Lessons From Sisterly Love

This morning, my eight-year-year begged me to let her make breakfast for her younger sister. Not a problem at all, I am all for nurturing independence, especially when it gives me a few extra moments with my coffee and the daily crossword puzzle. Despite the marginal nutritional value of her artistic medium, this toaster-ready pancake reassured me that my children understand our constant nagging about good nutrition. In this "portrait" of her sister, Cady felt comforted by the banana hair and multivitamin nose. She figured it made up for the marshmallow eyes and M&M mouth. It's not spinach or green beans, but it's a start, right? At the very least, it has inspired me for tomorrow night's dinner. I'm thinking some kind of chicken monster with green bean hair. Got any sneaky ways of getting your kids to eat green? I'd love to hear 'em!

This Week: technology, penises and coaches, OH MY!

Much like my brain, this post will be scattered. Lots going on in my mind right now, but somehow they are all connected...  they're all part of the fit mama crazies I have going on this week.  (The photo below makes me wonder if the kids are feeling it, too!)

For starters, I'm officially on my way to becoming a technology geek.  Got an iPhone yesterday and, yes, I'll admit it's very cool. With my book coming out, it's time I get tweeted. If you're interested, I've set up a twitter account, (http://twitter.com/Laurie_Kocanda). Just getting started, so humor me!

What's next?  Oh yes, penises...  There aren't many in my house and I've never parented one so yesterday's child swap was pretty humorous. Took my friend's little guy to the potty and he insisted on standing...  pointed that little sucker all over the bathroom, but luckily got it down before he started going. Really didn't know they required such monitoring. I had to remind him to focus the whole time...  Really, who know that appendage could be so terrifying! Like a loaded gun!

Last up: coaches. Met up with my friend Chris Lundstrom (elite runner who recently made the national trail running team--yeah, Chris!) to get my fall marathon plan started. "Tell me what to do and I'll do it." Feels like a treat to not have to think about this...  though I'll have to wait and see how hard he works me!  It's a little late for this, but I'm sure he'll whip me into shape!

Home now and back to reality, which today begs the question, "How will I get my run in?" Right now, the plan is this: Bring the girls to the pool, meet up with a friend who says she'll watch them, and hit the road for an hour.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

Oops, I did it again...

Wasn't planning to run any more races this year. Decided I kinda liked my low mileage, low intensity, low stress summer. Smack in the middle of really liking my "Summer of Sloth," that dreadful alter ego stepped into the picture and got me signed up for the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.

It's my favorite marathon, so I guess it's no wonder that "other me" decided I needed to get on board. But now I'm faced with the decision of running another average marathon or kicking it up a gear to run a little faster. Sad thing is, the difference between the two isn't much anymore. So, I've decided to meet with someone to come up with a training plan and see what I can do in the little time I have. Could use a little ego booster about now. Either way, I know it's about the journey and not the destination. I've been avoiding the hard stuff for a while... I'm excited to see if it brings me more joy along the way, knowing I've worked hard.

My daughter looked at my driver's license this morning and asked me what they do when you gain weight and weigh more than it says on the card. "Why, do you think my number would be higher?" (Never ask this kind of question of a kid, they are WAY TOO HONEST!) "Ahhhh, yep," was all she had to say. Wonderful. Guess this venture might be a "two-fur": a little something mental and a little something physical.

Nothing like the honesty of kids to reinforce a decision.