crossing over

(It's going to be hard for me to back off on the marathon posts. If they get annoying, just tell me. I can take it.)



I just completed a BIG training week. I crossed over the half marathon threshold and now am into the miles that make me feel like I am training for a full marathon. I was so nervous about my 15 mile run this past weekend mostly because I harbored doubt in my ability.



Don't ever do this to yourself. It's just plain mean.



There was the other thing too.



The leg thing.



See I had a stress fracture (or at least that's what it was presumed to be) last summer which dashed my hopes of doing the MDI marathon last fall. I had to run smartly, and a whole lot less and rehab it. I'd been so pleased that it was all nice and healed and all this running was suiting it just fine.



Until it wasn't. And that twinge of pain in the interior of my right femur returned.



Turns out I am braver that I thought and I went right back to PT despite my fear that she would shake her head sadly and my non-refundable registration fee for the Burlington, VT marathon, not to mention my life-long dream, would be up in smoke. I was justly rewarded for going and getting checked, though.



First, she told me that I was super strong. (Thank you?) That this is a good thing, but that I have much more muscle mass than most distance runners (as in not the long, lithe physique) and that can be a lot of pull on my bones when I am running distance. So lay off the lunges and the muscle building leg workouts.



Okaaaay.



Second, she told me my running had improved dramatically. (She has me run around the back parking lot.) She told me my stride is better, my upper body more relaxed and I am smoother. Yay!



And, third, best of all, still train. Be smart but go out and play. She is confounded by what it actually is and wants me to pay attention and check in with her if it gets worse.



So 15 miles... felt strong and able and like I could keep going. My leg? Perfectly fine. I started slow, warmed it well, and it carried me the distance.



My knees on the other hand felt like someone had taken a tire iron after them later that night...

backyardigans

We had some fun outside this weekend let me tell you.

In celebration of the 75 degree weather, we moved outside.

It didn't take too much to keep Maya happy. A bucket and a hose for some cheap entertainment.

Then it turned a bit ugly and Maya tried to get Ella in the back with a shovel.

And so Ella splashed her with some water.

The sounds of raucous childhood laughter and squeals of joy were the sweetest sounds filling the air.

The only thing better than that sound? The fact that it was coming from our children who were entirely delighting in each other.

And then the mud came.

twins. or not.

The girls got matching dresses for Easter.

They were really into it. Honestly, Maya was even though it doesn't look like it.

Doesn't she look cute with her road rash scab on her forehead? (She fell out of the open car door and onto the pavement.) She looks so ladylike...

april fools...and we're talking about the adults

For April Fool's Day this year, we decided to shake things up a little bit.

So we did this before we went to bed the night before.

Needless to say, the girls loved it. We decided to play a trick on Sandi and have them get dressed in their bathing suits and floaties.

I choose to wear my 8 sizes too big maternity bridesmaid dress. It is a sure thing for a good laugh. I had to change though because all that loose fabric and fire building and breakfast making didn't go well together.

And then Maya stole my high heels and tormented Ella with her new found 2 inches. So it was still a typical morning.

We had Tia over for pink-colored crepes and then we made crank calls trying to trick people. No one believed that we were pregnant or that we had gotten 5 new puppies. I think Patti did believe Ella , however, that Maya had turned into a monkey and started swinging from the ceiling.

one morning in maine...preschool style

Sandi's dad came to Ella's preschool last week to teach the kids about lobster fishing (to go along with their "Maine" theme.) As a 35 year fishing veteran, I would say he makes an excellent expert. Plus, he has this whole PBS kids show feel to him when he teaches little kids.

In short, it was adorable. And I'm not just talking about those nifty oil pants.

He brought a cooler full of salt water show and tell.

What could be more interesting than hearing about lobsters when you are four or five-years- old? Well...duh...touching them!


He had lobster, hermit crabs, jonah crabs, eel grass or picky toe crabs, spider crabs, mahogony quahogs and soft-shell clams.

He even brought these very lovely sculpin fish whose bellies fill with air when they are out of water and then they float like balloons on the surface when they return to the water. They seriously look put-out for all the hassle.

He showed the kids how to measure the lobsters and which ones they can keep and which ones they throw back. He explained how a lobster trap has rooms, a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom- and how the lobsters are "caught" in the kitchen where they eat the bait. And, yes, he even brought in bait!

He also taught them how to tell the difference between a boy and a girl. (Note Maya in the lower corner licking her lips. Our girls LOVE lobster.)

It was such a fun, proud morning for Ella to share her grandfather with her class. Every time I think we can't be more blessed than we are, I realize we are. It turns out there are even more benefits to having a lobsterman for a father-in-love beyond getting to eat so much lobster...

the fabulous four (or fabulous 3 with one who bites)

Ange and I dyed Easter eggs with the kids today. Allow me to clarify: Ange managed the kids dipping fragile eggs into permanent dye. I took pictures.

We told Maya we were going to dip the eggs in the dye. She thought we were joking.

And so she tried to test the limit of the eggs (like everything in life right now) but throwing them into the bowls and cracking three of them,

before getting down to serious work.

There were a few tears shed by Anna (I think because of some altercation with Maya's fists or teeth),

and then she, too, got to work.

Brady and Ella did not lack for concentration. They set off like the little worker bees they are.

Then Brady and Ella decided to put Anna down for a nap. She was displeased. And almost fell asleep.

The whole thing got me thinking about last year at this time...

And to think Ange and I still call Maya and Anna "the babies." Okay, maybe just I do. That was so smart of us to have kids the same age. (You're on your own for the next one, Mrs. Smith.)

18 month spacers

Sandi's sister, Kristi, and San and I have some sort of unspoken, unintentional pact to space our kids by a year a half. No one ever said it was a good idea to pace them this way, but has worked famously and I highly recommend it so as not to overwhelm any grandparentals, aunts, uncles or major holidays.

Here are their status updates:

McKenna doesn't so much sleep like an angel (just look under her mother's eyes) but at 8 months she looks like a sleeping angel. (It is almost impossible to believe that this super giant baby is wearing clothes our super tiny baby grew out of a few short months ago.)

Next youngest is the fire bomb of Maya. She sports these pig tails (whenever she doesn't rip them out) as a way to take on a new persona. I like to think of it as Dennis the Menace meets the Muppets.

Brevan, 6 weeks shy of his 4th birthday, has recently discovered that he is in fact Sportucus. He now makes sure to dress accordingly each and every day.

(I actually wonder if he got this idea from Maya last year...)

And it all began with Ella, the easy breezy one who broke us all in to this idea of trying our hand at the roller coaster ride called parenthood.