We are royalty and will be treated as such!

You know they are of royal blood because they hang out in a purple room. Every castle needs a purple room, right? Pictured here are mighty King David, Princess Sofia Marie and Little "Bel" the royal kitty cat. Treat the kitty lovingly or she will bite and/or scratch. Feed the King and Princess chicken that isn't too spicy or they will freak out. Hire a really good jester to entertain them because they become bored very easily. And be certain to never give them sugary foods before bed or you will have a royal mess on your hands.

Mutha Runna

Running is sometimes like being in labor. It's uncomfortable, hot and sweaty work. There's some pain, sometimes lots of pain, and a great deal of heavy breathing. I try to control the rhythm of my breathing (in through the nose, out through the mouth and repeat) and keep focused on the goal of getting to the end. Of course at the end of labor you have a new baby and you can't walk comfortably for several days. With running you just have the latter. Well, that's not true now, of course. When I first got into running it was like that. I would run (ok, jog) and be thinking, "why am I doing this? Oh, this sucks so much. I should just stop now. No, I can't stop now. If someone sees me they'll think I'm some kind of wuss. Got... to... keep... going. Oh, someone kill me." And all this just before reaching the end of my street.

That was the old days. Now I go out, feel good for the most part, get tired through the middle and usually finish up strong. I still get stitches, especially if I've eaten too much right before a run, and I get the occasional tweak in my foot or ankle that makes me have to take it easy for a few days here and there. I still breathe heavy up the hills, but I can smile sailing down them. Once in a while, not very often, I'll get heckled by guys driving by, but it doesn't bother me. I've usually got U2 blasting in my ears and I can't hear a damn thing they're saying, but I imagine it's something like, "Oh, you are so gorgeous and mighty, running lady, and I am so lowly and insecure, for I feel compelled to yell at you while driving my truck! Why am I such a bastard?"

I both love and loathe running. And sometimes, still, the best part of running is the stopping running. Getting to the corner of my street, seeing my house and knowing it's finished and I can rest, get a drink of water and take off my stinky shoes. The kids all come rally around me and David always smiles and asks, "How far did you go this time, mommy?" Some runs are farther than others, but always I run just far enough to get out of my own head for a little while, or deeper into it, I'm not sure. Far enough to get my heart thudding in my ears. Far enough to get me to think about death and to feel every once in a while that God has got my back. Far enough to get just enough crazy out of me so I can do everything that I need to do every day...every day. That is what I love most about running- How far I can get without every leaving my city.

I've been meaning to write more about running, but reading this funny post by Backpacking Dad is what inspired me. It's a slightly different kind of running story.

Thumbs up for ducks (because I couldn't think of a better title)

The picture from my last post mysteriously disappeared (Peg-what gives?) so I had to delete it but now I have the opportunity to promote...myself.

I have an archived post featured on the ezine Blog Nosh this week and you should go over there and check it out. It's funny to think about the kinds of things that concerned me when I first became a stay at home mom. I remember right before I left work, a couple weeks before my due date with David, a fellow employee said, "so, you're just going to be a housewife then?" I wanted to cry. And punch him in the face. It's fortunate for him that I've forgiven far greater trespasses to my soul, but then I was heavily pregnant so he's still pretty lucky I didn't take him down. Today if someone were to call me a housewife I would just laugh and say, "no, if I were married to my house I wouldn't let the kids trash it up nearly as much."

And as long as I'm self promoting, let me give another nod over to ChapterBytes which should have a thrilling new chapter up any day now. This one has the potential to be very steamy so you will not want to miss it. And no, I'm not up next to write this one but I wish I were!

So I leave you with the thumbs up girl and ducks, because who doesn't love ducks?

Dad's day

Thanks to my husband for being such a terrific father. Thanks to my mom for this photo. And thanks to photo editing which allowed me to crop myself right out of the picture.

Hope all the dads out there had a Happy Father's Day!

Duet

I posted this picture from late last summer for two reasons: One, I don't have a camera anymore and until dollar bills start growing in my garden, I won't be getting a new one any time soon, but I wanted to post some kind of picture of the kids. Two, this served a good reminder that sometimes my kids get along really well. Sometimes.

Today was a mixed bag. They only had one little incident, but it was after a long day of other assorted headaches and it did not help things much. I have to give them credit, though, because earlier today when we were at the grocery store their baby sister would not let me put her in the grocery cart seat without screaming bloody murder (turns out she had a diaper rash which she has never had before and I wouldn't have even suspected it in a million years- explains of course why she did not want to sit down) and so I had to carry her, slung on my hip through the entire shopping trip. I am just now getting the feeling back in my arm. Anyway, I was ready to walk out of the store, but David really wanted to get groceries (he is a snack-a-holic and we were running desperately low on anything remotely appealing to snack on) so he said, "No, we can do this. I will push the cart while you hold Isobel. You just tell me what you need and I will put it in the cart, ok?" and Sofia chimes in with, "Yeah, I'll help push the cart!" And so David picked out some nice steak for dinner, selected some juice and they both worked together to maneuver the cart around the store. They did everything they said they would. For about 10 minutes or so.

But hey, that 10 minutes made all the difference in the world. Isobel calmed down a bit and we got most of what we needed pretty quickly. Of course by the end of the trip they were nearly running down poor old ladies in the canned goods aisles, but God bless 'em. It's just nice to know that they can come through in a pinch.

My kid the carnivore

Little kids are weird. And sometimes they say creepy, weird little things.

Kids have a tough job. There is so much information for them to process, so many mysteries to unravel (or let remain mysteries) and all the while trying to communicate their thoughts and feelings to others in a manner that grooves with societal expectations. And sometimes it's good to use your parents as a sounding board before you go sharing all your reflections with the rest of the world.

Me to Sofia, as I put her down for her nap, trying to explain why she cannot hit her brother after an earlier altercation: It's ok to feel angry and frustrated sometimes. Everyone gets mad and sometimes we want to just hit, but we can't. It's not ok to hurt other people and it doesn't help anything. You didn't really hurt him this time, but you could have.

Sofia: Well, it's not the worst thing I could have done.

Me: No, it's not the worst thing you could have done, but it's still not alright.

Sofia: Like, I could have bit him really hard and taken a big bite out of him. That would have been bad.

Me: Yes, that would have been very bad. I'm glad you didn't do that.

Sofia: Yeah, because I don't think I could have even bit through him. It would have been too tough to eat it.

Me: Right. Skin is very tough.

Sofia: And then I would have to eat his blood and I don't think I would like to eat his blood. She pauses for a moment and scrunches up her face. Is blood red?

Me, trying to back out of the bedroom: Uh, yes, blood is red.

Sofia, making an disgusted face: I would be like, "Blech, Bleaaahhh!!! Urugh!" She makes a spitting sound.

Me: Right. That would be really gross. Don't ever try to eat another person.

Sofia: I'm a kitty! MREEEOOOWWW! She licks her kitty paws.

Me: Have a good nap, kitty. I'm just going to shut this door, then.

Something to nosh on

Like to do a little creative writing but don't have the time to complete a novel? Or even a whole short story? Heck, just want to put together a short chapter and still get to call yourself an author? Well look no further than ChapterBytes. A good friend and fellow blogger got a great idea for this collaborative writing project that should be a blast. Get in on it now while you can!

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got an assignment to complete...