Mommy, get me out of here NOW!

If Emily could speak in full sentences, I'm sure that's what she would have said to me today. This was week 2 of swimming lessons for both of the kids. When I registered Kyle for his group lesson, I figured I should sign Emily up for the parents and tots course at the same time because I thought she would go stir crazy watching Kyle from the sidelines and would constantly want to be in the water too. Well, boy was I wrong! Last week, I went in with her and she literally screamed at the top of her lungs, cried and clung to my side for almost the whole half hour. It was pretty embarassing but I was determined not to give up. As I've mentioned before in my list of 25 things, I did not learn to swim until I was 18 because I was afraid of the water. And I always told myself that when I had kids, they would learn to swim at a young age so that they did not have that same fear. So, even though she is obviously scared, I would rather she get over it now. And the swimming instructor thought I should keep bringing her back so that she gets more comfortable in the water. She absolutely loves having baths and she floats on her back and everything, but I guess the deeper water is just scary right now.

So, today, I wasn't sure what to expect. All was well at first, but as soon as we reached the shower area in the change room, Emily refused to walk and I had to carry her out to the pool. When we got in the water, she again started crying and screaming a bit, but not as bad as last week. I'm sure the other parents were thinking, "would you just get her outta here, lady!" Then I took her over to the ball slide and we played some games with the group and I could tell she was having fun. She still refused to walk in the shallow water and she was still clingy at times, but I think it will get better each week. It's funny because Emily is usually pretty daring and fearless, but not when it comes to swimming. Kyle on the other hand, is usually more cautious, but his instructor says he's doing great and he seems to be loving it.

Yesterday, we had our families and friends over for Emily's birthday party. We had originally been planning a BBQ in our fire pit, but the forecast was calling for rain so we ended up deciding to do chicken and sandwiches and salads inside. After all was said and done, the rain didn't come, but it was darned cold, so everyone (about 40 people) pretty much stayed inside. Regardless, it was still fun but I was wiped at the end of the day. Actually, the last few days, I've been feeling unusually tired to the point where I had to have a nap this afternoon. I think it's been because of the late nights of school work and cleaning that I've spent over the past week. Time to get back into a good sleeping pattern!