"Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it."
~ Swedish Proverb, from Dr. Robert Melillo's book, "Reconnected Kids"

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

A police report, the boys' first Braves game, and LOTS of company from Savannah!

Well, I've been itching to blog for the last couple of days, but I wanted to wait until I had some good things to report. We've certainly had some excitement here in Atlanta this past weekend. Our weekend started off with a bang on Friday evening. We went to the pool at Gogi's for an early evening swim and dinner by the pool. Everything was great - the boys played well with the other kids at the pool, everyone jumped off the diving board, dinner was yummy - and then it was time to go. Now we had been at the pool maybe an hour and a half, at the most. When I opened the driver's side sliding door to load the boys, something seemed wrong. There was something all over the floor in the back, and all over the front seat as well. I walked around the car, and saw glass everywhere - and a gaping hole in my passenger's side front window. Not good. A quick look around the van showed that my purse was gone too! It was AWFUL! We called the police, and I immediately got on the phone to Andy to tell him what had happened. We both started calling our banks and credit card companies to report the cards stolen. A very nice officer came out and took my statement for the police report. Thank goodness for Aunt Gloria, and some very kind neighbors who helped with the kids while we talked to the officer. After that was finished, we went to Aunt Gloria's house to clean up the mess. Aunt Kris watched the monkeys inside while Gogi and I cleaned up the glass - no easy feat! I'm pretty sure I was in shock, and Gogi did most of the grunt work. Thanks Gogi - you're the BEST! We managed to tape up the now-glassless window with some plastic, and I finally headed home with the boys after 10pm. Everyone was beat, and went straight to bed.

Through the entire ordeal, Aidan was AWESOME. He listened to the grownups (some that he'd never met before) and helped keep an eye on his little brothers. At one point, he was guarding the pile of glass, keeping Aeson and Ashwin away from it. I know he was super tired by the time we got back to Gogi's, but he managed to keep himself very calm and relatively quiet for Aunt Kris. While I was tucking the big boys in for the night, Aidan wanted to talk about the break-in. He seemed not quite fearful, but definitely concerned about the whole ordeal, and what it all meant for us. I did my best to reassure him that we were going to be just fine. Unfortunately, bad things sometimes happen to good people, and we were very lucky - no one was hurt, and what was stolen was a purse full of THINGS that we could easily replace. We were all safe, and that was the most important thing. The boys settled down to sleep - me, not so much. I meant every word that I told Aidan, and I was extremely grateful that there was nothing in my purse with our Atlanta address on it. I've never been robbed (or is it burgled, Ange?) before, and it is an extremely unsettling feeling. And what a tremendous pain in the butt, having to cancel EVERYTHING and handle getting it all replaced. Thank goodness I had one debit card in the pocket of my jeans at the condo - being up here with the boys and zero access to anything would have been a little scary! I knew that my Mom and Dad were coming up Sunday (along with Cassie, Kayley, Erik, Mema and Ben) and Sunday couldn't come soon enough for this girl!

Ok, now on to the good stuff! Saturday, we kept it very low-key. We ran some errands, played at the park, and took a big fat pass on the pool! Gogi and Alana went with us to the park, and taught the boys how to play "Red light, Green light" and "Mother May I." It was very fun to watch, and they all had a ball!
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Later, Gogi, Aidan and I went to Costco to shop for a post-game pool party with our company on Sunday, while Alana and the little boys napped. The park wears my little guys OUT!
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That night, I did my very best to prep the boys for their first Braves game. See?

Afterwards, we watched a little television, and headed to bed on time. We had a very busy and super fun day planned for Sunday!

We left the house around 10am and headed to Gogi's house. She very kindly offered to drive us all to Turner Field, as my windowless van was not a good plan in Atlanta! We picked up Alana from her friend's house on the way, and headed to the hotel across from Turner Field to meet up with Mom, Dad, Mema, Mepa, Cassie, Kayley and Erik. We were ALL going to the Braves game that afternoon! We were all SO excited to see everyone! And Mema and Mepa were THRILLED to be there for the boys' first ever Braves game - it was baby Kayley's first game too! (And they ALL have the certificates to prove it!) We even managed to get a group photo with everyone!
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Mema and Mepa were SO happy to be there with all of us! They are rather well know at Turner Field, and had folks coming up to say 'hi' to them throughout the game, which they thoroughly enjoyed!
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The boys had fun in the kid's zone before the game. Aeson can TOTALLY throw a strike - from 3 feet away!
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Aidan had about a million questions - who knows what he was grilling Erik about here?
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We all played musical chairs quite a bit throughout the game.
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And the little boys paused for a quick photo with the BIG BALLS on the way out! Ash cannot say 'cheese' with his eyes open! Love that cheese face!
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Gogi and I left the game early with the little monkeys - we had to get everything ready for the post-game pool party! Everyone had such a great time - swimming, eating and relaxing after the game!
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Baby Kayley even rode her first wave!
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Ace danced with Mema after we were all done swimming - I know he's got the 'crazy eye' in this picture, but it was really SO sweet!
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What a fantastic and totally exhausting day!

This morning, we met up with Mom, Dad, Mema and Mepa to say goodbye. Ashwin rode back to Savannah with them to spend a few days with Ange and Reta. They miss us all so very much, and I'm sure he'll be totally rotten by Friday, when the big boys and I head home to Savannah! Apparently, he was a great little traveler, and even sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" with Mema a few (hundred) times! We miss everyone already, and can't wait to come home for a long weekend on Friday! After we said our goodbyes, we headed back to Gogi's house to see Cass, Erik and Kayley before they left too. We ate some lunch, and had some cute cousin time on the couch! The boys LOVE sweet baby Kayley, and she is growing up SO fast!
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Brain Balance was our next stop, where rock star Aidan earned his 15th award for the wall! GO AIDAN!
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We played at PLAY place for an hour or so after Brain Balance, and then headed home for a great rest! This evening, we hit the park with Gogi and Alana for a picnic supper and some play time! I got some great photos too!
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I especially love this one!
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The question I get most often is "How is Aidan doing?" See for yourself. This is a random shot taken about a year ago, just before we began our journey with Brain Balance.
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And here is today's random shot.
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I'd say he's doing just GREAT!

Much love,

Allie




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