Me and The Boys: A Bunch of Stuff

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October 16, 2007

A Bunch of Stuff

More new words for Dante this week - "down," "bread," and "eggie." Yes, we do seem to add an "-ie" to the end of lots of words when we're speaking to him. Why do parents do this? We're not the only ones - I hear lots of parents do it. And when I'm saying it, it doesn't occur to me how annoying and stupid it must sound, but now that I see it written down, it just looks ridiculous. Parenthood does strange things to you.

We definitely need to get them both in swim class this winter, because every night in the bath, they both lay down on their stomach so they can "swim." Gabe will sometimes put his face in the water very tentatively to blow bubbles, and Dante has no qualms whatsoever about dunking his face right in - again and again and again.

We went pumpkin shopping on Sunday, as evidenced by the picture below. The boys had a great time just running around the place and checking everything out. Gabe wouldn't sit on the tractor, but Dante loved sitting up there. He was grabbing the steering wheel and the gearshift and saying "vvrrrooom."

Yesterday we tried out yet another new park - another one that's completely fenced in! Yay! - and the boys like it. But, as usual, they didn't last too long at the park before Gabe was begging to go play "tennis." So off to the tennis courts we went, where they chased tennis balls for about half an hour. And we did the same thing again this afternoon, at the school down the street. I have no worries that they don't get enough exercise, that's for sure!

I went for a swim this morning, too. It felt really nice. A good workout, but relaxing at the same time. Did my usual 500 meters of drills, and then 850 meters worth of 50s, 100s, and a couple 200s. I am so, so tempted to run tomorrow, but I think I'm going to hold off. I've been asking a lot of my legs these past few weeks, and I think they deserve a little more of a break.

So, I didn't come out of Saturday's race completely unscathed. My shins feel fine, but I think I can now officially call myself a long-distance runner, because I have sacrificed my first toenail to the cause. It was looking pretty bruised and gross after the race, and, well, it just bit the dust today. Is it crazy that I consider that some sort of twisted badge of honor?

I neglected to mention in my ridiculously-long-my-god-when-is-it-ever-going-to-end race report about how unbelievably awesome Scott is, and how he treated me like an absolute queen on Saturday night. He got me a card that said how proud he was of me for what I had accomplished, and in the card was a menu detailing the five-course gourmet meal he was preparing for me that night. Of course I was not allowed to lift so much as a finger to help out with either the preparation or the cleanup, and was instructed to sit on the couch with my celebratory champagne.

We enjoyed a sushi appetizer with the champagne, a Manhattan (one of my favorite drinks), a pasta course, and then the main dish - steak, broccolini, and mashed potatoes. This was all followed by a steaming cup of decaf and a piece of cake. And yes, the cake said "13.1!!! Go Mommy!!""

And then today, this arrived in the mail. I can't wear my finisher's medal every day, but I can certainly drive around with that on my car window : )

I sometimes forget just how good I have it. Having such a supportive husband makes all the difference when you have a time- and energy-consuming hobby like this - especially when there's also two small children to be taken care of.

And it's not only that he's so supportive and encourages me to do this stuff, it's that he celebrates my achievements with me this way. He's just starting out as a runner himself, so I know that's helping him to really understand the emotional and psychological aspects of the sport, but even before he was running, he still seemed to 'get it.'

And the cutest thing in the world is that Gabe, at the tender age of 3 1/2, on his own level, seems to 'get it,' too. Of course he thinks that all racing involves candy, but he also understands that it's something really, really fun, and something to be celebrated.

When I got home Saturday afternoon, he was in his room napping, and I went up to get him when he woke up, and with NO prompting whatsoever, he said "You did a great job at your race, Mommy!"

That is well worth running 13.1 miles.

Posted at 08:10 PM in Dante, Gabe, Half-Marathon, Life, Mommy Stuff, Running, Swimming | Permalink