I remember the first time I made a solo trip to Target with both kids in tow. I felt like I had conquered the world. Slowly but surely I mastered trips to the grocery store, the post office and even the mall. My husband had the pleasure of going to a double well check visit with both kids and I a few weeks ago. I laughed smugly at him and the look of exasperation on his face as he said “it’s like hauling the circus around with these two”. I bragged that usually I handle this errand, like all the others, solo.

This weekend my solo child wrangling skills were put to the test again and I failed.

Miserably.

It’s not that I thought swimming with a toddler and baby would be easy, I just didn’t realize what a fumbling idiot it would make me out to be. I’ve taken Chase swimming before and, besides crazy amount supplies it takes, it was relatively easy. For my first swim outing with both kids I decided to play it safe and test the waters at my in-laws house. There would be no need to pack bags and everything I needed would be just a few steps away.

It started out so good. I put them both in the baby pool that I had carefully filled with buckets of warm water, Chase is not a fan of cold water you know.

They look so cute together right? That happy little picture lasted all of about 15 seconds before Chase got a little excited and nearly dumped his sister out of her float. At that point I decided maybe I should suit up and get in with them and I could just hold Katelyn on my lap. There is a reason they call them baby pools, they really aren’t all the comfortable for adults. As it turned out that was a moot point because in a totally baffling turn of events Chase decided on his own that he wanted to test the waters of the big pool. I briefly considered letting Katelyn float along in the fish raft while I situated her brother in the big pool right up until she started to crawl out of it. She was promptly removed from the water.

No joke, I had to tie her in this chair with a piece of rope so she wouldn’t climb out. Chase was impatiently rattling the baby fence we had put up so I got him a raft and sent him afloat with my mother-in-law who was trying to vacuum and clean the big pool. The thing about vacuuming a pool is it helps for the water to be still so as to see the bottom. Obviously a two year old is just who you want to help you with such an endeavor.Obviously.

Once Chase was settled he of course wanted me to get in, once I acclimated myself to the not so warm water he demanded that Katelyn join us. Minutes after getting Katelyn situated in her float in the big pool Chase was ready to get out and go back to the baby pool. At this point we had been outside for less than 20 minutes. I had no sooner gotten them both settled back in the baby pool when Katelyn started to get tired and hungry. I could go on and tell you how once I got them both changed their dad got back and decided to go for a swim. Suffice it to say it’s going to be another year or so before I attempt to take the both to a public swimming pool of any kind.