The Pool - Making it Safe All Year Long

Spencer's paternal grandparents have a big beautiful pool in their backyard. It's a big beautiful pool that's caused me hours of worrying- I've seen all those 20/20 specials where babies and pets fall in and drown!

Most people think I worry too much, which I don't think is possible when it comes to safety of your child, so I did what I always so - a little research! According the US Safety Commission, 75% of all accidental pool submersion drownings, involved children between the ages of one and three. They reported that 65% of all these accidental drowning occurred in a pool owned by the child's family and 33% happened in a pool owned by relatives and friends. Folks, that means 98% of all drowning accidents happened in their own pool, their family's pool, or a friend's pool. I decided I had plenty of reason to worry!

I've found a few ways to make sure your pool area is as safe as possible. During the summer months, the majority of families leave their pool uncovered. This is a big no-no, as 2/3 of all those drownings I mentioned earlier, occurred during the summer, when the pool is not in use. Invest in strong pool cover, a mesh cover is a must for protecting your family and your pool. There are also covers that use solar energy to warm the water, in case you were thinking "how else will my pool ever warm up if it's always covered?" Not only are you preventing your family from a potential devastating loss, but you are all also avoid a possible legal battle and lawsuit.

I was surprised to read that a large number of these accidents occur during the off season months. A lot of pool owners use old or weak covers to protect their pool after they've closed it up for the season. Winter Pool Covers not only protect your kids, they also prevent pools from icing over- which opens up an entire new can can of worms. If your pool cover has a hole in it, don't tape it up! Get a new one or have a professional fix it.

In ground pool owners are not the only ones that need to worry about this, a large number of these accidents happen in above ground pools- especially during wintertime. Winterizing your above ground pool is 100% necessary if you want to keep it healthy and safe. Most people tend to worry about children falling in a pool and drowning, and forget about the possibility of an inquisitive four year old climbing on top of their pool- to a kid it probably looks like a big trampoline! Having a strong, stable cover is just as important on an above ground pool as it is for an in ground pool.

Benjamin Franklin once said, An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you are one of those lucky people with your own pool, please make sure you've taken every possible measure to ensure the safety of a child.

Forget Me Not

The Forget Me Not Flower

I have an excellent memory. Not photographic, but I did memorize the entire Gettysburg Address in the 5th grade (I still know it), I could tell you what you wore on any given day, and can playback entire conversations from as long ago as nursery school. I just remember things, which can sometimes be good or bad.

Most of these things are facts or feelings, I often can't remember where I hid my keys from Spencer. But recently I've noticed a startling a trend- I've forgotten, or blocked out, large parts of who I used to be. Before Spencer (BS), I was the ultimate hopeless romantic, the girl who believed love conquered all, and there was no romantic comedy that I didn't like. During my freshman year of college, our hall ordered t-shirts that had our names and a quote about us on it- mine was "Katie 'I love love." I had a kissing wall, every year, in all of my dorm rooms- photos and magazine cut outs of various kisses. I unconditionally gave my whole heart to the love of my life.

Then one day I had a baby and all my love went to her. It no longer seemed appropriate to be that girl anymore, after all, it was my amorous ways that got me here. Deep down though, I'm still that same hopeless romantic who believes in soul mates and true love. But, it makes me sad to remember that Katie (uh oh, I'm talking in the 3rd person) and how I thought I was going to grow up, become a pro bono lawyer, get married, have kids, and live happily ever after. That's still no excuse for completely excising that part of myself just because it makes me wistful.

Yesterday, I realized that it wasn't just the "I love love" me that I put on the back burner, I also did it with, to a lesser extent, the government loving patriotic me. I still talk about politics, but if you knew me BS you'd know that it was one of my favorite topics to discuss- I don't think a day went by when I didn't talk about it in some way or another. But then I had a baby and continuing law school was no longer an option- talking about politics, governments and laws only reminded me that I wasn't going to have the life I'd spent years preparing for.

I was listening to NPR on the way home from celebrating the 4th with the PGP's and they did a segment on the WASPs, no not White Anglo Saxon Protestants. The WASPS, Women Airforce Service Pilots, were female pilots during WWII who flew military aircraft for the United States Army Airforce. They were flight instructors, test flew sick planes to make sure they were suitable for flying before the men flew them, and were often used to pilot planes that were being used as target practice for the men learning how to shoot while flying. Thirty-Eight of them died and not one was allowed to have a military burial or a Gold Star- the US didn't even pay to have their bodies shipped back to their families. After the War, Congress defeated a proposed bill that would have given these women the military benefits they deserved and went so far as to seal the records of the WASPs, their contribution hidden from the world. On July 1, 2009, 65 years after their records were sealed, President Obama awarded these courageous women with the Congressional Gold Medal.

When I heard this, I burst into tears- which surprised me. But I thought about why it had elicited such an emotional response and the answer came to me- these ladies were heroes who were unjustly forgotten. They dedicated a part of their life, some gave their lives, to a cause and were then forced to ignore it, to pretend like it never happened.


And here I am, shutting out, ignoring huge parts of myself just because it makes me sad?! So what if I don't have the life I imagined? It may be different, but I LOVE it. All I've really wanted, my whole life, is to be remembered, have a legacy- change the world for the better in some small way. I still plan on achieving that goal, I'm not sure how, but I still see endless opportunities in my future. I'm not sure why I've going about these past two years as if the old me no longer exists, or isn't really relevant to the current or future me.
My baby turns two on Friday. Two. She's a little girl now and I'm having some trouble accepting that. I keep thinking about our life together and how I wouldn't trade it for anything in this world. I'm happy- there's no longer a reason for me to forget who I was. Spencer is almost at the age where she's going to remember her life- our life- and I want to be all of me for her, not just the parts I've carved out. After all, if I hadn't been me I wouldn't have had her, and that's not something I ever want to forget.

Show Us Where You Live - The Yard

This week on Show Us Where You Live Friday is all about yards and garages. Well, I don't have a garage, but I do have a lot of yard- almost an acre and a half- to be exact.


View from the front porch. I took this picture awhile ago, that's why it doesn't really match the rest. My momnesia led me to believe that I had a lot of pictures of the front yard so I didn't need to take any more, but no, this is was the only one that shows more than closeup.




My bicycle planter. You have no idea how long it took me to put this thing together. I blame it on faulty directions, but I might have made some errors myself!

Kappa Kappa Gamma! The colors are wrong, but it's still the fleur-de-lis.



This is Spencer's flower stand. I let her water it, which she just loves, and then she tried to pluck them!



Crepe Myrtle in the front yard. I can't wait for it to bloom- early fall.

My July 4th Spirit, haha! And that's Spencer, coming to show me the flower she just picked. I have the hardest time keeping her from doing that, but my hurt just melts when she says "Flowee, prit-ee!" And then she pats her head, because she wants me to put one in her hair. She has a headband that has a flower on it, and to make her want to wear it, I showed her how pretty it was and how pretty it looked on her. Ever since then, when she sees a flowee, she wants to put it in her hair!

The backyard. You probably can't tell from this picture, but it's almost an entire acre.

That's a dogwood behind the slide, which is Virgina's State Flower, even though it's a tree!

On the screened in porch. Oh, how I love my screened in porch! It's probably my favorite thing about our house.

View of the backyard from the porch. That's a shed you see to your left, which is the home to many a creature. I don't want to destroy their thriving ecosystem, so I leave it alone, and they leave us alone.

So that's my yard. It's a fair amount to maintain, but Spencer and Vivi love it, and so do I. It really is kind of therapeutic , trying to keep all my flowers, trees, and grass alive while wrangling an almost two year old and Great Dane puppy, but I like knowing that I can do it!

Other Rooms:

Master Bedroom

Bonus Room

Bathrooms

Office

Spencer's Room/Nursery

So You Think You Can Dance - The Top 7 Couples, Top 14 Dancers

Mia Michaels is the guest judge tonight- I wonder what whacked out things she's going to come up with?!

Janette & Brandon - Cha Cha Cha - Jean Marc Genereux & France - Hush Hush; Hush Hush, by the Pussycat Dolls

I think Janette is just on fire tonight. And I find Brandon to be believable as her lovah, so I that's really goods. I thought he did a great job at being her partner instead of being showy for the audience- which is just something I look for, I don't know why. Nigel said it's the best Cha Cha ever seen on the show, and Brandon has "Michelangelo Feet." Mary, well we all know Mary LOVES Brandon. She stands up and screams "YOU TWO HAVE TWO FIRST CLASS TICKETS ON THE HOT TAMALE TRAIN!! WHOOO! WHOOO! WHOOO!" Mia tells Brandon the reason she was so tough on him before, was because she sees so much ability and potential in him. Wow, that was some serious spin Mia! Aww, Brandon starts crying. She says he's amazing and she wants amazing from him. Mia thinks Janette is brilliant and Miami should be very of her. TEMPO01

Kayla & Kupono - Jazz - Sonya Tayeh - A matter of life and death, vampire-esque - Eyes on Fire, by Blue Foundation.

I'm going to go out a limb here, but I kinda like it. I'm not a huge fan of either of them, but I have say that I thought it was very good. Kupono did a much better job than his he's done in his last few performances. Nigel agrees and thinks that it's a great partnership. Mary compliments Sonya on her great choreography- and I have to agree with that, too. It was a great routine, maybe that's why I liked it. Mia says that aesthetically, they are beautiful together and that, in her opinion, it's Sonya's best choreographed piece on the show. Kayla is wonderful and Kupona is getting better and better. She sees him growing and that's the most important thing, and all they can ask of him. So far, Mia had been on her best behavior, hmmm. TEMPO02

Randi & Evan - Broadway - Joey Dowling - Toxic relationship - Rich Man's Frug, from Sweet Charity (2005 Broadway Revival Cast)

I love Broadway routines, so I'm probably not the most impartial judge here! It's a pretty unique routine, and of course I always like Evan, but I really do think he was great tonight. Nigel, once again, praises Randi and tells Evan he needs to be better. Mary said she enjoyed it, but was kinda Meh about it. Mia told Randi she was dancing to heavily and that she knew she could do better than that. They really are both too short, with matching body types, to be partnered with each other. Oh, but Nigel did say the thought they were going to make it into the Top 10. TEMPO03

Jason & Caitlin - Pop Jazz - Brian Freidman - She's the leader and he's the follower- she's an alien impregnating the last human being on the planet. huh? - Creator, Santigold.

First, those costumes are hideous, bizarre and distracting. But on to the dancing. They seems much better than they did last week. I don't know if the strobe lights have something to do with that, but it's a pretty cool performance. Brian Freidman is one weird dude. Nigel says BF comes from another planet, haha, and that Caitlin's outfit looks like a dancing condom, to which Cat says "Safety First, Nigel!" I burst out laughing. Mary doesn't like it and doesn't feel like it played to their strengths. Mia thinks it was fine, but doesn't like Caitlin's outfit and found it completely wrong. She should have looked more Species alien and less Coneheads- meets aluminum foil- alien. TEMPO04

Jeanine & Phillip - Hip Hop - Napoleon & Tabitha D'umo - About what the dancers go through on the show, specifically with their partners. They will be dancing in chains. Love Lockdown, by Kanye West.

I can't wait to see Phillip in his element! I just don't get how he's able to do those things with this body. Jeanine isn't bad, either. The chain actually was a really good prop, and I'm not a prop fan. Nigel says that if they keep dancing like that they should be partners for life. Nigel calls Napoleon and Tabitha, Nappy Tabs, haha. Mary thought it was absolutely, incredibly creative- and she thinks they brought it on. Yea! She was very complimentary of Jeanine for being able to keep up with Phillip and wishes they could always be partners. On to Mia- who starts off with a nod to the fabulosity of Nappy Tabs, but she wasn't a fan of the chain. She thought it was a little unpredictable and sloppy. A little unintentional hilarity ensues when Jeanine is talking about the chains they practiced with and how much they had to practice with them in order to get it right. She said we have them everywhere, all over our apartment, which of course brought out the TMI comments, but it was a cute faux pas. TEMPO05

Melissa & Ade - Classical Pas de Deux - (this is the first time a classical PdD has ever been - Thordal Christensen - Romeo & Juliet, new, tender young lovers - Romeo & Juliet Prokofiev's Suite No. 1 Op. 64b, 6th Movement, by Orchestre De La Suisse Romande & Armin Jordan. Whew!

Wow, what a showcase for Melissa's ballet ability. She kinda reminds me of Julie Kent, when she danced the role of Juliet years ago. You could totally tell that she was loving every minute of it, like this was her dream come true. It was just beautiful. I love ballet. Nigel is very excited about the routine and how they've come full circle on SYTYCD, with having impregnating aliens and then a classical Pas de Deux. Mary loves it, and was very glad to see Melissa in her element. Mia liked the black and white Romeo & Juliet thinks it was brilliant and beautiful, she tells Melissa that she's a True Ballerina. My favorite couple, I'm rootin' for them!TEMPO06

Karla & Vitolio - Quickstep - Jean Marc Generaux - Puttin' On The Ritz, by Rufus Wainwright.

I would not want to be them tonight, especially with Kiss of Death Dance, the Quickstep. Maybe it's just me again, but Vitolio looks like a real ballroom dancer, so debonair. They do a cool costume change on Karla. Nigel thinks it was great, he thought it was a really entertaining routine and was glad to see Vitolio's personality out there. Mary says so much for the kiss of death dance, they brought it alive! She has some ballroom technical mumbo jumbo critiques for them, but overall she thinks it was fabulous. Mia tells Jean Marc he is a genius, from the costuming to the choreography. She's surprised how they stepped up, and wishes Vitolio would be more consistently good like he was tonight, but tat she was very proud of him. For Karla, Mia thought she looked scared a few times, but otherwise she was wonderful. TEMPO07

Everyone was so good tonight, I didn't think any couple had a bad performance. Of course some were better than others, but all of them were pretty solid. Here are my Top 3 Couples of the night:

• Melissa & Ade
• Janette & Brandon
• Jeanine & Phillip

What do ya'll think about tonight's performances?

The Five Stages of Spencer

Spencer's latest thing is complete and utter hatred of my camera. If she sees me with it, she immediately starts shutting her eyes and covering her face. Oops, I guess I did something wrong there! For the past few weeks I have cut back on my overly zealous photo-snapping tendencies, hoping that her distaste for the camera would going away. At the very least I was hoping she'd be more tolerant of it, but NO.

Yesterday was the first day in over two weeks that I'd taken any pictures of her, and I did get a few cute ones of her in the pool. But I guessed I pressed my luck, because when I brought out the camera in the evening, she threw a complete fit. As long as she can't see it, Spencer's happy, but once she realizes that I might be using her playtime as a photo op... well, here's what happened.

Denial. She can't catch me- I'm the gingerbread girl.

Anger. I am SO mad you, Mommy!

Bargaining. Please, if stop taking pictures and push my swing higer, I promise I'll go to sleep early tonight!

Depression. Why me? Why? Oh, the horror!

Acceptance. Fine, I'll smile for a minute, but I'm NOT going to bed early!