Nothing Better

Do you remember childhood summers spent running around in the sun? There was nothing better than a sprinkler on a hot day. (Unless, of course, you had a pool.)

But even then, there was just something about running through the grass, shrieking when the cold water hit your back.

Just looking at these pictures makes me long for the ice cream man to come driving by.

Pride Goeth...

There I was--getting my run in first thing this morning, knowing the rest of the day would be too busy. And hot.

You can picture me, can't you? Flying down the road, graceful as a gazelle, ponytail swinging behind me.

Oh wait, that was the other girl out for her morning run. I was the one huffing and puffing in my over sized t-shirt (actually Hubba Hubba's t-shirt), lumbering down the road.

I was just at the point in my still very short (I'm still a little paranoid about my feet) run where I was feeling pretty good about myself. I had a pretty good pace going, (for me) and I felt ok.

And just as I was trying to figure out what had lodged itself in my nostrils that was preventing me from breathing through my nose (you can use your imagination to fill in the sound effects) I heard the sound of footsteps coming up behind me. Fast.

I looked, and then I saw her. Seventeen, maybe eighteen years old, in a cute tank top, running like the wind. Definitely not making snorting sounds through her nose, or labouring in any way. She quickly passed me, and I spent the rest of my run home watching her get farther and farther away.

After I got over myself, I realised that it didn't really matter. I was still out there, trying my best. I thought of what I think whenever I see someone trying something that I'm already good at. I never think to myself, "Gee, I do that so much better." Generally, I'm just excited to see someone trying.

And if the other girl out there running this morning thought about me at all, her thoughts were likely similar.

I hope.

Hello, Old Friends...

Once upon a time, I used to run. And please understand that when I say "run" I mean "jog". It's just that running sounds so much more athletic to me than jogging. Especially the kind of jogging I do. It's more like bouncy walking.

Anyway.

At some point, after Wiggle Man was born, I did something awful to my feet. Perhaps all those workout tapes I did barefoot had something to do with it. Whatever the cause, I found myself unable to run without severe pain in my feet, shooting all the way up my shins and calves.

And I missed running. Ten Minute Trainer--you are my friend, but you're no substitute for getting out of the house and just running.

I tried new shoes. I tried inserts in the new shoes. I tried the inserts in the old shoes. And then I gave up.

But in the past few weeks, I've noticed that when playing softball, my feet didn't hurt when I ran. Hmm. So, I worked up the courage, and very, very slowly started jogging down the street.

Nothing.

No pain. No agony. Just...running.

So, hello old friends. I've missed you.

Peevishness

So, we all have pet peeves. I'm sure you have your share. You know, things like drivers who cut you off, misspelled signs, or a GPS that says it's taking you to a Dairy Queen, only to bring you to, well, not a Dairy Queen.

I did not get a Peanut Buster Parfait.

But that's not the pet peeve I'd like to share with you today. No, this is a much larger problem. Worldwide, in fact.

I'm talking about gravity.

Yes, friends, gravity. It's one of my pet peeves. At this point some of you will try and explain to me the various benefits of gravity. And I suppose, yes, there are some good things. Like keeping iced tea in my glass, instead of all over everything.

I'm just not sure that outweighs the stuff that drives me crazy.

Perhaps it would be easier if gravity didn't seem out to get me. But it seems any time I try to do anything, every inanimate object in my general vicinity falls to the ground. If I try to get lotion from the cabinet in the bathroom, the hairspray will come tumbling to the ground. Hand soap? Well, just trying to use that causes Hubba Hubba's deodorant to fly across the room.

By this point you're thinking that my bathroom is just too cluttered. There may be something too that theory, especially if you saw the size of my bathroom. But let's think about some of gravity's other pitfalls.

Like when I fall down. I think that's more the fault of gravity than any clumsiness on my part. It can't be my fault when I'm walking down the street, perfectly innocent, no obstacles, and suddenly, out of nowhere, gravity pulls me down to the ground.

And let's think about the fact that if we lived on, say, Pluto, I'd weigh next to nothing. Of course, then people who weighed even less than next to nothing would then come up with some new system of weights and measures, rather than having to resort to decimals, so I'd end up weighing something like 45, 000 Plutomagrams, or something.

Gravity.

It's not your friend.

His First Car

Look out, world! Wiggle Man's got wheels.

Apparently, this is what happens when Hubba Hubba has time to kill at the mall (imagine how often that happens.) He'd been wanting to get one of these little cars for The Wiggle for a while now, found himself at the mall with some time on his hands, and voila. (I wonder if I should drop some hints about a stand mixer....or perhaps a new pair of shoes. )




It seems that Hubba Hubba and the Fisher Price Company have slightly different definitions of the terms "minimal assembly required." I think it's the "minimal" part they differ upon.

Luckily for Hubba Hubba, Wiggle Man was ready and willing to help.

He was even willing to take it for a test drive. Wheels? He don't need no stinkin' wheels.

There was no keeping Wiggle Man from this car. Let's just say Hubba Hubba learned his lesson, and now puts together any new toys while The Wiggle is conveniently sleeping.

Here he is, in all his new found freedom. Wiggle Man hasn't quite got the hang of going forward yet, but he does a mean reverse.

Beep, beep!

Paper Thick

Yesterday I finally tried something I've been wanting to do for awhile--make paper. The whole concept has been intriguing me for some time, so when I saw the Bill Nye Paper Recycling Kit in the clearance aisle at Walmart, well, I couldn't help myself.



I decided to recycle some of Wiggle Man's "art."



Step One: Rip everything to shreds (very therapeutic) and soak for at least two hours.











Step Two: Put the mushy paper in the mixer. Bill recommends adding gelatin to the water if you plan on writing on it.








Step Three: Give up on the hand mixer, and throw everything into the blender. (Seriously.) Also, add some food colouring, so the pulp changes from puke grey to puke green.

Step Four: Forget to take the picture of Step Four, which involves scooping pulp onto the mesh screen seen here, and gently moving it around under the water so the pulp spreads evenly. If you look carefully, you can see the heart shaped form that Bill provides, along with some other shapes if regular old rectangular paper doesn't quite do it for you.

Step Five: Cover the pulp and the mesh screen with one of these handy-dandy cloths, squeeze out excess water, flip over and peel off the mesh screen. Then put the cloth with the pulp on it onto the press. Cover with another handy-dandy cloth, put the top on the press, and tighten the nuts. Over tighten, so that the plastic snaps, rendering it unusable for future paper projects.

Step Six: Leave your very thick paper to dry. Apparently for much longer than the recommended 24 hours.

All sarcasm aside, I think it's a great project. Perhaps not as durable as I'd like, but for what I paid for it, I'm ok with it. I think Wiggle Man would probably love it if he were older.

Wordless Wednesday

Not Me! Monday

It's been a while since I've participated in MckMama's awesome blog carnival--Not Me! Monday. If you'd like to check our her blog, and other bloggers who are participating. It's like free therapy.

Here goes:

This week I did not have to chase Wiggle Man through not one, but two kitchen restaurants.

I did not eat a pint of Ben and Jerry's.

I did not let Wiggle Man eat an inordinate amount of french fries while we traveled, simply to avoid meal time arguments.

I did not sleep in my clothes one night while we were away, simply because I was too lazy to change into jammies. That same night I did not let Wiggle Man sleep all by himself on the air mattress because he was too afraid to sleep in the pack n' play in a new place for the third time that week and every time I rolled over on the air mattress it woke him up so I slept on the floor beside the air mattress and made Hubba Hubba sleep on the couch.

I do not enjoy the use of run-on sentences.

I do not have several baskets of clean laundry to put away.

That being said, I need to start procrastinating. While it's not likely I'll tackle that completely fictional laundry right now, I should be a little productive this afternoon.

Ta-ta!

Seeing How The Other Half Lives

A thousand apologies for my blog absence. Since Grandma's passing, and funeral, I just haven't felt up to it. I had my lap top with me the whole trip, in case inspiration hit, but...nothing.

Today, though, I'm feeling a little more myself. So I thought I'd share some of my experiences on my recent trip to the True North Strong and Free.

Living where I do in the actual "garden" part of the Garden State, motherhood can be a little different than the experiences of other mommies. This past week, I got to see how the other half lives. Well, the other third. Rural Mommy got to experience a little of Suburban Mommy's experience. (Urban Mommy is a whole other experience.)

There are a couple of things I'm terribly jealous of. Like parks. How awesome to be able to walk to a park. Rural Mommy can drive 2o minutes and get to a park. But it's just not the same.

We took serious advantage of the proximity of a great park to my parents' house. This is Uncle D, helping Wiggle Man down the slide.

Wiggle Man and I got to experience a Mommy and me swim time at a local pool. How great is that? Three dollars and a change room filled with mommies and kiddies later, we were in a pool swarmed with people. Wiggle Man wasn't used to all that chaos, so we headed to a less crowded part of the pool. Eventually, though, he settled down and spent a long time carefully pouring water from one toy watering pot to another.

This is cool stuff, people.

After that, lunch at McDonald's (grilled cheese and apple slices for Wiggles, nuggets and apple slices for Mommy) and then Wiggle Man spent a loooonnnng time playing in the play park. I was a little envious of the camaraderie among those in the "mommy circuit." Rural mommies generally don't have a "mommy circuit."

All this comparison got me thinking. There's a lot to be said for Suburban Mommies, and, while I'd love to join their ranks, Rural Mommy has her moments, too. Rural Mommy can take her kids to feed the chickens, or watch the ducks swim in the stream.

Like I said, Rural Mommy has her moments.

Contrast

This post has been milling around in my brain for the last couple of days. I'm still not sure it will come out right, so bear with me.

It's been a little odd around here, lately.

The juxtaposition of life and death, goodbyes and new beginnings is jarring.

My Grandma passed away Wednesday. That in itself is a jumble of emotions. I'm sad, obviously. Sad for me, because I'll miss her, sad for my Mom, and the rest of my family. At the same time, I'm happy for Grandma. Happy because I know she's free from the pain and frailty that have been plaguing her, happy that she's with Jesus.

One of my oldest, dearest friends gave birth to her firstborn this week, a little girl.

Life, death.

There is a new beginning for my little family in the near future. I'm going to hold off on details for a little bit, since there are still some steps to complete, but I can't wait to see what God will do. But--new beginnings mean other endings.

Hello, goodbye.

It's interesting to be so excited, and so sad at the same time. I guess that's what life is. Nature itself is a cycle of life coming from death.

There's something profound in that.

Sorry Guys

My apologies if you've been checking here regularly, and have been frustrated to see the same post over and over again. I haven't written anything new in the last few days. To say it's been hectic around the ol' farmstead would be a bit of an understatement.

We've had guests. I love having guests--especially these friends, since we never get to see them.

We've had a wedding. And by "had a wedding" I mean that Hubba Hubba, Wiggle Man and I were all part of the wedding party. (Wiggle Man was a reluctant Ring Bearer. He wouldn't walk down the aisle, but we got some super adorable pictures of him in a tux afterwards.) This was a huge honour for our family to all be involved. And, it was a huge undertaking, in terms of planning and executing. There aren't many people we'd put ourselves through all that for, but the new Mr. and Mrs. E are definitely in that select group. We love you guys!

Also, my grandmother's health is rapidly declining. It sounds like she'll be meeting Jesus any day now. I'm trying to keep up with the laundry, in case rapid packing and driving to the True North Strong and Free is required in the next few days.

We also have one event up our sleeves that is currently scheduled for later this week, but may be postponed depending on Grandma's health. I'll keep that one a secret for now.

(And no, it's not that one of my very besties is scheduled to deliver her first little one on Thursday...although that's never far from my mind, either.) :)