Perfect attendance

Rosie received an award for perfect attendance today. She didn't receive a beautiful inscribed book or a fabulous award but she did receive a pencil. Considering you are meant to go to school everyday I think a pencil is more than enough of an award.

I didn't go to the presentation. Oh puhlease, I go to the important ones. I had an early work appointment so daddy went alone. Child will survive and won't be any more emotionally scarred than having a parent like me has already scarred her.

Daddio sent me the video at work and I have to say I was shocked to see her bebopping up on stage like she owned the joint. She's getting quite nervy in her old age. Could it be that she might turn out like her sister? One can hope that some of Lil's joie de vivre will rub off on her.

 

The little boy talking to Rosie in this picture is S. S is captivated by Ro and sits next to her in class. From the second she arrives he is all about her. Thankfully he is a sweet little guy but if I hear his name once a day I hear it a thousand times.

The bookworm

As soon as Lily learnt how to read she fell in love with it. It's never unusual to find her with her head in a book.

This is her new favourite place to read.

She pushes the chairs together and hides out under the island in the kitchen. It's a great hiding place where her sister never thinks to look for her. Today we were sorting out the disaster that is the bookcase. We came across a book that was my grandma's. Lily decided she wanted to read it. It's really old and the pages are so thick. She really loves the way the book feels in her hands. She isn't sure just yet if she likes the story but she said she is determined to read it even though the English is "old".

My grandma was awarded this book in August of 1913 for regular attendance at primary school. I'm not sure how old she was back then, I'll have to check with my father. She also received a really beautiful certificate that hangs in his house. Note to self, I need the certificate it goes with the book. LOL.

I thought awards for attendance were something new but apparently they are not as this one is 99 years old. Perhaps it's the old saying, what's old is new again.

Humpf.

A few months Ages ago I noticed that my reading glasses were not performing as well as they once did. I tried to over compensate for this little problem by opening my eyes really really wide, or by turning on every single light in the room or any other strategy that I could find. Alas, it didn't work. I finally caved in and made an appointment with the eye Dr. I knew this would be just a routine exam with nothing out of the ordinary happening.

HAH! Dear eye doctor man had the balls to utter words such as, "over forty, middle age, and other obscenities". Just when I thought he was through with his tirade he actually used the word tri-focals. I nearly washed his mouth out with soap.

It would appear that my need for the occasional crutch when reading tiny little print has been replaced with the need to wear glasses all the freaking time. I may have just stared at the man for about 10 seconds completely speechless. It happened so fast. One minute I could see the leaves on the trees and the next I didn't realise I couldn't. Yes I know it sounds bad when I say it out loud but until I actually got my glasses I didn't realise what I was missing.

My sister nearly peed herself she laughed so hard when I told her I have tri-focals ( you can't see the lines in them they aren't totally old lady glasses). I can't wear contact lenses as I have a problem with one eye and the lenses are not an option. I have had them now for a few days and being able to see regardless of what I am doing is actually pretty freaking fabulous.

So there you have it. The first step into old ladyhood.

And now that I can see what I was missing the second step into old lady hood is an appointment with the dermatologist and then the plastic surgeon. I might not be able to change the inevitable but I can fight it every single step of the way! Take that middle age-ness.

Time for more oddball poses

A couple of weeks ago it was Picture Day at the kidlets school. This meant that they didn't have to wear their uniforms. I get a glimpse into the lives of parents whose kids don't wear uniforms for school each day and let me say it must be hell. I think I'll wear this, no this, or what about this. Oh no wait, this would be pretty, or perhaps this with my hair in a braid and do you think I should wear this and some bracelets? GAH, and this was all the night before as I knew we would have to get up at 4am to tackle such a huge endeavour and still manage to be ready on time.

I knew it would be a waste of time as the photogs' hired by the school district are less than stellar. They pose the kiddies at odd angles and have poor lighting but we have to buy the pictures because it is written in the Parent Handbook under the Mandatory segment. We do not however buy the whole package, 4 sheets, as that would cost $80 for both of them. Now if they would take them sitting or standing together it might be an option but they won't.

Lily was mad cos they wouldn't give her a second to switch her "really pretty Sophia Jane Boutique hair pretties" to the other side so that they would show up in the photo. LOL and Rosie, well she doesn't bother to much about the way she looks so she just smiled and that was it.

I still like the photos. They are better than I expected even with the, h

and on hip, I have a 'tude, pose.

Lily is starting to get a bit too skinny or it seems this way to me. She looks like Olive Oyl here. They are so pretty even with a bad photog at the helm.

Bringing home the big bucks

When Rosie was dismissed from school today her teacher asked if I could wait for a minute or two as she needed to give me something. Once all the kiddies had been picked up her teacher handed me Rosie's artwork that was displayed at the County Youth Fair along with a ribbon that she won. Rosie was so proud. Mrs. K then handed me a cheque that was made out to Rose in the amount of $4. I have no idea what the $4 is actually for, if it is for getting first place or just for participating, the teacher didn't know either. Either way kidlet is a happy little camper.
Ro and her Batik banner

Her fancy schmancy awards

Her cheque.

Give and take I tell ya, give and take

So yesterday I made the child do all that homework and i just picked her up a few minutes ago and asked her if she had a lot of math again. She said I have exactly the same again. I assumed she meant another 45 questions but noooo, she meant she has the exact same homework that she had yesterday.

Why? She got a zero again.

Why? That was my question also. I was just about to lose my cool and ask her if she did the wrong pages or wrote it down wrong but decided to remain calm and let her speak.

I got all the answers correct but I didn't do the work the way Mrs "F" does it so I have to do it all again, her way. Adam got zero also. Adam and I both did it the way it is done in the book and she wanted it done her way.

Poor kid is going to be dreaming in math by the end of this week. I know for a fact that Adams mum is going to take serious issue with this, me not so much. I knew heading into this school year that this woman is tough, she does things her way and her way only. We only have a few weeks left to go and school will be out. Life is all about experiencing moments that are not always fair. Lily is going to deal with them with grace. This is a small injustice, there will be bigger ones that will actually impact her life, that is when she will need to take a stand. Learning which ones to walk a way from is just another lesson.

Sometimes it sucks to be Lily! Sometimes it's the best thing in the world! Today it's kinda iffy.

The whole 4th grade HATES me

The whole 4th grade really does hate me and that's me talking and not Lily. Let me elaborate a little.

Yesterday Lily came home from school with a lot of homework. her backpack weighed more than she did. i asked her what she had and the list went on forever. Last week she didn't have any at all die to the FCAT's and I think they are making up for lost time this week. As she unpacked her books and put them on the desk she said uh-oh or something similar. I immediately knew she had forgotten a book. She doesn't do this a lot but she does it enough for it to be than a little annoying.  I stopped covering for her when she did this once she hit second grade. Now she is on her own. Sadly many of the teachers dish out homework assignments but never bother to check them or collect them. This assignment was in math and that teacher only occasionally collects the work but they never know when she is going to ask for it. She has forgotten to bring her math textbook home before but done the assignment first thing when she got to school and been able to get away with it.

Not so yesterday. I have a responsibility to teach her to be more responsible so I asked her to hand me her agenda. I promptly wrote a note to her teacher explaining that she had forgotten her book AGAIN and could she please be allowed to bring it home this evening. I fully understood that she would not be able to make up the grade but she would still be expected my me to do the work.

To put it bluntly Lily was pissed off. She stayed huffy for quite a while last night but that didn't change anything at all. We talked about how she can't just skate through life. She reasoned that other kids forget to bring books home all the time and their parents don't make them do it the next day. This banter continued with me saying words my parents said to me, "but unfortunately for you,  I am not their parent I am your parent and you will do the work tomorrow".

When I picked her up her teacher asked if I realised that she couldn't make up the grade and I said I fully understood that but she still had to do the work she missed. She teacher smiled and Lily snarled. I then pointed out that that was Lily's mad face and that I was in for a long evening but I could play a tougher game than she could. She wished me good luck and we came home.

In the car Lily told me that after Mrs "F" got my note she asked for the homework and lots of kids hadn't done it and because of me they all got zeros. My response was simple, Great, now all of 4th grade hates me. It made her laugh.

I asked if she had a lot of homework. Stupid question really since I knew she already had 45 math problems from yesterday. She got 45 more today plus everything else. I felt awful but I wasn't about to let her know that. I told her to get started because if she wasn't done when it was time to go to swimming she wasn't going.

She did it, all of it abd was done in time to go to swimming. She knew better than to hand me something with sloppy writing because I would have made her start again.

Yes, I play tough. I can raise a mamby pamby kid who thinks they can get everything handed to them or I can raise a kid that fights for what they want and who will be an outstanding adult who knows how to do the right thing. I working really hard to raise the latter.

Even I'm surprised

I think when you dream about parenting you dream about a happy place with pretty little girls, with pretty little dresses, with flowy hairstyles etc etc. Some days are like that but others, not so much. The thing that has surprised me the most about being a parent are some of the things that have come out of my mouth. Things that as a mother to 2 girls I never in a million years thought I would utter. Actually I never thought about it at all because I was all caught up in my Laura Ashley/Pottery Barn Kids/Matilda Jane fantasy. Without naming which kids did what so as to save them some embarrassment, I will give you a couple of examples of things that are forever etched in my brain. ( Kids will be called Sprout and Squirt) The girls were getting ready to get into the bath one night and one was squawking up a fuss, as I walked into the room to see what all the commotion was about these words flew out of my lips: Sprout, don't lick your sisters bottom that's disgusting! (Yes seriously I have actually had to say that!) On another occasion I sadly had to say: Squirt, why is your sister's mouth taped shut? How about this one: who is the brainchild that thought doing laundry in the lavatory was a good plan? Oh and then there was the child that for 2 whole months had 2 invisible lizard friends who went everywhere with her. I had to talk to Larry and Lizzy all the freaking time and if I didn't Squirt got quite upset. She walked around everywhere with 2 clenched fists cos in each hand was an invisible lizard. Never thought I'd have to talk to one invisible lizard let alone 2 and for 2 whole months, ahah, I really did that. These moments never fell into my master parenting plan. They weren't in the big picture that I painted in my head. I do think think my master plan was rather dull in comparison to the one that I am living.

A little cosmetic procedure

Today was surgery day for "the Bun". For quite a long time Lily has been saying that Bunny needs a little more stuffing. She has been asking me where we can buy stuffing for him and I have told her all the places I can think of. Each store I have mentioned has been met with an eye roll. None of these places sells "fluff" soft enough for bunny.

Today we had to run to the Apple store to pick up a new mouse and as were leaving we walked past Build a bear. Lily stopped me and asked if I thought they sold fluff. I told her to go in and ask them. She said she would look silly and didn't want to. Knowing how much she loves her Bun I decided to do it for her. Normally I would suggest if she wanted to know then she would need to ask herself. I know she was embarrassed because it is for Bunny and Bunny is her world and she thinks that everyone will laugh at her even though they have no idea what she wants it for (whoops, they do now)

So in we went and I asked the first person I saw who seemed to find it a rather odd and humorous question. Lily squirmed a bit. She went of to ask someone else and came back with an answer. It's available in two sized bags for $3 or $5. We opted for the smaller bag. She left the shop so happy and could barely wait to get home.

Lily didn't want any help at all with the surgery. No sooner had we walked in the door and everything was set up. My sewing box was out, Bunny was prepped and everything was balanced somewhat precariously on the edge of the kitchen table. She set to immediately. Bunny had a little hole in his shoulder, it pales in comparison to the gaping ones in his ears and the cavernous one in his head but it was a perfect place to add his new fluff too. I swear the child added the equivalent of 3 teaspoons and announced him, chubby once again. I suggested she fluff him up a bit also known as shake him. She did so very gently and then added another teaspoonful. Sigh.

She then, closed him up.



Medical supplies

Surgical instruments

getting started

adding more

perhaps a surgical procedure here would have been a plan

closing up

finishing the job

uh oh extra thread

looking good Bunny

ha ha he has a paunchy tum tum

a snuggle to make everything better

Lily and her Bunny, it's a beautiful thing. They sleep together every single night. Go everywhere together and share in her life together.

A new trend

There appears to be a new trend in these parts: if it's Saturday, it rains. Someone mentioned last night that is was going to be a wet weekend but I sort of poo pooed the thought in my head. I grew up over there, in that country where the Americans think it rains very single day of the year. I LOVE rain. I love anything other than blazing hot sunshine. I was awoken in the middle of the night but a very loud clap of thunder. It must have been very loud to wake me as I have been known to sleep through the house alarm.

It was still raining at 7am when I got up, still raining at 8am when I left for work and still chucking it down when I left work at 10.30. I then remembered that today was Jacob's employee picnic. This is a really fun day for the kids and a day they look forward to. The show must go on. 

I got them dressed in suitable attire and we headed out in the rain. Jacob's company employs 1,000's of  people here, it is the 4th biggest employer in our county. You would not have known this had you seen the turn out at todays event. I thought it very sad. Unlike last Saturday it wasn't cold, it wasn't hot either but it certainly wasn't cold and as it had been raining all day at least we were prepared.

The kidlets had a great time and rode all the rides. There were no lines at all. Usually the lines for the rides are quite long and the ones for the cotton candy and sno-cones are horrendous but not today. Nope, we just walked up and they got right on. I might have faired a little better with an umbrella but I find them to be annoying and difficult to handle in anything more than a slight breeze.

The only downer of the day, I couldn't take any photos. It was raining way to hard to take my camera out of my bag and I failed to take the waterproof one with me. I made one quick exception when Lily rode the mechanical bull as it was partially under the tree but even then my camera still got soaked and the photos all have rain drops on them from the lens getting wet.

The weather made it more fun today in some ways. The rain makes the girls even more goofy than normal. Sliding down the huge astro slides and whooshing through the puddles at the end made them laugh so hard. Once we got into the car I gave them a towel each and they dried off a bit and we blasted the heat for a couple of minutes. They are now planning outdoor rain activities for tomorrow too....umm really lets not girlies cos I've done enough wet laundry in the last 2 weekends to last me a while

I was starting to think she would never fall off. Finally the guy cranked it up a notch and that did her in!

It's not about getting it done

I'm always about getting it done. Like most of us I always have a laundry list of things to do and never seem to get to the end of it because I always tack things on the bottom. Because I am Type A my list is nearly always self imposed. I have learnt to say no quite often to things I really don't want to do and to people that I really don't want to do them for. When I say I have a list I really do have a list. I write myself lists for everything.

Friday is pretty much my gettingeverysinglething done day. I usually don't work on Friday mornings so if I need to make an appointment today is the day. If I need to do those extra jobs, today is the day. My car has been looking like it went on a 60,000 mile road trip and having all the kiddies in it last weekend at the swim meet certainly didn't help it look any cleaner. The girls love to wash our cars and I usually wait until the weekends so that they can help. That is all good and well but it takes ages.

In order to get everything on my list accomplished I went ahead and detailed my car myself after I dropped them off at school this morning. I think I just taught myself a lesson. It probably took me just as long to do it alone. It is much easier for them to wiggle about under the seats with the vacuum than it is for me. I definitely didn't have as much fun by myself. I somehow managed to get just as wet even though a hosepipe fight never broke out. I missed their little shrieks of giggles as they somehow, accidentally on purpose, soaked someone and the last thing I learnt was my wheels just don't sparkle quite as much when I wash the car as they do when they have been scrubbed relentlessly for 20 minutes by 2 kids.

Life isn't always about reaching the finish line, it's about the journey (Even if it is just a simple task.) I think I need these words tattooed on my forehead. Ooohh, a tattoo, that would please my Father.

The No Phone Zone Pledge

I am not a big moblie phone user by todays standards. I turn mine off every night and often forget to turn it on in the morning. When I am in the car alone I do use it and I use it quite alot. How's that for a contradiction. I like to be able to talk to friends without the distractions of, dare I say it, the kiddies.

I never text whilst driving, heck I barely text at all. I find it impersonal. No tone, no inflection and the fact that I can barely see the keys has a lot to do with it. I am to dang lazy to put my glasses on every 2 seconds.

I decided a couple of days ago that my car is gong to be phone free and then I heard about the phone free zone. This morning it took me 1 minutes to go 10 blocks. I was tempted to use my phone but I didn't. I listened to music like in the olden days and I survived.

When I got home I took the pledge and I urge you to take it also.

The No Phone Zone Pledge

Buckle up

This is one of those posts when I get all hot and bothered so please be forewarned.

Why is it that in a country where State Governments runs somethings and the Federal Government runs other things something as critically important as child safety is left to the States to mandate individually. Some of them do it very well but others not so much. I just can't get my head around this. For example: in the State of Florida the law requires a child under the age of 3 to be restrained in a car seat. That's it. Under the age of three. So if you have a small child and a very irresponsible parent the day the kids turns 3 and one day she/he can be allowed to sit in a seat belt. Are you kidding me.

Now of course the American Association of Pediatricians, and National Safety Institute, Safe Kids USA and a plethora of other sane establishments offer guidelines but I think this should be set in stone at the federal level. I know many people would disagree and cry, big brother big brother but this is the safety of our children. Is there anything more important than that?

Lily remained in a booster seat until 2 weeks prior to her 9th birthday. She was the only child in her class. Most of the kids iin her class hadn't been in them for years but she felt safer that way and it wasn't an option as far as I was concerned. I wish she were still in it now especially after this weekend.

On Saturday our neighbour and her classmate, I'll call him Joey, was in a nasty car accident with his family.  When we returned home from the swim meet we saw the car in their driveway and it scared me. I wasn't sure that everyone made it out Ok. When Jacob saw it he said the same thing. For the record it was a new Accord. The front end was gone....gone. We chose to leave a card on their front door letting them know were we here if they needed anything at all. Monday marked the kick off of FCAT week for Lily's school. Joey wasn't there. The class was told by the teacher that he was absent due to head trauma he sustained in a car accident over the weekend. Lily was upset. On Tuesday she asked if she could go to his house and ask his mum if he was OK. She went and came back a few minutes later looking shaken.

Joeys Mum, his sister and Joey came too. She thanked us for the card and explained what happened. Someone ran a red light and hit them. The adults were wearing seatbelts, Joey's sister was in a car seat and joey was in a seat belt in the back. The impact was head on for them, but it made Joey fly about, even in a seat belt and he hit his head against the door a couple of times. The paramedic that loaded him on to the stretcher told his mum, "I never tell people what to do but THIS is the reason why my 9 yr old is still in a booster. He hates it because his friends make fun of him". Joey sustained the worst of the injuries out of all them. Luckily he will be fine. His black eye will heal, it will open again. The enormous bump on the side of his head will go down and all the bruising will fade. The catscans show that the double vision that he has now is caused by the swelling behind his eye and it "should" go away soon but more cat scans are to happen tomorrow.

Joey is 10, he turned 10 the day after the accident! Can you imagine if he was 3 and only in a seatbelt. I can't imagine that anyone would be that stupid but I bet some would. I spent last night researching booster seat laws worldwide and they are all over the place. Cars get safer very single year for adults but not much safer for kids. I almost went out and bought a new seat for Lily today but I measured her and she fits perfectly into the seat, so why don't I feel any better about it?

Something needs to be done. The statistics on kids being killed in traffic accidents are staggering. It isn't up to the government to keep us safe it is up to us but many people wouldn't wear seatbelts if they weren't the law so I think it would help. Life changes in an instant.

I always drag my boosters with me WHEREVER we travel. I don't give a monkeys what anyone says. I know that they are the safest ones on the market and yes it's a pain in the backside dragging them through airports and lugging them hither and yon but really, it's worth it to me.

It could become addictive

I am not one for keeping stuff. In fact, I detest stuff. Less is more in my book. Get rid of it, are words I live by. I am not my fathers daughter, my Grandmothers grand daughter, my uncles niece, in fact I fell so far away from that branch of the family tree it makes them all shudder. Of course having children has tested my minimalist philosophy a whole lot and the addition of my second daughter has pushed me to my breaking point on many occasions. Lily has always very willingly passed her things along to those we know and those less fortunate but Rosie, she chooses not to grasp this concept. what's hers is hers and should stay that way forever and always. If she had it her way even the water in the bath tub would stay there. Old clothes should be placed lovingly in her forever box never in the big black garbage sack marked..........Goodwill. 


Sometimes always I clear out Rosie's possessions when she is a school because it spares us both the stress and grief. Recently it became painfully obvious to one of us that her bike and her rocking horse were way, way to small for her and needed to go. I was wary terrified of broaching the subject with her so I used avoidance until I could no longer stand it. I had one last closet to clear out before hauling my bounty to the charity drop off point. I casually mentioned to a friend how sad it was that I was getting rid of so many things that were in perfect condition and how some of the dresses had only been worn once and that some still had tags on them. My friends who take hand me downs no longer want them as they are inundated with clothes. This particular friend told me of a shop that buys them from you. It isn't a consignment shop but a resale shop and they offer you cash on the spot.

 I wasted no time. I went to the website and followed the instructions. Everything was washed, ironed folded and placed into containers. The toys were like new, wiped clean, no missing parts etc etc. I waited to pick Rosie up from school and then I sweet talked her with the plan.

 "RoRo, you know how your bike is way to small for you and is kind of like a baby bike? And you know how it goes so slooow and how you can't keep up with Lily? Would you like to get a big girl bicycle?

 Yes yes yes please Mummy.

 I mean a proper big girl bike that goes super speedy fast. You could even go to the store and pick it out yourself. I bet they even have bikes in colours that you LOVE. Not baby bikes with Dora and Barbie on but ones like Lily's.

 Yes yes yes.

 (aha I'm quite good at this game, sucker)

 Okay but there is a bit of a problem you have to help a little bit if you really want a big girl bike that goes super duper fast like Lilys. Bikes like that cost loads of money but I have a really great idea. Mari told me about a place that will buy your old bike and give you the money for it but that won't be quite enough we will have to give them rocky horse too and then they will give you so much money you will have enough to buy a super great bike. You can even pick it out yourself  OK RoRo. 

Ok Mummy lets do it.

Bwa ha ha ha ha. Call me evil if you must but I just know how to get the job done. And so the very next morning when she was at school I took all the clothes and the old toys and knowing that it was a, first come, first served, situation I was parked outside the shop when opened. I hauled my stash into the shop and they took a very thorough look and they picked through and they took it. They gave me enough money to buy the bike the goggles a float for the pool and a little change. Now I am all for paying it forward and giving to charity but cash for my hand me downs....I kinda like it, especially if it is actually going to make Rosie get rid of stuff! The power of the mighty Buck. BOO YA.

Lily was not complete;y left out of the equation either, she sold 2 dresses herself. But Lily spent the weekend at a swim meet doing what she loves with her sister being dragged there through lack of choice so don't feel to badly for her.

A big girl bicycle

As you know we spend a lot of time riding bikes, a lot. So how did we not notice that Rosies bicycle was to small for her, until last week? The poor girl was nearly knocking her knees on the on the handlebars and she looked like a giant perched atop of the tiny thing. Both girls have always received their bikes as either Christmas or birthday gifts but since Rosie's birthday has already passed and Christmas is at the other end of the the year we decided to just go ahead and replace it. Yesterday was the day. We told her we were going to do it this weekend as long as we got home from the swim meet at a decent time. She was really excited about it. Lily got showered and changed and we hopped into the car with Rosie grinning like a cat with new pajamas. We headed to Tarjay and they were sold out of bikes in her size. Rosie was slightly deflated. Next we headed to the place I detest most in the world, WallyWorld. They were also sold out of girl bikes in her size. This was not going well. Jacob suggested Sports Authority. I said this was a bad idea as they would not have kids bikes so I stayed in the car with Lily. I got a text to meet them in there as they had bikes for kids. Rosie was beaming from ear to ear and was precariously perched on a dirty looking and scratched floor model. Jacob said the sales guy had gone to find the price as it was the only one left. He came back with a ridiculous price and I had to break the bad news to Rosie. I was not about to pay top dollar for a bike that looked second hand. Now we were panicking. Toys r Us was the only place left. We headed to the bike section and they had rows and rows of them. Rose (sorry I had to call her that after writing rows and rows) was awestruck. She chose a polka dot one. I DO NOT allow the girls to ride bikes in the stores even if the stores allow it. I DO NOT allow the girls to play with toys in the stores, even if the stores allow it, it pisses me off to see this. Yesterday, and I believe it was the 7 hours of sleep in 48 hours, I told Rosie to ride it to the register. She looked at me like I had sprouted another head and then looked at Jacob and then very very gingerly rode her bike, oh so slowly to the cash register. I then remembered we needed new swimming goggles for the pool this summer so I told her to head to the goggle section then back to the register where we paid before riding right out the door and into the car park where we made her get off so we could walk it to the car. Later we rode to the park. I can't tell you how great it feels to ride at a decent speed with her. Usually I have to hobble along on my bike because her organ grinders monkey bike was so small it was so slow. This one actually goes fast. The plan is to let her get used to it for a few weeks and then rip the training wheels right out from underneath her. Well what do you expect from us, the ever loving parents?

Happy girl on her BIG bike

On the way to the park she rode so fast that I was concerned she was going to fall off

Polka dots

So proud

There is a bit more to this story and I will share it later

Oh the shame

No one is ever going to accuse me of being one of those pushy over the top swim mums. You want to know why? I actually managed to miss my own childs race today whilst standing at the end of the pool waiting for her to have her turn. Uh huh, I really did. I stood there, with Rosie by my side, waiting for the people in front to step aside once their children had finished competing only to have Lily walk up to me all dripping wet asking me where I was? WHAT? I was right here, right here waiting for you.

All the kids have a heat number and a lane number, as your kid swims you move out the way so the next childs spectators can see directly onto the lane. The arsehats in front of me were just that, arsehats who's kids were after Lily and they blocked the whole lane so I missed her swim. Live and learn I tell you, live and learn. When I told Jacob he said, I should have pushed the #*$#%* in the pool.

I saw her swim her fly which was fabulous. I was glued to the lane like white on rice as she paced back and forth cos lucky for me but not so for her, she was number one in the heat. This meant she had to stand at the board and wait as they set everything up. Poor kid paced and twitched like a racehorse at the starting gate. Today was a perfect meet, the weather was perfect, the pool was perfect and pretty much, if you ignore my mummy snafu it was just perfect. Lily left feeling like a champ even though she said her backstroke was terrible and that she bumped into the divider a few times. Her times were okay so she should feel good about it all. The atmosphere was really uplifting. I think if I had pushed those folks in the pool that might have changed a bit so best I refrained!

In the pool for warm-ups

My girls

Waiting to compete

getting in the zone

as the seconds tick away she gets more antsy

and more fidgety

tapping her fingers

she has no idea I am even at the end of the pool

fiddling with her cap for the millionth time

Finally, it's show time

the fly (still not the shot, damn it!)

What a huge improvement in just 2 weeks.

Your times today were:

Fly: 54.87

Back:53.63

Swim meet

This morning my alarm went off at 5.am. Yes 5.am on a Saturday. The reason, a swim meet. Not one that was nice and close, oh no of course not, one that was an hour away. Actually an hour away is close by my standards but not when it means getting up at 5 on a Saturday morning. Rosie woke up shortly after me and I woke Lily up at 5.45. Then everything was a blur until we started the drive. As we neared our destination the clouds rolled in, the heavens opened and it didn't stop raining for hours.

I kid you not the spectators were as wet as the swimmers. It's really unusual for it to be cold here when it rains but of course today had to be one of those freakish days. It was awful. Thankfully I know well enough to take lots of towels with me. Nothing worse that getting out of a pool and being handed a wet towel. I also take Lily a couple of shirts, a fleece and a change of long pants. I knew she would be fine. I think because it was still dark when we left the house that my groggy brain decided it must be cold so I grabbed a fleece for Rosie which was pretty daft considering where we live and the fact that it was 85 yesterday. Phew lucky Rosie, she was warm too. As for me I was frozen, absolutely bone cold, with rain dripping down my neck. Oh happy freaking days. All the parents were laughing. We were huddled under this "sun tent" with the rain pouring though it begging for lightening so that the meet would be cancelled. I finally asked a coach how long it would be until our kids swam again and she told me at least an hour. With that i grabbed as many kids as wanted to come and we headed to my car. I drive an SUV so some went in the back and some in the back seat, they went where they wanted. I turned up the heat and there we stayed. (yes I cracked a window to keep us safe). I put wet shirts and fleeces in front of the vents and turned them up full and by the time we headed back to the pool the kids clothes were dry and they were warm. Of course heading back to the pool they got wet again but they were warmer and happy. They had been singing and had some light refreshments. We got back in time for the them to get ready to stretch and swim. When life hands you lemons you have to make lemonade.

This was the first time Lily has ever swam a long. That is what they call an Olympic pool. She swims shorts. She was a little intimidated by it in the warm ups. When the warm ups started it was only 7.30, it was lashing rain and everyone and everything was disorganised so the warm ups were awkward. I watched her from the far end of the pool getting ready to compete and she was pacing. She was fidgeting and was generally edgy and nervous. if you now Lily you know she isn't like this. Lily is COOL. I tried to send her good vibes. I told her from my end to focus. Next thing she was on the board and the siren thingy went off. Child nailed it, she rocked it. To put it bluntly, she owned the breaststroke today. This is the stroke she struggles with the most. Not only that but this was her first time in a long and she came in first, in her heat! She didn't have a time to beat as she hasn't done it before. Her time today was 100.19.

Then it was back to waiting, waiting in the dry cos it stopped raining. Oh yes it did. By the time  the next race started the place was packed. Rain doesn't kill you it makes you wet so why are people afraid of it? When it rains life must go on. (God that's sounds so very British) Lily also did an amazing job in her next race too. She took 2nd place. We don't have her time yet as it wasn't up. We left as soon as she was done so we will get her times tomorrow. I swear that girl ate rocket fuel for breakfast this morning. Thankfully she has stopped looking from side to side to see if anyone is gaining on her. I am really impressed with how well she is doing. Some of the teams that were there were screaming and yelling at the kids in a really competitive way but Lily's coaches make it perfectly clear it's all about having fun and it really is. Yes, they compete and the coaches want to win but they make it fun for the kids. All her team mates were fantastic today.

pacing

someone's nervous

look at our girl GO

serious girls....not

silly girls

this is what you do when your waiting for your sister

Times

" />

That's just wrong

Here is yet another reason why I think talking on the phone is better than texting.

I had been to the grocery store and done all the shopping. Once it came time to pay I realised that I had forgotten quite a bit of stuff as the bill was very light. Upon returning home hubs asked if I bought wine. Oops. After swim practice this evening I hurtled back into the store, kids in tow and picked up a few of the forgotten items.

Once back in the car I asked Lily to text her dad and tell him we were on our way home and had stopped at the store and had got wine. I heard giggling coming from her seat followed by, "Mum, your phone is weird. I wrote I got you some wine and your phone changed it to, I got you some women".
I really don't know how I didn't crash the car I was laughing so hard and so was Lily.

I'm not sure if Jacob will be happy or disappointed when he gets home!

Yikes, they grew

I'm not really sure why I took their picture this morning when they were ready for school but I did.

It then inspired me to find the photos from their first day of school this year.
 This is the photo from the 1st day.

2 things caught my eye. 1, they look as scruffy as all get out by this time in the year even first thing in the morning and 2 they have grown like weeds.

Val, i wanted to do a side by side comparison but all I have ended up doing is loading every single one of my photos that I have in my computer on to Picasso, 3 times. Sigh....practice makes perfect.