Thursday, August 11, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Right?
Katherine's added a new word to her regular vocabulary. It goes something like this:
"I'm taller than Teddy because I'm older, right?"
"After this sleep we're going to the park, right?"
Once or twice in the course of a conversation you can take. It's even a bit on the cute side. But after every declarative statement that comes out of her mouth in the past 24 plus hours? It's driving us batty. Trust me, the kid makes a lot of declarative statements. Ted has mentioned to her that she doesn't need to do that (translation, please for the love of God...stop!) but it's still creeping in there now and then. Phase, it's just a phase.
And speaking of phases someone has not only mastered the skill of climbing up on the kitchen chairs all by himself, he's moved on to the kitchen table! Yup I have taken him off the table more than a few times in the past couple of days. Of the two phases, this is the one that I hopes ends first, I mean after you've climbed up there a few times, doesn't it get old????
"I'm taller than Teddy because I'm older, right?"
"After this sleep we're going to the park, right?"
Once or twice in the course of a conversation you can take. It's even a bit on the cute side. But after every declarative statement that comes out of her mouth in the past 24 plus hours? It's driving us batty. Trust me, the kid makes a lot of declarative statements. Ted has mentioned to her that she doesn't need to do that (translation, please for the love of God...stop!) but it's still creeping in there now and then. Phase, it's just a phase.
And speaking of phases someone has not only mastered the skill of climbing up on the kitchen chairs all by himself, he's moved on to the kitchen table! Yup I have taken him off the table more than a few times in the past couple of days. Of the two phases, this is the one that I hopes ends first, I mean after you've climbed up there a few times, doesn't it get old????
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Should I or shouldn't I?
Hot enough out there for you? I think I can comfortable type that and know for that where ever in the country you are right now, chances are you're sweating with me. This past week has been especially miserable not only because of the heat but because it means two kids are going absolutely stir crazy in the house because its way too hot to go outside. Katherine can pretty much entertain herself these days but try explaining to a 15 month old that you can't go outside because of the heat or that when you do get the rare chance to go outside it's only going to last about 20 minutes before you're red and sweaty and you have to go back inside. The other night I saw him throw his first temper tantrum in front of the kitchen door. Sorry buddy, we don't like it either.
It also means I woke up at a hour that I rarely see on a Sunday morning to get my "long" run out of the way. If you've read Ted's blog you know that he like to run. Me? Let's just say it's still growing on me. I've gotten more used to it over the years and even embraced it as the cheapest way to get fit. But I have never seen myself as someone who would start running on a regular basis until the last few months.
Ted plans on running the Raleigh Marathon in November (yes, Raleigh has a marathon), in fact he is already officially signed up. He's trying to talk me into running the half marathon. He even found a training schedule that completely accommodates our lifestyle, all of the weekday runs I can do during my lunch break at work where I have a nice campus to run around on and access to a treadmills and gym in my building if the weather is too hot or rainy. There's even showers there should I get a bit on the sweaty side (and trust me with the way our building is air conditioned, the second I step back into my office any sweat I have worked up is immediately evaporated and I am left freezing cold). The longer runs would be on Sunday morning (his are on Saturday) which I could do while he takes the kids on our weekly grocery shopping trip. We're talking minimal interruption.
Here's the thing. I have to make a decision, this week. Technically, I could keep going on the training schedule, see how I feel and decide in a month or two. But the closer you get to the actual race date, the higher the registration fee. The next increase is after July 31st, hence the need to make a decision soon.
At this point I keep flip flopping back and forth. Naturally I am positive that any half marathon I do would be a combination run/walk. Even with that though, I know I need to run most of it to ensure I am not on the course all morning. So far, I ran 5 miles last weekend and 4.6 this morning. Both times felt good and there was less walking involved than I thought. I am surprised with myself, quite frankly. Still, 5 miles is not 13...I've got a ways to go and at this point I cannot visualize myself running for 13 miles.
So, what a girl to do? Go for it? Stick to the training schedule for either this half marathon or another one? I need a decision and I need it soon.
It also means I woke up at a hour that I rarely see on a Sunday morning to get my "long" run out of the way. If you've read Ted's blog you know that he like to run. Me? Let's just say it's still growing on me. I've gotten more used to it over the years and even embraced it as the cheapest way to get fit. But I have never seen myself as someone who would start running on a regular basis until the last few months.
Ted plans on running the Raleigh Marathon in November (yes, Raleigh has a marathon), in fact he is already officially signed up. He's trying to talk me into running the half marathon. He even found a training schedule that completely accommodates our lifestyle, all of the weekday runs I can do during my lunch break at work where I have a nice campus to run around on and access to a treadmills and gym in my building if the weather is too hot or rainy. There's even showers there should I get a bit on the sweaty side (and trust me with the way our building is air conditioned, the second I step back into my office any sweat I have worked up is immediately evaporated and I am left freezing cold). The longer runs would be on Sunday morning (his are on Saturday) which I could do while he takes the kids on our weekly grocery shopping trip. We're talking minimal interruption.
Here's the thing. I have to make a decision, this week. Technically, I could keep going on the training schedule, see how I feel and decide in a month or two. But the closer you get to the actual race date, the higher the registration fee. The next increase is after July 31st, hence the need to make a decision soon.
At this point I keep flip flopping back and forth. Naturally I am positive that any half marathon I do would be a combination run/walk. Even with that though, I know I need to run most of it to ensure I am not on the course all morning. So far, I ran 5 miles last weekend and 4.6 this morning. Both times felt good and there was less walking involved than I thought. I am surprised with myself, quite frankly. Still, 5 miles is not 13...I've got a ways to go and at this point I cannot visualize myself running for 13 miles.
So, what a girl to do? Go for it? Stick to the training schedule for either this half marathon or another one? I need a decision and I need it soon.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Life's Journey
I feel like it's been forever since I did an update post on the kids. Life just tends to roll along and then one day I wake up and realize that both of them have changed. Teddy went to his 15 month appointment this past Friday. He's doing great, holding his own at the 30th percentile mark, which quite frankly surprised me. Most people that see him in person describe him as "solid" in terms of size. One wonders how big those kids are in the 90th percentile. No words yet, although Gram Coberly and I are adamant that we heard a perfectly formed "Papa" escape from his mouth this past weekend when she was trying to get him to say...what else..."Gram."
Katherine is inching every closer and closer towards the first day of Kindergarten. Her teachers declared the morning of her preschool graduation that she is indeed "ready" not only cognitively (we've known that for a while) but also emotionally. Yes, she still has her moments of tears but overall things have improved, where she uses her words (sometimes too much!) instead of her tears. Last week at dinner she declared that she didn't want to grow up, that she wanted to stay four. I informed her that if she stayed four she wouldn't be able to go to kindergarten..."Ok, I'll turn five but that's it!"
Monday was the Arlington burial service for Ted's grandfather. For Katherine, this is the first time she has encountered the death of a person and been old enough to have some sort of comprehension of what is going on. There have been many moments over the past few days filled with questions on dying and burials when she is going to see her Great Grandpa again. I found myself explaining what a soul was to her on Sunday evening.
What stuck me most about the day was not the official ceremony. Instead it was watching Katherine walk hand in hand with her cousin Ben up to the burial site engaged in a conversation about what was going on around them. I didn't catch all of the conversation but you knew that they were trying to make sense of where they were and what exactly was happening as best as two soon to be kindergartners could. It was a sweet moment. It was Ted who thought to pull out the camera:
As a parent you wish you could protect that innocence your children have when they are young forever. I feel like learning that we do not all live forever is the beginning of losing that precious innocence. Death is an inevitable part of life and while we don't want to think about it we all have to come to terms with it sooner or later. Katherine still has a ways to go before she fully comprehends everything. We were out picking tomatoes after we arrived home yesterday. There was a dragonfly on the patio that, well, was on it's a way out, so to speak. "I hope it comes back to life". And while a part of me wanted to let it go, in light of everything that she experienced this past week, I felt it was best to let her know that once something dies, it does not come back to life. Much as life and death is a process, learning about life and death is a process too. Katherine is just beginning down that long road.
Katherine is inching every closer and closer towards the first day of Kindergarten. Her teachers declared the morning of her preschool graduation that she is indeed "ready" not only cognitively (we've known that for a while) but also emotionally. Yes, she still has her moments of tears but overall things have improved, where she uses her words (sometimes too much!) instead of her tears. Last week at dinner she declared that she didn't want to grow up, that she wanted to stay four. I informed her that if she stayed four she wouldn't be able to go to kindergarten..."Ok, I'll turn five but that's it!"
Monday was the Arlington burial service for Ted's grandfather. For Katherine, this is the first time she has encountered the death of a person and been old enough to have some sort of comprehension of what is going on. There have been many moments over the past few days filled with questions on dying and burials when she is going to see her Great Grandpa again. I found myself explaining what a soul was to her on Sunday evening.
What stuck me most about the day was not the official ceremony. Instead it was watching Katherine walk hand in hand with her cousin Ben up to the burial site engaged in a conversation about what was going on around them. I didn't catch all of the conversation but you knew that they were trying to make sense of where they were and what exactly was happening as best as two soon to be kindergartners could. It was a sweet moment. It was Ted who thought to pull out the camera:
Monday, July 11, 2011
Wally World
In honor of my experience in attempting to purchase a bike for Katherine last weekend:
10 Reasons why I hate Wal-Mart
And in case you’re wondering, we purchased the bike at Target and not Wal-Mart.
10 Reasons why I hate Wal-Mart
- 24 Registers and 4 open (on a good day). It takes me longer to check out than it did to get the items I needed. It is never a quick trip in and out of that place. Plan to lose at least an hour of your life.
- Inevitably the items that I need are on the opposite end of the store from one another resulting in me trucking back and forth, usually multiple times if I’m not on top of my game that particular day.
- No matter what shopping cart I grab, it’s got a wobbly wheel, a wheel that’s no longer round or makes a horrible noise that alerts everyone in the store when I’m coming their way. I’ve concluded that they’re all bad.
- Odds are 50/50 that they’ll actually have the item that you’re looking for. It may be a Super Center but their selection is a little to be desired. Usually, their out of stock of the particular item I’m looking for, they don’t sell the particular brand I’m looking for, or they don’t sell the particular variety of the brand I’m looking for either. Either way I walk out empty handed.
- And if they do have the item I’m looking for, I still may walk out without it because I need to find it first. If it’s a small, obscure item that you don’t buy very often, forget it. Then, once I find it, I need to locate its price because it’s usually put back in the wrong spot and heaven forbid they spend the time to put price tags on the actual items. This means locating one of those price scanner things in the store that actually works. I think I went to three one time before I was successful.
- The stuff in there is cheap because, well, it’s cheap. They might have a big US flag hanging at the front entrance to appease a particular segment of our population but I would bet money on the chance that the vast majority of the goods sold there are made anywhere else but.
- Not only it is cheap, the place just looks dirty. Whoever thought beige paint on cinderblock would make a store look nice and inviting needs to take a hard look at reality. You can tell that every inch of that store was built to save a penny…not that their using all the money their saving on oh, employee salaries or anything.
- Speaking of employees, boy, there’s a happy bunch. Who can blame them really with all the stories you hear about how well they have it. But seriously can’t you even just pretend like you’re interested in helping me? That is, when I can find you of to help. It’s not like I want to be there either.
- Is there anywhere else can you go where teeth and basic grooming are optional? For either the customers or the employees? Seriously the full breadth of humanity shops there. I should say here that I fully realize that a lot of people who shop (and work) there are poor. Very poor. But what about the people who feel that size small clothing fits perfectly on their size large bodies??? Those who don’t realize that the 80’s ended a loooonnnngggg time ago? And that’s just fashion. Some of the conversations I’ve overheard in that place…
- After reading all of the above, do I really need a 10th reason?
And in case you’re wondering, we purchased the bike at Target and not Wal-Mart.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Fore!
As I type this Katherine is currently covering her brother with hugs and kisses. They've started to play quite nicely together and as Ted's parents put it, Katherine is trying as hard as she can to be a good big sister. I'd say she's succeeding.
We're back from almost two weeks of vacation that included stays in both Massachusetts and Virginia. No major activities to report from either location except time in the pool, hot tubbing, morning runs and time with family. In short, a nice break away from our daily grind. Lots of cute pictures to post on the picture site tomorrow. It seems impossible that we'll be back at it come Monday. I get a pit in my stomach just thinking of my "to do" list.
I happened to cross the line from 33 to 34 while we were away. As part of my birthday present Ted's parents arranged for a one on one golf lesson for me. Some of you may remember that I tried to hit a few shots at the driving range two years ago. At the time I thought golf may be something I would enjoy, however a pregnancy and child number two put this on hold. When the idea of a golf lesson was suggested, I eagerly said yes.
Off and on thunderstorms almost canceled the lesson completely. Luckily the sky cleared in enough time for me to get in a quick 30 minute lesson. We focused on my stance and swing. I hit a few shots that, quite frankly, surprised me. I loved every minute of it, so much so that I convinced Ted that we needed to go back to the driving range after dinner so that I could practice my swing some more. I woke up the next morning sore beyond belief (seriously, who knew?) but ready to try again. That is, when I can find the time. This may get added to the list of "things that I want to do once the kids get older". That list seems to be constantly growing.
And let's just admit the other truth of why I like golf right now. The clothes. While the men seem to stick to khakis and polos on the course, the women step it up a bit. I may only have an amateur shot but I can have a first class golfing wardrobe, right?
We're back from almost two weeks of vacation that included stays in both Massachusetts and Virginia. No major activities to report from either location except time in the pool, hot tubbing, morning runs and time with family. In short, a nice break away from our daily grind. Lots of cute pictures to post on the picture site tomorrow. It seems impossible that we'll be back at it come Monday. I get a pit in my stomach just thinking of my "to do" list.
I happened to cross the line from 33 to 34 while we were away. As part of my birthday present Ted's parents arranged for a one on one golf lesson for me. Some of you may remember that I tried to hit a few shots at the driving range two years ago. At the time I thought golf may be something I would enjoy, however a pregnancy and child number two put this on hold. When the idea of a golf lesson was suggested, I eagerly said yes.
Off and on thunderstorms almost canceled the lesson completely. Luckily the sky cleared in enough time for me to get in a quick 30 minute lesson. We focused on my stance and swing. I hit a few shots that, quite frankly, surprised me. I loved every minute of it, so much so that I convinced Ted that we needed to go back to the driving range after dinner so that I could practice my swing some more. I woke up the next morning sore beyond belief (seriously, who knew?) but ready to try again. That is, when I can find the time. This may get added to the list of "things that I want to do once the kids get older". That list seems to be constantly growing.
And let's just admit the other truth of why I like golf right now. The clothes. While the men seem to stick to khakis and polos on the course, the women step it up a bit. I may only have an amateur shot but I can have a first class golfing wardrobe, right?
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Southbound
On our way to Papa and Gram's in Virginia after a great time in Massachusetts. Here's how one passenger is staying occupied.
-- Post From My iPhone
-- Post From My iPhone
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