Trick or Treatin: What a Treat!

The kids had a great Halloween, and we all had fun trick or treating tonight!

 

Jerry and Caleb at the start of the night:

 

Norah and Caleb taking a little candy break on a scenic bench:

Norah, Miller, and Caleb sharing a box of Nerds:

 

Caleb stoked that he scored another box of Nerds:

 

This is Norah on sugar:

 



We had a lot of fun, the kids got a HAUL of candy, and while everyone stayed up past bedtime, they still got to bed at a reasonable time, without much drama or sugar-infused fuss.  All in all, an excellent close to what's felt like an entire week's celebration!

Fall Running

Following Sandy's innocent pass through our area at the end of last week, we have been graced with lovely weather: Cool, dry, 50s-60s.  Gorgeous!

Perfect for running.

Too bad there aren't more hours in the day.  I've been able to get out and enjoy short runs, but it would be nice to have the time for something longer.  Alas, with shrinking daylight and a busy schedule both at work and at home, it's hard to fit in even those short runs.

I hope the temperate weather lasts; I think Sunday we don't have anything planned...

Taking Kid Pics: A Mission Impossible

Getting one kid to look when you're taking a picture is a fate best left to chance; getting more than one kid to look at the camera at the same time?  Yeah, that's like this "Frankenstorm" -- happens once a century, I imagine.

 

 

Evidence?  Pics from today. 

 

Here are Norah (shorter version of Wedding Rapunzel) and Caleb (Spiderman) with their friends for a Halloween party today: I think each kid in each of these pics is looking in a separate direction.

 

So, you'd think the task might be easier if the numbers were reduced down to two, but nope, just as elusive a task.  This afternoon, we carved pumpkins, and I tried getting a few pics with the kids and their pumpkins.

Maybe because I watched the first half hour of "Talledega Nights" last night when it was on TV, but Norah, below, reminds me of Ricky Bobby in his first interview: "I don't know what to do with my hands!"

I tried taking Caleb's nook away, and this prompted him to come after me to retrieve it.

Jerry's pumpkin carving skills are impressive, but clearly distracting. (In case you can't tell, Jerry carved the Spiderman and Tinker Bell pumpkins and I did the artistically wonderous one on Caleb's lower left -- with triangle eyes and the "O" for a mouth.  Yes, my skillz are unmatched.)

And, sometimes, Norah just purposely ignores me when I'm taking pictures.  She can be a real gem.

And believe it or not, the above few with just Norah and Caleb were the product of bribery.  Yes, they each got a sucker for that performance.  If it weren't for suckers, I'd not manage any pics at all!

A Body in Motion

Everyone is familiar with Newton's 1st law of Motion: If an object is at rest, it will stay at rest; if an object is in motion, it will stay in motion. 

The same seems true of me and running.  When in a groove (training for a race or streaking), nothing can stop me from running.  But once I break that pattern, or routine, motivation is slow to return and I easily find excuses that allow me to skip running.

Thus, for the duration of my recent streak (3+ months), I ran more than 400 miles.  Then, I got sick, took 7 days off, and well; now the mileage is shaping up to be extremely pathetic (I may not break 50 miles for October).  It doesn't help that I'm at midterm in the semester, which aside from the end of the term, is the busiest few weeks of the semester, plus I feel like I have a bazillion other little things on my plate right now.  None of them big, but combined, I have felt overwhelmed lately.

Plus, it's raining.  It's called Hurricane Sandy -- have you heard about it?  (Read that question with dripping sarcasm; who hasn't heard about the news-hyped storm that has been labeled a "Frankenstorm"?  My god, news channels must be slobbering with excitement: election climax plus giant storm?  Jesus Jetfuel Christ, it must be the ideal ratings potential!)

So, I've taken the past 2 days off.  And today it's really rainy and windy...so, yeah, someone needs to shove me out the door and just demand that I run.

Dammit.  Guess I have to do that myself, huh?

Jess: 4 Bugs: 0

Yesterday, in comically cliche running fashion, I gulped down two bugs.  It was the sort of ingestion that we typically imagine when we picture insects flying into our gullets: The two literally went THWAP! against the back of my throat as I inhaled them with my gusty running lungs.

Other than swallowing two bugs, I also got one in my eye, and one flew straight up one nostril.

It was an all out bug-assault, and I was like a Jess Tank mowing down the flying insect population.  Odd for this time of year; I don't usually think of late October, when we have cooler more temperate weather, as being the normal environment for spawning these small, black gnats.  But, nature sometimes surprises.

Running on Beat Legs

Yesterday, Michelle Obama visited the college campus where I teach.  For me, it felt like a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to see the First Lady, so I was excited to see her speak.  Her speech was good: She was articulate, intelligent, but she also felt very accessible and "homey," and she was by turns humorous, contemplative, rousing, motivating, and she even got me to tear up a little -- which is no easy task -- so by all means it was a worthwhile opportunity for me to see her.

However, seeing her basically took up my entire day, and it demanded a LOT of standing and waiting.

The standing and waiting began at 11:30 when my friends and colleagues and I went to wait in line outside the gym where she was speaking.  It wasn't a bad day to be outside (we lucked out that it was a temperate day yesterday), but still, high noon meant temps in the low 80s.  In the shade, we were comfortable, but in the sun, we broiled.  The line was a painstakingly slow crawl through security, and it took us 2 and 1/2 hours to get into the gym!

Once inside, it was another hour+ before the First Lady took the stage, and then she spoke for about 40 minutes.  So, by the time I left, I had been standing for nearly 5 hours.  I hadn't peed, I hadn't drunk much water (because I didn't know what the bathroom situation would be), and I hadn't eaten anything.  I was toast.

Standing wears me out.  I mean, I'm used to being on my feet for several hours a day teaching, but standing?  Standing is different.  It wears my legs out, but also my lower back.  And, I think I'm worse than a child about waiting; it's so mentally tedious for me, even with company to chat with, and I can be incredibly impatient about lines (just ask Jerry about me and theme parks; he says I'm worse than any kid).

So, seeing the First Lady was a good experience, but also a tiring one, both physically and mentally.  Thus, when it came time to run yesterday evening, I really wasn't feeling it.  But, I also knew that I wanted to get out there, so I trudged through 3 slow, hard miles on tired legs.  Once done, I was pleased I had gotten out there, even if it took what felt like for.ev.er. to run those 3 miles.  Next time, though, it would be smart to run before choosing to stand for most of the day!

Jell-O Faces, Puke, a Speeding Ticket, and the Zoo: aka, A Weekend with Jess

1.  I don't know if it's the excitement of Jell-O, or if he's just a natural goofball, but Saturday afternoon after some raspberry Jell-O for snack, Caleb was hamming it up for the camera.  Here are a few poses that struck me as particularly funny:

 

 

2.  So, you saw the red Jell-O, right?  Norah had that too.  After snack, we went to Target, and on our way home, Norah suddenly barfed all over the car -- bright red puke shot out of her, like the scene in The Exorcist.  We were seconds from home, so we were able to get her out of her puke puddle and into the house and get her cleaned up.  (The car was another matter; that took some CLEANING.)  After the volcano of vomit, I was bracing myself: Dear God, I just spent a month being sick, is this the start of a new round? 

 

Thankfully, it didn't materialize to much.  Norah was fine the rest of the evening; Caleb had one loosey-goosey diaper, and was fine; Jerry complained of feeling gross, but nothing much came of that but whining; and I had a bit of deuce juice first thing this morning, but a half dose of Immodium took care of that.  *Knock on wood,* but I think we just flirted with whatever this bug was.

 

3.  Today, we went to the Palm Beach Zoo for their annual Boo at the Zoo.  On our way there, I was busy talking to my SIL, who's down for a few days, and I wasn't really paying attention to my lead foot...until that damn highway patrol's lights came on in my rearview.  Nerds!  He wasn't willing to be lenient with me, and was even painfully sanctimonious, "Look at you, transporting such precious cargo at that speed"; save it dude, the ticket is enough, thanks.  So, I think I've gotta hire one of those ticket clinics for this one; the cost of the citation is outrageous, and it demands a court appearance.  Dang nabbit.

 

Otherwise, our trip to the zoo was fun:

 

Still, that ticket left a sour taste.  I suppose it's karma: I deliver a hard lesson to a student for cheating, and Fate makes sure I too get to learn a tough lesson.  Phooey.

Week's Wrap Up

Thanks for the comments on yesterday's student dilemma; you guys all had some strong, and insightful, opinions about the issue.  Truth is, as soon as I typed the post and hit "publish," I'd already confirmed my decision; sometimes, I just need to write a problem out to find my solution. 

I stuck to my initial decision, and syllabus guideline, that the student fail the class.

There are details here that I've excluded for simplicity's sake, but basically, the essay's plagiarism was deliberate and blatant, and my syllabus clearly defines this and its consequences.  Ultimately, it's not fair to other students if I allow one person to circumvent my policies.

And, yes, I've had other students plagiarize before; in fact, I've had MANY cases of plagiarism -- each, I've treated in the same way, but occasionally, a student reacts in an unexpected manner that gives me pause.  Thankfully, plagiarism has actually declined it the past few years (due in large part to software detection that professors have at their disposal), but it still crops up about once or twice a year.

I've taught at the college level for 12 years now, and one of the biggest challenges is remembering to treat students as individuals.  I teach either 5 or 6 sections per semester, each class with a seat capacity of 25 students, so on average, each semester I have somewhere around 125-150 students.  It's easy to think of them, and their work, as a mass: As the cliche goes, "It's hard to see the forest for the trees."  So, sometimes when a student pleads with me or complains to me about a decision I've made, it forces me to remember that this student is unique, and I have to step back for a moment and make sure that I've considered them thusly.

Anyhoo, like I said, I made what I believe is the fairest decision and I informed the student of that decision, and she seemed to accept that.

In other news, I stood in line this morning for an hour and half for tickets on Monday to see the First Lady speak on our campus.  Now I just have to finagle some other instructor to cover my classes so I can actually go see the First Lady's speech.  That and find parking on Monday -- our campus is likely to be a quagmire in all regards because of the event.

Lastly, in actual running business, I decided to rest yesterday.  Part of me wanted to jump straight back into another streak, but after the time off, I think I need to work back up to that.  But, I do plan to run today and through the weekend.

So, happy weekend to everyone -- hope it's filled with some good running!

Sore

Last night, I ran another 3 miler as a follow up to Tuesday's start back to running.  My legs were a little stiff at first but they warmed up enough and the run went decently (slow but steady).  Today, though, I can really feel the back-to-back runs in my quads.  It's been awhile since I've felt sore from running; strangely, it's kind of an enjoyable feeling.

Am I sick in the brain or what?

In other news, I have a student issue weighing on me, which has been making my brain sore.  I had a student plagiarize an essay.  My policy on plagiarism is very rigid: Students who deliberately plagiarize (submit work that is not theirs -- and this student's work was NOT hers, it was copied from various websites) fail my class.  End of story: failure.  But...the student is now pleading with me for a second chance, and I'm on the fence about it.

Part of me feels like I need to stick to my syllabus' policy, which is harsh (I take the hardest possible line of punishment the college allows because I feel plagiarism is a serious affront to academic integrity), but I typically feel that students who plagiarize need the harsh lesson -- you steel, you pay.  However, another softer part of me feels that people do deserve second chances, and that perhaps a merciful approach provides just as much of a "teachable moment."

As I was running last night, I tried to sort through a solution, but I felt like I could argue with myself for both sides and 3 miles weren't enough to come up with a way to solve my dilemma. 

What's your opinion?  Deliver the hard lesson, or take the opportunity to allow someone to learn from her mistake and correct it?

Man, to even be thinking about allowing her a second chance means I'm getting to be a softie.  Some colleagues and I were talking about how parenting has changed our teaching the other day, and I said I didn't think it had changed me much: Now I see how it has. 

Running to Decongest

Yesterday, after 7 days off, I went for a run.  Not only had I taken 7 days off, but before that, it'd been weeks of nothing but 1-3 milers.  I don't feel like I'm "starting over" with running, but I do feel as though some ground was lost due to nearly a month's worth of illness. 

Thus, the 3 miler last night was a bit laborious: My lungs burned a bit at first since I still have some major respiratory congestion, but I am the sort who believes that running is a good decongestant, so I figure the running is just loosening some of those goobers up.  After I warmed up some, though, the running went smoothly and it felt good to be back at it: My legs and my brain had missed it.

Afterward, I coughed for about 10 solid minutes, but it was "productive" coughing, so it was annoying, but probably good to get some of that gunk out.  Now, if only running could help unplug my ears; I'd like to be able to hear again.

Pumpkin Patch, October Crafts, and Miscellany

After 100 consecutive days of running, I haven't run in 6 days.  It pains me to have such a huge gap, but I have been sick, yo.  I'm healin', though, bit by bit.  Right now, I'm feeling better but my congestion is awful, I have no voice, my ears are plugged, and I have a cough that sounds like I've been smoking for 20 years.  Not sure when I'll be completely healed or when I'll try for a run, so I figured I'd go ahead and fill the silence with fun pics of the kids.  Who doesn't like that?

You'd never figure that I've been sick by all the activities we've been up to lately (which is maybe why it's so tough for a mom to get over being sick); it's been lots of fall festivities!

This past weekend, we made a pilgrimage to the pumpkin patch.

Here's Norah selecting a pumpkin; she pretty much wanted to take all of them home:

Caleb thought the pumpkins were cool too:

Here's the whole fam damily on the tractor ride; if Caleb weren't giving the camera the stink eye, I'd blow this up to an 8 X 10 and frame it since it has to be the first pic of all 4 of us where we're all looking at the camera:

Caleb being used as a periscope in the corn maze:

Norah and Caleb doing their best to pose for one of the many pictures I'm always demanding of them.  They did a decent job: Caleb is smiling, Norah was willing to put an arm around him, and wave: One day I'll have these monkeys fully trained!

Aside from the pumpkin patch, we've been getting in the Halloween mood with some crafts.  Here are the kids sporting their spider hats:

And here are some pumpkins they glued faces on; Norah's cracks me up.  It looks so menacing, which is the effect of turning both the smile and the eyebrows upside down.  Not sure if she intentionally wanted this effect or not:

And here's how Caleb markers his witch's mask:

Which shouldn't surprise us since this is how I find him all too often:

Sidenote to the above: The pictured deodorant later went missing and has yet to be found.  Our home is a blackhole where items simply disappear.  I assume the deodorant went where the lid to the mayo jar did.  Yes, we are missing the lid to our mayo.  That's our house. 

Uncle

There's only so long one can continue to wisely run when so clearly sick.  I don't necessarily think that streaking has prevented me from getting better, but it probably hasn't helped either, so yesterday...I didn't run.  And I don't plan on it today either.

Thus, endeth the streak.  Made it 100 days.  Guess I'll try and break that number some other time.  For now, I need to rest and get over this bug.

Plus, I'm sick of writing about how sick I am, so expect silence on my end until I'm over this thing.  If the silence lasts longer than a week or so, assume "this thing" killed me.

100 Days

Friday night, Jerry woke me up to tell me that I felt "like lava."  Then, he rolled over and went back to sleep.  7 or 8 years ago, I think he would've stayed awake long enough to offer to get me something.  As it is, after 7 years of marriage and two kids, I guess I'm on my own when sick.

So, I got up to check my temp (102, BTW), got some aspirin, some water, and went back to bed.  Later, I woke up so drenched in sweat that I had to get up, change my clothes, and chose to go to sleep on the couch rather than get back in under the sweaty sheets.

In a sense, that was my weekend: Fever, accompanied by sore throat, congestion, and ears so plugged I can barely hear.  Yippie!  Isn't that how everyone wants to spend their weekend?

Meanwhile, as for the running, on Friday night, Jerry says to me: "Do you think it's a good idea to keep running?"

Argh!  I've been asking him that question for 2 weeks and the gist of his advice has been: "Do whatcha want, honey."

I told him: "Well, I'm only a few days away from reaching 100 days; I can't stop until at least then.  I'll just run 1 milers all weekend."

Him: "Yeah, but...are you really gonna stop at 100 days?  That's your record.  I don't think you're gonna be happy just tying that; you're gonna want to go to 150 days or 200 days, or 365 days."

Ummm...so after 7 years of marriage I guess he won't fetch aspirin, but he does know me.

So, I ran the requisite 1 milers all weekend, which was disappointing when I'd had high hopes mid-week last week, but c'est la vie.  I'm trying not to dwell on what I'm not accomplishing and trying to remind myself of what I am accomplishing.  

And, today?  Today is day #100.

Stop Typing Now

I think I have to think twice before typing the sentence "I feel better now."  Karma sees that sentence published so boldly on the interweb and is like, "Oh yeah?  Well, then, hows about we fix that!"

So, yeah, I'm kinda feel crappy again.  This time, I think it may be something new since it now comes outfitted with a sore throat and some mild congestion.  Caleb is super snotty and has a horrible, wet cough; Norah is also vaguely sick, but these things don't affect her like they do Caleb.

Apparently, all of our immune systems are like eager puppies who just want to roll onto their backs and let these viruses tickle their bellies.  That, or I suppose I should stop licking the snot of their faces.

What?  That's not a legit method of child nose cleaning?  Did you just mouth vomit a little?

Happy to make your Friday.

Looking Back at September

I know, I know, we're already 4 days into October, but I never had a chance to review September, so here goes:

The month started strong, and then I was struck down by disease and was basically reduced to running the bare minimum for 2 solid weeks.  I went from running 40 mile weeks to eeking out 15 mile weeks.  I'm not sure which upset me more: Feeling like crap every single day for 2 weeks, or having to reign in the mileage so dramatically.

In the end, I ran 113 miles in September -- the lowest monthly mileage in my streak so far -- but, hey, I still broke 100 miles, so that makes me feel decent.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any real long runs done as I'd hoped, so while I had tentatively been thinking of an HM at the end of this month or beginning of next, I think I'm going to have to skip those opportunities and aim for a late Nov or early Dec HM to round out the year.

Ultimately, it sucks that I spent 10 of the month's 30 days suffering from a mysterious illness, but the streak survived.  There were a few days there last week when I almost threw in the towel, but phew, I sure am glad I didn't!  I may have run more 1 milers than I would've liked, but at least I ran them.

So, on to October!

I plan to continue streaking (especially now that I'm a mere 4 days away from reaching 100 consecutive days), and this month, for serious, I want to start logging some long runs.

This week, I have been taking it pretty easy.  Each day this week I've been feeling better by small increments, but I don't want to push myself too hard when this virus has clearly sucker-punched me.  So, I've been sticking to 3 milers, but hopefully, tomorrow and this weekend (fingers crossed), I'm feeling good enough to log a little farther distances.

One thing I can say for certain about being sick for a long period of time: It makes you appreciate feeling healthy!  For the past couple of mornings when I wake up and don't feel totally awful, I'm like "Yay!  This is awesome!"

Welcome Surprise

Today, for the first time in about 6 weeks, I turned on the shower in the faculty locker room and...BLAMMO! 

H-O-T water!

The maintenance gnomes who work in that building must've finally gotten around to fixing whatever had been ailing the hot water heater, and I was blessed with the most glorious post-run shower since the start of the semester.

Halleluja and holy shit!  Things must be turning around for me.

And on the 12th Day of Viral Infection, My Fever Gave to Me

This morning was the first morning in 12 days where I woke up and didn't feel entirely like warm turd.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't wake up feeling like unicorns had been kissing me all night, but to wake up and feel even a smidgen like myself was a welcome feeling.  I still took two Advil to ward off the small undercurrent of crud I could still feel, but I think I may be on the mend (*knock on wood*).

Coincidentally, the dr. called this morning with the results of my blood test, and it showed that I had nada.  No mono.  No bacterial infections.  Nuthin.  So, again, the dr. reiterated that I was probably just fighting a particularly clingy virus. 

Incidentally, Jerry said he woke up this morning and felt a little icky.  He said his throat was sore.  Uh-oh.  I hope I didn't pass on the 12 Days of Ick to him!  Ah, the gift of marriage: Wherein you get to share EVERYthing.

In the meanwhile, I haven't let this bothersome bug interrupt the streak.  Over the weekend, I did my best to rest as much as possible so I just stuck to 1 milers, but today I ran 3 miles, and felt pretty decent.

Today is Day #93.  7 more days and I tie my 100 day streak from 2010!  Virus, schmirus!  I gots to keep running, yo.

Update

So, I ended up going to the doctor yesterday.  They did a urine test, a throat culture, a flu test, and drew my blood.  The results of the blood test are still out, but everything else came back negative, so the prognosis?  "Probably some kind of virus."

Today, I decided to take the day off work so I could get some extra rest.  I think I've been trying too hard to just plow through this ick, but I think I clearly need some rest.  I slept this morning for an extra 3 hours.  It was pretty awesome.

Hopefully, by the time the blood test results come back, I'm feeling better.

As for the running, the doctor was not totally for it, but wasn't totally against it either.  I take that as a green light on at least getting short runs done to keep the streak active.

I'm too sick to work, but dammit, I'm not too sick to run! :)

Wednesday's Wondering

I have been running a low grade fever for 7 days now.  It's my only symptom (that, and a fever's accompanying side effects: chills, aches, fatigue).  I manage it easily enough by taking two Advil first thing in the morning and two in the late afternoon; while the Advil is in effect, I feel pretty much fine, but when it wears off, I feel like shark farts again.

So, using the all-knowing, and of course, trustworthy, powers of the interweb, I have determined that I either have a common virus or I have cancer.  Oh, WebMd had 91 other possibilities mixed in there as well: In case you're wondering, a low grade fever is THE most generic symptom you can exhibit, so it pretty much qualifies you to have everything from Lyme's disease to AIDS.

Thus, for you dear readers, who also have all sorts of interweb medical expertise, I have two questions for you:

My one question at this point is this: Should I go see an actual doctor?  I keep thinking, "Eh, this is gonna pass in another day.  A doctor is just going to charge me my co-pay, tell me I have a virus, and send me on my way."  But then another day passes, and I wake up and still feel like warm poo.

My other question, which I may be far likelier to ignore your advice on, is this: Is running right now advisable?  Because I'm still running.  Not much -- 3 miles a day -- but I haven't let this break my streak (today's run was day #89: I really can't stop now!).  Like I said above, with Advil, I feel alright and the exercise is manageable, but it does tire me out, thus, the short duration.  I also wonder if I'm doing myself in any favors in shaking whatever I've got by powering through the running each day.  Still, if I quit now, and then I suddenly get over this temporary plague, I would KICK myself for breaking the streak!

Any thoughts?  Suggestions?  Do you think this fever will kill me and that I'll then re-animate as a zombie?  Thats' really the worst case scenario, right?

Weekend Wrap Up

The weekend was a whirlwind of airports, the wedding, and more airports.  But I had a lovely (but brief) visit to DC and the wedding I attended was nice -- and probably the most unique wedding I've ever attended (can you top a gay, Wiccan wedding among the weddings you've attended?  if not, add it to your to-do list!).

I got back home Saturday night and was simply pooped.  A combination of flying, the Drammamine necessary for me to fly, wine at the wedding, and still not feeling "right," left me exhausted.  Yesterday, I played catch up with household chores, and even with a nearly 2 hour afternoon nap, I was still beat at the end of the day and still not feeling good.  So, I went to bed when Norah did.  At 8 pm.

This morning, after 11 hours of sleep, I think I am better.  I seriously don't know if I've been sick or what -- it's like I have "kinda sick" symptoms but not totally.  It's weird.  (I also had very strange dreams last night; fever dreams?  I don't know, but I can tell you there were zombies.  And I haven't been watching or reading any zombie stuff as of late.)

Despite the travel and the not feeling on top of my game, I did keep up with the running over the weekend, although I'm sad to report that I totally missed out on great running in DC (weather was PERFECT).  There just wasn't time for more than a short treadmill run in my hotel early Saturday morning.

I'm hoping that this week is a week of routine -- I could really use a "regular" week -- and I hope I get over whatever "bug" I've had.  I've been alternating between chills and sweats for almost 4 days now, so if I'm not over it soon, I'm certain it's the plague.

1 Miler

In a streak, there is always the safety net distance of completing at least 1 mile in a day to keep a streak active.

That's what I fell back on this morning.

Last night, I had a weird night's sleep: I woke up at midnight with chills.  I felt sore, achy, and cold.  Then, a few hours later, I woke up completely drenched in sweat.  I either have the little virus that Caleb had (his only symptom was a fever, so I still don't know if he had a virus or was just teething), or I'm going through menopause.

When I got up this morning, I just wasn't feeling "good."  Nothing in particular was paining me or making me feel ill, but I sorely wanted to just crawl back into bed and sleep a few more hours.  Since that wasn't an option, I went out and just did the 1 mile minimum.  It was slow. 

Now, I have class and then I'm off to the airport for my trip to DC.  I doubt there will be an opportunity for me later this evening for more miles, so I think I'll just have to let that 1 miler stand as today's run.  So far this week, I'm logging the lowest mileage since June.

Eh.  I suspect the world won't end.

Ayhoo...I'm looking forward to getting some extra winks on the plane and reading my book.  Enjoy your weekends!  Check ya later.

The Minimum Requirements

This week has been a bit...busy.

My SIL was in town visiting for a few days.  Caleb was sick (or just teething, I don't know, either way, he's been a Crab Apple).  And, tomorrow, I leave for a day away to attend a wedding in DC.

It's not overwhelming or anything, but combine the irregular week with seemingly low levels of energy (maybe I'm getting sick, or teething?), and I have just been scraping by each day with the running.  3 milers all week.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.  It has kept the streak active, and 30 minutes of running each day is still decent, but for it to be Thursday and to have only run 15 miles so far this week...well, it feels like I'm being a slacker.

Perhaps I'll perk up over the weekend (I'm looking forward to being able to run Saturday morning in DC -- I better get some autumn temps!), and then next week presumably will be back to a more normal routine for our family, and hopefully, for the running as well!

Robot Commentors

So, what's the 411 about comment settings on blogs? 

I always used to have the word verification, but I know that since Blogger changed it and made it more complex, some readers have a hard time deciphering it and just give up on trying to comment (and I know from reading some others' blogs that it IS a pain).  So, I removed the word verification.

And now?

All kinds of spam is filling my email via the comments section.  Sorry, "Anonymous," I have no need for prescription drugs or to contribute money to a disposed Nigerian prince.  It's annoying.

Because I open my email and I get all excited at first: "Ohhh!  25 new comments?!"  And then I discover that it's all just random characters cobbled together or an add for knock-off Louis Vitton purses.  Nerds!

Does anyone who doesn't use the word verification get this much spam?  A few of you, I note, use the comment moderator, is that better or more of a headache since you have to approve each comment?  Should I just accept the robot comments and be happy robots are even reading?

Let me know your thoughts as blog writers, and preferences as blog readers.  "Anonymous"?  You can just butt out of this discussion; take a little robot siesta.

Boremill

bore'mill (bor'mil) n. A machine designed for the ease and convenience of running that inadvertantly creates almost universal running lethargy in users. Frequent users may find that the machine's reptition and tedium induce intense user boredom and unusual fatigue.  Especially on a rainy Monday morning (which, for 8 academic years has always been a holiday, but was determined this year to NOT be an academic holiday) when the user slept poorly.

Such users may find that instead of running an intended 6 miles, he or she can only eek out 3, and even that may feel strenuous.

Users of this nature may be named Jess.

A Walk in the Woods

Nearby, there's a "Nature Trail" -- ie, a 1/3 mile loop of spared swamp in the middle of suburbia -- and often I take the kids there to walk.  It's relaxing for me because I don't have to worry about cars, and it's more scenic than a regular walk in the neighborhood, and in 1/3 of a mile, these two find more than enough sticks, pine cones, rocks, etc to fascinate them.  That 1/3 of mile typically takes us 30 minutes to walk.

 

Anyhoo, this afternoon, I decided to take my camera along and snap a few kid pics along the trail.

 

Caleb struttin' his stuff:

 

Norah posing with a weird look on her face.  She was very proud of her outfit today (when she picked it out, she emerged from her room and asked: "Hey guys, does this look cool?"  I told her it was totally cool.  Shhhhh!  Don't tell her about not wearing white after Labor Day!), so she was actually sorta, kinda cooperative about pics.  Still, I told her to "smile natural" and I mainly got looks like this one:

Halfway through the walk, there's a long boardwalk over the swampy part, and Norah refers to this as the "Troll Bridge."  It's her favorite part.  Starting from here, she had a series of pics wherein she posed with hands on hips in each one:

Typically, Caleb gets tired toward the end of the walk, and he's not adverse to just laying down in protest.  Here, he was initially looking at some plants between the slats of the boardwalk, and then he just gave up, and was like, "Nah, I don't think I wanna walk anymore."

On the other hand, it takes a LOT to wear down Norah; here she is burning off a little extra energy:

After the boardwalk, Caleb was ready to ride, and Norah is all too happy to push him.  She often doesn't watch where she's going, though, so I have to keep steering them out of the pine needles.

At the end of the walk, there was a nice breeze, and Norah declared: "Ah! It's a nice summer day!"  I informed her that it was, in fact, fall now.

Her: "What's fall?"

Me: "Well, in other places, fall is when the temperature gets cooler and the leaves change color."

Her: "What leaves change color?"

Me: "All kinds of leaves.  They turn red, and orange, and yellow!  But, here in FL, we don't have that.  It's basically summer all year."

She thought on that for a moment and then said, "Yeah, I like summer."

Most people do, I told her.  Me?  I always miss autumn.  Come mid-September, I'd be totally willing to trade 90 degrees and green leaves for crisp temps and colorful leaves.  Enjoy it, if that's where you are!

Foto Friday

So, this is my little hambone right now:

 

 

I ask him to "smile!" and he* does it:

 

Norah, however, when I ask her to "smile," I get this artificial smile where her eyes aren't even open:

 

Or, she just flat out refuses me and keeps picking her nose:

Kids in this generation have to be THE most photographed...ever...so I understand Norah's camera-weariness, but in general, being 3 is an obnoxious age that seems filled with bossiness, bargains, and demands; so it's nice to still have Caleb be my "baby" and smile nicely for the camera.  I'm sure that, soon enough, he too will ignore me and/or give me the fake smile.

*Something else I'm appreciating about Caleb, and his age, right now: He eats!  Simple enough, right?  Not for Norah.  She treats each meal like a hostage situation.  If she had a panic room, she'd use it when we called "dinner!"  Caleb, on the other hand, eats everything (veggies? yes, please!  meat? sure!) and eats it ALL.  Shows too: He grew 3 inches and gained more than 3 lbs the past 3 months.  He doubled in clothing size.  The one upper hand Norah has in this comparison?  She's potty trained.  Yup, that's about all I can come up with right now...

Ego Boost

One of the best parts about running on the treadmill at the campus gym is being flanked by students, most of whom are a traditional age: 18-22.  So, why is it awesome running next to them?

Because I out-run them, that's why!

99.9% of the time (yes, I conducted a scientific study), I either run faster and/or farther.  This morning, for example, I ran 6 miles, and in that time, I got new tready neighbors 3 times -- one girl merely walked at a 1.5 speed for 10 minutes (I don't know if she went off and did something else more strenuous, but that pace/distance is about enough exertion to only burn the calories off a Tic Tac).

This is like a fuzzy blanket for my ego: I'm older, but when it comes to running, clearly, I'm more awesome.

Or, perhaps, I'm just WAY sweatier and smellier so they're eager to move along. 

I choose to go with the previous theory.

Looking Back

I initially forgot that today was 9/11, but then on my way to work, NPR had a segment on the memorial services being held, and suddenly, I was reminded of the significance of the day.

Every generation has a day like today: My grandparents remember where they were when Pearl Harbor was bombed, my parents remember where they were when Kennedy was shot, and I distinctly remember where I was when the Twin Towers were hit.

I was in a graduate seminar in poetry.  We were studying an Emily Dickinson poem.  Because if you're an English graduate student, that's what you spend your time doing: You sit in a conference room with 8 or 9 other like-minded-literary-nerds and explicate the bejesus out of a work -- "kicking the dead horse" my friend used to say.  For hours.  It's awesome.

Anyway, I remember, we were taking a break, so we all emerged from the room we had been in and there was chaos in the hallways.  SOMEthing was happening, but we had no idea what.  Quickly, we learned that a plane had hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center, but at that time, no one knew why -- initially, everyone thought it was an accident.  At that point, someone had wheeled a TV out into the hallway where faculty and other grad students were gathering, and they flicked on the TV and there we saw the second plane hit the second tower.

Everyone just gasped.

WTF was happening?  No one seemed able to comprehend what we'd just seen.  It was clear with that footage that that 2nd plane had steered, purposely, into the tower, but the very idea seemed incomprehensible, absurd.

And then, it was break over, and we went back to our studies -- although I can't remember if we held a full class after that or if we left early since everyone was so distracted and confused that focusing on metaphors seemed too much for our brains to comprehend.

Later that evening, I went to work at the restaurant where I was a server.  The restaurant had decided to remain open, but that was clearly pointless; it was dead that night.  I think I had one, maybe two tables, and then we all just packed it in and went home to watch the news repeat the footage of that second plane over,  and over, and over, again.  I went to bed that night feeling shocked and confused.

All of that is what I thought about this morning as I ran my 5 miles on the treadmill.  Around me, were students who were all children when the planes hit those towers, and I wondered if the event carried as much weight in their collective memories since they were so young when it happened (although, for me, I do remember how tragic it was watching the Challenger explode during take off -- we watched that on TV at school, I was in 1st grade; we'd been studying space exploration in preparation of that launch; watching it explode was surreal).

So, here we all are 11 years later.  I teach some of Dickinson's poetry in my literature classes, which seems fitting to me: Towers fall, wars are waged, people are changed, but poetry -- and literature as a whole -- remains steadfast in capturing the diversities and universalities of the human condition.  No matter the day, or the circumstances, it is always worth reading.

Where were you?

On Shoes

Last week, Kathee asked a significant question: "If you are running THAT many miles, how often are you changing shoes??"

Short answer: I'm not changing my shoes.  AT ALL.

I've been running in my current pair of Brooks Adrenalines for more than 1,000 miles.  Holes are literally wearing through the tread.  But...I think they still have some life in 'em.

LOOOOOOOONG answer:  I no longer buy into what shoe companies have long led me to believe about how I should change my shoes every 300 miles.  And, in that vein, I'm not really sure there's any benefit, at all, to wearing "running" shoes.  Yes, I've gone hippie in my thinking.  Kinda.

For the longest time, I made fun of my beloved runner friends who decided to ditch their shoes, either for minimalist shoes, Vibrams, or for full-out barefoot.  I dismissed barefoot or minimalist running as a trend, and often joked that for each pair of Vibrams, they should sell a vial of patchouli.

Then I read Christopher McDougall's "Born to Run" and I had to admit: He had a well-reasoned argument against running shoes, especially the typical stability shoe that most of us run in.  So, I went experimenting.  Earlier this year, I tried two different minimalist shoes: Brooks PureConnects and New Balance's Minimus.  I feel a gave each one a fair shake, but in the end, neither really worked for me.  I pretty much flat out hated the PureConnects, and while I think the Minimus are comfy for everyday walking around and some light running, ultimately, they felt too flat to me.

So I went back to the pair of Brooks Adrenalines (my stability shoe, brand and model, that I'd been wearing for years), and it was like slipping back into a pair of comfy sweat pants: Ahhhhhh!

Arguably, there are MANY other pairs of minimalist shoes out there that I could test out, and there are always the Vibrams and the totally barefoot approaches, but here's what I think about that: Nah.  Why keep testing new shoes when I have shoes that I like and that work well for me?  Same with barefoot running.  I love to scamper through grass barefoot as much as anyone, but I couldn't imagine setting out for a 6 miler on the suburban sidewalks where I run without any shoes.

And here's the lowdown for me: I haven't had any running-related injury in more than 6 years, and when I did experience injury (ITBS), I attribute that more to inconsistent/inadequate training than I do to any shoe failure.

But, all that being said, I return to what I said before: I don't necessarily think I need to frequently replace my shoes; I think they can hold out much longer than what shoe companies prescribe (clearly, their motives are questionable in this debate).  And, I can't say that "running" shoes work well for every runner. 

So the long and short about how I feel about shoes?  Wear what works, for as long or as short a duration as they work.  Only time and experience allow us each to find what works best for each runner.

Whirlwind Weekend Wrap Up

Phew, what a weekend!

It included Saturday swim lessons, a 4 year old's birthday party, a 33 and 39 year olds' birthday party, and Disney on Ice.  Plus the week's regular shopping: Publix and Target.  Jerry would probably include on there the start of football, and I should probably add that too since he's so distracted managing his bazillion fantasy teams on Sundays that he's pretty much useless for 17 weeks.

I managed the bare minimum running (a 3 miler yesterday and a 4 miler today), but I fit it into a weekend where I feel like we jammed a whole month's worth of acitivities into 2 days.

The reward, however, for being so busy?  Norah was lights out tonight at 6:15, and Caleb was in bed at 6:30.  I feel like I gained an extra 2 hours of my life!

That being said, I'm sorry, but I'm not spending that extra time blogging.  I think I'll go read and go to bed.

Wish I could sleep through until next weekend!

Thousands of Things Thursday

The running continues on, but there's not really anything to report there.  So, I figure I'll jibber-jabber about the kids today.

Norah

This pic, below, is from last weekend, at our friend's son's (Mason, who you may remember me heroically freeing from the confines of our bedroom two weeks ago) 1 year old b-day party.  His actual b-day is today, and Norah is sitting with her friend Rylee, whose b-day is also today (we like to keep things tight in our circle of friends).  Look how sweet Norah is smiling here.  She never smiles like that when I want to take her picture.

So, Norah Beans, what's she up to as of late?

Well, all kinds of stuff, actually.  She turned 3 a few weeks ago, you know, so now she's got a full-blown LIFE.  Complete with exta-curriculars and everything.  She's taking swimming lessons on Saturdays right now, and she's doing Zumba on Thursdays.  Zumba, right?!  It wouldn't have occurred to me either, but her school offers it and they had a free class last week, and turns out, dancing around like a wild person to wild music is right up Norah's alley!  We always knew some kind of refined dancing wouldn't really jive with her personality, but this?  This makes sense.

She's also a chatty-Cathy lately.  We do all kinds of talking now, and some of our riveting conversations have included the following pertinent information: Tigers are kinda scary, but she likes kangaroos; she wishes she had a Tinker Bell on hand so she could fly -- she needs Tink's pixie dust; and, can you believe this?  Some kids at school do NOT have Scooter dogs!  The very idea, right?  (Their parents must enjoy not waking up to dog yak first thing in the morning.)

Lastly, we can't seem to get her out of our bed lately.  She's like a case of bed bugs and our bedroom is like an NYC hotel room.  Sometimes she waits until the very wee hours of morning, like 5:30 or 6 am, to sneak in; other times though, she just appears there around 2 or 3 am, and I only know she's there because I wake up with her leg draped across my neck.

Between her delivering a roundhouse to my head each night, and Scooter crowding my feet each night, I either need a bigger bed, or Norah does -- so I can go sleep in there!

Caleb
This dude just remains the cutest little bugger ever.

Contrary to his sister, he is not talking much, though.  Oh, he talks, he has a handful of "words" -- words in the sense that Jerry, Norah, and I know what he's saying but would just sound like the screeches of a pterodactyl to anyone else.  But, despite not saying much, he's understanding basically everything now, and that's handy because I can now issue commands.

"Go get your shoes," "put this in the trash," and his favorite: "go get a towel and clean this up."  Strangely, the dude LIVES to wipe up messes off the floor.  He practically races to get a kitchen towel when either he or Norah spill.

But, already, he can also be a real shit pickle: Hitting, pulling Norah's hair, coloring on the floor with markers (this one is gonna give Jerry a stroke one day -- you can practically SEE the veins in his head collapsing when he spots Caleb + markers), eating Norah's art supplies, playing with the toilet plunger (another bane of Jerry's existence), and one of his favorite mischievous activities: unrolling every square of T.P. in the house.  We just have piles of toilet paper now, nothing stays spooled.

I guess he has to have extra-curriculars too!

August Tally, Day #66, and that Fresh Fall Feeling

August was not the epic running month I had hoped it would be.  There were many small interruptions and events that made for a busy month to continue with my streak and to aim for some mega mileage: Norah's 3rd birthday and birthday party, I was sick (twice), we had the start of the school year, and we had TS Isaac sweep through.

Considering all of that, I can't complain.  It wasn't an epic month, and my goal week of a 50 mile week slipped (temporarily) out of my radar, but I still had a very solid month, running a total of 150 miles and adding 31 more days to my streak.

September will likely be just as busy as August -- our calendar is already pretty full -- but, I figure it's always better to have a busy life than an empty one, and the running will get done alongside such a full schedule, I'm sure.  Today, I only felt like running a measly 3 miler on the gym's treadmill, but the weather has actually been slightly pleasant the last few days, so I'm looking forward to logging more miles tonight in the great outdoors to round out day #66 in my current running streak.

As for other September running goals, I have three: Keep the streak going, aim to run that 50 mile week, and return to HM shape by adding more long runs to the weekly running.

September always feels like a fresh start for me since it's the start of the school year, and since I was 5, I have always enjoyed the back-to-school feeling -- like Tom Hanks' character says in "You've Got Mail," "It makes me feel like buying school supplies"!  I wish here in FL we had true autumn weather to match the change in season, but I will just have to settle for reading your accounts of that.

If you like the fresh feel of fall too, you may want to read Gretchen Rubin's new book about her attempt to start fresh in fall (if you read her other book "The Happiness Project," this promises to be just as fun a read):

It comes out today.  I want to read it, but right now I'm engrossed in "Game of Thrones" -- all kinds of medieval drama there that I'm so caught up in that I've been dreaming about Starks, Lannisters, and White Walkers, oh my!  And, by-the-by, the HBO series by the same name is just as awesome as the novel.  Watch it.  I command thee!

The Unplanned Run

This morning, I arrived on campus about 15 minutes later than I would've liked.  When I got to the gym, I found that a wellness class was in full session and every single treadmill was occupied.  Nerds!

I could've hopped on an elliptical for a few minutes and waited out a treadmill since students tend to have short attention spans on there, but I don't really like the elliptical, so instead, I turned on my heal, went out the door and started running.

Just about every aspect of this was undesirable: It was mid-morning so hot as hell, I didn't have my running sunglasses or visor (just regular sunglasses, which sufficed), and I didn't have my Garmin.  Thankfully, I've run near campus enough that I have a few routes that I know well, so I knew a 3 mile loop that would work for the morning's run.

Man alive, it was hot, though.  It was 9:15 when I headed out and the temp hovered just shy of 90 degrees, with humidity in the bazillions.  Un. com. fort. able.  Combine that with this lingering cold, and I felt like I was slogging along.

At the very end of the run, I was actually felt like I was warming in to it, but by then I was done.  I suppose I could've stopped back inside the gym to see if a treadmill had opened up and tried to get a mile or two more in, but I decided to just call it good for the morning.  I think I'll aim to get another few miles in this evening at home, though.

So, it wasn't really the run I'd planned on, but it was the run I got.  I feel like August has thrown me a lot of small running hurdles like this all month; thankfully, I haven't let any of them deter the running streak, but still.  I'm looking forward to a clean slate in September.

On the bright side, I remembered a towel today!

The New Routine Running

Yesterday was the start of what I'm hoping will become part of my weekday routine running: treadmill miles at the campus gym.

My schedule allows me about an hour and a half when I first get to campus to workout and shower before I've scheduled office hours, so yesterday was my first go at this routine.  I've never used the faculty locker room before, but I got the code, and I packed all my shower stuff.

It went well yesterday, but I have come down with a case of the sniffles -- just a minor head cold that is more annoying than anything -- and combine that with the fact that I was running a wee bit later than I'd have liked and I only got 4 miles done.  Which was fine.  I showered, got ready, and had plenty of time to arrive at my office.  The one downside?

There seems to be no hot water in the faculty locker room.  It was a bit like showering in a Russian prison.

Today, then, I arrived at my "goal" time, plus I am feeling a bit better today, so I managed to do a full 6 miles on the treadmill (in 58:50, I might add, which for me, is SUPA fast), then I headed over to the showers, and again, brrrr!

My one error today?  I forgot to pack a towel!  DOH!

I had an extra gym towel, but that's only about the size of a hand towel, and drying myself with that was a bit comical.  It reminded me of the scene in "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" when Steve Martin's character has to dry himself with a wash cloth after the John Candy character has used up every other available towel:

So, these are the lessons learned so far: Arrive on time, be prepared to take an icy shower, and, this important Jess, remember an effing towel!

Tropical Storm Isaac = Rainy Running

Tropical Storm Isaac first started stirring up storm-hype around here early last week, but it wasn't until Saturday that we actually started to see the beginnings of the actual storm.

 

Saturday morning, I got out for a morning 3 miler and was lucky to time the run before too much rain began.  I barely even got drizzled on, and it was good I got it done in the morning, since I spent Saturday night smashing down my own bedroom door (see below).

 

Sunday, however, the storm was nearing.  For serious.  For those unfamiliar with tropical storms, the rain comes in bands, especially as a storm moves in (and, later, moves out), so there are breaks in the rain -- sometimes 5 minutes, sometimes an hour -- then the downpour resumes. 

 

So, Sunday morning, Norah and Jerry went to run some storm-prep errands (grocery store, Home Depot to get a new bedroom door knob -- again, see below), and I decided to load Caleb up in the BOB and take our chances in what I hoped would be a long-lasting lull.  We made it about 1.2 miles before the deluge began.  Caleb was sleeping by then, and I had the weather shield on hand, so I covered he and the stroller up, and he stayed dry and cozy.

 

I, on the other hand, got drenched.

 

Today, then, was the storm's actual "landfall" (for clarification, Isaac didn't pass directly through here, nor was it the intensity that had originally been predicted), and both the kids and I were home for the day since school for all of us had been cancelled.  Jerry went to work, though.

 

Normally, I wouldn't say that a day stuck inside with two kids could be called a day "off," but we had a good day, and the kids were really good and mainly entertained themselves and each other.  Besides, I have this handy-dandy baby-cage for this dude:

 

And this girl spent a large part of her day working on her art:

See?  Masterpiece:

In the late morning, I did gather the troops for an outing: We had library books to return and Red Box movies to return, so I figured we'd get out and get a few things done.  It was a bit of a hassle getting in and out of the car between sideways sheets of rain, but it was good for us to get out and about some.

This afternoon, the rain cleared up, and even though it remained overcast, the storm had basically passed, so we were all happy to get outside for a bit and survey the landscape.

The water in the canal behind our place was about 3 feet higher than normal, and the sand traps on the golf course were basically beaches:

For some perspective, this is what those sand traps normally look like, and the water line in the above picture is about where Norah is standing below:

And, yeah, Norah does run around outside in princess dresses.  Wouldn't you if you had a kick-ass Rapunzel dress?

So, after dinner, I got in my running clothes and headed outside for a run.  I didn't get rained on, but my 3 miles were more like an obstacle course than anything else: Skirting around and jumping over puddles that were the width and depth of small lakes, and hurdling over fallen branches and other debris.  On the whole, I feel pretty lucky for how I was able to navigate my running through this storm for the past few days.

By tomorrow, we should have clear weather and we all resume our normal routine.  For me, hopefully that also means resuming some higher mileage.  The past week or so has been a bit of a slump in mileage, but I think I've gotten the rest I needed and I'm ready to start re-pursuing those higher digits.

Break and Enter

If you find yourself on a rainy afternoon thinking, "Hmm, I'm kinda bored.  It would be fun to go to Jess' house, have a beer, chat, let the kids play, and order a pizza for dinner," you may want to call my friend Erin, and ask her about our evening tonight, and then you may think again.

 

She came over this evening with her two boys, so our rugrats could run around together and so we could have a drink and catch up.  The evening was the normal amount of madness, until shortly before they were getting ready to leave, and she asked: "Where's Mason?" (Her 1 year old, who had, literally, been RIGHT THERE, 2 seconds before she asked that question.)

 

Turns out, he was in Jerry and I's bedroom, and like a small, blond Houdini, he'd managed to lock himself in there.

 

No one panicked.  I figured I could unscrew the doorknob, it would fall apart, and...viola!  1 year old is free!  Turns out, it was not so easy.

 

Poor Mason was calm at first, but after a few minutes of us NOT opening the door for him, he started to cry, and that triggered the "Mama Bear" in both Erin and I, and we were taking. down. that. door.  Let's just say that I pictured myself with the ninja-like abilities of a youthful, Action-Jeans-selling-Norris:

 

The reality was, of course, way cooler. 

I used a hammer to first force the other side of the doorknob through the hole (and probably bonked Mason on his little noggin) and then used the hammer to literally break the inner-workings of the door lock in half.  And then Erin had to carefully wiggle the remaining lock-bits out of the wall frame, and then...viola!  1 year was old free!

It was very dramatic.  Mason was crying (he had a crappy diaper, so he was mainly pissed that he was sitting in shit on his side of the door), Erin was crying, and I was laughing with relief and residual endorphins.

After they left, I called Jerry (he and Erin's husband, Ryan, were at their fantasy football draft) to tell him (triumphantly!) that we had broken the door knob off the bedroom door in order to rescue a stranded Mason.  His reply: "You know there's a skeleton key for all the doors on the top shelf of the medicine cabinet in my bathroom, don't you?"

No, no I did NOT know that.

But, for next time...

To top off my evening, as I was cleaning up the kid detritus after our friends had left and after the kids had gone to bed, I found that Scooter had pulled off the night's coup d'etat: He'd peed all over Jerry and I's bed.

So, no more Mr. Nice Guy Norris, I think I'm gonna go all Cruella DeVil on his ass.

A No-Go on the Mojo

This entire week, the running has felt forced.  Still, Mon-Wed, I managed to run 5 milers each day, but today?  Today, I just am NOT feelin' it...AT ALL.

Still, I got on my running stuff, got all ready, and got out there, figuring that I'd warm in to it, but 1 mile in, and I was ready to pack it in.  So, I turned and headed home for a grand total of 2.06 miles.

I'm declaring it a "rest" day.

Morning Hijinks

Often, it seems that I'm only ever telling stories about Norah's rascality, but as Caleb's personality starts to evolve from sweet, innocent baby into trouble-making toddler, he's been adding some of his own devilry to the household.

Case in point: This morning.

Right now, dressing Caleb is like dressing a wet octopus, so I usually get him changed on the living room floor, that way if he manages to wriggle away from me, he’s not plunging off the top of the changing table.  Often I only manage to get him half-dressed before he maneuvers out of my grasp and runs away from me.  Yes, a month ago, he was just weeble-walking around here, and now he is a person who can ESCAPE and run away from me.

Well, “run” is an overstatement.  Still, it’s surprising how quick he can be if he wants to.

So, this morning, I’m getting him dressed for school and he wriggles away – naked – and gets over to the entryway.

Where he stands and pees on the floor.

It reminded me of one of those naked cherubs* who sometimes appear in water fountains.

*Which, sidenote, those are kinda weird, aren't they?  Does anyone think that's cute?  End sidenote.*

I had to tell him: "Kid, you're no angel and my tile is no water fountain.  Let's holster that little gun of yours."

He resigned to getting dressed, but I saw the glint in his eye: This is just the beginning, isn't it?