Pinewood Derby!

It was a long journey for this little block of wood that was sent home with Aiden 3 months ago. Yes, it was a block of wood, as I discovered when I opened the box. I expected to see a car and I didn't. Fear gripped me as I tried to figure out how Tom, whom I love, could possibly do this. But, with the right tools, even an accountant can make a good looking car! It just takes about $100 worth of new tools, 20+ hours and a lot of patience.

Aiden helped out quite a bit - which worried me when I saw his little fingers close to the sander and saw. But we made it out with no need to run to the ER and no stitches. He even helped paint it. And then Tom thought he would put a second coat on. This is where the trouble began and the "Flaming Dragon" became Tom's nemesis! The second coat looked terrible. Ok, sand it down and paint it again. Looks good. Decals go on. Let's put on the clear coat. Turns out clear coat paint does not like high gloss paint. The sander comes out again. Tom kept his cool and the car looked great. Next, the wheels. Seems easy enough, but they wouldn't go in. For at least 2 hours Tom worked on it and this time, he lost it a bit. Just a bit, but enough. So, we put the car away while he cooled down and the next day he figured it out. The Flaming Dragon was ready to race!

Things have changed in the derby arena since I watched my brother's cars race. Everything is electronic and the cars are pretty good looking. One guy spent 40 hours on his! Woah. We prewarned Aiden that he may not win and to try not to cry. He had 8 races to try. We bit our nails as we watched his first race and jumped up and down when he won! And then the announcer ruined the moment by saying that was the slowest race he's ever seen. Thanks. Thanks A LOT. Aiden didn't care, he was so excited! Race #2: His car went off the track and I saw his face fall and he bit his lip. "Keep it together," I mouthed to him and he nodded his head. The racing went on and it turns out that his winning race really was slow cause he never made it past 3rd place, but it didn't matter to him because he got first place in the first race. Thank goodness for that!

Next year Tom has big plans for his car, wait, I mean AIDEN'S car! Well done boys!

The Flaming Dragon takes it's place...

So excited to win that first race!

St. Patricks Day

Little did we know that when we moved to Elmhurst, that we would be moving to 'Little Ireland.' The amount of Irish Catholics here is staggering and it really shows when 'The Parade' hits.

This year, we got to walk in the parade as part of Kick Off For Kids, a local charity that raises money for children in need. The boys were so excited. When we got to the parade, their friends were waiting with green hair paint in hand. So, we sprayed them and the parade got started! Throwing candy may actually be more fun than receiving it, cause when the time came to sit and watch the parade, they were bored silly. And to give them credit, the parade was two hours long!The fun continued with a band and dancing and it turned out to be a really fun day. I like to think that our Irish side came out a bit - we do have about 2%!

School carried on the tradition of St. Pat. Leprachaun traps were set and fun was had by all - even O'Aiden!

Jeb, waiting for the parade to start

Aiden, handing out the loot. (Glad we sprayed his hair...nice hat!)

And the dancing...

Answering Aiden

Aiden has always been one to ask more questions. Even when he was little, he would always ask simple little questions of how things worked and why they happened. Well, he is older and I guess all those simple questions have been answered. The big ones are rolling in one by one. And it's never when Daddy is around, which leaves me grasping for straws at some points. Like this for example...

One of our friends recently had a baby. I told the boys about it at dinner and they seemed very excited. Aiden didn't say much else until after dinner when I was cleaning up, which makes me think he was really thinking it through while chewing his chicken. "Mummy, how did that baby get out?" Hmmm...how do I answer this honestly and truthfully? - I went the c-section route. Simply, that some babies have to get cut out of their mummy's tummy. Silence. "Is that how I got out?" Ok, now I had to think and as I scraped the dishes I said nothing, hoping he would walk away. He didn't. And now Jacob was there too, only Jacob was giggling. Now I had two problems - how do I answer this and how much does Jacob know about this cause I certainly have never told him! And then Jacob laugh out, "they come our her butt." Woah! I guess I had to pull out the full terminology for this one. My reply, "No, Jacob it's the vagina. Babies come out of mother's vagina." Their eyes were big as saucers and they quickly turned and ran to play. At least they are well informed.

But the questions keep coming. And why are they always on the same subject? This time it was a week or two later. "Mummy, how do babies get in the tummy?" SERIOUSLY, where is Tom?!? I went for it. Well, kind of. "God puts an egg in the mummy that turns into a baby, but with no shell." And he said, "Oh, ok." Sometimes, it best to answer truthfully and leaves some things out.

And tonight, again Tom is out of town (and he is usually around, it's just my luck). This one was easy. "Mummy do you love me more than Daddy?" And I said, "No because you are going to leave me one day and I will have to live with just Daddy, so I better love him a lot." A look of shock and horror came across his face. "Will I have to go to college forever?" "No, you will graduate, get a job, and then at some point you will fall in love and get married." Aiden replies,"How do you get married?" Short answer, "You go to church and tell everyone and then you kiss." Shock and horror again. "I have to kiss her? Yuck. Do I have to do it on a stage? Oh, no!" I tried to console poor Aiden and the only thing that would do it was when I answered yes to his next question: "Will we get to ride in a limo?" Big smiles.

Birds, bees and marriage. Maybe I'm done explaining for awhile? Nah, not with him!