VBS

Vacation Bible School started today. I have two confessions.

1) If I'd realized how much "sit down on the carpet, get up to sing, sit down, get up, sit on the grass, get up, sit down, get up . . ." I don't think I would have volunteered to be a Crew Leader.

2) As we were driving up this morning, we went past my favorite cross stitch store and a Starbucks, and I wistfully thought of all the time I could have, alone, without thinking about all the things I should be doing. Over two hours a morning, every day for a week.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to be helping out. I'm glad to be involved. But I'm also a little selfish, and would like to have that time for myself, too.

Covetousness

I forgot to mention that, in addition to the new puppy, we got to see another new venture of my brother & SIL (insert shameless plug here): http://www.potterymill.com/ She doesn't have pictures of my favorite stuff, here:

Honestly, I walked around thinking things like, "I want this, and that, and ooooh! an inkwell would make the perfect vase for violets in the spring! I'd love some more serving bowls, and a platter, a pitcher, and a cookie jar, and I have to remember to bring the girls out in the fall so we can make Christmas ornaments . . ."

I also really liked watching her work the clay into a bowl, even a basic one. She's not doing as many classes now, but I'd love a chance at the kick wheel. Yeah, because I need another hobby!

The Power of the Puppy

We were out visiting my brother and his wife tonight - check out the cute new puppy they got yesterday! He is so cute and sweet, and he loves my brother to death. All night long, his favorite place to be was asleep on Chris' foot. The kitchen floor, under the dining room table - if Chris' foot was still, Rufus was on it. He's a very mellow dog; he just hangs around and sleeps a lot, and lets you know "I'm a houn' dawg."

I have to say, the Power of the Puppy is really strong; he's so cute! Luckily, Jeff is immune to tPotP and there are no puppies in our immediate future.

Barely a month ago, when we first got to Florida, Sarah didn't want to put her face in the water, and wouldn't go to a depth where she couldn't touch.

Today, she kept going underwater, found a penny on the bottom of the pool (shallow end), swam almost the length of the deep end, and did a few underwater somersaults. I am astonished at how far she's come, just from three Fridays worth of swimming!

Lauren likes tiptoeing around the shallow end, but she greatly prefers the inflatable ring. For a while, she was jumping in all by herself, but by the end of the day, she only wanted to jump if someone was there to catch her or kind of "slither" into the water.

I can't wait to see what they're doing next week!

Shoulda seen that coming.

When we went to the library yesterday, I noticed a flyer that our Community Center is doing summer dance classes. There's no recital, it's just to get a kind of head start on the fall. I asked Sarah if she wanted to do dance or a sport like t-ball or soccer again, and she immediately said, "Dance!" Ballet was full, and she wanted tap over jazz, which works better with our schedule anyway.

Classes started last week, but the instructor said it was ok for her to start up anyway. We got there just before class started, and luckily the instructor had some tap shoes available (she took orders last week, so Sarah will get new ones in September).

When Lauren saw the shoes, and the class, she got so excited. I'd been telling her that she would take classes when she's older (she can start in September with the regular class), but she still thought she would be able to get out on the floor and dance with everyone else. She danced at the Chuck E. Cheese birthday party last month, she dances at home all the time, so why should this be any different?

Well, it is different. As I took her out of the classroom, she was sobbing. She'll play the boo hoo sometimes, but it's obviously fake. This was sincerely confused and heartbroken, poor thing. We went to pay for the class and get a drink of water, and when we came back, she was glued in the open doorway, swinging her feet to do the "shuffle step" along with the big girls, and kept asking for her princess shoes (they have hard soles, so make noise when you walk).

There are six more classes, and luckily there is a very nice playground on the other side of the parking lot, so Lauren & I will spend our time there while Sarah's in class, because it's too pathetic otherwise.

Three more steps

This morning after breakfast, I waited until Dora the Explorer was ready to start, set it to record, and told Lauren it was time to sit on the potty. She could watch Dora when she was done. I listened to some complaints, read a few stories, and CHEERED when (38 minutes later) she peed again!

Before lunch, I took her in again, and it only took 5 or 10 minutes for her to go. After her nap, she went almost immediately. So I think we really are making some progress!

One step forward . . .

So Lauren used the toilet this morning (and got HUGE amounts of praise, from everybody - I even considered telling the FedEx guy), but then wet her pants and pooped in yet another pair within the hour tonight while I was at work. It's a good first step, though! Tomorrow morning, I'm going to encourage her to drink a LOT of juice, then sit with her in the bathroom for however long it takes.