Most Improved... Mom?

Saturday was the swim team championships at Miami University.  For all my efforts to try to persuade Casey to join swim team back in May, I equally tried to persuade her to skip championships here in July.  And also, much like I was doing what was best for her by joining swim team at the beginning of summer, Casey knew was what best for herself when she signed up for championships.  My thinking regarding championships was: "She's not really that good of a swimmer.  It's not like she's going to take home any ribbons for placing, so let's just skip this whole-day ordeal and high five the season for effort." :)  (I didn't tell her that!!  That was just my thinking).

Tri-County Swim Championships, 2013

 

I try to get pictures of myself being silly as often as I can.  I want my girls to remember their mom one day as someone they had fun with, not just looked perfect all the time (haha! for those of you who know of my self-image issues)
 

Turns out girlfriend may just know what's good for her after all.  And my thinking that if we aren't going to win, it's not worth attending, makes me a fool of a parent.  Because Casey did great and had a blast.  And it was fun to watch!  At age 8, Casey does not always care about winning.  Most of the time she just wants to have fun.  I'm learning to keep in perspective that she's only 8 and she'll have her whole life to try to be the best at something.  And fun is really what I said swim team was going to be all about and I should keep my eye on that prize - having fun.  So mission accomplished.   And I done been schooled. 

How did she finish at championships?  Turns out she did take home some ribbons.
In the medley relay they placed 6th out of 10 teams.
In her freestyle she placed 17th out of 37.
In the butterfly she placed 12th out of 22. (and improved her time by 1.32 seconds)
In her backstroke she placed 24th out of 28. (and improved her time by 2.73 seconds)
And in the free relay they placed 6th out of 11 teams.

Hanging in there in the butterfly
 

Who Me? (dork)

Sunday night was the official end of the season celebrating with an ice cream social, where swimmers were recognized and awards were presented.  Each swimmer was given a pretty cool participation medal and then trophies were given in each age group for MVP, Coach's award, and Most Improved.  And miss Casey was selected as the most improved swimmer in her age group.  For a first time swimmer, she really didn't do too bad.  She got a legal time in her butterfly every time she swam it, I think.  I'm not in the parent camp where I think every kid should get an award just for showing up at the age of 8, but to get a Most Improved award, was a really great thing for Casey.  She was really proud of herself and we were proud of her as well. 

Psyched about her Most Improved Swimmer award!
 

 

 

Emily's swim lessons and Casey's mini-hip hop class will be wrapping up soon and we will be settling into the rest of summer.  I am working on a project that's giving the girls and I a little break during some of the days, which is nice for all the face time we've had together.  It's only a small project, that's has nothing really to do with design, but I like the challenge of work beyond breaking up fights, making grocery lists, and cleaning up the house.  Emily will be in half day kindergarten this year, so there won't be a lot of time to pursue new work, and I certainly DO NOT wish time to pass any faster than what it is, but I do, in a way, look forward to working more one day, and hopefully finding that perfect (haha!) balance between stay-at-home-mom and part-time-work-mom.  I feel more fulfilled (yet stressed as well) when I have both of those roles to fill.  Happy mom = happy family, right?

 

 

Emily woke up the other day and asked if she was going to get to go to kindergarten that day.  Unlike Casey and me, Emily is ready for school to start.  As much as I would love to put off my baby starting kindergarten, we have been working on brushing up some skills lately to help get ready for it.  From what I see here at home, I am still hopeful her attention and focus will be improved this year in school.

Emily managed to give herself a black eye by colliding with a bench.  With her face. (sigh)

Casey has been getting in on the action of sharpening some skills with a really great math, reading and writing we picked up at Costco.  We're not hard core about it, but we manage to fit in several pages a day recently because it's been too cool for the pool (don't get me started again on the bizarre weather this spring/summer...).  So I kind of feel like the mom who's got her act together with the girls actually wanting to do a little schoolwork-ish stuff. 

Some parents take their kid to the playground.  I take mine to Target.  Potatoe, Potato.

I've got no segway into this story other than it happened within the time frame I'm writing about. 

 

We've been able to get Emily back into speech therapy at Childrens' and at each appointment, Emily and the therapist go into an office while I sit in a remote room observing them on a computer screen.  I'm tricked out in headphones, too, so I can obviously listen to what they are working on, and today they were working on conversations and questions that might be useful in socializing with peers in kindergarten.  The therapist would model the question for Emily and then expect her to practice repeating the question back to the therapist after she answered.  Today it went something like this: 
Therapist: Emily, what is your favorite color?
Emily: Blue.
Therapist: Okay, Emily, now you say what is your favorite color.
Emily:  Blue.
Therapist:  I mean you ask me what is your favorite color.
Emily:  I said bloo-oo!
Therapist:  Okay.  Emily, what is your favorite food?
Emily: Broccoli (no joke)
Therapist:  Really?  Now say what is your favorite food to me.
Emily:  Broccoli.
Therapist:  Now ask me what is your favorite food.
Emily:  I said broccoli!  Sheesh. (not kidding- Emily said Sheesh)
(I am dying laughing at my computer screen)
(This proceeded for a couple of more questions with the same results)
(Tears in my eyes laughing)
(Ever see the comedy sketch Who's On First by Abbott and Costello?  It was something like that) (This was not going to end well for the therapist.)
(They finally moved on to another strategy for conversing.)
(I'm still giggling to myself just typing this....)

That's right, Emily. Make eye contact when you say Sheesh :)

So I've got my rookie season as a swim mom behind me and I now know how to time a swimmer and that excessive fist pumping is not the norm.  I've learned that when my big girl, who has more insecurities emerging all the time, says she wants to try something, we go at it big.  I've learned that I like the challenge of working on projects sometime and it's good for my girls to see that as a model.  And I've learned that not taking therapy too seriously sometimes isn't going to hurt Emily at all.  In fact, most of the time she makes a really good story to share.  I think so far this summer I have improved as a mom.  Where's my award? 

  

Sink or Swim

 

Somebody stop summer!  Push pause.  Hit the switch.  Do whatever needs to be done to put off August 22nd.  It's already the middle of July and I hear people talking about school starting.  And those retailers have their back-to-school supplies set out like they just can't wait for summer to end.  We're having too much fun here this summer to want it to be over anytime soon.  But, yet, the weeks are still just melting off the calendar one by one.  You can be sure the girls and I will be soaking up the next 5 or 6 weeks of being together swimming, playing and trying to forget the end of summer deadline lurking everywhere we look.

I kind of feel like this summer started with a rain delay.  After our vacation it rained.  A lot.  That kind of stunk but we tried to make the best of it.

 

 

I've forgotten to mention in any of my posts that we signed Casey up for swim team this summer.  The season is almost over, but it's been a great experience despite us signing her up against her wishes.  Sometimes as a parent you just have to do what's best for the kid and not what the kid thinks is best for them. My intent on forcing her to be on swim team this year was not to make her be the best swimmer, just a good, strong one.  Feeling comfortable in the water will be a skill that will be with her the rest of her life, so I was pretty sure she'd thank me later for this.  Worst case scenario, she'd thank me in 20 years.  Best case scenario, she'd thank me in a couple of weeks. 

 

 

Before day one I told her she only had to swim at practices and didn't have to swim at meets.  On day one I told her she had to swim in the first two meets then if she hated it, she could just swim practices.  And the parental lying persuading evolved :)  Also since day one, we've told her we don't care if she comes in last every race, we just want her to try her best and have fun.  Thankfully, that part I wasn't lying about despite my competitive nature.  Well, kind of.  At her very first meet, the very first event of the night, she swam the fourth leg on a relay.  When she started, the team in first place was almost a half a length ahead and she actually swam and caught up with that swimmer, then overtook her to win the race.  I was a bit very excited and proud, and my competitiveness may have led to some fist pumps on the deck of the pool.  Totally not the mom playing it cool.  That kind of start to her swim team experience was exactly what she needed to boost her confidence and get to actually liking it.  Pure adrenaline must have been powering her because that was the last time she blew through the water like that.  Turns out she's just an okay swimmer and that is totally fine with us because it also turns out she loved swimming this summer and that's all that matters.  She didn't mind going to practice for an hour each morning and she swam at every meet except when we were on vacation.  Last night was the last meet and she is now begging us to sign her up to swim at championships next weekend - that's how much she doesn't want it to end.  And I see her holding her own so much more comfortably while swimming in the 12 foot end of the pool and I feel good about our decision.  (Let me just pat myself on the back now :)

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Emily has been getting private swim lessons through a local foundation each week.  At over 4 feet tall, there is a lot of body for Emily to control in the water.  Figure in low muscle tone and her complete lack of awareness for personal safety and sister sinks like a lead balloon in the water.  The instructor is a sweet older lady who has been a lap or two around the old swimming pool.  Even better, she's taught lessons to kiddos with special needs at a local Y.  At the first lesson, I told her my goal for Emily was that she learn to be safe in the water (like if she fell in the water, to get her head up and go to the wall) and to close her mouth in the pool (she smiles the entire time in the pool and takes in an enormous amount of water and I fear the dry drowning experience as much as I do actually drowning in the pool for her). 

 

 

After 5 lessons, I am so much more comfortable with Emily in the water!!  She wears the arm swimmies (can't think of their name right now) and does really well.  She's even jumping in the water and that's the kind of big girl thing she wants to do.  Smiley still takes in some water, but she knows now that she should close her mouth and that's a really good start for me.  And the best was today while swimming with her and Casey, I asked her to chase me and she put her face in the water, started to kick her legs and then paddled her arms and actually swam to me!  She, once again, proved to me that she can learn and get the job done, but just at her own pace.  And I'm crazy happy about that.  Like fist pumping excited about it.  Totally not the mom playing it cool.  And totally not caring :)