Why Not Sleep In?...again

Okay, the truth is that I sleep-in most Wednesdays, but this Wednesday I didn't have much choice. You see, I made my way back to my Body Pump class for the first time in about two months yesterday. More notably, I stayed for the entire class for the first time since I got pregnant with Tad; which means that I was there through the abs track. I was reminded this morning that I don't actually have any abductor muscles to speak of. I was also reminded of the time Glama came to stay with us about a month after Superkid was born. She brought a Pilate's For Dummies DVD with her. After getting Superkid settled for a nap we flicked that sucker on and positioned ourselves on my floor. About the first thing the instructor demonstrated was laying flat on her back and sitting straight up. We watched her easily sit up and then went to do it ourselves. My head (the only part of my body I could lift) struggled against gravity (for about 2 seconds) before it thumped on the ground. I don't think Glama got much further. I think we then got a pretty good abs workout laughing our guts out. We would have done better with a DVD named Pilate's For Weaklings.

The particular abs workout, that put me flat out today, had superhero length stretches of the plank position (which I had to do on my knees) between alternating sides of this impossibility:


I kept looking over to the girl who had a baby last year a few months before I had Tad, who was holding these positions without a single quiver. Really? She has had her stomach muscles cut open for TWO C-SECTIONS! So much for my sad little excuses. But since I am rendered an invalid, I stayed in bed to convalesce.

You Would Do It Too If You Could Run With Ironwoman

There have been some that have asked why I would be nutty enough to be a marathoner (that is what you are called when you run multiple marathons, this makes two for me!). The truth of the matter is that I may dream of it, but probably wouldn't do it if it were not for my friend Ironwoman. She is the nutty one! But I am lucky enough to hang on for the ride! She is a much better runner than I am, but I am thankful that she is willing to stick around and train (and race!) with slow little me. Now at the risk of having one of you faster runners steal her away, I present a list of reasons of why Ironwoman makes the perfect running buddy:
Because she lives right on the coast, so most of our runs are seaside at sunrise (do I need to say more?).
Because her husband makes us killer breakfasts that, as her oldest daughter pointed out, cancel out any good we did on our long runs.
Because she is a massage therapist and works out all those knots that she ties up when I run with her.
Because she patiently listens to my same old stories over and over and over....
Because even when I go to the dark side when the going gets tough, she remains cheery and pleasant.
Because she knew I could do it before even I did.

And now for some pics from the disposable camera I lugged along the first 10 miles of the race:

Pre-Race: Ironwaman dressed as a long-legged flasher


The start line: This was amazing; there were over 25,000 runners. This picture was taken after the first 14,000 had started, and we were lined up for our heat to start. The horn blew and no one even flinched a muscle. It was 10 minutes before we even moved and 15 minutes before we crossed the start line.


And here is me crossing the start line (notice the runners in the background firing up their watches).


Here is Ironwoman going strong.


Me, powering down the first of 6 Gu packs (yuck!).


Oh, and here I am enjoying that delicious energy drink.


And here is Ironwoman enthusiastically slapping 5 to every spectator on the right hand side of the road. I envy her cheery outlook. She was not only a great running companion, but also a great cheer leader. She liked to run ahead and tell the crowd my name and stand next to them and cheer for me as I ran by.


This pic was taken by a marathon official, we handed her the camera and backed up so she could take a picture of us running by. She misunderstood the part of getting a picture of us actually running, but I love how she captured the sea of discarded cups on the road and the very sticky Gatorade saturated street.

A Quick Spin Through Town Turns Into A Spin On The Carousel

Grandma Sherie had more business in New England so she swung by last weekend. We LOVE having her come to play, we are hoping for a lot more New England work to come her way!

What I Wouldn't Do For Cookies!

Thanks Bob and Sandi for knowing I would run ANY distance for a good cookie! ...and we all agree, they were DELECTABLE!

Why-Not? It's 80° !!!

Why not pull out the kiddie pool (even though we know better)? So what if it will be 2 months before it is warm enough to splash around again? Is that not even more of a reason to splash today?

Superkid wanted an action shot!

Look Who's So Big!!!

Not only is Little Tad trying out those new teeth on some new and interesting foods, but this kid is everywhere! His favorite place being under his crib with the dust bunnies...

He has been scooching around for about a month. He had two basic modes of locomotion. He would either do a modified crawl where he would move his hands a few times and then let his legs catch up (usually with a jump forward) or he would sit on his bottom and jump up and down using the sides of his feet. He could get some serious distance with this method on the hard wood and tile floors.

A couple of weeks ago I came into my bedroom and he was standing next to the dresser. It was the kind of precarious situation where you can't run for the camera without risking damage to his perfectly round head. But in the last week he has become more stable on those chubby little feet.

And not to be upstaged by his mother's recent marathon (sorry folks, the blisters have to heal before I stop dropping that one), Little Tad is crawling. The real cross crawl! I noticed Tuesday, we'll have to consult Pops if it happened on Monday. This morning, as I was stepping out of the shower, the door creaked open and Tadpole looked up and grinned at me as he crawled in and made himself at home. When I got into the shower he was grazing on cereal on the dining room floor. This is an impressive distance, even for our little cottage. Tadpole loves his new freedom and all of the discoveries he is making. I, on the other hand, am scrambling (in painful, slow, jerky motion) to move things another foot higher.

The Results Are In!

...and you are just one click away from getting them. As if it wasn't enough to load up and drag around the best cheering section ever today, Andie has also graciously spared me the effort of standing up and walking across the room to get my camera to download. And now that the mega-dose of ibuprofen has kicked in, I am off to bed! Thanks Andie, YOU met me MORE than "half way" today!

Can You Picture My Face Here?

Okay, me neither, but that is not going to keep me from trying. Just 3 days until the 112th running of The Boston Marathon! I'll bet you were wondering how you can keep track of me. Well, all you have to do is go to the Boston Marathon ( I just like to say that) official web site and type in my name (use my proper name or e-mail me for my race number) on race day (Monday, April 21). My heat of the race starts at 10:30 a.m. EST. I am running with my bandit friend Ironwoman (let's face it, I wouldn't be here without her) so we will start in the back of the pack and won't cross the start line until about 10:45 a.m. I will be wearing a Champion Chip in my shoe, so every 5K I will step on a pad and my location will be broadcast to the world (this will also keep me from cheating by jumping on the train and taking a sweet ride to glory...which is my only prayer of having my face pictured with that trophy, and even then I am not sure that the MBTA is as efficient as that marathon machine!).

And would you believe I am not the only Phrog running for marathon glory this weekend? My sister will be competing for the cup at the Salt Lake Marathon tomorrow! Show me how it is done Mindurs!!!!

Why-Not Get a New Look?

I was inspired today by M.J. She rubbed a little sunscreen on Tadpole's head at the park. I spent the rest of the day sniffing his yummy little head. There is nothing like sunscreen to make you think you are having fun. My favorite smell is the combination of sunscreen, sand (or chlorine), and sweat (Yankee candle leaves the "sweat" portion off their label for obvious reasons, but I like it HOT!). A close second is fresh baked cookies. During nap time, instead of attending to my house keeping duties, I poured over beachy pictures. I have put a few more of my favorites on the side bar. I am very very sad because the fabulous pictures we took of our first family trip to the beach after Tadpole was born are messed up somehow and I can't get them on the blog....yet. The blog make-over was Jewpawsly's inspiration. Let me know what you think....but only if you like it because my house has seriously suffered for the cause.

Favorite Quotes From My Favorite People

Abizella and I were sharing a bowl of soup. We struck a deal. She would eat all of the carrots, I would eat all of the broccoli. I said, "You are a little rabbit." She looked at me funny and I told her rabbits like to eat carrots. She said, "You are a broccoli raccoon." The randomness of a raccoon eating broccoli cracked me up (probably as much as a rabbit eating carrots cracked Abizella up). ...and here is our little rabbit now, putting on a "Underwear-head Superman" puppet show.

Superkid said, "[Tadpole's] hair is growing! It is so soft, it is even softer than my blanket!" Relatedly, I have been sick this week. Superkid built me a "nest" to sleep in. Once I was situated with my blanket, pillows, and Superkid's favorite stuffed animals, Superkid asked, "Do you need someone soft to snuggle with?" He then held out his arm for me to caress to prove his worthiness. Superkid happens to be an authority on soft.

Pops said, "If I ever get Alzheimer’s I hope I get stuck here" (me too!).

Attention East Coast Bloggers!

We are in the final days before the first East Coast Bloggers Party. All bloggers, real -live or lurkers welcome. I have it on good authority "Kimmy" will be there too.

The party van pulls out of here Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. Reserve your seat now. Any of you church ladies worried about being out too late, no worries I have a marathon curfew that night. We should be back 9:30. Give me a call, or send me an e-mail for more details!

Mazel Tof Ben!

Today was an exciting day for the Toads, we went to our first ever Bar Mitzvah! We are so proud of Ben and his vast knowledge of the Hebrew language. Today he taught us from the book of Leviticus about Leprosy (don't worry, because we didn't understand anything he said, our appetites were not affected for the Kiddish Luncheon). Some of us gained more from the service than others of us who spent time in the hall, as to not disrupt. We did make a new friend in the hall, though. Ben has an adorable 2 year old cousin that Abizella made fast friends with. We did try to make another attempt at listening, unfortunately we had some bad timing. Right as we sat back down in our seats the Rabbi said we were going to enjoy a moment of silence while they removed the Torah from the Holy Ark. Pops and I looked at each other in distress as the Rabbi shut the doors behind us. Unsure of Torah etiquitte, we rightfully worried about Abizella's ability to keep the silence and not being able to bolt out the back door when (not if) things went ugly. Other than Abizella's unrest, we had a wonderful time. The Cantor had a beautiful voice, the Rabbi was engaging, and Ben was competent and impressive.

And then there was the Kiddish Luncheon! The kid's favorite part was the bar. They enjoyed refilling their drinks over and over again.

Tadpole enjoyed the table cloths.

And everyone enjoyed the food so much that we couldn't put down our forks to take a picture.

Thank-you Ben for sharing this amazing day with us. Your family and friends are so warm and welcoming. We had a marvelous time!

"We the Girls!"

Abizella and I are little shopping buddies. I have to admit, there have been times I would rather gauge my eyes out with hot coals than take her shopping, but I think I have found the secret formula; leave Superkid somewhere else. When we drop Superkid off at pre-school it is "Girl Time". Abizella yells "Let's go shopping!" Which means we go to Target. It is the perfect gig. When I know we will end up going there several times a month (the real cost of pre-school revealed), I am not into high pressure shopping and we just wander around and play with things. And when I only have one kid wandering around it is more fun for everyone. On our last trip Abizella found a fancy pair of pink jelly shoes (did I ever mention that one of her first words was "Shoes!", before she was even 1 yr. old?). She insisted on wearing them through the store despite the fact that they were still tethered together. We shuffled over to the women's section where Abizella bolted (as best as she could with her feet tied together) and snatched up a BIG pair of pink jelly shoes for me! I laughed and lied and told her they were cute. She then insisted I take my socks off and try them on. They were rediculously big, but I did find a clear pair in my size and slipped them on. Abizella was not impressed. She said, "No, Mom. You got to wear PINK shoes like mine!" so together we dug for a smaller pink pair. I tried one shoe on to appease her. But she insisted, "No Mom, you have to try the other one too!" and with that she took off my other shoe and sock and placed the pink slipper on my foot. I was feeling like Cinderella by the time she finished. Then she declared, "It's a match!" And that is how I have come to own my first pair of jelly shoes. I was too cool for them the first time they came around in my youth.

Abizella is really into us wearing our matching shoes. I am really into babying my feet for the marathon. Whenever Abizella catches me without my blister-causing-non-supportive pink jelly shoes on, she says, "Mom, where are your pink jelly shoes? You got to wear them!" Then she proceeds to take matters into her own hands and put them on my feet for me and then tilts her head to the side and diminutively says, " There Mom. Is that better?"

So happy Early Mother's Day to me! Thanks Abizella, I can't think of anything I want more than to be more like you! Now I am just waiting to see what the men in my life come up with for my big day!

The Next Best Thing To Going To Hawaii...

...is having Grandma go to Hawaii and send us a package!

Superkid loves his Ukulele

and Abizella loves to dance to his tropical tunes in her new dress!

Why-Not Satiate That Cupcake Craving?

Ever since Andie and Boo came last Wednesday to hang out we haven't been able to get cupcakes off our minds. It all started after a flyby Johnny Cupcakes. I have to admit I set Andie up. We were heading back to my house after an afternoon of massages and lunch provided by Ironwoman, when I said to Andie, "Hey, do you want to swing by Johnny Cupcakes?" knowing full well I was teasing her sugar tooth. In my own defense, I thought if she was going to be a true East-coast girl and share a "locals-only" private beach pass with me this summer she better not shame me by drooling over fellow beach-go-ers T-shirts. You see, Johnny Cupcakes is a T-shirt shop, not a cupcake shop. And, I might add, it is not a T-shirt shop for cupcakes (as Ners and I found out by visiting the shop this fall and meeting a line of purple headed, black-leather, nose pierced, tattoed T-shirt fans lined up for the latest T-shirt release).

But poor Andie has been going nuts for a week, so when she called and said she was coming back our way, I knew the only humane thing to do was to find some good cupcakes. But first we worked up our appetite at the park...



And once we were good and hungry we all got to pick our favorite cupcake...

Superkid went with Spiderman

Boo went with the sprinkles

Abizella, of course, went for Elmo

And for the bonus adventure Superkid and Andie had with the Spiderman ring click here.

Why Not Get Down To Some Blogging?

Seems like since I started Why-Not-Wednesday I haven't posted a blog on an actual Wednesday, so here we go!

This week, I would like to post on last week's Why-Not-Wednesday. The activity was inspired by my upstanding citizen neighbor boy "Ice". About 3:00p.m. I saw him, in his full scouting uniform, dragging my garbage cans down the driveway and placing them in the backyard. We all ran to the backdoor to thank him. Upon stepping out on the back porch we realized we were missing out on a true Spring day. It was a little pocket of heaven. The kids raced back in to put on shoes, and we played in the back yard for a bit. Then (kill-joy mother form) I broke up the fun and got the kids engaged in some hard labor.


I figured Why-Not finish up raking up those leaves from last fall? And Why not trim back some bushes for optimal spring blossomage? Why-Not stop to appreciate a true sign of Spring, the emerging tulip leaves?



Work or play, it sure was nice to soak up a little sun.

For a truly radical Why-Not Wednesday activity click HERE!

and HERE ( I don't think this acountabilibuddy meeting can be topped!)