Summertime!

I love summertime. I love going to the pool, sitting on the beach, reading a good book.

Oops... that was my life before my girls came into our family. Now, I corral everyone into their bathing suits, swim diapers, lather them with sunblock, prepare snacks and juice cups for all, get the stroller out to the sidewalk while baby girl screams at me (in her own language that she is really pissed that I even think it's okay to leave her on the other side of the glass door). Now that I've broken a sweat, I quickly put my bathing suit on, and we get everyone out of the house and start our journey to the pool.

Once at the pool, L(sweet girl) heads to her swim lesson, and baby girl and I head to the baby pool to splash around. This is at 10 am mind you, and the sun is not shining on the babypool, only on the pool where L is swimming. So no sun for me! L has made great accomplishments so far, today she learned to do a front float, and then started to swim underwater. Way to go! She's very proud of herself. Baby girl likes to be adventureous and walk all around, and stumble and trip face first into the water. On the pool deck, she runs and falls and scrapes her knee. She screams, did I mention that she has a very loud scream? I pick her up, and she squirms and wiggles because she wants to be free! That girl makes me feel like I'm getting old because it takes some work to keep up with her. She enjoys the independance that walking has given her, and she will battle with anyone or anything that gets in her way. Yesterday, a motherless, nannyless child poured water on my poor baby girl's head. I wanted to shout at her," What the hell do you think your doing?" But that wouldn't have been a very nice motherly thing to do, would it? Instead, I very nicely said," She doesn' t like water in her face, could you please pour it somewhere else?" Then she was off to bother some other unsuspecting child.

Because swim diapers are not allowed in the big pool, I'm not able to jump in with L and help her practice all that she has learned. Instead I coach and cheer from the side while baby girl tries to jump in and drown. But coaching from the side does allow me a few minutes of sunbathing!

Being home for the summer is a nice perk to my job. I get to spend lots of time with my children, take on too many house projects that only frustrate me when I can't finish them, and I just get to forget about time. Maybe I should say that I wish I could forget about time. I'm constantly trying to fit so many things in since the summer is only 2 1/2 months long. I ask myself so many times, "Why don't you just relax?" But when I relax too much, I just feel unaccomplished....
Kind of bratty for me to complain about such things, there could be lots worse things!
Well, here's to a different kind of fun summer!