Author: Doris

We had a really nice long weekend – now it’s back to work for all of us, Edda finally joins us for scheduled fun, she starts summer school tomorrow! It’s going to be a hot week!

After a few nasty falls, we finally decided to put a helmet on Edda. I’ve been avoiding the helmet strictly based on vanity (which may get me docked points on my parenting report card) because nothing screams DISABLED more than a helmeted head. But I guess safety trumps vanity in the end.

Edda spends a lot of the day pacing the house and a lot of the time, we are in the same general vicinity of her, but certainly not close enough to catch her when she falls. I’ve tried to keep the pacing area clean (difficult for my messy tribe), (small toys esp. the ones with wheels, misplaced shoes and the sleeping dog are all hazards), but sometimes Edda just stumbles over her own two feet or misses an attempt to sit on the couch and bonkers her head.

And often enough, we (or the school staff) are shadowing her (right next to her side) and she tumbles and even though theoretically one could catch her, it is actually pretty hard to have the lightning reflexes necessary to catch her each time. And as she grows taller and heavier, she the falls are getting harder on her poor head.

As soon as we decided that vanity was not going to win out, we stuck a Dora bike helmet on her while we decided which helmet to order. We searched for a helmet that wasn’t too ugly, too big, or too expensive and we found, the Playmaker Headgear. We found it on Rehabmart for $81.86 – down 36% from $126.06, we found it on Amazon for $50 – but Jeremy wanted it in red in size small. We finally called the manufacturer, Playmaker, and explained the situation and they had it in stock and were willing to sell it to us for $37! And they upgraded shipping for us! Awesome company :).

So here’s her new helmet (is soft padded, no hard shell), it is a rugby helmet (sized small – it does come in x-small, are there any 3-year-old rugby players?):

The second day that she had it, Eliana surprised me and pulled Edda’s hair in two pony tails and pulled them through some holes in the helmet (I just about fell over laughing):

How cool are we with our head protection? Damn cool.

We finally got Vince’s hip hop performance downloaded and edited down to just his performance. I know you have been on the edge of your seats waiting for the video. Enjoy (he’s the 2nd from the right)!

A few days ago, we wrote up a list of summer chores. Jeremy got a lot of kitchen chores, Vincent is trying to work on spelling word wall words and taking out the trash, I’m in charge of lawn mowing and laundry, Edda’s chores are to go on at least one neighborhood walk a week and to get used to going to the pool. I was thinking today that I should just cross off Edda’s chore list and just say that her summer chore is to get tan! That will mean that she’s outside a lot and moving her body or just enjoying the outside world.

Edda on her neighborhood walk this morning – out at the dog park!

Ruby is not very good at living up to her name – “RETRIEVER”. She chases the ball, gets the ball and sits down and chews on the ball. No retrieving this morning.

Edda all fancy behind a fence.

Finally, I got all my car tags in order. Small town has its advantage, no rush, fewer people in line, more common sense approach & friendly services.

Our backyard grass was waist tall. No more, I cut it down gradually with the gas-powered trimmer. Some of the tall grass with wild flowers are really lovely to watch. Mom would like to save some.

Well, yesterday we just got our 42″ TV with an antenna of course, not cable. The reception is better than ours in Washington DC. We also ordered to intall a two door garage door opener. Our house together with Mom & Dad, is on the road to modernize, not high tech yet 🙂

Yesterday, Vince started cub scout camp. Every parent has to volunteer at least once during the week, I volunteered yesterday – I figured I would just extend my vacation one more day. It reached almost 100 degrees yesterday. We were sweltering, listening to nature talks and doing crafts. The kids were restless.

Vince ate three sandwiches. A record.

As we ate lunch, it started raining. Hard. But we were cub scouts, we pressed on with the camp. We were eagerly looking forward to the next station, BB guns. Everyone was willing to get wet to get a chance to fire a gun, although another mom said a sentiment held by all the adults – “My son owes me…”

Then we heard the thunder and we all trundled into the indoor shelter where songs were sun and after a bit, camp was canceled.

Finally, Mom & I settled down here at Washougal, WA for the summer. It is very cool here, unlike the weather in Washington DC. But there, we had fun also with all our family members.

After 10 months away from this place, everything is surprisingly in good order. I got my two car tags right today by running around inspection state, motor vehicle dept, etc. Or, otherwise, it is very difficult to drive around with expired tags.

We decide to use-up our Windstar as much as possible in order to make room for another new van. I think it will take a while, hopefully.

My first day back at work is tomorrow. I already feel overwhelmed, I remember what I left on my desk a week and a half ago and I’m dreading it all a little. I know, I have nothing to complain about – everything is going great :).

Vince and Edda got to spend time with their grandparents last week. Thank you guys all for coming and hanging out in our messy house and disorganized lives and the unbearable heat.

And just FYI, “Big” (the bigger tadpole) developed back legs while we were gone. Exciting times!

Sand crab hole?

Trudy’s morning beach walk. She’s 98 in dog years, so has a little trouble with the stairs.

Lunch at a diner in Chincoteague:

Took a boat ride and saw the wild horses of Chnicoteague (sorry no zoom lens).

Dog in water at daybreak:

Enjoying the boardwalk:

Wii dance competition:

Kiki trying out the iPad:

Pizza dinner on the screened in porch (We are helmeting Edda now. She walks well but has had a few too many really bad falls in the past few months. She’s using an ill-fitting bike helmet now which keeps falling off her head. We just ordered a rugby helmet which has more exact sizing. Why a rugby helmet? The company sells the rugby helmet on special needs websites for 80 dollars, on Amazon as a rugby helmet for 50 dollars and straight from the manufacturer for 37 dollars. Grrrr on the pricing.):