Swimming

We've been spending a lot of time at the pool. We go to our grandparents pool- which it's really nice- and spend a few hours every time we go.

Lately, I've been trying to spend some of that time as teaching time. I practice with both of the boys the basics of swimming, such as learning how to float, hold onto the side of the pool, hold your breath, blow bubbles, and going under water. The funny thing of all this, it's that they do all that stuff while they are taking a bath. I get nervous when they go under water because you never know, however, I've slowly letting go of that fear and let them submerge more, and it's paid off.

Yesterday, on our way to the pool I told them we were gonna start swimming without their life jackets on - a pool lifeguard once told us that it was better for kids to use these because the kids get use to use all their extremities and there is nothing interfering their movements like regular floaties, but everyone has their preference and I chose to believe him and have been using them without a problem-. So, while we were at the pool they really didn't use them. We swam pretty much the whole time with breaks in between. 

David napped for a good while, giving me the chance to practice with Anthony. And I have to say that he is doing great! He goes under water and is able to move forward all by himself. He, of course, doesn't stay under long, but the time he does it's very productive. We both get under water and come back out and we do it again and again. Break. Then some jumping off the side of the pool, head in the water, come back out and rest. We had a really good routine yesterday. I have to be super cautious because he already thinks he can "swim" and there were a couple of times he would get under without me knowing or seeing him, and of course we had a little talk about "you have to tell me before getting in the water, and preferably, wait on me to be IN the water so I can help you out", "stay on the steps, don't swim toward the middle because it's more difficult to hold on to the side" etc etc. He was so exited though, and so was I.

And with little David, well, our "baby" is pretty much fearless when it comes to jumping in the pool. He jumps in with a big grin, head under, and comes back out with a bigger grin. It makes me giggle. He is also doing very good. Blowing bubbles, submerging, holding his breath etc. All this takes a lot of practice, patience, consistency and time. I'm not expecting them to be swimming by tomorrow, but I will definitely help out as much as I can. It is an exiting stage, no doubt about that.

Splash park

One of our things to do this summer is to go to the splash park more often. It's always some good free fun, and this time was quite special because we went with Anthony's "girlfriend", yep, the kid has a girlfriend :) So, once talking to her mom, she said that her daughter had been asking about him and had been missing him, so we decided to get together.

pieces of our week

We had a fun week. Cousins from California were in town and we spent as much time as we could at the pool. Our kids get along so well, that it makes it easier for the mamas and papas. In the last post you probably saw a video of them jumping on the bed, here they are again.

It was my birthday. I received many calls, texts and messages. My mom, brother and nephew came out of town and that made it extra special; probably the best birthday present.

We've been spending a lot of time at the pool. I'm trying to take them as much as possible so we can practice some swimming basics.

My car was super dirty after going to the river for a midnight summer solstice celebration, that on Sunday they boys and I decided to skip the car wash and do it all together. David fell asleep so it ended up being just Anthony and I. Also, Joe helped plant my roses into the ground. I tried to do it, but that was more difficult than I thought it would be. The ground was super dry and there was some crazy root system underneath that it made it harder for me. 

I hope you have a good week! 

4 little monkeys jumping on the bed

We had visitors this week. 

What I see

Boat deck.
Weekly veggies
Playground floor
Grass flowers

Taken with Iphone

Summer List and Pipe cleaner bubble wands

This is our summer list. A collection of little and big things the boys would like to do this summer. The majority are the boys ideas, but I pitched in a little. 

I found this idea off of Pinterest. I had it in one of my boards so we attempted to make them on Saturday. They turned out pretty nice, and the bubbles were very big compared to some other bubble wands. The only thing though was, that I had a little difficulty making the right consistency for the soap, so sometimes we would have tons of big bubbles, and sometimes nothing would come out. I guess I have to work on the perfect bubble soap recipe :)

I really like this picture. You kinda see my reflection on the bubble that is about to come out.

Taking a picture of the bubbles while blowing the bubbles was a bit difficult but I really wanted to take a picture. And I like how it turned out. 

You should try it too. Super simple to make and very entertaining :)

Oh my Little D...

Here we are again with some skin issues. My little boy has developed some crazy case of Hives (urticaria) all over his body. Head to toe, side to side :( I took him to the doctor yesterday because I've never seen anything like that on him. I did however, got something similar right after I had Anthony. It was all over my belly, back, legs and arms. Horrible and uncomfortable, so I know exactly how my boy feels like. Kinda anyway, because his it's all over his body now, even the face.

I was told something trigger it. It could have been the last virus he had, or the really bad bug bite reaction he has a couple of days ago, it could have been anything!

Yesterday, while at the doctor, I almost cried because he didn't look good and I knew he was very uncomfortable. At one point before leaving we had to stay a few more minutes to check his oxygen, because he acted like he couldn't breath after they gave him some steroids. Taking about being scary!

Anyway, my little monkey has been puny this morning and has run low fever and has the chills. Other than that he is eating good and right now he's comfortable.

This morning a gave him an oatmeal bath. I grind some oatmeal oats and pour it in his water. He was not happy to be in the water but we made it through. He cried the whole time.

Hopefully, he gets better soon so we can go to the pool and swim again!

Crazy week

Last week, our nephew spent the week with us. It was a fun crazy week. I had laundry piled up waiting to be put up, bathrooms waiting to be cleaned, furniture getting covered with dust, floors accumulating more dirt, clutter and toys everywhere etc etc.
Yes, my house was not at it's best shape but it was definitely not a priority at the time. I did manage to clean out a little in the middle of the week but other than that that, nothing else.

We spent a lot of time outside playing and enjoying the fresh air, we spent time swimming in the pool and making new friends at VBS. The kids run like crazy through the sprinklers in the yard, rode bikes, watched movies, argued and hugged each other.

It was a fun crazy week that allowed them to interact and learn from each other. They got to spend the time they don't get because of the distance. It thought me to tolerate and appreciate the extra energy that almost-seven-year olds have and pass onto the little ones. They were jumping off the walls and run like wild Indians bringing smiles to my face. Their fights brought patience, understanding and love to my heart, as well as some long deep breaths. I learned that my kids will eventually eat and that their hunger strike will end one day. And when that day comes, my thing of waiting to go to the go grocery store once a month will be a thing of the past because no food I put on their plates would fill their little tanks.

It was all good.

We love our nephew and the boys love their cousin. What a sweet, kind and fun soul he is. My sister has done an amazing job. No doubt about that.

Random

My mother-in-law has the BEST flip flops in the world and now I do too. They are made out of the yoga mat material, they are super comfortable and one of my favorite things is that it doesn't leave that black footprint on them. They just adjust to your feet shape without leaving a mark. They are awesome! And if I receive $5 dollars for every time I brag about them, I would be a millionaire, but I don't.

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I don't think I've ever shared with you about these beautiful flowers that grow in our yard every year. They were already there when we moved in and I loved them. They are so pretty.

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David's buddy, Snoopy had a shower while David was sick. When I was gonna get him in the washer machine, David freaked out a little, but once I explained to him what was going on, he put him in the washer himself. He also helped me water the plants.

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These two are best friends for sure, and even though they fight and argue, they love each other very much. 

It's funny how sometimes they don't wanna go to bed for a nap. This is our conversation -mostly every day and with Anthony- about going for a nap. 


 (Please know that my part is in Spanish and his answer is in English)


Me: " Ok guys, it's time for nap "
A: " Oh noooooo!... I'm not tiiiireeeed... I'm not going to sleep momma!."
Me: " Yes, you are. It will help you feel better, more rested and grow stronger. Don't you wanna be like a super hero? Super heros take naps!"
A: " No they don't! They are too busy fighting bad guys!"
Me: Really trying to think of something to come up with because my 4 year old is beating me in our nap discussion.... " Why don't you just lie down for a little while, you don't even have to close your eyes, just rest. And go get Gaucher ( his teddy bear) and snuggle with him, he likes naps."
A: "mmmm... ok. BUT, I'm NOT CLOSING MY EYES! "
Me: " Ok, that's fine "




5 minutes later... 
(no, he is not sucking his thumb)

 While on the other bed, Mr. Nap lover looks like this. With Snoopy, of course.

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One thing I love about summer is that I can sun-dry our clothes, even though there are certain things that you shouldn't, such as Joe's work shirts and towels, because they get crunchy and hard. I think you could easily stand them still haha! But my favorite thing is that they dry super fast, I get a lot more done faster and we save on our power bill. 

The end