Structuring Our Days

No, they're not all mine.  

(Car ride with 5 children ages - almost 6, almost 5, 4, 3 & 17 months).

Friday was the last day of swimming lessons (I've mentioned that our town offers FREE swimming lessons for children...lessons meet daily for THREE WEEKS)...and the lessons are EXCELLENT...Leo is actually learning how to swim!  

So the end of swimming lessons is bittersweet for me...I find that by the end of three weeks I'm at the end of my rope, but at the same time, I've noticed through the years how GOOD it is for ALL OF US to do this...

Not only do our days go by faster during this three week period, I notice my children's behavior is better, and as a result, my sanity is better. And this is probably the one time of the year when I can actually get the baby to nap "on schedule" (meaning I make it my mission to let her run around and I exhaust her during swimming lessons so she'll nap once I get home). 

There's also something really nice about getting some sun and sipping iced coffees by the poolside while chatting with some of my closest girlfriends for an hour while our children are occupied by certified lifeguards.

It's nice.  Really nice. 

My children wake up around 7 a.m. and since we had to be out of the house by 9 a.m. this forced me to make the beds, do the dishes, get showered and dressed, get everyone using the potty and into their swimsuits, and fed breakfast. Just having all of those things done before leaving the house felt wonderful. And as part of my morning routine during the three weeks, I'd treat myself to a $1 iced coffee on the way.

The pool is situated next to a little playground with picnic tables so the children who aren't swimming can occupy themselves in the play area...this is great since trying to keep little ones away from the pool would be stressful.

My mission during this time is to EXHAUST JONI so she'll *ideally* fall asleep once we get home. 

On a good day, I'd also pack a lunch for us in the cooler to enjoy at the picnic tables after swimming lessons so I wouldn't have to feed the children once we got home...we could go directly into naps and quiet time.

These three weeks of swimming lessons always reinforce for me how much both my children and I thrive off of structure. I would be wise to find ways to implement more structure for our days here during the non-swimming season.

You're probably still wondering about all of the kids in my car...

Two days prior, my good friend and neighbor Chrissy had a minor family emergency...her son Timmy got a bead lodged in his ear and after a visit to two different doctors on two different days it was determined that they couldn't get it out and that they'd need him to go into the OR and that they'd have to put him under in order to get it out. Just what Chrissy needs with a newborn in tow to boot!  So I took her 2 lovely older daughters (ages 6 & 4) to swimming lessons on Friday and we had a nice day together. My boys play really well with her girls, so in many ways it's easier to have them along. (i.e. my boys don't fight because they want to impress the girls).

Jules' lesson...

Leo's lesson...learning to blow bubbles and going underwater!

In honor of the last day of swimming lessons, each class had a little party afterwards...they're given treats and a little booklet letting them know what their swimming strengths are and what they need to work on in order to move up to the next level.

We were glad to hear that the doctors were able to get the bead out of Timmy's ear without trouble once he was in the OR. Here's a picture of Ben with Chrissy's youngest child, Gabrielle - isn't she a cutie?

Swimming lessons are filled on a first come, first served, basis....so it's rare they have a cancellation for the second 3 week session. As I mentioned, I'm usually at the end of my rope by the end of the third week, but the structure is so good for us, it gives us something to do, my days move faster....there are so many pluses to it that I thought I'd ask the instructor if there were any openings for the next 3 week session...knowing full well that it would be full...well, there happened to be 2 boys who had to cancel in the exact same level as my boys...go figure!  So we signed up for another 3 weeks. Pray for me!