So I took Aidan to the spray park at Planz Park and i just thought i would review the park. I didn't want to take him there cause i thought it was lame, but actually it was quite opposite. There were a lot of kids there, lots of parents too.  The grass wasn't full of stickers! They have a spray park (MAJOR PLUS) basketball courts, horse shoes, a baseball diamond, and 2 playground completely seperated, one for the bigger kids and one for the smaller ones, the spray park is in the middle, there is also a swimming pool so that park will probably be even more packed once that opens next month. Its an older park so it has ;lots of big shade trees! there is also some railroad tracks right  next to it, there is a fence, but it's chainlink so you can see through it. Aidan was hypnotized by the train, he'd never been that close to one.  i just wanted to review this park for you guys.  it's on  the southeast corner of Planz and South H.

I have always felt music is one of the most powerful things on earth. It has the power to take you back in time and leave a nostalgic smile, or even tear on your face.  It has the power to make it known that someone else knows exactly what you're talking about and how you feel.  The power to make you feel better in general.  I always knew music would be a major part of my son's life. My dad plays the guitar, I sing, we're slightly musically inclined.  I want that for him, i want him to feel the same way about music as i do.  I want him to be open minded about it and like all different kinds from everywhere.  when i was pregnant woth him i used to put one of my headphones on my belly and one in my ear, so we could both hear. when he was a few months old i started to notice he would recognize  the music we listened to a lot.  i thought that was the coolest thing ever! he already knows what he does and doesn't like, he gets excited when the blue screen from the DVD players comes up on the TV, because he knows music is to follow!  he has band and singers and intruments he likes already. He loves the piano, john legend and alicia keys are 2 he likes ecause of the piano.  He LOVES breaking benjamin and three days grace.... he gets all excited when he hears any 3 of the breaking benjamin CDs.   i just think it's cool hes so little but is already gaining an appreciation for music.  AWESOME!

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When i found out i was pregnant back in June of 06 i thought my entire personality was going to change along with the life in general change. But it didn't! And it doesn't have to!  You just have to find time to let your non-baby-toting self come out. Let's face it , when you don't have your kid(s) with you, you tend to act a little more uninhibited.  More like how you were pre-baby.  Now i'm not saying everyone because i have met some people that act exactly the same when the kids aren't there. Babytalk, weird noises, constantly talking about their kid when other people are talking about adult things.  This is highly agitating to me because i am like, HELLO? where did YOU go? I feel like too many chicks get caught just being MOM. I LOVE being MOM but i also LOVE being Casso, which is who i have always been and has enabled me to be the cool MOM i am today.  I guess my point is: Don't forget that chick who made you the MOM you are today, she was there before and you'll need her when the babies have grown and moved on and become their own people.  And your kids need to know that you have a life outside of them as well, they need a strong woman to teach them that it's good to be yourself and you should always embrace it, even if you are a MOM!

Well Aidan is able to walk on his foot again so i took him to the spray park at beale park (on oldeaner a few blocks south of california) It was SOOOOOOOO fun i think i may have had more fun than he did lol.  they have water that shoots straight up from the ground, water that pours into overhead buckets and then spills out on top of you when full, a spray gun, a shower like tube, one that has three circular tubes lined up like a car wash almost. it was soooooo fun! no floaties required! there were a bunch of kids and parents there, it was just a fun enviroment! everyone was squealing with glee and smiling, i was the only mom in there playing  too. I thought it was kind of sad. Im always the only mom playing at the park, it's kind of irritating. but anyways, i think these spray parks are an awesome addition to parks, they should put them in all the parks!  you should definitely take your kids, there are about 8 parks that have them. i'll list them for you.

Beale Park, Wayside Park, Planz Park, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park, Jefferson Park, Emerald Cove Park, Madison Grove Park, North Meadows Park and Standard Park.

Future park sites that will have spray parks (i have no idea when these parks are going to be open i just found the info on www.norrecreation.org) Polo Community Park and Rosedale Park.

I also believe Jastro Park is getting one. they filled in the swimming pool and have that area fenced off. 

Enjoy cooling off in the cool spray parks this summer!

so i was letting aidan play outside in front of the apartment where there is dirt and plants and such next to the front door.  he likes the dirt, and i think he's cute all muddy and stuff.  so anyways, further down the sidewalk there is a downhill slope to get to the street, i was hoping he would stay away from there because it is a MAJOR slope, almost vertical in some spots.  low and behold, what does he do? runs straight for the most vertical part of the knoll!  after 30 minutes of going nowhere near the grade he bolts! i take off after him and in a flurry of freaking out i snatch him up, slip on the dewey grass (im wearing flip flops which makes this rescue even more dangerous!) and land right on top of his tiny (compared to mine, large compared to other kids his age) leg and foot.  I hear a snap and a screech then a lot of crying!  i instantly burst into tears because i knew i had hurt him, and pretty seriously, my kid is gangsta, he never cries, so i knew he was badly injured.  I rush into the house lie him on the couch and hurry to my freezer to fill a bag with ice.  he's not having the ice, he's kicking and everytime he does the cries get louder and my tears flow more. his leg wasn't swollen or discolored, however, the arch of his right foot was super swollen. i was totally freaking out!  i was scared if i took him to the hospital they would think i had done it on purpose.  but i drove like a bat out of hell (not to crazy, i didn't want to get into a accident) to mercy southwest. in tears (both of us) i took him into the ER.  It was the quickest experience i've ever had at an ER, we were there for a total of about an hour and a half.....  after all the stressin i had done it turned out there were no fractures or breaks! THANK WHOMEVER!  but i couldn't help but notice every single person i talked to in there kept asking me the same 2 questions: "so this happened at home?" and "so you 'fell' on him while 'playing'?"  i knew it, they thought i had done it on purpose! that's so jacked! i think i was more upset about the mishap than aidan was. lol.  but all in all, nothing happened, they took some x rays, told me he had probably just sprained his foot and to give him some tylenol and wait a few days.  he had to crawl around for a few days and he was super frustrated but then my lil rider got back on his foot and forced himself to walk on it and now he's fine.  all crazy as usual. so yeah, it was definitely an experience i will probably have many more times in my life with him, considering he has a PW50 sitting in grandpas garage waiting for him to get big enough to hit that throttle and get on the track!

i try and get aidan to the park at least 3 times a week.  i feel it's a good idea to get them used to being outside and i think the social interaction is really important too.  what i have noticed is a lot of parks have totally updated the playgrounds and made a lot of them pretty educational as well.  playing and learning! what a concept!  lol.  i love how everything is plastic and rubber. not as many worries about your lil one scorching that soft baby skin!  i thought maybe i would list a few of the cool parks we go to and you guys could give your input on what parks you like and why.

Westdale-  on brimhall one block east of renfro.  really nice park with lots of grass. very clean. lots of cool little games on the toys. one drawback, instead of sand they have woodchips. definitely wouldn't take your shoes off!!

Campus Park North-  not generally many people there so there is free reign on the toys. very large grassy area, big trees, nice neighborhood. have no complaints about this one. (one block south of white lane on park view dr)

Harrington Park- i am bias on this one because i grew up chillin at this park.  it's on rio bravo right off stockdale hwy. it's  a small park, small playground, but there are usually a few kids playing.  lots of grass and big shady trees.

University Park-  this park is cool because it's  in a sump you park at the top and walk to the bottom, the toys aren't that great but a lot of kids are there usually.  it's off of university and columbus for you east siders, or if you like to just venture.

Westwold Park- On westwold and gosford.  the toys are big and fun, it's next to a school so if you go around the time schools out there are a lot of kids. theres a fire station right next to it, a sump area to run around in.

so those are my top picks. what are yours?

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my first wedding anniversary is may 18th....  in this past year, since i have been married, i have seen my husband once, for 11 days. Now  he is deployed and i won't be seeing him again until march of next year.  it's incredibly hard. i often feel very depressed and i cry a lot.  i try not to for fear it might counteract all the hapiness my son feels. its impossible, it seems like every song reminds me of him, every commerical is about the army. its ridiculous. now don't get me wrong, i am probably one of the strongest women you will ever meet.  I have dealt with some STUFF in my life, but this takes the cake.  my husband is the most awesome man i have ever met, he takes care of me and our son. he has given me the opportunity to stay home with aidan and i have a nice, comfortable place for us to  live and  a nice truck.  Aidan wants for nothing, he has more crap than most 5 year olds.  this makes me miss my husband even more.  now i am terrified i might never see him again, last time he was in iraq he nearly lost his life, he almost didn't come back to me last time. it scares the hell out of me.  but i keep truckin.  if i didn't have my lil boy to give me lovin i don't know what i would do.  nothin makes me feel better then when he sees im upset and races over to me and leaps into my lap and plants a big slobbery kiss on me.  it makes me forget, for a lil while anyway, how much i miss my husband.

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March 17th 2006- the day my life was forever changed, for the better.  Aidan-Riley was concieved, probably along with a lot of other babies, lol.

I never wanted to have any kids, i just could not imagine myself as a mommy. I was sooooooo selfish!  Then i heard that heartbeat and i melted into a puddle of tears ( a feeling most moms can relate to  ). I knew from  that moment that i had finally found true love. 

Ahhhhh, the first time i felt that indescribable feeling of movement from within, i was amazed at how anxious i was to see his little face, hold him, plant my lips all over his forehead.  I was finally going to have someone to give all my love and devotion to.  I felt like a stalker, researching his every move, figuring out what he was doing at all times! 

The Ultrasound, the first time i saw him.  He didn't know i was watching. That face, OH MY GOD, that face was the most perfect thing i had ever seen in my life.  I couldn't contain it, i was overwhelmed with 400 different emotions at once, i stared at those pictures everyday until i went to the hospital, anticipating his arrival.  I had no idea how deep my love would really run.

December 13th 2006, they induced my labor, i had him via emergency c section. HE WAS HERE!  He was born!! All those months of anxiety and emotion were wiped out with one look at his tiny,perfect body. Undying love was all i felt, but i couldn't hold him! i was numb from the shoulders down, all  i could do was kiss his beautiful face and hope the anesthesia would wear off quickly so i could have what i had so yearned for all this time.  Head over heels doesn't even begin to describe what i was feeling!  The moment my lips touched his fresh, soft flesh i was Momified! 

And so begins our new life and my greatest love affair of all time!