Pool Safety

I've mentioned before String Bean's intense fear of swimming. She's only 19 months old, but being near a pool is the most frightening thing for her. How do I know? Well, the crying, screaming and clinging onto whichever body part of mine is closest is a hint.

I've heard a lot of talk about pool safety this summer. I've even had friends suggest to me to enroll String Bean in an infant swimming resourse course. If you are not familiar with this program, go to their website and watch the video. After looking at their marketing videos on the site, you probably are like me thinking, "Wow, what a great idea to keep my kid safe from drowning!" At least that's what I though until I did some reading.

I checked out a book on infant swimming from our library. While reading it, they referenced this program and I was disturbed. They teach children to float in the water (good) to prevent drowning (good) by simulating drowning (uh....hello?). In short, the instructors dunk your kid under the water and roll them over repeatedly teaching them to right themselves so they can float on their back. The result is a screaming kid (which is exactly what you want them to do when they are floating in a pool without an adult in sight) who is scared to death because of the water they are in. Seems counter productive to me.

String Bean already has that fear of the water! Why would I enroll her in a course that forces her to "simulate" drowning so she can float? We don't have a pool. None of our close friends have a pool. This just isn't a program that would be beneficial to us.

I had a friend post a video of her kid doing the infant resource swimming recently. His screaming and crying throughout the video was too much for me. I turned it off before it was halfway over and after 3 separate dunkings.

The best pool safety tip I have heard this year? Designate a special seat for the adult who is in charge of watching the kids in the pool. Whomever is in this chair is not to be disturbed. No talking to them. No radio. No anything. Every 15 minutes trade with another adult. That way, everyone can enjoy the pool and kids are being carefully watched every second.

For the mental health of my child, we will not be enrolling in Infant Swimming Resources courses. We'll do the gradual introduction instead, which begins with a bucket of water and the hose in the backyard.

Success, at Last.....kinda

I think I mentioned that potty-training was not going very well here. Well, last night, we finally had a bit of success. After bath, Cashew was running around nakey butt, and unbeknownst to Filbert and I, she managed to get some pee-pee in the potty. Unfortunately, the occurance was so startling to her that she got off the potty before she was done and peed a trail across Walnut and Peanut's room. Even more unfortunately, Walnut's beloved green and purple cow/hippo, Moo, was caught in the spray. Filbert and I did a super encouraging potty dance for Cashew, but I'm not sure was enough to counter-act the severe reprimand she was also receiving from Walnut.

Oh, Canada!

Happy Canada Day!

I ran into a Canadian today and wished her a happy Canada Day and she looked at me funny; I could see the wheels turning. Then, she said, "Oh! That is today!" The pianist who was there (Mr. Bean was in a recording session) immediately began playing the anthem and String Bean danced a jig.

What a way to celebrate Canada!

The Farm

Photo by Mandie

Every year for Independence day, Mr. Bean and I go to the Farm (his aunt and uncle's house). We enjoy the small town parade and an awesome fireworks show.

We hope String Bean will enjoy playing in the yard with the hose on. We *might* even try the pool!

What are your 4th of July plans?

Star Spangled Banner

15 Star US Flag (adopted by Congress in 1795).
Photo taken in Philadelphia, PA on July 1, 2006.
1st place photo for Patriotic category at the county fair Summer 2007
Photo by Mr. Bean

As our nation's birthday draws near, you certainly will hear your share of patriotic songs. Our national anthem has a unique history. I found this article which is thorough yet brief. Here are some interesting facts I gleaned from it:

• Our national anthem wasn't adopted as such until 1931 thanks to President Herbert Hoover. Now I need to go back and rewatch all the historical movies of the American Revolution and see how many play the Star Spangled Banner which would be historically inaccurate.
  
• The anthem has 4 stanzas. I am not sure if I have heard any except the first!
• The US Code 36 U.S.C. § 301 gives citizens the rules of conduct during the playing of the national anthem.
  
• The anthem has been translated into multiple languages which is fitting since we are a country of immigrants!
  
  

I hope you feel more educated about your American heritage!

Independence Day

Family. Fireworks. Picnics. Parades. If you are lucky, it is really hot out and the sprinklers will be turned on! It isn't just a 3 day weekend. This is the one day a year we celebrate the birth of our country. Happy Birthday, America!

Here are some fun America trivia for you as you prepare for your festivities!

• Besides John Hancock, can you name one of the other signers of the Declaration of Independence? I can! I'm related to John Morton, one of the signers from Pennsylvania.
• Do you know the name of the famous American symbol of freedom across the street from Independence Hall in Philadelphia? I do because my father and grandfather both took their oaths of office for the military there!
• What town has the oldest continuous celebration of Independence Day?
• This year (2009) is the ________ anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
• What year did July 4th become a paid holiday for federal employees?
• Where can you go to view the Declaration of Independence?

Camping

My friend Emily has a shirt that says "Camping is In Tents." Get it? (I'll pause while you recover from that groaner.)

Tonight is the Great American Backyard Camp-out! So, get out those tents, find the sleeping bags and spray on some bug spray. Your kids will love it!

The Death of a King

I was amazed to flip through channels yesterday and pause on MTV. They were showing music videos. Gasp. This has not been done since I was a child. Apparently, it takes the death of the King of Pop for MTV to find its roots.

One of my earliest television memories involves sitting around the television catching Kids Incorporated on Saturday mornings and flipping over to MTV to watch the Thriller video. We had cable, but certain channels were off limits. (Hi, Mom!) I'm sure I would have gotten into lots of trouble at the age of 6 or 7 watching MTV in our house. (My in-laws, who are missionaries, must have allowed MTV at their house because Mr. Bean recognized nearly all the music videos we watched last night as soon as the opening scenes began.) The zombies always scared me a bit, so I never watched the whole thing. Last night it was on television and I watched it in its entirety with Mr. Bean. I laughed at how well zombies dance and how un-scary it is. Perspective is everything I guess.

I had two friends who lived on my block as a kid: Brooke and Amber. I remember sitting in my front yard singing with them Bad and the Weird Al version Fat. Those were the days. Of course we didn't hear the song that often, so we didn't know the verses, just the choruses. I think we also became blood sisters back then. Oh, the 80s. A magical time indeed.

Recently, I taught a 2nd grade class. One little boy, Robert, had a keen interest in karaoke. His favorite song to sing? Billie Jean.

I won't even pretend to be a connoisseur of Michael Jackson or even know very many of his songs (lets face it, if it wasn't on Bad or Thriller, we're lucky if I have even heard of it). I'll leave that honor to my sister-in-law and my husband.

Be prepared for snide remarks from Filbert who is not a fan of MJ. Tsk, tsk. How can he be part of Generation X?!

Tutu Tips

I got caught up yesterday making this for String Bean that I forgot to blog! Whoops. I'd say, "It won't happen again," but I'd probably be lying.

A few notes about that tutu if you plan to make it. My baby has a pretty small waist and is pretty short for 19 months old. I suggest you measure your kid to see where you want the tutu to fall. I made 20" tulle pieces instead of 24". Combing the shorter pieces with a smaller waist, I only needed 25 yards of fabric instead of 50. Of course, your mileage may vary as you make this, so be sure to do a bit of measuring before you start cutting!

We hired our music pastor's son to come over and clean our house today. Paying him $6 per hour, we are out $33, but our house is livable again! Crevices that haven't seen a vacuum or dust cloth in years (gulp) are now clean and tidy. Even our refrigerator and freezer were emptied and wiped down! If you need a house cleaner and you're local, let me know. I'll pass along his info and you can hire him. He's looking for summer work.

Now to enjoy the evening with a clean home and a well dressed toddler!

Inspiring Word

Tomorrow morning, we will all look in the mirror to assess the degree of maintenance required to make us presentable to the world and its standards. Isn't it time we took a long look at the reflection produced by our relationships and assess the degree of maintenance required to make our hearts presentable to our Heavenly Father and His righteous standards?

Walter White, Executive Director, Moody Bible Institute Alumni Association
as seen in the Spring 2009 edition of onWord Vol. 59 No. 2