Running, or something like it.

This afternoon, I decided to run again.

Chet and Deeds were sleeping, so I ended up pushing Finn in the stroller since Sharks wanted to trot along with me.

That should tell you something about our speed.

So I got all geared up: running tights, running shorts, running shoes - all Chet's except the shoes because I'm not allowed to get my own until I have proven that I am serious about "trotting."

Of course, Sharky-sharks wanted some running tights too. (Ok, fine, I asked if he wanted to dress like a runner. Whatever.)

Thankfully, a few weeks ago I bought what I thought were leg warmers from the dollar bins at Target...turned out that they were mini-sized footless tights. Now I know why they were a dollar.

But, they made perfect running tights for a three year old.

We are champions!


He is thrilled about it.


Oh, yeah. Then on the news tonight, I found out that a house we walked right past just got busted for being a meth lab. Yikes! We should have run faster!

Two Stories About Deedo

First. The funny:

So we're at my parents house, when Deeds decides to sing "Come Thou Fount," and he sings, "Streams of mercy, never ceasing, COBBLESTONES of loudest praise."

They are at least louder than a regular road.

Second. The painful:

Well. You should feel sorry for Deedo. Especially all you men out there.

Today, I accidentally zipped his boy part. Yikes! Ouch! Zoinks! Holy footie pajamas, Batman!

Screaming ensued. Oh, the screams. As I'm sure you can imagine.

Of course now he's going to be scared to death of pajamas, or at least zippers. So, sweatpants it is. For life.

It's going to be awesome in that job interview someday, when he's wearing a tie and button-down with sweatpants.

On Running

So yesterday, I asked Chet if I could go for a run. He laughed like he thought I was joking. No idea why. I am extremely serious about my exercise.

I work my arm muscles very hard to whip up a batch of brownies. I exercise patience as I wait for them to bake. And the endurance it takes to eat my way through them pushes the limits of the human body.

Like I said. No idea why he laughed.

I actually had to ask him twice. Though I'm thinking I should have said, Can I go for a trot? Because that would have been more accurate.

This run/trot was all provoked by Born to Run. My plan was to go slowly, and really try to enjoy the act of running, rather than see it as a means to an end.

Plus, in the book there are all these stories of people who were like, What the heck I'll go for a run, and they end up running 20 miles or something.

This one guy (who wasn't a runner at the time) was out celebrating his 30th birthday and thought it would be fun to run 30 miles on his 30th and he just went out, straight from the bar, totally wasted, and he did it.

So I thought, YOU NEVER KNOW. I might be one of those people.

Except now I know.

(I'm not. One of those people.)

I made it exactly three miles. Whenever I got tired, which was basically the whole run after the first two steps, I kept telling myself to trot, slow down, look around, and enjoy.

It worked, mostly. About halfway through I started to psyche myself out cause my legs were tired, so I was like, Be thankful you have legs that move, WOMAN. And I kept going.

(Do you like how it sounds like I was accomplishing a magnificent feat of endurance? Instead of a measly three mile run?)

And now, THE. PAIN. My abs are so freakin sore, they hurt to touch. It hurts to breathe. And yes, it's kind of embarrassing that I am in more pain now than Chet was after his half-marathon.

I'm thinking I need a do-over, though. I still might be one of those people - maybe if I start off my run with a gin and tonic? Or two?

Sharks sings scat

We've been listening to Miss Ella's Playhouse a lot. The boys love it and so do I. So it made sense to learn about Ella Fitzgerald this week, seeing as we were on the letter E.

We watched this amazing video of her singing scat. Totally worth checking out. Then I got Sharks to try. Here's his tribute to Ella Fitzgerald. (Hopefully she's not turning over in her grave.)

The Letter E

The Letter E



Activity: painting with eggs (made this one up, and thankfully it went ok)



Snack: hard-boiled eggs
Field Trip: zoo, to see the Emperor Penguins (except they didn't have that kind.) This also tied in with Mr. Popper's Penguins, so that was cool. Like 45 degrees cool.

The zoo had a baby penguin named Woody, and since I forgot my camera, Sharks posed with a beanie baby penguin (also named Woody - what a coincidence) once we got home.

The Letter D

The Letter D





Now, this week was fun. Some highlights were learning what "dozen" means, and listening to Clair de Lune by Debussy. I also got a kick out of Sharks identifying the parts of a dragonfly - head, thorax, and abdomen. (No, I didn't already know that - books rock.)

Snack: dill pickles
Field Trip: don't think we went anywhere...unless the doctor counts

The Letter C

The Letter C



(Sorry about all the school posts...just trying to catch up.)


This week was pretty lame. We all had colds. And coughs. Which both start with C. So at least we were in good company. If you C what I mean.

Field trip: ummm...church?
Snack: cookies!

The Letter B

The Letter B




Pardon my bluebird. I tried.


Ice boats. Blue + Red = Purple


Field trip: bakery
Snack: bagels

The Letter A

We are doing this letter of the week thing this year. Honestly it's more of a test run to see if I can actually make it as a homeschool mom.

After a rocky start (we were on the letter A for 2 months because I kept putting off the letter B), we have finally figured out what works for us. And we are both (mostly) enjoying it.

Though the first couple of times, Sharks said, "But Mom, this is not a real school, and you are not a real teacher." It's called homeschool, buddy. "But a home is not a school." Sigh.

Thankfully we have moved past that. So now, during the little boys naps, Sharks and I do "school." For about 1/2 hour.

Basically we just read books, do activities, and eat things that start with the letter of the week, and we make a folder of it all. I also try to do a "field trip" each week that relates.

We also collect things from around the house that start with the letter, and we put them on a Letter of the Day Tray.

So, here's the Letter A!

[I used a bunch of stuff from Homeschool Share, but most of what I do is from here. The more familiar I become with the program, the more I add my own ideas in, but I use pretty much all the scheduling stuff from them. I don't always get all the books she suggests, just whatever our library has.)

Brotherly Love

I've been skeptical when I hear other people talk about "the bond" their kids have.

When I read things like, "They are just so close and they love to be together..." what I really see is: "Blah blah blah-dy wishful thinking blah."

How cynical. I know.

But I've since changed my mind.

(Mushy mom-speak alert.)

These two have a bond. For realz.



Sharks can make Finn laugh like no-one else can. Sharks is the first one in the room to comfort his brother when he cries, and he always wants to rub "his sweetie's" head and give him kisses. In the picture, he just wanted the baby near him while he played.

And Finn responds to Sharks. He laughs at him and follows him around.

To be sure, Sharks has also pushed him over, taken toys away from him, and almost dropped him on his head. They are brothers, after all.

But thus far, I am thankful that there is evidence of love. I hope and pray that it continues as they grow.

Somebody got a haircut

Before:


He said he wanted to be bald like Deedo.

I said ok.

After:


Kinda made me sad to cut his long hair, which is why I realized that I should.

And now I keep calling him Deeds, or sometimes Chet.

"It's ok to call me Chet, that's really my name," he said.

So the littlest knows I haven't forgotten

Buddy-o Numero 3:

You started crawling at 6 months. Crawling. At 6 months. In the amount of time it took to wrap our minds around that, you had already figured out how to pull up to stand.

(And we were hoping you'd take your time.)

After pulling a French press of freshly brewed coffee off the counter at a friend's house at 3 months of age, you have wrenched the title of Reach Master from your brother. Just the other day, you knocked a six-pack of beer to the floor in Whole Foods. All by yourself. Shattered glass, shmattered glass.

(Not embarrassing at all.)

However. Your favorite way to explore is with your mouth. To date you have eaten/attempted to eat: grass, leaves, a piece of bacon (oops), gum wrapper (don't ask where I found it), paper, a lego, and fringes from an area rug (now that was a sight).




And you continue to be the sweetest baby ever. Your brothers were wonderful too, but Finn, you are always laughing, even when we are only saying your name. You already have a sense of humor.



As Sharks says, "You are our little precious." (Lord of the Rings, anyone? That's not at all creepy.)

October Reading List

Previous book lists -
Summer
September


Books from the past month:

Lost City Radio, Daniel Alarcon - Felt like I was waiting for a punchline/climax that never happened.

The Sunday Philosophy Club, Alexander McCall Smith - I read all of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books and figured I'd give this one a try. A nice mystery, without being too dark.

Little Bee, Chris Cleave - a beautiful and tragic tale of a Nigerian refugee in the UK. A really well-constructed novel. The insights of Little Bee (main character) are brilliant and adorable - "no one likes each other, but everyone likes U2." Made me cry.

The Clear Skin Diet, Alan C. Logan and Valori Treloar - And now I'm taking Fish Oil every day. And trying to stay away from refined sugar. I will let you guess how that's going.

Mr. Popper's Penguins, Richard and Florence Atwater - Read to the boys. Totally worth it - if you didn't read this in your childhood, read it now. Will post more about this later.

Baby, We Were Meant For Each Other, Scott Simon - heard about it on NPR one day. I've read more compelling memoirs and books about adoption that were more inspiring to me, but all in all, a fine book.

The Girl Who Played With Fire, Stieg Larsson - Love the mystery of it, not so into the subject matter at times. Verdict's still out on whether I will read the third in the series.

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, Christopher McDougall - Loved this book. Well-written, interesting, and informative. If you are wondering about the bare-foot running craze, or just like a good piece of journalistic literature, it's definitely worth a read.

Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen - Just read it. Yes, you.