Couch Potato to 5K

I’m going to run a 5k in November and I’m telling you, Internet, because if I don’t post it here, I’ll slack off and not do it. So I’m admitting my goal now in the hopes that the pressure will keep me on track. I have never been very athletic, so this is really going to be a challenge for me. A very good friend of mine, Missy, put together a wonderful plan which will ease me into running. I’m going to post my progress and hold myself accountable on the blog, so forgive the occasional running report.

There are several things that have prompted this:

1. I turned (gasp) 35 this year and am actually having a little difficulty accepting it. I am no longer the “youngster” in the office and have found myself being the one with “life experience.” That’s a different role for me.
2. The work I’ve been doing lately consists of reading medical records, autopsy results, death certificates, wills, letters of administration, powers of attorney . . . I guess I’ve been thinking more about ageing and keeping myself healthy.
3. My brother and sister-in-law completed a triathlon right before we joined them on vacation and I’m so proud of them!
4. The Olympics!
5. Brandon wants to run with me – which I think is an excellent way to bond with my preteen son – because pretty soon he’s not going to want to be seen in public with me.
6. I need more energy – there are too many things I want to do, but just don’t have the energy to do them.

So there you have it – tomorrow morning Brandon and I embark on our training schedule – if I can drag myself out of bed! (And that’s a big IF because I am NOT a morning person!)

Happy Birthday Matthew!

Today is Matthew’s 5th birthday! Five years ago today, Matthew entered the world:

And he slept:

And he cried:

And on occasion, he was happy:

But things got rough and after a brief stint in jail:

He escaped:

And joined the Bloods:

He got quite a reputation. After the witness relocation program, he only had a shoe and a box to play with:

Unfortunately, he went through a horrible Nutella addiction (as did his mother):

And he started hanging out with the wrong crowd:

He started giving financial advice:

But that didn’t work out. In an effort to escape money laundering charges, he cut his hair and attempted to mail himself to Barbados:

When that didn’t work, he tried a different disguise:

He beat the money laundering charges and decided fashion was his calling:

He also tried farming:

And showbiz:

But living life on the edge tired him out:

So he cleaned up his act:

And defied his parents by joining the Young Republicans:

Then he set out to slay evil dragons:

But things didn’t quite go as planned:

Fortunately for him, he has a secret identity and was able to use his powers to escape:

But he will always be our little boy:

Matt has made our lives incredibly rich — and entertaining! We love you, Matthew!

4:37 a.m.

That’s what time it is right now – 4:37 a.m. And why am I posting at 4:37 a.m.? Because I’m a morning person? No. Because I woke up about an hour ago and can’t get back to sleep – which has been the theme just about every night this week. Ugh. I hate that.

Anyway, Matthew’s birthday is Monday and packages started arriving yesterday. Brandon (who I think is a wee bit jealous of the attention) commandeered the package, replaced the contents with bubble wrap and gave it back to Matthew. When Matthew opened the box, Brandon told him all he got was bubble wrap. For a split second, Matthew’s little face looked so disappointed but then he yanked the bubble wrap out of the box and started jumping on it to pop the bubbles. I told Brandon not to torture his little brother – especially because Brandon’s birthday is next month and I hear bubble wrap is a lot cheaper than a video game.

Well, now that I’ve posted on the blog, eaten a bowl of Lucky Charms and checked out all my usual websites, I’m going to TRY to go back to sleep.

War!

This past weekend, Brandon was invited to a sleepover/Nerf gun party. Brandon did not have a Nerf gun so on Friday I bought him one.  I didn’t want him to have to watch from the sidelines and pick up the stray Nerf darts by hand to throw at his friends. Poor, deprived kid. Anyway, we have accumulated 3 Nerf guns over the past few days (see previous post about Matthew’s cunning and successful attempt at scoring a gun).

At first, Chris was a little concerned about what kind of message we were sending the boys by letting them play with toy guns. And he’s right, I don’t want the boys treating real guns like toys, either. But the teenager in my head was going, “Nerf gun war? Dude! That’s so cool!” So we tried to keep the boys from being too violent by not allowing them shoot at each other.

By Sunday night however, things had changed. War was being waged downstairs in the media room, behind forts built out of storage containers and cardboard and smack dab in the middle was my beloved husband, orchestrating the rules of warfare and offering strategy to anyone who would listen. Matt (being only 4 years old and not so good with the mechanics of a Nerf gun) was “immortal” and couldn’t “die,” but if he happened to hit you, it counted. Matt loved that and ran through the house shouting, “I’m immortal! I’m immortal!”  Also, because we love safety: no shooting at the head.

Brandon and I engaged in a shootout from our respective forts, until I decided to charge him, using cardboard as a shield. He was not prepared for my gutsy move and I got him three times before he could aim his gun. We played all over the house, hiding and shooting at each other. I must say, Chris is pretty good at hiding and he was able to shoot me and Brandon before we could fire back. Chris also spilled a bit of his Big Red (which is a red-colored soda) right down the front of his shirt – it looked remarkably like a blood stain. The boys thought that was pretty cool.

As I walked through the door yesterday, a Nerf dart whizzed past my head and I caught a glimpse of Brandon making a quick escape from the upstairs landing. He planned to ambush his father upon his return from work, but Chris was stealthy and slipped into the house unnoticed, catching Brandon unprepared to do battle.

We are going to have to put some parameters on this Nerf gun thing because I don’t want to have to duck and cover any time I walk through the house. That problem may take care of itself, though, because the boys have already lost several of the darts and that rate they will be out of them in just a few days. Then maybe Chris and I should invest in a couple of super-soaker water guns . . .

Child Psychology

Matt: Mom, can we go to Toys R Us today?

Me: Not today – you’ve got strep throat and need to stay home and rest.

Matt: I’m not sick! I feel better!

Me: You’re still contagious and you’re staying home. I’m only going to Target this morning, anyway.

Matt: Okay. You have two choices.

Me: Really? What choices?

Matt: You can go to Toys R Us and get me a toy OR you don’t go to Target and go to Toys R Us instead. And get me a toy.

Me: That sounds like the same choice. I suggest a third choice: I go to Target, alone, buy the stuff on my list and come home. I like that choice the best.

Matt: But Mama, I’m sick and I need a toy to feel better!

Me: You make a compelling case, but I am not going to Toys R Us today.

In the end, there was some disagreement and disappointment, but I did return from Target with a small toy (a Nerf dart gun) for Matthew. He immediately discovered he could load pencils in it and shoot sharpened pencils across the room. I expect some member of the household to lose an eye in the next few days.

Update

Doctor’s Verdict: Strep Throat. Again.

My Little Radiator

Matt woke us up about 5:00 this morning – he was burning up. The thermometer registered a fever of 103.9. Poor guy! We could have fried an egg on his tummy. He was so hot, I felt the heat radiating off of him. I gave him some medicine and he fell back asleep in our bed. This morning he’s feeling a bit better.

So I’m home with him today, watching movies and cleaning up a little bit. (Okay, cleaning up a lot, because the house is starting to get out of hand!) And I’m also superpoking people on Facebook. If you’re on Facebook, you know what that is. If you’re not, it sounds kind of dirty, doesn’t it? I’m starting to get into the Facebook thing, even though I feel almost too old to be on Facebook. I really enjoy getting back in touch with people from high school, college and other friends we’ve made over the years.

Anyway, Matt’s watching a movie neither of us have ever watched before, and he’s driving me crazy with questions: 

“Does the giant talk?”

“I don’t know – I’ve never seen this before.”

“What’s he going to do?”

“I don’t know – I’ve never seen this before.”

“What’s going to happen?”

“I don’t know – I’ve never seen this before.”

 Maybe I should just start making up things like “Yes, the giant speaks and then he goes to college and majors in communication.” Or “He’s going to do his taxes and then he’ll get audited – and that’s when it really gets funny!” Sounds like I’m going to have fun day!

More Beach Pictures

Well, I’m completely out of stuff to blog about, so I’ll bore you with more beach pictures.Here are a few of my favorites:

Matt finds out why it’s NOT a good idea to let your cousins and brother bury you in the sand: Sand in the ear.

And what’s the deal with kids and tongues?

 

My Nephew, Grant

Good try, Matt, but I think Grant wins the weirdest tongue trick. Better luck next year. Yep – Grant definitely has talent:

This one is one of my favorites. The kids were all supposed to jump at the same time. Notice the big kids get off the ground first:

Brandon, James, Anna, Matt and Luke

Then the big kids land and the little kids try to jump:

I’m not sure Anna, Matt and Luke actually left the ground but they tried. I came back with 5 CDs full of pictures, so I can keep this up for a long time, people! Hopefully I’ll be back in a posting mood soon.

Dryer Snobbery

Wouldn’t you know it; we get back from vacation and our dryer decides it’s time to die. The washing machine is not far behind — all of our white clothes have been dingy for a few months and it makes a horrible noise if it gets the slightest bit off center during the spin cycle. It was a good dryer, but the heating was kind of hit and miss and yesterday it decided not to tumble the clothes anymore. We had just paid off our Lowe’s card (somehow appliances seem to know this and die when you pay off a creditor) so we went down to Lowe’s this afternoon to get a new washer and dryer.

We were looking at lower-end models in an attempt to save money, but I decided to stroll through the high-efficiency, front-loading washer aisle, just to admire the pretty colors of those washer and dryers. I happened upon a set from a manufacturer I had never heard of before – Fisher and Paykel – so we asked the salesperson about it. He said this was a well known brand in Europe and had only been in the US a few years. Of course, if he had to buy a washer/dryer, this was the brand he would buy. (He probably says that to all the washer/dryer shoppers, right?)

Anyway, we finally decided to go with the Fisher & Paykel because we buy into all that trendy stuff – they were a bit more expensive than the regular washers/dryers, but not as expensive as the new front-loading appliances. See, that soothes the conscience. Also, the washer is environmentally friendly by using less water and we’re all about the environment – the recycle guy didn’t glare at me last time I went to the recycling center. Talk about progress, huh?

Anyway, after we purchased the washer/dryer, I returned to the appliance section to ask our salesperson a question. Of course, he wasn’t there, so I had to ask another salesperson. He looked at our order and said, “Oh, you bought the Fisher & Paykel, huh? I have the washer – it’s great.” He said it like we had bought some wonderful, secret item and now belonged to the “club” – the select few who own the wonderful, secret item. All we needed to learn was the secret handshake and we’d be “in.”  But there’s no secret handshake. And the washer/dryer is probably the same as the GE or the Maytag or the Whirpool. And most likely, all it does is clean our clothes – I won’t reach enlightenment, lose weight or earn extra money just because I own a Fisher & Paykel. But my clothes will probably smell better. And that’s all one can ask from a washer, right?

Back in the STL

We’re finally home from our week down on Blue Mountain Beach – and it is sooo good to be home. Except for the dirty laundry and the fact that we have no food in the house. Binki is even glad to see us – especially since she had to stay the week at the vet’s and got all her vaccinations while she was there. Oh, and she had an ear infection. But she’s all better now and just waiting for the right time to throw up on the carpet to teach me to leave her for a week.

We had a great time (check out the pictures on my sister’s blog and my sister-in-law’s blog) even though we were officially outnumbered by kids this year – 6 adults and 7 kids in our condo. The kids (aged 11, 7, 6, 4, 3, 22 months and 4 months) had a blast in the pool – not so much on the beach since the water was green — WAY green — and filled with jellyfish. My husband Chris and niece Anna both had some jellyfish stings. Chris was also viciously attacked by two crabs – or maybe Chris shouldn’t have been trying to catch said crabs by hand. Anyway, it just isn’t a family vacation until Chris gets bitten by some kind of animal. So far, he’s been bitten by a parrot, a monkey, a lizard, pinched by crabs and stung by jellyfish. Not all on this vacation, but over the years. Here’s a picture of Chris just seconds before a parrot took a bite out of his neck on our 2002 Cancun vacation:

And here’s a picture of the monkey, also seconds before biting Chris:

 

Yes, the monkey and the parrot bites happened on the same vacation. Here’s a picture of the vicious crab Chris caught this past week:

Okay – just kidding – that’s a crab caught by Brandon. Here’s the crab that took a chunk out of Chris’s finger:

Vicious, huh? Anyway, we all had a great time at the beach and are looking forward to next year already. Now back to reality: laundry.