You Live Where?: Ride Your Bike to Work Week, Fayetteville Style

Picture me. On a bike. Commuting to work.

Yep, pretty sweet. I can ride my bike to the office in about 30 minutes, almost the entire way on the excellent Fayetteville Trail System.

I've heard of Ride Your Bike to Work Week for several years, but when your commute via car is 50+ minutes, with the vast majority of the miles being Interstate miles, it's a bit of an occupational hazard to try it. Here, of course, it wouldn't take me 50 minutes to drive to work if I detoured along every single side street in town. So this was it - this was my year to finally jump on the bandwagon, reduce my carbon footprint, and burn enough calories to feel absolutely zero guilt when I eat a cupcake for dessert after my Reuben sandwich dinner. Winning.

I already did a couple of practice runs the last two weeks, but the weather has been so crazy - back and forth, warm and cold - I haven't been able to sustain the effort. Those test runs, though, taught me something very valuable - a backpack is not quite big enough for:

• my iPad
• my lunch sack
• my work clothes
• my shoes (this would be the most difficult puzzle piece to fit - 3" heels don't stack well in a backpack)
• my straightening iron
• my hair stuff to fix the helmet head after the ride

So as part of what was an awesome Mother's Day, Justin took a couple of outfits in to the office for me and hung them in the locker room in anticipation of my Monday and Tuesday commute plan. I'm a lucky girl, huh?

So this morning, tomorrow morning, and hopefully again on Friday morning, I plan to walk out the door looking a little bit like this (why yes, that is a Minnie Mouse Thermos for my coffee):

As opposed to my typical, a little bit like this:

Off I go!!

Friday Feature: Caroline's Artwork

A couple of weeks late, but still a great piece of individual art. Without any prompting from us, Caroline created this for Earth Day. Maybe they talked about it at school, or maybe she heard it on TV. Either way, I thought it was pretty darn creative.

Twelve more years... And counting

I'm worried. Less than one year into his thirteen year public education journey, John began stating on an almost-daily basis that he didn't like school. Not good, buddy. You've got twelve years of this in front of you. 

I LOVED school. I cannot grasp the concept of not waking up every morning ready to sit in class and learn everything I could. I'm pretty sure that on the last day of second grade, I cried because I had to wait three whole months to go back. John? Notsomuch. 

I encourage him every day to tell me what the best part of his day was, to talk about the most fun thing he did at school that day. Inevitably, the answer is recess, or PE, or on a really tough day, lunch. Lunch. Seriously??

So this morning while I was getting ready, and I got my regular visit from John to say good morning, I asked him what would make today a fun day at school. He couldn't think of anything, so I prompted him with, how about math? You're really good at it, and you like it. He shook his head, and said no - it's not that fun, because it's too easy. He said his favorite days were when he got to play on the iPad during centers, or the computer during library. 

I persisted, of course. I am only half joking when I say my kids can be anything they want to be, as long as it's a scientist or an engineer. So I started back with the math. Math is really important, I said. In fact, I use math every single day, almost all day long. 

John was dumbfounded. What kind of math, Mommy?

I launch into my typical too-much-for-a-six-year-old explanation about retail prices, how much things cost, how my customer makes money, how I have to figure out dollars and percents. John looked serious, and said, do you have to use a calculator, Mommy? Because money is usually big numbers, and you need a calculator for that.

As a matter of fact I do, buddy. 

Seeing a slight glimmer of interest, I went on, explaining that I also get to use the computer to do math, and that's when it hit me - John is into computers. John is into video games. Programming is math, and science, and logic. So with the (lack of) wealth of knowledge I have about programming, I tell John, did you know there are people whose whole job is to create video games? They use math, and numbers, and have to solve problems to make the games that you play on the computer!

Bingo. Eyes wide as dinner plates. 

I felt the tiny little triumph of figuring out a small way to motivate my son. I'm not sure he'll ever know anything about writing software or creating programs, but if it stimulates at least a little bit of interest in school, than I'll leverage that for everything it's worth. 

Who knows - someday, Angry Birds John John could be the Next Big Thing. 

The best part of my day

I admit it - many days I think that my workout is the best part of my day. Really really, though, I just can't beat the moment on the days when I pull into the driveway and my kids are outside playing. Maybe it's nostalgia, maybe it's jealousy, maybe it's just the mom-satisfaction of seeing your kids playing together, but there's no doubt that I love seeing them out in the sun, having a great time. 

It struck me today when I saw what they were doing that the essence of play is timeless. My brother, sister and I spent hours playing Hot Wheels outside, making cities in the flower beds; imagining danger and intrigue; providing thrills and excitement for the objects of our play. 

Caroline and John added the element of sidewalk chalk to take it up a notch. The robot spider is clearly a villain to be reckoned with. 

 

I may be missing my chance to develop the next Major League ace or diva for the Metropolitan Opera, but that's okay. I think my kids are having a good time, anyway. 

Celebrate - it's John's birthday!!

Coming home - 2007

Bathtub baby - 2007

Yesterday was John's birthday. I blinked, and all of a sudden my baby - no wait, toddler - no wait, my little boy - was six. He promises me that no matter what, he'll always be my baby, and I am sure I'll embarrass him with that on multiple occasions in the future.

1st birthday - 2008

John is my super-affectionate kid. All of the pictures he draws of us together, we're always holding hands. Lately, when I sing him his bedtime song, he snakes his little hand out from under the covers and intertwines his fingers with mine. He's always the one that will sit in my lap and just let me love on him. I dread the day he's too big for that; for now, though, he still holds my hand in public; gives me hugs just because; and lets me give him a million billion kisses without complaining.

Silly John - December 2008

Hard to believe that six years has already gone by. I love that little boy, just like I loved the infant and the toddler, and just like I know I will love the teenager, the young man, and the adult he will become.

2nd birthday - 2009

meeting Cookie Monster - July 2009

Crazy about Thomas - 3rd birthday - 2010

Halloween 2010

4th birthday - 2011

Christmas 2011

5th birthday - 2012

First day of Kindergarten - 2012

6th birthday!!

Someday he'll be all grown up. For now, though, here's to the year ahead, and the joy of being six years old!!

Friday Feature: John's artwork

This cane home this week, and John couldn't remember what it was. Any interpretations?

What is that you're eating?

Interpreting the mispronunciations of little kids' words is a source of comedy as a parent. I wish I had written more of them down; there were so many quirky little pronunciations of everyday words when Caroline and John were toddlers, some of which persist in our conversations. I can't tell you how many times I've intentionally said, "I don't fink so!" in response to a request for something outrageous.

Food, naturally, is a core part of early vocabulary, and it follows that food was frequently mispronounced:

• Mik = milk
• Chicky = chicken
• Paba = pasta
• Hoot layers = eclairs (technically that was just a year ago, but hoot layers? seriously?)

To this day, my sister, parents and I still occasionally call Coke "guldee gull" because that's how my little brother pronounced it when he was a toddler. (Why this was one of his first words should be an indicator of how much my family loves Coke. And I mean COKE, not Pepsi. Please.)

Now that the kids are older, there aren't that many mispronunciations or funny articulations any more. This past weekend, though, I was down in Houston for my sister's baby shower, and my dad and brother-in-law decided to cook out of the Julia Child cookbook for Saturday night dinner. While they were finishing up, I made a quick call home to talk to the kids. Food is a pretty a standard topic of conversation, and I asked them what they had for dinner. Caroline told me they had hot dogs and beans - a favorite - and I exulted with her over their delicious dinner.

When she asked me what I was having for dinner, I told her, beef bourguignon, and it's going to be delicious!

Pause. Silence on the other end of the line.

Caroline: "Of course it's going to be delicious, Mommy! It has Yum in the name!"

And that, my friends, is why beef bourguignon will now and forever be known as beef bourguignYUM in the May and Coussoule families.