Swimming Scramble

Tuesday mornings, I take the boys swimming. Lachlan goes for his 1/2 hour swimming lesson, while I jump into the pool with Lucas for his tot's lesson. I never really believed in tot's lesson anyways, it's merely an introduction to the water. Something I could do with him without paying someone else to do it for me. But Lachy did it when he was a tot, and I didn't want my second child to feel left out. Hmmm... anyways.

We're a family of sleep-ins, just in case you haven't noticed. 7am is definitely too early for me, 8am is when I wake up and 9am is when the boys get out of bed if I'm lucky. Just imagine what it would be like when they're school age. Oh dear.

So our swimming lessons are at 10am. The boys get up, have a quick bite of breakfast, get changed and we hop into the car. We get there on time. I walk Lachlan to his class, drop him off and the take Lucas to his class. I hop in with him.

10.30am I jump out of the pool with Lucas, grab our towels. Run over to Lachlan's class. Throw him his towel and pretend he knows how to dry himself. Then all three of us titter totter to the change room. We share a shower, with one hundred other moms and kids (OK I exaggerate). We have a quick wash. Then we squeeze ourselves into a tight corner. I try to battle Lucas down to putting his nappy on, drying his toes, putting 3 layers of clothes on (hallelujah winter is over!), socks and shoes, all these while instructing Lachy to dry himself, put his underpants on, clothes etc. Usually he gets to one leg of his pants, trips over, gets his clothes wet, thinks it's oh so funny, rolls himself on the change room floor why not since he's already wet again. It's a battle.

Me? Still dripping wet from my quick shower. But wait, it's not over. Now, when both boys are dry dressed, it's my turn to get dressed. And usually, I have a time limit. Of sometimes a banana or a muesli bar. It's like watching a ticking bomb. When the time is up, Lucas will try and squirm himself off the bench, Lachy will not stop whining for more food. It is mental madness! When it's all over, I give myself a big pat on my back and a huge sigh of relieve. I think it's heroic what I did...

Until I see the lady next to us, with four kids, all under the age of 4! O.o