Swim Class

J's swim class started yesterday and it started on a bad note. First of all, it was raining off and on and they don't cancel unless it's lightning. So, I got in my dreaded bathing suit and then attempted to get J in his. He decided this was the perfect time to have a total meltdown and did not want to put on his swim trunks. This went on for a good 10 minutes before Jason and I had to just hold him down and get the trunks on him. NOT FUN!!! So, off we all went to class. When we arrived it was very disorganized, which I can not stand, it was mainly young girls and guys that were the lifeguards and instructors, which is fine but they were a little more interested in talking and flirting with each other than getting the different groups together to start. I maybe wouldn't have minded this if it was not raining and cold but it was and I was quickly loosing my patience. Finally they started calling out names and directing us all under the large umbrellas and covered areas to meet up with our instructors and to discuss the class overview. I was excited to see who all was going to be in our class so that I could try and spot some potential playdate friends. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT.....there are only two other kids in our class and the mother of one of the kids is SUPER ANNOYING! She is the kind of mom that thinks that her kid is the greatest thing that ever happened to the world and she never shuts up. During the entire introduction by the instructor she kept interrupting and talking really loudly to her daughter. Then she would yell over across the way to her son that was in another class and try and tell him something that was totally not necessary at that exact moment. She's a major attention whore. All of this was magnified because every second we sat there it started raining harder and harder and the rain was now blowing all over us. So the fact that this lady wouldn't shut up and let the instructor finish was really starting to piss me off. Then the instructor said that we weren't going to be able to get into the water today, no shit Sherlock, and that we would just read a story about swim class. I am not joking! In the freezing, blowing, hard rain this kid instructor wanted to read a story to three kids under the age of three. My husband started laughing behind me and when I asked him what was so damn funny, he said "this whole situation and the fact that I know you are about to blow any minute." He knows me all to well, I seriously was about to lose my shit. When the freaking story about the damn duck that went to swim class was over the instructor asked if there were any questions and I said, "yes, are we done now, this is a little ridiculous. The kids lips are turning blue." She said that class was done for the day and in case it was doing this tomorrow that we might want to call before we come. YA THINK!!!

Day Two: It is sunny, praise the lord! Surely this will be a better day. Skrrrt.......J decides to have another major meltdown about putting the swim trunks on. So, we force them on his body again and we're off to class. Once again the instructors are just chit chatting about random BS instead of getting the show on the road. So we stand there patiently waiting for our name to be called. Finally an instructor, not the same one from yesterday, calls for all the mommy and me class to gather by her. J and I go over and wait with the other parent and child when the instructor says that we will get started as soon as our missing other child and mom arrive. She was referring to the annoying mom, who in fact was already there she was just across the way telling her whole life story to some random mom who looked like she wanted to run away. I pointed her out to our instructor who was able to get her attention and told her we were ready to start. She put her finger up and said just a minute. I know that God is testing me in moments like this and I try my hardest not to totally freak out, which I did not today, but if this goes on for the next week and a half I may fail God's test. Please pray for me! =) When the heifer decided that she was ready to begin she came trotting over like what are we waiting for. I handed our stuff to Jason and asked him to take a few pictures of us. Since J and I had taken swim class last year and he loved it I never even considered the possibility that he wouldn't like it this year.Well, he didn't, he didn't want to get in the water but after I begged a little he agreed. When we got into the freezing water he latched onto my neck with a death grip and didn't want any part in any of the exercises or songs. I might have failed to mention that a couple weekends ago he was in a pool at a friends house and had on a life jacket and he tipped forward and went face first under the water before I dragged him out. He was only under water for like 3 seconds but I'm pretty sure this moment left an impression.

I'm hoping that the rest of the week goes a little more smoothly regarding the actual swimming lessons but I'm disappointed that the possibility for making any playdate friends is totally out the window. You couldn't force me to hang around the annoying mom if you held a gun to my head and the other kid in the class is a lot younger than J. But on the bright side, after all this drama that has gone on between the rain, the meltdowns, the resistance to getting in the water, the annoying mom, the disappointment of no possible playdate friends, I've forgotten all about my fear of being in a bathing suit in public. So that's something.......=)

Oh and one last thing, I thought I would share the fabulous pictures that my husband took of his son and the mother of his child engaging in a milestone activity together...................

We are the one's off to the left in the background behind the hot instructors. And yes, these are the only two pictures he took. Yeah, it just keeps getting better and better this whole swim class thing!!!

Mom of toddler seeks playdate friends.

My son is 2 1/2 and is in desperate need of some friends. Quite frankly he is sick of looking at only mine and my husbands faces all day every day. Up to this point our playdates have been with other kids in our families or kids of my own friendships. This is a problem though because all of our family with kids and our friends with kids live at least 2 hours away from where we live. So on most days its just J and I playing at home together. I swear J can hear Jason coming down the street and about plows through the front door when he sees his daddy is home and he has another face besides mine to look at for a few hours before bedtime.

I am the oldest of four siblings and I never remember not having someone to play with when I was little. My brother and I are only 15 months apart so we pretty much kept each other entertained from an early age. We also had cousins and lots of neighborhood kids to play with everyday. I don’t think the term "playdate" even existed back in the early 80’s. You pretty much just went outside and found your BFF in the neighborhood and played till the sun went down. Well my friends, times have changed!

Nowadays finding playdates is like dating. You have to put yourself out there and are in constant search of the perfect match. You will probably go on a few bad dates before you find someone you like and you have to be prepared for rejection. Maybe I’m the only one that feels embarrassed about the way playdates occur during the toddler years. But it feels really awkward to me to ask some random parents that I’ve seen once or twice at toddler story time at the library or swim class if they want to be friends and have a playdate.

When was the last time that I had to make a new friend? Hmmmm……I can’t even remember. But in order for my son to make new friends, I will have to make friends first. And I am discovering that my "let’s be friends" skills are really rusty.  But because I love my son more than air, it’s pushing me to step out of my comfort zone and venture into the world of child-parent socializing.

In order to make this whole playdate thing work there are a few things to think about ahead of time. The kids have to get along…The parents have to get along…Must have shared hygiene beliefs…Acceptable location…etc.

I have a few concerns. I’ve found that mom’s who have two or more kids have that amazing ability to take everything in stride and that can sometimes make me look like a hovering lunatic when it comes to my son. I don’t like looking like a lunatic. But at the same time I am not willing to forgo certain things just to make a new friend. There is no way I am going to just drop off "The Reason I live and Breathe" at somebody’s house that I’ve only met a few times. Which as I understand some mom’s are totally comfortable doing right from the start. Does that make me a hovering lunatic? Oh well if it does, but that is just not happening! Now if I wanted to request a full background check along with fingerprints and a complete tour of their house proving there are no sinkholes or alcoholic relatives hanging around on the couch……That might be going a little over the line, OR IS IT????

I know eventually I’m going to have to cut the cord and let my child venture out into the world without me hovering close by to make sure his every want and need are met without him even having to ask, but for now he is stuck with me and so are any new playdate mommies. It’s a package deal until he is a little older, like 18, just kidding!

Hopefully, I will meet other moms that have fantastic kids that share my lunacy about new playdate drop offs and if I’m lucky, have some adult girl talk about important things in the world…ya know, like, the Real Housewives of New Jersey or the new Twilight saga movie Eclipse that is coming out soon. =)

So, I will keep you posted on my playdate seeking journey. We start swim class next week and I’m already preparing ways to put myself out there for my child’s sake, hopefully without looking like a stalker. Until then......

Any playdate stories you’d like to share? And what makes a playdate successful at your house? Any advice welcome!