him up with an inexpensive keyboard, which will be fine until we have a piano and he can use this in the basement Rec Room, too.

Finally, check out these pictures my grandfather gave me of my mom. They are her school pictures from 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th grades--no idea where 7th grade is. . .and the years are 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1953. Sorry for the glare, but are they adorable? I don't look anything like her. . .

A "Relaxing" Vacation in the West

2011-08-07T09:44:00.003-04:00

Well, we're home again. What a trip! We had a blast. We were very busy every day but it was so much fun. I really think this is a trip Aidan will remember his entire life.

But it really starts before we left. . .two weeks ago!

In the midst of packing and getting the dogs situated in their temporary homes, I was stressing about not know for sure if Aidan had gotten into morning Kindergarten or not. If he didn't, I was going to be in a bind because of Day Care issues. I did not want to switch at this point. Aidan needs stability as much as we can give it to him. But, I need not have worried or stressed. The day before we left, we received notification in the mail that he is indeed in the morning Kindergarten class. I will take a two hour lunch break on the 25th and taken him to see his room and meet his new teacher. Beginning on the 29th, I will drop him off at about 7:55 am and he will be there until 11:15 at which time the Winwood bus will pick him up and take him to the Day Care center for lunch and then after school care. . .and our day care expense will go down by $63.00 a week!!! Woo Hoo!!

Pfew! That's all a relief that that's resolved!

So, for our vacation. . .

On July 27th, we got up insanely early and then headed over to Grandma and Grandpas to drop off the car and be picked up by our limo at the beautiful hour of 4:00 am. Our flight left Dulles at 6:00 am. Aidan was soooo excited!!! He doesn't remember his prior plane rides so he was really excited about this. About a half hour into the flight, or not even, he fell asleep. He woke up about 1/2 hour before we landed in Denver. Worked out perfectly! Our second flight landed uneventfully in Las Vegas. . .Funny though, I think there was some kind of college hockey thing going on because the Duke hockey team was on our flight to Vegas. . .anyways.

We layed low the first day and just kind of tried to get acclimated to a new time zone and just get caught up with my mom. She's looking good, although she does have some health issues that I'll discuss some other time. She has gained some weight which is awesome for her.

Our second day at Moms, we decided to go to her pool for a couple of hours and then to head to the strip in the city. Here are some pictures:

Moms pool has this awesome lazy river that has a tidal action. It's really cool to just float around in that area. When the temps or consistantly over 100 degrees, it is a perfect place to just hang out!

The MGM Grand has live lions in a glassed in area. We were so lucky because it was feeding time when we got there. Aidan was able to get right up to the glass and one of the lions came up to check him out! The third picture down was actually taken by another man, from New Zealand, who graciously agreed to email me a copy. Awesome!

After this we walked to the M&M store and then the Coca Cola store and then down the block to the Harley Davidson store to buy some souviniers. Hot, but a lot of fun! I just wish the people hanging out in the streets wouldn't hand children suggestive cards. . .Yes, I agree that Vegas isn't really a place for children, but it was the middle of the afternoon and it wasn't like we were hanging in the casinos. . .but anyways. . .

On Friday, we headed back to Moms pool for a couple of hours and then headed south to Southern California. What an experience it is to drive through the desert! We actually drove through the Mojave Desert, over the mountains and then into Death Valley. The California border is actually only 20 minutes outside of Las Vegas, and the whole drive only took us 3 1/2 hours to get down to Anaheim. At one point, the car thermometer said the outside temperature was 115 degrees. We drove into a thunderstorm and when we were at the top of the mountains the temperature had plummeted to 66 degrees. Crazy! Back up to 110 degrees when we hit the desert on the other side. . .

The high desert near my mom's house. . .

We had two day passes to Disney and had decided to go on Saturday and Monday and then the Balboa and Newport Beach areas on Sunday and Tuesday. This was a good decision. . .

Disneyland was really a lot of fun. Aidan loved the roller coasters, hitting his first one in Mickey's Toon Town. But, if you ask him right now what his favorite was, he'll tell you it was Splash Mountain, which we did first thing on Monday morning. I'm here to tell you that he got soaked. I mean, all the way through his clothes and to his skin soaked! Poor kid! He was so not expecting that and he started to cry. . .I felt terrible about it. But, other than that, I think he still had fun.

My family has a tradition that we take the train around Disney when we first get there and then go off to start in in on the rides. Something happened and we had to get off in Fantasyland, though.

Aidan waiting to go on Small World.

It's a world of laughter, it's a world of tears, it's a world of hope and a world of fears. There's so much that we share that it's time we're aware it's a small world afterall!!! (thought you'd like to join me in the perpetual song going on in my head!! : ) )

And then it was on to Midkey's Toon Town!!!!!

Goofy has a great car, even though he crashed it into his mailbox!

I think Aidan fell in love with Pluto.

Aidan driving a ship!

The Haunted Mansion. . .Aidan was nervous about this, but he ended up loving it. . .even when a ghost sat on top of him!!!

Having some fun!!

We brought Flat Slapshot to take some pictures. . .more later!!

Back on the train. . .

Enjoying our first Disney ride after the train. . .

And here it is. . .the fist roller coaster Aidan ever went on. . .

And Aidan's reaction to it!!!

Loving on Jessie. . .

And Woody!!!

And here we are at the start of Thunder Mountain, our second roller coaster. . .

And here we are at the end of it. . .hmmm. . .tall and big enough, but really ready?? Probably not. . .

At the entrance to Priates of the Carribean. . .Yo Ho Yo Ho!! It's a Priates Life for Me!!!

Aidan's reaction to having to stand in line. . .although a friend told me about a free app for my iphone that told us about how long the waits were. It rocked!!! It really helped us plan out our days at Disney.

We finally got to the entrance to the ride.

Covering his ears, but toally loving the Priates of the Carribean!!!!

We had a lot of junk food and boy was it yummy!!! Popcorn, Cotton Candy, Corn Dogs, Lemonade. . .Yum!!!

Driving the car at Autopia

The Matterhorn, which was closed for repairs both days. . .a reason to take Aidan back!!! Not to mention that we didn't even begin to attempt Space Mountain or a couple of other rides. . .

Flat Slapshot!!!

Being goofy in front of Mickey Mouse. . .

Okay. Tigger is still Aidan's favorite. . .you can't see that Aidan is hugging him here, because we couldn't get the angle right, but Tigger is wearing Aidan's Kras hat!

The rest are from the parade. . .on day 2 when we had a better curb side seat to see. . . .

Aidan was so into the parade that it reminded me that we now need to replace all of our VHS versions of the Disney movies with DVD versions. . .Santa will likely help some with that!!!

The other two days were at the beach. Sunday was rainy and chilly so we didn't actually hang at the beach but walked around Balboa and took the Balboa Island Harbor Cruise. Fun stuff!!

On the beach at Newport Beach!!

Loving the boat ride in the harbor. . .

Sea Lions chillin' out. . .

Pirates Cove. . .also known as the Lagoon in Gilligan's Island. . .

Sea Lion's chillin' on the bouy.

Balboa Pier.

Newport Pier.

The Pavillion at Balboa.

After all of this excitement, we drove back to my moms for the last couple of days of our trip. There, we hung out at her pool again and then went to see Red Rock Canyon before heading tot he airport for our trip home. Red Rock Canyon is beautiful.

Me and Aidan with my mom and my grandfather. . .

What an experience! I think Aidan will remember this one for the rest of his life. . .

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming of shopping for school clothes and going to parites at Chuck E. Cheese!!! It's back to reality for the three of us tomorrow. . .three weeks till school starts!!!

Really Quick

2011-08-03T23:26:00.000-04:00

We're almost done with our vacation. I have tons of exciting stories and about three ton of really cute pictures. I promise to tell you all all about it when we get back. We've been having a blast and have one more day before we spend the day travelling to get back home. . .Talk to you all this weekend, after we arrive back in Virginia!!! Can't wait to tell you all about our adventures in the West!

Tuesday Tidbits

2011-07-26T05:39:00.001-04:00

Well, we are packing up and getting ready to head west for our family vacation. We're very excited about it all except for the fact that our flight leaves tomorrow morning at 6:00 am. . .Yes, 6:00 am!! What was I thinking???

We dropped Mosby off with Grandma and Grandpa last night and tonight we will drop Maggie off to visit with her brother, Mosby Junior. We will miss them! Our neighbor will come and take care of Cleo kitty.

I haven't posted many pictures lately and will try, on this post, to get copies uploaded of Aidan's latest school pictures. They are really cute. But, I do promise to have tons of pictures of our trip upon our return! Desert, Disney and beach. . .it's going to be great!!

Meanwhile, I have a few really funny Aidan stories to share, and some are even at my own expense, so prepare yourselves!

First, this past weekend, I took Aidan to the pool on Saturday to try and cool off. We had fun with some friends and I realized that my son has all of a sudden become a fish! There may even be gills growing behind his ears!! I am an over protective mom so this was a hard fact for me to realize. : ) We stayed at the pool for about 2 1/2 hours and then came home. It was actually only marginally refreshing because it was soooo hot!!! Friday had been 106 with a 118 heat index and Saturday was only slightly better. Yuck!

Sunday, Aidan and I went to the ice rink, where it was much much cooler, and practices stopping and one foot skating. While there, we saw Coach Joe from Mini Mites. Coach Joe is awesome and even took Aidan over to the other rink for about 15 minutes of one on one time. By the time we left, Aidan was really stopping good! Thank you Coach Joe. I also had the opportunity to talk to him about what to sign Aidan up for this fall. Mini Mites is during the week in the middle of the day--not feasible for us due to Kindergarten and Day Care. So, the option will be to sign him up for Saturday mornings for the hour lesson and the regular 1/2 hour lesson on Sunday. He'll be ready to play in the Spring this way and then next year we can sign him up for Mites, the House League. Coach Joe assured me that Aidan is strong enough to skate with the bigger boys and this way he can continue to learn what he has been learning this summer. Cool!

The electronic board has gone out in my Tahoe and I can no longer tell what speed I am going. The Grmin has a spedometer so we are safe and able to still go the speed limit. But, Aidan is fascinated by this. He is constantly asking, "Mama, are you going the speed lemon?? I'm not sure because your menometer isn't working. It says 120!" We are getting the thing replaced, after our vacation, to the tune of $1,000! Grr. . . .

This weekend, we were in the basement trying to sort through and clean up some of the toys. . .man does that kid have a lot of cars and trucks!! I had turned the TV on to provide something for Aidan to do for those moments when I didn't want him seeing where some of his old toys were going. At one point a Lifeline commercial came on and Aidan got very excited and said, " Mama!!! Look!!! This is what you need so if you fall you won't be alone and can call someone!!" I love that kid. It only hurt a little and thne only because this wasn't too long after the "I don't want you to get older because you might shrink." comment. I think he might take good care of me when I get old. . .although it looks like he'll insist on a Lifeline!! : )

My son has an absolute fascination with fire. He talks about fire trucks, smoke detectors and burning buildings quite a bit. And when he isn't, he is making up things and playing with them. Sunday evening, he built this thing out of his Kinex that was like a large block but had things coming off it in the front and back. He explained to me that it shoots fire out the front and can also shoot fire out the back and that if they shot fire from the front and back at the same time, "It will splode the house, Mama!" Where does he get this stuff????

Well, I'm having touble loading the pictures but promise to get them onto this post today sometime.

Grab a Glass. . .

2011-07-21T20:18:00.000-04:00

I have to whine a little and am willing to share!

It's the excessive heat. I know I wasn't whining about it the other day, but now I am. I. am. so. hot!! I probably shouldn't be whining about this. Afterall, we do have wonderful air conditioning in our home. . .we replaced our air conditioner 2 years ago and it is working beautifully; we have fantastic ceiling fans in all four bedrooms, plus two more on the main level, and three in the basement. . .and they are/have been running continuously; we have room darkening shades and curtains on all bedroom windows closed up tight and insulated shades on our southwestern facing windows also closed up tight. . .our house is comfortably cool. . .and dark. . .and yet I find myself wanting to knock that thermostat down a couple more degrees! But I dare not. . .the husband might not like it. . .he does work for the power company and would likely give me the evil eye for doing such a dastardly deed.

Aye me. . .

I do know that those Rec Room ceiling fans in the basement work wonderfully especially when I am running on the treadmill in the morning. . .wish I had thought of that before!!!

How did my Siberian son learn to love such heat???? Oh yeah. It's probably a memory of the hot hot buildings in Russia. . .

Better go so I can call him back inside to cool down before bedtime.

Night y'all!

A Mid Summer Review

2011-07-17T07:24:00.001-04:00

For me, normally summer doesn't fly by. In fact, the deeper we get into summer, time tends to begin to go slower and slower and sloooowwwweeeer. . . This year things seem to be so much different!

I wouldn't have expected it to go this fast, especially because we don't really have football to look forward to--normally by now I would be doing a major countdown to Pre-Season, but with the lock out continuing, the likelihood of having a season at all is looking dimmer and dimmer. And so I have set my sights on just enjoying hockey by itself this year.

And with the weather having been several days of intense hot followed by a few hours of nice and then several days of intense hot, that would normally make me say ARGGGHHH!!! I am done with summer!! I'm not much of an intense heat fan. I love the nice fresh days of Spring and the cool refreshing days of Autumn. . .

So, why is this summer going so fast? I am chalking it up to having an active school age child in my life. Each week we have spent Wednesday evening at the Ice House while Aidan has Mini Mites Hockey--which he absolutely loves and counts down the days for!; the weekends we have been going to the pool one day and the Ice House to practice our moves the other day; every night after bath we have been outside trying to catch fireflies--we even have a special jar for this purpose. .. just wish Aidan would let the poor things live!; and now we're on the countdown to our vacation-- 1 1/2 more weeks till we see Nana and two weeks until we're at Disneyland!! Woo Hoo!

And here's another reminder that the summer is going fast. . .when we return from vacation, it will only be 3 weeks until school starts! Yikes!!

So this week I have decided to pull all of Aidan's winter clothes out, sort through them, and see what still fits. This way I can make a list of what we need before school starts. The weekend we return is Virginia's tax free weekend: everything that is clothing or school supply related is tax free. I will stock up on socks, underpants, jeans, long sleeved shirts, sneakers, jacket, snow pants, pajamas, and I even have the supply list he will need for Kindergarten so I can buy all of that as well. The thing that is really cool is that LLBean usually has a big sale to get rid of last years snow gear during that same weekend--50 to 75% off and free shipping. Two years ago, I bought Aidan's jacket and snow pants for a total of $40 and it was tax free! And they lasted two years (buy too big and roll up the sleeves). Not bad for forty bucks!

And Aidan is being a true kid: he looks like he is growing like a weed this summer! Everytime I look at him, he seems bigger than the last time. He is the same height he was on his birthday: 3 feet 10 inches; and his weight has been pretty steady at about 48 to 49 pounds. But, he looks more solid, like he's filling out. I bought him some jeans the other day--all of his jeans were either too short or they had major holes in the knees--because they had picture day on a pony at school last Friday (cute!). I wanted him to wear something that was halfway decent and his idea of wearing shorts with his cowboy boots was not hitting so well with this Mama. I bought him 6 Regular Levis. I did pull the tags over to the fourth hole inside the waistband (love those things) and they were still a little baggy, but the length was perfect! I guess I'll be buying 6 Slims during tax free weekend!!

Some other growing up changes I have noticed in Aidan is that his attention span is getting longer and more focused. He still gets distracted sometimes--during hockey, he watches the other group but does come back to focus back in on the group he is in quicker and easier than before. He is also showing some amazing advances in swimming. The little bit Pat and I have worked with him at the pool are really showing up in how strong he is getting in the water. He still wants to go and do things that are beyond his ability, and really has no fear of the water whatsoever, but I think these are normal progressions for a child his age.

So, the other things I have left to do this summer will be to watch for swimming lesson sign ups for this fall-I think Aidan will do well in the lessons again to refine his form; and to watch for hockey sign ups, also for this fall. . .Fall is shaping up to be quite busy around here!!

And so, our itenerary for today: Church followed by a little grocery shopping; then off to the ice house to practice our moves; then daddy and Aidan will go to the pool while Mama gets dinner started and starts making Bread and Butter Pickles with the avalanche of cucumbers that we have coming in. . .next weekend will be stewed tomatoes time!

ahhhhhh. . .a nice quiet Summer Sunday!!! Enjoy yours!!

An Ironic Uproar

2011-07-13T05:44:00.000-04:00

Ironically, yesterday many American families who have adopted children from Russia, celebrated along with Russia on the 450th anniversary of St. Basil's Cathedral. Most of us posted iconic pictures of our new families posed in front of St. Basil's that we took on our trips home with our children. For us, this picture was taken on the same day that we had received our Immigrant Visa approval for Aidan to come home. Huge celebration!

I say this is ironic because also yesterday, on that momenteous anniversary, another announcement was made:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jul/11/us-russia-close-to-pact-to-restart-adoptions/

Sometime today or tomorrow, the United States and Russia will finally sign the Bilateral Adoption Agreement. For the most part, it does not affect us or our completed adoption. However, there is wording in there that indicates that part of the agreement will be retroactive to 16 years back: we will now have to report annually to the Russian government about our children until they reach the age of 18.

On the one hand this makes me angry that my government would come to an agreement which is contrary to what we agreed to, with the Russian judge (a representative of the Russian government), under oath, and which we have fully and happily complied with. It makes me feel a bit like a criminal who has done something wrong. . .

However, on the other hand, my child is a Russian citizen. Therefore, as such, he is entitled to the protections that the Russian government can provide him. . .although he is fully protected under US law as well. I suppose I can understand that the Russian government wants to keep track of their own. . .the US government would do the same, right???

I believe, hopefully, that we won't have to engage the services of our Adoption Agency--not that we don't love them, but because of the cost! I think we will have to fill out a report and submit pictures, all apostilled, of course, on an annual basis, directly to our region. This is not expensive, nor is it difficult. If that is all it will take to keep the Russian's happy, I'll be happy to comply. But it still feels a bit like my own government just stuck a thorn in my side.

Additional irony was provided in the news yesterday about Tory Hansen, the woman who sent her Russian son back to Russia by himself on a plane. It was announced that the Russian government is suing her for child support! I hope they win. She is legally still the mother of that child (who is also an American citizen, by the way) because she did not take legal steps to reverse the adoption order. She made it diffult to impossible for many people who were in the process of bringing their children home to complete their processes. Just desserts for her.

The uproar happened when this news broke. The two Russian adoption Facebook groups I am a part of erupted with all kinds of hateful things to say. I agree we should be angry with the likes of Tory Hansen. However, we should also remember that our children are citizens of Russia (as well as the US) and one day, when they are old enough, they will understand better from where they have come. We don't need to be putting our thoughts and angry emotions on them.

I want my son to be proud of who he is.

Happy Birthday St. Basil's Cathedral!

2011-07-12T05:43:00.000-04:00

Today marks the 450th Anniversary of the opening of St. Basil's Cathedral.

The popular thought on the creation of this cathedral is that Ivan the Terrible, or rather Ivan Grozny (awesome), had it built to be the greatest and most beautiful cathedral in the land and then blinded the builder so that he could not build another one like it.

Our Coordinator tried to tell us that this is just a myth. Okay. But Ivan did kill his son in a fit of rage. . .not really a nice guy.

But the cathedral is really beautiful. And it is awesome. It sits at the far end of Red Square with the Kremlin on the right and GUM Department Store on the left. When you walk onto Red Square, the road rises before you and the cathedral is not in full site. But, when you walk up the Square, it rises before you and then ultimately is in full majestic site.

For a Westerner who grew up during the Cold War and seeing the Soviet troops marking on Red Square on May Day, the fact that we were walking freely on Red Square was incredible enough. But to also see St. Basil's. . .wow.

We toured the nine chapels, on Good Friday in the Western Church, that make up this cathedral while in Moscow and it is truly a unique sight. The walls are covered in Icons and the smell of incense is everywhere. It was definitely worth the rubels we spent to see it. And then later, we took Aidan there to see it and have our first family picture taken.

The best picture, though, was one we took in November on our first trip. I don't have it on this computer or I would share it--it is on my Russia wall, though. It was a cold grey day and snowed off an on so some of the domes had snow on them. The colors, though, really stood out much more vibrantly than on a sunny day. I think the backdrop of the grey sky is what did it.

So, Happy 450th St. Basil's cathedral! May your beauty continue to delight and mesmerize people for generations to come!

Don't Forget The Puma's, Mama!

2011-07-11T09:11:00.000-04:00

Ok. I admit it. I succumbed to the toy gun dilemma and allowed my young son to talk me into buying him a small nerf gun. (he was really really good at church!) It shoots little dart things that stick to windows and doors. I admonished sternly that we don't shoot people or dogs or cats. If he even points the thing at any one of these, it will be taken away immediately, no chances. He agreed. Then we began discussing what was permissible to be shot. . .

So, Aidan, what can you shoot with your nerf gun?

I can shoot windows, doors, fences, trees. . .and Bad Boy Bears, deer AND Pumas!

Pumas?????

Oh yes! Pumas are really bad!! Don't forget the Pumas, Mama!!

LOL!!! Where in there world did he get Pumas from??? LOL!!!

Put Cancer On Ice

2011-07-08T14:05:00.000-04:00

As most of you know, my mom has battled cancer off and on for a little over 12 years. It has not been pretty nor has it been fun. But, I am happy to say that the most recent bout is over and she is, once again, enjoying reasonably good health. Thanks be to God! The power of prayer really came through here!

As some of you also know, my dear friend Dana has not been so lucky. She has not done as well and things look a little more dire each time I hear an update on her prognosis. As you will perhaps remember, the doctors had said in December 2009 that she would not see Easter 2010. So, we celebrate a simple victory over this insidious disease now that she has made it to July 2011!

Dana underwent Gamma knife surgery on the brain tumors in January of this year down at UVA hospital. It was a success and she enjoyed some very positive results. She was even able, for a short time, to resume driving some. She underwent a second round of the Gamma knife surgery in early June and also had an MRI of her spine due to some difficulty in walking that had cropped up. So far, the Gamma knife surgery results were good again. However, the MRI revealed some new lesions on the spine. A step forward and then a giant step backward.

Dana was admitted to Loudoun Hospital on Tuesday, July 5th to have an intense round of Chemotherapy directed at the lesion on the spine. It is anticipated that she will remain in the hospital until next Monday or so. While there, she will be doing much cleansing of her system to try an not have the organs over affected by the Chemo in the hopes that the treatment does not cause further damage to her already damaged poor body. I ask that you join me in prayer for Dana and her husband Rob as they continue in this horrible fight.

Disease. . .dis ease. . .

In addition to prayer, here is an awesome link to an event that, I believe, is another great way to help fight this disease and find a cure.

http://www.putcanceronice.org

I think we'll go to this. What a great way to have some fun while exposing my son to the idea of doing something good for a cause that means something to me and our family! Perhaps we'll see you there!