A bunch of different items

I realized this weekend just how well the girls understand some concepts. Concepts that seem to be a bit advanced to me for a toddler.

One night last week Rich told me that the girls wanted to bring me out to dinner on Sunday for my birthday. Saturday morning, Anna and Em were asking me questions about where different people were. (It is sort of a game we play. "Where is Papa?" "Where is Baby Maggie?") When they asked about Baby Maggie and Grammy, I told them how Grammy was going babysit Baby Maggie so that Uncle Pat and Aunt Molly could go out to dinner to celebrate Aunt Molly's birthday. Em responded with, "And we're going to go out to dinner for Mommy's birthday." I acted all surprised and asked them if they knew a secret. Anna, trying hard not to smile, kept saying, "I don't know." She was trying to keep it a secret!

And I have to talk about how potty training is going for Em and Allie. I was so proud of them this weekend. Em did not have any accidents, even overnight. (Note that she was wearing a diaper just in case.) We left the house a few times for errands and there were no accidents. They finally seem to get it. I have to admit, again, that Rich and I sometimes wing it when it comes to parenting and we did not feel the need to do any sort of Potty Training Boot Camp or Three Day Potty Training. We took the approach of working with them in a relaxed manner until they figure it out.

I started writing a personality post after Mommy Esquire asked me about the girls' personalities. This was probably months ago. I'll eventually finish that but in the meantime I want to mention how Allie, who is the oldest, really acts like a Mother Hen.

Here are some conversation snippets:

Allie - "Oh, dear." (After Anna said that her leg hurt.)

Allie - "No, honey, don't color there."

Allie - "No, sweetie, that's not a ladybug."

Allie - "It's okay, Emoee. We will get you out." This is from this morning. Allie ended up in the bed with us around 4:00 am. I came out of the shower to find her awake because Anna and Em were awake. We have been leaving the gates up in their doorways at night to prevent any wandering so they were a bit anxious to have someone free them. I just love how Allie said WE will get you out. Not Mommy. WE.

Yesterday, I was showing the girls pictures online of some Gymboree clothes from the A Pop of Daisies collection, which I think is just so adorable. I had picked out a tee shirt with an alligator on it but Allie didn't like it. So I asked Anna. She didn't like it. I showed it to Emily. She didn't like it. Finally, Allie announced, "No one likes that shirt."

Oh, Allie finally allowed me to paint her nails. Bright pink like Em's. At first Anna said she wanted black nail polish but quickly changed her mind when I told her that I did have black and would paint her nails for her. Probably a good thing as she is supposed to go to the preschool for some testing this week.

And here's a running update for those who care. Well, I shouldn't say it like that. I am actually posting it because I want to show others that it can be done. You can have young children and work full time and still run. (Let's hope that my knees hold up.) I am really quite surprised at how my body is responding. It is almost as if it hasn't been YEARS.

One of the hardest aspects of getting back to running for me has been in trying to figure out what I should be doing. I looked at the Couch to 5K training schedule and felt that I was a bit too advanced for that. And I can never do the walk/run thing. That just completely throws off my pace.

In addition, I have been doing crunches, which I was cleared to do by my doctor. I was told that crunches will not bring my abdominal muscles back together but I still believe that some strengthening will help.

So here's what I have run over the past two weeks. Slowly (but surely) I'll get back to where I was.

2/14 - 1.25 miles

2/16 - 1.5 miles

2/18 - 1.5 miles

2/20 - 1.75 miles

2/22 - 2 miles

2/24 - 2 miles

2/26 - 2.25 miles

2/28 - 2.25 miles


*** For those that have asked - the "floor" from the photo sessions is a sheet of plexiglass that can easily be purchased from home improvement stores such as Home Depot or Lowes. This sheet is about 3 feet by over 4 feet. I don't have the exact measurements. I would like something bigger as it is difficult to cram three toddlers onto it but storage is an issue. It cost $29.