Love is in the Air

I had the pleasure of watching my boys try to impress a girl today. We were at the "cool stairs" park (not the "snail park" or "rainbow park"), as we have lovingly named it. As Mason and Hunter played with the super cool water fountain (yep, just a water fountain), a little girl and her grandmother stopped by. For awhile, Mason just stared at her and Hunter climbed to the highest point of the jungle gym, announcing to the world how "big" he is. However, soon after, Hunter created an elaborate Star Wars game. He had two light sabers, Serenity (the little girl's name) had one, and Mason was of course assigned the role of "monster." And I tell you what, Mason embraced that role. He felt compelled to roar in the little girl's face any chance he had. He also thought it his duty to tell her to "go away" multiple times, only to then follow her wherever she went. I could tell that even for those brief twenty minutes, Mason was in love.

Speaking of love... it seems that my friend's little girl, Reagan, likes Hunter just a little bit. I told my friend yesterday that someday the following will probably happen: Mason will be totally in love with Reagan and Reagan will be totally in love with the older and more worldy Hunter. Mason will be heartbroken of course and Hunter will... who knows. I have no idea as I only had sisters and have never really understood men. The pet name that was being thrown around yesterday during dinner between Hunter and Reagan- "macaroni!"

Hunter Pants Update

This is a picture from Hunter's fifth birthday party in early May. I selected it because Hunter went through a stage where he didn't smile naturally for the camera. All kids seem to go through that stage and Hunter's just ended. He'll smile naturally but now actually turns his back on the camera. I wonder when that stage will end.

Hunter had his adenoids removed and ear tubes placed in late June, which has completely restored his hearing. His speech is very clear now and he doesn't seem as nervous about answering questions. I would imagine that his hearing loss made conversations very difficult for him. I'm so happy that when he enters kindergarten, he won't have problems hearing his teacher and classmates. In regards to kindergarten, Hunter is putting up a fight. He informs people when they inquire about kindergarten that he "just wants to stay home with mommy." I'm sure once he gets there and meets new friends, he'll love it. Right now, he seems very nervous.

Hunter loves his Wii Star Wars game so much that I have to incentivise the crap out of it. "Okay, Hunter... after you play with toys, play outside, do your workbook, etc..... you can play your game." "Hunter, if you don't stop messing with Mason's hair, I'll put the Wii controllers away." On and on and on.

I took Hunter and Mason to the Children's Museum last week and Hunter absolutely loved it. Because he loves dinosaurs, I'm thinking of trying to take him to the Science museum before school begins in the fall.

Hunter's Favorite book- Star Wars of course! I taught him how to "dog ear" a page to mark his place. He thought that was pretty cool.

Hunter loves to swim in lakes. If I allow him to play freely, he is very brave. The second I try to teach him how to swim, he is scared to death. I need to get him enrolled in swimming lessons but am afraid that he won't want to do it. Hunter is also a very fast runner and a strong climber. We discovered a very cool park yesterday. Lake Minnetonka Regional Park has the coolest, most elaborate play system I have seen. Hunter went wild and had so much fun!

Hunter was so excited about Mitch's surprise birthday ice cream cake that he spilled the beans the second Mitch walked in the door. "Dad! We bought you a cake. It's a surprise. We put it in the freezer!"

Hunter's favorite color is "red." Just like Mitch.

Hunter insists that Darth Vader is a good guy because he "turns good" in the end. Hunter has a red light saber just like Darth Vader but again, Hunter insists that he is one of the good guys. Hunter also likes to pretend he is Hans Solo.... Hunter actually has three light sabers- purple, blue, and red. He asked this morning for a Star Wars "gun" because Princess Leia has one. I'm not crazy about guns and I'm not crazy about adding more toys for the millions we already have. I told him to put it on his "Santa list." So, we begin talking about Christmas already, in July.

A Mason Man Update

This picture was taken at the beginning of May 2009. I selected it because it captures Mason perfectly. Mason loves to be included when it comes to Hunter and any of Hunter's friends. What you don't see in this picture: Hunter and cousin Hudson. They are watching a show and I'm pretty sure that Mason started laughing because Hunter and Hudson did. Mason is the "me too" kid. Anything his big brother does, he wants to do too. Yesterday, Mason reluctantly followed his brother into the child center at Life Time Fitness. Usually, Mason cries when I leave him, but on this day, he was allowed to play with the big kids. Watching him follow Hunter in was precious. Mason seemed so tentative but willing to do what his big brother was doing.

Mason is a chatterbox. This morning he informed me that he wanted "oatmeal" for lunch. He got it. He can also speak, not always but sometimes, in complete sentences. This morning he said, "I want to go in there." He says "please" and "pank you." Actually, he says, "pank you mommy." In Mason's world, all men are "daddy" and all women are "mommy." He often greets strangers in the store with a "hi mommy" or "hi daddy." The hero in Mason's world is currently Mitch. Mitch's leaving a room can make Mason dissolve into sobs. Mason cries a lot. He's at that stage. He tattles a lot too. While he cannot fully explain what happened, there is a lot of pointing toward a certain five-year-old and an accusatory name uttered, "Hunter."

Mason is currently asserting his independence by refusing to sit in his high chair. I do have to force the issue sometimes when he eats yogurt or something. Yesterday I made the mistake of giving Mason a yogurt while I was on the phone. Because I wanted to finish my conversation, I let Mason sit at the table. All was well until I realized that Mason had dipped his hand in the yogurt and was touching everything that could stain, including the carpet and our couch.

Mason's favorite possession is his "blankie." He still chews on it and loves to carry it around with him in the morning. Mason loves to play "downstairs" with Hunter (all words in quotations are words that Mason can say). He loves to play "outside." He loves to drink "juice" nonstop.

Mason will turn two-years-old on September 15th. We are planning his first birthday party. Last year he didn't have one because he had something contagious. It may have been RSV. Here's hoping that everyone stays healthy for this year's bash.

Tri Tri Tri Again

It's Tuesday and the triathlon was Saturday and I'm just now starting to feel a bit more normal. The days leading up to the race were difficult and long. I don't deal well with anticipation so I was super nervous, jittery, agitated, you name it. I took something to help me sleep every night, including the night before the race. On Friday, Jodi and I drove into Minneapolis to pick up our race packets at the Convetion Center. I spent the rest of Friday, literally, pacing. I had a hard time eating (that's been an issue for a couple weeks). Anyway.

We set our alarms for 4 a.m. because we were told to arrive at Lake Nokomis for body numbering no later than 5:30 a.m. Mitch was our one-man entourage. He walked both of our bikes while we carried all the stuff we needed at transition. I was shocked at how packed the place was at 5 a.m. The transition area was chaotic to say the least and full of very athletic, competitive looking people. Setting up the transition area was tricky. That's something I guess I'll learn with time. And the time went fast that day. Just as I finished setting up my transition, we were instructed to get out of the transition area, as it was closing. Before I knew it, I was by myself on the beach with thousands of others ;) and in line to start. Jodi started about twenty-five minutes after me. Overall, the race was pretty good. The one-mile swim was shockingly long and people were crazy on the first right turn. I felt like people were thrashing around me. My leg cramped up once after I kicked into the person swimming next to me (accidentally) and I felt myself go into a little panic. I wasn't sure whether I should stop then and wave over a lifeguard or keep going and hope for the best. I opted for the latter and did make it out of the lake. I can't stress enough how long the lake swim was. I think I need to upload a picture just so you can see how long it was.

So many people told me that the bike course was flat. Hmmm. Didn't seem flat to me and I cursed my damn hibrid bike the entire time. Road bikes whizzed past me no problem. I had to stand up to get up hills on my thousand pound two-wheeler while others just seemed to leisurely pedal upward. I can't say much more about the bike except that I still haven't forgiven my Trek and am in the market for a new road bike. I'm serious. I don't even want to go out on a family ride I'm so pissed at it.

We ran around Lake Nokomis and then some twice during the last leg of the race. I felt pretty good on the first lap and then something happened during the second. As I've told some people, of all the events we do during a triathlon, the run is my best and I can usually kick it into high gear near the end. During the second lap my chest and lungs started really hurting and I couldn't seem to pick up the pace at all. Some nice lady started running next to me during that time, wanting to talk (probably as a distraction) but I was in a very bad place at that time and feel bad that I wasn't a bit more personable. The run took me about ten minutes longer than it typically does. I guess I was pooped after swimming and biking.

My family was very supportive during the race. My mom, sister Sarah, and Mitch were there to cheer me on after each leg. Mitch was really cute during the race, as my mom has informed me multiple times. I guess he was running alongside me after the swim yelling "good job honey! good job honey!" At the end of the race, he yelled to someone he knew in the VIP area, "that's my wife!" It's nice to know that he felt so happy for me. He was as nervous as I was before the race!

As I crossed the finish line, I heard the announcer say something about "Here comes Bethany crossing the finish line." Now, in that moment, I thought, "That's weird, someone else named Bethany is crossing the finish the same time I am." I guess in times of extreme exhaustion, I have trouble putting two and two together.

Post-Race News: I am going to start training for a 10 mile run (September 27th- Women Run the Cities). Training for something rather than just working out keeps me motivated. I went for a run (/walk) tonight. Hilarious!

A Detour from the Usual

Let's call this week "The Week of Obsessing About Not Drowning in Lake Nokomis When I Attempt to Swim a Mile and Not Falling Off My Bike During the 25 miles of Road I Have to Race and Not Passing Out During the 6.2 Mile Run After Doing Everything That Came Before."

Stuff About the Swim: I have completed two lakes swims to date and will have my third and final practice in the lake tomorrow night. Getting into the lake calmed some fears and ignited others. I can do the freestyle in the lake and I can sight okay. However, lake water moves, so I felt like I was fighting the current. I also felt like my body was stuck in the middle of the lake. I felt I was making absolutely no progress.

Oh, and I've found that so many people feel compelled to share their horror stories just before you step into the water. In the past four days, two people told me about triathlon drownings. Then a couple clever fishermen thought it would be funny to talk about the giant fish swimming in Cedar Lake just as I was stepping in. A 5 foot musky (spelling?) you say? I could take him! An alligator sighting in 1965? Alligatros don't scare the likes of me!

Stuff About the Bike: I biked a bit yesterday. Yep, those clipless pedals are still causing me some angst. I can get my feet in and out no problem except in times of stress. :) Let's hope that I see no bumps, potholes, other bikers, etc.

Stuff About the Run: I ran 6 miles on Friday night and felt pretty good. I'm really not nervous about the run, other than the fact that it's the last leg of the triathlon. I expect I'll be tired. Hopefully the adrenaline will continue pumping through my veins during the entire race. Too bad I can't bottle up and give myself intravaneously some of that infinite energy my little ones have.

And Being the Girl I Am: I now I have my pink tanktop to wear over my tri suit prior to the race. It matches the cute flowers on my tri shorts and the pink water bottle I purchased yesterday. I have my waterproof mascara. I have my Luna Moon "Nutrition for Women" snacks for the bike ride. I also have plans to head out for a night on the town after the race. Yeah, so a day of work is enough to make me go to bed at 8 p.m. on a Friday night. I'll so be ready to go out and celebrate.

Word of the Day: Poop

I love summer vacation.... but, today has been one of the days that I yearn to go back to work. I awoke with a child literally stomping on my head. Soon after, the yelling and the crying began. Hunter usually has a reason when he is yelling and screaming. The reason might be utterly ridiculous but I usually know why. Mason is another story altogether. He will cry if the wind blows his hair in the wrong direction, I swear. Anyway...

Another reason my head is about to spin off my neck... Hunter won't stop saying "poop." Poopy, poop, poop. All at random. I don't know why it's driving me mad, but at one point, I thought I would start throwing things, maybe myself, against a wall.

I love my children. They are the most important human beings in the world to me and I'd gladly do anything for them and for their happiness, safety, and well being. That said, they are driving me bonkers and I don't know what to do. Luckily, it's now raining outside, so we get to be couped up for the time being. Hunter has pushed the couch away from the wall (yes, he has the strength to do this himself) and they are now playing behind it, on it, in front of it, etc. And with light sabers, so I'm sure at some point, one of them will get hit in the face and the crying will start again.

Oh, and Mason found a sharpie market and drew all over his face!