Susiej

I took one look at the hotel brochure, and saw this picture of the pool and said ahhhhh. My husband had a conference to go to in Tampa — it’s not too far from Disney. So, after seeing this picture, we decided to take the boys and enjoy ourselves.And, did I mention the hotel had a pool? What a perfect place to take my 4 boys while my husband is busy listening to Newt talk. I’ve got plenty of sunscreen, the hotel provides luxurious towels — we’re set.

After the 45-minutes of applying lotion, putting feet into sandals, and making sure everyone was suited up, and another bathroom stop, I was ready for a little R&R at the pool. You see, the pool had a zero-entry, meaning, it was perfect for my 3 and 5-year old boys. And the 11 and 8 were set — they had balls and footballs, and we’re already working out a game strategy. I’ll just sit, relax and watch. And geesh! Have I earned it.

First, my 3-year-old stole a Noodle from an older brat kid who doesn’t want to share. His mother said it was fine — as her son already had 6 or 8 wrapped around him. And, there is really no reasoning with my 3-year-old. He explains that this is now his horse, and he’s going to ride it forever now. He is sitting on the noodle, like a horse, and has made a pretty good life-preserver for himself — but if he tilts to one side, down goes the horse. (Sorry, I was a little busy, and there is no picture.) Fearless, he yippeeaiyas himself as fast as he can to the deep end, insisting that the horsey likes the “dark blue water.” I can’t take my eyes off this water cowboy for a minute. Still, I’m getting the beady-eyed look from the older brat kid.

No picture, obviously, available during his cameo as a water cowboy — but this proves that his cowboy fetish runs deep.

Meanwhile, back at the steps, my 5-year-old, who is very timid in the water, is yelling for me to come back so that he can jump into my arms. So, I guide the water cowboy back closer to the steps (he is upset) and the 5-year old says, I’m still too far, come closer. He jumps, when I’m not looking, the cowboy has ridden away off into the deep blue yonder. I need to rein the horse back in to safer pastures, so while I’m not looking, the 5 jumps into my arms — but my arms weren’t there yet. (Busy with the horse.) So, he jumped, onto the top of my head, jamming my head into my neck.

I notice, at this point, that the loungers along the sidelines are beginning to watch. They’re holding fruity drinks with straws, and wearing sunglasses. They think I don’t know they’re staring at me. But I can tell.

Once I’ve recovered from that jump (mascara is now running down my face), the 5-year-old screams that he wants to do it again. The 3-year old is still giddyuping that horse, back out to the blue. This cycle goes on for what seems like eternity. I’m sure you’ve been there too.

Meanwhile, the 8-year-old cannot find his goggles. This is a panic thing — because he will whine about this one single pair of goggles for the rest of the summer. I realize, that my 11-year old has them. What is he doing? My helper? My oldest, my most mature one? He is bobbing up and down in the pool. He stays up long enough to see him, but goes under before you can finish one sentence and speak to him. I can’t reach him and grab him to say, “Will you stop pestering your brother?” because I’m corralled up with the horse and the timid jumper. So irritated. And that, is precisely the 11-year-old’s goal. And those lushes are still watching me from the sidelines.

Soon, the water cowboy has jumped off his horse, and is standing up along the edge of the pool. His bathing suit is dripping. It catches his attention — it starts dripping really fast, and he stares. Amazed — he realizes, he is peeing. Everyone is watching. I might add, there is an arc — it’s getting lots of attention.

So, I decide to leave the pool, and take the boys off on a nature hike. Ah, yes, that is it’s own story….

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Filed under: Laugh, Life, boy by SusieJ - 22 Comments →

I saw Joe’s post earlier, and it reminded me of this. I have few regrets, but there is one thing I wish we had done that we didn’t do at the lake, it is this: I wish we had played card games. Maybe it was all of those camp fires, and the s’mores that stood in the way.

Sunset was always late — but for whatever reason, we never did sit around that card table and deal the cards.

This is what my parents did on Friday nights with my Aunts and Uncles. We’d all gather at Grandma’s house, where Hearts, Rummy 500, and sometimes Spoons was a favorite. My relatives were so focused on their hands, shooing us away, so they could study first the cards in their hand, and second, the faces around the table. Sometimes they would have partners. I could tell because I would hear at the end of a hand, things like “If I had known you had that, we could have won that hand.”

If one of us, the kids, hung around the table too long, the aunts would scold us with, “don’t look at my hand,” as if the other relatives had included us in some sort of “card-spy ring.”

The night usually involved Pepsi, popcorn, and other treats, not normally offered so late past our bedtimes. My cousins and I would move outside, with Grandma hollering out the door behind us, “stay away from the road.” We’d catch bugs, play hide and seek, and always say, “as soon as it gets dark, we’ll play ghost in the graveyard.” But we rarely did. We would eventually discover some hidden part in one of the sheds on my Grandma’s farm that we’d never seen before.

Once, I found an old cast iron bed tucked away in the chicken coop. (Several years later, my father pulled it out, and we had it sand blasted, and it became my bed.) I guess we were too quiet, because by the time we’d start lifting bales of hay and moving large pieces of wood to find out what was really underneath, a couple of Aunts and Uncles would be out to search for us and tell us to go back inside. “There’s nails out there,” they’d mumble. Eventually, we’d end up in the living room, creating our own games that usually involved some sort of wrestling, tag or hiding. Sometimes, we’d pull out our own cards and try to play the grown-up games too.

Soon, we would tire ourselves out. The ghost and the graveyard game lost its appeal, as the sofas, rockers and Grandma’s Afghans become our playthings. We’d had enough of each other. Content, now to settle down, by ourselves, and remember the day and let our imaginations create dreams. I could see the light from the kitchen table – the round copper light fixture that hangs centered, right above the table, and beams down on the game. This table looks as though it has always and only has been used for card playing. It’s hard for me to picture the bowl of Kellogg’s corn flakes and the red grapefruit I have eaten at this round, gray Formica table on so many mornings.

These are my last thoughts. I am being carried to the car, and I wake up just as we pass underneath the pole light, to see bugs with long tails and wings buzzing under the lights. I hear Grandma say, “be careful with her.” My father, the one with the blue eyes, tucks me into the car; my brother comes next, and our feet bump against each other as we curl up in the back seat, and drive off for home.

Yes,I regret that we didn’t play cards this summer at the lake.

Maybe this fall ….

More lake house posts, here.

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Filed under: Life, Tears, the lake house by SusieJ - 12 Comments →

Wordless Wednesday

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Filed under: boy, the lake house, wordless wednesday by SusieJ - 22 Comments →

Who would of thought that one little drop of Tea Tree Essential Oil could be so effective?

Daytime babysitters are difficult to come by, because feminine or not, daycare in this country needs a lot of help.

So, when I’m sick, I have to tote at least one child (sometimes all four) along with me. With him in tow, I suffer the waiting room drama; stop the hand as it grabs the bio-hazard stuff, look for what’s wrong in Highlights for Children, and blow the latex gloves into balloons — I will avoid this at all costs. And, with the crazy half-day kindergarten schedule, I fear that by the time I sit in the waiting room, see the nurse, and finally see the Doctor, and then finally get the meds, my kindergartner will be sitting in the principal’s office with all the other Moms who forgot their kid.

So, I try to avoid doctor’s appointments as much as I can. But, of course, I got a sinus infection. Probably because I stopped using the Neti Pot daily. So, then came the stuffy head, pain between my eyes, and burning tears. It didn’t go away when I started the Neti Pot again. In fact, it got worse. I lacked sleep; the glands around my ears burned. There must be a way to fight a sinus infection.

My child will not sit in that principal’s office. Nor, will we fight over the Bio-Hazard can. So, I put a drop of Tea Tree Oil in the salt water with the Neti pot. Tea tree oil, I learn, fights infections.

What I am about to share with you is something I did out of desperation. Do not try this at home. (Sarah, when you read this, I’m sure you’ll say it’s a very interesting theory.)

But I read once, that you can drink tea tree oil to cure a urinary tract infection. Drink it? The post said to put one drop of tea tree oil in a glass of water. Another article said that for colds, you can gargle with it.

Is it safe? It’s a plant — it’s got to be better than synthetic antibiotics, right?

So, if I drink it, how will the tea tree oil know how to move up to my head?

But, I’m willing to risk it all.

So, I drank it. One drop of tea tree oil in a glass of water.

The sinus infection was gone in 24 hours. Tea tree oil fights a sinus infection. (Plus, I cooked a lot of soups and drank lots of tea to build my immune system too.)

I cured this sinus infection before it moved to my chest. And so happy my kindergartner didn’t have to sit in the principal’s office. It’s tough world for a Mom.

Tea tree oil. It’s a good thing. But like I said, do not try this at home.

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Filed under: Laugh, Life, health by SusieJ - 19 Comments →

This guy acts all shy, and quiet and buries his face when he sees a girl he likes. His latest “flame” is a babysitter around the corner. One day, I was taking him for a walk, pushing him in the stroller, when she appeared from around the corner and started walking on the other side of the street on the sidewalk. She was dressed in her cheerleading outfit. She looked adorable. And, he could barely contain himself. So, this time, he couldn’t act all shy and quiet — because she was too far away to notice him. So, he yelled across the street at her, “Are you coming over to my house?”

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Filed under: Laugh, Life, boy by SusieJ - 8 Comments →

Spin the bottle is a party game in which several players sit in a circle. The game starts by one player spinning a bottle. Whomever the bottle points to, the spinner must kiss. The person being kissed becomes the next spinner. Traditionally, the spinner may spin again if the bottle points to a player of the same or opposite (depending on the players) gender, though this is not always the case. Spin the bottle is not a game in the traditional sense of having winners and losers, but it does have losers. It is primarily used as a reason for young people to engage in the activity of making out.
See a juicy article on kissing tips, by clicking here. And more kissing stuff by clicking here.

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Filed under: health by SusieJ - 3 Comments →