Staycation

This summer is apparently the year of our great American "staycation." (Meaning: we're staying put for the time being.) Here are a few photo highlights from our staycation thus far.




The girls enjoyed splashing around on our putting-green-sized lawn last week.




Russ took Madeleine and Elodie fishing last weekend. (Don't get too thrilled by our outdoor skills just yet. It's one of those places where the pond is stocked and the fish basically jump on your hook. However, I have to give Russ credit for gutting the fish.)

The girls caught fish right away, but they refused to eat it. Their loss, as it really wasn't too bad.

Fourth of July--Northwest Style

Oregonians joke that you never get a Fourth of July without rain. Others joke that summer doesn't really start until after a rainy Independence Day. We've had great weather the past couple of weeks, but the Fourth dawned gloomy. We attended the annual parade in our town, which was mostly a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the gray skies dumped on us near the end of the procession. Actually, I can't complain that much, because at least the rain held off until the end of the parade. And at least the temperature was still decent. And fortunately the evening was quite pleasant, and we watched fireworks at the park without more than a few drops. It's just funny that our Independence Day was so--Oregonian.

Summer Vacation?

I am still trying to figure out how the "vacation" part of "summer vacation" applies to stay-at-home moms. Granted, it is nice not to have to wake up a grumpy Madeleine each morning and try to get her to eat breakfast and get dressed. However, the absence of the early morning routine is about the only relaxing part of summer vacation so far. We still have a routine we try to follow, it just happens around 7:30 rather than 6:30. The kids get up, eat breakfast, get dressed, brush teeth, and brush their hair (sort of)--all with a parent pushing them to get it done. Then I supervise them while they make their beds and clean their room. After that, I clean the rest of the house--which is often covered with toys by the time I finish cleaning. And finally, we try to get "homework" done, which seems to be as enjoyable to my kids as a trip to the dentist.

Even going to the park isn't relaxing. The oldest keeps yelling, "Look at me!" while she performs various stunts. If I'm paying attention to her sisters instead of her, the yells become more and more angry. In the meantime, the middle child is on the swing yelling, "Push me!" She then gets mad because, "Mom, you're not pushing me right!" And the youngest one cries either because someone is trying to touch a vacant swing (which she thinks belongs to her) or because I'm pushing her "wrong," too.

The bottomline--summer vacation is exhausting.

Good Morning

I found quite the suprise when I opened the door to get Camille out of her crib this morning. She was still in her pajamas and diaper--a rare occurence these days. However, she told me "owie" as soon as I entered her room. She sat down and pointed to her leg. Of all things--Camille had a ballpoint pen stuck down her pajama leg. On top of that, she had LOTS of art all over her body and crib and pillow and . . .

I won't mention which parent put her to bed last night. Let's just say I was REALLY surprised.

Summer Vacation Begins--Swimming Lessons

Today, Madeleine and Elodie started two weeks of swimming lessons. Elodie told me she didn’t want to go. “Mom, I’m scared. I can’t swim.” I told her she should give it a try before deciding she couldn’t do it. After the half-hour class, she said, “I had a great swimming lesson!” I guess that means she liked it.

Camille wasn’t as excited about the lessons. I managed to find coinciding classes for Madeleine and Elodie, but there wasn’t a simultaneous toddler class for Camille. Despite that, Camille insisted on wearing a swimming suit like her sisters. She was really ticked off when she couldn’t get in the pool. She sat down next to a class of five-year-olds and tried to jump in. Camille was only mollified by a cookie from the restaurant outside the pool. This might be a REALLY long two weeks for her--or a very expensive two weeks in the refreshments department.

I discovered that neither of my older girls have learned tact yet. We sat across from an elderly lady while we changed in the locker room. Elodie said, “She is really old!” A few minutes later, Madeleine said, “Look at her hands. She has a lot of wrinkles.” Oh boy. I know the lady heard us, but she was very nice and didn’t say anything. For all I know, maybe she’s in tears now at the retirement home.

Road Rage--I Mean Race

Today I ran a10K as part of a bigger half-marathon race sponsored by Adidas and a local tavern.

I haven't done a race in over nine years, and my running since then has been at times sporadic(mostly due to three pregnancies and recoveries). Up until recently, I've only run about three miles at a time, and that only for the purposes of burning calories. Running for enjoyment and the challenge are pretty new experiences for me. (Okay, I admit I still run to burn calories, too.)

Over 3000 runners ran the two races today, and we were all in a huge clump at the start. Things eventually thinned out, especially when the 10k split from the half marathon. I've run 6.2 miles before, so I didn't foresee how hard this race would be for me. I didn’t anticipate that I would push myself early on, part of the “pack” effect. I also didn’t anticipate the gentle hills in the race, including an incline in the last mile.

The last 1.2 miles was miserable. The end of the race felt like the longest mile ever. But in the end, I crossed the finish line.

After the difficulty, I was surprised by my finish. I finished the 10k in just under 50 minutes—49:56. I was 67th of 541 runners and 18th of 366 female runners. I finished 6th of 74 in my age and gender bracket. Now I've forgotten about all of the agony of the last mile and wonder how I could improve next time. I guess amnesia sets in quickly.

Immunizations

Immunizations have been one of the challenges of returning from living abroad. Switzerland requires far less vaccines than the U.S. does. This dispartity has led to an ugly "shot" session for each of my girls. It started with Madeleine last August, when we visited the public health clinic to get her up-to-date for school. She threw the biggest fit I've ever seen. We finally got the four shots done--and then were informed she still needed a TB test and two more shots.

Camille was next on the hit list, with five vaccines. She was extremely sad when we left the doctor's office. She also had a horrible reaction on her leg where she got her chicken pox vaccine.

Finally, Elodie finished the course with four shots (for five vaccines) yesterday. She was a very brave girl. Elodie cried, but she proudly showed off her four different bandages yesterday. (Camille also got another shot yesterday, and Elodie and Madeleine have to return for two more shots in the next few months.)

It's been a painful road to make up for differences in health expectations, but we're thankfully almost at the end of it.