Today Aidan is 11

He's been talking about this day for months. After Ian's, Dave's, Emma's and the Liam's birthdays Aidan would subtract how many days were left until his. He loves to celebrate - especially when it involves himself.

Vain, no! Aidan is anything but vain. He simply loves to celebrate. From an early age he would come up with any reason to light candles, set flowers, arrange the table just so - to make the meal that much more special.

Aidan is my adventurer. This summer typifies Aidan and his free spirit. This is his third year on the swim team. He joined it during Emma's second year. Last year Emma didn't swim because she was in Cyprus with her grandparents. I thought Aidan would hang back, but no, he committed to the team. This year he was the only boy swimming his level during practice. Yep, Aidan and 10 other girls. He loved it. He would jump into their conversations, practice his magic tricks to razzle-dazzle them and buy extra large pretzels during meets just to share with them. He's not a flirt. He's a socializer. Never at a loss for words, Aidan will eagerly enter into conversation with anyone, regardless of age or sex.

I remember 3 years ago we had a couple over from church for Easter lunch. Now Bob and Ruthie are rather eccentric. Ruthie was blind and Alzheimers was doing its work on her. Conversations with her were sometimes hard to follow. That Sunday Aidan helped Ruthie to her seat, asked her if she wanted something to drink, served her and began asking her questions without any prompting from the significant adults in his life.

Aidan also has an addictive personality (like his mother). He gets lost in his xbox, computer games, and (I don't mind this one) books. He loves legos, star wars, and cheese pizza. He is winsome, loving, sentimental and sees beauty where others don't. I can't count how many times we'd be in the car during sunset and he'd look out the window and say, "Mom, look at the sky. It's just beautiful." (And he started noticing things like that when he was a preschooler.) While we were driving out to California he commented on the landscape of Oklahoma. "It is really beautiful out here. I can see for miles."

Aidan was my easiest pregnany and delivery. He loves hearing that. I was biking 7 miles a day when I was pregnant with him. I was in labor for 2 hours and pushed for 5 minutes.

He's a character and just like Dumbledore said to Harry Potter, I expect great things from him!

Relaxing with the Feminine

Sarah at methemama.blogspot.com is starting a revolution of sorts, and I'm playing along:

The "Hot Mama Revolution" has begun and we are looking for recruits! Let's build a militia of Renaissance women who will start wearing form-fitting clothes, carrying a compact, and actually using that gym membership you started shelling out the big bucks for over a year ago!

This will be a weekly meme so be sure to check back every Monday for inspiration and ideas!

I have never been comfortable with my femininity. I have for too long felt I lack that quality which defined me as female. I usually feel awkward in my skin, not relaxed, not confident. When I found Sarah's blog and read her challenge I thought, "This might be good for me." I am a professional late-bloomer and have decided in my mid-40s to practice those things which define me as a woman.

For me the greatest accessory a woman can wear is confidence (yeah, it sounds like an article from Ladies Home Journal or Cosmo, but you know I've given up on magazines!) When a see a woman with confidence it doesn't matter if she is stunningly gorgeous or plain jane, she is a force to be reckoned with and a dynamo I would like on my side. Where does confidence come from? Heck if I know. But I think I'm finding more and more as I age (and I'll be 47 next week!). I think with confidence there is the attitude, "I like who I am, don't care what others think, and I'm here to learn, have fun, and be a blessing!"

So my overarching goal in the hotmamarevolution is to grow in confidence. How am I going about this? Being honest with myself, with others, especially my husband, being not afraid to voice my preferences, my opinion (blogging really helps with this). And prayer. Prayer is where I first begin and where I end. My being is defined by how Christ sees me and, really, when I see myself as He sees me I have all the confidence in the world, and then some!

Do I Really Need All This?

I like magazines. I could easily spend A LOT of money on magazines. Currently I have limited myself to three: Real Simple; Better Homes and Gardens and All You. I really like going to Borders and picking up BBC Good Food and Ideal Homes. But they cost the same as a small paperback so I only indulge once or twice a year. I used to subscribe/buy a lot more magazines - Women's day, Family Circle, the occasional InStyle. But I found the more magazines I looked through the more discontent I was with my life. One thing these journals have in common - advertisements and lots of it. As I was flipping through a Better Homes and Gardens a few months ago, I counted how many ads were in the magazine. About 70% of the mag was ads and 30% pictures/articles. Why do I pay for these things! They should be paying me to read them!
So you have the advertisements and then you have the various articles:
- How to declutter you house in a weekend
- What moisturizer is best for your age skin
- The latest styles for slim, petite, curvaceous, or tall women
- 10 best Easter/Passover menus
- The Most delicious chocolate cake and
- How to lose 10 pounds/drop a dress size by next month!

It seems to me a lot of the articles in and of themselves are advertisements. Got wrinkles-use these creams; want to look great this summer-buy this dress--all telling me to buy, buy, buy to look, feel, smell my best. And I am a ripe vanity victim to their temptations!

And yet....do I really need under-eye cream, night cream, hair-lustre cream, or lavendar-scented detergent.

Last summer I read an article out of the Daily Mail. A salon owner was challenging his clients not to wash their hair in between hair cuts (6-8 weeks). Only one out of the eight women had something negative to say. The others commented how hard it was to get used to but after a week their hair adjusted to relying on its natural oils. Their manes were thicker, healthier, full of body. Well, a sucker for the latest, I tried it. Yep! I went 4 months without washing my hair! I did rinse everyday with warm water but shampoo was never on my scalp. My family was a little grossed out, especially my sister-in-law. The result, my hair was thicker, had more body, and was wavier. This got me thinking about the beauty industry and how much I fall victim to their dictates of what I should and shouldn't be doing. Do I really need to shampoo rinse and repeat?

So I let my subscription to my mags run out this month. I decided I don't need Madison Avenue telling me what I need to make me feel confident and secure...but I do need to run to the store for a new tube of mascara!

Where are you from?

Thanks Courtney for the link to this video youtube.com/watch?v=17fEy0q6yqc
Very insightful - different perspective on beauty and race.