Here's One For the Books ...

Well, yesterday I blogged about one of my chapters in my book, 'But, the books said...".  I highlighted that you can't always trust the books and have to rather trust yourself and your knowledge of your own life.  I suppose that I should have taken my own advice yesterday afternoon in order to avoid the catastrophe that occurred.

You know how you read that your children need at least one hour of exercise every day.  There is all this research out there saying that you need to get your kids off the couch and moving.  And then of course, there is the adult literature that stresses the importance of staying healthy and active.  Well, I also happened to be reading up on my friend's Facebook post that highlighted a March challenge.  The challenge was to run a mile everyday for a month.  Now, I'm not oblivious to the fact that it is April, but I thought this challenge was one I could put on myself.  And with Spring finally springing up in our area, I decided it would be good to include my four children in this monthly adventure.  Again, I must stress, that I DID NOT use my best judgment. 

So, after school, I let the kids know my plan to try to run a mile a day for a month.  They could ride their bikes and enjoy our new weather.  They were excited.  I might also add that my four-year-old learned how to ride without her training wheels just two days ago.  But, I figured I could put the eight-year-old, six-year-old and four-year-old on their bikes and I could push the one-year-old in the stroller.  After depositing the 10,000 things that accumulate during the school day away and grabbing a quick cheese stick snack, we headed out the door.

It was then that the first issue arose ... our dog.  Why in the hell would Santa bring a dog to my son this year?  What was Santa thinking?  Anyway, he was whining and barking and making quite a scene.  So, my new plan was to have the three older children on bikes, the little on in the stroller and the dog on the leash.  We were about to set off when the second issue came up ... the running stroller had flat tires.  Could this possibly be a sign that I need to get off my fat butt?  The stroller hadn't been used in well over a year (yikes) and, of course, the compressor was not put together so that I could air up the tires.  I asked my six-year-old son how to put it back together and he told me to just hook the hose up to the thingy sticking out.  Well, his bright idea was great, but it didn't work.  So, I sulked over the neighbor to ask for help.  His compressor was put away because they are moving (I'm sure you are thinking it's because of the annoying neighbor with four kids and a barking dog, but it's really not).  Anyway, he came over to save the day.  He hooked up the compressor, aired up the tires and we were ready yet again.

Off we went.  I managed to help my newly-two-wheeled-rider get started and she made it about five feet.  We got her up and moving again and she made it to the end of the block.  The puppy was pulling my arm out of my shoulder socket, but I wasn't going to let him spoil my one-mile run.  We got started again while crossing the first street.  The bike trail was only a half block away and then it would be smooth sailing!

NOT!  My four-year-old turned her wheel slightly, lost control and did a face plant.  There were skid marks across her forehead and nose and her finger was missing a fourth of her nail.  The dripping blood did not help her screams of horror, nor did the dog wrapping himself around her with the leash.  I somehow managed to make it back to our house.  I sent my son back up to get the bike that was left behind and I worked to get the head and finger put back together.

After a sucker, some ice and some band-aids, we had the house calm.  So much for my mile run!  It was then that their dad arrived home from work.  It was also the moment that I saw the yellow sheet on my counter.  The sheet that's for making bad choices at school.  It was our first of the year.  My son got in trouble for farting on another students head.  The next 45 minutes were taken up by the discussion of what really occurred at school and me continuously eye-balling my husband so that he would keep his damn smirk to himself.  Once the paper was taken care of and the discussion was complete, my husband busted a gut.  Dear God, how many children am I raising?  I suppose I should be thankful that he waited until my son left the room.  Farting and giggling is a normal occurrence at our house and often the commotion is led by my husband.  I guess my son is having a hard lesson in learning where you can get away with things and where you can't!

Anyway, after all that, it was dinner time and obviously I hadn't had time to put anything together.  We had spent Lent without fast food or eating out, so we decided it would be a good night to go out.  And, can you guess where the children wanted to go?  Yes, that's right ... McDonald's.  So much for my month of health.  In order to salvage my day somehow, we decided to ride our bikes to McDonald's.  It's about a mile away.  At least I would get some exercise!

We looked like a darn three-ring-circus.  But, the three older kids made it on their bikes without any issues and my husband and I enjoyed a minute or two of conversation while walking and pushing the stroller.  Overall, it was a success.  We even managed to talk the four-year-old out of pooping in someone's lawn half-way home.  Apparently, the grease did a number on her tummy. 

So, exercise is important.  It's just kind of difficult sometimes to find productive ways to get it in when your family consists of four kids between the ages of two and eight!  Maybe there's a book for that one:)