Some random observations from the past few days:
I spent Friday doing a time management workshop for a few Ameriprise financial planners in downtown NYC. The photo on this post is the view out 7 World Trade Center. Stunning. I made sure this view was behind me for my presentation so people would want to look at me.
I managed to finish my work for the week by Friday evening last week. It was kind of nice not to have anything urgent hanging over me Sunday night.
Cold pools don’t make for happy children. The 4-year-old is taking swim lessons at the Y, and he’s been pretty reticent about getting in. I saw potentially why when the whole family went on Sunday. The pool was freezing. We didn’t last long.
My 2-year-old is a social butterfly. She’s the kid who wanted to go to the Y to play in the kid zone. She also wanted to go to church Sunday morning so she could hang out in the nursery. I think this is a positive sign for pre-school next year.
She’s also very verbal. My husband took her to her 2-year-old doctor visit. The doctor asked how many words she knew and my husband wasn’t sure. She asked “At least 20?” and he said yes. We’ve now been laughing over the past week at some of her observations, which most definitely use words that are not among the first 20 words you’d learn: “We’re far into the tunnel!” “I want you to put cream on my bottom.” “My ear is hurting me.” (Not “ear hurts” — there was possession and present tense). “My shoe is dirty. I need a wipe for my shoe.”
The 4-year-old went to a very fun birthday on Sunday. We met at the train station, and rode a few stops. We went to a pizza place, then got back on the train to ride home. It’s just SEPTA, the commuter line around here, but the kids rarely get to ride it, so it was very cool for them.
I started helping my 6-year-old with a 500-piece puzzle. He lost interest when he realized it’s pretty hard, and he lacks the patience to try dozens of tiny, seemingly identical blue sky pieces together to see what works. I, on the other hand, have become obsessed.
My husband and I went into the city Saturday night for date night. The restaurant was nice but the key is just getting out of the house. We still talked about the kids, but did so over a bottle of wine and some port. I was glad Sunday morning was my morning to sleep in!
I ran an 8:30 mile on the treadmill. I would like to get faster than my usual plodding pace, so faster miles (like that one) are key to that strategy.
I need to stay out of Trader Joe’s. I stopped by this weekend and wound up with dark chocolate-covered pretzels, dark chocolate-covered cashew bark, and dark chocolate salted caramel truffles. When it comes to dark chocolate with a little something salty, I am not a good moderator. I should not have let this stuff in the house. The good news is that at the pace I’m eating it, it won’t be here long!
I find November to be a lovely month. It starts out with beautiful fall colors around here, and ends in the coziness of Thanksgiving and the start of the Christmas season. But it’s an understated month, rather than the over-the-top nature of December. It’s more contemplative.
I am not writing a novel for NaNoWriMo. But I did have an intriguing concept for a novel pop into my brain upon waking from a dream that involved some plot aspects for it. We’ll see if I can do anything with it. I’m planning on finishing up revisions of the current novel by the end of the year. My Philanthropy Roundtable project on teacher quality is nearing the completion of a draft. Then I’m full-on to Mosaic. I’m looking forward to clearing the deck to work on that.
What are you working on these days?
Sadly the TJ’s dark chocolate covered sea salt almonds seemed to make DC2 cry via my milk. 🙁
Mmmmm choc/salty anything is sooooooooooo good. And yay on the fast mile! I recommend training for a race that has speed work incorporated into the plan. You will get faster if you approach it systematically!
@Sarah – I hope so. Right now I’m battling a cold so I’m not even sure I’ll be able to run the half on Sunday 🙁
She sounds like a normal girl. When you have boys first, the difference is stark.
We took a swim lesson hiatus because cold pools make for a cranky ME!
I avoid the TJ temptations by taking a kid with me…their eagle eyes will spot any “treat” going into the cart and then proceed to whine for a taste until the whole thing is gone. Waste of good chocolate, ending up smeared on toddler clothing and scattered all over the street.
You reminded me to text our sitter for a possible date night this saturday. its been too long.
Re verbally precocious kids: it is fascinating to watch language acquisition in your children. When it is your oldest it is sometimes difficult to recognize something out of the ordinary. My oldest (a boy), not sure the age but still pretty small, was singing along with the song from Winnie the Pooh; “the Rain Rain Rain came Down Down Down in Rushing Rising Rivlets till the River crept out of its bed, and crept right into Piglets”… bed. He added the “bed” which is understood but not stated. I was amazed that the child was understanding elements of grammar far beyond his years. He’s a freshman in college now :).
You should put the corn maze at Cherrycrest Farm in Lancaster county on your calendar for next fall. It’s a huge maze, puzzle-like, open only at night. I did it with my 13 year old and her 11 year old cousin. Great country atmosphere, wholesome activity – great for all ages on different levels.
@Judy- we are planning to get out to Lancaster one of these days soon… It is fun to watch the verbal development, especially in interactions with the brothers, though it has a downside. When someone denied having pushed her today, she said indignantly “Yes he did!” She’s also taken to narrating her brothers’ various sins…
Sweet treadmill mile time!
@hush – now if only I can run more than one of those…
I am definitely looking forward to Baby #2 being verbal rather than yelling when she needs something 😉
I have 4 client scrapbooks to work on, and it’s all your fault 😉
@ARC – yay! I support economic growth. I’m glad to hear the business is taking off!
My little one has started crawling and pulling up on everything in the past couple weeks so I’m adjusting to life as a jungle gym. I am looking forward to the day when he says something and I realize he’s actually talking about a thing/person rather than just baby babble.
Laura, catching up with your writings has been keeping me balanced in a lot of ways these days 🙂
I try to keep my indulgences limited to Ferrero Rochers these days, but yeah, I have always had a thing for chocolate as well 🙂 Especially European chocolate. And tiramisu!
It’s been a great year for me – I can safely say the best year I’ve ever had. Being a professional in this country is tons better than any other life situation I’ve ever been in.
On the fitness front, leaving all the weights and metabolic training aside, as far as running goes I’ve been exclusively focused on interval training/ sprints. Now I am trying to accomplish some endurance goals too though, e.g. running flat at a fixed pace for long periods of time.
Another few weeks of intense work (for work and for personal learning projects), and then spending some quality Christmas time with a friend. I have some long term goals but I think I should plan out what I am planning on prioritizing in 2014. It’s a great fall too and it’s going to be a great winter. And I wish you the same!