Pool Daze

Summer is finally here!  Puffy white cloud days are my favorite! And we've been fortunate to be having several of them so far this summer! We've been swimming nearly every day since we opened our pool. We've had friends over to splash around with us, too. I'm very diligent about managing kids in the pool and though I don't count heads like my mom used to (and still does at the lake, or parking lot or anywhere!) But I have this mom-sense, that I just can tell where my kids are. I use all my senses - I obviously watch them with my eyes, but when you have four and you're in the pool helping the youngest stay afloat you can't always watch them from a lifeguard chair so I also heavily rely on my hearing and listen for them to splash, come to the surface and breathe.  If one slips out of the pool and disappears for a moment, I usually know that they're behind the bush taking a pool potty break - an advantage of all boyz and a private backyard! But I still ask them to tell me where they're going so I can keep them on my mom-sense radar.

The other day, I needed everyone to get out to take a potty break and Kiefer just quips, "Why don't you  go potty over there?" I had to explain that Mommy's don't go potty by a bush unless we have to!

Anytime we get out of the pool, for a potty break or our favorite, an ice cream break! I always make everyone get out and sit on the deck.  When Carter and Kiefer were little, I'd close the pool every time we got out. But I've relaxed a bit and try to rely on them to help me shepherd the little ones and keep them on the deck while I go inside.

Well, Tuesday was one of those terrifying, spit second, "Oh My Gosh!" moments!  I'd been inside passing out ice cream treats to the little hands through the kitchen "ice cream shop" window, as is our custom. They were all on the deck enjoying their treats, as is their custom!  I joined them and we sat on the deck to get a little sun. When they were ready to get back in the pool, I said "Just a second" and went inside the kitchen to throw the trash away. Literally TWO SECONDS later I came outside and saw three of my four boyz near the edge of the pool and Fletcher was bobbing up to his eyeballs right off the steps of the pool with this look of panic as his mouth and nose were under the water.  It's a moment I've had nightmares about! I started screaming, "Help him! Help him! He needs help" I think because the other boys were closer to him that I was, but I wasn't really expecting them to help him. I then proceeded to try to walk on water to reach him and I ran into the shallow end of the pool, torquing my right ankle as I hit the bottom.  I got to him in a splash and lifted him up and he was fine, thankfully!  I exhaled and said out loud, "Thank you, God!" And I've been thanking God every minute since.

It only takes a second. But we all learned a valuable lesson.  I need to continue to be diligent about closing the pool when I go inside and Fearless Fletcher learned that he only knows how to swim when he has his life jacket on.  (I also learned not to take it off when we have our ice cream breaks!)  I talked to them all about the gravity of that moment and it's one I hope we never forget, though I wish I could erase that haunting visual from my mind.

Now the remaining pool days that we have will be an even heightened mom-sense.

Griffin Doodle in the pool (or poodle?!) 

Big Guy Carter struts after a dive

Fearless Fletcher peers over the edge (life jacket on)

Fletcher doing his pool dance

Singing and dancing

Griffin's on the run

Griffin jumping in the shallow end

Griffin swimming steadily with life jacket on

Kiefer mid air on a potential belly flop

Kiefer's all smiles and no teeth this summer!

Carter goofy mid air!

Big splash on his "pencil dive"

Here comes Kiefer! 

Big splash!

Little ones lined up when the ice cream store opened

Griffin

Fletcher

Carter & Toothless Kiefer

Is it hard to eat a popsicle without teeth?

All on the steps (K, C, G & F)

Which way?

I'm a Magician!

So it’s been a busy week.  It’s nearing the end of the school year, which I’ve learned means you need to clear your calendar because there’s always last minute events, ceremonies, celebrations and activities that creep up at the last minute. And, well, I do this to myself -I’m head room mom for my Kindergartener’s class and I was in charge of teacher appreciation week last week.  What a week it was! She’s an amazing teacher and this is the second time we’ve had her and I wanted to go all out for a teacher who goes all out for our kiddos!  So, well... I did.  We had a week full of surprises, special gifts, hand made crafts- made by me, and even a “You Rock” themed dance party complete with disco lights, laser lights and a fog machine!  I started early and chipped away at these gifts and crafts for about a month leading up to Teacher Week, but when the week arrived, it was (fortunately?) a week that Daddy-O was traveling, so the state of our house was as harried as my mental state. I not only had to do the normal weekly school routine of getting four little ones up, dressed, fed, lunches packed, shoes tied, teeth brushed and scramble out the door to catch the bus - which comes earlier and earlier on any given day! BUT, I also had to create, wrap, assemble, all these gifts PLUS diaper, feed and cajole two screaming, fighting, kicking preschoolers, who normally enjoy a leisurely bowl of cereal while in their P.J.‘s, I had to chase them down, dress them and lock them into their car seats to race over to school to hand deliver these said gifts.  Needless to say - it’s been a crazy week.  Well, here’s a glimpse... this is the state of my kitchen on morning when we were racing over to school.  Pj’s on the floor where I had stripped and redressed my clothing resistant children, cereal boxes still out on the countertops, etc., etc.  It took all day, but I finally got the kitchen cleaned up again. I took a picture to show the before and after.  Later, I told Daddy-O that I took a picture of the clean counter tops, if just to document that they were clean for a split second. He joked that I should frame a picture of them cleaned and leave it on the countertop! HA! I like to think that I'm a magician that I can just snap my fingers and presto change-o it's clean. Wouldn't that be nice?

Well, at least it was an awesome week for our teacher. I need to find a way to make it up to my kids!  Maybe a magic show?

Kitchen Island - BEFORE - or should I say, DURING!? Teacher Week

Well-a! Kitchen Island After a little Mommy Magic! (more like a lot!) To be framed for future reference that this countertop was once actually cleaned!

 Here's a look at a few of the gifts we gave our teacher...

Monogrammed jewelry box I made for our teacher

Inside pictures of each student glued to rocks - "YOU ROCK!"

Her classroom with the dance lights going to surprise her first thing in the morning

Lights going on the ceiling!!

A hand made crayon wreath - more Mommy Magic! :)
(With my magic wand, my glue gun!)

More Magic- paper flower bouquet! Too cute!

A Giving Tree over flowing with Gift Cards! Gotta love Pinterest!

In Two Seconds Time...

It doesn't take long for a two year old to make a mess... I've known that for quite a while now.  But usually when they're harnessed in their car seats, it's more challenging for them to be destructive. More challenging, but not impossible.  

The other day we were grocery shopping and I bought a roll of wrapping paper to wrap a gift for my mom for Mother's Day. Extra credit for advance planning.  However...  in an effort to entertain Fletcher while I was loading the groceries in the back of the car, I gave him the roll of wrapping paper to entertain himself. Thinking, "What harm can he do? It's wrapped in celophane and there's no one else in the car for him to beat up on."  Silly Mommy.  Why am I always surprised?  I came back to get in the car and this was what I found:

"I made a tunnel, Mommy!" he says, with a huge smile on his face.  Oh well, it was only wrapping paper. I laughed and said, "Yes you did!"