Sunday, June 8, 2008

Swimming with the Coleman's

I had our Saturday all planned out. Bill planned to work at the new house all day long, so I knew I needed to plan some activities for me and Claire. This was not going to be my typical Saturday of cleaning house (plus, after talking to the realtor, we decided to wait until July to list the house so that means that I don't have to keep the house in tip-top order for a whole month). Usually, if I'm cleaning house, I clean while she's napping and then Bill and I tag-team when she's awake.

Also, for my sanity, I just needed a plain ole fun day with her. We had a tough week last week with a few battle of the wills where, for once in my lifetime of being a mother, I was actually thankful that I worked outside the home. To further convince myself that I was on the correct path, I called Carrie, my friend with twins, to just make sure her insanity of staying at home with the twins and working from home was greater than my insanity of working outside the home. I never meant to gloat in her misery, but after the week with Claire, I was gloating in Carrie's affirmation that her plight was worse than mine!

However, on Friday, the last day of the bad week with Claire, we went to the doctor for a follow up on her ear infection. The verdict: still infected! The darn child! Despite the occasional dig in her ear, she gives me few other clues that she still does not feel good. Unless, you can chalk our hard week up to her not feeling good. Now you can add guilt onto my list of reasons to make Saturday a fun day for Claire. So, the weekend plans became a redemption for our bad week and a peace offering for my lack of mercy in her not feeling good.

We took her to Jim-N-NIcks on Friday (it was really for our anniversary, but she loves those cheese biscuits and the balloon at the end of the meal) and then Saturday we went to the pool with Cutler and Caroline, Carrie's twins.

Here is Claire playing on the front porch as we waited for Caroline and Cutler to take their nap to go to the pool. Notice the pig-tails. Moms first venture at doing an "up-do". And notice the sunglasses...she wouldn't wear them last summer and won't take them off this summer.

Fast forward...to the pool! I met Carrie in the parking lot of the pool to help her get her 2 kids, 2 floats, a beach bag, a bag of snacks and drinks and a stroller (and this is just Carrie's stuff, my list was just as long) into the pool. I had 2 turtle floats under one arm, while holding Claire's hand and pulling a wagon with Cutler buried under a beach bag. Carrie had Caroline in a stroller and a couple other float options and her beach bag in her hands. We made it into the pool looking like a 3-Ring circus. We made it to a spot (no chairs available) and unloaded our goods and the kids and get into the water!




After playing in the shallow water for about 10 minutes, we got the kids all squared away in each of their floats and ventured to deeper waters. After 3-4 minutes of finally relaxing with all kids content in their float, the whistle blew. It was Swim Break Time. So here we go, rounding up all the kids and all the floats and getting out of the pool. (It's too much work to have fun!) We did find a chair at the break-time and only after 15-20 minutes at the pool, the kids were already ready for a snack!


After break-time, we got them all rounded up and back in the water! The kids loved it and were all 3 pooped out by the time we rounded up the 3-Ring Circus to leave. Carrie and I are going to try it again on Friday!!!

3 comments:

Amy Griffin said...

that swimming stuff is hard work with the kids! The pictures are worth it though.

Carrie said...

I love it... it's so funny when you start thinking about all the work that we put into applying sunscreen to them and both our backs got burned... my back still feels a bit tender... oh sorry about the word.

Amy J said...

This is happiness. Wish I looked as good as Claire in a suit!