At Last, the Sun is Shining...Soon, I Hope

Gray without rain will do just fine. For a little while, anyway. We managed a chilly 6 miles this morning. Mark pushed Heath and Stella in the baby jogger. Since no one napped yesterday, they both took little morning snoozes along the way, so there were no complaints about the extra length. (They're usually only reasonable for 4 miles.) Good thing they slept, too. We had a one o'clock birthday party and I wanted Heath to be rested, fed, in clothes that were to his liking, have all the stars aligned in the correct pattern, take many deep breaths, and figure out how to hold my mouth just right, so that he could have an incident-free experience.

We arrived shortly after the party began, were the first to leave, and it was a pleasurable experience. Heath enjoyed seeing his friends from school. Played with some toys. Helped the birthday girl unwrap her presents. And when he wanted to leave the party WITH the present he brought her and I said, no, he put the car on the table and walked away without a word.

Stella was at home with Mark taking her afternoon nap, so I even managed to get the grocery shopping done with just one child. And without Stella to bang up, that excursion was event-free as well. It occured to me that I don't get a lot of one-on-one time with Heath. Because of preschool, I probably get more with Stella than I do with him. I think Heath liked it, too. He let me smooch on his head while I pushed him in the rocketship cart and called me Mommy.

On the drive home, I glanced in my rear-view mirror and saw Heath's eyes start to roll freely, and his head start to bob, so I took the long way home. Turned up the Led Zeppelin, a car favorite these days, and marveled at the mandolin in Battle of Evermore. The louder the music, the deeper he fell into his sleep.

Heath immediately woke up when I turned the car and music off. The fifteen minutes seemed to to be enough to get him through the evening.

We're watching Into the Wild tonight, thanks to another free non-new release coupon. Crossing my fingers for a sunny, no kiddies, 10 miler tomorrow. (Hopefully Mark will join me for the first 4. I like the company.)