Lost

Do you have a memory of being lost/separated from your parents when you were little? At the mall? An amusement park?

I can't think of too many. But I do remember getting on the school bus - I think it must have been first grade, and I was new to the whole bus thing. The ride was OK, school went OK... and then I walked out the front door at the end of the day to find an endless row of school buses. I can remember a sinking feeling and a sudden jolt of fear. I had no idea which one was mine. How would I ever get home?

Weather has been a bit nicer, and we had a beach day in York, Maine recently. Daniel loves to run to the water, and back. It's way too cold for much actual swimming to be going on... but there's lots of running and digging in the sand. At one point I watched as he ran to the water, spun - and started marching off down the beach in the opposite direction from where we were sitting. I heard some family members speculating that he was going to check out the sandcastle that this little girl was building. But something about his body language struck me and I thought: He doesn't see us. If you think about it, turn yourself around a couple times on a huge beach full of people and it could be pretty easy to lose track. I took off after him, finally yelling his name. He turned, and it's at that point I saw his face crumple as he started to cry. He was scared.

He seems to be over it now. But it's me who still gets a little squeeze of the heart every time I think about it. And I'm now wondering about how to have the discussions about what to do if you get lost, and stranger danger, and so on without freaking out the 3.5 year old (or Mommy) in the process.

Lickety Split

We've been enjoying a break, visiting my family in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Basking in family time with Daniel's Grandparents, and Uncle Andy and assorted aunts, uncles and cousins. Good food, beautiful area, loads of activities... fireworks, a Fourth of July parade, trips to the park and the beach. And bedtime seems to have gone by the wayside. Our return to a regular home routine may be interesting in the days to come. But it sure has been fun!
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I was fussing over something or other during my trip - can't even remember what it was at this point, just that something didn't look right. My Mother said that her quilt group in Elkhart Lake has what they call the Galloping Horse Rule. Can whatever you think is wrong - in their instance some bit of work on a current quilt - be seen from a galloping horse? If not, move along...

I think I like it. I may start adapting this to other areas of my life.

Bits-o-Bliss

H has been setting me free for some bits of "me time" lately, and I must say that it has been kind of delicious. There was a night out with the Moms at the local pub, that involved many drinks, munchies and lots of laughs. Pamela and I spent another night feeding our girlie sci-fi geek selves by seeing the new Star Trek movie. (Go see it! Great action! Excellent cast!)

Hoping to grab some outdoor fun today. Perhaps the beaches of York, Maine again. Daniel loves to run on the sand, in the wind, jump the waves. I grew up by Michigan lakes, and love the water. While I find the Maine coast a bit cold for my taste (see: jumping into an ice bath) - I do enjoy strolling the beach and breathing in the salty spray.

Wishing you a Sunday - and a summer - chock full of your own blissful moments.

Sand in my dryer

Daniel has decided that he loves the water. Well, make that the beach as not only do you get to splash in the water, but dig in the sand to your heart's content.

We've had several trips to York, Maine. It's a wonderful area and a great beach. I'm always left a bit nervous around strong waves and undertow and the like, but the kid is jumping right in. The favorite headgear of the moment is his army helmet. I've seen more than a few grins as my pint-sized soldier has run screeching across the sand looking for all the world like he's storming the beaches.

The local Memorial Beach has been the scene of some "Tiny Tot" swim lessons this past week. They play games and work on getting used to the water... no problem there, although I occasionally have to do a redirect if he decides to head for some digging in the dunes when he should be listening to his instructor.

I'm trying to shake everything out, but a fine coating of sand seems to be coating everything. Any tips for getting it out of a clothes dryer?

The Itchy and Scratchy Show

H's family has a cottage up in York, Maine. York has beautiful beaches, although the water is just too cold for me. I grew up dipping my summer toes in Michigan and Wisconsin lakes (not the Great Lakes!) that are bath water compared to York. The cottage has been in need of some attention, and so several weekends so far have had Sundays devoted to heading up there to work. Today's excursion was combined with Uncle Bruce's birthday. It made for a generally happy chaos of yard and house work, cousins chasing each other through the yard and a cake and ice cream celebration.

It is also a big tick area, which makes it very hard for me not to get a little paranoid. Between skeeters and potential ticks I was finishing up the day itching and smacking at bugs. And Daniel is as twitchy about an inspection for ticks as he was about the splinters in his feet. We finished up our evening with showers and baths for the whole family. Begone bugs!

Beach Blanket Babes

Well... not really... Sunday: Take one Mommy and one Daddy with ambitions to head for York Beach, Maine. Add one toddler who still needs a nap a day. Mix liberally with the stuff needed for said travels: sand toys, diapers, changes of clothes, towels, chairs, beach umbrella... add in one late start due to said nap, and the requisite stop for seafood to quell the rumbling tummies and what do you get?

A rainstorm on the beach, that's what. We got down to the beach before the deluge, and actually had a pretty good time for the amount of time we could spend down there. Daniel was hysterical as I think he had this astonished look on his face like: "What? You mean I can dig in all this dirt? And splash in all this water?? COOL!" I trailed along as he and H splashed in the tide pools and H carried him out to where the waves were starting to roll in and we took turns snapping pictures. We bailed as the heavens opened up... I think H would have stayed out with the kid, but he knows the "thing" I have about storms. This was followed by much wiggling and fussing about the car as we tried to get Daniel into a fresh diaper that wasn't puffed out like a snowball due to sea/rain water and a relatively dry pair of shorts and shirt.

Throw in a damp car ride home, and you pretty much have yesterday around our house! In keeping with my "Dirt Makes Fat" philosophy I would declare it a pretty fine day. I can't wait to sit on the beach in the sun with my family, however.