Monsanto

I've been wanting to take the kids to Monsanto for quite some time. I heard that the area had great bike paths and a park for children. So, today, without looking for maps on the internet, we plugged Monsanto into our GPS and headed out.

It took a little while to find the parks of Monsanto, as the parks, specifically, were not in our GPS. Just the town of Monsanto. We started out late and arrived around lunch time. Lila, our more timid child, has been having anxiety attacks when placed in the Chariot bike trailer. Today was no exception. As we biked around looking for the start of the trail, she screamed as if someone was torturing her. At first, we lovingly tried to sooth her. We took her out, gave her hugs and kisses, assured her it was okay, and put her back in. When the crying started up again, we tried our best to ignore it. However, we didn't have a map, had no idea where to find the right trail and couldn't take the crying any longer. The distant sounds of laughing children at the play park convinced us to change our plans and scope out the trails at a later date, when we are more prepared.
Entrace to the children's play park in Monsanto was free and Olivia could run around freely! We found a gem of a park. Water fountains, swings, slides, climbing ropes, bridges, picnic areas, scenic overlooks, a bouncy area/gym and a restaurant.
We enjoyed a late lunch of delicious Portuguese cusine. I enjoyed a stew that is much like a boiled dinner Americans make around St. Patty's Day. However, this was made with cabbage, potato, kidney beans, carrots, pork, chicken and different types of sausage. It was the first time I had the pleasure of tasting this dish. I'll add it, for sure, to my list of favorite Portuguese dishes.
The girls, exhausted, took naps on the ride home. What started out as a stressful, unprepared adventure, turned into a successful outing with a new "hot spot" in which to take our children.

A Little Too Much Chlorine?

The above picture is about as good as it's going to get. Apparently, it is illegal to take pictures of your child in a group setting such as yesterday's swimming lessons. I was "that mom" who was busy taking pictures unaware of such law. Finally, a pool attendant informed me of this law and had me put my camera away.

Olivia did fine in her lessons. She didn't take off her cap and, for the most part, followed instructions. The children in her class don't speak English. She didn't seem to mind because the teacher it fluent.

Upon arriving home, I made dinner. Olivia was whiny and anxious for daddy to get home. She didn't eat much of anything and started to complain that her belly hurt. I hate it when kids exclaim that their belly hurts and don't partake in food. Not a good sign. I instantly started to panic. Do I have banana's? Yes. Ginger ale? No. Crackers? Yes. Children's Tylenol? Yes. So on and so forth.

She cried as we put her to bed. I decided to go to bed early but fooled around on the internet too long and then became engrossed in a book. Just as soon as I fell asleep, she started to cry. Her crying prompted Lila to wake up and cry. Matt was on the computer and really not worried about anything except ordering the right supplies for his beer brewing endeavor. I began to panic and sent Olivia downstairs to sit on the couch with daddy. I got Lila back to bed as Matt was getting a dry heaving Olivia upstairs and back to bed.

Thinking the worst, I began to feel ill myself. I grabbed an empty, small garbage basket and put it next to her bed, while explaining what to do if she felt like she needed to be sick. I then stripped her floor of the rug and any toys and then threw towels down her bed.

The whole time, Matt's opinion was that she was pulling a "fast one" on us. Three-year-olds don't lie about their stomach hurting and fake dry heaves do they? I think not. She also passed some horrible gas and I thought for sure we'd be dealing with a mess coming out both ends.

We finally got her down, kissed her goodnight and closed her door. I laid down in bed thinking that the night had just begun. I couldn't sleep. I HATE puke. Olivia is due for a stomach bug, as she hasn't had a full-blown one since she was about 13-months-old. I, on the other hand, caught every stomach bug that went around in Fort Wainwright. I had it so often, I'm diasappointed I never lost an ounce of weight.

So what happened? Nothing. She woke up this morning asking for a snack. She's complained that her stomach hurts a few times this morning. However, she ate breakfast and lunch and appears normal, albeit a bit whiny, otherwise.

Perhaps she swallowed a bit too much chlorinated water. I forget how ill you can feel after that happens.

In any case, we're okay...so far. Some of these bugs present themself in the strangest ways and just when you think you're out of the woods, it strikes hard!

What They are Saying and Doing Now

Well, it's a been a while since I've posted on what the girls are saying and doing now. So, here's an update:

Olivia:

• Upon noticing it is cloudy: "Mom, I think it's going to rain."
• "Mama, do you love me?" Reciting a line from a favorite book.
• "Mom, is this a fancy dress I'm wearing?" After reading, "Fancy Nancy."
• "My baby has a diaper rash."
• "Daddy, we need to put more hair on your head."
• "No, I can do it. I'm a big girl."
• "I dreamed about princesses."
• "I can't go to bed right now. I'm nursing my baby with my Taggie!"
• When being asked to do something: "No, I think you can do it."
• "Mom! We don't say that word. It is a bad one!" After mommy says a bad word by accident.
• "I'm going to get into trouble."
• "Please GO AWAY, I need my privacy."

Olivia is excited to start swimming lessons. Here first lesson is today. We went to the sports store yesterday. She got her face painted (you can see the blurry remains of a flower on her face in the picture above) and we purchased a new swimsuit and swimming cap (mandatory at the pool). I was worried she wouldn't wear it. Obviously, not a problem as you can see! I'm, actually, glad they wear caps because I was afraid her ultra-blonde hair would turn green with all the chlorine.

Her other current interests are: Going to the park, using what little Portuguese she does know (yes, hello, goodbye, good day, etc.) on strangers that pass us during our walks and to Matt and I, playing with Playdough (with Lila), painting, building sandcastles and riding her bike. She is safety conscience and makes sure to always wear her helmet.

Lila:

• "No, Nali, NO!"
• "EIEIO"
• "Hat"
• "Doggie"
• "Quack Quack"
• "Uh-oh!"

Lila also enjoys building sandcastles, playing with Playdough, singing, dancing, and taking clothes out of drawers. She is gaining more confidence as she is walking more and more often and smoothly every day.

Olivia is now three and Lila is 15-months. Both girls still enjoy a two hour nap in the afternoon and 11-12 hours of sleep every night! We are so fortunate to continue to have such great sleepers (they must get it from Matt's side of the family)!

Preschool

Note: Update at bottom.

I've been starting to stress about preschool. Most of her American friends here are in preschool. Her cousin attends a Montessori school. Most started by age of two or two and half. She's older than most of her friends by six to eight months. Matt refused to allow Olivia to enter preschool when we arrived. Looking back, he was right. I was used to hourly care several hours a week at Ft. Wainwright and had a hard time adjusting to not having a "break." Olivia did ask to go to "school" when we first arrived, however, she adjusted and we moved past it. Instead, joining Mums and Tots on Monday's.

We did, however, visit one "school" a while back that I really liked. The kids are involved in cooking, gymnastics, music and gardening. An added perk is that it's a Portuguese school and we've been told that she'll, most likely, speak fluently in about six months (while she won't maintain her Portuguese when we move back to the US, it could enable her to pick up languages much more easily in the future). Preschool enough for me, though, official preschools, English or Portuguese, are just over $700/month (not in our budget). Olivia left the place, after our tour, kicking and screaming and asked to go back for a few days after. I've looked at two places and this one is my top choice thus far.

If I remember correctly, it's about $455 US dollars a month and we're able to get 20% of that back (we get the 20% VAT tax back because it's not considered an official preschool. Offical schools are not applicable for VAT refund). Included in that price is lunch and the option for her to stay all day, every day (we'll send her three mornings a week). This is still too pricey for my DH. Though, he has, relucantly, agreed to send her next year as long as I (we) scope out other "schools" beforehand and make sure I (we) pick out the best one in our price range.

Here's the dilema. My DH believes that preschool has little to no impact on future education. He thinks one year of part-time preschool is more than enough. Therefore, he'd like to wait until we're back in the US when Olivia is four and a half. He'd rather put the money we'd be spending on preschool this coming year into Olivia's 529 plan instead.

His thought (and he's slowly convincing me) is that if parents read to their children, travel with them, teach them, to some degree, on their own and involve their children in group activties (read: play groups, some type of group lessons, etc.) with other children their age on a weekly basis, they'll develop the social skills and knowledge they need to enter Kindergarten without being behind. He also feels that a bright child will catch up (and, possibly, surpass) very quickly to kids who had more time in preschool than they did.

Does anyone want to weigh in on this? Any educators out there who think differently? As I mentioned, I have convinced him to send her to "preschool" in September and a "real" preschool the following year before she enters kindergarten, however reluctantly.

America is becoming obsessed with the importance of preschool. Are there any books or articles we should be reading to help us out? We've spent so much time out of the continental US that we feel a bit "out of the loop." Any thoughts and recommended reading would be welcomed.

Update: Okay, I guess my biggest dilema is this: Do kids need two years of an official preschool? As of right now, I'm not to concerned about the quality of her first year of preschool. I think a daycare with a preschool program is a good start. Am I right? For her second year of preschool, the year before kindergarten, do we throw down the big bucks for an official preschool (if we're still here Portugal - meaning about $700 US dollars/month)? If we're back in the US by that time, I think we'll have better options at fairly reasonable prices. Though, if anyone wants to weigh in what we should look for in the US, feel free. Can you tell I'm a bit confused?!

Swimming Lessons

Today, I embarked on a mission to sign Olivia up for swimming lessons. Not the baby swimming lessons (been there, done that), in which I have to get in the water with her. She's three, meaning she now qualifies for "real" lessons. Most of her friends have pools and, as you all know, we live very close to the ocean and will be spending lots of time at the beach and at pools in the very near future. Swimming is a life skill and it's essential that she start taking more advanced lessons.

So, off I went today to sign her up. I was excited that I would now be able to watch her from the coffee shop overlooking the pool. Ahh, a warm cup of coffee, a book and a half hour of peace while my daughter has a blast...Oh, I forgot about Lila. She'll be joining me in the coffee shop. I hope patrons won't mind her crawling underneath tables and climbing chairs while my face is stuck in a book.

So, we arrived for her swimming test at Solinca-my top choice for instruction. My major concern was the language barrier between her and the children (teachers speak excellent English). That didn't seem to be a problem. My next concern was entering the water without me joining her. Not a problem. She grabbed a noodle and hopped in. She loved it! The kids were her age and I could instantly tell I'd have a hard time getting her out. I was ready to run upstairs and sign her up. I may be more excited about this than she is..."Excuse me, mom, she's too short to take this class. She'll have to join the baby class for six to eight months. It's not my decision. It's the center's policy. I'm so sorry. If she could touch the bottom without her nose going under the water, she'd be allowed in this class."

Okay, okay. I admit it. Olivia is three and many of her 2T outfits are just barely fitting her nicely. In fact, her favorite LLBean coat is size 12-18 months and is a perfect fit. She is short. But, come on!

The instructors tried to convince me to put her in the baby class on Sunday's. Are you kidding me? She'd be bored to death (she outgrew baby swimming lessons by age two).

So, off I went to the next center. By then, it was dinner time, and both kids were crying out of hunger.

She didn't have to take a test at the next place (though, she did take her shirt off in the lobby - maybe hoping to take another swim test? I'm not sure because I was too busy butchering my Portuguese trying to ask if she would need a test, if there was a height requirment (no), prices, initiation fees, etc.). I peeked in on the class she would be entering and it looked fun, yet, much more advanced than the mom and tot classes she took in Alaska.

So, every Wednesday and Friday evening for the next six months, we'll be at Bella Vista. I haven't figured out what to do about dinner as we'll be arriving home when I'd normally be serving dinner (CrockPot to the rescue?). However, she's finally involved in something. It's not preschool, but it's fun, group-oriented, exercise-related and skill enhancing. Good enough for now!