BANZAI!

Yes folks, this is the end of Swim Lessons, Week I.

Ten has spent the bulk of her class time for the last two days underwater. Her choice, not the coaches: as she's sitting on the steps waiting her turn to practice a skill, the kid just holds her nose- takes a breath- and dunks under. Amazing considering that 2 weeks ago if you told her to go underwater she'd start screaming and crying.

The picture above was taken at the very end of today's class- the coaches decided to let the kids bail off the diving board into 9.5 ft of water (and the waiting arms of coach Brit). Coach Meghan was up on the board to stand behind them, bolster confidence, and give a little push. Alice was timid, and required a push but liked it so well she went back for a second time. Paige went in pretty well, but came up crying. Ditto Corbin. Mailia had to be pushed, and nailed poor Coach Brit right in the breast bone. Then came Ten. We expected Coach Meghan to block her exit and have to talk her up to it and give a little nudge...but no. Ten breezed right past her and confidently banzai'd right into the water. Jeff and I were floored. All smiles, she wanted to go again, but they were out of class time. She happily settled for ice cream in honor of a job well done.

Week II starts on Monday!

“If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try Try Again.”

To say that Tenley didn’t succeed at the swim lessons she took in the summer of 2007 would be an understatement. We set her up for success, to be sure: it was a “parent and me” class taken with her favorite person in all the world- Daddy, it was only once a week (for 6 weeks), and they were taking it with best buddy Jaxon and his dad. Perfect recipe, right? Not so much. Ten & Jax spent 6 weeks velcroed to their dads screaming bloody murder while the other kids happily blew bubbles and learned to float. The experience was so bad, that Jeff vowed he would “never ever under any circumstances do that ever again!!”

So last year I just threw the summer activity guide away without even mentioning it….but I spent allll year telling her, “ Next year, you will take swimming lessons all summer and you will learn to swim!”

It comes down to this: Ten doesn’t like getting her head & face wet. She loves the pool, or a bath or shower- but there’s always drama if you get her head/face wet , or say try to rinse her hair.
So today, the time came for me to make good on my promise/threat. We signed up last week, and at 6:30 we tried again. I reminded her to listen to her coaches and that they would keep her safe.

She got right in. Coach Meghan said “blow bubbles”- she blew bubbles. Coach Brit took everyone down the side of the pool to kick- she went down the wall and kicked.

Then Coach Meghan said “ Ok everybody! Now we’re going to float on our faces!” I took a deep breath- the kind Ten needed to. I braced myself internally- when the screaming began, I was going to be kind but firm: she was not going to be allowed to get out. She still looked calm. Corbin, Alice and Mailia took their turns. Coach Meghan held out her hands to Tenley….
…who without a second thought went right to her, took a big breath, plugged her nose, and face planted in the water. She came up giggling. WTF? Yep. Floated on her back, on her face, dove under to get a diving wand off the bottom step, and jumped in and dog paddled back to the steps 3 times.

She got out shivering and pronounced swimming lessons “fun”, and was overjoyed to learn that she got to do it again every day for the next 4 weeks.

We’ll see if she still feels that way at the end of the week…but here’s to success!!

...And we stumble coming out of the gate

Well it's summer. Tenley's last year of pre-school is officially over, and we've moved on to the more relaxed summer session at school- which we decided to only do 3 days a week of in the name of relaxation...and saving cash. So it's on to Kindergarten in just 9 short weeks (we still have no idea which school she's going to, but that's another blog post). Mostly, I think she's ready to be there...and then we have days like today...

One of the local gymnastics gyms is hosting 3 different weeks of summer camp: $200 for 5 days, 6 hrs. a day- it's an awesome deal. Plus, this gym has a foam pit which Ten loves, and her regular gym does not. I figured this was a prime way to a) get some extra "me" time, and b) allow Ten to experience a longer day on her own without 3 teachers looking after her- something she'll need next year in K. We got Ten all psyched for a whole week of all day gymnastics- and she's asked every week since registration if this was "gymnastics camp time". We made sure she understood that Mom & Dad would not be there- that she would be there after lunch and we would not be there until mid afternoon. She was good to go.

This morning, after we put on her shiny purple rhinestone encrusted leotard but before we left the house, I showed her that in her backpack there was: a washcloth for sweat, a hairbursh with extra hairbands, her Tinkerbell waterbottle, shorts & tank top & undies...just in case (although she hasn't had an accident at school since Oct). I reminded her that she was taking her purple insulated lunch bag with salami, cheese, carrots, strawberries & a juice box in the main compartment, and 1/2 a PB&J and a granola bar in the front pocket. I reminded her that she needed to remember to go potty, tell her coach that she needed to go, and to remember to grab a handfull of TP before she climbed up on the potty, because she wouldn't be able to reach it once she was up there.

We got there, and I was relieved to see that there were at least a couple other 4 year olds in this session too. We put her lunch in the fridge. I showed her where the bathrooms were. I reminded her to put her shoes in her backpack. The coaches called class time, and my kid ran onto the floor without so much as a good-bye or a hug and kiss. I watched for about 5 min and then left.

Life was quiet and blissfull for the next 5.5 hours.

I returned to the gym right on time to find my kid on the trampoline in her tank top...and underwear. I was mortified. First, where the hell were her shorts?!? Second, an accident?? Are you kidding me?? ...and on the first day. The nice mom of the other 4 year old said "I think she just had an accdent...I tried to offer her a spare leotard, but she said no." I thanked her and explained that she had shorts, and I had no idea why they weren't on. Tenley couldn't explain that either, nor could she explain why she had waited so long to go potty, or why she hadn't put the yucky leotard in the provided ziplock. So Ten then turns to me and says, "Mommy, I know you made me a peanutbutter and jelly today, but it wasn't in my bag!" Oh sweet Jesus. The kid's brain is like a sieve. The nice mom, horrified for my child says "Oh did she not get to eat?! Does she want a snack??" I check the bag and discover that the main compartment is empty of all but a couple strawberry bits. "Tenley", I say "were you not paying attention this morning when I showed you where your sandwhich was??" as I show her again. Clearly missing the point, she looks at me earnestly and says "Can I eat it now??" The nice mom asks kindly "Oh, when did she turn 4?" I sigh- and completely embarrassed say "She's almost 5." I look at her fed and dry daughter and say hopefully "When does yours turn 5?" "Oh she just turned 4." Yep. I'm mortified. The nice lady introduces her daughters and niece and taking pity on me and my clueless child asks her 11 and 8 year olds of they'll keep an eye on Tenley and help her tomorrow.

:::sigh::: These are the moments when I wonder why, for a child as bright as Ten is, she can't hold a relevant thought in her head. I could when I was her age...but maybe that was where I benefitted from full time day care- I had always had to remember things and sort of fend for myself in a sea of other toddlers. I am rarely embarrassed by something Ten does, but I was today: I felt like we were one giant mess, the objects of shaken heads and clucked tounges, and that I had a neon sign on me that said "Clueless Unorganized Mother". I'm sure that's not really the case- I think it was just my vision through the waves of heat coming off my cheeks.

Oh well, 4 days to go, and we have nowhere to go but up.

Summer Evening Fun

Tenley decided she wanted to eat outside tonight so we grilled up some chicken, shrimp and corn and sat under the gazebo to eat. Unfortunately, between the time we decided to do this and the grilling was done, the wind kicked up and it actually got quite chilly. This was an eat fast before it gets cold meal. Tenley enjoyed herself immensely. I'm sure this won't be the last time we do this during the summer.

Tenley At Playschool

Here is Tenley swinging her little head off at preschool. This is by far her favorite activity!

Russian Tenley

Tenley found my Russian hat this morning and ran around the house giggling like crazy.

Water Fun

A couple of weekends ago Tenley and I were working in what we loosely call a front yard. She got the hose and the hilarity ensued. Michelle snapped a few pics of Tenley studying the physics of water.

Pie Making

Last Saturday, Tenley awoke with a frightful start from her nap. She was not totally awake but was screaming bloody murder. I was trying to comfort her while we were on the couch and she just kept sobbing. Suddenly, without any warning, she stopped crying, looked at me wide-eyed with a big grin and said "Daddy, can we make a pie?"

I was speechless. Less than a second ago she was a sobbing, snotty mess and now she wanted bake? And she wanted to bake something I had never, ever done before? I said sure! A quick trip to the store for some ingredients and we were making a mess in the kitchen. The pictures below show the very short story of the very long pie making process.

I love her crossed eyes in the this picture. She does this on purpose every now and then for pictures because she thinks she is being cute.

So this is the finished Mixed Berry-Double Crust pie from scratch. It was actually pretty tasty. Next up for the Tenley baking school will be a scratch white cake.

Things I Like...

(Tenley pretending to be asleep on the couch at Target)

Things that I like about Tenley are...

Her amazement at Helicopters and airplanes. She is so excited any time she sees them.

Her ability to crack herself up over nothing.

When she says her lovey kept her up talking all night.

When she says to me "Calm down, she's only a puppy."

Her fabulous hugs.

The funny faces she makes.

The way that she knows and says out loud that people who litter are pigs.

When she puts bubbles on her chin like a beard and says she is Col. Sanders.

And most of all...

When I come home from work and she is smiling and waving at me from the front window.

Newest Family Member

This is (Insert Name Here). Tenley says it will be Cinnamon. We are not sure yet, and are open to suggestions. She is the newest member of the family. All we needed was cat food. We ended up with another dog. For those of you keeping score, it is now 3 cats, 2 dogs, a 4-yr old and us. I believe I have gone completely insane. If I haven't then the menagerie here will drive me to the nut house soon enough I'm sure.