Aidan Rides his Bike!

I can't believe it! I really can't. We struggled with Ethan for years to learn how to ride his bike and he constantly refused. (Ethan learned how to ride his last year) Now, Aidan, 4 years old, learned how to ride his bike in FIVE minutes. (Yes. Really. FIVE minutes!) Aidan got his bike for his birthday last September. He rode it (with training wheels) a couple of times but then the tube in the tire got some holes and its been sitting in the garage ever since. Today, Greg decided it was time to fix the bike. Greg had to take the training wheels off to fix the back tire. After that was done, I suggested to Aidan he should try riding his bike without the extra help, but re-assured him that I would be there to catch him if he fell. Aidan was hesitant, but went along with the plan, and then BAM! He was doing it by himself. He is out there having the time of his life riding bikes with his older brother. I AM SO PROUD OF MY LITTLE MAN! So proud, I think I might cry. This is why I LOVE being a mom, for these precious moments that come once in a lifetime. His smile and laughter at what he has accomplished today, brings such joy to my heart. GO AIDAN! :o)

Carseat dancing

I love that my boys LOVE music. I love that they LOVE to dance. I love watching them too. Olie has the same love of dancing and when he hears music, no matter the place, he will start to groove. He is actually pretty good, and getting better everyday. Unfortunately, he is a little restricted in his carseat. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! :)

(Sorry for the camera shake. We are in Greg's big truck and it gets pretty bumpy)

LoVe aT WeNDy'S?

Yesterday afternoon, the kids and I were running errands in town and we decided to meet Greg for lunch. We didn't have a lot of time so we ended up just running into Wendy's for a quick bite. We ordered our food and sat down. Greg followed bringing our order to the table when he nudges me to look at the table next to us. Greg whispered to me, "they're on a date." It was an older couple. The guy kind of looked like Kip from 'Napoleon Dynamite'. The woman, to me, looked a little more like Fran from "Mama's Family". They were most definitely on a blind date. Why Wendys was the meeting choice? I will never know. There was a little chatting, but I'd say about 10 minutes into it the woman was out. I couldn't really hear what they were saying but Greg kept his ear open. The woman said, "...well, I have some errands to run, so...". Doh! Poor guy. He was trying so hard to get her to stay, and leaving the door open for a second chance. He said something along the lines of, "....well, will there be another date? .....don't give up yet." But clearly the woman was not interested. She got out of there as quickly as she could. I feel for the guy. I guess love was not found at Wendy's after all.

Locked in the Truck

Alright....you hear the stories all the time about the woman who locks her keys in the car with her wallet inside, her dog inside, or her baby inside, and you laugh and think that won't ever happen to you or you pray that it never it happens to you...well, I am that woman. It has now officially happened to me. I was spending the afternoon at my parents house while Greg was out of town on a scouting trip. He was to return home in a few hours. I decided it was time to gather the boys and all my things and put them in the car. The older boys were playing so I woke Oliver from his nap and walked out to the car to get him settled first. He would be the easiest to contend with. With child, diaper bag, purse, phone, football and keys in tote, I unlock my truck and set the keys on the door panel. I put my various other items on the floor, and other seats and placed Olie in his carseat and buckled him in. I closed the door and walk around the truck to open the other side to start placing other children in when I hear a honk and a click of the locks. My eyes got wide as I starting rambling, "no, No, NO!!!" I panic and run back to Olie's side of the truck and try the door again (knowing full well it wouldn't open on that side either). I peer in the window and see Oliver with a grin from ear to ear holding the keys and continually pressing the lock button. (Which also makes the truck honk each time it is pressed) My mother then comes walking out with the older boys in a bit more of hurried walk, as she thought I was honking at her to put a move on it just to find out that it was Oliver. He had locked himself in the truck.
She went in to get my dad who was watching the Cardinal football game. (Quite an important game to all us Arizonans) I continued to try to convince Olie to move his thumb from the lock button to the un-lock button. Now I am sure this would have been quite amusing to anyone watching, to see a mother begging her 21 month old to please un-lock the truck and let mommy in. But as I said, the Cardinal game was on, and there would be no one there to witness this. Olie did manage to move his thumb to the un-lock button but refused to push it. (Again, with a Cheshire cat grin from ear to ear) He toyed with me and the keys for a bit and then in my last attempt for him to push the darn button, he looked at me, held the keys up, made an "uh-oh" face and dropped the keys to the floor. My head hung low wondering what to do next, and his chin up high, and yes.....grinning from ear to ear.
My dad came out with a bent hanger and went to work trying to break into the truck. I called my brother-in-law, who was watching the game, to please run to my house and get the spare key and drive it out to my parents house. This would take at least another 50 minutes. My dad continued to work at trying to find some way to get the door open. This continued for over and hour. Olie was really a good kid and enjoyed all the attention he was getting. It wasn't until the last 15-20 minutes of the ordeal when he started to get upset and realized he didn't want to be in the truck anymore. My dad finally went inside and got on the internet to see if he could find any information on breaking into my kind of truck. He did. And 10 minutes later... success. Olie was free, and my sister-in-law just around the corner with the spare keys. (She decided to drive them to me and allow her hubby to stay and watch the game.) I apologized for her having to drive all that way but she was quite understanding and I thanked her profusely. (As did my dad) And of course my dad came to my rescue too, so of course a huge Thank you to him as well. He did a fantastic job. I appreciate all the help.
Moral of the story....when you need to know how to break into a car, the internet is a great resource. Oh......and when you're a mom, things like this will happen often, so laugh about it because there are plenty more ordeals to come and many others who can relate. Don't believe me...go on...just ask your own mom. All I can say.....is at least I didn't leave my child in the carseat on top of the car and...........well.....thats not my story to tell but if you ever get a chance, ask my mom about it. :o)

Attention All Walmart employees......

......."this is an Adam Alert. There is a missing boy, age 4, in a Diamondbacks uniform. I repeat, this is an Adam Alert. All Walmart employees be on a lookout for a 4 yr old boy, in a Diamondbacks uniform."

If you were shopping in the Maricopa Walmart this afternoon, you might have heard that. And yes...it was my Aidan that was missing. He walked away from the cart as most children do. I figured he was following Ethan around but he never responded to my calls and I could not find him in the aisles we were in. Although at first, I did not think it was a big deal that my child had wandered off, I got a little nervous when 10 minutes had gone by, and I still had not seen him as I was franticlly pacing up and down aisles. And it didn't help when Ethan would nonchalantly state...."he's probably been kidnapped." Finally, I asked a worker if he had seen a little boy and she sent out an Adam alert throughout the Walmart. Some employees blocked the entrances and all other employees stormed through-out the store looking for my son. Another 5 minutes went by (but it felt like 20) and someone finally found him. He was hiding in the clothes section. As the man walked my son to me, I didn't know if I should hug him or beat the living daylight outta him. I decided to embrace him instead. (After all, there would have been too many witnesses to the abuse...didn't feel like having CPS knocking on my door.)
After we got home, I asked him why he left, he just shrugged his shoulders. (What more can you expect from a 4 yr old) He said he didn't hear me calling but he hid because he saw people coming towards him and they were strangers. (I am pretty sure the people he hid from were all the workers trying to find him) Anyway, he is safe. All is well. He never got a beating, but he had a LONG time-out when we got home. As well as a long talk! We'll see if he learned his lesson, but I am guessing he didn't.