Mesa Falls Marathon complete

You can read my race report (as well as pre- and post- reports) here.

Seriously? Sweep it up

I don't "get" leaf blowers. Well, I get the concept of blowing everything into a pile that can be swept into a big container. However, with the exception of the groundskeepers at my work, I've never seen that happen.

What I see is Bob who blows leaves, dirt, and paper from in front of his business/home to the front of his neighbor's business/home and then leaves it there.

Um, hello?!??!
#1: That's rude.
#2: Doesn't Bob realize that it only takes one little breeze or gust to blow the stuff in front of his building again?

Get off your duff, pick up a broom, and exert some effort, you lazy bum!

2 YEAR UPDATES

OK - so, they are actually 2 year, 2 month, and 10 day updates, but whatever.

The boys continue to live up to their nicknames. Meatball is 36.5" and weighs 31.5 lbs. Peanut is 36" and weights 26.8 lbs. (We were really excited to see the .8 on the scale!)

They managed to completely trash the exam room since we were sitting in it for an hour. They pushed the power button on the computer (don't put your hard drive at floor level if you are a pediatrician). They climbed on the cabinets, turned on the water, tore all of the paper off of the exam table, kicked wadded up paper balls around the floor, threw tantrums, threw shoes, and ran naked down the hall.

It was obviously a thrilling visit, but they are happy and healthy and off the charts for their verbal and comprehension skills. In fact, the doctor was a bit surprised when Meatball greeted him with a "Hi, Doc" and a high five.

AND SPEAKING OF SINGING

I also made up a song for each of the boys so that they could learn to spell their names. Oddly, both boys like singing the song for the other kid! Obviously, the little tunes spell the name and then say the name. I don’t have musical notation here, but in case I someday forget, they go like this:

G – E – F – D – E – G – E – C (for S – A – M – U – E – L – Sam-uel) and
C – D – E – D – E –F – G – D – E – D – E – D – C (for B – E – N – J – A – M – I – N – Ben-ja-min)

SECRET SONG

When the boys were newly home from the hospital, I was loving every second at home with them. I read to them, cooed to them, smelled their yummy baby smell, and sang. I sang a lot because, at the time, they were a captive audience and couldn’t really do anything to avoid my hideous voice. I even made up a song for them that nobody else ever heard for mor than a year. Even now, it’s rare that I sing it in front of anyone but them. It’s out little secret. It goes like this:

I had a dream, and the dream was you
It was [insert other child’s name] and mommy too
You love me, and I love you
And now I know that dreams come true

My heart swelled to unbelievable proportions the first time they sang (or tried to sing) it. Now, it’s a part our nightly repertoire. It’s not uncommon to hear them singing it all day long, actually. One or both of them will sit in the rocking chair and really get it going while singing our secret song. A few nights ago, Peanut told me “rocka chair, rocka chair.” So, we walked into the front room and sat down. He climbed into my lap and requested “Hud-a-bye” (hush-a-bye song). So, I started singing it. I didn’t get any farther than the beginning of the second line when he interrupted me and said “I goh sing Had a Dream.” So, I waited for him to start singing. Then, he changed his mind and said “No, you sing. Go!” He joined me after I started our song.

GREETINGS!

Bub stopped at a drive thru recently to pick up some fries and a drink. The kid on the speaker-thing wasn’t really incredibly smart or nice. As she drove away from the ordering board towards the pick-up window, she mumbled under her breath “dickhead.” It was a hot day, and she had the back windows down for a breeze. The three of them pulled up to the pick-up window, and as the window slid open and the kid leaned out to collect her money, Meatball happily greeted him with “Hi, Dickhead!” Oy, Vey!

COOLER THAN EVER

We had a little styrofoam cooler sitting on the kitchen table. It was from 7-11, so it had a design and words written on it. Peanut walked over and started identifying the letters, which he does with everything he sees. I was doing the dishes and I watched him as he named the letters, C – O – O – L – E – R. Then, he said “caller.” There you have it. Reading! OK – so he didn’t get the sound exactly right, but I personally think that “caller” sounds a LOT like “cooler” and that he is a friggin’ genius. AND, neither “cooler” nor “caller” are part of our reading videos. He just came up with this one on his own.