Swimming Lessons

Last summer was LMS' first round of swimming lessons.

We did them at the HOA pool and it was an... educational experience.

I originally signed her up for one two week class. The teacher was very good at teaching kids how to swim, but she was much more suited to teaching older children rather than younger children. Her method of 'just do it' didn't work so well with LMS. She needs active encouragement. Needless to say, she didn't pass the level one class.

After talking with other moms, I discovered there was another teacher who was much more nurturing and much better with younger children than the other teacher. So I signed up LMS for a second two week swim class with the other teacher. Talk about night and day. This teacher had been a preschool teacher and worked a lot with younger kids, and it showed. She was just what LMS needed to gain confidence: encouraging, supportive (literally and figuratively), and full of praise for every little accomplishment. By the end of the two weeks, LMS had progressed enough to pass the level one class.

Since we moved we no longer have access to the HOA pool, so I had to find somewhere else to do swimming lessons. Unfortunately, I dropped the ball on the timing and by the time I realized I needed to get going the class LMS needs was full at the city pools and the private athletic club pool. Not a huge loss, since both were on the expensive side and not the most conveniently located. But I was disappointed that LMS wouldn't get some more swimming instruction before we go on vacation and do lots of water sports.

Then my visiting teachers stopped by and as we talked I discovered that one of them homeschools and she does swimming lessons in the summer at private pools. Score for us! So LMS has two weeks of swimming at a pool owned by a couple in our ward. It's a very nice house- built in the 1700's, gorgeous rolling fields edged with trees, and the pool has a great view of the hills and trees.

Barns in the distance, faithful watch dog at the pool's edge- he paces around the edge of the pool, keeping a sharp lookout for drowning kids

The first day LMS was cautious, but the second day she really took off. After her class I hopped in the water to play with her and it was so fun to see the progress she's making. We even went diving for rings on the bottom of the (shallow end) of the pool- she was on my back and wrapped her legs around my waist, then I counted to 3 and we each took a deep breath and then went under to get the rings. She kept saying "do it again mommy, do it again!". Huge progress for the little girl who used to hate getting her face wet at all.

The next day the swim teacher was able to convince LMS to try diving off the edge of the pool in the deep end.

 It ended up more as a bellyflop than a headfirst dive, but we're not complaining :)

She then convinced LMS to try jumping off the diving board (aka "the mermaid rock"). First they jumped together.

 Then she held LMS' hand as she jumped in. Love the hand holding her nose!

She's doing so well and feels so much more confident. Now we just need to teach her to tread water so she can move around in the water without hanging on to someone.

Sunday Funny

The other day we went to the store to buy LMS some new underwear. After meandering through the aisles we found the girls' underwear aisle.

Standing in front of the shelves, LMS looks at the rows of underwear and says:

"Now, what are our options?"

I didn't realize my 5 year old knew how to correctly use the word 'options'.

And apparently I've used it enough for her to know how to use it properly.

For the record, we picked the princess underwear  :)

Having fun at the splash park.

Mail delivery

Mr M is returning from Iraq in two weeks, so he's been getting things in order and and sending some stuff home. Yesterday we received a box, today we received a trunk.  Both times our mail lady drove up to the house and delivered them to our door in her jeep.

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This might not seem noteworthy, except when compared with our mail lady in Colorado. Both mail ladies are contractors delivering on rural routes. The mail lady in Colorado wouldn't deliver packages of any size and even went so far as to go through your mail and send stuff back for you, whether you wanted her to or not. Totally illegal, and despite multiple complaints from numerous people, she managed to hold onto her job  (until recently, when she either lost her contract or was finally fired).

The contrast is huge: no service versus door-to-door service.
I like our current mail lady a lot more  :)

Sunday Funny

Since I put beadboard in Little Miss Sunshine's room she now knows what it is. The other day we were at an auto dealership, picking up some all weather mats from the parts department for our new-to-us truck. As we waited for the employee to locate our mats, LMS looked at the counter and said "They have beadboard, too Mommy!" I hadn't realized she knew what it was called. Kids really do pick up things that they hear.

LMS playing in the sawdust while I put up the beadboard and trim in her room.

Little Miss Sunshine

(LMS pre-bangs)

Not long ago I finally decided to give LMS bangs. I was surprised at how much it changes the shape of her face.

I took some pictures after we cut her bangs and as I looked through them, I finally saw myself in her. It only took 5 years...

I've never really been able to see either of us in her. But with the glasses and the bangs she definitely reminds me of myself when I was in elementary school.

Note to self: scan in one of my pictures from elementary school for a side-by-side comparison.

Last week we took a trip to IKEA for stuff for our schoolroom and the trailer (we're picking up a camping trailer in a week or two). I thought the steamed veggies and side salad would be safe for lunch, but apparently not. I got glutened. This was the first time in at least 5 months, though I think it's been even longer. LMS isn't a big fan of salad, so she didn't have any, and she only ate a couple pieces of steamed veggies before deciding she was full. In any case, she didn't seem to have any reactions, thank goodness.

I've read about people's reactions when they get glutened, but never had a similar reaction till now. On the drive home, the pain started in my stomach, and then the cramping and bloating started. Not fun at all.

Instead of being productive, I spent that evening curled up on the couch trying not to think about the pain in my stomach. Luckily for me, I felt mostly fine in the morning. Others have reported feeling like crap for several days and having to stay close to the bathroom, so I got off lightly.

Poison Ivy

My most recent efforts to post consistently have once again fallen by the wayside. I was doing ok until the poison ivy hit- three times within the last month! Lots of fun for me.

Antihistamines knock me out, but just to prove it to the allergist, I've taken a couple different ones with less than stellar results. My allergist told me that in all the years he's been a doctor he's never had anyone who couldn't take at least one of the antihistamines available. He doesn't know what to do with me, which isn't something you want a doctor telling you. I've done two rounds of prednisone, which helps clear up the rash and itching, but also knocks me out a bit. I just finished the second round, and we did a lower dose for a shorter duration, which took longer to clear up the rash but didn't knock me out too bad.

I got some allergy testing done, and supposedly I'm not allergic to anything. Not surprising, since my last allergy test twenty years ago said the same thing. A bit frustrating, but at the same time encouraging. If I'm not allergic to anything, than hopefully all my food sensitivities are temporary and will eventually go away as my intestines heal (which I've read does happen). In the meantime, I just have to be patient. But as my doctor sister mentioned, the skin tests aren't super accurate, so I really could be allergic to stuff and the tests just don't show it. So I guess I'm back where I started....

In between all this, I've been trying to finish up LMS's room. I had started on other projects, but then I realized I needed to finish that room before moving on to anything else. So I went back to working on the last bits for her room. I'm building shelves for her closet to make the space more usable, and then I need to build her a nightstand. After that, I just need to put up some decorations and then it will be done.

I'm off all the meds and my brain is finally my own again. In fact, I even felt well enough to go for a run today! The first time in I don't know how long... The house hunt and move and meds really threw off my routine.

There's a one mile loop close to our house, but we have to go through some trees to get there. Since I start itching every time I go outside, I decided to stay away from any unnecessary contact with foliage and went to the mailbox and back. The round trip is about half a mile and I did it three times: walked the first, ran the second, walked the third. The lane has some rolling hills and our driveway is a bit steep, but I managed to run the whole half mile, ending with pushing LMS in the jogger up the hill to the house. It felt really good to finally get out and run again, and my asthma didn't act up (a bonus since my inhalers give me heart palpitations- just one more example of my body being stupid). I can't wait to keep going and build my mileage up again  :)