Cobbled Together Events of Our Lives

Okay.  Yes, we've been a bit busy.  But, each time I sat down to write, I was coming up blank.  You would think that nothing was going on in our lives these days.  Well, maybe it's just not all that exciting.  So, I decided to just write what was going on, exciting or not.  Here goes a cobbled together account of what's up with us:

First off, I have to say, CASA--the afterschool care Aidan is now in--is working out great.  He's been having fun with a break after school, has a nice snack, and then gets started on his homework.  The homework park is huge for us.  He's now doing about an hours worth each night!  Crazy.  But, Aidan is liking CASA and has met several friends there. 

Aidan's report card came home last week and he is doing very well.  He has M's (Meets requirements) in most categories although he also has a few E's (Exceeds requirements) in Math, Art, Science and PE.  I'm very proud of our little man.  That hour of homework that we all suffer through each night is paying off!  And his reading skills have begun to explode!  If we keep him going this way and stick with it through the summer, he should be doing really well in Second Grade.  I've actually been very impressed with the Reading program he is in.  It has helped him tremendously.

I haven't shared this before, but I faced reality and went back to Weight Watchers at the beginning of January.  At the time, I was 11.8 pounds over my goal weight.  No wonder my pants were getting snug!!  But, I'm on my way.  As of last Monday night, four weeks into it, I was down 5.4 pounds.  Only 6.4 to go to get back to my goal.  It will get harder now and probably won't come off as quickly as it has the past few weeks.  That's okay.  I'm sticking with this.  I want to be back at my goal when we go to the beach in July.  I can do this thing!

So, yes, we finally decided on our vacation plans for this summer.  We are going to the beach.  We have gone all over the map looking for what we wanted to do this year:  England, Mexico, Hawaii, Maine, etc. . .but we decided we wanted to stay closer to home and made our reservations for a nice Hilton Hotel in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.  It's a really nice place right on the beach with two pools.  The Kitty Hawk pier is right there, too.  Our reservation includes breakfast each morning and in the afternoon, they have a Tiki Bar set up for drinks, snacks and ice cream.  Pat's favorite Carolina Barbeque is right across the street and a great hot dog place is just down the road.  Yes, lots of seafood restaurants, too!  And, there is a grocery store close by to get lunch supplies for picnics on the beach.  Perfect!!!  Maid service and no cooking for Mama!!!  My kind of vacation.  : )

Aidan's hockey for the Fall/Winter season is beginning to wrap up.  We have one more practice and two more regular games and then the tournament.  Aidan is going to miss his friends he has made on this team.  So many of them are two years older than him and will be moving up to the next level for the Spring Season.  But, we'll keep in touch with some of them.  The Spring Season Starts the week after the tournament, so there really isn't much of a break.  That will take us all the way into mid June which is when the Summer Camps pick up.  So, it looks like we're on the year round hockey circuit now.

Which brings me to my feet.  No, not standing up, but actually to talk about my feet.  I love love love going to watch Aidan play hockey.  Even his practices are fun to watch.  But, I am here to tell you that my feet are dog tired of being cold.  A couple of times, the were so cold that it was painful for a very long time after.  I've tried thicker socks, but what I need are some good boots.  For years I have scoffed at the Ugg boots.  I didn't like the look and they are very expensive.  But, I have noticed lots of Moms at the Ice House wear them.  And none of them ever complain about their feet being cold.  Never.  Ever.  I have resisted still but then recently I realized that this hockey thing is not going to go away.  In fact, we are now at the rink 3 times a week and it is likely going to increase as Aidan gets older and better.  And so, I have broken down and bought a pair of Ugg boots.  I had to order them because nobody carries my small size in the store.  They arrive next Wednesday.  I'll let you know what my feet think after I try them out!

Last Sunday we met some friends at Clydes in Reston and had lunch.  Aidan brought his skates and was able to go out and skate on the outdoor rink there while we visited and it was really nice.  We liked it so much, we're getting together this evening for dinner with some friends from hockey.  Aidan and his buddy George will go out and skate while us parents relax and watch, visit and then we'll have some dinner.  Really looking forward to it!!  Ironically, George was born here in the US but his parents are Russian.  Aidan and George are really close and love to play hockey together.  It's so cute that the two of them picked eachother out to be best buddies on the team--fearsome duo, too!  George's parents know Aidan is Russian and so we always laugh about how our two little Ruskies are dominating the other team on the ice.  Sadly, George is one of the ones moving up. . .But, we'll still get the boys together and have some fun!

When we had lunch at Clydes last Sunday, we missed the Caps v. Penguins game.  Glad we did.  6-3!  Sheeesh.  The Caps are really terrible this year.  In fact, I heard yesterday that they are the worst in the league.  That's #30 out of 30 teams.  It's been so bad, we don't even stay up to watch the whole game like we did the last few seasons.  We watch about half and then turn it off.  At least our pick won the Super Bowl!!!  Woo Hoo Ravens!!!!

Another thing that has been going on lately is Aidan had been very healthy.  Until last weekend.  About 12 hours after I had been bragging about how healthy he had been and how we haven't had to use the nebulizer at all this year, he came down with a cold.  A really bad cold, too.  So bad that I had to pick him up early on Monday from school.  He seems better now.  Rest and fluids have helped a lot.  But, he does now have a cough.  I need to check our supplies for the nebulizer and see where we are.  Just in case.  The lesson learned:  No More Bragging About Aidan's Health!!!

We were going to go out of town for President's Day weekend--all three of us are off for three days!!-- but we decided to stay home, do some fun things and some home projects.  I think we were all glad about that decision.  We have had too much running around lately.  Maybe we'll go in to a museum, see a movie, go ice skating. . .whatever it is, it will be fun times for all three of us.

Well, that's about it.  Loudoun County Schools are on a two hour delay today, so I am letting Aidan sleep in a bit.  It means working through lunch a couple of days for me, but that's okay. 

I don't seem to have any current pictures of the kiddo except this one, which shows he has totally outgrown the child size rocker we have for him!! 

Isn't he looking huge???

Have a great day and a wonderful weekend. . .if you are in the Northeast, stay safe, warm and inside!  God Bless.