Delicious Summer Salad

Here is the salad that Kathy made for us on Thursday after our walk. So yummy!!

Mixed greens: spinach, arugula, leaf lettuce, etc.

Fruits: pineapple, mango, raspberries; Could also use anything "tropical": oranges, bananas, strawberries, grapes, etc.

Red or green table onions (thinly sliced)

Grilled chicken (cubed)

Dressing: Mix some vanilla yogurt with a little mayo then add a teaspoon of Thai chili sauce.
(You can also use a little orange juice & curry powder ( 1/2 tsp??) instead of the sauce)

Sniffles and Sneezing and Coughing, Oh My!

Aidan has come down with his first case of the sniffles. He has a runny nose, sneezes, and a little bit of coughing. Nothing serious, but it wears a person out (namely me). He refuses to be put down for more than a minute or two at a time. It's not happy cuddling time that he wants though. He just whines, almost like an unhappy puppy. He first started the whining Wednesday evening and Kyle and I thought it was funny because he sounded an awful lot like Roxie did when she was a puppy. Then I noticed his nose was runny after we got home from a walk yesterday and it has been downhill from that point. The whining is definitely not funny anymore. Now I just want him to feel better so he can get back to his happy, playful self.

So, Kathy, it wasn't you or your house that made Aidan fussy, just his cold. Poor Kathy, I promise he is not always that hard to please. We went to her condo in downtown St. Paul Thursday afternoon for a walk along the Mississippi River and she graciously made me the best salad I think I've ever had for lunch. (will post the recipe when I find out what she used) Unfortunately Aidan cried the minute he was not touching a human being, so we had to take turns eating. Not much amused him other than when he got his bottle and fell asleep for a little bit. The walk along the river was gorgeous, and I highly recommend it. Aidan got to see his first barge and the pilot even waved to us!

If Aidan is feeling well enough we're going to walk to a Jazz Festival on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it as I hear the jazz is supposed to be great.

Olympic Coverage

I'm hooked. Every night since the opening ceremonies I have watched at least some of the Olympics. I cannot get enough of Michael Phelps. Every time I watch him swim I am amazed. Can he get three more gold medals? I hope so, but that is a lot of pressure. Other sports I've watched: beach volleyball, gymnastics, synchronized diving (truly amazing), cycling, and handball. Kyle likes the fringe sports and was a little disappointed that he didn't get to see any badminton. He is hooked on the swimming too, and the other night after I went to bed I could hear him yelling downstairs. Come to find out he was watching the men's 4 x 100 free relay where the US came from behind to beat France. The ironic part of that story is that same afternoon he had made fun of me for saying that I was clenching my fists and my heart was racing the night before when I watched Michael Phelps win his first gold medal. He isn't making fun of me anymore.

Aidan is going to start his Olympic training on September 9th. I signed him up for swimming lessons at the YMCA. Granted, he will just be desperately holding on to me as we stand in the pool, but it could lead to big things...you never know.

GO TWINS GO!

Aidan attended his 1st Twins game today. We got to watch them beat the Yankees 4-2. Go Twins!! We drove downtown thinking it would be better for Aidan than taking the light rail...we may have been wrong. It's not easy finding parking in downtown Minneapolis during the day. We finally found a parking ramp with some space, but ended up missing the first inning. Oh well. Aidan seemed to enjoy it and never cried, which I'm sure the people around us appreciated. We sat in the "cheap seats" in the outfield, which were still pretty full. There were a lot of people in attendance even though it was a day game. Probably because we were playing the Yankees. I doubt we'll get to another game this year, so the next Twins game Aidan goes to will be after his 1st birthday. That seems crazy to think about!! He might be running around by then. We will definitely have to sit in the cheap seats if that is the case.

Aidan and Daddy in the Metrodome

The scary old man the we ALWAYS see no matter where we sit

Aidan looking appropriately scared of the creepy guy

The Finn family

How we transported Aidan to the game
(I walked him in, Kyle walked him out)

Oink Oink

No, we were not little piggies at the Dakota County Fair, but we did see some. Aidan got his first up close look at farm animals, but overall seemed more interested in watching the people walking around than looking at the livestock. Give him a year or two and I have a feeling he's going to love it. We couldn't have asked for a better day to be out and about. Sunny, mid-70's, it was perfect. My root beer float was the culinary delight of the day. Kyle and I also split some cheese curds, but they were just okay. They seem to get less and less appealing as the years go by. Note to self...do not get cheese curds at the State Fair, you don't like them very much anymore. Let's see if I remember that.

Mattress shopping was an eye-opener. Is it really fair to charge $3,000 for a mattress?!?! Seriously ridiculous. We came home Saturday evening with more questions than we left with. I'm going to do some online research and then see where we're at. If we do decide to go with a Tempurpedic it had better last us 20 years without a single problem.

Here We Go!

I see you Mommy

That's a WHAT??!!
(We were looking at the sheep)

Taking a break while Grandma buys us root beer floats

Besides Aidan, the cutest things at the fair

Hello Mr. Cow, it's nice to meet you

Intently watching the piggies

Splish Splash

Aidan and I were invited to the pool by my former co-worker, Carrie, and her daughter Keifer who is 15 months old. We had a great time. The outdoor pool is attached to the Lifetime Gym in Lakeville and seems brand new. Lots of moms and their kids. Even some babies younger than Aidan. After the pool we went back to their house for lunch. Keifer loved watching Aidan and kept saying "baby" "baby" "baby". So cute! She is going to be a wonderful big sister.

We have a fairly busy weekend ahead of us. Tomorrow afternoon Kyle and I are going mattress shopping while Aidan stays with Grandpa and Grandma Finn. I cannot wait until we have a new mattress. Ours is AWFUL! Guess that's what you get when you buy the cheap one. Then Sunday, weather permitting, we are going to the Dakota County Fair with Kyle's parents. I'm interested to see if Aidan pays any attention to the animals and what's going on around him. Up to this point he really hasn't cared about anything unless he can put it in his mouth.

Kyle is back to his normal self after the "major surgery" (as he calls it) on Wednesday. I think he's pretty lucky. No bruising, minor swelling, and he said it doesn't really hurt, just a little stiff. It seems so silly that he waited 10 years to do this. Such a man.

Who needs 'em?

After almost 10 years of dealing with tooth pain, Kyle's wisdom teeth are finally history. Hallelujah! It only took about an hour to get them out and then another half hour to let some of the anesthesia wear off. Kyle was a little loopy and said "I've got all these great jokes in my head, I just can't get them out." I was thanking my lucky stars that his mouth was full of gauze. I have a feeling I would have been mortified if he started telling his jokes to the people in the dentist's office. No earth shattering revelations while he was under the influence, he was just goofy and does not remember anything he said. He looked at himself in the mirror several times during the half hour we were sitting there and each time he did not remember that he had already checked himself out. It was pretty amusing from my perspective. It's soft foods and pain meds for the next couple of days, but the dentist said the teeth came out easily. We'll see if Kyle looks like he got hit by a Mack truck when he wakes up tomorrow...

NNO

That stands for National Night Out, which is what we did last night. Every year on the first Tuesday of August our neighborhood gets together up the street in the cul de sac and grills out. Everyone brings a dish to pass and we stand around and chat for an hour or two. Last night Aidan got lots of attention and we (finally) met our next door neighbor that has been there since last fall. Seriously, I thought she was anti-social b/c you never see her outside, but she was really nice last night.

I'm keeping this brief today because Kyle is getting his wisdom teeth pulled in 40 minutes. Gayle is coming over to watch Aidan. Hopefully this doesn't take hours on end. I'll update on how the surgery goes when we get home. (if Kyle makes it...) :)

Weekend Wrap-Up

Another weekend come and gone and now we're into the first week of August. It never fails to surprise me that summer is coming to a close once August hits. At least this year I get to look forward to being home with Aidan instead of dreading going back to school.

Saturday's trip to the cabin was lackluster at best. When we started going there 4 years ago we knew everyone that attended. Each year we've known less and less people as Kyle's friends have gotten married, had kids, have to work on weekends, etc. This year we knew the host/hostess and one other person. It's so sad! I enjoy meeting new people, but don't enjoy making small talk for five hours. Perhaps the dreary day accounted for some of my blah feelings. It was cloudy and windy which meant the lake was rough and thick with algae. So there was no swimming and no skiing. Ughh, but what can you do? We did meet 2 guys from Peru and they were very interesting to talk to.

Nothing exciting happened on Sunday. Aidan slept ALOT since his schedule had been disrupted the rest of the weekend. His naps are nice times for me, but he's a light sleeper, so I didn't get much housework done. I guess that's what I will be doing today.

Happy Birthday To Me

I turned 27 yesterday and had a fantastic day. Aidan and I did what I love doing most during the summer...laying by/being in the pool. My friend Krista invited us over to her pool yesterday afternoon and we had a wonderful, relaxing time. We swam, we laid out, we chatted, it was delightful. I makes me yearn for my own pool. Oh how I wish we had bought the house with the pool we looked at. Next time...

Last night we all went out for dinner minus the little guy. Aidan stayed with Gayle's mom while the rest of us (Krista, Eric, Gayle, Cory, Kyle and I) enjoyed some Italian food. I picked the restaurant, Bella Cucina, after remembering I had heard good things about it, thinking it would be nice to try something new. Well, we pull in and Kyle and I realize we have been there before! Kyle had found the restaurant while searching for a good place for pizza when my sister and her boyfriend were in town last fall. It was still delicious, just not new to us. :)

Today we are off to the lake, again minus the little guy. He is staying with Grandpa and Grandma Finn while Kyle and I enjoy catching up with his friends, swimming, boating, and hopefully a little water skiing (for me) if it's not too rough. Another perfect day...I love summer!

Here are the pics from swimming yesterday. Molly kindly let us borrow Charlotte's ladybug floaty. Not very manly, but it did the trick.




After we were done swimming Aidan hung out in his stroller without making a peep for the rest of the time. He was a champ.