I get by with A LOT of help from my friends

Where's all those wonderful pictures from California, Britt? I'd love to see more of Aiden's trip to Disneyland!

Hey....Oh hi everyone! I think I remember you guys. It's actually pretty hard to forget about y'all when I keep hearing about how you need to see Aiden's summer updates...

Here's the thing.

I am having such a hard time keeping up with this kid. One minute he needs to be registered for flag football, the next minute he has kindergarten PTA meetings. If we aren't trying to get in a quick swim in the afternoon it's because he has the social calendar of a New York hotel heiress. I mean, jeeze. This kid is everywhere.

And on top of it all he is actually headed off to kindergarten. Really soon. Don't even get me started on that whole process...because if it is some sort of testing and assessment of my parenting skills, clearly, I fail.

In all honesty though... I will get the California trip up as soon as I am able, and in the mean time, while everyone is soaking up the last couple rays of summer sunshine (Colorado Thunderdays I affectionately call it) it just sort of seemed like the time to stop and take a breath.

I've done a great deal of reflection the last couple months. With Aiden really growing into this new stage of being a kid, it's hard not to sit back and remember him as a screaming baby who would never sleep. It was so miserable, and I always felt so alone. But I wasn't.

I had Kelly, to help me give him his first bath and to go with me to his baby doctor appointments. And I had Randalicious to help me hold him when I had to study or write a paper. Because of a couple really strong people, I was able to get so much done. Kelly has always been there when I've struggled, I can call at any time and say, "Please come over, I might kill my kid" - I'm kidding. But without my friends, new ones and old ones, I don't think we would have made it to kindergarten.

Single parenting is hard, really hard. Especially if you have any kind of silly notions about a life for yourself. I'm just saying...I get by with A LOT of help from my friends.

Pictures coming soon! Promise!

A Series of Unfortunate Events or Thank You, Citizens of WalMart

I know that OutNumbered is often funny, because it is usually funny at my expense. And I fully expect this post to be every bit as hilarious as all others, if not actually laugh-out-loud funny, but I want to preface it with a little bit of seriousness.

A parent's greatest fear - child abduction. As a parent, I find nothing scarier. Our culture runs rampant with the subject these days - think about how you felt reading "The Lovely Bones" for the first time, whether you have kids or not, it was literally the worst case scenario. With the Super Bowl not that far behind us, there was a lot of negative press surrounding sex-trafficking in America...an even worse case scenario.

I recently saw a "kidnapping experiment" on Twitter (@bbabybritt if you're wondering...) that maybe some of you also saw, if not it's attached here:

It's absolutely terrifying to think it could happen to you and even more terrifying to think it couldn't. On top of all of this, I have been reading "Doctor Sleep" - GoodReads review here:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/831475539

...and it's a doozy, but basically, it's about special children disappearing and never coming home.

All that being said...Aiden got the cops called on Randalicious yesterday for kidnapping.

They went to WalMart to pick out some Valentine's for Aiden's party at school today. Randalicious told Aiden that he could have a Peppermint Patty (his FAVORITE) if he was good in the store. Of course he threw a fit, which I can only imagine became a tantrum/melt down in a matter of seconds. Bystanders would tell you that he was screaming throughout the store, "I want my daddy! I want my daddy! I want my daddy! I want my daddy!" The trained ear of Aiden's caregiver knows he was screaming, "I want my patty! I want my patty!I want my patty!I want my patty!"

Randalicious tried fervently to settle on-lookers and a woman at the check stand who insisted that he let the little boy call his daddy so that he might calm down. My calm and patient (and handsome and wonderful) father who was sent by the grace of God no doubt, explained, "He doesn't want to call his daddy, he wants a Peppermint Patty..."

No use. The woman - or another suspicious individual - followed them to the parking lot and scribbled down Randalicious' license plate number and then proceeded to call the cops.

In the meantime, I had left work and called them to check in on Aiden. He was still upset and screaming "I want my patty!I want my patty!I want my patty!" Though I took it for, "I want my daddy!  I want my daddy!  I want my daddy!" Once he calmed down and talked with me for a bit about some things he might be able to do in order to get back into Grandpa's good graces, they were off to McDonald's.

Thinking maybe a little play time on the giant jungle gym might help soothe Aiden, Randalicious loaded him into the car. At this point in time, he noticed a squad car parked just a little ways down the road and it noticed him - him, and Aiden. The officer pulled up to the house, asked Randalicious about who he is, what the situation is with Aiden, where his parents are, why someone from WalMart might have called the cops...on and on.

Oh Aiden....Oh dear, sweet Aiden.

Poor Randalicious.

While it is all so funny now, I sincerely mean it when I say, "Thank you citizens of WalMart, good lookin out!!"

Now I owe my father the Valentine's Day gift to top all others, but really, thank God that my community is aware and would call the cops just because they had a bad feeling even though it was wrong.

Summer Break Part II

Alright, where did we leave off???

Oh yeah, it was Father's Day and Aiden was having ice cream.

Like I mentioned, sugar has been nixed at home - but this doesn't stop his Grandpa's sweet tooth one bit. Aiden and Randalicious go for a treat after school at least two days a week and probably more, recently.

If you have ever heard me talk about why I work so much, you have most assuredly heard the rant about the cost of Legos. And the set-up of the stupid Lego store which is such that you have to pass all the cool packages of current pop-culture trend related play sets in order to get to the cheap(er-mildly...) Legos in the back. Ugh...I digress.

Anyway, my point is. Aiden likes Legos, they are expensive, so is practically everything else - new shoes for rough and tumble boys, bigger clothes for growth-spurt-prone kids, etc.

So Aiden gets a little extra time with Randalicious while I work odd promotions, in odd places. Most recently, I found myself in the middle of no where North Platte, NE - whose claim to fame is Buffalo Bill, and that's about it. While walking around the "museum" (it was really a giant gift shop with a Buffalo Bill statue) trying to find a souvenir for the Bubba, I spotted a bag full of plastic horses and wagons and thought - Perfect! It'll do...

Aiden was so happy just to hear that he got something that he didn't care what it was...

   

And then we opened it up...the world's most offensive toy.

At least most of the red colored pieces are cowboys right??

He loves it, of course... but mostly only plays with the wagons and boats now, though it didn't take him long at all to figure out Cowboys & Indians.

Aiden has been getting a lot of play time with new kids this summer too! Stand by for the "Art Camp Blog" - anyway, he went to his second cousin Sebastian's birthday last month. The two of them are almost exactly 6 months apart - Aiden being older - but the closeness in age definitely shows! 

Sebastian's party was pirate themed, right up Aiden's alley, and it was all sorts of running around crazy - thank God my kid isn't the only one who wants to do only this, all day, everyday.

Waiting to hit the pinata...

Takin a swing...

Playing in the bouncy castle with the boys

Showing off his pirate sword!

Hope everyone is having at least half as much fun as this kid is this summer!

Summer Break 2013 Part I

Holy cow! Does anybody else feel like the summer is just flying by? It simply isn't fair. I haven't had hardly enough time to play with Aiden in the pool and even less time to write about him! I have so many funny stories and updates and pictures, but my OCD self will not let me tell them out of order.

So from the beginning of Summer Break 2013

We've been trying to get out and do at least one special thing every weekend together. Like a movie, a museum trip, a picnic, etc. We started by mini golfing....

This was Aiden's first time mini golfing, and he requested that Uncle Nik and Sam come with us. And naturally, when he cheated THE WHOLE TIME, it didn't bother anyone...

He was really captivated by all the props and statues - but we are going to have to work on his golf etiquette since he just kinda wandered to and from which ever holes he wanted.

We got to do a little hiking up Coal Creek Canyon to see the "Tree House"

Stopping along the way to look at the art in the woods and picking up sticks.

Then chasing Mommy with the sticks.

Aiden also made sure that Mommy wore lots

and lots....

and lots of sunscreen. 

He is getting to be so grown up, and often pretending he is the parent and I am the child. Fine by me...wonder when he'll start paying rent and doing laundry? A girl can dream :)

For Father's Day we had a really mellow BBQ at Randalicious' house - everyone ate way too much after promising to Aiden that we would all go to the park and play baseball on the REAL baseball field. So all of the food-comatose adults had to buck up and work it off.

Luckily, the rain gave us a reprieve and had us running for home after two quick innings in which only Aiden was up to bat.

He didn't seem to mind when we got home though because Aunt B & Uncle Dave brought more sugary goodness than he'd ever seen in his life to make ice cream sundaes with!

Since the start of summer though, Aiden's diet has really changed at home. I still allow him to have sugar at his grandparent's and other caregiver's houses. But at home we have pretty much nixed sugar and nitrates completely. Poor kid - his cookie jar is filled with granola. But, he is doing really well physically and behaviorally with the cut back on all that crap - so I can only feel a little bad that he doesn't have cookies and hot dogs at home hardly at all.

Since he's doing so much better, he is getting along great in summer camp and talks on and on and on about his guys friends these days. Christina (his little girlfriend) isn't in camp so he is just enjoying his little bromances. He even asks if he can have "So and So" or "Whatshisname" over to his house.

Such a sweet kid.

More Summer 2013 updates to follow.

Small Miracles

What a difference!!

Aiden has begun his occupational therapy (OT) after weeks and weeks of being wait-listed. After all the insurance drama and prescription debauchery, it was so worth the wait. Miss Jackie (the OT) will be taking Miss Jo's place since Aiden is done with speech therapy and she is an awesome fit.

We talked for about an hour about the things that bother Aiden and what his teachers see as "problem areas," and she listened and took notes and came back with good, solid answers.

Everything about Aiden tells her that he is a "sensory kid." His issues have to do with his Kinesthetic Sensory System and his Vestibular Senses.

The Kinesthetic System is what "grounds" your body - you know you are standing on the floor, supported by the foundation which sits firmly in the ground. You are aware of the location of your limbs/extremities and you can feel the space around you. For Aiden, these sensory receptors are slow or interrupted (between the shoulders and other major joints, and the brain) so he is unaware of what space his body is in, how much room he has to move or stop moving - thus he plows over and through things without a second thought to get to where he wants to go.

The Vestibular System  is managed by the inner ear and fluid inside of it. This is less of a problem for Aiden, as he often "crashes" on purpose because of the jolt it gives his Kinesthetic receptors - not because he can't balance. However, this particular system explains a lot about this kid. Why the car in the street sounds as loud as the game in his hand, as loud as the dishwasher in the other room, as loud as the thunder outside, etc. It's all loud, all the time. He actually calls it fast - this is intentional. All of the noise input makes his mind race and he gets confused and disoriented. It also explains why he doesn't like showers or getting his head wet - those sensations further exacerbate the input he is getting an overload of.

Once we talked about what's going on with Aiden, we talked about ways to help calm him down. Jackie brought a bag full of sensory objects to touch and feel and we founds somethings that Aiden could wrap around his arms to help reset his Kinesthetic receptors.

We also practiced some things that we can physically do to help him - rhythmic pressure through his arms and legs to the shoulder and hip joints. Randalicious and I took turns practicing and by the time we had it down, Aiden was hypnotized. It was a miracle. And he loved it. He said it felt good, he was smiling. He was calm.

Jackie watched him work with some play-doh and asked about his hobbies and his puzzles and she was truly astonished by what he knows and can do - this leads me to worry a little toward the other end of the spectrum. Clearly he is a smart kid, but if he can't figure out how to literally settle himself he could potentially hate learning and get really frustrated by school.

For now though, I am happy that we are figuring out the little pieces - I think he is too.

He's had a really good week, playing with his kitty - who is dying to go out for walks now that the weather is better.

Going to the Aquarium.

He even found his Game-Boy - which I had given up for lost over a month ago!

And he is hard core sleeping at night.

It's the little things. It really is.

A Much Happier Hoe-Down

Hey all, lots of requests for pics and videos from last week's Hoe-Down at Abiding hope.

It went MUCH better than last year.

Aiden was such a champ, and so totally into it - I might have shed a tear or two, either out of beaming pride or total laughter.

Anything that doesn't fit in this post can be found on Facebook :)

And some of the action...

See Facebook for more videos - Aiden had really, just such a great time :)

Curious Curiosities

Last night, Aiden was a bit subdued. After sustaining a small injury at school he was being quiet and just wanted to play LEGO's after dinner, so I left him to his own devices while I read awhile.

Shortly before bath time he asked if we could watch Dora or Diego. This is a new fascination of his, but it is thrilling to me to no end. When I am in the other room putting away laundry or in the kitchen cooking something and I hear him talking to the TV about how old he is, how many animals he sees on the screen or singing in Spanish - I am over joyed. I love the interaction he enjoys with these kid's shows; I am really not sure where it came from but he thinks it is the greatest thing in the world and I think him learning these things (especially the basic Spanish) is pretty neat too.

Anyway, the episode was progressing and Diego was trying to save a baby chinchilla from some snakes when quiet, docile Aiden asked me, "Do we live on the Earff?"

We went around and around until I understood the "Earff" is the "Earth," and I told him, "Yes, we live on Earth, pretty neat huh?"

"Yeah, it's a good idea, I like the Earff," and he went kinda quiet again, watching Diego go on about his business, when he piped up again with, "A rock hits the Earff? A big rock crashes?"

My jaw dropped. "Who told you that? Where did you hear that? No, sweetie, there are no rocks going to crash the Earth." I waited to hear his response.

"We have a moon?"

Ok. Time to get the solar system puzzle out.

Aiden got a big solar system floor puzzle for Christmas that he hasn't played with much since, so we got it out and put it all together.

After we got it together, we started talking about the different things he could see. I asked him about the sun, why is it so big and so yellow? And we talked about why the "Earff" looks so blue, and which one of the green patches we live on (and Grandpa too!). We talked about all the things "floating" around in the Milky Way - which prompted the need for candy...and we talked about why Pluto is on the puzzle but it's name isn't there.

Aiden's a pretty cool kid. A curious kid, who's curiosities make me curious. But, a really cool kid.

Another Great One

As always, Halloween did not disappoint. 

Since I was working on Saturday night, I didn't get to go all out in costume and celebrate my favorite holiday but I did get to spice up the LBD a little bit.

Aiden began celebrating on Friday by going Trick-or-Treating at Grandma Deiker's office so his candy stash was well on its way by the end of the weekend. Aunt Dana even brought home a pair of Vampire fangs from her Halloween party for him to play with.

He is so spooky!

On Halloween night we went Trick-or-Treating in Randalicious' neighborhood (where I used to go) for the first time. Aiden was so independent and all "big boy" about the whole thing.

He rang all the door bells by himself, said "Trick or treat!" and "Happy Halloween" and lots of "Thank you's"

There was one house though that was just a little too spooky for him, so he took Daddy to the door with him.

All night he was great about holding hands and staying on the sidewalk. I was personally impressed by how many parents were out and volunteer safety patrols.

Aiden was so funny, when he passed a group of parents who said, "Spiderman, COOL!" He silently, coolly looked up at them and shots some imaginary spidey-webs at them. I don't know who thought it was funnier.

As we walked away I whispered to Steve, "Our kid is such an effing B-A"

On an even more amusing note, I decided to participate in Jimmy Kimmel's You Tube Challenge this year --

"Hey Jimmy Kimmel, I told my kid I ate all their Halloween candy"

Enjoy the results knowing, I promptly gave him a piece afterward because I felt so bad.

Ready for Halloween

 Some of us more than others....

Aiden in particular is overly excited. I don't know if I mentioned or not but the subject of witches, ghosts and pumpkins came up during conferences last week - not in a bad way, but lets say, this time of year - dinosaurs take a back seat to Halloween.

Being the Halloween nut that I am, this should surprise no one really, but what may shock you, is that we still have not done pumpkins. There was in fact a time when we would go get our pumpkins in September because I was worried about shortages - yes ladies and gentlemen, I have long been fearful of pumpkin shortages.

Anyway, even though they are more expensive at private pumpkin patches, this ritual is decidedly important enough for us to make a whole ordeal out of pumpkin picking. So we spend Sunday morning at the pumpkin patch.

Aiden wore his Spiderman costume, because of course if he only gets to wear it to school and trick-or-treating, we will no doubt, not be using it nearly enough.

He spent a good deal of time inspecting the left over pumpkins, and after seeing Steve "knock" on the side of one to see if it was rotten, Aiden then had to pat down all possible carving contenders.

There were carving stations and farm animals to pet also, as well as other kids to play with, and an amusing learning experience about see-saws.

 It was such a beautiful day, once I was done being the "Mom-aratzi" we just sat and enjoyed the warm sun while Aiden played.

And played....

And played some more...

Since it was such a nice day, we decided on a picnic lunch in the park - mostly so Aiden could get more use out of his Spiderman outfit.

Climb Spidey, climb!

Once he was officially tuckered out, we went home for a nice long snooze, then headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner. Aiden was super excited, he got to help put up Halloween lights last week, so he spent a great deal of time Sunday night admiring his handy work.

He was so wound up last night that I had to remind him at bed time what a busy week we have - we have to carve our pumpkin...("Oh boy!") and make our ghosts....("Oh my gosh!") and buy candy...("Oh my candy!"). He added trick or treating to the list and I didn't have the heart to tell him no :)