Princess FABJ needs a hug

Princess FABJ's new bicycle helmet cover

The past few months have been tough for FABJ, and we can't quite figure out why.  It all started in May.  She started having these incredibly intense meltdowns, which erupt after the most minor of requests, such as coming inside because it's time to get ready for bed.

She completely over reacts and starts screaming "no" and attempts to kick / bite/ scratch / hit the adult in the area (usually LBJ, I'm sorry to say).  LBJ will then hold her tightly (to prevent getting hit, bit, kicked, etc.) for several minutes until she stops flailing.  These outbursts can last for 10 to 15 minutes.  Sadly, they seem to occur every couple of days.

Afterwards, when calm, she'll talk about concerns about not having any "real" friends or even absurd ideas such as LBJ loving ORBJ more than her.  Clearly, we have at least three problems here: (1) complete over reaction, (2) tremendous insecurity, and (3) inability to calm down after getting a bit upset / unhappy.

It's almost like she knows how bad she is being, as she is especially sweet and nice the morning after an evening meltdown (most, but by no means all, of these meltdowns occur at night).

Dr. Google has provided some insight, but we are struggling to uncover the real cause of the issue.  We try to be patient (LBJ being more successful than me) about the little things, but even that doesn't seem to help much.

Most of the time, she is her usual self - happy, friendly, well-behaved, etc.  But these meltdowns are draining, particularly for LBJ (often, these will occur when I'm not home).

On a brighter note, here is a picture from the "teddy bear picnic", where the girls and their cousin AM got their faces painted:

Three amigas enjoying the Dublin sunshine

The rain finally returned this week.  But the girls found a good use for the rain jackets...

Superheros and their capes

 

Pony camp

It all started innocently enough.  Our friends KD and DM were asking about FABJ's summer camps.  They mentioned a pony camp where their goddaughter had a great experience in a previous summer.  Then, they asked if FABJ might be interested in joining their goddaughter at pony camp.  They even made the very generous offer of transporting her to and from camp (about 30 minutes' drive each way).

We knew that FABJ would love pony camp, so we agreed.  Alas, the goddaughter was unable to make the camp, but KD and DM still offered to help with transportation - again, very generous.

FABJ, DM, and I went off to camp on Tuesday morning (it's only a four day camp).  FABJ was very shy, as she often is at the beginning of a camp.  But we were worried that she might be too shy and scared to participate - she was the only one in the beginner camp who had not ridden before.  We stuck around for a while until she was a bit more settled.  She enjoyed brushing the ponies:

FABJ taking care of Oscar

FABJ did just fine at camp.  The instructor explained that she was fearless on the horses.  She wanted to do everything that the other girls did, even if they had been riding horses for years.

The weather was glorious all week.  In fact, it was probably too hot for pony camp with the warm pants (apparently called jodhpurs).  We always had a change of clothes with shorts or a skirt and sandals.

On the last day, the class did some "show jumping" where the girls got to ride the horses through a tiny obstacle course.  The obstacles were set very low to the ground for the little kids (like FABJ) and at higher heights for the bigger girls.  FABJ had a great time doing the course (with the instructor holding the reins for the jumps), although she didn't really have the patience to watch the other girls do their jumps.  She even got a pink rosette for jumping - she was very excited about that.

Champion horse jumper and her proud father

Note that I'm wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt in Ireland.  I haven't worn pants in over a week!

Action shot of FABJ and Dancer

 

Heat wave

That's right - Ireland is in the midst of a heat wave.  It was nearly 80 degrees (F) yesterday.  It NEVER gets above 80 degrees in Dublin.  Ok, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but the recent temperatures have been the warmest in Ireland in the last seven years.  For the first time ever, the weather forecaster here (Met Eireann) had an orange weather alert for heat, as opposed to wind or rain or something lousy.  In fact, the high temperature at Shannon airport in the west was 29.4 degrees (C) - 85 degrees F!

We've tried to take advantage of the nice weather.  LBJ got out our hammocks, as between us we have three.  We lived in Kentucky for six years and never got them out, mainly due to a lack of good trees and too many mosquitos in the back yard (don't worry, though, we had a lovely front swing on the porch that was just fine, at least until all four of us sat in it and pulled the hook out of the ceiling.  Fortunately, our handyman was able to put in another hook).

We even moved the dinner table outside for some al fresco dining - at dinner time!  This is unheard of, people!  And, the best bit - there are no mosquitos in Ireland.  At least for the moment.  Who knows what global warming will bring.

We've tried to spend as much time as possible outside, and I've practically run out of summer clothes (as I moved so few from Kentucky).  The good weather has already been here a few days and is scheduled to last through the week - over a week of sunny weather with highs in the 70s.  It's nirvana (insert "smells like teen spirit" joke here).

Here is photographic evidence of the fine weather:

Just another summer day in Dublin