My (Our) Race Day

We did it!

It was raining the entire time but we did it!

I am really proud of both BJ and I for setting out to do something that's out of both of our comfort zones and getting it done!

We got to the race with plenty of time (thanks to our friends for being available to watch Toby and Norah at 7:45--before their own kid was up!), got our "bibs" (our numbers: 609 and 610), and then milled around until we had to walk (1/4 of a mile) to where the start was.

The beginning was crowded and BJ and I got separated at first; we only got to run together for about 90 seconds of the entire race!

There were about 250 people running the 5K and another 700 or so running the Half Marathon. BJ and I got passed up by almost every marathoner during the course of our race, which wasn't great for our mindsets, but we persevered and eventually we each found our pace.

I had time to think about lots of things while on my race, but mostly I just tried to enjoy myself. The rain, while annoying to be so wet so quickly, helped keep us cool and the temperature was just about right.

I'm looking forward to finding some more 5K's to do in the future. I had a lot of fun with this one. I'm glad BJ was able to run it too!

My Weekend Forecast

Today: sunny and 60's. Beautiful Indian Summer day. We ate breakfast out on the porch (I'll get a video of the kids). Our desktop has decided to stop turning on, so we're going to spend the day coaxing it back to life. (And BJ will be working on another paper.)

Tomorrow: 5K race day! Rainy in the morning.... I haven't run in the rain yet, although I've wondered whether it would be nice or just crappy to be soggy. We'll see tomorrow. The kids are going to a friend's house near the park where the race is. I'm looking forward to it, and Toby is very excited to go play with Weston and their dog, Joe.

My Birthday Flower

I went out to get the mail today and was greeted by a surprise flower in our yard. I happened to have my camera in my purse and so I snapped a picture of it.

We have pink and fuchsia roses in another part of our yard but this rose--which I didn't notice any other day this week while getting the mail--is up next to our house. There aren't any rose bushes in that part of the yard. But, truthfully, our yard is a mystery to me and what is growing in it is beyond my skill of identification--let alone gardening. (I've decided to treat everything green as poison ivy to avoid any future problems.)

I'm considering the rose my birthday flower--a special treat to an already wonderful day. BJ surprised me with gifts this morning and the kids have been super sweet all day. :)

My Son's Perspective

Toby drew a picture today that I found pretty funny--for its accurate representation of our life from a 4 year old's perspective. The purple is what he said when describing the picture to me.
(The CUBS shirt was a gift from my brother-in-law and he's wearing it today. BJ, Toby says, doesn't have a sad face. It's a "Hmmmm" face.)

My "Friend" in my Shower

I am legally blind without glasses or contacts, and as evidence I'd like to show you what I just took a shower with:

Now I have to wait for one of my resident spider-killers to take care of that before I go back in the bathroom. It gives me the creeps thinking that thing was hanging from the ceiling while I was in there. Yuck.

3:15 pm EDIT: The stupid thing is still there, on the ceiling. I'm wondering how long I'll have to wait for the spider killer to come home.

My Next Read (or two)

Catch up with me and read these books--
OR, better yet, get them for the twelve-year-old in your life!

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Yes, I read books written for twelve-year-olds and I enjoy them very much. When I get breaks from the kids it's pretty difficult for me to fully digest much in the way of important literature. Hence, the light reading material.

But I did get a short break today in which I read this fascinating article by Andrew Sullivan. Read it now (if you haven't already) and pass it on.

My Preschooler

Toby enjoyed his first week of preschool. These are pictures from his first day. He loves hamming it up for the camera, and I don't have much patience to get a decent shot (for his album and all that). So here you go.

























































He likes his teachers, has fun building things, and comes home every day with a painting or drawing. He had his first Show and Tell yesterday and brought Little Dog (of course) and some leaves that we found that had changed color and fallen (already!).

My New Feature

I'm going to try something new...
At the right of the blog you'll notice the slideshow gadget. At the end of each month I'm going to upload a bunch of pictures to our account with Picasa. Then I'll link the folder to the blog. That way you can see what the kids are up to. Now showing: pictures from August of 2009, including a trip to the Mystic Seaport, our 10th anniversary wine, and trips to the farm and a carnival.
We'll see how it works!

My Diet

The fact is, I don't diet. I'm not skinny. I don't have high metabolism. I don't starve myself. And I don't deny my sweet tooth--hardly ever.
I have told two people in the last few weeks that I've been running and signed up for a 5K, after which they respond with "yeah, you look great." Truthfully, I'm not jogging to lose weight. And I haven't lost anything (but I don't have a scale, so there's really no way to know for sure). But it just seems like the culture of the day is to convince people they look good and to encourage people who are on diets no matter what, even if it's the most ludicrous thing you've ever heard. {Note, I'm not confusing this with one's need for encouragement with exercise or eating healthily. These are the temporary fixes I'm talking about.} For example, two of the skinniest people I know were talking about their success on the South Beach Diet. Come on, people. They were both thin to begin with. Who on earth is telling them that they need to lose weight? "I've lost three pounds in two days already!" Great, good job!
Meanwhile I am harboring this inner fear of passing judgment on to my daughter about the need to be thin. I am going to be her first glimpse at what "healthy" means, but I'm sure she'll quickly pick things up from her peers when she gets to school. So I have to have the right attitude now, while she's young, in order to help her learn about herself and what it means to be healthy. I love her so much and I don't want her to turn to diets and fads and the praise of others to feel good about herself.
We have our share of diet books here at the house. Don't get me wrong, and I want to avoid any air of hypocrisy. We want to exercise and eat right and be healthy. But it's born out of a desire to be able to keep up with our kids and enjoy the benefits of a long life, not to be skinny or lose weight to fit into my old jeans (which, yes, I have and, yes, I hope to fit into someday. There's honesty!).
I know Norah's only 18 months old and I'm probably over thinking this, but the idea of skinny people seeing benefits from the South Beach Diet really tugged a chord in my heart. I'm guessing I'm not the only one with these thoughts, either.

My Kids on the Farm

Labor Day weekend is here. Hard to believe. It seems like just yesterday we were headed to my cousin's wedding in May!
Here's a picture of Toby feeding some chickens at a local farm. Right now they just have a stand of vegetables, but in a few more weeks we'll be able to go back and pick berries and apples. The kids seemed to get a kick out of feeding the chickens, although I didn't let Norah get too close to the fence for fear of bites from the hens. One small chicken was outside the fence and enjoyed Toby's handouts.