This is two posts wrapped into one!  First of all, my weekend pick.  This weekend, the National Aviary on the North Side is having a special event called Safety Day.  They will have emergency vehicles to explore and workers to meet and talk to.  My kids are so excited to see some real-life firefighters and police officers.  The National Aviary in Pittsburgh is home to over 600 birds of more than 200 different species, many rare or endangered in the wild. Make sure not to miss Penguin Point, a new exhibit featuring 11 African penguins and unique underwater viewing, FliteZone, a free-flight, outdoor bird show, and the bird-feeding adventure Lories & Friends. These programs are joined by various trainer talks, bird presentations, feedings and encounters that help to create an immersive experience for Aviary visitors.

Safety Day
Saturday, August 21st

11 a.m. thru 2 p.m.

Meet the men and women who help keep us safe, and get an up-close look at emergency vehicles, police cars and fire trucks.

The National Aviary is open Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., and open Sunday 12 noon – 5 p.m.

Adults: $12
Seniors: $11
Children 2–12: $9.50
Children under 2 admitted free.

 

So not only should you visit the Aviary on Saturday for Safety Day, but here's some added incentive...I'll be there from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. with PittsburghMom giving away frisbees and other prizes to every family and you can be entered to win a free Bird-Day Party valued at $250. But you have to come to Safety Day to enter.  Here's how it will work:

Download and print the special copy of the National Aviary Scavenger Hunt by visiting this link and clicking "Download" on the right.  Bring it with you and complete the scavenger hunt while visiting the birds.  Once you finish, drop it off to me and you'll be entered to win the party. Easy enough, right?!

National Aviary Bird-Day Party Package includes:

• A room rental for 2 hours, either 11 am-1 pm or 2 pm-4 pm
• Same day general admission for 20 guests (this includes children and adults)
• A discounted admission of $8 for each additional guest
• Cost is $250 for non-members, $200 for members

Plan your next birthday party at the National Aviary. Our basic Bird-Day party package includes a 2 hour room rental and full day general admission to the Aviary for up to 20 guests; each additional guest is $8. You are welcome to bring any food or non-alcoholic drink to the Bird-Day room at the Aviary for your party. All food and drink is the responsibility of the party planner. The party can be further customized by adding any of our special Bird-Day Party experiences.

In addition to entering the Bird-Day party contest, I'll be there giving away Pittsburgh Mom goodies and other prizes like books and toys.  Come out and see us!

 

We'll take all the entries that we receive on Safety Day and then pick a winner randomly from the entries on August 30. 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been an emotional ball of tears this last week.  I'm crying for people who've died.  The thing is, I don't know any of them. Not personally.  They're friends of friends or stories I've heard about on the news. 

First I heard about a one-year old little girl from Texas who had just taken her first steps days ago and was happily crawling around her house when she choked on something and died two days later.  Then Mike told me tonight that he witnessed a phone call that his boss from Michigan had while in Pittsburgh last week. The call was from his wife telling him their 14-year-old son had died suddenly. And  I know that many of you are familiar with Amy, a local mom who writes the Callapitter blog, who lost both of her children in a car accident last year. My heart breaks for her.

These stories weigh heavily on me.  And as much as I try I just can't shake them. I think about those stories for days after I hear one. Even though I don't know the people and have never met them. I still feel it as though they were friends of mine. And I look at my own kids and just hug them as tight as I possibly can (until they tell me to stop squeezing them). 

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day. Last year, she met her boyfriend, "the one", and has noticed she suddenly feels so much more emotional about things.  We ended up talking about how it really is true that the more love you have in your life, the harder it is to hear about bad things happening to other people. The more we have, the more we have to lose.

Mike was saying tonight that he can't even listen to stories that involve kids our kids' ages.  It makes him physically ill.  I feel the same way, but I think because I'm a woman, my empathy is limitless.  Kid, adult, mom, grandparent...you name it, I cry over it.

I guess the upside of this is that I have given my children 1,000  kisses and hugs this week and really slowed down and appreciated everything I have. 

It's so important to be thankful every single day and not let the little mundane, frustrating parts of our day take over. 

 

I mentined previously that I was doing an event at the National Aviary this past weekend. I set up a PittsburghMom table and handed out some goodies, met a lot of great moms, and had a staring contest with some Sea Eagles for a few hours (the eagles won).

Many people stopped by my table to ask what PittsburghMom.com is and every single one of them nodded in approval and then exclaimed what a wonderful idea it was to have a site for parents.

Well, everyone except one.

An older lady (maybe in her late 60s or 70s) stopped by and asked what PittsburghMom is. When I was finished explaining this was her response (paraphrased as best I can remember it)

"I'm not smiling much.  You know why I'm not smiling? Because people shouldn't bring kids here.  I come here to enjoy the Aviary and I'm forced to cater to these little kids and moms with those huge baby carriages shoving their way in. These kids aren't even old enough to appreciate this, and if you ask me, people shouldn't bring their kids to places until they're old enough to understand and appreciate it. And to act appropriately. These huge baby carriages are in my way and for what?!  The babies don't even know what's going on. And all these other little kids running around, making noise, geting in my way, when I'm just trying to ENJOY the place.  I'm sick of it. Sick of it, I tell you! Society today caters to kids way too much. Back in my day you didn't bring kids to adult places. Now people bring their kids everywhere, and they're not even well behaved.  Kids don't belong in places like this.  If you ask me, it's not even the kids that are the real problem, it's the parents. We need to teach the parents...."

And this went on for at least five minutes. She went on to tell me a story about how someone brought her kids to Phipps Conservatory (oh the horror!) and "let the kids loose".  The woman was absolutely disgusted.

And I just sat there with my mouth open not sure exactly what to say. I mean, she was lecturing the founder of a moms site about how terrible moms and kids are.  Not exactly her best audience, you know?  I also prayed to god my kids wouldn't come running around the corner, screaming like banshees at that exact moment...I feared for them if they did. 

Luckily my kids were off somewhere "not appreciating" the birds and she and I parted ways. Before she stomped off I tried to explain that we simply want our kids to grow up appreciating culture and if we never take them to places like the Aviary or Phipps, then they'll never know about it. They'll never learn that Sea Eagles are the largest fish-eating eagles (I really was facing the Sea Eagles all day). They'll never learn to appreciate the beauty of an Orchid. But she disagreed and told me that we need to keep kids where they belong, and they DO NOT belong in museums. And it wasn't fair to her that she had to step aside and cater to the multitudes of kids running around. She paid good money to get in and she should not have to be distracted by screaming kids all day.

My first reaction was that she was just a grumpy old lady who hates kids.

But I've been thinking about it since then. Does she have a point?

Is it fair to people without kids that we drag our kids everywhere, even when the kids may not be old enough to really appreciate it?  Do kids belong everywhere?

Are there "kid friendlly" places and places where kids should not be allowed?

The last time we went out to a fancy dinner there was a couple with a 2-year-old near us. We were out for some special occasion, without kids, and the last thing I wanted was to hear a 2-year-old screaming all through my fancy steak dinner.  I remember commenting that maybe that wasn't the best place to bring a small child.

So I guess I think maybe the old lady has a point. What do you think? Do we cater to our kids too much?

We survived the first day of Kindergarten.  Well, I survived. There was no doubt that Matthew would survive.  He loved it.  And he was just as excited to get back on that bus today, so that's a good sign.

He told me that his favorite part of the day was naptime (lol!) and that they told him he'd have to go to school "for like a hundred days!."  :)

Yesterday turned out to be much less emotional than I had expected. The night before I had panic attacks.  What if he needs to go to the bathroom and he doesn't know if he's allowed?  Then I started packing his lunch and realized he's never put his own straw in his juice box. What if he couldn't open his juice!?  My neighbor was freaking out about the bus, whether they would get her daughter on the right bus, etc. But to me, the bus is SUCH a big deal that I'm sure they'll get it right. It's the little things that I worried about.

But he had someone help him open his juice box and he was able to go to the restroom when he needed (kid has a bladder the size of a squirrel) and all was well.

So while I expected to be a puddle of tears at the bus stop and cry all the way to work, I didn't shed a single tear.  Instead I just felt an inner peace. Not that he was gone, but because Matthew was just so happy. The joy he exuded made it impossible for me to be anything but thrilled for him. To be sad and cry felt selfish. I was just so happy that my first born, the child of my heart, who we tried so hard for so long to have, was so happy. 

Of course, I got an email from a friend that broke the dam.  She wrote

I still remember, like it was yesterday, when you showed up at my front door. And told me. It worked! A baby.

9 months.

We came to see him. And you. And I was so happy and proud for you.

Congratulations Heather. You are an awesome mother, and I wish only the best of the best for Matthew.

 

Reading that was what brought me to tears yesterday.  She's right. I tried so hard to have Matthew. Two years of infertility and treatments. Shots daily.  And lots of wondering if I'd ever be blessed with children. And remembering that while looking at Matthews sweet face is what brought me to my knees. I am so lucky. I am so blessed. And he's everything I ever hoped for. He's such an easy kid. He's never given me a day of trouble in his life. He's so sweet and positive all the time.

And now he's a Kindergartener...and couldn't be happier about it.

He just is pure joy, that kid

(I'm blowing up and framing this picture because it captures his first day so perfectly. I love it)