Summer swimming lessons for my kids were scheduled to begin later this afternoon back in the Bay Area, but it wasn't until last night that I realized that I didn't have the right kind of reusable cloth swim diaper for three-year-old Laurel. So I thought we'd begin our day with Jesse with a quick visit to Babies R Us in Santa Cruz, where I assumed a swim diaper would be easy to find. We arrived at the store before they opened, so we hung around outside while Jesse enjoyed a two-ounce bottle of formula in his stroller and my kids played a sort-of-dangerous game utilizing (1) the bike racks, (2) a deflated bicycle inner tube, and (3) a long stick.
The store, however, didn't have the diapers in the right size. All the kids enjoyed shopping, though, and after we visited the restroom and bought a few things, I gave Jesse another bottle of formula outside the store while my kids resumed their bike-tube game. After just one ounce, however, Jesse in his stroller looked like this:
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| He looks like a little Amish man with his washcloth beard |
But thank goodness for smart phones! I looked up a number of nearby shops, both swimwear and children's clothing, called five or six of them, and finally located one single swim diaper in the right size. The shop was only ten minutes away, although it took us 30 minutes to get there. It turned out there was a wrecked cement mixer on the local freeway which snarled traffic on the side streets for the remainder of our day in Santa Cruz. What is it about truck accidents and baby-sitting days?
Jesse's nap only lasted 35 minutes, unfortunately, because he woke up when we arrived at the shop. But we did get the diaper, which by its styling (ruffled pastel paisley!) seems to date to 1986, and then because it was already 11:30 we decided to head to the nearby Santa Cruz yacht harbor for a picnic lunch. Because of the traffic it took us a long time to get there, but the kids were good sports. Isaac, especially, crooned sweet songs to Jesse whenever he groused a little (which wasn't often), and even serenaded him with his harmonica, which he had packed for that very reason.
We arrived at the yacht harbor in time for lunch. We picked out our favorite boats, and the kids were especially pleased when a dog suddenly appeared on the deck of one of their favorites and laid down in the sun. The older picnickers ate bread and cheese and fruit, and Jesse enjoyed six ounces of formula sitting in my lap. Not only did he wear his own sunhat, but I leaned over him so the brim of my sunhat shaded him!
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| Isaac and Laurel enjoy their bread and cheese |
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| Picnicking cousins |
After lunch we returned to Scotts Valley because I wanted to give the kids a chance to run around at the playground they had enjoyed so much the previous Monday. I felt bad that so much of our day had been occupied by errands and traffic; when I planned this summer of baby-sitting, I had intended for my kids to have really fun experiences in Santa Cruz, not shopping trips to big-box retailers.
But speaking of traffic, it was still in effect, so we didn't get to the playground until 2:00, giving us only half an hour to play before it was time to get back to Erica's workplace and switch the carseats. But the kids had a good time, although Jesse missed a lot of the fun because he was completing his second 35-minute nap of the day:
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| Jesse naps at the playground |
Then we went to Erica's work, where my kids had a snack and Jesse hung out watching us from the stroller while I reconfigured the carseat arrangement. (I remove Isaac's booster and Jesse's infant carseat base, and put back in Isaac's five-point harness carseat.)
Then we hit the road promptly at 3:10, because the kids' swimming lessons started at 4:30! And the drive is supposed to take an hour and 20 minutes! But instead it took an hour and 40 minutes! So we missed swimming almost completely! I guess we didn't need that swim diaper after all!
Yes, I know it was a crazy plan. Never say I am not an optimist.
Isaac was okay with missing swimming, but Laurel was disappointed and confused. Luckily swimming lessons will be every day this week, so she'll have another chance tomorrow.
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