Staying Busy

It's been a bit. So, here's a run down:

• I made another batch of bagels, this time from The Joy of Cooking and they came out even better (I did use a lot less flour than the recipe called for and did an egg white wash - but yum!).
• We went to a social gathering over the weekend. There was face painting and Olivia decided to be a princess. This was the artist's idea of a princess.
• Lots of B-Q's and social events this week and month. We are staying really busy!!
• Every day this week, Lila has swimming lessons in the morning. She does NOT like them. She screamed through the first two days. The instructor is awesome and proves that the instructors we had in Alaska were amateur, at best. The screaming is totally my fault. I knew, early on, Lila would need a lot of exposure to the water, at a very young age, in order to be naturally comfortable in it. Aside from a couple of months of lessons in Alaska, she has spent little time in the water. Thus, the screaming. Had I kept her in lessons, as I did Olivia, I am quite certain we would not be going through this (I used to do a little bit of instructing and/or life guarding during instructions - so I know this to be quite true. You don't expose them to the water on a regular basis, some children will develop water-anxiety). I'm a bit disappointed that these lessons don't last for two-weeks, every day. I think that Lila would be having a blast by the middle of next week. I'll have to take her to the pool myself and work with her. We'll get there!
• Lila's hip is still sore. When she's running around for long periods, I notice a slight limp. She also has a very low-grade fever. I'm told this is common. However, we are reaching the 10-day mark -meaning the fluid on her hip and fever should be just about gone. Maybe the cold that she came down with has something to do with it not getting better. When she's not limping, she walks with her left foot turned in. She's got to be uncomfortable. I'll call the doctor at the end of the week and schedule an appointment for next Monday. I've been told this hip virus can sometimes take longer than 10-days to heal. So, I don't want to keep rushing to the doctors if all it needs is more time! Admittedly, I am getting concerned that it's something more serious. I'll keep you all posted.
• There's a good chance we'll move in the Fall to a bigger house. We've realized that we just need storage (read: a basement or attic of some sort). We cannot live much longer with boxes in our dining room. So, we have our eye on a house a couple of miles down the road. An American family will be leaving it in late September and it should be ready in October. I've seen it and it's so nice. It would probably be the nicest house we would ever live in during DH's time in the military (minus the Portuguese heating system, a minor parking issue and a few other quirks). We would not have to pay over our housing allowance either. I don't want to pack up our stuff and move and I do LOVE our location, however, this house is just too small. It would have been perfect for Matt and I. But, with the two girls, it's a bit much. And, when we have guests, we'll have so much more room in the other house for them. I am not getting my hopes up, however, because, well, it's military life. Need I say more?

Okay, that's it for now. Nothing else to report.

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!

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!