Swim Meet '09

A couple of months ago, when we put Dane on a local swim team, our intention was for him simply to learn how to survive in the water.  We live in a part of the country where the weather is "swimable" 8 months of the year, and we just wanted Dane to not drown if he was in someone's pool without floaties. 

Well, in the last several practices, Dane has been swimming the length of the pool (stopping several times along the way to "hang on the rope" and take a breath).  His coach (Coach Dane, oddly enough.  His mommy must have read The Thornbirds.)  signed Dane up for the swim meet, and reminded me that this was the last meet.  If Dane wanted a trophy at the end of the season, he would have to swim.  And so it was decided.  Our little family would experience our first swim meet.  

And I have to say, despite the 6:45 am check in time, the meet was more fun than I expected.  Several friends from church are on the team also, so it was similar to a big pot luck with all the sitting around and talking to church friends while children ran around aimlessly.  Well, a potluck with powdered sugar donuts and coffee from the gas station instead of fried chicken and unidentifiable casseroles.  And lots of bathing suits.

After all the sitting and talking and breakfast eating, some children actually swam in the pool.  

Like this one:

I have a feeling Emma, Dane, and Connor will be lifelong buddies (well, until puberty hits with a vengeance and Dane and Connor and every other little boy their age at church start battling to see who gets to date Miss Emma).

And that's a pickle Connor is eating, not some taco-gone-bad.

At some point before all the swimming started, Aidan ended up on the receiving end of a UFC takedown with two 5-year olds.  The back of his head met the concrete floor (or perhaps the foot of a comfy camping chair) and he got about a 1/2" cut to the back of his head.  Fortunately, one of the swimmer's mommy is an ER nurse when she is not breaking up wrestling Ninja Turtles and cleaning up baby puke, and was on hand to assess the situation.  I raided the first aid kit, cleaned up his little cut,  and came up with a "Leonardo-Aidan" head wrap to keep the cut clean while he played.  By the time the wrap was in place, Aidan had forgotten all about the mishap.
Later that day, we paid a visit to our wonderful pediatrician who happens to have after-hours weekend appointments available, and Aidan now sports two shiny staples in the back of his head.

I've come to the realization that the combination of being strong-willed, fearless Aidan and being Dane's little brother who plays with all the bigger kids will undoubtedly result in a handful of minor injuries for my Aidan as the years progress.
I have no pictures of Harper at the swim meet, as she was too busy being angelic and eating, then sleeping through the better part of the morning.  

Looking forward to a slightly less hectic week this week.  Tomorrow I have lunch with a friend at Chili's Like No Place Else (aside: every time I see that sign in a Chili's, I think to myself "Like No Place Else Except For Every Other Chili's You've Ever Been To".  This is why I don't work in advertising.)  After lunch, I get to watch a movie under the influence of laughing gas with no children in sight.   I mean, I have to go to the dentist for some crowns and such.  Hey, did anyone else know that when you don't take prenatal vitamins when you're pregnant that the baby leaches calcium from inconvenient places like your teeth and they all threaten to fall out of your head simultaneously after the baby is born?  So pregnant ladies, take those vitamins every morning, regardless of the "vitamin burps" you may be forced to endure for the entire rest of the day.  Brandon and the boys are going to a movie with a group from the swim team after my afternoon with the Happy Mask, and then our family will reunite afterwards just in time for bedtime.  

All of this will happen after I spend some quality time first thing in the morning looking for Brandon's contact lens in our front yard.  The sprinkler sprayed him in the eye tonight while he was watering the lawn and shot his contact out into the grass at dusk.  The gas permeable contact that costs $180 and takes 2 weeks to replace.  The contact that he needs to see and drive and not be legally blind.  Since we apparently don't own a flashlight (?!) I will be contact searching in the morning.  Has anyone seen Honey I Shrunk The Kids?  Do you think I can find a floating contraption with the helmet-mounted magnifying glass specifically created for searching for impossibly tiny objects in the grass?

Wish me Happy Searching!