Summer has not been good for me, at least not as far as keeping up with a blog goes. There is always something needing to be done, a place that we have to drive to, a meal I have to prepare. It never stops! Zander’s schedule is killing me with the trips to the pool, trips to the gym, back to the pool, home again, on and on. I’m going crazy and I can NOT wait for December to get here. Tbat’s when he is eligible to test for his driver license.
I also volunteered to help my brother and sister-in-law out with babysitting for a couple of hours this week and next. I really enjoy hanging out with my neices (Iz is five and Josie is almost 3) but I got a reminder today that little kids are a different animal than teenagers.
I bought a little wading pool for the girls on Tuesday. They were with me and I made a big deal about setting it up on Thursday (today) because they were going to be with me ALL DAY and they would be able to “swim” all day if they wanted to. My brother dropped them off this morning and it was immediate: “Can we go in the pool?” On any other day in July, any other year, it would be fine to go wading at 8:30 in the morning. For some reason, this week has been overcast and kind of chilly. I am not complaining; I hate the heat of Southern California summers. My poor nieces, though. They could do anything but the one activity they had been promised.
Finally, after they ate lunch, shadows appeared outside. Time to set the pool up! I had planned to lay down two yoga mats to protect the pool bottom from possible sharp edges on the patio. After I inflated it (thank goodness my husband has a compressor) I had to add a blanket to the mix; the pool was huge! (Good bargain, though: $25 at Target.) I swept the patio, laid out the mats, then wrestled the inflated pool down to its intended resting spot. It all worked out so the drain plug was located on top of a patio drain. Perfect! The sun was out with a vengeance by now, and I was sweating in a very un-ladylike way. I also let out a few un-ladylike comments. The last thing I needed was to pop the pool, and I was running into corners and edges trying to carry it to the patio. Of course, the whole time I’ve got Isabel asking me, “Can we swim now?” “Can we swim NOW?”
Alyssa was home and helped put the kids in their suits, and FINALLY they got to go into the pool as it was filling up. They were entertained by searching for ice cubes that Alyssa was tossing in. One thing bothered me though: Josie was wearing Pull-Ups under her suit. It didn’t seem sanitary; they are not made for swimming. But Josie did NOT want me to take her suit off, and I’m the Auntie and what’s the harm? I left her alone to enjoy the water while I drove to pick Zander up from, guess? Yep, the high school pool.
And when I got back —- ughhh. All that work and anticipation, ruined because I didn’t take the dumb Pull-Up off of Josie. Those things are made out of glorified paper. Of course they would get soggy and bust open. All of the absorbent gel bead stuff was floating in the water, getting caught in Isabel’s hair as she showed how she can go under water and hold her breath. Awesome! Alyssa wrestled the wet suit off of Josie and rinsed the gel beads off. I used a wire sieve and got tons of the gel out of the water, but there was still a ton left. Nothing to do but get the girls out and empty the pool. <sigh> An all-afternoon activity lasted for maybe 40 minutes.
On a positive note, they were both tired enough to fall asleep! YES! But this afternoon was a humbling reminder: it takes a ton of energy to take care of tiny humans. I can’t believe I lived through this already! I will sleep well tonight, thankful that I won’t be woke up by a little human being.
Wait a minute, what am I thinking? I was woke up at 3am last night by my 16 year old human male child, coming inside when I had believed he was home at 11.
You just can’t win.