My closet

DAMN my closet looks good. It is gorgeous. It isn't filled with crap I haven't worn in 6 years. Everything I see is something I might actually put on.

Why didn't I do this sooner?

To Do List

I have had a nice string of days off. So many that I actually have whittled down the ToDo list to things that I have ignored on the list for a long time. I have gone to Target. I have filled out all the requisite paperwork for summer camps. I have purchased some new summer tops. In summary, I have done the  things that I actually enjoy accomplishing.

So, what's left on the list? Clean my closet and organize the office.

These are the things that I have left for some time in the future "when I have a lot of days off in a row." Well, here ya go. That would be today.

But I don't wanna.

I have put them off for a long time because I don't want to do them. I will LOVE having them done, but it just sounds too painful. So, I blog about it instead.

That counts for something on the To Do list, right?

Sidelined

At this point in time, it appears my races for the season are on hold. I am currently signed up for two Sprint triathlons at the end of June. These were supposed to be my "warm up" races. My easy races that were really just for fun. This season was supposed to be the year of 2-3 Olympic length races with the goal of getting faster each race.

Except that isn't going to happen.

I stopped running at the end of February due to a Posterior Tibialis Tendonitis - that tendon that runs behind the inner ankle bump and then down to the arch of the foot. I saw a Sports Med guy and he said to wear this splint 24/7 and stop running.

So I continued to bike and swim, as he said I could. But no dice. Still hurt. So, 3 weeks ago, I landed in a walking boot for 2 weeks with no sports at all.

Still hurt.

So, now I have pretty much just pulled up stakes. I am trying to remember to do some PT to strengthen my butt muscles (the butt bone's connected to the knee bone, the knee bone's connected to the foot bone... it's all related apparently), but I am basically languishing.

I'm out of the boot. I'm supposed to wear the splint. I have just lost my mojo. I have told my coach that I am out for the month of MAY (remember, we started this party at the end of February) and currently wondering how I get back on the horse. How long after it doesn't hurt do you let it go before testing it?

Blah.

Little League

Yup. That's my "baby." That lanky, kinda gangly 9 year old.

Given that he picked up a glove for (basically) the first time 3 weeks ago, and really has never swung a bat, he has yet to be a major contributor to the squad. And the practice schedule is pretty brutal - basically every night while school is, of course, still in session. And one of his games the other night ended at 9:50pm on a Wednesday. And he can't keep track of his gear.

But MAN does he love it. And the kicker? So do I. I LOVE watching his games. And I have pretty universally bored by baseball in the past, certainly the TV version. I love nearly biting my fingernails off when he steps up to the plate. I love cheering for his teammates when they get hits. I love that he gets to play under the lights, buy food from a concession stand and feel like he is part of a big-time team.

It is just so much fun.

So, the skills will come, the nights will be late, the homework will be rough, and the food we eat as family will be closer to the "garbage" quadrant of the food pyramid, but man will we enjoy it.

Bwa

Leo and I were the last ones to get out to door today. Given that I am very open about many things, I told him to get his shoes on "and I need to go finished getting dressed."

Leo: But mom, you are already dressed
Me: I need to put my bra on
Leo: What's a bwa?
Me: You know, that polka-dotty thing you found so funny the other day
Leo: Ohh! (laughing) yeah, a bwa. Why do you need a bwa?
Me: I wear it to support my chest.
Leo: (raising his shirt and pinching his little boy "chest" parts) You mean these?
Me: Yup. Those.

Sweet spot

As you might have guessed, that last post was from Omar. What I was wanting to post was THIS.

We are just in such a GOOD place right now.

I mean, yes, there are the daily kid tussles, eye rolls, whining and general nonsense, but in the big scheme of things, we have hit a sweet spot previously unknown as parents.

Max continues to be happy, endlessly helpful and has hit a new skill of really making me laugh. True laughing, not parental charity laughing. It is such a wonderful feeling to genuinely relate to your kid and feel like you are starting to have a true friendship, not just a parent/child relationship.

Calvin, though always a tad stubborn and fairly sure that he could hack it in this world with nothing but his own smarts and a pocketknife, has also started to think of others than just himself. He is being kind and helpful to Leo instead of argumentative or indifferent. School is a breeze, and he is one step from just taking off with reading. There are times when all the big 3 will have their noses in books. So. Awesome.

Spencer has been saved by Ritalin. Ok, that may sound overly dramatic, but I truly don't feel like it's an overstatement. Homework is completely doable now, not an hour and a half knock-down drag-out tear and scream festival. And though I will have to delete this post when he gets older, I can't tell you how nice it is that I haven't had the thought "I don't really like my own child" in months. And the reality? I think HE likes himself better. He is happier, he laughs and smiles more. He has confidence in school that he didn't have before. I think he felt dumb before, and the opposite of that is the sweetest gift anyone could give a kid.

And Leo. Oh, Leo. That little critter is just the funniest, happiest, goofiest bookend this family could ask for. He and Spencer have a gift for irritating the living tar out of each other, but nothing can make our whole family bust a gut than his little comical face saying something ridiculous. 

Today was late start at school, and I was driving the big three to the shoe store with the windows down, the sun shining and everyone belting a song on the new favorite CD. This weekend, we were at the cabin and spent many cold and damp hours Geocaching, smiling and chatting as we went.

This is such a great family to be part of. (And no, we aren't going to try for the girl!)

i love my husband blog

he is awesome