So much for updating more frequently

We have had a busy 2 weeks.  Between work and just life, I think we are running out of time every day.

We saw Little M a few times and Bug wanted these pictures of him with Little M's cat "Pacha".  For those of you who know Guatemalan slang for bottle, you will recognize this name.  Little M's parents had no idea this is what the cat's name meant.  I have to laugh every time we say it.  Just another reminder of Guatemala- love it.

Bug was very sick last weekend.  He had a fever starting Thursday evening  which finally broke on Saturday evening.  I ended up with a migraine on Saturday, so we both spent the day on the couch just resting.  Bug ended up home on Friday and I got this picture of him napping while I was working.  On Saturday, I laid down for a nap/rest and Bug crawled in bed with me and he napped for 5 hours!!!!!!

This is from Saturday when we both stayed in our jammies all day.  Bug just wanted Popsicles to eat all day, he said his throat hurt. 

On Sunday, we  headed out to snobug for shaved ice. YUMMMMMM

Tuesday night, I took a mini break from working every evening, to celebrate the end of VBS with the La Vina kids.  OMG- the desserts!!!!!!

All the kids getting ready to sing

Bug, just being Bug- looking around, not quite listening (he was supposed to be on the bottom step), but he is good boy. 

Singing.  I had someone take these pictures because I was helping to lead the kids in the motions.  every time I looked at Bug he was just standing there.  So these pictures of him participating made me smile

Thursday night, Little M and his parents came over.  I turned on the Sprinkler for the boys.  Bug was less than excited about the sprinkler. I had worked until 1 am on Thursday morning, then slept for 4 hours before getting up for my regular work day on Thursday, so I was exhausted.   This time with Little M and his parents was so welcomed.  We spent about 2.5 hours together and it was like I had been away from work for a weekend.  I was able to go back to work Thursday evening with a refreshed spirit.  This week I worked almost 2 full weeks of work in one work week.  I am exhausted.

Back to the sprinkler.  Bug avoided getting into the heart of the sprinkler, so.........

I had to go out there and show him what to do.

And then I had to carry Little M into the heart of the sprinkler.  Notice that Bug is standing well back from the water

But he finally realized that he could back into the sprinkler and have just as much fun.  Of course, backing into the water meant we got to listen to him screaming "my bootie" every time.

I had to into the sprinkler a few times.  I guess the heat and humidity this week, it has been over 100 degrees with the heat index, and the stress from work just caught up with me.  This backyard fun was so needed.

We ended the outside fun with fresh tomatoes from the garden.  Bug is showing Little M how to squirt them into his mouth.  He ate them all.

So that is what we have been doing.  We now begin the prep for Bug's friend birthday party next weekend, then the family birthday party and then school starts.  We have 3 weekends until school starts.  All the school supplies are bought, we just need to buy new school uniforms.  Bug has grown so much this summer. 
Have a restful weekend, we have a quiet weekend planned here.

Love to you,
Deb

VBS and last swimming lesson

Bug and I have been busy on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  In addition to our usual stuff (playing, housework, meals), we have been participating in VBS at la Vina on Tuesdays and Bug has had swimming on Wednesday.

 Due to my work schedule, we have unfortunately gotten in the habit of eating out.   So dinner last night was at McDs.

Rather than playing on the play structure, Bug decided he was Spiderman and began climbing up the outside of the structure.  he actually made it to the top of this pole (the corner you see just below the green part).  He was having a great time.

At VBS, we help with setup before the kids arrive.  Bug uses this display to pretend to change into a superhero.  Usually it is Iron Man, But per the picture below, apparently he was the Hulk this time.

Ms D and Bug's buddy J.  J's mom organizes the food, so he and his little brother are at VBS early too.  The boys wear each other out in no time.

We have game time first as a group - here is about half the group passing a ball with just their feet.

Then we have snack.  I know for many of the kids, this is the best meal of the week- they always get fresh fruit, some protein, and some carbs.  You can see J's momma bring around more lemonade to the kids. 

Again, the kids seem to separate themselves by boys and girls automatically, and they are only 5!!!!!!

Ms. S teaching the bible story. 

Wednesday nights, Bug has been taking swimming lessons with Ms. S.   She is very nice.   Bug has made great progress with her.  He will be going back to group lessons in the Fall/Winter, but he definitely needed the one on one time with a teacher.

floating on his back to do the back stroke

He loves to swim, he loves his goggles, he just does not like lessons alone in the pool.

So that is the week so far.  Temperatures are awful here.  The heat index was 110 today- very bad to be outside.  Not sure what we will be doing tomorrow- but we will definitely be inside.

Love and hugs,
Deb

What have we been up to?

I can not and will not go into everything that caused me to take the blogging break, but I think we are at a better place now.  So hopefully, I will be blogging at least once a week- depends on the weather, because pictures of us sitting inside watching movies certainly would get boring.


Bug has spent most of the summer at YMCA day camps.  I was concerned about the camps just because Bug has a hard time with change- but shock of all shocks- he is loving it.  I scheduled a week off for him 4 weeks into camp and he was not happy.
At camp, they swim in the morning and then play games/have activities in the afternoon.  On Wednesday's they have field trips.  So far, I know that Bug seldom goes into the pool, it is the outdoor pool and he hates the cold water.  but he plays in the splash water park.  I will try to get a picture of it this week.  He has lunch at camp- at least once a week, they have tuna salad or chicken salad sandwiches.  Neither of which, Bug will eat.  He has started eating the bread from the sandwiches, but I wish I knew which days they were serving these sandwiches because I would pack him a lunch on these days.  He comes home starving on these days. And a starving Bug is grumpy Bug.
The games in the afternoon are group games- typically out on the large field, although with the 100 degree temps this week, they will spend most of the afternoon indoors. 
Bug comes home tired and grumpy every day.  Which is good, because he will usually fall asleep quickly, but on the other hand, it means he has limited self control and is prone to temper tantrums/crying fits, just because he is too tired. 

On the schooling front, we have continued to work on reading and math this summer and he is doing great.  we have 3 workbooks we are using.  As we have 5 weeks until school starts again, we need to be more consistent about working in the workbooks.  But even working a few days a week, I am seeing lots of retention of facts/skills and growth of new skills.

On a sports front- Bug is taking swimming lessons this summer and he is really not happy about being in lessons by himself.  But his swimming is improving.  He will start soccer at the end of August again, but I may also put him in group swim lessons in the Fall.  I am also mulling over drum lessons and some Spanish language classes- even if it is computer programs for Spanish.  we really need to get started on Spanish lessons.  Bug is very interested in Spanish right now, as I speak to the kids and parents at VBS on Tuesday nights, he is asking me what I am saying and repeating back the phrases.  he definitely wants to know more and learn more.  I just wish his school started language lessons before 3rd grade.


Work continues for me.  It is a busy summer and shaping up to be a busy Fall which will lead into a busy next year.  I did not plan correctly for my time off this year, so we have a few days here and there.  I am planning a few days off before Bug starts school again and then I am saving days for the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays.  I may get to take a few days off at Christmas and rather than not have them, I am saving them.  Worst case scenario is that I have to roll over vacation days to next year. 

Bug is becoming so much more independent- he is willing to do things by himself and try new things.  Such a change from just a year ago.  he is definitely becoming very confident in his abilities. 

The new things for this school year will be:
more chores at home-
more independence in homework

And maybe, just maybe (if I am lucky), sleeping in his own bed.  I am not holding my breath on getting back my bed, but it would be so nice.  Bug has gone so far as to tell me, I can take down his bed in his room so he has room for more toys!!!!!!!  Little does he know that the big toy clean out is coming in October/November and all his old toys are going to charity.  He can keep the toys he plays with, but it is time to give away the toys he has outgrown or no longer plays with.  There are lots of kids who would love his toys.

He is growing like a weed.  He was measured yesterday and he grew another .5-.75 inches.  I also had him try on his school pants and shorts- the shorts will make it thru this fall, the pants are way too small.  I have to replace all his pants, get shorts for next Spring and buy all new short sleeve shirts for him to start school.

So that is the update for now.  We are on the count down to Bug's 6th birthday.  He is into Transformers this year, so he is having a transformer themed birthday.  Bumblebee is his favorite.  He loves Bumblebee so much that when we pass the Chevrolet dealership, Bug can pick out the camaro on the lot.  He as informed me that he is going to let the salesmen know that he will be in to buy a camaro as soon as he is old enough to buy a car.  I guess the motorcycle he wanted 2 years is a thing of the past.

That's it for now.  Love and hugs,
Deb

more catching up- I think we will back to normal blogging in a couple weeks

Another few weeks of business around here.  We are mid point of VBS at La Vina.  Bug is loving it.  It is so cool to see Bug dancing and singing with all the songs.  Just a few months ago, this would not have been the case.  I guess he truly has come out of his shell as his teacher said at the end of the school year. 

Bug not listening to Miss S tell the Bible story- she is the statue of Liberty since the kids are the an adventure in the "Big Apple" for VBS.

I find it interesting that even at 5 and 6, the kids separate themselves by boys and girls.   I am struggling with this as I think a good bit of the behavior is culturally driven and not so much normal behavior.  Very definitely the girls are very quiet when the boys are around, but there is no way at this point to separate them by gender.  But that is a topic for another day.

Our friend N was in town for a few days.  She and Bug went swimming at the Y and then we joined them for ice cream at one of the local places.  It was icky hot and humid- which is our weather now.  We are in the 90s temperature wise, with humidity in the 90s too, which is giving us a heat index above 100 degrees.  it is not safe to be outside for long periods.  Bug and I are hanging out inside most days.  And Bug is not too happy about it, but when I look at him dripping with sweat, red cheeks and complaining that his stomach hurt, I know we need to be inside.  I did have his blow up pool set up last week, but had to take it down because the water was getting yucky and the pool was killing the grass.  But we were able to use the water to water our garden, so no waste.

Bug and Pap had a great time at the store.  Bug loves to drive the cart.  Pap is not healing well, but we are hopeful that his knee will heal and he will be able to enjoy retirement.

We harvested our first carrots, squash and tomatoes from our garden!!!!  This is the first time in 3 tries that I have been able to grow carrots and squash.  We are still waiting for zucchini and for the peppers.  It does not look like we will get cucumbers this year, unfortunately.  And since I moved the garden beds in the winter, apparently I stirred up all the weed seeds, so I am growing gardens of weeds and weeds too.  I have a lot of work to do this Fall to correct the garden beds for next year.

Bug and Little M trying the carrots.  Little M really like his, Bug declared his "yuck".  I think he just wanted  some humus spread or ranch dip for his carrots.

We have been having lots of yummy ice cream- first with N and then with Mam and Pap.

Some more cart riding and driving- around our favorite store- Home Depot.

And finally some more ice cream.  The local ice cream shop was celebrating its 141 anniversary of being in business.  So cones were $1.41!!!  The place was packed with customers.  The humidity was so high that the ice cream was melting as soon as they gave us the cones. 

And Bug as a seal in the circus.

We are on the count down to school starting.  Bug has about 5 more weeks until school starts (22August).  We bought about 1/2 his school supplies today.  I need to go back and pick up the rest and prestock for later in the year when he needs replacement items and for next year.  You can not beat the sales now.  I am also going to stock up on items for a friends who volunteer with kids and who always ask for donations of school supplies.

Well that is the last few weeks.  We hope your summer has been going well.  I am hoping that I can get back to blogging on a regular basis in a few weeks.

Love and hugs,

Deb

just a teaser

Bug and I went swimming with J and N on Sunday.  We had a great time splashing, playing and talking.  we definitely need to do this more often.

On the 4th of July, we took part in the neighborhood parade.  It was great time.

We have been busy this summer- with work and other things.  We are now on the 5 week count down to school starting!!!!!!!! 
Bug is taking swimming lessons (and not liking that the lesson is one on one versus a group lesson), we are volunteering at VBS with La Vina (Spanish church) and Bug is loving it.

more to come later.

Love and hugs,
Deb

photos from the last week

Bug discovered the joys of almost walking down the slide.  he actually slid down to the first bump and then stood up.  Yes, he is feeling very confident and growing into the man I know he will be.

I took him out on Wednesday night to catch fireflies (lighting bugs).  He was in heaven, although I for to put bug spray on us so the other bugs did not bite us all evening.

Thursday was the semi annual trip to the dentist.  Bug has moved out of my sphere of influence and become one of the guys.  Here he is sitting with Pap to read the car magazine.  Although, he kept saying "momma, look at this", and that was for any car on any page.

Getting ready to get out teeth clean.  The result- one cavity for momma, and 2 6 year molars for Bug.  Now I know why he has been running a low grade fever the last 2 weeks bug has been acting pretty much like normal.  He has not been sick, but he has the molars coming in.  2 more to go and then no more molars until around age 12.

And right now, it looks like the bottom teeth are coming in behind the top teeth, so no braces in our future.  We'll see once the 2 top teeth come out if that holds true.

My Cow Boy- this was after a visit to the computer stores and lunch a chick.a.fil- Bug favorite place to play.

I filled up the pool on Saturday night and we found out that we needed to buy a new one later that evening.  So Sunday, we got a new inflatable pool and I filled it up for Monday.  Bug decided he had to be in it on Sunday and he complained about the cold water the entire time.

But he had a good time playing.

Sunday evening, we head across the street to the holiday bash at our friends.  it is interesting that fireworks are illegal in our area, but yet the policeman in the neighborhood is the one that has an hour long firework display every year.

Bug got in some play time with Little M's dad.

Which left him hot and sweaty.  So he need a Popsicle to cool down. We had one for little M too.

We moved over to our driveway to watch the fireworks.  Little M was overwhelmed by the noise and Bug wanted to go see the fireworks up close and personal, so this way they both enjoyed the fireworks.

At some point, Bug fell asleep for about 5-10 minutes. 

Little M was up the entire time. 

So that was the celebration on the 3ed.  Today, there is a parade with a firetruck in the neighborhood and then Mam and Pap are staying for lunch.  it is going to be a wonderful day.

Love and hugs,
Deb