rachel's continued ramblings

pretty much every monday SUCKS. part of it is probably ‘weekend hangover’. no, that doesn’t mean we drank too much on the weekend, just that we were too much in weekend mode. the rest, the break from routine, etc. every monday, layla is late for school. every monday, I forget to eat breakfast. I’ll be running out the door, late, on my way to drop her off on my way to work out, when I realize, #$*%!, I haven’t eaten, and will likely keel over midway through if I don’t put something in me! on mondays, I take shane to school. he doesn’t have jazz band (same as wednesdays, but they never seem as bad for some reason), so I take him and my dad stays w/ layla and micah at my house so they don’t have to get drug along. I get back (if we leave on time) at around 7:55, and the bus comes at 8:04 for layla. so unless I wake her up before 7 and get her hair done before I leave to take shane, the likelihood of her getting on the bus is very low. waking her up early on monday mornings is even mor...

sunday: dave and micah pirate fighting. monday: sunny, warm day = me reading in the backyard. all afternoon… tuesday: they got their recital costumes… so exciting!!!! wednesday: micah’s odd way of playing games strikes again. friday: ever since they made a baking soda volcano in sunday school, layla has been begging to make one at home. friday: micah’s latest tinkertoy creation. it’s a blueberry maker. when I asked him how to make blueberries, he said, “oh, you just put blue juice in it!” saturday: totally just loving on the cat. some skinnies:     book shots

sunday: big fat cake pop disaster. I had been dreading making these because I was pretty sure this is how it was going to turn out. confirmed. after a couple failed attempts, I threw all the rest into the freezer and left them there a few days while I simmered down. then I returned to them, frozen, and managed to get them all covered in melted candy and sprinkles without too much disaster. they did not, however, look attractive AT ALL. also sunday: that afternoon, micah suddenly spiked this crazy fever. he said his throat hurt, and his fever just kept creeping up and up and up. it topped out around 104. layla made him this lovely nest on the couch, where he slept most of the evening. (strangely enough, he woke up the next morning, healthy as a horse. no fever, no sore throat, ready to take on the day.) monday: dry day in april = quick! mow the lawn! some unidentified day of the week: layla’s birthday wish list. her #1 item is always the same. always. thursday: shane and friend read...

sunday: this ginormous dog showed up in the church nursery. layla was beside herself! it looks just like my parents’ former neighbors’ dog, fergus. also sunday: dave hauled me outside for a run in the afternoon, and after, layla and micah wanted to go for a run, too. so we all ran up and down the road, multiple times. tuesday: my first off-road run. breaking in my trail shoes. also tuesday: when I went to pick micah up from preschool, there was a cement truck on the playground, pouring the forms for the new sandbox. seriously, what could be more exciting to happen at preschool?! wednesday: I’m going to be writing a review of some awesome yo-yo products over at momstart. they arrived, and shane was SO excited to see a kendama in the box. apparently, this is “the coolest toy ever” and people bring them to jr. high to mess with between classes. who knew? also wednesday: micah decided to do some “exercising” before bed… to “keep my body straight”… okay, dude. saturday: it’s a picture...

about 5 weeks ago, I started running. not like in a forrest gump “I just felt like run-ning” kind of way, but I consciously decided that I wanted to be a runner. why? because I can’t run. because I hate to run. because I suck at running. all words that, in my wise old age, I’ve learned to, not only to NOT accept, but to view as a challenge. I hate being limited. this is not something like being limited by my age, or gender, or socioeconomic status, or geographical location, or any of the things about myself which are more or less out of my control. this is about ME being limited by ME. there is very little that I find quite so motivating. and so, I started running. I downloaded a couch to 5k running app to my phone, and got started. now, 5 weeks later, I’m going strong. still motivated, encouraged, but discouraged at the same time. up until sunday, all of my running has been done indoors on the treadmill. boring, but controlled. no hills, no wind or rain, no mud or roots...

sunday: it was easter! but we didn’t make it back until late morning, since we’d spent the night at kat and cole’s again. when we got home, we had to jump into action to get dinner prepared, the house picked up, and a run to the grocery store. the kids really wanted to dye eggs, so dave was a hero and took on that job (I HATE dyeing eggs. HATE IT.) but layla and micah we thrilled. tuesday: MOMS Club trip to the zoo! this is layla and micah with friends by the bronze monkey sculpture. they had fun being monkeys. layla and micah were off this week for spring break, but shane still had school. also tuesday: we are enforcing the 5 bite rule for micah if he wants to earn ANY screen time at all the next day. if he doesn’t take 5 bites of his dinner, he cannot watch tv, play wii or xbox, use anyone’s phones, play on his leapster, or the computer. nothing. sometimes it’s motivating, sometimes not. apparently pizza is not the most offensive of dinner options, since he did take his bites, but ...