Just when you are about to lose your mind, kids always manage to do something cute. I think that is why God made them that way.
You cannot tell from the thumbnail, but RJ is splashing Tony, and there is a very large amount of water in the air. Click for the large size.
Our daycare provider had some things that she needed to care of today. Beth offered to take the day off, but I said that I would do it, since I had more vacation time saved up. I think that since both of the boys were born I have spent, maybe, ten days at home alone with them. I am glad that I have the ability to stay home with them when these issues arise.
It is not a terribly difficult job, but it is a full time job, and it is definitely trying at times.
For instance, I went in the basement to update my wife’s computer (Office 2003 SP 2 was released yesterday) and brought the boys with me. All of their toys are down there in sort of a playroom. (Most their toys, however, manage to make it back up the stairs in short order.) Today, while we were all downstairs, RJ decided he wanted to go watch TV upstairs. I came upstairs with Tony about five minutes later. RJ had managed to take an entire loaf of bread, rip it apart, and make a pile in the middle of the living room floor. A loaf of bread typically lasts us a week. I was a bit miffed.
I initially sent RJ to his room while I cleaned up the mess. After the bread was all cleaned up, I went upstairs and explained to him that he would not be able to have any peanut butter and jelly for lunch, which I had earlier promised him, because he ruined all of the bread. It took him a while to comprehend what he had done, but I think that I got my point across, so I sent him back downstairs.
It was time for Tony to eat, so I prepared a bottle. Tony fell asleep, so I put him down for a nap. While I was putting Tony in his crib, RJ ripped apart the remainder of the package of bologna that was left in the refrigerator and made a nice little pile in the middle of the table. He had wasted food twice in the same day!
I am guessing that most people would not be that irritated by this, I mean, it is just food. But, our food budget is $50 a week. We can afford more, but that is what we have budgeted for food, and we stick to it. Whatever we cannot buy on that budget we simply do not get. That means that neither my wife nor I can have a sandwich in our lunches tomorrow (we pack), nor can we have grilled cheese and tomato soup, which is what was on the menu for dinner this evening.
We will, of course, manage. Tonight Beth and I will dine on lemon chicken salad, with homemade croutons. Tonight RJ will dine on the remainder of the shredded loaf of bread and pack of bologna he destroyed. Am I mean? Maybe, but RJ will be the better for having to deal with the consequences of his actions.
I hate to run. However, I have never found a better form of exercise. It burns fat in all the right places, and maintains my cardiovascular fitness. But I still hate it.
I have run into many small pains, annoyances and injuries over the course of the last five years in which I have been forcing myself to run, the worst of which being a stress fracture. All the rest if these “pains” were just a reason for me to stop running. But I did not, and I am the better for not quitting. I have had many questions why running, for me, at least, is so injury prone. Muscle strains from over use and cramps from being dehydrated seem to be the top two in juries on my list.
But what causes that searing pain in your side when you run?
Ask Yahoo! answers:
A side stitch is a piercing sensation just below the ribcage, usually felt when you’re running. In the past, several different theories tried to explain the cause: trapped gas, swollen liver, stomach muscle cramps. However a recent and fairly conclusive theory holds that strain on the ligaments connecting the liver to the diaphragm is the cause.
The liver “hangs” from the diaphragm by fibrous bands called ligaments. Running exerts a steady downward force on your liver, stretching these ligaments. In addition, when you exhale (usually as your left foot hits the ground), your diaphragm is pushed up. That means your liver falls with gravity as your diaphragm rises, placing considerable strain on those poor ligaments.
To alleviate this pain, Ask Yahoo! suggests that you stop running immediately and place your hand just below the pain to push your liver back in to place. Just the thought of that makes me cringe. As for me, I will put my arms of over my head and continue to jog until the pain goes away, or I fall over. Whichever comes first.
I have really noticed they days getting shorter. The first day of fall and the autumnal equinox signal the progression of the seasons, although you can hardly tell with highs still in their eighties here in Ohio.
This is my favorite season.
Some photos of one of RJ’s Third Birthday Parties is up.