In September I started doing yoga. Particularly I seem to be drawn to Hatha Flow classes, and every Tuesday morning I am sure to be in YogaYoga in Austin. One of the things that I find interesting is how shallow my breath is normally. I had never noticed that before.
I also find it strengthening to see my balance ability improve and to finally see some improvement in my flexibility. Today I did a fun pose (not sure of the proper name) where I was on the sole of my left foot and the ball of my right foot (kind of in a lunge position), and then I bent at the waist enough to tuck my left shoulder under my bent left knee and held my arms out parallel to the floor. Of course, after that, we did the mirror image since yoga is all about symmetry. I was able to do that for two run-throughs and then had to go back to the easier modification as couldn't hold myself up on one sole and one ball-of-foot anymore, but I was pleased to be able to do it twice. Better than nothing!
Today marks fourteen years that Dale and I have been married. Yay for us! It's really hard to believe it's been that long, but then it's also hard to believe that our son is going to be TEN years old next year. Mercy! It's been an interesting time, and I still look at my husband like we've just met. He's my honey.
Luckily, my sweet cousin Jennifer has graciously agreed to pick up the girls from gymnastics and look after Jonathan for a little bit so Dale and I can have a nice dinner together at one of the Domain restaurants. It's hard to find time for just the two of us, it seems, so we really appreciate this chance to go be gooey together on our anniversary.
Mom & Dad return to the States today after a month's holiday in Europe. It sounds like they had a great time hanging out with various friends in various cities over there; I'm sure Mom will do one of her massive blog entries with pictures soon so we can hear all about it. I'm just glad they're back in town! I missed being able to give them a call to have a quick chat whenever I felt like it. Who knew when I was a teenager that I would want to talk to my mommy & daddy so much as an adult . . .
Welcome home!
Last night was Magda's first sleepover here. She's gone to sleep here before, but her parents have always come to pick her up at the end of their evening. I was mildly apprehensive given that she didn't display 100% enthusiasm for the idea, and after having read Rita's description of her desolation the night that Jennifer bore Simone, but everything has gone off without a hitch.
Stepan very kindly came by to pick up Kayleigh in the morning and took her to Barnes & Noble with Magda for storytime (I didn't realize that their "lunch" would be a chocolate chip cookie, but now I'll know for next time!), and then mid-afternoon he dropped the girls off here. Around 4 p.m. we left to take Jonathan to his sleepover at a friend's house around the corner, and then we went to the movie store. I had entertained thoughts of feeding the geese down at the Arboretum first, but frankly it was hot and I couldn't face the thought. So the girls picked out two movies, one for that night and one for after CAPS one day next week.
We went home and had dinner, and then we ate cookies on the way down the street to get the mail. But it was so lovely outside (by now about 6:30 p.m.), with a cooling breeze, that we just went all the way to the park and played there for a bit. It was a great time; the girls played on both the playsets and then went really high on the swings while I chatted with my uncle Tim.
Eventually we headed home (Dale met us along the way), washed feet and hands, and got ready for bed. Dale took off to go to a movie with our friend Shannon (Burn After Reading, which he described as "dreadful"), and I put Thumbelina on for the girls. When the movie was over, they went to bed. Voila! It was just about as easy as that. Both were fully sound asleep by 9:30 p.m.
Right now on Sunday morning, they are just finishing up breakfast. I got out my shapes that I used to use all the time when I just had Jonathan, so each girl got an animal for her first pancake. They had their own little pitchers of syrup, real little teacups with milk, and pretty plates. To share they had some cantaloupe. They must be good pancakes because each girl has had four. (They are good made from scratch--last week I had to do "regular" pancakes rather than buttermilk, and I was woefully disappointed with the results, which resembled crepes a lot more than they looked like fluffy pancakes.) And they are giggling as they watch Looney Tunes. What better way to spend a Sunday morning?
I had fun hosting my first little girl sleepover.