withholding information

we have been taking the kids to the pool in the evenings. i tell myself it is because it is much less crowded in the evening, but let's be honest, it is really because i am too chicken to take all three by myself. i have other excuses too, like we don't have to use sunscreen in the evening, we don't have to pack snacks in the evening, it is cooler in the evening, etc. whatever ever works well with the words, "in the evening"... so i wait for mm to get home from work. i tell myself that he will enjoy getting to go with us.
(in the evening)

i was sitting with k at the little pool, mm was with the big kids at - the big pool.
three kids, two different pools. seemingly infinite combinations.
ANOTHER reason i don't take all three alone, oooh, that's a good one.

ok, on to my withholding information. i wasn't doing it on purpose, i was just being a good listener, honest.

a nice enough mom, two kids. little kids. she starts up a conversation. that's cool. about 20 minutes later i realize, omgosh, she thinks i have one kid. only one kid. curious.

(although, i don't think she thought about it long enough or she would have seen how incredibly laid back i am with my three-year-old. want to jump in by yourself? go for it. want to try a tea party? sure! cannonballs? hey, give it a try. and the ever popular - "oh, you fell? well, maybe that's because you were running..." you know, things that might have happened OVER MY DEAD BODY with my first. i mean, come on, i was sitting on a lawn chair with a book and i hadn't even taken my t-shirt off yet. or my shoes. i figured if there was a real emergency i'd just step in clothed, or signal to that teenage lifeguard boy.)

"we went to the zoo today. you have no idea how hard it is with two kids, and the double stroller, all those hills!"
"then they wanted to come to the pool and with two it's just plain crazy."

"uh-huh." i said knowingly. preaching to the choir, lady. and thinking, yeah, try a double stroller with a front pack. also thinking, yep, why do you think i'm here in the evening?

two kids is tough. i remember those days so well that i am actually kind of surprised that i had another kid at all. and i also have a few friends with four (or more!) that tease me relentlessly for avoiding the pool with my three. and i also have friends with one child. so really, i know it's all relative. parenting is just plain hard.

but i kept quiet. i wanted to tell her my secret. but i didn't. i'll blame it on my sinister twin.

it didn't take long. m and g crashed our little party.

m had to go to the bathroom (#2, mom!)
g was hungry (low-blood-sugar-monster-hungry)
k started screaming at the top of her lungs because g splashed her
(the bloodcurdling scream that means, "it's time to go")

so, you see, even though i really didn't mean to do it,
the look on the mom's face, was, pretty classic.