Braggadocio

Dave worked today and I was so chill about it. I took the kids to the zoo, the library, the grocery store, and Choo Choo Bob's. And I didn't yell at or rush my children once. SuperMom? I think so.

Come On In

I took Sam to his swimming class for the first time tonight. Dave has been talking up Sam's progress, and I was excited to see what he'd been up to.

You might recall that we used to hold Sam's hand while he watched his own swimming class in action. But now the boy is doing it!

He puts his head in the water, floats on his back, and even kicks and paddles his way across the lane. I mean, it's sort of a flailing motion and the untrained observer might think he's actually struggling quite a bit, but believe me, he's doing it!

I almost cried.

On the way home I told Sam, "I'm proud of you." And he replied, "I am too."

We Built This City

We've been working on the new garage forever now (and by we, I mean Dave, of course). Today he had his dad and brother over to put something that may or may not have been sheetrock (I don't really know what any of the materials are called) onto the ceiling (I'm also not certain that I can all where they put the material the ceiling). While they worked I took care of Sam, Eloise, and my awesome nephew, O (which is, let's be clear, helping with the garage).

Taking care of three children wasn't so hard, I found, especially when I put on some Okee Dokee Brothers and gave everyone an instrument.

I mean, parts of it were hard. But only when one of my own children cried incessantly over not being able to ride a bicycle twice her size (Eloise) or continued to knock over the smaller children (Sam).

Bon Retour

We're back now and recovering well from a lovely, lovely weekend away. The kids stayed with Nana and Papa, and the best sign we could have that they loved every minute was this morning when Eloise ran after Dave on his way out the door yelling, "Nana! Nana!" As in, please take me to Nana's house immediately. Things are decidedly less fun at our house, but you're stuck here, kid. I'm not leaving you again for a long time.

Beau Parc

Dave and I are in Montreal. It's quite lovely. Mont Royal, for which the city is named, is spectacular. There's a short cut to the top of the mountain but somehow we missed that turn. In the end, that was the best way to go.

Big Brother

Eloise won't go anywhere without Bear-Bear. Today on our fall hike at the cabin, Sam had this covered. 

Ebb. Flow.

What a week. What a week! There were fevers, runny noses, and sneezes. There were confusing conversations and deadlines missed. There were new teacher breakdowns; mistakes, both large and small; late night phone meetings; team brainstorming; tentative solutions; and the need for follow-up. There was missed sleep and early mornings. And then new fevers, runny noses, and sneezes. 

Some weeks are like this. I'm trying not to overthink or dramatize it. 

It's Saturday and we're moving on. 

Race Day

It's a week late, but here are the results of our marathon weekend last.

Dave: He ran the marathon. Nobody was overly surprised by this, but there was a legit concern that his injured calf would either hurt too much or that the absence of a real training regimen would do him in. In the end, he was just 20 minutes slower than his usual pace but still faster than any marathon I've ever run. He plans to run it again next year.

Sam: He ran a spirited half mile. It's clear that Sam really loves being cheered for. He gets a little air when someone calls his name. It's adorable. I plan to cheer for him for the rest of his life.

Eloise: She ran the toddler trot. And I mean she ran the toddler trot like she knew it was a race and planned to win it. Also, adorable. And a little alarming.

Me: I didn't run anything, but I did support all of the runners and hosted various other supporters who came for the whole weekend (thanks Mom and Dad!) or for a few hours. I loved it. Next year I'll hope to have my name drawn again for the 10-mile. But our family marathon weekend was full enough this year.