Total Chaos

So, last week was total chaos. Hence, the complete and utter lack of a post. Derek sequestered himself up at the lake in order to get some studying done. Which left me alone with two little boys from Sunday afternoon until Thursday late morning. I really should be thankful because it was supposed to be Saturday!

At any rate, the kids misbehaved in countless ways! Especially because the Saturday before my dear hubby left was Stake Womens Conference. I was ushered off in a car full of old ladies, whom I rather carefully ditched when we got there, on a two hour car ride. Two hours of sitting in the back seat and having no clue what to say! Anyway, my allergy medicine wore off before the TWO HOUR trek back so I had a headache getting into the car and became predictably car sick. I usually get motion sickness which is why I don't like going places in a full car unless we're taking a van (because the third row in most vans has stadium style seating so that you're not looking at the back of someone else's seat the whole time while turning green).

Anyway, we rode to church in the morning as usual. The kids were so insane during sacrament that I skipped Sunday School to calm down. And we went home and began the week of insanity.

We did have some good times though. We had a date day on Monday. MaLew, Derek's mom, came to pick up Al because he asked her on a date. Rhys was upset so we went on our own beautiful date to the fountain downtown. We rode the bike and he made a wish in the fountain. We picniced on the side of the fountain until it turned on causing much squealing and soaking of food. Rhys greeted all of the ladies leaving their offices around the town square for the night. We made it home just as Alistair got back from his date.

Daddy came home just in time to go to the library with us on Thursday. That is just in time after installing a new mirror on my bike, attempting to put a rack behind my seat, and ultimately installing the rack on his own bike. So, he got to carry the books. Rhys attempted to take a nap on the ride home by using his backpack as a pillow. It's a short trip so he was only marginally successful.

But I was convinced all day Thursday that it was actually Saturday....

At any rate, the prep for Easter started at that point. I tried to knit Rhys a blue sweatervest on the knitting machine and somehow dropped one of the weights for the ribber directly on one of the long bones in my wrist - still hurts! I gave up and sent Derek to the store to find something appropriately festive. Luckily we already had something that matched for Al to wear. Hubby did a fantastic job picking out some rather springy shorts.

Did I mention that I had to prep my Relief Society lesson at some point in there.....? Katherine, Derek's sister, and her kids are in town as well. So... blogs may be few and far between for at least another week.

Big Day

Yesterday we had a pretty big day. I woke up to find that we were out - totally out of toilet paper. Fortuately there was some kleenex but the lack of TP meant a trip to the store. Mwahahahaha! We loaded up in the bike and trailer and headed off to the store early. The kids and I ended up spending the morning out. We walked the store, went over to the herb store, and then hit the dollar store. They're all in the same shopping center so it was pretty easy. We made it home in time for lunch and naptime.

I then aquired the final fused shadow on Zelda and proceeded to clean the livingroom and the den. Yea me! I got it all done! Okay, so the kids (under pain of no video games) picked up their toys. Granted, everything is already messed up again but.... it was clean when our home teachers came over. I also made it out and fertilized the garden. The kids got to splash in the huge rain puddles that have collected on one side of the yard too.

It was a banner day - house clean - dollar store toys - garden tended - games played - bike ridden - kids bathed (and not just in the puddle) - and everyone had a healthy dinner and to top it all of the kids got in bed ON TIME! We have GOT to do that again some time.

The Park AND The Art Stroll

On Thursday out of despiration and frustration with cooped up kids I finally psyched myself up for the trip to the park. It was fun, the kids had a blast. Daddy showed up on his way home from school (he'd been there overnight ) and both kids decided that they wanted to ride home with him. Unfortunately, Daddy's car was sans car seat. So, I pulled the kids home much to their chagrin because they wanted Daddy. It was a really hard ride but I'm glad that I did it. The kids had a blast at the park and I proved to myself that even though I end up only going like 2mph at certain points I can make it to the park and back. I was totally wiped out though. We're talking asking the hubby to go pick up pizza wiped out. We ended up having both pizza and mac'n'cheese (homemade mac, I don't do that box thing often) because the kids were undecided about the pizza. I could barely move for the rest of the evening though. Going to the park not only involves a close to 2 mile trip but in addition - running, lots of running. I may do it again sometime soon.

Yesterday was very stormy as was Thursday morning (and today for that matter). We're talking wet and muddy. As I have said previously monsoon season is here. I'm either going to be quite glad that I went ahead and planted the garden or really upset to find everything has washed away in a week or two when things should be sprouting. I spent the rainy days sewing some new clothes that will be more comfortable on the bike (lightweight stuff that wicks without looking like I'm trying to be something I'm not). So, I bought some lightweight stretch material the other day and I finally got around to stitching some shirts up. They're totally from scratch - as in NO pattern - I took some measurements and cut out the pieces using just my handy scissors and cutting mat. I also finished the construction portion of my sweater that I've knit to match my bike. I'm planning on putting some flowers on it to make it match the bike even more (I'm wearing that in the pic of me and the kids at the fountain).

Today, the weather finally let up this evening so we took the kids to The Art Stroll. The galleries in town open up to the public on the second Saturday of every month the kids were interested and needed to walk around a bit so we loaded them up in the trailer and headed downtown. The kids needed to walk around incidentally because they snuck candy 3 times today. This resulted in us having to give Rhys Benedryl for his peanut allergy because he ate something that "may contain peanuts" during his chocolate induced crime spree.

It started with the kids waking up early and finding the chocolate that I forgot to give Hubby for Valentines day (hubby found it in my car and had just brought it into the house last night). They ate a bar and a half of 65-75% cocoa Russian chocolate (they're BIG bars). We were then stuck in the house for most of the day due to stormy weather this morning. Have you ever tried being stuck in the house with two kids under 5 who are both sugared and caffeinated?! It was not for the faint of heart. But I did not yell, I did not scream.

The second incident happened at MaLew's house. The kids found the infamous peanut laced Easter candy hidden someplace and ate the whole package of mini chocolate bunnies. There was much talking and scolding, and a lie that we were fortunate enough to uncover in time to dose Rhys with Benedryl. After a couple of hours of observation we let them out of our sight again only to discover that they had found more candy and eaten it. WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!!!! Rhys and I had a long talk about the dangers of him randomly eating candy. But anyway... the kids were hyped up on sugar and it needed to burnt off before bed so - to The Art Stroll.

The kids kind of looked at the art on display, they made a wish in the fountain in the center of town, and they walked. We walked them around until they seemed totally wiped out and tucked them back into the trailer to come home. So, we rode at night again. Derek borrowed my blue mitts on the way home because his hands were cold/hurting and my sweater has built in fingerless mitts. Now, I have a new project... mitts for Derek because my blue ones are a little too girly and sparkley for him. Anyway, the kids didn't go to sleep on the ride home but it sure looked like it! They went to sleep relatively quickly though - I think that they crashed from the sudden drop in sugar levels. LOL

My husband got an onboard computer and I already want to break it!

My husband's new bike came in and he got to pick it up on Monday. He had Billy at The Bike Shop install an onboard computer and I have to say it's annoying me and it's not even on my bike. Well, that and the bell. Apparently Hubby's bike came with a bell that he rings ALL THE TIME!!! (My bike didn't come with a bell, he has the same model I do did I get shafted?.)

At any rate it all started on the ride to Subway last night. The questions and comments started.
"Is this how fast you normally ride?" *ring ring* "Oh, well it's 7mph"*ring ring* "My top speed was 25 mph!"*ring*

We all went to the library today and I was informed that the total distance there and back is only like 2 miles. I had estimated 2.5 by driving the route and using my car odometer. I didn't want to know that a 1 mile ride winds me!

Anyway, the kids didn't find any "chicks" to "dig on" today at the library. I think it's like going to a singles dance for the preschool set. Rhys' animal of the week is the camel. I tried to find a book but after searching and not finding one in the kids section I allowed him to appeal to the children's librarian once again.

I did get my blood sugar and blood pressure checked for free today. My blood pressure was normal for anyone else but high for me, and my blood sugar wasn't so great. No More Cupcakes! At least no more real cupcakes. From now on they will be from scratch and made out of whole wheat flour and topped with something other than frosting. I don't quite know what that will be yet but I'll figure something out.

We stopped by Grandma's on the way home, it's much easier to do this on the bike than in the car. You just pull in and you don't worry so much about wasting gas stopping and starting. The slower speed at which you pass also factors in as you have a longer time to consider whether or not to stop. Stopping generally wins unless it's about to rain or you're running late.

My darling hubby (who is much more coordinated than I am) used the camera phone to take some pictures of me, the bike, and the trailer in action. It's sickening how talented he is. My husband might not be able to beat up your husband but he can ride while taking pictures without swerving AND he makes the best sandwiches EVER! The grass on my side of the fence is SO green, most of the time.

So, here are Derek's pics:




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Riding at Night

Today was yet another rainy dreary day. I really don't mind so don't take this as a complaint. We have had a severe drought the past year or two. So, the rain is much appreciated and I'd like it to keep up as much as it can without flooding. But... I'm not taking the kids out in the rain.

So, it started raining as we were grocery shopping. We were informed of this possibility by one of the ladies that we go to church with on the way in. do have to say one thing, it seems like every time there's a thunderstorm the meteorologists call for hail. Now, I've only seen hail twice in my life. Where is all this hail that people are seeing? It's like the definitive stay in your homes scare tactic. We had some massive storms but no hail that I could see.

The weather cleared up by the evening and my husband was going to go out on his bike to pick up dinner. This caused a massive crying fit on the part of two little boys. No one wanted Daddy to go without them and we don't have a coupler for his bike to pull the trailer. So, I put down the sweater I was knitting and caved to the pressure of everyone wanting to go out to dinner. So, we got everyone together, shod, jacketed, pulled out the trailer, found a headlight and set off for Subway. At Subway we found absolutely nowhere to chain up the bikes. So, we put them right next to the window and chained them together. Today, the hubby is going to go talk to the manager at WalMart (in the same complex) about getting a bike rack because we saw several bikes attached in unsafe places around the parking lot.

Rhys made a new friend at dinner, whose mom wasn't interested in even saying "hi" to us. But he had a blast talking to this other kid and greeting everyone who came into the restaurant. We stopped by WalMart and parked in the garden center while hubby procured a tail light for his bike. We rode with a headlight on my bike and a tail light on his bike. The kids ran around the mostly empty garden center and several people stopped to admire the bikes and the trailer. There were many comments of, "Yeah, you didn't get THAT here." I plugged The Bike Shop two towns over and handed out a 1W2W booklet or two.

stretch just because it was so dark. Hubby took the kidThen - the dark ride home... We debated about the best route to take but being as tired as I was I picked the route that we came from because it ends on a downhill stretch. That was one DARK ride punctuated by some rather gorgeous lightning. I felt like the headlight didn't really do much (other than alerting motorists of our presence) and going over the railroad tracks at night scared the snot out of me. We opted to use the sidewalk on our street for the last littles inside and I got the bikes into our storage room just in time for the next wave of storms to start. Wow! That was an adventure for me. I had never ridden at night and I'm not sure I will again, at least not in places that don't have streetlights. I will also definitely wear brighter clothing too.

Wish List

So, on my current cycling wish list:
A mirror
Panniers
Headlight
Better Trailer
AND I wish that someone would make this bike affordable:
It's a Dutch Bike made by Workcycles and would only be practical for me if I were to completely give up my car and with family living quite far away that I visit often - I'm keeping the car. So... if someone finds a way to make this in the $500 - $800 range let me know. I know I'm asking a lot but... realistically this is an item that won't be used forever. Kind of like my trailer... Kids grow up fast and I can't see spending $3,000 on something I'm only going to use for maybe 8 more years. Maybe if I made a lot of money but really... I just can't see doing it. I do like the fact that you can strap a rear facing baby seat into this thing though. That would totally rock!

Weekend Riding

Yesterday was St. David's day (the patron saint of Wales). I crocheted little daffodils for all of my men to wear. Al, absolutely refused to wear his after an hour but Rhys is still sporting one as I type. Al's is now on my messenger bag. We did make it the the gas station. The kids each picked out a Special K bar. Have I totally warped them that they choose these over candy bars? I really wanted a cupcake until I started looking at nutritional information. Ew! I'll eat a handful of Ghiradelli chocolate chips or Nutella by the spoonful but I'm not touching a 200 calorie cupcake. There must be something about exercise that makes the choice a little easier, because a couple of weeks ago I would have just eaten the cupcake.

My house is a total pit. I really need to get a handle on multiple parts of my life at once. Seriously, who are these incredibly put together women I always see who can do everything. It seems like for me only one thing seems to work at a time. Like business will will be going well but the house is a wreck and we're not getting out of the house often. Or right now, business is kind of sleepy, the house is a mess but I'm riding the bike a few miles everyday. OR the house will be clean but nothing else goes right.

ANYWAY, today on the ride home from church I learned a valuable clothing lesson. While barreling downhill a stretch velvet skirt will not stay down. WHOOOO! I flashed the neighborhood! So... back to the wool blend heavy skirts for Sundays. I have some purple corduroy maybe I'll make a cute skirt out of that.