Yesterday some friends and I were talking (and by talking I mean, we were in a group chat) about how the only thing getting us through our Derby hangover was the fact that summer pool days were right around the corner.

As someone who thoroughly enjoys winter, I’m not someone that pines away for summer year-round, but once it arrives, I am ALL IN. Like find me at the pool every minute I’m not working, outdoor parties as often as possible, let’s go get ice cream at the Dairy Kastle after every meal – COMMITTED.

So these two or three weeks leading up to the official start of pool season around here can be long ones. I will say, they are probably some of the only weekends of the year where I get stuff done around the house (cue the closet cleaning) but nobody really wants to do that. I want to pack up the ridiculous amount of dependents in my car (commonly referred to as my children), cram their mountain of crap in the trunk and release them into The Sandlot-style set-up that is our pool.

That ‘I’m too excited to sleep’ mentality is what had me saying yes to posing in a bathing suit before I realized that it actually required me to WEAR A BATHING SUIT on the blog. Who am I? I am not the kind of girl with ‘a bathing suit on a blog’ body. I’m more of an ‘I work out for the purpose of balancing it out with Oreos, alcohol and other bad decisions’ kind of girl. But here I am, a mom of three in a bathing suit on the blog. I’m sure in a few short years this will horrify my children but we’re going with it. It’s certainly not the best my body has ever looked, but it’s certainly not the worst and I’m pretty proud of the progress I’ve made.

That’s not to say it’s been easy. The bounce back after baby #3 has been particularly hard, with the scale still reflecting a number I’m not too jazzed about saying out loud. Thankfully the work has shown more in the clothes that fit and not the numbers staring me in the face each morning. And while I used to stress out big time before bathing suit season, I’m not getting as bent out of shape about it anymore. First off, I figure no one is really looking at me as critically as I am, and if they are, they need to get a new hobby. And second, I know there are way more important things to worry about – like making sure this little lady isn’t wrecking havoc like a tiny Miley Cyrus (now I’m imagining Reese swinging on that wrecking ball from the video – could be a solid Halloween costume for her).

On Me:
Jantzen Ruched Macrame Back Suit (also comes in Navy Blue) c/o
Eileen & Frank Oversized Button-down from Well Heeled 
River Island Sunglasses
On Reese:
Jantzen Girls Cherry Bikini c/o 
Sizing Tip – it runs small

Side note on the suit – I’ve never been much of a one-piece girl but this Jantzen one has converted me. The ruching at the mid-section is A+ and the back detailing makes it feel really youthful. Reese’s is the cutest but did run a little small. So I would suggest sizing it. 

Anyone who knows me, knows that the whole Mommy & Me thing isn’t in my wheelhouse so we will never be in full on matching outfits but I figure this cute little cherry suit for her and cherry red one-piece for me wasn’t too ridiculous. Just enough without crossing into an unknown territory for me.

But who knows, the spunky little lady has been known to push me into lots of uncharted territories since she certainly marches to the beat of her own drum – which is something I think we could all do a little more of.

Photos by Tabitha Booth

Thanks to Jantzen for partnering on this post.