Today Seth is home with the kids since its the second day of Rosh Hashanah. I'm only working a half a day and then we're heading to Seth's parents for a late lunch. Since its nice outside and Rebecca is napping Aiden and Seth went out into the back yard. Of course any day that it is nice out Aiden naturally wants to ride his car. He loves that car. We always ask him if he wants to ride his bike that he got for Hanukkah last year but he always declines for the most part. One of the issues being that he was still a little short for it, but he has grown and we can tell because reaching the pedals ahs become easier for him through out the months. Well today after riding his car he wanted to ride his bike and Seth sent me this video of him riding all the way down the driveway. He's getting so big.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Breakfast from Hell
Today we had brunch at the Holiday Inn in Mansfield. Its a place that we really like to go. the food is good. The price is pretty decent for the selection that you have and its also a good middle ground place for all parties involved. That being said today was just down right horrible. Horrible to the point that if we didn't go there as often as we do then we probably would never go back again, but we know that service is never like this.
We get there and I should have known how the meal was going to go based on the fact that they sat us near a high school reunion, a 40yr high school reunion. We had a round table so we were pretty squished as well. Usually when you say that you have a party of 10 people then you get a larger round or they put together a couple of tables and make a rectangular table. The server would disappear for quite a while and we pretty much had to go put our dirty dishes on the trays ourselves when someone came back from the buffet line. I finally flagged her down to let her know that we were ready for the cake. She brings out the cake- still in the case, not on a plate and the candles were not on it either. She does give me a server, but no knife to cut the cake with. We finally get the bill. Sort everything out, give her the payment with how much to put on each of the 2 cards in the check booklet. 10mins go by, 15 mins go by, 20 mins go by. Finally someone comes out and says that they are still working on the split that there is a problem with the system. Wait? The check split? That is your problem right there. There is no check split. You authorize one card for one amount and then you authorize the balance on the other card. Its not that hard. Maybe its because I used to be a server that I have higher expectations, but seriously if you don't know what you are doing then you shouldn't be doing the job. By this time the kids are getting antsy. Running around, not listening. Then comes the icing on the cake. While jumping around the kids knocked a plate off the end table and broke it all over the floor. At that point I just popped my cork. I went back there and pretty much screamed at the people. This would have never happened had they gotten their act together. How hard is it to run a credit card? Not to mention that it was like a thousand degrees in the place. So want to here the best part about this whole debacle? I get home look at the receipt and see that they charged us for an extra adult. I already called but the server manager had already left since they close at 1pm. I know have to get a hold of the accounts manager to get a refund now. I was so upset by this whole thing and the thing that made it so bad was this was suppose to be Seth's birthday brunch. I feel like the family gathering was ruined.
We despite all the ruin I did manage to get these shots, but I missed the kids throwing pennies into the fountain while dealing with the check issue.
We get there and I should have known how the meal was going to go based on the fact that they sat us near a high school reunion, a 40yr high school reunion. We had a round table so we were pretty squished as well. Usually when you say that you have a party of 10 people then you get a larger round or they put together a couple of tables and make a rectangular table. The server would disappear for quite a while and we pretty much had to go put our dirty dishes on the trays ourselves when someone came back from the buffet line. I finally flagged her down to let her know that we were ready for the cake. She brings out the cake- still in the case, not on a plate and the candles were not on it either. She does give me a server, but no knife to cut the cake with. We finally get the bill. Sort everything out, give her the payment with how much to put on each of the 2 cards in the check booklet. 10mins go by, 15 mins go by, 20 mins go by. Finally someone comes out and says that they are still working on the split that there is a problem with the system. Wait? The check split? That is your problem right there. There is no check split. You authorize one card for one amount and then you authorize the balance on the other card. Its not that hard. Maybe its because I used to be a server that I have higher expectations, but seriously if you don't know what you are doing then you shouldn't be doing the job. By this time the kids are getting antsy. Running around, not listening. Then comes the icing on the cake. While jumping around the kids knocked a plate off the end table and broke it all over the floor. At that point I just popped my cork. I went back there and pretty much screamed at the people. This would have never happened had they gotten their act together. How hard is it to run a credit card? Not to mention that it was like a thousand degrees in the place. So want to here the best part about this whole debacle? I get home look at the receipt and see that they charged us for an extra adult. I already called but the server manager had already left since they close at 1pm. I know have to get a hold of the accounts manager to get a refund now. I was so upset by this whole thing and the thing that made it so bad was this was suppose to be Seth's birthday brunch. I feel like the family gathering was ruined.
We despite all the ruin I did manage to get these shots, but I missed the kids throwing pennies into the fountain while dealing with the check issue.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Day out with Daddy
This past Monday was an exciting day for Aiden. Not only did he get to spend the day with Daddy, but he also went to his very first baseball game. Go Red Sox!! Seth picked him up from daycare early and then they headed in with friend Dave and his boy Max. It was Daddy's Day. Not going to lie I was extremely jealous that I was not able to go. We'll definitely make sure that we get tickets for next season and Rebecca will have her first game as well.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Apple Picking take 1 and take 2
Take 1- 9/17/11
So we decided to go apple picking because its such a beautiful weekend. Really the perfect weekend for it. We pick a time. Coordinate with friends on when to go. Meet up. Get to the orchard and say, "Hey. Isn't there usually a line of cars into the orchard?" we drive down the beaten path, literally a dirt road/path. get there and see the gate closed and a sign with the hours that pick your own ends at 4pm. Oops. so we headed over to the farm stand store instead. Here are a few shots from that.
TAKE 2- 9/18/2011
So I was really bummed about not going apple picking yesterday. Rebecca was already in for her morning nap and Aiden was outside riding his car and all I can think about is how much I really want to go apple picking because of how beautiful it is. Yes I feel like a spoiled rotten brat for throwing my inner tantrum, but damn it I wanted to go apple picking. I asked Aiden if he wanted to go apple picking. Yeah. Ok! It's just you and me buddy. What about Daddy? Daddy is doing some work right now because Rebecca is sleeping, but he will come with us in two weeks when we go again. Ok. We go potty and out the door we go. I will say that I almost forgot how easy it was to be with just one child. The one child that can communicate back to you and uses the toilet too. Soooo easy!! Rebecca will get her apple picking time in two weeks as well. Plus with only having one child with me I was able to get some great shots of Aiden having fun.
It was a great day for picking!!! And since we have a freezer in the basement I plan to slice the apples and freeze then for pies and crisps through out the winter instead of having to go buy apples.
So we decided to go apple picking because its such a beautiful weekend. Really the perfect weekend for it. We pick a time. Coordinate with friends on when to go. Meet up. Get to the orchard and say, "Hey. Isn't there usually a line of cars into the orchard?" we drive down the beaten path, literally a dirt road/path. get there and see the gate closed and a sign with the hours that pick your own ends at 4pm. Oops. so we headed over to the farm stand store instead. Here are a few shots from that.
Not a fan of the pumpkins.
Sitting pretty in the flowers.
TAKE 2- 9/18/2011
So I was really bummed about not going apple picking yesterday. Rebecca was already in for her morning nap and Aiden was outside riding his car and all I can think about is how much I really want to go apple picking because of how beautiful it is. Yes I feel like a spoiled rotten brat for throwing my inner tantrum, but damn it I wanted to go apple picking. I asked Aiden if he wanted to go apple picking. Yeah. Ok! It's just you and me buddy. What about Daddy? Daddy is doing some work right now because Rebecca is sleeping, but he will come with us in two weeks when we go again. Ok. We go potty and out the door we go. I will say that I almost forgot how easy it was to be with just one child. The one child that can communicate back to you and uses the toilet too. Soooo easy!! Rebecca will get her apple picking time in two weeks as well. Plus with only having one child with me I was able to get some great shots of Aiden having fun.
Lets go this way.
Mommy you start this for me (as in take the first bite)
How about this one.
It was a great day for picking!!! And since we have a freezer in the basement I plan to slice the apples and freeze then for pies and crisps through out the winter instead of having to go buy apples.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Look at me! I'm standing!!
Rebecca's pretty much mastered sitting by herself to the point where she is comfortable enough to start pulling her legs into to sit cross legged. A good month before Aiden was doing this. She loves to go in her exersaucer and if you are holding her while sitting then she likes to jump up and down on your legs. I figured that it was a matter of time before she is going to want to start stand up against things. She has been trying so hard to be mobile and to follow Aiden around so if it is easier for her to start cruising as opposed to crawling then so be it. And some pics of her fancy new trick.
"This is MY ottoman!"
And some playdoh fun with Aiden last night.
Fall? Really? Why yes!
Did you go outside this morning? You did!!!! So did I!! And what did you find outside? Of course the sun was out, but what did you say? You found crisp fall air? You found cool fall temps? Yup I found that too!!! Sooo excited for the fall weather to be here and this weekend is only suppose to be in the low 60s. Perfect weather for apple picking. And that also means that we will be opening the windows up more to get that cool fresh air into the house. It also means that this is the beginning of the craziness. The craziness that makes the rest of the year fly by and you look back and wonder, "what just happened? How is it January already?" The next 2 months are already jammed packed for us. This is just a sample
Sept 17- apple picking
Sept 18 Raynham Fair
Sept 24- possible playdate for the kids
Sept 25- birthday brunch for Seth
Sept 30- Rosh Hashanah
Oct 2- two birthday parties
Oct 8- Yom Kippur
Oct 16- 1 probably 2 birthday parties
Oct 29- Halloween Hayride at Smith Farm.
Honestly November and December are looking pretty mellow right now. Which is a good thing, but I am still looking forward to them this year since it's Rebecca's first.
Sept 17- apple picking
Sept 18 Raynham Fair
Sept 24- possible playdate for the kids
Sept 25- birthday brunch for Seth
Sept 30- Rosh Hashanah
Oct 2- two birthday parties
Oct 8- Yom Kippur
Oct 16- 1 probably 2 birthday parties
Oct 29- Halloween Hayride at Smith Farm.
Honestly November and December are looking pretty mellow right now. Which is a good thing, but I am still looking forward to them this year since it's Rebecca's first.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Time outs and punishments.
I've talked with a few other moms lately and it seems that we are all having the same issues with out kids now in preschool. The hitting. The talking back. The yelling. The throwing toys. The MEGA tantrums of the. littlest. thing. I will admit that we are yellers. Seth and I just get to that point where we can only ask nicely so many times before we hit our boiling point. I get that as a small child it can be daunting to have a big person raise their voice at you and I have read that when this happens usually the child become defensive and they do the opposite of what you want. So....insert time out here. You think, " great that shoudl get the point across." Nope. He laughs at us and gets up. Throws his tantrum elsewhere. So the time out starts all over again because he never actually stayed in time out in the first place it never really started.
It seems to me that things have just seemed to get worse lately. I am pretty sure there are a number of factors that come to aid in this behavior.
1.) potty training- We had a talk with Aiden that once he turned 3 that there were no more pull ups, only underwear. He's done relly well at not hving accidents, but sometimes its a struggle to get him to stop what he is doing to go.
2.) me returning to work- Its a big adjustment, but not too much because really we are just added one more day of daycare. However, he has to get up earlier now. The morning routine is a little different and from my last post I think he is missing the extra day with just me.
3.) Rebecca is now in daycare- Before daycare or "school" was just something that Aiden did. It was all his own. Now Rebecca is going and to a point I wonder if he is not liking the whole "sharing is school" bit.
Those are just a couple of the big things that I can see as the reason for this sudden behavior change. Things are also more hurried now once we get home because its later and I'm trying to scramble to get dinner ready and I know that he just wants to spend some time with us after not being home all day. Either way something needs to be done about the tantrums and the misbehaving. Time outs don't seem to get the pont across right now so in getting some advice from my sister in law she mentioned that you just start taking away things and privelages until he starts to get the point. The past 2 days Aiden has not been allowed to ride his car because he did not have a good report from school. This morning he spent 20mins screaming in the bathroom so there was no Mickey episode and if we get a bad report again today then he may not get a Mickey show tonight either. Its going to be rough, but we'll make it. Its all about molding a good, respectful person.
It seems to me that things have just seemed to get worse lately. I am pretty sure there are a number of factors that come to aid in this behavior.
1.) potty training- We had a talk with Aiden that once he turned 3 that there were no more pull ups, only underwear. He's done relly well at not hving accidents, but sometimes its a struggle to get him to stop what he is doing to go.
2.) me returning to work- Its a big adjustment, but not too much because really we are just added one more day of daycare. However, he has to get up earlier now. The morning routine is a little different and from my last post I think he is missing the extra day with just me.
3.) Rebecca is now in daycare- Before daycare or "school" was just something that Aiden did. It was all his own. Now Rebecca is going and to a point I wonder if he is not liking the whole "sharing is school" bit.
Those are just a couple of the big things that I can see as the reason for this sudden behavior change. Things are also more hurried now once we get home because its later and I'm trying to scramble to get dinner ready and I know that he just wants to spend some time with us after not being home all day. Either way something needs to be done about the tantrums and the misbehaving. Time outs don't seem to get the pont across right now so in getting some advice from my sister in law she mentioned that you just start taking away things and privelages until he starts to get the point. The past 2 days Aiden has not been allowed to ride his car because he did not have a good report from school. This morning he spent 20mins screaming in the bathroom so there was no Mickey episode and if we get a bad report again today then he may not get a Mickey show tonight either. Its going to be rough, but we'll make it. Its all about molding a good, respectful person.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Makes your heart melt.
Its Tuesday. I get up. I get ready for work. I start finishing up with the bags for daycare. I get Aiden up at 6:15. A lot earlier then I'd like to, but he needs to have a Mickey fix in the morning to be a functioning little boy. I start cooking his toaster strudel before I go up to get him. We do our usual routine. Go potty and then downstairs to the couch. As he is eating is breakfast Aiden asks
"We see Gamma and Papa today?"
"No sweetie. You'll see them on Friday."
"Oh... I stay home with you today?"
**cue the melting heart**
"I'm sorry...Mommy has to go to work today."
See before I went back to work Aiden went to daycare Monday-Wednesday. Thursday he saw Gamma & Papa and Friday he was home with me and Rebecca. Now that I work 5 days a week we don't have that time anymore his comment really hit home with me that I miss our Fridays. In an ideal world I woudl be able to work 4 days a week, get benefits and have Fridays as Mommy day. One can only wish and until that day happens then I am going to have to make the most of our evenings and weekends together.
"We see Gamma and Papa today?"
"No sweetie. You'll see them on Friday."
"Oh... I stay home with you today?"
**cue the melting heart**
"I'm sorry...Mommy has to go to work today."
See before I went back to work Aiden went to daycare Monday-Wednesday. Thursday he saw Gamma & Papa and Friday he was home with me and Rebecca. Now that I work 5 days a week we don't have that time anymore his comment really hit home with me that I miss our Fridays. In an ideal world I woudl be able to work 4 days a week, get benefits and have Fridays as Mommy day. One can only wish and until that day happens then I am going to have to make the most of our evenings and weekends together.
Monday, September 12, 2011
The perfect weekend.
The weather was absolutely beautiful this past weekend. Sunny, not hot with a nice breeze. Made you want to stay outside all day. Saturday we were slow to get moving, but by mid morning we were ready to go and play outside. Aiden rode his car all over the yard. Then he went with Seth to do some errands while I did some cleaning around the house. Put away the dishes, laundry, etc. While Aiden was napping we talked about what we wanted to do the rest of the day and I mentioned going to the park since we really haven’t done that much this year. Yes we have a swing set in the backyard but its different when you go to a park. There are other kids there. More things to climb on. Many slides to go down. It’s the whole atmosphere. I’ll admit that the reason we really haven’t gone is because of Rebecca’s nap schedule, but in the afternoon we can sacrifice her nap so that we can get out just a little bit and if we are doing something the she really doesn’t notice that she is missing a nap. It was just a great time overall. I even made a friend, a little girl carrying around a baby doll that started to follow me around because I was holding Rebecca. She wanted to be just like me. I was swinging. She sat down on the swing and put her “baby” in her lap. After a little bit I walked over to the baby swings where Aiden and Seth were and she followed me over, made sure that her “baby” was positioned just right on her hip as Rebecca was. It was soo cute. One day that will be Rebecca.
Sunday we got up, got ready and headed out to breakfast as we do every Sunday morning. Rebecca went in for a nap after we got home and Aiden came with me to the store to get a few things. Afterwards he played with his car while Seth mowed the lawn. He asked to go to the park again and I felt bad telling him that we couldn’t go since sister was still sleeping, but once he saw our neighbors Ashton and Braydon out he wanted to go over there to play so we did. Later that day we had planned to go to my great aunt and uncle’s 50th anniversary party, but all weekend Aiden had been coughing and she was raspy and had a runny nose so I thought he had a change of season cold. I was bummed that we were going to cancel last minute since it was with family that I don’t get to see often, but I didn’t want him to get anyone sick. This morning he still woke up raspy and had a cough, but the more I think about it the more it seems that he may actually have allergies. He has all the same symptoms that I have when I have an allergy attack, and when he blows his nose its all clear. I might have to go pick up some children’s allergy meds to see if that helps him out.
But that was our weekend and I hated to see it end. I hope next weekend is just as nice since are planning on going apple picking. This year we are going twice and I will freeze the apple slices so I can use them for pies and crisps through out the winter.
Sunday we got up, got ready and headed out to breakfast as we do every Sunday morning. Rebecca went in for a nap after we got home and Aiden came with me to the store to get a few things. Afterwards he played with his car while Seth mowed the lawn. He asked to go to the park again and I felt bad telling him that we couldn’t go since sister was still sleeping, but once he saw our neighbors Ashton and Braydon out he wanted to go over there to play so we did. Later that day we had planned to go to my great aunt and uncle’s 50th anniversary party, but all weekend Aiden had been coughing and she was raspy and had a runny nose so I thought he had a change of season cold. I was bummed that we were going to cancel last minute since it was with family that I don’t get to see often, but I didn’t want him to get anyone sick. This morning he still woke up raspy and had a cough, but the more I think about it the more it seems that he may actually have allergies. He has all the same symptoms that I have when I have an allergy attack, and when he blows his nose its all clear. I might have to go pick up some children’s allergy meds to see if that helps him out.
But that was our weekend and I hated to see it end. I hope next weekend is just as nice since are planning on going apple picking. This year we are going twice and I will freeze the apple slices so I can use them for pies and crisps through out the winter.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
10 years ago
So like many people today I sit and think about what I was doing on this day ten years ago. A lot has happened in the past ten years. Seth and I solidifies our relationship. We moved in together. Got engaged. Got married. Bought a house and had two beautiful children. But when anyone brings up Sept 11th I think about the exact time that I woke to Seth calling me and telling me that there was no way I was getting on a plane later that day. This was even before the towers fell. The first plane had just hit and this was even before we knew it was an act of terrorism against our country.
That evening I had a flight back to GA to start my Second semester at SCAD. After seeing the footAge I didn't want to fly nor did I want to leave anyone close to me. Then they shut down all airports so there was no way I could fly even if I was crazy to want to. The day was frantic as Seth's sister was somewhere in the city and we couldn't get a hold of her. Things were better once we were able to speak with her to know that he was safe.
A couple days later I contacted school. They were jot so forgiving about the situation and told me that I had 2 days to get to Savannah or a failed for the semester. It was a trimester school and they only allowed 3 absences a semester. Umm ok. Did you not watch the news?! I live in an area that is still pretty much on lock down and my car is at school otherwise I would have driven back. So I withdrew for the semester. I was bummed but a school that doesn't see to care about what is going on isn't the school for me. My mom was mad at me but there were other factors up in the air as well including my housing arrangements that were not finalized still.
In the end it brought Seth and I closer. If I had gone back down GA would we still be together? Would we had called it quits because of the long distance? Who knows. I do know that my life would not be what it is today had this tragedy not occurred. I'm not saying that it was good that it happened, but that out of every tragedy there is always some good that happens. So on this day I thank all the troops that have sacrificed. I will think about all the people that lost their lives on the airplanes and in the towers. And I will forever be grateful that we were so fortunate to not have been personally affected by this as so many have.
That evening I had a flight back to GA to start my Second semester at SCAD. After seeing the footAge I didn't want to fly nor did I want to leave anyone close to me. Then they shut down all airports so there was no way I could fly even if I was crazy to want to. The day was frantic as Seth's sister was somewhere in the city and we couldn't get a hold of her. Things were better once we were able to speak with her to know that he was safe.
A couple days later I contacted school. They were jot so forgiving about the situation and told me that I had 2 days to get to Savannah or a failed for the semester. It was a trimester school and they only allowed 3 absences a semester. Umm ok. Did you not watch the news?! I live in an area that is still pretty much on lock down and my car is at school otherwise I would have driven back. So I withdrew for the semester. I was bummed but a school that doesn't see to care about what is going on isn't the school for me. My mom was mad at me but there were other factors up in the air as well including my housing arrangements that were not finalized still.
In the end it brought Seth and I closer. If I had gone back down GA would we still be together? Would we had called it quits because of the long distance? Who knows. I do know that my life would not be what it is today had this tragedy not occurred. I'm not saying that it was good that it happened, but that out of every tragedy there is always some good that happens. So on this day I thank all the troops that have sacrificed. I will think about all the people that lost their lives on the airplanes and in the towers. And I will forever be grateful that we were so fortunate to not have been personally affected by this as so many have.
Friday, September 9, 2011
The Working Mom
Now that I am back to work things have been a little crazy around the house. I get out of work at 5:00pm and I have close to a 45minute commute so as soon as I walk in the door I’m scrambling to get dinner ready. Rebecca has to eat by 5:30/5:45pm at the latest or she is screaming. Aiden is looking for a snack because he is hungry. I have relearned that I need to plan my meals in advance and I take out what I need from the freezer the night before. Last night I forgot to take out something so it turned into pizza night.
Either way it’s a lot of work. Seth has been going to bed a little later to get some paperwork done since he picks the kids up from daycare if he doesn’t have a late call. I have to prep lunches at night again. Get my clothes ready the night before. The alarm goes off at 5:10am and I snooze until 5:30. That gives me enough time to get ready before getting Aiden up at 6:15 so that he can get a Mickey fix otherwise all hell breaks loose and a meltdown ensues because he wants to watch a Mickey episode. 6:45am we’re all dressed and heading out the door so I can drop both off at daycare and then head to work by 8am. I wish it was 8:30am. That would make things so much easier on me as far as timing goes. I could leave at 7am instead and maybe spend a little more time in the drop off phase. This past week though I have come to really relish the time after work with the kids like I did at my old job. There is only so much time that is left in the day before they go to bed and now that they don’t home until close to 6pm instead of around 5pm I don’t want to miss anything. That means extra cuddles with Rebecca while she is calming down before being put in her crib around 6:45pm. Last night Aiden and I built a pillow fort on the love seat and the night before we played with is matchbox cars. He didn’t ask to watch a Mickey show and it was really nice to get that one on one time with him.
This past week I have also had time to think about my time at home with the kids. I really enjoyed being home with them. Don’t get me wrong there were times that I wanted to rip my hair out, but that is par for the course. It was easier in the end. I could help Seth out more with going to the bank, shipping packages, and mailing invoices. The house was a lot cleaner. I was able to do the laundry, dishes and any other cleaning that needed to be done during the day. I could go grocery shopping. Now I have to figure out if I want to spend 1.5 hours at the grocery store on the weekends instead of playing with the kids or do I go after they have gone to bed and then I sacrifice my workout for the night and any other house cleaning that I was trying to get done. Seth and I have talked about it and while we could make it work on just his salary it does make it a lot easier to have the 2 incomes. We would not be able to do as many things as we would like. Next year we both have a few bills that will be paid off so maybe then we will re-evaluate the situation. Until then I’m going to have to settle with being a working mom and hopefully Rebecca decides to wait to do some of her milestones at home instead of daycare.
Either way it’s a lot of work. Seth has been going to bed a little later to get some paperwork done since he picks the kids up from daycare if he doesn’t have a late call. I have to prep lunches at night again. Get my clothes ready the night before. The alarm goes off at 5:10am and I snooze until 5:30. That gives me enough time to get ready before getting Aiden up at 6:15 so that he can get a Mickey fix otherwise all hell breaks loose and a meltdown ensues because he wants to watch a Mickey episode. 6:45am we’re all dressed and heading out the door so I can drop both off at daycare and then head to work by 8am. I wish it was 8:30am. That would make things so much easier on me as far as timing goes. I could leave at 7am instead and maybe spend a little more time in the drop off phase. This past week though I have come to really relish the time after work with the kids like I did at my old job. There is only so much time that is left in the day before they go to bed and now that they don’t home until close to 6pm instead of around 5pm I don’t want to miss anything. That means extra cuddles with Rebecca while she is calming down before being put in her crib around 6:45pm. Last night Aiden and I built a pillow fort on the love seat and the night before we played with is matchbox cars. He didn’t ask to watch a Mickey show and it was really nice to get that one on one time with him.
This past week I have also had time to think about my time at home with the kids. I really enjoyed being home with them. Don’t get me wrong there were times that I wanted to rip my hair out, but that is par for the course. It was easier in the end. I could help Seth out more with going to the bank, shipping packages, and mailing invoices. The house was a lot cleaner. I was able to do the laundry, dishes and any other cleaning that needed to be done during the day. I could go grocery shopping. Now I have to figure out if I want to spend 1.5 hours at the grocery store on the weekends instead of playing with the kids or do I go after they have gone to bed and then I sacrifice my workout for the night and any other house cleaning that I was trying to get done. Seth and I have talked about it and while we could make it work on just his salary it does make it a lot easier to have the 2 incomes. We would not be able to do as many things as we would like. Next year we both have a few bills that will be paid off so maybe then we will re-evaluate the situation. Until then I’m going to have to settle with being a working mom and hopefully Rebecca decides to wait to do some of her milestones at home instead of daycare.
The Birthday Post
I’ve been such a procrastinator on this blog post. The problem is that all the pictures are still on my camera and I haven’t taken the time to go through which ones I want to share. Anyway.
Aiden’s birthday was planned or August 28th. It was a Sunday and then earlier that week as we are watching the weather to see if we would be able to be outside like planned or if all 30or so people were going to be cooped up in the house we see that a lovely Hurricane Irene is on her way for a visit. Girl you were neither invited to the party nor do I accept your RSVP. So all week we struggled with “Do we still have to party inside?” “Do we just reschedule for a different week?” As we watched the weather it seemed evident that we would only be getting rain and a lot of wind and that the peak of the storm would not hit us until later in the evening. Ok. We can still do this. We moved the party to 11am from the original 3pm time. I called all the vendors to make the change. We were all set to go. Everyone was on board with the new time. Then the night before we find out that Irene put her jets on and we were going to be hit earlier in the day. That is when all the cancelations started. Now I’m not going to lie. I was pretty bummed that we were not going to be having Aiden’s party after all. I had spent the night before decorating the house and Aiden even saw all the decorations in the morning and he was excited for his birthday party. However, it was really windy out and a lot of our friends and some family lost power. In the end it was better that we rescheduled and we probably should have in the first place (that would have saved the cake). The ultimate goal was that everyone stayed safe during the storm. And Aiden was really good about not asking when the party was going to start. We were able to change the date on the food and the balloons however the cake had been made the night before so we still had to pick that up. It was a great looking cake and I probably should have frozen it in the freezer for the following weekend instead of cutting into it. Oh well. We just ordered a smaller cake from Shaw’s with an airbrush picture of Toodles on it instead of a Toodles shaped cake.
Fast forward to Sept 3rd. It was a beautiful day out. Not too hot. A little bit humid, but not too bad. We were able to be outside and the kids were able to run around and let off any built up energy. We set everything up while Aiden napped so he wouldn’t get too excited to sleep. A few friends could not make it in the end due to a prior engagement, but we will be planning a play date soon with them. Over all it was a great day. Aiden took turns giving his friends a ride in his new Powerwheels truck that he got from Seth and I. We decided to build it and give it to him on Friday knowing that the weekend was not going to be good weather and we wanted him to be able to ride it a little bit. He does really well at driving and steering.
So Aiden had a Mickey Mouse birthday. I had little activities set up based on Clubhouse episodes. We didn’t end up getting to 2 of them. One being Goofy’s Lost Hat AKA pin the hat on Goofy and we also did not do Pluto’s Bubble Bath, which was a bubble blowing sprinkler toy. You hook it up the hose and it shoots water and blows bubbles. It just wasn’t hot enough to do that. The kids loved Minnie’s Rainbow- colored ice cubes that made a rainbow in your drink. There was Daisy’s Flower Garden- Foam flower frames art project that you decorated with other flower stickers and bugs. There was Donald’s Ducks- a duck fishing game. And the last one we did was Mickey’s Big Surprise- a piñata with goodies inside. The kids loved hitting it and picking up all the candy that was inside. Yup! Sugar them all up before sending home. YWIA!!!
Aiden’s birthday was planned or August 28th. It was a Sunday and then earlier that week as we are watching the weather to see if we would be able to be outside like planned or if all 30or so people were going to be cooped up in the house we see that a lovely Hurricane Irene is on her way for a visit. Girl you were neither invited to the party nor do I accept your RSVP. So all week we struggled with “Do we still have to party inside?” “Do we just reschedule for a different week?” As we watched the weather it seemed evident that we would only be getting rain and a lot of wind and that the peak of the storm would not hit us until later in the evening. Ok. We can still do this. We moved the party to 11am from the original 3pm time. I called all the vendors to make the change. We were all set to go. Everyone was on board with the new time. Then the night before we find out that Irene put her jets on and we were going to be hit earlier in the day. That is when all the cancelations started. Now I’m not going to lie. I was pretty bummed that we were not going to be having Aiden’s party after all. I had spent the night before decorating the house and Aiden even saw all the decorations in the morning and he was excited for his birthday party. However, it was really windy out and a lot of our friends and some family lost power. In the end it was better that we rescheduled and we probably should have in the first place (that would have saved the cake). The ultimate goal was that everyone stayed safe during the storm. And Aiden was really good about not asking when the party was going to start. We were able to change the date on the food and the balloons however the cake had been made the night before so we still had to pick that up. It was a great looking cake and I probably should have frozen it in the freezer for the following weekend instead of cutting into it. Oh well. We just ordered a smaller cake from Shaw’s with an airbrush picture of Toodles on it instead of a Toodles shaped cake.
Fast forward to Sept 3rd. It was a beautiful day out. Not too hot. A little bit humid, but not too bad. We were able to be outside and the kids were able to run around and let off any built up energy. We set everything up while Aiden napped so he wouldn’t get too excited to sleep. A few friends could not make it in the end due to a prior engagement, but we will be planning a play date soon with them. Over all it was a great day. Aiden took turns giving his friends a ride in his new Powerwheels truck that he got from Seth and I. We decided to build it and give it to him on Friday knowing that the weekend was not going to be good weather and we wanted him to be able to ride it a little bit. He does really well at driving and steering.
So Aiden had a Mickey Mouse birthday. I had little activities set up based on Clubhouse episodes. We didn’t end up getting to 2 of them. One being Goofy’s Lost Hat AKA pin the hat on Goofy and we also did not do Pluto’s Bubble Bath, which was a bubble blowing sprinkler toy. You hook it up the hose and it shoots water and blows bubbles. It just wasn’t hot enough to do that. The kids loved Minnie’s Rainbow- colored ice cubes that made a rainbow in your drink. There was Daisy’s Flower Garden- Foam flower frames art project that you decorated with other flower stickers and bugs. There was Donald’s Ducks- a duck fishing game. And the last one we did was Mickey’s Big Surprise- a piñata with goodies inside. The kids loved hitting it and picking up all the candy that was inside. Yup! Sugar them all up before sending home. YWIA!!!
Minnie's Rainbow
Goofy's Lost hat
Daisy's Flower Garden
Donald's Ducks
Bouncing on the pool.
Toodles Cake
Mickey's Big Surprise.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)