Archive for June, 2006
We all slept pretty good and decided to make the most of the beginning of the vacation. The first three days are family fun days and the last three days will be just me and Aiden at the hotel while Chris goes off to the conference. We are in the Burlington, Vermont area and decided to start off the trip with a tour of Ben and Jerry’s factory.
The tour itself was only 30 minutes and the factory was much smaller than I anticipated, but the best part was the free ice cream. Aiden apparently likes strawberry cheesecake, as do I. Remember the cuteness power I mentioned yesterday? Well, it was in high gear again today as he got an extra scoop of ice cream. Ok, they just had leftovers, but he was invited to take an extra one.
We stopped back at the hotel for some lunch and Aiden took a nap. Gave Chris and I some quiet down time together, it was nice. For dinner we went to the Green Mountain Chew Chew Food Festival on the waterfront of Lake Champlain. It was a cute little food festival where the local restaurants allow you to sample their best foods by purchasing tokens (i.e. some items were 3 or 4 tokens and tokens were 9 for $5). It was the first night of the festival and a Friday evening so there were not many people there, which made it very pleasant to take our time. We had some pretty good eats.
It was a beautiful day in the mid to high seventies and the view of the Adirondacks across the lake was amazing. Made me wish we lived closer to the mountains. Someday I guess. Until then I will enjoy this adorable college town and all that it has to offer.
June 23rd, 2006
Yes, that’s right we are on vacation again. This one sprung up out of a conference that Chris was asked to attend for work. He didn’t want to go initially, but when I expressed an interest in turning it into a family vacation he decided to give the conference a chance. So, we packed the car this morning and drove north.
Aiden was so good during the seven hour car ride. He has discovered the joy of spotting trucks, big 18-wheelers that is. Every time we passed one (or one passed us) he would get very excited and shout out, “Uck! Uck!” and we would respond, “Yes, Aiden, that is a truck. Very good.” Now, let me just say that driving during the day on the NY Thruway we encountered many, many trucks. I mean lots of trucks! It made for an interesting (and loud) ride. Thank goodness we were routed through some country roads as we approached our destination. It was cute though.
When we arrived at the hotel we expected to unpack in a spacious two bedroom suite with living area and full kitchen. I even confirmed it yesterday and called today to say that we were going to arrive later than expected to make sure it wasn’t a problem. “No problem” was what they told us on the phone mere hours before being told that there are extended stay guests who were extending their stay in our suite. So we settled on a one bedroom with separate living area and full kitchen, if a stovetop with no oven counts as a “full” kitchen.
After I got over the crankiness from having to downgrade the suite, we went to dinner at a local restaurant. Aiden was a big hit with the wait staff as he flirted with most of the women. Actually he said “Hi” to anyone that walked by, flashing them his big blue eyes. By the time we were ready to leave he was saying bye-bye to the whole restaurant and no one seemed to mind. My goodness this kid’s cuteness is powerful!
All in all, a pretty ok day. Looking forward to venturing out tomorrow.
June 22nd, 2006
I’m Crissy’s fat, pregnant friend who is due to deliver another male child to the world sometime around the end of July. We were discussing belly pictures and belly casts the other day. I was feeling like a freak because I seem to be the only pregnant woman I know (and I’ve been surrounded by them both in the real world and in cyberspace) who is not taking pictures of my growing belly. Call me lazy, call me neglectful, call me a bad mommy-to-be, but I’m not seeing what all the fuss is over photographing this astronomical weight gain of mine. I mean it’s not like anyone can actually see the baby. And it’s not likely that either my husband or I am going to forget how big I got. Now this is not to say I’m going to run and hide if a camera comes out. In fact, I graciously posed for some pictures for my aunt during Memorial Day weekend. But do I really need to pose every week or month or whatever to have my belly photographed to prove I’d be a good mommy? Is this a new requirement?
And what about these belly casts? Now who does this? And honestly, why? I can see me telling my husband he has to put Plaster of Paris on my stomach. “Oh, but, honey, please be careful not to drip any on the new cream carpets.” I foresee all of my orifices being plastered as well so he can’t hear me complain or tell him what to do. Instead of a belly cast it would be a full pregnant mommy cast. And where exactly would I store something like a belly cast? Is this meant to be displayed in the home? “Hmm, we need something to fill all that wall space over the fireplace mantel. I know, let’s hang my round belly there. Then we can proudly tell all our family and friends that our little guy grew there. And when he gets old enough he can bring all his playmates in to show them too. Awww.” Yeah, okay, like that is going to happen! Talk about setting your kid up for many years in therapy.
So, that’s my Mommy-To-Be rant of the week. Thanks Crissy for letting me get it all off my chest.
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[Editor’s Note:] Stephanie is a stay at home mommy-to-be who will become a stay at home mom. She has been my friend since junior high and we have been through many of our own milestones in life together. She likes to say that she is the spicy to my sweet. She will be writing a weekly rant if she can think of that many things to rant about…and take my word for it, she can!
June 20th, 2006
A friend of mine has been “encouraging” me to put up some more posts. I know I have been absent for a while and realize that I might be a “seasonal” blogger. I just made that up so if you are wondering what I’m talking about, please let me explain…
When I started this blog, it was late December/early January. Aiden was not walking and napped quite a bit. I was getting bored so I decided to document his life and my thoughts in this blog. As winter wore on I, not being an avid cold weather person, stayed inside and gladly posted nearly every day. Spring came and with it the rainy season and I continued to post nearly every day. With spring came the sicknesses and my interest in doing anything dropped to zero. I didn’t want to move let alone read or write.
However, as the weather became nicer we all recovered from the illnesses and became more active outdoors. Aiden is now walking like a pro, even trying out his running skills and I am horrified to say he is getting good. Outside we go, with fewer naps to contend with, to the park to play with all his new friends. It’s getting really warm out lately and we have been setting up the sprinkler, which Aiden just loves!
What does this have to do with blogging you ask? Well, I am becoming more and more active outside and less and less active inside. I barely turn my computer on once a day. I know, I know! How could that be when I was glued to it mere months ago? The thought of sitting still makes me crazy! So, during nap time or in the evenings when I would usually tune in to see what everyone else was doing and update my blog, I am either running around the house doing something or getting ready for bed.
I will try to keep you posted more often than every two weeks. I also promise to comment at least once a week. I do love being part of this community and want to remain in your good graces. You are a wonderful group of people and I appreciate each and every one of you.
Remember my friend I mentioned earlier? She wanted to help me out by being a guest blogger to get through this dry patch. She is due at the end of July and does not have an outlet like this for herself. I thought it was very sweet of her to want to assist me and subsequently asked her if she wanted to post on a weekly basis. She excitedly agreed. So, please feel free to comment on anything she has to say, I’m sure she will enjoy the banter : )
June 19th, 2006
Today we celebrate the wonderful father Chris is to Aiden. I am so proud of how well he has adapted to being a father, not that I am surprised. He is so gentle and caring with Aiden and yet can still roughhouse with the best of them. Aiden truely loves his dad and misses him when he is not around. Aiden is very fortunate that Chris is so involved in his life. Today we made an extra special effort to show Chris how much we appraciate what a great dad he is.
My dad also came up to visit as well as my brother and their significant others. My dad decided that he wanted to go for a hike and since that is right up our alley, we encouraged him to visit us for this event. We had a blast despite the heat and humidity. Aiden was as cute as ever and everyone enjoyed themselves. It was the perfect way to celebrate the dads in our life.
I hope every dad out there enjoyed their day just as much. Happy Father’s Day to you!
June 18th, 2006
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