Mid Week Revelation: Rivaling a bullhorn?

I never realized how much my son babbles and attempts communication when his sister isn't around to overshadow him... However, it's a shame this was discovered at 3:00 am, when the house was quiet and his volume was rivaling a bullhorn.

Summer fun: The simple things

My small little 10x30 pool sits nestled snuggly on our patio, between our house and our grass hill. The walkway between is big enough for an adult to walk sideways, forget it when my daughter dashes out the door to greet guests –you then have to bust out your fancy footwork.

This little pool, nothing glamorous, has been our outdoor oasis for over a month now. A simple little pool that is big enough for her to learn to swim and for my son to walk around pretending he’s a boat.

On hot summer days, the outside is scorching from high noon’s sun rays cascading down, but the pool is shaded by a covering maple tree –keeping both kids safe from direct sun contact. I sit under my umbrella, eyes watchful, as my two kiddos play and laugh the day away –Their favorite nursery rhyme CD is looping on repeat in the background. I hear the occasional, “mommy! Look, I can swim from side to side without stopping!” Or, my son making motor sounds as he maneuvers himself through the waves his sister has created.

Something about warmth and water makes days better.

The bigger things don’t seem to matter as much.

Cooking isn’t fancy.

Clothing is simple.

Dollar store accessories are like a million bucks.

Food tastes much better, when consumed from a floating raft.

These summer days are memories being made.

Children are wonderful in the fact that they don’t realize this pool only cost me $40. I’m not sure they would even care if they knew.  All they know is, they look forward to running out the door and being hoisted into the water, with arm swimmies and bathing suits donned, and beating the summer heat.

This little, simple pool has made their day better.

It truly is the simple things in life that makes it all complete. 

Mid Week Revelation: Tantrums... Oh my!

I guess you are in the height of the temper tantrum phase when your 18 month old son is watching Rachel Coleman's Signing time and freaks out because he wants to either play with the kids on the show, or take their ball! I must say, this stage is awesome.

They're more than family, they're siblings

Months have been clicking away faster than any second hand I have ever witnessed. One minute, it seemed like the arguing and disconnect between my daughter and son would never end. But as time continues to flow and stages pass, their disconnect is forming into a connection. Their love is growing and their friendship is forming. 

They’re more than family, they’re siblings.

The silence in my house is almost deafening. If I see my daughter go into her bedroom, then my son, and seconds later I don’t hear yelling, I almost fall off my chair running into the room questioning what is going on. It doesn’t seem normal to walk in and see them playing or reading on the floor, either together or separately.

My daughter no longer spends her time shushing him, or telling me to get him out. She now seeks him out to play with him, to dote on him, and educate him.

He’s finally on her level. He’s a person, a playmate.

They ride their big wheels on top speed around my house.

They play Sheriff Callie, riding on horses.

They play animals and crawl around on the floor.

They still have their screaming matches –to see who can do it louder, while giggling in hysterics.

They also parallel play in each other’s bedrooms. Or sometimes, they play with his cars together on the road carpet.

These two are putting their imaginations together and play has advanced. It’s becoming more drawn out and palpable.

The best part of this whole turn-around is that my son, who has always worshipped the ground my daughter has walked on, is finally able to be a part of her day. He gets to engage in the imagination, instead of watching from the outside, being told he’s too little.

Instead of having breakfast at the kitchen table, I put it on their own table in the playroom (which is an extension of the kitchen). They eat their breakfast together, while giggling and playing table games. The other day, they both carried their breakfast into her room and sat on her bed eating, while watching Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

He didn’t look like a toddler, he looked like another 3 year old alongside with her.

He doesn’t speak very much. He says only a few words, not even words that help him communicate effectively. But somehow, these two communicate perfectly. He knows when to mimic, when to follow, or when not to follow her.

They spend a lot of time cuddling on the floor, watching their favorite cartoons.

They love to explore and go on adventures together.

She is his big sister and is living the part. She takes care of him and makes sure he is safe at all times.

She loves to sing lullaby songs to him when he becomes frustrated.

She loves to bring him his stuffed doggy and green Sherpa blanket when he’s tired.

She is incredibly loving to him, as he is to her.

They have a bond that is more than family –They’re siblings.

I’m not sure what has changed, or if this is just another stage that will quickly become a fad. But right now, in this moment, my heart is smiling. My heart is filled with love. I have never loved as much as I love my two children, and to have them playing in separate corners most of the day is overwhelming and heartbreaking. These new actions are all I could ever hope for among my two children. I realize their relationship will never be perfect and some days will be better than others. But this step is a great foundation to start with. From now on, when they argue, I don’t have to worry about their underlying feelings being negative, because they’re not. Instead, I’ll just chalk it up to a bad day.

Mid Week Revelation: Oil and vinegar

It appears, in my situation, approaching 4 years old is beginning the oil and vinegar stage with a girl. I guess this is the early phase where mom says, the sky is blue and she replies, it's a shade of turquoise. This shall be fun.

July 4th

My family enjoyed this celebratory holiday with my close friends and their families, poolside. Our weather was a crisp 69 degrees, but the pool was kicking 90. Adults sat around and watched their kids splash. I, myself, went swimming –like an overgrown child. My daughter, who is 90% fish, now only swims with her arm swimmies on and is in the early stages of going under water. She was thrilled to play with the older kids who very thoughtfully included her with all their games. My son, who is mommy’s new appendage, loved the warm water and desperately wanted to swim like the big kids.

After swimming, we gathered around the fire to warm up and chat about the day.

Dressed in sweats and sweaters, we watched the fireworks from the master suite’s balcony. My daughter, all hyped up on pretzels and chips, finally stood still long enough to enjoy them –noise muffling headphones on of course. My son grasped tightly onto my arm, while resting comfortably on my hip –occasionally uncovering his face long enough to point out the different colors displaying.

Looking around at my close friends and newly met friends, I smiled –knowing this is what summer holidays are made for…

Cookouts

Fires

Poolside

Great conversations

Lots of laughter

Friends –old and new

Family

And memories.

As long as you have people around who care for you, you hit the lottery. I do not have a big extended family (on my side, my husband has a lot), so my close friends and their families are my extended family. Being with them and having our children grow up together makes my heart happy. And spending holidays with all of us together made the celebration of freedom even more special.

Mid Week Revelation: Duct tape anyone?

This week, I've learned that duct tape actually doesn't fix everything... Especially when a blow-up, 30 inch pool begins to tear at its seams -I swear I heard the pool laughing at the duct tape, or maybe that was just me and my neighbor as we stood there, still holding onto the torn edges of the pool, soaked up to our waists, as all the water flooded out.