Thanks a lot Halloween. We had a good thing going with Charlotte, thinking that suckers were cat toys and fun size candy bars were noise makers. And then Charlotte truly conceptualized candy today.
At bedtime, I end the day telling her what tomorrow bring, which Charlotte is always interested in knowing, especially the breakfast plans.
Charlotte: I'll eat breakfast tomorrow with Daddy, right?
Me: Yes. We'll have toast and... actually we're out of yogurt but I'll figure something out.
Charlotte: Umm... Daddy? I want candy for breakfast.
Me: No. That's not a breakfast food.
Charlotte: No it's not a breakfast food. It's only for a snack.
Me: Good night Charlotte.
Charlotte (right as I turn out the light): It's a breakfast snack.
Seriously Halloween, suck it.
October 31, 2013
October 29, 2013
Overheard, Exhibit N
Charlotte's vision of what high school is like is a bit off. This morning as drove past the high school by her daycare, Charlotte predicted this is in 11 years:
When I turn into a big kid I'm going to take a school bus to high school with the big kids. Mommy and Daddy and Charlotte are going to ride the bus to school and Happy is going to stay home with Pancho.
October 28, 2013
What I Do
This summer and fall was marked by me working a lot with running. When I wasn't coaching the MDRA marathon training class I was coaching cross country at Washington. In August there were was one week where there was a marathon class run on Saturday morning, an MDRA board meeting the following Monday night, cross country practice at Washington started that week at 10 a.m. every day, a marathon class run on Tuesday, a track night I host every other week on Thursday, and then the weekly Saturday morning run. That's five MDRA runs or meeting and five Washington practices I had to be at, and stay married.
By the end of August, I had to confess to Emily that I had reached the end of my coaching rope. Earlier in the summer and we had to kind of intensely talk out/negotiate if all this coaching was worth it. The sacrifices Emily had to make while I was gone coaching go without saying and at the same time cannot be overstated. I am not sure when (or if) I will coach a marathon training class again. This spring I had to be coaxed out of MDRA coaching retirement by my friend Marty in the first place.
But coaching at Washington is a different story. That is something I will do for as long as I can, until they kick me off the track. It allows me to be so much more involved in my building and get to know so many new students I only see in passing if I see them at all. And I get to be at the ground level of a sport I love.
But coaching the MDRA class was a challenge to get up for by August. I always was able to. Fortunately, there were so many things to keep me going: working closely with my good friends Deb and Marty, giving back to a sport that gave me so much, the enthusiasm, hard work, and camaraderie of the people in the class, and most importantly Charlotte. Charlotte loves running. And she loved to "help the runners with Daddy." We would fill the water jugs together on Tuesday afternoons in the backyard and on Saturdays I would pick her up while the class did its long run and we would go check on the runners together at various points along the way, and she would run with Marty at the finish of the run... and then eat all the snacks we had laid out for the runners. She especially liked the cookies and Goldfish.
Charlotte also noted"the blue water for the runners. They like it." This would be PowerAid Mountain Berry Blast which I usually made five to ten gallons worth of at each run. It's an unnatural blue, with an unnatural smell, and an unnatural taste. The kind of thing a two year old would love, but all summer she said wanted nothing to do with it. She would say, "the blue water is for the runners. The regular water is for Charlotte."
Anyway, a week before the Chicago marathon, class member made a video for her friends who were all running Chicago together. A little background: we break the class into four pace groups. The slowest group is the Terrapins (a name they chose themselves and they call themselves the Terps with pride). They are longtime friends and very loyal to each other and our training classes, no matter who is coaching. So Noelle made this video to celebrate. The fact that Noelle was able to film and photo and then edit this into a four minute video speaks volumes to the depth of friendships running and this training program has produced.
Regardless, it tells the story of what the MDRA program is all about and why this summer was worth it for me, even if it is too much to do again for a long time. One day, when Charlotte is older we can watch the video together and I can tell her that in her how special way, she played a small part in this class. And that for sure makes everything worth it.
By the end of August, I had to confess to Emily that I had reached the end of my coaching rope. Earlier in the summer and we had to kind of intensely talk out/negotiate if all this coaching was worth it. The sacrifices Emily had to make while I was gone coaching go without saying and at the same time cannot be overstated. I am not sure when (or if) I will coach a marathon training class again. This spring I had to be coaxed out of MDRA coaching retirement by my friend Marty in the first place.
But coaching at Washington is a different story. That is something I will do for as long as I can, until they kick me off the track. It allows me to be so much more involved in my building and get to know so many new students I only see in passing if I see them at all. And I get to be at the ground level of a sport I love.
But coaching the MDRA class was a challenge to get up for by August. I always was able to. Fortunately, there were so many things to keep me going: working closely with my good friends Deb and Marty, giving back to a sport that gave me so much, the enthusiasm, hard work, and camaraderie of the people in the class, and most importantly Charlotte. Charlotte loves running. And she loved to "help the runners with Daddy." We would fill the water jugs together on Tuesday afternoons in the backyard and on Saturdays I would pick her up while the class did its long run and we would go check on the runners together at various points along the way, and she would run with Marty at the finish of the run... and then eat all the snacks we had laid out for the runners. She especially liked the cookies and Goldfish.
Charlotte also noted"the blue water for the runners. They like it." This would be PowerAid Mountain Berry Blast which I usually made five to ten gallons worth of at each run. It's an unnatural blue, with an unnatural smell, and an unnatural taste. The kind of thing a two year old would love, but all summer she said wanted nothing to do with it. She would say, "the blue water is for the runners. The regular water is for Charlotte."
Anyway, a week before the Chicago marathon, class member made a video for her friends who were all running Chicago together. A little background: we break the class into four pace groups. The slowest group is the Terrapins (a name they chose themselves and they call themselves the Terps with pride). They are longtime friends and very loyal to each other and our training classes, no matter who is coaching. So Noelle made this video to celebrate. The fact that Noelle was able to film and photo and then edit this into a four minute video speaks volumes to the depth of friendships running and this training program has produced.
Regardless, it tells the story of what the MDRA program is all about and why this summer was worth it for me, even if it is too much to do again for a long time. One day, when Charlotte is older we can watch the video together and I can tell her that in her how special way, she played a small part in this class. And that for sure makes everything worth it.
October 27, 2013
Worst Conversation Ever
The Longfellow Grill came up in conversation at breakfast this morning. Charlotte was quick to point out that we have gone there a few times with our Longfellow neighbors Ed and Carly and their baby Sasha (who is well on her way to toddlerhood). And then Charlotte asked a series of questions so mind-numbingly dumb, I had to indulge her and answer them just because I was curious where this would go. The answer is nowhere. These questions went nowhere.
Charlotte: Ed and Carly go to Longfellow Grill with Charlotte, Daddy, Mommy, and Happy... and Baby Sasha.
Me: Yes.
Charlotte: What's Ed's name?
Me: Ed.
Charlotte: What's Carly's name?
Me: Carly.
Charlotte: What's Sasha's name?
Me: Sasha.
Charlotte: Satisfied silence. Resumes eating her waffles.
End scene.
Charlotte: Ed and Carly go to Longfellow Grill with Charlotte, Daddy, Mommy, and Happy... and Baby Sasha.
Me: Yes.
Charlotte: What's Ed's name?
Me: Ed.
Charlotte: What's Carly's name?
Me: Carly.
Charlotte: What's Sasha's name?
Me: Sasha.
Charlotte: Satisfied silence. Resumes eating her waffles.
End scene.
These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things
Kids say the darndest things. My favorite Charlotteisms:
Sweet Potato Head for Mr. Potato Head
sun scream and butt scream for sunscreen and butt cream
alligator for elevator
Nacho's shoe fly for any fly
And in the car she is just babbling away about Lord knows what and sometimes I listen in and have no idea what the Hell she is talking about.
"The sun goes down at nighttime and eats. He eats a snack. He eats apple sauce and he likes it."
"When Pancho was a baby, he learned how to.... sleep."
"When I grow up, I'm going to be a kitty and daddy is going to be a doggie."
Sweet Potato Head for Mr. Potato Head
sun scream and butt scream for sunscreen and butt cream
alligator for elevator
Nacho's shoe fly for any fly
And in the car she is just babbling away about Lord knows what and sometimes I listen in and have no idea what the Hell she is talking about.
"The sun goes down at nighttime and eats. He eats a snack. He eats apple sauce and he likes it."
"When Pancho was a baby, he learned how to.... sleep."
"When I grow up, I'm going to be a kitty and daddy is going to be a doggie."
October 25, 2013
October 24, 2013
October 19, 2013
Charlotte Turns #3!
If you ask Charlotte how old she is, she'll hold up her fingers and say, "I'm number 3." We celebrated three ways. Charlotte's birthday part 1. Her birthday happened to fall on the same day as the Twin Cities Marathon Family Day, so we had a nice breakfast (pancakes, Charlotte's favorite) and headed over to the capital to sign Charlotte up for the toddler trot.
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| Birthday breakfast sausage |
We also signed Happy up for the Diaper Dash. We debated whether or not it was worth it, after all she is nowhere near crawling, but we agreed that it was worth it for the photo op alone. I think you will agree.
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| Happy at the starting line |
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| Totally worth $11! |
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| Happy's souvenir from her first race - CUTE! |
Then we went home and took naps to get ready for Chartlotte's birthday part 2. After dinner it was time for cupcakes and presents! Charlotte has a mild obsession with cupcakes. Ever since her birthday last year she has asked to look at pictures of her birthday cupcake on my phone at least once a week. She has fond memories of the "fire" and frosting. This year's cupcake did not disappoint - Oreo! The frosting tasted like the filling of an Oreo.
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| She's in love. |
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| Charlotte got this gift from her friends Nathan, Noah and Alma. I think these fruit snacks were her favorite present. |
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| Trying to tempt her with another present, but she can't stop talking about those fruit snacks! |
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| Frog Trouble - Sandra Boynton's best work yet. Seriously, I would listen to this without any kids around. |
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| Charlotte's big present - a sweet stove. |
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| And to top it off, cupcake PJs!! |
A week later, we had a little party with Netta and Bailey for birthday part 3! We had a little cake and went to the park to play. Charlotte was very excited for Netta and Bailey to come over and spent the morning talking about which burner of her new stove would be for which cousin to cook on.
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| Bailey, Netta and Charlotte turning 3 together. |
October 17, 2013
What's Happy Doing?
Charlotte asks that question about a hundred times a day, as we are now all in on the phase where she asks questions she knows the answer to. In the case of this question, the answer is always one of the following: nursing, sleeping, or laying around making nonstop noises. Usually the noises are accompanied by a lot of smiles, but this video did not capture the smiles.
Regardless, congratulations to Happy for finally reaching the point in her life where she is doing enough stuff that warrants some videotaping, even if it will only be interesting to her grandparents and Texas cousins, aunts, and uncles.
Regardless, congratulations to Happy for finally reaching the point in her life where she is doing enough stuff that warrants some videotaping, even if it will only be interesting to her grandparents and Texas cousins, aunts, and uncles.
October 15, 2013
October 02, 2013
October 01, 2013
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