Week 1; Day 7

This does not sound good, coming from myself, but to be perfectly honest- i am not that good at starting and finishing things.  And, to continue to be perfectly honest, i am only one week in, so who am i kidding, but I DID IT!  One whole week of blogging every day.  This is a huge accomplishment, and i am very proud of myself.  and now, i fear, i have nothing more to say about the matter.  which may be cause for concern, because now that i've made it through my entire first week of blogging, i'd like to continue.  so, i really hope that i do not leap head first into a writer's block.  
writer's block, for you non-writers, is something absolutely horrible that acts sort of like weeds in your brain.  the roots dig in and wrap themselves around every creative synapse that you have and then squeeze.  They steal all of the nutrients from your every thought, so that all you are left with is a big blank computer screen, or notebook, or napkin... whatever.  and then they stay.  for an undeterminable amount of time.  and even when you think you've shaken them, the second you get back to your seat- the second you begin to write down (or type, or scribble) the thoughts- poof!  into thin air, just like that, they are gone.
i hope, no i pray, that i am not headed for a block.  because even if i hit one, i'm posting.  daily.  every day of 2011 (starting with last week.)  i'll be like the post office (pun somewhat intended)- come rain or sleet or snow or hail (or however that slogan goes?!?)  i'll be here.  posting about the mundane daily goings-on of my life.
stay tuned!

Exhausted and sad

I am writing ONLY because i cannot fall off this wagon (of daily writing) before the first week is even through.  But I am exhausted.  And sad.  A very close friend of the family passed away today.  He fought a long and hard battle with Parkinson's Disease- and it really was a war.  He was an amazing man; the kind you look up to and know that he will never let you down.  He was good and positive and full of zest.
It's been many years since i was a young kid running around his back yard playing Capture the Flag (in a very competitive manner, as was only apropos for Mr. B.!)  He coached our girls basketball team and made the players watch (and live) Hoosiers.  he was a wonderful father, husband, and friend, and he will truly be missed by all whose lives he touched.
I am going to bed.  I will dream of camouflage outfits and all-out warfare tactics taught to us kids.  I will think of the days our families spent together with the fondness you would think of summers spent sipping lemonade.  I will be sad for his family who is left behind, but i will rejoice for his spirit- for the peace he is now in; for the home he has now returned to with God.
Rest in Peace, Mr. B.  And know that you will be greatly missed and warmly remembered.

Kodak moments

Laying in bed with the baby yesterday,  my three year old comes in, snuggles close to me and grabs the baby's hand.  They lay like that for about 20 minutes- just holding hands.  We are about 20 minutes late for school, but who cares.
Today- from another room I hear the older singing a made-up song (about underpants, but the sentiment was still there) to the younger, and the younger coo'ing in reply.
Tonight- overhearing M telling my husband a bedtime story instead of the other way around.


These Kodak Moments last but seconds, but stick to your heart for days, even longer...  I am sentimental tonight, but I'm allowed to be.  I have two amazing kids.  I have an absolutely wonderful husband.  I cannot ask for or wish for anything more.
the end.

Are you (10K)idding Me?!?

I am not a runner.  I have, in fact, never run.  But somewhere in my highly convoluted state of mind, i thought that i could become a runner with ease, and i agreed to run a 10K in three months.  A 10K...  A 10K.  I could just keep repeating this over and over, but i'm guessing you get the point.
So, I attempted to run today.  It was a beautiful 46 degrees (which sounds WAY warmer than it is- or at least it did to me...)  I bundled the baby up and hit the park with jogging stroller, ipod, water and phone.  everything you need to learn how to run (because i downloaded running apps and all!)
And then i started running.  or what i thought was running.  i'm guessing it looked more like a baby ostrich trying to walk for the first time.  it's definitely not as easy as i thought.  my legs didn't propel me.  my lungs didn't work.  my body broke out in a sweat that fogged my sunglasses and brought chills to my skin from the cold air around me.  i "ran" for about four minutes.  i quickly walked the rest of the mile and a half.
i'm not giving up just yet, but i did get a slap in the face of reality that this commitment to a 10K (that's a little more than 6.2 miles, for us non-runners) is going to be a bit more than me just hitting the park and blowing all the other ladies away.  at least for now.  after april, watch out!

Blogging...

So, I'm trying to get the hang of this whole "blog" thing.  It's such a foreign concept to me.  I have never been good at keeping a journal (especially a public one!)  I am also not much for writing about myself or real-life experiences.  I usually write stories- very fictional ones, at that.  they begin with a start, move on to a middle and conclude with an end.  Good old-fashioned literature.  Blogging is so different.  It's just this separate instance in time- no relation to the post before, or probably after.  It is like a snap-shot, instead of a feature film.  It doesn't need a start (you just assume that i woke up this morning, before the incident i describe began.)  It is the middle, and you don't need to know the end.  or maybe you find it out.  or maybe the post is about the end (to a very long day?!?)


i guess this is my post for today.  just trying to reconcile posting.  at least, for now, for this instant in time, that is all i've got.

Tea anyone?

How to not burn down your house:  Get a tea kettle that whistles.  I did not burn down our house, thank god.  but i did hot fuze the steel from the bottom of my tea kettle to the metal burner- leaving both rendered useless.

It took about 45 minutes of boiling to evaporate the water.  It took my three year old one second to ask me for a cup of tea to remind me that 45 minutes earlier i had intended to make it for us!  

i knew for weeks that i needed a new tea kettle.  i am not good at remembering much these days, and once the whistle went, i meant to buy one the next day.  i kept tinking that i should set the timer every time i turned the kettle on, but i kept forgetting to do it.

Now i am left with three burners and a small sauce pan to boil my water in, but at least i didn’t burn down the house.  

Diego after dark

it’s 12:30 a.m. do you know where your toddler is?  i do.  she is right here next to me.  in my bed.  speaking spanish to diego. for the second episode of this extended evening (thank god for instant netflix).  i was just finally able to turn the light off after convincing her (which was no small feet) that shadows will not, in fact, make her ear ache hurt worse.  this is after an hour of sitting in her room rubbing her back.  which came after a two-plus hour bedtime (normally a 20 minute task.)  So, i’m guessing she really is sick...

I can also add here that at some point in this evening- soon after the two plus hour bedtime (and the not mentioned three-month-old who nursed for the entire two plus hours of trying to put M to bed), a police helicopter circled precariously close to above my house with a spotlight shining in my neighbor’s backyard... this, unfortunately, is not an odd occurrence.

I can also mention that shortly before my three-year-old awoke again, i am 98% sure i heard a gunshot (a less than usual occurrence, but not the first time.)

i am tired and frustrated and hate rosy perez’s stupid voice as diego’s magic camera... that could be the exhaustion talking.  maybe.  

good night. hopefully.