A portrait of our little guy. This is definitely a transition phase for our J-man. He's potty training and doing pretty well, with the occasional soppy pant leg or shite-filled big boy underpants.
Here he is sporting his new big boy underpants look. At the time of the photo he was still adjusting to the responsibility of owning his bowels and bladder—rather than them owning him. I think you can see it in the eyes. A trace of fear, but a strong, subtle confidence.
Hello all. With the weather improving bit by bit, my mind is wandering to getting on the bike. The thing is, I have a family at home that I'd like to come home to when the ride is over.
Any one of you who has a loved one who rides probably realizes that cyclists have as much right to be on the road as cars do. But I can tell you that during every ride, some guy/gal behind the wheel takes risks to get past me, in order to get to where they are going 30 seconds faster.
Last September I was riding in Orange, Virginia. A small town in the middle of farm and wine country in central Virginia. At a stop sign, a southern gentleman told me that "there has to be a better place for you to ride than here." I told him that I'd take my chances here over a city any day. I thanked him for his concern, and as he drove away in his jacked up 4x4, he yelled "It's not concern if you're dead!" Though his statement is unintentionally cryptic, one message is clear: MOST DRIVERS WANT CYCLISTS OFF THE ROAD. And some, run them off.
Check this out. It's a public service announcement running in the UK.
C (Ellie's Friend): Miss Jen, my imaginary friend came over for supper and a sleepover last night. Me: What is your imaginary friend's name C? C: Mimi. Me: Oh. Ellie you have imaginary friends too don't you? Ellie: Yes I have lots. Do you think C has a lot? Me: I don't know, why don't you ask her? Ellie (turns to her friend sitting next to her in the backseat): C, how many imaginary friends do you have? C: Seven. Ellie: I have 21. C: Well I have 100. Ellie (quietly): Hmmm. That's too many. (pauses) Is my number more than yours? C: Did you mean you had a 121? Ellie: Yeah. (confidently) One hundred and twenty one. C: Well then that's more. Ellie: Oh. Okay. (Both girls giggle) Friendship remains intact.
We found this after putting the kids to bed. We're not sure if Jonah or Diego was driving. Diego was released from the hospital this morning and is expected to make a full recovery.
So here's the new Ellie Bellie Kids Campaign.* When it was first pitched to me, I was so gob smacked I think it took me a full minute to respond. I think it's perfect. Of course when you have an amazingly talented Creative Director, you expect nothing less.
Last night was a tough night. I suppose I deserve it after telling another mom my kids sleep until 8 am.
You see, Jonah needs to transition to a big boy bed (it became crystal clear the moment I caught him on the precipice of railing getting ready to fall head first after yelling, "Look Mommy, I can do it!"). To prevent injury from climbing out I have left the railing down while I arrange for a new bed. I figure it is a shorter fall.
Last night however, after one fall out of the crib at 9:30 pm and then an incident of crying at 2:30 am I decided I would let him sleep with me. That was probably one of the worst decisions I have ever made. And yes I mean EVER. For the rest of the night he was squirming and waking up and climbing off the bed only to shriek when I tried to take him back to his own bed. I think we slept a total of 4 hours. Needless to say it will be a v-e-r-y l-o-n-g day today. I can not believe what parents of newborns go through for months at a time. As a friend of mine recently said, "you know, sleep deprivation is considered torture in most countries."
Anyway, I do have to say though I did enjoy the half hour or so of cuddling that we got last night. And that, I think, helped get us both through the long night.