My Baby Fish!

This is all he wants to do at the pool now.

At swim lessons, Ms. Tara has been trying to teach him to "look at the sky" to breathe, but no luck... so he can only go short distances until he runs out of breath. ;)  By next summer though, he's going to be all over the pool! He should also be able to touch the bottom by then. :) So funny to watch such a tiny kid swim with no floaty! It makes me laugh!

Also? He was 35 months old on the 25th and I owe him a blog post. I just haven't had time to sit down and write it! This may end up serving as his month-day post. He swims a lot. He also asks "why" incessantly these days... takes it a dozen levels down.

"Why does that sign say caution?"
"Because the floor is wet"
"Why is the floor wet?"
"Because people walked on it with wet feet"
"Why did they have wet feet?"
"Because they were in the pool."
"Why were they in the pool?"
"Because it's hot outside."
"Why is it hot outside?"
"Because it's summer"
"Why is it summer?"
"Because our hemisphere of the earth is closer to the sun right now."

(I usually go with the ultra-scientific answer to end the questioning... in this case, he quit because he couldn't say "hemisphere" so he got distracted and went back to swimming. LOL!!)

Swim Team, Part II....

I took Ben to a tryout for a fall/winter swim team yesterday. I had heard a variety of things about this particular team/tryout -- everything from "Everyone makes it, they just want to make sure they can swim because it's NOT swimming lessons." from other parents at our pool  to "I've sent kids there who can swim two lengths freestyle easily and didn't make it." from our swim teacher.

When I first started looking into this, I emailed his swim coach at our pool club about it and he gave me some info and told me he'd be happy to help get Ben prepared. So I took him up on it yesterday while we were at the pool. He taught Ben how to do flipturns! I was astounded... never in a million years did I think B would attempt that this year. But he did and he practiced his little heart out while we were there. :)

Anyway, so the tryout was in the evening. I could tell Ben was nervous, but I tried not to really acknowledge it or play into it too much because that tends to get him worked up. We got there and there were a handful of other kids... they all got in together and the coach had them do each stroke up and back. Ben plowed through his first length of freestyle and looked awesome! He finished that though and STOPPED instead of turning around and going back... when I looked closely, I realized he was crying. Then he started shaking his head at me to say he couldn't do it.

I was kind of disappointed... I felt like the confidence he had spent 7 weeks building up was suddenly completely lost... and why? He claimed the water was too cold.  Gah.

I decided to let the coach deal with it and just avoided making eye contact because I thought I would just make it worse if I got involved. Eventually, he convinced Ben to go back and he was fine after that... he did his breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly... but at nowhere near the level I've seen him swim in recent days. Backstroke is one of his fastest and best strokes and at the tryout, he grabbed the lane line like five times. Sigh.

Ugh. The tiger mom in me wanted to jump up and say, "He swims WAY better than that!" But, I knew better that to do that... and what would be would be...

They finished up and Ben came running over. He was completely happy, much to my surprise. "What happened out there?" I asked?

"The water was too cold... but it was okay because I got used to it."

"So do you still want to do this?"

"Oh yeah! Why?!"

Uh. LOL.

I went up to talk to the coach because he was telling the parents what group their kids got put in and when the registration deadline was. Ben did not make the Jr. Marlins, which is the youngest/lowest group on the actual swim team. Instead, they put him on Mantas which seems to be like a "preteam" group, though I'm a little unclear on it. Interestingly, when I had read the descriptions of the different groups, I thought the Mantas fit his current skill/comfort level better, but it was for 7-8-year-olds, so I didn't think it was an option.

The Jr. Marlins description said they swim all four strokes, but not necessarily legally yet, which he can do... but he didn't really demonstrate that yesterday and he still needs some work on his stamina. I knew it would be a stretch for him. If he had swam his best, he could have made this group... but I had been a little worried about him keeping up.

For the Mantas group, they only need to be able to freestyle for 25m and will work on perfecting freestyle and backstroke and get introduced to butterfly an breaststroke... so he's a LITTLE ahead of that but really needs a lot of fine tuning on all the strokes.  The coach said he could move up during the season if he did well in the lower group.

The only thing I need to clarify is whether or not he can still swim in meets if he qualifies age and time-wise.  If not, I'm not sure we want to do it because I want him to get more meet experience. We'll have to look into the YMCA instead where they aren't quite as strict about who makes the team.

Otherwise, this is actually perfect. The Mantas group will be WAY less pressure and is really the best place to start for a kid with Ben's makeup...he'll swim with younger kids, which he did at practice all season this year and it seems to help a lot with his confidence... he'll be able to easily hold his own instead of feeling like the one who is trying to keep up... and he'll really get some good practice from the ground up to help him catch up for next summer. Their practices are way less intense too... only 30-45 minutes and only three days a week instead of four. (and they don't have to go to all of them)

He's still really into it! I reiterated that it's HIS decision but he's insistent he wants to do it... so that's awesome!

It's a big commitment.... but if he wants to do it, I'm willing to make it work. :)

Handstands...

Ben has been working on handstands in the pool lately... :)

A Relief... but Also... Reality.

Yesterday's meeting was great and wonderful. But, on the other side of the coin, it was a little surreal to have a whole group of people who are experts in speech and OT and special education who were able to VERY quickly conclude through reports that Jonathan is not typical and that there are legitimate concerns.

I guess it just made it a little more "real", as did having to choose whether to continue with I&T or start him on an IEP. It was not really a decision we needed to think about. Never considered IEP an option because we are happy with what we have right now; but the very fact that I could GET him a IEP is kind of surreal. (Ben couldn't get one even with diagnosed ADHD and obvious educational impact....  best we could get was a 504 Plan)

Now, on a positive note, one of them summarized the situation as "So we have a child here who is basically really bright and kind of quirky."

He has skills that are well above his age level that they acknowledged and discussed. I haven't talked about this here at all because it's one of those things I haven't quite wrapped my head around yet, but he can read... It started little by little with a couple words here and there when he first started talking around his second birthday and just sort of blew up over the last several months. I can't explain how, but he reads signs and labels everywhere we go... animals, colors, simple books... words I don't even know he knows he pulls out of nowhere. Anything and everything.  The other day he read "Next Register Please" at the Rite Aid and explained to me that it meant that register was closed and we had to use the one next to it." (!)  He recently picked up the word "Caution" and sees it everywhere now. He dragged me into the part of our pool that is under an awning the other day because he saw a sign that said "Caution" and he wanted to know why it said that. (it was because the floor was wet)

I realize it's part of the bigger issue and is just one of those weird things about how his little brain processes things, but as I keep telling Cindy, "This? Makes up for the hard stuff."  The reading thing is probably a whole post in itself.  It's really, REALLY fascinating.

On the other hand, I had one of those "punched in the stomach" moments yesterday when Cindy and the OT came for their regular visit after the meeting.  Joanne (OT) was playing with Jonathan on the floor and I took the opportunity to ask Cindy some questions. I mentioned how when I do workboxes with him (basically self-contained play activities with a goal) it's nearly impossible to get him to deviate from whatever way I played the very first time he was introduced to the workbox. For example, we have one that is a Lego book with a car and airplane you are supposed to build. The first time we played with it, we built the cars and read the story and then I expanded the game to say we were driving and flying to Disney World. Now every single time we play, we HAVE to go to Disney World or he gets upset.  If Ben or Simon enter the game and try to change it up, he gets REALLY upset. (this is one of my big concerns about school!)

Cindy explained that it's because he memorizes "play scenarios" and can't really create new ones himself.   (This is why when he plays, he looks so "typical"... over the last year and a half she has taught him to play functionally and learning from what she has done, so have I) To get him to change the game at all, I have to force it... change up the location where we play first... then give him choices about how to play... there's a whole strategy to it.  But still, it's ME doing all the changing.

I asked, "Will he ever learn to do it on his own?"

She paused for a minute and then shook her head.... "He may not..."

So that... that's for real.

I know when people look at him, most just see a typical almost three-year-old. And in many ways he is. I have high hopes for a good school year coming up. But also worries that things will blow up in my face.

I sent the other two kids to preschool with very little concern and virtually no issues. (yes, they both had separation issues here and there and Simon had to learn to manage his temper... but for the most part, neither caused problems or needed extra attention)  I worry this may be the one the teachers can't handle... or who is always in trouble... or who the other kids constantly tattle on because his hands and feet are in their space, or he hits or kicks or reacts poorly to them.  Will he run away on the playground? Will he run from the classroom? Will he throw a fit when he can't play the way he wants to or when they make him do something he doesn't want to do?

It's all a big mystery until school starts.  No one can tell me how this is going to go. Not the psychologist. Not Cindy. No one. We just have to wait and see.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried.

I guess in the end, I'd consider it a success if all the teachers saw was a kid who is "Bright and quirky". and if they can easily handle the challenging things about J. Here's hoping I'm worrying for nothing....

Magic Word = Eligible!!!

So, we had Jonathan's eligibility meeting this morning to determine if he could still receive county services. Things were VERY up in the air as to how it would go.... thought our Kennedy Krieger report would seal the deal, but even that didn't make it a sure thing, as it turns out.

My stomach was all in knots on the way there and while we waited.

I'm not new to team meetings. We've had two or three of them for Ben. I don't think I'll ever get used to them... all serious official business and whatnot. I don't really so much do "official" and "serious business" very well. I can turn on the serious when I need to, but I'm lighthearted by nature and I think there's humor to be found pretty much everywhere. (For instance, at one point they asked, in response to a concern about him falling a lot, "Well, is his head.... very... large? I laughed. They didn't.  C'mon... that's a little funny!?) It's not that I don't take it seriously because, believe me, I do. Very much so. I just like to break up the serious with a little laughter here and there.

Anyway, so these team-people types do not tend to find me amusing. Never stops me from trying.  I just can't help it.

As usual. It was a tough crowd. Oh well.

I had been well-prepped over the last few months as to what to focus on, what to say and how to say it and I was armed with two pages of notes about concerns and issues to bring up if need be.  I had underlined the ones that specifically pertained to my biggest concern -- school,  so in case I got flustered I wouldn't be completely lost.

I didn't even have to bring them out. We were not even 15 minutes in when the guy sitting across the table from me (SLP? Psychologist? Not even sure because, truth be told, I don't always listen very well)  said the words, "Well, he'll be eligible just based on his pragmatic speech."  Don't even remember much of what was said after that because I was too busy trying to decide if I had heard him right and if it meant what I thought it did.  Right then, Cindy, who was sitting next to me, hit me under the table and I saw her smile out of the corner of my eye. I knew we were in!

It seemed to be heading in the right direction, so I didn't dare open my mouth for fear I'd say something stupid and ruin it.  After some more talking amongst themselves with very little (any?) real input from Tom and me, they ended up quickly determining that that he was eligible based on Atypical Developmental Delay.

Done and done. Sign here. Initial there. Sign here. Thanks for coming!

I put on my best "I'm a grownup!" face and walked out quietly with Tom, all the while in my head, I was hugging everyone and jumping up and down like I'd just been called to "Come on down!!!!" from the Price is Right audience.  I'll stop and let you picture that for a moment. Yeah... it's probably a good thing that only went on in my head.

Huge, enormous, two-ton weight lifted. Amazingly relieved.

So now, we can continue our services that we are currently getting --  PLUS Cindy, the psychologist, the OT, and even the SLP can go work with him/observe him at school or at home on an as needed basis. There is all kinds of flexibility as to the who, when, and where of it all.  It's perfect.  I don't have any doubt that sticking with Infants and Toddlers and the IFSP was a better option for us than moving to ChildFind and IEP.  It's what works best for us, at least for now.

I am beyond thrilled, surprised, and thankful and I feel like we hit the jackpot.

We got everything we wanted and then some. Now we have the perfect safety net/supports in place for school, which has been at the top of my worries these days. Plus, can't deny I'm ecstatic that we get to keep our beloved Ms. Cindy for at least another year! :)

She says I owe her a coffee now.  LOL! More than happy to pay up. ;) I wish I could give her a million dollars after all she's done for Jonathan over the last 18 months.

It's a great, happy ending to months of uncertainty and worry about my little guy. He's going to be okay and he's going to get everything he needs. All is well........

Sigh of relief. :)

Swim Banquet.....

Last night was the big swim banquet/awards dinner to celebrate the end of the season. We'd obviously never been before but had heard it was a ton of fun. And it was!  I just wish I had known that seating would be at such a premium... but apparently, even the veterans were caught off guard by the hoards of people and their guests who showed up at 4:00 and saved all the good tables.  (it technically started at 4:30 with a cocktail hour, but most people I had talked to planned to wander in around 5:15)

We ended up in the very back corner by the emergency exit.... if it had been a wedding reception, it definitely would have been the "leftovers" table.  I didn't feel too badly about it because we were in good company... even some of the veterans of several years were back there with us, along with one of the team's most dedicated parent volunteers. I thought it was REALLY not right that they didn't save her a table somewhere near the front. But whatever.

Most of you know me well enough to know that next year? I'll be there at 4:00, table-saving accoutrements in hand. Don't mess with someone who doesn't mind being early and waiting around for awhile. I have a near-perfect "A" boarding card streak on Southwest Airlines, have secured front row at the preschool Christmas pageant since 2005, and was the first parent in line at parent-pickup for almost all 180 days of the last two consecutive school years. So those other people? They are going to have to up their game next year if they want those good tables. ;) I'm a professional early-bird.

Anyway, so it was fun. The coach gave each child their team trophy and said something personal about each one. They were all funny and touching. He really seems to enjoy coaching them and getting to know the kids.

Ben was giddy after he got his trophy. Also in the little bag they gave each kid was a team photo, a t-shirt and any ribbons they hadn't gotten for whatever reason. Ben had a third-place ribbon in his bag! So that made him even MORE excited.

Oh and when he went up to get his trophy, they asked him to do his move. He happily obliged.

I hadn't realized they were giving out other special awards -- one for Most Improved Swimmer (a boy and a girl) and one for "Screamingist Eagle". Once I found out there was one for most improved it dawned on me that maybe I should get back and and go stand where I could see and take pictures, just in case. I started my camera rolling... the coach started talking about a swimmer who had an interesting start to the season... how at the second practice, he had to pick him up and put him in the water. At this point, I thought this was PROBABLY Ben, but there were a couple other kids who had to be picked up and put in too and who cried, so I wasn't totally sure... then, as he kept talking, I KNEW it was Ben.
The little speech was so funny and cute. Ben ran up to get his award and I have never EVER seen that kid as excited as he was after that. NEVER. Not for ANYTHING.

It was pretty exciting to watch and really, REALLY awesome. :)

On the way out, I stopped and quietly thanked the coach, because, whether he realizes it or not, he  basically signed, sealed and delivered Ben's passion for swimming right there. As we walked out the door, Simon asked, "Will Ben still be doing swim team when I start doing it?" (he wants to swim next year now)

Ben's answer?

"I'm going to do swim team until I'm like, 20!! And next year I'm going to be AWESOME!"

Port Discovery...

In our continued effort to keep the boys on the go and thus, from being bored and destructive and/or causing their brains to leak out of their ears with too many hours of video games, we headed out to the children's museum yesterday bright and early.

Once again, we told them we were going to Home Depot. As a friend of mine said, one day, we really WILL be going to Home Depot and they are going to be SUPER disappointed. And I will laugh... because I'm horrible. LOL.

Port Discovery has a really neat Wizard of Oz exhibit right now. There's a cool voice changer that lets you pretend you are the Wizard. The boys took turns saying, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!!"  I never got good video, but trust me, it was funny. Except when Jonathan put his mouth right on the microphone. Gag. Just waiting for whatever godawful virus was hanging out on that thing to hit now.

Here's Ben riding Dorothy's bike. :)

 And Simon changing the horses all different colors of the rainbow....

This was a mirror that made you look like a munchkin.  When I did it, I looked almost exactly like Amy Roloff from Little People, Big World. It was scary weird....  here's Munchkin Ben. 

This is Simon pumping gas at their awesome Royal Farms exhibit. Jonathan loved this one too. Completely realistic gas station setup... ATM machine and convenience store. It was WAY cool! :)

Jonathan and I checked out Tiny's Diner while the big boys and Tom did the Mystery House. Mystery House was their favorite and they did it twice! (you have to choose a character go through the house looking for clues about who they are and what they did... they really got into it!) J had a blast in the diner until an entire birthday party worth of four-year-old little girls came in and starting stealing the stuff he was playing with. I was afraid he was eventually just going to lose it and take them down, so we bailed and went back to find the boys.

On to the water exhibit. It REEKED of mildew in here, but they really did love it.  Here's Jonathan in a giant bubble!  

Washing windows.... 

Hanging 10.... 

Building Lego ships to see if they float. One of Simon's favorite activities at home too! LOL!

Did some more exhibits and then headed out for some lunch... 

Ben and Simon posed for a picture at the fountain outside of the museum. Jonathan wanted no part of this. 

Simon all alone. Ben had jumped up to chase a pigeon.  :) Let it never be said that I did not take pictures of my kids by themselves!!

Because I am deadly serious about keeping these kids on the move this summer, we headed to the pool after a marathon nap from Jonathan. We swam for 2-1/2 hours straight and had dinner and snowballs. We almost had the entire pool to ourselves! Not sure what the rest of the people have against evening swims, but I'll take it! Ben raced Tom and me a  few times, Simon, as usual spent 90% of the time underwater and Jonathan just paddled around happy as a clam. 

Here are the big boys taking Jonathan to get a snowball. They were SO tickled to get to take him somewhere by themselves. 

Here they are with their snowballs...   Jonathan chose cherry and had to be dunked in the pool after because he looked like he'd just slaughtered an animal or something. 

Rootbeer for Simon!

Spearmint for Ben!

A little more swimming and then headed home and they all crashed. Wait, no that's a lie... Jonathan actually didn't go to sleep until 9:45 (!) and the big boys stayed up until well after 10 playing Minecraft nicely together in Simon's room.  I love these days... wish they could last forever!! 

Ribbons!

Swim team had their last Fun Friday yesterday. The last one (which is the only one we tried to go to before this) was rained out. The boys have their weekly swim lesson on Fridays through the end of the summer and it has conflicted with Friday swim team, so we had just been blowing it off. Ben hadn't been swimming in the meets prior to that and Friday is the day they talk about the meets and give out the ribbons.

Anyway, I moved heaven and earth to make sure we could go to this one because I thought there was a chance Ben was getting a couple ribbons for winning his heats. I wasn't ENTIRELY sure about this, because I kept hearing conflicting information about who in the over 8 group gets ribbons... I think it's normally only 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place... but someone else told me they got heat ribbons too? So I prepped him for both scenarios. Unfortunately, he latched onto the one that said he WOULD get a ribbon even though I kept saying, "Ben, I really don't know for sure..." I was beginning to feel this could not possibly end well...

Soooooo we went. Unfortunately, we had to leave for swim lessons before they gave out the ribbons. Ben was SO bummed. He took it well though. I told him we'd go back right after lessons to swim for a bit and see what the deal was.

When we got back 45 minutes later, he ran into the coach's office and asked about them. The coach told him, "In a little while."  We swam for an hour or so and Ben asked me about it again. I told him he had to go ask the coach himself. I looked around to do my usual pool head count a little while later and he was nowhere to be found. I figured he went to the bathroom, but a few minutes after that, he came running out of the coach's office with a fistful of ribbons and a HUGE grin on his face.

I think we got SUPER lucky. I don't think on a regular Friday he actually would have gotten any awards, despite two heat wins. Apparently though, they made sure EVERY kid got at least one ribbon since this was the last Fun Friday. God bless them for that! If he ever ends up going to college on a swimming scholarship, I will give these people the credit for TOTALLY sealing the deal on his love-affair with swimming by giving him his first-ever ribbons. LOL.

These are all fourth place and while two of them are, I think, legit (backstroke and freestyle... I do know he was 4th out of 6 total swimmers in those events), I'm thinking the one for his butterfly can't possibly be for real. He never swam that without DQing.

But... he's THRILLED with these and they have absolutely fueled the desire to keep this up.  They don't bug me like participation trophies do either because this kid truly DESERVED some recognition. He worked his tail off the last six weeks, and although he never really won an official heat, he accomplished some pretty amazing feats, considering where he began! He gets another award of some kind on Sunday at the swim banquet, I think; and he's psyched about that too.

Currently, the ribbons are hanging on his bedroom door handle, though I have found them hanging about a dozen other places since yesterday... that is, when he is not carrying them around looking at them. :)

A child who has found self-motivation and something he loves is a really cool and wonderful thing. :) So SO proud of him!

Last Meet of the Season....

"I don't think I can swim tonight." said Ben immediately upon waking yesterday morning.

This is his pattern. He swims, he does great, gets a huge confidence boost, rides the high for awhile... then....

...he thinks too much.

I know it well, actually. I get the same feeling right after I fly. I'm have a terrible fear of flying and it's a monumental deal for me to even walk onto an airplane. Though I make myself do it for my family and because I fear highways slightly more, if it were up to me, I'd probably never fly again. Once I do it though, I feel like I've just climbed Mount Everest and I'm ready to fly anywhere! (This is when I've been known to talk 90-miles an hour non-stop to Tom about planning longer trips, like to the UK or the west coast.)

Then some time passes and I start remembering that feeling of anxious anticipation and THAT'S what I start to fear... not so much the actual flying itself. 

Anyway, I think that's what Ben deals with a little. He remembers the feeling of being nervous while he's waiting right before he swims and it starts to get the better of him. 

Kudos to him though, he gets a hold of himself quickly and keeps it together. It's almost like just saying he doesn't think he can do it and then hearing me remind him he just needs to try is enough to get him over the hump.

So we did our little routine yesterday. "I can't do it." "Yes you can." "Okay, I probably can." (really? was it that easy?) Then we headed off to the meet. 

I had emailed the coach Monday to let him know to please not put Ben in butterfly because it's always the last set of events and I wasn't sure how long we'd be able to stay since Tom couldn't make it and I had the little boys with me. The meets run past Jonathan's bedtime, so Tom usually takes them home by 8 at the latest. 

Maybe that part of my email got overlooked... because Ben came back after warmups with a "50" on his hand. Butterfly. Again. He was also put in freestyle, which he wasn't thrilled about because it's two lengths. This is where the evening could have taken a difficult turn. I've been all about making sure this experience is ALL in his control though and totally low-pressure, so I just reminded him that first of all he COULD swim two lengths, and second of all, his goal should be to just push himself a little further than the last time. Who cares if he was disqualified? If he went further, it was a win for HIM. And that's what mattered.  (Gosh, I sound like such a grown-up!) ;)

He continues to surprise me because he listened and understood and was actually GOOD with all that; and off he went to hang with his team friends.  I think he actually replied with, "Yeah. Okay. I can do that!" The maturity that has come just in the last seven weeks or so is astounding. Swim team was like maturity boot camp or something...

The little boys played in the kiddie pool, we got dinner, Jonathan hit Simon over the head about 57 times with various pool toys and got put in time-out a corresponding number of times. (Side note: Time-out does not phase this child. He's enamored with timers and I swear I think he purposely does things just so I'll put him in time-out and set a timer. Oy.) At any rate, we were, I'm sure entertainment for those around us. Thankfully, the boys don't really bother anyone else, just each other... it's not like Jonathan wanders around walloping other random children on the head with pool toys so I guess that's something to be thankful for?

At one point, one of the boys who belongs to the mom who has nine children and never sweats  splashed Jonathan in face a couple times and she came running into the pool to make him stop and apologize. I glanced up briefly from my Facebook conversation to see her mouthing "I'm so sorry!" in my direction. I was all,  "Are you kidding me? Have you seen what that one has been doing to his brother all night? ALL good!" (though I do appreciate and commend her level of attention to what her kids are doing... it's a rare and glorious thing at the pool)

Ben's first event came up quickly and we walked over to cheer. Jonathan was so funny. He sat on the side with his little lemon peppermint stick and yelled "Go Ben! Go Ben!" even after the race was over. Ben was in the second heat, up against two teammates, and he won and I don't think he DQ'ed. He was ECSTATIC. "That was so AWESOME!! Now I'm excited about butterfly!!" were his first words when he got over to us.

Here's Ben's signature move when they call his name. Cracks me up every single time. 

On your marks.... 

Swimming freestyle... 

Thankfully, last night's opposing team was small like ours so the events went by quickly. By 7:40 or so it was time for Ben's butterfly. For whatever reason, he wasn't on the side of the pool when they called his name. He came running under the rope at the last second and... there it is again.

Butterfly was not so pretty. He got tired again. Grabbed the lane line, started with the T-rex little arms "I've got small arms!!!" that don't make him go very far. Finished though! And he still says butterfly is his favorite! Weirdo. ;)

Before he swam, I had sent him to go tell his coach he couldn't stay for relays because a) Ben didn't want to do them and b) it was REALLY getting late for us and I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep things together with the little ones.  Ben did this and came back to report that the coach said he HAD to be in the relays.

Uh.

Uh?

Um.

K.

So right after butterfly, they called all the kids for relay and Ben started to freak. Tears welled up in his eyes. I had to nip it in the bud because this. was. happening.

"Buddy. Coach Doug says you have to to relays tonight. You'll be fine. I think he put you in it because your team needs you." A friend standing nearby said this too and also told Ben it was only one length of freestyle he had to swim. He was okay after that and ran off with the team.

He ended up doing great! I don't really understand how the relays work score-wise, but there were four lanes of kids swimming from his team and his lane finished second. So I think that's good? Again, I really have no idea. He enjoyed it though and we got over another huge hurdle. (he had been too nervous to try relays since the he started doing the meets) Ended the night and season on a great note (even though the team lost) and he's super excited for Fun Friday and the awards banquet on Sunday.

And ... I survived the night flying solo! I didn't swim, but I still think I deserve a medal or a ribbon or something, frankly... ;)

Mom-Fail #1,456.....

Yesterday we headed over to the pool for morning swim practice for Ben and I had planned on staying until naptime, which we just about did, despite Jonathan being an 8 out of 10 on the high-maintenance scale for the first hour.

You see, I made a rookie mistake that almost ruined everything. I had taken them to hit Rite Aid's pool toy clearance aisle before we went. We've been having a water gun shortage issue and Jonathan and Simon are CONSTANTLY fighting. It's really not fair to either of them, and at this point in the season, it was going to cost me like $2 to remedy the situation.

In fact, they were all so cheap, I let all three kids pick a new one. Here's where I made the fatal error. I did not insist they all buy the same one.

All you moms are saying, "Oohhhhhhhh...." right now, aren't you? You all know exactly how this played out.

So Ben and Jonathan chose identical guns with the tank and the pump. Simon chose these little $.50 ones so he could have one in each hand. Everyone was thrilled with their choices. That is, until we got to the pool.

"I want to have two guns in my hands like Simon!" whined Jonathan.

I pointed to the gun he had chosen. "This one shoots REALLY far though! Watch!"

He was unimpressed. "I want a turn with THOSE!" he said as he pointed to Simon's.

Meanwhile, Simon was happily floating around, half obscured under the water pretending to be some kind of aquatic ninja assassin.

"Well you chose this one. You can play with this one until maybe Simon is ready to trade for awhile."

At some point, Simon must have resurfaced.

"I am NOT trading!"

I didn't even get to respond before Jonathan threw himself onto the hot cement, wailing at the top of his lungs and probably baking his face.

"Well, just maybe in a little while you could let him try them for like five minutes? And you can try his?"

"NO!"

Jonathan continued his dramatic sidewalk performance.

Sigh.

Simon went over to the kiddie pool, I guess in attempt to make us all forget he and his two water guns were there.  Jonathan got up and followed him, wailing the whole way.

It figures that this was a day the mom with the nine kids who always smiles and never sweats was there. It should be noted that I've never once seen her children be ugly to each other. Ever.

Sigh again.

I followed Jonathan and attempted some intervention.

"Okay, Simon... you know what? If you can help me out here, I'll give you some extra time with Minecraft later. It would be a SUPER help to mommy if you'd just give him a turn for a couple minutes. I'll set a timer."

"NO. I just got them!"

(I know... I get it... this was SO unfair... )

"Well buddy, here's the deal... if he keeps carrying on like this, we're going to have to leave and that's no fun for any of us. So just FIVE minutes. PLEASE?"

"Okay FINE." He finally agreed and tossed the water guns at Jonathan.

"Do you want his while you wait?"  I asked.

"NO. I want mine back. I want MY water guns back. NOW!" he replied, nastily... on a loop....  for the next five minutes while he stalked Jonathan, who screeched every time his brother got near him.

I could feel A-maz-o-mom burning holes in the back of my head with her eyes, judging all of my choices. (though she probably really wasn't. She's not like that plus, well,  I mean, she has nine kids of her own to keep track of... at a POOL.)

Finally the five minutes were up. Usually Jonathan is great with this strategy. Not so much this time.
I tried the, "Okay, one more squirt!" strategy. That didn't work either. Eventually, I just had to take the water guns out of his hands and I'm sure you can imagine how that went.

Then I had to walk past A-maz-o-mom with my kicking, screaming toddler.  Enjoyed that. NOT. Mom humiliation level -- 11.

Ultimately, things improved after I found a binky at the bottom of the pool bag and plopped Jonathan on a chair with that and a towel blanket. He needed a reboot. After that, he was fine.

Simon had wandered back to the big pool and was playing something called "Zombie Water Guns" with Ben and a bunch of other kids. I noticed he had shared one of his two water guns with an older boy and was thinking, "Oh, how nice of him!"  Then I heard the other kid say, "I'm going in the deep end!" (Simon hasn't passed the deep end test yet) I put my head in my hands, anticipating the impending freakout.

Simon came barreling out of the pool.  Annnnnnnd, cue the freakout....

"Mommyyyyyyyyyyy!! I let that boy have one of my guns so we could all play and now he took it in the deep end!!!"

Sigh... again.... I sigh a LOT these days.

Needless to say, when we went back to the pool later after Jonathan's nap, we stopped at Rite Aid and bought about a dozen of the $.50 guns to just pass out to everyone.

And everyone played happily ever after.  Until the most annoying toddler on the planet started taking Jonathan's toys while his mom ignored him. Buuuuuut that's another post for another day.

The End.

V for Victory!

Swim meet #3 for Ben tonight. Much to his surprise (and ours) he got put in backstroke. He was at first not happy about this, but then realized backstroke for his age group is only one pool length.

"Score!"

(he's still not all that confident when he has to swim 50m)

Then, since it was event 38 out of 50-something, he had a lot of time to sit around and wait and think and get nervous. Tom had to give him several pep talks to keep him from psyching himself out before his turn.

He was in heat 2 and was only up against another member of our own team... but he ROCKED it! Don't know what his time was yet but he was speedy!!

The coach called him over and congratulated him and told him how awesome he did and I know that made him feel great. :)

After that, his confidence shot through the roof again and he was totally ready for butterfly. 

He actually was swimming that REALLY well and was neck and neck with all three other swimmers even though they were all HUGE (again... GIANT nine and ten-year-olds, I tell you!! ),  but halfway through, I could see him give up. He grabbed the lane line and then started doing much smaller arms and ended up falling way back, grabbing the lane line two more times before he finished last.  I wish he could have seen how close to the other swimmers he was for the first half because he was really holding his own and I think it would have given him the motivation to push to the end. 

He continues to surprise me though. He got out of the pool, shook it off and said, "I really gotta work on those arms... " 

Here he is after his backstroke win. Totally proud of himself! ;) V for Victory... not Two fingers  for #2. ;) 

This particular meet was mercifully short. The one last Wednesday went past 8:30. This team must have been smaller, although it didn't seem like it. It went super quickly! That was nice. Tom got to stay with the little boys for the whole thing instead of leaving after B's first event.  

The coach was excited to hear he's going to do year-round team and is going to spend some time helping him get ready for tryouts! :) Super nice! 

Waterlogged....

Yesterday, we were at the pool from 10:30 - 2 and then came back after Jonathan's nap and stayed from 5:30 - 7:30. The boys never one complained or said they were bored. Everyone was happy... we ate lunch and dinner there. Tom and I swam the entire time too and we all played water games. Ben also practiced his swim-team stuff non-stop! 

Apparently, we are making up for the last couple years of not getting to use the pool much. (It was just SO hard with Jonathan being a baby)

The second stretch, we had the pool basically entirely to ourselves except for some of our favorite pool friends who showed up late like we did. SO nice. :) 

Am I the only one who sits at the pool in July and actively dreads the upcoming dark and dreary winter? I'm enjoying absolutely every minute of summer this year... it has really been the best one in a very long time... the kids are at such nice ages and it's just relaxing and easy and fun. I don't want it to end!!

Summer Saturday....

I have discovered it really is best to keep the kids busy... way less whining that way. It used to be hard when Jonathan was younger, but we have hit a pretty good groove lately. Loving his current age... :)

Anyway, so yesterday, despite an ominous-looking sky, we headed off to the pool. It was definitely the right decision because it never rained and we even got a few breaks in the clouds where the sun shined on us. The boys swam and had some lunch and we took them home to relax for awhile and let Jonathan nap. 

Ben and I went and checked out a place where he can do swim team in the fall. It was awesome! He can swim without us belonging there, but it's more expensive, so I think we may do a family membership to get the price break and so the little boys and I can swim while he practices. That will also let us go swim all winter as a family... that would be an awesome activity to have in my back pocket on those long, cold, dark days/evenings. Ben LOVED it there and just kept saying, "I want to swim. Can we swim?"  And he didn't balk when I talked to the guy about swim team, so he REALLY wants to do it! While we were waiting for them to come back with some papers, he was even talking about "When I come here for swim team practice...." LOL!!!

After we got home, we headed off to see Despicable Me 2. It was adorable and I will admit, I cried at the end. LOL!  And also laughed so hard at the minions doing Boys 2 Men. HILARIOUS. 

It was 6:30 by the time the movie was over and all of our usual go-to dinner places in the town center were packed, so we did Noodles instead. The boys were thrilled... it's the one place we go where Jonathan doesn't get grilled cheese AND eats everything on his plate. Love Noodles.

On the ride home (around 7:30), Ben pipes up from the backseat, "So what are we gonna do now?" Oh my! That one, like the Energizer Bunny, would just keep going.  I told Tom Ben is his best chance at a fireworks buddy when we go to Disney and the fireworks don't start until 11 p.m. since it's summertime!! LOL! We came home and they played outside for awhile and had some ice cream. 

The funniest part of the evening came when I walked out to the driveway with the ice cream and came upon Jonathan pedaling his trike around like he had been doing it his whole life. 

"Cool!" I said to Tom. He's pedaling! How'd you get him to do that?" 

Tom's reply? "I was going to ask you the same question!"

LOL! No idea when or how he learned to pedal then.... but he can pedal now! So funny... gotta love third kids! Now, if he would just potty train himself?

After the kids went to bed, I spotted this neat sky/cloud and watched it until the sun set. :)

Who Would Have Thought THAT?

Yesterday, the boys had their usual weekly swim lesson, which I had moved to a different time so we could go to the swim team "Fun Friday", which turned out to be not so "fun" because it rained the whole time and the swim coach went MIA to go nap in the pool office. Oh well... the kids all got chocolate chip pancakes and Simon got to play Minecraft and was thrilled because a HOARD of kids surrounded him to watch. When we left he said, "Did you see all those kids watching me play Minecraft? I REALLY liked that!!!" LOL.

Anyway, I digress... (just thought that was a cute Simon story!)  So, we ended up at swimming lessons at noon. Our teacher has been out of town and we were on vacation the week before that so it has been THREE full weeks since we've been. And, as you know from previous posts, a lot has changed with Ben's attitude toward swimming in that time and he was SO excited to show Miss Tara his new stuff!

He immediately butterflied halfway across the lap pool, much to Tara's surprise. (with Simon following and trying to imitate which is great! But also kind of funny...)

Anyway, due to the fact that we were on a different schedule than usual, there were a ton of different teachers there I've never seen before. One of them was in the lane next to where Ben and Simon were practicing, waiting for her student. While I was over there, before Jonathan dragged me away to go back to the warm pool where he could play, Tara was working on fine tuning some things with Ben's stroke and teaching him how to do two sets of arms and then breathe.  I heard the other teacher say, "He's got a natural butterfly!" before I walked away. Thought that was kind of cool!

After the first half of the lesson was over and she brought the boys back to the pool where Jonathan was, she told me the other girl had been going on and on about what a natural swimmer Ben is and how he's built for it. As she was telling me this, the other teacher came up and asked me, "Is that your son?" I said yes and she said, "He's amazing. Seriously... you need to keep him swimming. He's a natural!" She asked a bunch of questions about where he swims and how long... couldn't believe he's only been swimming a year. We talked about swim team a little and it turns out she knows the coach and swam with him in college!  I did say he only just swam in his first meet last week and he has yet to swim without DQ'ing but she said, "That's all good! It's all about the experience!! He'll get the mechanics of the strokes really quickly, just DEFINITELY keep him swimming!!" and she told me about some places I could take him so he could do it year-round.... places that wouldn't be so competitive they would burn him out but where he could just practice and keep competing through fall and winter.  She sat there with us for the longest time just going on and on!

I was SO proud of him... what mom wouldn't be?

But I was also really kind of astounded. I think he looks really natural to me when he swims now and I do think has picked it up amazingly quickly given where we started last year.... but I don't know diddly squat about swimming and what's good and not good. I just know he REALLY loves it. We have mostly been in it for pool survival and confidence. LOL.

To hear someone else who is a swimmer say it was a huge confirmation that I need to keep him going in this. (I have been thinking about it since he really took off with it and I noticed he seems to be self-motivated to be REALLY good at something for almost the first time in his entire life... he's like that with basketball too, but not to the same extent....)

Anyway, so I called one of the places she mentioned (Merritt Athletic Club) and it sounds like it will be a great fit commitment-wise. Runs quarterly, so he can swim September - December and then take a break for basketball December - March.  Four different practice times two of which are on weekends and they can come to as few or as many as they want.

When I first brought it up with Ben, he immediately said he didn't want to do it, because that's what he does. Everything is always "NO way!" at first. LOL.  But we talked about what the other teacher had said (much of which he heard) and how if he worked at it, this is something he could REALLY be great at.. we talked about gifts and talents that God gives people and how neat that is that this is something he can do so well even though he hasn't been doing it that long. Then I showed him the brochure online and he wants to do it! They actually have to try out, but based on the description of the team that would be his level,  I don't think there will be a problem with him getting in.  And they'll work on fine-tuning the four strokes and learning racing starts and turn-arounds. So cool!

There's actually a younger team Simon could do too if we wanted to do that. He only needs to be able to swim 25 yards freestyle to make it and I think he could do that.  We'll see if he has any interest... it would be double the practice times but the two groups are back to back, so it's really only like an hour and a half total we'd be there.  And if we joined the club as a family (you don't have to join to do swim team, but it's cheaper if you do), I think Jonathan and I could swim while the big boys practice!

So we'll see where this goes.... two more meets left in the regular season and then there is a little banquet. Ben's pretty excited. :)  He REALLY wants a ribbon... I hope he manages to get one soon! It will help keep him interested!

Home Alone...

In the summertime, Ben always hates having to make Safeway runs in the mornings. Whines and complains. Asks how many things I have to get. Blah blah blah. So starting this summer, after talking to some other friends with kids his age, I started offering to let him stay home. (Safeway is only 30 seconds away and I'm only ever gone a half hour or so) He'd always say no. But every time, I'd offer. Well, finally yesterday, he took me up on it. I was shocked when he said, "YES!" "You sure?" "Yes!" "You're not going to get scared?" "Nope... gonna sit here and play my DS."

I put his iPod Touch next to him and told him to text me if he needed anything. Taped my cell phone number to the back of the phone and put that next to him too. "Okay! We'll be right back! You SURE you want to stay here?"

"Yep."

Out the door we went. Came home a half hour later and it was a success. He was right where I left him.

Then I was putting groceries away and noticed the pantry door was open and there was white powder all over the floor. Weird. I hadn't baked or anything that morning...

"Ben?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened over here?"

"What?"

"Why is the pantry open?"

He wandered over and stood next to me, apparently also studying the scene.

"Oh."

"'Oh', what? What did you do while I was gone?"

"Um... this..." he said, and pointed to an open bag of powdered sugar on the shelf. Apparently he had helped himself to a handful of sugar as soon as I left.

"Seriously? You ATE powdered sugar?"

"Well, It was really.... yum!" he replied, grinning from ear to ear.

Sigh. After that we had an obligatory talk about trust and how if he's going to have the privilege of staying home when I run out, he can't do things he knows he's not supposed to do. He nodded and understood... I think.

I have to admit though, I was secretly kind of amused and wished I could have seen how it went down. It was like he just couldn't help doing SOMETHING "forbidden" while he had the house to himself... so a handful of sugar was the first thing that came to mind. LOLOLOL!! And I love that that's the first thing that came to mind... so innocent and kinda cute.  (does it make me a horrible mom that it made me laugh? When I recounted the story to Tom later, he thought I should have punished him....)

This Just In!

Simon has a loose tooth! :) He's pretty psyched about this! :)

It's funny... I found out the same way I did with Ben. Randomly, Simon just said, "My tooth feels weird." I knew exactly what it was!!!! So excited for him. Most of his little friends have already lost teeth.

Dark, Rainy Morning and Another Swim Meet...

A dark rainy morning is actually just what we need. I hope it stays this way until afternoon at least. We need a good excuse for some downtime.

So Ben swam in his second meet last night. They gave him 50-meter freestyle again and (jaw drop) 25-meter butterfly.

He did great in freestyle, and again, was holding his own going down but hesitated going back. GAH! Have to get him to stop doing this. He is already at a distinct disadvantage because he is swimming 9-10 and most of the other 9-10 boys are SO much taller/bigger/faster than him.  Skill-level and size-wise, he is really 7-8, and that's who he practices with this year. But, obviously, it wouldn't be legal to let him swim in the meets with the 7-8s.  Kind of a shame though. I wish he could get a taste of coming in first or second but it's just not going to happen in 9-10.

Hopefully next year being on the 10 side of 9-10 and having a year of practice under his belt will help.

At any rate, he did REALLY great except for the hesitating and didn't touch the bottom this time when he turned. After that, he was swimming SO hard trying to keep up that he swam into the corner wall that divides the shallow and from the deep end/swim lanes. Poor kid. He grabbed that wall, so guessing that means he DQed that one, but then finished and not too badly for having had two giant "oops" moments. LOL.

I hadn't gotten to talk to him at ALL since we had arrived, so I finally wrangled him after that event for some dinner and to catch up. Standing in line for food I looked at the writing on his hand...  "Wait... you don't swim again until event 50?!"

"Yeah... and I don't know what stroke I'm swimming."

"Oh?"

"No."

"Hm. Do you want me to tell you? I think maybe you should go ask Coach Doug." (I really was afraid to tell him)

"TELL ME."

I told him he was swimming butterfly and he was surprisingly okay with that, especially when I told him it was only one length. "Whew!!" he said. ;)

So anyway, we got some dinner and hung out for the next HOUR AND A HALF or so waiting for event 50, which actually turned out to be the next to last event before relays. I am still learning all this. When I texted Beth with a "WTH?!" about this she replied, "Welcome to the butterfly!" LOL.   Gah. And he really likes it too, so I guess I better get used to staying at these things for hours!

Ben spent some time attempting to practice butterfly in the baby pool, which is the only open pool while the meet is going on and is a 10-foot circle with about six inches of water in it. You can imagine how well that went.

Finally, they got into the upper 40s and I sent Ben over.  His race came up and? There was a false start. The timers weren't ready. Ben had already gotten in a groove though and got about halfway across the pool before they finally managed to get his attention to get him back to the start. Ugh.

They started again, but I think the false start threw him a little, plus he had worn himself out some...  he still swam well. Butterfly is HARD! He got tired about 8 feet from the finish and grabbed the lane line... (thought it was closer but when I saw the video, I realized it was closer to 8 feet or so)  He did finish though after that but I'm sure DQed for grabbing the line, plus his feet came apart while he was swimming and so he probably DQed long before the lane line thing.

But OMG. The kid swam butterfly! And didn't freak! I'm amazed and so impressed! It was a long night though. We got home around 8:45 after having been there since 4:30.  Tom took the little boys home around 7:30. What good sports they are. Both of them just splashed around in the baby pool for a few hours after they closed the big pool around 5. Hopefully next year, Simon will do swim team too and then I only have to worry about one child being entertained during these things. I felt bad for S! He seemed happy though.

Needless to say, we are not doing morning practice this morning plus it's raining so great excuse. If it stops raining, we'll go to the afternoon one. :)

Anyway, so happy for a rainy morning... waiting around for the Terminix guy to come wipe out my cicada killers so we can use our front door again. That will be nice!!

UPDATE: With the wet weather, the Terminix guy could not rain death upon my cicada killers. He says he'll come back on the next sunny day. UGH. Meanwhile, even the rain, these awful creatures continue to fly around my front porch. HATE THEM!

Full Summer Day...

Yesterday was a busy day. Ben had swim practice in the morning. Then we had to run to the store (always a treat with three kids!)

After that I had to go home and shove Davey in his cage for his vet appointment. Have to be clandestine about this because he takes off as soon as he notices the cage. Have you ever tried to shove a clawed being into a small box against its will? Fun times.

Took the big boys over to Beth's for Quinn's birthday playdate. Then off to the vet with Jonathan for Davey. As you can see, he was utterly thrilled with the experience.


LOL.

After that, we ran some books back to the library and then came home for lunch and J's nap. I spend J's nap paying bills, organizing the calendar for the next week or two and checking off lists. Love that quiet time to have uninterrupted thoughts!!

My mom came by to visit and sit at the house with napping J while I ran over to Beth's to get Ben and Simon. They had a blast at their playdate, which consisted of a watergun battle,  movies, lunch, Wii and a ton of other things.

Brought them home and Ben wanted to go back to the pool, (!) but he got outvoted by both of his brothers and then it started raining anyway. So I just let them play DS and Minecraft for the rest of the afternoon and we also watched Hotel Transylvania for the 50th time. Love that movie!

At some point in there, I harvested another zucchini and two jalapenos from my garden! So exciting! :) Tomatoes are finally turning red and I have a bell pepper that is almost ready and some green beans coming in too! Decided it was time to make some zucchini bread since those were starting to accumulate on the counter.

Tom picked up indian food for dinner which we haven't had in forever and everyone ate without complaint! Rare and wonderful.  Zucchini bread with nutella for dessert! :)

After dinner, the boys had an epic watergun battle in the driveway until it was time for baths and bed.

Ahhhhh sweet summer.... please slow down! :)

Ben's First Swim Meet...

To say swim team has transformed Ben would be an understatement.

Interestingly, I saw a similar transformation his second year of playing basketball. Both sports have been THE best "medicine" for his lack of confidence and high-level anxiety. It seems that knowing when and how much to carefully push him has been key... also having the right people around to push him when it can't be me doing the pushing and the encouraging. (You know how sometimes if it's you, they think they have an out? If it's someone else, they don't always feel that way....)

So last night was the first of the final stretch of swim meets... a series of four at our home pool. I decided at the beginning of the season that the goal would be that Ben would start competing then. Until then, the plan was just take him to the practices. It worked for him because it was very low-pressure and he could ease into it as he felt more comfortable.... and it worked for me because this is NOT the summer I was ready to tackle meets at unfamiliar swim clubs with Jonathan still being so little.

Tom was not happy about this at first. He thought I needed to be taking him to all the meets. He lost that battle though because he is not the one who has to deal with three kids at strange pools.  I told him to trust me on this... that Ben needed the time to build his confidence.

I told Ben all along that if he didn't feel comfortable at the first meet, he didn't HAVE to swim. No one would care. But I told him we were absolutely going. He needed to watch it and get a feel for how it all worked. (he's like me in that he needs to know very clearly how things are going to go before he's willing to give something a try) He insisted he wasn't going to swim and I said that was FINE but he needed to warm up with the team and then decide.

I wasn't being dishonest with him. No one was going to make him jump in that water when his turn came if he truly didn't want to or was too afraid, but I knew how this would go. I had been warned that the meets are sort of chaotic and I had a feeling if he went with them during warm-ups, he'd sort of get swept up in it all. I also had two really wonderful mom friends who took him under their wing so that I could stay on the periphery. I knew I had peer pressure and excitement on my side.

After warm-ups, Beth snagged him out of the deep and and brought him over to my other friend Christa, who was writing the kids' events on their hands. The next thing he knew, he was in line for that getting his hand written on. Boys 9-10, Heat 2, Event 8, 50 meter freestyle....lane 3. I could tell he thought this was kind of awesome and was starting to get into it.  He was actually kind of disappointed he was only swimming once and all the other kids had two. I was relieved though... one event  (and an easy one) was a great way to get his feet wet. (haha)

His turn came pretty early on and before I knew it, he was standing in the front of the line. They called his name and lane.... and.... that's when things got interesting.

The kid who was afraid to even get in the water with the team a few short weeks ago, the one I had to drag CRYING over to the swim coach... THAT kid... he threw his arms up and pumped his fists in the the air like a prize fighter. Uhhhhh....?

And he swam like I have never seen him swim before. He pretty easily kept up with the other two swimmers. Things went awry when he hesitated at the turn-around. Had he not done that, he very well may have placed second. As it was, he actually DQed because he touched the bottom at the turn-around. And, also because he hesitated, he came in third, but not by a lot!

But it didn't matter. The Ben that came out on the other side of the pool was a new Ben! I went to go congratulate him and his first question was, "Can I swim another race? I'm going to ask if I can swim another race!!" The races had already been set though and he was only in the one. It didn't dampen his spirits though and he rode his race high the rest of the evening. Every time he walked by, me I would hear him saying to whoever he was with things like, "I was beating that one kid! I swam so fast!!"

Awhile later, he caught wind of the fact that there were relays at the end. "Well, I want to swim in those!" he said. I knew he probably wouldn't be put in any last night because it was his first meet and someone told me the relays are for the best swimmers. But, taking a cue from "Dance Moms" of all things (C'mon Katie, I know you'll get this reference!! ;) ) , I said, "If you want that, you need to go to Coach Doug and ask for it."

Thought he'd balk at that. An hour before, he would have!

Nope.

He said, "Okay!" Stood up and marched right up to the coach, waited for the race that was going on to end, tapped him on the leg, and told him he wanted to swim relays.

My jaw dropped.

I heard the coach explain that this meet was kind of his try-out/practice one and maybe Wednesday he could do that, but not tonight.

Ben came back and told me what the coach had said and then said, "So I'll DEFINITELY race in them on Wednesday. AND? I'm going to swim TWO events on Wednesday."

OMG.

Okay then!

I now maintain that swim team, as nightmarishly as it started out, is the absolute best thing I could have done for this kid. I wish he could do it all year. How can I make that happen?!

This was when they called his name. I REALLY wish you could see his fist pump in the video because it was HILARIOUS and so awesome.

And here's a snippet of his race. He's second from the right. Not that you can see anything really... but still pretty cool. :) 

Here he is after he swam. :) So proud!

Graffs Get Spontaneous...

I woke up yesterday morning and sighed heavily.

I was looking down the barrel of another summer weekend day, our third, technically, since Tom got home early on Friday. Summer weekends are great and all, except that my middle son incessantly asks to play Minecraft if we don't keep him busy with other things. He earns Minecraft time by doing reading/writing worksheets and just the day before, had managed to crank out like six of them so he could spend the entire late afternoon playing that game.

I couldn't do another day of the constant begging and fending him off.

Ben's only slightly better. He'll play other things happily and even go outside, but when things get boring, he goes right to the DS. This is fine to a point. But, like I said...  we were on our third weekend day.

After talking it over with Tom and Facebook for a little bit, I rallied the troops and we headed up to Dutch Wonderland for the day.

If you know us, you know this is absolutely insane. We don't just up and leave the state without planning. Jonathan naps and we don't EVER skip that. BUT, I did know from recent experience that he can power through until about 2:30 or 3 once in awhile and that would buy us enough park time to get our money's worth, and the drive is long enough that he could get a nice siesta on the ride home.... not his usual 3-hour marathon nap, but it would do for a day.

So off we went! We told the kids we were going to Home Depot. Turns out, my kids are apparently not that bright, because they complained about this all the way out the door... as I walked by them with the pool bag, their bathing suits and cooler full of drinks.

One hour and 15 minutes later, we arrived! Kids knew kind of knew where we were going by then. (although Ben thought maybe it was going to be Hershey Park... or Six Flags... how does he know about Hershey Park and Six Flags? Who told him!? I have kept these things under wraps for nine years and thought they only knew about Disney?)

We started out slowly...  we rode a train and some trucks and these bears, all of which essentially just went around in a circle....

Then we spotted this. Jonathan, in what would become he phrase of the day said, "I wanna go on DAT." I tried to coerce Ben to join us, (Simon was an absolute no) but to no avail. So we rode with someone else's kid...  this version of this ride is wAY gentler than the one at the beach and I tried to convince Ben of that. He considered riding it later when we went on again, but ended up chickening out.  The little one squealed with delight and laughed and laughed through the entire ride... twice. 

Ben and I rode the bumper cars together. Simon didn't want to go on this either (though he did later). Tom took the little boys over to some hopping frogs while we did this. 



This was a version of a ride the kids do at the beach, but with better seatbelts, so I actually let Jonathan ride. He was SO happy. (he was not happy about having to miss it at the beach) It went round and round and up and down while he happily shot the gun the entire time. It should be noted that he wanted nothing to do with riding with Ben. "I want my OWN airplane." 






Here's Simon on what we thought was a log flume, but turned out to be a leisurely ride through a dragon's lair. Oops. By this point, I had decided the best tact to take with Simon, in the interest of our upcoming Disney trip, was to not let him see rides and just drag him onto the ones I KNEW he would be fine with once he was on them. It worked well and he rode most things the rest of the day, including the ACTUAL log flume. 



Stopped for a photo op. Ben and Simon spent some time arguing over which one of them would have to be the princess. In the meantime, Jonathan wandered over and stuck his head through. Okay then. Photo? Check. 



Took another ride on the hopping frogs. He's so funny. Every time he'd circle around he'd say, "I am hopping!!" and then he'd get on the other side and I'd here him yell, "Now I am hopping on the other side!!!" LOL!! 

This was our second ride on the Turtle Whirl. Ben had a love hate relationship with this ride. He was super proud that he rode it and actually said after the first ride, "I think that's the most age appropriate thing I've ridden here so far today!" LOL!



On the other hand. This is how he looked every time it spun around. ;)  Simon must have acquired my love for spinning rides because he LOVED every second of this. 

After rode everything we wanted to and did some things twice, we changed into our bathing suits and headed over to the water park. This is basically the only photo I took because I was playing in the water too! We had SO much fun. Simon went from lookout post to lookout post shooting the water guns. Ben did a little of everything, but mostly this. (see below) and Jonathan ran through all the sprays and really enjoyed the slides a ton. I had a funny interaction with a staff member the first time Jonathan wanted to go down the biggest "kid" slide (there was a more adult/preteen kid area that we didn't go into... but the kid area had two tube slides that were long and twisty). 

"Can I go down with him?"

"No." 

"Ohh..."

"He'll be fine. I've sent smaller kids than him down there. "

"Okay...." 

"Unless... does he get scared easily?"

"Uh... no."

"Then yeah, he'll be fine." 

And he was, of course. He went down, emerged upside down on the other end, stood up and asked to do it again. And he went down like 15 more times. 

We spent about an hour in the water park and by then it was 2:30. I could tell Jonathan was getting tired, so we all changed into our clean dry sets of clothes and piled into the car. This was the scene about a minute and a half after we left the parking lot.



Everyone had a blast. The boys have already asked to go back!! All in all a successful and superfun day trip. :)  And it was a whole day where I didn't have to be asked about playing Minecraft!! ;)