The Mid-Point of Summer

OK, so the high temperature around here today is supposed to be 61. And yesterday at 10:30 a.m. I went outside for a walk in the neighborhood with my daughters and we wore FLEECE HOODIES. In JULY, people. During daylight hours. What in the world?

It's been a weird summer so far. Not bad, necessarily, but full of all kinds of new or strange experiences: joining a farm-share for the first time--after three years of waiting--and the way belonging to a CSA forces you into a whole new world of cooking and eating and planning and thinking, which has been a total joy, for me, from the very first week. Taking on the challenge of the 30 Day Shred (more on that later, after I complete Level 2), just because I needed to squelch my exercise boredom and see what I am capable of. Julia's swimming lessons, and their attendant anguish. Unseasonably cool weather more weeks than not, meaning that lately in the mornings we sit near the patio door eating breakfast in a chilly breeze, rather than stepping out onto the patio into balmy sunshine with coffee mugs in hand. Debating the Genevieve-at-preschool question. Nervously eyeing the calendar for how many weeks left before my first babe goes off to kindergarten.

Mostly I'm trying really hard to enjoy this summer, cold weather and all, because it's my last summer before Julia's gone to school every morning, and likely before Genevieve begins her very first steps into any type of school at all. This week was the first time in three full weeks that we've had nothing going on in the a.m.'s (and mostly nothing in the afternoons, either), and it's been a great luxury to wake up slow, sit at the breakfast table with my babes for a very long time, stay in our pj's till late, stick close to home for walks and hopscotch and chalk-drawing. I desperately want every week left in summer to be just like this (with a little more sun and warmth, please), and I want summer to last about twice as long as what's actually left.

Not the Shred, though. I don't want the Shred to last twice as long as normal. I'll tell you all about why tomorrow.

Yeah Well, Your Creamy Flawless Newbie Skin Will Go Out the Window One Day Too, Baby.

Genevieve just told me that she's "a mama now" because she has "a red spot" on her leg (and then pointed out a tiny freckle). Ah, yes. Imperfect skin as the defining feature of mamahood. Really, it's just the defining feature of OLD, but she doesn't know that yet.

The Kohlrabi was Pretty Good.

I had kind of a crazy day. Between my mystery allergy attack at the neighborhood playground this morning and the urchin neighbor children knocking on my door at dinnertime asking to come in and play because the power was out at their house and they were "hot" (?! I don't even know these children. They're older than my own.) and the crazy toddler tumbling class for which my children were the sole registrants (?!), well.... it was just kind of an odd day. Now it's 9 p.m. and I'm handling the bedtime rebellion, sitting outside the nursery door and contemplating the fact that I have not yet done my 30 Day Shred workout today. People, I am THIS CLOSE to falling off the Shredwagon! It's 9 p.m., people! Who does the Shred at 9 p.m.? Crazy people, that's who. A category which I may or may not fall under; we'll see in about ten minutes when I sneak away from the nursery hallway. Would YOU do walking push-ups at 9:30 p.m.? I just don't know.

I also ate a kohlrabi today, which was another weird thing. It was so odd-looking that my five-year-old shuffled sideways away from it like a crab when I pulled it out of my farm-share bag, grimacing nervously and keeping a watchful gaze on it out of the corner of her eye.

Over at Friday Playdate, Susan's been making cupcakes, and I'm thinking that maybe I need a little more cake and a little less kohlrabi in my life right about now. After I do the Shred, I mean.

'Night, all. Better day tomorrow.

Sweetness

Yesterday Genevieve told me I am her "best mommy" and Julia told me (separately) that she is going to live with me "forever."

Aw. You can almost forgive them the tantrums over bedtimes and the "wrong string cheese" when they act like that.

Who's Shredding Who?

Traveling push-ups, squat-thrusts, plank jacks, skater leaps: all reasons why I feel no guilt over real whipped cream.

Day 14 of the 30 Day Shred. What can I say? Level 2 is so hard that I've lost two inches in the four days since moving up from Level 1; I kid you not. SO HARD, PEOPLE.

In other news, my two-year-old had her earliest successful bedtime in months last night, the day she skipped her afternoon nap. I'm sure there is a lesson here, but I'm too distracted by my aching shoulder muscles and limp-as-noodles quads to focus on it right now. What's that you say? Drop Genevieve's nap? And all will be right with bedtime again? It's just that I'll go crazy dealing nonstop with Genevieve from sun-up to sun-down with no breaks in between, but it's a small price to pay? Maybe I'd even get to stop sitting on the floor in the hallway outside the nursery door every evening?

I'll think about it. Maybe she can join me in the Shred workout every afternoon. Afterwards we'll sit around eating whipped cream together.

What I've Learned This Week:

Taking care of a five-year-old and a two-year-old (plus the cat and the house) by yourself for four straight days and nights is perfectly manageable as long as you accept the fact that there's just too much to do for you to be able to get much sleep during that time. If you can get beyond that minor problem, you'll be fine. Soldier on!

It's a Matter of Pride

Overheard at the end of a long, busy, tiring day:

Julia (sighing): Genevieve, you really wear me out sometimes.
Genevieve (scowling): Not sometimes! A YOT OF DA TIME!

Genevieve Says Daddy's in "Hogan Wings."

The girls and I have been keeping ourselves extremely busy while Daddy's on his trip to Saratoga Springs. (Two days down, two to go.) Of course, there have been swimming lessons every morning, which have continued to coincide with the most unseasonable, cool/cloudy/rainy weather imaginable (uh, who worries about temps in the 50s and 60s for swimming lessons in JULY, people?). Genevieve and I were thrilled when, on Tuesday, Julia had her first tears-free lesson. As my friend Lori said, hooray for small victories! Yesterday she even dared to put her face in the water. Amazing! Too bad it took two weeks.

As for Genevieve, she's a water baby, and was truly sad when I took her to her final (weekly) swimming lesson on Tuesday night. (Yes, we had one kid's swimming lesson in the a.m. and the other's in the evening that day. Have I mentioned how TIRED I am?)

Aside from swimming, or should I say "swimming," we've been house-and-cat-sitting for our best friends, playing at the park, chalk-drawing on the driveway, riding bikes, planting flowers, visiting Julia's old and Genevieve's probable new preschool, cooking and baking (strawberry shortcake! yum!), running errands, going to the library, and enjoying an impromptu brief visit from my mom, who caught a ride down to our town with a friend to keep us company for a day or so. Since she took us out to Wendy's yesterday and bought the girls essentially their first-ever "happy meal"-type lunches, she's pretty much a goddess in their minds.

Today, after Julia's last swimming lesson and my mom's departure, we've got on tap a quick grocery-store run (you know, for the essentials: half-and-half for my coffee, espresso beans, ice cream), a visit to the bookstore to pick up the first volume in the Mercy Watson series for Julia, a bribe promised early last week if she completed her eight swimming lessons, more house-and-cat-sitting, possibly an after-dinner foray downtown to check out the weekly outdoor music at the town square. Of course, somewhere in there I've got to complete my second day of Level 2 of the 30-Day Shred (day 12 altogether), but since yesterday my first Level 2 experience killed me, I don't see how that will be possible. I'm actually dead right now. I'm writing this from my grave, where I am contemplating how much my quadriceps hurt. Here are some thoughts that ran through my head yesterday during my workout:

"How is that even possible."

"Is she kidding me?"

"I'm dying. I'm dead right now."

"No human being can actually do that. This must be computer-generated."

"Even the instructor-helpers are cheating and drenched in sweat!"

"Oh my God, this is CRAZY."

So, there you have it. If I make it through the entire 30 days, it will be a miracle.

Let's Just Assume it's Working its Magic From the Inside Out, Shall We?

OK people, I've completed 10 days of Level 1 of the 30 Day Shred. For 10 straight days, I completed the workout without fail, despite the fact that I suspected Jillian Michaels was out to kill me. And since I've heard Level 2 is much harder than Level 1, I'm anticipating my workout during naptime this afternoon with a fair amount of fear. And by fear I mean abject terror.

All over the Internet, you can find accounts of other people's Shred experiences complete with photos, measurements, and weight stats that attest to major body changes throughout the 30 days. However, my results so far--at least in the way of hard data--have been less than jaw-dropping. For instance, my weight is exactly the same as the day I started. As for measurements, I have lost a grand total of.....one inch. I mean, I'll take it, but....one inch? How anticlimactic. Then again, it's only been 10 days, with 20 more to go (gulp), so perhaps the dramatic results will come later. A late-thirtysomething mama of two can only hope.

However, as I said before, my biceps and shoulders are noticeably more toned, and since the workout became significantly easier from day one to day 10, clearly I've gained substantial fitness in the past 10 days.

I'm on to Level 2, and if it doesn't kill me, I'll let you know just how terrifying it is once I've tried it.