Bob the Builder Birthday Party

Saturday, we are having Aidan's 3rd birthday party.

John made the invitations,
The cover: Can we party? (with a picture of Bob)
Inside cover: Yes we can! (large red letters)
Text inside:

Foreman Aidan is turning three
Which means there's lots of work, you'll see
Come to the Donahue Construction Site
(xxx Carver is right)
On Saturday, the 31st of May
Come dressed to work and to play
Your shift starts at 11 and lasts until two
Bring your parents. They'll be be working too!
Please call Julie to order lunch
xxx-xxxx (Thanks a bunch)

When they arrive, each child will receive a bright orange work aprons from Home Depot and a time card to keep track of their activities.

When the "Lunch" whistle goes off, the kids will each receive a sack lunch with a peanut butter sandwich, some chips, a fruit snack, and a juice box.

The cake will be a load of dirt. Well, a dump truck layered with brownies, pudding and crushed chocolate sandwich cookies.

Gifts will be stacked in Papaw's brand new wheel barrel.

I'll be decorating with "CAUTION" tape and orange cones.

Games/Activities:
Pin the Tool on Bob
(John printed a 4 foot tall Bob. It is 40 sheets of paper that I have to tape together.)
I printed some tools (blown up clip art) on card stock and cut it out.

Bob's Rock Toss
We took old socks and put beans and macaroni in them and rolled them. We'll toss the "rocks" into a dump truck.

Dirt Pile Play
What kid doesn't like a good dirt pile?

Scoop's Bucket Game
Teams will race to fill a bucket with dirt---using only spoons.

Foreman Says
Think "Simon says"

If I can get what I need:
House Painting
We'll paint a refrigerator box. (or I'll give them brushes and buckets of water and let them paint the cinderblock fence.)

Hammer and Nails
Pound "nails" (tees) into styrofoam.

Amazingly, this is going to be a very inexpensive party. And probably the funnest one we've planned! :) I'll post pictures.

Update on my health

I know I haven't posted about any of this, but I've had a very full month of doctor's appointments. It started about 3 months ago when I started working out. My trainer asked if I'd had any chest pains in the past month. I had. I promised to call my dr. if it happened again. It did. I called and talked to my Doctor's nurse. She called back and Dr. P wanted me to go straight to the ER. By the time I talked to her, I was not in pain, but I went anyway. Chest X-ray, EKG and labs showed no concern. I followed up with Dr. P that week.

He referred me to a cardiologist, but he didn't really think it was heart related. (For example, I never get the pain while I'm working out. I'm always at rest when it happens.) He also referred me for a sleep study. (Something we started 4 years ago, but the insurance run-around delayed it.)

The cardiologist took my history (Dad died of heart failure at 62---probably brought on by polio as a teenager. Mom has had heart problems for 22 years----as a result of a separated sternum in a car accident.) and did an EKG. He heard a heart murmur (probably the result of scarlet fever when I was 16.) He ordered a heart ultrasound, a stress test, and lab work. My heart appeared to be normal in the ultrasound, and I did well on the stress test (9 minutes: 13 seconds).

Today I had the follow up. The nurse practitioner said everything looks good. But she was worried about the continued chest pains. I could either wait a month to see what happens, or they could go ahead and schedule a cardiac catherization. That doesn't sound like fun. We decided to wait (unless the pains continue and worsen).

Last week I had a sleep study. After about 2 hours, he woke me up to "split" the study. My apnea (not breathing) episodes were so bad, that rather than bring me back for a second study, he hooked me up to a C-PAP (constant positive air pressure) machine. Before the CPAP, I even had a 33 second apnea where I wasn't breathing. I've always snored, and my sister got a CPAP a few months and said it changed her life. I'm hoping I get some of that extra energy when my machine arrives!

I saw my doctor for a physical today. He had all the reports except the lab work. I have to go in next week to do some labs. He's very proud of my 30 pound weight loss since February. He's gave me a prescription for my CPAP machine.

Update! I won the essay contest!

I mentioned that I entered a contest for a "Mothering Moments" essay on 5 Minutes for Mom. They announced the winners today: here. They picked 10 winners. Mine was the first on the list: "Motherhood is when your child’s birth mother recognizes your authority over your child."

When I *knew* I was mom...

After years of infertility, I didn't feel like a Mom as soon as I brought my son home from the hospital. Unlike most moms who have 9 months to prepare, we had two days. Literally, 48 hours. From the time we first heard about a newborn baby boy, until we took custody of him--was exactly 48 hours. On the way home, we kept expecting to see police lights behind us telling us there was a mistake--this baby was not our son. Over the next few weeks we bonded with him and our love for him grew more every day. But the feelings that we were just long term babysitters---and that the dream would soon end. One day, when Chewie was about 2 or 3 months old, we were visiting his birth mom, Helen. Helen was playing with Chewie on the floor. A friend came over to meet him. After a few minutes of playing, Helen asked, "Are we allowed to take him outside?" At that moment, I knew--beyond a shadow of a doubt---that I was him mom, and he was my son. Forever. It was 9 or 10 months later before the judge made it official. But I never questioned my role again.

5 Minutes for Mom challenged bloggers to share a motherhood memory. They are also giving away a bunch of prizes.