Just Another Day at the Beach

My friend Liza and I went to the "beach" with our kids today, ie. Tolmie State Park, on the south tip of the Puget Sound.  They looked so cute walking up the path in their rain coats and rain boots.

The tide was out when we got there, so there were sand bars to stand on in the middle of the water.

 My girls don't care if it's not sunny at the beach.  All they want to do is dig in the sand . . .

 and throw things into the water . . . 

and walk in the water.

All in all, a successful day at the beach before it started pouring rain, and we headed for home.

Success

Today I watched Amelia in her last dance class.  The first week Amelia was scared and cried and just wanted to be held.  The second week, Amelia didn't cry, but she just wanted to hide behind me, especially if someone looked at or talked to her.  On the third week, Amelia sat quietly and watched and even played with some of the wands/streamers/shakers.  I thought that was success.

Today I watched as Amelia ran into the classroom and excitedly showed the teacher the princess wand she had brought to class.  Amelia sat on the side and watched, looking like she wanted to participate, but didn't quite dare.  I almost started crying when I was afraid her fear of trying would keep her from doing what she loves to do.

But then about half way through the class, Amelia started dancing with the class.  I think even she was excited that she had done it, because she ran over to where I was sitting and gave me a hug, as if to say "I did it, Mom"!.

That is success!

Realization

Do you ever wonder where you get some or all of your character traits?

I'm a planner, and always have been.  I've never really thought of where I got this trait from, until recently, when I realized I got it from my Mom.  Which is kind of funny, because I never really thought of my mom as a planner - things just always got done. 

My mother is dying and has already planned her funeral and written her obituary.  She apologizes for not being able to plan the actual date of her funeral.  But she has asked all of her children to speak at her funeral.  So of course, I've started planning what I might say.  But I have come to the realization that I can't plan what I'm going to say . . . at least not now.  There are too many things to say . . . how do you narrow it down to just 5 minutes . . . and what do you say after 6 older siblings have spoken?  No, this may just be something that doesn't get planned. 

That's How it Goes

If Ken or I am singing a song and we don't quite get it right, Amelia will say, "no, this is how it goes" and then sings the song for us.  And when she gets done, she says, "that's how it goes, Daddy (Mommy)."

Today Sophia and I were singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Sophia says to me "this is how it goes" and then proceeds to sing part of the Itsy Bitsy Spider.  I love it.

Now, if only I could figure out where she got the phrase "no way, Mommy".

Sand in the City

The city of Olympia holds a Sand in the City event every year, but we haven't been to it yet . . . until this summer.  Ken volunteered to work at a booth that his job was hosting, so we decided to make it a family event.  I was a little paranoid about watching the girls by myself in a crowded fair while Ken was working in his booth, but I figured I could handle it for a few hours.  I needn't have worried.  There were a lot of people, but it was so well organized and so many fun things to do, that we ALL had a great time.  I did manage to pull the girls away from the sand box to do some fun, free crafts, but they loved playing in the sand.  And I figured, since it was there, they might as well enjoy it.  If you look behind the sand box and all of the kids, you can sort of see some of the professionally done sand sculptures.  Sorry there aren't any close-ups of those.

Amelia had fun filling and emptying the bucket, while Sophia made "sand pies" on the edge of the box.

Just Because

I figured a cute, positive post was in order after my not so happy ramblings.  So today I took this little video of the girls walking like a crab (sorry about the sideways view - I forget you can't rotate a video like you can pictures).

I also took these pictures of the girls throwing rocks.  Due to the chip sealing done a week or two ago, there are still lots of little, loose rocks that the girls like picking up.  They thought it was fun to pick them up near the driveway and throw them into the street.  

I thought I could do Hard Things

I've been trying to get Amelia interested in using the potty for what seems like an eternity.  I stepped up my efforts a few weeks ago, and hoped that we might have even a glimmer of success.  I figured if I could get her excited about it, that she'd be ready and willing to try it.

And yesterday I went cold-turkey on Amelia.  I had been telling her that when the diapers ran out, I wasn't going to buy any more and she'd get to start wearing underwear.  Yesterday we used the last diaper and the "Potty Princess" delivered a surprise - a crown for her to wear.

But after multiple messes and crying fits yesterday and today, I gave up.  Amelia doesn't even want to try to sit on the toilet and runs screaming and crying if I suggest it.  I decided I just don't have the mental/ physical/ emotional energy to deal with that right now.  

I put away all the potty stuff - the chair, the sticker charts, the treats, the crown and off to Costco we went for another box of diapers.  I felt a bit like a failure, but after eating some dark chocolate, I feel much better.  And if I could somehow get a nap today, I'd be all better :)