Day 162: Pool MADNESS

Don't you just love how you can plan your day out in your mind and it all makes sense but in reality NOTHING goes according to plan? Well, thats how today felt for me. I intended on us getting to the pool around 10:30 and swimming until 12:30 because Skylar had swim lessons at 3:45. There was a better part of me that felt like this was a bad idea but the kids had so much energy this morning that I just could not see us staying at home until then. When we got to the pool however, we all discovered that it didn't open until noon. So after discussing it we decided to head to a different pool that was already opened. When we pulled in the parking lot though, it started raining. After mulling it over and all of us texting each other on what to do, we decided to give it a go. So we got everyone out and into the pool. Thankfully the weather cleared up but wouldn't you know, we didn't get into the pool until close to noon?! Just my luck. The kids played their little hearts out and I tried my best to keep track of time so that they would have plenty of time to sleep before heading out for Skylar's lessons but again - mom fail. I guess I assumed we lived right next door and that they would just instantly fall asleep but no...it took us 20 minutes to get home because of the weather and then the kids all fought sleep so it meant trying to wake them up after only a 20-30 minute nap and I just couldn't do it. I chalked it up to a total mom-fail and from now on we will not be doing pool fun on the same days that Skylar has lessons. So while they slept, I called daddy and told him how bad I felt and if we can somehow make it up to her. We decided to take her out to dinner for a little pre-birthday celebration and going to swim lessons was just a distant memory. We all had a lot of fun celebrating her!

Day 161: No work for Nana means all play for Mama!

Today we went to bootcamp again (ya, ya, I know - same story; different day). Afterwards we played for a bit and then sent Nana a text to see if we could come swim since we were rained out yesterday. Much to our surprise we found out that she was home!! It's always nice to hear that because it means that she will take care of Eva while I get a chance to play with Skylar and Brycen. Even Papa joined in on the fun. Skylar and Bryce were so excited to see Nana and Papa and it was hard to convince Skylar that this wasn't a Friday night because she was so prepared to spend the night. Papa got out the floaties which were wonderful and if it hadn't been for having to be on mom-duty I swear I would've fallen asleep right there. It was a beautiful day.

Day 160: Lets go swimming!

So when asking the kids what they wanted to do today, this was the answer we got. They have to see their Nana and Papa at least once a week and it's just an added bonus that they have a pool. After getting everyone loaded up with all their belongings, then getting sunblock on, floaties, towels, etc - they finally jumped in the pool only to get out 20 minutes later because of rain. Boo. They still had fun though hanging at Nana and Papa's for a little while and now that Gigi lives there, we got to visit with her too! After eating lunch and saying our goodbyes, we headed back home to finish up some chores before starting our busy week. Daddy wasn't too pleased with this since he was really looking forward to just kicking back on this rainy day but since I'm a lot like my dad (who can't sit still), I had to have things done and first up was my car. What I didn't mention last Thursday is that Bryce spilled chocolate milk in my car on the way to our Restore class. I did what I could to clean it up but we were already late so it was just a quick once-over. In hindsight I wish I would've just skipped class and taken the time to thoroughly clean my car but we live and learn. After restore, we headed to the pool and it was after that I realized I made a huge mistake because now that milk sat in my car from 9 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon and the smells that were coming out of my van were awful. I tried all weekend to lift that smell and even took my van in to have the carpets professionally cleaned. The problem is that my car has a sliding middle row that can move all the way forward and all the way back and because of that there are these tracks that all of that milk seeped into and made it impossible to get to. So while the carpet cleaning lifted the stain and helped somewhat with the smell, it was what was under all of that. I had to literally use a tooth brush, vinegar and paper towels to finally get everything cleaned up. But alas, I finally did. We now have a new rule in our car which is "no food or drink unless it's water." I'm praying we can stick to it because I don't want to go through that again. On the bright side, all of the carseats are clean and my car smells like vanilla ice cream thanks to papa for giving us an extra smelly thingy. Sunday blew by with all of our chores but I guess in a way I'm glad it rained otherwise we would've been gone most of the day, leaving me Monday to clean everything up in my house with no help from daddy since he was back at work. Happy to be done!

Day 159: Party, party, party!

Today was an incredibly busy day with a lot of places to be and not enough time in the day. First up was celebrating our sweet friend Olivia's 3rd birthday. The kids were very excited because it was at one of their favorite places, Wonderwild. And I was really excited because daddy was actually able to come with us this time around. Surprisingly we showed up only 10 minutes late which was such a relief because I was so afraid they wouldn't get a chance to play and then we would have a meltdown right there at the party. The kids had a lot of fun running around, playing with their friends. Eva and I also had fun catching up with girl talk and daddy made is way around shaking hands and chasing Bryce. After leaving the party we grabbed some coffee, made a quick appearance at another party then headed home to change and head to Papa Jack's house. There we had fun playing at the park, then running through the sprinklers, then spraying every one with the water hose (be prepared to get wet when you give a 3 year old boy complete control of the water hose), and even a little baseball. We haven't seen Jack and Melissa in a really long time so this visit was long overdue. The kids really seemed to have fun and we had to deal with the normal "mama, can Bree and Aidree pleeeeease spend the night?" Sigh. But it was a lot of fun and we all vowed to make it happen again soon.

Day 157 &158

Thursday:
Today was another fun pool day. Since daddy okay-ed the purchase of our pool membership this season, we have to at least go 8 times in order to pay for the cost of the membership. So we are well on our way with all of our pool visits lately. Today was back at bear branch because the regular pool season hasn't quite started yet. I'm not a huge fan of this pool because they recently resurfaced the cool deck and it's torture on my kiddos feet. Especially Bryce. Poor boo must come out of there with 3 or 4 cuts on his toes each time. But since all of our other friends are going and they don't seem to complain to much (until we get home at least), we went. Today was a pretty memorable day because Skylar decided to test her bravery a bit and asked to go off the diving board. It took everything in me to keep from shouting "no, you're too little." But she's at that age now where it's good for her to see what she's capable of. So we walked on over and she waited patiently in line...

But once she got out there on the ledge she quickly changed her mind and despite Bryce and I doing our best to encourage her, she wasn't interested. So I leaned across the diving board to grab her and we walked back over to the baby pool. Of course she decides then that she wants to try again.  But I'm not convinced. And I don't want to have to get Bryce out again, explain to him how he can't go on the diving board again, or stand on the rough and very hot ground...again. But she gives me that look with those big brown eyes and I finally give in. So off we go. At first I wasn't going to take my camera because I honestly thought it was going to go just how it did last time and I was lucky I didn't drop my phone in the pool then. But just in case, I grabbed it and I'm so glad I did! Again she waited for her turn in line and I whispered to her that when she gets up there, she can't stop at the end and wait because she'll never go. But instead to walk straight out to the end and jump. And that's exactly what she did! I video taped it and you can hear Bryce and I both going bananas for her. I'm so proud of her!!!

Bryce was still disappointed that he couldn't go off of the diving board but quickly bounced back once we were near friends again.

Eva also had fun and even grabbed a quick catnap in the lawn chairs. Lucky girl.

Friday:
Today was a pretty uneventful day if you can even say that with my crazy bunch but it seems like every day this week we have been going nonstop and today was just more laid back then normal. We still made it to bootcamp but today I decided to let them play at the germ tree before heading home. That's right, home. No pool or splash pad or papa's house...home. The kids did get to pick out some new shoes while we were there but other then that it was just a laid back kinda day. Eva even got a chance to play...

Day 156

So today was supposed to be a rest day but with my bunch, no such word exists. After it was clear that they were going to try and kill each other from complete bordem, we decided to go to Papa's house for some pool time. I guess in a way it was kind of relaxing. It was just us and the weather was perfect. We listened to country music and swam our little hearts out. Even Eva-cakes got to join in on the fun.

Once it was obvious that they were going down fast, we headed for home and took a much needed nap. All of us. Which was great because Aunt Kelli and the girls came over so we had plenty of energy to play and entertain. Skylar was so excited to see her cousins and Roxy was happy to meet Aunt Kelli's new dog, Perla. I feel so ashamed that I didn't even snap one single pic but it was a very fun evening!

Day 155

I have a feeling these posts are all going to sound the same after a while now that school is out. Go to bootcamp. Go to the pool. Go to the park. Clean house. And on and on it goes. Soooo...Today was another typical day. We went to restore which the kids loved because it meant not sitting in a stroller for an entire hour and instead getting to play with friends their own age and do cool crafts on occasion. I was nervous dropping them off since Bryce is just beginning to get the hang of potty training but he did fantastic! I also love restore because it's a whole hour for just ME!! Sounds selfish, I know; but it's so nice to have an uninterrupted workout. So today Skylar's class got to play outside and Brycen's class went to Safari Stop which is this really cool indoor playground located inside of the church. They both were grinning from ear to ear and I could tell they had a blast. SO proud of my Brycen for not having an accident. We ran a lot of other errand afterward which led to tears and drama. Drama from them, tears from me. But rather then go down that road, we'll just focus on the good stuff and this morning was a really good start to the day!

Day 154: Busy little bee's

Today was a very busy day!! We started our morning off at bootcamp which was at the mall so it's usually a bit chaotic since there are a lot of hiding places. Bryce was not as good today as he has been the past few times. I think because the class size has grown with a lot of kids being out of school, he wants to be out playing too. But the problem is that he can not be trusted. After having just about enough of his screams and cries, I let him out of his stroller so long as he promised me to stay right by me and NOT go in the water. Yea, that lasted for about 1.2 seconds before I hear someone call out that Bryce is making his way right for the water. So back in the stroller he went; kicking and screaming. After class was finally over, we headed inside for a few minutes before heading to the pool. First stop was the bathroom since now Bryce is back at potty training. Of course Skylar had to go too once she saw her brother going and since we were already in there I figured we should probably give Eva a fresh diaper. After all of that was finally taken care of, we still had time to waste so I decided to quickly swing into Gap Body for some new sports bras. Of course, assuming anything will be "quick" with my bunch is pretty irrational but we dove in any way. Since, I didn't really have the time (or the patience) to try things on, I just grabbed what I needed and went straight for the register. Now mind you this is only after picking up the panties Bryce tossed on the floor, screwing the hand back on the mannequin that Skylar was determined to hold and it fell off, and trying to sooth Eva who acted as if she hadn't been fed in days!! I was so frazzled when we got to the register and then total fear took over when I realized my wallet was missing. I begin frantically retracing my steps mentally and getting ready to strap the kids to the stroller and dart through the mall in hopes of finding it, when I look under the table that I recently dragged Bryce out from under and taaadaaa, there it was. I take a deep breath, go back to the register, open it up and what's this?! Where's my debit card?? No, I'm not joking. This is just a normal day in my life. As I begin looking for it, I remembered that I stopped to get gas and must have left it in my cup holder of my car. I make my apologies, tell her I'll be right back and strap the kids down. I've got Bryce and Eva in the seats of our double stroller and Skylar on the nose as we are sprinting through the mall and parking lot. Now you must be thinking - those must be some pretty awesome sports bras to go through all that trouble but really I started thinking, what if I left my car doors unlocked? Or what if they're locked but the card is right there in plain sight. What would stop someone from breaking a window?! So I ran. I finally get to my car to find that it is locked, no windows are broken, and my card is sitting in my drivers side cup holder. We get the card, go back to purchase my items, then make our way to the germ tree to meet friends. But I had no idea it was already pool time so we left quickly. Finally after all the drama from the morning, we made it to the pool to have a nice relaxing time with friends. Well, not quite "relaxing" but much better then the mall that's for sure.

Day 153: Cinder-elly

That is what I felt like today. Not the princess part of Cinderella but the underpaid, overworked maid of the house. It started with a simple plan to do a bit of laundry so I didn't have to fuss with it tomorrow when we could be doing something fun instead. But then Bryce crawled in our bed and pooped which meant starting with the bed linens. And since we have a quilt, it takes all day to dry. But I was determined. Then after I had a handful of clothes to put away in Skylars closet, it occurred to me that today would be the best day to completely clean out her closet and dresser. Sigh. I do it every time. Then I pulled out some more of Skylar's old clothes to wash and get prepared for Eva as well as pack up the things that Skylar has outgrown. In between all of this was chasing Bryce down, feeding and changing Eva, paying bills, and cleaning up the rest of the house. "She spins around and 'round and 'round until she's very, very dizzy - Cinder-ellie!" After all of that, I am tired. So tonight's a short one...good night.

Day 152: Birthday Party Fun

Today we got to celebrate not just one, but two birthday parties! We first headed over to the park to have a "beach" party for our sweet friends Will and Elise. I was a bit worried about us making it on time since the party started at 10am and we are always late. But surprisingly, we actually made it on time. Daddy couldn't come with us because he is so slammed with work but we had a ton of fun. The kids enjoyed time playing at the playground and then running around through the splash pad. I wasn't able to snap too many pics because Eva just wouldn't let me put her down but trust me when I say we had a blast!!! Because we had my mom's birthday to also celebrate we had to head out a bit early but our sweet friends made sure the kids still got their cupcakes and goody bags! I was certain that by the time we got to my parents house the kids would fall asleep and I wouldn't have to worry about getting them in and out of the pool but no such luck. They were so excited to go see Nana and Papa. Again, since daddy wasn't with us - Papa spent a good deal of time playing with them in the pool while I took care of Eva. Once they were back inside, we had a quick bite to eat and then Bryce went straight to bed. Skylar, however, wanted mama to go and swim with her and I couldn't very well tell her no. Bryce was asleep, Eva was asleep, daddy wasn't there - what excuse did I have?! I was so glad I did too because we had a lot of fun playing just the two of us.