goldfish party

Posted on March 23, 2020 by tandem in love

we had such a fun goldfish party at the elmhurst location {pre shelter in place}! they invited all social partners with the brand in the chicagoland area in, just to celebrate – it was so sweet and thoughtful of them! the kids got to swim with a ton of creative fun floats, take pics in a photo booth, eat pizza, down rootbeer floats, color, paint, and see the goldfish mascot! they put together a serious party! i adored how much effort and thought went into it and all the details were so festive.

again, i apologize for the picture quality, as i downloaded the wrong size and had no effort to re do. LOL

ellie had no interest in swimming and olive was ready to go. she had a choice to take the swim test and pass or just choose to put on a floatation vest. olive chose to take the test. the lifeguard had her do a series of different techniques and she…….passed! now, she isn’t the strongest swimmer and if it was all deep water, she would have a vest on but she was in an area where she could stand and hc had his eyes on her at all times too. they did have three lifeguards watching all the kids, which was fantastic.

while olive swam, ellie and i spent some quality time together having fun watching her or taking pics in the photo booth. they let the kids swim for 45 minutes or so and then called them out to get ready for some grub. they served pizzas and juice and everyone was happy except ellie. she doesn’t like pizza. at. all. so i offered to pay for a bag of pirate’s booty they had in their case and they so graciously gave it to us. so sweet of them!

while olive ate pizza, she painted and i chatted with all the wonderful moms i got to meet at the event! while they were serving pizza and juice, the goldfish mascot came out and ellie just about lost it. she cannot, cannot stand human sized characters. it just freaks the shiznit outta her. i asked the goldfish mascot to stay away from her, in which it complied. LOL

i continued to socialize with the moms while our kids ate and had fun. they were then serving up root beer floats and olive was in heaven. ellie consumed one right away and olive savored hers. it was hilarious cause olive was insistent, super insistent that i try one. she would not rest until i tried the delicious root beer float. she was like, “try it kiki, try it!” “did you try it yet?!” “it’s so yummy, try it…go get one!” LOL i then asked the server to fill it with paper and just put whipped cream on top to appease olive that i was having one. i was too full and could have told her that but just relented the easy way. haha!

everyone started wrapping up and of course, we were the last ones to leave! not without snagging some extra goodies for the kids, we grabbed some paint and paper sheets and balloons and headed to our car. the girls had a great time and we had a great time too. we were so pleased at how wonderful the party had turned out!

thanks so much to goldfish swim school family and sara at 2 moms media! we hope everyone is sheltering in safely and we send visual hugs and love to everyone!

[the cutest table spread]

[me and my babes]

[olive is such a ham]

[she’s so sweet]

[seeing her in her goggles makes me laugh in a really goofy, sweet way]

[my silly girl]

[rootbeer float]

xoxo

goldfish swim school

Posted on July 29, 2019 by tandem in love

so last year, we decided to get the girls into swim lessons. yes, maybe to some, a bit late in the game but i think it’s never too late! you just gotta do what is right for you and the kiddos. {olive was 4 and ellie was 2} well, last year, ellie and swim lessons were like oil and water and we totally caved in and didn’t make her do it because she didn’t like it. olive didn’t love it but she did it. we did private lessons at our private pool and it was alright. i felt that it was hard to schedule lessons that worked for both parties and sometimes the weather wasn’t on our side, so that stymied her progress.

well this year, we enrolled the girls into goldfish swim school and we recently had their first lesson there. hc and i were both nervous over ellie because of the run for our money she gave us last year. i touch based with the general manager about ellie and even talked to the deck supervisor about her having a possible meltdown during her lesson.

they were both so reassuring and understanding. they told me to not worry and to keep ellie at it. they said they deal with crying children all the time. obviously, not their first rodeo but it was so nice to hear those supportive words, it’s exactly what anxious parents need to hear!

so, ellie’s first lesson went something like this. screaming, crying, shrieking, clawing, desperation, terror…just a few descriptive words of her thirty minute session. total props to her swim instructor for being so patient and sweet with her. we waved to ellie from behind the glass wall, feeling a little helpless and knowing that she needed to go through the ‘lesson’ and get comfortable with this. i didn’t take one photo of her during the this, as i tried to stay as far away as possible to not interfere or cause her to become more upset.

olive, on the other hand, did soooo well! she loved it! she was so excited and loved every second of her lesson. she’s become so comfortable in the water and i love that she is learning so much!

that was their first week! scroll down to see the second week of lessons!!!

[she’s ready for swim lessons!]

[ellie – not so ready]

[just keep swimming, just keep swimming]

[my sweet girl]

[floating like a starfish ~ her favorite part of the lesson]

[way to go girl!]

[ellie after her lesson]

[that face!]

*****

{week 2}

well, we had no worries with olive and her lesson but we were both anxious over miss ellie. what was it going to be like? was she going to scream for thirty minutes again? what if she really, really doesn’t like it? it’s so torturous to watch her be so upset for so long!

well, well, well…her second lesson turned out AMAZING!!!!! she was game and ready. she listened to the instructor, didn’t scream for dada, and she was all smiles!!! she even let the swim teacher dunk her head underwater twice!!!! wow…i am so proud of you miss ellie! we {kinda} knew you would get there! ok, we had doubts but we WANTED you to and you did!

she loved wearing her goggles, did such a great job with her classmates and her teacher. she was even waving to hc while she was in the water! what a champ! oh ellie, you are full of surprises and we love you for all your might, stalwart ways.

thank you, thank you to goldfish swim school! you guys are so wonderful. you have made this ‘first’ time experience so fabulous. from the first instructor who was so sweet to ellie, although she screamed the entire time and to the entire staff who have been so friendly and encouraging through this process. thank you so much!

i highly recommend anyone going to a goldfish school near them! you won’t be disappointed!

[ready for her swim lesson!]

[this boy loved holding ellie’s hand]

[divas on the surf board]

xoxo

swim class

Posted on July 23, 2018 by tandem in love

we enrolled olive into swim class, again {she started over a month ago, in early june}. she took classes when she was two? i think she was two, maybe a little older than that but not by much. we, unfortunately, stopped after that. i highly recommend any parent to always continue with lessons once you start and start early. your kids will most likely be more confident, not so afraid of the water, and more advanced in their skills.

olive’s first lesson was tough. she was afraid, didn’t understand some of the trainer’s concepts, and was super timid with trying anything that caused water to touch her face. um, that’s a problem.

her coach was great, though. she was super patient, kind, and really supported olive in the way she needed it. i was happy with her style and happy to see olive attempt a few things she wasn’t feeling confident about.

we wanted ellie to try out swim lessons too but that was a complete debacle. she didn’t want to be in the water and clung to hc and cried. oh well, there’s always next year for this little girl! we all attended olive’s first lesson…ya know those firsts! it’s always special in our books! of course i watched from the sidelines while olive practiced and hc carried ellie around in the pool. after olive’s first lesson, we needed to head back to get after the plans we had for the day.

overall, it was a good first day of lessons. i am hoping that she gets her aha moment and progresses quickly! it’s so important to me that she becomes a strong swimmer! for my sanity and for her safety! so, here’s to a good run for the rest of the summer!

[she’s about to start!]

[kicking the legs]

[ellie wasn’t not into swim lessons at alllll]

[her attempts at jumping into the pool!]

[we got a smile!]

[me and my clingy babe]

[we were all twinning the RWB!]

xoxo

swim lessons

Posted on August 5, 2015 by tandem in love

olive had her first swim lessons with her dada! i, unfortunately, could not attend. boooooo. hc did his best to take some photos of their first experience but…they are so so and they will do. haha, i asked him to ask someone to snap a few photos of them but he didn’t. c’est la vie!

hc and olive got inside the pool and all was well. olive wasn’t too worried or fussy. she was entertaining the fact that she was in a pool with her dad but she wasn’t hip on the idea of other people around her in the pool. as usual, she was not a happy camper. stranger danger! she gets super clingy around people she doesn’t know and this little group of swimmers was making her a bit uncomfortable. she’s a trip!

they went through a series of activities and olive was upset. she didn’t want to be in anyone else’s arms. she didn’t want anyone to touch her and she definitely didn’t want to give the instructor any high fives! oh dear. thank goodness, being in daddy’s arms was pretty much the case until this happened…

there is a part of the class where the instructor takes your babe and pulls her across the pool – all hell broke loose. she shrieked bloody murder and flipped out! eeekkkkkk. oh olive.

overall, it was still a success despite her mini meltdowns. she was in the water. she did have fun and the next few lessons will be easier and better! i am hoping to catch one of her lessons soon and see my little babe in action! soon she will be a trained mermaid! i can’t wait for her to be a little swimmer!