Swim Lessons

 Despite buying a pool for the backyard this summer, Ryan made little progress in learning to swim. One problem was that our pool was not deep enough for him to really learn--the water hit him at his waist/chest, but he could still touch.  Whenever we would attempt to teach him anything, including floating on his back, moving his arms or legs appropriately or putting his face in the water and blowing bubbles, he had a complete melt-down.   When we pushed the issue, he would just decide he didn't want to swim for days after that.  We knew it was time to resume swim lessons.   Our YMCA lessons have made a BIG impact on him in a short amount of time!

 Ryan's first lesson was definitely baptism by fire.  At first he refused to get in the pool.  I had to put my stern voice on before he finally got in.  That first lesson his teachers played "Ring-around-the Rossie," where on "all fall down," everyone gets submerged for a second or two.  Ryan's response during this activity was panic, yelling, "Oh no! Oh no!Oh NO!" But he did have the sense to stop yelling and hold his nose just before getting dunked.

But now, only a month later, swim lessons are his absolute FAVORITE activity.   They have him jumping into the deep end off the diving block.   He is blowing bubbles, pushing off, volunarily submerging his head in the water, practicing correct strokes and making his way across the pool on a kickboard.  Needless to say, I am VERY happy with this progress!

As an added bonus, free swim hours are at the same time as Ryan's lessons.  Recently Josh has been able to take this time to play with Dylan in the water.  Dylan enjoys being a "jumping bean" off the side of the pool, dropping swim rings and making Josh pick them up, and kicking on his front and back.  Meanwhile, I get to sit back, relax and read a book for half an hour!

Aw, Bats

A few weeks ago, while my husband was grilling on a breezy fall night, about a week before Halloween, he called me outside.  "Listen to that," he commanded with a grin on his face.  I heard a shrill noise coming from somewhere on our porch. "Is that..." 

"Bats..." he finished, pointing with a stick to a dark gap between a false chimney and the point where our porch roof met.  Standing at the base of the chimney, Josh shone a flashlight up into the dark and we could see them--three bats. Two adults and a pup. "What a cute little bat family" Josh said winking at me.

This happens to be a commonly used and favorite spot for many of us in our family, and thus a very bad spot for bats to be residing above and pooping on.  Incidently, this false chimney stands right next to our back door. The spot by the chimney also happens to be Esteban's favorite spot to lay when he is chilling out in the backyard. It is my favorite place to keep the outdoor toys (bikes and sand/water table) because it is the most sheltered from the elements-which is most likely why our bat friends also chose that spot as their new home. 

I knew they were going to have to go.  I felt bad. I really did.  I think bats are really neat creatures.  I appreciate that they eat bugs and I sort of relate to them being as we are both mammals. I can appreciate the need for a nice dry warm place to shelter from wind, rain and cold-especially with a pup.  I felt bad about turning them out being as the days were getting chillier and wetter, but unfortunately bats also carry diseases which I want no part of. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Bats can carry and transmit Histoplasmosis, Hemorraghic fevers, and of course Rabies.  With two dogs and two kids, these bats were just too close for comfort.  In addition, according to my research, when bats move in-they move in to stay long-term, adding to their colony throughout the years.  Mother bats have on average one to two pups a year.  

I looked at my husbands grinning face.  He clearly thought having bats was really cool.  We showed the kids the three bats curled up in their dark little hole, and then I told him, "OK, that was neat.  We gotta get rid of them. "  This earned me the nick-name "Hitler," for the next several days (which I feel was sortof unncessary. I didn't want to kill them, they just needed to live somewhere else).  Josh's initial plan was to spray them out with the hose.  Eventually a wet, cold and unhappy looking Daddy bat crawled out clinging to the brick and chirping.  Josh reminded me that removing them was my idea and looked at me so accusingly, I told him to stop.  I booked a Bat removal guy the next day.  Bats are protected in our state and it is unlawful to kill them--which is fine! I wished no harm on this bat family. I just wanted them to leave.  When Josh found out I was planning to pay money to remove the bats, he asked me to cancel the guy and told me he could get rid of them.  He bought some insulating foam at the hardware store, waited until the bats had left for evening hunting and sprayed the foam in the crevice between the chimney and roof.  It puffed up and hardened.  There was no way they were getting back in.   Problem solved! I do hope they find a new better place to live though.