3.20.2006
I ran a 5K on Saturday, sponsored by the local Catholic school. It was cold and windy, and I had to pull out the running tights... yuck. The course was out and back and into the wind for the whole first half. It definitely slowed me down but I think I was able to make up some time on the way back. I finished in 27:40, so I took about a minute and a half off my 5K time from November AND managed to finish with a pace just under 9 minutes. I didn't have any real goals for the race; I was just curious to see what I could do, but I have to admit that at about the 2 mile mark I started thinking it sure would be nice to finish with a pace under 9 minutes. So I'm pretty happy. And the food at the race was yummy! :)
The Charlottesville half-marathon is now less than 4 weeks away. I'm getting excited. I ran 10 miles yesterday for the first time ever in my life. It really wasn't all that bad. I love long runs. I especially love when nobody else is around and I can talk to myself out loud - you know, encouraging myself (all of my other thinking stays private). Somehow that's so much more effective than encouraging myself inside my head. Or maybe I'm just crazy. Whatever.
I'm also trying to pick some local races to enter after the half, up through the beginning of June or so. There are a slew of 5Ks and one 10K on June 3rd. I think I could almost run a race every weekend if I wanted to. I have decided on one for May 20. Emma Kate is already excited about the Toddler Trot. It'll be her first race!
The Charlottesville half-marathon is now less than 4 weeks away. I'm getting excited. I ran 10 miles yesterday for the first time ever in my life. It really wasn't all that bad. I love long runs. I especially love when nobody else is around and I can talk to myself out loud - you know, encouraging myself (all of my other thinking stays private). Somehow that's so much more effective than encouraging myself inside my head. Or maybe I'm just crazy. Whatever.
I'm also trying to pick some local races to enter after the half, up through the beginning of June or so. There are a slew of 5Ks and one 10K on June 3rd. I think I could almost run a race every weekend if I wanted to. I have decided on one for May 20. Emma Kate is already excited about the Toddler Trot. It'll be her first race!
3.13.2006
As EK and I were driving home tonight, we saw a car pull out into oncoming traffic and cause another car to slam on its brakes and squeal its tires. This spurred a discussion about driving. She already knows about cars "bonking" one another and so we discussed that bonking other cars can hurt people and cost a lot of money. I ended by saying, "It's good to be a safe driver." Emma Kate said, "It's bad to be a... bonkin' driver."
3.11.2006
3.09.2006
I'm trying to write a little more often here. I have other places I write, other ways I fill the need, but I really shouldn't neglect this blog so much.
I am grumpy this morning. I have absolutely no reason to be - in fact I have reasons to be in a good mood - so I am hoping it's just morning grumpiness that will wear off. I think a lot of it is due to being tired. I've been busy and exercising hard and not getting enough sleep. The tiredness I usually feel on Fridays has hit me a day early this week.
One of the reasons why I ought to be in a good mood is that Emma Kate went to sleep on her own for her nap yesterday, and it was relatively painless for her. We all (including Danny and Papa) went out for ice cream last night to celebrate. She seems pretty OK with the whole concept. I am interested to see how it goes today. Just the same, we also picked up a copy of Elizabeth Pantley's No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers. I haven't even looked through it yet, but I imagine I will learn a thing or two. Even if it doesn't help us with Emma Kate, it's a good book to add to our parenting reference collection.
Oh, I have a funny to add... yesterday after Mom picked EK up from morning out, she saw a plastic turtle sandbox on the side of the road to be picked up as trash. She called me about it to let me know, and Chris actually went to look for it, but it was already gone. Too bad. Anyway, Emma Kate was very quiet in the car yesterday when I picked her up. We were almost home when she piped up with, "Did Danny see a lizard?" I said, "Oh, did she see a lizard? When did she see it?" She paused a few seconds, then said, "The lizard was in the sandbox!" and started laughing hysterically. She is so crazy. I guess for her, turtle = lizard.
I am grumpy this morning. I have absolutely no reason to be - in fact I have reasons to be in a good mood - so I am hoping it's just morning grumpiness that will wear off. I think a lot of it is due to being tired. I've been busy and exercising hard and not getting enough sleep. The tiredness I usually feel on Fridays has hit me a day early this week.
One of the reasons why I ought to be in a good mood is that Emma Kate went to sleep on her own for her nap yesterday, and it was relatively painless for her. We all (including Danny and Papa) went out for ice cream last night to celebrate. She seems pretty OK with the whole concept. I am interested to see how it goes today. Just the same, we also picked up a copy of Elizabeth Pantley's No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers. I haven't even looked through it yet, but I imagine I will learn a thing or two. Even if it doesn't help us with Emma Kate, it's a good book to add to our parenting reference collection.
Oh, I have a funny to add... yesterday after Mom picked EK up from morning out, she saw a plastic turtle sandbox on the side of the road to be picked up as trash. She called me about it to let me know, and Chris actually went to look for it, but it was already gone. Too bad. Anyway, Emma Kate was very quiet in the car yesterday when I picked her up. We were almost home when she piped up with, "Did Danny see a lizard?" I said, "Oh, did she see a lizard? When did she see it?" She paused a few seconds, then said, "The lizard was in the sandbox!" and started laughing hysterically. She is so crazy. I guess for her, turtle = lizard.
3.08.2006
Spring is just around the corner and I am so ready! This weekend it's supposed to be in the 70s and I can't wait. I'm a little shocked at myself, but I seem to be converting to a definite warm-weather person. I get so tired of my hands and feet being cold. Check with me in August, though... hopefully I won't be complaining about the heat but I guess I might... isn't it human nature to be wishy-washy about the weather?
We're staying pretty busy around the Shaver abode. We're doing lots of church things, and I am keeping up with my running and have added weight lifting 2-3 times per week. I am also starting to think about getting a bike, and I look forward to doing some rollerblading once the days are longer.
We've got a ton of things we need to do around the house, from ordinary cleaning and organizing to some bigger things. Chris and I made lots of decisions while we were on our anniversary trip and had so much time to talk uninterrupted! Now we've just got to take action on those decisions. They involve painting, furniture, flooring, etc. and I am excited as the ideas take shape in my head.
I was really saddened to read about Dana Reeve dying of lung cancer. It seems so unfair after all their family has already been through, and I especially ache for their son, orphaned at 13. I can't imagine what kind of an effect that will have on him as a person.
To end on a happier note, let me give a brief update on Emma Kate. She's doing well. She seems to have made another language jump recently - when we got back from our trip this past weekend it seemed like she was more capable of holding a conversation than she was when we left. We (mostly Papa) are working on getting her to go to sleep for naps by lying down on her own instead of by being rocked. We don't give her naps anymore, and we still nurse to sleep at night, but when she is with Mom and Dad they rock her. It's hard for them though, because she is getting so big. Yesterday was the first day and Dad/Papa said it was a 3-ring circus in the crib. Finally he did rock her. I am trying to talk to her about it when she is with me to help reinforce the idea. She didn't cry and she seems fairly OK with the concept, but it's going to take her some time to learn. Once she learns to do it at their house, it will eventually be time for her to do it at bedtime at our house, too... but that's a little ways off yet and will depend on how soon we wean.
We are down to nursing once or twice a day most days. At this point I would no longer say that we are doing child-led weaning. It is more realistic to label it "gentle mother-led weaning." She has always wanted to nurse when I pick her up after work, and she has made a great issue of wanting to nurse at Dan and Papa's house. For various reasons, I decided I'd rather wait until we get home (a 10-minute drive). So, last week I didn't let her nurse there, but told her that we could once we got home. Well, by the time we get home, she forgets and doesn't ask. I feel a little guilty for not offering, but I have chosen to go with it. Certainly if she asked I would nurse her. The last few days she has not mentioned it at all when I pick her up or when we get home, and she seems perfectly content. Actually, she seems like she is starting to be ambivalent about the bedtime nursing, but I can't tell if that means something or if it's just that she doesn't want to go to sleep. Anyway, this all feels right to me and I do not feel like I'm withholding something she desperately needs or wants. My baby's growing up.
Wow, I don't post for nearly a month and then you get one about nursing a toddler! :)
We're staying pretty busy around the Shaver abode. We're doing lots of church things, and I am keeping up with my running and have added weight lifting 2-3 times per week. I am also starting to think about getting a bike, and I look forward to doing some rollerblading once the days are longer.
We've got a ton of things we need to do around the house, from ordinary cleaning and organizing to some bigger things. Chris and I made lots of decisions while we were on our anniversary trip and had so much time to talk uninterrupted! Now we've just got to take action on those decisions. They involve painting, furniture, flooring, etc. and I am excited as the ideas take shape in my head.
I was really saddened to read about Dana Reeve dying of lung cancer. It seems so unfair after all their family has already been through, and I especially ache for their son, orphaned at 13. I can't imagine what kind of an effect that will have on him as a person.
To end on a happier note, let me give a brief update on Emma Kate. She's doing well. She seems to have made another language jump recently - when we got back from our trip this past weekend it seemed like she was more capable of holding a conversation than she was when we left. We (mostly Papa) are working on getting her to go to sleep for naps by lying down on her own instead of by being rocked. We don't give her naps anymore, and we still nurse to sleep at night, but when she is with Mom and Dad they rock her. It's hard for them though, because she is getting so big. Yesterday was the first day and Dad/Papa said it was a 3-ring circus in the crib. Finally he did rock her. I am trying to talk to her about it when she is with me to help reinforce the idea. She didn't cry and she seems fairly OK with the concept, but it's going to take her some time to learn. Once she learns to do it at their house, it will eventually be time for her to do it at bedtime at our house, too... but that's a little ways off yet and will depend on how soon we wean.
We are down to nursing once or twice a day most days. At this point I would no longer say that we are doing child-led weaning. It is more realistic to label it "gentle mother-led weaning." She has always wanted to nurse when I pick her up after work, and she has made a great issue of wanting to nurse at Dan and Papa's house. For various reasons, I decided I'd rather wait until we get home (a 10-minute drive). So, last week I didn't let her nurse there, but told her that we could once we got home. Well, by the time we get home, she forgets and doesn't ask. I feel a little guilty for not offering, but I have chosen to go with it. Certainly if she asked I would nurse her. The last few days she has not mentioned it at all when I pick her up or when we get home, and she seems perfectly content. Actually, she seems like she is starting to be ambivalent about the bedtime nursing, but I can't tell if that means something or if it's just that she doesn't want to go to sleep. Anyway, this all feels right to me and I do not feel like I'm withholding something she desperately needs or wants. My baby's growing up.
Wow, I don't post for nearly a month and then you get one about nursing a toddler! :)
