Let's take a break from hitting the pavement

This week I decided to take a break from running. My wife is in the office all week, my oldest daughter has volleyball conditioning twice this week, and I'm cooking dinner EVERY night. Doesn't seem like a lot of stuff that would cause me to not run but trust me, the logistics are whack-a-doodle. With an extra hour or two free I had no trouble finding things to do.

 My oldest daughter is ending her first year in high school and her school was holding a winter college fair. I can't believe that the time has flown by so quickly and we're already making college selections. After the fair my daughter, wife and I sat and read all the brochures and checked out the schools online. This summer she'll be visiting family in New York and checking out schools in that area. Next year we do college tours on the west coast.






Little one and I have been learning our ABC's, numbers and colors. I found a great Youtube video that has songs for learning the alphabet. And when she's a bit tired of learning we watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Little does she know she's still learning, but don't tell her that. This is how she likes to watch Mickey Mouse, with Minnie and Goofy by her side. 

 I'm getting further in my TARDIS blanket that I'm making for my oldest daughter. I started this blanket in the summer and I keep stopping and starting. This is my very first time crocheting, before this I only knew how to knit. This is a pretty big challenge for a first crochet project but I figured, why not go big? I'm about to start the windows and if I keep doing a little bit every day I will be done before this summer. Hopefully I will actually keep going and not get distracted. 

 I plan on homeschooling our little one and while I have plenty of time to get ready, (she'll be two in May) I wanted to get prepared and start having some idea as to what I would be doing. I made a calendar with velcro foam pieces for the month and days so that we can change them around without getting a new calendar every month. I had her paint the paper to make it look a bit more festive. I also made a color poster.

 I designated a space in the house for general learning and play. Right now we learn EVERYWHERE. Most of what we do is outside cause little one loves the outdoors. When we have to be inside we can learn anywhere in the house but I wanted a space  that was all her own. She's got books, crayons, a train set, a white board, puzzles, blocks and all kinds of fun things tucked away for the days we're stuck in the house.

We've been on a bit of a TV kick lately that I am determined to break (or at least reduce). Today little one painted which is one of her favorite activities. Surprisingly paint didn't get everywhere and she came out of it relatively spot free.

I found a recipe for homemade playdoh online and couldn't wait to try it out. Turns out it takes five minutes to make, who knew?! I made three batches for the primary colors. Her favorite thing to do is touch and squeeze things in her hands. This is the perfect thing to keep her occupied and explore textures. Win!








And I have finally been able to get back to my favorite book series, the Lunar Chronicles. The new book in the series came out a couple of weeks ago but I haven't started reading that one yet. Since a new book comes out every year I have decided to space out the books so I can read them back to back. Last year Cress came out and I waited all year to read it so that I could read the new book as soon as I finished Cress. So far it's a page turner.



Looks like even when I'm not running, I'm still on the go.


What do you do when you have a break from running?