San Diego Zoo: Entry #743 in the List of Bad Ideas

I was feeling ambitious last Friday since hubby and I both had the day off.  I thought, wouldn't it be fun to take the B to the zoo?  She loves the animals in her books, so wouldn't it be a treat to see them in person?  Sounds great, right? 

The plan in my head:

1. Leave around 11 so the B will nap during the 3 hour drive down to San Diego
2. Spend the afternoon at the zoo
3. Have dinner at the hotel
4. Have the B sleep in the pack and play
5. Go for a swim at the hotel
6. Drive back home during her nap

This is what actually happened:

1. We couldn't get our act together, packing and booking a room etc.
2. Packed during the B's nap
3. Hubby needed a nap after the B's nap so I took the B to the park
4. Met up with the mama's at the park and joined their egg race (this part was fun)
5. Left the house at 6pm (wow, 7 hours after the plan)
6. The B complained the whole drive down (which means intermittent screaming)
7. We had to wait 30 minutes before they finally brought the pack and play to the room
8. Overtired B screamed for 30 minutes before she fell asleep
9. B woke up at 2am and WOULD NOT GO BACK TO SLEEP
10. Brought the B into bed with us and I got kicked for a couple of hours before I moved to sleep in the foot of the bed

What happened next deserves it's own paragraph...  After all that we finally made it to the zoo and that is when the disaster began.  The B cried so hard and for so long while fighting her nap, that the zoo security came over to kick us out.  The security guy gave us 15 minutes to calm her down or we would have to take the shuttle to the front.  Yes, it's true, the B almost got us kicked out of the zoo.  She finally went down and adverted the crisis.  Even after she woke up happy, the animals were only the slightest bit interesting to her.  She was more interested in the flora and other kids.  And did I mention that she pooped on the hour every hour...  such a delight carrying around poopy diapers.

Look Bonnie!  It's a rhino!

Whatever Mama, that was so 20 seconds ago.

Lessons Learned:

1. Don't make plans, time with a toddler hardly ever goes according to them anyway
2. Don't take the B anywhere outside of 30 mile radius from home unless we absolutely have to
3. Use disposable diapers during trips
4. No matter how late B goes to bed, she will wake up that much earlier in the morning

The funniest quote of the weekend, "You call that, crying?", said by hubby to a random crying toddler strollering by.

Paranoid Swimmer

After years of club swimming with coaches yelling from the deck of the pool,

PICK UP THE PACE!  This isn't a pool party! image from google

I've developed the skill to scope out the deck mid breath.  Now that I've added swimming back into my training (giving my shins a break), I'm really surprised at how quickly my swimming habits are returning.  Good, bad, or indifferent, I keep an eye out on the deck.  However this skill has mutated into a serious case of paranoid swimming. 

I was the only one in the pool this morning and it was too cold for anyone to be hanging out on the deck.  So I was all alone, and would stay that way.  As I swam, I kept seeing a figure walking along the side the pool.  But when I lifted my head, there was no. one. there.  It was a really creepy feeling.  Even when I kept telling myself that I was alone, I kept getting the feeling that someone was walking the deck, watching me, judging my stroke and pace.  I'm not sure what to think.  The only possible conclusions I can come up with are:

1. I'm going nuts
2. I'm feeling guilty that I'm not pushing as hard as I could
3. There really is a person walking the deck but hides when I stop to look closer

I'm leaning towards #3.

tsk tsk, and you call yourself a swimmer ...

If curious, this was my swim workout (almost an hour):

1. Warm up: 200 Fr, 100 Br
2. 6x50 alternating Fr and Br, rest 5 sec
3. 100 kick Fr
4. 4x100 alternating fr and Br, rest 15 sec
5. 200 Run
6. 6x50 alternating 25 Fr and Br, rest 5 sec
7. 200 Run
8. 50 kick Fly
9. 200 pull Fr
10. Cool down: 50 kick Fr, 100 Fr

Also, I learned that if you don't eat before a morning workout, you're completed wiped out after.  Just, you know, FYI.

Have any activities that bring you into a paranoid space?

The Quiet Muse

My muse, the B, has been on the down low this week. Even the hitting has died down. I haven't had anything interesting to talk about. She must be conserving her resources for a coup. Or else she is happy with me. Yeah, she's definitely planning a coup...

Ok, here's the plan.  I'll be the orange block and get her from this angle.
Yellow, you approach from this side.  Blue, what's that you said?

I was finally able to set up a play date for the B with the mama I stalked at the local Whole Foods.  It went very well and she is terrifically nice, as is her kid.  Yet again, I was reminded of the parallels between play dates and dating dates.  This was especially true after I came home and wondered out loud if it was too soon to text her and tell her what a great time we had.  I thought I was done with the whole dating business after I got married.  Isn't that the reason you get married?!  Then you go down the road of dating questions like these.

1. Did she like us?
2. Will she call me?
3. Will I see her again? 
4. Did she mean it when she said, text me when you are free for another playdate?
5. When is it appropriate to call her?

Mamas, how long do you wait until you call back after a play date?

At play date mama's suggestion, we took the B to the My Gym class.  So much chaos, so much fun!

As for running miles, it's been a big goose egg.  These are the reasons why.

1. Shin splints (worried it might be something worse)
2. Sick again (really?! Thanks B.)
3. I'm a bum

I went to the shoe store Road Runner to have my setup checked out.  And it turns out that the last guy that helped me had set me up in all sorts of wrong.

1. Wrong shoe support category
2. Wrong shoe size (his exact words were, "how did you get your feet crammed into a size 6.5?")
3. Wrong inserts

They very kindly exchanged my shoes with shoes that are better fit for me, yay!  I also just had a Dr's appointment to check out my shin splints.  I got a tentative all clear.  The x-rays showed no acute fracture, and the location of the pain is not a usual candidate for stress fractures either.  My bones are apparently just angry with me.  The Dr says, as soon as it stops hurting to walk, I can run again.  Whew, sweet relief.  I just have to build back slowly, do some physical therapy, and get a blood test for vitamin D + calcium.  Can't wait to pound some rubber!

The B is pretty excited to get back on the track as well.  She has been visiting with the running stroller and climbing in.  Although, I'm sure the screaming will start as soon as she is strapped in.

You'd better believe there will be screaming, mama.