Afternoon at the Beach

I found a way to keep a toddler from roaming around on the beach--bury him in the sand! That way he has plenty of sand to play with and less sun exposure than when he's not covered with sand. Yesterday he woke up early from his nap so we packed up the car and drove down to the San Onofre Beach on base to play in the sand and surf. Thank goodness for car washes that vaccuum out your car well since mine has lots of sand in it now.

Today we went to the Wild Animal Park. It was the first overcast day in weeks and it seemed like a good break with routine. Einar has been coughing and a bit feverish so I didn't want to expose the other kids in the church nursery to him. He also woke up too late to make it to church this morning. We saw the lions and an elephant show. This Asian elephant named ChaCha was even dancing to music.

Ants and Corn on the Cobb

Einar just went to sleep about 20 minutes ago. We had a good morning at Lantern Bay park in Dana Point with lots of our friends in the shade of the trees and in the sunny sand of thet playground. Lunch was at Denny's and then it was straight home for a much needed nap. Before dinner we hit the pool for a cool down and then we had a yummy dinner of bar-b-que salmon, corn on the cobb, green beans, bulger wheat with dill and for dessert dixie cups with fresh strawberries (Einar chose not to eat the strawberries so I got to eat his!). I was amazed at Einar's corn-eating skills--he at the whole cobb clean! He also nibbled on some of the beans, but the salmon and bulger wheat were not appreciated.

We've had ants and heat this past week, both of which are a bit bothersome. On Saturday it was 108 degrees and on Monday it got to 102. The humidity has been in the 60%'s which doesn't make it any more comfortable for Seattle natives. I know that it has been got all over the past week or two, but it's been such a big part of our week that I had to mention the heat. Several days we've escaped the breeze-less heat and gone to the mall in the late afternoon to play in the kid area--kids get to run around and the moms get to enjoy the air conditioning.

I've been at war with the ants since they appeared on the scene again late last week. We've had several months without an ant invasion, but they appeared in full force again coming up our stairs. AFter I'd scrubbed them up one afternoon, they returned and brought more friends into the kitchen. I guess Argentinian ants are real pests in Southern California and hard to get rid of. I've scrubbed with soap and water to eliminate their trails and positioned ant stakes around the cupboards and now they seem to have diminished in numbers significantly I hope it stays that way since they do really bother me, especially when they are marching around my kitchen cupboards. At least they don't bite us.

Biological Hazards

I just got a phone call from the Ole Hansen Beach Club where Einar is taking his swimming lessons and today's lesson has been canceled because of a biological hazard in the kiddie pool--someone either pooped or threw up during lessons today. I guess it takes a day for clean-up, so our lessons will resume tomorrow. Instead of swimming right now, Einar is taking advantage of the situation by catching some extra zzzzz's in his crib. He didn't fall asleep until right before one this afternoon, so he's logging his fourth hour of napful bliss.

Me, I took an hour nap this afternoon to escape from my nose. Today I've been sneezing uncontrollably since I woke up this morning. I'm pretty sure that it's my allergies and was also pretty sure that I had used up the last of my Alavert as well. However, when I woke up from my nap I found a hidden stash of 4 doses that will certainly help me today and help postpone the Costco trip for a couple of days. Now I'm grilling an eggplant so that it can become a secret ingredient in tonight's dinner (I think I'm making pizza, but I still haven't decided yet).

This morning I took Einar to our church to watch the dirt movers. There is a huge construction project that is underway at the church to build new offices, bathrooms, kitchen and meeting area and they are moving A LOT of dirt. Einar and I brought snacks to enjoy as we watched the progress. We only stayed for about 45 minutes and then it was time for the crew's lunch break. Einar looked like he was in a trance the whole time. He didn't move much at all and there weren't any expression changes either, just enthralled in what was going on in front of him. We'll have to visit the church parking lot again.

Tomorrow it's off to the Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton for Einar's well-baby check-up. We'll find out for sure how far off of the growth charts he measures. I think he also gets a few shots as well. I'll keep you all posted.

Pictures are Back!

The blog fixed itself overnight and pictures are possible again. Einar is napping after a fun morning at the park. There were two incidents that I had to break up when Einar started hitting kids on the head with his sand shovel, but then we were on the swing for awhile and that stopped the shovel craziness.

A note on the pictures, Einar did the coloring on the easel except for the two blue people. Marlene drew those when she was visiting.

Where are the Pictures?

Well, something has happend to this blog and I can't seem to post any pictures! ARGH. I have a couple of good ones of Einar in a shopping cart at Trader Joe's this afternoon. I don't know what happened, but it doesn't seem to be giving me the option of posting photos anymore. Any bloggers out there who can help?

We've had a good weekend. Yesterday we started early by a stop at Starbucks and then finding some garage sales. I found a little tykes car for Einar for only a buck that he like driving around on our back patio. and some Disney books to read to the little guy. Since Jared left we've had a bit more of a bedtime routine with some scheduled bookreading while he drinks his evening milk. I have found that he pays more attention to the reading when he's occupied with the milk and a bit tired. Even now he likes repetition and so I usually read the story twice. Once we got home he took a long nap. This whole week he's been down for his nap around noon and sleeps for 3-4 hours! I'm going to keep trying to get him to his naps around that time since it seems to be working.

I remembered during yesterday's nap that we have an inflatable pool. I blew it up and added four buckets of water to it and he splashed around in it for an hour after his nap. I had my feet in it too cool off and read a magazine in my camping chair. It's in the upper 80's all weekend with 65% humidity. I know I shouldn't complain to Jared while he's in Okinawa, but it is an adjustment for me to get used to this weather. Please don't make me move to the east coast or the south! AFter splashing around for awhile, we showered and went to Wal Mart to cool off in the air conditioning and then had dinner at the Greek Restaurant next door. I shared a felafel and hummus platter with the little guy. He really liked the pita and tried everything else.

Today we went to church in the morning and then took Einar for a haircut afterwards. Melissa at Stud Cuts did a great job again. Einar, however, wasn't his composed self this time and started out by just sitting there and crying. He eventually calmed down a bit and wound up with a nice cut. There were two other little boys getting their hairs cut this afternoon as well. The place was absolutely packed and all of the chairs had barbers working. I guess that is the case on Sunday afternoons. The only thing I have to worry about when I go there is that the guys waiting their turns think that I'm waiting for someone in a chair and not for a turn in a chair for Einar. There was a bit of confusion over that one this afternoon, but we waited for Melissa anyway so it all worked out. Then it was home for a 4 hour nap! Afterwards we went to a new park for some swinging and playing and then to Trader Joe's for some food supplies. Einar is much more himsel, I'm glad to report. He even had a donut after church, something that he hasn't wanted for the past two Sundays. My little boy is back!

Sorry about the pictures, I'll keep trying.

Early To Bed Night

Boys who swim crash early at night. Einar had his first swimming lesson this afternoon down at the Ole Hansen Community Pool. He learned how to kick while on his stomach (a skill he's been working on for the past couple of weeks) and we also sang some good water songs like Motor boat motor boat. We have class for four consecutive days this week and four consecutive days next week. He nearly fell asleep in the car on the way home so we had an early dinner and bath and then he went to sleep at 7PM!! That is about an hour and a half earlier than normal and 45 minutes earlier than last night.

I can't contribute the early bedtime with only swimming, however. He's still not his normal self and woke up this morning on the wrong side of the bed until he'd had some milk. Solid foods for breakfast were ruled out early on. Thankfully it was my chance for a few hours for myself and Kathleen picked him up and took him to Thunderbird park with her two kids. She reported back that although he was mellow all morning, he was in good spirits, played well, and didn't cry at all. I took the opportunity to get myself down to the beach that I'm supposed to be cleaning up on a regular basis with my calipers and garbage bag in hand. The only things out of the ordinary that I found on the beach were tent stakes, a crab sand toy that I brought home for Einar, and a lonely flip-flop. Once my clean-up was done, I went to have my nails done in San Juan Capistrano. The lady even painted a flower on my big toes. It's nice to have my nails painted since I run around in sandals and flip-flops all of the time. It's even better to have a few hours of Karla time!

What a Week!

Einar and I are recovering from a really fun week. Last Thursday, Karin, Marlene, and Amelia came to stay with us for a week and our goal was to just enjoy Southern California. We went to Sea World, The Wild Animal Park, Disneyland, the beach, the pool on most days, and just had fun hanging out. Karin and I do find that it takes more time to do things with three than just having the usual suspects around. The energy level in the house is so much higher than normal! The kids got along well and Marlene had fun swimming in the pool and meeting some San Clemente friends at the park and in the pool. Although we had one or two early starts to our days, for the most part we played it by ear and didnt' stress out over getting places early. We let the sleeping and eating schedule of the kids determine what our plan was. At the end of most days we had worn them out well and even had some time to ourselves to enjoy the hot tub and play a great new card game that Karin brought down with her called Catan.

Highlights of Disneyland for Einar included riding the Monster's Inc. ride, having a diaper change outside of the princess store while Marlene was getting a picture with Snow White's stepmother, eating a frozen-chocolate-covered banana after riding "It's a Small World," running after a dinner of Turkey Leg (I ate it, not my meat-avoiding son), and the Winnie-the-Pooh ride in Critter Town.

My car worked very well--fitting three carseats and two strollers with ease. It does now need a bit of cleaning to get out all of the sand and chicken nuggets out of it.

The Fourth of July we went down to the Wild Animal Park in the morning and then came home for some hot dogs and potato salad for dinner. I think that there may have been a pool visit as well that afternoon to cool off. Einar sensed that there was a party that night and wouldn't go to sleep until after the fireworks. We watched them from our driveway and from the patio since there was a Dana Point display and a San Clemente display that night. The Dana Point ones were really good and since they were closer, easier to see. Einar just stood out there in the street drinking his milk and pointing at the fireworks. Occassionally he'd say "ooh." Once they were over, he had no trouble going to bed since the party was over and he wouldn't miss anything.

My quiet time is over now. Einar has been teething like a dervish the last few days and needs much more snuggling and Mommy than usual. He also wakes with a scream around this time and needs some reassurance. I'm hoping those teeth break through soon and our son will return again soon. He's had such a short fuse the past few days, but if I think about all we've done in the past week combined with the teething, a bit of crankiness and lack of energy are to be expected!