Usually but the time I get to the daycare to pick the boys up, they have just come in from outside play or have had enough that they are mostly ready to go. It's perfect!
Except on Fridays, when I get off a little bit earlier. Sometimes I can get there before outside time and they are so happy to see me that they forget all about play time. Other times, like today, they are in their swimsuit, ready to go play in the pool as soon as they finish their snack. I really didn't want to wait for pool time and the following outfit change, but felt bad about robbing Henry of pool time.
That's when I remembered that I had bought an inflatable pool at Target a few weeks ago when we were having a warm spell. Like many things I buy a Target, I put it somewhere and forgot all about it... But in the moment before my toddler had a meltdown at school I remembered the pool and promised Henry I would pull it out.
He helped me track it down in the garage and after I got light-headed blowing it up the massive thing, it was play time! Thomas asked several times why I was laying down on the floor while blowing it up - so mommy doesn't pass out! Ha!
It was hard to say which little guy was more excited about the pool! Thomas got in right away, but Henry was busy pretending to help me fill it up with the watering can. And of course I bought the dinosaur pool - would you expect any different? The dinosaur even sprays water if you hook the water hose up to it - how fun!!
Of course within the first minute of Henry being in the pool he slipped and fell. Luckily he hit the side and bounced off instead of face planting. I don't know what I was thinking by not setting the pool up in the grass - I think I was trying to keep it in a level spot outside of direct sunlight.
Ugh - mom fail. Big time...
And it's not often you catch the exact moment your child goes from joy to hate. He got picked up in less than a second from the photo - I was taking photos of Thomas when he bit it. :(
Even after the tears stopped, he refused to get back in the pool.
But after I pretend attacked Thomas with the dinosaur a few times, Henry got in on the excitement of the dinosaur head. Maybe he would warm back up to the pool?
I finally got the slide piece aired up for Thomas to play on. I was out of air after blowing up the pool - I needed a break to catch my breath! He loved the slide! It's not the most secure thing in the world since it's a plastic slide full of air, but that didn't seem to matter. Plus it has an inflatable crash pad at the bottom, so it's fairly safe (even on the driveway!).
Once I pulled out their new toys I bought for the sand box (that we have yet to build), Henry got all kinds of interested in the pool again. There were several tools, but of course they both wanted the same one. Brothers...
He refused to look at the camera for a mommy-Henry photo though. So maybe he is still a little miffed about the whole crash & burn thing. Sigh...
I could only get Thomas out of the pool by promising him to go pick berries. Our neighbors have several raspberry bushes that they inherited from the previous owners. The bushes are right next to the shared property line and they have mentioned since winter that the boys were welcome to the berries. The raspberries just came in last week and the boys have been raspberry obsessed!
I've even gotten Thomas to eat his vegetables at dinner by promising him we could go pick berries if he did. I'm going to be so sad when the raspberries are all gone... :(
Henry has gotten in on the action too. He's not quite as skilled at picking the berries, but he's quite adept at shoveling handfuls of them in his mouth. ;)
Once we got back in the house, Thomas found the box the pool came in and was checking it out. He pointed at the picture on the front and said "There's is in the grass. Why wasn't ours in the grass, mommy?" Seriously?!? He's already picking up on mommy fails at 3? I doomed if he starts keeping track...
After the question was repeated several times, I told him that Mommy didn't read the directions and we would be sure to put it on the grass tomorrow. Pool party, take 2!