What a day!

We are now really back into the swing of things.

It's my turn on the lift share this week so after i'd dropped all the kids off at school i headed back to Jolly Harbour with Jess. Jess doesn't go into school on Wednesdays as there is a coffee morning held in Jolly Harbour for all resident mums and small children (kinda like a toddler group), each week a different mum hosts the morning and this week it was my turn. I was supposed to have done it last week but with Jess being so ill i couldn't.

Before i could get ready for that i needed to organise dinner, nothing special, pork casserole, but it had to be able to be easy enough to serve straight away as Hannah and Laurens swimming lessons started again today (or so i thought) and we need to eat as soon as they get back or it knocks the whole night time routine out of synch.

Once that was done and in the oven with potaoes peeled ready for mashing, it was time to get the toys out ready for everyone to arrive at 10.00am. It was a really good turn out today, about 9 children altogether. A couple of new mums have arrived on the Island and it's always nice to get to know a few more faces.

After a fairly quiet, considering the number of children, couple of hours everyone had gone and we had tidied up. It was time for Jess's lunch and then her afternon nap, which she had today thankfully. It was at this point that i tried to get hold of the swimming instructors as i was told the lessons started next week and not today! After having no luck at all i figured i'd better just head for the pool for 3.30pm just to be on the safe side, and if there were no lessons this week, then at least it would be a dry run for next week.

Kath was picking up the girls from school as Jess was sleeping so when they arrived it was a mad 20 minute in which they had to get as much homework done as possible because there might be swimming lessons! Then there was another mad 10 minutes trying to get them ready to go swimming (not too difficult by my thinking, take off clothes and put on swimsuit, grab towel and goggles, ready to go...) only Hannah and Lauren could turn this into a three ring circus act, it didn't help that i was also trying to convince Jessica that yes she really did want to wake up now as we had to leave and go swimming......well that did it, the dreade 's' word, she howled all the way to pool "no like wimmin, no like pool". Upon arriving at the pool there were no swimming instructors and seeing as it was 3.30pm definately no lessons. I found out on my return home, via email, that they had only landed back on the Island at 3.00pm, definately no swimming!!!!! LOL

We stayed in the pool for about an hour the same as we would have done on a normal week and caught up with some of the other mums and children, whilst listening to little Jess shouting out every so often "no like pool home me now!!!" For those that know Jess this is normal and is ignored, for those who don't know Jess, and her aversion to getting her head wet, i am 'the evil mother, from the planet you must hate your child'. But at the end of the day we live with the sea on our back patio, a marina on the front and a pool in the middle. Therefore she will learn to swim! Give it a few weeks of getting used to the water again and she'll be fine......i hope!!!

After that home for dinner, finishing homework, showers/baths and then finally bed! All of them in and settled by 7.25pm.

Thank-god they only do one after school activity if todays antics are anything to go by! On the bright side i know that next week we can be at the pool by 3.30pm, get homework done and still have the children in bed on time. All is well with the world!!