Yesterday afternoon E.B. and I attended a pool party for a freind’s daughter’s birthday. I was hesitant to take E.B. at all. He can be very hard to manage sometimes and the husband wasn’t home. I just knew if I took him I would be chasing him everywhere and scared to death because this is a BIG pool.
However, I decided I was prepared to at least give it a try and if things got crazy, we could always just go home. So we left at 6 PM for the pool party with our towels and a beach bag filled to the brim with the necessities like extra Little Swimmers, sippy cups and everything but the kitchen sink.
E.B. was super excited when he figured out where we were and what we’d be doing. He scoped out the baby pool area and played there a little while. But the temptation of that bigger pool was just too much, so we ventured into it…me hanging on to him for dear life.
About that time my friend “E” offered to let E.B. use her daughter’s floaties that the little girl refused to use. I was highly skeptical that these things would help much, but we pushed his little arms into the pink floaties and put him back into the big pool. I hung onto him still and my friend “E” had to coax me to let him go. I was hesitant…but I could tell E.B. was holding up pretty easy, so I did it. I let go. And he floated!
All over that big pool, with me standing near him, he floated to his heart’s content. And he screeched with excitement, laughed, and just had the Best. Time. Ever. I also felt a little relief that he didn’t have a constant death grip on me the whole time…we could float along and just enjoy the moment with each other. It was one of the best times we’ve ever had together and I’m glad I didn’t let my fears dictate the situation.
I suppose that’s how it’s going to be during his growing up years…me, hesitant to let him go and try new things and then him trying them with or without my permission and proving to me that he CAN do it. And then both of us feeling satisfaction…me in knowing he is growing up and developing his own survival skills, him that he is doing something on his own and feeling independent. (Can you almost hear “The Circle of Life” from The Lion King playing in the background?)
When we returned home, this happened at 9:15 PM:
That’s a record, people. Swimming really IS good.
Dear Bonnie,
I don’t really blame you for climbing that tree Sunday afternoon. When I heard the neighbor’s HUGE dog let out a deafening “WOOF!”, I knew he had escaped his backyard. I also knew that you and Clyde were out enjoying the mosquitos, so I immediately panicked and went looking for ya’ll. Your brother Clyde came running to the door immediately, but I didn’t see you. I assumed you had come back in the house at some point. And I also didn’t see white fur hanging from Bad Dog’s mouth, so I assumed you were ok.
I suppose about 2 hours passed before I started really missing you. I called and called, but you didn’t answer. On my last attempt I could finally hear your meows, but I just couldn’t find you. But then you got persistant and I was able to finally see you. All the way up in the big tree in the front of our home. ALL. THE. WAY. UP. You were hot and crying and I immediately summoned Cracked Daddy.
Cracked Daddy tried with a regular ladder and climbing, but you were too high, and frankly I was worried he would bust his hindparts trying to rescue you. We then had to call Paw-Paw, because he has an extended ladder. This ladder was being stored at another family member’s house that had last used it, so we had to go and retrieve it.
While the ladder was being summoned, no less than 6 of us stood under the tree trying to coax you down. My mother suggested calling the fire department. Cracked Daddy insisted that we would most certainly NOT be wasting city resources on a treed cat. You tried to move around, but you were just too scared to go out on a limb. No pun intended, of course.
Finally, the Really Long Ladder arrived and Cracked Daddy had you down in less than a minute. You happily ran off as soon as your paws hit earth and looked at us as if to say you meant to do that.
You’re lucky you’re so cute.
We spent the day of the Fourth at my parent’s house. Mom had some beautiful, fun little paper lanterns hanging on their front porch:
Old Glory was flying at several houses on their street:
We ate barbeque, played in E,B.’s pool, and just enjoyed the afternoon. Then we all took naps.
Later that night we went to my aunt and uncle’s fireworks stand. We bought tons of fireworks and Cracked Daddy and my two younger cousins put on an ameteur fireworks show for us. The mosquitos almost ate us alive, so E.B. and I only saw a small bit of them, but E.B. was impressed nonetheless.
A sampling of our show, and these aren’t the greatest pictures:
But overall it was a fun day and we can’t wait for New Years so we can enjoy the fireworks when it will be too cold for mosquitos.
I can remember when I was about 4 or 5, we had an ice cream truck that came through the neighborhood. They sold snow cones, ice cream, and popsicles. As soon as I would hear the circus-type music playing, I’d run into the house and grab the nearest parental unit with money. I’m sure my parents hated to hear that thing coming on a daily basis. But somewhere down the line, that truck stopped coming around. My friends and I would eventually ride our bikes to a nearby snow-cone stand to get our cold fix once we were old enough. Such simple times.
About a month ago, we were cooking out with my parents when all of a sudden we heard that same loud, circusy music start to play. E.B. was mildly interested. I think my husband and I were more excited than anyone. We went to the front yard to check things out, and sure enough, another ice cream truck was making its rounds once again in our neighborhood. However, this wasn’t the same type of ice cream truck I remember as a kid. This thing was loud-sounding and loud-looking. It was a pimped-out ice cream truck!
I don’t know. Every time I see this thing, it just screams, “Pimp My Ice-Cream Truck.” And it’s not even a truck! These kids nowadays are getting ripped off from the true ice cream truck experience. And that’s just sad.
In any case, this ice cream van serves up some really good stuff. It’s all pre-packaged novelty ice cream, but the service is great! It did make me feel a little nostalgic for good old-fashioned homemade ice cream. My parents and the neighbors used to make it, and it was so good. I can still hear the whir of the little ice cream maker.
Looking for the perfect summer shoes? Love flip flops? This FitFlop review will tell you exactly why these flip flops are the perfect choice in summer footwear!
I had been hearing some buzz about how great FitFlops are. I couldn’t imagine indulging myself in a pair of flip flops that cost more than $20. They’re so cool and comfortable, but I can only wear them around the house because eventually, my ankles want to just give out. Flat shoes just don’t cut it for me.
I also have Rheumatoid Arthritis, diagnosed at the ripe old age of 32. Most of the pain settles in my hips and ankles, making sneakers my shoe of choice 99.9% of the time. Which also means that all of the cute shoes are pretty much out of the question. Which really stinks when you really, really love shoes.
And my son? He runs everywhere. Everywhere. I also have to consider this when choosing a shoe to wear. I have to be able to break into a full run at a moment’s notice if necessary.
So, as soon as I received my new FitFlops, I was skeptical. It claims to be a “workout while you walk”. Just to get the full effect, I decided to wear them to a family reunion yesterday, where I knew I would have to be chasing my son around. I wanted to experience this “workout” for myself.
As soon as I slipped these FitFlops on I literally felt like I was standing on a puffy little white cloud. They felt that heavenly on my feet. They do have a bit of a thick sole, so I was sure by the end of the day my hips and back would be killing me. And, as expected, I had to break into a full run three times during the day to retrieve my son. And the shoes stayed on. No slipping around my feet, no problems whatsoever.
And at the end of a very long day yesterday my feet still felt so heavenly that I was reluctant to take them off inside the house, so I did my daily housework in them. This morning when I woke up my ankles, back and hips showed no signs of pain. None. That’s a huge thing in my book. HUGE.
Comfort AND stylish? I’m sold. I am convinced these FitFlops are the only summer shoe will need to purchase this year. They come in so many great styles that you can seriously dress them up or down. They’ve also been shown to have a significant effect on the toning of your thigh muscles while you walk. Imagine every step you take is one that helps tone and trim your legs! And these shoes absorb shock like nobody’s business and I can definitely vouch for that.
OK, so I warned you guys that our trip was super quick and that also means that every picture I took, except for a couple of these, was taken as our car whizzed by whatever it was down the highway. No time for pictures, no time for the beach….no time, period. Which is why these are some rather boring pics.
When we stopped for a potty break in Hattiesburg, we saw this sitting on a newspaper stand:
And EB was only good in the car when he was asleep:
He played checkers at Cracker Barrel in Gulfport:
Some things we passed by:
The Biloxi water tower:
The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino:
And mossy trees. Lots of moss.
We visited family, saw some old family friends, and yes, we even shopped. I totally racked up at Bath & Body Works Outlet. I’m proud to say I will be smelling good for at least another four years.
So, after 2 days, all of the riding, the heat and EB’s backseat tantrums, I was mighty glad to see this Sunday afternoon:
That’s a Mississippi Delta sunset. And that means HOME!
As EB has grown from clumsy toddler into daring preschooler, I have become more and more convinced each day that he is part monkey. Case in point:
My parents have a flag pole in their front yard:
EB very seriously contemplates whether or not he can climb it:
Yep, I think he’s going for it:
Mmm hmm…there he goes:
It’s harder than it looks:
He finally gives up, goes to find his shoes for better grip and enlists the help of his Paw-Paw.
From the time he started walking, which he did for all of two days and then started RUNNING from there on, I could tell there would be much coronary activity in my future. And this is just one example. *sigh*
