Swimming Lessons 101

I have never considered myself a wimpy mom...one easily controlled by her children. I let my kids cry themselves to sleep so they learn to go to sleep without my help, I lock the inside of the door so they learn to go to sleep without escaping, and we use a good spanking as we feel it is called for. But....swimming lessons are just about kicking my behind.

At the advice of a very dear friend, and mother of 10 (!!!), I enrolled my 2 year old son (almost 3) in a private Mommy-toddler class taught by a retired Olympic swimmer. She has always sworn by this ladies magic to make kids swim, and as proof, I have seen all of this mom's kids swim like fish...and so young! So, I enrolled.

I was warned (thank goodness!) that said teacher is not necessarily emotional with the kids, but concerned mainly with teaching swimming and safety. I was told the first two days would involve much crying. I, of course listened....but, maybe I didn't listen well enough.

You see, my two year old is a typical first born. Cautious, hesitant, and highly stubborn. (Did I mention emotional too?)
The first day, you took the kids into the water, and Charlie threw a fit because he just wanted to sit on the step. The VERY first thing we did, was teach the children that when we said "ready" that we were going to put their whole head under water. You can imagine how that went. Let's just say it involved VERY loud screaming, followed by coughing and sputtering pool water, then with a full blown fit. Yes, that involves hitting, kicking, biting, grabbing, and anything else that he thought might save him from this fate. I vacillated between wanting to hold him and comfort him, to wanting to give him a firm spanking. Don't get me wrong... ALL the children were crying, but mine...mine was making himself known! But that didn't slow down that teacher, for the next hour we continued to dunk and teach the kids to hold their breath before going under or to swim to our hands under water. It was an exhausting day to say the least.

Then, the second day arrived. Charlie made it quite clear the entire morning that "I don't like swimmy lessons Mommy, today I just want to watch." The second day was like returning to previous torture. He knew what was coming! But the time came again for me to carry him into the water. When we got about 10 feet from the pool the boy permanently attached himself to me. Both legs and arms where so tightly gripped around my body that I could completely let go of him! Then the cyring started. Today, it was not a mad cry...but a horrible, gut wrenching sad cry. It was soft and constant, and he was shaking from the cold water and fear. He would whisper in my ear over and over asking for a hug, and for Mommy to please take him out of the pool. I am not sure which was worse. This lesson just broke my heart.

Then later that evening, Charlie threw a HUGE fit when Jason tried to give him a bath. (and he loves bathes!) He wouldn't sit down, and started to cry hysterically and claw his way out of the tub. I guess he thought Dad might conduct some lessons in the tub.

Needless to say we are only on day three (of 9), and swimming lessons (although I am already seeing huge progress in him) are taking a toll. Mommy is exhausted, and so is Charlie. I know I am doing a good thing for Charlie, not only in teaching him to swim, but in teaching safety if he were ever to fall in...but I am full of doubts.

For now, we are continuing to take advice and sticking it out. We are told each day should get better and better, and that by the end he will be happy as a clam and swimming like a fish. As of now, I am trying to be optomistic...but am feeling much more like a wet blanket.

Now, off to go give Charlie the good news...it is time to put on your swimmy suit again....I can only imagine the reaction I am going to get!

Summer

Our family is different than most. Most of the time, I really love that. Jason teaches. That means that during the year, he comes home earlier than most Dads, but then often has 2-3 hours of work to do each evening after the kids go to bed. And every weekend, there is the reminder that at some point, some preparation for the next weeks classes needs to happen. Sometimes it is a little hard to swallow, but Jason is excellent at making his priorities (us) very clear. I think I do an ok job at dealing with this lifestyle, because I grew up as a teachers kid. It really seems normal to watch a movie and see Jason next to me with a stack of papers and a red pen!

The month of May is a month that every teacher knows, and dreads. Life is busy. Not only are they wrapping up the year, writing and grading exams, trying desperately to motivate students who have checked out, but there are TONS of awards ceremonies, meetings, TAKS testing, graduation, shows, and anything else you can think of that will suck extra time out the window. Lets just say we don't expect too much to be done at home around the month of May.

But, there are some abolutely HUGE blessings that come with the humble life of a teacher. And this month also reminds us that summer is coming!

Summer is such a wonderful time for our family. Life around our house, schedules, attitudes, and pace completely change. We have more hot, big breakfasts in the summer. We have longer, more leisurely vacations. We get to just relax and play together. We watch movies, go swimming in the middle of the day, take naps together, go to the park, and enjoy each other.

There is also something especially special for Jason. When the Dad is the teacher, there are extra blessings that come with summers off. Not only do I feel like we get to have more time with Dad than other families, but Jason gets to have a relationship with our children that is so special. He can stay up late with them, go camping, take them on errands, or just play. Dad is around so often. He gets to know them and love on them more than most fathers. And I can see at the end of every summer the huge difference it makes in his and our kids relationships. Needless to say, the first week back to school is always teary as the kids watch Daddy go back to work.

I feel so blessed to have this life with Jason. And I know it will be so special to watch my kids grow up with a Dad who is so involved in their lives. I know teaching isn't very glamarous or revered in our world, but for us, it is the best job ever.

So, this May, as we all scatter in different directions and merely "survive" every event and time consuming responsibility, we wait, breathlessly for the summer to come. When as a family, we can draw together, enjoy each other, and remember that all the hardwork of the year was definetly worth it.

Surrender, or be Killed!

Everyone says the ants are really bad this year. I am not too surprised, considering it has rained and poured for the last 2 months (OK, that isn't entirely scientific, but it sure feels that way!)

Well, you might say I have become a little obsessed in the last couple of weeks. In the spirit of saving some money, we went to our local seed and feed store and bought the spray that local pest companies use to eliminate all crawling insects from your home. Jason mixed the powder to double strength and did a very thorough spray around the outside and inside of our home. That first spray seemed to do the trick! All roaches were gone, and so were the ants....or so we thought.

In the next day or two we saw them again in our kitchen! (Now we have lived in our house for 2 years and sprayed only one other time, and the little black ants went right away.) By now I was VERY done with these little things. Seeing them in the kitchen made the whole place feel contaminated and dirty. I refused to cook another meal until they were eliminated. So, Jason sprayed again. (they are only in one small area in the kitchen.) And again in two days they were back.

I was no longer being nice. I told Jason to let me have the spray, and let me tell you, I went to town. I scoped them out, and saw a couple of places they were coming out, and sprayed right in their path. And for 2 days, they were gone. But....

By the 3rd time, Jason was beginning to hate them as much as me. We watched them, and followed them, and hunted them. They WERE NOT going to win! We discovered two things in this little session. They were coming from a spot on our ceiling, were there were still ugly styrofaom ceiling tiles left. (yes, if you ever look up in our little 50's kitchen you can see someone began the project of removing said hideous tiles, and stopped mid-task. And since we plan on re-modeling the entire kitchen, we didn't bother removing the rest. That is, until now.) Jason began tearing the ceiling off and found they had made a colony behind the tiles!!! YUCK!! And this discovery led to the fact that our old hood looked like it vented to the attic, but was merely a giant open whole to the attic that any creepy crawly thing could use as passageway into our home. So, Jason tore it down, and patched and covered the hole.

So, we thought our problem was solved! Ants stayed away for 3 days this time...

And this afternoon....I found them again! I have gently warned (NEVER would I threaten or yell at my sweet husband) that if this problem were not solved soon, I will move out!

Needless to say, I was told that he would spray and watch again tonight while I was at work. I of course, suggested he set up a video camera and find out EXACTLY where they were coming from.

It is me, or them. I WILL NOT live at peace with them. I WILL NOT co-exsist. Surrender little black ants.....or DIE!!!

Compromise

Everyone has a level of annoyances that they choose to stand as a mother. If things are going to get done, some things must be compromised. These are the things you let your two year old and 1 year old get away with so you can get something done, or have a moment of peace:

While on the computer:

-Pull all the books off the bookshelf (often onto each other...)
-Empty the paper recycling bin
-Re-organize the pens in my scrapbook case
-Open and close and open and close and open and close the DVD/CD drives on the computer
-Turn the printer off and on
-Pull on the last remaining cord attached to a phone in our house
-Dial all sorts of numbers on mommies cell phone, or change every setting or language selection

While in the shower:

-Empty out my cabinet (often includes spraying some kind of product in their own hair, like mommy does)
-Throw cotton balls all over the place
-Throw every toy that is currently reachable into the jet tub
-Bang on the shower door
-Play with mommies pads (both sanitary and breast) *didn't say I was proud of these*

While in their rooms:

- Remove all the books from their bookshelf
- Take all the diapers out of the basket and throw them randomly around the room
- Empty out the dirty clothes (and if their lucky, mix it with the clean clothes)
- Attempt to remove all sheets from the bed
- Empty the closet out of whatever is in the closet
- Try to remove all the plug covers and replace them upside down so that mommy can't ever get them out again


While in the kitchen:

-Remove every pot and pan and scatter them across the floor, all while banging them together
- Cram as many toys as possible into the microwave (try to catch them before they press start)
- Push the two "fridge farm" toys that just so happen to play the most annoying, repetitive music ever created over and over again, often at the same time so the songs are playing together...
-Allow them to "watch" (which means they get a chair, and make the biggest mess humanly possible with whatever you are cooking)


All this is done in the name of sanity, of order, and of getting one cotton-pickin' thing done during the hours of 8am-5pm. Trust me, all these compromises are 100% worth it, despite whatever mess it creates or amount of things it adds to my plate!

Over-reacted?

It has been quite amazing watching this Swine Flu scare start and catch fire all over our city. And, like most things, I can't help voicing my opinion over it.

Today on the news I heard a representative from the CDC say, "We no longer recommend closing schools or cancelling events due to an occurrence of the swine flu. We recognize that the incidence of the flu in the US has not been as serious as first predicted based on the Mexico outbreaks."

I am not genius. I have a simple bachelors degree in nursing, nothing special. I am no pathologist, no scientist, no doctor, and definitely not one of those smart people at the CDC.

BUT, I have been finding myself appealing to some simple logic that I wonder if any of those Geniuses at the CDC seem to be lacking. First of all, let me give them some credit. Swine flu could be very hazardous to your health. It is multiple flu's in one, and without hydration and monitoring, symptoms of this flu could cause some serious problems.

BUT, could they really make the prediction on this become a PANDEMIC (the scary buzzword the media was just eating up) based on what happened in Mexico? Mexico? Really? Are we anything like Mexico at all??? We are comparing our self to a country marred by poverty, no health care, poor hygiene, poor medical knowledge, with large communal living. No wonder they have had so many deaths!!!

But here in the U.S. we are wonderfully educated on health care, have access to TONS of doctors, clinics, hospitals, we are relatively wealthy (compared to the rest of the world), we live in isolated, small family groups, and we are surrounded by parents who take their kids to the doctor for every sniffle, cough, and fever!

Does it make sense to anyone else but me that this might not be as serious in the U.S. as it was in Mexico? Is that logic just too simple for the great minds of the CDC to even comprehend? Or do we just enjoy having one more thing to create mass hysteria and panic over?

Lazy, Rainy Saturday

I know, it has been FOREVER since I last posted. Just goes to show you that two little ones can fill up some time! (and YES, I am nervous about how much time 3 will fill up!!!)

But, I thought I would share our lazy, rainy Saturday with you. After nap time, the boys had a superb time builing a large tent in the living room with Daddy's industrial size clamps. Then proceded to play playdough with Dad for hours under the tent! What a hoot! All this wonderful play was accompanied with meloncholy storms, thunder, and lightening raging outside. Then Mom braved the rain and grabbed the family some serious comfort food...Pei Wei! Our favorite Chinese food! The boys then proceded to get fried rice all over the place and enjoy a long, warm bath with every bath toy imaginable.

All this and my hubby and I curled up on the couch when the little ones were asleep, had ice cream, and watched our favorite show ever...Biggest Loser!

It was a fun, perfect day. Am I the only one that just LOVES rainy days? And storms are even better....