Me and The Boys

Musings

Day two of school for Gabe today, but the weather is still decidedly summer-like, and I'm really missing our carefree, unscheduled days. I generally do much better with schedules and routines, but we had such a blast this summer, I was so sad to see it end.

When Carmine was born in January, I never imagined we'd spend our summer doing so many fun activities, but we did more this summer than we've ever done, and somehow it seemed easy! I think just because we had so much fun, and enjoyed each other's company so much. Don't get me wrong - there was plenty of bickering and squabbling, and plenty of Mommy losing her patience, but above all, we just got out there and enjoyed ourselves.

Part of it, I think, is the boys' ages. As they get a little older, there are just so many more things that we can do together, and they have a greater appreciation for those things (museums, shows, etc.). And when they're not fighting with each other, they're really good company on car rides, as we can actually have conversations now - some of which are very interesting and/or hysterical, depending on the subject matter.

I love babies, but I am loving the ages Gabe and Dante are at now - so curious, so enthusiastic, so eager to get out and experience all that life has to offer.

And Carmine, thankfully, is a very easygoing little guy who is happy just to be out and about with his brothers, so he literally just went along for the ride this summer, and ended up doing more in the first 6 months of his life than Gabe or Dante did in probably the first 18 months of their lives!

It was just a fabulous summer, and like I said, I'm sad it's over. But I know I have a lot of wonderful memories of all our little adventures, and I sincerely hope that the boys will, too.

Now that summer is over and Gabe is back at school, we're working on getting back into the routine. Me and Dante and Carmine are still going to the gym all together this week, but then next week Carmine will be the only one I'll be dropping off at the daycare! It's going to feel so strange.

Next week is also my last week of no running. As I knew they would, the six weeks off have gone by very, very quickly. I've kept busy with all the above-mentioned activities with the boys, plus tons of biking and swimming and weight lifting.

I know it'll be a little tough to get my running fitness back, but I'm not anticipating that much of a struggle, because I have done a good job maintaining my overall fitness level. And I'm going to ease back into it with a walk/run program for the first few weeks anyway, so I think it'll feel fine.

The walk/run is probably going to be almost as frustrating as not running at all, but I know it's what I have to do in order to get back into this safely, so I just have to suck it up and do it.

Still getting out on the bike every weekend, but the past two weekends I've only ridden 20 miles. After my 50-mile ride a few weeks ago, I suddenly lost all enthusiasm for doing a century ride. I love biking, but it just doesn't motivate me the way running does.

But I feel like I would love to complete a century - check another item off the bucket list, ya know? - and this would be a great year to do it, since I won't be doing long runs for a while, so why not take advantage of that and devote the time to biking instead?

But then I also think - why not just enjoy my shorter bike rides and not pressure myself into doing something I'm not that excited to do?

I think I'll go for a longer ride this weekend and see how I feel. If I really don't feel like doing it, I'm not going to do it. But if I have a great ride, I might change my mind and go for it after all.

And in the meantime, only ELEVEN DAYS until I can run again - woohoo!!!!!

Big Boys

Carmine is now able to pull himself up to standing, and wants to do nothing else. He also tries to let go and stand without holding onto anything, and the other day he let go and acted as if he was going to try to take a step!  Needless to say, since he's only 7 months old, this results in a lot of falling, and I'm really glad we have carpeting in our family room!

I think he's still a ways away from actually walking, but I also think he's going to walk way before he's a year old. He may even skip crawling altogether. He's just too anxious to keep up with his big brothers. He loves nothing more than to be sitting or standing in the family room amongst them and all their toys. He'll grab a toy, bang it on the ground and make noises, and act like he's part of whatever game they're playing, all with a huge grin on his face. He's going to be awfully sad next week when they're BOTH in school every day and he's stuck with boring old mommy.

Dante starts school next week - the 4-year-old class, as he's been announcing to everyone all summer : ) I can't believe that this will be his last year of preschool, and next year he'll be getting on the bus with Gabe! Thank goodness I have a few more years of babyhood with Carmine!

Gabe's first day of school was today - FIRST GRADE!!!! - and just in time, the weather decided to turn ungodly hot and humid again. He didn't seem to be too bothered by it, though - he was too excited about the fact that he now sits at a DESK!

He likes his teacher, he sits next to one of his best friends (a girl!) from last year, and seemed to have a great day. He was a bit tired tonight, though - it will take some time for all of us to adjust to the school schedule again. And I need to adjust to the fact that he's now going to have homework every night!  Last year homework was kind of a novelty, since he rarely had it, but as an everyday event, it's going to be far less 'fun.' We'll get used to it, though.

He and Dante jumped in the pool shortly after Gabe got off the bus, and after splashing around for a while, Dante decided to throw a bucket of water over Gabe's head. I fully expected whining and complaining from Gabe, but instead he laughed hysterically. So of course Dante proceeded to do it again, and again, and again. And while Gabe was running away laughing, I yelled at him to go and get his own bucket, so he could splash Dante back.

An epic waterfight ensued, during which they nearly emptied all the water out of the pool. They loved it, though, and didn't once fight or complain or whine. I'll be refilling the pool for tomorrow afternoon.

Pink Slip

Dante sings to us all the time, and his latest song was titled "How Many Times Have I Told You?"  I think it's abundantly clear where he gets his material.

There was a fly in the house the other day, and the boys named it Frankie. Frankie the Fly.

Gabe had to go upstairs for some quiet time this afternoon after we got home from swimming, and he sat up there for a while, and when he came downstairs for dinner, he told me he had a song to sing me. His song was called "I'm Sorry I Ruined Your Day."  (We had a rough day, and they were bouncing off the walls all day and driving me insane, and I told them so!)  

Carmine went to bed in his crib tonight! He's been sleeping pretty well in the pack n play every night, so I finally put him to bed in the crib. He cried for a few minutes, but not for long at all. Now we just have to see how long he stays asleep. Hopefully he does well. It would feel awfully nice to have everyone having a normal bedtime in their own beds.

Gabe was pestering me this morning, asking me what we were going to do today, and I kept telling him that I didn't know - because I didn't - and finally he got very exasperated and said "If you don't tell me what we're doing, then you're fired!"  I laughed, and said "Ok, then who's going to cook all your meals and do your laundry, and bring you everywhere you want to go?" 

That's when Dante chimed in and told me that "If you're fired, then we can do all that stuff, and you can just sit and feed Carmine!" 

Hmmmm.... was that supposed to be a threat?

Brrrrrrrrr

Never thought I'd use that title for a post in the month of AUGUST!  But it's currently 60 degrees and blustery and rainy. Crazy weather for this time of year. We also went back-to-school shopping today, so it's really feeling like fall is in the air.

Had a fun visit with the Aldermans yesterday. It was rainy, so we went bowling - and since there isn't much else to do indoors around here when the weather isn't nice, we were joined by many, many other would-be bowlers, and had to wait a while for a lane. The boys did ok, though - we sat them down with french fries and nachos and chocolate milk, and that kept them occupied while we waited. And the bowling was so fun - definitely a great activity for a group with such wide-ranging ages - we all enjoyed it!  And what's better than a bowling alley where the bumper guards automatically raise and lower for the little kids? It was awesome!

The boys were so excited to pick out their new lunch bags today. Dante chose Scooby Doo, and Gabe chose Toy Story 3. So funny how exciting an insulated bag can be : )  Gabe also loved getting all his supplies - markers, folders, glue sticks, etc.  And now that Dante has had to watch Gabe get stuff two years in a row, I know he's going to be so happy to finally go out and get his own school supplies next year.

This crazy cool, rainy weather is kind of putting a damper on our final week of summer vacation, though. We kept busy today with the gym and the shopping outing, and after the gym tomorrow, we'll probably go to the library or something, but it would have been much nicer to be spending these days outside. Luckily the end of the week is supposed to be nicer, and we'll be outside Wed. afternoon with Grammy and Grampy, checking out the B-17s at Quonset Airport - I think the boys are going to love it!

The boys are still on their BFF kick, constantly talking about how they're best friends forever, and putting their arms around each other. It's pretty adorable, and I have to wonder if some of it is because they know that as of next week, they'll be away from each other all day long? They've done plenty of fighting this summer, but they've also done plenty of playing together nicely and really learning to enjoy each other's company a little more, and I think they're really going to miss each other when school starts.

I know Carmine is going to miss them - they're a constant source of entertainment for him.

Speaking of Carmine, he's now sleeping all night in the pack 'n play, and will be moving to his crib any day now. First we have to lower the mattress - it's on the highest setting right now, and he's more than mobile enough to lift himself up and fall right over the side, so we've got to get it down to the lower setting so that it's safe for him. Once that's done, in he goes.

There is a little part of me that's sad about this, but we're both sleeping so much better, I can't help but appreciate the improved rest - for me, and for him!  Sleeping all snuggled up next to a little tiny infant is wonderful, and if you're nursing, results in better sleep for everyone. But once they get past a certain age, and every movement you make wakes them up (and vice versa), it no longer works as well.

I'm just glad that he's adjusted so well to the transition. Most nights he's awake when we put him down, and he'll sometimes cry for a minute or two, but then goes right to sleep. And he usually still wakes up once during the night, but it's just for a quick feeding, and then he's right back to sleep.

He's also very mobile when he's down on the floor. He isn't crawling, but he can drag himself pretty darn far, which means that I have to be extremely vigilant about clearing stuff off the floor that would be dangerous for him - which, in a house with two older siblings, is just about everything! 

7 months as of yesterday. 7 months since this amazing, happy, smiley, fabulous little boy came into our lives. He's definitely made our family complete, in the most wonderful way : )

One-Liners

Dante told us today that he's going to be a rock star and rock all night, and not get married.

Last week at the beach, there was an excessive amount of seaweed in the water, and Gabe was all freaked out about going in to rinse himself off (he was covered in sand). When we insisted that he had to clean up before we left, he stated his case, very emphatically - "A. I do not like the seaweed!  B. The seaweed - I do not like it!" 

That same day, Dante saw a speedboat out in the water and said it was an "extreme kayak."

Dante is still slightly obsessed with death, and asked me today where he was going to be buried when he dies. I told him he doesn't have to worry about that for a long, long, long, long, long, long time. 

We went to The Dinosaur Place yesterday, and had a fabulous time! We packed a picnic lunch and ate before we went in and explored the park, and as we were sitting there eating, Gabe couldn't stop grinning, and said "This is going to be SO much fun!"

One of the features of the park is a maze, and I told Gabe how important it was that he stay with Dante as they were going through the maze, so that Dante didn't get lost and get scared, and Gabe assured me that he'd stay with Dante, and started talking about how Dante is his best friend, and then grabbed Dante's hand and said "Best friends forever! Deal?" 

Of course five minutes later they had a fight over who was going to open the door to the bathroom, and then when they went through the maze, Gabe promptly ran off and abandoned Dante, and I had to go in and rescue him, but still, the sentiment is there, and in the end, I know they will be BFF.

When I told them that we were going to The Dinosaur Place, the first question Gabe asked me was "Are we going to buy anything at the gift shop?"

At the last minute, I decided to go to the beach Thursday, and I'm so glad we did. It was a gorgeous day, and there just aren't going to be many beach days left, so I'm happy we took advantage. We had so much fun, and actually decided to extend the day by driving down the road from Roger Wheeler to Narragansett, and met Scott there and had dinner. We took a short beach hiatus and spent an hour hanging out at the gazebo across from the beach, walked over to Trio and got some grilled pizza for dinner, stopped at the candy store for a few treats for dessert, then made our way back down onto the sand.

The boys had a blast catching waves on their boogie boards, and I was flying Carmine through the air, chasing Gabe and Dante around on the sand, and then I held onto Carmine's arms and he 'walked' through the sand alongside the boys, splashing in the water with them. It was hard to tell who was having the most fun - me, Carmine, or Gabe and Dante - I think I'd have to call it a tie. 

It was just one of those days where all was right with the world, and I never wanted it to end.

I think Dante said it best (or tried to) tonight, when he told Gabe "When you're here on land [as opposed to in heaven], just have a good time."

He is very smart for a four-and-a-half-year-old.

Twister

The boys and I were talking yesterday about how they're each other's best friends, and Carmine will be their best friend, too, and how important it is that they remember that. After I got done talking, Dante chimed in with his own take on it - "Yeah, and when there's a tornado in this whole world, I'll make sure to go into a shelter or a basement and help Gabe."

We had two busy, days Monday and Tuesday. Monday night was a Treasure Hunt at the library, which was really cute. The boys loved it, and it was all outside down by the beach, so it was a nice evening outing.

Yesterday afternoon, we took a trip up to Bristol to go to the Audobon Society's Environmental Education center. It was a long drive, but a fun trip, and the boys did great in the car. We stopped for lunch, too, and that went pretty well. Their behavior in restaurants has definitely improved recently, and it makes dining out a much more pleasurable experience for all of us! 

Then it was off to swimming, and then to see the Toe Jam Puppet Band concert on the town green, which was awesome.

This meant, though, that Carmine had awful naps for two days (he doesn't nap well in the carseat, so getting in a good nap while we're out and about is tough), and he also had a late bedtime for two days in a row. The poor thing was so exhausted last night, I felt really bad for him.

I had planned on another outing this afternoon, but in light of his lack of sleep the past two days, and in light of the fact that I was also exhausted, we opted to stay in and not do much of anything, so our only outing was the gym this morning and a quick trip to the grocery store.

I filled up the pool for the boys this afternoon, and got out the fingerpaints, and they went to town - painting on the paper I gave them, but also on each other. I didn't care, though, since cleanup was as easy as hopping in the pool!

I got ingredients at the store to make homemade Cliff bars, and they came out fabulous!  Really easy to make, too. I'll definitely be cooking up a batch of them on a regular basis.

Also whipped up a bunch of baby food for Carmine (still can't believe how easy it is to make his food!), and some oatmeal cookies - with chocolate chips, pecans, raisins, and chocolate chips. Those are going to be an awfully tasty treat to have at the beach this weekend.

Not sure what we'll do tomorrow. Gym in the morning, and then will see what the rest of the day holds.
Since today was pretty quiet, we'll probably get out and do something tomorrow afternoon. We still have to get out and pick blueberries one more time, so maybe we'll do that. And Friday I'm contemplating a trip to The Dinosaur Place in CT. Gabe went there for a field trip at the end of the school year, and it looks pretty awesome.

It's funny, because after Dante was born, I hardly took the two of them anywhere, because I was so nervous about being able to handle them together. But now the four of us are out and about constantly - partially because I feel more capable, and partially because it's just a necessity - if we stayed home all the time, we'd all go stir-crazy!  It's good feeling capable, though - and although I sometimes feel like poor Carmine just gets dragged around all day long, forced to do whatever it is we're all doing, I know that in the long run, it's great for him. And he gets so unbelievably thrilled just to see Gabe and Dante, he seems perfectly happy to be a part of all our little adventures.

But he's also happy to just sit on the floor and play with his big brothers, too. The four of us sat on the floor for a while this afternoon, playing cars, and Carmine couldn't stop grinning. He's a happy baby to begin with, but when he's got the attention of his brothers, he is positively gleeful : ) 

The three of them will always have their sibling rivalries and squabbles and bickering, but I'm certain that if there's a tornado, they'll all look out for each other.

Week Two

Another week of no running, but it was a whirlwind of a week, so I barely noticed that I wasn't able to run. I went to the gym every morning, and every afternoon was filled with activities, so the time flew by. This coming week will probably be ok, too, but it's at that halfway point that I know it'll start to get tough. That's the point where the injury feels healed, and you think you should be able to start running again, but you know you really can't. Very frustrating.

And I know the first few weeks back running are going to be frustrating, too, since I'm going to be extremely conservative, starting out with a very strict walk/run plan, and taking a long time to work up to some decent mileage. But I'm determined to do this the right way, so I just have to get through it.

I have had some fabulous bike rides, and been doing lots of swimming, so there is no shortage of cardio in my schedule. I'm up to 50 miles on the bike - that's what I rode Saturday morning - and feeling great! I averaged 17.3 mph on the 50-mile ride, which I felt was pretty respectable, given that I've never ridden that far before.

I'm still toying with the idea of doing a century ride, but I have to admit, I'm not as driven to do that as I am when it comes to road races. I feel like I'd like to do it, but I don't know how disappointed I'd be if I didn't do it.

But I also feel like this is the year I should do it, since I'm not able to run, and I have the time and energy to devote to 3-hour training rides on the weekends. Not making any final decisions yet, but if I had to guess, I'd say I'll probably end up doing it, if only to get that endurance fix that I won't be getting from a half- or full marathon in October.

I brought my bike in for a tune-up last week, and boy, did it need it!  As soon as I got on it Saturday morning, I could tell how much better it felt, and the ride was so much smoother. They replaced the brake pads, adjusted the handlebars for me (resulting in much less shoulder and neck pain), and I also got Armadillo tires put on.

I'm working on my tire-changing skills, but I still would rather do what I can to prevent flats in the first place, so hopefully the Armadillos will help in that regard. I've read some reviews that say they slow you down, but I didn't really find that to be true on my ride this past weekend.

All is well with the boys. We took them to play miniature golf for the first time yesterday, and they loved it. And since mini-golf works up such an appetite, we stopped for clamcakes afterward : ) 

Today was another beach day, and although it was cloudy and cool, we had a great day. That kind of weather is actually kind of nice, since it means the beach isn't as crowded.

Carmine is so close to crawling, it's crazy! He gets on all fours and rocks back and forth, and he is able to throw himself forward and move a little bit across the floor, but hasn't actually crawled yet. It's going to happen any day now, though. He's also constantly trying to pull himself up and stand, and does NOT like to sit still. If he's in the stroller and we're out somewhere and there's lots to look at, he's ok, but if we're home, he has to constantly be doing something, or he gets mad. He also gets mad if you take a toy away from him - getting quite the personality already!

He's also been laughing at everything lately, and it's the greatest sound in the world. One of my favorite things is to see how he lights up and hear how he laughs when he sees Gabe or Dante walk into the room. He absolutely adores his big brothers, and it's just amazing to see. And they love him, too. They're always hugging him and talking to him, and bringing him toys - it's so cute, I can't stand it.

Gabe actually sat down and played Chutes and Ladders with Carmine one day a few weeks ago - he spun the spinner for Carmine, and moved his piece for him, and Carmine sat there with a grin on his face the entire time. He loves feeling involved in whatever the big boys are doing.

Sleeping stuff is still hit-or-miss. Some nights he'll sleep all night in the pack n play, other nights he ends up in bed with me. I'm not stressing about it, though - we'll just keep working on it. He is able to go to sleep on his own now - he'll usually fuss and cry for a few minutes, but he falls asleep pretty quickly, which is great.

He'll occasionally still topple over from a seated position, but he can sit unsupported for a long, long time now. I took out some more toys yesterday, including a bunch that light uo and make noise, and he loved those - he got so excited! I think Gabe and Dante were equally excited, and spent the rest of the afternoon playing with all the baby toys. I wasn't surprised, and I didn't mind one bit, since Carmine was more than happy to be sitting there playing with his big brothers

Power Up!

Scott and Gabe went for a walk at the beach yesterday, and as they were walking back toward our chairs, Gabe took off and ran way ahead of Scott, and then ran back, and did that a few more times. And he explained to Scott that he was doing that because he needed to "power up."

It's a good thing he powered up, because we are having a crazy busy week!

We were at the beach Sunday and Monday, and both days they made friends with other kids, and spent a good amount of time playing with those kids. I love to see them make friends like that, and see how they interact. And it gives me and Scott a little bit of a break, too!

Saturday we went to the Charlestown Seafood Festival, which was fun, but ended badly, due to both Gabe and Dante being completely exhausted. We should have known better than to plan a busy day after they had just finished up a full week of camp - it was just too much. They did fine going on the rides, and we let them play a few games and win some cheesy stuffed animal prizes, and then we were going to get something to eat, but realized that we didn't have enough cash left, and had forgotten our ATM cards in the car, which was somewhat far away, so we didn't feel like going back to get them.

So instead, we decided we'd get in the car and head back to town to our favorite ice cream shop. You'd think the boys would have been thrilled to hear that, but they whined and complained that we weren't going to get ice cream at the festival. Then I scrounged up just enough money to buy some french fries, but they complained that they wanted clamcakes instead. It was infuriating, and they both went upstairs for some quiet time when we got home, during which they both promptly fell asleep, and Scott and I promptly realized that at least there was a reason they had been acting so horribly.

Tuesday they had swim class, and both of them swam half the width of the pool without any flotation device whatsoever!!!  This was a huge step for them, and I was so proud, I almost had tears in my eyes. Dante is definitely the stronger swimmer right now, but I think it's because he has less fear. I think once Gabe is more confident, he'll catch right up to Dante. But they're both doing awesome, and it makes me so happy to see them making such great progress. This session of classes ends in two weeks, and they'll immediately start another session - I want to make sure we keep this momentum going!

We took them out to dinner after swim class, and it was one of the best dinners out we've ever had. They usually behave pretty well at restaurants, but we always seem to have to constantly remind them to talk quiet, to sit nicely in their seats, and to not whine about how hungry they are - nothing horrible, but just kind of annoying. But this time they were so well-behaved, it was almost odd.

And Carmine played happily in his highchair (yes, he sits in a regular highchair now, like a big boy, and also sits up in the front seat of the cart at the grocery store - he enjoys it so much more than sitting in the carseat/carrier!), ate his cereal and veggies while we had an appetizer, then played happily the whole time I ate my dinner, and didn't start fussing until I was finishing up my dessert. Miracles do happen!

Yesterday in the car, Gabe was asking Dante about his counselor at camp last week - First he asked "Do you love her?"  and Dante said yes, and Gabe said "Like do you want to marry her?"  And Dante giggled and said yes, and Gabe, sounding like something out of a Peanuts cartoon, yelled "Aaaarrrggggghhhh!! What the heck is wrong with my brother?! He's in love with a GIRL!"

I took them to the Children's Museum yesterday afternoon, courtesy of a coupon from the library's summer reading program, and we had a blast. They enjoy it more every time we go, as they get older and can appreciate more and more of the exhibits that they used to just rush past. And Carmine loved just sitting in the stroller and watching all the kids running around. He's laughing out loud so much more now, and it's one of the greatest sounds in the world - especially when he laughs just at the sight of one of his big brothers : ) 

Gabe's very astute commentary on the way to the museum - "Do you know why they call it The Children's Museum? Because it's for children, and children go there!"

Last night we went to a pizza party at the library - for all the participants in the Summer Reading program. Besides pizza and juice, they both got a certificate and a coupon for a free ice cream at McDonald's, and a free book. After the pizza, we walked over to a local ice cream shop and each got a cone, then headed back to the library for a magic show, which they loved - and Gabe even got to go up and do a magic trick!

Today's outing was the Washington County Fair. It was a perfect day for it - sunny and dry and warm - and we had such a fabulous time. We had lunch, saw another magic show, the boys went on some carnival rides and played some games (Dante won a huge stuffed animal!), checked out some animals, and had a bunch more fun carnival food (whoopie pies, popcorn, cookies) before heading home. Carmine again seemed to enjoy hanging out in his stroller watching everything - I can't imagine how overstimulating it must have been for him, but he didn't seem to mind. He's such a good little baby : )

Tomorrow, to cap off the week's activities, I think we'll go blueberry and/or peach picking, and then head over to another summer concert by the beach. The weather is going to be perfect again tomorrow, so it'll be an all outdoors day!

We're keeping up an exhausting pace, but we're all much happier that way. Too much down time makes us all cranky and stir-crazy.

And being so busy helps take my mind off that whole 6-weeks-no-running thing, too!  I'm still doing fine with it, actually. I've been working out every day, so keeping plenty busy with the weights, swimming, and biking, so the time is going by.....   4 weeks to go.

And, crazy to think about it, but only 2 weeks until school starts for Gabe, and 3 weeks until Dante starts. We've certainly made the most of this week, and will try to do the same with the remaining days of summer vacation, taking advantage of all the fun stuff there is to do around here. Better power up!

One Week (Almost) Down, Five Weeks To Go

So the good news is that I don't have a stress fracture.

The bad news is that I still need to take 4 - 6 weeks off running.

This is what I was told at the orthopedist this morning, but frankly, I had made the decision to take 6 weeks off anyway, after the pain I was in following the tri on Sunday.

I've been attempting to run twice a week while rehabbing this injury, but it's just not working. It's been one step forward, and three steps back. Not good.

And I think even before I did the tri, I knew I was facing a layoff immediately afterward. I could see it coming, so I've been preparing myself for a while, and am handling it rather well.

I'm already enjoying swimming so much, and am looking forward to spending even more time in the pool and doing some serious work on drills and perfecting my technique so that I can eventually get faster, as that's still the area of the tri where I have the most room for improvement.

And since I've been deprived of my long runs on the weekends, I've been substituting with long bike rides, and am seriously contemplating doing a century in the fall. Gotta get my endurance fix somehow! To that end, I'm going to try for a 40-mile ride this weekend, and am going to start practicing changing flats.

I'm also getting a lot of enjoyment from lifting weights. I've always liked strength training, and when I can't run, I have a lot more time to focus on the weights, and I always see results when I do that. I love seeing more muscle tone - nothing like tangible, visible proof that your hard work is paying off!

And finally, when I do return to running (Sept. 12 - it's marked on my calendar!), I'm going to follow this plan, to avoid coming back too quickly and ending up re-injured. I am going to follow the plan religiously, and will not jump ahead and run any more than is prescribed.

I know that I have nobody but myself to blame for this injury. I was a bit too ambitious in my postpartum race plans - a bit too anxious to lose the baby weight, to get back to racing, and to get to feeling like myself (the self who runs often, and runs fast).

The hip alignment and the shoes were definitely contributing factors, too, but the bottom line is that I did too much too soon, and I should have backed off a long time ago.

But I'm not beating myself up over it. I acknowledge my mistake, I'm paying for it, and I really feel like, in the end, I'm going to be a better athlete for it. I'm tired of being in pain, I'm tired of being injured, and I'm determined to do this the right way, and come back stronger than ever.

So as of right now, my summer 2010 race season is officially over. I probably won't race again until the Mews Tavern 5K in November, which seems like a long way off, but I know it'll go by fast - life with three kids is pretty busy, and November will be here before I know it.

I know I'll have times where I get depressed about not running, but right now I'm feeling ok, and feeling incredibly thankful that I have swimming and biking to fall back on. And the way I see it, if I had to end my season a little early, at least I ended it on a high note, with what I felt was a great performance in a really fun race!

Quiet

The big boys have camp again this week, so I'm savoring the quiet.

They're loving camp, and all the time they're spending in the pool (they have pool time every day at camp, and have swim class once a week, too) is really going a long way toward getting them both to the point of being able to really swim. Last week Gabe actually jumped in the pool without holding someone's hand - something he's never done before!

He was wearing a floatie when he jumped, but I was still tremendously proud of him. It was so hard for him to work up the courage to finally do it, and it broke my heart to see him standing there so terrified, yet wanting so desperately to do what everyone else was doing. I was so proud of him when he finally did it, I almost teared up. And once he was past that paralyzing fear, he realized how fun it is to jump in, and did it quite a bit when we were at Grammy and Grampy's last week.

We had a fabulous trip to CT last week. The boys loved swimming in the pool all afternoon Wednesday, and Thursday we took them bowling, which was great - until Gabe got frustrated about not doing well. He likes to win all the time, and does not handle it well when he doesn't win. I know a lot of kids his age are like that, and I'm not going to make too big a deal out of it, but he does need to learn to deal with disappointment a little bit better. We'll keep working on it.....

The bowling was fun, though. They both threw the ball down the alley more than they rolled it, but they also both managed to get a few strikes (with the guards up, of course, to prevent gutter balls). The ice cream we went for afterward was fun, too. Nothing like a drippy ice cream cone on a hot day. Mmmmm!

I was also able to get out Wednesday night and see my best friends from high school, which was great. We are rarely all able to get together, so it was fabulous to see everyone - just made me wish we could do it more often.

This week was the final week of the Youth Track meets, and as always, we're sad to see them end. The boys have had so much fun this year, and it's been so great to see them out there running their hearts out and loving every minute of it.

For Gabe's final race this week - the 200 - he and another boy were neck-and-neck down the final stretch, and Gabe was really, really working hard to try to win. From where I was standing, I couldn't really tell who crossed the finish line first, but it was very, very close. It's really pretty cool to see him actually racing like that!  I won't be surprised if he gets into running track or cross-country as he gets older - he really seems to enjoy it.

Dante has no interest in racing - he just runs and waves and smiles - it's awesome : )   And actually, Dante is ahead of Gabe when it comes to swimming - mostly, I think, due to his being less fearful of the water - and of everything - he's just a fearless little kid (except when faced with a dog - he's terrified of dogs). He gets nervous about some stuff, but overall he has much less anxiety about the water than Gabe does. I'm glad we're finally getting them the swimming lessons they need. It'll be great when they're both swimming on their own.

Carmine is doing well, too. He had his 6-month checkup last week, and was pronounced perfectly healthy and wonderful. He weighs 15 lbs 4 oz, and is 26 inches tall. I don't know what percentile those measurements put him in, but I didn't ask. I think he's on the small side for his age, but he's doing everything he's supposed to be doing - the doctor was surprised to see him sitting up so well already! - and he's happy and healthy, so that's all that matters.

He's chowing down on his veggies and fruits and rice cereal. So far he's eaten - and enjoyed - applesauce, pears, sweet potatoes, bananas, and prunes. And today I tried making some baby food myself, and found out just how easy it is. I'll still buy a few things here and there, but I don't see any reason I wouldn't make most of his food myself, especially since I can make up a big batch and freeze it and just use it as I need it.

He is sitting up really well, too. He still topples over after a while, but that's just because he can't balance well enough - he certainly has the strength!  The other night the boys were playing with their Trio blocks, and they had them set up on the coffee table, so I put Carmine up there and let him sit and play with his big brothers, and you should have seen how excited he was! He thought it was the coolest thing ever - the expression on his face was priceless. Gabe and Dante got a big kick out of it, too : )

And we may be turning a corner in regards to Carmine's sleep habits. He's been so difficult to get to sleep lately - we rock him and bounce him and walk around with him, and he fights going to sleep. Or we finally get him to sleep, then as soon as we put him down, he wakes up. He wasn't like this before - it kind of came out of nowhere, and it's been really frustrating, and last night I kind of reached the breaking point, but I think in the end that will prove to be a very good thing.

We were having an awful night - he kept waking up and crying, and a few times he nursed a little, but mostly he just wanted to use me as a pacifier, which I don't mind to a certain point, but then as soon as he was back asleep and I tried to move away, he'd wake up again. I was exhausted and burned out from having him literally attached to me all night, so around 4:30am I just got out of bed and went down to the living room. He was crying when I got out of bed, but not even a minute later, he was sound asleep, and he stayed asleep until nearly 8am.

It was definitely a Eureka! moment for me, as it suddenly occurred to me that maybe he doesn't want us to be doing all that rocking and bouncing, and to be spending all that time trying to get him to sleep. Maybe he wants to just BE LEFT ALONE!

I decided to test that theory for his afternoon nap, and put him down in the pack n play as soon as he seemed tired. He fussed and whined on and off for about 20 minutes - never really full-on crying - and after 20 minutes, he was sound asleep. 

Fast forward to bedtime. I nursed him, he fell asleep, and I put him down and he stayed asleep. Then he woke up about an hour later, crying. I tried to calm him down without picking him up, but he just got more and more upset. Picked him up and calmed him down, got a burp out of him, had him almost asleep, and then he started fussing and crying again, so I put him down and walked away.

The crying stopped almost instantly, and he's now sound asleep.

Hopefully tonight will go better than last night, but if it doesn't, I know I'm not going to be jumping through all sorts of hoops to try to get him back to sleep, since it's really seeming like that's the last thing in the world that he wants, and he'd rather I just leave him alone and let him go to sleep on his own. Who woulda thunk it?