Ordinary Day

I was able to get a lot done around the house this morning because the teenager of the house did what teenagers do...he slept in! Wish my littles could learn how to do that! But keeping up with the house has been a challenge since Dzintars arrived as he wants to either be helping me or doing something with me. He's started to get better about finding ways to entertain himself or ask Brennan to play something with him when I'm busy, so hopefully our house will start to get back in order soon.

My husband is a genius:) I explained to him all the problems I was having with my blog and how when I tried to blog throughout the day, even though I saved what I wrote it wasn't there when I came back to finish it. So he suggested I just type everything in Word and then cut and paste it later. Problem solved. Thanks honey!!!

Dzintars had another first today...possibly the MOST important one of this whole time in America. His first trip to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf:) I told him it was my favorite place! I got him a Strawberry Banana smoothie, which he loved. Of course we needed a photograph to document such a monunmetal location.

So today I decided we'd "lay low" and spend some time doing "everyday" things. First, much to Peter's dismay, Dzintars and I tackled the garage. It's been needing some love for months but I just hadn't made the time to do it. Peter would prefer to do it himself, or at least be present...he fears I inheritted my moms knack for throwing things away, he's right I did. But today, we mostly just reorganzized. America is seen as very wasteful in the eyes of the Eastern Europeans, so despite the fact that I was finding things that hadn't been used in years , I threw very little away. It was great to have some help, and truth be told, Dzintars was happy to help and put his muscle to good use! He hardly let me lift a finger:) He wanted to climb the ladder to store stuff overhead or move things from one place to the other. And having some company made this "chore" so much more tolerable!

Part of the hosting requirements for New Horizons is to secure dental and eye exams for the kids while they are here. Luckily, we've been able to have both appointments covered by the doctors. Today was his dental appointment. Fortunately, he has been to the dentist, he thinks maybe 5 times or so, with the most recent visit being last fall. While I've heard of some host kids freaking out and refusing to go Dzintars didn't seem to mind one bit. He had the most amazing hygenist, and I will be requesting her in the future for Brennan and Kaelyn. Cindy, was so great with him and demonstrated everything and made him feel real comfortable. She was very interested in New Horizons and asked me several questions. When she found out that Dzintars came here with just the clothes on his back she said her 18 year old son has tons of clothes and shoes and jackets that she'd love to give Dzintars! Just another blessing in our everyday life:) We did escape without any cavities, but barely. Poor guy has some spots that aren't quite cavities yet, but the dentist said it's only a matter of time. For now all he could do was scrape off the tarter and staining and treat him with flouride. He already had two fillings already. Time to teach him how to brush better and how to floss. Sigh.

Taking his xrays like a champ.

I taught Dzintars to whistle today. He tried a few times unsuccessfully and then got it soon after, he seemed happy that he had mastered the task, but then he told me via google translate that in Latvia men aren't supposed to whistle, it is some kind of superstition. It has to do with money, but I didn't quite understand how, he said Latvia has lots of beliefts. Hmmm. He did however, say that I could whistle:) So I proceeded to whistle along with the radio and dance and he just laughed and refused to look at me. I completely embarassed him. Teenagers are supposed to be embarrased by their moms, right? MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

We still had some time to kill before picking up the littles at school so we picked up our bat and balls and headed to the park to hit some balls! Before we left he had to change into his Dodger shirt though, I think he thinks that it's like a uniform:) Pretty cute. While we had a great time hitting balls, it's become apparent that wiffle balls just aren't going to cut it for him. We need a real bat, real baseballs and some gloves so we can play catch together. If anyone has any they'd be willing to let us borrow for the next month we'd be very grateful. Our equipment is all toddler sized:)

We spent some time playing in the water this afternoon. Though he was impressed with our giant globe sprinkler thing-a-ma-bob, he said the water was just too cold and he didn't last long. I can understand that, he doesn't have much "meat" on his bones so unlike my kiddos who are still in their bathing suits playing as I type, he wasn't able to keep himself warm. Maybe we'll try again another day.