Turning The Corner On The Winter, Kids, and Life

This post was sponsored by SwimWays as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Spring has sprung in little Rhody and I, for one, am so happy to have some sunshine in my life. Flowers are in bloom, the heat has come back, the trees have their leaves back, Tall Dad’s motorcycle has been started, and things are looking up.

But now that we have finally turned the corner to spring as I look ecstatically at winter through the rear view mirror, I’ve also turned the corner on some big milestones in my personal life with my children.

My life is finally going to get back to (relative) normal and it’s going to start with the beach…

I was hosting one of my podcasts called Wicked Rhody a few days ago, and I was chatting with my cohost about the horrible weather as of late. I was telling him that I was frustrated because I was remembering back to my days in college at URI and that I would have been in my bathing suit at the beach by this time of the year. But instead, my kids and I were still bundling up trying desperately to get out of the house.

Even as I was saying those words, however, I had a slight twinge of pain, because even if the weather were better, I still don’t think I would be able to head to the beach because my kids are so small that it’s really hard to take them anywhere.

You have to worry about diapers, drinks, food, games, toys, temper tantrums, potty visits, sunscreen, and everything else in between. Then you have to carry the kids, carry all the stuff, sit down, set up camp, and pray that none of them run away from you as you’re in the middle of trying to take care of everything. Jeez, I’m getting tired just typing these words.

But as the winter winds dissipate behind me and the summer rays are not too far ahead of me, I have a brief respite from all the stress because now my kids are starting to get older and they are right at the point of not needing my CONSTANT attention.

My son is potty trained, and my daughter ( even though she is not even yet two ) has started to train herself too. They keep each other occupied, read books together, play tag together, and have even graduated to the ability of being trusted enough to sit in the family room alone while I go upstairs and participate in the most holy and time honored tradition of showering on my own to start the day.

To be honest, if you have told me a year ago that I would be able to do shower without having to lug the pack and play in the bathroom, keep the shower door open and try my best to listen for crying wails, or not do that one hand out the shower door soothe maneuver that all moms have perfected, I probably would have punched you in the face. But here I am, and we’ve collectively turned the corner on this part of our lives.

So now that I can start to actually do things with my life, perhaps even go out with Tall Dad on a date without having to worry if the babysitter put the sound machine to the exact volume number that is to the liking of my baby (otherwise the baby will not sleep), I am ready to also start venturing out with my children to facilitate what could be considered a (relatively) normal life.

My first venture? The beach.

You guys know that I get wicked bad cabin fever, and now that I’ve got this bug in my ear because of the podcast I did, I am craving the beach more than my favorite glass of wine at 5pm every night.

Yes, I will have to bring all the stuff that I mentioned at the top of this post. Yes, I will have to carry all of the aforementioned stuff too, and, yes, my kids will probably scurry along the way. But, they’re finally old enough where it just won’t seem as bad any more.

My son has been taking swim lessons at the Y, and I bought my daughter this amazing SwimWays Baby Spring Float Sun Canopy from Target in which she can totally chill out as Rhys and I continue his lessons on our own in the water.

Of course, I am quite proud of the fact that I am finally starting to do all of this near the the end of May which, oddly enough, is home to the National Learn To Swim Day on May 20th. Which, to my great surprise, I’ve learned that it was actually started by the company that makes my daughters float.

Me being me, I am so impatient that I couldn’t wait for the full swing of summer so I already took out the float and checked it out.

I really do love it because it makes getting my daughter introduced to the water very easy. She feels the water, splashes around in it, and even gets used to the movement of the water mass below her. Plus it protects her from the sun with this awesome canopy that can be easily snapped on or off.