Snow - It's a Four Letter Word

What is this?  What IS this? WHAT IS THIS?????

It turns out that no matter how many times I say the phrase "it isn't going to stick", it did in fact stick.

Insanity.

Or pure excitement - depends on who you are. The kids had two days of 3-hour delays (yes, THREE) because of this cold, white stuff. 

The timing could have been better. Today was the end of semester livestream event for one of my classes. It would have been ideal if I hadn't needed to spend a bit of time getting the kids out the door all morning in addition to trying to provide tech support to the rest of the team in SoCal, but it was what it was. I actually wasn't too disappointed to use the excuse of a wiggly 7yo to take a break and get in some outdoor exercise.

For context, Isaac's class had earned a wear-pajamas-to-school-day so no, he doesn't usually traipse around outside mid-morning in his pajamas. Just on special days. 

It was a short-lived blip in our rainy weather and hopefully western Washington will confine the snow to winter break for the rest of the year.

November on FB

Why is it that having three kids who are quite talented at Geometry doesn't translate into having three kids who can load a dishwasher well? 

When I got home from my walk this morning I took off my out-for-a-walk-on-a-chilly-day fleece and put on my stay-warm-at-my-desk fleece and that's when I realized that I am now "Mr. Rogers" years old.

How my 40s are going

Me on Thursday: Look at me! I can run!

My right knee on Friday: If you're lucky, I will let you walk

To all my intrepid friends and family braving the grocery stores today: may the odds be every in your favor

Happy Thanksgiving! May your turkey be juicy, your cranberries tart, your stuffing stuffy, your extended family dinner conversations free of politics, and your public school history curriculums include the voices of indigenous peoples!

Thanksgiving

I am definitely slacking on the holiday picture taking. Behold the only pictures I took of Thanksgiving this year at Nana's (and evidence that we did not eat turkey): 

There were good eats, some Rocky and Bullwinkle episodes, and several Jack Box games. And ham. Can't go wrong with ham. Unless you're Jason. So there were also plenty of vegetables (not seen here). 

Veterans 5k (or 5k PLUS)

It is fortunate that pics are not only a visual experience because otherwise this one would be blasting out frigidly cold air that cause you to lose sensation in your toes.

In case you were wondering how the weather was on the Saturday after Veterans Day - sunny. And without our nice blanket of clouds, very chilly.

I made the last minute decision to sign Michael, Ben, Isaac, and myself up for a 5k hosted by our local running/walking group. They are a very welcoming and low-key group (the group, not my kids). We started the morning happy and excited.

I say 5k, but some us decided that was more of a "recommendation" or sort of a "starting point" rather than a definitive description of the race course.

See, the race course had been posted the night before and I sent it to Michael but neglected to suggest he screenshot it. And then, before we started, Scott talked us all through the race course giving us rather vague instructions like "turn left on Y---- at the Burger King". Or maybe those directions weren't vague, but the fastest runners were the worst listeners. Because ready, set, go and Michael, another XC kid, and the only adult male who "looked like a runner" (--Michael) sped off and then completely disregarded the directions both oral and visual. Ben was close behind them (more on that in a bit). 

All that to say that in his first 5k race, Isaac crossed the finish line before both of his brothers. Honestly, I was shocked when I got the news, but it was true. Which isn't to say that Isaac didn't run a good race, because he did. I was also very surprised when he managed to run the first 0.7 miles without a break. I also learned that he can run and talk at the same time as he chatted away with everyone we came across. 

So he finished before his brothers and was thrilled. As we crossed the finish line the mom of the other XC kid told me the boys hadn't made it back yet. So we waited and waited and waited. 

And waited.

Eventually Ben came sprinting down the home stretch with the news that at the start of the race he and the others had NOT turned at the Burger King but kept going. Right into our neighborhood interestingly enough. When Ben got to the elementary school he realized they must be off the race course. Sadly, he could neither catch up to Michael nor yell louder than Michael's ear buds. At which point he turned around, got back on the course, and finished the race. The other XC kid finished too and said they'd gone a long way before turning around.

So we waited some more. And waited and waited and waited. The walkers crossed the finish line. The folks with strollers crossed the finish line. The group with really slow dogs crossed the finish line. Scott officially ended the race and started to thank the sponsors and hand out the raffle prizes.

Finally, Michael (and the other "runner" guy) ran into view and Scott welcomed them as the only half-marathon runners of the event! Turns out he was exaggerating only a little bit. They had run over 7.5 miles - awkwardly the fact that the sidewalk disappeared on the road they were on and they never saw any event sign didn't bother them for over 3.5 miles. 

Michael had been hoping to place in the top 3 and to get a PR, but those will have to wait for another race. His approach of "just following the other runners" works better at XC meets where he's in the middle of the pack than a small, local 5k where there is only one or two runners ahead of him....and they don't know where they are going.

It was a fun morning and now we have a fun story to share.

Halloween

The boys' interest in this holiday is definitely dwindling. Well, except for Isaac who has enough interest for everyone! His mom didn't have a lot of mental or emotional energy for this sugar-laden holiday, but I did get a Lego costume for him off of the Buy Nothing page and it was a great match for our Lego-loving kid.

Ben is more glucose motivated and seemed content to dig in the costume bin for something that would cover him and hide his identity if it facilitated the acquisition of CANDY.

Michael volunteered to answer the door for the evening and I volunteered to do my homework for the evening. Josh went to a friend's house so that left Jason on Trick-o-Treating duty. It's a school night so we wrapped it up early but there's plenty of sugar in the house for the next 24 hours or so.

Team Dynamite

 I did an accidental bait and switch on Ben this season. When it became clear that his told team was disbanding, I was at a loss. He had a marvelous coach AND Ben does not do change well. When the coach's wife told me about the team that her son (Ben's friend) was on this summer and that there was a possibility that Ben's old coach might be the assistant coach, I was excited. I sold Ben on that possibility.

That is not what happened, BUT Ben still had a great season with a great bunch of kids. He was finally playing closer to his age after playing up 2 years for a while, so I think it was a confidence boost to see his skills matched against kids more his size. As an added bonus for his parents, this fall was fairly dry so he didn't finish many of the games looking like he'd gone for a swim. His team finished first in their division so a success all around! I don't know how many more seasons of rec soccer he has in front of him, but we're grateful this was another great one.

October on FB

 

The mountains were calling....

Crazy proud of this kid, but his face when he runs does not make it look fun (photo cred: XC dad with sweet camera skillz)

It is Friday morning and I can't decide if Isaac deserves a mom with more patience or if I deserve a child who doesn't have to be told EIGHT times to get dressed.

When we bought this house we were mostly considering the number of PEOPLE who would be living here. What we did not take into consideration is the number of INSTRUMENTS that would be living here: current count is 14 including the bass Ben just brought home.

I asked this question on FB 8 years ago and I am going to ask again to see if any of the answers have changed:

Facebook poll for my own curiosity:

Ladies, did you/would expect your SO to ask your father/parents for your hand in marriage?

Gentlemen, did you/would you ask the father/parents of your SO for her hand in marriage?

ETA: What are your expectations in this regard for your kids? (if you have any/intend to have some)

"I hope when I have kids they question every damn thing I say" said no person ever.

Our visit to a local farm fall festival did not cure Ben of his desire to have a kitten