Girls Weekend

Given the fact that I've been home for 4 days, I'm a bit behind in posting about the weekend but so be it. It was a very welcome getaway, to Philly with 3 of my favorite people W, BB, and KHF. We got a hotel near U of Penn, which I accidentally toured on foot at midnight, hauling a cooler and a backpack and sweatshirt, thinking I could cut thru campus to get back to the hotel I'd driven past, but no such luck. One very sweaty tank top and 15 minutes and a crampy arm later I was the first to arrive. A delight to sink into posh bedding, mounds of pillows, and good conversation almost immediately. Kudos to BB for getting the hotel (a Hilton) for 70-something a night on Priceline as it's a 200+ a night hotel. I went easy on the wine/cheese/olives/chocolate tradition as I planned to run a long one before the other 2 were up the next morning.

I dragged myself out of bed at a respectable 7:30, and took myself off to the waterfront park based on a map I'd looked up the night before on mapmyrun.com, a great site for finding routes in strange cities! I did my 9 and a bit miles, and wished I could go further ... shady, beautiful, along a river full of sculling crews and old trees and cool stone. I came back to a dark room and 2 sleeping girls, and knew I'd be dying for a nap while they'd be raring to go later in the afternoon. I was right ... though the flea market we'd found WAS hard to tear ourselves away from. I came home with a beaded belt which I love.

Then off to dinner at a local cafe W'd read about which was great food, and we were joined by KHF who had to tear herself away from a panicking husband and 2 small girls. We took off for the MANN center, and our seats for the Raising Sand tour featuring Robert Plant, Allison Krauss, and T-bone Burnett. A most delightful show, despite the yahoos in front of us who must have been in and out 42 times, and a lot of amusing drama as to who came with/left with who, seat hopping, etc.

They did a lot of their album, which I loved, and many things more specific to each of them also. Having a crowd of bluegrass (Alison) fans mixed with a crowd of Led Zeppelin (Plant) fans was very weird and quite amusing. Some obviously only cared for one or the other, while we and many others enjoyed both to the hilt. Fascinating to see Plant sing backup to Krauss' powerful "Down to the River to Pray" and then hear her belt out a solid Zeppelin tune and keep Plant on his toes. They both did an amazing job of truly getting into the other's music style, and contributing something meaningful. I'd go again in a heartbeat.

Sunday we had trouble getting moving as sleeping in is such a luxury at this point for all of us, and then BB missed her bus (thanks in part to our foot-dragging) so we got mexican food downtown, and the most amazing gelato I've had outside of Rome, and possibly topping even that. Thai coconut milk and Mojito were my two choices, both unbelievably intense flavors.

I had a long drive home and didn't leave till 4, as I had to 'swing by' Brooklyn to pick up my computer, which Dell refused to ship to MA (long story) and I did so to find that our block was having the Afro Punk party that afternoon, with the stage set up RIGHT outside our front door, and it was also the subletters birthday and she had friends over. I had to elbow my way thru crowds to get in/out, kick people off my stoop each time I came in/out, and try to get the things I needed as quickly as possible (camping gear which didn't fit the first time, a few tapes, etc). while answering questions about windows and locks and keys.

I escaped and got home before midnight, and couldn't believe how badly I wanted to get back out of Brooklyn and to the relative peace of MA. I'm sure the party chaos helped, but it's incredibly nice to be among the hills and trees and have a much slower pace of things. The desire to continue to pare down things and obligations and responsibilities continues to be a big one.

Potty Training

It's been going well, despite my erratic approach to it.

He loves pooping in exchange for NaNow.

And finds things to occupy himself while sitting on the toilet, including self-exams of past boo boos, hair combing, singing, and reading.

As well as the occasional appearance of the ghost of potty-training past.

If only every trip to the bathroom could be so entertaining!

well that was no fun

last night, i let dominic out for the first time since coming to MA. i figured he'd been here long enough, and could handle it, and i was tired of shooing him away from the door. so before his supper, i let him go, figuring he'd be back in a couple of hours.

to make a long story short ...

he didn't come back.

i cried.

a lot.

i imagined all sorts of things.

i assumed i'd never see him again.

i needed to cry a lot, had needed to for a long time.

he was found, wailing piteously under the deck below ours, almost 24 hours later.

i rejoiced.

i felt immensely better.

the end.

Carnival

We headed to the carnival Saturday night, and the boys had a ball. Glowing swords, rides, milkshakes, and lots of stomach-churning was had by all. I was surprised at how many stomach-twisting rides there actually were, and the fact that they let me take Fynn on all the ones I tried. The only ones I could get pictures of were the merry-go-rounds.

Watching with enjoyment.

Just watching.

Fynn and one of his girlfriends. I left apparently a bit too soon, as she put one arm around him and kept the other on the wheel just after I walked away. I have my work cut out with this one ...

4th of July Weekend

At the last minute, we decided to head to PA to the cousins for the weekend. Having a car makes such things possible :). I was in a mood to sleep, and did a lot of it, as did the golden-haired one.

Ash was a delight, and is posed in front of a fraction of the bugs he and his dad have caught and mounted from what's flying around the farm.

M, posing of course.

One of the also-visiting cousins, looking fierce. Or something like that.

I ended up getting sick while there, the first cold/cough in many months. Just as I'm starting my serious marathon training, very funny. I think the stress of the last few months caught up with me and I just crashed. Holding off on running for a few days. I had just discovered that I was way ahead of the game in terms of training and distance, at least in the schedule that I plan to follow, so I don't feel too badly for getting a break. I think I've been pushing a bit too hard for too long anyhow. Just hoping it's not too many days or it will be a lot harder to get going!

We went to a carnival while there, that's next ...

The Magic Glen

Based on a tip from one of M's friends at the party the other day, we ventured off to a waterfall in the woods. The directions involved going "past the cemeteries, take a left on M-something street, go to the end of the road and through someone's side yard and you'll find a trail. Hike 20 minutes and you'll see a waterfall."


They turned out to be perfect directions, and the waterfall a magical little grotto place with mini pools, rocks to climb, freezing water, and slivers of sunlight. A most wonderful place to sit and eat Subway, splash, throw rocks, slip and slide and squeal, and spend a magic afternoon.


The rain held off till we were on our way home :).

Fynn turns 2!

On our 2nd day here in MA, Fynn turned 2. In typical fashion, the celebration was last-minute, hectic, and thoroughly enjoyable. M had decided not to have Art Club that night (people over to paint together) as it would be too much on our 2nd night here. Instead we could just have a picnic in the park. He told his coworkers that we'd have a potluck, and then got cold feet that they might all come, and might not be bringing much to eat, so we ended up taking pasta salad, lasagne (made before we left NY thanks to Rose), cucumber salad, burgers, hotdogs, buns, and sangria to feed a crowd.


Lots of sides/munchies were brought, the kids painted (including a visitor from the playground we'd just met) and we had silly string, glow rings, and cupcakes. Fynn went home filthy, exhausted, and happy.


I loaded him in the car at the end of the night, and asked him if he'd had a happy day? He grunted a bit and cuddled with his new 'ackoe. When I came back to the car with another load of stuff, he was in there singing to himself "happy day, happy day, happy day ...".


Happy day indeed :). Thank God for 2 years with such an incredibly happy child.

We made it!

Thanks to the superhuman efforts of R and lots of packing/sorting/last minute selling of computers and buying of mattresses ... we're here! Setup of all things electronic was flawless, now to keep small hands out of the overly accessible 'puter.

He turns 2 tomorrow! Picnic in the park is on the agenda after work, and perhaps some painting there too.

So glad to be out of the city. So glad!

ah well

they didn't take fynn's picture, printer wasn't cooperating and fading ink meant it wasn't contrasty enough. gave up until we get to MA. can't imagine the lines there will be as long as here! hot, sticky, and getting things done slowly ... got the car picked up! have more packing/putting away to do, lasagne to make and freeze (how else will i use up a huge tub of ricotta and mozarella before we go?)

off to nap, up late talking with my dear cousin R and SO glad for her help this weekend! then more packing, and more packing ... it never does seem to end. trying to look at the house from the perspective of strangers, and wonder what will interest them and what they'll never notice or comment on. got a pseudo fix in the bathroom 'rotten' corner, should hold till we get back. never thought i'd be screwing old plastic cutting board into the crumbly drywall remnants, but it 'looks' ok! recaulked the tub for the 3rd time, hoping it's the charm? scrubbed w/bleach and blew a fan on it all night, hoping it was a moisture issue. either way it's all that will be done on it before we go. down to one computer/monitor to sell, and hope to have them gone by tomorrow. need to find a mattress still, though i suppose if we don't they'll survive the ancient one that D sleeps on now. it's pretty bad though.

off to nap ...

Fynn's Passport Picture

 

thank God for Gladys, K, and S!

Gladys would be the 19-year-old Buick Regal that we're renting from a friend of a friend for the summer, yay for a car!! Affordable, just, and a bit of a gas guzzler but we won't be driving all that much.

K and S would be the subletters that have agreed to take our place for two months, at a price almost covering expenses! That means we're rent free for 2 months, and I couldn't be happier. I'm waiting a bit tho as I don't have the deposit in hand yet, and have a feeling they'll be slowish in paying the rent, but I'm not too worried about it as we should be able to keep afloat till they do.

so very very relieved :)

and you thought this was about gladys knight? sorry :)

the magic window

On the 28th floor of 1 West St, the light seem to be downright magic. Even a very very tired boy can look angelic :). The rest of the batch is over here.

cousins and 'graduation'

Douglas and Fynn are loving having their cousins here, and orange seemed to be the color of the day. We all went to his 'grad' ceremony from kindergarten, where he was also named Student of the Month for June, a nice surprise :).

His teacher ended up in tears while talking about the class, she truly loves this bunch of kids I think.

They love her too ... this was their own idea, during the pizza party in the afternoon.

The great time with the kids (and can they dance, whew!) helped mitigate the fact that I discovered my error in ordering my computer ... meaning that a ship date of 7/22 actually means July, not June. Who knew?! I've often had a mental block as to which one is the 6th or 7th month, and in my hurry to order it I didn't get it right. I'm not looking forward to hauling my current PC up to MA, but I guess it does simplify my to-do list before I leave! That's not all bad.

talking to dad ...

... and failing to confess his new tat. it's still there, as i didn't feel like scrubbing it with alcohol. sharpies go a long way :)

fynn's words

rather than update you with all the things i'm checking off my lists, and all the new things that keep getting added and remembered (can you say NYC Dept of Ed is INSANE? I KNOW you can ...) I'll try to get down what fynn's language is up to. I never remember to put such things in baby books, and michael remembers it much better than i and he's not here to hear it!

Current words of note (there are far too many to count, everything gets repeated)

• sheen! ... (machine, any thing powered that makes any noise, and can't be identified with a more specific word. always said with great emphasis.
• ackoe! ... backhoe, one of douglas' early favorites also
• VACUUM! ... still a favorite
  
• lower ... blower, for the leaf blowing maintenance guys next door
• shruln ... Shirlan, his babysitter
• ocky ... clocky, the running alarm clock, which now causes him to scream in terror every time it goes off. tonight at supper he took his sippy cup, rolled it on it's side across the table, and gleefully declared it "ocky!"
  
• douglas ... an improvement on 'uglass' which was his brother for several months.
  
• HAVE IT ... used indiscriminately and with passion
• cream ... ice cream ... you're getting the drift about now that shorter is better, and why bother with the first half of the word anyhow?
• NaNow ... candy, ie Not Now, applies to all candy and cream, and most chips
  
• ead ... dead, as in lego man lying down is dead.
• Down! ... pick me up
• peas ... please
• bonk ... pretty much any injury
  

i'll possibly add more later, off to crash.

the running story

i should know better than to promise stories, but days later here it is :). sans capitals as i'm tired of the keyboard ...

i've talked here and there about running on this blog, and keep another blog over here that somewhat chronicles my running history. i've wanted to run the NYC marathon since 2005, when i went and watched it being run just 4 blocks from my house. we live at mile 8.5 or so of the route, and i was feeling queasy that morning from my pregnancy with fynn and so stayed home from church and sat on the curb and watched. for hours. the queasiness was forgotten as i watched thousands upon thousands walk, roll, amble, shuffle, pound, trot, and wheeze by.

the runners came in every shape and size and ability, and the looks on their faces were quite the study. i saw the joy, determination, competition, steadiness, and sometimes frustration and defeat scroll across their faces. i wanted in. i felt a tremendous pull to get out there and join the ranks, pushing myself to complete something that daunting. i'd always loved running, but never had the discipline to do anything with it. (more on that here, i won't repeat myself)

fast forward to last week, after 17 months of running regularly, two marathon lottery denials, and the realization that if i don't run it this year, i probably never will (for lots of reasons that i won't go into, like moving thoughts and possibly more kids and things like that). i'd decided to run it for charity, which would get me guaranteed entry into this year's race, provided i raise (for the 'cheapest' charity) $2500. Daunting at best, rather terrifying actually, but i looked at it as the price for running on 'my schedule'.

i looked at the various charities offering entry, and thought i'd just go with the Team for Kids, which is the biggest, requires 'only' $2500, and has a great support team. They are the charity arm of the NYRR, and serve lots of nyc kids with running programs to help keep them inspired, healthy, and out of trouble. Great cause, but not something that particularly hit home to me. but i wanted in, so was prepared.

then my friend S (a big supporter of my running) started chatting w/me online, and when i mentioned the charity aspect, his response caught me off guard. "Why do you think God thinks you need to do that right now?" i answered that I thought i needed to do it, and yes God had put that hurdle in the way of my plans. and then did some thinking. and a bit more thinking.

running has been MY thing since i started it last january. my time alone, my goal, my enjoyment. i've been blessed with health and the ability to do it, and have acknowledged that to God and asked that he let it stay that way. i love getting lost in my thoughts, in the push and pull of 'how much further', and feeling the ebb of my energy be replaced with the exhilaration of finishing, furthering, and feeling the edges of my abilities. when i've felt beaten down and at the end of my rope in the last year, i've let God know that he could take it away if he wanted, but i really really hoped he wouldn't.

so after that question, i started looking at the charity partners list. i'd discounted the main 3 charities as ones i couldn't really relate to, and saw the 'hole in the wall gang' that i'd noticed before, a foundation offering free camps for sick and disabled kids, founded by paul newman. i liked the idea, and having supported Make a Wish in the past, it felt familiar. They require you to raise $3000, which was a bit more daunting but not so very different from $2500, at least in relative terms! then i looked again, and one of the most 'wimpy' looking logos, visually at least, was the World Vision one, which i missed first time through. i've been on their mailing list in the past, and found their mission to care for the basic humanitarian needs of kids worldwide to be something i connected too. food, water, shelter, the things so many millions don't have. things i take for granted. their requirements? just raise $5000 by november 1st, and pay your own late entry fee of $525.

i felt drawn to them strongly, but the $5k hurdle was just too daunting. so i applied for team 'hole in the wall gang' and was put on their waiting list, and told i'd probably be in by next week. scary, exciting, and intimidating! then i emailed another friend, telling her of the 5k vs 3k dilemma, and told her what i'd done. she replied immediately and positively telling me that despite the 'price' tag, world vision was what she thought fit the best, and that i'd be amazed by what god could do. i sat on pins and needles, and then realized something. what i think is the answer to the question about what God thinks.

the running isn't mine, it's god's. he's blessed it, enabled it, and enjoyed it along with me. but making it all mine? not cool. it's his. and raising 5k to help feed and shelter incredibly needy kids? also his. his kids, his money, his deal. and in my mind, it makes the whole running thing shift over if i do it for worldvision.

so i am. i applied, was accepted, took myself of the team hole in the wall waiting list, and started shaking. it means i'm signed up to run, a shake-worthy event after 2.5 years of hoping and 17 months of running and some inkling of what training i still have to do. it also means i have to raise $5525 dollars, or have it come out of my bank account in November, and that is equally shake-worthy. joy and terror at the same time, a feeling i'm a bit familiar with. it makes my running take on a new meaning, and adds a lot to my enjoyment. i did 12 miles this morning in the heat and sun, running from battery park up to 77th and back, while Opa watched my boys.

it felt great ... i'm on my way :). prayers certainly appreciated, and donation buttons will of course pop up once i get more info. i've got some other ideas on how to raise some of it, but will start with that for now. i'm SO looking forward to it!

Early morning, brothers

All you need is lego, lego is all you need ...

They've been getting up much earlier than normal, thanks to the intrusion of a window fan into the room, rendering my dark curtains rather ineffective. It's not all bad, we've actually been 'early', meaning on time, to school twice already this week!

I still, however, haven't learned to go to bed any earlier. Somehow I suspect I never will, but we'll see.

Tomorrow, I promise a story of why I'm applying to run the marathon for a charity that requires me to raise twice as much money as the most popular one, in order to get guaranteed entry. It makes perfect sense to me :). But first some sleep.