The kids were thrilled today to be back in the pool! We started lessons again today after taking the summer off to swim in outdoor water.

Lex in the pool! After a seriously painful case of red eyes last year, Lex decided to brave the goggles this time around. On the way back to the car he said "I think the goggles did a good job! My eyes feel fine."

Eve in the pool! Rocking the pink goggles! :) The boy on the left is also in her preschool class. That was a fun surprise.

I was a little bummed, again, by the scheduling situation. Two sessions ago (probably a year or so ago by now), Eve’s swim teacher said she was progressing rapidly and ready to move up a level. So I signed her up for the next level when we renewed. She was enrolled in the same class as Lex. They were super excited about it, but when we got to the first lesson we were told that there wasn’t enough room in his class, so they put her back in the preschool class again. She loves that teacher and was happy enough, but definitely not challenged. I was annoyed. This time they were offering a “preschool” class for newbies to the water and a “preschool 1” class to 3-4yr olds who were comfortable in the water. I signed Eve up for “preschool 1” of course, but when we got there today we found out that they didn’t have enough enrolled for both classes, so they combined them! Ugh! This time I was much more forward with the instructor (who, by the way, is awesome!) I told her that I felt the last session was a waste of money for Eve and I was frustrated by that. She said “Let’s see what the mix is in this class.” Turns out the “mix” was Eve and another somewhat confident kid, then a bunch of kids afraid of the water. Ugh. After the lesson ended her instructor went over to the lesson coordinator and then came to me and said “Eve definitely needs to be moved up!” She said the coordinator was going to see who should could move around to make room in Lex’s class for Eve.

We swam and played for awhile and on the way out I stopped to chat with the coordinator to offer her some flexibility in lesson times. Turns out she was already working on it. She had discussed with another kid and his mom about moving him up a level to make a spot for Eve. So, as it stands now, Eve and Lex will be in class together for the remaining 5 weeks. Yay!! I hope, hope, hope nothing changes when we get back next week. If she is back in the preschool class I think I’m going to ask for my money back and un-enroll her, but I hope it doesn’t come to that. They are once again very excited to be in class together :)

Floating Eve. She later tried to do a somersault in this splash pool and hit her head on the bottom. I tried not to laugh.

They were together. So close. I tried to get a picture of them. It would have been adorable. Instead they said "No!" when the saw the camera and immediately swam away. Buggers!

A morning hug. While they were hugging Lex said, “Mom, why don’t you take a picture of us.”  I JUMPED at that offer!  :)

A requested photo op

Have I mentioned lately that Eve is really getting into writing? I love it :) She requested a little help with the spelling, but we just make the sounds for each letter and then she writes them. Even Lex coaches/helps her this way. It's great. She's so smart!

I got tired of Lex's foam-noodle structure so today we stuck it in water and helped it disolve. The kids thought it was amazing.

It only took a few minutes to get from that to this.

Happy November!!! A wonderful month ;)

I seriously need to make a grocery list and meal plans for the week, but the house is quiet and I’m going to blog instead. I’ll make the list later. Who needs sleep, right?!

As you may or may not know, I have been participating in a “Lose Big” program at a local gym. This week was the last week and while I did not actually lose big (I did lose a few pounds though, just not “big”!), it has been a lot of fun. The program consisted of twice weekly meetings, one being a lecture of sorts and the other being a circuit workout. In general I found the workouts to be much more useful than the lectures, but both were good. At the final lecture yesterday the trainer was reviewing what we had learned (or were supposed to have learned!) over the course of the six week program. At one point we were discussing obstacles and I raised my hand and said I have trouble balancing priorities. I know it’s important to take care of myself, but when that happens at the expense of too many other things, well then I loose focus. Not uncommon, I’m sure. The trainer mentioned that she also has two small kids (smaller than mine actually!) and fully understands, but “they know that if I don’t get to exercise every day then I am a cranky mommy!” That got me thinking… I want to exercise and lose weight so I can feel better about my body, but I’m finding that often when I DO exercise every day I become a cranky mommy. Why? Because exercise takes a lot of time. Time that otherwise would be spent cleaning the house, or being with the kids, or completing projects, or cooking, or grocery shopping, or or or… (or blogging, of course!)

I find that I ebb and flow in the “take care of me” department. I do prefer to weigh less, I do like to exercise, but after doing that for awhile I get frustrated with the messy house, cranky kids, and everything else that seems to slip through the cracks when I devote time to daily exercise. There just isn’t enough time in the day! So her comment made me think that perhaps exercise really ISN’T a priority in my life. Is that horrible to say?!?! I do need to exercise regularly, but perhaps not for so long and not every day. More importantly, I realized that I when I have a better handle on life I feel much, MUCH better, regardless of exercise. I also believe that when I am more in control of my surroundings I am better able to manage my food intake and therefore feel better all around… which often leads to more time to exercise. :) When my surroundings feel out of control then my eating quickly follows, which is counter-intuitive because often I think my eating is the one thing I SHOULD be able to control, but alas it spirals out of control along with everything else. Control issues, maybe… but that’s for another post!

It’s interesting thinking about, and trying to truly own, your priorities in life.