Advent Calendar

We are giving the Advent Calendar another go this year. Last year it didn't work out so well. I put some candy and some activities throughout the month. Aidan being 3 and all thought that he could go and get a candy off whenever he felt like it! This year I changed things up and put all activities. These are just normal things that we would do anyways during the Christmas season. I love the advent calendar because it has gotten me organized and Aidan is excited every day to see what he gets to do for the day! I love the fact that he can read the activities on his own this year! He is reading amazingly well these days. His Sunday school teacher was in shock when I picked him up this morning. She said, He can read! I said yes he can.

So far we have made Christmas cookies, gone to Legoland, and tonight we are decorating the Christmas tree. We were supposed to do a special activity at the park yesterday but Aidan was just exhausted and said he didn't feel well I decided to nix it.

Legoland was so much fun! Since we are pass holders they sent us some free passes to use during the month of December. We invited our neighbors to go with us. They have a 4 year old little girl and a baby. The kids had so much fun and Aidan was so excited to have someone to go with him. They had snow there this year! They got to go sledding, make snow balls, and help build a snowman! We had a couple of little incidences while we were there. Emily got a gate slammed on her face as she was walking out of the driving school area. She got a gash on her eye but luckily a little ice took care of it. A few minutes later we were in the little (but big) play area and Aidan just vomited out of the blue. I had NO warning. I was watching him go down the slide and noticed he had a weird look on his face once he got off. I asked him if he was going to throw up and we didn't even make it 3 feet. I got him cleaned up and asked him if he wanted to sit down and take a rest. He said "no I want to go play". He did and was fine for the rest of the day. Aidan has been complaining about his back hurting ( his chief complaint yesterday) so I had Dr. Danny take a look at him today. Aidan raised his shirt and Dr. Danny immediately saw what Aidan was talking about. He pointed to the spot that Aidan said hurt (without me showing him) and had me look at it. Sure enough there was a little indention of his spine. It is in the same spot that Aidan hurt when a babysitter was with him while I was sick. He evidently was horsing around , did a flip, and somehow got a rug burn on his back. He has been complaining of his back hurting off and on since then. I never really connected the two. Dr. Danny gave him an adjustment so hopefully it took care of it ( incidentally the part of the spine that had the indention is the part that has to do with the stomach so I'm not sure if that had anything to do with the vomiting)

Elf on a shelf has also made a reappearance this year. Aidan was terrified of him last year so I just put him away. This year he is kind of into him! He named him "John". For those of you who don't know how Elf on a shelf works- there is a little Elf and a book that comes in the package. The story goes that the elf is a magical Christmas elf. He is there watching everything you do. Each night he flies to the North Pole and gives Santa a report. He comes back in the morning and is always in a different location. Part of the fun is that the child has to locate the elf each morning. Also, that elf can be mischievous! The other night he got one of Aidans coloring books and colored all over one of the pages and one night he ended up in our little bird cage. He is going fishing tonight in the toilet for gold fish! He is also going to make smores, take a ride in one of Aidans toy cars, help himself to a midnight snack, and other fun tricks! This weekend Aidan got to take home his classroom stuffed animal which is a little stuffed turtle named Squirt. He comes with a journal that the child and parent are supposed to write in and post pictures of all of Squirts adventures. Squirt and John the elf have been partners in crime this weekend! I can't wait to write all about it in the journal. I will post pics of Squirt and John later.

Here is a list of our Advent Activities this year.....

- make christmas cookies with mom

- Go to Legoland

- go to Winter Wonderland at the park

- help decorate the Christmas tree

- make a special Christmas card

-go shopping to buy mimi a special gift

-attend a holiday party

-watch a christmas movie and ear popcorn ( aidan doesn't like hot chocolate)

- make various holiday crafts

-attend our community tree lighting

-drive around and look at Christmas lights

- read a new Christmas book

-go to Seaworld

- write a letter to Santa and see him at the mall

- make a christmas alphabet book

- attend Boats on Parade

- play a christmas game (stocking dice)

- got to the zoo

-make reindeer food

- Special Christmas eve with our family and wear new christmas pj's.

Here is our advent calendar. Aidan is holding up one of the little slips of paper that tells the activity for the day.
Legoland.... Here Aidan is holding Squirt.
This is how Southern California kids have fun in the snow!

Emily getting ready to go down the hill.
The snowball area. The kids got to make snowballs and then throw them at targets.

Emily, Avery, and Aidan. I just LOVE little Avery. She really gives me baby fever every time I am around her. She is so sweet and just a really good natured baby!
Who the heck are these guys? Elves that were around the snow area.
Driving the cars. Aidan loves driving them now and they did about 4 times!
Emily....

What happened to November?

Can someone please tell me what happened to November? It seems it came and went really quickly! I didn't post in November so I will play catch up.

The middle of November Aidan and I flew to Tennessee where we had our annual girls trip to Gatlinburg with my mom, aunt, and cousin. We always have such a good time and I am afraid it is going to be our last year as Aidan will be in Kindergarten next year ( or PEPP we are still debating)! I don't think it is a big deal to miss preschool but it is a totally different story once you enter public school. I am already dreading Aidan having to go to school every day. I don't know what I will do with myself all day! :( I know that he is more than ready and will do great but this mama is NOT ready!

Gatlinburg was great. We did our ususal- went shopping, out to eat, to the Dixie Stampede, and took our annual photos. Aidan and my cousin ended up sick and in urgent care the same day with ear infections, but it was the only little snafu. The antibiotics kicked in and they both felt much better after a day.

After Gatlinburg I went home with my mom and we stayed with her until after Thanksgiving. I planned outings just about every day so the time seemed to fly by! We went to the library a couple of times for story hour, Wallabies ( a local jump house place that is super nice!), the mall, the movies to see Happy Feet 2, Fun Expedition ( kind of like Chuck E. Cheese), the Hands On Museum, the park, and to see the lights at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Mom took Aidan out one day for a "date". I think they both had a good time.

We had a low key Thanksgiving. The three of us had Thanksgiving dinner at the Marriott. It was actually really good and neither mom or I had to cook! After dinner we took Aidan to the park where we all got a little exercise. :)

We came back to California last Sunday. I have been busy this week cleaning this house and getting it in order for Christmas. The houses are CRAZY in this neighborhood. Everyone goes ALL OUT for Christmas! There is even one house 1 street over that has an entire Christmas light show! They play music and the lights perform a show along with it! The traffic is really terrible as I think everyone in San Diego is going to come by to look at our neighborhood lights.

We have lots of fun things planned for December ( we went to Legoland yesterday with our neighbors) and I can't wait to post about them.

Aidan at the rock where we always take our annual pics.

My mom, Aidan, and Aunt Sue being silly.
cousins!
Having dinner at the Partridge and a Pear ( restaurant at the Christmas Place)
This is Aidans dinner- Christmas Pancakes and Candy Cane juice!
Enjoying some Apple Cider at Thanksgiving. The legs crack me up.
He thought he was a really big boy drinking out of the wine glass.
Driving to see the lights at the Bristol Speedway. Mimi let Aidan drive the car and he was in HEAVEN! I can still remember my dad letting me drive the car when I was 4! Of course we were in the middle of the desert and NOT on a race track. lol!

riding the rides at the infield.
I LOVE this picture of Aidan and my mom.

Aidan and I getting ready to roast marshmallows.

The carpet cleaning men are here and said they are on their way to clean the carpets (yay!) so I gotta run. I promise to post more about our December activities. :)

on the mend....

I mentioned in my last post that I was sick. I decided to go to the doctor last Friday and as it turns out I was really sick! He took one listen to my lungs and decided that I needed to be hospitalized. Of course I attempted to negotiate with him so I wouldn't have to be admitted. He agreed to run some tests. He found that my oxygen levels were down in the 60's and that I was really dehydrated. At that point it was "do not pass go" and straight to the hospital I went where I spent the weekend. It turned out I did have pneumonia. I got re hydrated and he worked on clearing my lungs with breathing treatments and put me on an IV antibiotic. I promised to be a good girl at home so he let me go on Sunday. Thankfully as soon as my mom heard I was going to be in the hospital she offered to fly out the next day to help take care of Aidan. What a lifesaver and blessing she has been! I don't know what I would have done without her. Thanks mom! Even though I have been home since Sunday, I have been pretty useless all week. Just walking up the stairs takes my breath away and I have to lay down. The doc said it would take me another month to recover. I pushed it a little on Wednesday and took Aidan to our Moms group "trunk or treat". I was miserable the whole time and we were only able to stay for an hour. I had to come home and take a 2 hour nap afterwards. I think yesterday I turned a corner and started getting my energy back ( and holding down some food! yay!). Today I took Aidan to his Halloween parade at school AND went to Target! BIG day for me. lol! I haven't even had a nap today! I am definitely going to have to adjust my lifestyle for the next couple of weeks and not stay on the go like we normally do.

My mom leaves on Tuesday and I am definitely going to miss her... but not for long because Aidan and I fly to Tennessee a week later for our annual girls trip!

Here are some pics from this weeks activities...

Aidan dressed as an "american boy" ie. Native American for our Moms group Trunk or Treat.

I decided to dress up also (at Aidan's request) but was soon regretting it as I think the costume just made me feel worse.

Putting on a smile for the camera but feeling really really rotten.
Trunk or Treat!
Today at Aidan's "Halloween Parade" at school!
The parade going trick or treating through the principal's office.
Sensory table in one of the other classrooms. It had spaghetti noodles, eyeballs, and spiders in it.
Aidan's teacher- Ms. Lee
He decided to be "Optimus Prime" from the Transformers movie today.
Sensory boxes in another classroom...
Aidan exploring the eyeballs....

oh my poor blog!

Oh my poor blog- how it has been neglected! I just haven't been in the "blogging groove" lately. I guess I can blame it on facebook. I post almost everything on facebook so it just seems like I am repeating the information twice. However, I am doing this for Aidan so I will continue. :)

So here is what we have been up to..... First off I have been one SICK mama for the past week and a half. Fever up to 105, nasty cough, dizziness, tiredness, etc... I'm not sure what kind of funk I have, but it is kicking my butt. I am about 65 percent better but have a ways to go. I just need to take baby steps. Clinton is thankfully home and has been such a champ! He has been basically taking care of aidan - taking him to therapy, getting his meals, bathing him, taking him to the park, etc... while I have been out of commission.

Our friend Marc from the UK came and visited us the week before last. It was really a work related visit but we still got to go to the pumpkin patch and Disneyland. Marc is really a lot of fun and just one of the nicest guys. He really looked after Aidan and I when we were in London last year and Clinton was busy working.

Dr. Danny is another friend who is staying with us for a little while. He is a chiropractor and is opening a practice in California. Aidan absolutely LOVES Dr. Danny. :) They are huge buddies! He has been adjusting Aidan (and myself) and I can not BELIEVE the difference in Aidan's eating habits. He noticed that Aidan eats like a bird and told me that he could help with it. I was a little skeptical but it really worked! After about a week of adjustments I now have a child who comes to me and says, "mommy I'm hungry!" Music to this Mama's ears! :) He eats a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner and snacks in between. He doesn't always eat a huge meal but at least eats something!

Aidan is doing well in OT and PT. He really has fun in OT and enjoys going. I have noticed that he is more apt to pick up a crayon or marker and draw a picture these days. I'm not sure whether it is the OT that is working or school, but I like it!

Now on to some pics.....

Aidan and Marc at the Pumpkin Farm....

On the hay ride.... This is the face I get a lot of these days when I go to take a picture. NOT a great look.



riding the inflatable slide at the pumpkin farm....
Our WET day at Disney.... We wanted to visit Disney while Marc was still here. The only day we could really do it was a Wednesday. I checked the forecast and it was supposed to start raining at 2pm. Our plan was to get there when the park opened and stay there as long as we could take the rain. It was POURING buckets when we got there when the park opened. We decided to go in thinking that it would rain for a little while and then stop. WRONG! It poured buckets ALL DAY LONG!!! for 7 HOURS we were in the rain! It was actually pretty fun. No one complained and our faces were hurting by the end of day from smiling. Aidan was protected in his bubble and all the rides were EMPTY! However, I have to admit that this may be where I got sick- we went on Wednesday but I didn't get sick until Sunday so I'm not sure.

Aidan in his bubble...
playing in Toon Town
Aidan and Goofy. I learned something on this trip to Disney. Did you know that Goofy is part human and part dog and Pluto is just a dog? Hence, Goofy wears clothes and Pluto does not. Ha! who knew?



Dr. Danny- It was his first trip to Disney EVER! I can't believe he has 3 teenage boys and had never been to Disney. He says it is because he didn't let them watch tv when they were growing up so they were a little clueless about it.
Danny and Marc are both TALL men so they kneeled down so they wouldn't tower over Mickey. except Mickey decided to kneel down also.
The Swaine family looking like drowned rats.