Best Mother's Day... Ever!

I've been a mom for 16 years now, which means a rollercoaster of Mother's Day experiences. One forgotten, one horribly over the top to make up for the forgotten, a few obviously almost forgotten, and many spent taking care of someone else's mother.

This year goes down as my idea of the perfect Mother's Day.

I was shooed out of the house late morning with my bicycle, after presentation of kid-made cards & art projects. Came home to a basket of folded laundry, two freshly scrubbed dogs, and dinner being pulled off the grill.

It was a beautiful sunny day. A bit windy on the way out, but that just made for a good workout for the first half of the ride, and a super speedy return trip.

Just me, audiobook version of "The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe", and miles of lovely trail.

Invasion of the 3rd graders

There were moments today when I didn't think I'd make it through the day. At times, it was the ever-increasing chaos of 18 nine-year-olds in one place... and the a few times I was hoping for the ground to open and swallow me up. This is the biggest batch of kidlets I've hosted at once. Sent 20 invitations, figuring it would be the normal 5-10 that would RSVP. We had 17, plus my three children. Here's what I learned:

The work it takes to handle children's birthday parties increases at an alarming rate with each additional child... especially when you get into double digits. Look, I've made this handy-dandy, super scientific chart:

Choosing food was easy. Carrots & celery with ranch dip, apples, grapes, cookies & cream hershey's kisses, red and blue jugs of hawaiian punch, bottles of water, and... cupcakes.

The Alice in Wonderland theme made goody bags easy:

• Reusable bottles, with "Drink Me" tags attached.
• Containers filled with variety of Skittles (regular, sour & crazy core), with "Eat Me" tags. (Normally would have gone with M&Ms, but I was prepped for a child with peanut allergies.)

Activities were a little harder, as I wasn't sure until Saturday how many children were coming, or what my girl/boy mix would be. Plus, third graders are at a funny age. They consider themselves too old for many party games, but they don't want to just "hang out" like the big kids. I had a couple of things in reserve, but we ended up not needing backup, since there was a good bit of random running and flinging of water from bottles in between the three main planned games.

• Croquet. Small group, while kids were still arriving, and most of the others were chasing down DD's big brother (he's such a great sport).
• Balloon Pop - Tag. Tied balloons to everyone's ankles, and let them work out a strange boys vs. girls thing, which I never quite understood, since the prize went to the last person with an unpopped balloon. (This is the perfect game for that age, by the way. It combines two favorite activities - running and stomping balloons.)
• Painting the Roses Red. In hindsight, I think I'd hand out red stickers if I did this again. If you placed bets on how long it would take the kids to start painting each other instead of the rosebush... well, let's just say it happened sooner than I expected.

I am so very glad we had the big party for DD's birthday, but I am even happier that she let me know she'd like a girl's-only thing with pizza, movies & pedicures next year. A sleepover such as she described will put us much lower on the chaos curve.

Attitude adjusted.

I was not at all happy about running this morning, for many reasons.

I have a list:

• Legs have been sluggish and heavy since the marathon three weeks ago. And, I tire easily. It's like I have nothing in reserve.
• Since taking the short runs up to 7 miles, and the medium/long routes to 12-20 miles during marathon training, it now takes me 2-3 miles just to get warmed up and into a good rhythm. I only had time for a 3 mile run today, which is frustrating.
• It's peak pollen season around here. Runny nose. Itchy eyes. Scratchy throat.
• I've been playing with kids & gardening during spring break, so it's been over a week since my last real cardio workout.

So of course, when I headed out the door this morning, my attitude was less than cheerful. Stayed that way, until I came upon this:

A full block of running past a wall formed by big clusters of wisteria... Problem, solved.

Spring Break 2009: Snowflakes & Snakes

What a truly odd weather week this is turning out to be. Sunny shorts weather Sunday, followed by plummeting temps Monday and flurries on Tuesday. We got out of the house to walk around the farmers market one day, and did a little bit of patio cleanup, mixed with soccer, all bundled in winter coats. (Did I mention we're in Atlanta?) While sweeping up some leaves under the basketball goal, my sons found this little fellow:


He's a harmless brown snake, and eats the sorts of bugs which I'll be hoping to keep out of my herbs and tomato plants this summer. Nobody hurt him.

Temps are climbing above 60 degrees, so our normal gardening, hiking, biking and general outdoor play will be picking back up today, just in time for national Start! Walking Day.

Off to play outside!

The tortoise and the hare

Patty (my commuter/hybrid) isn't exactly a tortoise, but she is slow-ish and green. So, for the sake of the goofy race our family held on Sunday afternoon, we'll call her The Tortoise. The role of The Hare will be played by the old Mercedes sedan.

It was a lovely day, and I like doing the shopping by bike on lovely days. But we needed a few things which are not terribly compatible with my current cargo set up (front basket). A gallon of milk and mega pack of trashbags and 20 lb bag of dog food were beyond me.

As I sat with the list, trying to figure out how I could divide it up for only what was needed immediately, to make the short list for a bike trip to Trader Joes, I heard

"If you don't want to go to the store, I can go for you."

"It's not that I don't want to go. I just don't want to take the car."

"So, don't take the car."

"But we need some big stuff. And Publix has some stockup type things on sale. And we're out of coffee. So I have to go to more than one store."

"So give me that list. I'll take the kids, and you go to Trader Joes."

"Really?"

"No. I'm lying. Give me the list. We'll be back in no time."

After a skeptical glance - I don't think he's been in the store with all the kids before - a light bulb pops up above my head.

"Wanna race?"

"Sure."

I gave him the list for one store, arranged by aisle. Scribbled my list on an index card, grabbed a light jacket and hopped on the bike, as everyone else climbed into the car.

Falling cherry blossom petals, clusters of wisteria, bright sunshine, blooming dogwoods, tire tracks in the yellow pollen - such a beautiful Spring ride.

Did the shopping. Got a little distracted in the dried fruit and nuts section. Couldn't find dates for granola, though I did find something new to me. Sweet apricot kernels, called "poor man's almonds" on the package. (Pretty good, even if I'm not quite over the feeling that I'm eating almonds which have maybe gone a bit off.) Sorted through the packs of strawberries for the freshest. Spent a few extra minutes perusing the flowers, to get the right color combo of daisies and lilies, with lilies which were just starting to open. As I waited in line, I realized I might be having too much fun. Didn't want to lose the race. (Nah. Didn't care. Was thoroughly enjoying the time.)

Rode home at my normal leisurely pace, sniffing the flowers at both traffic lights. Got to the driveway... nobody was there. Snapped photos, and sent with a "hah!" message to the competition. (Thought they'd appreciate knowing I'd taken their parking space in the carport.) They didn't get home for about 15-20 minutes. Something about long red lights, parking lots and shopping carts? I'd have paid attention, but was too busy doing a victory lap around the kitchen with the bouquet, showing off my already put away groceries.

Tortoise:
2.5 miles @ 8-10 mph. Two bags & bouquet. 32 minutes, total.


Hare:
1.5 miles @ 25-35 mph. Three bags. 51 minutes, total


No. I didn't actually win anything for being first. Will have to plan better next time we pull a silly challenge out of thin air.

Allergy Woes

Spring allergies are here. We were okay for the first couple weeks, but the sneezing has escalated over the last several days. The yellow coat of dust on cars became noticeable over the weekend. There's a box of tissues in every room, sometimes two. I line the children up for Alavert before breakfast.

Everyone's tired, and easily winded. We have matching purple circles under our eyes. B1 had to break out the inhaler for his asthma. Story time is limited to 10-15 minutes, regardless of where we are in the chapter, due to scratchy throat.

Best news of the week is the weather. There may be some heavy storms, which is not great, but the rain is so very welcome. I selfishly don't even care about the benefit of four consecutive days of rainy weather on the long-term regional drought. Four days of rain means four days of pollen being washed away. Four days closer to the end of extremely high pollen counts.

Four days of rain also means B1 and I have a chance to catch our breath before the ING Half Marathon on Sunday. I'll be running the half - though running might be more walk/run after the week of upper respiratory ick. B1 will be finishing his half. His middle school participated in ING Run for Something Better, and the kids get to finish up their batch of shorter runs with the final 1.1 mile on the half/marathon course. I'm quite proud of B1. He got rather excited about the running, and I'm pretty sure he's over 20 miles for the last several weeks. Hopefully, this excitement will continue into the future.

Since there's not a lot of running for a couple of days, what with the not being able to breathe and all, I'm playing indoors. Trying out a bit of upper body work with the yoga and core. Using a 15 lb kettlebell. So far, I like it. It's rather fun to swing it around, especially if picturing the cartoon "strongman" in my head while doing so. Only thing I'm not so happy about is when the weight slams into or rests on my wrists during a few of the exercises. My hands may be large, almost to the point of being man hands, but I have itty-bitty wrists that are like toothpicks in comparison.

R.O.Y. G.... mud

Sunday's long run was beautiful. Just under nine miles. Picked a great route, which I'm trying to figure out how screenshot & post now. (I shaved about 1/3 mile off the map, just the part takes me to & from home.) Temps climbed from 48 to 54 during my excursion. A couple rolling hills, a few level stretches, easy proximity to Starbucks and other sources of water bottles and restrooms. I ended up stopping at Home Depot, but that's just because I knew the temptation to sit down with a scone and a venti coffee would have been too much for me.


There's a little game I play with the kids whenever we're hiking or at the botanical gardens. It's a competition to find all the colors of the rainbow in the course of the day. We've been doing this since B1 was an only child. Camera phones have made it so much easier than trying to juggle the clunky kodak camera of 10 years ago, so it's now something we'll message to each other from the road, or split into teams during a day trip. (Winning team gets to pick where we eat lunch/dinner, or what type of ice cream we pick up on the way home, if we're not eating out.)

As I passed the first of many butterfly bushes seen on the 8.9 miles, it occured to me that DD would enjoy the flower photos. Her older brothers wouldn't really care, as they're only interested in the game when food is at stake.

First up, the blooms of the REDbud tree:


Freshly planted ORANGE marigolds:


Happy YELLOW flowers on a butterfly bush...

This got me about 1/2 way through the run. I'd been scouting for violets, periwinkle, pansies and the greenest green of lawns on the way out, and figured I'd snap photos of the best on the way back.

GREEN grass, BLUE sky, INDIGO pansies or periwinkle, VIOLET - well, violets. That was the plan.

Somewhere around 5-1/2 miles, on the way to the greenest lawn, I hit a lovely zen state. All I could hear was the sound of feet hitting the pavement. The air was perfect, the sun on my face was warm.

GREEN grass, BLUE sky, INDIGO.... VIOLET... GREEN grass...

...TRIP...

Close up view of green grass, and a deep tire track in the soft dirt, not quite mud.

Totally missed the transition from sidewalk to grassy shoulder. Wasn't hurt, but muddied up elbow, hand, knees, and nose. A very nice lady pulled over in her minivan to make sure I was okay. I thanked her, and let her know it was just dirt. She paused for a moment more, while I brushed off and started running again.

The remaining three miles were uneventful. I held off on snapping photos, and paid attention to the ground 4-6 feet in front of my feet the rest of the way home, to make sure it stayed that way.

The boys enjoyed a laugh at Danger Mom. (I'm known for being rather clumsy.) DD was more supportive, and let me know it would be okay if we found the rest of the colors in our own yard. Which we did.

Spring!

Woo hoo! First day of Spring!

While picking up replacement tires for the hybrid, I jumped at the chance for a quick ride on the Silver Comet Trail. Absolutely gorgeous day.

On the bridge:

View from the bridge:

20.53 miles, which I'm going to call 20, even though I don't normally round down.
20 miles on March 20th, first day of Spring.
I know, corny. I'm blaming Spring Fever. Or pollen.

Perfect day!

The week that started out with snow and cold, is ending with this:

It was a little chilly during yesterday morning's ride to Trader Joe's, but today was so nice, I decided to do all my errands on bike. Picked up my number for tomorrows Chattahoochee Road Runner 10k, then kept pedaling right down the road to Whole Foods, where I proceeded to completely blow my grocery budget for the week on dried fruit, nuts and seeds. (Will be making Nutty Granola later this evening.)

I'm bubbling over about the arrival of Spring. (please, please, PLEASE, let the nice weather stick around for a while) Yesterday, I saw three spandex clad cyclists, out for a ride. Today, I saw another commuter! He was riding around in street clothes, like me. We waved.

More later. Right now, I'm off to the kids' school. We're reading the last chapter of Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief in my son's 4th grade class, and continuing Neil Gaiman's Coraline in DD's class. I'll be bringing the kids home with me, so have to drive the truck... darn. If there were sidewalks, we'd be using them instead.

Racing Butterflies

It's been a busy week. Managed to get in a couple of runs, some errands by bike, and one nice little ride. On Wednesday's run, spring was out in full force. Swatted my first mosquito for the season; crossed into a spider's drag line. Plus, just when I thought I was running at a nice pace, I was passed by a butterfly. Loved every bit of it. Sunshine & 65 degrees. Yea!

On the 12 mile ride, I learned something new. Must keep mouth closed while smiling up at falling cherry blossoms. Petal inhalation is not as pleasant as you might think.

Did a bit more bike commuting than usual. The truck was in for some brake & transmission 'stuff', so Thursday and Friday were two-wheeled days. It's only a few miles, so I made the trips in street clothes. I'm used to having motorists zipping by me without leaving much elbow room. Was amazed how much more clearance I was given in jeans and heels. Had my helmet on, so that wasn't what made the difference.