Love/Hate Relationship

I cannot decide if I love or hate the Smith's car shopping carts. You know the red, green, or blue two seater cars attached to the shopping cart. I was thinking about this after my last shopping trip with the kids.

Here are some of the reasons I love the carts.

1. They are pretty much the only way I can convince Luke to go grocery shopping without a bunch of tears.
2. He buckles himself in (Safety First!) but he cannot undo the buckle. Therefore, he is pretty much trapped in the car unless I free him. I'm sure this won't last much longer, but I will take it while I can.
   
3. Because he is trapped in the car he can't play with the car toys they have in several locations of the store. He still begs, but at least he can't get out. Sometimes I am nice and will let him play for one minute.
4. It helps him let out some creativity as he pretends to really "drive."
5. It puts a smile on my face when he asks me to stop and undo his seatbelt so he can put some "gas" in the car. (This has happened twice and he will really go through all the motions of pretending to put gas in his car.)
6. Luke cannot put unwanted items in the cart.

Here are some reasons I hate the carts.

1. They always look so nasty and I am sure they are so full of germs. But so are all the carts. (However, I did invest in a shopping seat cover for Katelyn and LOVE it.)
2. They are so BIG. Have you ever tried turning around in an aisle? I have many times, forgetting how big I was with this cart, to only barely make it without knocking a row of items off the shelf. Sometimes I am not so lucky and end up picking up several cans of green beans off the floor and while I am doing that Katelyn is usually grabbing some more to decorate the floor.
3. I usually don't go fast enough for Luke.
4. Luke is constantly talking to me but I can barely hear him because he is so FAR in front of me. (Maybe that's a good thing sometimes.)
5. There isn't as much space for the groceries. So I am usually balancing several items on top of each other hoping not to smash the eggs or bruise the bananas.
6. They are a pain at the checkout.

That's all I can think of right now, but I am sure there are more to add to each list. Well, it looks like I have the same amount of reasons for loving and hating these carts. So I am still undecided.
If you have experience with these carts, what are your feelings?

A Challenge

I saw my name at the end of Heather's challenge so I am assuming she meant me. Am I right Heather? :)

4 Jobs I've had
1. Data entry for a medical billing company
2. substitute teacher
3. first grade teacher
4. a mom

4 Movies I Can Watch Over and Over
1. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Best 80s movie)
2. Runaway Bride
3. Grease
4. This is hard, I don't really enjoy watching movies over and over. Um...The Count of Monte Christo.

4 Places I've Lived
1. Middle East
2. California
3. Virginia
4. Provo

4 TV Shows I Enjoy
1. The Office
2. American Idol
3. Oprah
4. Design shows on HGTV

4 Places I've Been on Vacation
1. San Diego
2. Utah
3. Virginia
4. Disneyland
(I think I am due for an exciting vacation.)

4 Favorite Restaurants
1. Applebees/chicken oriental salad
2. Claim Jumper/stuffed baked potato
3. Cafe Rio
4. Red Robin

4 Websites I Visit Daily
1. email
2. myfamily.com
3. blogs
4. more blogs

4 Places I'd Rather Be Right Now
1. on a fun vacation
2. sleeping in my bed
3. at the beach reading a good book
4. with all of my family

4 People I Think Will Do This
1. Paige
2. Amanda
3. Kerry
4. all my sisters in law ( I couldn't just pick one)

Swimming Lesson Torture

Luke is not a swimmer but when I mentioned the idea of swimming lessons to him, he got excited. So I decided to go through with it and signed him up. The cost was only $25 for 6 lessons, so I thought if it didn't work out I wouldn't be out too much money.

(Look at that happy face, this was before the first lesson started.)

Monday, the 16th-First lesson
Luke is excited! My cousin's son is in the class too. I think that was the main reason Luke was excited. He puts on the life jacket and gets in the water. Phew, no screaming or coming back out of the water like I expected.
He is scared, I can tell by his nervous laughter, but no crying yet.
Time to put their heads under the water. Luke is not liking that idea. The teacher asks me if he can make Luke do it. I say ,"Go for it." (I know, I'm a mean mom, but he has to do it sometime.) He swallows some water and is a little shaken up, but no crying and he survived. He tries everything else with major coaxing and does not want to let go of the teacher. (Is that a smile? This must have been before they attempted any swimming and definitely before putting his head under the water.)

(Not crying, but will not let go!)

It was so hot this first day and the pool did not have any shade. I was sweating like nothing else by the time the lesson was over.

Wednesday, the 18th-Second Lesson
Some major bribing was needed for Luke to get dressed and get in the car to go to swim lessons.
(I promised he could go to the dollar store and pick out a toy if he at least got in the water and tried everything.)
He gets in the water, no problem. Again, I am surprised.
He is in the water for a few minutes and than the tears start. He doesn't want to let go of the teacher but eventually does. He doesn't want to jump of the side but kind of does it. The whole time he is crying and saying, "I don't like swimming." "I want to get out."
Okay, I am starting to feel bad now. This is pretty much torture for him and for me to have to listen to him. (Did I mention that none of the other kids cried and did just what the teacher asked?)
We did go to the dollar store because he at least attempted everything. The bribe for the next lesson involved no crying.

(I'm sorry, there are no pictures from the crying session. I was trying to keep Katelyn from slipping out of my arms and into the water. But I do wish I would have taken at least one.)

Friday, the 20th-Third Lesson
Best lesson yet...we didn't end up going.
Katelyn woke up with a fever and I didn't want to take her out in the heat and have to struggle to get Luke in the water.

Today-the 23rd-Fourth Lesson
Another great lesson...we didn't go again.
Luke got sick over the weekend and still wasn't feeling great this morning. I decided it wasn't worth it.

Fifth and Sixth Lesson
Not going to happen for us. He has already missed two days and will be even farther behind than he already has been.

Am I giving up? Maybe. But I don't want to traumatize him anymore. Maybe we will attempt lessons again next year. I think Luke just needs more experience in the water before he has structured lessons. So I think that means that I am going to have to spend some time in my swimming suit at the community pool with my kiddos. ( I have already done it twice and believe me, it is not a pretty site. But I will do it for my kids.)

11 MONTHS

• loves to play in water
• makes the airplane and car sounds when playing with Luke's toys
• not so fond of her baby doll yet
  
• pretends to talk on the phone
• "dances" when she hears music
  
• "tried" to put her shorts on the other day (she lifted her shorts up than her leg)
• loves to eat and will eat almost anything
• thinks "no" is funny
  
• loves to play peek-a-boo, hiding and chasing games
• loves her big brother
• loves shoes and feet
• has no desire to stand or attempt walking
• is finally trying to pull up on things
• scoots or bounces on her bum, she is getting pretty fast
• finally a good sleeper!!!!!!!
• likes to "read" books
• she has quite the personality

This is what Katelyn does, most of the time, when we try and help her stand. Every now and than we can get her to focus and balance.

Teamwork!

Luke plays the keys while Katelyn plays the pedals. I'm glad to see they can help each other out at such a young age.

Swimming in the Garage

Yep, that's right, we set this pool up in the garage and let the kids have some fun. Since our backyard is not in any condition for a swimming pool, the garage was the next best thing. The kids didn't care and had a great time. I think Katelyn drank half the swimming pool and Luke was in charge of the hose. Luke thought it was funny to get Katelyn in the face with the water (she was actually a good sport about it), but he didn't like it so much when we did it to him.

Waiting and Watching

This has been a popular spot for Luke and Katelyn the past few Saturday mornings. Kevin has been putting in a retaining wall. He tries to get out there as early as he can because it is 100 million degrees outside!!! Luke & Katelyn love to pound on the sliding door and watch him work. I think they would really like to be out there "helping", but they can help better from inside.