Turning 30

Saturday marked a big milestone for me. I turned 30 this birthday. People have asked if I think this is a big deal. Frankly, you spend so much time during 29 worrying about turning 30 that, when it comes it's not really different than 29. I had such a great start to 30 that I'm not really worried about it anyway. So here's what happened. I really didn't have any expectations for this birthday. Julien had told me a couple weeks ago that he had wanted to throw me a big party but then I got pregnant. He didn't think being big and pregnant and not able to drink would make for a fun party for me. I told him it was ok and not to worry about it. So, as the weather held out, Julien started on the big project of fixing the grading and drainage in the yard. Big thanks to Mike our neighbor and good friend as we never could have done it without him. He helped us get a truck to get the trencher home. (Aidan loved it! It had a backhoe on one end.) So Julien and Mike spent all day doing that. I watched Baby John in the morning so Mike could help as Jen had plans. So Aidan and cleaned the house a little and played with the baby. I also kept checking on the boys outside to make sure everyone had water and sunscreen. It was 95 degrees that day with a heat index over 100. Around 4 or so they called it a day. They compared sunburns and Mike won. (He was soooo red. I feel really bad.) We got ready and went out to chinese for my bday dinner. Then to Oberweis to get an ice cream cake. Julien took me to get a new phone as a present but, we aren't able to upgrade for another 6 mos. So that didn't work but, I didn't mind. Having no expectation at all for the day I was really laid back about what we did. Julien told me that Mike and Jen wanted us to come over after 7p to hang out. He suspected that they had cake. So we stopped to get beer. And then Aidan was fussy so we stopped by the fireworks stand to pick up some fireworks for him that night. (Welcome to living in Missouri. :) ) Then Julien's friend from work Mike called. Julien said he was asking about an outage they were having Monday at work. Suddenly, I started wondering why we were making all these stops. And why was Mike calling about work on a Saturday? I decided to give Julien the benefit of the doubt. Expecting a party was expecting too much in my mind. I was happy with the day I had had so far and wasn't going to hope for more. But, still I wondered. When we got to Mike and Jen's, I saw a neighborhood kid pop out of her door. Then it clicked.....those sneaky devils! I walked in and SURPRISE! My neighbors and friends were all gathered for a surprise 30th bday/Baby shower! (Julien's friend Mike from work had called to make sure he had the right address. I don't know how I didn't see his car when we drove up.) Jen decided on Monday to do this and even called Julien while we were in Iowa with his family. So in less than a week she got ahold of the neighbors and my friends (Facebook is invaluable for this kind of planning I see.), arranged for a Coldstone Cake and decorations. Everyone was so generous and I ended up with lots of clothes, diapers, and blankets. It was so much fun! Aidan had a blast too as he got to play with all the kids. In fact he had his two girls there, Gabi and Lana, and got to play with them at the same time. All the guys drank beer and watched the kids play outside. It couldn't have been better. At the end of the night, Aidan, Joey and Gabi watched Julien light Aidan's fireworks. They even got to hold a morning glory each. So, that night I went to bed having had a fantastic birthday. If this is any indication of how my thirties will be, I welcome them with open arms!

-The next day Julien and Mike got back to work on the yard. This time with much cooler weather. The big part of it is done. Some hand digging and back filling is left to do but, the trencher was returned this morning (thanks to a big favor from someone Julien works with, 3/4 ton trucks are hard to find, especially first thing Monday morning), and now Julien can finish it as he has time. He's eager for it to rain now and see how well it works. Keep your fingers crossed that we get rain soon and that everything flows how it should.

Our Last Trip to Grandma's (for a while :) )

Last week Aidan and I made our way up to Iowa to visit my parents. This will be our last visit until the baby comes. Aidan loves going to Grandma Shari's house. He loves watching the birds eat out of the feeders, the deer cross the yard at dusk, and running around their 4 acres. It's nice to let him run and not really have to worry about it. He usually stops and comes back well short of the creek. We had to go visit Grandpa's tractors of course, taking time to sit in each one. While we were there Aidan, as always for some reason, ran a temp. I don't know what it is with this kid and traveling but, lately everytime we travel he gets sick. This time he played well, ate and drank well, but ran a temp that refused to break completely and was congested. Maybe it's allergies. Who knows? When we got home the fever disappeared. Maybe it's psychological. LOL! Either way, we weren't going to let it get in the way of our trip and have a good time in spite of it. We were able to visit with my old friend Elleni and her three kids. Aidan had a good time playing with the boys and little Miriam was cute as a button. They brought these huge cookies from Hy Vee with tons of frosting on them. Aidan loved his, well mostly the frosting. :) It was so nice to see her again and get a chance to talk. It always makes me think of how we used to spend countless hours at each other's houses playing. Now we watch our kids do the same. A friendship that spans over 20 years is truly priceless.

Since we were at Grandma's, that meant we had to see cousin Sophie. A trip to Grandma's wouldn't be complete without a visit from her. :) So, Jamie came over with the kids. Emma is becoming a teenager before our eyes. She's given all her toys to Sophie. And Sarah is becoming a toddler before our eyes and is walking everywhere! They all grow so fast. Sarah was so excited to be able to play with Aidan's toys and not have them taken away by anyone. Now, she toddles after Aidan and Sophie as they run around and play. Aidan is starting to be more interested in Sarah. I think soon she'll be fun to play with too and join their little group.

Grandpa took us to Happy Joe's for pizza while we were up. This is a must. Not only for Taco pizza which is awesome and should be available everywhere, but for the memories and the experience. The one in Monticello isn't fancy and it's changed since I was a kid but there are a few things that stay the same. For instance, the awesome Taco pizza (can you tell I love the stuff?), the balloon machine where you can pick the color and watch it inflate, and the window into the the kitchen for the kids to watch through. I used to love to climb up the little stairs and look in and see the pizzas made. It's always interesting to watch your kids have the same experiences you remember from childhood. After lunch, we went to the John Deere dealer down the road. Aidan was in heaven! They have toys as well and I almost got Aidan a John Deere bike. Looking back, I really should have. Oh well! We were hoping to get a new hat but, they were all out. :( Either way Aidan had a great time and was bushed by the time we got home. While he took a long nap that day, I was able to visit my friend Paul and his son Carter. I'm always amazed by how much Carter grows and how big he is. It doesn't seem possible that he's in school much less going into second grade next year. Time really flies. Paul is in the middle of selling his house in CR. So if you want a nice place that's had a lot of TLC and is reasonably priced, have I got the place for you! I hope they are able to sell quickly as they have had a lot of showings.

When we got back from Iowa, tragedy befell my house. My washer broke down. Ugh! I know, in the sceme of things, this is a small thing. But when the repair guy said it would be $600 to fix it I nearly died. If you have a new front loader, get the extended warranty!! My washer has four computer components, each costing $400 a piece plus labor. The repair guy took pity on me, giving me the part number I needed and telling me how to change the part myself. He said if I could get the part and get it working to get an extended warranty added. That way if it fails again or something else breaks, I won't be paying for it. He also said if it is going to storm, unplug both washer and dryer. Power surges from lightening or power outages will damage them. So, Julien called Whirlpool and complained, as our washer is less than two years old, and got the part for $300 less than the repair guy would have charged us. So we'll see. I miss my washer though. Thank goodness for awesome neighbors that let me use theirs. (Mike and Jen are once again the best!)

Well, this is incredibly long. I think I will end here and post Aidan's updates separately. He's had a lot going on too. But, when does life ever slow down?

Baby Update

I had my OB appointment today. Again, I'm amused by how Aidan likes my doctor. He looks forward to helping her. Today he held the measuring tape for the duration of the appointment. I've gained some more weight. Actually, I was a little surprised by the number on the scale today. And I'm measuring at 31 weeks, instead of a week behind. So I've had a growth spurt, so to speak. Talked about pre-registering at the hospital and options for delivery. We scheduled my last ultrasound for the beginning of July and will more seriously discuss the options then. I'm still trying to avoid the C-section. I don't want to be out of comission that long. However, if I have a similar delivery to last time, my recovery could be about the same as a c-section. So, we will see what the ultrasound shows and go from there. Hard to believe we are getting to that point.

Last night our friend from Maryland and her family stayed with us for the night. They are on their way to Utah for vacation and stopped here for a night. I really give them credit, traveling with 3 kids, 4years and under, 2 adults and a dog. I think they enjoyed having room to play and new toys to play with. It was so much fun to see how the kids have grown and catch up. Hard to believe that it's been a year since we visited Maryland last. I hope we get to go for a visit again soon. It's easier for Julien who has business trips to DC. But, I hope our friends have a safe trip and enjoy their vacation!

Lots coming up for us this month! I'm planning Aidan and my last trip up to see my folks until the baby comes. We also have a Ross family reunion later this month. Not to mention our birthdays and Father's Day. Going to be lots to do as always. :)

Another Normal Week in the Ross-Boon House

We always seem busy around here. However the last couple weeks we have been derailed by colds. Last week, I was out of commission most of the week and miserable. This week it was Julien' s turn. (Luckily, Aidan's been the healthiest of us all.) So, we didn't get much done. Once I was well again, it was time to get to work as we were expecting company on two different occasions this week. So, I got the whole house clean in about 3 days instead of taking the week to do it as usual. I know, you're thinking that's an awful long time just to clean, but the house is big and I always have other important things come up and someone to distract me. (Wonder who??) Last night, we had our first round of guests. Our friend Jeff from Maryland is out here for business. Julien used to work with him and our families have been friends for years now. (Wow, has it been that long?) We took him out for our customary dinner and ice cream- Thai House for dinner and Oberweis for home made Ice Cream. And, as usual, both were great! (Sorry Catherine, we thought of you the whole time, I promise!) We caught up on what the kids are doing and how everyone in Maryland is. It was a really nice time. Hopefully, we all will be able to get together again soon. Maybe they can come visit or maybe when it's their turn to move. :)

The next visitor is due to arrive on Saturday and I really hope he makes it. Julien is really looking forward to this weekend and will be crushed if he doesn't make it. So, I'll have to let you know how it goes.

For the rest of this week, I will be taking care of loose ends that I've been meaning to get to as the house is now clean. Tomorrow morning our playgroup is meeting again. Our leader had to move us to a new website that didn't charge (it wasn't fair to make her pay $20 a month to organize us online) and now we are trying to recover and find all the old members. I really hope it survives because it's a lot of fun. Tomorrow we are going back to the Creation Station at the Transportation Museum. That place is so much fun! There are so many different things to do there. Friday night is going to be exciting as well! Some of us girls from the neighborhood are having a Girls' Night. This is the first time we have done something like this. I really hope it goes well as it was my idea and I will feel bad if it doesn't. :) I'm sure it will be an interesting night either way. Then next week we will start preparing for Thanksgiving and a visit to Iowa. Hard to believe that Thanksgiving is almost here and Christmas is around the corner. There is so much to do and I am falling behind already! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Aidan's Birthday Party

Here I am, almost 11pm and I am exhausted. Today was our big day. It was an early start for preparations and a full day of work. And sure enough, the doorbell started ringing right at 4pm. Once it started ringing, it didn't stop. Aidan was so excited about the decorations and balloons, and then all the kids. He kept telling them, "Party, party!!" All of his favorite play buddies came. As well as 19 adults, 16 kids, and 2 babies. Yeah. Out of all the invites we sent out, only two families didn't show. When I made the guest list, I figured, 'oh, they won't all come.' Even with all the people, we had enough food and things went really well. In a party situation, I'm only so prepared. I'm never completely organized. Before the kids mutinied and took over the party, I started the party games. We had a Thomas the tank engine pinata and a pin the number on Thomas game. The pinata was so cute. Luckily the weather held out and we didn't get the rain they predicted, so the pinata could be done outside and beaten to death as it should be. The little kids gave it their all. And the big kids were out for blood. They really liked the pinata. The little kids were more into the pin the tail on the donkey-esque game. It was a little more their speed. The winners liked their prizes and by the time we were done with the games, dinner was ready. I couldn't have timed it better if I had actually planned it. Big props to Daddy for grilling the burgers and hot dogs. All the parents were really good about supervising to ensure there was no big messes or spills on carpet, which is always appreciated. And if the candy from the pinata wasn't enough sugar, we had cake and ice cream. (I heard a couple parents joke that they weren't leaving until the sugar buzz was over.) Aidan seemed to love everyone singing to him. He tried his hardest to blow the candle out, I think Daddy helped a little though. After the cake and ice cream were enjoyed, it was present time. All the kids were looking forward to this too. It's amazing how much help Aidan had unwrapping presents. And he had many to unwrap! He made out like a bandit again this year. He got an easel and art set from Nana and Grandpa Tim. He got a Bob the Builder tool bench set from Mike and Jen. He got a drum from The Trevinos. He got books, trains, Diego stuff, and lots of other stuff I can't even remember. People started to trickle out during presents. After we were done with them, a lot of our guests were gone. We sent home homemade party favors. I made caramel apples and used diposable plastic bowls to encase them, with a hole cut out for the stick to poke through the top. On the stick was a note saying, "I'm so glad you're my friend." Everyone seems impressed with them saying they were very Martha Stewart. Actually, it was born out of frustration and desperation to make it work. Either way, I was glad they liked them. I think I'll be making something easier next year. At this point, we had a few guests stay and help clean up, drink another beer and chat. In fact, Julien and two of his friends are outside, drinking beer and sitting around a fire in our neighbor's chimenea. But, most of the mess is cleaned up. The food put away. (And boy do we have left overs!) Big thanks to our neighbors the Dohacks for lending us a big table, 9 chairs, and a cooler at the last minute. They came in extrememly useful. (I love living in a real community with neighbors you can rely on.) The children were behaved for the most part, not too many issues. The big kids had video games set up upstairs in our loft room that kept them occupied. And their were enough trains for all the littler kids to play with. For the number of people we had, it went really well. We have great friends and they have great kids. Aidan loved his party and playing with all his friends. He loved waking up to Nana this morning and going out for breakfast with his grandparents. He was thrilled with his balloons and cake, and all in all, had a ton of fun at his party. All the hard work was worth it. Although, next year I think we'll do something smaller and a little less work. :) I hope Aidan won't mind.

Preparing for the Big Celebration

As of late, I have been busy planning Aidan's upcoming festivities. I have picked the theme, sent the invites, gotten supplies, and contemplated favors and games. We are having a Thomas bday. I think to save money and to do something different, I'm going to make caramel apples for favors. I thought that would be fun. I'm sure I'll be kicking myself later though. Games are hard to pick, as there will be a range of ages at the party. I also wonder if they're really necessary. I think they would be fun. ( Or maybe a craft they can make and take instead. ) I want to do a pinata however, it seems most are pull string pinatas nowadays. So right now, I think it'll be a pinata, maybe a ring toss game, and a coin game. The coin game would be one that all ages could do. You pick a big plastic coin out of a bag and one who gets the "special coin" wins the prize. Which would be some bubbles or something like that. I am open to everyone's thoughts on games.
I also have been busy looking for Aidan's present. We decided to get him a train table. Now, I would have loved to get him the Thomas table, however they are $200 new and that's too much. So I decided to look online to see what kind of deal I could get. This was my first experience with craigslist. I found someone who had a new table, just got it this year, and tracks and cars. There was no more room for it in the little boy's room and Mom wanted it gone. It has a shelf underneath and three bins. So not a bad deal. I would've liked to have talked her down more but, I got her to come down enough ($100) that I felt it was worth it. Big thanks to my neighbor Mike for driving me in his truck, an hour each way, to pick it up. Aidan loves it! Yes, I already gave it to him because it was too hard to hide for a month. All in all, I was a little nervous about Craigslist, but it worked out well. With this purchase we now have an overabundance of train tracks. We also have 4 big bridges, 3 little bridges, a draw bridge, little people and trees, and trains. This leads me to my next point.
For all those reading who might get Aidan a present for his bday.**************************
Now, I'm not one who expects everyone in the world to get me and my family presents. But, I also don't think it's in bad taste to give pointers to those who are interested. Our friends made a registry for their twins's first bday and I thought that was so helpful. Aidan has gotten a lot of train stuff lately. Our neighbor Rachel was incredibly generous and gave us all her son's old train toys, which is where most of it came from. So if you want to get train or Thomas stuff, we don't have James or Gordon or any of the big trains. We don't have any of the buildings or the quarry or the felt play mat for the trains either. But Aidan also loves musical instruments, which he doesn't have any of. He also loves art stuff as he loves to color and play with play dough. He could use puzzles too. So there are a few suggestions. Well, I'm off to make a picture poster for the party, clean up all the trains on the floor, and other never ending chores. :) This weekend, we have a BBQ to go to, the train museum to see of course, and a fantasy football draft. Busy busy!

My New Addiction

This week I finally broke down and joined an online social networking site. At first I resisted because I thought I was too old and lame for something like that. Really, I stay at home, how exciting is my life? However, everyone asked if I was on or not that I figured, I might as well. Let me tell you, it's like crack! I already have almost 50 friends. (Who knew that I even knew that many people?) I've chatted and posted and added pictures. I've talked to people that I haven't seen in years, some not since I graduated high school. I've gotten into the little things you can add to make your page look cool. It's amazing how little you get done when you belong to one of these things. Although in all fairness, laundry just can't compete. Julien has even been sucked into it. Even he thinks it's addictive. He's the last person I expected to jump on the bandwagon. Oh, well. If you're on a social networking site, look us up and add us.

Keeping in Touch

After a hard morning of garage sale-ing and having lunch with my friend Jen, I put Aidan to sleep and played around on the internet. A few of my friends have blogs, which is really how I keep in touch with their lives. I jokingly call it "internet or my space stalking." So I was reading my friend Josh's blog today. Often I think about my old friends and calling them, or maybe I hope they'll call me. Well, today his entry prompted me to pick up the phone and call him. Someone has to take the first step. (Hello Josh, if you're reading.) It was nice to talk to him again. We've known each other for a very long time. He was one of the first people I met as a college student. So, to be staring down 30 together is kind of funny. It's always good to talk to him. He always has a joke and he always has some news of people we used to know. It's interesting to hear him talk about what's going on in his life as we are now in different places, geographically and metaphorically. He lives with his gf and is going to college. I've been married for a while and am a stay at home mom. Sometimes even the best of friends can have a hard time relating with that kind of distance. I always hate when people ask 'So what's new with you?' and not really having anything new to say. I don't think I would be one of his 'cool friends' now, but it's nice to know that I would still earn an invite- ya' know? As with all my attempts to keep in touch with old friends, the call is over too quickly in my eyes. Josh is a busy guy with plans for the holiday weekend and many friends to spend time with. However, it's reassuring to know that, even if you don't know it, there are people who are thinking about you and wishing you the best. And sneak peeks at your baby pictures when they think you aren't looking.

Looking the Gift Horse in the Mouth

This morning I find myself needing to vent a little. We have some friends, who will remain nameless just in case they ever find this blog, who have a little boy about a year older than Aidan. They like to play together and we have gotten together several times since we moved here. Just to clarify, these aren't our neighbors. Our neighbors are cool and very laid back. These friends are more high maintenance than our neighbors. Case in point, when we go out to eat together they have to bring McDonald's for their son because he usually is too picky to eat what's on the menu. We have the good fortune that Aidan eats just about anything. We haven't found a restaurant that he won't eat at. I realize that this isn't true for every toddler. Even so, I'm not about to cater to a picky eater. You can eat with us or wait till you get home, your choice. That's not even the end of it. They bring a portable DVD player with them for him to watch when he gets restless. It works but, I don't think this is a habit I want to encourage either. We watch too much TV at home. Anyway, how do you learn how to behave at the table and out to eat if you get to watch TV? So, there have been a few things about this family that have bugged me as you can see. Forgive my judgmental rant though you may agree with me in a few seconds.
Recently we found out that their anniversary was coming up and they had no plans due to the fact that they don't have a sitter. This anniversary is a big one so Julien offered to babysit so they could go out. At first they seemed shocked we would offer willingly, but they accepted and seemed to really appreciate the offer. We even offered to watch him for a trial run so he could get used to the idea and they could go do something together too. Great, right? Wouldn't you love to have someone volunteer to do that? So, this morning Julien calls me to let me know that we won't be babysitting. I ask him, as you are probably asking too, why. Apparently they are hiring a babysitter. Que?? They want to be able to tell the sitter what to do (boss them around) and they can't impose their rules in our home. ( Which that depends on the rules. ) But they want a boss/employee relationship with a sitter and they felt they couldn't have that with us. True. So #1- I was offended that they would hire someone when we offered our home to their son. #2- What rules are so important and they think I wouldn't follow? Do they think my rules are too lax? #3-Why do you need to be superior to your sitter? Why can't you accept the generosity and help of a friend? Why do things need to be more complicated than that? I have no problems watching our friends' kids. In fact, we watched the neighbor boy last night for a couple hours so Mom and Dad could go out for dinner, as Dad had been gone for 3 days on business. They asked last minute if we were busy and I said we wouldn't mind. They've done the same for us. That's the way it's supposed to be. You don't need to establish a hierarchy or a set of hard and fast rules.
Granted they said they didn't want to offend us but, is there any way not to be? It just seems crazy. Well, we won't be offering our services to them again. They wouldn't be able to afford my expertise and training anyway.

UPDATE: After I wrote the above, I saved it and headed off to lunch with Julien. What are the chances that we would pick the same restaurant, on the same day, at the same time as our "friends"? Well, if you're us, they're great! So not only do we run into them, we end up at their table and Julien pays for their lunch cause they got the last dinner out. *sigh* This is building my karmic bank right??? Talk about awkward.