Helen, Alex and Abbie came over this morning, to drink tea, cuddle ducks, drink fresh milk and coo over the van 🙂 It was fab to see them (been far too long) and show fellow van dwellers our potential home and get some tips and hints on van based living :).
They left us at lunchtime and we had lunch (home made bread and home made soup) and watched some TV and Davies & Scarlett played with geomags.
I left it right to the last minute to check the swimming bag and discovered that my swimsuit was where I thought it was but the kids were not. They both have spares so I sent them off to find them and Scarlett came back with hers, Davies couldn’t find his. I went to check his room and it was a tip – and he’d allegedly ‘tidied it up’ that morning but I realised what he’d actually done was shove stuff out of sight. I totally lost my temper with him when I opened his wardrobe and drawers and clothes tumbled out – it was like Monica’s secret cupboard! He was very upset and apologetic, I was very angry 🙁
I then found the swimming costumes from last week still in the wash (now dry but stinking of swimming pools) so he had to bring that one. Out to my car which wouldn’t start 🙁
Dad had told me to ring him if my car wouldn’t start so I did but we then realised there was nothing he could do to help anyway as if he came over he couldn’t take both kids in his van let alone me too. I carried on ranting at the kids about the car and promised to take them swimming tomorrow to make up for missing their lessons as the car clearly wasn’t going to start. To prove the point I turned the key one last time and it roared into life!
So we headed to the pool, about 15 minutes later than I’d planned but still really early for lessons. We had about 1hr 45mins and I managed 82 lengths – so 2 more than last week. I’d like to get there for 2 hours each week and aim for 90 lengths in that time. I have 7 weeks left (well 8, but we’re away for the last week of the challenge) so need to do at least one additional session too which I am hoping to get in this week if possible to put me back ahead of where I should be. Now I have done 20% I am going to start hunting for sponsors :).
Scarlett had a ‘you’ll never guess what I did today. What am I like?’ moment when she went to the wrong lesson. Just before 4pm I saw her get out of the big pool and go over to the lesson pool, I thought Carolyn would send her away but then I saw her sitting on the edge of the pool about to get in. Davies swam over and asked ‘isn’t Scarlett in the wrong lesson?’ I said yes so he dashed over and told Carolyn who stood laughing and gesturing to me across the pool about how kerazy her and Scarlett were for not realising. It was truly a riot ;). Scarlett then managed to be late for her actual lesson as she wanted to go on the slide. Grrr.
Back home with very achey knees – I’m not at all sure that is a traditional swimmers complaint, wonder if I am doing strokes very wrong or am just very unfit?
Ady had beaten us home and we walked in to the kids dinner on the table and a fire lit :). We had another raided from the freezer dinner (shepherds pie I had prepared the mince base for ages ago during a batch cooking frenzy) and have planned raided from the freezer dinners for the rest of this week at least – am hoping ebay sales ending on Sunday will help ease us through the rest of the month…
Do you do a lot of breaststroke? My physio says sore knees very common in people using poor breast stroke technique. But I’ve never mastered crawl…..
yes – alternating breast and back stroke. That’ll be it then. I can’t do crawl either as I don’t like putting my face in (never sussed the breathing so just end up coughing and spluttering after inhaling lungfuls of water) so I keep my face out and then get a stiff neck from my turtle-like posture.
Will look for tips on breast stroke technique to try and improve it.