Friday, July 25, 2008

So close

Before I die I WILL capture a photo of my kids without one of them doing the "thumbs up" and/or sticking one of their tongues out. But probably only during the sullen "emo" years of puberty and then I'm pretty sure they won't let me take their picture at all.

I guess I'll just have to be happy with this.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

A couple more and we'll have a proper band

You should hear us cover "London Bridge", man. We totally rocked the house.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Beachy keen


Here am I playing in the sand at our first trip to the ocean this summer. We had a ball, of course and as you can see here I forgot to bring something to hold my hair up. Silly me! Do you like my new bathing suit? It's a Ralph Lauren. I think it brings out the blue in my eyes and accentuates my light, golden tan. I know what you're thinking..."She really gave birth three times??" Oh yes, I get that a lot. But you know what they say- Pictures don't lie!

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

We are royalty and will be treated as such!

You know they are of royal blood because they hang out in a purple room. Every castle needs a purple room, right? Pictured here are mighty King David, Princess Sofia Marie and Little "Bel" the royal kitty cat. Treat the kitty lovingly or she will bite and/or scratch. Feed the King and Princess chicken that isn't too spicy or they will freak out. Hire a really good jester to entertain them because they become bored very easily. And be certain to never give them sugary foods before bed or you will have a royal mess on your hands.

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Mutha Runna

Running is sometimes like being in labor. It's uncomfortable, hot and sweaty work. There's some pain, sometimes lots of pain, and a great deal of heavy breathing. I try to control the rhythm of my breathing (in through the nose, out through the mouth and repeat) and keep focused on the goal of getting to the end. Of course at the end of labor you have a new baby and you can't walk comfortably for several days. With running you just have the latter. Well, that's not true now, of course. When I first got into running it was like that. I would run (ok, jog) and be thinking, "why am I doing this? Oh, this sucks so much. I should just stop now. No, I can't stop now. If someone sees me they'll think I'm some kind of wuss. Got... to... keep... going. Oh, someone kill me." And all this just before reaching the end of my street.

That was the old days. Now I go out, feel good for the most part, get tired through the middle and usually finish up strong. I still get stitches, especially if I've eaten too much right before a run, and I get the occasional tweak in my foot or ankle that makes me have to take it easy for a few days here and there. I still breathe heavy up the hills, but I can smile sailing down them. Once in a while, not very often, I'll get heckled by guys driving by, but it doesn't bother me. I've usually got U2 blasting in my ears and I can't hear a damn thing they're saying, but I imagine it's something like, "Oh, you are so gorgeous and mighty, running lady, and I am so lowly and insecure, for I feel compelled to yell at you while driving my truck! Why am I such a bastard?"

I both love and loathe running. And sometimes, still, the best part of running is the stopping running. Getting to the corner of my street, seeing my house and knowing it's finished and I can rest, get a drink of water and take off my stinky shoes. The kids all come rally around me and David always smiles and asks, "How far did you go this time, mommy?" Some runs are farther than others, but always I run just far enough to get out of my own head for a little while, or deeper into it, I'm not sure. Far enough to get my heart thudding in my ears. Far enough to get me to think about death and to feel every once in a while that God has got my back. Far enough to get just enough crazy out of me so I can do everything that I need to do every day...every day. That is what I love most about running- How far I can get without every leaving my city.

I've been meaning to write more about running, but reading this funny post by Backpacking Dad is what inspired me. It's a slightly different kind of running story.

Labels:

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Thumbs up for ducks (because I couldn't think of a better title)


The picture from my last post mysteriously disappeared (Peg-what gives?) so I had to delete it but now I have the opportunity to promote...myself.

I have an archived post featured on the ezine Blog Nosh this week and you should go over there and check it out. It's funny to think about the kinds of things that concerned me when I first became a stay at home mom. I remember right before I left work, a couple weeks before my due date with David, a fellow employee said, "so, you're just going to be a housewife then?" I wanted to cry. And punch him in the face. It's fortunate for him that I've forgiven far greater trespasses to my soul, but then I was heavily pregnant so he's still pretty lucky I didn't take him down. Today if someone were to call me a housewife I would just laugh and say, "no, if I were married to my house I wouldn't let the kids trash it up nearly as much."

And as long as I'm self promoting, let me give another nod over to ChapterBytes which should have a thrilling new chapter up any day now. This one has the potential to be very steamy so you will not want to miss it. And no, I'm not up next to write this one but I wish I were!

So I leave you with the thumbs up girl and ducks, because who doesn't love ducks?