Am Broken

Being the good mom that I am (ha!), I got the kiddies suited up for some post-nap swimming today. Truthfully, I am trying to cram as much we-live-in-a-house-with-a-pool pool time as possible. My problem is that the water is still pretty chilly, so even though I am a water baby, I mostly sit on the side with my feet in making sure Q doesn't venture off the steps.

Today we had an ant invasion. All of the floating toys left in the pool were covered with great big ants. The kind with wings. If I didn't have to keep an eagle eye on the offspring, I would have just gotten the net and skimmed them out. But I'm too safety conscious (eight years of teaching swim lessons, yo!) to get that far away from the fearless Q. So I assumed my usual perch on the side armed with an aquarium net that I usually use to fish frogs (live) and mice (not) out of the skimmer baskets.

As Z kicked around in her goldfish floatie, Q splashed around on the top step and I scooped up the waves of ants Z was sending our way. I guess I got a little OCD because before I knew it, I was in all the way up to my shoulders netting waterlogged ants from the entire shallow end. About the time the pool was (relatively) insect free, the kids both noticed that I was in. the. water.

Pleas Requests Demands for swishing quickly ensued. So I took all 40 pounds of Z and 25 pounds of Q for rides through the water. Swishing was followed by bobbing. (Q narrated each bounce with a "boing!" Too cute!) Bobbing was followed by tossing into the air. Finally, I cried uncle and we ended swim time with endless rounds of catch-me-when-I-jump-off-the-side.

Once I got everyone inside and in dry clothes (well, jammies. Chlorine is the same as soap, right? Entertainment, exercise and bath time in one! Score!) I began to notice a creeping stiffness in my right shoulder. By the time we finished dinner, my left arm had essentially become a flipper. Super.

Now, several hours later, pretty much the entire right side of my body is one big ache. Excellent timing for the packing party I'm having tomorrow, huh? Hellllllo Advil!