I'll Blog To That...: Sarah Vs. "The pool"

A little background on Team Horst. We are outside people. Living in the south has allowed us to really get into this "outside" type of life style. While attempting to entertain the little people in our lives we have found that the little plastic pool from Walmart is key. Plain and simple, we use the crap out of that pool. Summer time it is essential for a certain adult female (who for some silly reason keeps getting pregnant just in time to be "oh my gosh she is about to explode big" by the absolute hottest part of summer) to survive the "sauna on the surface of the sun" like temperatures. Spring and Fall, it is still fun to splash around in for the kids. Winter time it becomes a make shift Chucky Cheese ball pit, rocket ship, make shift trampoline when flipped over, whatever they can imagine. Needless to say, when spring time rolls back around the pool has been beat to hell and inevitably has a crack, hole, tear, rip, etc. which requires the purchase of a new one to resume water play. For $34.97 I don't even bat and eye. We get our money's worth... and then some.
Eric went to get a new pool in the truck "aka" an appropriate vehicle to transport a pool in. Unfortunately, we are picky about our $34.97 plastic pool and require that it have a built in slide. The kids are accustom to it, have a ton of fun on it, and it provides a lounge chair space for said constantly pregnant in the summer female... all leading up to the fact that we WILL have the built in slide. Three stores later, still no pool.
So I do like any normal red blooded American would do and bust out the ole duct tape to patch up last year's pool until I can find a new one. The boys were thrilled. Not only did they get to play with duct tape, but then they got to go swimming in the pool... I know, I know, major excitement. It doesn't take much.
Fast forward about a week later and we now have leaky duct tape patches (insert my disappointed face). I just so happened to be on a Drill day and had a few extra minutes on the way home, conveniently going past a Walmart that is normally out of my way and hadn't checked for a pool yet. I called ahead to inquire if they had our pool and JACKPOT!! They had it. I was alone, had a car that I was pretty sure I could fit the pool in to, and on top of it all, had a few minutes to look around a store without children. No way was I not stopping. I excitedly called the hubs and told him my good luck at finding a pool. He immediately says skeptically, "I don't think it will fit in the Acadia" I reply back- of course it will fit! I'll figure it out! He warned me not to wreck the car and I assured him that I would not. I had already made up my mind that I was getting the pool.
In the store, I took my time, looked around at a few things, people watched, tried not to feel uncomfortable at people staring at me in my maternity uniform which looks like a tent, you know, what normal people without kids do... I think. Then I realized that I was running out of time and needed to wrap it up. I zip up to the check out counter and the girl rings up my stuff. I tell her that I need a pool that was outside as well. She didn't have a clue. I gave her a description of it, and then had to tell her how much it cost... which she took my word for without question. Gotta love the South. I paid and was out the door. I hurried to the car and tossed in my bags. I pulled around up front and parked next to the pools which I am now realizing are much bigger than I was thinking. As I walked over to pick out the pool of our dreams, located right next to the employee's outside smoke/break area. They must have seen me coming and realized what was about to happen because as I walked up to the pools, the employees cleared out.
Here is where it gets interesting... It took everything, I mean everything, I had to get that dang pool in the car. I practically folded the thing in half. I tried to fold it and push it in, but my inconvenient pregnant belly kept getting in the way preventing me from getting the leverage I needed. Never fear, I thought quickly, as to not lose the fold in the pool that I had just broken a sweat getting to just the right size to fit in the car, I just had to climb in first and pull it in. I looked up just in time to see a couple people, a store employee included, who had actually stopped to watch my circus performance. (Insert circus theme music) Come one come all, only a dollar to see the pregnant chick struggle to fit a 9 ft round pool into a 5ft square opening!! Only a dollar, folks, to stand and chuckle at the freak!! Nope, I'm good, thanks- don't need any help here I thought as they did NOT offer to help me. Oh well, I didn't need their help anyway!! I just about had it all the way in and I was trying to hold the pool in place and take out a carseat that was apparently installed by Superman himself because there was no way that I was getting it out... especially one handed as I was trying! So I had to bend and pull some more but finally got it in... and the back lift gate closed too! I actually did a "Rocky Balboa" fists in the air jumping up and down victory dance while singing the victory music... which earned me some more stop and stares. I didn't care... I made it fit!! If I knew the words to "Eye of the Tiger" and could actually sing, I would have belted out a verse or two! That is how excited I was. I know, I know, again, it doesn't take much.
I got in to drive away and realized that the pool blocked the entire back view out of the car and I couldn't see anything so it made the drive home a little interesting, but I didn't care... I made the pool fit!! The boys were totally stoked to have a new pool that didn't leak and, still high on my victory/adrenaline rush from actually getting the pool to fit, I was one happy girl... and may have gloated a bit!! Here are a few pictures to highlight my adventure! I'm sure some random stranger took a video of it all (instead of helping me) and is now passing it along to friends with the caption "Check out this train wreck!!" Oh well, joke is on them cause I got the pool baby!!

Holy Crap!! It fit!!!