Water Fun

We had a great day today. They have been few and far between lately so we were very grateful for the day. Summer got up earlier than normal today so I decided to take advantage and take her to ride her bike. She loves to ride her bike but we don't have a yard that equips bike riding and walking around the block while letting her ride her bike is like taking your life (and hers) in your hands. But since it was extra early I knew that the traffic would be sparse. I did some much needed walking while she rode her bike and when we got back we took a dip in the pool....perfect after some physical excersion. We were planning on trying out the library special for the day but my brother called and asked us to meet up with them at Chickasabogue. Sounded like a much better idea to us than the library special! We got there about 2:00 and all of us had a blast splashing around in the water. I was really aggravated with myself because I meant to bring my camera and I totally forgot. My brother managed to remember to bring his (probably because it was a brand new purchase on one of their many shopping sprees) so maybe I will have some pics to post later.

Wedneday

Even though my brother is in town we have only seen him twice. We went out to eat last night.......Chinese, yuck. There are not many "shopping holes" in Viet Nam so when they come to America Diep keeps them in Walmart, the mall and Target. My brother makes a joke and says they just vacation here every year for the shopping. We were going to go canoeing Monday but there was a threat of rain so we decided to make it another day. I have been having an itch lately to vacation too.......or just an urge to get out of Mobile for a little while. We know we are going to move but we just havn't decided if we want to stay in Mobile or move more westward. I'm really tiring of Mobile. I have lived here all my life and we have exhausted every activity that there is here....which isn't all that much. With homeschooling I just feel the desire to move near a larger more cultured city with plenty of educational options. We don't have any close friends here and the only family I have here are my brother and my dad. My dad still gets around well and loves to travel so he told me he would come visit if we moved and I'm sure my brother would visit and vice versa. Mobile just doesn't seem very homey anymore.....maybe it's the neighborhood atmosphere I am in.

Family Time

We finally got to see my brother on Sunday. It was nice to see him again and catch up on family happenings and chit-chat. Here is a picture of him, Diep, Megan and Summer.

Thursday

Summer and I went to the library special of the week today. So far we havn't much enjoyed any of them but the African Dance Company. I thought it was just me but Summer turned her nose up at the magician from today and the balloon guy from last week. Sometimes I think when you homeschool your child they see so much of the "big" world that the stuff that's made for everyday kids just isn't enough for their expanded minds.

Anyway, after the special we met Toby for lunch at the shop. We don't usually do lunch with him because you never know when a customer is going to show up right before we get there....but today we got lucky and was able to grab a bite with him.

I am looking forward to Saturday when my dad and brother will be back in from their cruise. I can't wait to hear all the details! I was thinking that I should wait before I go see them and give them time to rest after they get back in but then I thought.......Rest! They have been resting for a week!

Tuesday

We finally got some much needed rain. The only disadvantage to the rain is being stuck inside with a VERY active 6 year old. Thank goodness we had managed to have some outdoor time before the rain started. Toby and I took Summer to a city park that I just recently found out about and is not far from my house. The park has a small wading-like pool and it's pretty big...just right for kids to get cooled off in. The pool was not populated at all, there were only 2 other children there besides Summer so we let her play about 1 1/2 hours. From the way she was enjoying it you would never had guessed she has a pretty decent sized pool right in her own back yard. Kids always seem to enjoy things more when it's not theirs. Thank goodness it was somewhat cloudy and there was a cool breeze or Toby would have never sat out in the heat that long.

Father's Day

Today we celebrated Father's Day by going to eat at 2 Dollar Bills (formally known as Cock of the Walk). Afterwards we stopped by to visit Charlie (Toby's brother) then to Blockbuster and Books-a-Million. After we got back to the house Charlie came over for a quick dip in the pool with Toby and Summer.

My brother and his family will be arriving from Viet Nam for a month stay in the states. My brother is a translator for the American Government and I don't get to see him as much as I would like. I won't even get to see him until next week though because they are leaving tommorow on a cruise out of Mobile.....instigated by me. After hearing what a good time we had last year on ours Diep, Buddy's wife, had to have a cruise for herself. My dad and his wife will be joining them.

Although not to eventful, I think Toby had a decent Father's Day.

Playtime

My brother dropped my niece off at our house for Summer to play with today. They are only 6 months apart and are alot alike, but with only one difference. Summer is very active and tomboyish while Elenora is dainty and girly. This is where the clash came in. Summer was wanting to play outside kicking the ball and jumping on the trampoline while Elenora wanted to play barbies and watch T.V. Now Summer, not having any siblings close to her age or many playmates, was having to conform and she did good for a couple of hours but I could tell that by the time Elenora had went home they BOTH had had their fill of each other. All in all I believe they had a good time and the best part was when Lucas got into the pool with them and "made waves". I can tell you now that "Intex" pools are very sturdy and durable after seeing what my 18 year son was doing to it.

Hallucinations

After a pretty rough night Summer woke up about 10:00 this morning feeling fine with fever gone. She had fell asleep on the couch early last night so I just left her there until Toby and I went to bed. I took her to bed with us because I did not want to be awoken during the night. When she is sick she has a tendency to wake up periodically during the night and call for me. I had been giving her tylenol religiously since this morning , but before she fell asleep I did not give her any because I wanted to give her body a chance to fight off the bug. Anyway, I was awoken about an hour after going to bed by screams from her. I thought she was having a bad dream but then I noticed she was wide awake. She kept kicking the covers off of her and acting like there was something after her. She told me she wanted to go into her room and wanted me to go with her so I did. When we got in there she was still looking around frantically for the thing she called "bumps that were cracking and crumbling the floor". She was burning up with fever so at that point I thought it might be best to tylenol her up. She finally fell asleep again but later awoke taking the covers off of me and looking for "something" again. She was looking at me like she didn't know who I was and talking out of her head and putting her fingers in her ears to shut out some kind of noise that only she could hear. I felt of her and it seems the tylenol had brought her fever down but the hallucinations were still there. She was doing her best to drag me right into her little wakeful nightmare world. In the end, it all turned out o.k and I was relieved to learn that I wasn't the only child to ever have this happen. Luke never had hallucinations and Toby asked me what kind of "drugs" I was on when I told him about some of the things I remember "seeing" as a child when I was sick. Anyway, she was back to normal today and we are all grateful.

Sick Day

Well my plan was to start back on our schooling schedule this morning. I spent all evening last night revising what we would be covering but when Summer got up this morning she was lethargic and had a high fever. Great! We just got over being sick in this household.....she has only been well for a little over a week. Oh well, atleast I am grateful that it's not anykind of throw-up thing. I can handle anything but puke! She must have a pretty bad bug this time because she has not moved around much at all today. Hopefully it will be shortlived and we will be back to normal. My brother and his family will be in from overseas this week and I want to be able to enjoy their company fully.

Monday

It was a beautiful day to go to the beach so that's what we did. The beach is one of the few advantages of living in the south. Toby and Summer love the water so they stay out there in the water. I personally love the peacefullness and the sound of the birds, the water crashing, and the hot sun on my face. To me, being out there is almost a spiritual experience listening to all the natural sounds and being a part of something so vast.

Summer had been saving her allowance for a couple of months to get her a "Build a Bear" so on the way home we stopped into the Malbis center and she picked her new friend out. She picked out a light pink cat. I'm sure that in a couple of days it won't be quite so light anymore as much as she totes her stuffys around.

Sunday

Toby and Lucas got up and headed to a matinee to see "Pirates of the Carribean". Summer and I stayed home and hung out because neither she nor I like to sit for long periods of time....much less for some pirate movie. I was trying to catch up on some "school" with her but I just couldn't get it together. Since I was ailing last week we didn't really do our usual routine with school and now I am out of the swing of things. This being the one good reason we school year round. I find it's best to squeeze in a little something everyday than to take time off only to have to get everyone "back in the mode" again. Like Toby says " we like to keep our machine well oiled". Not much else the rest of the day though, just hanging out with Toby on his off day.

Friday

Today was open play at Pump it Up today and we had been invited by some friends to meet up there. I am finally feeling back to normal today so I decided to take Summer. Originally Toby said he wanted to go but in the end I urged him to stay home and relax. It's great to have Toby and Lucas as playmates when there are no other choices, but since there were going to be "real children" there for her to play with I thought it was best to leave the big boy at home. After the play we went and ate at Chik fa le and then made a trip to the Thrift Store. Alot of people find other people's used things as "gross", my husband being one of them, but one of my obsessions is finding a bargain and I have found plenty of them at thrift stores and goodwills. I find alot of books, curriculum and teaching materials that I use for homeschooling. That stuff ain't cheap brand new! That's why God gave us the ability to invent soap and washing machines! I always tell him he better be glad I'm thrifty or he would be even poorer than he already is.......he agrees to that.

Thursday

I awoke this morning not feeling that much better than yesterday. I keep thinking that this "bug" will eventually go away an leave me alone. But like my mil says "When your a mom, you gotta just trudge on." So, I took Summer to the library weekly special. It was an African Dance Company and they were very good....like I don't see enough "African dancers" in the neigborhood I live in, but these dancers were very cultured and not quite so vulgur in their displays. Summer really enjoyed it because they had the drums, or jimbays as they called them. Since Toby is a drummer and has a set of congos this really intriqued her. It was kind of hard for me to enjoy and concentrate though because I had left Toby at the house with a severe headache. He had originally planned on going with us but after lunch developed a headache that was very excruciating to him. Toby is very very rarely sick and even if he is he still is mobil. I dosed him up with medication before we left but by the time we got back he was still writhing in pain. My son was even sympathetic of him. Anyway, I rushed home after the library special and made him put vicks vapor rub under his nose and put him in a steaming tub with the door closed and the light off. Summer and I had a good time playing "doctor" in a G rated way and eventually his headache subsided. I made a joke by telling him he couldn't die because we needed his money but inside I was truly worried about him. Once his 4 hour long headache went away he drifted on into work....against the "doctors" orders of course.

Wednesday

I have been under the weather for the past couple of days. I guess just allergies or something or another. Anyway, not bad enough to keep me down just bad enough for me not to be up to par. Today I took Summer to the park for a "playdate". We didn't stay too long because the humidy was awful. I love hot weather but I'm not real crazy about humidity....which is a drawback to living in the south. My son was off work today, which was an advantage for me because he spent a couple of hours in the pool with Summer while I rested. Don't let anybody ever fool you into thinking that it's a disadvantage to having your kids far apart in age......it's like having a live-in babysitter sometimes.

Sunday

Today we set off to the Museum of Mobile free day. When we got downtown the Museum wasn't open yet so we grabbed us some lunch and went to Bienville Square to picnic. It's a Sunday so downtown is mostly dead but there were alot of homeless people laying around on the benches so we had to hunt for a spot. During the week I don't really notice all the homeless.....I don't know if they have always been there and I just didn't notice for all the other people that work down there during the week. You never know what another persons life is like until you walk a mile in their shoes so I really don't have an opinion on the homeless but I was a little uncomfortable eating a meal while "hungry" people watched. Then again, you never want to offend anyone by offering food..... Anyway, Summer had brought her new scooter too so she had a blast zooming around on it and feeding the pigeons and squirells french fries. After that we ventured back to the Museum. They had a pottery artist there and there was a pottery craft for the kids so we got in some "art". Another great day to be thankful for. :-)

Saturday

Summer and I don't get bored too much but I have to say Saturday's are the worst. Toby and Luke are usually at work and I hate getting out in Saturday crowds (homeschooling spoil factor) so we usually end up doing this and that just trying to fill the day up. We ended up seeing a few yard sale signs so we stopped at a few of them. Summer was looking for a "razor" scooter and I was just looking for anything that caught my eye. Well, I hit the jackpot! I found a whole box of very useful teaching materials. The lady said she used to be a first grade teacher and this wall all her teaching aids. Just perfect, exactly the age I needed! She wasn't asking but $3 for the whole box but I gave her $5 because I grabbed a couple of more book outside of the box. I would have to say in my estimation, the stuff originally probably cost her well over $100. I was very grateful to have stumbled upon it. Needless to say, Summer never found her scooter so off we hit Toy'Rus and found one on sale $10 cheaper than it's original price. Now tell me we didn't have alot to be thankful for today! :-)

Friday

We had a mostly stay at home day. Toby and Summer played in the pool a little while and I made lunch.....a rarity, we usually eat on the run while doing errands. Later in the afternoon I made my trek to my dad's for my "surprise" and it was a "surprise". He gave my 2 brothers and I our inheritance early. He says he wants us to go ahead and have it and enjoy it now instead of having to wait until his death. Knowing my spry 70 year old dad that could have been many more years! It was a healthy sum and since I have never had alot of money I'm a little confused as to what to do with it. Thank goodness it is in the form of bonds so I have to wait atleast a year before they can be cashed in.