I can give myself a pass for blogging on a Saturday night, especially when I'm in the throes of a monstrous headache. But I had a moment worthy of noting, at least to me. So here goes.
Last night, I tried taking Prontalgine, an over-the-counter headache in France, that has caffeine and codeine, among other things. Hmm, codeine: sleepy; caffeine: wired. What's going to win?
I was up all night long. Not headachy, but irrepressibly wired. Finally at 5:30am I fell into restless sleep, and had no trouble getting back up at 7:30am to take care of children. One of whom woke up in dry underpants.
Katrina was miserable all morning, crying and grumpy and clingy and refusing to eat. I took her out for a quick errand, distracting her, but back at home, it was more of the same. At 10:30am, I was ready to crash'n'burn, so Dave took over, and I lay down for an essential nap. We had an appointment with our kitchen designer this afternoon, and I needed to be in good shape.
Dave came to wake me at 12:15, and then lay down with me for a few minutes. Then Gabriel appeared, and I invited him onto our bed. Soon Julian joined too, and I had a wonderful magical long moment of snuggling up with all my boys. I held Gabriel close and talked to him about doing things together, held his hand, and was completely absorbed in him. We did this all the time when he was a baby, but not so much now that he's 6. We talked about the summer and I told him about ideas I had and things I did yesterday....then I made the mistake of telling the boys an embellished story about when I was lying in bed with Dad this morning, listening for them, and then P U -- Dad farted! Oh my, nothing gets little boys laughing harder than fart stories. They howled with laughter when I said I had to fan the quilt and guffawed uncontrollably at my gross-out sounds. That was an animated ending to a nice calm half hour together, but it was time to get up to get ready for our appointment anyway. I glowed all afternoon from the fresh memory of holding my sons so close.
Peggy dealt with toddler grumps the rest of the afternoon while Dave and I met with our kitchen designer, shopped for lighting, went out to dinner, then shopped for TVs. Peggy reported that Katrina was fine outside, playing with a tricycle, but was clingy and grumpy otherwise. Another bathworthy blowout didn't help, and further explained her lack of appetite.
I'm still dealing with waves of full-on migraine, like dozing briefly in the car and waking up thinking I'd left my swim cap on, from the pressure around my head. If the pain returns full-force, I have mixed feeling about taking more Prontalgine: it was very effective in making me spin in circles -- but it also gave me a much-needed respite from the scourge of the migraine! I want to be in good shape to enjoy my children tomorrow...or at least deal with a miserable grumpy toddler again if need be.
3/15/08
Saturday, March 15, 2008
3/15/08 Swim'n'Scrap
A planned night out to scrapbook! Does it get better than that?
Yes, if it can be done without a migraine. I can't believe this is back. I went swimming first in the hopes of mitigating it, and it helped at the moment, but I was still swarmed with dizziness, waves of nausea and feeling like the air around me is so heavy I have to push it aside. Fortunately, scrapping and chatting distracted me and made for a nice evening.
Julian broke his streak this morning (woke up wet), perhaps because Dave got him up to pee last night pretty early. Tonight we'll try waking him up later and see how that goes.
3/15/08
Yes, if it can be done without a migraine. I can't believe this is back. I went swimming first in the hopes of mitigating it, and it helped at the moment, but I was still swarmed with dizziness, waves of nausea and feeling like the air around me is so heavy I have to push it aside. Fortunately, scrapping and chatting distracted me and made for a nice evening.
Julian broke his streak this morning (woke up wet), perhaps because Dave got him up to pee last night pretty early. Tonight we'll try waking him up later and see how that goes.
3/15/08
Thursday, March 13, 2008
3/13/08 Thrilling Thursdays
OK, so today wasn't thrilling, but it was the only alliteration I could come up with. And it was a very nice Thursday.
Despite being a pain in the rear end last night, Katrina was delightful, and delighted, at music class today. I'm still looking for the quintessential music class photo, but it escapes me.
Then this afternoon, I got to take Julian skating. We practiced for about half an hour together first, and this time, I didn't have to make up games to get him to skate without thinking. He apparently enjoyed our games so much that he brought them up himself: "Mommy, let's go skate to the cat now!" "Mommy, let's go find the flag!" You can tell I was really stretching; this skating rink is pretty dingy and doesn't have a lot to distract an apprehensive kid. His favorite game is when I tell him, "No going faster than me.....heeeyyyyYYY!!" and acting all put out when he skates away from me.
I love how he laughs and seems to completely enjoy it, and it makes me glow inside to know that some of that is having the time alone with me. As much as I get a secure, if not relaxed, feeling of having all three of them home with me together, the real highs are the times I spend alone with each of them. Perhaps those times are all the higher because there are three, but for the same reason they're also rarer.
Julian's also doing much better in his class, getting up, pushing off the wall, and skating across the rink when called upon to. And, he really seems to like it, he's engaged and listens to the teachers.
Julian got two party invitations yesterday, for the same weekend. I was really confused when I saw they were for different days, in different places, at different times, but for the same kid? After studying the invitations for a few minutes, I decided that he must indeed have two classmates named Maayan, with birthdays in the same week. What are the odds of that?
And, best of all, Julian was dry this morning! Who knew night-training could be this easy?! Gabriel makes it seem like a complete impossibility. Julian's far from done, but he's well on his way. Go Captain Underpants! Err....I mean, don't Go!
3/13/08
Despite being a pain in the rear end last night, Katrina was delightful, and delighted, at music class today. I'm still looking for the quintessential music class photo, but it escapes me.
Then this afternoon, I got to take Julian skating. We practiced for about half an hour together first, and this time, I didn't have to make up games to get him to skate without thinking. He apparently enjoyed our games so much that he brought them up himself: "Mommy, let's go skate to the cat now!" "Mommy, let's go find the flag!" You can tell I was really stretching; this skating rink is pretty dingy and doesn't have a lot to distract an apprehensive kid. His favorite game is when I tell him, "No going faster than me.....heeeyyyyYYY!!" and acting all put out when he skates away from me.
I love how he laughs and seems to completely enjoy it, and it makes me glow inside to know that some of that is having the time alone with me. As much as I get a secure, if not relaxed, feeling of having all three of them home with me together, the real highs are the times I spend alone with each of them. Perhaps those times are all the higher because there are three, but for the same reason they're also rarer.
Julian's also doing much better in his class, getting up, pushing off the wall, and skating across the rink when called upon to. And, he really seems to like it, he's engaged and listens to the teachers.
Julian got two party invitations yesterday, for the same weekend. I was really confused when I saw they were for different days, in different places, at different times, but for the same kid? After studying the invitations for a few minutes, I decided that he must indeed have two classmates named Maayan, with birthdays in the same week. What are the odds of that?
And, best of all, Julian was dry this morning! Who knew night-training could be this easy?! Gabriel makes it seem like a complete impossibility. Julian's far from done, but he's well on his way. Go Captain Underpants! Err....I mean, don't Go!
3/13/08
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
3/12/08 Number 34
I had a brutal, splitting headache all night and all day, one of the worst non-migraines I've ever had (there is a difference). Still, being woken up numerous times during the night with intense headache does not make for a good day.
Somehow, despite the merciful time change letting us all sleep until 7:30, we all got up "early" today and jumped back into the routine, headache notwithstanding.
First, the morning news: Captain UnderPants Julian was dry!! I'm beside myself. Even if he goes backward and bedwets for another year, this is still the most success at night-training the Doudna household has ever experienced. Dave got him up at 11:30pm to pee last night, and I think we'll keep doing that for a while until his morning dryness is well-established.
I stuck out the headache at work for 7 hours, then left to go home. Dave called me right as I was leaving: Gabriel was complaining of a stomach-ache. So I went right to pick him up, then Julian, and asked Melissa to bring Katrina home. Angel that she is, she did and spared me 30 minutes of annoying driving.
Katrina was really, really grumpy, even for her, and wouldn't eat. The one place she didn't cry or screech was outside, where I got her to half-heartedly eat some of a banana. But as soon as she caught sight of the tricycle, that was it. Then she'd play with the tricycle endlessly, saying "sih? sih?" when she wanted to sit on it and couldn't figure out how. Making dinner was impossible, and I finally gave up on multitasking until Dave got home.
So I felt deserving of another shot at tonight's Zumba class. I slammed dinner on the table and then ran to change, realizing it was already 7:06. I had to be at the Y by 7:15 when the passes get handed out! Without even tying my shoes or stopping to kiss my bewildered boys, I sprinted out to the car and took off. Incredibly, I made the green on the one long light, got the last parking spot in the lot, and ran inside....only to see a long line filing past the front desk, where passes were being handed out. I anxiously joined the line at the end. "Number 20!" the lady handing out the passes called...I couldn't count ahead of me, but I hadn't even rounded the corner yet. "I'm handing out number 30, 31, 32, 33--" that was the lady in front of me...one more person...no wait, that's her friend just talking to her -- "Number 34! That's it, class is full!" And I stood in shock, holding a plastic card with the number 34 on it. "OH MY GOD!" I heard myself call aloud. I MADE IT! I felt the same rush I do when I win an eBay auction in a blistering bidding war at the end. I was now one of the privileged, one of the Anointed Ones.
After a half-hour wait (which I made use of in the crowded fitness center), I finally got to take Eva's Zumba class. It was totally worth it. I learned this years ago in dance classes: the quality of teaching makes ALL the difference. That woman can move!
No amount of dance training can teach you Latin-style if you haven't done it. I looked like a serious white boy, unable to loosen up where it counts. Years of dance class helped a little, as I know how to re-sync with the teacher and where to stand to best imitate. But most important, I know humility and that no one's looking at me, especially with such a knockout teacher. I was especially impressed that she seems to have a touch of the same tummy affliction I do, diastasis rectii, meaning, "you done had too many babies, honey, no six-pack for you," and when she moved with her astounding combination of precision and fluidity and energy, her bellybutton wiggles and jiggles -- and she doesn't care. Now that's cool.
It was interesting that the ladies who stood out in the class overall had a little more oomph in the roomph, if you know what I mean. Stick-straight-skinny so revered in ballet just doesn't cut it in Latin, you need curves.
When I got home, I peeled off every stitch of clothing I had on and put it straight into the washer. And my headache was long-forgotten. Now that's a class.
3/12/08
Somehow, despite the merciful time change letting us all sleep until 7:30, we all got up "early" today and jumped back into the routine, headache notwithstanding.
First, the morning news: Captain UnderPants Julian was dry!! I'm beside myself. Even if he goes backward and bedwets for another year, this is still the most success at night-training the Doudna household has ever experienced. Dave got him up at 11:30pm to pee last night, and I think we'll keep doing that for a while until his morning dryness is well-established.
I stuck out the headache at work for 7 hours, then left to go home. Dave called me right as I was leaving: Gabriel was complaining of a stomach-ache. So I went right to pick him up, then Julian, and asked Melissa to bring Katrina home. Angel that she is, she did and spared me 30 minutes of annoying driving.
Katrina was really, really grumpy, even for her, and wouldn't eat. The one place she didn't cry or screech was outside, where I got her to half-heartedly eat some of a banana. But as soon as she caught sight of the tricycle, that was it. Then she'd play with the tricycle endlessly, saying "sih? sih?" when she wanted to sit on it and couldn't figure out how. Making dinner was impossible, and I finally gave up on multitasking until Dave got home.
So I felt deserving of another shot at tonight's Zumba class. I slammed dinner on the table and then ran to change, realizing it was already 7:06. I had to be at the Y by 7:15 when the passes get handed out! Without even tying my shoes or stopping to kiss my bewildered boys, I sprinted out to the car and took off. Incredibly, I made the green on the one long light, got the last parking spot in the lot, and ran inside....only to see a long line filing past the front desk, where passes were being handed out. I anxiously joined the line at the end. "Number 20!" the lady handing out the passes called...I couldn't count ahead of me, but I hadn't even rounded the corner yet. "I'm handing out number 30, 31, 32, 33--" that was the lady in front of me...one more person...no wait, that's her friend just talking to her -- "Number 34! That's it, class is full!" And I stood in shock, holding a plastic card with the number 34 on it. "OH MY GOD!" I heard myself call aloud. I MADE IT! I felt the same rush I do when I win an eBay auction in a blistering bidding war at the end. I was now one of the privileged, one of the Anointed Ones.
After a half-hour wait (which I made use of in the crowded fitness center), I finally got to take Eva's Zumba class. It was totally worth it. I learned this years ago in dance classes: the quality of teaching makes ALL the difference. That woman can move!
No amount of dance training can teach you Latin-style if you haven't done it. I looked like a serious white boy, unable to loosen up where it counts. Years of dance class helped a little, as I know how to re-sync with the teacher and where to stand to best imitate. But most important, I know humility and that no one's looking at me, especially with such a knockout teacher. I was especially impressed that she seems to have a touch of the same tummy affliction I do, diastasis rectii, meaning, "you done had too many babies, honey, no six-pack for you," and when she moved with her astounding combination of precision and fluidity and energy, her bellybutton wiggles and jiggles -- and she doesn't care. Now that's cool.
It was interesting that the ladies who stood out in the class overall had a little more oomph in the roomph, if you know what I mean. Stick-straight-skinny so revered in ballet just doesn't cut it in Latin, you need curves.
When I got home, I peeled off every stitch of clothing I had on and put it straight into the washer. And my headache was long-forgotten. Now that's a class.
3/12/08
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
3/11/08 The First Ride
It's a big moment for motorcyclist parents to take their child on their first motorcycle ride (usually just a push with the kid in the front seat in the backyard). Well, Katrina's first ride came from somewhere else: on a tricycle, on Gabriel's lap.
She looks so calm, but she cried LOUD and HARD when I had to take her off!
It might be an even bigger moment for the kid to do the riding themselves. In fact, I got the idea to put her on the tricycle with Gabriel because she very clearly wanted to ride it herself, and it was a way of putting off the problem. But, I underestimated Gabriel, and he very gladly gave up the tricycle for his little sister (then promptly bullied his little brother for the scooter he was riding).
Katrina really, really, really wants to ride something. She makes a beeline for the bicycles in the garage, and no matter who's got the tricycle, she goes right over to it and puts up a huge fuss to get it. And an even huger one when it's time to come inside. She can just barely reach the ground om this tricycle, and succeeds in very slowly pushing it around, though the slightest bump or hill stumps her.
Gabriel had a temperature today, so I had to keep him home. I wasn't at all heartbroken, having a day at home alone with him. I took him to work so I could get my laptop, and in theory do some work at home, but of course that didn't happen. Gabriel is the best, and least demanding, sick kid there is, but I still interacted with him a lot, and then we ran some errands together.
It was intriguing that Gabriel was so aware of the time and what was happening at school. "It's noon, lunchtime!" "In 3 minutes, it's recess time." "Right now, the whistle is blowing." I know he's ordered, but really.
We talked about school, and he said they weren't doing reading groups anymore. He also said they didn't go on a field trip that I know they did, so he's a very unreliable witness. I couldn't get out of him what happened to the reading groups, as he turned the conversation to other subjects. "My favorite is math," he said, then went on to tell me who was good at math and who wasn't, but he couldn't say why. Naturally he claimed he was really good at it, but I wouldn't acknowledge that without him telling me why.
And so I started the parent-brainwashing, drilling in what I really believe: what really matters is how hard you try. I told him that even if he is good at something, what's really important is that you work hard and ask a lot of questions. In truth, I do believe he's inclined toward math and science, but so what. Motivation, interest, dedication, work, resourcefulness, inquisitiveness, all matter a lot more, and that's true if you're a mathematician, a writer, a musician, a professional BMXer, a Mom, or anything. Sure, a few extra IQ points come in handy toward the Nobel Prize, but let's get through K first.
Julian did great last night! I heard him get up this morning and go right to the bathroom. He was dry! But....wait a minute, he was wearing his "emergency pajamas." We put an extra pair of pajamas and underpants right under the nightlight in his room, in case he's wet. Apparently, he made use of them last night. His wet pajamas weren't that wet, just a little, so he must have woken up when he realized he was going. Then he changed into the dry pajamas and underpants, put the wet ones into the laundry basket, and went back to bed! We never heard a thing. That, to me, is huge success, since he handled the situation, all on his own!
Katrina wasn't feeling so well this afternoon either, though you can see by the tricycle pictures she made a miraculous recovery later in the evening. I really hope I can go to work tomorrow...sort of.
3/11/08
She looks so calm, but she cried LOUD and HARD when I had to take her off!
It might be an even bigger moment for the kid to do the riding themselves. In fact, I got the idea to put her on the tricycle with Gabriel because she very clearly wanted to ride it herself, and it was a way of putting off the problem. But, I underestimated Gabriel, and he very gladly gave up the tricycle for his little sister (then promptly bullied his little brother for the scooter he was riding).
Katrina really, really, really wants to ride something. She makes a beeline for the bicycles in the garage, and no matter who's got the tricycle, she goes right over to it and puts up a huge fuss to get it. And an even huger one when it's time to come inside. She can just barely reach the ground om this tricycle, and succeeds in very slowly pushing it around, though the slightest bump or hill stumps her.
Gabriel had a temperature today, so I had to keep him home. I wasn't at all heartbroken, having a day at home alone with him. I took him to work so I could get my laptop, and in theory do some work at home, but of course that didn't happen. Gabriel is the best, and least demanding, sick kid there is, but I still interacted with him a lot, and then we ran some errands together.
It was intriguing that Gabriel was so aware of the time and what was happening at school. "It's noon, lunchtime!" "In 3 minutes, it's recess time." "Right now, the whistle is blowing." I know he's ordered, but really.
We talked about school, and he said they weren't doing reading groups anymore. He also said they didn't go on a field trip that I know they did, so he's a very unreliable witness. I couldn't get out of him what happened to the reading groups, as he turned the conversation to other subjects. "My favorite is math," he said, then went on to tell me who was good at math and who wasn't, but he couldn't say why. Naturally he claimed he was really good at it, but I wouldn't acknowledge that without him telling me why.
And so I started the parent-brainwashing, drilling in what I really believe: what really matters is how hard you try. I told him that even if he is good at something, what's really important is that you work hard and ask a lot of questions. In truth, I do believe he's inclined toward math and science, but so what. Motivation, interest, dedication, work, resourcefulness, inquisitiveness, all matter a lot more, and that's true if you're a mathematician, a writer, a musician, a professional BMXer, a Mom, or anything. Sure, a few extra IQ points come in handy toward the Nobel Prize, but let's get through K first.
Julian did great last night! I heard him get up this morning and go right to the bathroom. He was dry! But....wait a minute, he was wearing his "emergency pajamas." We put an extra pair of pajamas and underpants right under the nightlight in his room, in case he's wet. Apparently, he made use of them last night. His wet pajamas weren't that wet, just a little, so he must have woken up when he realized he was going. Then he changed into the dry pajamas and underpants, put the wet ones into the laundry basket, and went back to bed! We never heard a thing. That, to me, is huge success, since he handled the situation, all on his own!
Katrina wasn't feeling so well this afternoon either, though you can see by the tricycle pictures she made a miraculous recovery later in the evening. I really hope I can go to work tomorrow...sort of.
3/11/08
Monday, March 10, 2008
3/10/08 The nerve!
I had my follow-up appointment today with the sports medicine podiatrist. He echoed something the physical therapist said too: my ankle problems might not be in my ankles. Boom. Really? The initial injury certainly was, it had all the earmarks of tendonitis, though today the doc summed it up as "shin splints." And the initial pain has basically faded away.
What's left is some odd buzzing and tingling sensations, punctuated by pangs, sometimes painful, always uncomfortable, and they shift around a lot. This isn't characteristic of tendonitis, but it is of an irritated nerve. Could this be related to my tricky sacro-iliac joint? So, I have a referral for a "physiatrist," a doctor with a more overall body view, to investigate further. I've been meaning to see someone about my back anyway, since I'd really like to start cycling. But before I set foot on a pedal, I want to have a team in place in case my back goes doy-yoing again and disables me for days.
I guess it's good news that my ankles are OK, but bad news that something else is strange. Indeed, even as I sit here, I notice the buzzing and weird sensations, while sitting. That's not tendonitis, and it's not ankles. Sitting doesn't bother ankles, but it can affect backs. The fact that I'm working now, and hence sitting a whole lot more, could be part of this.
Last night, we tried a wake-up experiment with Julian. Dave woke him up around 11pm (old time), got him to go pee, let him drink some water (! well, Julian asked, it's no time to get into a fight!), then back to bed. And he was dry this morning! First time! Nowhere close to done, but it's a nice start. That was in Pull-Ups, but tonight, he's going to try underpants.
We're making a huge deal of it, and Julian's soaking up the attention. But the fanfare isn't just for his benefit. I have this far-away hope that his un-pressure-able brother will want to join in the fun. The direct approach won't work with Gabriel, but there's a very small chance that he'll be piqued....nah. That's just not Gabriel. Well, if we can cut our Pull-Up bill in half, that's a big improvement.
No remodeling progress, we're still waiting for construction drawings and permits. Every day of waiting is slower and slower and more and more painful!
3/10/08
What's left is some odd buzzing and tingling sensations, punctuated by pangs, sometimes painful, always uncomfortable, and they shift around a lot. This isn't characteristic of tendonitis, but it is of an irritated nerve. Could this be related to my tricky sacro-iliac joint? So, I have a referral for a "physiatrist," a doctor with a more overall body view, to investigate further. I've been meaning to see someone about my back anyway, since I'd really like to start cycling. But before I set foot on a pedal, I want to have a team in place in case my back goes doy-yoing again and disables me for days.
I guess it's good news that my ankles are OK, but bad news that something else is strange. Indeed, even as I sit here, I notice the buzzing and weird sensations, while sitting. That's not tendonitis, and it's not ankles. Sitting doesn't bother ankles, but it can affect backs. The fact that I'm working now, and hence sitting a whole lot more, could be part of this.
Last night, we tried a wake-up experiment with Julian. Dave woke him up around 11pm (old time), got him to go pee, let him drink some water (! well, Julian asked, it's no time to get into a fight!), then back to bed. And he was dry this morning! First time! Nowhere close to done, but it's a nice start. That was in Pull-Ups, but tonight, he's going to try underpants.
We're making a huge deal of it, and Julian's soaking up the attention. But the fanfare isn't just for his benefit. I have this far-away hope that his un-pressure-able brother will want to join in the fun. The direct approach won't work with Gabriel, but there's a very small chance that he'll be piqued....nah. That's just not Gabriel. Well, if we can cut our Pull-Up bill in half, that's a big improvement.
No remodeling progress, we're still waiting for construction drawings and permits. Every day of waiting is slower and slower and more and more painful!
3/10/08
Sunday, March 09, 2008
3/9/08 Yardwork
The boys had a great time this afternoon outside with Dad doing yardwork. Katrina and I joined for a while too, and she loved sitting in some recently weed-whacked grass and piling it up.
Under Gabriel's watchful eye, that is...sort of. She's safer climbing down off this wall without his "help." I guess I shouldn't be surprised that both boys are very aware of the danger of her toddling toward the street, and if they see it, they both run to stop her.
I went swimming this morning, for the first time in months. It felt great to be back in the water, but it doesn't have the athletic punch that running does. As an overall feel-good exercise, nothing beats it though.
When I got home, I felt energized and in a good enough mood to take all three right out to hunt for another letterbox. This time, an easy one in a nearby park that we know well, but it was still fun to find. Gabriel liked decoding the "clues," though really, a "clue" is something like "pass by the device that allows you to talk long distances." Then again, I wasn't sure he'd recognize a pay phone!
After finding the letterbox and exchanging stamps, the boys played "boat" for a while on the playground, shooting at sharks.
Watching them, I thought about a piece on NPR I'd heard recently about how kids' play has become toy-oriented, rather than activity-oriented, as it used to be (Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills). They had no props other than was attached to the play structure, and all their shooting and pulling each other out of the water was done with pretend shark-guns and pretend ropes. Is this really so rare now? Kids at playgrounds do this sort of thing all the time. In any case, on top of letterboxing, it all amounted to good clean fun.
Then the yard cleanup and hanging around outside. More good clean outdoor fun. It was beautiful today, with no hint of lingering winter chill. T-shirt time!
I sure wish blogger would fix this photo upload problem. [ Later note: I can upload if I do them one at a time. What a drag! ]
3/9/08
Under Gabriel's watchful eye, that is...sort of. She's safer climbing down off this wall without his "help." I guess I shouldn't be surprised that both boys are very aware of the danger of her toddling toward the street, and if they see it, they both run to stop her.
I went swimming this morning, for the first time in months. It felt great to be back in the water, but it doesn't have the athletic punch that running does. As an overall feel-good exercise, nothing beats it though.
When I got home, I felt energized and in a good enough mood to take all three right out to hunt for another letterbox. This time, an easy one in a nearby park that we know well, but it was still fun to find. Gabriel liked decoding the "clues," though really, a "clue" is something like "pass by the device that allows you to talk long distances." Then again, I wasn't sure he'd recognize a pay phone!
After finding the letterbox and exchanging stamps, the boys played "boat" for a while on the playground, shooting at sharks.
Watching them, I thought about a piece on NPR I'd heard recently about how kids' play has become toy-oriented, rather than activity-oriented, as it used to be (Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills). They had no props other than was attached to the play structure, and all their shooting and pulling each other out of the water was done with pretend shark-guns and pretend ropes. Is this really so rare now? Kids at playgrounds do this sort of thing all the time. In any case, on top of letterboxing, it all amounted to good clean fun.
Then the yard cleanup and hanging around outside. More good clean outdoor fun. It was beautiful today, with no hint of lingering winter chill. T-shirt time!
I sure wish blogger would fix this photo upload problem. [ Later note: I can upload if I do them one at a time. What a drag! ]
3/9/08
Saturday, March 08, 2008
3/8/08 Hunt Day
Lots of looking for stuff today!
First, I took the kids to the Las Madres 2004 group's Easter party. It was in a lovely setting at a church, with an indoor and outdoor play area, a large auditorium for lunch and storytime, and a wonderful courtyard inbetween for egg hunting.
Katrina played in this Fred-Flintstone car for over half an hour, then had a great time toodling around the courtyard. A little separation anxiety would be nice, as she had no compunction about going far away and out of sight, and screeched when I brought her back.
Meantime, the boys listened to the storytime, with some help from bunny ears, and then went on the egg hunt with the rest of the group.
Katrina didn't get the concept of hunting for eggs, but she had a good time putting eggs in and out of a basket. She was edgy and demanding, so we left right after the egg hunt. (She fell asleep in the car in about 5 minutes, and went on to a 3-hour nap at home!)
After Katrina's nap, we went on our first letterbox hunt! It happened that the very first letterbox that showed up when I looked on Atlas Quest was one I recognized as Stacey's first letterbox plant. And, it was at Rancho San Antonio, where I haven't been since my ankle troubles started. This was just too perfect. I had a simple letterboxing kit ready (a logbook, a stamp, an inkpad and a pen), and off we all went!
The main reason to do this was met immediately: the boys had a great time running around. I wasn't sure how I'd feel going back to Rancho while still injured -- would I feel overwhelmingly sad about missing running? Or glad to be back? Overall, happier than sad, and still cautiously optimistic that I'll be back.
Anyway, I knew the trail where we were headed well, and we had fun following the clue (though Julian was afraid there would be bears). We found the letterbox without too much trouble, and the boys were thrilled!
I had high hopes that Katrina wouldn't be a liability, but she really was. I'm glad Dave was there to keep her occupied while the boys and I attended to the business of stamping the letterbox's logbook, and then stamping our own logbook (with the stamp stashed in the letterbox). Katrina pushed the jogging stroller around while Dave kept an eye on her, as she screeched if we stopped for even a moment (and boy did she put up a fuss going back in the stroller). I'm going to love letterboxing, but I'm not going to love having her with us on our excursions until she's older.
We carefully tucked the letterbox back away and headed back, satisfied with a job well done. Julian, still concerned about bears, was holding my hand, and said happily, "I love you so much Mom -- so much, I wish I had another!" Uhh, thanks, I think. After some more talking, it seemed that the gender imbalance of our family had him concerned, so he thought we needed another Mom.
As it turns out, I got my chance to run after all, because Gabriel got way, way ahead of us, and I went after him (it happened I was wearing an old pair of running shoes, with inserts). It was about 3/10 of a mile, and I'm still waiting to see how my tendons react. The short run was a disaster for the migraine (day 3), triggering new waves of pain, and also showed me how I'm quickly losing the running condition I was in. Cursed ankles! Gabriel's shrug when confronted about running out of sight was more annoying than the offense itself. That kid has no remorse.
We made an impromptu visit to our friend Kevin, and his fiance Angela's, house. It's huge, new and beautiful. Should we have....? Oh never mind.
We had Grand Plans to night-train the boys tonight, together! The bedwetting alarm is here, and we'd talked to both boys about wearing underpants tonight. But our plans went afoul on numerous counts. First, Julian was really, really tired -- too tired to talk him up about it. Next, we realized we don't have enough pee pads to change in the middle of the night for both of them. So, one boy a time, starting with Gabriel. We thought. But Gabriel refused to put on the alarm. He just doesn't care. Actually, he does care -- he doesn't want to night-train. Good old Gabriel, finding yet another case in which most methods don't apply -- all the bedwetting advice assumes the kid wants to night-train. He shrugged and said almost with a laugh that he'd just wear Pull-Ups for another year. Wanting to night-train is an essential component of success, so we'll work on Julian first.
A rich and full Saturday, just how I like them.
3/8/08
First, I took the kids to the Las Madres 2004 group's Easter party. It was in a lovely setting at a church, with an indoor and outdoor play area, a large auditorium for lunch and storytime, and a wonderful courtyard inbetween for egg hunting.
Katrina played in this Fred-Flintstone car for over half an hour, then had a great time toodling around the courtyard. A little separation anxiety would be nice, as she had no compunction about going far away and out of sight, and screeched when I brought her back.
Meantime, the boys listened to the storytime, with some help from bunny ears, and then went on the egg hunt with the rest of the group.
Katrina didn't get the concept of hunting for eggs, but she had a good time putting eggs in and out of a basket. She was edgy and demanding, so we left right after the egg hunt. (She fell asleep in the car in about 5 minutes, and went on to a 3-hour nap at home!)
After Katrina's nap, we went on our first letterbox hunt! It happened that the very first letterbox that showed up when I looked on Atlas Quest was one I recognized as Stacey's first letterbox plant. And, it was at Rancho San Antonio, where I haven't been since my ankle troubles started. This was just too perfect. I had a simple letterboxing kit ready (a logbook, a stamp, an inkpad and a pen), and off we all went!
The main reason to do this was met immediately: the boys had a great time running around. I wasn't sure how I'd feel going back to Rancho while still injured -- would I feel overwhelmingly sad about missing running? Or glad to be back? Overall, happier than sad, and still cautiously optimistic that I'll be back.
Anyway, I knew the trail where we were headed well, and we had fun following the clue (though Julian was afraid there would be bears). We found the letterbox without too much trouble, and the boys were thrilled!
I had high hopes that Katrina wouldn't be a liability, but she really was. I'm glad Dave was there to keep her occupied while the boys and I attended to the business of stamping the letterbox's logbook, and then stamping our own logbook (with the stamp stashed in the letterbox). Katrina pushed the jogging stroller around while Dave kept an eye on her, as she screeched if we stopped for even a moment (and boy did she put up a fuss going back in the stroller). I'm going to love letterboxing, but I'm not going to love having her with us on our excursions until she's older.
We carefully tucked the letterbox back away and headed back, satisfied with a job well done. Julian, still concerned about bears, was holding my hand, and said happily, "I love you so much Mom -- so much, I wish I had another!" Uhh, thanks, I think. After some more talking, it seemed that the gender imbalance of our family had him concerned, so he thought we needed another Mom.
As it turns out, I got my chance to run after all, because Gabriel got way, way ahead of us, and I went after him (it happened I was wearing an old pair of running shoes, with inserts). It was about 3/10 of a mile, and I'm still waiting to see how my tendons react. The short run was a disaster for the migraine (day 3), triggering new waves of pain, and also showed me how I'm quickly losing the running condition I was in. Cursed ankles! Gabriel's shrug when confronted about running out of sight was more annoying than the offense itself. That kid has no remorse.
We made an impromptu visit to our friend Kevin, and his fiance Angela's, house. It's huge, new and beautiful. Should we have....? Oh never mind.
We had Grand Plans to night-train the boys tonight, together! The bedwetting alarm is here, and we'd talked to both boys about wearing underpants tonight. But our plans went afoul on numerous counts. First, Julian was really, really tired -- too tired to talk him up about it. Next, we realized we don't have enough pee pads to change in the middle of the night for both of them. So, one boy a time, starting with Gabriel. We thought. But Gabriel refused to put on the alarm. He just doesn't care. Actually, he does care -- he doesn't want to night-train. Good old Gabriel, finding yet another case in which most methods don't apply -- all the bedwetting advice assumes the kid wants to night-train. He shrugged and said almost with a laugh that he'd just wear Pull-Ups for another year. Wanting to night-train is an essential component of success, so we'll work on Julian first.
A rich and full Saturday, just how I like them.
3/8/08
Friday, March 07, 2008
Thursday, March 06, 2008
3/6/08 The Fun Thursday
I like my Thursdays. Especially the part where I blow off work twice.
Music class is really fun. It's fun for me anyway, but even more fun since Katrina really loves it. The first half of the class, she "sits" on my lap (sort of), then the second half she gets up and walks around a lot, "dancing," and today saying "yayyy!" a lot. Now when the teacher brings a bag back out to put away sticks or eggs, Katrina heads right over to make her contribution.
Then, skating. Such a treat to spend time alone with Julian, and he really enjoys it too. During practice time before his lesson, he seemed like he'd gone backward, being almost timid and doing a lot of hands-on-knees to prevent falling. I'm glad he has a class without me, because then he tries a lot harder, and does much better without thinking I'll be there to rescue him.
Today his class had to skate all the way across the short end of the rink. And he did!
Looking at it now, he's actually doing pretty well! He listens and takes instruction well, and is clearly improving in his class. And perhaps because he's not an obvious natural athletic talent, I'm especially proud of him.
A major black cloud on the day was again feeling unbearably, relentlessly, irrationally tired and sleepy and....wait, did I say irrationally sleepy? Like, violently tired? Bzz, that's a flag. Happily in the past 4 months this has been a fairly infrequent occurrence, but I daresay I'm fighting off a migraine. The pressure, the strange perceptions, the sounds in my ears...that's all migraine stuff. Plus a minor headache. The actual pain hasn't hit hard yet, but all the surrounding elements make for a very uncomfortable day.
Which, thanks to delightful activities with my children, I'll remember as a really good one.
3/6/08 (happy 75th birthday grandpa Jim!)
Music class is really fun. It's fun for me anyway, but even more fun since Katrina really loves it. The first half of the class, she "sits" on my lap (sort of), then the second half she gets up and walks around a lot, "dancing," and today saying "yayyy!" a lot. Now when the teacher brings a bag back out to put away sticks or eggs, Katrina heads right over to make her contribution.
Then, skating. Such a treat to spend time alone with Julian, and he really enjoys it too. During practice time before his lesson, he seemed like he'd gone backward, being almost timid and doing a lot of hands-on-knees to prevent falling. I'm glad he has a class without me, because then he tries a lot harder, and does much better without thinking I'll be there to rescue him.
Today his class had to skate all the way across the short end of the rink. And he did!
Looking at it now, he's actually doing pretty well! He listens and takes instruction well, and is clearly improving in his class. And perhaps because he's not an obvious natural athletic talent, I'm especially proud of him.
A major black cloud on the day was again feeling unbearably, relentlessly, irrationally tired and sleepy and....wait, did I say irrationally sleepy? Like, violently tired? Bzz, that's a flag. Happily in the past 4 months this has been a fairly infrequent occurrence, but I daresay I'm fighting off a migraine. The pressure, the strange perceptions, the sounds in my ears...that's all migraine stuff. Plus a minor headache. The actual pain hasn't hit hard yet, but all the surrounding elements make for a very uncomfortable day.
Which, thanks to delightful activities with my children, I'll remember as a really good one.
3/6/08 (happy 75th birthday grandpa Jim!)
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
3/5/08 Zoom to Zumba
I managed to get everything done (everyone fed and clothed for tomorrow) tonight in time to zoom out to catch a popular pass-only Zumba class at the Y. Last week, I looked in on the Wednesday class and the teacher looked fabulous, and I've been looking forward to it for days.
Me and 34 other people, it turns out. The passes go out at 7:15 for a 7:45 class, and they're gone within minutes. I had long since missed my chance when I arrived at 7:25. Fooey.
I consoled myself with an ordinary workout, including 15 forced minutes on the elliptical. Want to slow down -- even reverse -- time? The secret fountain of youth! Go on the elliptical! Minutes take hours. GOD what a drag.
My ankle tendons still bother me on and off all the time, but the achiness and buzzy feeling keeps travelling downward. Now it's almost at my arches. Something's happening, so I'm going to hold out a few more weeks (?) before I attempt running again. I'm not willing to let go of running yet.
Katrina's 17 months old today! Melissa said she was really happy and energetic today. The weather's been getting much nicer, and that combined with walking means a lot more outdoors time, and she loves it. Indoors, her latest trick is to push cars along the floor and say "choo choo!"
Katrina's following instructions now too, like if I tell her to throw something into the garbage, she'll do it. I haven't tried without gesturing yet. I found a video (which I'd upload if YouTube weren't doing site maintenance) of Gabriel at 14 months old, getting his jacket when I suggested he did, without gesturing. I learned later that this was an important sign that his receptive language was developing normally; it was only his expressive language that was delayed. Still, it's interesting that Gabriel learned to follow instructions quite a bit sooner. I like the video because he's so enthusiastic and joyful, doing his goofy bear-crawl to get to the jacket. It's amazing how much of the Gabriel I know now I can see in his 14-month-old self.
Here's Katrina's 17-month-old self nibbling on a snow pea. These days her mouth doesn't see a lot of green, so I had to get a photo.
Approaching the Golden Age of 18 months! So far, 16 has been one of her best, and despite some new demanding screeches and behaviors (Melissa said Katrina actually pushed on Melissa's cheek to get Melissa to turn her head back to continue a game of peek-a-boo!), 17 overall is looking pretty good too.
3/5/08 (happy birthday bonne maman!)
Me and 34 other people, it turns out. The passes go out at 7:15 for a 7:45 class, and they're gone within minutes. I had long since missed my chance when I arrived at 7:25. Fooey.
I consoled myself with an ordinary workout, including 15 forced minutes on the elliptical. Want to slow down -- even reverse -- time? The secret fountain of youth! Go on the elliptical! Minutes take hours. GOD what a drag.
My ankle tendons still bother me on and off all the time, but the achiness and buzzy feeling keeps travelling downward. Now it's almost at my arches. Something's happening, so I'm going to hold out a few more weeks (?) before I attempt running again. I'm not willing to let go of running yet.
Katrina's 17 months old today! Melissa said she was really happy and energetic today. The weather's been getting much nicer, and that combined with walking means a lot more outdoors time, and she loves it. Indoors, her latest trick is to push cars along the floor and say "choo choo!"
Katrina's following instructions now too, like if I tell her to throw something into the garbage, she'll do it. I haven't tried without gesturing yet. I found a video (which I'd upload if YouTube weren't doing site maintenance) of Gabriel at 14 months old, getting his jacket when I suggested he did, without gesturing. I learned later that this was an important sign that his receptive language was developing normally; it was only his expressive language that was delayed. Still, it's interesting that Gabriel learned to follow instructions quite a bit sooner. I like the video because he's so enthusiastic and joyful, doing his goofy bear-crawl to get to the jacket. It's amazing how much of the Gabriel I know now I can see in his 14-month-old self.
Here's Katrina's 17-month-old self nibbling on a snow pea. These days her mouth doesn't see a lot of green, so I had to get a photo.
Approaching the Golden Age of 18 months! So far, 16 has been one of her best, and despite some new demanding screeches and behaviors (Melissa said Katrina actually pushed on Melissa's cheek to get Melissa to turn her head back to continue a game of peek-a-boo!), 17 overall is looking pretty good too.
3/5/08 (happy birthday bonne maman!)
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
3/4/08 The Dance
I wish I'd caught this on video, a most heartwarming moment: Gabriel was singing "A Farmer in the Dell," and Katrina started "dancing" to it! It was more adorable than you can imagine!
I've been thinking more and more about the summer, and can't wait now! Even though we have no solid plans yet. It will really feel like a summer this time, because school's out. I need to start planning a trip back East, over July 4. Maybe I should tell my family back East about it first. (In the old days, it'd have been with a letter. Then a phone call. Then email. Now, they have to read about it on a blog!)
Stacey and her kids are really into letterboxing. It sounds like so much fun! That sort of thing will be a whole lot easier to do when I don't have to tote Katrina around in a jogging stroller. She can walk now, but she's still just a 17-month-old (tomorrow!) toddler, who's slow, clumsy, and verrry opinionated about directions. That'll be a lot of fun to do with all of them when she's older, and curiosity might get the better of me before then to take the boys.
She got her 15-month-old shots today (sigh, yes, we're way behind). 22 lbs with diaper and onesie. Dave took her and didn't make note of the ounces, figuring her clothes made up for it. Dads.
Got a new cell phone battery today, it's charging now. Sorry all, I'm back on the air tomorrow, adding my voice to the airwaves from the most un-PC location of my car!
3/4/08
I've been thinking more and more about the summer, and can't wait now! Even though we have no solid plans yet. It will really feel like a summer this time, because school's out. I need to start planning a trip back East, over July 4. Maybe I should tell my family back East about it first. (In the old days, it'd have been with a letter. Then a phone call. Then email. Now, they have to read about it on a blog!)
Stacey and her kids are really into letterboxing. It sounds like so much fun! That sort of thing will be a whole lot easier to do when I don't have to tote Katrina around in a jogging stroller. She can walk now, but she's still just a 17-month-old (tomorrow!) toddler, who's slow, clumsy, and verrry opinionated about directions. That'll be a lot of fun to do with all of them when she's older, and curiosity might get the better of me before then to take the boys.
She got her 15-month-old shots today (sigh, yes, we're way behind). 22 lbs with diaper and onesie. Dave took her and didn't make note of the ounces, figuring her clothes made up for it. Dads.
Got a new cell phone battery today, it's charging now. Sorry all, I'm back on the air tomorrow, adding my voice to the airwaves from the most un-PC location of my car!
3/4/08
3/3/08 The Late Shift
I went into work tonight, from 9pm-11pm. Sounds crazy? I got more done in two hours than I did all day. Not just because it was dead-quiet. Not just because there was no one around to ask questions of. Not just because driving there took 12 minutes with no traffic. No, because I wasn't tired. I was able to work when my mind was "on", when I could concentrate, rather than struggle all morning to stay awake and to think straight.
That's the main thing that's just not working about this current arrangement. In theory, it's great that I get to work at 8am, but in practice, I am so sleepy and draggy and have such a hard time pulling my thoughts together that it's actually painful. (And I shouldn't need to remind anyone that "go to bed earlier" just isn't in this equation; of course I'd do the obvious if it worked.)
I joke about it, but it's completely true, and really not that funny: I am a night person through and through. It's really a problem when the rest of your life isn't!
I picked Katrina up from Tonya's new house today, which I was dismayed to find is much farther than her old one. It's a 10-minute time savings, each way, as compared to driving to Melissa's, but I'm almost thinking that come August, I need to find childcare for Katrina that's 5 minutes away, not 15. I'd rather put her at Tonya's then, but as long as I'm still doing 3 separate pickups, the time driving and waiting at red lights takes a serious toll. Still, I'm not sure I can bring myself to put Katrina in a daycare center, even though (as Tonya herself volunteered) she could easily take it. Not a sensitive, delicate creature, that one, and I wouldn't worry about her adapting. But I still prefer the continuity of care that a family daycare can give, for a toddler who can't (exactly) communicate yet.
Before going back to work tonight, I did a few very important things.
First, I captured a moment of Julian kissing a tousled Katrina (very fuzzy but call it artistic license). Before she screeched and pushed him away, that is. I'm amazed how tolerant the boys are of the constant rejection.
Then I trimmed Julian's fingernails, and bonus! toenails.
Then I repaired Gabriel's beloved Bear, which had started to come apart at a seam. Few things make me feel more like a Mom than sewing back together a favorite stuffed animal.
And, after dinner, I sat on the couch and just talked to the boys. Gabriel rarely sits on the couch and makes himself a target to be talked to, but he happened to be there re-uniting with his new and improved Bear. Julian soon joined us, and we talked about the summer: making a trip back East (promising that they wouldn't miss fireworks), maybe some daycamps in July, first grade in August ("finally!").
I told them that I signed us up for a camping trip in September with some other families, which I'm so thrilled about I'm ready to get a family-sized tent and start camping now. We talked about where you sleep, how you get there, what happens if it rains (errr...), flashlights, campfires, and all sorts of things about camping. My Las Madres 2004 group did this trip last year, and it sounded like a total blast. I'm thrilled that I can start to think about doing these things again! (Other Moms will be there with babies; they're better at this than I am.)
The boys were both riveted until it was time for bed, and then time for me to sneak out and be a grownup in an office. My body might have been there, but there's no question where my heart was.
3/3/08
That's the main thing that's just not working about this current arrangement. In theory, it's great that I get to work at 8am, but in practice, I am so sleepy and draggy and have such a hard time pulling my thoughts together that it's actually painful. (And I shouldn't need to remind anyone that "go to bed earlier" just isn't in this equation; of course I'd do the obvious if it worked.)
I joke about it, but it's completely true, and really not that funny: I am a night person through and through. It's really a problem when the rest of your life isn't!
I picked Katrina up from Tonya's new house today, which I was dismayed to find is much farther than her old one. It's a 10-minute time savings, each way, as compared to driving to Melissa's, but I'm almost thinking that come August, I need to find childcare for Katrina that's 5 minutes away, not 15. I'd rather put her at Tonya's then, but as long as I'm still doing 3 separate pickups, the time driving and waiting at red lights takes a serious toll. Still, I'm not sure I can bring myself to put Katrina in a daycare center, even though (as Tonya herself volunteered) she could easily take it. Not a sensitive, delicate creature, that one, and I wouldn't worry about her adapting. But I still prefer the continuity of care that a family daycare can give, for a toddler who can't (exactly) communicate yet.
Before going back to work tonight, I did a few very important things.
First, I captured a moment of Julian kissing a tousled Katrina (very fuzzy but call it artistic license). Before she screeched and pushed him away, that is. I'm amazed how tolerant the boys are of the constant rejection.
Then I trimmed Julian's fingernails, and bonus! toenails.
Then I repaired Gabriel's beloved Bear, which had started to come apart at a seam. Few things make me feel more like a Mom than sewing back together a favorite stuffed animal.
And, after dinner, I sat on the couch and just talked to the boys. Gabriel rarely sits on the couch and makes himself a target to be talked to, but he happened to be there re-uniting with his new and improved Bear. Julian soon joined us, and we talked about the summer: making a trip back East (promising that they wouldn't miss fireworks), maybe some daycamps in July, first grade in August ("finally!").
I told them that I signed us up for a camping trip in September with some other families, which I'm so thrilled about I'm ready to get a family-sized tent and start camping now. We talked about where you sleep, how you get there, what happens if it rains (errr...), flashlights, campfires, and all sorts of things about camping. My Las Madres 2004 group did this trip last year, and it sounded like a total blast. I'm thrilled that I can start to think about doing these things again! (Other Moms will be there with babies; they're better at this than I am.)
The boys were both riveted until it was time for bed, and then time for me to sneak out and be a grownup in an office. My body might have been there, but there's no question where my heart was.
3/3/08
Sunday, March 02, 2008
3/2/08 An actual weekend
Is this possible? I think we had a real weekend! Like, the relaxing kind! The kind that makes you regret it's over, instead of anxious to get back to work!
Even though we did some truly drudgerous things Saturday (shopping for entry doors, trying to replace my dead cell phone at an AT&T store), we did a good amount of nuthin' too. When Dave and I first moved into our house, one of my favorite times with him was weekend afternoons, when we just hung around together, did things around the house or garage (after we built one that is), and were generally active, but also relaxed. Somehow, we unwittingly recaptured that same happy-hangin' feeling on Saturday.
The boys were completely absorbed watching some tree trimmers we hired to do some mega-pruning of our neighbors' redwoods. This is a serious job; the coast redwood in our neighbors' yard (brought here and planted by the man who built our house, but subdivisions didn't leave the tree in our yard) is pretty tall. It's had some dead branches in our view since we've moved here, and I'm thrilled they're gone. Except that now our neighbors' huge antenna is the chief eyesore (he's very proud of the fact they don't pay for cable).
Hmm, the before and after photos don't do the improvement justice:
Julian kept an eye on things, while the tree trimmer guy good-naturedly accepted his direction and supervision ("that machine is too loud!"). He was under strict orders to stay on the deck, because the branches coming down were big, heavy and really friggin' dangerous.
Katrina always welcomes a chance to go out, despite some unwelcome "help" from Julian. I probably talk more about Gabriel's affection for Katrina than Julian's, and it's different since he's older, but Julian also adores her and showers her with (too much) attention. I guess I just expected that more from Julian.
I don't know what's ailing my stomach, but it's reminiscent of pregnancy days, when it was irritated and bloated and painful all the time. As a result, I was up much of the night and was very tired today. I really resented that, because I was looking forward to another relaxed day with all 3 by myself (believe it or not!). Dave went on a motorcycle ride today, something I encourage him strongly to do and wish he'd do more often. I'm more happy for him than envious that he got to ride a longtime standby route of Mount Hamilton, Mines and (my favorite) Calavaras Roads.
A day of all three on my own wouldn't be complete without going to the Y, so our day started there. Then, Trader Joe's for some much-overdue grocery-shopping, and a stop by Stacey's house for some lemons. I'd had visions of going to a park, but of course, that's overcommitting and everyone was ready for some downtime at home.
When we got home, I kicked into full gear: kitchen cleanup, fridge organizing and purging, grocery unpacking, kids' lunches, fruit rotation, lemon arranging (the most important and fun part). A full hour and a half of getting things under control.
(As a side note, my freezers (yes, freezer*S*, I'm spoiled) are getting too full because I'm not cooking as much now. Does that sound backward or what! But, since I only make it to TJs' once every week or two, I figure I've got to stock up, I lose track of what we have, I haven't a prayer of a coherent meal plan, and I end up replicating some items and being short on others. It's much easier to keep a trim, efficient pantry and freezer when you're shopping 3-4 times a week as I had been when I was a happy housewife.)
Katrina held out until I was done, at which point I put her down for a nap, and prepared for a much-needed one myself.
(Another aside: THANK GOD all I have to do to "put her down" is literally to put her down -- just her satin sucking blankie and she's happy as a baby clam.)
Now, can a Mom take a much-needed nap when she has 4 and 6 year old boys -- brothers, no less -- alone together? Incredibly, yes. This is what they did while I was trying to restore myself: build a "garage" for Gabriel's Lego crane.
I'm not sure, but from things other moms relate, I think I'm in the minority in being able to tune out with a 4-year-old around. 6-year-old, sure, but 4 is borderline. In Julian's case, it's much about having an older brother, but he too has a remarkable attention span for his age.
How is it my boys -- and so far, my girl too -- play so well on their own, and don't require much interaction from me, and even reject it sometimes when I try to join in? Who trained who? Some of the stage was set by the intensity and focus Gabriel was born with. He had an astounding attention span from very early on; I'm certain we had nothing to do with that. (I have to disclaim credit and blame for much of how Gabriel is!)
But did it acclimate me to being hands-off, so that when Julian came around, our family was already in the habit of kids playing for 30-40 minutes on their own? Or is Julian wired that way too? Or, how much of Julian's hands-off-ness is because of Gabriel?
Julian is much more impressionable by nature, but there's always been more in his life to impress him. Julian always had Gabriel; he didn't need Mom as much for amusement. Indeed, Julian's life will always be heavily influenced by having an older brother, and a strong older brother at that. Julian wants to do what Gabriel does, he tries to join in Gabriel's play, and often watches as Gabriel goes about some project. Julian especially wants to go to Collins. When Gabriel was Julian's age, he had no idea kindergarten existed. Julian knows very well what kindergarten is and wants to do it too. Julian's life is far more influenced by having Gabriel in it than Gabriel's is by having Julian. How much of that is being the secondborn, and how much of that is having a more impressionable, open personality?
I get another data point from Katrina, a strong personality that's not the firstborn. Then again, she doesn't have the same sort of older-brother influence in her life as Julian does. Her life isn't as nearly as intertwined to a sibling as Gabriels' and Julians' lives are, partly due to an additional 10-month age difference, but mostly because her brothers have each other. If Julian were her only older brother, the dynamic between Katrina and Julian would be completely different (perhaps much like that of her cousins Aidan and Remi, who share the exact same age difference as Julian and Katrina). If she's less interested in trying to be like her older brother than Julian, it's hard to tell if that's because she has two older brothers and they have each other, or if that's just her personality. (It's very hard to imagine Gabriel being heavily influenced by an older sibling if he had one.)
Besides, while she has many of Gabriel's strong personality characteristics, they're hardly clones. She does cry if scolded, she doesn't cuddle, she makes far more effort at verbal communication, she's not as physical or athletic, her fine motor skills and usage of them in her play are much more developed than his were at this age.
I'm not sure why I find all this so interesting! And I sincerely doubt you do!
What does this have to do with the fact that I got to take a nap today while my boys played downstairs together? Well, it all winds back to: how is it that they're so independent? Did I raise them or did they (moreso Gabriel) raise me?
And what will I do if I'm all wrong and Katrina turns into a mommy-hanger-on-er who wants to yip-yap-yakkity-yak about princesses all day? Gah! Though, as all the text above demonstrates, maybe I need a kindred spirit in yip-yap-yakkity-yak.
Oh no, here comes Monday.
3/2/08
Even though we did some truly drudgerous things Saturday (shopping for entry doors, trying to replace my dead cell phone at an AT&T store), we did a good amount of nuthin' too. When Dave and I first moved into our house, one of my favorite times with him was weekend afternoons, when we just hung around together, did things around the house or garage (after we built one that is), and were generally active, but also relaxed. Somehow, we unwittingly recaptured that same happy-hangin' feeling on Saturday.
The boys were completely absorbed watching some tree trimmers we hired to do some mega-pruning of our neighbors' redwoods. This is a serious job; the coast redwood in our neighbors' yard (brought here and planted by the man who built our house, but subdivisions didn't leave the tree in our yard) is pretty tall. It's had some dead branches in our view since we've moved here, and I'm thrilled they're gone. Except that now our neighbors' huge antenna is the chief eyesore (he's very proud of the fact they don't pay for cable).
Hmm, the before and after photos don't do the improvement justice:
Julian kept an eye on things, while the tree trimmer guy good-naturedly accepted his direction and supervision ("that machine is too loud!"). He was under strict orders to stay on the deck, because the branches coming down were big, heavy and really friggin' dangerous.
Katrina always welcomes a chance to go out, despite some unwelcome "help" from Julian. I probably talk more about Gabriel's affection for Katrina than Julian's, and it's different since he's older, but Julian also adores her and showers her with (too much) attention. I guess I just expected that more from Julian.
I don't know what's ailing my stomach, but it's reminiscent of pregnancy days, when it was irritated and bloated and painful all the time. As a result, I was up much of the night and was very tired today. I really resented that, because I was looking forward to another relaxed day with all 3 by myself (believe it or not!). Dave went on a motorcycle ride today, something I encourage him strongly to do and wish he'd do more often. I'm more happy for him than envious that he got to ride a longtime standby route of Mount Hamilton, Mines and (my favorite) Calavaras Roads.
A day of all three on my own wouldn't be complete without going to the Y, so our day started there. Then, Trader Joe's for some much-overdue grocery-shopping, and a stop by Stacey's house for some lemons. I'd had visions of going to a park, but of course, that's overcommitting and everyone was ready for some downtime at home.
When we got home, I kicked into full gear: kitchen cleanup, fridge organizing and purging, grocery unpacking, kids' lunches, fruit rotation, lemon arranging (the most important and fun part). A full hour and a half of getting things under control.
(As a side note, my freezers (yes, freezer*S*, I'm spoiled) are getting too full because I'm not cooking as much now. Does that sound backward or what! But, since I only make it to TJs' once every week or two, I figure I've got to stock up, I lose track of what we have, I haven't a prayer of a coherent meal plan, and I end up replicating some items and being short on others. It's much easier to keep a trim, efficient pantry and freezer when you're shopping 3-4 times a week as I had been when I was a happy housewife.)
Katrina held out until I was done, at which point I put her down for a nap, and prepared for a much-needed one myself.
(Another aside: THANK GOD all I have to do to "put her down" is literally to put her down -- just her satin sucking blankie and she's happy as a baby clam.)
Now, can a Mom take a much-needed nap when she has 4 and 6 year old boys -- brothers, no less -- alone together? Incredibly, yes. This is what they did while I was trying to restore myself: build a "garage" for Gabriel's Lego crane.
I'm not sure, but from things other moms relate, I think I'm in the minority in being able to tune out with a 4-year-old around. 6-year-old, sure, but 4 is borderline. In Julian's case, it's much about having an older brother, but he too has a remarkable attention span for his age.
How is it my boys -- and so far, my girl too -- play so well on their own, and don't require much interaction from me, and even reject it sometimes when I try to join in? Who trained who? Some of the stage was set by the intensity and focus Gabriel was born with. He had an astounding attention span from very early on; I'm certain we had nothing to do with that. (I have to disclaim credit and blame for much of how Gabriel is!)
But did it acclimate me to being hands-off, so that when Julian came around, our family was already in the habit of kids playing for 30-40 minutes on their own? Or is Julian wired that way too? Or, how much of Julian's hands-off-ness is because of Gabriel?
Julian is much more impressionable by nature, but there's always been more in his life to impress him. Julian always had Gabriel; he didn't need Mom as much for amusement. Indeed, Julian's life will always be heavily influenced by having an older brother, and a strong older brother at that. Julian wants to do what Gabriel does, he tries to join in Gabriel's play, and often watches as Gabriel goes about some project. Julian especially wants to go to Collins. When Gabriel was Julian's age, he had no idea kindergarten existed. Julian knows very well what kindergarten is and wants to do it too. Julian's life is far more influenced by having Gabriel in it than Gabriel's is by having Julian. How much of that is being the secondborn, and how much of that is having a more impressionable, open personality?
I get another data point from Katrina, a strong personality that's not the firstborn. Then again, she doesn't have the same sort of older-brother influence in her life as Julian does. Her life isn't as nearly as intertwined to a sibling as Gabriels' and Julians' lives are, partly due to an additional 10-month age difference, but mostly because her brothers have each other. If Julian were her only older brother, the dynamic between Katrina and Julian would be completely different (perhaps much like that of her cousins Aidan and Remi, who share the exact same age difference as Julian and Katrina). If she's less interested in trying to be like her older brother than Julian, it's hard to tell if that's because she has two older brothers and they have each other, or if that's just her personality. (It's very hard to imagine Gabriel being heavily influenced by an older sibling if he had one.)
Besides, while she has many of Gabriel's strong personality characteristics, they're hardly clones. She does cry if scolded, she doesn't cuddle, she makes far more effort at verbal communication, she's not as physical or athletic, her fine motor skills and usage of them in her play are much more developed than his were at this age.
I'm not sure why I find all this so interesting! And I sincerely doubt you do!
What does this have to do with the fact that I got to take a nap today while my boys played downstairs together? Well, it all winds back to: how is it that they're so independent? Did I raise them or did they (moreso Gabriel) raise me?
And what will I do if I'm all wrong and Katrina turns into a mommy-hanger-on-er who wants to yip-yap-yakkity-yak about princesses all day? Gah! Though, as all the text above demonstrates, maybe I need a kindred spirit in yip-yap-yakkity-yak.
Oh no, here comes Monday.
3/2/08
Saturday, March 01, 2008
3/1/08 The Boss
"Dad's not the boss!" complained Julian petulantly, as I was parking the car with all 3 of them in it. Julian was mad about Dad putting him into the car after refusing to get in quickly.
"No, he's not," said Gabriel supportively, and they were about to launch into one of their frequent scheming about all the Bad Things they could do to Dad. But, instead:
"MOM'S the boss! She's even the boss of Dad!"
Yeah kid!
3/1/08
"No, he's not," said Gabriel supportively, and they were about to launch into one of their frequent scheming about all the Bad Things they could do to Dad. But, instead:
"MOM'S the boss! She's even the boss of Dad!"
Yeah kid!
3/1/08
Friday, February 29, 2008
2/29/08 Zumba
We went out to dinner tonight (a rare occurrence), because I didn't feel like cooking or cleaning (a frequent occurrence). Despite an overtired time-bomb toddler, it worked out surprisingly well. Katrina loves the fried rice at our favorite Japanese restaurant, so the rice, teriyaki chicken and tempura kept her busy long enough for us to have dinner and make a polite exit. In fact, it was the boys starting to get wound up that made us expedite, as they'd run out of edamame to dismember.
Incredibly, I had enough time after dinner to make it to a Zumba class at the Y tonight. I've never done done Zumba, a cardio exercise class that uses Latin-style dancing, but I've watched it enough to want to try it. But, I wasn't crazy about the teacher I had tonight. She committed some cardinal sins of dance teachers: inaccurate cueing, inconsistent arms, demonstrating off the beat (!). She did fall short of the ultimate sin of a dance teacher: wasting my time, but I think I'll try a different Zumba class next time. I haven't done much Latin dancing, so I just don't have the moves, but they sure are fun to try.
This class was a bit of a thumbing-my-nose at my ankle tendons too, just to say, "so THERE, I'm going to have fun no matter what you say!" Unfortunately, I think I can already tell they're going to have the final word.
Julian keeps doing this silly jump, in which he runs and then jumps with one foot. He's been doing it for days, and just today explained that Aidan, my friend Hillary's 12-year-old son, showed him how to do a "skateboard jump" when they were visiting 2 weekends ago.
Hmm....skateboard...hmmm.....
Gabriel's teacher sent an email to his whole class that said she's recommending a few students for summer school, and had attached information about it inside those kids' Friday Folders. What is it about teachers that have such power over us? As soon as I saw this, I rushed to Gabriel's folder with my heart pounding to see if he was among them. No, but there was a comment on his weekly "report card" (sort of) that his behavior has been better. Oh yeah, that problem -- potentially a much bigger deal than needing summer school.
2/29/08 (happy leap year!)
Incredibly, I had enough time after dinner to make it to a Zumba class at the Y tonight. I've never done done Zumba, a cardio exercise class that uses Latin-style dancing, but I've watched it enough to want to try it. But, I wasn't crazy about the teacher I had tonight. She committed some cardinal sins of dance teachers: inaccurate cueing, inconsistent arms, demonstrating off the beat (!). She did fall short of the ultimate sin of a dance teacher: wasting my time, but I think I'll try a different Zumba class next time. I haven't done much Latin dancing, so I just don't have the moves, but they sure are fun to try.
This class was a bit of a thumbing-my-nose at my ankle tendons too, just to say, "so THERE, I'm going to have fun no matter what you say!" Unfortunately, I think I can already tell they're going to have the final word.
Julian keeps doing this silly jump, in which he runs and then jumps with one foot. He's been doing it for days, and just today explained that Aidan, my friend Hillary's 12-year-old son, showed him how to do a "skateboard jump" when they were visiting 2 weekends ago.
Hmm....skateboard...hmmm.....
Gabriel's teacher sent an email to his whole class that said she's recommending a few students for summer school, and had attached information about it inside those kids' Friday Folders. What is it about teachers that have such power over us? As soon as I saw this, I rushed to Gabriel's folder with my heart pounding to see if he was among them. No, but there was a comment on his weekly "report card" (sort of) that his behavior has been better. Oh yeah, that problem -- potentially a much bigger deal than needing summer school.
2/29/08 (happy leap year!)
Thursday, February 28, 2008
2/28/08 The Snowball Class
Thursdays are now kid-play day!
A music class morning! First, I had to extricate Katrina from a 1/2-lb slab of chocolate (a bitter 75% cocoa composition) that she'd discovered in the baking pantry. That's what I get for finally printing shipping labels to send some long-overdue packages. She was working her way through the plastic wrapping, which kept the chocolate somewhat under control, but her hands and face were a mess, and she managed to get some chocolate on her back.
In music class, she sat quietly in my lap at first, but even then, looks were deceiving. She wasn't relaxed at all and I could feel how excited and alert she was. Of course, sitting all sweet and cuddly-like in a lap has never been her strong suit.
Once the class did the first stand-up-and-dance thing, she stayed up for several songs, "dancing" by walking in circles, having a grand time.
She's gotten really good about putting instruments away with the rest of the kids.
Then I went to work. Work. How I like the concept, and the people, and the grownup environment. Oh yeah, and the money. It's just the actual work I'm doing that I'm not crazy about. Alas, what a luxury that would be. Many, many people do jobs they don't like. I've never learned how to do that. I go insane and drive everyone else around me insane.
But what I really like about this job is the flexibility. I left today at 3:15pm to take Julian to his first Snowball class -- a beginner skating class for 3-4 year olds. Yay! And, best of all, his class coincides with a public skating session, so I can skate too!
By the time we got there and got all dressed and skates on, we had about half an hour to practice before Julian's class. At first, it took 10 minutes to get him to the first corner, but he remembered quickly and before long was skating close to the level he had been last year. Distracting him was the key, by showing him something interesting to look at and to forget about not knowing how to skate.
Then, the class. First thing: learn to fall and get back up! These are not Julian's strong points. In fact, his best skating is when he's going pretty fast, a scramble that looks like he's going to fall.
But by the end of his class, I saw him get up from the ice by himself, and using the advice the teachers gave him (hold onto knees if he thinks he's going to fall). I was impressed that two teachers could handle a good-sized group of 3-4-year-olds, presumably who are all beginners. But by the end of the class, none of them needed to be held up, and all were moving on their own power really well. And no little chairs to push around!
Three other kids from the 2004 Las Madres group are in the same class, including Julian's longtime pal Andrew. Andrew had no trouble getting up off the ice right away (and today was his first time) and caught on very quickly. I'm already envisioning them passing the puck to each other for the final SCOOOOORE!
The blues still haunted me all day, but they hadn't a prayer against Katrina's happy bopping around in music class, and Julian's excitment about skating. It was fun being back on the ice too, though I feel directionless without having classes and something to practice. Also, the late afternoon public skating session before classes means there are a lot of little kids on the ice, making harder for shaky helicopter-arm skaters like me to concentrate. Maybe I should take classes again, and drown (well, freeze) my running sorrows that way. Ice skates completely immobilize your ankles, exactly what my sore tendons need.
I'm so glad I broke my vow to do only one activity at a time (total! not even per kid!). Now, how can I squeeze in piano lessons for Gabriel....?
2/28/08
A music class morning! First, I had to extricate Katrina from a 1/2-lb slab of chocolate (a bitter 75% cocoa composition) that she'd discovered in the baking pantry. That's what I get for finally printing shipping labels to send some long-overdue packages. She was working her way through the plastic wrapping, which kept the chocolate somewhat under control, but her hands and face were a mess, and she managed to get some chocolate on her back.
In music class, she sat quietly in my lap at first, but even then, looks were deceiving. She wasn't relaxed at all and I could feel how excited and alert she was. Of course, sitting all sweet and cuddly-like in a lap has never been her strong suit.
Once the class did the first stand-up-and-dance thing, she stayed up for several songs, "dancing" by walking in circles, having a grand time.
She's gotten really good about putting instruments away with the rest of the kids.
Then I went to work. Work. How I like the concept, and the people, and the grownup environment. Oh yeah, and the money. It's just the actual work I'm doing that I'm not crazy about. Alas, what a luxury that would be. Many, many people do jobs they don't like. I've never learned how to do that. I go insane and drive everyone else around me insane.
But what I really like about this job is the flexibility. I left today at 3:15pm to take Julian to his first Snowball class -- a beginner skating class for 3-4 year olds. Yay! And, best of all, his class coincides with a public skating session, so I can skate too!
By the time we got there and got all dressed and skates on, we had about half an hour to practice before Julian's class. At first, it took 10 minutes to get him to the first corner, but he remembered quickly and before long was skating close to the level he had been last year. Distracting him was the key, by showing him something interesting to look at and to forget about not knowing how to skate.
Then, the class. First thing: learn to fall and get back up! These are not Julian's strong points. In fact, his best skating is when he's going pretty fast, a scramble that looks like he's going to fall.
But by the end of his class, I saw him get up from the ice by himself, and using the advice the teachers gave him (hold onto knees if he thinks he's going to fall). I was impressed that two teachers could handle a good-sized group of 3-4-year-olds, presumably who are all beginners. But by the end of the class, none of them needed to be held up, and all were moving on their own power really well. And no little chairs to push around!
Three other kids from the 2004 Las Madres group are in the same class, including Julian's longtime pal Andrew. Andrew had no trouble getting up off the ice right away (and today was his first time) and caught on very quickly. I'm already envisioning them passing the puck to each other for the final SCOOOOORE!
The blues still haunted me all day, but they hadn't a prayer against Katrina's happy bopping around in music class, and Julian's excitment about skating. It was fun being back on the ice too, though I feel directionless without having classes and something to practice. Also, the late afternoon public skating session before classes means there are a lot of little kids on the ice, making harder for shaky helicopter-arm skaters like me to concentrate. Maybe I should take classes again, and drown (well, freeze) my running sorrows that way. Ice skates completely immobilize your ankles, exactly what my sore tendons need.
I'm so glad I broke my vow to do only one activity at a time (total! not even per kid!). Now, how can I squeeze in piano lessons for Gabriel....?
2/28/08
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
2/27 addendum -- the songbook
This warms my heart to no end. Just as I was ready to put an end to this day, I found a creation of Gabriel's in the craft area. Now I know why he wanted to borrow my stapler.
Gabriel made a "songbook" tonight, complete with a title page, page numbers and "The End." And, he "wrote" his first "song" -- about his teddy bear!! I couldn't resist scanning the pages he wrote on.
Just when I'm blown away by how he's growing up, he reminds me that he's still just a little boy. Awww!
Now I can go to bed smiling, with a love song about a teddy bear ringing in my head.
2/27/08
Gabriel made a "songbook" tonight, complete with a title page, page numbers and "The End." And, he "wrote" his first "song" -- about his teddy bear!! I couldn't resist scanning the pages he wrote on.
Just when I'm blown away by how he's growing up, he reminds me that he's still just a little boy. Awww!
Now I can go to bed smiling, with a love song about a teddy bear ringing in my head.
2/27/08
2/27/08 Now it's the knees
I forced myself to go to the Y tonight, in a futile attempt to lift the firmly entrenched drear from my spirit tonight. I'm not sure why, but I'm inconsolably blue today, I think largely because of the sense of intense pressure to settle on windows and doors by Monday, so as not to hold up our project. It sounds silly now that I write it out, but it's been weighing tremendously on me. Impending remodeling is such a big cloud looming in one's future (still a few weeks away from structural and construction drawings).
I've been making myself do the elliptical machine for 20 minutes, but tonight I felt twinges in my knees. I know from experience that the elliptical does that to me, as do step classes. Is there nothing safe?! I don't have knee problems!
It's so unfair, so many common injuries from long-term running I never even got to, because of whatever's wrong with my ankle tendons. The same physical characteristics that hampered me as a dancer make me a perfect runner (my first ballet teacher described me as "tightly knit," a nice way of saying "dream on, honey") -- except for this overuse injury. And, as much as everyone likes to remind me that I'm getting on in years (something I alternately deny and acknowledge as it's convenient), overuse injuries are most common in younger athletes who don't have other impediments to their athletic endeavors, such as long-term injuries yet; lack of time, lack of energy, or lack of childcare. In other words, this ankle problem is in addition to all the other problems related to getting older.
Work has its interesting moments but overall isn't exciting. My usual outlet of exercise is frustrating because it's not enough -- I want to run. Remodeling is in one of those annoying tension-producing phases, something to be expected, but depressing nonetheless. I don't know what to change, and just have to chalk this up to one of those lulls in life.
I did do one thing today I'm really happy about, but you'll find out about that tomorrow.
Meantime, and especially on a blue day, my children are a continuing source of grounding and reminders of the cheerful, energetic, optimistic sides of life. It could easily go the other way, especially if Gabriel gets into a snit, but both boys were very sweet tonight. I especially enjoyed picking Julian up today, he was having so much fun playing outside with some friends, and was full of boisterous joy. I don't say that often about him! It makes me like Kids Inc a lot -- it's not an impressive place to visit, but Julian is thriving and happy.
Katrina spent the afternoon at Tonya's today. More and more she's getting to the point where she needs peers. At 16 months old, she too is thriving with the personal attention and care Melissa showers on her, but I think it will be time for a change come summer.
In fact, I'm thinking July will be a good month to make lots of changes -- take a month off work, pull all 3 out of daycare, take a trip back East, do some daytrips and fun things with the kids, and maybe put the boys in one or two weeklong daycamps for some variety. Julian so loved the Y daycamps last year.
(Maybe a music daycamp for Gabriel. He keeps showing surprising interest in music, like today latching on to a Santana instrumental on the radio, and wanting to know all about how "kitars" make notes. Tonight he said wanted to make up his own songs and write them down, though he couldn't think of one at the moment. Piano lessons, next Parks & Rec session!)
Then in August, it all picks back up again. I may have to decide to go back to Covad as a part-time employee, rather than a contractor (or not at all). Katrina will be pushing 2, opening up more childcare options, and changing her needs to be in a (small) group setting. And in August, Gabriel starts FIRST GRADE!! OH MY ***G-O-D**** !!!!!! (yes, I'm actually screaming).
Katrina had a grand time tonight with a simple thing: a basket of fruit leather. She loves taking groups of like objects and putting them in and out of containers. Julian earned himself a fruit-leather dessert (that boy can eat!), and Katrina caught sight of the basket and that was it. As is always the case with her, her intensity of fun playing with it was matched by the intensity of her protest when it was time to put it away to go up to bed. My little pistol.
OK, I feel better now, at your expense, dear reader. More good tomorrow.
2/27/08
I've been making myself do the elliptical machine for 20 minutes, but tonight I felt twinges in my knees. I know from experience that the elliptical does that to me, as do step classes. Is there nothing safe?! I don't have knee problems!
It's so unfair, so many common injuries from long-term running I never even got to, because of whatever's wrong with my ankle tendons. The same physical characteristics that hampered me as a dancer make me a perfect runner (my first ballet teacher described me as "tightly knit," a nice way of saying "dream on, honey") -- except for this overuse injury. And, as much as everyone likes to remind me that I'm getting on in years (something I alternately deny and acknowledge as it's convenient), overuse injuries are most common in younger athletes who don't have other impediments to their athletic endeavors, such as long-term injuries yet; lack of time, lack of energy, or lack of childcare. In other words, this ankle problem is in addition to all the other problems related to getting older.
Work has its interesting moments but overall isn't exciting. My usual outlet of exercise is frustrating because it's not enough -- I want to run. Remodeling is in one of those annoying tension-producing phases, something to be expected, but depressing nonetheless. I don't know what to change, and just have to chalk this up to one of those lulls in life.
I did do one thing today I'm really happy about, but you'll find out about that tomorrow.
Meantime, and especially on a blue day, my children are a continuing source of grounding and reminders of the cheerful, energetic, optimistic sides of life. It could easily go the other way, especially if Gabriel gets into a snit, but both boys were very sweet tonight. I especially enjoyed picking Julian up today, he was having so much fun playing outside with some friends, and was full of boisterous joy. I don't say that often about him! It makes me like Kids Inc a lot -- it's not an impressive place to visit, but Julian is thriving and happy.
Katrina spent the afternoon at Tonya's today. More and more she's getting to the point where she needs peers. At 16 months old, she too is thriving with the personal attention and care Melissa showers on her, but I think it will be time for a change come summer.
In fact, I'm thinking July will be a good month to make lots of changes -- take a month off work, pull all 3 out of daycare, take a trip back East, do some daytrips and fun things with the kids, and maybe put the boys in one or two weeklong daycamps for some variety. Julian so loved the Y daycamps last year.
(Maybe a music daycamp for Gabriel. He keeps showing surprising interest in music, like today latching on to a Santana instrumental on the radio, and wanting to know all about how "kitars" make notes. Tonight he said wanted to make up his own songs and write them down, though he couldn't think of one at the moment. Piano lessons, next Parks & Rec session!)
Then in August, it all picks back up again. I may have to decide to go back to Covad as a part-time employee, rather than a contractor (or not at all). Katrina will be pushing 2, opening up more childcare options, and changing her needs to be in a (small) group setting. And in August, Gabriel starts FIRST GRADE!! OH MY ***G-O-D**** !!!!!! (yes, I'm actually screaming).
Katrina had a grand time tonight with a simple thing: a basket of fruit leather. She loves taking groups of like objects and putting them in and out of containers. Julian earned himself a fruit-leather dessert (that boy can eat!), and Katrina caught sight of the basket and that was it. As is always the case with her, her intensity of fun playing with it was matched by the intensity of her protest when it was time to put it away to go up to bed. My little pistol.
OK, I feel better now, at your expense, dear reader. More good tomorrow.
2/27/08
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
2/26/08 The sweet boys
While Julian was having some post-dinner cookies tonight, he reached out his hand as I walked by, and took my hand. "What are you doing?" I asked him. "Nothing," he answered, "I just wanted to hold your hand...because I love you." Then he pulled me to him and gave me a smushy kiss on the cheek with his exquisite lips.
That was even more gratifying than the boys doing their pre-dinner chores without a struggle!
Tonight should have been horrible. I was woken up last night by stomach cramps, and felt awful and tired all day. I picked everyone up late, and hit all kinds of traffic, and got their dinner started late. Tonight is a pre-cleaners night, so, lots of work to straighten up for tomorrow, lots of bugging kids to put toys away. And, Dave went out to Tuesday Dinner, so I got to do everything by myself.
But despite the odds stacked against me, there were no showdowns, no tears, no fights -- much nudging to get putzy boys to clean up toys -- but lots of fun time spent talking, looking at things together, playing music and talking about the song in Spanish, watching Katrina "dance" (sort of a bopping up and down, not in the least rhythmic but full of joy), and just good clean fun together. I'm exhausted, I'd have liked some downtime, but I feel good and happy about the evening and some really nice time with my children (including the fun post-bath chase of a naked giggling Katrina).
And my cheek is still glowing from that wonderful kiss!
2/26/08
That was even more gratifying than the boys doing their pre-dinner chores without a struggle!
Tonight should have been horrible. I was woken up last night by stomach cramps, and felt awful and tired all day. I picked everyone up late, and hit all kinds of traffic, and got their dinner started late. Tonight is a pre-cleaners night, so, lots of work to straighten up for tomorrow, lots of bugging kids to put toys away. And, Dave went out to Tuesday Dinner, so I got to do everything by myself.
But despite the odds stacked against me, there were no showdowns, no tears, no fights -- much nudging to get putzy boys to clean up toys -- but lots of fun time spent talking, looking at things together, playing music and talking about the song in Spanish, watching Katrina "dance" (sort of a bopping up and down, not in the least rhythmic but full of joy), and just good clean fun together. I'm exhausted, I'd have liked some downtime, but I feel good and happy about the evening and some really nice time with my children (including the fun post-bath chase of a naked giggling Katrina).
And my cheek is still glowing from that wonderful kiss!
2/26/08
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