Mulberry Street

August seemed to fly by just as fast as July. I suppose that's how all summers go from a parent's perspective. We had fun and played as much as we could. Elasha & Matt came down from Pittsburgh to visit one last time before moving back west. Genevieve had fun playing with the kids and was sad to see them go. We drove around the mall and stopped at the Lincoln and FDR memorials. Genevieve grew up a ton this month, mostly due to potty training. She just doesn't look like a baby anymore, especially when she wears an expression like this one, in a sassy skirt like this one... Eric and I managed to get in one date, well two if you count going running together while Elasha was here, for all of August. At least it was a yummy meal. We need to work harder on having dates. Genevieve spent a lot of time with friends at the pool or fountains. August was a very hot month here. Call me a sucker. I bought a Shamwow. It is a total fake. but I was sure it would work a...

Saturdays are usually spent running errands, trying to sneak in long runs, and never relaxing. We realized that we forget to enjoy Genevieve on Saturdays and we are short with her lack of cooperation with our agenda. So, yesterday after we completed our errands we went to Burke Lake to enjoy the semi-nice weather and relax. We rode the train. We practiced running. We fed the geese and ducks. We just walked around and relaxed.

Eric and I have logged a lot of miles lately, well a lot for us. Not like Nate Jenkins, RW marathon hopeful, who logs 140 miles a week regularly and up to 190 miles a week when he's pushing it. I think that is absurd. We log just enough miles to get us by (well at least I do, maybe I shouldn't speak for Eric) because that is all the time we can give to running with a toddler. Eric is training for the Marine Corps marathon and I am training for the DC Ragnar Relay. As a result, Genevieve has taken notice. She knows which drawer I keep my running clothes in and whenever I don them she asks, "Momma go running?" She also notices how sweaty I am upon my return and states, "Momma sweatty" in a semi-serious tone. Recently, we were discussing what impact our running has had on Genevieve. I pulled out a pair of shoes for her to wear since most of her sandals are getting too small. And while they are far from running shoes, she thinks they are and calls them such. Wh...

Since learning about Genevieve's potty skills, several friends have lamented the fact that their own child is still in diapers. Well, I would like to point out the following: - Getting ready for nap time and bed time takes an extra 30-45 minutes now. Genevieve has figured out that the longer she takes to pee, the longer she stays out of her crib. You know how dogs wait until the last possible moment of their walk to do their business, Genevieve is just like the dog in this metaphor. - Genevieve is getting better about holding back her urge to pee. In fact she is so good that even when she hasn't peed for 2 hours and 45 minutes and you have to go somewhere but she decides she doesn't need/want to go potty, that you get stuck in the bathroom for a long time, wrestling her pants off and her onto the toilet. Once last week she sat for 15 minutes, refusing to go potty, until I pulled out the jelly beans and she willingly peed. My other option was threatening to put a diaper on (...

There are a lot of things your child learns. Some of those things are gross, dangerous, or simply obnoxious and I hope Genevieve never learns them. In protest to such things, I refuse to teach them to my own child. I have made a concerted effort to teach Genevieve good manners. She needs to say "please" and "thank you" or "no thank you" before she receives or doesn't receive something. I can't stand whining and if she is going to be a brat, then she'll do it with good manners. The dilemma is that she'll learn these things eventually, whether she makes the discover on her own or learns it from someone else. Today Genevieve discovered the art of blowing bubbles in milk. She had already mastered blowing into her cup while drinking, but today she had a straw in addition to her cup. It was entertaining to see her make the discovery. Her expression displayed nothing but excitement and satisfaction. While I don't approve or disapprove of this ...

Genevieve wanted to do another dance, but this time she selected her own outfit.

Pre-training – Saturday Genevieve used the toilet twice and we gave her a special treat for a reward. We bought a little potty 6 months ago because she showed some interest, but we never actively pursued potty training. I wasn’t ready to go through potty training. All my friends filled my ears with stories and I simply didn’t want to. Occasionally she would sit on her potty then take a long break before noticing it again, no big deal and certainly no rush. So you can imagine how surprised we were when she used the potty successfully. I suggested we go buy her some big girl underwear and that was it. She was fixated. Eric and I had to run some errands and buying big girl underwear was at the bottom of the list. However, on our way out the door she insisted, very loudly, that we go look at big girl underwear. After we agreed, Genevieve ran through JC Penny shouting, “Look at big girl undwere! Look at big girl undwere! Look at big girl undwere!” It was actually very entertaining and funny...

Genevieve got a real kick out of watching short films of herself doing her silly dance.

I enjoy cooking much more when Genevieve isn't around. I prepared dinner during her nap today and I could focus on the recipe and actually get it done. I should probably spend less time napping myself and more time cooking. We are all much happier when we are already fed and playing at 7:00pm rather than in the normal panic-tantrum-starving-chaotic mood at that same time, unfortunately due to my procrastination on dinner. I think I am going to dig up all my plants and do a lot of transplanting this fall. I have new plants to incorporate and I want to create space for more vegetables in some of the prime sunlight-space. I love my plants and don't mind weeding them or mowing the lawn. When I can't get "out in nature" I am content to care for my yard. My friend, Mac, is heading to Munich today. I am super jealous because she and Jason are going for two full weeks and here's the best part, without kids. Eric and I love to travel and it is a good thing we got it...

Official Results Place: 160 out of 600 Swim Time: 39:27 Bike Time: 1:15:30 Run Time: 51:23 Total Time: 2:50:26 Eric participated in the Luray Triathlon today. His unofficial time was 2 hours & 50 minutes. It was the Olympic distance with a 1500 meter swim, 25 mile bike ride, and 10K run. He did great. And, because this was the shortest triathlon he’s done, he wasn’t wasted at the end of the day which is nice for Evie and me. After the event was over we jumped in the lake and had a family swim. The water was so warm and it helped that the lake was tiny. Eric ran the event with three other friends, Brady, Ryan and Pete. He’s likely to sign up for more tri’s, but now he has to buckle down and train for the Marine Core Marathon in October…only 11 more weeks.

I got up early and went for a run. I mowed the lawn. Friends surprised me with waffles, balloons, and a new plant for breakfast. (The plant is for me to add to my flower garden and the waffles were for eating...I could have worded that differently). Evie and I went to the fountains to splash around and cool off. A good friend made me cupcakes. I worked on house projects. Eric and I went to dinner. I went to bed. In many days my birthday was just like any other day, which is fine - really. Eric gave me a new vacuum which is AWESOME. No kidding, when you see it and try it out, you'll stand in awe of how great it is. Until someone called to wish me Happy Birthday I would forget that it was even my birthday at all. I guess that's how it goes, the older we get the less important birthdays become.

Some days you capture the exact shot you want. The subject is unique and actually in focus, and the colors pop out, and you're super happy with it. I took this photo at the Portland Zoo. I was actually trying to capture the humming birds but they were too fast for me, when I noticed all the bees so I focused my attention on them instead. Photo by Alisha Photo date July 30, 2009