Little Bits of Life

So, I have found myself not really taking any time to blog at all-- this because when something happens, I feel like I need the time to sit down and really write about it, and that's time I don't have. Therefore, I'm thinking I'll just type in little blurbs here and there, one liners even, and if it makes no sense to anyone but, I guess that's OK, right?

--I am currently so sore I have to brace myself getting in and out of a chair. Did 2 personal training sessions 2 days apart, without enough time to recover, on Tues and Thurs. Being stubborn, I also did 4.5 miles of cardio on Tues after training, did 4.5 miles again on Wed, and yesterday got to the gym twice-- once in the early a.m. for training with Cathy, and then again because my kids wanted to go play in the kids area at the gym that evening. I didn't really know what to do with myself while they were playing (and they didn't want me playing with them), so I suited up and did 5 miles upstairs while they played. It's amazing to me how my legs can be in SO much pain just walking down the steps, but once I get going running or on the elliptical, I don't even feel them. Until later.

--Jake is so funny right now-- favorite show is Spirderman & His Amazing Friends, from the 70's. It's on JETIX. He has memorized the whole opening sequence and does all the moves right along with Spiderman, Firestar, and Iceman through the opening credits, complete with pretending to swing off and leap from buildings (AKA ottoman/ sofa) and pretend "running" after bad guys (AKA running in place, and doing the same arm motions as Iceman). He had be laughing so hard last night watching him do this, and he had no idea anything was even funny.

--Jake also thinks he is a knight. About 3 out of 7 nights, he has to go to sleep with his 2 plastic knight swords crossed over his chest.

-- Last night he insisted on going to sleep wearing a headlamp with a red LED light. I had to take it off him once he fell asleep so he wouldn't choke.

--Mia does not like smoothies. We discovered this after spending $4 for a kids smoothie that she begged for. She took one sip, and threw it down, announcing, "This does not taste like pink chocolate milk at ALL!" Bye bye, four bucks.

--They love watching commercials during kids' shows. Don't even think about TIVO'ing through them, or you'll have to back it all up and start over.

-- They told me PaPa took them for a walk deep in the forest, and they had to run really really fast to get away from a pack of coyotes trying to bite them. Luckily, a big green "lucky snake" saved them all and they were able to get out of the forest alive. Funny, I've never seen that forest or coyotes at my parents' house.

--I let them sleep in earlier this week when I didn't have to be at work early-- once we got going, I took them to their favorite store to pick out their own flavors of PopTarts-- Ameristop, AKA "The Pop Tart Gas Station!" As we were driving there, Jakob got very excited and started exclaiming, "Mommy, Mommy, it's God's BOAT! It's God's BOAT! Look, you're going to MISS IT!" I had no idea what he was talking about. Then, on the was back from the Pop Tart Gas Station, I saw it-- there, off the the left in the backyard of one of our more eccentric neighbors, was a kids' playhouse/swingset like thing that was probably supposed to be a pirate ship. It is a rather large wooden monstrosity that likely violates some Homeowners Association rule, but to Jakob, Mia, and even to me--- there it was--- Noah's Ark. "God lives in our nighborhood!" Mia contributed.

--Mia has a very active imagination. 2 Weekends ago, we were going to a friend's house for dinner and all going around the house getting ready to leave. Mia came into my bathroom while I was fixing my hair and told me, "Mommy, Sorry to tell you this, but I'm going to have to be late for dinner." (Yes, she is only 4 y/o but speaks very maturely like this sometimes) She explained further, with a big sigh, that "Oo Oo Aa Aa's (her monkey) family just showed up at my door-- they didn't even tell me they were coming-- and now I have to throw them a party. So I guess I'll have to be late for dinner." She was back about 10 seconds later with one of those rainsticks that make a tinkling noise, "Mom, I guess I'll have to use this for the pinata. It's a little noisy, but they'll have to use it because I got no more sticks."

TKO's and Ghosts on TV

Yesterday was truly a marathon of endurance for the kids (and us). We had TWO birthday parties to attend (at the very same place, complete with the big jumpy-jumpy blow up things and lots of candy)-- one for a little boy turning 6 (Aubrey's son, a friend of mine from HS), and the other for Dylan, a classmate of the twins at preschool. Fred & I split up the day-- I took them to party #1, he took them to party #2. In between, we took them to see Kung Fu Panda at the movie theater. (BTW, did you know it will cost a family of 4 roughly FIFTY DOLLARS to get into a matinee movie and buy enough refreshments to keep everyone in their chairs for 2 hrs? Wow.)

ANYWAY, at the second party, there was another 4 y/o boy kind of pushing Jake around. He would apparently push him and even occasionally throw a punch, cut in front of him in line, etc. Jake was getting upset and asked Fred what to do. Dealing with this kid with words apparently just wasn't going to work, in Fred's assessment. So, after so counseling and instruction from Fred, the next time this kid pushed Jake, Jake told him, "If you do that again, I'm going to punch you."

The kid pushed him again. POW!!! Jake got him square in the nose with a punch. The kids was startled, stumbled back a second, and came after Jake again with a harder push. POWPOW!!!!
Jake got him harder in the nose this time, and the kid fell down and ran off. He did not bother my Jakey again. I have to say, I am proud of my boy for sticking up for himself. I don't really think fighting is the way to solve problems, but when you've got a bully running the show and no parent around, sometimes you just gotta stick up for yourself. Go JAKE! He's little but he's mighty.

On a totally different note, Mia somehow found herself with an old B&W episode of I Love Lucy on in the background yesterday morning. She quickly declared that there were "ghost people" on TV, "since they didn't have any colors in them." WHo could blame her-- I don't think they've ever seen anything in black & white on TV!

Proof Advertising Works

My twins' favorite show right now is "Spiderman and His Amazing Friends," on Jetix, which is basically an old 70's version of Spirderman cartoons that we have found significantly less violent than the current-day versions. Speckled through what seems like every commercial break is an advertisement for some //fabulous\\ (note sarcasm) product called "Pancake Puff." Here is the link:
https://www.pancakepuff.com/spark/index.php
It is perhaps about the most unhealthy thing you could make for a snack short of fried Twinkies or something like that. The commercial totally targets kids, such that I have my 4 y/o daughter trying valiantly to convince me that she desperately needs this product. "Mommy, it's so EASY! You just have to POUR and FLIP, it's JUST THAT EASY. I want to eat those for breakfast. And brownie puffs for dinner. It will be GREAT, Mommy!"

Great! After Fred and I have gotten fit, work out all the time and actually fix vegetables for dinner every night, trying to set a good example for our kids, the Pancake Puff people are undoing it one commercial at a time.

Proof advertising works, I tell you!

Storm Quote

Jakob, in response to some thunder from a big storm tonight: "Mommy, the storm just yelled in my face."