Muppets Rock!

Yes, they do. I love the Muppets, as does my dad. One of the best things is sharing the Muppets with my kids. So, for your viewing pleasure, is REM & The Muppets.

They Rocked Us

Some very good friends moved to New Orleans about 18 months ago. Our sons went to daycare together starting at about age 13 months. Our daughters shared a nanny for a bit. My daughter still wears some of Olivia's clothes. The mom is the one I could call to drop off my kids for 15 min or for 2 hours and she would ask that they stay longer. And vice versa.

They came to visit for a brief and fun filled 24 hours. This sort of encapsulates the time.

It's Been A While

And I have not had a whole lot to say. It seems the longer I am away, the longer I can stay away and the less I have to share.

Anyway, I wonder if any of you are still checking in with me.

I have sort of stopped checking on some of my friends and I am sorry. Nat, I am going to go see what is up in your life. And I know I will be encouraged by your running and your attitude.

There are all sorts of things swirling around my head right now. But mostly, it's this:

Close friends are divorcing
Ran into one of my friends' ex-wife last week
Haven't seen her in over two years
Dammit, but she looks awesome
She is running Chicago Marathon in 9 days
Ever wonder how much more me-time you would have if you were divorced?
I do not think it would be worth it
My other friend's soon to be ex is giving her a scant $40/wk
They have two boys
Nan has to live with her parents now
$40 will not even buy gas
How do you tell your kids?
Which is better:
(a) remain married and your kids never see their dad
(b) divorce and your kids actually have a dad interact with them and take them places and has to finally take responsibility for them while under his care
There are compelling reasons either way - even outside the relationship
Imagine how hard it is inside the relationship
What is the straw that breaks someone's back?
What is the defining moment that makes you throw caution aside and verbalize those thoughts to your spouse?
No, I am not talking about me.
But it does make you review your own situation and wonder if all is as it appears.

See my stream of consciousness thoughts? Yeah. It's been whirling around there for some time.

School Mornings

Usually I leave the house at 7:30 with both kids and have to pass two different school crosswalks on the way to the kids' schools. The two schools are within 1/2 mile of each other and they each have an older gentleman as a crossing guard.

The second school's crossing guard is an older gentleman with salt and pepper hair and a jaunty spirit. I have found my mood lifted upon sight of him and his wide smile and friendly wave to every motorist. I realized this summer that I missed him on my morning journeys.

So to a man who makes me smile five mornings a week and who likely has no clue that he has influenced my day, I say thank you.

This & That - Tuesday Ramblings

Lots to catch up on today, I guess.

I was supposed to run 10-12 mi for a long run this weekend. Saturday morning, the alarm buzzes (or, really, my running watch beeps) at 5 a.m. and W tells me to get out of bed and run. I tell him he is being mean. I just wanted to sleep. And I did. That means I ran at 1 p.m. on the treadmill, after having pushed J in the stroller for 3 mi (1 of it running) as N, J and I went to the bookstore to let W sleep in.

Sunday, more of the same. Eight miles was the most I could do. Really, I have no idea how Gretchen started, not to mention finished, her marathon last year in temps close to what we have now. I am a cold weather runner. Anything over 70 degrees makes me whimper.

However, it had been two weeks since I had a day of rest, so I took one on Monday. I also forced myself to go to Ulta and Sports Authority yesterday at lunchtime and replaced my new shoes that were awful and have not been used (anyone need a pair of size 8 Asics Gel 3000?) with my tried and true Asics GT 2130s. But instead of the usual white / midnight / turquoise, I went crazy and selected the white / liquid silver / frost. Woo hoo! Living dangerously, aren't I? I also found a tres chic New Balance running skirt in a blue and a white sleeveless Under Armour top. Stylish running? Oh no!

Anyway, I decided I would try to have a couple longer runs (read: not 4 mi) during the week, so I recorded Bravo's latest reality show and hopped on the treadmill this morning. Seven miles later, I felt great.

We are headed to Canada this weekend for a vacation! Why Canada? Why the heck not? It is undoubtedly cooler in Jasper Lake Park and it is going to hot hot hot here. But as Nat suggested, if I run outside, I will be doing it with a bell around my neck.

And for anyone who went to BlogHer (Aimee & Julie, that means you), I am glad you had a fantabulous time! And Mayberry, I hope your little girl is better.

Where the Hell is Matt?

Have you seen this? It's awesome.


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Sunday Round Up

This weekend has been crazy busy. I went to a happy hour adoption shower for a friend who is adopting her 2nd child from Korea, a little boy his older brother had named Keegan. It was incredibly fun and lasted three hours longer than stated on the invitation. W texted me during it to tell me he had put J to sleep and that I should stay out as long as I wanted.

Saturday was fun. N's soccer game was at 11 a.m. and one of his teammates came home with us to spend the night. This child has endless energy. They rode bicycles to the park, to lunch, to the park, around the block, played soccer for hours. As soon as they were in a semi-horizontal position last night, they both crashed. J had fun running after them.

This morning is quiet so far and gorgeous outside. I have a very good friend from college who will be in town later today and is coming directly from the airport to our house. I have not seen her in nearly 2.5 years and am looking forward to it immensely. Between now and then, though, I need to squeeze in about 6-8 miles. ACK.

And, finally, one of my best friends is celebrating her birthday today!

Happy Birthday, Christina!!!!

Many Thanks

To Aimee for redesigning my blog. It's amazing, isn't it?

The woman has skillz. Many of them. And she is generous. So tell her how fabulous she is, okay?

N fell asleep on the sofa at 6:20 p.m. yesterday. So J and I tiptoed around him, then kept ourselves upstairs in order to not wake him. He needed the rest. It was fun to have some time with J and I together, but I suspect J missed her big goofy older brother.

It's raining buckets here, folks. So much rain and potential for flooding that some schools have cancelled classes. Fortunately, N's school is open and so is J's daycare.

Morning run was challenging and difficult, but felt good.
Distance: 4.5 mi total - 1/4 mi warmup; 1/2 mi increasing increments of speed, starting at 7.5 mph, ending at 8.2 mph; 1/4 mi cooldown + 1/4 mi walk
Time: 36 min run + 4 min walk
Location: Treadmill
TV Viewing: SEC women's gymnastics

Where is the Manual for This?

When is it okay to reprimand your children's friends? Do you do this yourself? Does your child(ren) have certain friends that you find you are not so fond of? What do you do about it?

Nathan's best little friend is Myles. Myles is rather high energy, but so is Nathan. Myles is bossy. Nathan is not so bossy. I have been taking Myles to school in the mornings because Jocelyn is staying at his house with his little sister and the nanny. We have had Myles over at least once/month for the past year for playdates and even an overnight. Nathan likewise spends a lot of time at Myles' house. Clearly, there is a sense of familiarity with the children and the parents.

Myles has always been a child who has tested my limits of patience. He tends to tell on his friends and be a bit bossy with them. All of this I understand as normal 5 year old behavior. But when he starts to yell at my child in my car over something inane, I feel compelled to put a stop to it.

This morning, Myles and Nathan were messing around and making each other laugh, per usual, and the powers of silly Laurie Berkner songs were non-existent. Myles then tells Nathan to do something. Nathan does not comply. Myles tells him again. Nathan continues to not listen to Myles. Suddenly, Myles starts to yell at Nathan to listen to him and to do what he tells him to do. At that point, I say, "Myles" in an increasingly loud voice. When I finally have his attention, I asked him if he treated everyone like that. He says, "No, but..." and launches into an excuse about Nathan not listening to him. Quelling my desire to tell Myles that he is not Nathan's boss (something Nathan had told Myles just a few minutes earlier, but prior to this sudden attack), I tell Myles that I don't care if he thinks he is justified in yelling at Nathan, "we do not treat our friends like that. It is rude." And leave it at that.

So, please tell me, was I out of line? I feel sort of on a slippery slope about it. I do not think Myles parents would disapprove. In fact, I feel confident that they would have done something similar. But, he is not my child.

When your children's friends act like this or otherwise, when do you step in? Should I have stayed out of it and let my child fend for himself?

These are things that are not covered in the "What to Expect When...." books.