The Kitchen Sink

I don't think I qualify for a special license plate. I don't think there will be a benefit dinner in my honor. And I don't think there will be ribbons of any color in solidarity to what ails me. But I am suffering from a devastating disability: Idontknowwheretostart-itis.

Idontknowwheretostart-itis is pervasive in all areas of my life, but I'm just going to stick with how it's affecting my blogging. Ya see, I have to get something down. My brain is FULL and I don't know where.... well, you know. It's in the name of the disease!

So, instead of making a list and hitting each topic one at a time, I bring you a kitchen sink post in hopes that I will feel re-booted and somewhat caught up. Fasten your seat belts.

I want to do a Totally on Purpose post for Baby TOP: 

33 weeks! Still no name decided on. Brothers getting very excited. Dad saying, quite possibly, the sweetest thing ever about the wonder that is Baby TOP. (This gem I WILL save for a real post to Baby TOP). Fetal hiccups. Gathering used baby items from generous friends.....

I want to do a book review and recommendation:

Actually, I want to do THREE: Saving Jesus From the Church (just started it but I can already tell I love what this author is putting down; definitely not for those who like their Bible lessons literally interpreted); Bringing Up Bebe (this book has gotten so much flack, but I'm thinking I might be a little bit French in my parenting - I mostly dig it); and The Explosive Child (I need to review it one more time before I offer my wise take away).

I want to share more insights/concerns/hopeful-ness-es about my eldest:

But I won't. Not until I'm sure that it's fair to him. Except this flash of brilliance I had this afternoon while talking to T's teacher. I think we all have a Tupperware container in us. Some of us store the good stuff in there. And, when we're feeling down, we can lift the lid and bring some of the good stuff up that reminds us that mostly, life is pretty good. Some of us store the bad stuff in there. And, when we're feeling down, we lift the lid and bring out all the injustices and disappointments which serve to remind us that this isn't the first time we've been wronged. And it won't be the last.... cue the rage! Now, how might a person replace the Bad Stuff Tupperware with the Good Stuff variety?.... Anyone?.... Bueller?

I want to do a "Running While Pregnant" post:

It would lament about my formerly dear friends, Mo and Jo, and how I haven't seen hide nor hair of them in eons. And how, at this point, I'm beginning to not care... and how I know this is bad, bad, bad and yet.... still? Not caring. Maybe a week in Florida will help me regain some mojo-tivation.

Turn Off the TV Week = Turn Off the Blog Week?

Small confession: a good deal of my blogging gets done during the day while the daycare kids take naps. Elliott, meanwhile, gets to have some PBS Kids time. Yes, yes, I plug him in so I can do my thing on the blog. Judge if you must, but I am comfortable with it.

At the beginning of the school year, we declared the first week of each month Turn Off the TV Week at our house. This means no wii or iPad or other "plugged in" media, too. In order to make it  more palatable for the boys, I spend an inordinate amount of time playing board games, making craft projects from recycled materials, baking, etc. Yes, they CAN amuse themselves... but I find there is less blood drawn if I am part of the action!

So, though my head is spinning with thoughts that are blog-worthy, I simply haven't had time during the day or energy at night to get them loaded up for your pleasure/my amusement.

Anyway, these activities do have the side benefit of providing Cute Photo Ops. Here are Baby E and Elliott as we played "Head Banz" this afternoon.... Have I mentioned what a GOOD BABY he is??!!

We gave him lots of hints but the Baby kept insisting he was "DA! DA!" and never guessed that he was a cow....

And when Tommy got home from school he decided he needed to create Tommy Town which features everything you need in a metro-area: Big Building, Pet Store, City Hall, Car Shop, Aquarium, and a Blimp.

Mayor of Tommy Town

I owe a Running While Pregnant post.
I owe a post about the Sherry Arnold run I am organizing.
I owe a post to Baby TOP.
I owe a post about Further A(ngry)dventures of a Quirky Kid.

But... not tonight.

Five Things Friday

(Something VERY strange is going on with Blogger today... so if this looks weird, I'm sorry! I'm giving up trying to fix it!)

1. I've noticed that lots of people have theme days for their blogs. I feel like my ideas for blogging are feast or famine, so this might help me.


2. I have decided to train for the Clarence Demar Marathon which will be on September 25. This gives me about 15 more weeks to train - plenty of time. The plan is to run this race if I don't get into the Hood to Coast nuun team. I'm using a fairly aggressive (for me) training plan that I'll talk about in detail in another post. My goal - and it is a pretty big stretch - is to run a 3:40:00. This is a full 4-minutes faster than my PR. This time will square me with the new BQ times for my age group, which become the new norm beginning in 2013.

3. We have luxuriated in vacation-mode for the last couple of days. The sun was so high this morning by the time I got out of bed I was sure it was 10AM. (It was 6:45... not too bad for 'sleeping in'!) Besides going to the beach when we want, letting the kids stay up late and basically enjoying ourselves, we are spending our days getting ready for traveling, which begins on Sunday. This includes a couple of days of camping at Horseneck Beach in Massachusetts, a day in Providence at a schmancy hotel, and 2 days in the Hamptons with some college friends. We haven't seen them since Elliott was a month old so it will be great!


4. Speaking of babies who are not babies.... Elliott is going to be 5 on the 16th. It's sort of unbelievable. We've been talking for months about some things he needs to be able to do and he has PROMISED that he'll be ready to do them when he turns 5. One of these things is peeing standing up. I know. Weird, right? For some reason he has been VERY reluctant to pee that way, preferring to sit. Today, just minutes ago, actually... he peed standing up! He's also been working on buckling his own seat belt, which sometimes he can do and sometimes he can't, depending on where the buckle in on the strap and how is booster seat is positioned. It's great to have a kid who *knows* when he'll be ready to do something and is willing to work toward that goal as long as we give him the time.






5. My mom is amazing. There is so much more to this - an entire multi-volume biopic, I'd wager - but for now, that is all.

nuun River

If you are nuun to my blog, I give you a hearty welcome. Please nuun there is nuun-thing I won't do to keep you over the nuun about reading this! If you've nuun me for a long time, I'm sure you're excited that more people will be reading my nuunsense.
Okay. Too subtle, right?

On Wednesday I sent my application in to the nuun company in hopes of being one of the 12 Lady Bloggers they choose for their Hood to Coast team. I am certain my odds of getting in are slightly less than a snowball's chance in Juarez, but I have had a great time reaching out to people asking (begging, maybe?) for followers. Even if the nuun company takes one look at the video and requests a restraining order (or maybe re-strange-ing order), this has been a fun week of using my noodle (and that of my parents, husband and friends!) and asking for what I want.

So... HERE'S the link. And, by the way, we (meaning I) voted and decided the poor video quality adds to the charm. (Other than that I welcome your feedback!)

P.S. Last day of school for kiddos today! Two, maybe three, days of daycare next week. Whoa! There'll be a lot more on that stuff soon.

Oh, Happy Day!

I am thrilled to be the "Follow This Mother"-Mother today on another mother runner.

For anyone new to the blog, welcome and thank you for checking it out.

Anything else I write today would be just lame after this... so I'll talk to you tomorrow when I actually have ANOTHER cool thing to reveal.

What a week!

Follow me, please!

I have a whole schpiel in my head, but I'm gonna try to be brief.

There's a very cool relay race called the Hood to Coast which happens each year in late August. Basically, a bunch of people form a team, rent a couple vans and take turns running a really long way.... (200 miles). Each year there are about 15,000 runners. It happens in Oregon. It starts at Mt. Hood and ends at the Pacific Ocean in Seaside. There's a great documentary about it.

There is an opportunity for me to run this race for free-ish (I'd need to pay my own airfare but the other - fairly hefty - expenses would be paid for). The makers of nuun, an "electrolyte enhanced drink" are going to sponsor a team of Blogging Women Runners.

Just THINKING about this race makes me giddy. As many of you know, I qualified but missed running Boston this year. I feel like this would be beyond Boston as far as life experiences: Travel across the country, meet up with a bunch of like-minded strangers, spend an exceptionally long time in a stinky van with them, run a whole boat load of miles, see the Pacific for the first time in over 10 years.... What could be better??

But the thing is, there are some SERIOUS running bloggers out there. Not only do they have great posts and giveaways and superawesomefun links... They also have a bazillion followers. The application for this opportunity requires the blogger/runner to be creative, which with my warped mind I'm not too worried about. But, if these nuun folks click on my blog and see that I have an embarrassingly small number of followers they won't even consider me. (I mean, it's all well and good to sponsor a bunch of women to run a race, but nuun is, of course, trying to get some publicity out of this!)

So, I'm beggin' ya: Follow me! You don't have to like what I write. You don't have to be interested in my running. But... it sure would be spectacular to have an opportunity to run this race.

And better yet... I'll owe you one. Think of the things you can demand of me....!

Exhausting & great

I know it hasn't been *that* long since I've posted. But, I haven't even been reading other blogs lately, which I usually love to do. I have been completely preoccupied. And actually, I kind of HAVE been blogging because I'm keeping people posted on my friends Caring Bridge site. It's been a great way for me to feel helpful during this time of (mostly) helplessness. She's home from the hospital. I went to see her last night. She was exhausted but great...

We had the trip to Candor. I can't quite get my mind around the experience yet. Amazing theater kids. Really supportive Candor-ites, especially my parents. A great and easy going bus driver. Many adventures and memories created. Maybe another blog entry will form out of it but for now I need to do more chewing. It was, above all, exhausting and great.

"My" Boston marathon was yesterday. Which (I'm guessing) was exhausting and (I'm certain) was great. The elites had incredible times. Americans were VERY present and strong. Three cheers all the way around.

I went to bed at 11PM last night, having returned pretty late from getting K settled from the hospital, and got up at 4:30AM for a track workout. I forgot my iPod but am so glad I went. After a weekend of just 1 (straight up hill) 2.5 miler, it was exhausting but great.

Today is TOMMY'S SEVENTH BIRTHDAY! He wants Annie's Mac & Cheese and chicken nuggets for dinner. I can handle that. My sister got him an amazing Star Wars kite so hopefully the rain will hold off and we'll get to take that out for an inaugural flight. He's sure to be wound way up so our night will be, certainly, (drum roll) exhausting and great.

Barely Legal

I don't like to brag but I just noticed that I have 21 blog followers. Smells like awesome.

For real, thanks to all of you who read my nonsense. I was surprised to see the number over 15 or 16, which is where it was last time I took notice. Don't be shy.

Twelve more cents accounted for!

You may have heard I kind of like to run.
You may also have heard that I have 2 children, whom I also kind of like.
The demands of these two very likable things sometimes conflict. Enter, SBS and Dim....

About a year ago I found a great article in Runners World magazine by these two women/moms who talked about how to balance running and mom-ing. It was funny and dead on and pretty darn inspiring. The article, as it turned out, was excerpts from a book that they had written. I smelled a Mother's Day present and promptly (okay, like a month and a half later) bought it.

Cut to last Friday. I had a great opportunity to interview the authors, Sarah Bowen Shea and Dimity McDowell, for their first-ever podcast! (This is where that title comes from. I used about 12 cents of my Ithaca College Park School of Communications degree in broadcast journalism).... See, in the year since I first read the book I've sort of, ummm, joined the cult. Now, they call it a a TRIBE of Mother Runners. But I think Cult is far more hilarious. Anyway, Sarah (also known as Champy and SBS) and Dimity have done an amazing job of marketing their book and bringing together legions of Mamas (and Mama supporters). They have a fantastic Facebook page and blog. Literally THOUSANDS of people's lives have been touched by this book and the accompanying website and FB page. And since I got nothin' better goin' on.... Well, sign me up!

I had a chance to meet and run with Sarah last summer when her book/running tour took her to Cape Cod. We immediately found that we shared a very sarcastic sense of humor, a competive side and an appreciation for a glass of wine following a run. We've been in touch since via email and FB and we check in after races we run on the phone. She noticed that I enjoy a good "nyuk-nyuk" and honored me by asking me to be the host for their premiere podcast. And so... TA DA! Last Friday afternoon/evening, via Skype and sitting in 3 different homes in 3 different states and 3 different time zones.... We did the interview. You can listen here. (You have to scroll down a bit and then you'll see a pic of me and Elliott...)

And finally, here's a pic of SBS and me enjoying a glass of Pinot Grigio of a sweaty Cape Cod run.... which I can't make bigger without getting super blurry. Trust me. We're gorgeous.

Awkward silence

My last post was a long time ago. It was all about being thankful for my childhood. There's been a lot of stuff happening since then - nothing life altering but, you know, travel and holiday and amusing kid stories - but I'm somehow not posting.

I'm not really posting now... But I had to get something on here or I may quit the thing altogether. That's the problem with really reflecting on the Blog... Sets me up to look foolish with most of my other posts.

Well, phew. That's done. Now I can go back to foolishness.