What's in a Name?

10.28.2011

Battle of Books

Devin is obsessed with the Percy Jackson books.  A friend gave him the first three of the series for his eighth birthday.  He devoured them.
For those of you unaware, Percy Jackson is a twelve-year-old demigod (meaning he's the son of a mortal woman and the Greek god Poseidon). Percy goes to a camp for demigods where he learns to leverage some of his talents, like harnessing the power of water (did I mention he's Poseidon's son?) and fighting with weapons and he befriends a satyr and other demigods.  Then Percy and his friends go on a quest to prevent a war between the Greek gods Zeus, Poseidon and Hades.  That is the high-level summary of the first book.  Devin has read all five (of the 300+ page books) in the series.  Then he asked about the next series by the same author.  This one continues with the Greek gods, but the books are even longer and the plots and the cast of characters continues to grow. 
I love it.  This kid will willingly pick up one of these books at any time and disappear.  I am thrilled that he has found a series that has deepened his love of reading.  I just wish that there were more books in the series.  We are down to the last book, and I am wondering what will be next.  Therefore, I have been encouraging Devin to branch out to other book series.  I have suggested Harry Potter and 39 Clues (my niece's recommendation) but he has no interest.  No interest in Harry Potter?!?  This is the series that made reading cool for a whole new generation of kids.  I have read every one of the books, and they are phenomenal.  I just don't understand it.  We have had this conversation more than once, and Devin remains resolute.  He is not interested in reading Harry Potter.
In the car tonight Andy was asking Devin about the Percy Jackson books, and he finally got to the root of Devin's issue with Harry Potter.  Devin said, "Percy Jackson is cool.  He fights with swords and water and stuff.  Harry Potter just has a wand."  When you put it that way, it sounds much less cool. 
So I am open for recommendations....

10.19.2011

all in the span of two hours

It started with a lack of water.  We had no water.  Toilets weren't flushing, faucets were dribbling.  I called the water company only to learn that the water was shut off for lack of payment.  What?  So I hopped online to see that my scheduled payment was supposed to go through today.  But I paid bills over a week ago, so why so late?  Clearly there was an issue with the online banking.  I mean, I wouldn't schedule the payment to be an extra week late since I just don't make mistakes, really.  The water company let me know that they are now accepting electronic payments from the banks, so my future payments should go through in a day or two.  Yippieee!  Welcome to 2005!  They assured me that they would turn my water back on, but suggested I call before Friday to ensure that they payment was received. 
Then the power went out.  The rain had finally stopped, but the wind was pretty crazy.  I wasn't sure if my neighbors lost power, because it wasn't dark yet.  Plus, given the recent online banking snafu, I decided to call the power company to ensure that there weren't any payment issues there.  The automated system logged my call, so I still wasn't sure of the source of trouble until a neighbor called.  They had lost power as well, so I felt a little better knowing that I wasn't a complete deadbeat.
Buddy (the dog) used my distraction about the power (finding candles and flashlights while I could still see) to live up to the puppy rep by stealing things off the kitchen counter and chewing the kids toys.  Over and over again.  Finally I convinced the boys and their friends to play in the kitchen where they could keep an eye on Buddy while I played with Isabel.
The power came on, I started dinner and asked Alex to take Buddy outside to play.  For some reason the dog was very agitated and I figured some running around the yard would help.  I was in the middle of cleaning chicken breasts for dinner and assuring Devin that he did not need to throw away his chewed on toys while talking to Andy on the phone when Alex came to the door to tell me that Buddy was exceptionally muddy.  He was telling me that Buddy stepped on his shoes and got him all dirty when Buddy burst through the door and went skidding and slipping all over the hardwoods.  I started yelling and chasing him (knife in one hand, juice from a raw chicken dripping from the other).  The more I yelled and chased the more he ran.  Finally I trapped him in the bathroom and dragged him outside.  Alex was in tears.  The other kids were in shock.  I was losing my mind.
Everyone went to their rooms while I finished dinner.  Then the boys went outside to hose down Buddy, take him for a walk and dry him while I mopped the entire first floor.  Then Izzy and I started in on the carpets.  Devin fed the dog, Alex set the table and I poured a very large glass of wine as we sat down to dinner.  Maybe it was two glasses.  I earned it.


PS - for the record, the knife in my hand was intended for the raw chicken, not the dog.

10.10.2011

The big race!

It's official.  I am a triathlete again.  I competed in my first triathlon in 1999 with a very basic training plan, a mountain bike and a desire to do something new.  Over the course of the last twelve years I have competed in two or three triathlons during some summers, and have taken long, long breaks while pregnant or nursing my three children (somehow the "milk shake" during the run was a huge deterrence for me. Go figure.). 
Last summer I decided not to 'tri' but to just focus on running.  I wasn't that motivated for triathlons, and Andy wanted to 'tri'.  We both thought it would be difficult for the two of us to train while caring for three little kids. 
This summer we decided to figure out the training; we were incredibly organized with our time and we even occasionally paid babysitters so we could train.  And train we did.  We also each did a sprint or two in anticipation of our Olympic distance triathlon at Myrtle Beach last weekend.  It worked.  Our schedule was crazy at times, but we both felt well prepared for our race, and it showed. 
Andy had a great showing in his first Olympic distance triathlon.  He felt good in the water, he rocked the bike and he held tough in the run (when the day was heating up).  He felt good, he looked great and he finished without walking at all! 
For me, the last Olympic distance triathlon was nine years and three babies ago.  That race was a longer swim, a shorter ride and in the mountains.  I finished in 3 hours and ten minutes.  The Myrtle Beach race was a shorter swim (unfortunate for me), a longer bike (also unfortunate for me) and a flat course with crazy head winds.  I wasn't sure what to expect for a finishing time, but I set a goal of finishing in 3 hours.  The swim was good.  The bike was hard.  The best part of the ride was the fact that I rode with Andy on and off for about ten miles before he left me in the dust.  It just took a lot out of me.  The run was decent.  I struggled with the first few miles, but about half way through I found my legs to finish strong.  I crossed the finish line at 2:58:26 and I was thrilled!!!