Apparently Kids Like Going to the Pool

I am not really a pool person.  Actually, I am not really a water person.  I do like going to the beach, but I like it more for the relaxation.  Sitting on the beach (fully sunblocked or umbrella'd), listening to the waves crash, reading a book or falling asleep.  That is awesome, although doesn't really happen now that I have kids at the beach with me.  And if someone who is really good at swimming, and possibly saving my life, is willing to go in the water with me, then I can enjoy that too.

But overall, I don't swim.  I wouldn't say that I'm afraid of the water.  I know that if I venture out in still water, I can most likely get back to whichever surface I came from.  Be it a boat, dock or pool side.

However, I am not confident in my ability to take care of small children in a water environment.  But really, that is not the point of my post.

The point is, that kids love the pool.  Since kids love the pool, we have joined a pool this summer.  This basically melds together three things I don't like - 1) Water with small children, 2) Sun exposure (I'm kind of a freak about sunblock.  Have you seen my children?  They're like ghosts.  They burn, I burn.), and 3) Wearing a bathing suit.

This late in the game...probably not learning to rescue small children from water.  So most likely, we will only be going to the pool with Clif.


The ghostly-ness of me and my children?  That I can do absolutely zero about.  I will be buying lots of sunblock.

However, I've decided to try and do something about the horridness of my body in a bathing suit.  So at least when I am sitting under some sort of shade structure watching my husband take care of my kids in the water, I can feel somewhat comfortable in the most un-revealing bathing suit I can find.



Do you think I could pull off this look?


So I present...What I'm doing to get bathing suit ready and healthy too!

1 - Walking.  My cousin, Elizabeth, has started a walking competition between a bunch of us.  I have a large family and we live all over the East coast, but we all bought pedometers and we're all trying to walk at least 10,000 steps a day.  Well, I was not on the ball and did not buy mine until Saturday.  So I started yesterday (a week behind everyone else)...but I walked 17,500 steps!!!  What?!?!  I couldn't believe it.

2 - Stairs.  I work on the 7th floor of a building.  I've always taken the elevator.  But I've decided, no more elevator.  Now I'm walking up and down stairs all day.  Up is way harder than down, but I've already noticed it getting a bit easier in just a week.

3 - Water.  I used to be so great at drinking water.  But I have floundered since taking this job.  Ice is the reason.  I love really cold water.  I mean, it needs to be almost icy for me to drink it all.  There is only one ice machine in the whole building.  Second floor.  Note above...I work on the 7th floor.  So I've been lazy.  But now with my whole attitude towards stairs and walking as much as possible...I drank 9 glasses of water yesterday!

4 - Food.  This is always my biggest weakness.  I. Love. Food!  I love so many different kinds of food.  The greasier, cheesier, breadier the better!  All bad things.  So I'm trying.  I refuse to "diet."  Really I'm just trying to make some healthier decisions.  I'm trying to eat less sugar (because apparently when I got pregnant with Freddie I also got a major sweet tooth).  I'm trying to eat at least 5 fruits and veggies a day.  And most important of all, portion control.  This is really the hardest part for me.  I have a huge...no HUGE appetite.  I can eat most people under the table.  Not really something I'm proud of, but unfortunately true.

5 - Play.  Since it's been nice, I've been trying to take the kids to the playground as much as possible.  It is at the top of my in-law's hill, half a mile away.  I put them in the wagon with their snacks and sippy cups and pull the 50+ pounds up the hill.  Then we play for 30-40 minutes.  And I'm trying to really play with them, not just watch.  I taught Ainsley tag, follow the leader and dodge ball.  So this is how I plan to get my exercise...since I no longer can find the time for 6 mile runs or hours on a treadmill.

So there you have it.  Are you doing anything to get your body ready for summer?

First Time

Hi friends! So, I am totally copying my friend Carrie. She started a blog about her daughter Addie, and I have read it every day so far, and it looks like fun. So, here I am. I'm not sure how well I'll keep up with this. I am very slow at work this week, which is not always the case, but I love to talk about my little Ainsley Bug, so hopefully that will keep me motivated.

As most of you know, probably all of you know, Ainsley Lynn was born on July 9, 2007. I can not believe she is already 9 1/2 months old!! I always thought time went by so fast, but nothing compares to this last year. I just don't even know where the time went. Ainsley is quite a handful these days, she is all over the place. She crawls and cruises around furniture and now she is standing on her own. Last night, she discovered the stairs, and guess what? She can get up them. Maybe we should start baby proofing the house...maybe start with a baby gate at the foot of the stairs!

This past weekend Ainsley started saying "uh-oh" and "bye-bye". In Ainsley speak it sounds more like "ah-ah" and "dy-dy", but we are still pretty excited! At first she just repeated after us when we said "uh-oh" but now she actually says it when she's supposed to. She drops her toy, "ah-ah." She spills her sippy cup, "ah-ah." It's really very cute.

Ainsley's also eating grown up table food now. So far, her favorites are baked potatoes and hot dogs...not necessarily together. I wonder if she's really eating much of it, considering that most of the pieces are in her seat or fall off of her when I pick her up. Gatsby is really enjoying this new stage in Ainsley's life. He'll be 10 lbs heavier next time we go to the vet!

I am amazed every day at how much she changes and grows. It's so hard to believe that we brought her home as this helpless little creature and now she's talking and eating and almost walking on her own. It can be bitter sweet at times, but all in all, it's been the best year of my life.

That's all for now. I'll try my hardest to keep up with this.