Terrible. F.

Today was one of those not so great moments in parenting for me (and it's all about me). Andy had his swimming class. The first three classes went great, then I went out of town and he missed a class. And then we had three feet of snow and classes were cancelled. We went for his first class in three weeks and Andy cried for the entire 45 minutes, refusing to get in and just being sad and scared no matter what I tried to do -- calm him, listen to him, guide, bribe, cajole -- you name it. It was rather horrific. For me most. I had Meg with me, which I haven't had to do before, but Bjorn was reffing basketball. Trying to keep her from diving into the class with the other kids while thinking how much easier it would be to just throw him in and do sit on the stands was a challenge. A challenge I did not meet. He cried all the way home, mostly because since he didn't get into the water, he wouldn't be rewarded with lollipops and Wii. Then he got home and had the nerve to tell Jennifer class was fun. Seriously?

I have decided to pull him out of the class though. He's missed too many classes and I want to sign him up at the beginning again and start over. We had enough of a fight that I need to let some time pass and start over. Problem is I can't get into any of the classes that start in three weeks. Gah. Let's hope I get him swimming before middle school.

Meg has turned into a two year old. She spends a lot of time saying, "No!" to just about everything and then willfully throws things on the floor and laughs about it. I am doing my best to just ignore and wait for her to get over it, but I must say I patience runs a little thin when she takes the cats' water and intentionally spills it all over the floor. She's also figured out how to get around my baby gates. I definitely need to rethink my strategies. Fortunately, it will soon be warm(ish) again and we can get to spending more time outside where she can drop and throw things to her heart's delight.

In fun news, we have booked our trip to Sydney, Hobart and Melbourne for this summer. I'm psyched although after weekends like this, I wonder what the hell we're thinking attemping to spend 23 hours on a plane with little kids -- each way. I have no idea how they're going to handle the jet lag and sleep issues, probably better than the adults.

She smiles

I'm still trying to catch a perfect smile on camera. Unfortunately, it's still a coordinated effort, trying to get her to smile with one hand while hold the camera and get the picture off before she stops. She's really a smiley little kid (Andy likes to say, "Hey Smiley!" at her, for example), but catching it on film? Yeah, not quite so easy. So I finally got her smiling and in the frame. But is it centered? Damn. You get the gist though.

It's a million degrees here and 1,000 percent humidity (okay, just 98 with a heat index of 110) in Washington right now so Andy and I have been spending time at the pool. He's still not keen on putting his head under water, but he's definitely more comfortable than last year. We are trying to get him some private lessons with some lifeguards at the pool so we can start him getting more comfortable learning to blow bubbles and that kind of stuff. He won't do any of that with me so I'm hoping a strapping young "big boy" lifeguard is able work with him better than I can. It doesn't hurt that Scott the lifeguard looks a lot like Joe from Blue's Clues. Is it bad if have a little Pacey Witter kind of crush on Joe?

Andy's mother, the brute

This summer we're really spending some time at the pool. Our neighborhood pool has one big pool with lanes and two small diving boards as well as a baby pool. The baby pool is tucked off the main pool with a separate fence between them. The only problem is 45 minutes after the hour, the lifeguards kick the kids out of the big pool to give them a break and make sure no one is drowning. Unfortunately, that's when the big kids decide to descend upon the small pool.

At first, I let it happen. I watched helplessly as these elementary school terrors splashed water in Andy's face, making him cry, and took his toys. I looked around for parents of these kids to intervene or a lifeguard to do his or her job. I was embarrassed to be the bad guy or make a scene. But now that I've become a regular, I've discovered that no one is going to intervene. Except me. Tonight we were at the pool for a marathon 3 hours (turns out there was even a potluck dinner on Friday night that we crashed, promising to bring double next week). At two breaks, I got up and kicked the older kids out of the pool myself. I got a scared looked from the dad of a one year old who clearly isn't up on the gig, but a mom of two toddlers thanked me afterwards.

I'm not normally the aggressive type like this. I'm fine letting Andy work out some of his own battles over who is playing with a toy, but when it comes to older kids picking on little ones, that's just not cool.

Crosswalks

Our house is in a great location - we're just a few houses and one main road away from the community pool. The walk takes less than five minutes. Unfortunately, we have to cross Commonwealth Avenue. It's a main connector through King's Park West so it gets a fair amount of traffic. Sadly, the traffic that goes through there seems to miss the post 25 mile per hour signs and flies down the road. There is a painted crosswalk on the corner of Pommeroy and Commonwealth to get us across the street, but I find some of the drivers see a woman and a kid in a stroller as a sign to speed up. On a rare occasion, a driver will stop and let us pass unmolested.

I am always pleasantly surprised when anyone stops and we make a special point to wave to say thanks. Yesterday, we were crossing the street though and a nice driver stopped to let us cross. A woman in an SUV on her cell phone couldn't stand traffic not moving and actually tried to pass him while he was paused letting us walk. I get this kind of behavior on Connecticut Avenue downtown during rush hour, but residential suburban Fairfax on a weekend?

To counter the rudeness, I find myself smiling and waving at people as they speed past me. They usually pause, wondering if they actually know me, half the time waving back out of fear that they do. It doesn't make them stop, but it does make them slow ever so slightly and that makes me feel better. A little, anyway.

Whirlwind

Wow. It's been an action-packed week here in Texas and we're not done yet. Tuesday my mom and I flew out to Odessa to go visit family in Pecos - 90 miles west of Odessa. I'm used to west Texas feeling abandoned - after the oil bust of the late 1980s, the towns out that way have been sad and defeated. Business has lagged, jobs have been scarce and all construction had stopped. Now with the most recent oil boom, things have perked up immensely. Jobs are plentiful, housing is scarce and excitement is in the air. It's so nice to see optimism again. Pecos is building new houses on lots that sell for $1,000 to $3,000 (less than parking goes for in D.C.) They're also building a new apartment building. These are the first new construction in 20 years. People clearly have a lot to be excited about and it is great. Even better, my cousin that we went to visit is doing much better which makes everything that much nicer.

Andy has been having a blast playing with my niece, Megan. They are at an age where they really mimic each other. My sister even kept him overnight last night (his first overnight without either of us, I was definitely more nervous than Andy was!) so Bjorn and I could get our for a romantic date. The dinner was great, but the makers of Spider Man 3 should be ashamed of themselves. I haven't seen a movie that bad since Mall Rats. Not only is the movie bad, the nonsense "plot" goes on for almost 2 1/2 hours and never does make sense.

Today we headed to the Dallas Aquarium World, which was cool. We got there in time to see the sea otters feeding. There were lots of birds, fish, turtles, snakes and even penguins. The kids weren't quite old enough to get it, but it was fun for the rest of us. Well, until the kids got really tired and didn't want to sit still any longer. Tonight we're headed to the pool to celebrate my birthday and unwind. Andy was afraid of the water last year, but now he's ready to jump in the big pool - alone. What a difference a year makes.

We head home tomorrow. It's hard to believe the week is over. When we left, it seemed like the week was endless and now on the eve of our departure, it's clear I was wrong.

(Meanwhile, check out the high-larious card Betsy sent me. Genius!)

Let the games begin

We're here in Dallas. The flight was fine, the passengers were fine, the toddlers ears were fine. Our luggage even arrived lickety split. Granted, we were the last ones off the plane, but I love that baggage handling at DFW is about thirty minutes faster than at either Dulles or Reagan National. The only downside to the whole flight was we were back by the engine - so far back that we could only see the engine and not outside the plane. I had no idea how claustrophobic I would be having no idea where the clouds and ground were for three hours. Andy didn't care though - we had Thomas on DVD. What a lifesaver.

We've been having fun. Andy has so far caught his first fish, "driven" a golf cart, played on a seesaw, hung out with his grandparents, been taken down in a loving choker hold by his cousin Megan who is 2 1/2 months older, gone swimming, played in a bounce house, ridden on a train and eaten a lot of cupcakes and ice cream. Needless to say, he's having a very good time. I, however, am tired.