Swim lessons - round one - DING!

So, when we were on our Disney cruise in January, Beca loved the slide and the kids pool. But she did not like that she couldn't swim like the other kids. So she said she wanted to learn to swim. And I asked her if that's what she wanted for her birthday. She said yes.

March - I got up early and trudged to the YMCA to get a number on a cold Saturday morning only to return that evening to complete sign up. It worked out well for me. I got all my first choices - most everyone else was there signing up for daycare, summer camps and the like. Swim lessons for a beginner were not top priority for anyone else.

May 26 - Beca's first swim lesson. She loves her teacher, Denise. She had a lot of fun and was the only one to actually look really excited about being in the water, even though it was a little damp out that day.

May 28 - A bright, sunny day and this time Beca got to watch Elijah before lesson while he did swim team practice jumping in. Then he came down to say hi to her! They both thought that was pretty cool. Lessons themselves went pretty well - Beca is comfortable with the bubble and the noodle.

June 2 - yellow light, green light, blue light! And most importantly red light. Green light means kick your legs, blue light is scoop your arms and yellow light is blow bubbles. All 6 kids in class so it was a little full. But there was help for the class and they all made it down to the end. Beca likes to be first and chat with someone while she's swimming.

June 4 - a cloudy/rainy day - and Beca was the only swimmer! She swam the whole time too! All the way up to the end of the pool, scooping and kicking and blowing bubbles. She worked on jumping into the pool and climbing out. She learned how to be more still on her back. She learned soldier, airplane and mokey arm positions - I can see how all this will work into actually learning how to really swim later.

June 9 - Beca's birthday. The only lesson to cancel for weather - thunder right before the start of class kept anyone from getting in the pool :( Beca was sad but her Mexican dinner, presents, and cupcakes made it better.

June 11 - Class started with only 3 girls so things went pretty well. I have been able to keep Beca from seeking out goggles any more even though one of the girls insists on wearing them. Oma came to watch and I think all the parents got too involved this session (me included but Beca was not listening and she had done that all day so I needed to remind her of the safety reason for hanging onto the side of the pool while Mrs. Denise was working with someone else).

And today was final lesson. Steve had to cover this one but she did pretty well with the scooping and kicking. Not so much entirely with the listening.

Monday starts another round - this time more intense as it is every evening (M-Th) for 2 weeks. Hopefully, she'll be ready to swim at the beach then!

Welcome to some new princesses

I am so very excited that my AOE little sister, Cynthia, and her wonderful hubby Jason have welcomed two beautiful little girls into the world as of June 4! They are going to be the best parents for Evelyn and Jessica and I cannot wait to see what these twin girls will be like in a year! Luckily, they decided (I hope that cannot be translated that I badgered) to start a blog to chronicle the adventures that they will go through in the next few weeks as the girls grow from 2 pound babies to 5 pound babies. This is my newest blog to visit when I get a chance. And Beca is really excited for Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Jason too. Although, they probably won't need her to rid the house of pirates once Beca teaches Jessica and Evelyn to do it!

Happy 4 to Rebecca Dawn

Wow - today Beca turned 4 years old! She was so tiny when I first held her. And fairly quiet! But that has changed tremendously!! She has learned so many words and paragraphs and makes up the funniest stories! I'm constantly amazed by what she understands and knows. She can work on 50 to 100 piece puzzles now and is starting to really recognize her letters and get higher in her counting. We have a few weeks until her yearly check but she's already pretty tall and weighs about 40 pounds. Beca loves nightgowns and princesses, dress-up and dolls. She likes clothes and books too. Her favorite breakfast is either a chocolate pop-tart or chocolate chip pancakes, generally served with pink milk. Her very favorite TV show is Charlie and Lola right now, which causes our entire family to speak with a British accent and commonly use the words "actually" and "extremely". But she also is less afraid of things after watching this show. Rebecca also worries a lot about other people when she hears someone is sick. She asks about them a lot. She's been saying things about dying and being sad, asking questions and saying that she would be sad if someone died. Of course, she also says that if she eats the piece of meat we told her to eat that she will be so sad that she has to eat it. We also don't share properly (another Charlie and Lola word, enunciated such that it is clear that we are not doing whatever it is that she wants us to do). But she loves us soooo much. And we adore her. Here's our princess growing up:

Beca just a few hours old - June 9, 2005

Beca at her first birthday party - June 10, 2006

Beca at her 2nd birthday party - June 9, 2007

June 8, 2008 - Beca's 3rd birthday party

June 6, 2009 - Beca's 4th birthday party

We're excited for 4 - there are swim lessons already in progress (although thunder and lightning kept us from having them tonight and she was sad but understood), Beca wants to learn how to ride her bike and she wants Ballerina lessons. We're hoping her poodle blanket can become less of a permanent fixture and confine it to her room and work on sleeping through the night without wearing a pull up. All goals for this year, along with some fun surprises!

The real reason for not blogging

So 6, almost 7 weeks, and I have done a horrible job blogging. But it's actually been due to an illness. Since the end of March, I've been fighting a bacterium called C. diff. It used to be known as a hospital bug and everyone that's heard of it thinks I work in or around a hospital. Well, I don't. Doctors are finding that this particular baddie has started becoming a community-acquired infection because of over usage of anti-biotics. Which is exactly what happened to me. Last year, I had it and it cleared up quickly. This year, after the miscarriage and about 4 rounds of different anti-biotics trying to treat sinus infections, ear infections, etc, I ended up with C. diff again. Every flair up means I spend 2-4 days without food in my system. Really, this is the worst weight loss program ever. Most foods became triggers to upsetting my system. And crazy as it sounds, the treatment step 1 is anti-biotics. Treatment step 2 is a stronger and extremely expensive antibiotic. After 3 outbreaks, that's where I ended up. After a good long dose of the treatment step 2 and several weeks of modifying my diet (no diary, limiting other irritants), I am feeling so much better! Stomach issues seem to be gone. and hopefully, I can keep them gone! the funniest part to me was when they were verifying everything was ok via colonoscopy (which it was), I figured out I had a yeast infection - yet another side effect of too many anti-biotics!! But finally, I feel totally healthy!

If you want to read more, look it up on WebMD. It freaked me out a little but I felt better for myself having the information. Truth is, everyone has some C. diff in their system. It's just that some systems allow for the C. diff to become the predominant bacteria amongst the hundreds different varieties that you have in your intentines. Some are good, some are bad but as long as the good out number the bad, you are doing good.

IF YOU ARE TAKING ANTI-BIOTICS, please please please get some good bacteria in your system. If you like yogurt, eat yogurt. If you don't (and I do not), add a probiotic (acidopholis tablet) to your daily intake. If you are taking strong anti-biotic, consider a strong probiotic and the yogurt. for kids on anti-biotics, it is good to buy the yogurt tubes and freeze them - fun popsicle and good bacteria delivery mechanism all at the same time! The only warning I have is that if you have a dairy intolerence, stay away from the "lacto" bacteria - these are derived from milk so they can somewhat help but not as effectively.

I don't want to ever be that sick again (I've had stomach flus that weren't this bad) nor do I want anyone else that sick. I mean it. Even people I don't like. So take care of yourself and your stomach/intenstines - that's where your immune system gets its magical healing powers to help the rest of your body!

Bathroom

Well, well, well... I am finally back on blogging. Before I fill you in on everything the past 6 weeks have carried me, here's a look at one of the big projects in our house:




We started this project back in December when we quit using our Master Bathroom shower when we realized there was a leak. Demo came in March. We ripped out every large thing in the bathroom. And then drywall got ripped out too. Mostly because all of the pipes in the house had to be replaced. Thank goodness the kitchen ceiling was already down and they just worked through that. Only a few holes in other spots but the guy that patched all that was a miracle worker.
The shower pan was the first thing to go in, along with new hardy-backer behind the shower area. Dad and Steve did an amazing job putting a 400 pound beast into place, level, and getting all the plumbing just right. Then the marble walls for the shower went in. this was all in April. By the end of April, they were putting in glass to finish the shower. Problem was that we had to finish everything else. And when we pulled the toilet off, we found black mold growing under the toilet where it had never been sealed properly when the previous owners had linoleum put in (originally it was carpeted). Then drywall went back on, painting happened and hardi-backer went on the floor. My uncle and grandfather came down for a quick trip with some tools and a tile saw and they tiled the floor! More painting to finish the final coats. And finally, some minor disasters trying to get the tub and cabinets in. We ended up buying a new countertop even though that was not originally our intention. Finally, just after Mother's Day, all the big stuff was in. Then we added towel bars, towel rings, a mirror, finally lights (only because that order was delayed because the light place thought they ordered it but the light manufacturer had no record of the order), and then I found the iciing for the bathroom. I walked in Target and found 3 towels and 2 hand towels and washcloths that matched perfectly. And that's all they had left in that leaf pattern in the green and white. I was not quite sure if it would match but I bought it. When I got it home - perfect! We also moved everything else into the cabinets! And then I added Sun & Surf candles! The first bath in my clawfoot, I almost fell asleep! The clawfoot is volcanic limestome - a manmade material that is so wondereful and keeps the water nice and warm. The drain is crazy cool - it's a touch closure so all I have to do is push on it and it opens or closes. So cool! I think I need a bath now!

Earth Day!

Yes, my birthday is on Earth Day. One of the first really large celebrations was on my actual day of birth. My 21st birthday was when Disney opened Animal Kingdom. It's kind of a neat celebration, really. So, for my birthday today, go out and plant something. Recycle. Repurpose something that seems like junk. Choose natural products. Save a tree or an animal - my aunt rescued a blind dog, keeping her alive. Do something for some part of our Earth. Beca has been learning about it too - she likes to help with the recycling! And she said to me with the most pleading eyes the other day "But we need to save our Earth". Check out Wall-E if you haven't for a light-hearted look at the potentially serious issue. Maybe we can all green our lives just a little bit and help our Mother Earth be her very best.

I don't pretend to be a complete worshipper of our Earth but I try to do what I can in my realm of convenience. Even small steps are steps. But I am super excited that our big recycling bin from the Town of Cary will arrive sometime very soon! And there''s a lot more paper products and such that they can take now!

Easter Day & a busy week

Easter Day was actually a really good day even though it started with a 2:30 AM scream when Beca realized she had peed in her pullup. She's been trying so hard not to do it and she gets so upset when she does. But she also sleeps like her Daddy once she is asleep and in the middle of the night, there's no waking her up. But we ended up getting to the church nice and early for the 8AM service. Even got a good parking space but ddn't have to stand outside in the grass to get our feet wet for the sunrise service. Beca spent part of the service trying to sing with us but most of it wallowing on the pew with her feet over her head.

It was chilly but we got a family picture outside at my parents anyway after church. Then we headed in for pancakes, eggs and sausage. Beca got an Easter basket from our house and an Easter basket from Oma. She was also in the mood to demand everything. Luckily, one of those demands was to stay with Oma while Steve and I went home to change (oh, and a nap). We also got some food together and then we all went to the Bloom's for Easter lunch.

There was lots of great food - ham and fried chicken! Beca only grazed but flitted around to visit everyone. then it was time for the egg hunt. Remember, Beca is the only person under 20. She got a head start and of course the most help in the first round. The second round, the "children" got to hunt eggs and ended up attacking each other. Then they hid eggs for the adults - Beca helped hide them, then helped Oma by pointing them out. Final round was a hunt just for Beca. she ended up with a basket from Jan, a basket from Traci and a basket from Tricia! Then she was given a bunch of the other toys and candy that the "kids" had gotten in their baskets. It was a sugary sweet and super fun day!

Monday, our Marble walls were put in for the shower in the master bath. The looked really nice. Tuesday, we had tickets to Happy Days, the Musical. It was a great show!

things I love 46 - restaurants

I love to eat food other people have made. I like to bake but not really cook. So I really enjoy getting food from somewhere. I really love it when we are able to plan something around food, which most of our vacations are. We actually plan out our Disney meals, especially when we want to eat the good stuff! Reservations are my friend and I love meeting people somewhere just to eat and catch up. Can you tell I'm hungry?

Good Friday

For some reason, I had to go to Good Friday service this year. Or as I call it after years of TEC, Die Day. It just is.

"Truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." John 12:24

I am glad I did. I chose the 7:30 service and did not make Beca and Steve go. Good choice. It was a very good service, with much of the responses to readings done by our Choir as pieces from Handel's Messiah. What an amazing gift to the human race. An amazing collection of moving music. It was truly a reminder that Jesus was selfless for everyone else.

things I love - 44 & 45 - cake & ice cream

As I got farther behind, I realized that I just needed to finish this up. There will be some time later for the longer posts I had planned.

So, I love cake & ice cream. Cake is one of my very favorite foods. And paired with ice cream, it is even better. Now, an ice cream cake is truly marvelous. I love good cake, especially when it is not too thick but not too light. Ice cream is one of those wonderful treats and I can only rarely find my favorite, which I believe still keeps it as my favorite. Raspberry ice cream (not sorbet) is perfectly purple and dreamy creamy. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.