Thursday, May 31, 2007

Memorial Day



For Memorial Day, the boys and I cleaned out closets, had a picnic in the park, and went out for ice cream (and sorbet). Scott started a rotation at the hospital this week. Last night he was practicing blood pressure checks on me. Today he said he had lectures about psychiatry, so I probably got some sort of psychiatric evaluation tonight without even realizing it. I wonder if I passed. There has been some construction nearby lately, so Bruce and I have been watching backhoes and bulldozers and such for the past few days. He has learned a few more important words: "dozers" (bulldozers), "copter" (helicopter), and "backhoe" (he's had this one down for a few weeks). We went to the library today and picked up a few more books about trucks.

Photos by Ellen.

Don't Talk to Me About Cameras


This is what happens when I work too much...

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Random Raymond Update




The sun is out this week and we are taking full advantage of it. We bought Bruce some sandals and picked up some watermelon at the store, and can't wait to have a picnic. We went to an MIT barbecue earlier this week. The food was served up by a woman wearing big glasses and an equation on a T-shirt. I asked Scott if he envied her awesome shirt. "No, not that equation anyway."
I taught my last Activity Day this week. There is only the recognition night left where everyone brings food and we pat the girls on the back for this year's accomplishments. This week we cleaned all the toys in the church's nursery. For awhile it seemed like Bruce was coming home sick every week. So many kids use that nursery that it's probably quite a bacterial playground. Anyway, the girls took the toys outside and washed them off and then had a water balloon toss and squirt gun fight. I didn't have a squirt gun, so I drove home with a wet bum.
Happy Memorial Day!

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Happy BD Bruce!





As promised, here are some pictures from the birthday party.

1. Bruce blowing out his birthday candles.
2. A shift of kids at the cupcake table.
3. One of the best cupcakes I've ever seen.
4. One of Bruce's buddies giving out some attitude.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Bruce's BD and the USATF-NE 12K Championships



Bruce celebrated his birthday with a bunch of his friends this week. All of his toddler buddies came over and played with his toys for awhile, then played Bruce's new favorite game: Ring Around the Rosies. We sang Wheels on the Bus and a few other kids songs and then frosted and decorated train-shaped cakes. Bruce just wanted to eat the sprinkles. We all sang "Happy Birthday" and he made a feeble attempt at blowing out the two candles. I had to extinguish the fire eventually. I'll put pictures of the party up in a few days. These two pics will have to do: my Mother's Day flowers from Scott and Bruce in a shirt given to him from the University itself (Scott helped with a fundraising project) and reading a book about excavators and bulldozers.

I ran a race last weekend. It was the first I've raced since the marathon. I didn't even wear my watch because I haven't done many workouts and felt completely off-pace. It was a 12k race (about 7.5 miles) and part of the New England Grand Prix series of races. The Grand Prix consists of about 6-7 races throughout the year and is like a championship that draws competition throughout New England. Anyway, it was kindof a big deal. I went out with the women's leaders and hung around them for a mile or so. They drifted back and I pressed on. I was feeling pretty tired by the end and in the last half-mile, another woman challenged me for the win. It was a fight to the finish. She pulled ahead, then I pulled ahead, then she pulled ahead.... We switched leads four or five times and then the finish line appeared and I sprinted as hard as I could. I'm not really a sprinter, but I really wanted to win this one. There's a picture of it on the race web site.

http://www.rotarybedfordnh.com/brmrr.html


I still find myself daydreaming about jumping on the trampoline and sleeping in while on vacation in Montana, but I think Scott is completely mentally back from vacation (perhaps I'm always on a mental vacation?). This morning he was kindof spacing out so I asked him what he was thinking about. Without hesitation he replied, "Algorithms for tracing neurons." Huh.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Ready to Go


Bruce picked up tons of new words this week: backhoe, playgroup, noodle. Today he was so excited to go to playgroup that he picked up all his toys in the living room and put them away (without me asking him!) and got out his shoes and socks. He was by the door ready to go a half-hour before we needed to go.
This week he also learned how to climb up onto his changing table. Now he starts climbing when he has a dirty diaper, then yells from the top of his changing table.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Wicked Bad Cholesterol


We're back from Montana and back to the daily grind. I've been catching up on a lot of work. Scott is happy to be running experiments and sheltered in the lab again. And even though Bruce enjoyed getting completely spoiled, I think he's glad to be back too. When we went to playgroup the other day he recognized the building when we parked and said "YESSSS!"
I had my cholesterol tested right before I left and just got the results back. When I went in for my test, I forgot to put the stroller in the car so Bruce had to sit on my lap while I got the bloodwork done. I was afraid he'd freak out but he sat still and was very interested in what was going on. Scott said he was the same way when he was young.
Anyway, back to the cholesterol thing...
It's horrible! You'd think the marathon would do something for me. I guess not though. About two weeks before I was tested, I splurged and ate three illegal waffles complete with eggs and real milk in them. How big of a difference can it make? Apparently a lot. My cholesterol is the worst it has been in a year and a half: 252. So I'm back to the strict diet again: no splurging on waffles and eating M&Ms out of the trail mix. Those 5 mg of cholesterol just might kill me.
* And yes, another picture of Mark and Nancy by the trampoline. I haven't uploaded all my pictures yet, so I'm sure there's more to come.

Are we in Heaven?






More pictures from Montana. Bruce spent much of his time jumping on the trampoline, playing on the playground, and swinging on the baby swing that Grandpa got just for him!
And check out the air that Scott's bro gets on the trampoline!

Somersaulting






Bruce learned how to do somersaults at Grandma and Grandpa's house last week. He loved trying his new trick on their soft carpet floors and on the trampoline in the backyard.

Friday, May 04, 2007

Montana 2007






We've thrown our laptops aside for a week and headed west. Bruce was amazingly good on the airplane thanks to a few trucks, books, snacks, and a box of crayons. Most of the time that wouldn't cut it still - but we got very lucky. I don't expect such luck on the way back.
We went to Yellowstone and saw buffalo roaming across the road (that's when I decided not to go for a run in the park!), elk, a few other animals, and a bunch of hotpots/mudpots/geysers/etc. Very cool stuff. It's so weird to see boiling puddles on the ground.
Bruce has enjoyed being spoiled by grandma and grandpa. And Scott and I have enjoyed a break too. We went out on a date the other night: hot springs, a walk, and dinner. It was wonderful to talk to Scott and not be distracted by our adorable toddler, but we still missed him!
I have enjoyed excellent meals, sleeping in, and breathing clean air. Scott has enjoyed the time with his siblings and parents, Frisbee and croquet tournaments, and lack of connectivity here. Bruce has enjoyed so much that I can hardly even start listing it all. Just this afternoon, he went to a duck pond and fed the ducks, watched a power shovel and backhoe at a construction site, jumped on the trampoline, ran up and down a hill, watched a long train roll by, and went to a playground. Spoiled? Oh yes. We all are.