Science!

Science. SCIENCE. Science. Look at it for a while, and it will really start looking weird. No joke. We've had our Carnegie Museums membership (which we won through a drawing) for a few months now and had yet to make it to the Science Center until this morning. We milled around the first couple of floors, a little disappointed by the end-of-year field trip crowds and what seemed to be exhibits intended for mostly older participants- except for a few blocks and talk-through pipes, and the phenomenally-realistic miniature train exhibit, with which Jack was enthralled.

From 05/19/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

Falling Water!

From 05/19/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/19/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

And then we made our way up the rising ramps toward the fourth floor, where we clearly should have gotten ourselves to from the get-go. A huge section entirely for younger kids awaited us. Water. Balls. Mallots to bang on overturned trash cans and buckets. Larger-than-life building blocks. A hard hat area with a rock-scooper-majig.

From Carnegie Science Center

From 05/19/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From Carnegie Science Center

From 05/19/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From Carnegie Science Center

From 05/19/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/19/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From Carnegie Science Center

From Carnegie Science Center

From 05/19/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From Carnegie Science Center

From 05/19/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

And before we left, we found robots and a dinosaur on which to ride. So yes, Jack is very eager to return soon. And Abigail left drenched- no surprise. I just discovered that we are signed up to go again next Tuesday with our Catholic Moms Group-- Oops. Maybe next time we can catch a show. I remember viewing the fascinating IMAX movie Hubble at the Air and Space Museum in DC when I was a youngster and imagine Jack would really eat it up. But there's no way I'm going to take Iris, especially with how squawky she's been lately (she's been doing away with her morning naps. Woe is me). Perhaps when Mike or I can take him one-on-one. Until then, I think we may stick to One World, One Sky: Big Bird's Big Adventure (It's free, and I can't imagine there'd be anyone in there too bummed about an occasional screech owl outburst).

From 05/19/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/19/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

I took a bunch more pictures. Always do. (Click here)

Yarn Along- elf hat #3

From 05/18/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

I'm working on the final elf hat for Jack. He's giddy just thinking about it. Makes me so happy just seeing how much joy they get from such simple things. Last night I started reading A Little Way of Homeschooling by Suzie Andres, and I had a hard time putting it down. It is an enlightening account of Catholic families who have used an unconstrained yet non-ideological approach to education which complements their faith, drawing on the observations and writings of St. Therese, John Holt and other philosophers. I'm intrigued.

Playing along with Ginny.

of a sssweetiedoll

From 05/16/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/16/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/16/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/16/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

rainy day play

Abigail was so excited this morning when I told her we were going to the Children's Museum with her friend, Maria. "She has blond hair like me!"

From 05/17/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

I wish I'd gotten a good picture of these two holding hands while dancing on the platform in the nursery area. Or some better pictures including Maria other than the back of her head.

From 05/17/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

The "Nursery" area was newly remodeled-- Jack was disappointed to find that his T-Rex friend was gone, but the ball drop area made up for it.

From 05/17/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

The bigger kids spent most of their time at the sand and colored light tables area- a captivating new addition.

From 05/17/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/17/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/17/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/17/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/17/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/17/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/17/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/17/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

Poor Iris-- though she seems to be over her bout of sickness-- has been doing without morning naps for the post few days. She was a good sport for most of the morning, until we sat down to eat our packed lunches in the cafeteria after playing. I think she fell asleep as soon as her tired body was buckled in her car seat.

But we really enjoyed ourselves, and it was nice to catch up with some friends. And the cool and rainy weather made a day at the museum especially welcomed.

pink pixie

I gave her her elf hat this afternoon, and she wore it the rest of the day-- "It's PIIINK!" Now she's one happy pixie.

From 05/16/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/16/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/16/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/16/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/16/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

13.1

I ran my first half marathon race this morning and was up no later than 2:21 am to do so. I needed every minute of that to apply my make-up and make sure I looked my best. Kidding.

My dad had come for the occasion of watching my sister (running the full) and I run, and I left him and Mike down talking last night to retire early (9:30), but didn't end up falling asleep until almost 11:30. Mike was very thoughtful to sleep on the couch, listening to the monitors (Jack and Abigail had a fun slumber party in the basement while PopPop was here) so that I could ignore their potential nighttime outbursts and continue to snooze. But I heard Iris' wails over my noisemaker three hours after I'd gone to sleep. She's still been recovering from being sick all week and will NOT take a bottle from her daddy. So I obliged her and returned to bed.

For the next 2 1/2 hours I tried in vain to sleep. Apparently my nerves were all abuzz. Every time I'd be just about out I'd think and thwart my progress: Oh no! I can't fall asleep. As the hours dragged on, and the morning birds began chirping loudly out my window, my sleeplessness turned into dread. There is no way I'm going to be able to put one foot in front of the other and KEEP doing it for 13.1 miles. What's the use in even trying to run this race on so little sleep and a bruised foot? (my left arch/heel was mysteriously bruised on Friday evening, and it hurt to walk)

By 5:30, when my alarm was set to go off, I was about all ready to go- feeling sluggish, but determined to make use of all of my training efforts. My dad and I left here at 5:50, and after finding parking downtown, we tried to find Heather. Just before the race start, we met up with her between our assigned corrals. We finally crossed the starting line about 12 minutes after the gun shot and were off, set to meander our way through a tightly packed mob of runners.

Heather and me at the start

The rain began while we were waiting at the start and continued for most of the race, but it didn't bother me. I ran my full marathon in the rain and somewhat preferred the cool refreshment. Once you give in to being water-logged, it makes no difference.

I felt pretty good throughout the race but really started feeling the effects of only three hours of sleep around mile 11, when I'm sure my pace slowed. My Garmin kept losing signal, so who knows? I based my goal of beating 2 hours on my marathon time of 4:06 two years ago, figuring I could probably go a little faster than that pace for half of the distance, even if I didn't train quite as intensely, but I wasn't accounting for pulling an all-nighter the night before. But as I approached the finish, I was pleased to see 2:03, knowing that my official time would be around 12 minutes faster than that (it was 1:51:34- about 8:30 mile pace-- better than I'd hoped).

I want to curl up and go to sleep.

My dad found me right after I finished and said that Mike was still looking for parking downtown. Iris had slept in, after all, and it takes no menial amount of time to get our three readied and fed and in the van. But I have a wonderful husband for bringing them at all, and we met my sweeties a little while after I finished.

From 05/15/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/15/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/15/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/15/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

It turned out to be a great day for a race. And while I still think 26.2 is too much in the way of training for me, I might consider doing more of these.

Friday afternoon thoughts

From 05/13/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/13/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/13/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/13/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

The dollbear seems to be doing a lot better. Her face healed up remarkably, and last night was the first in six nights that she hasn't been up in the night wailing due to discomfort and fever. All of those restless nights finally caught up with me too. Yesterday morning, I awoke zapped. I felt that my body would give up all together and die if I didn't return to sleep for a few more hours. My dear husband took the day off to watch the kiddies so I could get the medicine I needed. I feel much better now. Thanks, honey.

My lens finally arrived yesterday. I love it. And my camera. I don't even know the how-tos of proper exposure/aperture- yet- but something is working. Mmmmm, bokeh.

From 05/12/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/12/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/12/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

Making dandelion soup last night with frequent breaks to dash into the rain.

From 05/13/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/13/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/13/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/13/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

This morning, playing out back.

It's finally warm enough to play with water outside- I mean really get wet- and the kids are loving it. So far, they've been using containers that I've filled (Abigail punctured a hole in her bucket, so her dress was drenched in a matter of minutes), but I've bribed them with the hose if they have good naps/quiet time today- though I'm not sure they'll need a hose, as I'm just hearing thunder.

Lastly, there's still time to make a donation toward the Women's Choice Network for my marathon fundraiser, and you can do so by clicking here. Simply select "Kellie Ryan's 1/2 Marathon" from the "Purpose of Gift" drop-down. Thanks so much to those who have already contributed!