Seventeen Days To a 5K

Woke up at 6:00 a.m.  Something's wrong, Part I: The sky is still dark.  I should be sleeping.

Put on my "athletic shoes," which have actually served as my "mowing the lawn shoes" for the past few years.  Something's wrong, Part II: I need some real running shoes.  Without the bonus feature of ancient grass clippings tickling my toes.

Went to the Rec Center track with Doug.  Something's wrong, Part III: Fourteen laps for each mile?!  Fourteen?!  How am I supposed to remember which lap I'm on, plus remember to breathe and try not to trip on my own shoelaces?  Need a bigger track.

Lap 7.  Half a mile down.  Something's wrong, Part IV: Time to hit the Ladies' Room for a potty break.  (Faulty bladder=Lifetime reminder of childbirth x5.)

One mile later (3/4 jogging, 1/4 walking), it's time to head home.  Feeling good.  Showered and dressed, making breakfast: Fried eggs and toast for the girls, and leftover Chocolate Lava Cake for myself.

Nothing wrong with that!

Find out about my upcoming 5K by clicking here.

Giddy About Girls



Girls are so darn cute!



When we first moved into this house, Doug and I were immediately asked to be the Webelos leaders.  Shocking, right?!  I thought so.  After all, one of the perks of having zero sons is that I don't shouldn't have to be involved with Cub Scouts! 

Well, it didn't take long for that mistake to be corrected.  After just a few months, I was released (and relieved), and put in my proper place: with the girls!  I have loved being an Activity Days leader.

Tonight was the climax of my work so far: a Daddy-Daughter dance.  I have been so excited for this, and looking forward to it for months.  I am so happy with the way our "Fall Ball" turned out.  It's always a hectic day when you have to pull off this sort of event, but I really enjoyed it all.  We decorated with fall decor from our own homes (I may have purchased one or two things to add to my meager collection); we served easy finger foods (I did the Sister's Cafe Saucy Meatballs - yum!); we got to know our girls and their dads (plus a few grandpas & big brothers) better; and we danced!

Emily helped me make these easy flower clips

that we turned into corsages for the dance. 

This is my kind of crafting!  Inexpensive, quick, and easily made with no complicated tools to invest in. 

But my favorite part of it all was watching Doug and Lauren's date.   

Pretty easy on the eyes, right?  And they both have great personalities to boot!

I had twisted and pinned Lauren's hair into a fancy dance 'do.  But by the end of the night, all that dancing had left her with just a simple pony tail!   After the girls had gone home, and the leaders were cleaning up, one of them commented on all the hair pins she was sweeping up.  I had to tell her those were probably all Lauren's!

Roots & Wings

Recently I was asked to come up with a high school picture of myself for a little party.  Looking at those pictures made me think.

Does anyone ever feel like they've grown old?  It seems like most people agree that we still feel young inside, no matter how old we get.

I may not look like this on the outside

but I still feel and act like it.

(Especially around my brother & sisters.)

Funny thing is, I wanted to be so grown up then.  And now...  I think growing up is overrated.  It's nice that at least a part of you can always be a kid.

Lists

Today's chores:

Laundry
Floors
Clean my room

Found in the dryer lately:

A CapriSun straw
A long metal screw
A driving range token
Another golf doohickey that I can't name.  I think it has something to do with shoes?
Four pennies
A necklace

Muffins I'm Craving:

Zucchini Chocolate Chip
Poppyseed
Apple
Oatmeal
6 Week Bran

Home Improvement Projects on the Horizon:

Paint the basement--some warm and bright non-cave-like color
Sand & paint trim around front an back doors
New blinds
Find an office chair that doesn't look like an office chair
Move pantry and create "mudroom"

Reasons I don't enjoy summer:

Flies
Wasps
(That's all.  There is no more.)

You are Definitely Two!

Good Morning!

Good Night!

You like to help set the table, but haven't grown out of throwing food on the floor.

You are the boss of what you wear.  You love to dress up.  And you also like to be naked.

You do not like baths, but you like to have your hair curled and nails painted with "sparkles."

You're not quite ready to use the toilet, but you don't like a mess in your pants, either.  When you've got the urge to go, you prefer to remove your diaper and drop your package on the floor.  (This is not cute!)

You've graduated from a crib to a toddler bed, and now I have to (get to) spend a long time laying by your bed, making sure you go to sleep and don't come creeping out of your room to check out the "night life" around here.

Almost every morning, I wake up to find you have made yourself a little nest on the floor beside my bed.  But I love our morning snuggles!
 
You fight against naps, but you wear your mommy out!

Being Last Can Be Lonely

Olivia and I are adjusting to Hannah's half days of school.  Two days out of the three so far, Olivia has fallen asleep while Hannah is at morning kindergarten!  Life has suddenly become that boring!

This was the scene today:

I was running around the house trying to clean, and Olivia got comfy on this chair with a stack of books.  Every time I passed by, Olivia would ask me to read her a story, and two or three times I put her off.  "Okay, just a minute and then I'll read to you..." and then I'd clean a window or make a bed or start a load of laundry.

And then, I passed by and noticed that Olivia was passed out.  Asleep with her books.  Wearing her bumble bee costume.  (We found it at the store yesterday and I bought it for Halloween, hung it in her closet.  This morning when it was time to get dressed, she refused to wear anything else, and I gave in.  She has worn it all day--taking it off to eat each meal.  As she was eating lunch, I tried to sneak it back into her closet while she was distracted. But as soon as she finished her lunch, she was climbing up drawers to get it back down.  Just watch--by the time Halloween arrives, she'll probably refuse to wear it!)

Anyway, to me, this picture is both very cute and a little bit sad.  I wish I could sit and read to her all day.  I do try to spend a good amount of time doing just that, and other playful/stimulating/bonding/nurturing things.  But I learned this principle as a college student, before it even applied to my own situation in life: Mothering and Housekeeping are mutually exclusive tasks.  When you're doing well at one, you're probably neglecting the other.  The trick is to find a decent balance.  You'll find plenty of pictures and videos I've taken where my kids are adorable and, in the background, my house is a disaster.  That's embarassing. And then you'll find plenty of pictures like this, where I have to check my balance the other way. A good reminder.  A little bit embarassing, but a whole lot cute!

One Two

One day, I ate breakfast at home, then went to the hospital where labor was induced, and I delivered a super cute, chubby-cheeked baby girl before lunch time.

That was a good day.  It was twelve years ago.

It's only fitting that I should remember not skipping any meals that day, because Emily loves food just like I do.  From the time she could talk, she has wanted to grow up and be a cook.  Today's birthday meals included a cheesy ham and egg breakfast casserole, with danish pastries on the side; school lunch (not really her request, but I kind of ran out of time to pack a brown bag.  What can I say, I'm not that super!); and her request of stuffed peppers and buttered asparagus for dinner.  Chocolate cake, of course.

She's waited until this age to pierce her ears, but she'll have to wait a bit longer, until she has a break between soccer seasons.  {That game!  It's so demanding!  She's at a 1.5 hour practice on the evening of her birthday.  So far, she still loves it.}

Happy Birthday, Dear Emmy!

If you're the type who counts candles, don't worry: We made her light them and blow them out exactly twice!

The Cutest Kindergartener I Know

Months ago, when Hannah had her pre-K check-up with our pediatrician, he told her that she was good to go to school--in only about 150 days.  At the time, that was a conservative estimate.  But Hannah has been counting down to kindergarten for at least that long.  She has been very, very excited!

Until yesterday.

For Hannah's last day before school, I took her and Olivia to a nearby "farm" to see the animals.  During our tractor ride, she and I both got quiet.  We both were thinking about Hannah starting school.  I was feeling nostalgic, but Hannah was starting to feel nervous.  She had to fight back tears a few times that day.  She had a hard time going to sleep last night.  She told me she was just going to miss me.

This morning, Hannah woke up and stretched, and announced, "First day of kindergarten," followed by, "Hey, guess what: Last night I was nervous, but now I'm just excited again."

She got ready for school.  We curled her hair. 

I pulled Olivia and Hannah to the school in the bike trailer. 

When Hannah found her classroom door and lined up, so did Liv.

Then the bell rang and it was time for the kindergarteners to head into the school.  And Hannah got quiet and thoughtful again.

I saw her bite her bottom lip.  I wanted to cry for her!  I tried to be brave.  I gave her a big smile and a little kiss.

And then she was off.

When kindergarten ended for the day, I picked up a smiling girl.  The first thing she told me was, "Guess what, Mom.  I made a friend."

I know how good it feels to have a buddy.  And I'm so glad she still gets to be mine, for at least half the day.


Day 2 of Kindergarten: Hannah wakes up and says, "I can't wait for first grade!  It's going to be awesome!"