Sometimes I don’t have anything specific to write. But stuff is happening that needs to be told (or at least some people would probably want to know, you sickos). So I thought I’d occasionally (and without warning, timing or really any reason at all) put together these little summaries. Or maybe I’ll never do another. I’m fickle.
The kids have both been sick. Wesley had a fever and needed some Tylenol in the middle of the night. He was burning up and couldn’t sleep. We stripped him down, put some shorts on him and gave him a wet washcloth. He didn’t care for the cold. He then proceeded to bounce around our room like it was made entirely out of trampolines. You’d expect him to be tired the next day. But he was up bright and early (too early for us) and had lots of energy. He is still a little grumpy though. Jillian, always one to follow Wesley’s every trend setting way, caught the cold a few days later. She too got the fever. Perhaps not as bad as Wesley though. They both got snot. Lots and lots of snot. In a blinding array of greens and yellows. I’ve seen more snot in the last 5 days than I think I have in my entire life. Personally, I don’t use tissues. Just don’t like ‘em. I’m more of a suck it in kind of guy. But Wesley blows. He blows hard. If it weren’t so snotty I’d put a trumpet up to his nose because I think it would be an awesome sound.
Aside form the grumpiness, the kids’ illness makes them sleep less well than they usually do. They aren’t exactly award winning sleepers to begin with so any loss of sleep puts Amber and I at a great deficit. The other night I was trying to put Jillian back to sleep. She has developed the habit of sleeping for say 5 minutes before waking up screaming. I had cuddled and rocked her in my arms for some time and she was still not quite out. I knew that I couldn’t put her down just yet, because, even though she appeared to the untrained eye to be asleep, the moment I set her in her crib she would bust out with Wesley waking screams. But at that moment my bowels had different plans. I needed to get to the bathroom and fast. I whispered to her “Jillian, I need to set you down now or I’m going to poop in my pants. Please stay asleep.” And then the thought occurred to me that my logic wouldn’t make any sense to Jillian. She poops and pees in her pants all day and all night. It wouldn’t, in fact, make sense to either of my kids. They both have no problem going in their pants. They’re probably doing it right now. Heck, Jillian peed on the bathroom floor just tonight and then played in it. My understanding is that your family shapes a lot of your social beliefs and norms. For your sake and mine I really hope that I rub off on them and not the other way around. I just worry that I might be a bit impressionable.
So that is how I’m going to end this, the first and probably last, summary. Poop.
As I type Jillian is propelling herself around at full speed. She is using the traditional hands and knees alternating method preferred by pre-walkers worldwide. Her speed (compared with 5 minutes ago) has increased 4-fold. She can now do things like:
- Move in a straight line
- See something clear across the room and get to it before we know what is happening
- Reach all of Wesley’s toys (better known as choking hazards)
Currently she has her eye on a rubber bracelet. And yes, now she has it and is chewing it mercilessly with a very contented look on her face. Oh, she’s off again.
Tags: Jillian
If there is one thing that is distinctive about the way I dress it has to be my rolled up sleeves. If I’m wearing a button down shirt, my sleeves get rolled up. If it is a long sleeve T then I push them up. Always to just over the elbow. I can’t help it. I don’t like them down around my wrists, unless of course I’m cold in which case down they go. I do try to keep them down, but it never lasts more than about 10 minutes. It just isn’t comfortable, so up they go. And no, I don’t like short sleeve shirts that much. I just don’t like the way the sleeves flap or the way they lay. I’ve been taking a lot of grief (for as long as I can remember) from people who think it is a little peculiar. Nothing mean, just people noticing and wondering aloud to me why I always wear my sleeves up.
Well, in the last issue of Esquire (thanks Dave) I got my comeuppance. In “The New Laws of Casual Style” number 57 they write:
57. Unless you’re wearing a blazer, there’s no wrong time to roll up your sleeves. How high you choose to roll them says a lot about you.
For me, it is always number 2. I can’t help myself, its a compulsion. Now quit bugging me about it.
- Our marathon photos
- The photos from the professionals
- My stats (see below too)
The marathon is over. I ran it in 4hrs 24 min and 43 secs. A bit slower than I had hoped, but not too bad considering my very limited running experience. The race was hard (both physically and mentally) and frustrating at times. But it was also fun (at least parts of the first 20 miles). As you can see from the table below I started a little slow, picked up speed (though still not as fast as I would have liked) and then pretty much sucked it from miles 20 through 26. The last .2 I actually ran rather quickly (at least compared to the previous six) and passed a good number of people.
Marathon
| Mile | Rank | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.6 | 2591 | 52:43 | 9:25 |
| 10 | 2547 | 1:34:01 | 9:24 |
| 15 | 2275 | 2:20:07 | 9:20 |
| 20 | 2264 | 3:11:55 | 9:36 |
| 26.2 | 2440 | 4:24:43 | 10:06 |
My troubles began when I first got to downtown. It was chilly and I was glad I brought my sweatshirt. I stood in line for about 40 minutes to use the bathroom. I’m glad I did I seriously needed to settle my self down if you know what I mean. From the number of men I saw peeing along side the course (as early as 2 miles in) I’m guessing they needed more bathrooms. Just a little tip: If you can hold it 10 miles or so the lines pretty much disappear. After the “settling down” I headed up to drop off my sweatshirt at the clothing drop. But I didn’t have a bag. Apparently you have to have a bag. Another lesson learned. Luckily among the 13,000 folks getting ready to run I bumped into Bill (one of the two people I know who ran) and he through my stuff in with his.