Things Your Parents Did That You Didn't Understand Until You Were A Parent Yourself.

If you have ever had a conversation with me about a television show or movie, chances are it was a quick and dull conversation.  It probably ended with me saying I had not seen the mentioned TV show or movie and you rolling your eyes at me as I ranted about how I don't like TV very much, in fact, I find most selections on TV either boring or stupid.  Now don't get me wrong...I do watch TV, just not a whole lot of it.  I have been known to get hooked on a series or two (some of the worst ones ever!), but I would say I may watch about 1-2 hours of TV a week. 

If it were my choice, we would not have a single television in the Aiden house.  It's not all my choice and the TV vote swings in the other direction.  So, there are some rules in our house (for the kids) that help me feel a little better about the box sitting in the living room.

• No television during the school week.  This rule is a little looser during the summer, and I always work my some other angles, which are...
• If the weather is nice, go outside and play!
• If the weather is not so great, you begged for toys and gadgets, you have great bedrooms, go play!
• No TV in the bedrooms.
• When you appear to be zoning out and going into a TV comma, turn it off and go play!

How did I get this way?  Well, we were always playing when we were little.  We were always inside.  I don't remember having a friend over to watch TV or a movie, we played!

My dad was very strict about our TV viewing.  He would grab the TV guide out of the Sunday newspaper every week.  He would go through the TV guide and do the following:

1. Cross out what we absolutely could not watch (Cell Block H, Three's Company, Archie Bunker).
2. Circle what we could watch (Good Times, The Jeffersons, Gilligan Island, The Brady Bunch, McGyver, Zoom), ***There was a catch though!!!
3. If we wanted to watch the circled items, we had to first watch the items that my dad would put stars next to (Jacques Cousteau, National Geographic, Educational Shows).  These were required viewings if we wanted to watch the other shows!

What kid in the 70's and 80's wanted to watch educational TV shows when there were neighborhoods to roam, bikes to ride and adventures waiting at the parks?  Not me.  I woke up every day in the summer and went outside with friends.  We would be gone ALL day long.  Our only rule...be home by the time the street-lights came on.  We would stop at someones house for lunch or a snack, but never to watch a TV show.  It was a great life, and I grew up not watching a lot of TV.  Oh yeah, there also was no cable or DVR!

So as I got older, I had no interest in the TV.  I just didn't turn it on too much...too busy growing up and still exploring the neighborhood, college campus, night clubs, beaches and malls.  When I did have time to settle down to watch a little TV, I realized that there was really nothing on to capture my attention, I would doze off right on front of it.

Flash forward to life with children...barney, tele-tubbies, real world, 16 and pregnant, reality TV, secret life of a teenager and the news?   Go play!  Have I seen any of these shows? Yes. Now I see why my dad censored so much of our TV viewing!  I know I cannot protect my children from the harsh realities of life and I cannot be keep them blinded from all of the unsavory stuff out there, but they don't have to be force fed the stuff all the time.  While they are outside playing exploring their neighborhood and having adventures they may witness some of the unsavory stuff...that's reality!  Now, we will talk about it.  Our dinner-time conversations would blow some people away, but they are honest and real.  Their experiences come from the real world, not scripted TV that is sensationalized to keep them coming back.  They know the truth about the real world and are able to distinguish between that and media propaganda. 

They will tell you they are deprived because of their lack of TV-time. I felt the same way too when I was a kid.  Hopefully, they will remember this and fully understand it when they are parents someday.

All of this TV rant came about because I recently stumbled upon a blog entry that addressed the TV stuff:

Watching Television Is Relaxing

http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/watching-television-is-relaxing.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TeacherTom+%28Teacher+Tom%29

I Don't Know What It Means, But It's True (More About Watching TV)

http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/i-dont-know-what-it-means-but-its-true.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TeacherTom+%28Teacher+Tom%29

Now go outside and play!

Dancing Til The World Ends!

This weekend, Eric treated the girls to their very first concert.  We took them to Milwaukee Summerfest to see Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj.  Gabrielle has always been a Britney fan and I have secretly been a fan along side of Gabby.  I always knew that Britney would be able to make a come-back after children and her mental break-down. 

Now there was a catch to Eric purchasing these tickets...he wasn't going to the concert.  No way was he going to be caught dead at a Britney Spears concert amongst crowds of screaming teenagers and their moms (that know the words to all of her songs too).  He may hum a Britney song or two, but he will not be a full-on concert fan:)  So, with Eric not going to the concert, that meant mom was going to see Britney!  Well, I can sing along with the best of them, and I belted out most of the songs she sang during the concert.  My new favorite song, Dancing til the World ends, is from her newly released CD and that was the song I was waiting for.  As the concert neared the end, I was thinking I was going to be disappointed.  She said "thank you" and "good-night" to the crowd and then left the stage.  The girls started to gather up their things. 

"No way...I'm not leaving until she sings my song!"

"Mom it's over, people are leaving."

No, you just watch and see." 

The crowd starting cheering louder and louder, you know how it works at concerts, there's always that grand finale song to be sung after the crowd cheers the artist back on to the stage.

Sure enough, back on stage she comes to sing my song!  A perfect ending to a perfect night with my girls.  I captured the moment, but please excuse the moving around, I was singing and dancing with the rest of the crowd!

The girls enjoyed their first concert experience and Nicki and Britney did not disappoint.  They both gave fabulous performances.  Mom had a great time too!

Thanks Daddy Eric!



Happy Birthday Eric!

Today is Eric's birthday...he's the big "44" this year!  What to you get the guy that has everything; lovely wife, beautiful children, great health, and a wealth of happiness?  It also makes it difficult to get him a gift because Father's Day was a few weeks ago. 

So, after some conferencing with Gabby and Sinobia, we decided on a few simple things that he has mentioned more than once he wanted...an herb garden for his fabulous cooking and a rice cooker.  I headed over to Gethsemane Garden Center to select the right herbs for his garden.  I decided on a window box for them, so he could place them in the kitchen window to grow and have easy access to them while he is cooking.

We usually bake Eric a German Chocolate cake for his birthday every year.  It's always made with extra love because we know it's his favorite.  This year he decided he wanted a key-lime pie for his birthday.  I've never made a key-lime pie, but I was definitely up for the challenge.  One quick trip to Jewel, limes in hand and one birthday key-lime pie for Daddy Eric!

Yummy stuff, not bad for the first time.

Happy Birthday Daddy Eric!

Class of 1986!

Last weekend the class of 1986 celebrated it's 25th class reunion.  Yes, Eric and I graduated in 1986, and yes we still look fabulously young (go ahead, you can laugh).

I think about class reunions in a way similar to the way I think about facebook.  I maintain my idea that everyone I want to see and keep in touch with, I see anyway, send them Christmas cards or hope they read my blog!  So, as the big reunion day approached, Eric and I decided that it would not be a big deal if we missed another one (we were absent from our 20th too). 

Saturday afternoon, as I was working in the yard, Tracie calls me and says,

"I'm going to the after party and you are too."

"Whatever...you know that is way past my bedtime."

Yeah, well be ready.  I'll call you when I'm on my way.  You're going!"

There was a piece of me dreading getting all dolled up to impress my long-lost classmates and a piece of me that began to get a little excited about getting out of the house for a little "party-time" and see some old friends.  I went inside to let Eric know that Tracie had insisted that I go and he had to go too.

"Nope, I'm not going.  You go and have a great time."

"Come on Eric, we're a team, I can't go without you."

"Nope. You go and I'll hang out with the girls."

"Party-pooper!"

As the time neared for Tracie to pick me up, I decided that I was not going to get all dolled up.  Who would even recognize me if I threw on make-up, a dress and heels?  That wasn't my style in 1986 and it certainly isn't my style now.  So, I opted for the super-laid-back look, Skinny jeans, tank-top and sandals.  Totally me now and totally me in 1986.  Me just being me!

We arrived at the party a little after mid-night (way past my 2011 bed-time, but so 1986 of me).  I immediately recognized faces!  Oh my gosh...I couldn't believe that I was going to miss this! Plenty of hugs, kisses, "you look exactly the same", "how have you been doing?" "I can't believe it's you!" 

I dive into my purse and text Eric..."You need to be here!"  He was totally going to be crushed when I told him about all of the people I was seeing.  He didn't text me back, probably watching movies with the girls or fast asleep.

Anyway, we had a great time.  Laughing, dancing, catching up with everyone.  People seemed surprised to see that Tracie and I were still connected at the hip...best buds for 34 years!  Everyone looked amazing.

I returned home around ??? am. way, way past my bedtime, almost time to wake up!  The next morning (or later that morning) I found Eric on facebook, looking at the pictures from the reunion.  He saw a few of the pictures that I had taken with his camera too and started to look a little disappointed.  "Man, I should have gone to the reunion." 

I have to say, I'm now pretty sad that I didn't go to the actual reunion too.  My old brain does not allow me to remember all of the people that I spent my high school years with.  At the after-party, some of the names and faces began to come back to me.  I started thinking, "what about so-and-so and so-and-so?"

Eric and I have agreed that we will be ready (weight loss and coloring the grey hairs) and present for the next reunion.  See all of you at the 30th!

BFF Babysitting

34 years ago, on my 8th birthday (September 13th), my friend Renee Cannon approached to me on the playground.  She had another girl with her, I had never seen her before.

"Isn't today your birthday?" she asked me.

"Yeah."  I replied.

"It's her birthday too!" she pointed to the other girl.

This was the beginning of a 34 year friendship.  The other girls was Tracie Dowdell.  It was a little quirky...we were both named Tracy/Tracie and we were born on the same day, September 13th (I always have to let people know that she is the oldest of the 2 of us).  The teachers couldn't call one of us Tracy/Tracie "D", because we were both Tracy/Tracie "D", Drummer/Dowdell.  I think at some point my mom started calling us Tracy 1 and Tracie 2.  My dad always called Tracie by her full name, Tracie Gardell (yes, he pronounced it wrong for 30+ years).  We were so inseparable, that many people just assumed that we were sisters (we had plenty of stories of why we were both named the same name).

I believe that Tracie may know every one of my secrets and understands me as if I were truly her twin. We have only had 1 real fight in our 34 years together.  It lasted a few months and I believe we were both miserable without each other. 

I was the first of the two of us to have children, in fact I had already popped out my 2 by the time she decided to have children.  So, there is a significant difference in age with our children.  She has always been there for my girls and has watched them grow up, attended concerts, plays, birthday parties and graduations.  Now that her children are getting a little older, it will be my turn to show up for the games, plays, parties and stuff.

I am their Tia.  Tracie decided when her first child was born, that she did not want me to be an "auntie" so, I got a more creative, fancy name...Tia (aunt in Spanish).  It may be that it is the only word we remembered from high school Spanish, but has stuck with me for all 3 of them.

Today was Tia's  first time EVER babysitting Tracie's children.  Her little girl cries every time she sees my face.  The boys adore me slightly more.  I get plenty of hugs and kisses from them when I see them.  I was pretty nervous about this gig today.  When was the last time I had a babysitting job and when was the last time I was responsible for small children?!

Well, everyone survived the day!  I must say, I'm a pretty cool Tia and a pretty awesome babysitter!

First I made some lunch for the kids while they played Wii and Barbies.  We all ate lunch together at the table (they had buttered or cheesy noodles with apples, I had a salad). Then I prepared our ingredients for our dessert...homemade ice cream!  We went out into the yard to mix up our ingredients and get to shaking out ice cream up.  20 minutes later, we were sharing a batch of vanilla ice cream and sipping on some chocolate shakes (ice cream we lost patience with). 

"Can we go to the park now Tia?"  "Of course!"  I gathered up the stroller, some trucks and a few bottles of water and off we went!  Our park trip lasted about a half hour before there were some yawns and tired faces.  We returned home for a pull-up change, a nap, snacks and a few more Wii games.

The time went quickly...thank goodness.  Although they were perfect little children, I am no longer the mother of little ones.  I do not have the energy to entertain all day, it's hard work! I don't know how Tracie

does it! 

Where are my children at right now?  listening to music, writing in their journal, on facebook, entertaining themselves in their rooms...ahhh!

Balance

A few weeks ago, my niece Ashley (shout-out to Ashley!) graduated from middle school.  I asked Gabby for a few ideas about what to get her for a graduation gift. 

"I don't know, everyone is different...the gift has to fit their personality." 

"What did you get?"

"A unicycle!"

I had forgotten all about that unicycle. It is one of Gabby's most prized possessions.  It's housed at the Actors Gymnasium, where Gabby has taken circus classes for the past 8 years.  During these 8 years (almost 9) Gabby has learned a variety of skills that have boosted her confidence and self-esteem (You have to feel fairly confident to hang 20 feet in the air by your foot or from fabric).  She can perform some feats that many cannot or will not do.  The circus community is not a big one, but those who are a part of it fall in love with it forever. 

So, yes, Gabby knows how to ride a unicycle.  I hope this skill will look good on a college application or her resume.  They may ask her "how well do you balance things in your life?"

...and she can send them directly to my blog!

ps...Gabby is the brown girl in the videos!

Coming soon!

http://www.actorsgymnasium.com/coming-soon.htm

A Few Tricks Up Our Sleeves

We started "Father's Day Weekend" by making sure that Eric knew we were all flat broke. "We couldn't afford to get you anything this year."   "You understand, don't you?"  "It doesn't mean we don't love you."  "We'll take you to the Custer Street Fair, that will be fun!"

We all agreed (Gabby, Sinobia and myself) that we would go along with this charade for the entire weekend.  We would let Eric think that he was getting "played" on Father's Day. 

So Saturday we took him to the Custer Street Fair.  We bought him some lemonade, sunglasses, and incense. We bought him some deodorant and undershirts from Target. We gave him hugs and told him "Happy Father's Day"...that's it. Sunday rolled around and we kept up with the charade. He wasn't looking too sad, but I was beginning to feel a little guilty about making him feel unappreciated on his day. We sent him to the grocery store later that afternoon and then staged his gifts. He was surprised and had a look of relief as he began to open his gifts.

"You didn't really think we were not going to celebrate your day, did you?" 

"No, I know you guys always take good care of me."

"Yeah, we do.  You deserve it.  We love you very much dad!"

Is It Summer Yet?

Summer doesn't officially start until tomorrow, June 21st.  The girls have only been out of school for 1 week and we have already had 2 summer injuries!

Last Wednesday, Gabby was injured at gymnastics summer conditioning.  She was attempting a trick that didn't go so well...she was not properly fitted into straps and came out of them mid-air.  She landed on her head.  Gabby says her life flashed before her eyes and when she hit the ground, she heard a crack or two in her neck.  She quickly jumped up to make sure she was still alive!  We were unaware of any of this action until she came out to the car wit a huge ice pack in her hand.  She was walking, talking and eating, but this was a scary accident for her and Eric and I.  It was equally as scary for her doctor when she heard about it the next day.  She could have been seriously injured or dead. 

So, with a diagnosis of Torticollis, some prescription pain medicine, rest and a few days out of the gym, we found Gabby back to her old self again on Sunday evening (Father's Day) doing tricks and flips on the trampoline with her sister and cousins.  Eric and I looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders and agreed that she was back in the game.

Well, a few hours into the trampoline fun, everyone stops jumping to stare at Sinobia.  She is crying and saying that she came down weird and hurt her ankle.  I make her climb off the trampoline, hobble into the house and soak it in the tub.  It's huge!  She's crying and her aunties are babying her, she's loving it.  I give her an ice-pack, some ibuprofen and send her off to bed.  This morning, her ankle was still a little swollen and she was insisting that she could not walk on it.  "Can I use daddy's crutches?"  I knew that was coming.  She has been dying to use those crutches!  Another call to the doctor and we are off to the hospital for x-rays. 

By this point, I'm feeling like a bad mother...2 kids, 2 injuries in 1 week!  What kind of mother would allow such nonsense in her house?  I walk into the radiology department feeling a little inadequate...I am greeted  by a deep sigh of relief and a huge smile from another mom who has a child limping around too.  We exchange friendly salutations and agree that it's summer, kids always get hurt in the summer time!  We sit and wait.  5 minutes later, another mom comes into the office, she's pushing her daughter in a wheel chair!  She smiles a relieved smile to see other moms waiting with their "summer injured" children.  "Oh no, what happened?" I say to her daughter. 

"I was jumping on a trampoline and came down on it wrong."  Can you believe it?  I smile the biggest smile ever!  I am not so terrible after all...plenty of mother's let their children play on trampolines and some get hurt.  "Me too!" says Sinobia.  This girl's mom whips around with a smile that equals the size of mine.  We have connected, there are others out there like us.  We chat it up, both of us showing signs of relief on our faces.  The doctor comes out to inform us that there are no broken bones, just a lot of swelling.  Yahoo! 

"Will you get back on the trampoline?"  the girl asks Sinobia as we are walking out the door.  "Yep!" answers Sinobia.  "Me too!" replies the girl.  They tell each other good luck and give a final smile before we are hobbling out the door on our crutches.  I shoot the mom a smile too.  "Enjoy your summer!" I call out.

I guess summer is in full swing at the Aiden house!

Happy Father's Day!

Eric is on a roll today.  He has declared it "Father's Day Weekend" and wants us to serve him and be super nice to him all weekend long!  We'll see what we can do...

We are going to enjoy the beautiful day and take him out to the Custer Street Fair in Evanston.  I've agreed to buy him a fresh squeezed lemonade, some fried rice and sunglasses (they're 3 pair for $20!) as his "Father's Day Weekend" treat.  Who knows what else may be in store for him this weekend?  The Aiden clan is always full of surprises!

Happy Father's Day Eric!

***check out my previous Daddy Eric blog post a few months ago:

http://abundantlyaiden.blogspot.com/2011/04/natural-wonder-for-sure.html

Been Waiting All My Life For This!

On June 10th Sinobia graduated from 5th grade at Dawes Elementary School.  This was more than just a graduation for Sinobia, this marked the day that we would depart from Dawes after 11 years!  I started crying before we even left home...11 years of love and nurturing for our whole family.  Dawes is and always will be a safe place for our children.  I went to work every day, knowing that there was a team of faculty and teachers that would do all that they could to take good care of my children, and for 11 years, that is what they did.  Dawes has held our hands, collaborated and joined forces with us in raising two beautiful,

smart and independent girls.  Dawes has prepared them for the world outside of elementary school.  They are risk takers, individuals, good friends, active in their community and ready to take on the world!

Most of my tears were for the mourning of my little girl, who isn't a little girl anymore. She's officially a Middle School Girl!  Sinobia was proud and confident all day during graduation.  I asked her later that day if she felt at all sad during the ceremony.  "No way mom...I'm ready for middle school.  It's time for me to leave Dawes, I've been waiting all of my life for this!"  Yes, she has been waiting for this moment all of her life, as she has spent all 11 years of her life at Dawes either as a student or as the little sister of a student. 

Sinobia graduated in classic "Sinobia Style".  She refused to wear a dress and insisted on accepting her certificate in one of her famous tutus!  For 2 or 3 weeks she fought with Eric about the appropriateness of a tutu for graduation...as you can see she won!  Eric had no legitimate argument.  Everyone he tried to engage in the tutu discussion simply told him to let Sinobia be her true self on her big day, thus a grand sugar skull tutu!  Sinobia did compromise and made Eric happy by giving up her insistence to wear her knee-high all star gym shoes, and settled for cute little purple flats. 

Also in "Sinobia Style" was her entourage.  Eric, Myself, Grandma, Grandpa, Nana from Louisiana, Uncle Earl, Auntie Nikki, Uncle Kenny, Auntie Stephanie, Auntie Rachel, Ashley, Terena and KJ.  Gabby had finals on this day, so she sadly had to miss Sinobia's big day.

So, my tears have dried, summer camp has started and Nana has returned home.  Now we are off to Chute Middle School in August!

Congratulations Sinobia!