Single parenting

Signs that my longest stretch of single parenting thus far is going well:

* I have gotten a run in every day except one.
* I made the kids waffles for breakfast this morning. From scratch. With whole wheat flour.
* Most of the laundry in the house is clean.
* Most of the people in the house are clean.
* I slept eight hours last night.

Signs that it's not going so well:

* I made it exactly 24 hours before my mom brought her overnight bag over.
* A waffle mess provoked an I-don't-want-to-go-to-school-today-or-ever-again meltdown this morning.
* None of the laundry is folded.
* The baby has a mixture of tylenol and yogurt in her hair.
* The baby I volunteered to babysit this morning has a new, large welt on his forehead from falling off a chair during my watch.

Six nights down...two to go.

PG-13 cross country

Or maybe R.



The Living History Farms cross-country race near Des Moines is true cross-country, and truly counter-culture.

Obviously, my husband and I want to take the kids. We're banking the seven miles of mud and hay bales will be worth the seven+ hours in a car and (less than) seven hours of sleep in a hotel room.

We hope the kids agree.

Daylight losings

My daughter and I have a new routine: We wake up, put a hat over her pj's, and go for a run.

First, we stop at the store to stock up on whatever essential items we're missing for a peaceful half-hour stroller ride: usually bananas and crackers, or pumpkin bagels and a new pacifier.

Yesterday I even found someone to run with around the lake.

Sound too good to be true? It won't when I tell you that it all takes place before sunrise.

But I'm not even going to complain about a 5:30 a.m. wakeup call. I'm only worried that it's going to turn into 4:30 a.m. once daylight savings kicks in. (Or ends?)

Post your ab minutes Monday!

I ran into a neighbor at the store, the mom of two active grade-school boys.

Maybe it was my son's askew bike helmet, or the number of scrapes and bruises he had, or the fact that it was 9 a.m. and we were all clearly in need of a shower.

"Every time I see you I think, Oh, I remember how we used to have to play five sports before 8 a.m. at that age," she said.

I'm sure I will remember these days fondly, too, when they're further from being the truth.

Inspiration

It wasn't the best idea, but on Sunday morning, I stepped outside, decided it wasn't too cold or rainy to run over to the Twin Cities Marathon course with the whole sick family, and grabbed blankets for the stroller.
I estimated we'd be just in time to see my cousin -- and mother of four (4) -- who was aiming to finish under 3:30, and to avoid the rain.
Instead, she was long gone by then ... she ended up finishing in 3:15, inspiring the following conversation between my preschooler and me:
"She's really fast!" I said.
"Well," he said, "you're really fast."
I then tried to explain the difference between a marathon and a half-marathon, and while the nuances were mostly lost, he did offer this wisdom on age groups:
"When you're older, when you turn your next number, you might be faster."
Hmmm...I wonder what else he's overhearing and comprehending?
Anyway, we came home drenched, but inspired.

Ab contest, take four*

I realize I haven't blogged in almost a month, which is inexcusable. It's also inexcusable that I haven't kept up with my business's finances, personal and business e-mails and phone calls, or kept the house semi-presentable/livable, etc. Then there was (hopefully it's accurate to use the past tense here) the fever, vomiting, and diarrhea (fortunately, not all by me. I'll spare the gory details).
But before I do anything else, like, oh, make sure my paychecks aren't bouncing, I want to prioritize and announce the October edition of the ab contest. I'll keep it simple: Let's report minutes every Monday. So, Oct 12, 20, 27, and Nov. 3. After the first week, I will pair people up based on the results of the first week.


* or five?