Random Thanksgiving Memories

 

So try and remember that for 20 years I spent every Thanksgiving behind my desk working. I'm 3 years away from that (although last year I stayed home with a sick Kindergartener and had canned soup) and I am beginning to love this holiday for its easygoing style and lack of pressure. Here now are my random thoughts about Thanksgiving 2008.

*Getting up early to run the Gobblers Run 5k in the freezing cold with Joe, Art and Andra on a team * Running my best 5k ever but learning they "missed" me at the finish * fried turkey, bourbon and standing rib roast at Frank's * Dad playing basketball on Zermatt Court * an enormous shrimp platter * the beautiful people have beautiful (and nice!) relatives, too * red wine * Mrs. Bushey's appetizers and desserts * red wine * old friends and new ones * "walk it on out" in the flesh * Uncle Ron Ron has a great way with turkeys for a hog farmer * red wine * Lionel Richie * the kids table * dancing to Lionel Richie * "Wait, Chap's naked" * marshmallow explosion in the oven (good thing Andra has 3 ovens!) * Venus and Serena reliving their racing glory * red wine * losing my camera * Uncle Ron Ron's description of what my rear end was doing at the EXACT moment he gave Joe my missing camera * well I could go on and on.. but we have simply decided to say , "It was THAT kind of Thanksgiving. A great kind."

Hope yours was too.

Head over to Facebook to Lori's page to see real Thanksgiving photos taken by people who didn't drink so much red wine they lost their cameras!

Family Running Fun!

 

It's Joe's worst nightmare these days. ALL of us taking part in some of the larger runs around town. Remember, this used to be his "solo" passion! Sunday we all took part in the "old Reliable Run". We love it because it is tied to "Gammy's Newspaper" and it has a 5K and a 10k run an hour apart. That means we can do a quick kid switch in the middle and everybody runs! Plus, this one had face painting, inflatable jummping, snacks and vendors.

Joe raced the 5k and I ran the 10K. Despite the wind and the hills (!) a good time was had by all.

13.1

 

Now normally I am not a fan of doing things HALF way. But I made an exception this morning for Raleigh's City of Oaks Half-Marathon. I came, I ran, I finished. Not a bad outing at all. Hard to believe I used to be intimidated by 13 point 1 miles! Planning to do the next one in February at Myrtle Beach with the sole goal of removing the 1 minute and 42 seconds that kept me away from my preferred finish this go round.




I think somewhere along the way here I skipped our very busy Halloween. Here the girls are heading out with our best boy friends for trick-or-treating.








Earlier that same day Francesca was Miss Muffet in the Kindergarten Nursery Rhyme Parade. (Yes, year 2 on this costume!)




And before that -- a Fall Party for the Fours!

I Did the Dash.. the Monster Dash....

 

This weekend has been so busy I need a nap! The final event was Raleigh's Monster Dash 5K at Cameron Village. After a full day of State Fair walking and fried food, I threw on my "Runaway Bride" costume and hit the bricks. Set my personal best for a 5K and came in second in my age group by one second (if I had only known she was my age I would have run her down!). Check it out HERE.


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Before my race, my future little runner girls got some expert coaching at the beginning of the 100 yard dash. Thanks, Coach.

 

Earlier in the day we caught the final day of the State Fair. The girls rode the rides, milked the cows, and ate the food.

And have I mentioned Grandpa Tony has been here as we have galloped from one event to the next???

 

He joined us for the all this AND the neighborhood Halloween party and the Friday night School book fair and storytelling in pajamas. Phew! What a weekend!

Rock the Vote

Here in North Carolina residents are urged to vote early, just not often! I waited in line 35 minutes outside an early voting location on a weekday morning. I was pretty proud of everyone else in that line. We're part of the 1 Million North Carolinians who have already cast ballots.

Believe in change. Exercise your right to be heard whenever your polling place opens!

Another One of My Pumpkins!

 

So this morning found us in the remote reaches of Franklin County to go pumpkin picking with the 4 year olds. There was a hayride and a snack and each child came home with a hand picked pumpkin. Stop me if you've heard this before!

And yes, we are getting lots of mileage out of the adorable Lilly pumpkin pants and pumpkin shirt. We keep telling Joe that we get our money's worth out of these fun "little" purchases....

The Cutest Pumpkin in the Patch....

 

It's Pumpkin Patch Field Trip Season. My inaugural run was with Kindergarten. Year 2 of dodging rain drops on this particular outing. We still did the hayride, the maze, the giant slide, the picnic lunch and each child selected a pumpkin to take home. We didn't lose any of them either so it's considered a success!

An Anniversary Kiss...

 

Although it will go unnoticed and unmentioned in these parts today, this is Anniversary Number 8. Photographs of us together are as rare as, well, anniversary cards and gifts! But from time to time Sophia takes the camera from me for a few shots of her own and that can result in a rare couple sighting on film, or er, on a memory card!

If this is our anniversary that means greetings are in order for Hillary and John and Leslie and Matthew as well!

Editor's Note: I just have to mention that this anniversary did not go unnoticed. A blue box appeared on the bathroom vanity. A mumbled, "It's probably the wrong one" (I'm sorry did you say WRONG while talking about Tiffany's??? Not possible.) So I missed out on sharing anything pottery for number 8 (and I thought for a seoond, about his favorite home decor store, POTTERY Barn..) I love my new necklace. I can't believe he changed up the tradition 8 years into the game.

A Ten Mile-stone

 

Since we only logged -- I don't know -- 6 or 8-THOUSAND miles on Disney property last week I decided to try and tire my legs out a little more. And that is how I came to my very first 10-Mile road race. Regular readers know this is a relatively new distance for me. But I had enough 10+ practice runs under my iPod to give this one a try. The race benefits the Anna's Angels Foundation. The Foundation was started a few years ago by a local Mom whose daughter, Anna, has Down Syndrome and has battled leukemia. Proving the power of the volunteer Mom, this Mother runs the Foundation (and its 10-Miler, Gala, and Cookbook Sales), helps decide how the proceeds are distributed through grants, and runs the race! Mom crossed the finish line carrying a healthy 6 year old Anna. I'm happy to say I had already finished with a fairly respectable time and saw that moment.

So 10 Miles doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore. Maybe November means it's half-marathon time!

"It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants to quit."
Dr. George Sheehan
Runner/Writer/Philosopher

Where in the World???

 

Disney World -- that's where! An exhausting week of princesses, pixie dust and millions of miles by foot. We did a ton and saw even more. And now we need a vacation!

Where Were We????

Somewhere between broken camera and end of the first quarter we fell off the Earth. But we're all caught up now. New camera installed and operating. School finished for the rest of September. So what were we doing???



Gabriella had her actual 4th birthday. She asked for a rerun of last year's swimming pool cake. I obliged, but all my little helpers added the Teddy Grahams in Life Savers rings this time out and well -- the pool is crowded! She's in a leotard because her ballet/tap class began that very same day.



Then it was time for her to begin her final year of preschool. She's in the 4's. she (finally!) goes five mornings a week. She and Livi are in the same class and would rather share one chair than sit in two separate ones. I don't think they have noticed any of the 13 other children in class!


We spent the Labor Day Weekend at Carolina Beach. We are still searching for the one that will be "our" beach. This one is right up there on the list. We're hoping one day Daddy will just go ahead and buy us a sweet little oceanfront condo....


The last week of this Track of school was crazy for us. Sophia's class ended the "Bug" unit with a party thrown by the Moms. They made cute bug hats and played Bug Cracker Bingo and made ants out of graham crackers and really -- it took no time at all to clue pom poms and chenille stems together for my "Pin the Spider on the Web" game. (!)



We followed that up with a field trip to a nearby Nature Park to learn even more about bugs. I can not tell you how excited I am that I will have the opportunity three years in a row to dig my net into pond muck and pull out dragonfly nymphs with my bare hands. Wow!



Our grand finale was the School Fundraising Walk-a-thon. We raise tens of thousands of dollars by having the kids walk around the track. Sounds odd. It is very effective however. I made the banner for Sophia's class -- it kept with the Bug theme.

And this blur is my future Olympian, Francesca. Sbe told me that no matter how hot it was, she intended to jog the entire Walk-a-thon. And she did! 11 laps! I joined her for one lap and she was very focused on her game. That's my girl!


So, that's about it! You are all caught up... We spent our last afternoon at the pool today for the season -- Fall must be coming. Our Track Out Adventures are about to begin so stay tuned!

When Cousins are Two of a Kind.....

 

 

They laugh alike, they walk alike, at times they even talk alike, what a crazy pair....

You know the song -- you know the show -- and quite possibly you know the cousin tandem known in these parts as "Givi" -- that's Gabriella and Livi all rolled into one. So we just threw them one pool party together for their August birthdays. (They never even notice anyone else, so we actually didn't even need to invite their other cousins and preschool friends.) It was a lazy morning of just hanging around and visiting while the kids splashed.. I really like this summer birthday thing. And the gigantic matching mermaid cakes were just GORGEOUS!

A Perfect "10"

Now, I know no Olympic gymnast will go home with a perfect "10" this year -- but I am feeling like I scored one.

Okay, it wasn't perfect. It was actually, awfully slow. But it was 10. 10 Miles.

The 10-Mile mark has been this Iron Curtain for me. I can knock on the door but never hit the other side. But there was something about Saturday. Low humidity. A suggestion of a breeze. Hip Hop on the iPod. Just something that whispered "GO". So I did. And I guess I finally crossed the 10-Mile threshold.

Map My Run called it 9 and change. But Joe assures me the trail portion of my course can't be measured correctly since it is so far off-road. He called it an "easy 10". So I celebrated with a Starbucks Vivanno on my way to meet my family at the pool. (260 calories yet 21 g of protein -- and Travis the Trainer Boy is sure I am sadly lacking in protein in my diet.) Got to the pool and Gabriella was shivering and telling me it was "cold". That's what happens when it's only 91 and the humdiity is low.

My day was overshadowed by Joe's 16 Miler (show-off) and his waistband of chafing (still sweats like a pig, in case you wanted to know). But I'll always have my perfect 10. And maybe soon, my perfect 13.1.

The Sunny Season

It is finally Sunflower Season here at the ranch. Much of the crop was snack time for those &$%#@$ deer that believe "My house is your house". But some strategic planting combinations did save one particularly mammoth row of the gigantic flowers.

I have this picture of one flower , and the bees feasting in on it, because Sophia dragged me outside at 6:30 in the morning insisting we take a photo to add to an insect photo collection being created at school in the Media Center.

It was a good stopping point for me in a week that included:

-A new battery for the CAT (Carla Area Transit) Bus (really -- how long do those things last these days???)

-A new spring for the garage door( when the old one snapped it could not only be heard from here to Fuquay-Varina -- it trapped the cars behind closed doors for an entire day -- thus trapping us in with it!) And again, I ask how long should those things last?

-A 101 degree fever accompanying the Kindergarten Krud that kept some of us at home for days.

-Never-ending PTA Open Houses (are all the tracks finally back in???)

And of course the entire list brought my training to a near-halt.

So I'll try to remember and stop and admire the sunflowers. Even if I'd rather admire them at a more respectable hour than my oldest early-bird will allow!

Baby, it's Hot Outside

Yup -- it's August in the sultry South. The humidity is as high as an elephant's eye and so is the mercury! It's time for the hot recess policy to go into effect at school and I've got 72 freezer pops chilling right now that are headed to Kindergarten in the morning to provide a few days of cool snack relief.

So here's what you do in the South when it feels like this. Go to the pool. Dip your toes in and then mention to everyone around you, "Sure is HOT today". You tell them that like they don't already know. But misery loves company.

So stock the fridge with some of those summertime light beers and go ahead and pile your hair up high on your head. Before you know it November will be here and you'll have to do something crazy like -- I don't know -- wear sleeves!

The First Two Weeks

It's been a whirlwind for Francesca these past two weeks. In fact, I would say she is now officially exhausted. Hopefully the weekend will energize her!

Her favorite Kindergarten rebellion seems to be circling around breakfast in the school cafeteria. She wandered in there one morning between getting off the school bus and heading to her classroom. (She told me that she just had to tell them her last name and they let her have it all FREE! Yeah -- right.) She was wowed by the pancakes and despite my rule that since we eat at home we go straight in -- she appears to still be ducking into the cafeteria. Her big sister is apparently joining her now, too.

Fortunately they are being watched by my little spies...

Hot Dog! Gampy is 29!

A bit of a birthday bash this Sunday evening to celebrate Dad/Gampy/PopPop's birthday. Joe channeled his inner Paula Deen and whipped up a Low Country Shrimp Boil. A few snacks, some hot dogs and pasta, diet beer and a silly cake that looked like a hot dog rounded it all out. He had so much help blowing out the candle we had to light the thing -- I don't know -- 2 or 3 dozen times....

It was just a little teeny, tiny bit noisy with the entire Grandchild brigade inside to escape the "melt you in a second" July heat.



And just so you know, the Birthday Boy got his jam on to the "Camp Rock" soundtrack!

Weekend in Wrightsville

 

It was a quick weekend trip to Wrightsville Beach -- a favorite destination of mine for many years. Joe had a conference there (who says accountants don't know where to have fun???)! We drove through a monsoon to get there but after we arrived the skies cleared and we spent the entire weekend swimming, sunning, running and eating seafood favorites.

My stress meter was pegged before we left (back to school, PTA responsibilities, kid schedule juggling and packing collided...). Once we arrived I let the calming influence of the ocean take over (even though I realized right away the ONE thing I didn't pack was my running shoes). Thanks to free wireless at our motel I found my treasured Mizuno Wave Inspire 4-Women at Dick's in Wilmington and popped in and out with my brand new shoes. Problem solved. Training schedule intact. Stress be gone.

The girls say they are ready to go back to the beach. Me, too!

Kindergarten!

Kindergarten -- Day 1!

We liked it. We made new friends. We thought the playground was great. We remembered where to find our milk money in our new lunch bag.

We waffled a bit on the pre-planned first day of school dress. But after changing a few times we went back to the original choice (again Daddy, thanks for the Lilly!).

Tomorrow is our first day OFF from Kindergarten while the teachers divide the little cherubs into classes. We hit the ground running Monday morning!

Girly Girls

 

We've been celebrating some really girly things this week. Like this outfit. It was supposed to be Sophia's first day of school outfit but since she delights in being contrary it ended up being her second day of school outfit. (Special thanks to Daddy here for treating us all to new Lilly while visiting Ardmore.)

Francesca, meanwhile, relaxed today a her "pre-Kindergarten" manicure. Because it is a "special" occasion, Miss Mimi painted a few small flowers with glittery centers on those tiny little nails. It's a family affair for us with Miss Mimi since she also does Grampy's nails regularly .. but that's probably a subject for another post. One that doesn't begin with "Girly Girls"!