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

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

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

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

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

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



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

A New Year of Life, Love and Learning

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Love you, Mommy. Thank you."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Father's Day & First Day of Summer!

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

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



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



Whining is the norm these days!

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

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

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

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