Hats!

Myra has developed a bit of an obsession recently with headgear.  She loves to point out when anyone is wearing a hat - particularly if that person happens to be a princess wearing a crown.  With regards to her own headgear however, she is a bit more flexible...

Hats are good.

Cowboy hats are better!

A tiara is perfect!

But hey, a bowl full of Banana pudding works in a pinch!

And if nothing else is available, a mailing envelope will do!

Who needs a bed?

We spent much of this morning cleaning the carpets in the kids room.  Potty training was messy.  This necessitated the removal of most of the furniture and toy boxes into the living room.  Logan's bed ended up in the entryway.  Of course, all this novelty made for fun times in new places.  Logan decided to curl up in a couple of toy boxes and take a rest.

That just doesn't look very comfortable to me, but he obviously doesn't mind.  You know, they'd have a lot more room to play with one less bed in there...

Gymnastics "recital"

Well, I'm not really sure what to call it, but Logan had a performance sort of Open House for Gymnastics last night.  He learned a routine and was able to show us all of the moves and skills that he has been learning this year.  It was really fun and he was so cute!

Logan doing warm ups on the floor.

Here is a tiny clip of the end of his routine.

Jumping on the trampoline

Swinging

Climbing

The rings are his favorite!

More swinging

And getting his medal at the end!  He had so much fun!  He really loves gymnastics.

The Limo...

We have a new (to us) car!!

Isn't she pretty?  I know, a minivan, but whatcha gonna do?  We have a bunch of kids.  It's amazing how much space two carseats take up.  Anyway, she is a 2007 Honda Odyssey Touring Edition.  For those who don't speak Honda, that means that she is totally tricked out!

Here's Myra in the middle row captain's chair.  Yes, we went with the leather interior - a big thanks to those of you who convinced me of it's merits!  It also has a built in DVD player, GPS, rear camera for backing up, parking sensors, automatic lights, seat heaters, power EVERYTHING - you name it, this car will do it for you.

Here is the GPS getting me out of Austin without getting us lost.  (Don't worry, I was parked when I took the picture.)  I think this may be the fanciest car I've ever driven.  Hence the name; we're calling her the Limo.

Catch and some crafty fun

Logan and Myra love to play catch with Daddy.  Here is their way...

The video is a minute long, but cute!!  The black spots on Logan's hands (and face, and legs) are the result of the kid's latest hobby - stamping.

I took the kids to Hobby Lobby and let them each choose a stamp and stamp pad.  Logan chose a Mater stamp and a black ink pad and Myra brought home Ariel and a pink pad.  Much fun was had, and the stamps were mostly contained to paper and themselves.  It's washable ink either way, so no permanent damage was done.

Bleh.

Those of you who have spent a bit of time running will recognize The Position: hands on knees, head down, gasping for air; the posture of the completely spent, blown out runner.

Not that I have gone running today. Nor yesterday, nor the day before. Ah, the return to Real Work Hours (which in doctor-speak means, oh, about 70 per week). Devastating to psyche and spirit. Somehow, I just can't convince my body that getting up at 4 am to "get a run in" is a great idea.

Doesn't help that the little ones still haven't grasped the concept of sleep. While they are cute when playful at 11 pm (and 12 pm, and 1:37 am, 2 am, 2:35 am, 3 am, 3:15 am, 4:02 am, and 4:27 am) it is somewhat disruptive to adequate recovery for both me and the missus. The Kids have finally broken us, and we both lie about like dishrags.

On another note, one reader requested a comment about shoes, I presume of the running variety. I note well that the asker is both female and quite the connoisseur of shoes; I doubt my ability to add significantly to her knowledge within that realm.

Katie tells me these are nice. Suck to run in, though.

This is what I know: the more you run, the more fit and function have to dominate over looks. At some point, a shoe will tell you it isn't actually a perfect fit--it just may take 15 miles to do it. Should you never approach that threshold, you never have a problem.

My feet are more square than rectangular, and thus require very wide widths. This essentially limits me to New Balance brand shoes, with the occasional Asics or Mizuno thrown in.

That's ok, there's plenty to choose from. They get the job done, but are mostly ugly, as seen below.
Right about now, I'm really ready to drop major $$$ for a pair like this, as my feet are telling me that my $95 Mizunos don't fit, with a threshold of about 10 miles. And I'd like to run further than that (as my goal is to run a marathon). The really crappy part, of course, is that it took a few 10 mile runs to find that my major shoe investment is worthless. Grrr.

Air Show!!

After 3 years of living in Temple we finally made it to the Central Texas Air Show!  As you might imagine, Logan was in heaven!  We all had a great time.

As soon as we got there, Logan spotted the yellow Life Flight chopper that he toured last summer, and had to go see it.  They let him hang out in the cockpit!

Myra got in the back.

Then he had to see the Firetruck, but we couldn't get him to hold still long enough for a picture.

Check out this tire!

It belongs to this B-25 bomber.

Myra found one that was her size.

Then we got a "ride" in a Huey.

Logan drove...
It was super fun, and the kids had a great time.  Myra's been talking about "airplanes" ever since!

Nap of the Day, 5/1/2010

Didn't run today, dear reader. Didn't even walk. The reason, however, is not what you suspect.

Last night Logan had attacks of what sounded for all the world like whooping cough. It wasn't--it was just snot running into the back of his throat, and making him miserable. Prevention entails him sleeping essentially upright, which requires one of us to hold him. So I did.

Problem is, I can't sleep while holding him in that position. During the night, I got perhaps 3 hours of sleep, until my wonderful wife came at 4:30 (?) and let me sleep until 8.

Typically I don't need much sleep, but that's a bit excessive. Way excessive, after a 3 hour run.

On a separate topic, I am completely blasted still from that run. No reason it should have taken that long. And my lower legs are really hurting, telling me that I lost the form I had two days ago that helped me.

In addition, I am again cursing the running shoe gods. I currently run in this:

Mizuno Wave Ronin

which is essentially a racing flat. I have been looking for a good flat shoe (ie, forefoot to heel height difference of zero) but such does not exist. Problem being, I have very wide feet, and now I think I have a bone bruise on my left foot as this shoe is too narrow on that foot, too roomy on the right. Annoying.

I may have to go to REI or something similar and just buy a really ugly, really wide shoe. I always say fit comes first, but occasionally I'll push the point for looks. Now I am nursing some very sore legs and swear on a stack of Bibles that I'll never do that again.

Happy (although slightly grumpy) running!