A Wonderful Summer Day

First, just wanted to say thanks to those of you that let me know you were reading. It's nice to hear from you and to get feedback :)

Today, the kids and I spent a few hours down at a real, live swimming hole close to the border of our state, about 40 miles from home. We met some other homeschooling families there and really enjoyed ourselves.

Swimming lessons paid off for DS, as he was much more comfortable in the water, walking around with a swim ring and a net, catching tiny fish and kicking around some in the water, completely at ease. This time last year, I couldn't convince him to trust a noodle or such to help him at all.

However, I was having trouble convincing DS not to eat the little tiny fish (1/4 inch long or so) that he caught. He did eat several before I convinced him that they might make him sick (who knows?). At first, when I said it was gross, that just made it more attractive to him. He'd laugh and do it more *sigh*

We did have to be careful because the bottom was rocky and slippery (we remembered to bring our swim shoes--we visited the same place a couple of years ago), and it dropped off suddenly in spots but fun all the same. There were some rocks that you could climb onto and jump off of from 10 feet up or so. I saw a pair of adults doing this (not to mention numerous kids and teens), and they jumped and went pretty far under. Who knows how deep it was there? It just created the ultimate vision of "down-home" summer fun in my head. Memories to last a lifetime.

The only trouble we really had were with DD, although nothing serious. First, I forgot my sling, so I had to carry her around almost the whole time (3 hours). My arm started to get crampy, but when I put her down on the blanket, she'd just try to eat everything (leaves, grass, whatever) that she could get her hands on. Typical for her age (almost 9 months). Also, she developed a rash. This has happened several times over the last 3 days and comes and goes. After doing some Internet research, I think it may be "sun rash." It's more common in folks with pale skin and red hair (that's her). We'll see if it persists.

A good day overall, with a healthy feeling of tiredness at the end!

Anybody Out There?

I like to write, I'll admit, but I wonder if anyone out there is reading this blog. Granted, I don't write much, especially since nowadays my blogging is split among three blogs: this one, my homeschool blog, and my LLLI conference blog.

Well, the conference is all finished, and what an experience it was. (See that blog for more details!)

There's been plenty going on but little time to actually sit at the computer and write. I've been trying to figure out what exactly is going on with DS that makes things so difficult for him socially and "sensorily." Does he fit one of this syndromes or defiicits they talk about, and if so, would having a label help or hinder him? In the meantime, I'm thinking that there are things that can help, label or not.

One thing is I'm going to try to improve the family nutrition one step at a time. First with me, I'm lowering or cutting out the soda altogether. After some time to get used to that, I'll set another goal. Some good ones might be switching over to as many whole grains as possible and adding more good fats (like seafood) into our diets. This will be good for all of us. Wish me luck on getting it done.

If you're out there and hang on my every word (haha), drop a comment here and there. I'm not sure who I'm writing this for, but if it's only for me, I won't feel guilty if I decide to let it go ;)

Home Gym

You can tell the subject of my last post keeps bugging me...DH and I have ordered a home gym. He got a good bonus this year, so we're using it for the gym (found a good deal through Amazon) and some new furniture. We've both already decided on a commitment to using the gym (1 hour a week for me and 2 for him). It's not much, but it's 100% better than what we've been doing. I figure, even with Lily, I can get in 10 minutes a day to start. I'm tired of feeling like a slug!