Mommy Mondays: Kindergarten Wrap Up

It's official, I have a...first grader?  Rising first grader?  A kid who has successfully completed kindergarten.

After 9 months of fretting, worrying, pleading, and more than a few tears (all on my part), Thatkid embarked on the beginning of his journey through education.


I feel like we got very lucky this past year.  His teacher was kind, even-tempered, and brought out the best in the class.  She was a little like Mary Poppins in that regard.

He took part in two school fundraisers, a read-a-thon, and a jog-a-thon.

And he made a bunch of new friends.  And there were a ton of fun "spirit days" where he got to dress up with them.

He even won an award for his Dr. Seuss week costume.

But socialization has never been an issue for Thatkid.  More importantly, this past year, Thatkid found a true love of reading, and improved in his reading and math skills.  He started the school's accelerated reader program, earning points for every book he read and tested on.  Which also earned him a free book in the weekly drawing for kids who scored 100% on those tests.  He's always enjoyed science, but after this year he's decided it's his favorite subject. 

And he got to improve his art skills.  The school even had an art night where the students' work was showcased.

He won an award for being an exemplary student - showcasing the school's emphasis on safety, responsibility, scholarly behavior, and respect.

They ended the year with a concert, and Thatkid was a shining star in the performance, never taking his eyes off us and grinning like a fool the whole time.

And now it's his first "summer break."  The quotes because he doesn't really have a break.  He was off for 3 days last week and today he starts camp for the rest of the summer. 

Crave Wednesday: Peanut Butter Toffee Chunk Cookies

It's fair time again!  It comes around every June and while it's not quite the same with kids as it was when it was just Thatboy and I, it's still an event we wouldn't miss. 

This year's theme is "How Sweet It Is."  It was a candy colored wonderland!

They advertised a "chocolate river" which was really a brown carpet, but it's hard to be disappointed when there's a giant candy mountain.

A couple of weeks ago, one of Thatkid's classmates brought in the Jelly Belly Beanboozled game.  He's been all about it ever since.  So he was super de dooper excited to see a giant version of the game.  Spin the wheel, get a mystery bean that could be a delicious flavor, or could be something disgusting.

Thatbaby wasn't going to pass up an opportunity for candy either.  Even if it was stinky sock flavor.  (For the record, he claims he got a yummy flavor, but it's hard to tell with 2 year olds.)

There were art installations made entirely of jelly beans.

And of course, a giant candy store.

I'm not sure why there was a Zoltar machine, but the boys got a kick out of it.  And managed to stay in their kid bodies.

Thatkid's one request was to watch the pig races, which we had never seen.

Thatbaby even got picked to be the cheerleader for our section (our pig lost).

We stopped to look and pet the animals.  Thatkid took a quick detour to do a little shopping game...

While Thatbaby tried out some of the heavy machinery.

Then it was time for rides.

We played some games, went and looked at the rocks and minerals, and then grabbed some dinner.  I've always been intrigued by the Australian battered potatoes, so I gave them a try.  They were fine, but way too heavy and greasy for me.  So much so that I had to forgo my typical funnel cake.

Thatboy and Thatkid split the fair's most talked about item - a cotton candy ice cream sandwich.  Thatboy, who makes it a point to try the latest and weirdest fair food thought it was the best fair dessert he'd ever had.

I'm a little bummed about missing out on my funnel cake, but I just can't eat like a kid anymore.  Less oil, less fried.  More...cookies.

Baked goods seem to be a much easier way for me to get that sweet fix.  Not as "fun" as fair desserts, but easier on the stomach.  And these cookies feature one of my favorite childhood treats - chocolate covered toffee.  I used to love Daim chocolate bars. I don't even know if you can get them any more, but chocolate covered toffee isn't that hard to find.  Chopped and put in a cookie, it's like a chocolate chop cookie, but so much better!  A little bit of a weird twist - not quite as weird as ice cream sandwiched between two pieces of cotton candy.

Peanut Butter Toffee Chunk Cookies (From Cooking Light)

1/2 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

 4 chocolate covered toffee candy bar

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, creamy peanut butter, vanilla, and eggs in a large bowl.  Beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.
2. Stir in candy.  Shape dough into 54 balls.  Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared pans, flattening slightly with fingers.  Bake for 12 minutes.  Cool cookies on pan for 2 minutes and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Sunday Runday: Strawberry Run

Last year was the first year I ran the Strawberry Run and I was using it to try to get my 10k under an hour.  Which is how you know it was the first year I was doing that race.  Because with a killer hill between mile 2 and 3, that goal was dashed. 

But the second half of the race was so lovely, that I vowed to run it again this year, for fun instead of time.

It was nice taking the pressure off and just being able to enjoy the run.   We showed up the morning of the race to grab our bibs and shirts.  Thatbaby, who has a keen eye for oversized characters quickly spotted the day's mascot.  And made himself like glue.

I managed to finally pull him away with the promise of giant strawberries.

That lasted, for a minute.  There were a couple other trips to see the "Strawberry Man," but we made it through the day.

A little before go time I made my way over to the start line.

The first two miles aren't terribly exciting as you run along the main streets of Vista, past businesses, on the way to the park.  I missed the first mile marker, but spotted #2 shortly before we entered the park.

I also knew what that mile marker meant.  A little downhill dip into the park, and then that killer hill.  I put on one of my favorite songs at the moment and walked the verses, ran the chorus.
Hill Part 1:

Hill Part 2:

Hill Part 3:

Hill Part 4:

Then, finally, the top of the hill!  You can see I wasn't the only one taking walk breaks on this sucker.

At the top of the hill, another runner told me what a great job I was doing.  It's a tough hill!  We chatted and she told me it was her first time doing this run.  That's when I told her the worst was over.  The next 3 miles were awesome and on a beautiful trail, covered by trees in most parts.  The best part of the whole race!  And then I ran off ahead.

That poor woman.  She must think I'm delusional.  Because they changed the course this year.  NO MORE TRAIL!  They got rid of my favorite part of the race.  The part that makes the entire thing worth it.   Instead we just ran back along the side of the street.  There were so many of us talking about it after the race.  We were all pretty surprised.

But we finished and I got my medal and strawberries.  I finished in 1:06, which was my standard 10k time before I started working on getting it faster, so even just having fun worked out okay.

The post-run beer garden didn't disappoint.  Once again there were so many choices from a bunch of local breweries.  I ended up getting a mead from Twisted Horn which had strawberries and kiwi in it.

The kids had their races a couple hours after mine finished.  Thatkid's race was first.  He's aged into a new bracket and had to run a full mile.  He asked me to run with him, and I was happy to join him.  But most of the kids didn't have parents with them, so I kept asking him if he was sure he didn't want to just run with the other kids.  Moments before the race started, he gave me the go-ahead to be a spectator and we ran together to where Thatboy was waiting and I ducked out.  Then we all headed to the finish to wait for him.

This year Thatbaby wanted to do the race too.  So I signed him up.  But I don't think he realized he would be split up from his brother, so as soon as Thatkid's race started he decided he didn't want to do it anymore.  I think seeing Thatkid finish changed his mind, so we headed back to the start.

Thatbaby only had to run 1/4 a mile.  And I was definitely running with him.

He was more than happy to grab his strawberries and medal at the end.

My two little runners.

The three of us.  And yes, Thatbaby held the medal in front of his face in every picture we tried to take.  Toddlers. Man.

My gut feeling is that although I love the beer garden and the kids' aspect of the race, I don't know that I'll run this 10k again.  I don't love the course change and that was a major draw for me. The kids love the associated Strawberry Festival, so we will probably continue to go.  And maybe they will continue to run the kids' races - if they want to.