I'd rather be beat

This is what Radley used to say about his parents' lectures. And I'm sure this is what my kids will be saying about me when they're grown. But I like to think of my lectures, not as lectures, but more as counsel...I counsel Radley on the benefits of being romantic (which--thanks to his ODD--always has the opposite of the desired effect), I counsel my students on the benefits of taking responsibility for using their "new" speech sounds so I can stop banging my head against the wall after doing 100 initial /r/ word drills, I counsel my kids (Okay, just Aiden, but Ava's not far behind) on why it's not a good idea to tell Mommy "no" (ending up with them landing in jail because he told a policeman "no" all because Mommy let him say "no" to her!) It's a reflex, much like when the doctor taps your knee and you kick. If he tapped my larynx, a lecture--I mean, counsel--would come out. Even as I go on and on and on, I think to myself, "Man, he's surely had enough." But there's always one more point to make, one more important life lesson to impart...And what do I get for my long-winded attempts at enlightening people? A reaction such as, "Uh, can we play now?" or "Don't you have some laundry to do?" Geez! The ingratitude!

My talker

Ava is SUCH a girl. She's not even two yet and is already putting 3 and 4 words together--always talking. Maybe it's cuz I'm used to working with children who are language delayed, but I'm so not used to her precociousness in the language department! I get SUCH a kick out of it :) Even when she's sassy. At Chili's the other day (there's one on Ramstein Air Base), Rad was trying to get her to move back to her high chair from my lap, and she said, "NO, I sit Mommy!" I swear, I have witnesses. We all just looked at each other, like whaaaat?!? She also walks around the house looking for me and asking, "Where are you? Mama! Where are yooooooouuu?" Today, before her nap, she was entertaining herself with her Elmo doll and talking. Now, when she's saying a lot or trying to sound like a mommy/grown-up, she just babbles. And that's just cute. Unfortunately, she frequently has her nuk (pacifier) in her mouth still--she's very attached to it--and tries to talk. So I tell her, "Ava, you have to take your nuk out cuz I can't understand you." And then she takes it out and restates herself. So funny!

Yowsers

Well, I hit the pavement today! I've been running on the treadmill at the gym since it's been so freezing cold and icy/snowy here. But this morning I wanted to go earlier before Rad had to coach another basketball game and the gym doesn't open until 10. Since it was decent and up to 30 degrees, I loaded on my cold-weather running gear and headed out! The whole farm road I run was treacherous with icy patches and my nose was running from the cold and exertion from running on real hills again. Don't let that treadmill fool you into thinking you're getting a real-life outdoor running experience. Those "hills" it throws in to keep your heartrate up are no match for the real thing! I was so exhausted after running today, I have been laid out and popping ibuprofen for my sore muscles already.

Well, I'll be heading back to the gym since it's supposed to snow again in the next couple days. But now I've reminded myself of how hard I normally push it, so I'll have to up the intensity on the ol' treadmill. I'm just glad I haven't totally quit running this winter like I have before. I definitely haven't been able to go as much as I'd like, but no worries...I'm still losing weight! My secret? Extreme stress and time deprivation. Don't feel like eating and don't have much time to anyway. Ugh. Things should be more chill in a couple weeks, though, so maybe I can get back into a more normal running schedule soon. And as soon as it is up to 45, I'm headed back out to nature so I can breathe in some clean (though frequently manure-scented) air and enjoy the views of the open country around me!

Long time, no blog...

So wow, it's been a while...Let me catch you up here...Since I last wrote, I wrapped up work a bit early and boarded a plane with my family to VA to spend the holidays shopping, celebrating, and chillin with family and friends. Sike! I boarded a plane with my family to VA to spend the holidays nursing myself and children through two nasty, nasty viruses in a house full of sick people, celebrating whenever we got to step foot out the front door of quarantine. Yeah. So now we're back to normal life and work. Which, I make it my priority not to blog about work for a variety of reasons, but let me just say one thing...I have never wished for summer as bad as I am right now. If you only knew...But that's enough of that.

On a lighter note, we're all healthier now! Aiden is super-excited about the new police unit happening at his kindergarten and the police coming to visit them on Friday. Yeah, from a big city and everything! So they can talk about more exciting things than busting cow-tippers. And Ava seems to be jumping straight into full conversation mode from one-word utterances. I don't know how she got to the 3-word combo stage, but she can express her sassiness in a whole new way now. Though two single words are still her faves: "No" (complete with sassy half-turn) and "MINE!" (complete with witch-like screeching). Rad has been gone at "jail". Aiden now gets the joke. Everytime I tell someone that Rad's at JLS they inevitably respond, "JAIL?" Heh...Not yet. So this year, Aiden has been entertaining himself with the idea that Daddy's in jail. JLS is Junior Leadership Seminar and he runs the program that teaches budding middle-schoolers how to be better leaders for a week up at a castle-turned-youth-hostel on the Rhein. Tough gig.

Anyhoo! It's a three-day weekend coming up and you know I'm excited! Plan to get my running shoes back on and hit the rubber! Been too icy to run outside so I'm using the gym, which is actually alright for the time-being. And that reminds me, I have hit my pre-Ava weight--YAY! However, my body is still irrevocably damaged and does not look like my pre-Ava body, let alone my pre-Aiden body. Recall the infected stretch mark. Well, there are many similar humiliations I face alone in the mirror. But yay pre-Ava weight!