An Almost Perfect Day

It’s officially summer!

I say almost, because it is not yet over. Today was a beautiful day. The day began in an unexpected way, Fi slept in until 7! Well, technically she woke up at 5:30, but I snuggled her a little and she went back to sleep and so did I! After a leisurely morning, we got John some coffee in a downtown coffee shop, then went to a florist/coffee shop for a vegetable exchange. Years ago we used to go to the exchanges frequently to trade whatever surplus we had for things we didn’t, like lemons and avocados, but this time, it was we who brought the lemons, as well as oranges and yellow crookneck squashes. We came home with some herbs, a peach, and avocados. After, we went to the beach and Fi had a blast climbing on the structures at the beach park and running into the waves. She was soaked, but ecstatic. We had a nice lunch at Beach House Fish and then came home for a nap. The weather was perfect and the water actually warm, the food at the restaurant was tasty and there was no wait, unlike Beach House Tacos next door, where the line was long all afternoon. John and I often talk about how lucky we feel to live here, in a beautiful place, close to the ocean, where it is easy to raise a family. Right now, John is at the park with Fi.

Here is the only photo of the day:

 

Other than that, things are calming down. Fi is in camp and loving it. As for the rest of June, it’s gotten warmer in the last few days, so we took out the old wading pool for Fi. She loves it. You wouldn’t know it from these photos:

 

Here is Fi, doing a sticker mosaic activity that my friend gave her for her birthday:

Fi convinced my dad to let her tie her apron on him:

We’ve been reading A LOT. Fi likes to play “class time” and depending on her mood, decides who the teacher of the day is. This particular day she was the teacher, so she got to “read” the book:

We celebrated this penguin’s birthday, which coincided with my birthday:

Playing in the pool:

 

She is looking at things underwater with her goggles:

Here she is acting out a scene from a movie we watched when she had pink-eye and I was really tired:

On another day, she convinced John to hop in with her. We all later ran around splashing each other with water. These types of things are great for tiring out energetic little humans, and causes them to take very good naps.

 

One evening, I was making dinner and my parents came over (to commemorate my mom finally being able to leave the house). My dad disappeared at one point. We found him like this:

Another day, I was in the kitchen making dinner and looked up to see this:

Here, John is the teacher and Fi and her doll are listening intently to a story:

On the second or third night my mom left her house, we thought we were having a special guest for dinner. Those plans fell through, but we still had a big meal. Fi included one of her dolls and one of her imaginary friends: She set the table for them and told me she would take care of their food. It was quite the dinner party. Note the pillow so her friend can reach the table:

Fi took these pictures:

Well, this month is almost over. Please cross your fingers that Fi decides to sleep in again tomorrow and every day after that. Happy summer!

June

Not quite over yet, but already it’s been an interesting month. First there was Fi’s Birthday. Then, the following weekend, my mom became a Bat Mitzva:

 

My mom has been preparing for this for almost a year. It was a lovely service. The other people are doing the same thing she is. They took a class and I think they also became friends. I went to the service and John stayed home with Fi, then he brought her after for the celebratory luncheon.

My mom celebrated later at home by falling down and breaking her hip. She went to the hospital and was eventually admitted. She had surgery early the next morning, then spent a couple of days recovering before moving to a convalescent facility. She stayed at the convalescent/rehabilitation center for several days, then was released to go home, where a nurse, a physical therapist, and occupational therapist, and a home health aid take turns visiting her and doing things with her (like walking, bathing, checking her overall health, and teaching her how to get dressed). She has been in excellent spirits and is recovering nicely. She uses a walker, but can get around the house slowly and is making the slow progress back to complete independence. I think it is due in large part to the friends she made in her Bat Mitzva class, who have visited her and brought her all sorts of food and ice cream (and proposals of marriage between their grandkids and Fi). Stereotype away.

Here is Fi signing a song for my mom at the convalescent home:

Even though it’s an unpleasant ordeal, the timing of my mother’s break is not bad because it happened right before the last week of school, so I was almost on vacation. Unfortunately, when it rains in our family, it likes to leave puddles, and Fi woke up the last day of school with pink eye. That meant she couldn’t go to school and no one I know can watch her because they all have children the same age as Fi. It was finals week, which meant I needed to be at work and could not take the day off (also, we have no substitute teachers, so there would be no guarantee my students would have someone to watch them). Fi’s preschool arranged to have child care for the rest of the week for all the parents who are teachers and would not be finished until the end of the week, but Fi could not go because of the pink eye. My dad had to babysit on Wednesday and I had to rush home so he could go to work. That meant no saying goodbye to students, no signing yearbooks or answering last minute questions. I really had to run as soon as the bell rang. I also missed graduation because, again, no one to watch Fi. In the end, it wasn’t the end of the world, but it was definitely not the relatively stress-free week that the last week of school usually is.

Then, we had Father’s Day. I did not have time to shop for a gift for John, so Fi and I took him to lunch at our favorite little breakfast/lunch place, Two Trees Cafe. Fi was very well behaved and it was a good lunch. Here is a card Fi made John in class:

Please note John’s height and weight. She said they made gifts as well, but because she missed the last day, we don’t know what happened to them.

Fi has been in camp this week and will continue to go for the next few weeks. She loves and it has given me a chance to go spend some time with my mom and help her out during the day. Her behavior has improved dramatically as well. Even though we have our good days and not so good days, Fi is overall back to being her usual wonderful self.

Today began with some excitement. John announced that there was a dog in the yard. A dachshund somehow got into the yard and was roaming around. We managed to get hold of it and put a “leash” on it (we used the leash from a backpack of Fiona’s), gave it some water and leftovers and petted it. It seemed to like the attention. John called the phone number on the tag several times and left messages, but no one returned the calls. We suspected the dog lives next door, but the neighbors were not answering their door. Eventually, after the dog ate and drank its fill of water, it tried to crawl under the fence into the yard we think is its home. We let it go and things have been quiet ever since. We sat down to breakfast. Fi was very excited and wanted to keep the dog, but it obviously belongs to someone, so we told her we could not keep it.

Today we had Fi’s Four Year Check-Up. She is 39 1/2 inches tall and weighs 31 pounds. So she is perfectly average in her height and slightly below in weight, but not as low as she used to be. Her vision is good and she is healthy and well developed, according to the pediatrician. She’s doing everything she should be doing at this age and is even starting to read (on her own, we are not pushing anything on her). The pediatrician gave us the OK to give Fi gummy vitamins because she really wants to take them (she sees John doing it every morning, I take my vitamins at night). The doctor had no concerns and neither did we. Fi received four vaccinations today, which was a surprise because I thought there were none at this check-up. She didn’t cry with the first two, but the last one really hurt. She got four bandaids and a lollipop, so she was happy after that. She told me later she doesn’t like getting shots, but then informed me she really likes her dentist, who gave her a shot last time she saw him. I’m guessing she does not remember that.

Our garden is doing great. We are already harvesting more beans and squashes than we can eat, and all the melons and pumpkins are doing great. The tomatoes and cucumbers are coming along nicely and we should be able to eat them soon.

That about sums up the last week and a half of this month. I hope the rest of the month is about as boring as it gets.

Happy Summer!

The Garden is Producing!

We went outside after dinner this evening, as we often do, and picked many squashes and lemons:

Everything is growing nicely and we have all sorts of pumpkins and melons growing. I can even see tiny little watermelons forming:

 

But then, when I inspected the beans…Holy Cow! There were so many ripe beans, some already on the verge of being too big!

I filled two quart-sized Ziplock bags with green beans. Fi ate some right off the vine and reported that they were tasty.

 

Fi took this photo:

We are soooo looking forward to summer vacation and also to when the rest of the vegetables start producing! Have a great weekend!