Botanic Garden Day!

Been meaning to post this since Wednesday last!  Life happens doesn't it?

One of my favorite activities that we discovered last year, Denver Botanic Gardens Homeschool days.  This week was "Journey to Japan", showcasing the newest addition to the gardens, a traditional Japanese garden complete with a snow lantern from sister city Takayama.

Miss Monkey had the camera until the battery died.  We adventured with a Haiku Scavenger hunt, built Bonsai, made bamboo sculptures, tried our hand at Ikebana, and (as time had run out) brought home materials for a miniature Japanese garden.  Bonus, the mamas and I walked the river stone path barefoot activating acupoints per Chinese tradition.  A beautiful, fulfilling day!

Japanese garden, complete with path, river, & bridge. Wait, we'll see things grow!

Bonsai!

The combined efforts of the Homeschool Day's children

I am not perfect

I make mistakes....

...like leaving my bag, complete with keys, in The Man's truck, causing a chain reaction that would make my Miss Monkey really late to practice and harry the rest of my afternoon.  Grateful for friendly retired neighbors!

...like procrastinating purchase of a watch/HRM (or means to carry my cellular device) to have my own timekeeping on a long run, not paying enough attention to where I was, trailing behind my runner-buddy...thereby making myself incredibly late back to the house, infuriating The Man, and narrowly getting Monkey to practice on time.  Rather a sad comedy as I tried to run back to the truck, having exercise-induced asthma the whole way.

...like inadvertently should-ing on my friends, and letting my extroversion overshadow my manners.

I am getting more comfortable in my human-ness by degrees.  At least I don't berate myself endlessly anymore!

Today I am mommin' with chi'ren that are illin', meaning both Booger & Stinkums are experiencing fevers and congestion.  We are home bound.  The New Schedule was to begin today, delayed a day? maybe two?

May my interwebz connection not dominate my day (there is housework to do), may I remember that it's not their fault they're feeling crappy (they don't isolate and hide like I do when ill), and may I remember empathy and compassion more so today than any other (really our problems aren't so big).  For some that may be natural---empathy is something I've been learning since Miss Monkey was born, and compassion has been a lesson for myself first, reconciled with what I had for others more so than my self.  Love & Learn.

So it goes.
Happy day!
: )  <3 p="p">

Strange Day at the Zoo

Howling monkeys...

Noiseless carousel...

Swinging monkeys, too!

Hooray for new friends, and big sisters calming their disappointments and learning to behave better with little siblings.

Happy day!

: )  <3 p="p">

HOORAY! HORSES!

After a busy-busy morning at Mile Hi, we serendipitously were able to hang
with these three, Fabulous Frankie, Hippie, and Ruthie.  Enthusiastically I helped clean hooves, taught Miss Monkey to use a horse brush, and labeled different parts of tack and horse anatomy for her (dusting off what I remembered).  I grinned ear to ear listening to hooves on gravelly sand, leathery creaks, horse-breath, snuffles, and lip-pops. There is NOTHING better. I laid on a horse neck and inhaled deep salty horse sweat, laughing tears of a child's
joy.  This was my feeling of total loving abandon as a kid, and I reveled
in it! It is freedom of another, almost forgotten, kind.

And how amazing to introduce my daughters to these things, so special for me.  F proudly rode easy bareback on her own. E didn't want to stop riding once on. I got to practice both saddled and bare back a bit, totally different use of muscles I'd forgotten.

After mandatory ice cream, we headed home tired and happy. I didn't even mind (much) the quasi-crazed dinner/bedtime we had because of sugar & over tired-ness.
I am so grateful!
Happy, HAPPY DAY!
: )  <3 p="p">

The Man on a Trip

He left this morning, and will be absent for about a week (estimated as of today).  Already I have new appreciation for people who parent alone, or mostly alone.  As I drove away from the gymnasium after Miss Monkey's foray with back handsprings and exhibition team, I thought, "oh I'll get to the gym myself--oh, wait, right, he's gone so, uhmm, I guess I'll have to wait til Monday."

Wait. What?

Yes, I have to wait until Monday, when KidsClub is open, between the hours of 8-1 or 4-8.
May I just say.....efff this sh*t.  Mentally I'm already trying to calculate how many workouts I'll miss or have to pare down to fit in their 2 hour time limit.  Pit that against the minimum workouts possible between now and the tri we are supposedly doing the first week of October.  Out look does not look great, doesn't even look reasonable.  I want to do better this time around, not the same, and certainly not worse.  I can't do better in races unless I'm trained for them.

I'm willing to forgo the rest of the racing season (and save that money) but stay on a training plan, I'm enjoying the plan very much.  I've found that my RPE upper threshold (probably also known as zone 5 with a HRM) is dry heaving.  If I'm doing speed work, I should dry heave at least once to know I've hit my ceiling, and then I'll ease off enough to avoid vomiting.  I've also found that I really really need to get to my yoga rug more often.  I'm more symmetrically balanced strength-wise when I practice and therefore stronger in everything else I'm doing.

Oh, right, and The Man is gone, he's on a train (in part due to his {slightly milder} aversion to flying).  I miss him.  So, the Gigglesisters, who weren't too giggly today, tried in various ways to test out all the mechanisms by which to make mommy fly off the handle.  If anything I became more conscious, especially proud of my response this evening when they were popping around the bedroom after "lightsout."  Hooray for parenting consciously!

Here we go on a crash course in single parenting.
: )    <3 p="p">

p.s. now that my challenge to myself is over, I'm missing writing something every day, even if it's the rather boring everyday life stuff.