Capitol Hill Classic

Last weekend was the Capitol Hill Classic which is always a fun, community event.  Carlos added a minute to his time and Charlie shaved off 10 seconds.  The kids loved cheering on the 10k runners and then Charlie was super excited for his 3k race.  He got to run with his friends which was fun to see.  In the end he was the fastest 6 year old running 9:46/mile but by age 7 kids are running 8 minute miles!! wow!  Diego didn't really like the fun run. It's too crowded so I don't really blame him.

Sofia is a force of nature.  I love to see how she bonds with her favorite 2 year olds: Quinn and Maeve.  It's hysterical to see them carry on quite a profound relationship with such limited vocabulary.  I don't however love her temper tantrums and the battle of wills we go through every evening. I stopped nursing her on Friday May 15th and two weeks later she is still looking to nurse - that's how determined she is!  I find that I often continue clearly unsustainable activities until one day I hit a breaking point and veer in a very different direction.  Friday May 15th was that breaking point for me and nursing.  I had thought I'd have this romantic nursing sendoff with a halo image of me with Sofia the last time I would nurse her.  Instead it ended with me so frustrated that I put her in her crib screaming while I made dinner. All those "no cry" weaning blogs make me feel that my weaning was like a failed "pintrest" birthday cake.  That particular Friday she was mad from school pick-up all the way through the Yards Park concert - a good 4 straight hours.  Finally I gave up and decided that was the end of nursing.  It hasn't solved much in terms of her attitude, but at least she is off breastmilk....

On a more positive note, we borrowed a bike seat from Cici's family and Sofia LOVES it.  I traumatized her at first because I wasn't used to the weight and when I first put her in the seat the bike nearly tipped over.  For the entire first ride she screamed "I fall, I fall, I fall."  But after a few rides she has come to love it.  Because of road closures I had to bike with all three kids to Anacostia for Charlie's soccer game at 8am and then bike over to Diego's baseball game on the other side of the Hill and then bike to a birthday party and back home.  After all that, Charlie was disappointed that we weren't biking back over to the other side of the Hill again for his baseball game.  I swear these kids must be in calorie deficit most days.

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day we tried to take a mini-hike on Roosevelt Island but it turned out everyone and their mother (literally) had the same idea. So we kept going to Turkey Run park, an exit off George Washington Parkway that I've passed for years and, to be honest, never even been curious about.  But we decided to give it a try and had an awesome hike.  Apparently no one else is curious about the exit either because we were the only people there.  The Potomac Heritage Trail guides you along the river with many places to stop and - if you are my children - find good rocks to throw in the water.  The trail isn't well traveled so it is narrow and overgrown at times, but the kids loved it and ran/walked the 3+ miles.  The part Sofia loved most was an old bridge which she must have crossed at least 24 times.  

The hike salvaged an otherwise comical mother's day which started with Carlos waking up late and saying "why don't I make some breakfast?....oh wait...we don't have ingredients to make the one thing I can make....how about some toast?"

We hosted Charlie's little league team recently which ended up being a lot of fun.  The kids made a clubhouse out of the 3rd floor.  They watched the Nats game while simultaneously playing their own baseball game with cushions as bases.  From the first floor we could hear the wild cheering as their favorite players got up to bat.  Overall little league has been a lot of fun for Charlie, but it has made me remember why I don't like baseball.  His games last two hours; I'm really just interested in seeing him play but he only touches the ball a few times (at best) an inning!  Maybe if we can get Diego and Charlie on the same team there would be enough density of action to hold my attention.

Sofia is a lovely terror :). Similar to the way Diego always has to go poo in the worst possible places, Sofia seems to sense the worst place to start screaming and let's me have it.   Swim class is my least favorite activity of the week - as in I really, really can't stand it - and of course she reserves her worst behavior for that time.  By the time I get home I want to crack a bottle of wine over my head.  On the other hand she is usually pretty sweet during tennis class, primarily because she has found some poor older girl who let's Sofia boss her around.  In the photo below she has stolen the girl's journal and is writing her own notes.  They have become strange friends and the girl keeps wanting Sofia to come over to her house for a playdate! Sofia's best friend is named Quinn and they are hysterical together. They can barely talk to each other but seem to communicate at a deep level....  Sofia calls her "Kinn" and calls her mom "mama."  In fact I seem to be the 3rd mom: Sandra is mom, Quinn's mom is mom and, lastly, I am mom.  If it weren't for the fact that I am STILL nursing, I think she'd consider me dispensable.