Naptime

Does anyone else have problems getting their children to take a nap? It's not the nap itself, it's the prelude to the nap. It starts with whining on the way home from the gym (around 11am most days). "I don't wanna take a nap!" Now, naptime isn't until 1:30, but yes, the prelude itself starts 2 hours earlier...Then there is lunch. He has taken to playing with his food instead of eating it because the end of lunch signifies yet another step towards that dreaded nap...Finally after many reminders to eat, I throw up my hands and threaten to take his food away if the timer goes off before he is done. Suddenly he's oh so hungry and in about 3 minutes he'll polish off his plate. And then, when naptime finally comes, you'd think I was asking him to endure shots at the doctor's office by the melodrama that ensues. And does he sleep? You bet! Usually 2.5-3 hours of sleep, so I know he needs it, I just don't know why it's such a fight every day. So is it just me?

Yet Another Blog

http://onelsiesmind.blogspot.com/

This is a blog that I plan on maintaining daily with news tidbits and anything else I find interesting. Hence the title On My Mind...I anticipate the topics to range from weight loss and exercise to parenting and fertility...whatever I find in the news that strikes me as interesting and relevant. If you're interested check it out and leave comments.

Back to the subject at hand...

Because who really wants to hear about me, right? Where do I start with little man? Or should I say Big Man? Because that's what he insists that I call him now. No more Little Bug, Boosie, Buddy Boy, or Little Man. "Mama need call me Big Man. I a Big Man!" Sniff, sniff...He's growing up way too fast.

And he had his first bee sting last week. Sad! We sat on the back porch and Mike snapped these pictures from our bedroom window...Stinker was spying on me! But you can see the bowl of baking soda and his little hand held out with the baking soda sitting on it.


And last but not least, I have to show everyone the cornhole boards that Mike worked long and hard on (Thanks J.P!). As you can all see, Aiden was very excited about this new game! And yes, Daddy chose the shirt...don't ask where the shorts were at this point, I really don't know.

Where have I been?

I hope to be back soon with pictures, but before I leave you all panting for more news on life with Aiden, I wanted to tell you why I've been MIA. I've started working. Mike told me to get useful or get out...No, I'm just kidding, he's been extremely supportive of me because this is something that I wanted and needed. So what is this job of mine? Freelance writing. So it's perfect because I can stay home with Aiden, but I have something that I can do on the side during naps and early evening hours. Plus, my brain doesn't feel quite as mushy as it used to.

I hesitated to tell everyone about this until I was sure it was something I would enjoy and stick with. But it's really a lot of fun. There's no adrenaline rush like landing a job. When you realize that you have a commodity that someone else wants, wow, it's quite flattering. I finished my first job yesterday and God has already provided another one. This one may lead to more jobs. If anyone else out there is looking to start a freelance business, I highly recommend www.elance.com. and I'd be happy to talk with you more about it.

Sugar Momma

Well, hardly...so my writing so far has earned me 16 cents. It's not much, but it's more than I've ever been paid to write before, so I'll take it. And as more people stumble across my articles, I earn more pennies. Hey, a penny saved is a penny earned, so it's exciting for me.

There will be more to follow on Aiden...it's just that I've, um, lost my camera. Sort of. I left it at my friend's house 2.5 hours away. She's going to send it to me when she gets a chance, but she's a first year doctor, so I have a feeling it'll be awhile. I have a backup around here somewhere, but I haven't really searched for it yet. Instead I've been grabbing my camcorder, and video clips are much more involved when it comes to uploading them to the computer. So yes. It boils down to me being lazy.

However, Aiden has learned to actually ride his tricycle (as opposed to pushing it) and now loves to ride down the street on his own. His favorite thing is to come to the crest of a hill, pedal as fast as he can and then lift his feet into the air and let his bike careen down the hill. Unfortunately he wobbles his handlebars back and forth as he does this (because he's so excited) and has come close to taking a good tumble a few times (Yes, my child can flip a tricycle...how's that for talent?). Thankfully, I've been jogging within arms reach both times it's happened, but let's face it. I won't be jogging within arms reach of him forever...Maybe it's time to invest in that safety helmet my pediatrician recommended. She said he wouldn't need it yet, she just thought it'd be a good idea to get him used to it, I'm thinking there may be a real need for it...And kneepads and elbow pads...hmmm, can I just strap a pillow to him or is that overkill?

And it isn't so much that I'm afraid of him getting hurt, I mean, of course I'm concerned about that, but the bigger concern is that he'll skin his knee and we'll be hearing about it for the next month. About two weeks ago now he stubbed his toe on the pavement and took off a nice layer of skin. It has pretty much healed over, but any time he wakes up, takes a bath, goes swimming, or breathes, he reminds me of his "owie". I suppose turnabout is fair play as I remember my parents telling me to stop whining about my aches and pains when I was a kid, but seriously...The kid comes up with owies that are invisible to the naked eye. And then he wants a Popsicle to make it feel better. I'm not against giving him a Popsicle for a mouth wound (it's a great way to ice that down), but for the hangnail on his index finger? Really? C'mon Aiden! So if he were to fall off of that tricycle and skin his knee, I have a feeling I'd have to buy the kid an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen in order to get over that "owie". That's why I'm considering ways to strap pillows to him...It's purely for my own survival, not his.

Profit

I've found a way to write and get paid for it. Wow! I'm still checking things out, so I'm not sure how much I'll really make from this, but if you click on the link to the right you can see my articles that have been published (and it helps me get paid if I have more viewers). At the time of this post, there is only one article, but I hope to add more. I have all kinds of things I can write about.

If any of you are interested in doing something like this, check out www.triond.com. There are all kinds of things you can upload and get paid for. Pictures (Joel and Jesse--are you guys reading?), movies, writings, etc.

Happy Birthday to Aiden!

3 years old! Wow! Where has the time gone?

Here is Aiden showing us how old he is:





This is Aiden's birthday present. We bought it hoping he'd figure out how to pedal, but instead he's stubbornly insisting that he push himself along with his feet. Ahhh, 3 year-olds...They remind me of the middle schoolers I once taught.



In fact, he finally gave up altogether as you can see from the pictures below:




And of course, like every 3 y/o who gets to choose his own dinner, Aiden chose...Wait! That's not pizza? Sushi?! And yes, he ate all but 2 pieces of that. (And it is California roll so there was no raw fish, don't panic people!)



And it was just mommy and daddy singing happy birthday this year, but that didn't seem to taint his enjoyment of the moment. Just look at that grin!



Happy Birthday little man! We're so glad you're here!