Running

I started running in June, I downloaded a Couch-to-5K app that tells you when to run and when to walk. I ran every night after bedtime that I could for a solid month. I gradually worked up from running in 60 second intervals. My last run was running in 5 minute intervals, I did that a few days ago. My next workout I am supposed to run for 22 minutes solid. I am putting that off as long as I can conceivably do so.

Playing Hooky

Today was pretty much awesome, from head to toe. We started with breakfast with gramma, Grumma great and grampa. Then we went down to the parade.

 Calvin and I rode on the baby float, it was fun. Then dad picked me up and volunteered to sit with the kids while I ran to Costco, he also bathed Calvin and shooed me away when I tried to help, then he put him down for his nap. Awesome.

When I got back we packed up and drove up to LOGAN! We made it there without incident and went to my favorite park ever. It has tons of huge trees and a shallow stream.

My awesome and attentive brothers met us there, we played for an hour and a half. Eliza got filthy, they threw rocks, built a dam, ate some crackers.

Late lunch/early dinner at Jimmy Johns to see our cousin.

Baths, wrestling and games at BKE.

Then we went to the Fun Center in Logan, we went there in February, the last time we came up to play hooky and had a good time. We got a bunch of tokens and ran around like crazy. Then this happened:

Anna put 4 tokens into what was basically a slot machine for kids, she landed on the Bonus and got 1000 tickets! It was amazing! Though for some reason she did not try that machine again. When we cashed in it took us probably 20 minutes of picking out prizes to spend our 1500+ tickets. We got SO MANY cheap crappy toys and candy, totally got my money's worth. Including mustaches that we tried on as we went to get sno cones!

After sno cones we said good bye, the kids ate more candy and eventually fell asleep, we made it home safe and sound and exhausted. 

The car is so jammed full of toys and candy that I did not even try to bring anything other than children in the house, we will sort through it all tomorrow

Big thanks to Gramma and Grampa for making the morning manageable and to Uncles Thad and Matt for playing with us! Such a good day.

The #1 Baby in America! Part 2*

Thanks to my wonderful, doting mother, I entered Calvin in the Steel Days Baby Contest, and wouldn't you know it, he won.

 My mom came over early and helped me get everybody ready, bathing baby and putting his cutest Superman onesie* on, then we went down to the park and registered. 

When Calvin got in front of the judges he was his cute charming self, he all but jumped into their arms. They loved his big brown eyes, his big gorgeous smile and adorable dimple. So he basically swept the competition and now he (and I) will be on the Chik-fil-a float* in the parade Saturday.

*you can read Part One here

*his only superman onesie

*he does not have to dress like a cow, he will wear a steel days shirt

How To Make an Awesome Custom Sewing Table Out of the Standard Cheap Computer Desk

This is actually the second time I have done this, so I know it's awesome. Ben and I got these matching $50 desks when we got married. The first one was destroyed before our move back from CT so I have needed to replace it. You will need: 1 desk with keyboard drawer 

1 sharpie

1 drill with countersink (wide) bit

1 handheld jigsaw

1 sewing machine

Step 1: place your sewing machine where you would like it to be, trace around the base with a sharpie. Leave extra room where you might need to access plugs.

Step 2: Using a handheld jigsaw and a drill, follow the line around the shape. Also drill some holes through the bottom of the drawer to feed your cords through.

Step 3: Set your machine in, make sure it fits snug, feed the plugs through the hole and plug them in. My drawer was a bit deeper than my machine, so I stacked some notebooks underneath the machine.

Voila! Sewing table

Mighty Mouse

My back hurt like it needed popping, I asked Anna to stand on it, but her mighty 34 pounds was not enough, even when she jumped up and down it was not enough. Gotta fatten her up if only for this purpose

Parenting

Parenting, is something I signed up for when I had kids. In my mind "Parenting" is a lofty word that means things like, making sure the kids don't kill themselves on the power sockets, get educated in decent schools and participate in extra-curricular activities. "Parenting" is showing them the world and teaching them to survive in it, much, I guess like what a Lioness does for her cubs.
What I was not completely prepared for was a slightly smaller subset inside "Parenting" that I call "Mothering". Some would call it Nurturing, some days this is easy to do, and somedays it is Just   So    Hard.

Mothering is listening to everything your 5 year old says and responding appropriately.
Mothering is comforting the 2 year old every time she slips and falls.
Mothering is laughing at the same jokes every time.
Mothering is getting more food for a child 20 minutes after lunch was cleaned up. Every Day.
Mothering is holding a child who gets up and down and up and down from your lap 20 times in 5 minutes in a church meeting that you would like to listen to.

Basically what I'm saying is, it's being constantly annoyed and putting up with it.

Escape the Heat

On this hot hot day we went up to Deer Creek to play in the water and sit on the beach and also Ben rented a jet ski. It was pretty fun, if I had planned better we could have stayed all day. But Eliza was whiny and Calvin LOVED the water but his non-swim diaper wasn't cutting it. So now I know that we won't bake in the sun or freeze in the water, I am optimistic that we could hack it even without the jet ski . (Not pictured: Anna also loved swimming around with a life jacket and going on the jet ski.)