Nobody Drowned!

We got back on track today with our schoolwork. My kids did their reading, writing, and 'rithmetic. Yeah for me! But I just remembered...we didn't practice the violin!!! AAARRGH! I have got to be more diligent at having them practice. They are really starting to get it. I decided to start reading a new book to them, so we started the first Lemony Snicket book.

Do you have any recommendations for good children read out-loud books?

After reading to the for 30 minutes, I fell asleep on the futon. I was expecting my friend to come over with her three little children around 12:30. Well, at 12 I heard the kids and a little girl, who I assumed was our neighbor. Then I heard them around the pool and the sound of a little boy, who I also thought was the neighbor, a 3 year old that I am certain does not know how to swim. It pulled me right out of my nap because I didn't want anyone drowning in the pool. So I rushed to the balcony to make sure everything was okay and I saw a teenager and several little children I did not recognize. I was very confused, owing partly to the fact that I was not completely awake. Then I heard my friend's voice and realized that they were here early with some of her family that I didn't know. What a relief! Nobody drowned. I still have a perfect record.

With solar heating, our pool warmed up considerably this week and the water was quite warm. I love having the swimming pool swimmable because the kids stay busy for hours and then they sleep really well at night. They play hard when they are swimming. It is great. It is one of the many benefits of the desert. I decided to go running while everyone was hanging out, and after about 2 miles it was bloomin' hot! I couldn't believe it. But I got it done, so I am going to give myself a pat on the back.


These pictures are from a couple of years ago, but the kids look about the same. Raef is in the floatie and Zach is holding on to the wall.

Aaahhh summertime!

When Can I Strangle My Kids?

Because I live in the Southwest, we have a swimming pool. I hate having a swimming pool, but it is great in the summertime because it gets so flippin' hot around here. When we moved into this house my twin boys were 2 1/2 years old. My two Curious Georges: they could wreak havoc and still be so innocent and cute. I spent months learning how to clean the pool and had it just right and then I went out to the back because we had a construction project going on back there. We were removing rock to put in a little bit of grass so that our kids could have a place to play. My husband had put a chain lock on the door so our kids wouldn't drown and we thought everything was fine. Well, one beautiful morning the twins got up before me and used a broom to knock the chain off. Then I caught them out around the pool (no, they did not know how to swim, so I am so grateful no one drowned) throwing in mountains of rock and clay. It looked like a swimming hole you would find in rural Georgia. All my work was ruined. I was so furious.

And so that has set the tone for the relationship of the pool, me, and my darling little twins. They throw things into the pool, the pool stops working, and then I get furious. Over the years it has gotten better, but there always manages to be some kind of foreign object in the pool that should not be there, and that the wind could have never dumped into it. Today it was two large rocks with a splattering of sand. Yes, once again, rocks in the pool!!!

So when can I strangle my kids?

On another note, I managed to get to the gym with my kids in tow, and after my sculpt class I ran another mile. Today my time was 9:25. So I am getting faster. I am working towards consistent low 8 minute miles, then I will be back where I was before I got pregnant.