Kingston's Bestie

I got an early morning text from Ms. Cindy saying that daycare was closed today. Not a big deal for us because Kingston doesn't go on Wednesday. A big deal for Ms. Cindy because the reason she was closed today was because her daughter is sick with Mono. And I figured it was a big deal for other moms and dads that didn't want to have to miss work. So I texted Ms. Cindy back that I could watch Kingston's buddy, Liam, if his mom wanted me to. She gave me her phone number and next thing I know, I have 2 little blonde boys hanging out with me today!

We went to a playdate this morning with about 6 other kids. It went great! Those two boys played so well together and with the other kids. After playdate we went on an adventure to McDonald's and had lunch. I wasn't sure if Liam was used to eating McDonald's, but I figured we were OK when we passed Dunkin' Donuts and he said, "Look, Kingston! Dunkin' Donuts!" And then we pulled in the parking lot and he said, "McDonald's!!!"



Two cheeseburgers and fries later (and an attempt to get Kingston off the floor-eeew!) we ventured to Wal-mart. Kingston and Liam were good shopping buddies. Or at least Liam was. Kingston notsomuch when it came time to leave the choo-choo train aisle without a choo-choo train.


So now it is naptime and I am still waiting for the silence to come. First attempt was for them to share Kingston's bed. No go. Next, I tried Kingston in his bed and Liam on the floor. Uh-uh. Now Kingston is in his bed and Liam is in my bed and I think we finally have quiet. Or at least one of the two is down for the count. Hopefully they get a good nap in. And hopefully Liam isn't a drooler in his sleep. He is sleeping on my pillow!

I have had the best time watching these two play together. The chemistry is just there, and they really enjoy each other. I could listen to them giggle and talk to each other all day. And, well, I pretty much have!

Race Time and a Mouse in the House

On Friday afternoon Kingston headed to Nana and Wo-wo's house and Nigel and I headed to Virginia Beach to spend the night before my big race on Saturday morning. We stopped for a quick bathroom break for Nige and a quick self portrait for me.



We spent the night on the Virginia Beach Oceanfront only a few blocks from the starting line of the race. The people-watching in VB is beyond compare. It takes all kinds, and they were all at the boardwalk on Friday night! So entertaining.

I got up early on Saturday morning, got my stuff together, texted my friend Dallas to tell her I was heading out and took the short walk to the race check-in. Dallas and I met up, lamented the fact that we had to wear the scratchy timing chip velcroed to our ankles (and, yes, I have the blisters/raw spots to show why it was a valid lament), and moved into position for the race. It all came back to me! I hadn't run a race since high school but it was like riding a bike! I had to fight the urge to sprint out of the starting line and start picking people off at a rapid pace. It was a lot of fun, and brought back a lot of great memories.

I had set a few specific goals for myself and I ended up meeting 2 of the 3. My first main goal was to finish and not walk-done with ease. Another goal was to run the 3.1 miles in under 30 minutes. I didn't quite meet that one and I'm slightly bummed about it. My official chip time was 30:46. Close but no cigar. If I would have just. . . Regardless, I am satisfied with my race.



Here I am posing in front of the finish line. It was hot. Damn hot.

And meet Dallas, my partner in crime and the head OBX Running Mama. The race was her idea and it marked her 1 year "runniversary". I'm so glad she suggested the race because it was so fun!

On the homefront, Kingston had a bit of a sickness this weekend. Nana and Wo-wo took such good care of my little boy. His fever was gone today, although his appetite is still not great. For example:

Here is my little mouse sitting on his perch-

And here are the crackers that used to be whole and used to have melted cheese on top. I made them for his afternoon snack after he turned down everything else I offered to him.

He ate all of the cheese off the top of the crackers and took one little bite off of each of them. Silly little mouse!

Tomorrow it's back to early morning running, Ms. Cindy's house and work.

Happy July!

So far July has been busy and filled with fun. We went to some friends' house the day before the 4th (which would be the 3rd for you people who are good with dates) for a pot luck and fireworks. The party was so much fun! There were tons of people there and the number of kids under about the age of 10 was staggering! Kingston enjoyed playing and wandering around and getting jumped on in the bouncy house. We had a great time. Until. . .

We geared up for the fireworks. We had our chairs out, our juice (or beer, as the case may be) cups, and our flag.



Kingston marched to the patriotic music and kept asking when the big-loud fireworks would start. He was pumped!


The fireworks were a big hit. Actually the first 2 were pretty cool. After that, and after the noise got really rapid-fire and loud, the ash and cardboard started to rain from the sky, and people started running for cover, Kingston was not having any more of it. He fa-reaked. Screaming, "I wanna go hoooome!" I picked him up. "My juice cup!" I grabbed it. "Mommy juice cup!" I grabbed it. "Chaaaairs!" Nigel gathered them up. "Backpaaaaack!" Snatched it up. Headed to the car. We tried to convince him to watch them from the car but he was having none of it. He kept repeating that he wanted to go home. He has told the story over and over and over since then.

Fireworks. Maybe next year. Notsomuch this year.

On the actual 4th of July we spent the afternoon and evening at Jerm and Cole's house. They have a party every year and this year was possibly the best yet. Kingston loved swimming in the pool and even played a lot in the water without his swimmies on. He kept asking to jump off my leg and sink and then try to come to the surface. He can almost get himself back up to the top! So cute and so brave!

Nigel and our friend, Granger enjoyed a few PBR's by the pool.



Uncle Bill helped Kingston and Da-da build a "big, big choo-choo track."

Kingston enjoyed some coooold watermelon.

The 4th was great-especially since we didn't see a single firework. Kingston was happy about that.


On Tuesday we went with my friend Michelle and her 2 kids to a special showing of Sesame Street at Festival Park. It was totally lame! Well, Kingston was fairly entertained but I was not a fan. The costumes were pretty bad and the characters voices were not even close to the real thing. The only character who sounded fairly close was Grover. And Kingston got to hug him after the show.

The best part of the morning was having a picnic on the lawn with a bunch of friends.

We've been spending a lot of time at the beach, and Kingston is really starting to have a great vocabulary and appreciation of language. He is starting to pick out rhyming words and really cracks up when I say things like, "You ate a peach at the beach!"

I can't wait to see what the rest of the summer brings! So far so good.

And on the running front, my knee is feeling great and I actually ran 4 days in a row this week. Granted, I never did more than 2.8 miles, but at least I was out there. Tomorrow I am going to do a mock 5K and see if I can get some faster splits. I may be running a 5K race next weekend. More on that if it really goes down!

Proof!

I'm running again! Hooray! I am still taking it really slow and easing back into things, but I ran 2 days this week (only 1 mile, then 2 miles but still. . . ) and did crosstraining one day. My knee is feeling better with only mild pain while running. I've been so jealous of my running buddies and the miles they have been logging while I have been sitting on my butt. In a few weeks I should be right back in line with them.

And starting August 1, one month from today, I will begin training for the Outer Banks 1/2 Marathon in November. I will be doing this with the help of a running coach, Tonia, from Racing With Babes. She is friends with my friend Dallas, who is blogging about the running adventures of the OBX Running Mamas. Such solid girls and I'm so excited to go on this journey with them. Check us out when you can. Things could get a little crazy when the miles start to add up!