It's all in the details.

Distance traveled: 2.33

Current Total Distance Traveled: 44.12

I owe the babies: $11.03

Butterflies, my Deer.

This wasn't Ian's first Metro ride, but it was my first time on the Metro with him. We went to the museum of Natural History and saw the live butterfly exhibit. If you haven't been, make time- it was wonderful, and the staff took lots of time to explain things to my little guy- he was completely thrilled to see a butterfly eating melon!

Not to mention that the woman you see in this picture taught my 2 1/2 year old the word, "proboscis." I think that's wonderful- she explained everything to him simply and without "dumbing it down."

As an aside, the Huntington Metro station definitely needs to improve their signage. Even a veteran 'tro traveller such as myself found it a bit bewildering.

Quotable Moment:
"I'm gonna ride the Metro train. Not the bus, Daddy, just the Metro Train!"

Distance traveled: .83
Solo Miles:1.76

Here's a shot from my solo walk. It's a little hard to make out because of the resolution, but there are about a dozen deer feasting on my neighbor's front yard:

Current Total Distance Traveled: 41.79 miles

I owe the babies: $10.45

"1, 3, 4, 9, 10 mailboxes."

On today's walk, Ian discovered the joys of holding Daddy's hand on one side and Mommy's on the other, lifting his feet up in the air, and shouting, "Woooo! I'm flyin'! Mommy, I'm just flyin'!"

Also, although he knows all the numbers up to 20, he often skips some to get there faster. (And if you think that's fun, you should hear him try to count backwards...) We decided that 1, 3, 4, 9, 10 must have some specific, significant mathematical relationship that is just beyond our ken. But it makes sense to him.

Little Dude's Travel Gear Selection:

Quotable Moment:
"This is Uncle Tyler's hat."

Distance traveled:.78 miles

Current Total Distance Traveled: 39.98 miles

I owe the babies: $10.00

Up to our elbows in oatmeal

Okay, it takes a lot to make Mommy completely flip her lid. No, really. Stop laughing. I'm not joking, it really takes a lot, on the average day, to push me over the edge with these kids. In fact, it's a serious issue in this house that I have to make sure Ian doesn't get away with everything just because his dimples are so dang cute.

Yep, those are the ones.


On this particular Thursday afternoon, the little darlings were having a lovely time playing together while their mamas tried to get some knitting done. (More on how hard it is to make a crocheted peach that looks like a peach and not a strange and possibly naughty stuffed object later.) Just before the first mama took her leave, we heard The Boy announce that he was "making oatmeal."


Jamie came back into the room laughing about how cute it was that they were "pretending" to cook oatmeal in the play kitchen. Heh. After a request from me, she stuck her head back in and reported that they did, indeed have the oatmeal out, but that it was "not that bad." The oatmeal is normally stored three shelves above the ground at my own eye level in the pantry. Climbing in the pantry is on a list of Major No-Nos, so it only happens once or twice a day.


This should have been my cue to imitate an Olympic hurdler on the way to the dining room. But, because I'm very, very foolish, I spent about 60 seconds to get to a good stopping point and then walked the few short steps to the dining room. Big Mistake. Huge. Epic Mommy Fail.


The entire neighborhood heard the screams of "What are you doing in here? NO, this is Very, Very Naughty! What were you thinking? AND WHERE IS THE G^$-D@#&ED CAMERA?" (Okay, so I owe them a penny.)


The children were, of course, appropriately cowed, and showed their embarrassment by grinning, grabbing double fist-fulls of oatmeal, and throwing it up into the air. Then they giggled maniacally. At least they Fear My Wrath.


Everyone except She Most In Need of One (Mommy) got a short time out and then "helped" with cleaning up the oatmeal. Yes, that is approximately 3 pounds of oats scattered all over the dining room. I estimate that my child's child will still be finding oatmeal in the crevices after I die. While us mamas were policing the last of the mess, the three miniature stooges snuck off into the living room, where they got into all of the knitting bags and pulled apart at least two projects and tangled at least one more.


"THAT'S IT! OUT! Everyone OUTSIDE! I don't care if you live here or not, YOU'RE ALL GOING OUT!"


While the short people ran circles in the driveway (Ian was shouting, "It's Raining, Monster Max is pouring," apropos of I have no idea what), I remarked, "well, I suppose I should just be glad he didn't decide to make eggs."

We love ya, babe!

Yes, this is one of those infamous weekends when Daddy is away. Ian received this photo from his father and insists it is a picture of Daddy, "in Ohio, comin' home."

I guess whatever else we've taught him, we've managed the most important thing. He knows his family always comes home.

Please don't forget to help other moms and dads like us bring THEIR family home healthy from birth. We are within $200 of our goal, so your help will mean a lot!

Seneca Creek State Park (mile 36)

Seneca Creek State Park is 36.8 miles from my starting point. From the website:

"The park, comprised of 6,300 acres, extends along 14 scenic miles of Seneca Creek, as it winds its way to the Potomac River. The Clopper Day-Use Area contains many scenic areas, including the 90-acre Clopper Lake, surrounded by forests and fields. Picnicking, boat rentals, trails and a tire playground are just some of its recreational opportunities. A restored 19th century cabin and a self-guided path interpret the history of the area. Nearby, the Schaeffer Farm Trail Area offers 12 miles of marked trails for hiking and mountain biking. For the more adventuresome hiker, the 16.5-mile Seneca Creek Greenway Trail follows the entire course of the river. During May, the Schwartz peony gardens and field plants are in bloom. "

I wanna see my tractors again.

Ian got to see lots of heavy equipment on our walk today... apparently it was the designated start day for several projects in the neighborhood.

The view from the three mile mark

Distance traveled: 3.84 miles

Current Total Distance Traveled: 39.20 miles

I owe the babies: $9.80

"Faster, faster, please, Mommy!"

Little Dude's Travel Gear Selection:

Current Weather conditions:

Quotable Moments:

"That's a pickup truck. That's another one pickup truck. One, Two. I not touch them, I just count them. One pickup truck, two pickup trucks!"

"Mommy, where are you?"

Distance traveled: 3.36 miles

Current Total Distance Traveled: 35.36

I owe the babies: $8.84

"MY Mommy."

"NO, Penguin, that's MY Mommy."

"My hair. Your hair. My hair. Your hair."

"No, I want YOUR cheese, Mommy."

That's right, the little dude has sorted out his first and second person pronouns. He had been using "mine" and "your" pretty interchangeably, but he is on target now!

Unfortunately, after yesterday's hailstorm at his friend Sophie's house, he also has got the idea that Sophie keeps thunder at her house. ("I wanna go Sophie's house, see thunder. Mommy, where my thunder go?") Chalk that one up next to, "Santa ships UPS."

What else was good about today?

Check out Ian loving on this handmade, wooden train! I'm always so excited when handmade toys constructed of natural materials win out over the plastic, battery powered ones. This one even beat out a talking Thomas, so you know it is some good dope! He played with it pretty solidly for about an hour.

Where can you get one? So glad you asked.

Brian Farnsworth
2015 Antares Drive
Bastrop, LA 71220
Tel: 318.283.0709
cmfarny@aol.com

And then... hail.

Due to persistent thunder storms and, at last, hail, we did not get a walk in today.



Ian was fascinated by the hail. He'd never seen any before. He was a little unnerved at first by the noise, but once I explained that it was just ice, he couldn't tear himself away. He was still talking about it at bed time! Michael asked if he was frightened of the thunder and lightning, but he really wasn't. He asked "what's that?" the first time, and then jumped up and down yelling "thunder! thunder! thunder!" I guess his inherent love of all things noisy helped him out there.

Lazy Sunday

The menfolk were nappin', so I slipped out and took a very pleasant walk. I spotted a magnolia tree in full bloom and noticed that the crocuses are over. I always think it's a pity that spring flies so fast.


Current Weather conditions: 73 and sunny!

Distance traveled: 1.76 miles

Current Total Distance Traveled: 32 miles

I owe the babies: $8.00

Under the Cheshire Moon

After a beatiful, sunny day which we spent on general maintenance and Spring Clean Up, our family embarked on a pajama walk. We enjoyed the dusk together.

Little Dude's Travel Gear Selection:

Quotable Moment:

This actually is from after the walk, as we were putting Ian to bed...

"I am the walrus, coo-coo a-choo!"

Distance traveled: 1.19 miles

Current Total Distance Traveled: 30.24

I owe the babies: $7.56

Study & Living Room Reshuffle

Periodically I reshuffle the toys to keep things interesting. Today I've done the study and the living room...

As you can see, we have a fire & rescue themed play area in the living room (soon to include photos of Ian and one of his friends at the fire station), and Pooh & Easter themed shelves in the study, to keep the farm themed area company. The farm is a permanent fixture because it's by and large Ian's favorite toy... he says it's Farmer Pickles' barn and plays with it with his Bob the Builder toys.

(The Thomas mania has not abated, but we have added Bob the Builder and Big Bird to the list.)


While we're at it, here are Ian's tidy, organized book shelves. The half life on this is less than 24 hours, so I thought I'd capture it while I could.

Ice cream cone

In case you were wondering, The Dairy Godmother has a kiddie cone.

Quotable Moments:

"Thank you for getting me mines ice cream cone, Mommy's, and Daddy's ice cream."

Ian: "I want another one ice cream cone."
Mommy: "I have felt that way every day I can remember."

Solo Miles: 1.42 miles

Current Total Distance Traveled: 29.05 miles

I owe the babies: $7.26

Ian and I are Marching to Save Babies! Learn more here: http://semelesriches.blogspot.com/2010/03/march-for-babies.html

A Banner Day

Plum trees are starting to bloom in the neighborhood! I noticed Maple trees blooming too... sorry sinus sufferers!




The Little Man ("No, Mommy, I not called 'little man,' I IANY.") was quite the trooper today. We walked to the store and back, and he did nearly the entire three miles on his feet. We insisted he be carried across the major intersections, and he requested about three more blocks of "up," but he did all the rest!

Quotable Moment:

"Doggy, I hear you woofin'. I am eating my apple."

Distance traveled: 3.08 miles
Solo Miles: 2.76 miles

Current Total Distance Traveled: 27.63 miles

I owe the babies: $6.91

And of course, no day would be complete without a stop at the playground. He really loves the twisty slide these days.

"I need my keys!"

Heading out for the playground tour of Upland Woods....

We actually hit the Elementary School playground and the local tot-lot today. I'm not sure exactly why running around the playground and climbing everything in sight counts as a break when you're two, but he walked a bit further than he'd normally be up for without saying "Mommy, carry me..."

Quotable Moment:

Ian: I wanna go different park, Mommy!
Mommy: (pointing) You don't want to go to the playground over that way?
Ian: No, Mommy, I wanna go 'nother one park.

Distance traveled: 1.16 miles

Current Total Distance Traveled: 22.95 miles

I owe the babies: $5.74