Treasured Moments with my Boys

As a full-time working parent with a daily commute, the moments I have to spend with my children are fewer and farther between these days.  After having been a stay-at-home mom in their early childhood, it's not easy to see them less and know that I'm missing out on time with them.

I have an amazing support network right now with my mom and my grandmother helping out this summer, but that doesn't soften the blow that full-time working struck a couple of years ago.

That being said, the time I do spend with my boys is precious and wonderful, and here are some of our best moments over the last few weeks:

1.  Swimming.  On the weekends and sometimes at night after work during the week.  We all enjoy the physical activity and interaction.  My boys never head to the pool without a ball to toss back and forth.  They have a serious ball addiction
2. Chess.  My 14-year-old son and I have been playing non-stop chess through an app for the iPhone called Chess with Friends.  I think we've played about six games in the last week.  We're sharpening our minds and connecting on a different level.  I love it!
3. Baseball Games.  My 9-year-old son has been playing summer baseball, and I love the evening games once or twice a week, even though the heat is killer right now.  Not only is it a blast to watch him play, but it's excellent family bonding time for us, their grandparents and even great-grandparent. We even bring Annie to most the games so she can get out and have fun.  Every child within a mile attaches themselves to her. 
4. America's Got Talent.  I've really enjoyed watching this show with my boys each week.  We discuss talent, and what we liked or didn't like about certain acts or the judge's behavior.  It's great bonding and conversation!

I don't take the moments for granted.  I cherish them and look for more.  Every moment that I'm away from my boys, I'm working to make money to improve their lives or set a good example.  I'm not perfect, I have a lot of flaws, but of one thing there is NO doubt.  I love my boys.

Swimming

It's summer. It's Texas. It's HOT. Melting hot. So, we survive with lots and lots of swimming.

Back before Christmas, I shopped fitness centers, trying to find the right place to leave my blood, sweat and tears. A huge factor in this decision was whether or not pools were on site. The place I ended up joining (thanks to help from my grandmother and mother!) has huge indoor and outdoor pools, both of which have amazing, two-story high, water slides. The kids LOVE it.


We grab a few chairs, lay out our towels and dump our stuff (including the heavy swim bag full of pool toys that they rarely use) and then we spend the new couple of hours swimming.

Here's a picture of the outdoor slide, and lo and behold, that's Remy coming out the chute!

I used disposable, water-prppf cameras to take all the pictures in this post. I wasn't sure how they'd turn out, having never used them before, and the resulting quality isn't great, but they have kind of a neat look to them...and I wasn't about to get my beautiful new camera near the water.

Here's the outside slide in all it's glory. At the top you can choose to go down the covered tube or the open tube...it's really two slides with two chutes. I have to know in advance which one Remy's coming down, so I can be near where he exits at the bottom. He can swim well, he just get's a little nervous in the deep end sometimes.

Most of the pictures I took of Donny, Remy and fun Uncle Chris who was visiting from Austin were coming out of the slide...but often I only ended up with photos of big splashes! This is Uncle Chris's splash and that's a life guard to the right. They have one life guard at the top of the slide and one at the bottom, making sure one kid at a time goes down, everyone's safe, etc. There are usually six life guards in all at this pool. I'm impressed with their safety.

Here's Remy with fun Uncle Chris. Uncle Chris came to stay with us for about five days. He's one of my hubby's younger brothers. Bless his heart, he spent almost the entire visit playing with my boys. He's such a good sport. Donny and Remy look up to him and have such a great time hanging out with him. And, he gets extra points for being willing to have photos of him thrown on my blog. I usually ask family members before posting them. And see if they want nicknames, that sort of thing. :o)

Donny is threatening me with his super water shooter thingy. I got hit more times than I can remember that day at the pool until I threatened to kick him out of the pool if he hit me one more time. He stopped.

Both my boys have to have goggles on while swimming, and they have both taken to wearing rashguards (those water shirts that provide UV protection).

Then we went crazy and started taking underwater photos. I can't believe I'm posting a picture of me in my bathing suit. Thank goodness this is a blurry, fuzzy photo and not a close-up. Not super flattering, but we were having fun. It's me and Remy.

Here Donny being fun and nutty.


Donny has flippers on. He loves how much faster he can swim with them.

So, now you've seen where and how we spend most of our summer days.

Do you have a regular pool you go swimming in?

Rhea of Sunshine

My name is pronounced RAY or RAY-AH. Just a friendly reminder. Ree-ah is NOT correct. RAY of Sunshine, like the subject line, get it?

So, the Texas heat has turned up a notch, and we are cookin' now. It's dadgum hot! And, the best way to handle the heat is to spend time in the cold water swimming.

Are you a swimmer or a side-of-the-pool lounger? I love to get a good book and lie by the pool, but I have to be IN the water most of the time these days with the boys.

Speaking of boys...we have an entire pool bag loaded up with pool toys. We have a few of those awesome toypedos, sea animals that move through the water with batteries, dive sticks, goggles galore and various other pool fun items, but guess what the boys spent an hour playing with in the pool just the other day? Pennies!! Amazing, huh? I kept throwing them and they kept diving for them. It was amazing. Like a dog playing fetch with a tennis ball. Glad we spent all that money on pool toys, huh?

The boys also love the diving board. They can jump over and over and over again. I wish I had some good pictures to share. Remy's newest jump was called "the flying squirrel" and it looked awesome...until he landed in the water, and that looked like it HURT.

Do you use sunscreen? I sure hope so! Did you know you are supposed to put it on 20 minutes or more before going into the sun? It needs time to dry and soak in...otherwise it's not as effective. Did you know that sunscreen expires? Look on your bottle. It should show an expiration date somewhere. I buy new sunscreen each summer.

I am fanatical about sunscreen due to moles. I have so many of them I can't keep up! And, I go to a dermatologist yearly to have them looked at. I've had some removed and found to be atypical, but not melanoma, thank goodness. I know many people who have had little moles turn out to be dangerous melanoma though, so know the signs and keep an eye on your skin!

Just a friendly reminder from your favorite Texan to have fun in the sun but be careful with your skin!

That having been said, who rubs the sunscreen on your back? Your hubby? Significant other? Your children? Or the pool boy? hehe

My younger sister, The bug, used to spend time going around and opening the bug traps around the pool to discover what bugs were inside. Do you know anyone else who does this?

When I was seven or so, I was in the pool, bopping around on the side and managed to bang my chin so hard into the side of the pool that I need stiches. lovely, huh? Have you or your kids done this?

My husband learned to swim from some guy who just basically threw kids in the pool and told them to swim. It was do or die, apparently. I hope no one else had this instructor.

Enjoy swimming season! Protect your skin and save those pennies (for your kids to find on the bottom of the pool). :o)

Please leave a comment and share your swimming pool stories!

And, I heard about a giveaway at Angie's website and on The Mama Bird Diaries blog there is a Sex and The City giveaway.