L.B.C.

We made it! Arrived here in Long Beach yesterday around 4:00, we left around 7:oo, so we made excellent time! We drove through some pretty hot temps, I think the hottest we saw was 108 degrees outside of Barstow (I think that's where we were)...who would ever want to live there?! Anyway, we never hung around anywhere, just run to the bathroom and get back into the car. Even Cassidy didn't want to come out of her dog box, she drank her water laying down! She loves Long Beach, I can tell she has so much more energy since we got here. Pretty smooth trip really, the girls were great. As soon as we woke Haley and Morgan up at 6:00 a.m. they were ready to go, they're always up for a good road trip.

Swimming lessons are done!

Here's Haley with her teacher on her very last day of swim lessons. They're done for now...I think I'm going to enrol her again this Winter. Unfortunately, (but I'm not surprised) she didn't pass this session. They recommend she repeats the pre-level one again. Mainly because she still isn't comfortable putting her head under the water. Although these last few classes she put her face under...making progress!! It also said on her "report card" that she is improving her listening skills. So there you have it...she can't swim yet, but she's getting there...slowly!

This afternoon I took our noble breed, Cassidy, to the Vet. (Two little girls, and a dog, that was a handful!) Anyway, I wanted to ask about a cough that she's had for a pretty long time. Basically to really know for sure what's causing it, she will need an X-Ray (which is not cheap!). It could be one of three things: chronic bronchitis, heart disease, or cancer/tumors in her lungs...Yikes! She doesn't seem to be any pain, she still gets around pretty good. She sleeps a lot, but then she's 14 years old and it's 95 degrees outside...what else is she going to do! We're leaving for CA tomorrow and she'll be going with us. It's been a long time since she's traveled that far with us, so I'm not sure how it will go. But I'm really relieved she'll be with us, I would have been super worried about her if she stayed here. I know she'll be happy! So I'll wait until we get back from the L.B.C. to decide about the X-Ray stuff. Yeah, so my posts will be a bit inconsistent for a while.
I'll leave you with this picture. This morning when I came out of the bedroom after getting dressed this is what I saw. In case you were wondering, those are Morgans "panties" (the thing that goes over her diaper when she's wearing a dress) on Haley's head. She calls herself a chef head when she wears it. I guess it's supposed to resemble a chef hat. Anyway, when she says chef head it sounds like sh*t head. I kept asking her, "What did you say?", until I realized she was saying chef. Funny!

My Little Worker Bees

The worst chore on Earth: mopping the floors! That, and cleaning the shower/bathtub...not a fan! (But then, who is?) So yesterday I bit the bullet and cleaned the floors (it had been a while), but the sponge part on the mop broke off so I had to do it by hand. The good part was that the girls were thrilled to help! This is what I've been waiting for!! Isn't the whole point of having kids is so that they can do all the chores?! KIDDING...but seriously. Haley actually got the hang of it, she remembered to squeeze the water out of the cloth before she started scrubbing. Morgan however, made a huge mess! It got to the point that I just couldn't help but laugh! She would take out the cloth (full of water) and drip as she walked around to find a good place to scrub. And I kid you not she slipped every time on all her puddles. Now I know that sounds mean to laugh, but she wasn't getting hurt or anything. She just continued this pattern forever: Dip the cloth, try carefully to walk...SLIP! Right on the bum! It was kind of comical. The whole thing took about ten times longer then it should have since I had to go back and clean up all the water everywhere, but if it helps teach them how to scrub the floor it's worth it...because this is the first chore I'm willing to hand over to them!

Not a fan anymore!

When Haley was born I had a subscription to Parents Magazine...I think I also got Parenting Magazine too. Anyway, I was really interested in reading the different articles and they had parenting tips...yadda, yadda, yadda. Well, that was then. Now, I'm not a fan! After a year or so of getting the subscription I never renewed it. So just recently I got a year free of Parents Magazine, but I have now decided I hate these magazines. Yes, they do have some interesting things in them still. But mostly, after reading the articles I walk away feeling like I'm doing everything wrong as a mother. Or they're really good about scaring me with all these horrible things that can go wrong with my kids. Such as this one article discussing speech delays, and the endless amounts of therapy to correct it. After reading that I was sure Morgan had a speech delay since she really doesn't talk yet. Or the whole "No T.V. before the age of two!". And if they should watch any T.V. before the age of two you have recked their entire life and they will never amount to anything...all because they watched T.V. before the age of two!! Another article about "Worms Warning". Children playing around dogs may ingest this parasite from roundworms in dogs, which could result in blindness in the child!! Ahhh, we have a dog!! Great, so my kids will become blind, get ADHD from watching T.V. before the age of two, and need to see a speech therapist.

Hey, I do my best everyday!! If I do have any concerns I'll bring them up with my pediatrician. I don't need a stupid magazine to scare the crap out of me, or make me feel bad! I hate those magazines!

OK, I'm done venting for the day.

Feeling Refreshed

Sometimes weekend trips are just what it takes to feel refreshed and ready to start a new week!

We left Saturday morning for Ryan's Road Race, it started in Kamas and ended in Evanston. I of course drove the car with the girls. I stopped at the first feed zone near the top of the climb to give the team a cheer. I did not feed as they had a neutral feed, so I wasn't really needed. Plus, it's just a little too crazy to try to feed with the girls running around. And I think I've put in my dues through the years with handing feeds to Ryan at bike races. I remember one feed zone during Elite Nationals in Mississippi where I had to literally risk my life to hand out water. The riders came through at about 35 miles an hour (why they put the feed zone there, I have no idea). Water bottles were flying everywhere! Then another time during Cascade I had to feed at three different spots along the course. I didn't know where they were exactly so I followed other team cars. The first one I followed was Warden driving the Mercury car. That was impossible, I couldn't even keep up with him! He must have been going 80 around these winding roads. Then I started following the Nutra-Fig van...another mistake! We ended up turning down the wrong road and getting lost. I think I ended up missing the second feed but made it to the last one...good enough! Then, during San Dimas I handed off a water bottle to Ryan as he was making his way to the side of the pack, but couldn't quite make it time. I think he reached over two other racers to get that bottle...thank goodness he has long arms. It was a basically a miracle he got it! Anyway, those are a few examples...I got off the subject a little. But the point is, I've done my share of feeding at bike races.

The exciting part of the day was Ryan won the KOM (king of the mountain) at the top, that's pretty impressive for a guy that rarely gets to train in the mountains...good job babe!! Later after the race we went back to the hotel to take a nap....HA, HA, HA!! OK, that's not true, but it would have been nice. "OK girls, mommy and daddy need a nap, so you need to lay down too." (I wish!). Instead, Ryan took the girls swimming in the pool and then we had Mexican for dinner.

Sleeping that night was pretty minimal as Morgan kept waking up. Then about 1:30 I realized she had a fever. It never fails...we always have a sick kid when we travel, so luckily this time I came prepared! Gave her some Ibuprofen and then she was good to go! Ryan had the time trial in the morning and the crit in the afternoon. The girls were beat by the end! Morgan was able to fall asleep on the blanket during Ryan's race, but Haley fought it with everything she had. She basically walked around in a half zombie state for the last hour of the race.

After the races were finished they had awards in a big tent next a large grassy area...great for the kids to run around...or pee in. Yes, Haley decided to relieve herself in the grass right next to the tent where everyone was hanging out. Hopefully no one noticed, but if someone did...I'm so sorry. At the feed zone the day before I had her go pee behind a tree, since there were no bathrooms. That was her first time going outside. So I guess she thought it was OK to pee anywhere outside. I thought boys only did stuff like that...but apparently not! She must take after Ryan in that department.

So anyway, it was a great weekend in all. I'm pretty thankful really...as many of my best memories are at bike races all over the country. Whether it was me racing when I was younger or going with Ryan. And now it brings a whole new light on it when we get to travel around with the girls.

Evanston...here we come!

No swim lesson today, we start back up next week, Monday through Thursday. The teacher says Haley's getting a lot more comfortable in the water, but still is very reluctant to put her head under the water. She tells me that if she has goggles she would do it...Note to self: GET GOGGLES!

Our friend and Ryan's teammate, Sandy, arrived in town yesterday. During the last year he's been at medical school in Vermont, it sounded like a hellish year. So I think it's safe to say that he's enjoying he's break before he has to go back. He'll be racing with Ryan and the team this weekend in Evanston, WY. The girls and I are going as well...I've gone the last two years. The drive from Kamas to Evanston is beautiful and the weather will be great so I'm looking forward to it!

Hopefully I'll remember my camera!

EDIT: I forgot to mention a couple of things...

So first my eye...it's no big deal. I can't remember what it's called, I'm terrible with medical names. I think it starts with a "p". Anyway, basically it's just a spot on my eye that gets irritated, and sometimes will swell up, such as it is now. The doc says it will go away on it's own. So great, I went through all that (making an appointment, getting someone to watch the girls, paying a co-pay, etc. etc.) for nothing!! I hate when that happens. But I guess it's good to know so I'm not stressing over it...weird as it is.

Then also the other day I had to take Haley in to get a cavity filled...yes, a cavity!! I didn't mention it before because I feel so terribly guilty over the whole thing. Any mother would agree: When the nurse hands you your baby for the first time, they might as well hand you a bag of guilt too that you have to carry at all times. No one ever warns you about that!! I was so shocked when the dentist told me she had a cavity since I'm very good about brushing her teeth twice a day, and she never drinks sugary drinks, and rarely has candy. So I've concluded that it's because this state doesn't have fluoride in the tap water. I didn't have a cavity until I moved here...it all makes sense now. So I'm really trying hard to remember to give her a fluoride pill everyday...(oops, I think I forgot this morning...better go do that! See! I'm terrible! I already forgot!) This state needs fluoride in its water, Botton Line!! Anyway, Haley did super!! I couldn't believe she was my kid, she held very still, opened her mouth when she needed to. They didn't even need to use the laughing gas stuff on her she was so good! Luckily the cavity wasn't very deep so they didn't even need to use numbing stuff (you can tell I'm pretty good with medical terms). I was so proud of her after we went straight to the store and I bought her a new My Little Pony...Royal Bouquet. She's thrilled!

My Little Swimmer

Well here she is! At her swimming lesson with a smile...that's right, you're reading correctly, a smile! However, before every lesson she goes up to the teacher almost crying, "Excuse me. I don't want to put my head under the water, OK.". Poor little thing, she's been so traumatized from the first lesson. But this one is much better for her. The class stays close to the steps and they do more games instead of drills. So she has a lot of fun.


In other news: I'm off to the eye doctor this afternoon. Last week a woke up to a bump on my eyeball. It looks like a big pimple on the white of my eye. Kinda gross. I think the cyst gods are getting back at me for removing the one on my shoulder...as pay back they've put one on my eyeball instead. I just can't win! OK, so hopefully it's not a cyst, but whatever it is I don't like it!

A Teacher Lost

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700235365,00.html

This was my brother's Geography teacher at UVSC...such a tragedy.

Haley's Swim Drama...Again

For those keeping up with Haley's swim drama, you will be glad to know that today's lesson went very well!! For those not up to speed, this is Haley's second attempt...the first being a complete disaster and basically left Haley traumatized by the whole thing.

I have her in a lower level class, Water Exploration I think it's called. I told the teacher beforehand, please do not make Haley put her head under the water! That is where most of her fear comes from, and I don't want her to go into freak-out mode again! So anyway, she had a ball! I'm just so thrilled that she stayed in the whole time and is excited about going tomorrow!! I think we're making progress! I'll have to bring my camera so I can include some photos. Maybe this time she'll be smiling in them!

Happy Father's Day!!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! Here's two of the greatest! Love ya guys!

Sundance Festival

Ryan's racing today. Left at about 5:30 this morning to head up to Northern Utah for the State Road Race Championships. So the girls and I went to the Sundance Festival at the Sundance Resort. It was a perfect day, summer has finally arrived! It was a pretty small affair, a few artsy booths and food vendors. But they had a petting zoo, face painting, a clown and the firetruck was there...so of course the kids were in heaven! They also had a climbing wall and pony rides for a charge...we skipped those. But other than that it was free. We met up with my brother, Matt, and his wife, Carrie, which was really nice. They live 15 minutes away, yet we barely see each other, so it was nice to hang out with them...and to have more eyes helping me watch the girls. Thanks guys!
We enjoyed a picnic lunch in the shade. Haley's balloon hat popped if you were wondering where hers was. They also mooched off a few cookies and chips from the family eating near us...so, thanks to that family...and sorry my kids are moochers.
Haley and Morgan loved the firetruck! It kinda surprised me.

So anyway, pretty fun day in Utah County! Now I think the BYU Creamery is calling my name!

Sringville Children's Art Festival

Today they held the Springville Museum of Art Children's Art Festival (that's a mouthful). It's a really great event! There are tons of booths, each one focuses on a different art project or craft (bead bracelets, clay, printmaking, sun catchers, etc.). My sister-in-law, Carrie, was in charge of finger puppet booth. And the really great thing is that it's free, gotta love that!

However, I think Haley didn't quite understand the whole concept of it. Most of the booths had lines, which Haley never had enough patience to wait in. She would just go to the side of the table with the instructors and make herself comfortable. Just about every booth she did that, and every time I would fetch her out and try to explain why she can't do that. But she would be already off to the next booth before I could finish.

So I'm sure she had a blast running all around, but needless to say, it just wasn't that fun for me. All I was doing was chasing her around. Plus, I hate crowds, I feel really anxious...all I wanted to do was go home as soon as we got there. Did I mention...it was really, really crowded. I think it's a short person thing. I hate being surrounded by people and not being able to see out or where I'm going...I feel sorta trapped. Luckily, one of the booths was Sidewalk Chalk...I loved it! There wasn't that many people at it, there was tons of chalk (so no fighting), and it was one that Morgan could do. I just wanted to hide out there the whole time.

So tomorrow, there is another children's festival at the Sundance Resort. Ryan has the State Road Race Championships, so it gives us something to do while he's gone. So we'll give that one a try too.

Pics from Provo

I went for a ride this morning and decided to take a few pictures. This is Mount Timpanogos. You can't really tell, but the mountains are so green...I've never seen them this green in the 4 years that I've lived here...it's beautiful!

Haley and Morgan, checking out the scenery...Morgan's pointing to the horses. I was feeling left out, so I decided to take a picture of myself.

In other news: I read this article...it brought a smile to my face. The section about "Rediscovering New Hobbies", I immediately thought of my sister-law, Beth. She has two boys, and she knows the name of all the different types of construction equipment. Me...I know none, but, I could tell you the name of every Disney Princess there ever was, or the names of the different My Little Ponies. Yes, they all have a name...my eye is on Rainbow Dash for Haley's birthday this summer.

Our Little Singers

Haley is our little singer...one of her favorites is a song from a My Little Pony movie. A line from the song goes, "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, a tangled web we weave...". But Haley sings it, "Oh what a tangled where wee wee, a tangled where wee wee...". No matter what I say, she still insists that she is right. So I get a lot of stares when she sings it in public.

I was in a dressing room this one time and told Morgan, "Don't open the door!". That triggered Haley's memory of a Killers song she heard in the car. She immediately broke out in song..."I got this feeling that they're gonna break down the door. I got this feeling that they're gonna come back for more...". The funny thing about that is I didn't even have that CD playing that day. I can't believe how well kids remember things!

I also want to add that I was experimenting with this video...it's really not a good example of how much they do sing. Haley doesn't really cooperate with a camera in her face.

I'll keep trying!

More Structure

I'm trying to add more structure to my day to hopefully lessen the amount of...stress, craziness, "moments of rage"...whatever. I'm trying to keep the Incredible Hulk in me at bay. (Is that the character I'm thinking of?) The only things I really stick to are: In the morning, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the paper while the girls watch PBS (probably my most favorite part of the day...is that bad?). After lunch, read the girls stories and lay Morgan down for her nap...I shoot for around 1:00 or 1:30. Then bedtime around 8:00, although since it's now summer, that has moved around a lot lately. Last night night it was 9:00. However, it makes no difference what time they go to bed, Haley is always up by 6:30. And in between those times I try to go on errands, clean the house, blog (of course), make meals...yada, yada, yada. But it usually consists of me going crazy at some point in the day. So back to what I was saying...more structure!

I won't bore you with everything, but I've made a couple of charts for Haley to get involved with daily routines, and a behavior chart that she can get prizes from. I want to start getting her more involved with chores in the house too. She loves setting the table and helping me cook(although, she stills needs a bit of work). But at least it gives her a task during a very hectic part of the day. So we'll see...I'm pretty good at getting really motivated in the beginning, then it eventually disappears . I'll try hard this time!

Finally, some warm weather!

Here we are in June, and lately we've been having very Spring like weather...upper 60's or low 70's and lots of rain. It supposed to be close to 80 today, I'll take it! Yesterday, we went on a family bike ride, and stopped at a park before heading back home and I was freezing!! I couldn't believe it! The kids were playing as they were being blown all over the place, as there was gale force winds on top of an already cold day. Not that much fun! I'm ready for some summer heat!! I'm ready to sweat!!

Morgan was pretty funny while we were at the park...she was terrified of these little seed pods that were all over the ground. She would be trying to avoid them as much as possible, but again, they were everywhere so that was pretty hard for her to do. Sometimes she got "stuck" and just stood there and screamed for us to rescue her. The seed pods would be surrounding her, and she was just too scared to step on them. Strange! We tried to show her that they were completely harmless, but she didn't believe us. Funny what kids are scared of.

Ahhh! I'm so Frustrated!

First of all...I hand it to anyone who has taught Sunbeams at Church. For those not familiar, Sunbeams is the name of the Sunday school class for the 3 and 4 year olds. A handful, I'm sure! So we've been having trouble with Haley lately. A few weeks ago she had to be sent out because she was being disruptive (not staying in her chair, and wandering around the room, not listening...you get it). So today, she wouldn't stay in the classroom. During the lesson she kept getting up wanting to leave. So Ryan ended up taking her home. So next week, I'm going to try sitting in the class with her, maybe it will help...maybe not. But in any case, that's our only option at this point. I watched a little while of Haley sitting with the rest of her class and I'm just in awe how reverent the rest of the kids were sitting!! They are all listening and sitting nicely with their hands in their laps, and then there's Haley who's crawling under her chair! Lovely!

Haley is just a very strong willed, stubborn little girl, she likes to do things her way...she always has! And since I'm pretty stubborn myself (yes, I admit it!) we constantly battle throughout the day. I just try to think about the future and how those qualities will give her an advantage, I know they will take her places, and she'll be successful in whatever she chooses to do! I just have to keep thinking of it that way, or I will just go crazy! Wait...I think I'm already going Crazy!!

Back from Sugarhouse

We got back from the Sugarhouse crit, where the girls and I watched Ryan race. Well, actually I didn't see much of it since I was at the playground with the girls the whole time...can you believe that! They wanted to play instead of see their daddy race! So now, I don't want to see another playground for a while, I got my fill today.

While at the race I met another fellow blogger...Rio's Rider. As I was walking out of the bathroom a women called out, "Hi Kelly!". I look at her and say hi back as I'm frantically going in my memory banks trying to figure out who she is, and where I know her from. I'm sure I had some bewildered look on my face. I know everyone has been in that position, it's not a fun one. I thought she had to be someone I knew well if she new my name! Well, luckily she introduced herself as Rio's Rider, who I was instantly familiar with. No wonder I didn't recognize her...I had never met her before. So I didn't feel so bad...whew! It's nice to put a face to the name now.

In other news: We all went to the pool last night and Haley did very well. It took some major coaxing to get her off the pool steps, but she eventually did it! She didn't really want to try anything, just hung onto Ryan the whole time. At one point I held her while Ryan jumped off the diving board. When he got back she says, "I want to go back to Daddy now, he's funner than you.". What's up with that! Man, the things I do for her, and that's what I get!

The evening ended well...she's even been talking about going back. Of course, any mention of her swim lessons and she starts to freak out again. What to do...What to do?

No Cavities...what a relief!

I hate the dentist...I'd rather have bamboo spears jammed under my nails (OK, maybe not). But I really dislike going. After we had lived here for a couple of years I finally made an appointment(I'm trying to be a good example to my kids) and I had to get a cavity filled...my first one! That was last year, so I was super nervous today. Thankfully, none were found...YES!

I didn't have anyone to watch the girls so I brought them along. (I did OK it with the office first) They have a T.V. in the waiting room so I figured they could watch a movie while I got my teeth cleaned. It actually worked out pretty well. Every now and then I heard them horsing around, but for the most part they stayed put and ate their snack while they watched Shrek 2. I thought maybe having them with me would get me through faster, but I don't think it made any difference. Parents must do it all the time, they seemed pretty used to it.

Haley has her dentist appointment Monday...I'm sure that will go well. Ha Ha Ha! It's not her first time, and the other visits didn't go very smoothly. So I should just go into it expecting the worst.

Off to the pool tonight! Wish us luck!

"Allosaurus"

"Realizing that the old creature was not going to make it, the young Allosaurus pounced. It sank its clawed talons into the back of the weak Allosaurus. Huge fangs tore at the flesh. The old creature shrieked in pain. Within minutes another Allosaurus had arrived on the scene. The old dinosaur was unable to fight, and within minutes she was dead. Quickly the two Allosaurus tore huge chunks of flesh from the body of the dead creature."

Haley has several dinosaur books, each focuses on a specific one. This one happens to be about the Allosaurus, who in the story is old and weak. Throughout the whole book she on the verge of starvation and trying to find food, but she's unable to hunt anymore. Finally she is killed by her own kind! That's how it ends! How sad...and gory, huh?! Just thought I'd share.

In other news: Ryan has a meeting in Park City tonight. Haley will be bummed, she's very attached to him lately. When she's saying good night to him she always asks if he'll be there in the morning. If it's not Saturday or Sunday the next day, then the answer is always no. One night their conversation went like this:

Ryan: "Good night Haley and Morgan."

Haley: "Daddy, are you my friend?"

Ryan: "Of course I'm your friend!"

Haley: "Well then, friends don't leave!"

Ouch! Talk about a jab right to the heart! Anyway, so the point is I get the night off from cooking! Hmmm, cereal for dinner...my favorite!

Anyone keeping up with Haley swim drama...don't worry, I'll keep everyone up to date when I have news to share. Tomorrow, Ryan and I are taking the girls to the pool...we'll see what happens.

Birthday Boy

The Birthday boy with his girls.

We had a really nice dinner last night. Ryan got his homemade hard tacos and I managed to avoid getting burned. Haley and Morgan had a lot of fun decorating the cake...isn't beautiful?! Morgan only smashed her hand in the frosting twice...not bad. They had a very interesting technique to decorate, they grabbed a handful of the sprinkles and just threw it on top, some of it did manage to get on the cake. And Morgan insisted that the candles go in wick down...good times!

As for the swimming lessons...not good. She refused to get in the water today. She kicked, screamed, held onto my leg, tried to run...you name it she did it. I have never seen her so hysterical!! Nothing I would say or do would get her in that water. And did I mention out of all these kids (which were a lot) Haley was the only one acting this way...The ONLY one! I know, I know, there are a lot of kids that go into hysterics about getting into the water, but I would have some comfort seeing (with my own eyes) another mother struggling as I was. They wouldn't give me a refund for the lessons, but they would transfer her to another session. So that's what I did...her next lesson will be June 16th. In the meantime I'm taking her to the pool as much as possible and work with her myself to help her get ready. How lame does that sound: I'll give her lessons before her lessons...strange. But this is a fight that I want to WIN!!

Swimming Disaster...continued

As you can see, Haley is still not thrilled about her swim lessons. This is her moments before we had to leave...she was crying the entire hour before we left. She snapped out of it for the drive there, but as soon as we drove into the parking lot she started crying yet again. However, she did get into the water willingly, no dragging her or shoving her in was necessary. She was excited that she got to take her pony in with her. During the lesson another lifeguard took her away from the class to work with her alone, (hey, at least she's getting some one on one instruction, right?). There was still a lot of screaming but the teacher assures me that she was a lot better today than yesterday, and is seeing some progress. They are just so patient with her...bless their hearts.

After it was over I took her out for ice cream...she deserved it, she's getting into the water even though she is absolutely terrified. I'm proud of her! So tomorrow I'll have to think of something else fun to do.

On a completely different note: Today is Ryan's Birthday! Happy Birthday to you! Haley is so excited about it, she can't wait to help decorate his cake. Every year for is birthday he gets what ever he wants for dinner...it never fails, every year it's hard tacos.

Years ago after Ryan and I graduated from College we moved back to California. We lived at my grandparents home in Cerritos for a few months until we found our own place. Anyway, one meal (of the many) my grandma made happened to be hard tacos. Since then Ryan loves that meal. I rarely make it because, one: they are very time consuming, two: they make a horrible mess with all the grease splatter, and three: I always burn myself at least once. I have to use my longest tongs, an oven mitt to protect my hand, long sleeves to protect my arms, an apron, and safety goggles. OK, I don't really wear the goggles (maybe I should!), but I do wear everything else. But for my husband...I'll do it! Anything for you babe!

EDIT: Actually I lied, Ryan always asks for homemade pizza, homemade bread, and homemade fries for his birthday meal. When he was younger his mom let him choose what he wanted for his Birthday dinner and that is what he asked for. And she made it! I have yet to make that for his meal, I'll just leave it as a nice childhood memory. So his second choice is Hard Tacos.

Swimming Disaster

I signed Haley up for swim lessons. I've been telling her about it for the past two weeks trying to get her pumped up for it, "You'll learn how to swim like a fish!". She actually was really looking forward to it! I had no trouble getting her ready, she was very willing to get her suit on and carry her towel...we made excellent time!

So we walk into the pool area and she sees all the other kids and she just can't wait to get in...if I wasn't holding her hand I think she might have jumped right in! However, all that excitement came to an end when she realized that it wasn't at all what she thought it was going to be. As soon as the teacher started doing swimming type "drills" with them she completely freaked out!! The teacher would have them practice putting their heads under the water while she pulled them by the arms. And she worked on having them lay on their backs to get the idea of floating. Haley hated every bit of it, and I might add that she was the only child screaming...you would think she was being tortured.

Every time the teacher would work with a child the other kids were supposed to hold to the side and stay put. Haley either made a run for the stairs screaming the whole way or grab onto the teacher and not let go until it was her turn to practice something and the teacher literally had to pry Haley off her. These photos came out crummy (my camera was low on batteries so the flash wasn't working) but you can see Haley in the blue suit holding on for dear life while the teacher is working with another girl in the class.

The three other girls in the class would be grouped together waiting their turn just as happy as clams... Here's Haley just standing there screaming, "MOMMY, MOMMY!!!!".

Since we've been back every now and then she remembers her traumatic experience and starts crying, "Mommy, I don't ever want to go back to swimming lessons.". I've even started bribing her, "We'll go out for ice cream after!". Nope...doesn't work. She says, "Lets just go out for ice cream and skip the swimming!".

This class is everyday for the next two weeks: Put your votes in now! Do you think she'll get over her fear and learn to swim by the end or am I in for it?! The poll is at the top right corner.