End of year fun... with one minor glitch

Today was Liam's end-of-year field trip. The kids went to Greenview Aviaries and I was lucky enough to be able to take the day off to join them. (There was quite a large parent turnout - I'm still not sure at what point parents stop attending these things. I don't really recall a lot of parent chaperones on field trips when I was a kid, but maybe I just didn't pay attention to them.)

The weather was great and it was an awesome day. I think the kids would have spent more time in the splash pad had it been a little warmer, but there was lots of other stuff to keep everyone busy. The time flew by. We easily could have spent more time watching the animals and we only covered a fraction of the playground.

The zipline was the biggest hit with everyone. It's probably just about the oldest piece of equipment there and it's built out of rotting wood, rusty cables, and a loop of rope to put your foot through. I'm sure it's going to fall apart any day now. And when it does, it's going to go down with kids all over it - they can't get enough.

We did have a big damper on our day. Liam's arms and legs are positively covered in what is best described as something akin to poison ivy. He came home from school yesterday covered in an itchy, red, blistery looking rash. It's especially bad on his forearms, but goes all the way up to his shoulders and on his legs it goes up to his crotch. Nothing on his face or trunk. The only guess I have for what happened is that he has taken to playing soccer at recess each day, and yesterday he lost his ball in the cedar hedge that runs along the edge of the school yard, and he had to go in to retrieve it. He's been in the cedars before and never reacted like this, but maybe there is something else growing back there? I feel awful for him. I've been dosing him with Benadryl and swabbing the worst spots with  calamine lotion, but I am not sure that it is helping any.

The rash is making him miserable, and the Benadryl is making him tired - so tired that he fell asleep on the bus in both directions. So I'm sorry that this had to coincide with his fun day. This morning I asked whether he wanted to stay home from school, given how miserable he seemed, but he looked horrified at the prospect. So we went on the field trip and faced the stares from some of the other kids who were convinced that he has chicken pox. Here's hoping a good night's sleep helps and he wakes up feeling much better tomorrow.

#2

 Saturday morning saw us back on the soccer field, and Mallory had her game on.

Yes, that's her scoring her second goal of the season.

She was pretty proud of herself... if you can't tell from the grin on her face as she runs back to center field. The fact that her coach gave her a high five was the icing on the cake.

Before we'd left the house that morning, I'd made an off-the-cuff comment about going for ice cream if she scored a goal. I hadn't thought we'd have to follow through, but there was no backing out. So before noon on Saturday, the kids had both one of these half-time ice pop treats (the red of which pretty much matches Mallory's face after half an hour of running around in the heat!), AND an ice cream. It was kind of a no-rules weekend like that. Because Saturday night, we made good on the promise to take the kids to see Madagascar 3, and of course that meant popcorn, too.

Friday night fail

 5:30 p.m.: show up at the movie theatre to buy tickets to opening night of Madagascar 3. Doors are locked. Head over to the adjacent restaurant for dinner.

 6:40 p.m.: return to the theatre after dinner to purchase tickets for 7:20 p.m. show. Be informed that the show has already sold out. Console crying child.

Yes, I know you can buy tickets online to prevent this kind of thing from happening, but we have discount tickets we were able to buy through the social club at work... i.e. coupons that you can't redeem online. So we used them in-person to buy tickets for the Saturday night show. Here's hoping for better luck tomorrow.

Bedtime routine

I was going to post some photos from last weekend today, but then I got this photo last night. This is what our new bedtime routine looks like. The kids always used to go to bed at the same time, but Liam started complaining that he was lying awake. And the thing about Liam and sleep is, you know he's being honest. He's not just yanking our chains to try to stay up too late, because he values his sleep too much. He is really good at going to bed early when he's tired and staying up when he's not. I could take a lesson from him. Anyway, Mallory now goes to bed at her original time, and Liam gets to stay up a half hour later. We spend this time reading, which is Liam's new passion. He is getting great pleasure out of picking up long chapter books at school, 50-60 pages each, and polishing them off in a night or two. He picks books that belong to a series, like Cam Jansen or Magic School Bus, and then follows the characters through multiple stories. He used to read out loud to me, but there wasn't a whole lot of point, because he knows all the words. So we read separately but together now, and occasionally he'll interrupt me to confirm that this word means what he thinks it does. I get a big kick out of seeing him starting to devour books because I was like that as a kid, too. I love the fact that this is time that we get to spend together, but we also both get to enjoy an activity that we like. I have not had much time for reading lately, but this might be the ticket to getting my foot back in the door.

Man, I love the internet!

37

This time last week, I was busy having a birthday. Not a milestone year for any reason, but the gate is that much closer to swinging shut, if you know what I mean. It wound up being a pretty great day because I was initially scheduled to drive up to Toronto with a coworker for a meeting. Number one, I hate traveling for work, and number two, when I have to travel for work I prefer to do so solo. So when the meeting was canceled at the last minute, I was elated.

Still, it was a workday for us and a school day for the kids, and gymnastics night for Mallory, so there wasn't a whole lot of time to do anything extraordinary. We BBQ'd some steaks for dinner and followed them up with an ice cream cake from Coldstone Creamery. I'm glad we tried it but we probably won't get another one anytime soon.

Mallory was quite excited to move on to the presentation of the gifts. In typical Mallory fashion, she made me six separate birthday cards. Then she gave me a "pink bracelet" which is really a RoadID. It's a good idea and now I wear it every time I go out. Liam gave me a running visor, and he must have asked half a dozen times before the Trot to the Beach whether I was going to wear it. It was not a particularly sunny day, but how could I say no? Chad gave me a few books and they are both awesome reads. I finished A Life Without Limits a couple of days ago and am now totally engrossed in You Are An Ironman. Chad says he will no longer buy me books if I'm just going to use them up so fast.

I also received some cool vintage glassware and candy from friends... proof that there is more to me these days than just sports.

But back to the sports thing. The second part of my birthday gift is due to arrive at my local bike shop any day now. I am going to T-R-Y a road bike, and clipless pedals to boot. Hoping that I don't have to use the RoadID while learning how to ride this thing.

Trot to the Beach 2012

Today, I am walking stiffly, very much like the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz (which we recorded off the TV a few weeks ago, and the kids have been enjoying watching it... though I have wondered, from time to time, whether it's really a good idea to let Mallory see the tornado carrying Dorothy and her house away... she does not need any new ideas in her head.) Yesterday morning was the Trot to the Beach - "From Blenheim to Erieau the Long Way", as the race's tagline says. Chad and I both ran and it was convenient for us (not sure how convenient for Gramma and Grampa) since their summer place is not far from Blenheim, so we were able to drop the kids off to stay with them while we ran, and then they met us at the finish line.

(The course was set such that they were able to watch us at a point with about 1 km to go, and then again at the finish line itself, and there were Liam and Mallory cheerfully waving and sucking on popsicles as I went by at the 20km mark with another km ahead of me, and I did very nearly quit right then and there at the sight of both them, and the popsicles.)

The race was OK. Just OK. I could tell early on in the run that it was not going to be a great run, and it wasn't terrible, either, although the last few km were more painful than I expected them to be. The day did not turn out to be too sunny and the first half of the race was into the wind, but at least it wasn't as windy as it had been the few days prior. My finishing time for the half marathon was 2:05:18 and yes, I wish I'd known I was that close to breaking 2:05, for surely I could have found another 18 seconds out there. The last half marathon I ran was the Chilly Half in Burlington in March 2011, and my time then was 2:10:something, so I did improve. (Of course, there wasn't snow on the ground at this race either, so I figured I would.)

I was actually feeling pretty good about the race, my time, the whole nine yards until I checked the official race results last night, and saw that my 2:05:18 put me at 17/21 for my age group, or bottom 20%. Seriously! When did I fall from being a respectable middle-of-the-packer to such a total back-of-the-packer? This is what really knocked the wind from my sails. Chad broke the two hour barrier so he accomplished his goal. My ultimate goal is to break 2 hours, too, and I am thinking of doing another race in the fall, so maybe I will get one step closer to it then.

For now, though, I am looking forward to spending a little bit less time running. Triathlon season is underway and my first tri is less than two weeks away. In training for the Trot, I feel like I have been neglecting the bike and the swim a little, so it's time to become more well-rounded once again. I am hoping not to fall into the bottom 20% again at Tomatoman. On the bright side, here's a cute picture of all of us at the finish line. (Albeit with a rocking case of 'visor hair'.) If that doesn't bother me too much, then I think I will tick this off as the June entry for Four People Twelve Times. And only three days into the month, too!