Oh Cabana Boy

For us parents, organizing a trip to the pool can be a nightmare.  There are so many things to remember and if you are like most of us, your children outnumber you so it can be equally terrifying as it is a pain in the butt.  Bathing suits, swimmies, swim shoes, sunscreen "Where did I put the sunscreen??"  Snacks, lunch, drinks, towels, hats, sunglasses, swim diapers, dry clothes, bag of beach toys...the list goes on and on.  That is why this Mom recommends the "private pool" at your own home.

Now, this is the kind of "private pool" everyone can afford and this is the kind of pool everyone needs.  When we were looking to buy a home I didn't want any kind of pool.  I don't want the cost, the work involved and the danger of my children so close to such a large body of water simply terrified me to no end.  When we shopped for a baby pool for the kids I made sure to put in my 2 cents.  In fact, I got exactly what I wanted!  If I am gonna sit out there and monitor the children in the pool, you best believe it better be big enough to cool down a Mommy too.

We went with the Step 2 Big Splash Center.  A large rectangular pool with a plug (very important feature) and two seats (for little butts) at one end.  The step 2 slide even snaps into one end to make your own water park.  Now this is the type of pool I can handle.  You don't have to have giant muscles to empty the disgusting water at the end of the day cause there is a plug.  It is large enough that the kids and jump, splash and play however, while Mommy sits at one end of it sunning herself-while monitoring activities of course, and stays cool.

Today was a wonderful day in our "private pool."  We washed the car with squirt guns and watered some flowers with them too.  We laid out our blanket and our snacks and enjoyed the mid morning sunshine.  No one fights the sunblock at our "private pool" and everyone listens to Mommy about the rules- cause time out in your private bedroom is just seconds away if you don't.  I brought down some popcorn that I had to devour first cause once wet pool hands got ahold of it, it turned into bird food fast like.  We had some apples and some ice water and got nice and brown.

It is funny how the kids FREAK when you get water in their face during bathtime but at our "private pool" this doesn't seem to bother them one bit! Weird!

If you are lucky a worker man may stop by your neighbor's house to take care of their phone line say, this guy may even check you out as you are playing in your pool.  Who knows if he thinks you look like a fool or not, you know you are the smart one!

If you are like me and you are always looking for ways to beat the heat, get yourself one of these "private pools" and install IMMEDIATELY.  You too can have a pool boy, that is your 4 year old son who can't stop appreciating that we are having popcorn and apples for lunch.  You can also have a bathing beauty, that is your 2 year old daughter who mysteriously lost her bathing suit bottoms somewhere at this pool but still keeps it covered with a swim diaper- cause she is classy.