The bad news is that I forgot to put on deodorant..

..the good news is that it was so cold and rainy that it hardly mattered..
Yes, indeed, the weather did not really cooperate for the annual running of the Cherry Blossom 10 mile run...but I was there: shorts, jacket, and poncho, squishing through the mud toward the start, surrounded by what sounded like the hardest-core athletes in the world. As I'm still sleepwalking at 6:50am, to my left a way-too-awake couple is vigorously discussing the pros and cons of training with running clubs versus having an individual plan... I'm way far removed from such lofty conversation, although I do contemplate whether, in such water-logged ground, the porta-potties (Royal Flush!) :) are prone to tipping over when the mud gives out...The rain stops just about when the race starts, lulling everybody (not me!) into a false sense of "let's strip down to the tiny shorts and tank tops!" Mile 3. Drizzle. Not bad: actually felt a little refreshing. Mile 5. Somewhere between a drizzle and a downpour. Mile 8, heading back up the Memorial Bridge, with the wind in our faces: downpour. And, to top of a nice flat course: a finish uphill! Waterlogged but happy to be done, I decisively throw the hood on my head (was too tired to pull it up while I was running), and promptly dump all the accumulated water over the last 7 miles onto my head. Nice.

Updated: Results are out! 1 hour, 43 minutes, 36 seconds: a whole minute and 10 seconds better than last year :) If I keep this up, I will will the race in.. 50 years! Wahoo!

http://www.cherryblossom.org/

(If you are checking the results list, my last name didn't quite make it intact in the registration process, but VLADKONA ran under bib number 13307 :)

First Movie Theater Visit

And here we have another milestone.. the kids' first visit to the movie theater. We went to see "Horton Hears a Who", which, by the way, was really great fun. Even for adults.

Given Justine's "issues" with loudness, we explained it was going to be just like TV, but with a huge screen, and with the TV turned up really loud, so that everyone could hear. The popcorn that came with the movie experience was clearly a plus, but she was not excited about the darkness ("Not getting darker, mommy? No?"), nor about the closed doors. She sat in my lap, mostly transfixed by the movie, but occasionally throwing an uncertain glance at the doors...Vasco, on the other hand, ruled the place: stretched out in his own seat, hysterically giggling at some points, making rather funny remarks in random spots, and chomping on popcorn, utterly delighted at the whole thing. Here are some pictures. And if anyone tells me Justine looks like a teenager in these pictures, I am going to cry! (She kind of does.. that is the scary part!!!!) :)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

I think this is a new record for times between posts? In my defense, I was out of the country for two weeks for work, and when I came back the house was still standing, the sink was not stopped up, and the kids looked fed and happy. That my plants have wilted and the blog has not been updated is just part of the collateral damage I'm willing to live with.

The month, briefly:

Earth to Pre-School 2, do you copy, Pre-School 2?: Field trip to the Air and Space museum. Via Metro. With four of us parents in tow, the journey to the museum was seamless. I was frankly impressed that the kids knew crazy words like "craters" and "satellites", and were fascinated by most exhibits. We didn't start heading back until 11:45, at which point I was sharing panic-stricken glances with the other parents, wondering whether somehow in pre-school the laws of the universe that pertain to 3 year olds do not hold, or whether, and perhaps much more likely, we were in for a phenomenal meltdown. It was the latter. Also made more fun by the fact that by the time we had maniacally steered the whole pack of kids out of the museum and were prodding them in the right direction towards the metro stop, my two angels announced that they had to use the bathroom. Urgently. By the time we had caught up with the group again, the latter was disintegrating rapidly. To maintain morale, I performed magic tricks in the Metro by pulling out goose hair (??) lining the coat of one of the kids and making deranged faces. I was a hit. I will let you know if I will be playing in a city near you in the next months.

Swan Lake, Part II: We are back in ballet class after a one-month break. Same teacher. Same kids, plus some friends from pre-school. Same chaos. Except this time they are learning a choreographed dance. So far it has been mostly demonstrated by the teacher and one really attentive 4 year old. The rest... the rest are cute. Especially the one gracefully plopping on the floor with a crazy giggle at every opportune moment. I'm thinking we can try a wrestling class next: it's almost the same outfit, right?

Finally, I am looking for some appreciation for my creative egg-hiding skills:

Voting, Part II

It's 7:37am. Kids are up, and I've herded them into the bathroom for tinkles before they get to the cereal cabinet.
J: "Are we going to school today?"
me: "No, not today."
J:"It's a special holiday?"
Me: "Yes, it's a holiday today, so no work and no school. I'll make pancakes later"
J:"It's Easter?"
Me: "No. It's President's Day."
J:"Santa's coming???"
Me: "No, honey, Santa's not coming!"
J:"But I voted for Santa...."
Me: entirely incoherent giggling sounds.
V:"J, Santa only comes on Christmas. And we can't listen to "Jingle Bells"until its Christmas time!"

********************
And a few pictures from Saturday. It's been a rough week, clearly.

February's Rituals: Voting and Valentine's Day

Mike has certainly done his part in instilling civic duty in the kids from an early age. The polling place for our area is in the high school which is literally down the street from us, and the kids always accompany Mike to all election-related events.
So Tuesday was DC-MD-VA's presidential primary. On the way over, Mike asks Justine: "Justine, who shall I vote for?" Justine: "Ummmmm... Mom!" That's my girl!!! Of course, once Mike and the kids were in the polling place, Vasco insisted that they vote for Santa. I should say that both Santa and I are pretty decent choices. Santa, however, may have a better chance, rosy cheeks, name recognition, reindeer and all. Not to mention his bribe potential is slightly superior than mine!


On to Thursday... Happy Valentine's Day to all! Mike and I decided to have a romantic dinner at home after the kids go to bed, complete with carry-out Indian food, wine, a real tablecloth and candles. So Mike drives off to pick up the food, while I am trying to set the table. I start pulling out the fancy dishes from the cabinet for the occasion, and see the kids carefully watching me, entirely puzzled. A few seconds pass, and Justine ventures: "Ummm, mommy what are you doing? Is the roof leaking again?" After I practically peed my pants laughing, I tried to explain that our roof was just fine. I think they ended up convinced that the roof was fine, but their mother needed a few shingles replaced.. (side note: our roof did develop a slight leak a few weeks ago, and it leaked directly into the dish cabinet. If you haven't figured it out by now, we did have to remove all dishes and glassware from the cabinet).

A New Low (for me, i.e. Ivanna)

I have officially reached a new low in my mother-dom...

So, its like 10:30 at night, I'm finishing up some work on the computer. Mike is searching for some information that is supposed to be on a back-up disk which is missing in action, and comes across an old stack of photos that were sent home with us from daycare once the kids moved to the pre-school classroom.

Looking at one particular picture, I say: "Hey Mike, Vasco really looks like Justine in this picture!"
Mike: "Ummm... that IS Justine."

Great! After being able to tell the kids apart in their NICU pictures, with nothing but a napkin-sized diaper, a CPAP in their nose and a feeding tube, I manage to mix them up in this picture. Now why would the daycare workers put Justine in a blue bib???! Really!

Here's a picture of the infamous picture: the eyes clearly say Justine, but the haircut and hair color really threw me off. (I'm fishing for excuses. Any further excuses that anyone is willing to provide me will be most welcome).
I will now go label the sleeping kids with permanent marker to avoid any further such embarrassment.

Snow, Ballet, and Highly Effective Interrogation Tactics

Notice the lovely cardboard sled... We subsequently went to Target in search of a real sled, and, upon reaching the aisle where they carry sleds, both kids exclaimed: "Those aren't sleds!!! Sleds are made from cardboard!" Yipes!!!

Justine started ballet classes, which at her age, consists mostly of a pack of 10 giggly 3-4 year olds in pink leotards and tutus, swirling around in a somewhat organized fashion. More than anything, it is 5 sessions of photo-ops for the stack of parents who line the walls of the studio every Sunday. And an exercise in patience for the already very patient instructor. All in all, it has been a huge success: Justine loves it, I'm entertained, and the boys get to spend some boy time together (not sure what that really entails, but I'm picturing both in their underwear with a couple of empty beer/milk bottles lying around, watching a Carolina game on the big-screen TV...)


The "why" questions, after taking a short vacation, are back in style... I lost my work ID the other day, which is an awful inconvenience since I have to use it to get into the garage/building, and to remove the kids from the daycare facility. Not having my ID, I had to hop out of the car before we got to the garage. What followed upon the announcement of the impending change of schedule:
me: "Guys, daddy will drop you off today, since I lost my ID and have to go get a new one"
V&J: "Why?"
me: "Because I can't get in through the normal entrance"
V&J: "Why?"
me: "Because I lost my ID"
V&J: "Why?"
me: "It was an accident. I had it and now it's gone. I left it somewhere and now I can't find it"
V&J: "Why?"
me: "I'm sorry!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't mean to!!!!!! It was an accident!"

Wait a second.... Maybe WE should try the "Why" tactic....