Today marks the one-year anniversary of MarathonMum. Happy Annivesary, loyal MarathonMum readers!
Sorry the posts haven't been as frequent lately, but MarathonMum and family are in the throes of moving house, and so many boxes, not to mention solicitors, estate agents and loan officers, are demanding my attention. I will try to improve my performance once we move, which hopefully should occur in about one month.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Friday, January 13, 2006
Nicholas' First Knock-Knock Joke
Nicholas and I were eating lunch when he looked up and said, "Knock, knock."
Now everybody knows that Andrew, his older brother, is really the knock-knock specialist of the family. But I also know that Nicholas wants to do everything that Andrew does, so I can't say I'm surprised that he's starting to tell them too. However, sports fans, let's remember that the joke teller is only two and a half, so I couldn't quite believe he was giving comedy a try.
"Knock, knock," Nicholas said again.
"Who's there?" I asked.
"Orange," he replied, pointing to his juice box.
"Orange Who?" I asked.
"Apple!!" and he started laughing hysterically.
Well, it's a start.
Now everybody knows that Andrew, his older brother, is really the knock-knock specialist of the family. But I also know that Nicholas wants to do everything that Andrew does, so I can't say I'm surprised that he's starting to tell them too. However, sports fans, let's remember that the joke teller is only two and a half, so I couldn't quite believe he was giving comedy a try.
"Knock, knock," Nicholas said again.
"Who's there?" I asked.
"Orange," he replied, pointing to his juice box.
"Orange Who?" I asked.
"Apple!!" and he started laughing hysterically.
Well, it's a start.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Rules
Our great friend Skipper is a great one for creating rules before we start something fun. Because Skipper is also "Mr. Safety", a moniker he takes very seriously, some of these rules are important. For example, when we all go out sailing, Rule No. 1 is Stay on the Boat. But no matter how many rules he gives us, Skipper's last rule always is, "Have Fun."
As any parent out there knows, rule-making is a cornerstone of our job. However, I have followed the Skipper's lead in that whenever I list rules for the boys, my last rule also always is, "Have fun."
Before we headed downstairs for breakfast this morning, the boys and I were snuggling in bed, discussing Sharon's health and the Alito confirmation hearings, (OK, not really, we were talking about the theme for Nicholas' birthday party-- four months from now-- and how Wallace and Gromit are great). I asked Andrew if it would be OK if Nicholas and his friend Ethan played with his new train set while he was at school.
"Sure, that's fine," he said. "But there's a few rules."
"OK," I replied, with some trepidation. "What are they?"
"Rule No. 1 is to put it back in the brown box when they're done. Rule No. 2 is to not lose any of the pieces. Rule No. 3 is to be careful. Rule No. 4 is to have fun."
When I stopped laughing hysterically, he added, "I knew you would like the last one."
As any parent out there knows, rule-making is a cornerstone of our job. However, I have followed the Skipper's lead in that whenever I list rules for the boys, my last rule also always is, "Have fun."
Before we headed downstairs for breakfast this morning, the boys and I were snuggling in bed, discussing Sharon's health and the Alito confirmation hearings, (OK, not really, we were talking about the theme for Nicholas' birthday party-- four months from now-- and how Wallace and Gromit are great). I asked Andrew if it would be OK if Nicholas and his friend Ethan played with his new train set while he was at school.
"Sure, that's fine," he said. "But there's a few rules."
"OK," I replied, with some trepidation. "What are they?"
"Rule No. 1 is to put it back in the brown box when they're done. Rule No. 2 is to not lose any of the pieces. Rule No. 3 is to be careful. Rule No. 4 is to have fun."
When I stopped laughing hysterically, he added, "I knew you would like the last one."
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Getting to Know MarathonMum
My friend Quigs sent me the following questionnaire with instructions to fill it out and e-mail it back to a bunch of people. I did this same questionnaire five years ago, but I thought this time I would share my answers with you, my loyal MarathonMum readers. Please feel free to send further enquires/comments via the link below.
1. What time did you get up this morning? 5:30 A.M. (I read until the boys woke up at 7:45 a.m.)
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds, definitely.
3. What was the last film you saw at the movies?"Match Point" I saw it Monday, more on this later.
4. What is your favorite T.V. show? Lost, ER or West Wing. It's a three-way American tie.
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Coffee
6. What is your middle name? Anne
7. Favorite cuisine? Italian, though French is a very close second.
8. What foods do you dislike? Beef stew. It was my brother's favourite thing, but I hated the stringy beef. I still do.
9. What is your favorite chip flavor? Sour cream and onion
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? John Legend.
11. What kind of car do you drive? 1995 BMW 518i Estate (that's a station wagon, for my American fans). GazerBeam, as they boys call him (named for his GB country sticker) was recently traumatized when hit by a bus while parked on the street. "Poor GazerBeam," the boys say.
12. Favorite sandwich? Pret's Super Club.
13. What characteristic do you detest? Sexism, racism, snobbery, greed.
14. Favorite item of clothing? My black satin kitten heels with embroidered flowers from L.K. Bennett.
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where you go? Someplace I haven't been to before.
16. What color is your bathroom? White, with blue-aqua and green tiles. But that will soon change! (See number 30 below)
17. Favorite brand of clothing? L.K. Bennett for shoes. They can change a woman's life.
18. Where would you retire to? Mr. MarathonMum and I have fun with this question all the time-- France or Italy.
19. What was your most memorable birthday? My most recent one, given that it started at 12:03 a.m. with me cleaning up sick.
20. Favorite sport to watch? U.S. collegiate basketball. Go Nova!
21. Farthest place you are sending this? Worldwide-- on the World Wide Web!
22. Who do you least expect to send this back to you? Loads of people. Who has time for this?
23. Person you expect to send it back first? Surprise me.
24. Goal you have for yourself? To write a great novel that (naturally) would be a best seller.
25. When is your birthday? Nov. 11.
26. When is your anniversary? Sept. 2.
27. Are you a morning person or a night person? Depends.
28. What is your shoe size? 9.5 (U.S.), 7/7.5 (U.K.), 41/42 (European, LK Bennett)
29. Pets? Do two sons count?
30. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? We will be moving to a Georgian house just down the road from us in Greenwich, London, next month.
31. What did you want to be when you were little? A doctor.
32. What are you today? I'm too conflicted with my current role to give a one-word answer to this question.
33. What is your favorite candy? Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Luckily for me, they're hard to find in England.
34. What is your favorite flower? Roses.
35. What is a date on the calendar you are looking forward to? Tim's birthday, because we should be moving then (see number 30)
36. If you could have one wish what would it be? For my family to be safe and happy.
1. What time did you get up this morning? 5:30 A.M. (I read until the boys woke up at 7:45 a.m.)
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds, definitely.
3. What was the last film you saw at the movies?"Match Point" I saw it Monday, more on this later.
4. What is your favorite T.V. show? Lost, ER or West Wing. It's a three-way American tie.
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Coffee
6. What is your middle name? Anne
7. Favorite cuisine? Italian, though French is a very close second.
8. What foods do you dislike? Beef stew. It was my brother's favourite thing, but I hated the stringy beef. I still do.
9. What is your favorite chip flavor? Sour cream and onion
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? John Legend.
11. What kind of car do you drive? 1995 BMW 518i Estate (that's a station wagon, for my American fans). GazerBeam, as they boys call him (named for his GB country sticker) was recently traumatized when hit by a bus while parked on the street. "Poor GazerBeam," the boys say.
12. Favorite sandwich? Pret's Super Club.
13. What characteristic do you detest? Sexism, racism, snobbery, greed.
14. Favorite item of clothing? My black satin kitten heels with embroidered flowers from L.K. Bennett.
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where you go? Someplace I haven't been to before.
16. What color is your bathroom? White, with blue-aqua and green tiles. But that will soon change! (See number 30 below)
17. Favorite brand of clothing? L.K. Bennett for shoes. They can change a woman's life.
18. Where would you retire to? Mr. MarathonMum and I have fun with this question all the time-- France or Italy.
19. What was your most memorable birthday? My most recent one, given that it started at 12:03 a.m. with me cleaning up sick.
20. Favorite sport to watch? U.S. collegiate basketball. Go Nova!
21. Farthest place you are sending this? Worldwide-- on the World Wide Web!
22. Who do you least expect to send this back to you? Loads of people. Who has time for this?
23. Person you expect to send it back first? Surprise me.
24. Goal you have for yourself? To write a great novel that (naturally) would be a best seller.
25. When is your birthday? Nov. 11.
26. When is your anniversary? Sept. 2.
27. Are you a morning person or a night person? Depends.
28. What is your shoe size? 9.5 (U.S.), 7/7.5 (U.K.), 41/42 (European, LK Bennett)
29. Pets? Do two sons count?
30. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? We will be moving to a Georgian house just down the road from us in Greenwich, London, next month.
31. What did you want to be when you were little? A doctor.
32. What are you today? I'm too conflicted with my current role to give a one-word answer to this question.
33. What is your favorite candy? Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Luckily for me, they're hard to find in England.
34. What is your favorite flower? Roses.
35. What is a date on the calendar you are looking forward to? Tim's birthday, because we should be moving then (see number 30)
36. If you could have one wish what would it be? For my family to be safe and happy.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Quotes of 2005
I love the end of the year. The incessant round-ups of best quotes, best pictures, best news stories, best products, celebrity babies, celebrity weddings, celebrity divorces. Some people are so talented they appear on the last two lists concurrently (Renee Zellweger, take a bow).
For me, 2005 was a very good year. Here are some of the best, quirky, most interesting things I said in 2005:
"I finished the London Marathon!!" (April 17)
Crossing the finish line meant I could cross running a marathon off of my life list.
"Mr. MarathonMum got a promotion." (December 12)
Working 14-hour days pays off. Now he can work around the clock, with worldwide travel thrown in for fun.
"We unexpectedly sold our flat." (December 12)
Yes, December 12 was a big day. And yes, when I say "unexpectedly," I mean it. The estate agent called us out of the blue, saying they had a buyer who was looking for a flat exactly like hours. We tidied up a bit, but didn't give it much thought. An hour after he left, he made us an offer. Now we need to find a house!
"We can't use the car, because my car keys are in Italy." (December)
My car keys unexpectedly take a Roman holiday in Mr. MarathonMum's pocket.
"Happy 10th Anniversary!"
MarathonMum and Mr. MarathonMum celebrate 10 years of marriage. Hooray for us!
"We'll be in five different countries today!" (May)
MarathonMum and family travel through England, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany en route to their holiday.
"You inspired me to run the marathon, because I figured, if you can run a restaurant empire and train for it, I can certainly do it pushing my 18-month old." (December)
MarathonMum swaps marathon war stories with Gordon Ramsay, who gave her a kiss and said (twice!), "Well done!"
"Wow, this Emmy sure is heavy." (August)
MarathonMum gets to hold a real Emmy, won by her friend, Ted Allen of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame.
"Baseball is a lot like cricket." (July)
MarathonMum's response to her five-year-old's question, "What's baseball, Mom?"
"How is Iran?" (April)
Mr. MarathonMum travels to the Axis of Evil for an OPEC meeting.
Here's to more great quotes, laughs and fun in 2006.
For me, 2005 was a very good year. Here are some of the best, quirky, most interesting things I said in 2005:
"I finished the London Marathon!!" (April 17)
Crossing the finish line meant I could cross running a marathon off of my life list.
"Mr. MarathonMum got a promotion." (December 12)
Working 14-hour days pays off. Now he can work around the clock, with worldwide travel thrown in for fun.
"We unexpectedly sold our flat." (December 12)
Yes, December 12 was a big day. And yes, when I say "unexpectedly," I mean it. The estate agent called us out of the blue, saying they had a buyer who was looking for a flat exactly like hours. We tidied up a bit, but didn't give it much thought. An hour after he left, he made us an offer. Now we need to find a house!
"We can't use the car, because my car keys are in Italy." (December)
My car keys unexpectedly take a Roman holiday in Mr. MarathonMum's pocket.
"Happy 10th Anniversary!"
MarathonMum and Mr. MarathonMum celebrate 10 years of marriage. Hooray for us!
"We'll be in five different countries today!" (May)
MarathonMum and family travel through England, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany en route to their holiday.
"You inspired me to run the marathon, because I figured, if you can run a restaurant empire and train for it, I can certainly do it pushing my 18-month old." (December)
MarathonMum swaps marathon war stories with Gordon Ramsay, who gave her a kiss and said (twice!), "Well done!"
"Wow, this Emmy sure is heavy." (August)
MarathonMum gets to hold a real Emmy, won by her friend, Ted Allen of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame.
"Baseball is a lot like cricket." (July)
MarathonMum's response to her five-year-old's question, "What's baseball, Mom?"
"How is Iran?" (April)
Mr. MarathonMum travels to the Axis of Evil for an OPEC meeting.
Here's to more great quotes, laughs and fun in 2006.
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