Summer and the Pool Pool

Monday, June 17, 2013 0 comments
This year the weather has been very unusual.  It was Spain's coldest May since the 80's!!  Apart from a few very warm days, most days brought much cooler-than-usual temperatures.  Even at the beginning of June it felt like summer would never arrive.
I have a somewhat unusual way of determining when the weather gets summer-like; I have determined I'm at my happiest when my coconut oil is in its liquid state.  Usually as summer nears, there are several days or weeks when it is in a gel-like stage because it is no longer solid, but hasn't quite been able to completely liquify.  This past week, though, my coconut oil went from completely solid one morning to completely liquid that afternoon.  I went from not knowing whether or not to dress Eric in shorts or long pants, to wanting to turn on my air conditioner.

With the warmer weather, my desire to buy a new above-ground pool had escalated.  So, I convinced Mauri to go pool shopping with me.  He decided that our last pool was a bit too small, and after seeing that this year the stores were offering much larger pools right in store, he ended up choosing a larger pool.
While the pool is slightly longer than our last pool, it is quite a bit narrower, allowing us space around the pool on all sides.  It is also quite a bit deeper, meaning that Eric can no longer touch bottom.  I wasn't sure that it was a great idea to buy a deep pool just quite yet, but ended up going along with the idea.  I had already bought a very shallow kids pool, which I set up outside our front door, so Eric can splash around on the days that he wants to play in the water.  The deeper pool might make it easier to try to teach Eric how to swim; at least that's what I try to tell myself.  In any case, with the pool being narrower, he can't jump into it from the nearby wall anymore.  That was one of my greatest concerns with last year's pool.
The pool is also way too high for him to be able to enter it without the ladder in it.  So, we have to be careful about taking the ladder out of the pool each time we finish using it.  If we are careful doing that, I actually think this pool will be a bit safer because not only is it impossible for him to get in by himself if the ladder isn't up, but we won't have a false sense of security that we might have had in a pool where he touches ground.
So, on Saturday afternoon we bought the pool, and immediately proceeded to set it up and start to fill it.  Eric loved helping with that process, just like he likes "helping" me water the plants each day.  I put helping in quotes because he always makes sure to tell me, "Mommy, no!!  Eric!!" So I guess I'm really the one who is helping him water the plants.
Not sure he likes the pool anymore!
It took awhile to fill the pool, so all afternoon Eric was able to stand in the water.  The next day, though, the water was already too high for him.  We told him that he needed to wear his "Guau guau's" if he wanted to go into the pool.
At first it was almost impossible to get him to wear them, but we finally convinced him.  The water was a bit too cold for him, though, and he started to shake shortly after bringing him in the water with me.  I tried to let go of him so that he could try floating on his own, but he was way too scared to do it.
Later in the afternoon I tried again, and he was on his own for a few seconds, but he was screaming for me, so I quickly held him once again.  He started to shake again, so we got out right away.  Little by little we'll have to try to get him used to it.
Since then, he hasn't wanted to go back in the "pool pool."  Maybe I traumatized him a bit too soon.  Last year he had fun floating on his own in Tita's pool, so it isn't impossible to get him to want to do it.  As the water warms up, I'll have to try again and let you know how it all goes.
Meanwhile, I may be posting a little less often on this blog now that I have started the other blog.  After posting some popular instructables from my blog, it has also been getting a lot more traffic.  So, I think I'll try to keep at it and see what I can do with it.  I'll keep this blog more personal for those that are genuinely interested in what is going on with us and Eric, and leave the other stuff for the other blog. So, no, I don't plan on abandoning this blog.  It's just that some of the stuff that I may have posted here in the past will be heading to the other blog.  Overall, I'll probably be posting more often now, but with different types of content.  So, for those who are interested, follow both!
 

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