lawmummy

“Running is a big question mark that’s there each and every day. It asks you, ‘Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?’” - Peter Maher

I am finally at CHOP for Charlie’s (minor) surgery. They have assured me that I would be in and out… so I decided to forego coffee (!) in order to use one of the many computers provided for parents. I checked my blogs for comments and then headed over to tweet on twitter. I was surprised to find that CHOP has banned twitter on its computers for the damning reason: social media.

Gasp.

Cause you certainly wouldn’t want to have parents communicating with the outside world…

I don’t get it. Anyone?

When I stepped on the scale this morning (yes, we have one now, blame the hubby), I got an ERR message. So I got off, got back on. Still.

I flipped over the scale where I got this message:

“ERR” indicates the maximum capacity of 330 lbs/150 kgs has been exceeded. Remove the weight immediately to prevent damage to the scale.

Okay, I know some of you have been arguing that my failed weight loss was due to muscle gain… but c’mon. 330 lbs? Yowza.

Methinks that Taylor Precision Products (scale maker) is not nearly as precise as they think they are.

** For those of you who have never met me in person, while I will admit to weighing more than I should, you can safely assume that I do not, in fact, weigh anywhere near 330 lbs. Hence my confusion. And alarm.

Soooo, today I ran 5k. It was on the treadmill, which I know isn’t quite the same as on trails or roads, but I did alternate with 1% and 2% vertical height to adjust for the lack of wind resistance.

But it was 5k! No stopping! I was sooo excited when I got off the treadmill, I cheered. Yes, at the Y.

And I’m not embarrassed to say that I did the last bit while listening to Ashlee Simpson. Okay, I am embarrassed to say. But that darn “La La” song is just so catchy and fun to run to…

Hey beginners! Run with me! Let me know how you’re doing…

My walkers bailed on me this morning (not that there’s anything wrong with that) so I went for a run instead. It was a bit chilly out - I’ve forgotten how different it is to run outside versus inside. My lungs were not as happy as usual!

I kept motivated with music from my iPod. I (heart) my iPod - as if you didn’t already know.

Here are my favorite songs to run/walk/exercise by as of late (in no particular order)… Yours?

1, Till I Collapse - Eminem and Nate Dogg
2, Mercy - Duffy
3, More Than a Feeling - Duffy
4, Radio Nowhere - Bruce Springsteen
5, Lose Yourself - Eminem
6, Pride In the Name of Love - U2
7, This One’s for the Girls - Martina McBride
8, Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne
9, Suburbia - Pet Shop Boys
10, No Surrender - Bruce Springsteen
11, We Got the Beat - The Go-Gos
12, Family Affair - Mary J. Blige
13, Atomic - Blondie
14, We Got It Going On - Bon Jovi
15, Break the Ice - Britney Spears
16, Beat It - Fall Out Boy
17, Come With Me - P. Diddy
18, Don’t Look Away - Kate Voegele
19, London Calling - The Clash
20, Home - Daughtry (for cool down)

Soooo, I’ve been training for my 8k as part of the Philadelphia Marathon.

And yes, it is true that I had a cheesesteak with cheese fries earlier in the week (they don’t call that restaurant Chubby’s for nothing). So yes, the diet could use a little work.

But the running is going really, really well. Yesterday, I ran a little over 4k at a pretty steady rate just under 5 mph. This, my friends, is a big deal for me. Serious runners, you can take your snickers elsewhere.

Today, I did a nice, brisk 4+ mile walk in the park.

My heart doesn’t know what to think.

I haven’t lost any weight - maybe it’s the cheesesteaks - but I have significantly increased my stamina and speed. I’ve also apparently readjusted my body fat. While the numbers aren’t dropping, my pants are, literally. I can no longer run on the treadmill or in the park with my fancy exercise pants. The lack of a drawstring is causing some, er, problems. So, onto the Danskin site I went - the girls needed some new dance tights and I needed pants that would actually stay up.

I have to say, I thought that increasing my exercise regime would be incredibly hard for me but it’s been really fun. Getting up earlier has given me a better start to the day and more energy (lord knows I need it). Yeah, sounds corny but it’s true.

See you at the finish line!

Today was not a great day.

I won’t dwell on the specifics except to say that things were up and things were down, but overwhelmingly, they were down.

Last night, Amy was up at least three times with nightmares. One of them, she explained, was that “Mommy and Daddy and Charlie and Katie died and I was all alone.” Gulp. She’s not quite four. It’s so hard to answer that.

The constant sleep interruptions meant that today was hard. Super hard. She made it through preschool okay but was clearly ready for a nap that she wouldn’t take. About 3:30pm, she curled up in a ball in one of the chairs, wrapped herself in a blanket and asked if she could watch TV (current obsession, “Little Bill”). I said sure.

When Katie got home, however, following school and swimming, Katie wanted to go outside. Of course, Amy followed.

After bike riding, games of hide and seek with the neighbors and general running around, she was completely exhausted. She was tantrum-ing, and it was clearly time to eat and get ready for an early bedtime.

Or so I thought.

It is Katie’s job to set the table. Increasingly, this is becoming difficult for a lot of reasons - Katie doesn’t like it as much as she used to, she wants to “match” place mats with individuals, etc.

Today, I asked Amy to set the table. And so, Katie put down a picnic blanket (we were eating outside, she feels that a picnic blanket on the table is appropriate) and a couple of plates. Amy had a fistful of silverware to put on the table.

Katie climbed into Amy’s seat. Amy balked and threw a fit. When Katie wouldn’t move, Amy hit her, forks in hand. Now, there are several unattractive fork marks in Katie’s face.

We were lucky in that there were no forks to the eye - one came very close. And although Katie initially freaked out, she was fine.

Chris and I freaked out, too. I was worried that her actual eyes had been hit (they hadn’t) but all ended well.

Amy, of course, was immediately punished. Chris and I differed on the level of punishment. While I agree that it was a terrible result, I don’t think Amy intended to cause that harm, I think she was lashing out and forgot about the forks in hand. On an off tangent, it reminded me why I don’t think that young children should be tried as adults for crimes: the intended behavior is not always commensurate with the result. Clearly, Amy wanted to hurt her sister, but not blind her or cause her real harm. When I was discussing with Amy what could have happened (loss of vision), Amy freaked out because she did not intend to really hurt Katie. Likewise, I think that many young perpetrators intend to cause harm but perhaps don’t understand the extend of the harm when committing a crime. But I digress…

We finally got the kiddos to bed. Everyone is fine. But I am thoroughly exhausted. Tomorrow, off to CHOP for Charlie. Results later.

Kids. Are. Exhausting.

It is a ridiculously quiet morning at the house. Well, relatively speaking. Charlie is screaming “I want TV” in between spurts of reading.

Amy is still sleeping. She has officially missed her window for getting to preschool this morning but I’m okay with that. She had a long weekend and I fear that she is catching a cold. Rest is good.

Katie managed to get off to school this morning despite a wardrobe crisis. She came down dressed in her new shorts - which was thrilling as we’ve been trying to keep her away from the same dresses day after day. The down side? It’s 50something degrees outside. I tried to get her to put on some long pants but she has lately developed an aversion to long pants. They must be soft. The answer? Yoga pants. I bought her a pair of great purple yoga pants from Danskin… She loves them but does not want to wear them to school. Why not? They are, she told me, only for yoga. The child has been to yoga once. Once.

Despite the drizzly gray skies, I went walking today with a friend. I am determined to get in better shape and have been ramping up efforts a little bit at a time. It started months ago with a once weekly work out at the Y. Then a couple of weeks ago, I upped it to 2 times. Now more walking. I’ll get in shape for that Philadelphia Marathon yet!

Oh. And the marathon.

Do you twitter? I twitter (twitter.com/taxgirl) and so I twitter about the Marathon. If you twitter, you know it’s 140 characters or less. So I mention that I’m doing the Marathon, only the 8k. I get a note from another attorney who is running a marathon in fall, wants to do a blog challenge. I remind him I’m only doing 8k - it wasn’t like it could have gotten lost in the myriads of text - and he replies that he didn’t see that. I reply that I have 3 small children and don’t have the energy to run a marathon… you know, trying to get out gracefully. He replies that he had 5 children and he has run marathons with each of them in a jogger stroller - and with the twins, he used a double stroller.

Chris thought I should write back that I only have one leg.

You see, this is irritating for a lot of reasons. One, don’t one up me. I’m not trying to be competitive. I just want to be able to be healthy and keep up with my kids.

Two, read the whole thing before you send me a message. And it’s only 140 characters. It doesn’t take that long. I am not surprised, I will add, to find that it was an attorney on both counts (being competitive and not bothering to read the whole thing). Many attorneys don’t pay attention when you speak - I think it’s the billable hour.

Three, I am sure that I will be labeled sexist for this but I’ll say it anyway… In most cases, children are not as tiresome for men as for women. There’s the sheer toll that a pregnancy - any pregnancy - takes on your body which cannot be discounted. Multiply that times three and you get… me. I don’t care about Posh or Halle Berry or any of those other famous moms. Most mothers find it harder and harder after each pregnancy to bounce back.

And even if you work, studies have shown that women still do a disproportionate amount of work at home.

My husband helps out at home and is good at spending time with the kids. But even he doesn’t quite “get” how draining it is to be climbed on, clung to, cried at and depended on for most of the day. Every day.

So pardon me if I’m not in the shape to run a marathon tomorrow. I’ve been a little busy.

Sheesh. Now I feel better.

Today, I signed up to run a piece of the Philadelphia Marathon.

No, no need to check that URL. It still says lawmummy.com. It’s really me.

I have been going to the gym twice a week and needed a bit more inspiration. A reason to keep going. You see, despite the fact that my pants are smaller, my weight has not budged (and please don’t tell me that muscle weighs more than fat, I do not care). I just need some kind of measuring stick that tells me that I am getting some kind of results. Hence, the Philadelphia Marathon.

The run is on November 23, 2008 - just before Thanksgiving - which gives me plenty of time to train. It costs $25 to enter for the 8k (what I signed up for).

So I’m in… You can register here. Anybody else?

First of all, I’ll just say it: I’m a wimp. Three days out and I miss my husband. All day, I keep thinking of things that I would want to tell him. Sigh.

Next, considering that Ames was at Children’s Hospital last week for sleep disorders - much of which has revolved around recurring nightmares about being covered in ants - today was a step back. She actually managed to land herself into a large ant hill and was covered nearly head to toe in ants. She was hysterical. I got her clothes off of her in the tub and got her rinsed off. There were ants everywhere and they were biting. Brief panic.

Katie swore that she had a terrible headache and spent much of dinner and the early evening crying until I got her some Tylenol and a bath. I think she was just overtired and not used to the heat (it was nearly 70 and she was out all day “working” for my dad in the yard). At any rate, she was better by the evening.

But Amy? She was just getting started. She fell on the street when walking from the neighbors. “Jerry” at her finest… until she slipped in the bathroom and cut her tongue when she chomped down on it. There was a lot of blood. A lot. We started with ice and paper towels but the amount of blood was freaking me out. Mom and I decided that we should take her to Medac - but Dad came in and advised that he thought she would be okay. He crushed some ice, I gave her a bath and eventually got her to bed.

Charlie was adorable all day long. But man, his stubborn streak is becoming more and more apparent. He definitely does want things on his schedule and on his terms.

The frustrating thing is that my father finds Charlie’s behavior completely enchanting (he is a boy) and is annoyed with Amy for doing the same thing. There is definitely a different view for the girls and the boy - it was that way growing up and is no different now.

It was a long day. Charlie woke up at 6am and we’ve been going strong ever since. I have lots on my mind to share but I need to sort some things out. Stay tuned.