John Deere Fall Classic

This year, like every year but 2010 (I wasn't racing 9 months pregnant), we took the family out to the John Deere Fall Classic.

But this year, it was different. Why? Because everyone ran.

Novak "ran" the 50 yard dash.
Nile ran the .25 mile.
Nate (and I) ran the mile race.
Tom and I ran the 5k.

Thankfully Becky volunteered to come with us to "babysit" while we ran the 5k.

It was a great morning for running, and even better was that everyone finished and nobody cried!

Nile!  Look at that perfect form!

He was actually happy the whole time.

Novak, after his "race" (walk).

Poster Panic

This could easily be one of those "hey, look at this awesome thing my kid created" posts.  But, it's not.  It's a tale of parental panic.

Poster panic.

I knew that the day would eventually come when we "forgot" to work on a project.  What I didn't realize is how soon it would happen.

The first week of school, Nate's teacher sent home a note telling us that we were supposed to work on a poster about our student for school.  The note also graciously gave us several weeks to complete it.

Tuesday morning, as the boys were eating breakfast, Nate asks me, "Mom, what's today?"

"Well, today is September 4."

"My poster is due on September 5! That's TOMORROW!"

"What poster?"

"The poster about me!  Mrs. S has been reminding us, like, every day!"

"Honey, I think you should have reminded me, then.  I forgot.  Where's the instruction sheet?"

"Dad threw it away."

So, I quickly emailed the teacher and asked her for a new copy of the instructions, with a short joke at the end:  Guess I know what we're doing tonight!

While at work Tuesday, I went online and ordered some pictures to be printed to our local Walgreens.  To save time, I asked Tom to pick them up after school with some poster board.  

At 4:25, I get a phone call.

"Did you order the pictures?"
"Yes, at 1:15 this afternoon."

"Well, they don't have them."

"What? Maybe that explains why I didn't get an email confirmation."

"Can you reorder them?"

"Sure, hold on."

I resubmitted the order and let him know it was on the way.  

5:05 pm:  Text message from Tom:  Still nothing.

5:13 pm:  Text message from Tom:  Grrr. 
5:24 pm:  Text message from Tom:  Can you resend order?

5:26 pm:  Text message from Tom:  Never mind, hold on.

5:38 pm:  Text message from Tom:  Getting prints now.  Free.

What should have been a quick 15 minute run to Walgreens had turned into a 90 minute wait.  All the while, I am trying to keep Nate entertained by cutting out pictures from magazines to include on his poster.  While simulaneously trying to get Nile to do his homework, warm up chicken nuggets for the boys, and keep Novak from climbing on stuff.  

At one point, Nile asked me, "Mom, are you frustrated?  Because your voice sounds frustrated."

(Yeah, I was a bit frustrated).

Finally the requested lime-green poster board and pictures arrived (at 6 pm) and we started on the project.  It didn't take us long to put it together, and considering what we went through to finish it, I think it turned out all right.

But I'll definitely be sure not to forget another school project for a long time.  

Flashback

Remember this post?  When I went for a run with Nile and discovered what we called our "secret park?"

Novak and I ran there last Friday.  We got out to the bench and had a snack while we enjoyed looking at the water.

Funny thing is, I realized while we were out there having our snack, that Novak was wearing the exact same outfit Nile had on when we went here three years ago. So, for a direct comparison:  

Nile, September 4, 2009
2 years, 7 months

Novak, August 31, 2012
23 months

They are pretty much the exact same size.

Rare Saturday

It's a morning of rare occurrences.

First of all, the remnants of Hurricane Isaac are steadily soaking our parched yard.

Second of all, it's barely 9 am, and we have eaten breakfast, played, and made two loaves of banana bread (that are actually out of the oven!  This means that they were in the oven by 8!)

Third, and most surprising?  All three boys are quietly playing in the basement.  I don't hear yelling, screaming, or crying.  I'm almost afraid to go down and see what I might find.  But I decided to tempt fate and sit down with my coffee for a few minutes and enjoy what is a nice, peaceful, rainy morning.  Something we haven't had in months.

Usually on a Saturday I have gotten up early, been for a run, and came home to a house full of playing boys (usually still in their PJ's).  Sometimes even there is breakfast waiting for me (have I mentioned how much I love my husband?).  Saturday mornings are at once lazy and crazy.

So forgive me for indulging in a quiet moment.  All too soon one of the boys will be calling me, trying to complain about something the other did.  Or, eventually I will have to go down to the basement, as I promised.

Enjoy your Saturday morning, I hope it's as nice as mine!