Catching Up!

I am a terrible blogger!! I knew it had been awhile since I blogged but I did not realize it had been that long! We have had a lot going on and have been busy. Things are going very well. Our only struggle right now is Aidan. He is two and all boy! As if that statement does not say enough this is what is going on with him. He is very clingy to me and does not separate well from me, James or Riley. He is in that phase where he is pushing his limits, testing us ALL the time and not listening. So some days are a struggle and sometimes he spends a lot of time in the corner (regular time out does not phase him....but he HATES going to the corner). We started him in a gym class about a month ago. He likes it a lot but does not participate in the beginning group activities (stretching, singing,dancing). He wants me to hold him & does not say a word. When open play stats he is all over the place and has great time. Of course when we get home he does all the stretches & sings all the songs : ) He & I started going to story time at the library also. We don't go every week, but we go about every other week. We also started having play dates with a couple of Riley's classmates. They happen to have younger siblings and one is exactly the same age as Aidan...so the play dates are great for him also. With that, we have started going to church on Wednesday nights and once a month I have an event at church. During those times he goes to childcare. We are hoping that these activities will start to help all of us through this phase! He is doing great with potty training and I am pleased to report we should not have purchase anymore diapers!!! WOO HOO!! Riley is doing great! She loves pre-school and is doing great with it. She is very well behaved (most of the time : ). The only time we have any problems with her is when Aidan aggravates her. She does not quite undetstand how to react to him & handle the situation. So, we are trying to teach her to ask for help and not get aggravated. This has been a challenge! When it is just her, she is great, with just the occasional talking back or not listening, which is easily addressed. On a happy note...Aidan is developing a sense of humor. He has always been the serious one but he is starting to come out of that shell. So, between the two of them (and my silly husband) we are doing a lot of laughing & playing these days! Aidan's terrible 2's aside, the kids are both at a great age and we are enjoying them very much! I joined a group at Church called Mom 2 Mom and I absolutely love it! We meet once a month for 3 hours. We have breakfast, prayer time, a guest speaker, craft time and prize time! It is awesome! I have met a lot of great moms! My pelvic pain is gone!!! Looks like it was my bladder and not my uterus! A change in diet and I am feeling so much better! Another WOO HOO!!! Wish I could say the same about my sinus' though : ( The problems are getting worse and lasting longer (this time it's been 5 straight weeks of sinus pain and/or congestion...YUCK!). I finally was refered to the EENT. I go next week and I don't think I have been more excited about going to the doctor! Other than that we are just waiting for cold/flu season to be over....Riley has another cold and Aidan has an ear infection. James is in the clear this time! Oh yeah, he has less a month to cherish his 20's!!! He turns 30 in just a few weeks!

Sick Kids...

Last week Riley had a stomach virus. Today Aidan woke up with one. They are both feeling better but it just breaks my heart when they are sick! Hopefully after this we will be done w/ the germs for a bit! Since Riley was sick last week we didn't do much. But I had the weekend off and we had a great time. Saturday we went to ride the Santa Train in Spencer. The kids had a blast. They love trains and really enjoy train rides....the fact that Santa was there was just the icing on the cake! Riley is very fond of Santa this year. We have gone to see 4 times now. She hugs him, sits on his lap and just talks away! Aidan is a different story though. He gets very excited and wants to see him but he gets scared once he is on his lap and starts to cry. So, I just hold him while Santa talks to him but Aidan won't talk back : ) Nonetheless, he loves to 'see' him! After the train ride we went to James parents and hung out for a bit. They kept the kids and we went to James' company Christmas party. It was at the Palm and as always the food was spectacular and we had a great time! We are supposed to go to the Christmas Party at Concord Airport tomorrow night. I hope Aidan is feeling better because we are all looking forward to it. The kids love airplanes also, so they are very excited they are getting to have dinner at the airport and getting to see Santa AGAIN!!!

Two wonderful days...

We have had two great days! I was in a 'funk' this week until yesterday :( I think it has to do w/ me being emotional with it being our first set of Holiday's w/o dad. It's been on my mind a lot and it's just been a little upsetting. I'm very glad to be feeling better. Yesterday Aidan and I stayed home all morning while Riley was in school. We never do this so it was a nice change. Aidan was very tired and slept all morning so I started cleaning and doing laundry. We came straight home after picking up Riley. The kids played wonderfully for 2 hours. This usually does not happen for more than a few minutes at a time....so I kept cleaning and let them play. I did the same while they took their nap. By the time James got home I had almost the entire house done! Most of you know that I LOVE having a clean house so I was very excited!!! Then we went to dinner. We don't do this much anymore b/c Aidan is a handful. So, most of the time dinner out is not enjoyable right now. They were awesome though so we had a great time! After that we went Christmas shopping for our Angel that James picked out from the Angel Tree. After the kids went to bed I got the rest of the house done! Woo Hoo!!! It feels great to have it all done at once instead of in bits and pieces....that doesn't happen much anymore : ) This morning Riley had her first dentist appointment. She did GREAT!!! James and I were very shocked at how well it went. She was a very big girl and let them do everything they needed including the cleaning. She was nervous but the staff was awesome and really put her at ease. We were impressed w/ the office and with Riley! After that we came home for our play date w/ Papa, Emily and Hailey. (The girls are Riley and Aidan's cousins . They are staying w/ Bill & Debbie for a bit and the kids are very excited b/c they love spending time with them. ) The kids had a great time playing and having McDonalds for lunch! After they left it was so nice outside we wanted to stay outside. We went for a nice long walk then played outside for awhile. We all needed that! It was very refreshing. Tonight we just hung out for a bit b/f James left (he went to a concert w/ Chris) and had chicken chili for lunch...my new favorite...Yummy!!! After he left I let the kids cuddle in the bed w/ me and watch a movie (cuddle time is my favorite!). Riley is still cuddling me with me now as she sleeps and I watch the 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2'. The perfect ending to two wonderful days!!!!

A note from Riley....

kjhgdfdsnbvcg7ytk790oiuyghvb :)

Thanksgiving Weekend:

I cannot believe Thanksgiving has come and gone! For those of you that do not know...Thankgiving is my family's big Holiday of the year. So, I'm very sad to see it go. It is the one time of year where my mom's family gets together. We are scattered over several states so it is hard to get everyone together. We usually have about 3/4 of the family together but this year we were missing a few of our regulars :( So, KK's house was not as full as it usually is. We still had a great time as we always do.....lots of food (noodles...that is our most important Thanksgiving dinner tradition...YUMMY), card playing and laughter! I am hoping to figure out how to add pictures on here this afternoon....so hopefully I will be able to share some of the pictures! We came home earlier than we usually do so we had Saturday to get unpacked and wash clothes. Then last night we went to Christie's house to meet her new niece (she is precious!) and finally have my kids meet Christie's parents!!! It was a great visit that was very long overdue. After that we went to dinner w/ Michelle and Christie. The kids were very well behaved so we had a great dinner! They have gotten hard to take out to eat so we don't try it much anymore : ) Today we are having a very lazy, cold, rainy Sunday! It is great! Tonight we are going to make soup for dinner then cuddle on the couch and watch 'The Polar Express'. What a great couple of days!!!!

A little bit of catching up....

For those of you we don't talk to much here is a little update... James is still working for the same company. He got his P.E. in June of 2007 so he is officially a Professional Engineer! I am very proud of him!!! He works a lot and he is very dedicated to his job. He is an amazing father. He gets to be the fun one and is always making the kids laugh!! His dad recently retired so we spend a lot of time w/ his parents. I started working part time after Riley was born so I could be home w/ her. Right now, I'm working Sat/Sun 8-4 and Monday nights. I hate working the weekends but it works great for us as a family. It's great being home w/ them and I feel very fortunate that I am able to be! I have to admit, I had no idea how hard this parent thing was going to be though: ) Riley is 3 1/2 (still can't believe it!!!). She is in Pre-School 3 days a week at our Church. She loves it. She is learning a lot and making some great friends. She is very sassy and opinionated. She has the greatest laugh that just makes you smile! She loves to dance and sing. She also loves being silly...she has a great sense of humor. Aidan, just turned 2 (WOW). He is wide open and ALL boy!! He has a smile that just melts your heart! He is learning to stand up to his big sister and spends a lot of time in time-out. He loves to flirt. Yes....his winks & eye batting still work on me!!! I am lucky to say that we are a genuinely happy family! We are not happy all day every day but we are happy EVERY DAY. The past few years have been a little crazy but James and I have weathered the storms and created a wonderful home & a happy family!!!

Finally!!!!

Wow!!! I can't believe I'm actually doing this! It's only taken me 2 months to make my first post. I'd like to start by explaining why I created this blog....We have alot of family and friends that we don't get to see very often and this is a great way to keep them updated on our life. Also, it is a easy way to share pictures with everyone! I am very excited about this and I hope that you all visit often and enjoy following "Our Moose Tracks'! Just a warning...it may take some time to learn how to share the pictures! LOL