Where's the mom-o ©

I just made that up, in reference to "didn't get the memo" situation I find on a daily basis as I take O to the public places. For example, I am resolved to get Olivia to overcome her fear of the water, so I take her to the public pool at our gym. She won't go deeper than her ankles, but what does get her to go further in the water is all of the toys that all of the other moms knew to bring. Buckets, shovels, dolls...make my inspiration to bring bathtime Thomas seem extremely uninspired. It seems every mom at the pool, BUT me knew to bring a bag of goodies...treats for the break time (I forgot about those), toys, hat, sunglasses... I was so proud I got the correct suit and sunscreen for Olivia. Little did I know my efforts were minuscule in comparison. Is there a book out I don't know about?
On that theme, my sister pointed out that her 3 year old son is the only boy in a class of all girls at a local tot gymnastics class. She was frustrated because, of course, in comparison to all of the girls, he could not seem to follow directions and wanted to just run around. I am surprised that there were no other boys there. It makes me wonder what are all of the 3 year old boys doing? Is there another mom-o going around that boys can't do all of the fun organized programs that girls can? Where are all of the boys?
An update on Olivia's progress...she's starting to speak more and we can understand what she wants and what she is saying. Today, she apparently fell asleep with her face in a book. I can't complain about that :) Apparently my obsession with he library is finally paying off!
My sophomore effort to get Olivia interested in food, however, was not as fruitful, pun intended. Through Groupon, I was able to sign her up for another trial class. This time, it was making strawberry shortcake. I thought, since this was dessert, she'd eat it up. My sister's mother in law bought her a Strawberry Shortcake cooking dvd that she has become obsessed with lately and I thought this would really be the perfect storm of sweet and celebrity. But, alas, she made all of the food and refused to eat it. Even the whipped cream! If there were a toddler card, she would have hers revoked, at least, this is the second strike...
I was going to make a sophomore attempt at getting in the pool again today, but it was just too cold. Even I appreciate the impact of outside weather and swimming. One day... I just keep hoping my efforts will pay off by the time she's a teenager. When, she will hate my guts, but least have an appreciation for food and water. :)