Our Daughters Turned into Fish

One thing that has always been important to me is that my kids know how to swim. All three were exposed to pools at an early age, and started swim lessons as babies. Charlie tends to get the shaft as the third child. Some days she's lucky she has pants on. But, swimming wasn't something I was going to let slip through the cracks with her.

From the start, Lydia and Audrey enjoyed lessons, but didn't take to the water immediately. They were a bit cautious. Not Charlie. Charlie squeals with delight as soon as she sees the pool and the slide and squirms and kicks until we let her in. She crawls into the zero-depth pool until her head goes under water and then looks up at us from under the water with huge eyes and an even bigger smile until we pull her out by one arm. She scrambles to the top of the kiddy slide and throws herself down as we cautiously spot her. She gets a mischievous look on her face and then lays down on her back and if the water is too deep, her face goes under and she flails her arms and sits back up, laughing. She puts her face in the water and blows bubbles, then inhales what I'm sure adds up to be gallons of water each time we swim. When we have lessons, she screams, and splashes and claps as we sing "The Children on the Bus" and "The Hokey Pokey."

Lydia and Audrey have been making progress with lessons, but tonight they both amazed me with how well they are doing. Audrey started the night by jumping from the side of the pool into my arms and as she landed, I would dunk her under. She loved it and asked me to do it again and again. I kept backing up, and she eventually started jumping in by herself without me catching her. She was ecstatic with her progress. Lydia showed me how she could "swim" under water, which really just consisted of flailing her limbs around and waving her head from side to side, but she did keep her head under the whole time! She sits on the side and does a little half dive thing into the water and tries to glide under the water. It's nice to feel confident that she could play in the pool by herself without me having to constantly keep an eye on her. The first five weeks of lessons, Lydia has had her's first and then we make her sit on the side while we have lesson with Audrey and Charlie, but today we let Lydia play in the pool and she did great and I didn't worry about her.

We have been trying to get Lydia and Audrey to go down the bigger slide at the pool, but both have been afraid. Tonight, we resorted to bribery, starting with Lydia. We offered ice cream, candy, even money and she wouldn't take it. Then Jayson offered her gum, and she was ready. Gum? Seriously? Definitely Jayson's genes. She nervously went down and of course, she loved it and couldn't get enough. Audrey also took the gum bait. It took a bit more cajoling to get her down, but she went! I was a little nervous as I saw her little arms splashing around and Jayson rushing to grab her and bring her to the surface, but she wasn't deterred! She went down several more times, with Jayson having to pull her little smiling wide-eyed face up to the surface, but she loved it. 

The best part? They went to bed with barely a peep. Swimming kids are tired kids.

What We've Been Up To...

Lemonade Stand!

Lydia begged me to let them have a lemonade stand. I was hesitant because we live on a busy road. I finally agreed, and warned her, "Just so you know, it's possible nobody will stop." They were able to scam some money from our extended family we had over for dinner, but really wanted somebody they didn't know to stop. Thankfully, a former coworker whom I hadn't seen in years drove by and saw the girls and stopped. She bought two cups and paid them extra, so we were set!

Tattoos!

Grandma Deb watched the girls while we went to a Brewers game. We came home to them covered in temporary tattoos. Temporary tattoos that don't come off even if you scrub their entire bodies with rubbing alcohol. Did I mention they had a doctor appointment too? I think they keep a separate file in a special place for our family. (Yeah, sorry, Audrey was naked. I had her cover her lady parts).

Butterflies!

We went to Family Night at the Zoo with some friends. Lydia really, really wanted a butterfly to land on her. She finally got one.

Charlie really, really did not want any butterflies to land on her, but the butterflies didn't seem to care.

Ice Skating!

It was ridiculously hot this week, so we took the girls ice skating. It was their first time and there was this awesome lady there with her kids who has been a skater and a coach for a long time. She asked us if it was OK to help the girls out a bit and she showed us all kind of tricks to help them learn. She was so, so helpful. The girls had so much fun and made such great improvement that we decided to sign them up for skating lessons in hopes that they'll like it better than dancing. We've been looking for a way out of dancing (neither of us are big fans of it), and told them they can decide between skating and dancing. They have a six-week session that starts next week and we're hoping it goes well.

Look at the little ice skates!

Bedtime Beast

Audrey has been a handful at bedtime lately, and it has started to really wear me down.When I tuck her in at night, I make sure she has gone potty and gotten a drink of water. I make sure her three blankets are placed exactly how she has to have them and she has two ice packs (we've talked her down from three). I make sure she gets plenty of hugs and kisses. I remind her not to yell for me for anything and that if she goes to bed without yelling for me, she will get a special treat the next day.

It never works.

Inevitably, she yells for me because she needs her blankets spread out again. Then she needs to go potty again. Then she needs another kiss. Then she can't find her SpongeBob ice pack. Then she needs her blankets spread again. Each time I go in there and sternly tell her how angry and disappointed I am that she is being so naughty and we won't get a special treat.

Then she laughs.

Luckily, Lydia sleeps through it all. Audrey's requests are usually brief and simple. A few nights ago, when she couldn't find her Elmo ice pack, I told her we would have to wait until morning, which threw her into hysterics and I let her cry until Jayson came home about half an hour later and found it for her. I wanted to see what would happen if I did just refuse to succumb to her requests. I got my answer. She will throw a crying fit that will outlast my patience.

Just last night, she ruined her special treat, which was going to be camping in the backyard. On my second trip back into her room, I told her we would not camp in the back yard this week, and she told me, "We'll talk about this later."

I really wouldn't even mind all that much if I didn't have stuff to do. I have things I would like to finish around the house, an unfinished sewing project downstairs, and I do need to do some lesson plans, despite it being July. Plus, once school resumes, I will have at least an hour of work each night to do after she's sleeping.

So, we will continue to work on shortening the routine and limiting the trips back into her room. And we WILL talk about this later.

Right Now...

(Idea stolen from my friend Angie)

Lydia:
Learning to read and spell, but is in no rush to do it on her own.
Enjoys bossing Audrey around, and often tells her naughty things to do so Audrey gets in trouble instead of Lydia.
Incredibly sweet and knows exactly what to say to make you feel better.
Loves to cuddle.
Likes taking dance lessons, but not so big on sports.
Can hula-hoop really well.
Can count to 100 and add small numbers.
Really likes playing with friends (Taylor, Maddie, and Owen especially), and making new friends.
Refuses to nap.

Audrey:
Can count to 20, but skips 16.
Knows her ABCs.
Wakes up grumpy and can continue to be grumpy throughout the day.
Has a funny sense of humor.
Loves going to the gym.
Is obsessed with her babydolls.
Sleeps with ice packs.
Can be very particular about how things have to be and routines.
Mommy's girl.

Charlie:
Loves to laugh and scream.
Babbles and points and sounds like she has important things to say.
Won't walk, but does stand up and walks holding our hands.
Walks on her knees.
Loves to drink milk and goes through it quickly.
Doesn't say many real words, but does know: hi, uh-oh, and dog.
Wants to eat anything anybody else has and throws a fit if she can't.
Very content and self-sufficient.
Likes to climb.
Rides her little bike all over the house.
Has to do things on her own.
Loves to brush her teeth.

The Coolest Slides Ever!

A couple weeks ago, I was reading a newspaper article about twenty-five things you should do if you live in Milwaukee. (http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/123665059.html) I was instantly drawn to number 20: Swoosh down the 32-foot slide built on the hill at Fox River Park, River Road, Waukesha. I had never heard of these slides, and decided we had to check them out. I pestered Jayson for a few days to go for a picnic at the park, and finally, one night the timing was right and we grabbed a B.O.S.S. sub from Pick N Save, some fresh fruit, chips, and juice boxes, and headed out to the park. 


We were impressed! Not only were there slides built into the hill, there was a whole "Nature Play Area" that had a lot of neat playground equipment we had never seen before. The weather was perfect and the girls really enjoyed the little picnic followed by some really fun play time.


Down the slide... 

Back up again! (repeat over and over and over again)

Enjoying our picnic.

It took a little while to figure out what this thing did. Then Jayson sat in it and realized it used your own weight to spin you around and around. It was so cool! Lydia took this picture of me.

I'm still not quite sure what this was. It seemed like a merry-go-round, but one that caused you to fall off on your butt, which is also why Audrey has a terrified look on her face and a death grip on Jayson.

Charlie loved these things.

Really, really loved them.

When I went down the slide, my mesh shorts caused me to fly at incredible speeds and then stick my landing like a little 75-lb Olympic gymnast. (OK, I almost landed flat on my face). Jayson decided to try to one-up me by going down on the picnic blanket.

He didn't quite stick his landing either.

It was such a fun night! I highly recommend it to anybody who hasn't checked it out yet.

911, What's Your Emergency?

Tonight was a milestone in our household. I had to call 911 because one of the girls was hurt.

Before I get to the story, we have been incredibly lucky in that we have never had to take the girls to urgent care, the ER, or call 911 ever. Lydia almost made it to the ER when she was three. She had not been feeling well, and then got a fever and started complaining that her neck hurt, so my first thought was, "Holy crap, she has meningitis!" I called the doctor on call for her pediatrician's office and he told me that if it's painful for her to put her chin to her chest, take her to the ER. So, I calmly asked her to put her chin down and she looked at me and whined, "I can't. It hurts too much."

I called Jayson (I think he was out with the guys after his softball game), and he came home to stay with Audrey while I took Lydia to the ER at Children's Hospital. As we drove, I kept asking her to put her chin down and she kept crying that it hurt too much, but then between the chin-to-chest requests, she seemed completely happy and as though she had make a remarkable recovery, until I asked her to put her chin to her chest, and the drama started again.

We pulled into the parking lot, and as we walked to the entrance, I had a brilliant mom moment. As the thought of staying in an ER for hours and holding my baby while she got a spinal tap went through my mind, we stopped outside of the automatic doors. I pointed to a monkey on the chest of Lydia's pajamas and said, "Hey, look at this silly monkey!" She immediately pressed her chin to her chest to look at the silly monkey and laughed. She looked up at me and I scooped her up and said, "Back to the car. NOW."

Lydia's dramatic side, which is enormous, almost got us through the ER doors, but I outsmarted her that time.

Tonight, again, Jayson was gone at a meeting for our Scenic Shore 150 bike ride, and I was getting the girls ready for bed. I put Charlie on the couch because she loves to play on it and throw herself against the cushions. As I reached for a diaper, she fell backwards off the couch. My hands reached her just as the back of her head hit the wood floor. She immediately took that long, deep breath kids take right before they start wailing, but she just kept breathing in and the wail wasn't coming and she looked terrified.

Finally, she let out a tiny little whimper and her eyes rolled back into her head and her eyelids fluttered shut. I immediately grabbed my phone and called 911 as she opened her eyes and started wailing. If it had just been the wailing, I wouldn't have even called, but the passing out scared me. She kept wailing as we waited for the ambulance. I was worried Lydia and Audrey would get scared, so I said to them, "Girls, an ambulance is going to come, but Charlie is fine. They're just going to look at her and make sure she's OK. We don't need to worry." My concern was for naught, because they instantly got excited and clamored to the window to wait for the ambulance.

By the time the ambulance arrived, Charlie was done crying. We live in a small city with not much going on, so two ambulances and once police car (for a total of four paramedics and one policeman) showed up to pretty much just stand there and look at my baby, who was perfectly fine. They did take her heart rate, which I'm pretty sure was just so they could say they did something and could leave. Don't get me wrong, if she had been hurt, they would have done whatever they needed to do, but I'm positive they thought I was an idiot and just wanted to do something to make me feel better about it.

So, I felt better about it, and they left, and thankfully, it was a pretty anti-climatic night.

Father's Day

Today is Father's Day, which is a bittersweet holiday for me. My father is not in my life, and I feel there is a huge hole in my life and the girls' lives where he should be. Father's Day makes that hole a crater. I have fond memories of my grandpas when I was growing up and how fun and silly they could be and I really hate that my girls are missing that.

However, they have an amazing dad, and I love that today is a day to celebrate him. Jayson is a stay-at-home dad. Not really by choice, but by circumstances, and he has fully embraced it. He shows the girls unconditional love and in heated moments when my temper is lost (like, out the door, headed for a beach vacation in Mexico), he can step in and calmly diffuse the situation. And, to be fair, I do the same for him. We are an excellent team. After years of me being the one more in charge and more knowledgeable about what's going on, mostly due to summers off and maternity leaves giving me plenty of time at home, I now find myself asking him the best way to get Charlie down for a nap, what to do when Audrey throws a fit, and what Lydia needs for school. He does diapers (many more than I do during the school week), he reads books, he cooks, he cleans, he drives Lydia to school when she has snack day, he even does hair!

I knew he was amazing when I married him, but seeing how he is when he is taking care of his girls, and clearly seeing the love he has for them, makes me realize just how lucky the four of us girls are.