Going To The Pool...4 Little White's style!

Yesterday was our official start to summertime. The kids had a half day of school & we planned our first big pool day following their release from prison the long school year. As luck would have it the sun was shining when I picked them up from school at 11:50, but at 12:15 when everyone had put on their swimsuits the skies turned cloudy. Trying to keep things positive, we still packed up the car and headed out to the swimming hole. As we were driving it got much darker & raindrops began to hit the windshield. Once we arrived at the pool it was looking downright nasty & thunder could  be heard from off in the distance. At that point I had to make the executive decision to turn around & head back home to wait out the storm. The tears began to roll & I was feeling pretty bad that the day seemed to be taking a turn for the worse. This was not the way I wanted to kick off the summer!

Once we got home I let everyone make "indoor smores" and we popped a movie in to pass the time. About 1:45 the cloudy skies parted and full sunshine was once again shining brightly overhead!!! WooHoo!! The kids cheered and grabbed their swim gear & once again we were off for a day of fun in the sun. I think everyone was downright giddy at that point, except for Judah...we had to wake him up from his nap so we could leave...poor baby!

Now, here is what I have to say about taking a 8, 6, 4, and 1 year old to the pool by yourself....IT"S FREAKING HARD! I hope that one day my children will remember that I was giving it my best shot, but I am not an easy and relaxed mama at the pool that's for sure! The truth is, I have 4 children that are all at completely different swimming levels, and that makes taking all of them to the pool by myself a nightmare! Their abilities range from "confidant doggy paddler", to "wild thrasher of water/thinks he has 'swimming' abilities...but he really doesn't", to "don't want your help mama...I can drown on my own", to "if I so much as trip over my own pudgy toes I will sink like a rock in .7 seconds!  My challenges are many & most of the time they are downright frightening, but I press on to give my children what I know they want and need. A lesser woman might curl up in a ball & cry in the corner of her living room, but I'm stupid enough to think I can handle the challenge on my own from time to time. Most of the time things end up in complete and total chaos, but that never seems to stop me-ha! Maybe that's what I hope my kids will remember....at least I tried :-).

So, you could say that yesterday went about as well as a pool outing with 4 children could go. Chandler worked up the nerve to ride the "Rocky Mountain Avalanche" (a 35 foot open tower water slide that you ride in a tube with your friends), and after that he was feeling particularly confident I guess & ended up almost drowning on the Lily Pad obstacle course. Of course, I had no knowledge of the near drowning since I was stuck over at the baby pool with the two little ones running my jiggly cellulite thighs all over the place trying to keep them safe. After the life guard informed me of what happened while I  was no where in sight & the "incident report" was filed I turned around to find Maya crossing her legs in the kiddie pool. Off we ran to the potty, but it was too late as she had already pooped in her suit. Nice! We spent some time cleaning her up and rinsing out her suit with soap and water so we (and by "we" I mean me and Judah) could return to the pool, and once again we were off! Then, when it came time to leave we searched and searched for McKenna, but she was no where to be found! After about 30 minutes of searching we found her & she was actually mad at ME for losing HER! Ummmm........yeah, we will be working on the whole "you need to check in with Mom and let me know where you are at all times" thing. But....you get the picture I think ;-).

That's my life with 4 kids.....all.....summer....long! But, you know what? At the end of the day I still call it "fun", because somewhere in the middle of all the chaos I think we really did have fun! I've come to the conclusion that when it comes to outings with my kids I just have to accept that I am there to WORK and they are there to play. I'm convinced this whole idea of "everyone" getting to relax and enjoy themselves on family outings is purely a marketing scam that we buy into. There really is no such thing as relaxing when you go out with 4 little kids! Maybe I sound bitter, but actually I'm more resigned to that fact. It actually helps me keep things in perspective so that I don't have high hopes that get crushed when something "fun" is actually a whole lot of "work".  If I just tell myself from the get-go that something is actually going to be a lot of work then I get to be pleasantly surprised when I find myself getting to relax a little ;-).

For those of you who don't have kids and think that my description of "fun" sounds completely ridiculous... well, you are sort of right! It is kind of crazy that I have to consider a near drowning, a screaming over-tired baby, a poopy toddler in a wet swim suit, and a missing 8 year old "fun", but you would just have to be me I guess. My kids are what put the color into my dull gray life & without these 4 little ones I wouldn't have very many funny stories to tell, or near as many reasons to smile! :-) The other side to this craziness is that somewhere in the hectic pace that is my reality I realize that I am so blessed to have the life I do....and that makes it ALL worth it!