Death of a Snowman

Alas, all of the snow from last week's storm is well and truly gone. To commemorate the TWO (count 'em!) snowstorms we've had this year, I present to you....

Death of a Snowman.
(Do you see what I did there?)

Editor's Note: The above featured snowman is, in fact, from the first snowfall of the season. We made a much bigger and better snowman the second time around, but I didn't chart his demise.

Happy Anniversary MarathonMum!

Dear MarathonMum fans,
Yesterday marks the second anniversary of my MarathonMum blog. Happy Anniversary to us!

It all started in January 2005 on a cold rainy day when I was training for the 2005 London Marathon. I didn't know anything about blogging, and HTML was a distant memory for me, but thanks to the good people at Google, MarathonMum was born. Lots has happened since that rainy January day, lots good, some bad, but such is life. I don't always include everything in my blog, but everything major gets covered one way or the other (even if some major news is imbedded deep in a post).

I just went back and read some of my posts from the winter and spring of 2005. First, I could not believe how small Thing One and Thing Two were then. Second, it was utterly fantastic to read about my training and the marathon-- particularly in these current (and probably permanent) non-running days. I'm not one to blub, but I found myself wiping away several tears as I went back and read those posts. I'm quite certain that it would not have the same effect on any of you.

Thanks to all my friends, family and those who just stumbled upon this blog who've stopped in and read my posts. It's funny to think that people from 49 countries (at least since last year, when I resumed the counter) have read this blog, at least once, and nearly 15,000 people have read my profile page to see who I am. I know I have a lot of friends and family, but not THAT many, so thanks.

[Speaking of which: I'm desperate to get to 50 countries. So if you happen to know someone in a country that isn't listed to the left of this post, please get them to stop in so it will get counted. Luxembourg-- amazingly-- has already checked in, so maybe you know someone in Andorra? Or Brazil? Special thanks to Mr. MarathonMum who has done his bit for the country count on his travels. If you do help me get to Country No. 50, and you can prove it, I'll send you a special MarathonMum chocolate chip cookie as thanks.]

I realize, with a heavy heart, that I have not always been as dilligent with this blog as I should be. As I've said before, sometimes you have to just live life, not write about it. But I am trying my best to improve my performance.

Looking toward the future, I'm still hoping that this blog will lead to something bigger and better, but in the meantime, I'm happy to write about the things that strike my fancy.

Thanks again, everyone, and keep reading!
Love, MarathonMum

Cultural Checkpoint Charlie

What I watched and read this week.

Movie: "Babel"
After spending a morning toiling on really boring tedious work, I rewarded myself by going to see "Babel". I was not disappointed. I spent about the first hour, just going along with it, enjoying the ride but not really seeing the big picture, but after that it really picked up. I found myself covering my eyes on several occasions-- not because there was anything gruesome going on, but because the pain of some of the situations was just unbearable. I also can't handle any "Children in Peril" storylines, so that was problematic, as one of the three threads was just that. Brad Pitt was fantastic, and I was surprised when I returned home that he didn't get nominated for an Oscar. He looked terrible-- or as terrible as Brad Pitt could look-- and he really was able to convey his pain, frustration and sadness. I also should say for the record that I've seen two of the actors in the movie on stage: Gael Garcia Bernal (sure, he's sort, but VERY good looking) and Alex Jennings (he plays the American ambassador and appears for literally 30 seconds. But I saw the back of his head and I thought, "Hey! That looks like Alex Jennings!!" And it was. I was quite pleased with myself.) It is a great movie, and well worth seeeing.
Rating: 8/10.

Play: "Bash"
At the Trafalgar Studios, in the West End, London.
A Neil LaBute adaptation of three Greek myths, I initially described it as "Misogyny Twice-Over!" It was very well done. My heart broke for one of the lead actors when he was in crucial bit of monologue and some idiot's mobile phone kept ringing. I don't know what his problem was-- he should have turned it off the first time. But it kept stopping. And ringing. And stopping. And ringing. And stopping. And ringing. I thought the audience was going to turn into a lynch mob. Finally, the actor says to him, "Do you want to get that?" The man gets up, completely and utterly embarrassed, and leaves. That was too bad for him, since there was no readmittance and we were only about 15 minutes into the play. Well worth seeing.
Rating: 8/10

Book: "Snow" By Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk
I'm not done with it yet, but I thought I'd include it since I was doing CCC (see above) today. I can't say I love it, and I don't hate it. It's interesting, but I'm pretty sure we're losing something in the translation. I wouldn't recommend it to my friends, unless they felt compelled to read the current Nobel Prize winner.

SNOW!! (Yes, I'm Shouting)

I hate to be shouting, but we were all terribly excited yesterday morning when we woke up to see a very thin blanket of the white stuff outside. Mr.MarathonMum was the first to see it when he left at 5:45 a.m. He yelled up to me, but didn't tell me why. When I saw what it was, I started jumping around. Believe me, it's a BIG EVENT when it snows in London. Unlike in Chicago, where the novelty would wear off by mid-November, at the latest.

I had just said to him, "There isn't anything that's going to get me out from under this duvet this morning, it's so cold." So actually, there was something: snow.

When Thing One and Thing Two woke up, you would have thought it was Christmas morning all over again. "It snowed! It snowed! It snowed" They shouted, all the way down the stairs as they sought me out to confirm their weather forecast.

"Quick, eat your breakfast, and then we can all go outside and play in it before we have to leave for school," I said. Now this plan was important, because being a veteran London resident of 8 years, I knew the snow was too good to last. We'd be lucky if it was still there at lunchtime. (It wasn't)

"Mom," Thing One said worriedly. "I don't have any snow clothes." I assued him that his winter coat, hat, gloves, thick socks, wellies would be enough winter wear.

Once we got outside, we had a wonderful time making our snowman, throwing snowballs, running, dancing and eating the snow ("It's good," said Thing One. "But it needs sugar.")

At one point, Thing Two was making snowballs and throwing them at the wall. "Stop!" yelled Thing One. "Don't waste it!!!"

It's obvious that Thing One knows how precious and wonderful snow is in London too.

Editor's Note: This post is one day late, as my usual blogging time was taken up the blood test I needed (and will need, every two weeks, in the near term, and monthly for the rest of my life) to make sure my new meds aren't killing me. And yes, it was as fun as it sounds, if you're wondering.

Welcome to the new look MarathonMum!

I had the rare and wonderful luxury of some spare time this morning, so I present this gift to you, my loyal MarathonMum readers: A redesign!

When I had to suffer through-- I mean experience-- a redesign at publications I've worked at, it always involved lots of consultants coming in, changing lots of things that people were familiar with, and in the end, there was a redesigned product, but one that no one actually liked.

Now as we near MarathonMum's two-year anniversary, I thought it was time for a change. I flirted with the idea of changing the blog's title, but I've decided to stick with it, given all we've been through. I might never run a marathon again (not for a lack of will, but because of doctor's orders), but I'm still running my mothering marathon, so the name still applies.

The template is one that I originally wanted to pick, but it was being used by "MarathonMom" in the USA, and I thought I needed to pick something different from her. It should be noted that two years later, her blog still only has two posts on it (neither of which is very inspiring). So if you ever fancy seeing a "Dead Blog" go there.

I've dumped the links, simply because I don't know if anyone actually used them other than me. I plan to put more links in eventually, but first I need to figure out the HTML code to do that. Once I decided to change the template, I lost my old HTML coding and I can't quite remember how I did that. Watch this space.

I hope you like the new look.

Wild Weather and Stupid People: Britain in the News

It's so nice to be the country everyone is talking about. It's almost like being the popular girl in the lunchroom. Everyone wants to sit with you, someone volunteers to fetch your lunch, you get the best seat at the table, and you derive secret pleasure knowing that people are talking about you.

Britain has been on the front page of the New York Times for the past two days. Now, if only Prince William and Kate Middleton got engaged TODAY, we could be assured a full week of front page status. But my prediction is that it's going to happen sometime in February, so we wait as patiently as possible for the wedding of the century. But I digress.

Britain has achieved such international notariety for the past two days, first for the antics on the "reality show" (I use the term as loosely as I possibly can) "Big Brother" and then, on the second day, for the wild weather we experienced Thursday.

I'll work backward from the topic I find more interesting. We expereinced gale-force winds in Britain yesterday, caused by a vigorous jet stream that started over the Atlantic. The wind was blowing so hard where we lived in London that it sounded like children were screaming. Highways were shut down, trains were cancelled, flights were delayed. It felt like a small hurricane, without the rain.

As Thing Two and I walked to school to pick up Thing One, we walked with a friend of ours. "We can all band together so we don't get blown away," I (sort of) joked. "I love this weather," he replied. "It vindicates me for my opinion about global warming."

After we discussed climate change and how the hosepipe ban has finally been lifted (thus allowing us to finally put some grass down in our garden), we somehow got on to the topic of which dictator killed more people on a per capita basis: Stalin or Mao Tse-Tung. (If anyone happens to know the answer to that one, I'd appreciate it. I haven't had a chance yet to do the research). So the next time you assume the parents doing the school run are only discussing the next birthday party or school event, please remember this exchange. But again, I digress.

The second news item that propelled Britain to the front page of the New York Times was the current edition of "Celebrity Big Brother."

Now, I should state for the record that I haven't watched any of this program. In fact, the other night when I was all drugged up on my new meds and looking for something mindless to watch, I had a stark choice between "Big Brother" and "Ugly Betty" and I went with the latter-- and I was glad I did. I found "Ugly Betty," which I wasn't so impressed with the first time I watched it, uttlerly charming. But I consciously-- or as consciously as I could, considering my state-- decided not to watch Big Brother because that was only buying into what the producers want me, and millions like me, to do.

But from what I understand (taken from Radio 4, BBC News last night, and the newspapers I read) there has been a bit of an outburst by Jade, a woman who by rights should never have been famous, but is. This woman is incredibly stupid. She signed up to ran the London Marathon last year, but dropped out some time after mile 15 because she didn't realize that 26 miles was as long as it was. Or that a marathon was 26 miles. Apparently Jade has been picking on another Big Brother resident, Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty. This treatment is either racist or bullying or both, depending on who you ask.

It seems to me this whole hoo-ha could be keep in perspective if you remembered how stupid Jade is. (see above) She might be a little bit racist (if you've seen Avenue Q you know what I'm talking about), but she is a lot more ignorant than racist. This is not to excuse her behaviour, but she's going to pay the price when she gets out of the house.

And she deserves it. Even if she is stupid.

Cultural Checkpoint Charlie

Another new feature on MarathonMum: A weekly update on what I'm reading, watching, admiring...

What I read: "Lay of the Land" By RIchard Ford.
I finally finished this book last night, and boy, was I happy I finished it. I did not, however, feel the same sense of accomplishment I felt when I finished "Crime & Punishment." This was Ford's third book featuring ex-sportswriter, current realtor Frank Bascombe. The other two books, "The Sportswriter" and "Independence Day" were brilliant; full of great details that I still remember years after finishing them. (Independence Day won a Pulitzer and the PEN/Faulkner award.) In the spirit of full disclosure, I should say that I was reading Mr. MarathonMum's Christmas present, which I bought for him, but started reading before him. He never even had a chance. But I digress. "Lay of the Land" had some nice bits and some surprises at the end, but I wasn't utterly charmed by it as I was the other two. Also, it was very, very long-- about the length of the other two Bascombe books put together. I would have given up on it if I didn't have a strong personal ethic to finish all books I start.

Next book up to bat: "Snow" by Nobel Prize winner Orham Pamuk.

What I watched: "Mission: Impossible III" (or, in poster parlance, M:i:III)
I was really putting to the test my theory, "Any movie Phillip Seymour Hoffmann is in is worth watching." (Even, yes, "Along Came Polly.") This was a difficult challenge to me, given that I find Tom Cruise these days.....how do I say.... oh, yes, creepy. But my theory about PSH holds up: I utterly enjoyed myself for two hours. There were no greater truths revealed, but PSH was GREAT playing a baddie. I was slightly creeped out that the woman playing Ethan/Tom Cruise's fiancee looked just like Katie Holmes. Like I said, creepy. Overal rating: 6/10
Six Degrees of Separation Note (or, how I VERY NEARLY know Phillip Seymour Hoffman): My friend Quigs was friends in high school with PSH wife! How about that.

Who we cheered for: On Saturday, Mr. MarathonMum and I discussed which American football team we would back in the playoffs, given the sad season of our No. 1, and STILL SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS (at least until the end of the month), the Pittsburgh Steelers. Given that I only knew a few of the teams in the playoffs, our choices came down to either supporting the Philadelphia Eagles (once the No. 1 team of my heart) or the Chicago Bears (once the No. 1 team of our heart, when we were first married and living there). In the end, we decided to back the Bears, soley because no self-respecting Steelers fan can switch sides to the Eagles. It's just not done. We chose well, because the Bears beat the Seattle Seahawks in overtime. Go Bears!

The Last Four Movies I Watched

People who know me appreciate how much I love movies. You only have to read my marathon overnight Oscar posting of 2006 (to be repeated in 2007) to see what I'm talking about.

To wit, I am now going to include a regular feature of the last movie I saw. Because this is the first such posting, I'm going to feature the four movies I've seen since 1.1.07 with a brief review accompanied by a rating out of 10. So without further ado...

1. "Night at the Museum"
Seen: 1.1.07 with Thing One (age 7 1/2) and his Grandfather at the local cinema
What I thought: Very funny, and the effects were pretty good too. The best scene was between Ben Stiller and his mother, Anne Meara, where she tells him (with one raised eyebrow): "You're never going to amount to anything." Thing One loved it, and is eageraly anticipating the DVD.
Rating: For a children's film, I'd give it 9/10. Rating it as a regular fim, I'd give it 6.5/10. I enjoyed myself, and had a good laugh, but no great truths were revealed.

2. "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room"
Seen: 3.1.07 with Mr. MarathonMum
What I thought: Very well done documentary, which compiled all the information and news about how greed, hubris and intelligence intersected.
Rating: Rating it as a regular film, I'd give it 7/10 (it is a documentary after all, so it's a bit dry). But for business journalists, I'd give it 9/10. A must see for anyone covering business.

3. "Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
Seen: 6.1.07 on DVD with MarathonMum's Mom and Dad (Mr. MarathonMum gave up after 10 minutes)
What I thought: Absolute rubbish. Terrible nonsensical story. I admit that I was probably at a disadvantage, having not seen the first one, but it should still be able to stand on its own. I can't believe it was the highest-grossing film last year. Terrible, terrible, terrible.
Rating: 1/10. The only reason it didn't get 0/10 is because some of the effects were pretty good, and there are worse things in life than watching Johnny Depp.

4. "Junebug"
Seen: 12.1.07 on DVD while waiting for Mr. MarathonMum to get home.
What I thought: A well done movie, with some really sweet scenes. Amy Adams, who played the sister-in-law, deserved her Oscar nomination. She was fantastic. However, while it did have its moments, it never jelled together to make a fantastic film. I still find myself thinking about today, though.
Rating: 7.5/10 (Worth seeing if you like small independent films with interesteing characters)

Happy New Year (Belatedly)

Welcome to 2007, MarathonMum fans.

I know that my output has been pathetic these last few months, and I apologize. To wit, my New Year's Resolutions:

1. Write in my journal every day (So far, so good). This enables me to write about everything, not just those things I think are accepatable for the crazy world out there. I mean, when you get comments from people you don't know and you see that someone in a country you've never visited is reading your blog, you tend to get more cautious about what you want to write about.

2. Post three times a week in MarathonMum. Obviously, there's serious room for improvement here, as we're nearly halfway through the month and this is my first posting. It seems as though I'm going to have to post daily for the rest of the month to make up for my shortcoming in this regard. The last thing I want this blog to become is a memoir of the times when I could run. Which leads me to...

3. Put my arthritis into remission. My doctor is less optimistic about this happening, but he also thinks we'll be able to manage the problem. He still doesn't think I'll be able to run ever again, but a (runner) friend helpfully suggested today that I get a second (third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh) opinion until I hear differently. First, I just want to be able to walk-- hell, sit around-- without feeling pain. Doctor also thinks new scary medicine, I mean GOOD MEDICINE, will pummel the arthritis. at the moment, scary medicine makes the room spin and me very woozy, (lucky I only have to take it once a week), but my body should get used to it eventually. Watch this space.

4. Learn to love biking. New shiny silver beautiful bike awaits me at the bike shop, and hope to pick it up tomorrow. There's no way I'll love it as much as running, but at least it's sort of close. Again, watch this space.

5. Sell something on eBay. I've got no problem at all buying stuff successfully. In fact, the new love of my life, a lime green Francis! Francis! espresso machine came from there right after Christmas. Now it's time to unload some of my own stuff and make some coin.

6. (This one is private and just for me. So there.)

Wishing you and yours a great 2007.

Our Christmas Kick-Off

Editors Note: I was going to write about arthritis today, answering your questions and outlining my sporting plans (I've got some good ones in mind), but that bummed me out too much, so I've written this entry instead. "It's my blog, and I'll write what I want to," she says, indignantly.

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, and Thing One and Thing Two are all hopped up for Christmas. So all is as it should be.

The weekend kicked off on Friday with the lighting of the local lights. "Santa's going to be there," I said sanguinely, as cheers erupted around me. We duly set off with our friends Emma, Wendy, Charlotte and Caroline. After we arrive, witness the lighting and smell the mulled wine, we learn that Santa is installed in a shop. Friends advise us that the line is now short, so we excitedly make our way there. While we wait, I run into my friend Ellie and ask her how Santa is. "Well, I think he might be having a bit of a laugh," she said, and then made the universal motion of hoovering up drugs to indicate to the parents what was awaiting us. "No! It can't be!!" said Mrs. Christmas (that would be me) appalled at the idea that no Santa-controls were in place.

But I'm pretty sure she was right. We finally got to the door, but had to wait while Santa disappeared behind his chair for about a minute. You can draw your own conclusions. I didn't detect any white powder on his face, but then again, it was covered with a beard. The young man, clad in a Santa costume, handed the boys their bags, wished them a Merry Christmas and we were out. No enquiries as to what was on their lists. No comments on their behaviour. Really, he was the worst Santa I've ever seen.

Perhaps this is just the 21st Century equivalent of sitting on the lap of a drunk Santa.

On the way home, Thing One turned to me, unprompted, and said, "You know Mom, sometimes there's Santas out there that aren't REALLY Santa. They're just pretending."

"That's right," I replied, picking up the observation and running with it. "Santa is really, really busy in December. Every once in a while he does get to go to a mall or a store, but lots of times there are people who are just playing dressing up."

"That makes sense," Thing One replied.

The conversation then turned again to what chimney Santa will use when he comes on Christmas Eve. Now that we're in a new house, there has been much discussion as to which chimney Santa will come down (there are five fireplaces to choose from, believe it or not). The boys finally concluded that they thought he would come down their chimney, since it's on the top floor and closest to the roof, but still leave the presents under the Christmas tree downstairs.

Let's just hope they've already forgotten about the "Santa" they saw Friday.

Know Your Friends

Hello MarathonMum friends.

I know I've been neglecting this blog, but things have been happeneing here at MarathonMum HQ. I know this post is cheating, but I felt I had to get one post up this month before it concluded.

Imbedded in the answers below is the reason why I haven't posted in such a long time. There's been X-rays and doctors and blood tests and more doctors. So if you're patient and you read through you'll see what I'm talking about. I'll post more about it soon.

1. What is your occupation? Chairman and chief executive officer of our family.

2. What color are your socks right now? light blue (I should note they are about 10 years old)

3. What are you listening to right now? The birds in the backyard.

4. What is the last thing you ate? Does my morning coffee count? With it I had an Italian amaretto biscuit. Yum.

5. Can you drive a stick shift? Thanks to Sean Fitzgerald, yes.

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Would depend on the day.

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Kathy Krueger.

8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Not really. I'm just sending it back so she thinks I still like her. Did I say that out loud??

9. How old are you today? 38

10. Favorite Drink? Champagne.

11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Hard to say, given the prevalence of snooker and cricket on t.v. here. I really miss the NFL and the NBA though. I guess, thinking it through, college basketball starring the Villanova Wildcats of course.

12. Have you ever dyed your hair? I started going grey at 20. Does that answer your question?

14. Pets? I have two sons. That's more than enough fun for one household.

15. Favorite food? Italian, followed very closely by French, not to mention sushi.

16. What was the last movie you watched? "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Actually, I didn't watch it. Nicholas watched it, and I used the time to have a long chat with my friend Kathy (see above). The movie I actually watched was "Breaking and Entering" starring Jude Law. I'd give it a 7.5/10.

17. Favorite day of the year? Hard to pick.

18. What do you do to vent anger? I used to go out for a long hard run. Now that I can't do that anymore given that I've just been diagnosed with arthritis, I'm going to have to think of something else.

19. What was your favorite toy as a child? My doll "Baby." I was a very literal child.

20. What is your favorite season: Autumn

21. Hugs or kisses? hugs

22. Cherries or Blueberries? Blueberries

23. Do you want your friends to email you back? Absolutely

24. Who is most likely to respond? I'm hoping that my friends lead such a full and rich life they won't have time to respond. I'm just using this questionnaire as a procrastination exercise before I go upstairs to get out our Christmas decorations.

25. Who is least likely to respond? See above.

26. Living arrangements? Living at the fun house (a 200-year old Georgian house) in Greenwich, London, with my husband and two pets-- I mean, sons.

27. When was the last time you cried? On Friday when I found out I probably won't be able to run ever again. Still makes me cry a little, even as I type this.

28. What is on the floor of your closet? The boxes I still haven't unpacked from our move in March.

29. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? Have to be Kathy, though I'm also going to post it on my blog, so it's possible that there's someone out there who's reading it who's known me longer. Say, someone in my family.

30. What did you do last night? After hustling the boys off to bed, I made dinner for me and Tim, and then I rested on the sofa in the hope that the excruciating pain in my foot would go away. It didn't.

31. Favorite smells? Lavender. It's the scent I wear, and when Thing Two was about one year old, he went up to a lavender bush and hugged it. I like to think it reminded him of me.

32. What inspires you? Lots of things, but I always want to make my family proud.

33. What are you afraid of? That I will soon have to install one of those chair elevators in my house because my arthritis will get so bad I won't be able to walk. (That's a joke. Sort of.)

34. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? cheese

35. Favorite dog breed? Golden retrievers. Though, to reiterate, we have no need for dogs because we have boys.

36. Number of keys on your key ring? 2 (I have a separate key ring for the car since we use it so infrequently).

37. How many years at your current job? It's a lifetime appointment.

38. Favorite day of the week? Probably Saturdays, since it's Pizza NIght.

39. How many states have you lived in? You can tell this questionnaire was written by American, because they assume you couldn't possibly have lived in another country. So I will answer the question in my own way: I have lived in five states and two countries. So there.

40. Favorite holiday? Thanksgiving.

41. Ever driven a Motorcycle or heavy machinery? No, though I've ridden on a motorcycle and I helped the boys use a mini JCB at Legoland. Does that count?

42. Who's your favorite NFL team? In the interest of household harmony, it would have to be the Pittsburgh Steelers.

43. Do you have a house phone that is NOT cordless? no

44. 10 inches of snow or 100 degree weather. Given that we don't get either of those things in London, it's hard for me to imagine either possibility. But if pressed, I would have to say 10 inches of snow.

The Season

In London, "The Season" refers to the myriad of events that take place roughly from April to August and includes the Chelsea Flower Show, Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and Cowes Week.

In our house, "The Season" refers to the myriad of events that occur between late September and December and includes Thing One's birthday, Halloween, MarathonMum's birthday, Thanksgiving, St. Andrew's Day, St. Nicholas' Day and Christmas.

It is, in short, an exhausting time of our lives.

But we love it. While we might not get to wear fancy hats or our finest finery, autumn and early winter proves to be a whirlwind of fun, activities, and most of all, laughter.

Having enjoyed the first event of the season-- Thing One's birthday-- we're now preparing for one of the greatest days in a young child's life-- Halloween. I will keep you posted as events warrant, but so many events in so little time make my postings less frequent than I would like.

By the way, anyone can participate in the events in Our Season, not just those families listed in Debrett's.

Two Things I Never Imagined I Would Say

This week, I got to utter two phrases that I never imagined I would ever get to say in this lifetime.

No. 1: "I can't pick them up, because I'll be at a reception at Buckingham Palace."

That was SUCH a fun thing to say! After all, Buckingham Palace is such an inconic place, particularly for an American girl who got up at 5 a.m. to watch Prince Charles marry Lady Diana Spencer (that fairy tale didn't end so well, but it was a beautiful wedding).

I was due to go to "Buck Palace," as some locals like to say, for a tour and a wine reception with the American Correspondents in London. However, it wasn't meant to be, which leads me to...

No. 2: "I sprained my wrist while running."

As a very helpful friend pointed out to me after I said to the above, "You're not meant to run on your hands, love, you should use your feet!" But as anyone who knows me well will attest, I am the clumsiest person on earth. When I was a girl, my parents sent me to ballet lessons in the hope I would become graceful. It didn't work.

So on a beautiful Tuesday morning, I set out for a run-- the first one in school hours in which my personal trainer was not along for the ride. As I was running through the Royal Naval College and thinking about how nice it was to not be pushing a buggy, I suddenly found myself flying through the air, bouncing once (I'm guessing) and landing with a thump with my arms and legs akimbo. Nice one. After I checked that no bones were protruding through my skin or I wasn't bleeding profusely and I assured the worried onlookers that I was OK, just deeply embarrassed, I continued on my way and ran about 3 miles.

However, by the time I arrived home, my left wrist was already swelling up, not to mention the layers of skin I lost off my right elbow and the huge purple bruise I earned on my left knee. As the afternoon wore on, the thought of spending a few hours admiring Buckingham Palace clutching a glass of wine while dressed nicely was more than I could bear, so I cancelled.

After a restless night when it was very difficult to sleep, I got myself to the hospital to hear the verdict: it's not a fracture, but a bad sprain. So now I have an oh-so-attractive wrist splint, along with a royal blue sling. I'm considering writing on the sling, "Running Injury!" just for laughs.

I have to say, though, saying those two things was LOTS of fun, though doing them was another matter entirely.

How Do You Solve A Problem Like Spongebob?*

*Sung to the tune of "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?" from the Sound of Music.

After yesterday's marathon of events (a "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" birthday party for Thing One, a screening of "Curious George" for Thing Two, a reading awards ceremony for Thing One and a Zoomaround birthday party for the both of them, all in different locations), I was hoping for a relatively restful morning before heading out to Greenwich's annual Car Free Day. It was not to be.

Let me explain. At the screening of "Curious George" Thing Two received a gift bag to celebrate the Picturehouse's first birthday. The bag included a Spongebob Squarepants T-shirt, which unfortunately for Thing Two was two sizes too big for him, but the perfect size for Thing One. [All the parents reading this know what happened next.] Thing One wanted to wear the shirt. Thing Two said no. Thing One put on the shirt, to show him how perfect it was. Thing Two said no. Thing One asked, enquired, pleaded and begged Thing Two to wear the shirt. No. No. No. No. This went on for-- I'm not kidding-- an hour. At one point, Thing One went down to his new typewriter and typed out the message, "Please Nichlas, let me wear the shirt." No again.

Much like the U.N. in civil wars, I found that I needed to get involved.
Will you let him wear the shirt if I give you a chocolate? No.
Will you let him wear the shirt if I give you a Simpsons ice lolly? No.
Will you let him wear the shirt if I get you a magazine? No.
Will you let him wear the shirt if I get you a cupcake? No.
Will you let him wear the shirt if I get you a very special treat, which you can pick out? Oh, [big sigh] OK.

With peace brokered, we set out for Greenwich Car Free Day. In its fifth year, this is an annual event where two major streets are closed down for entertainment, games, food and fun. It's always heaving with people, and we always run into lots of friends there. It's great.

As expected, with the hordes of people at events like this come the helium balloon vendors. After we had finished our bike race challenge (with Thing One pedalling, and Thing Two sitting atop the stationery bike while I pushed the pedals for him [I won]), we found a vendor with a cast of characters: Tigger, Piglet, Dora the Explorer, Bob the Builder and (hooray!) Spongebob Squarepants.

How Do You Solve A Problem Like Spongebob? You pay £4 to get a helium balloon. Peace at last.

Happy Roald Dahl Day!!!!

Roald Dahl should need no introduction, but in case you don't know what all the hullabaloo is about-- and hallabaloo is JUST the kind of word he would love-- he is quite simply the most brilliant children's author ever.

Dahl, who would have been 90 years old today, might be best known for writing the classic tale, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," but that is just one of many fantastic books he penned from the shed in the back of his garden. He is also responsible for the James' fantastic flight in "James and the Giant Peach," the clever mind of "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and the pharmaceutical experiment gone wrong in "George's Marvellous Medicine." He was, in short, a genius.

Here at MarathonMum HQ, we are on High Alert for the celebration. In fact, the very first thing that Thing Two said this morning was, "It's Roald Dahl Day today! Hooray!!" As we walked to school in our yellow t-shirts (see below) Thing One worried aloud, "Why isn't anyone else wearing yellow shirts?" I replied, "Maybe they didn't realize Roald Dahl is today." During story time at our local bookstore, Nicholas interrupted "The Gruffalo's Child" to tell the woman, "Today is Roald Dahl Day!" This, in fact, was news to her because the store's celebration is scheduled for next Saturday. Sometimes, three-year-olds DO have something to teach you!

But you don't have to sit on the sidelines watching others celebrating Roald Dahl Day, instead you can take up the Roald Dahl Day Challenge (for more information about the big day, go to this site). For fans under the age of 10, complete the number of challenges equal to your age. If you're older than 10, you should strive to complete all on the list.

Help probably would it but fun the in join to gobblefunk in fluent be to need not do you. [This is not a typo. Please see number 5 and 3 below.]

Here's what to do:
1. Wear something yellow – it was Roald's favourite colour!
2. Wear one or more items of clothing backwards.
3. Drop "gobblefunk"* into your conversations
(the unique language created by Roald and most commonly used by
the BFG).
4. Swap a Roald Dahl book with a friend.
5. Talk backwards.
6. Tell a silly joke – Roald loved swapping these with his kids.
7. Play an "unexpected" prank.
8. Give someone a treat – Roald was a great believer in treats, whether it was a bar of chocolate or a lovely surprise.
9. Write your own revolting rhyme.
10. Make up an Oompa Loompa dance and get all your friends to join in!

(In case you're wondering, MarathonMum has completed six of the 10 challenges by 2:34 GMT).
*Many thanks to Tom Standage who performed the electronic magic necessary so I could include the most-excellent graphic above. Tom can now cross No. 8 off his list, as this would count as a treat to me!

A Partial List of Summer Fun

Summer is over. Bummer. But the memories will live on…

We travelled many miles—though not as many as last year—and had lots and lots of fun. For those of you interested in what constitutes “fun” this family (and yes, that includes a ride in a tow truck) here’s a partial list:

• Rode in the Chunnel on our way to France. (This entry is for you, Jenn Traficanti)
• Rather than looking for state license plates (an American pastime), we looked for EU country stickers while on the road in France.
• Played baseball in an organic vegetable patch.
• Collected eggs from chickens.
• Swam in the English channel off of Omaha Beach: A good place to surprise and defeat the Nazis in June 1942, and 64 years and (nearly) 64 days later, a good place to make sandcastles.
• Toured Mont St. Michele, 11 years after I first wanted to go there.
• Collected stickers for our “Cars” (the movie) sticker books.
• Swam in a pond, while fish skirted around our ankles.
• Found not one but two great bakeries in the small town we called “Maisy’s town,” but was actually Grandcamp-Maisy.
• Ate at a French McDonalds, where you can’t get milk with your Happy Meal, but you do have a choice of two different bottled waters. (this entry is for the boys, obviously)
• Ate yummy French food, especially the BBC: butter, bread and cheese.
• Visited the best aquarium we’ve EVER seen (and that includes Baltimore): Grand Aquarium Saint-Malo.
• Walked on the ramparts of Saint-Malo.
• Tried to correctly pronounce the town named “Rennes” when we visited.
• Walked on more ramparts in Dinan and tripped through its cobbled steep streets.
• Sat on our chairs and watched an actual “Cow Parade”—not a faux one created by a tourist board-- pass by our farmhouse.
• Milked some cows (That’s what Thing One says, but actually, we just got to watch. Whew! It SMELLS!!)
• Battled an invasion of flies in our farmhouse in Brittany. The flies won. We fled the scene.
• Saw “Cars” in an un-air conditioned cinema on one of the hottest days of the year. Thing Two fell asleep on my lap, making the un-air conditioned atmosphere even MORE uncomfortable.
• Weeded our back garden in the pouring rain.
• Made masks at our local library.
• Went on a Teddy Bear Picnic.
• Had tennis lessons.
• Rolled down the hill at Greenwich Park, much like they used to do in the halcyon Victorian days.
• Helped finish the school’s mosaic.
• Splashed in Emma and Wendy’s new splash pool.
• Ate Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes. Yum!
• Learned to live without electricity, “Like in the olden days,” Thing One said, when we lost our power seven times (for a total of more than 20 hours) over a three-day period.
• Enjoyed the fine products of Meantime Brewery at our favourite local pub, The Union. (that was the adults, NOT Thing One and Two)
• Saw “Cars” for a second time! This time, air conditioning wasn’t necessary, as it was a cold and rainy day.
• Got our faces painted at the library (Thing One: Spiderman. Thing Two: Tigger)
• Went to the Tate Modern. Got yelled at lots by the guards for nothing at all. (I think they had their fill of families at that point)
• Thing One opened a “Coffee Shop” with the drinks made with water and old chalk. Yum!
• Searched the house for nearly an hour, looking for a lost piece of wire Thing One’s friend had lost. When I say “wire” I mean “wire.” After Thing One found it, I spent another hour contemplating my career options.
• Went to the National Maritime Museum, where no guards yelled at us.
• Learned to love the art of Rope Swinging.
• Wore our polar bear (Thing One) and reindeer (Thing Two) ear muffs in August, just because we could.
• Witnessed the Science Experiment of the Year: Mentos-induced exploding Diet Coke.
• Made our own exploding volcanoes out of sand, vinegar and bicarbonate of soda.
• Created turtle pictures out of sand, seeds and bird feed.
• Rode donkeys at the top of Greenwich Park.
• Played hours and hours of Cadoo.
• Found an incredibly cool indoor play centre called Gambado, where Thing One met a girl who followed him around for the entire afternoon. Ah, young love.
• Rode in a tow truck! Whee!! (Thanks, AA)
• Made T-shirts at the Victoria & Albert Museum.
• Saw “The Bubble Show” for the (estimated) 55th time at the Science Museum.
• Rode bikes in the new garden of our friends Shakira and Tayo.
• Saw “Deep Sea 3-D” at the local Imax, where Thing Two spent almost all of the movie saying, “I want to go home now, Mom!” But when asked later how he liked it, he said, “I loved it!”
• Ate at Wagamama, our favourite family restaurant, several times.
• Celebrated our 11th Wedding Anniversary!
• Picked apples, corn and raspberries in Kent.
• Learned to pack 12 weeks of fun (an American-sized summer) into six (a British-sized summer).

Back to School!

Thing One joyfully returned to school this morning, laden with his oh-so-hip "Cars" backpack and lunch box. This means, sports fans, that summer is officially over, even if the calendar disagrees. Of course, because school was open, that meant we had the nicest day we've had in weeks today.

Our accountants are now checking the accuracy of our summer fun list and it will be released tomorrow.

Apples of My Eyes

Thing One, Thing Two and I ventured into the darkest depths of Kent Sunday with the always-delightful Ella, Miles and chaperones (read: parents) for our annual end-of-summer tradition of fruit and corn picking. I say "tradition" but that's actually a misnomer: we did it last year, and we returned again this year and plan to go next year but I'm not really convinced we can describe it as a tradition until we've been there three times. You know the saying: one is a point, two is a line, three is a trend. Also, last year, there was no corn as the badgers got there first. But I digress.

Ella and Thing One eagerly explored the "Maize Maze" of a giant squirrel and made it to the centre on their own wits alone. To see them victorious at the finish, scroll down to the bottom of Ella's current website. To see how much they've grown since last year, scroll down to the bottom of last year's page. Thing Two and I missed the Maize Maze because he was feeling his age and didn't want to go. Oh well.

However, Thing Two did recover in time to pick some apples-- his most favorite fruit in the whole world. After that, we made our way over to the sweetcorn, where Kirstin won the Farmer O' the Day accolade because she knew that the corn we wanted to pick had silk that was black at the end. Way to go, city slicker! Finally, to finish it all off, we wrestled with the brambles and the thorns to pick a few raspberries. I can appreciate now why raspberries are so expensive, given how difficult they are to pick.

A beautiful day, with wonderful friends and fantastic food. What more could you ask for? (Maybe, just maybe, a husband that ISN'T on a plane to Dubai.)

The All-Star Crew at the V&A

(From left to right: Geogia, Ella, Miles, Nicholas (Thing Two) and Andrew (Thing One)

Summer Fun Activity No. 61 (a full accounting will be available at the conclusion of the season) took place Thursday with a trip to the Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington.

The All-Star Crew, so named because all of the bipedalistic children wore Converse All-Star sneakers, took to the train, the tube and the (pedestrian) tunnel to get there. By the time we arrived at the family workshop area, the queue of eager families stretched out the door. The children were to create a pyschedelic T-shirt based on the museum's current 60's exhibition. All for free! In London! Miracles do happen.

Thing One diligently started to work, Thing Two diligently started to watch me work and their friends Ella and Georgia got down to business. Miles, who has not yet acquired bipedalistic skills, slept through the job.

The picture above shows the products of their (and our) labours. Thing Two seems particularly proud of the work he merely oversaw, but did not actually do. He's destined for management.

Anything Can Be Fun

On Wednesday, Thing One, Thing Two and I, were ready to set out for Summer Adventure No. 57: fruit picking.

Under sunny blue skies, we packed our picnic, chose a rendevouz point with our friends, mapped our route, filled our station wagon with petrol and away we went. It was a scene that could have been ripped from a 1950s Good Housekeeping issue, except (a) I wasn't wearing a skirt, (b) the boys had chocolate on their faces, and (c) our station wagon [or estate, depending on what language you speak] does not have wooden cladding, nor is it American made.

All was going swimmingly as we sped down the highway until I heard clunk-clunk-clunk. "Oh," I thought. "That must be the car next to me," as I turned up the soundtrack to "Cars." As my friend in front sped up, I had the distinct feeling that our car, who we affectionately call Gazerbeam for its GB country sticker on the back, wasn't keeping up. Finally, disaster: we lost power, I couldn't downshift and lights starting blinking ominously on the dashboard. Luckily, I was able to get us over to the shoulder.

"Well boys, I've got some bad news and some good news," I told them after I had called my friend to say we wouldn't be joining her after all, and then the Automobile Association to come tow us away. "The bad news is we won't be fruit picking today. The good news is we can have a car picnic! Hooray!!"

"Gazerbeam is sad," observed Thing Two. "Poor Gazerbeam is tired," added Thing One.

So while we waited an hour for the AA to come rescue us, we ate our lunch, consoled ourselves with chocolate chip cookies (which always make me feel better), planned Thing One's 7th birthday party and listened to the "Cars" soundtrack some more.

After our tow truck driver left us in the warm embrace of our usual mechanic, he handed me the receipt for the tow. "Ah, yes," I said. "Good times!"

And while I have to say it wasn't the absolute best time we had all summer, it wasn't the worst time either, thus proving the maxim: Anything Can Be Fun.

MarathonMum Update

Hello MarathonMum fans. Yes, I know I've been on hiatus, with nary a word about where, when or how. Lots of things have happened since the previous post. To recap:

-England lost to Portugal. But it was a great party! (And many times, that's all that matters)
-Italy won the World Cup, but not before Zidane, arguably one the best players to play the game, showed the world how manly he was. ("Wow!" Thing One said when he viewed the head-butt-in-the-chest-incident. "That must have hurt.")
-Mr.MarathonMum went to Singapore for the second time in two months. How was it? "I have no idea," he said. "I was in meetings all day."
-MarathonMum had a sad, unexpected and brief SOLO trip to the U.S. Three weeks later, Thing Two still runs up to me, gives me a hug and says, "Mom! You're back from America!"
-Thing One finished his school year July 21. I still laugh when people say, "Have a great summer!" When the so-called summer is only six weeks long. If you want a summer, go to school in the U.S., where it's twice as long.
-Thing Two received his official letter about starting nursery school. I spend my time vacillating between joy (mornings to myself!), wonderment, (time for school already?) and a teeny, tiny bit of sadness (where did the past three years go?)
-Finally, the whole family went on a much needed and much appreciated two-week break to France.

We are back. I am back, refreshed and rested.

Normal MarathonMum postings will now resume.

Challenging Cuisine

Later today, England plays Portugal in the World Cup. Come on, England!

Excitement is at fever pitch. Stores have put up signs saying, "We will close at 3:30 so our employees can watch the World Cup." I got a parcel delivered at 7 a.m. today because Parcel Force is going to end the day early so they can see the game. By 4 p.m., I am certain there will be no traffic or pedestrians. Nearly everyone in this country will be glued to a television set.

We will be having a small party here at MarathonMum HQ. Thing One and Thing Two have their England shirts ready to go, and we've got England napkins, plates and flags.

Before the World Cup had even started, and we thought we'd be gathering today for another reason (for the Spaghetti Challenge Redux), my friend Sam had the brilliant idea that whoever was playing today, we should make the cuisine of that country. No problem, I thought, as the food of France, Italy and even Germany danced in my head.

But now we've got England (no problem) against Portugal (huh?). On Monday morning, I started to do some research into Portuguese food. I browsed the bookshelves with my 104 cookbooks (not a typo). I found a "Great Recipes of the World" and thought I'd hit paydirt. I paged past nice dishes like French Onion Soup and Chinese Cashew Noodles. Finally, I found one: Portuguese Grilled Sardines. Um, thanks, but no.

Larousse Gastronomique, the encyclopedia of food, was more forthcoming. The Portuguese like fish, especially cod. It suggested some dishes, but no recipes.

After trolling the Internet and checking some more cookbooks, I decided to make paella. I know that strictly speaking, it's a Spanish dish, but I have decided in my own mind that we will pretend that we're in a town in Portugal on the border with Spain. In actuality, it's a recipe from British-born Gordon Ramsay, but it's got lots of fish in it.

My friend Diana also did some dining detective work and found some Portuguese salad recipes on the Internet, which she will bring.

Meanwhile, Sam, who came up with the idea in the first place, rushed up to me yesterday and asked in a panic, "I don't know what I'm going to make! What should I do?" I said we still didn't have any desserts, so she is bringing (wait for it) strawberries and cream.

How This Mom Watches World Cup, Part Two

Step One: Put the children to bed. This is critical. They may suddenly profess enthusiasm for the game, but don't be fooled. The only reason they're showing interest is because the 8 p.m. kickoff means their bedtime will get pushed back. Don't fall for it.

Step Two: Once the children have been bathed, read to and tucked in, realize you've missed the 8 p.m. kick off of England versus Sweden. Do not worry.

Step Three: Get a COLD beer out of the frig. For those MarathonMum fans who were slightly distressed that I had to drink a warm beer last week, do not despair. The warm beer reflected only my lack of forward planning.

Step Four: Prepare Indian ready-made-meal, as Mr. MarathonMum is at a work event. Listen out for cheering on the street.

Step Five: When cheering on the street is heard, rush upstairs to see first goal of the game.
Go England!

Step Six: After watching the goal replay, switch to the BBC's show on the Summer Exhibition (talk about counter-programming). Smile to yourself knowing that its host, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, probably is not watching World Cup either, because you saw him picking up his dry cleaning during England's first game against Paraguay.

Step Seven: Answer phone and chat with friend, who is watching the game and gives you the necessary goal news as it happens. Chat for 40 minutes about jobs, life, memories and Angelina Jolie.

Step Eight: Go back upstairs and watch final 10 minutes so you can say you saw the game.

Step Nine: When offspring wake up in the morning, tell them that England tied Sweden, 2-2.

Step Ten: Get out globe to show them where Ecuador is.

How This Mom Watches World Cup (In 7 Easy Steps)

1. Most importantly, you have to convince your two offspring that this is a good idea. Do not be lulled into a false sense of security that this will be easy if your two offspring are male. Particularly if they are under the age of 7. Indeed, evidence from a friend with two sons shows she had the same problem.

2. Persevere with No. 1. They may moan, ask to watch anything else or even, in a fit of desperation, suggest they will play outside. "Why do we want to watch television on a beautiful day like this?" they may ask. The correct response is to laugh, and heartily at that, because if they had control of the remote they would very much like to watch telly on a beautiful day like this. But they don't have the remote.

3. Don't say it to them during the game, but it's important that they watch England play World Cup, because, frankly, you don't want them to turn into the type of kids who get beat up in the playground.

4. Once you have asserted your authority over the remote, sit down and enjoy the game. But never forget you are a mother and your middle name is "Multitasking," so surround yourself with piles of laundry that need to be folded. Fold, watch, take sips of beer-- be sure said children do not trip over the beer-- and cheer, as necessary.

5. If the children decide that they are more interested in reading a book than watching the exploits of Beckham and the Bunch, do not despair. At least they're not still asking for the remote back.

6. Try not to recall the beer-fueled days of yore when watching Villanova victorious or Chicago celebrating. Those days are gone. This is the best it's going to be for World Cup. That's right: piles of laundry and a lukewarm beer. Life is good!

7. Take the opportunity to teach your children the fine art of celebration when England scores, and scores again. Jump, scream, clap and raise your hands in the air like you just don't care. (But you do, of course. Especially the beating-up-in-the-playground part.)

England Wins!

England won its first match in the World Cup today by beating Paraguay, 1-0.

Hardly a blowout, particulary when you consider that the one point was an own-goal by a Paraguay player, but a win is a win.

MarathonMum fans not familiar with the glory of the World Cup-- yes, I'm talking to you Americans-- it is an athletic spectacular surpassing the World Series, the NBA Finals and the Super Bowl all rolled into one. When those U.S. events roll around commentators always talk about the millions and billions of people around the world watching, but that's just hyperbole. When they say that about the World Cup, they mean it.

[By the way U.S. fans, I'm talking about the game you call soccer, but that everyone else in the world calls football.]

As you can see from above, Thing One supported England's team in his own special way. But he'll be rooting for the U.S. on Monday.

Go England! Go U.S.A.!

Team Jolie-Pitt Triumphs Again

Now we know the price for worldwide celebrity obsession: It's more than $4.1 million.

The figure is reportedly the amount that People magazine in the United States paid for the exclusive North American rights to pictures of Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. But the pictures apparently also have been sold to Hello! magazine in the United Kingdom and other media outlets worldwide, pushing the estimated total amount paid up to $7 million.

In a masterstroke of both charitable giving and public relations, Jolie and Pitt plan to donate all the proceeds from the pictures to charity. This donation follows their first gifts of $300,000 for maternity equipment for two Namibian hospitals and a $15,000 for a community education initiative.

Suddenly, all celebrities who have pocketed the money for pictures of their babies, weddings or homes seem shallow, miserly and stupid. Much like they are, probably.

The May 27 birth of this little girl has been a case study in how to outfox the media and the public. Pitt and Jolie travelled with their other two children to the southern African country Namibia to have the baby. I'm quite certain that most entertainment reporters could not find that country on a globe prior to this trip. By going there, they ensured that there would be few reporters and photographers in the country to follow their every move. To ensure their privacy, the government would not issue any journalistic visas to anyone without the express written consent of Jolie and Pitt.

Personally, all of these actions caused me to switch my allegiance from Team Aniston (wronged first wife) to Team Jolie (international humanitarian who really cares about African children). Jolie seems to be a woman who takes her responsibilities as a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador seriously. Unlike, say, Geri Haliwell, also a U.N. ambassador who recently sold pictures of her newborn daughter to Hello! but did not donate any of her proceeds to charity.

The couple, who are the subject of worldwide interest, first got to know one another while starring in the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Pitt happened to be married to Aniston at the time.

But how the couple, dubbed Bradgelina, have handled the interest in this child makes me respect them like I never did before.

The couple said in a statement, "While we celebrate the joy of the birth of our daughter, we recognize that 2 million babies born every year in the developing world die on the first day of their lives. These children can be saved, but only if governments around the world make it a priority."

If only all celebrities could use the superficial interest in them for the benefit of others. Other celebrities really could learn something from Team Jolie-Pitt.

Legoland: City of Dreams (for kids, anyway)

Our trip kicked off at 4:21 a.m., when Thing One walked into my bedroom while pulling his wheelie suitcase behind him, and asked, "Is it time to leave for Legoland yet?"

A few hours, a breakfast, a shower and a lost tooth later, we were on the road heading to the Promised Land. I planned the half-term adventure because Mr. MarathonMum had a business trip to China, and I thought a mini-break would be fun for the rest of us. Thing One and Thing Two thought that Dad had the short end of the stick, since he only got to go to China, while we got to enjoy two days at LEGOLAND! and stay at a HOTEL! with a POOL!

Before we left, I did my due diligence by checking the Internet and asking Legoland veterans for tips and advice. If you ever go, an impressive 11-year-old created a site full of advice here. I tried my best to devise a strategy, but in the end I decided to just go with the flow and enjoy it without military-like precision.

As a 10-year-old, when I first read about Legoland in Denmark in National Geographic for Kids (then called "World") it seemed so amazing and foreign and exotic and far away. I also thought at the time, I'd never be able to experience the wonder of seeing an entire city built out of Lego, because Denmark was so far away from New Jersey. How wrong I was. Now in addition to the original Legoland, there are parks in Windsor, where we went, California and Germany. The miniature cities and towns made entirely out of Lego, especially London, were amazing. The boys loved them. But I couldn't help but wonder: How do you get a job building cities out of Lego? What sort of degree do you need?

Aside from the Lego cities and sculptures everywhere, Legoland basically is an amusement park for children. The top attraction for both Thing One and Thing Two was Driving School, where they got to drive a Lego car around-- without the benefit of a steering track underneath. If they successfully finished the course-- all the kids did, even the ones who were hopeless at it (read: Thing Two)-- they got a driver's license.

On Friday morning, I had the good luck to read that my friend Laura also would be there. My mother-in-law is convinced I could find a friend anywhere, so I suppose the fact that I found a friend at Legoland (not to mention seeing two more on Saturday), confirms her theory.

Laura and I used mobile telephony techonology [we sent texts to each other] to rendevouz at the park. It was great to see her. Our friendship is one of the more unusual ones that I have. It started as we both trained for the London marathon, we first met each other in person at about mile 17 in the race, and we have remained friends since via e-mails and our blogs. But we are very similar in our outlook and approach to life and we keep finding unusual things that we have in common (shoe size, the fact that we both rowed starboard). The kids had a fantastic time together, and I was happy to have a friend to talk to in the midst of all the child-centric fun.

By the end of the second day, Thing One and Thing Two had become a bit jaded about the wonder of Legoland. "Look!" I'd say, "A giraffe/tiger/zebra/dinosar."

"Oh," they'd say, disappointed. "It's just made out of Lego."

Wobbly Tooth Wobbles Out!

*ALERT*ALERT*ALERT*ALERT*ALERT*

DefTooth 1 has been lifted. The subject tooth has fallen out. The family now will revert to DefTooth 5 (normal peacetime readiness).

At 8:08 a.m. GMT, the tooth's owner ran down to the kitchen and exclaimed, "Mom! Mom! My wobbly tooth fell out!"

Joy, jumping, laughter and jubliation ensued.

Subject now is preparing a letter to the Tooth Fairy, and the tooth has been placed in an evidence bag.

Meanwhile, subject's brother is convinced that he had a wobbly tooth and it, too, has fallen out. As brother is only three and only just filled his mouth with new teeth, he has a way to go.

In a prepared statement, subject's mother said, "It's been a terribly exciting day for us all."

Wobbly Tooth Watch: Day 7

We remain at DefTooth 1.

However, chewing has become painful and the tooth is very, very loose (I can see it for myself).

The "pull the tooth out with a string and a doorknob" method has been suggested by two friends: one via online comments and one via a conversation on the sidewalk, but Thing One has resisted the idea.

As always, pool coverage and photos as events warrant.

Pixar Exhibit: It's Incredible!

With just over a week before it closes, the boys and I headed out to the Pixar animation exhibit at the Science Museum. "It's Incredible!," Thing One said, with the pun probably unintended, but well done just the same.

Pixar, for those of you catching up with the rest of the class, is the animation studio responsible for "Toy Story", "A Bugs Life", "Monsters Inc.", "The Incredibles" and the soon-to-be-released "Cars." Our family's love for Pixar cannot be adequately described. To illustrate: when we recently painted the toy room in our house, we painted it not red, but "Incredibles red."

The exhibit had hundreds of pictures and models that Pixar animators made for the movies. I wasn't really sure that Thing One and Thing Two would like or appreciate it, but they did. They loved seeing the models and some of the pictures. We also loved the spot where we could watch all of the Pixar short movies (or "shorts," as they say in the business) and the final video montage where the pictures came to life, via computer animation.

The highlight, hands down, was the Toy Story zeotrope (pictured above). We loved it so much we went back to watch it four different times. This was worth the price of admission alone. Characters from Toy Story, including Buzz, Jessie, Wheezy the Penguin, the aliens and the toy soldiers, performed various stunts on the round sculpture as it spun around under strobe lighting. Buzz bounced on a Pixar ball. Jessie did rope tricks. The toy soldiers parachuted into the action. When the zeotrope stopped, you could see that each of the characters was in a slightly different position so that the 3-D animation could occur. Even the adults around me were enraptured, with several people laughing and gasping at how wonderful it was.

(The picture above is courtesy of the New York Times and is the zeotrope from the New York exhibit. Ours was slightly different, as we had Jessie, but no Woody. The picture also doesn't really do it justice. To really appreciate it, you have to see it in action.)

The Museum of Modern Art in New York hosted the exhibit first, at the beginning of the year, then it travelled transatlantically to London. You could tell that the exhibit started life in an art museum, because it certainly had an artistic-- rather than scientific-- feel to it. But the exhibit definitively proved that what Pixar does is art.

It truly was incredible.