aidan

The Lazy Days of Summer

/ aidan, books, disney world, vacation

I don’t know about you, but for me, the summer is SPEEDING by. Why is it that winter drags and drags but summertime is gone in a blink? It makes me sad. I really do NOT want snow and ice and frigid cold. I am so OVER WINTER it’s not funny. Oh well, I still have at least four months to worry about that stuff.

I’ve been catching up with Kate Brian’s PRIVATE series. I’d started reading them when they first came yout ears ago (Columbus libraries are AWESOME about getting things in quickly) but lost interest in all the murdering and such. But I picked it back up recently from the Chicago library and I am hooked again. I just want poor Reed to catch a break. I finished Revelation today and now I’m reading Paradise Lost. I also have some Disney books to check out. The library had THREE 2009 guides available. That never happens.

Speaking of Disney, I am thrilled because they added another Spectromagic parade. I thought I’d have to miss it this year, but nope. They added on on August 16th and 11pm. During Extra Magic Hours. That means the park will be less crowded, the weather will be cooler and the parade MORE AWESOME. In addition, the crowd level predictions on touringplans.com are 5s and 6s. SO much better than the 7s and 8s I was anticipating. Now our biggest worry is the heat. But plenty of water should take care of that. You should see the spreadsheet I made!

Aidan’s getting really excited about Disney World. I’m tying it into the drama that we’ve been dealing with. I told him for every day that he’s good, and that he goes to bed and stays in bed (except to potty), he gets a Disney Dollar. That’s a potential $31 to spend on whatever he wants at Disney World. He already lost last night’s (we told him that we were using that dollar to pay for the laundry he peed on again), but so far so good tonight. Plus he tried zucchini, so that’s a bonus $1. So now he’s up to having earned $2. I also told him he can earn bonus bucks by doing special things that are extra good. There is a lot of stuff he wants, and I told him it’s up to him to earn the money to get it.

Tonight, I read him a chapter from Ramona the Brave. The chapter is called Alone in the Dark and it describes Ramona being scared to sleep in her own room. I saw so many of Aidan’s patterns in it, and he recognized himself in the narrative as well. I think that I will read Beverly Cleary books for child-rearing advice. It’s like she gets inside the kid’s heads in a way that I just… can’t.

That’s all for now.

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Progress Report

/ aidan, mommyhood

So, tonight (last night?) went a LOT better. Earlier in the day, Adam and I laid down the law. (BTW Aidan woke up dry and happy.) He was going to bed at 9:30pm. He would go potty, get one story from mommy, and a DVD to watch. If he came out of his room for any reason other than to potty, first, the door would get closed. Then the light would go out. And then, no more TV.

He went into his room, no protests, and he was in a fairly good mood. No pouting, whining, etc. I went in and read him SkippyJon Jones in the Doghouse, and briefly wondered WTF the author was on when she wrote that, but went with it because Aidan was entertained and cute and cuddly. I hugged and kissed him and told him goodnight and that I loved him. He said goodnight back and told me he loved me too, and then he was engrossed by How The Grinch Stole Christmas. (Christmas in July, I suppose.) I left and there was no drama. I heard him playing and talking in other voices for a while. As long as he was in bed, I didn’t care. He was making up all sorts of adventures! And again, I can understand that tendency. Making up stories, especially at night? Wonder who he could have gotten that from?

He only called for me once, a little pitiful “Mommy, I’m scared.” I went in and told him he needed to get in the bed, gave him a funny book (Hippos Go Beserk) and told him to read that. He’d already ready SkippyJon Jones in the Doghouse again, and he tried to get me to read him another book (Puff the Magic Dragon). I told him no, we had agreed on only one story. And to be honest, if he’s really all that scared, I didn’t want to be reading to him about dragons, no matter how harmless/cute they are. That’s a middle-of-the-day book!

Anyway, he sniffled a bit, but by then, I was out of his room. Probably not even 20 minutes later, he was asleep. I just took him to go potty, and he was dry and totally out of it, as per the usual. I enjoy telling him about the silly things he does in his sleep when I take him to go potty in the middle of the night.

I’m torn between knowing how far he is playing me and how scared he really is. I remember being mostly scared of demons, devils, anything to do with hell. There are still shows I won’t watch because of it. But this kid was watching that part in Mickey’s Christmas Carol (YOU KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT) at age four, while I wasn’t able to watch it until I was 32! He rode Haunted Mansion when he was two! He and his dad used to sit and watch scary movies every Halloween, and they used to watch CSI together. Hmm, maybe that’s part of the problem now…his imagination is so fantastical, and he’s so jumpy these days. It worries me how much he’ll be able to take at Disney World, where every dark ride has a bit of spookiness in it. He’s even scared of 3D shows. But he likes Scooby-Doo. It’s really confusing.

I was playing the Sims tonight again, and another Sim died. This time he was beside me. He likes to watch it with me, but I now know NOT to go to the parks when he is watching me play, because that’s where all the deaths seem to happen! He immediately knew what was happening even before I did and jumped down. I turned the sound down on the computer and told him to stay away until it was gone. He kept assuring me over and over that he was OK. Adam was all “I gotta see this!” Tonight, three Sims died while I was playing. That’s a record for me.

ANYWAY.

We also started giving him chores to do. Now, anytime I ask him to help me clean or to pick up his toys, he does a scarily thorough job of it and he’s so agreeable about it. He also does a great job on cleaning his room, which I make him do about once a week, more often if it gets really out of control. I wonder if there needs to be something more, and if so, what?

This is quite the learning experience. If I ever have another child (which is really not likely to be honest), I will refer back to these entries because I’ve gotten a lot of good advice. And also just to remember what it’s like.

The next on the list is the eating habits, which I’ve gotten good advice for as well. Making meal time traumatic or a battlefield is not what I want to do, but he really can’t eat only chicken fries and macaroni and cheese and Froot Loops all the time. That’s not going to fly during lunch time at school when there isn’t really a lot of choice in what you get whether you take lunch or buy it. No teacher is going to be warming up chicken nuggets for him during lunch. He doesn’t seem to get that.

The eating thing is another thing he got from me, I’m afraid. I have very weird eating habits and patterns. Adam is always on me about not eating enough, or eating well enough. You all know my obsession with spaghetti and how I can eat it for two weeks straight. Aidan’s the same way. He knows what he likes and he sticks to it. On the one hand, I can’t fault him for that. But on the other hand, he’s going to have to be willing to try new things. I have my favorites, but I’m usually willing to give something new a shot. You just never know what happiness for your taste buds is waiting to be discovered!

Thanks for reading my entries and for your input. The good little boy I know and love is still here, and I am NOT looking forward to August 23 at ALL, even with these bumps in the road.

XOXO

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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The Challenges of Mommyhood (Picture)

/ aidan, mommyhood, pictures

Aidan at the Playground
Aidan at the Playground 07.13.2009

As the summer goes on, the challenges of having Aidan around all the time are really starting to rear. Ever since he saw that ghost on The Sims, it’s been a fight to get him to bed at a reasonable hour. I used to let him stay up until 10 or so, and then send him on his merry way, with a snack and a hug and a kiss. Now, what happened in his room was a different story. I’d hear him jumping on his bed, yelling at the TV, and even yelling out his window to the neighbors in the back. Adam and I had to go in and tell him to close the window and go to bed. We don’t mind him talking to the people in the back, but we DO mind him being up past midnight!

Anyway, it doesn’t work like that now. Adam and I have to tell him about 50 times to go to bed, and no matter how firm we are, Aidan still manages to stall about it. He cries and says he is scared. We go and reassure him, and then he cries again, or he calls us for a snack or a drink or just to tell us that the guy upstairs is stomping around. He always wants me to lay with him for about an hour or so before I can go, and I’m just to the point where I don’t want to do that. I mean, an hour? Especially if I have freelance work to do that I couldn’t work on because of Aidan constantly asking me questions or showing me stuff. So, I’ll read him a story (or more accurately, make HIM read to me while I help him figure out the more challenging words), but he’s a classic example of give an inch, take a mile. If I stay with him for five minutes, he wants me to stay for 15. If I stay for 15, he wants me to stay for 30. And so on. I eventually just have to push him away and tell him I have to go. Then I feel bad all night. :( I’m not sure if I’m doing the right thing–I mean, will he feel rejected? And God forbid if he cries. Even if it sounds fake, I still feel bad.

Tonight was (and still is) especially challenging. After we sent him to bed, he stood by his door and “sobbed” for about 15 minutes very loudly. Adam went in and gave him the “first graders don’t act like this” talk, but Aidan rebutted with “I’m not in first grade yet.” He called for me several times after, and each time Adam went in and talked to Aidan and answered his random questions. Then, after Adam had fallen asleep, instead of calling for me, Aidan started calling for Adam. THEN he started calling for me again, and I just finally went in. Again, he just wanted me to lay with him. He’d wet the bed on purpose because he was “scared” to go to the bathroom, even though I’d seen him go in the middle of the night plenty of times before.

I don’t know if all of this is resulting from that brief incident with The Sims, or if this is something deeper. All I know is that it is exhausting. I love my little boy, but sometimes I just need a break. I do know that he has definitely inherited my night owl tendencies, which is nice when I want to sleep in, but not nice when I am ready for him to go to bed so I can focus on work (or just screwing around on Facebook) or just turn my brain off for a while. I don’t think 10 or 10:30pm is an unreasonable time for a six-year old on summer vacation to go to bed, especially if he knows that he can watch a DVD or read a book to help him fall asleep, but I still feel guilty. Like I’m being a bad and self-indulgent mom because I make him go to his room at night so I can have a few hours of quiet and ME ME ME time before I crawl into bed.

And then there is the picky eating! He has some foods that he’ll eat: chicken nuggets, chicken fries, French fries, oranges, apples, grapes, bananas, turkey breast (oven roasted only), chicken breast, beef Ramen noodles, almost ALL candies (of course), bacon, oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, Malt-O-Meal, Froot Loops, Trix, Fruity Pebbles, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, KFC, macaroni and cheese, cheese pizza, spinach, peas, mashed potatoes (no gravy), rice (yellow), and spaghetti. Actually, that seems like quite a lot, but really, it isn’t. He will barely choke down a peanut butter sandwich, will not touch any other type of sandwich. He won’t eat ketchup or gravy. Or any kind of beef. And some of it is pretty normal, I mean, I don’t recall being that big on beef when I was little unless it was a cheeseburger–but Aidan WILL NOT TOUCH ANY KIND OF BURGER. Or hot dog. Or grilled cheese. Or just about anything that most people have for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. And even that is OK, but his reluctance to even try stuff is very impatient-making. I TRY to be patient. I don’t want to traumatize the poor boy when it comes to eating. Lord knows that is never a good thing. We want him to just TRY things. Just one bite. I don’t give him food I don’t like. It’s obvious that he’s made up his mind that he will NOT like certain foods no matter what. I’m not a cabbage pusher or anything like that… but sometimes I just wish we could go to a Mexican place and he’d eat a taco. And I know that is NOT going to happen for a long time, if ever. I feel like he is missing out on so much because he’s so used to having his own way when it comes to mealtimes. And I don’t know how to fix that without causing a major battle at the table.

And I’m sure all the parents know about the “whiny” voice. I’m pretty sure every child has this ability to make their voices strike the perfect chord to DRIVE PARENTS CRAZY. And his whiny voice really makes me crazy. It is hard not to lose patience when he does that, especially if it’s for something he is perfectly capable of solving or taking care of. He has shown us his independence many times. He gets dressed himself. He bathes himself. He can make his own chicken nuggets, and mix his own strawberry milk. He makes his own cereal in the mornings. He can change DVDs. He can get games out of the Wii and put in new games. He can do SO MUCH that I am often in awe of it. But sometimes, he’ll just NOT do it and turn on the whine. I don’t understand that. Is it laziness? Wanting attention? To be babied? I don’t know. I just don’t know.

I love my little boy. Very much. He is generally a very sweet and amazing person. He’s super smart. He’s super friendly and his world is all happy and bright (most of the time). He goes up to babies on the playground and can win over every single one of them and their moms. Today, a little boy had fallen and was crying. Aidan went over to him and held his cheek and told him everything would be OK. Then, there was a cute little baby in a swing. Aidan went over to help the baby’s grandmother push him, and the grandmother was so appreciative. She told us that Aidan was very sweet and to definitely bring him back tomorrow (today). People constantly compliment me on Aidan’s behavior, his politeness, his general AWESOMENESS. And I don’t want to squelch that by being a hardass, but maybe part of my being a hardass is to make sure he STAYS that sweet and amazing. I don’t know.

I just want to be a good mommy (and Aidan often tells me that I’m the best mommy in the world, but I always wonder if/when he’s going to decide differently), but I don’t want to lose myself in the process. It’s a hard balance to strike.

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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A Day In Naperville (Large Number of Pictures)

/ aidan, authors, living in chicago, pictures

So, as many of you who have followed me for years know, I am a HUGE fan of Sarah Dessen. HUGE. I love her work, and I love her blogs and yeah, she’s just awesome.

I GOT TO MEET HER TODAY!1!!11onewonuno!!!

Two of My Favorite Authors

Yup, that’s me in between Laurie Halse Anderson and Sarah Dessen (who is mid blink, bless her heart).

*faints*

What was so cool was that when they came in, Laurie spotted me in the audience and grinned and waved and said “Hi Ronni!” I about died from glee then. I mean, HELLO, it’s Laurie Halse Anderson, who is teh awsum! as it is. And I would have come out to see her by herself, but with Sarah? Um yeah. CLEAR THE CALENDAR, right? THEN when it was my turn, SARAH RECOGNIZED ME FROM MY COMMENTING ON HER LIVE JOURNAL. OH man. OH MAN OH MAN. *dies* SARAH DESSEN KNEW WHO I WAS, you guys!!! MAJORfangirlSQUEE! :D

I had a great time talking with both of them. Laurie hugged me, blew me kisses, complimented me on my wedding photos, and encouraged me to keep writing. She’s definitely getting a shoutout whenever I get published. She’s so inspirational and supportive and amazing. I lubs her. :)

I snagged this from Laurie’s Twitter. Can you see me and Aidan in the audience?

So yeah, I’m riding on that high pretty much.

Spending all afternoon in Naperville was a lot of fun. It was a beautiful day, and they were doing IndieBound. All the indie shops (and some non-indie shops!) were having sidewalk sales. I got a pair of Keen Newports, and I found out that I can wear a child’s size five, thus saving me lots of money on future shoe purchases. Aidan and I ate lunch at Noodles & Co, where he ate a HUGE bowl of mac & cheese, which he loved. Oh, at first he turned his nose up at it b/c he saw “white” cheese in the bowl and the cheese wasn’t all melted and mixed in. I got really firm with him because his pickiness is frustrating at the best of times. I KNOW he loves mac & cheese, and for him to say “I don’t wike cheddar” when I know DANG well he eats cheddar in his mac & cheese all the time was almost too much. I mixed up the mac & cheese for him, he took one bite, and then gobbled the rest down pretty much.

A Day In Naperville
Om nom nom!!!

While we waited for the long hours until the authors arrived to tick by, Aidan and I busied ourselves in Anderson’s Bookshop. There is PLENTY to do to spend time in that store, honestly. Like this:

Aidan Reading
Who knew SpongeBob Squarepants had his own magazine?

Here are some other pix from today:

Hi!
O Hai!

A Day In Naperville A Day In Naperville
A Day In Naperville A Day In Naperville
Tyrone Says Hi! A Day In Naperville

MOAR!

We ate Wendy’s for dinner because although I KNOW there are McDonald’s restaurants in Naperville, I couldn’t find any on the roads I was on. Thank goodness Aidan was agreeable to that suggestion. I got teased by some customers behind me because I ordered myself a Kid’s Meal. :o

Those are the highlights of a pretty great day. I was worried that I wouldn’t feel OK all day because I didn’t get a lot of sleep. I was playing Sims3 last night and mistakenly called Aidan over to watch as one of the Sims was getting carted off by the Grim Reaper. It scared the pants off of him (I thought he might laugh at it) because of the scary music and the guy turned into a ghost… he was up all night freaking out, and he climbed into bed with me at about 6am. Poor little guy. Sometimes that stuff makes him laugh but sometimes it scares the poop out of him. Last night was a poop eliminating (figuratively, of course) session. I just didn’t THINK. *hits self on head*

Oh well. Live and learn. It all worked out in the end. Aidan only bumbled up slightly a couple times, and both times were easily remedied by getting his blood sugar back up. He was a really good boy. :)

Now I have to figure out how to get him to bed soon. I have a headache and he’s going strong for some reason. : Well, he knows that once The Wiz ends, he’s to go to bed. And they just made it to Oz. Woohoo.

Until next time….

P.S. Only 35 Days Til Disney!!!!!!

E.T.A. Click! Adopt one today! Adopt one today! Adopt one today!

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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I Am The Firebird’s Child! (Videos)

/ aidan, life, living in chicago, videos

S.J. Tucker is in town today and I didn’t get a chance to go to see her sing. *sniffle* Next time. Definitely next time.

I had a yummy July 4th. Tried to get a nap in, but it was hard as Aidan had lots to talk about. Jeff and Deborah came over and we had good food and walked to watch fireworks. We also had Italian Ice. Adam had pineapple, Aidan and I had cherry, and Jeff and Deborah had blue razz. Yummy.

Baked beans are full of win. Especially with a grilled hot dog. Oh yum.

Of course I took video of the ridiculous neighborhood fireworks:


Next weekend, Sarah Dessen and Laurie Halse Anderson will be here! *insert fangirlSQUEEing here* I am already nervous about it. I’m thinking that Aidan and I will head out to Naperville early and kind of make a day of it… I want to get PRIMO seats, and OMG OMG OMG SARAH DESSEN you guys.

Adam and I paid off our Disney World balance on July 1st. Now all I have to do is wait for all the fun stuff to come in the mail…then go on the trip! Aidan and I went online and customized maps, and we talked about which things we want to ride. As the trip gets closer, the real hard core planning comes. He said he wants to do autographs, which will be new for both of us. We’ll see how it all goes! Autographs tend to annoy me, unless they’re at the character meals. They really hog up a line, especially if a mom brings up eight books or something like that.

I guess I don’t have a whole lot to say. Just wanted to show off the fireworks video, and the video of Aidan kicking his own butt, right here:

Ta ta!

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