30 June 2010

Happy 2nd Birthday, Aidan! Happy 30th Birthday, Chad! Happy ?? Birthday, Kathy!



Happy 2nd Birthday to my sweet 'lil boy, who is growing up so quickly! Shockingly, there are no photos of his birthday party, aside from the cake (the first picture was taken about a week prior). The reason? Well, first you need to know that Chad and his mom, Kathy, share a birthday the day before Aidan (we almost had 3 generations on 1 day; instead, Aidan was born on my grandparent's 50 wedding anniversary). Anyway, us kids got together to buy Kathy a new toy: specifically, a Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera. So of course, we celebrated Kathy and Chad's birthday, too, and then got to use said new toy. Eventually I'll play around with the footage we shot, and see if I can come up with a few pictures. For his part, Aidan greatly enjoyed his Pirate ship cake and was actually really into opening his presents. All of his presents, in fact. He EVEN said thank you! We're so proud of him!

In continuation of his birthday celebrations, we spent Monday evening (his actual birthday) in Hudson listen to MN Orchestra play in the park. It was nice to listen to music while chasing Aidan around the park. He was riding his Strider bike and I got a lot of good comments on it. Today, celebrations culminated with a trip to the Como zoo with Alan. Favorites were the sea lions (which I incorrectly identified as seals, which is now what Aidan calls them...oops), giraffes, lions, and emperor tamarins. A great day was had by all!

And now we are thoroughly exhausted!

23 June 2010

A new normal

It has been said that you never fully get over the loss of a child - you just learn a new normal.

I believe this is definitely the case with us.

In our case, a new normal involves applying for a new job, or two, and scheduling the tubal ligation for the end of July.

And of course, hanging with the best little daredevil a Mama could ever wish for...

18 June 2010

A Hermaphrodite's Afternoon Tea

Ants on a Log, the toddler version:

I commonly make this snack for the boys' after-naptime snack. Today I decided to make the grown-up version for Chad as well; after working 13 hours with no lunch break (ahem, OSHA), I figured he'd enjoy a snack. I swear it started innocently enough, but before long, things escalated. So, this is what Chad came home to:

I call it "A Hermaphrodite's Afternoon Tea"

It reminds me of a quote my friends and I used often in high school: Boredom breeds insanity.

Indeed.

13 June 2010

Permanent birth control

I'm contemplating having my remaining tube ligated. My doctor will do it if I wish, so I don't have to wait for some arbitrary age. We think we're done; will we ever know for sure? I really don't know.

10 June 2010

Dedications

To my two lost souls, A Prayer for Baby:

Never to have known you, but to have loved you.
Never to have held you, the way mothers do.

With you I bury my hopes and dreams
For an unknown child I'd never seen.

But I also bury the love in my heart
And the sadness of knowing that we must part.

And I pray to god to do for you
All the things that I would like to do.

And to keep my baby safe from harm
To laugh and frolic in springtime's arms.
-Anon

To Aidan, my sweet boy, you are everything I could ever ask for and more in a son. Thank you for all your hugs, kisses, and cuddles these last few days. Thank you also for finally learning how to say "I love you" and for saying it often.

To Chad
, my husband, thank you for your support and your patients during these last few weeks.

And because life goes on, and my beautiful boy Aidan is such a joy, I will end this post by linking an excellent video of him riding his new (and beloved) Strider Bike.

Click Here for the Video!

02 June 2010

Caitlin Lehmann


While wandering around MKA last Friday, I came across this dedication right next to the entrance to the girl's locker room. I cannot express just how proud I was to see this. Though it's difficult for me to believe that it really has been nearly 8 years, I am happy to know that Caitlin's memory will live on.

01 June 2010

There and back again: a trip to NJ in review.

The GREAT things:
1. The extra seat on the flight in that allowed Aidan to ride in his car seat for the entire flight. "Buckle off, please". Not a chance, little man. not a chance.
2. My dad picking me up from the airport, my step-mom giving up her bedroom for us, my Nena lending me her car, and my sisters for hanging out with me and for cooking me dinner. Extra bonus points for my cousins, who still think I'm cool.
3. LOBSTER
4. Laura, Alex, and Ari driving all the way to my dad's house for my birthday party.
5. The power going out right after I blew out my 27 candles.
6. My aunt giving Aidan extra cake, and Laura capturing the hilarity on (digital) film.
7. Aidan vs. the ice pop (more on that later).
8. Jon and Em driving all the way down from Albany to visit me for a few days.
9. My aunt's Memorial Day party.
10. Listening to my Grandfather tell me about his life.
11. Watching my son play with my little brother.
12. The saintly gentleman seated in front of Aidan on our flight out, who never once complained about the fact that Aidan never stopped kicking the back of his seat.

The NOT SO GREAT things:
1. Flying with a toddler. This is always a chore. Every time I swear I'll drug him the next time, but I never do.
2. Delta airlines WRECKING AIDAN'S CAR SEAT during the flight home after I had to gate check it. Seriously, the amount of force required to do such damage to the seat must have been huge. What did they do, drop kick it down the stairs?!?! Apparently they're going to send me a check for reimbursement in a few weeks. Unfortunately, that means I have to buy a seat before I get their money. They also kept my seat, which is fine since I won't be using it anyway.
3. Watching my little brother influence my son in poor ways. It is really difficult to convince your almost two year old to sit down for family dinner when his idol refuses to comply.
4. Not being able to play in the pool. Stupid ectopic.
5. Flight attendants who see that you obviously need help but do nothing, then do their very best to publicly humiliate you in front of every other passenger. Three hours on the flight home, and Aidan only got away from me twice (and was immediately apprehended). Both times the flight attendants made sure to chastise us over the loudspeaker. Not for nothing, but we were busting our ass trying to comply with their rules and prevent Aidan from irritating (much) the other passengers. I thought I was doing pretty well, him only getting away from me twice in 3 hours.
6. Aidan having another night terror.
7. TSA Agent Holmes (Newark) who picked up the oak tree I dug up from Nena's house by the tree, rather than the ziplock bag it was in, thus pulling off a leaf. I told her it was a baby tree, in a pot, in a ziplock bag. Do you think she could have taken a little more care?!

So all in all an excellent trip. You might notice, however, that almost every BAD thing involved the airline. I'm thinking next year we might try Amtrak. Or drugs. Or something. I am seriously glad to be home!!

End Note: Aidan vs. the ice pop
Nothing like watching your 23 month old son open the freezer, retrieve an ice pop, close the freezer door, remove the wrapper, throw the wrapper in the trash, proceed to greatly enjoy said ice pop, and then throw out the stick...all without any adult supervision or prompting. We were so amazed we watched him do it again. And again. And again. He had four ice pops before we put an end to it. My baby is growing up!