10 Things I Think I Think

1. Winter has just got to stop. Seriously. I need to see COLOR when I look out my front window instead of this vast blanket of white.

2. Mike & I need a date. Mimi, and thus our most trusted babysitter, has been in Florida this past week. She & Grandpa get back tonight, so maybe tomorrow Mike & I can sneak away for dinner--we've got a gift certificate to a new restaurant that is literally burning a hole in my pocket.

3. I have an awful lot of stuff to do in preparation for Aiden's 2nd birthday party--just two weeks from tomorrow! Standing in the way of those preparations is a trip to West Virginia that same weekend for Mike's CGAUX district meeting. It's gonna be a busy week.

4. I am SUPER excited for our next Mommy "Playdate"--Lawrene, Angie & I are all going to get pedicures and manicures next Saturday morning, and then grab a quick lunch. Some much needed girls-only time. :)

5. Looking forward to meeting a friend's new baby in a few weeks. I'm so excited for both Claire and Del--they're going to be great parents.

6. Still really pissed off about smashing my car door. Grrrrr....

7. I probably shouldn't mention this in fear of jinxing it, but Aiden has been eating SO MUCH BETTER in the past several weeks. I'd still like to see more going into that little body, but lately he's been ASKING for snacks, and he usually at least attempts (and eats a good portion of) meals instead of flat-out refusing them. Mike & I agree that he looks a little bigger, too, so it will be interesting to see the exact numbers at his two-year checkup in a few weeks.

8. I just experienced a major Mom Fail--as I was typing this, Aiden wiped out behind me, smashing his nose and upper lip on the floor. He was pretty shaken up, and actually, so was I--that's the largest amount of his blood I've ever seen, and that's gonna be one fat lip. SIGH.

9. Definitely missing football season. Weekends kinda suck this time of year.

10. I'm hungry. I need to go do something about that. Hopefully Mike will be home from the grocery store soon.

Not My Brightest Moment

My poor car. It's been so nice to me over the years--coming up on six of them, to be exact. They only problems it's ever given me are the ones I'M responsible for--smashing the back window while trying to break through an inch-thick coating of ice, backing into my in-laws' house (while I wasn't even in the car), obliterating the driver's side rear view mirror while backing out of the garage--and now I've got a new one to add to the list. I was taking my Pampered Chef orders to work this morning, and since the box was too big to fit in the trunk or stuff in the back seat with Aiden's car seat, I put it on the front seat. I stopped for gas on the way to work, and while I was trying to pull up to the open pump, I completely misjudged my turn (due to the monstrous box seated next to me) and hit a pilon, essentially crushing my rear passenger's side door. SIGH. Can't wait to get that bill.

Fun with Photos

Aiden had his two-year pictures today (don't even get me started on how NOT ready for that I was). He did a fantastic job, and of course it didn't hurt that PaPa & PooPoo were there to watch. While he's been taking a nap this afternoon, I decided to have fun with some of the images using a photo program I forgot I owned. Below are my favorites.

Why do we buy toys?

Lately, the only thing Aiden has any recreational interest in is our vacuum cleaner. "The sweeper, Mom! The sweeper loud! I LOVE THE SWEEPER!" Admittedly, it was pretty comical, oh, the first two weeks, but I kid you not--I hear these exclamations in my dreams! If I don't get the sweeper out of the closet immediately after we get home, I get the temper tantrum from hell. It's nearly impossible to get this kid in his highchair to eat dinner because he might lose precious one-on-one time with the Hoover. And do you think I'd get a "Hi Mommy!" when I open his bedroom door in the morning? Oh no--I get greeted with an emphatic "I like Grandpa's sweeper!" It's draining, but it's also pretty darn cute. Below is a bit of evidence that I'm not pulling your leg. (Obviously, this is kind of staged, but the kid is on to me when I try to get candid moments, as you'll notice by his sudden decision to say "Cheese!")

Sweeper Love from Kimberly Cotter on Vimeo.

At least I already had the day off

It's snowing. AGAIN. Supposed to have another 7-9 inches by the time it's done late tonight. I swear, this crap is SERIOUSLY making Mike & I consider moving to a warmer area of the country. I'd put up with hotter summers to not have to worry about driving through snow in the winters. Ech.
The "good" news is that with it being President's Day, I already had the day off. So you think I'd stay home and lounge around, right? Not so lucky. We had our monthly playdate today, so Aiden & I headed over to the Woods' house just as the snow was getting started. We had a great time while there, but every small glance out the window just made me more & more nervous, so we ended up leaving early. Not early enough, it turns out, to avoid some pretty nasty roads. I can only imagine how rough they'll be when Mike's on his way home, so I definitely don't envy him that.
Looking forward to a greener landscape...someday soon...

In Which I Enter a Valentine's Contest...

I don't know if you've noticed or not, but I can be quite the dork (even using the word dork adds to my dorkiness). Case in point: I spent $17 making a Valentine box for a contest at work. I know a few of you may really have to rack your brain to remember decorating old shoe boxes and hoping those icky boys in your class wouldn't put any Valentines in your box. Boys, after all, are totally gross. But I digress. Anyways, the contest had three awards, with 1st prize being a day off, 2nd prize being a half day off, and 3rd prize being a sleep-in-for-an-hour pass. I figured what the hey, might as well at least try for free time off, right? So Mike & I ventured to JoAnn's, and thus the idea for my project was born. I really kind of dig the book theme--I do, after all, work in the textbook publishing industry. And it turned out cute enough that I can use it as a decoration at home for future Valentine's days. So, did I win anything? Well, the contest was today, and while their were many amazing creations to choose from (a total of 3, to be exact), I am happy to tell you that I won Second Place and a free half-day off from work. Not too bad. :)

Shootin' Hoops

In the words of Kai-Lan, moments like this make my heart super happy. :)

Shootin' Hoops from Kimberly Cotter on Vimeo.

The Haircut

Granted, it's not Aiden's first haircut; Daddy's been doing a great job of trimming him up now and then, and with the rate that this kid's hair grows, that's actually been about 6 times. But with Aiden's 2-year pictures fast approaching, I wanted to make sure he had a nice looking head of hair. So off we went to Cookie Cutters in Powell. Aiden got to sit in a fire truck and watch The Backyardigans, as well as eat a sucker (fail) and M&Ms (win). All things considered, I think he did a great job, and he looks pretty cute, too! I apologize for the quality of the first two photos--obviously they're from my phone. And the third is about the closest we've gotten to a smile all weekend. I'm hoping all of our moods lift soon...

The White Death

It snowed. A lot. Ten inches at our house, according to a mixed measure by both Mike & I. I've said it before and I'll say it again--I hate this crap. I had to reschedule my Pampered Chef party because of it, and now many people who could have shown up today cannot make it on Friday night (the only other February day available). I'm considering opening up the other three bottles of wine sitting on my counter that were for the party just to lighten my mood.
Apparently Aiden shares my utter dislike of the white stuff as well; we took him outside with every intention of building a snowman and all that fun winter stuff, but he was less than happy, so we only "played" for ten minutes before heading back inside. I'm guessing the fact that my bad aim resulted in a snowball hitting his face didn't help much either.
Our plans are now to stay inside, eat some warm food, do some laundry, and catch up with some more house cleaning. I sure hope February doesn't take its time getting out of here.

Ear Infections and Bubble Baths

Yup, Aiden has his first ear infection, as a result of an especially nasty cold. He started coming down with it Sunday at my parents' house. He hasn't been interested in eating ANYTHING, which is especially frustrating to the mommy of a child who doesn't eat well to begin with. He's also had a horrible cough and a faucet of a runny nose, and by Tuesday morning, he had begun to pull at his left ear. Mike stayed home with him yesterday (BLESS him) since I had recently used quite a few sick days of my own and didn't want to appear as a slacker at work. We did take him to a lunchtime appointment with Dr. Brown, who assured us we had caught the infection early. So Aiden has his first presciption--we made it nearly 23 months without one!
Even though his two-month checkup is in about 7 weeks, we discussed a little of Aiden's developments. Dr. Brown seemed very happy that our little squirt had gained 2 pounds since his last checkup (I wanted to point out that was with his clothes on, but I kept my mouth shut), and said he's doing well with his own little growth curve. That helped lessen my worries a bit. He did say we should try to get more protein in his diet, which made me giggle because we have quite the little vegetarian on our hands. But I may have found the answer--dry-roasted edamame! One of my colleages sent some home with me, and Aiden LOVED them. Looks like we'll have to invest in some of those little soybeans.
I'm posting some photos of Aiden with one of his new loves--the bubble bath. Enjoy! :)

My Mommy Loves Me

Yeah, I totally knew that already. But she surprised me this last weekend when we went home for a visit. My mom has an amazing talent--she makes the MOST beautiful quilts. She's been doing it ever since I've been around, and I'm oh-so-jealous of her ability to put colors together. I think it was a few months ago that I asked her if she could make a quilt to hang on the wall in our house. She laughed me off, saying something about not being able to afford her. So imagine my surprise yesterday when she took me into the computer room and told me, "You can pick one!" Stunned, the first words out of my mouth were, "Do you have something to tell me? Are you going to be around in six months?!" Again, she laughed me off, explaining that she while she didn't have the time to make me a custom quilt, she was willing to part with a few of her "babies" so that each of us could have one.
At the risk of sounding a bit cheesy, now that I've got the quilt in my home and up on the wall, I feel super special. It's not everyone that can boast about the beautiful creation of their mother's hanging on the wall. But this post is serving a dual purpose--I'm proving to my mom that her "baby" isn't crumpled on the floor or providing a cushion for the cats.
While we're on the subject, I know my mom loves my son, too, since she created this one-of-a-kind baby quilt for him. No worries, Mom--he may not be sleeping with this, but it's on the wall of his future big-boy room, so he'll be enjoying it soon enough! :)