My attempts to write today will once again be put on hold as I am choosing instead to spend a leisurely day poolside with the kids.

It was extremely hot after breakfast and I thought I would suit up for a dip in our blow-up pool, joining the girls in their very best attempts to deflate and/or put a hole in it before its two week birthday.

First things first, remove pool cover. Oh dear. Second, empty the pool, spray it with vinegar, hot, soapy water and re-fill. Yep, that should take all morning.

I would clean the pool, the girls would swing, slide and smile, Chloe would play quietly on her picnic blanket and I would gently wipe the insides of the pool with my environmentally friendly cleaning products and the frolicking would soon commence.
Ellie told me she made me a birthday card with two pounds of love. Someone called and asked for Mr. Greg Scholhoffer. It was shaping up to be a great day.

Or……….

When I attempted to flip the pool over, the smell from the underside, worse than any chicken manure we have ever inhaled on the way to the cottage would fill my lungs with noxious fumes to the point of me almost passing out. While lying in and smearing what I can only assume was a combination of wet mud and feces, I watched as Ellie flipped off the swing-set. As I dragged my muck covered self over to assist the patient, I had to quickly change gears to save Chloe from Hornsour the cat’s latest kill, mouth open wide, the bird claw was less than a second from being chewed on for the second time today.

It is shaping up to be a great day.