Me and The Boys

Back to Reality

The week that Dante went back to school (August 27 - otherwise known as TOO EARLY FOR SCHOOL!) was tough. Carmine and Gabe were still on vacation, and it felt wrong for us to go out and have all sorts of fun adventures while Dante was stuck in school, so it was a pretty quiet three days. And it also felt like we were in limbo. Kind of a strange week, and I was glad when the weekend arrived. 

Despite some iffy weather forecasts, we enjoyed a beach day on Saturday, a great day with the family in CT on Sunday, and what ended up being what we think was one of the best beach days of the entire season on Monday.

We stayed until 5pm that day, and if the kids hadn't had school the next day, we would have stayed later.  It was very difficult to leave.  (made more difficult by Carmine entertaining us by running up to random people at the beach, shaking their hands, and saying "Hi! My name is Carmine, and I'm making friends.") 

We had such a spectacular summer, and as I do every year, I struggled with it ending. It didn't help that last week - the first week that all three of them were in school - was a week of absolutely perfect beach weather.

I made it there one afternoon by myself and I did enjoy the quiet for a little while. But I missed my boys. I felt so bad for them being stuck in school when we could have been spending all day on the sand. 

And I know the reality of that picture is that the 'perfect beach day with my boys' is usually punctuated with fights and pestering and whining and complaining. But in the end, it's still a perfect day when we get to spend it by the water, and it made me sad to not be able to do that with them. 

We did pack them all up and have dinner at the beach Friday night, and it was the best possible way to end the first week of school. We even ran into some friends, and stayed until it got dark. 

As I do every summer, I made a photo book of all our pictures from June, July, and August, and it arrived yesterday, and even though I've seen all the photos countless times, I still loved looking through it - and I'm sure I'll love it even more when it's 0 degrees and snowing this winter. 

We definitely made some memories this summer, and I'm glad the boys will have the photos to look back on. I know they appreciate everything we do - every time we went somewhere special this summer, Dante would come over to me at some point during the day and give me a huge hug and proclaim it "the BEST DAY EVER!" and me "the BEST MOM EVER!"  

Which is why I wasn't at all insulted or upset when he was talking to a friend outside on the blacktop on the first day of school, and the friend asked him what he had done this summer, and Dante's answer was "you wouldn't believe all the cool stuff we found in Minecraft." 

The transition to school hasn't been without its challenges, particularly thanks to Gabe's very early bus pickup, and the fact that all three kids are in different schools, with different dropoff and pickup times, and I am constantly feeling like I've forgotten to get someone or bring someone somewhere. 

We're getting the hang of it, though, and the onslaught of school paperwork has slowed down somewhat, too, which helps. 

We also snuck in one more little summer-ish adventure this past weekend, when we spent the day exploring in Jamestown. I had heard of Fort Wetherill before, but didn't really know anything about it, so it was fun to check it out. It's sort of a creepy old abandoned fort, but has some really spectacular views, and the area is dotted with little coves/beaches where we found a huge amount of sea glass.

Top it all off with lunch at East Ferry Deli and ice cream on the way home, and it was a hugely successful day! 

I always feel so conflicted at this time of year. There is such a big part of me that thrives on routine and schedules, and there is something about the rhythm of the school day that I like, once we settle into it. And yes, having a few hours of quiet is nice, too. 

But especially as the boys get older, and we can do so many more cool, fun, interesting things with them, it's tough when those summertime adventures have to come to a close. I love all our outings just as much as they do - there's nothing like watching them experience things that I've seen or done, and getting to see it through their eyes. 

And even better - doing stuff with them that I've never done before, like our first trip to the waterpark last year, and our trip to Plymouth Plantation this year. Sharing things like that with your kids is one of the best parts of parenting, I think - or one of the most fun parts, at least. 

September in Rhode Island is typically a pretty beautiful month, and I know we'll still do a ton of fun stuff on the weekends, but it never has quite the same magical summer feel to it. 

One other way I tried to capture some of that summer magic:  about 9 years ago, when Gabe was still a baby, I found this book called "At the Beach" at the local consignment shop and bought it for 25 cents. 

I loved it then, and I still love it now. It's so simple, but I love the way it reads - it just sums up the beach so beautifully, and every time I read it, I'd picture scenes from our own beach days. 

So this year, I decided to stop imagining that in my head and re-create the book using our own beach pictures. I love how it came out, and the boys seem to like it, too. 

It's a nice memento, and something I hope will become as tattered and worn as the original. 

But for now, back to reality it is, and we're doing our best to ease into it. I miss my boys, but I'm also proud of them and happy to see how well they're all adjusting and how much they love to learn. 

And there's still plenty of magic to be found out there - just a different kind of non-summer magic. We'll find it, though - we're not the type to just sit around and wait for it to come to us. 

 

Time Marches On

I'm a pretty sentimental person, and I get a little melancholy at certain stages of the boys' lives, but for the most part, I revel in them growing up and becoming more independent - that's what's supposed to happen, after all, and it's a privilege to watch and be a part of it. 

But then there are moments that their little incremental steps away from us suddenly become giant leaps, and it takes my breath away and brings a tear to my eye. And lately, it seems like there have been a lot of those moments.

Gabe is on the verge of honest-to-goodness teenage existence, and Dante is close behind. Carmine is still along way off from that, but is light years ahead of where Gabe and Dante were at age 4.5. 

The changes aren't truly monumental ones, but as a mom who's kept these boys under nearly constant surveillance since the second they were born, they feel monumental. But they need to happen.

So when I picked them up from camp a few weeks ago, and Dante jumped up and started to run over to me, but then caught himself and sat back down and played it cool, I didn't take it personally. 

And when I wanted to take a picture of Gabe the first day he had his braces on, and he said no, because he didn't want me to post it on Facebook, I completely understood and respected that request (one he's never, ever made before). 

 

And when Gabe and Dante asked us the other day if they could go for a walk on the beach with their friend, we said yes. And when I was at the grocery story today with all three of them and Carmine needed to go to the bathroom, I asked Gabe to take him while Dante and I finished up the shopping. And when we forgot something from our locker up at the beach pavilion this morning, I gave Dante the key and asked him to go get it.

 

And as hard as it can be to just Let. Them. Go. and do these things on their own, it's also kind of liberating and rewarding.

Rewarding in the sense that although I constantly feel like I'm totally screwing this up, I'm doing enough right that I can trust my 10-year-old to take care of his little brother for a few minutes in a public place - and I can count on my 8-year-old to operate a key and door lock - and more importantly, remember to bring the key back!  And I can give Gabe $10 and have him go get us a snack at the concession stand at the beach. 

No, these are not complicated, enormous tasks, but believe me, there are moments in our everyday life where I doubt their abilities to do simple things like that, so it's gratifying to see that they are in fact completely capable.

And it's liberating - and somewhat exhilirating - to know that I can rely on them to DO STUFF for me! I don't always have to be the one to drag Carmine to the bathroom. I don't always have to be the one to go and get stuff for us. I don't have to be on top of them every single second. 

I know the day will come that I will miss their noise and chaos at the beach, and that I'll wish they were sitting right beside me instead of off hanging out with their friends. But I also know that this is exactly what's supposed to be happening, and that (and the silence and the chance to sit and relax for a change, which, at the moment, I treasure) makes it easier.

They still need us - and they still let us know that on a very regular basis - but this newfound independence is a fascinating and beautiful and amazing thing, and as much as it makes me a bit sad, it also makes me incredibly proud. 

Our job as parents is to send these little people off into the world to do their thing and make their mark, and it's exciting to see them beginning to embark on that journey, and to wonder where on earth it's going to end up. 

On The Eve of Summer

My poor neglected blog. I think all the time about writing, but there just are not enough hours in the day. I've thought about just giving up on it altogether, but I think about how much I love having all of this written down (and printed and bound into books every year) as an account that hopefully the boys will read someday, and be reminded of all the things that they (and we) have lost track of with the passage of time. 

So I won't give up on it, but I have accepted that it's going to be something I do pretty infrequently, and that just has to be ok. As much as I love writing about all our adventures, it's more important that I'm out there living them, and whatever time is left over, I'll do my best to maintain some sort of record of them here. 

Carmine is the first subject that comes to mind, because he is really, really coming into his own. He's forceful, rather loud, hilarious, sweet, curious, and completely over the top in every way. He is going to make his mark on this world, and he's already off to a good start. When I meet other parents from his preschool class, they all say "Oh, you're Carmine's mom? I hear all about Carmine all the time." (and it's not because he's getting in trouble - he just has a way of making himself known). 

He's got a veritable treasure trove of one-liners - I can't even keep up with them, there are so many. He said to me one day "Can we go to the coffee shop, Mommy? You know - that place where all the girls that work there like me."  And in the two weeks leading up to Mother's Day, he kept wishing me a Happy "Smothers" Day. He also still has a few funny word mixups - tehgar for guitar, merote for remote, and bullzoder. I'm always a little sad when they lose those little mispronunciations, though, so I'm not in a hurry to correct him. 

 

 

His preschool is offering a full-day option for the 4-year-old class next year, and I briefly considered enrolling him, because he'll turn 5 in January, and I think he could handle a full day schedule. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I wasn't quite ready to give him up for the entire day just yet. I want to have my last year with my last little guy entertaining me and keeping me company for part of the day. 

 

It seems like just yesterday I was thinking those same thoughts about Dante, who's now headed off to third grade next year, which just doesn't seem possible.

Due to being sick, he missed a big report presentation one day at school, and missed a field trip another day, and I think he was feeling kind of down about it, so last month, I surprised him and picked him up from school mid-morning and he and I and Carmine spent the day at the zoo. It was one of the most fun days I've had in a long time, and they seemed to have a blast, too.

 

 

I also indulged him on Mother's Day weekend, which he informed was also his Sock Monkey's birthday (according to the tag on his Sock Monkey beanie baby). When he first told me, I had no intention of celebrating a stuffed animal's birthday. But he was literally counting down the days and marking them off on his calendar, and the more I thought about it, I realized that he would probably never again ask me to do something like that, and even thought it was ridiculous, I didn't see any harm in doing it. 

 

So when we celebrated Mother's Day with the family in Connecticut, we also celebrated Sock Monkey's birthday. And the smile on Dante's face made it totally and completely worth it. 

 

 

He had another big moment earlier this month when he and I ran his second 5K together. We chose the Katie DeCubellis 5K, which I ran last year, and which is a really nice, well-organized, family-0riented race. I knew it would be a good one for us to do together. The only snafu was that it was a very warm day. We did a lot of walking, and there was one point where he told me that he "wanted to quit so bad, but he was having fun, too."  I told him therein lies the essence of racing. 

 

We didn't quit, though, and he actually placed 2nd in his age group and won a new boogie board! I think that was truly one of the best days of his life, and I'm so happy that we got to share it together.

 

As a bonus, we also won two raffle prizes, one of which was a giant plastic dump truck that Carmine is already making good use of at the beach, as well as a slew of gift cards, and a bucket of candy, and a few other goodies - it was definitely a lucky day for the San Antonio family. 

 

 

I continue to be astounded every day at how grown up Gabe is becoming. He's had a big year, with lots more homework, and lots more reports, and many more challenges, and he's met every one of them. It hasn't always been pretty - we had a few battles over projects and book reports and how to schedule work appropriately (he is completely incapable of admitting that anyone else is right) - but he's getting the hang of it, and I'm proud of all he's accomplished this year. And I'm also incredibly grateful to his teachers and his amazing school for doing such a great job getting him ready for 5th grade. 

They had a small 'moving on' ceremony for all the 4th graders who are leaving his school at the end of this year (they do have the option to stay there for 5th grade), and it was really nice. I nearly cried, but I held it together. I didn't want to embarass him.

I know we still have many more years at this school - 2 more for Dante, and 5 for Carmine - but Gabe moving on from there is a huge milestone, and it's definitely hitting me hard. It still seems like just yesterday we were there for his Kindergarten orientation. 

Last week, though, it was middle school orientation - and although he's sad about leaving KHA, he came home from the middle school program completely excited and enthusiastic, and telling me that he wants to go to middle school "RIGHT NOW!"  So, some sad times, but some very exciting times, too. 

And in between are the glorious weeks of summer vacation, and after the winter we had, we are ALL very much looking forward to spending lots of time outside in the sun and on the sand and in the ocean. 

We've only made it to the beach a handful of times, but now that school is winding down, we'll soon be regulars. Thanks to a friend, we are lucky enough to have a closet at the beach pavilion where we can store all our stuff, which has made our beach trips so much less complicated. No need to pack all the chairs and toys and boogie boards and beach cart in the car every time. All we need to get ready is our cooler and backpacks, and we pick the rest of the stuff up when we get to the beach. So much easier in every way!

Carmine even has his own regular-sized boogie board this year, and he doesn't go out farther than ankle deep, but that's far enough for him to float around a tiny bit, and I have a feeling it won't be long before he's actually out there catching waves with his brothers. He came running up to us at the beach the other day with a cup full of water he had scooped out of the ocean, yelling "Look, I found water!!!"  And two minutes later he was back with another cup, yelling "Look, MORE water!" Ah, to be four..... 

And even though we had agreed we weren't going to buy Dante a surfboard this year, Scott found a used one that's the perfect size for him, and surprised it with him two weeks ago. He was, of course, thrilled, and told just about everyone he saw for the next two days about how he has a surfboard now. It wasn't a purchase I was planning on making, but it was a good purchase, and I'm glad Scott got it. 

And with that, we are officially completely ready for summer. The boys came home today with backpacks jammed full of papers and markers and pencils and books and stray gloves, so I know their desks are cleaned out, and all there is to do tomorrow is enjoy their ice cream party and say goodbye to their friends. 

I wait all year for the months of June, July, and August, and I'm beyond happy that they're finally here, and I can't wait to get out there and make the most of them.  

The Boys

While most of what I've written lately has been either about me and my running or about Gabe, I haven't forgotten about Dante and Carmine, and have been meaning to jot down some things about them, but it keeps getting pushed to the bottom of my endless to-do list.

Unfortunately, we're pretty sure Dante's been feeling like he's at the bottom of that list lately, too. With all of the Gabe issues we're dealing with - the palate expander, the upcoming 10th birthday, the medication - Dante has been feeling a bit left out, and as a result, has been acting up a little (sometimes a lot).

Thankfully we were wise enough to realize this after not too long - the fact that he was completely and totally flying off the handle and screaming and sobbing at the drop of a hat tipped us off - and we have been pretty deliberately giving him some extra attention. Not so much that Gabe and Carmine feel slighted, but enough to make Dante realize that he's just as awesome as ever, and that we're not ignoring him. And since we've made that effort, his freakouts have all but disappeared.

Being the middle child isn't easy, especially when you're sandwiched between an almost-ten-year-old brother who's going through a lot of big transitions all at once and an impossibly vivacious, outgoing, adorable 4-year-old who refuses to be ignored, and will often yell very loudly "I'm waiting to say something here!"

Dante is growing up in his own right, though. He's obsessed with science shows, and all manner of building/cooking/exploring shows. He and I both watched an Ernest Shackleton show that was on PBS last month, and he could binge watch episodes of "How Did They Do That?" I personally love this, as I'm a fan of all those shows, too, and I'd much rather he watch that than Pokemon.

As of right now, he wants to be an architect when he grows up - partially thanks to another show he likes to binge watch, called "Epic Homes." I think he was especially enamored of the log cabin house. Can't say I blame him - it looked pretty cool.

Going back a bit to when the yard was still covered in snow (a sight I hope I don't see again until next year!), he took to snowboarding like a natural, and spent hours going down the tiny hill in our backyard after school. He and Gabe (who also did really well with it) would throw on their gear and slide down over and over again, and one time I heard Dante say to Gabe "Dude, we're shredding some major powder now!" 

Because of the snowboards, they were particularly interested in the Winter Olympics, and we recorded and watched a lot of the events. Dante at one point mentioned how he wished we had a halfpipe in the backyard. And Gabe, while watching the figure skating, commented to me that "I bet you and Dad couldn't do that."  I didn't take him up on that bet.

February was a long month (and March is proving to be even longer, as spring seems to have forgotten to arrive), but we filled it up with as many fun activities as we could, including a visit from the Theriault cousins, complete with a snowstorm and an outing to see the Lego Movie.

School vacation week was busy, too, with a trip to CT to see Grammy and Grampy and more cousins, and two more trips to CT - one to the Pequot Museum, which we all loved; and one to Mystic Aquarium. So glad that we have so many fun places within close driving distance, and now that we caved and bought a membership to the Aquarium (and already have a membership to the Seaport), I'm sure we'll be spending even more time down that way.

Dante was beyond thrilled that the Titanic exhibit was still up at the Aquarium. He was a major Titanic buff a few years ago, and we went to see the exhibit right after it opened, but I didn't know it was still going to be there, so we all had fun going through and exploring it again.

There were too many snow days this winter, but we managed to survive them, with a mix of sledding, crafts, projects, tortilla snowflakes, and probably more screen time than recommended, but once the nice weather hits, I know the screens are going to be forgotten, so I'm ok with that.

Dante and Carmine are best buds these days, and spend so much time hanging out together. They both have incredible imaginations and love to create elaborate setups in the garage and in the yard - their favorite is to create a "boat," and then have adventures on and around their boat.

This usually involves making an enormous mess and taking out almost every toy they own, which results in me having to stand over them and make sure they put each and every item away, but it's worth it, because it really is the best kind of play, and I love to eavesdrop on them while they're talking - they get along so well, and it makes me so happy.

The three of them play together fairly well, too, but Gabe is definitely in a bit of a different place, and it shows sometimes. He spotted my Athleta catalog on the table one day, and the cover model was wearing a (very modest, athletic) bathing suit, and he turned it over, saying to Dante "We can't look at that - it's too sexy!" 

Gabe has been on his medication for two weeks, but neither we or his teacher have seen very much change in his behavior, so we'll be talking to the pediatrician to see if the dosage needs to be adjusted. The good news is that it isn't affecting him negatively in any way, either, so hopefully that will continue to be the case even if the dosage changes.

Carmine, 6 months after he moved to a big-boy bed, finally started getting up all by himself. It was pretty cute the first few mornings, the way he'd come downstairs and peek around the corner, as if he still wasn't quite sure he should be there. We've all adjusted to it now, but I think Gabe and Dante kind of miss going in his room to get him.

So far there have only been two nights that he got out of bed after we put him in for the night, and when we told him to go back to bed, he listened. Fingers crossed that that continues. 

A couple more Carmine goodies - if we have to talk to him about something he's doing wrong, or are telling him he can't do something, he puts his hand up and says "I don't want to talk right now."  And if I tell him he can't do something, he'll ask Scott - but he'll ask him while I'm still standing right there, and if I try to interrupt to tell him that Daddy is going to say no just like I did, the hand goes up again and I'm told "No, Mommy, don't talk - I'm talking to Daddy right now."  The kid has got some nerve, for sure.

In addition to his habit of yelling out "I'm waiting to say something over here," he has another way of trying to get a word in - he'll tell us (with the hand up - always) that "I'm having an answer."  

And his last few mispronunciations - which I love, and which I'm going to be sad to see go - are bullZoDer and lawnmoMer and Nuseum. He always gets those ones mixed up, but he can pronounce the word excavator clear as day.

Every day is challenging, and every day is exhausting, but every day they make it worth it.

Four and Eight

I'll start with the Eight -

 

Dante's real birthday was three days after Christmas, but he celebrated with friends two weeks ago at the Rock climbing gym in town.

 

A few backyard fireworks the night of his actual birthday.

 

I was solely in charge of seven boys at a rock climbing gym - and we all made it out of there completely unscathed, which I was very proud of.

 

 

They all had fun, and I always love to see the boys hanging out with their friends - it really gives you a whole different glimpse of who they are, to see how they act when they're with kids their own age.

And the way they act all together - it's incredibly insane.

 

I've never in my life seen so much pushing and grabbing and jumping and flailing - or heard so much screaming. They're just a whirling mass of noise, and as great as it was to see them having so much fun together, I breathed a huge sigh of relief when they all left to go home.

 

As the big boys get older, I'm tending to not write as much about them, because even though there aren't a huge amount of people who read this blog, it's still out there for public consumption, and I feel that they're old enough that I shouldn't necessarily be spilling all sorts of details about them growing up.

 

 

I will say, though, that Dante is definitely stepping up to the role of 'big kid' these days. Under no circumstances am I allowed to hug or kiss him when his friends are anywhere in the vicinity. When they can see the bus approaching in the morning, it's a flurry of hugs and kisses "before anyone sees, Mom!!!!!" 

 

If we don't have to worry about being spotted, though, he's still more than happy to curl up with either me or Scott on the couch, and once in a while will even try to climb into bed with us in the morning.

 

 

His habit of collecting things shows no signs of slowing down. I have to avert my eyes when I walk past his nightstand drawer and his desk. There's just STUFF. EVERYWHERE.  Bits of string, bottle caps, random bolts and rocks, tiny scraps of paper, broken bits of plastic, and of course Legos and Rainbow Loom bands, too. It's pretty astounding how much stuff he manages to accumulate.

 

And all this stuff travels with him, because he also likes to collect little boxes and envelopes and folders that he can use to make little customized 'kits' - aka 'packets of stuff that have no use whatsoever.'  I also need to stop buying him cargo pants, because they're just an invitation for him to stuff all the pockets full of more stuff that he collects.

 

There are times that it drives me absolutely batty, but then I'll take the time to sit down and actually look at the things he carts around, and stashes in his pockets, and piles in the cupholder next to his seat in the car - and when I take the time to look, I always chuckle and smile, because it never fails to amaze me how he can take the silliest little item and use his imagination to turn it into some kind of creation.

 

And then occasionally I'll find that he saved a note that I wrote him, and it's folded into a teeny tiny little square, and has the well-worn look of a note that has been carried around for a long time - and then my heart just melts.

 

So I try not to get too upset about his piles and piles of stuff, because I know that to him it's way  more than just stuff. And taking a little peek at those piles gives me a glimpse into how his little brain (and heart) is working, and that's a pretty cool thing. Happy 8, Dante.

 

 

Carmine is now officially a 4-year-old, but as we did with both Gabe and Dante, we're keeping his birthdays low-key until he turns 5, so this was another quiet family celebration.  But as a birthday surprise, he got a snowstorm and a snow day, so got to spend the day with his brothers.

 

We let him open his presents in the morning, figuring that new toys would provide some good activities for our homebound day, and they did. Against my better judgement, I got him one of these.

 

He's played with it countless times when we've gone to one of our local toy stores, which has it on display, and I knew it would be a huge hit, so I decided to indulge him. And I'm glad I did, because he (and Gabe and Dante) are all loving it.

 

 

His new favorite thing to watch is a show called Paw Patrol, so that's what he requested for a cake, which was thankfully an easy request, since I had just made Dante's rock climbing cake two days earlier. It was a very cake-filled week!

 

I'm now remembering how four is really the age of independence, but it still sometimes takes me by surprise when Carmine decides to do something for himself instead of waiting for me to do it for him. It definitely is helpful, though, and it's something I'm encouraging, for sure.

 

One thing he still won't do on his own is get out of bed. No lie - he still sits in his bed and plays and talks and sings, and waits until someone comes to get him. Gabe and Dante love to have that job, and have been known to fight over it (but then again, they fight over EVERYTHING....).

 

And there have been times that Scott will go up to get him, and Carmine will tell him to leave, because he wants Mommy.

 

 

One morning when I opened his door, he very politely told me he wasn't ready to come out yet, and could I come back later. Completely cracks me up, and it is going to throw all of us for a loop when he finally does decide to just get up and come downstairs on his own.

 

He is incredibly funny and entertaining, and although he sometimes drives me insane with his incessant questioning - "but what will happen then, Mommy?"  "but why are we going this way, Mommy?"  "but what are we doing next, Mommy?"  "and what are we doing after that, Mommy?"  "why is it cloudy today, Mommy?"  - it is awfully nice to have him to keep me company when he's not in school.

His enthusiasm for absolutely everything never ceases to amaze me. He is going through a phase right now where he likes to say "no, I don't want to do that" whenever we tell him we're going out to do something, but it's usually accompanied by giggling, so it's more of a game than anything. More often than not, when I tell him what we're doing, he jumps up and down and claps his hands and says "Yay!" He's pretty darn fun to have around : ) 

I could write pages and pages about him - the way he now says "yeah, yeah, what EVER dude;" the way he loves to sing and dance and play his little piano and guitar; the way he still absolutely adores his Mickey Mouse and carries it everywhere; the way he's a little OCD sometimes and insists that things be placed 'just so' and he will not rest if they're even slightly out of place; the way he still wants me to pick him up and carry him when I get him from preschool, and the way he wraps his arms around me and gives me a huge bear hug, and when I say "I love you," he responds "I love you first!"

He is a special little guy, and I sometimes look at him and think about how long we waited - through two miscarriages, through so much heartache and disappointment. There was a reason we went through all that, and he's the reason - we needed to wait for him, because he is absolutely everything we needed, and our family would not have been complete without him. Happy 4, Carmine.

Fall Recap - Better Late than Never

My boys are growing up faster than ever. Carmine got his first report card this week - a preschool report card, but still!  And most of the time I feel like Gabe is already a teenager, he's gotten so good at arguing with us, and being fresh, and rolling his eyes. And when he's not acting totally immature, he really likes to take charge and be the 'big kid,' and is very proud that he can now pour his own cereal and milk - and I've even been giving him lessons on how to use the washing machine. He's gotta start earning his keep around here!

Dante still mostly acts like the 8-year-old he almost is, but he definitely has his moments, too, and I'd never be able to keep track of the number of times he says "DUDE!" every day.

We enjoyed a magnificent fall, with a few cold days, but many more warmer than usual days, and we took full advantage, getting everyone outside as much as possible. There was plenty of plain old playing out in the yard, but we got out and about for a family hike, and a few trips to the playground, and Carmine and I still hit the beach at least a few times a week.

Sometimes he brings his scooter, and other times we just walk - on the sidewalk or on the sand. He even discovered that he can ride his scooter on the sand when it's low tide. And when we walk along the sidewalk, he stops to talk to every random stranger we pass. We will never have to worry about his ability to make friends.

I am determined to keep them playing outside after school as long as it's not completely frigid, and there have been some afternoons when I've had to really bundle up to stay out there with them, but it's so good to see them getting all that activity after being in school all day.

When the temps were warmer, there were even a few days that they were out there playing in the rain - because when it's 60 degrees in November, you play outside, even if it means getting a little wet.

Thanks to a great Groupon deal, we also took our first trip to the indoor rock climbing gym in town, and had an awesome time!  There wasn't a lot that Carmine could do, but he still managed to have fun, and Gabe and Dante definitely enjoyed it - it's something I'm sure we'll do again at some point, because I loved it, too!

One other highlight of the fall was the Sox winning the World Series. Gabe and Dante are finally starting to get interested in baseball, so they'd wake up every morning asking if the Sox had won the previous night's game, and they're starting to learn some of the player's names. I love that they're getting into it now, and when it seemed pretty certain that the win was going to happen, we woke them up so they could see the last three outs of the game. It was a nice moment to share with them.

I was so tempted to go up to Boston for the parade, but the reality of doing something like that with three small children was just too overwhelming. We watched some of it on TV, though, and it made me so happy to see all the celebrating and happiness on Boylston Street.

More recently, we headed down to Hartford for Lego Kids Fest, and it was every bit as amazing as we all anticipated it would be. We were there for just over 4 hours, and every second of those 4 hours was filled with Legomania. The boys were in heaven!

Aside from all the activities, they're just up to their usual shenanigans. When I went away for a weekend with my friends last month, Dante was smart enough to know that he should take that opportunity to wear a shirt that I've told him he's not allowed to wear out of the house because it's so stained. (I haven't thrown it out because it's one of his favorites, but made it clear that it was an at-home shirt only).

He knew that Dad either wouldn't notice or wouldn't care that it was stained, and he'd get away with wearing it - and he was right. Dad did take a few pictures of them that weekend, though, so Dante was busted!

The holiday season has all three of them pretty excited, but Dante most of all. He is literally bouncing off the walls, and on the furniture, and everywhere he goes. He bounces, he runs, he jumps, he dances, and he's a walking sound-effects machine. It's INSANE!  I knew we were in trouble when he walked into our room, fully dressed, at 4:45am on Thanksgiving.

Carmine is fully immersed in all things Christmas and Santa, too. He's even been perusing the toy catalogs with Gabe and Dante, and pointing out to me all the things he wants. 

He's also perfecting the art of arguing with me about everything - a skill he's picked up from his big brothers. And one night at dinner, he asked me for more of something and I told him there wasn't any more, and he insisted that there was. And when I continued to tell him that there wasn't, he looked at me and said "Stop arguing with me."  

Another time he walked into the garage, looked at all the toys scattered around, pointed at it and said "This is a disaster!"  I guess he is listening to everything I say. And listening carefully to his brothers, too, judging by the new phrase he's picked up recently - "It wasn't my fault."

Last year he went through a phase where he wore his Batman cape everywhere for a few weeks. This year it was his fleece bathrobe. He was seen out and about with his robe on, and I just went with it, because some battles aren't worth fighting.

Being in school is helping him refine some of his funny little toddler-isms, but I'm glad that it hasn't 'fixed' all of them. I love when he misspeaks in his adorable little voice. Some of his Carmine-speak:  bullzoder instead of bulldozer; soared when he means to say sore; tehgar instead of guitar; playdid instead of played;  juice apple instead of apple juice; singing Jingle Bells as "Jingle bells, jingle all the way, there was a horse and a sleigh."

And when he said something particularly adorable the other day, I laughed and said "Carmine, do you have any idea how cute you are?"  In reply, he held his hand up to his forehead (as if measuring his height), and said "This cute!" 

He's going through a bit of a mommy phase at the moment, and has even gone so far as to tell Scott "I don't like you."  I know that Scott knows not to take it personally, but it's stil gotta hurt a little. This too shall pass, though, and I think the best thing for us to do is not make too big a deal out of it.

The house is decked out for Christmas, and we're getting the tree this weekend, and doing the same Advent calendar we did last year, where we have a special activity for each day.

A lot of the ones from last year are there again - making gingerbread houses, decorating sugar cookies, donating toys to the toy drive, decorating the mini-trees in their rooms - but I tried to add a few new ones, too. One that I'm most looking forward to is next week, when I'm going to take them for a drive in their PJs after dinner to check out Christmas lights.

It's a crazy time of year, and Dante's expression in this photo is pretty illustrative of what our house feels like most days (me included).

But the crazy is part of the fun, and when they're not being completely insane, they're pretty darn adorable - so the crazy is worth it.

School, Coaching, and Assorted Aches and Pains

All three boys are off to a good start in the new school year. Gabe and Dante are in their third week, and are starting to settle in. We're still dealing with 'out-the-door-in-the-morning' and 'just-walked-in-the-door-in-the-afternoon' chaos and craziness, but that won't ever go away completely. As long as we can reduce it a little, I'll be happy.

They're both happy with their teachers, and although Gabe was a little bummed that some of his best friends are not in his class this year, he seems to be doing ok and adjusting well. And aside from being completely exhausted every night, Dante is doing great.

Carmine started last week, and he did great, as I expected he would. His first full day of school was a Wednesday, and he only goes to school Monday through Wednesday, so Thursday through Sunday, every time we drove past his school, he'd yell "I want to go to school today!"

The only problem is that he thinks that now that he's going to school, he should be going on the bus, like his brothers. Except when he says that, he says he wants to go on the bus like "your brothers" - because I commented one day to him about how 'your brothers made a huge mess in their room,' and he doesn't really understand what 'your' means, so he's been referring to them as "your brothers."  It took me a few minutes to figure out what on earth he was talking about, but once I did figure it out, I couldn't stop laughing). 

His reports about what he did at school mostly involve the sandbox and cars, so I think he's having fun : )  He still has his share of funny mispronunciations - he was playing a racing game with his cars the other day, and I heard him saying "On your MARCH, get set, go!" He also still calls thunder "Unther."

But mostly he's a very articulate chatterbox, and continues to just walk up and say hi and chat with just about anyone. We went to the store after his first day of school and he told everyone he saw that "I went to school today!"

I took all three boys to a Paw Sox playoff game Sunday by myself, and it couldn't have gone better! Gabe and Dante paid attention and cheered and jumped up and down the whole game, and Carmine did really, really well - made it the entire 9 innings! 

And for some reason the stadium was deserted, so even though we only had general admission tickets, we were able to move down to box seats, and ended up just a few rows back from the field, right near home plate. And, they won and advanced to the next round of the playoffs, and we got to see the team celebrating on the field with champagne - a great afternoon all around!

We're definitely going to be taking a trip up to Fenway next summer - I'm already excited for it - it's been WAY too long since I've been to a Sox game, and it's going to be so fun to share it with the boys!

The amazing toothless Dante!

Labor Day weekend - our farewell to summer - was less than stellar, weather-wise. We had a fun family party in CT on Saturday, and we did make it to the beach Sunday, despite the cloudy, gray weather, but Monday it poured most of the day, so we ended up catching a movie. Not how I wanted to close out the summer, but it was fun for all 5 of us to go together.

My heart aches a little every time I look at this picture. I LOVE our beach days, and am so sad when they come to an end.

One good thing about the season coming to an end, though, is that now when the weather is nice, we can just stroll onto the beach whenever we feel like it, and although it can still get a little crowded if it's a warm day, it doesn't compare to the summer crowds.

There is a lot to be said for having the tourists gone. We probably won't go for a full, all-day beach day again until next summer, but even spending an hour there is lovely, and we're lucky to have that option.

Running is going mostly well. I'm still in the 'training but not really training' mode, and with mostly cooler, drier mornings, I've had some great workouts. Still mainly focused on the October half, but also hoping I can have a good race at the 5K I'm doing in two weeks.

I've really become less and less of a fan of the 5K, but I do want to get better at the distance, so I threw a few shorter repeats into this week's track workout, and will do the same next week. After running so many 1200s and mile repeats the past few weeks, doing just 800s and 400s seemed so strange. The 400s flew by!

The rest of this week is going to be cross-training, though, since my old shin injury is flaring up a bit. It's been pretty quiet for nearly two years now, and I think it was aggravated by a combination of two 40-mile weeks in a row, plus the fact that my shoes are nearly ready to be replaced. I've been massaging it like crazy, stretching, and icing, and I'm hoping that that TLC plus a bit of rest is all I need. If it doesn't feel better after a week, I'll put a call in to PT. 

I'm not freaking out, and I don't think it's a huge deal, but it does have me a little bummed out. But I have nobody to blame but myself. Clearly 40-mile weeks are not doable for me - at least not 2 in a row. Lesson definitely learned!

My running coach certification is officially official. I got my CPR and First Aid certification, and received my coaching certificate in the mail yesterday.

Now I just need to get myself organized so that I can start getting clients and doing some coaching! I had hoped to get started with that process over the summer, but there was just no time. So now I'm getting going on setting up an LLC, getting insurance, and making some business cards. Lots to do, and it feels overwhelming at times, but I'll get it done.

I'm still getting used to the idea of thinking of myself as a coach, too. Long before I even thought about pursuing this, I often had people ask me advice about running, and I was always happy to give it, but followed it with a disclaimer that I wasn't an expert and was just giving them my two cents.

And when people ask me questions now, I still kind of feel that I should add that disclaimer. I need to get comfortable and confident with the fact that I am trained in this topic now, and I am qualified to help. I think once I've actually created a few training plans and truly coached a few people, it'll be easier to feel that way.

In addition to the cranky shin I mentioned above, I've also been dealing with bunion issues. I have them on both feet, and the one on my left foot was acting up at the very end of my Boston training (causing a really nice freakout just a couple weeks out from race day).

It quieted down, and hasn't bothered me since, but a few weeks ago, the right foot started hurting. Because the bunions cause misalignment of your big toe, it puts a lot of stress on the joint right below that toe, and mine are being subjected to a lot of wear and tear.

Because my feet weren't hideous enough with all the callouses and missing toenails.....

 

I saw my podiatrist, and he assured me that my shoes and orthotics are fine, and are not contributing to the problem in any way. That's good news. Unfortunately, though, the bunions and associated joint issues are not going to go away by themselves, and at some point in my life, I'm going to need surgery to fix them.

It remains to be seen when that point in time is going to arrive, but as he put it "the pain will be my  indicator." Right now, the pain is intermittent and not debilitating, and there's no reason for me to rush into surgery as long as that continues. My course of action is to just back off a bit on my mileage and ice the affected toe.

Once that stops working, though, and the pain doesn't subside with those measures, it's going to be time to get it fixed. The problem is, getting it fixed is going to mean 3 weeks in a cast/on crutches, followed by several more weeks in a boot, and a recovery period of 4 - 6 months of NO RUNNING. And I need both feet done, which is going to mean going through this process twice.

As of right now, it doesn't seem imminent, and being able to just put it off is a good thing. But knowing that it's looming out there kind of sucks. And beyond not being able to run for so long, let's not even mention the logistics of trying to tend to three children while on crutches!

I'm going to attempt to just forget about it for the time being, though. I'll cross that bridge (slowly, on crutches) when I come to it.  And I will be thankful that, although it's going to be a major inconvenience when I do finally have to deal with this, in the grand scheme of things, it's not really all that bad. Gotta keep it all in perspective and be grateful for how fortunate I am.

My feet may be ugly, and they may have issues, but they've carried me through many, many miles already, and I fully expect them to carry me through many, many more.

Not Ready for Summer To End

Summer vacation is anything but when you're mom to three active boys. Since they were done with camp at the end of July, I've had barely a moment to catch my breath most nights, which is why blogging has been scarce.

They tend to be much happier when we're on the go, so our days have been a blur of car trips, beach time, picnic lunches, summer concerts, and multiple excursions throughout Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

Last week was one of our busiest yet. We hit the bowling alley Tuesday, since it was kind of rainy. It was Carmine's first time bowling, and he did remarkably well. He slipped and fell once, and smacked his head on the floor pretty hard, but he recovered well and continued bowling - and even got a spare one time, which prompted Dante to comment that "they should have that on the news or something!"

That is one happy bowler! And he did this even when he didn't knock any pins down - getting the ball down the lane was good enough for him!

The next day was perfect weather - warm, but not too hot, and I decided it would be a great day to finally take the three of them up to Boston, and my only regret is that we didn't do it sooner - we had an amazing day!  Our first stop was the children's museum, which was fabulous. We were there for several hours, and could have stayed several more.

After grabbing some lunch, we got on the T - the boys' first subway ride - and made our way downtown, so that I could take them to the finish line on Boylston. It was fun to go down there with them, and they truly did seem impressed by it. I think they're starting to understand what a big deal the marathon is, which is kind of cool.

The reason Carmine isn't in this photo is that I was holding onto his hand very tightly to keep him from dashing out into traffic.

The only downside to the day was after we stopped at the finish and we were sitting at a cafe a few blocks down the street having a snack, and several fire trucks flew past, sirens blaring. It hit way too close to home, and I had a hard time not letting the boys see how much it upset me. It brought back so many memories, and so many emotions. But three antsy boys are nothing if not a great distraction, so we finished our snack and moved on up the street toward the Public Garden.

Carmine is such a little trooper. I didn't want to bring the stroller, because it's kind of a hassle to walk around with it, but I was a little worried about whether or not he'd be able to keep up - and he's getting awfully hefty to carry around (well over 40 pounds) if he got too tired. But I took a chance on him, and he definitely delivered. He hiked the few blocks from the museum to the T, trotted up and down the stairs in the subway stations, walked all the way from Copley Square up through the Public Garden and Boston Common, all the way to Park Street, and then back again the few blocks from the T to the parking garage at the museum. And he complained and whined far less than his older brothers did. That is some serious stamina for a 3 1/2-year-old!

I had forgotten how beautiful the Public Garden is, and we spent a good amount of time there, watching the swan boats, and of course visiting the "Make Way for Ducklings" statues. It was so fun to share the city with them. I only spent a few years living in the area, but Boston really was a special place to me, and I loved the time I was there, and often miss it.

It was tough to leave, and I wish we could have made it down to Fanueil Hall, or gone on a Duck Tour, or taken a tour of Fenway Park, or done some other fun touristy stuff, but my guys were wiped out, and we had a fun, full day, and we're already planning all the things we want to do next time.

That excursion was followed by our annual trip to the Washington County Fair, which is always a fun day. Typical county fair - animals, food, crafts, games, and rides - but the boys love it, and look forward to it every year. Dante even had a special outfit picked out that he wanted to wear. It was just a tshirt and shorts, but for some reason it was what he had chosen as his 'fair outfit,' so I went with it, even though the tshirt was covered with stains. 

Carmine was so much more interested in the rides this year, and it was fun to see him so thrilled to sit on a little car and go around and around and around. I honestly think he was under the assumption that he was truly driving the car - and I wasn't about to tell him differently.

We capped off the week with an outing to Water Wizz in Wareham, MA. We went for the first time last year, and we were all blown away by how much fun it was. I had never been to a water park in my life before that, and it was the first time for the boys going to one, too, so it was quite an adventure for all of us - and even as we left last year, we were planning this year's trip!

And we decided to surprise the boys with it this year. We packed up as if we were going to the beach, but then as we headed out and got on the highway and they asked why we were going a different way, we told them. I love surprising them with fun stuff like that!

Luckily Scott had taken the day off and came with us this year, because Carmine was MUCH more adventurous than he had been last year. Last year he was pretty content to just wade and splash around. This year he wanted in on everything except the big water slides. So it was great to have an extra pair of hands to help out. And of course the boys were thrilled that Dad was there to get in on the fun, too!

Five and a half hours later, we packed up, made a quick stop at the house to pick up some snacks and a cooler, and made our way down to a concert at the beach. We went to almost all of these concerts the past few summers, but for one reason or another, hadn't made it to a single one yet this year, so even though we had had a long day, it was a gorgeous night, and we didn't want to pass it up.

We ran into some friends while there, got free beach balls, ate and drank, and had a blast. A perfect end to a week chock full of summer fun.

Saturday was all about the beach, but we did have one more trick up our sleeve. Dante has been asking us for a long time now about taking surfing lessons, so we finally decided to sign him up for his first lesson, but we didn't tell him about it until 5 minutes before we headed down there!

It just so happens, too, that one of the surf instructors is a teacher at his school, so we made sure we requested him as the instructor, and I don't know much about surfing, but it seemed to me like Dante did a pretty good job for his first time ever on a surfboard. He was standing up in no time, and looked like he had a blast! 

It helped that the water was extremely calm, with almost no waves at all, but I was still proud of him. He's such an adventurer, and it's going to be so fun to see what else he chooses to tackle as he grows up. I have a feeling his list of accomplishments and adventures is going to be very, very long.

Sunday was a less busy day, but I did fit in a special outing with just Gabe and Dante - an afternoon Paw Sox game. Another thing I had planned on doing earlier in the summer, but hadn't gotten around to yet, so it was good that we didn't have anything else planned for Sunday - the timing was perfect. And for the first time, they both were genuinely interested in the game! It was so cool to see them pay attention and cheer at the right times. Definitely has me thinking an actual Red Sox game could be next on the agenda....

First we need to teach Gabe a little more about the players, though. He saw a couple pictures of David Ortiz, and some of them were labeled David Ortiz, but others were labeled "Big Papi," and as we drove home, he commented that "Big Papi and David Ortiz look a lot alike. They must be brothers or something."

Lots and lots to catch up on about running and racing, too, but that will have to wait for another time. The short version - I'm back to regular speedwork, gearing up for my "A" race in October, and feeling great!  Details to follow.....

The End Of An Era

Our crib-loving boy finally decided a week ago that he was ready to make the big move to his big-boy bed.

He suddenly seems very small!

It's been a week now, and so far, all is well. He goes to sleep, he sleeps all night, and (just like Gabe and Dante did when they first made the switch to a bed) he waits for us to come and get him in the morning. I know that won't last too long, but I get such a kick out them laying there so patiently waiting for someone to come up and get them out of the bed that they are 100% capable of getting out of themselves.

As of today, the crib has been disassembled, and the sheets and mattress pads packed away - not to be put in the basement, but to be given to someone else who can use them, because we most definitely will not be needing them again.

No tears shed over here about this transition, though. I'm ready for my big boy to move on, and I'm having a blast with him at the age he's at, so I don't miss the baby stuff.

He's also working on learning how to get himself dressed, and is fully potty-trained, and an old pro at drinking from a regular cup. And Monday, when we went to Mystic Seaport for the day, for the first time ever, I didn't bring the stroller.

I've never visited the Seaport without a stroller (oftentimes I had the double), so that was a big milestone, and I was a little concerned about how Carmine would fare, but he did great. We were there for nearly 4 1/2 hours, and did a LOT of walking, but he kept up, with just a teeny tiny bit of whining toward the end of the day.

It's so exciting to go out and buy all the gear when you're getting ready to have your babies, and I can now say that it is truthfully just as exciting (for me, anyway) when you realize that you're done with each piece of gear and ready to pass it along to someone else. I am slowly reclaiming my house.

Today was also the first time I cleaned that house in - well, I'm too embarrassed to admit how long it had been, so let's just say it was a looooooong time. Happens every summer. And every summer I make my peace with a dirty house, becuase it means we're busy doing other, much more fun stuff.

Our trip to Mystic Seaport Monday was followed by a stop in Watch Hill on the way home, where the boys rode the carousel, we stopped at the candy store for some treats, and then walked along the dunes before finally heading home. A visit to Watch Hill is one of our summer traditions for the past few years, and I'm so glad for that, because it's just such a lovely place to visit.

His first solo carousel ride!  He was very nervous at first, but quickly warmed up to it!

Another cool local spot we visited this week was Fort Adams State Park. I've spent a lot of time there at many a Folk Festival, but had never actually been inside the fort, so figured that taking a tour would be as much fun for me as it would be for the boys - and I was almost right.

It was a very interesting tour, and we learned a lot of cool stuff, but I think all three boys were a little tired from the day before, and they pestered each other the entire time, which meant that I was playing referee the whole time. One of those days...... 

Still a fun thing to do, though, and I'm sure we'll do it again at some point, because as they get older, they'll appreciate it even more. And maybe fight less? Nah, probably not.....

Add in a trip to Connecticut yesterday to visit grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and these boys have had a busy, busy week.

Which is why we spent today doing a whole lot of nothing. We all needed a day to decompress. Not sure what tomorrow will bring, but the weekend is looking pretty good for beaching it.

There are still many things on our summer fun list that we haven't gotten to yet, and many that I fear we won't get to. I want to do as many of them as possible, but I also need to balance it out so that we're not constantly on the go. We all seem to do better when we're busy, but there's a fine line between 'busy' and 'too busy,' and if you cross that line with a 3-, 7-, and 9-year-old, the results are very unpleasant.

So some of those summer fun items may remain unchecked (still haven't gotten over to the farm to go blueberry picking, and we never made it for strawberry picking, either!). But that's ok. Because it's not about how many items we check off our list - it's about making sure that we have fun, and that we remember summer as a time chock full of fun activities, but also with its fair share of lazing about. That's how I remember my summer days, and I remember them very, very fondly, which is what I hope for the boys.

It goes by a little too fast, but not too fast to make some pretty awesome memories - and have a blast doing it!

A Whirlwind Three Weeks

After running my 3:30 in Boston, my confidence was sky-high. My head was spinning with all the goals I wanted to accomplish in the remainder of this year, and I knew as soon as I recovered, I'd be back at the track, working hard again, and chasing down more PRs.

Then I never really recovered properly, and paid the price, with a couple of tough races, followed by several weeks of really rough running.

Then, just as I was starting to feel good again, summer arrived. The heat and humidity are literally sucking the life out of my runs. After two or three weeks, I'm starting to feel slightly more acclimated to it, and I have had a couple of good runs, but this morning's track workout was not one of them.

I know it's the weather, and I know I need to cut myself some slack. But today is one of those days it's bugging me. I program my workouts into my Garmin, and it not only beeps to tell me when to start and stop my repeats and rest intervals, but it also 'helpfully' beeps to let me know if I should be running faster.

Usually I only hear a beep once in a while, but this morning was almost constant beeping - which was accompanied by an equally annoying "Speed Up!" message flashing on the display. I seriously thought about taking the thing off my wrist and throwing it into the woods.

Yes, the humid air makes running very difficult. Yes, I need to go easy on myself and recognize that I put in my best effort, and that has to be good enough right now. Yes, I know I haven't lost all the fitness I gained through the months of Boston training, even though that's how I'm feeling at the moment. Yes, I'm being a little dramatic about what was simply a tough run in tough conditions.

And I know tomorrow, I'll probably feel way better about it, and turn my attitude around, and be ready to tackle my next workout. Today is just one of those days it got to me.

Complicating matters is the fact that I've barely had time to stop and catch my breath since we left for our vacation at the end of June, and although our time has been filled with lots of very fun stuff, I'm still feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Carmine, I think, would have been perfectly content to not go anywhere at all, he was so thrilled with the little rolling suitcase I bought him for our trip. He spent the two days before we left rolling it around the house, and a good portion of our first day in Morrill was spent the same way. And as I put his clothes in, I told him that I was packing, so the suitcase was then referred to as his 'pack.' Probably one of the most exciting parts of the trip for him.

Gabe was excited, but also a little concerned about our big international travel plans, and questioned us at length about our border crossing into Canada. "Do we need to have shots?  Is the food ok to eat?  What is the food like?  What will it look like there?" It was certainly not as exotic as I think he imagined it might be, but he was pretty impressed with the scenery - and happy that Canada had pizza.

Dante was the most excited, and had been counting down for weeks. His excitement and enthusiasm for life in general is just amazing - one of the things I love most about him. He whiled away many of his hours in the car sketching - and when he wasn't sketching, he was talking our ears off, and making sure that I was taking pictures of everything for the photo album he wants to put together to show his friends.

I did, of course, take pictures of everything, and we had a fabulous time - first in coastal Maine and then in way-the-hell-up-there northern Maine (and Canada). We explored Acadia National Park in the fog, had some good laughs and delicious meals with my aunt and uncle, and survived many, many hours in the car.

And then we spent many more hours in the car and explored Caribou, where my dad grew up. Seeing my boys standing in the same fields that I ran around in as a kid, and knowing they were learning about their Grampy's heritage, and seeing how happy it made him to have them there - it made all those hours in the car totally and completely worth it. Oh, and they were pretty excited that they got to drive tractors, too!

A side trip to Canada to see some breathtaking scenery and more family history,

and then the long journey back home, with a few more stops along the way.

It was everything a family road trip should be, complete with bickering and whining to balance out the fun and laughter and memories.

And just as I got the vacation laundry completed, the day after we got home, we had last-minute houseguests for the 4th, and enjoyed a fabulous 4th of July beach day and cousin sleepover. More awesome summer memories for the boys.

But the fun didn't stop there! A full weekend of beachgoing led us right into this week's craziness - the boys first week of summer camp, and my first-ever Kids Running Camp. It runs for 4 mornings this week, and I think we're off to a good start. The kids seem to be having fun, and I'm doing my best to mix things up a lot for them and keep them interested and keep them moving. The heat does not seem to be slowing them down the way it slows me down - they just want to keep running and running and running!

My smartest last-minute addition to my camp supplies - a spray bottle filled with ice-cold water. They love running over for a mist of cold water on their heads - and I've sprayed my own head a few times, too.

I'm so glad we got enough kids to make it a go this year. I tried last year, but got the info out too late, and only had a couple kids enroll, so had to cancel. This year, it actually filled up about a month ago, and I had a couple of kids on a waitlist!  If the feedback from this year is positive, I may do it again next year.

There may be other things on the horizon next year, too, since my crazy schedule is continuing into this coming weekend, when I head up to Salem, MA for my RRCA Coaching certification course.

A weekend away to talk/learn about running for two days straight, a night in a hotel by myself (ah, the solitude!),  a get-together with old friends from my Boston days - it's going to be a great little getaway!

And then once that's done, we will finally resume our regular summer schedule of beach, beach, and more beach!

Luckily, for as much as I hate running in this weather, in all other respects I love it, because it's perfect beach-going weather, and I am looking forward to lots and lots of beach time with my guys this summer. Gabe and Dante are pretty darn easy to handle at the beach now - they spend most of the time in the water on their boogie boards - and Carmine is far easier now than he was last year.

Still not a lot of relaxing and reading going on, but I know that soon enough, they'll all be off with their friends, wanting nothing to do with building sand castles, and mortified at the thought of boogie boarding with their mom.

So I'm going to join in on the fun while I can.

All those books I want to read will still be there when I have the time for them.