My Second 25K - Sulphur Springs Trail Race 2012

I ran the 25K Sulphur Springs Trail Race held in Ancaster, Ontario on Saturday May 26th, 2012.  The weather was pretty much perfect; it wasn't muddy at all like last year.  There were several improvements made to the trails.  It was a little warm but not too bad.

I came in at 2 hours, 48 minutes.  This made me happy because I took 30 minutes off my time from the previous year.  I'm not doing the races for speed; I'm just happy to do the distance and enjoy myself.

Even though I was pushing the pace a bit this year, I still took the time to enjoy the beautiful scenery on the trails and I didn't completely push myself because I didn't want to get injured.

I saw several people trip on roots and I almost fell myself.  My friend broke his foot on a root, unfortunately.

I saw a male runner peeing right on the trail; he was standing beside a tree but the tree was literally on the edge of the path.  Hmmm...can women take a minute or two off their finish time for bathroom breaks that men don't have to worry about?

I only grabbed water from the aid stations.  I would have grabbed some food near the end if there had been any there, but there wasn't.  I don't know why.  I was glad I had brought some electrolyte tabs and sport energy beans in a pocket.  However, it's not easy to get small items out of a back pocket while you're running and I wouldn't really recommend it.  Although it's easier to face Martin Road if you have a little boost!

Overall it was a great race.  Beautiful trails, a personal best, and hey - the flip-flops with the race route on them are pretty cool too.

I Want to be Like Him, Too!

After a hike, I took my daughter and her friend out for ice cream.  They each got a large cone and we sat in the store while they ate.  They watched the male teenager behind the counter giving out ice cream cones and ice cream cakes to lots of different people.

Finally my daughter exclaimed, "Mommy!  I'm not going to be a Mom when I grow up anymore.  I'm going to be just like HIM!"

Forget raising another generation; who can compete with someone who has all the ice cream?

As we were leaving the ice cream store, we saw what looked like a bird with a broken wing on the pavement.  We were worried and so we went closer to check it out.  "Oh,"  I said in relief, "it's just two birds fighting."

My daughter remarked dismissively, "Oh, they must be brothers."

At least she'll have the ice cream.

They Won't Be Like This When You're Here...I Promise!

We had a new babysitter over the other day to introduce her to the kids.  That was our first mistake.

We should have locked her in to a specific date without a visual of the children in question, and then just run for it the moment she arrived.

But no, I was trying to be a good parent by letting her meet the kids ahead of time.  I gave them a little lecture prior to her showing up about how they needed to behave.

I'm not sure what they were listening to, but it wasn't my 'behave or die' speech.

All three of them were sitting there like little angels until the doorbell rang.  Then all hell broke loose.

As I was trying to introduce the new babysitter, the boys started punching each other with wide sweeping left and right crosses.

Then they started running around and around the house (I instantly regretted that open concept floor plan).  At one point my son was hanging over the end of the couch while the other one slapped his butt vigorously.

I was trying not to die of embarrassment.  I was attempting to convey to the kids with a series of complicated facial expressions that they needed to start behaving yesterday but surprisingly they didn't seem to understand me.

I started stammering that they weren't usually like this and that she just needed to get to know them, although I was beginning to wonder if that was ever going to happen after this little display.

I tried to get things under control by telling them to get ready for bed.  My youngest immediately stripped and began running naked around the house.  I was glad we were starting to see some control happening.

When the door closed behind her, I rested my head on it for a few moments.  I was speechless.  I wasn't sure what had just happened!

I was only clear on two things.  One: we need to get out a lot more and hire babysitters every night of the week so the novelty wears off, preferably immediately, and Two: this was never going to happen because word would spread to every person of eligible babysitting age that my kids were irredeemably insane.  Fabulous!

I Love Your Art! I Have Absolutely No Idea How It Got Into The Recycle Bin!

With three children in school, I receive lots of paper.  Work, tests, art, projects.  It's overwhelming, really.  I thought my laundry was overwhelming!  (Well, it still is...)

I do keep special pieces in a Tupperware bin.  The others I try to sneak into the recycle box.

I say 'sneak' because if a child finds one, there is one heck of a guilt trip happening.

"Mommy!  What is my picture doing here?  I made it for YOU!"

You see years of therapy bills ahead of you. 

You say, "Oh my gosh, how did that get in there?  It must have fallen in by accident.  Let's put it on the fridge at once!  You know, that big huge pile of artwork over there...yes, there actually is a fridge underneath it all.  But I'm sure there's room...somewhere."

Another mom I know told me that she puts unwanted artwork in pizza boxes!  I like it.  Why didn't I think of it?

It's getting complicated because now my oldest children are helping out with putting out the garbage and recycling.

I try to be a good recycler but occasionally, I admit it, I put things in the garbage.  As I do it, I whisper to myself, "This is a SANITY thing."

Sometimes sanity trumps recycling.  And for all you die-hard environmentalists, it's okay.  My sanity level is barely worth mentioning.