at least this time it has worked to our advantage. yesterday was a cool and breezy morning. not promising in the least.
Aidan had playschool. Kris was sleeping....yes another night shift. i knew i should probably stay away from the house so that Kris could sleep. and wasn't sure what to do...get the maintenance done on the car...go shopping....walk the mall...all of those fun things to do with wild and wacky Kiara. i needed coffee. bad. ended up going through the drive-thru at Second Cup and had Seana Collins (think she still works at GlobalTV) serve me a cup of coffee. Now that was a surprise!
so i then called my friend Ingrid and told her my glorious news. she only lives a few blocks from the coffee shop...and thought she may want somewhere interesting to stop as well if she had to go out. i ended up planning in impromtu visit with her at her house. something much talked about...never done. until now!
so her two girls and Kiara played. definitely a girl morning. and i realized that it is a rare thing for Kiara to have just girls around. hmmm....
a trip to Costco with Aidan rounded out the first part of the day nicely. i found some cool copper planters. and they met with metal-man-Kris' approval too. love that! once the flowers start to fill out, i'll share photos. and we made it home in time for Kiara's nap. gave Aidan and myself a quiet time while Kris finished sleeping.
by the time Kiara was awake, the weather was much improved.
isn't that crazy too?
they each got their own jersey. he's number sixteen.
he gets the "listen to the teacher/coach" lecture every time he starts something new. he knows it so well that he repeats it back to me regularly now.
but that good listening paid off!
he now knows what part of the foot to use when kicking the ball and what it means to trap the ball. and now i know too! have i ever mentioned how much i detested teaching that part of the elementary curriculum. you know you are outclassed when 11 year olds could do a better job teaching the sport than the qualified teacher. give me a fun game to teach...or some obscure skill....but don't tell me to teach a game that involves a referee. because i suck. so all these active things we're doing with our kids is really helping me. wouldn't we all die of hard laughter when i end up coaching a junior high sports team? truly. but when you're all dead...you'll have no idea how awesome i am. crazy rambling mother....get back to talking about your angel son...
love this:
even Kiara wanted to get in on the action. she fulfilled every stereotypical girl move in the book.
1. run after the ball, catch it and then try to keep it away from the kid using it
2. pick up and rearrange all the markers
3. pick the most interesting blades of grass and hand them out
4. dance and get people laughing
5. cry when the ball is taken from you
well....two years....she'll be in Aidan's shoes and kicking the ball around too. i'm sure Aidan will teach her a thing or two in the meantime.
they have a fun coach. love it when that happens. and he happens to be a teacher. who is fully capable of teaching 11 year olds i'm sure! at the end of the hour, they all did a cheer.
and i found out that our neighborhood teams have a real name. kind of rounds out the learning experience.
and there are two Aidans on the team. big surprise! i think it was the second top name for boys the year he was born.
today was a gymnastics day. sporty 24 hours for us!
Aidan is the youngest in his class. he actually should still be in a parented class. but he is quite responsible and a good learner, so they let me advance him. considering that, i am amazed at how well he does. again the teacher in me....i continue to remind him that just because others aren't listening or goofing around or being loud does not make it okay for him to do the same. some of the older kids have provided him practice in this area! and Kiara. well, she has been joining Aidan's classes - as an observer - since she was 5 months old. first in the infant car seat. then in a baby bjorn. then as a sitter. and most recently as a runner and climber. so she acts as if she owns the place at times. attentive Aidan and crazy Kiara ride on....
again it helped to have somewhere to be so that Kris could sleep in a quiet house.
then we went bike shopping. cannot believe the prices on kids bikes. a fellow at one store was buying one for his nephew. he commented that he was surprised they were so cheap. that is what we need....a rich and single uncle. and most likely no cousins either. i suppose it makes sense. rich uncle....no kids to hang out with...needs lots of toys. and our situation....lots of kids to play with....forget the toys. okay enough of that. i was amazed that they even design bikes for these 4 to 6 year olds that have shocks (my cycling expert hubby is not nearby to inform me of the correct terminology...please forgive my ignorance on this subject as well). not sure what this age group needs that for. so i let the kids try out some bikes. quickly realising that helmets would have been an asset. one of the bikes that Aidan seemed the most comfortable on was a Tonka bike. with shocks under the seat of course! but i was impressed with the heavy duty training wheels.
a treat for lunch was a trip to McD's. ugh. we ate the food at the park. why do i bother to buy anything more than just fries? really. and wouldn't you know it...another Aidan at the park. i do think this is making my Aidan feel like a celebrity. he's still not talking about it. but you just have to wonder what those brain cells are thinking.
i am so hoping this will be the last of the night shifts. he may need to work one more night. so far he has worked 62.5 hours this week. i'm trying to decide for him which day to take off next week. heehee. a girl can dream. i know he'll get a day. two days of single parenting for 24 hours is my maximum. i should have known. next time i'll plan and book a sitter or something. being with the kids without help is tough in that all questions and needs have to be met by me all of the time. that is exhausting. makes me just want to be by myself. and being without Kris' company at some point of the day - even with him being quiet! is lonely without other comfortable adult conversation. which makes me want to get together with friends. and there i sit. wanting to be by myself and hang out with friends. can it get more ironic than that? no wonder it has left me feeling a little bonkers! i'm sure i'll look back on my posts this week and truly wonder where my mind was. and sadly i'll know. and unfortunately you've had to put up with the rambling.
and before you go...oh, i didn't realize it was like that. keep in mind that i did not lock myself in the house with the two kids and force us to be together. we were out and about, doing the stuff that had to get done. it just meant business as usual in the day. but no "coffee break" at the end of the day like i'm accustomed. and i did get together with friends. i did get out. i think it was just one of those ironic things...no simple solution.
well...maybe one. it's called a babysitter. and that, my friends, is the final lesson of the week! that is a choice i should have taken this week. get the babysitter to feed my kids supper. just one to two hours for 2 or 3 of the days. i think i'll start to call it "health money" in our budget. for the mental health of all of us....
and tomorrow. breakfast at IKEA. with our without the daddy. all three of us are really hoping that there will be a table of four needed.....
