Then it got even more embarrassing

So, the Teenager has been accompanying me to the local aquatic center each day while his little brother has swim lessons taught by one of his own classmates from school. What could make this situation more awkward? Well, for one, as we've previously stated in the swim lesson post, having a mom who insists upon setting her up own folding chair complete with an attaching umbrella is a good start. But wait, there's more. Today after I got everything set up I couldn't get the right angle and ended up with too much sun on my legs and feet, so I decided to cover up with the little guy's beach towel. While I was fiddling with that, a huge gust of wind came up, picked up the entire umbrella out of it's holder stick and all and then flew the thing over a fence where it then made a loud thud into the side of the water slide. 
I think I've made my point.

Summer Time Antics

What happens when you mix a Summer BBQ with friends, add some margaritas for the parents and then give the toddlers s’mores? Well naturally, hilarity ensues. Be sure to listen for what little guy says as he tried to get his hands unstuck.

 

 

In case anyone missed that, he says; "oh cwap" which we found hilarious. Of course, that could have just been the margaritas or the fact that we, as his parents, find little guy pretty darn entertaining most of the time. But the margaritas help.

The now traditional, annual "A/C is out" post

Apparently this is now a yearly thing; the #@!* A/C going out. Readers may recall last year's entries ending with; It was the Flux Capacitor. Thankfully, at least this year it didn't happen during triple digits as it did two years ago when this not-so-fun tradition got its start.

This year's installment all started with a leak although the A/C was still cooling. All of  sudden we had water dripping down from a recessed light fixture above the fireplace. The hubs swung into action and quickly discovered it was due to a clog in the emergency overflow drain. Once he unclogged it, water started dripping out the drain outside and onto the patio. Not so great for patio entertaining, but better than coming through the ceiling.

We called the repairman who supposedly fixed the leaking problem. Then things really went awry. Later that evening, we noticed the temperature in the house was getting hotter and hotter even though the A/C was running. Turns out while the repairmen were "repairing" (and I use that term sarcastically) they bumped something loose, broke something else and basically knocked out the whole system. So essentially, we went from having A/C before they "fixed" something, to having no A/C at all.

When we had them back, they discovered the coil was shot and leaking freeon. They had to order the new part, which meant going into day three of no A/C before it was finally fixed yesterday afternoon. 

I'm just very glad the temperatures were within "we can make it through alive" range during this saga. Thankfully, it got fairly cool in the evening and we used our whole house fan to cool down the house for the night before it starting heating up again during the next day. We made a dinner that required no heat and for dessert we enjoyed these:

Another Trader Joe's favorite.  Like a margarita on a stick...minus the tequila.

Little Guy's Swim Lessons with associated amusements

 

This summer we finally started the little guy on swim lessons.

Monday was the first day.  The irony of having a teenage brother is that there's an excellent chance your swim instructor at the local aquatic center is right around his age, goes to school with him and knows him. Sure enough, Teenager informed me that little guy's swim teacher was in fact in one of his classes.

We've completed day three of lessons and so far, so good. It looks like he's quite comfortable in the water and is taking to learning the basics pretty well overall. We've had a bit of a challenge with him not wanting to get his ears wet, so we tried kids silicone earplugs which seemed to help.

The first day I was not prepared for a total lack of any shaded areas to sit. I'm not one to stay in direct sunlight for any length of time so I knew this was going to be a problem. So, since yesterday my solution is to haul in my folding chair and attaching umbrella. Apparently this embarrasses Teenager. I guess when your mom is pushing a stroller with your toddler brother that also contains folding chair and umbrella bags sticking out the side and then proceeds to set up said chair & umbrella combo poolside it's a spectacle you don't want to be associated with. It only gets worse when it's discovered that the sun is in exactly the perfect spot for the umbrella not to work as made, therefore it must be jimmy-rigged onto the side of the stroller and held in place by your sun-sensitive mother.

So to re-cap, I've provided swim lessons for the toddler, protection from skin cancer and embarrassment for Teenager. I'd say that's quite an accomplishment combo.

Potty Training Hits and Misses

So, in an effort to get better on track with Potty Training, we implemented the brilliant plan; “Poop for Toys”. Basically, if you poop in the potty, you get to select a small toy from a specially created basket of items waiting enticingly outside the bathroom door. This plan has worked like a charm. Unfortunately, our toy supply has depleted rather quickly after a recent bout of diarrhea, something we did not take into consideration.

Most amusing however, was an incident that took place during our Memorial Day BBQ with friends. Little guy was playing inside with his two little buddies while Teenager supervised. Apparently, there was some sort of incident that involved an attempt at pooping on the potty, a missed target and one of little guy’s friends being sent outside with a dramatic message for us;

“Um, Teenager told me to tell you that little guy went poo poo. But he missed. A little. And there’s poop on the rug. And the wall. And he wants to know if he gets his toy now.”