Mulberry Street

This is clearly not one of the advertised qualities of the Aquasphere Kayenne giggles ... Er, goggles. Actual results may vary.

I took these photos at Oronoco Park in Alexandria. Genevieve and I were waiting for Eric to start, run, and finish his 10 miler. We had a lot of time to fill, so we had fun splashing in puddles. Now you know why I took all these photos in black and white. The reason I posted this last photo was to document Genevieve mid-jump. I almost deleted the photo until I noticed that both her feet are off the ground.

Runner : Eric Distance : 10 Miles Official Time : 1 hour, 10 minutes, and 22 seconds Rank : 117th out of 3,995 Runners Weather : Pouring rain up until the start, then a pleasant misty morning. Result : Eric pretty much ran an awesome race. As with his 1/2 marathon the previous month, he ran faster than expected and finished in the top 3%. He almost ran 7:00 minute splits, but came up a few seconds short at the end. Ask him about it and I'm sure he'll rant for a minute or two... I think he ran amazing and puts all my running splits/times to shame. Sometimes it just isn't fair that men run faster than women. The photos are of Eric's triumphant last 1/2 mile to the finish line. Evidently, he was feeling great and not ashamed to model for my photos. I love you honey!

I took Genevieve for a little jaunt in the canoe. We were killing time until Eric got back from taking scouts home. We let the current push us around and I kinda steered us. We weren't looking for a workout, just enjoying the quiet of Burke Lake. We brought bread with us to feed the geese. It was amazing to witness how aggressive they were. We could throw bread in the water from way off, and they'd fly in from out of nowhere. Apparently, some of the geese were territorial. They would chase each other around and bite at each other. In defense, one dove under the water but came up with a few loose feathers. Genevieve got a real kick out of the geese "water wrestling." She would laugh and laugh then tell me all about it. Then the rain started and we ran out of bread. The geese were less than patient with us and I was a little nervous they might nip at Genevieve's fingers. Genevieve asked me, very specifically if the geese were going to get in the canoe. I told her...

Here is a recap of an actual conversation between Eric and Genevieve at our dinner table tonight. Genevieve: "Did you hear that jet-airplane?" Eric: "No, there isn't an jet-airplane." Genevieve: "I heard an airplane." Eric: "That was me. I tooted." Then a brief pause while I give Eric a dirty look and tell him I'm going to post this on the blog. Eric: "Oh, hear comes another airplane." Genevieve: "I didn't hear it." Eric: "It was a quiet airplane." Nice. Clearly we need to have a discussion on manners and appropriate conversation topics. What did your husband do/say today to embarrass you?

…I can't breathe very well and am forced to sit up straight. Let’s face it; very few of us have good posture. When you’re faced with the choice to breathe or be lazy during pregnancy, breathing tends to win out every time. But, just wait until this bump is gone and I’ll melt back into my slouching habit – but only because it is conducive to breast feeding. …I get funny looks from strangers when I have three children (three and under) in tow. This only happens on occasion while I am babysitting, but I wish I had a sign around my neck that read, “Only one is mine.” …I can't empty my bladder when I need to. However, I did once, about a week ago. It was that feeling you get after waking up from a dream where all you needed to do was pee and finally, now that you are awake, you can. The baby must have moved off my bladder because I peed and peed and peed and it felt so good. Too bad that was so short lived. I have to pee at least once an hour to prevent myself from having an unfortu...

A package arrived from ID today. I was simultaneously surprised, ecstatic, and grateful for it's contents. The unsigned note read, "I'm not sure why you'd want to live out there if you can't even find these." Yes, the box contained not only one bag, but two bags of licorice. The classic 2 pound "family mix" with licorice in varying shapes, lengths, and thickness. Someone was thinking of me very fondly. The writing looked like one of my three brothers', but I wasn't sure which one was the most sympathetic to my search for the family size bag of red AND black licorice. My first thought was Oliver, since he usually sniffs out my Good N'Plenty whenever I arrive to IF for a visit. However, it wasn't him and I shouldn't be surprised. Oliver would have only sent one bag, and probably already opened because the licorice would have been too enticing. No offense Oli, just calling it how it is. I knew it couldn't be Joe. He works his ta...

A friend invited us on an impromptu trip to the beach. I packed up our stuff a few hours before we left. The drive to North Carolina should have only taken six hours, however, three potty breaks, one gas stop, and one hour stuck in traffic turned the drive into eight very long hours. We arrived (four moms and seven exhausted kids) at 2:30am with the prayer the kids would all sleep in. It didn't take us long to forget the late night arrival, because we awoke to a beautiful morning with dolphins, pelicans, and sunshine. We were on the beach by 9:00am and enjoying our peaceful surroundings. We spent our days playing in the sand, eating, dipping our toes in the surf, eating, relaxing, and sleeping. It was a nice break from our daily routines. I tried to point out the details of the beach to Genevieve, but she simply wanted to dig in the sand. My job was to bring her buckets of water since she wasn't very fond of the waves. When I tried to point out the dolphins she look...