Dear Santa, For Christmas this year . . .

Beau would like his hair back.

So my sister gave Beau a hair cut.

Pookie always cuts his hair. But Beau moved too much and she made a mistake and well, above is what he ended up with after she "fixed it".

Admittedly, it is better than the mullet she had fixed it with first in her attempt to preserve his curls.

Beau and Carmella made much of the new haircut.

Carmella advised that he was probably going to have to tell his friends at school who he was. In fact, she said, he could even start using his real name: What is that again Mommy?

Beaufort.

Oh right, because he is four. Just say "Hi, I'm Beaufour."

They practiced Beau being Beaufour.

Not wanting to let such a golden opportunity pass I piped in and said his new haircut was the perfect opportunity to make some changes in his behavior. I explained that he could claim his former obstinacy and unruliness had more to do with his wild and crazy hair than him. Now that he had a more serious haircut he would have an easier time behaving.

I don't think he was listening.

I am beginning to suspect that I have the teacher voice on Peanuts: Wha wha Beau! whan wan whan wha wha As he was as uncooperative as ever in the Christmas picture session yesterday.

Seriously.

Is there ever going to come a day when they will sit still and let me take their damn picture?

Oh, and Santa, while we are on the subject of Christmas presents I would like very much if you could please take this phlegm and give it to someone else more special and deserving than I. I feel like I am being selfish keeping it all for myself.

Just Monday I was telling Steph how the phlegm and I had worked out a peaceful coexistence.

Well, apparently not.

I am sick.

Again!

I was so excited on Monday thinking I was finally getting back on track with my training.
Not that I am training for anything.
Nothing planned until the GA ING marathon but you know I like my 40 miles a week, 2-3 hour bike rides and 1-2 miles of swimming a week. If I do all that I can eat whatever I want and drink as much dark beer as a lumberjack.

Since the Chickamauga marathon 5 weeks ago I have averaged 40 miles a week for the running but only gotten 3 bike rides and 1 swim in. Nothing consistent.
And me?
I like consistency.
So it is making me crazy, possibly even a little fat to have my regime out all out of whack.

Needlessly to say I was very excited about Monday's run bike swim: 5 mile run, 26 mile bike and a kick ass swim of 600 warm up, 10x100's and then 200 cool down. I thought finally I am back on it!

And then bam, Tuesday I have a sore throat. Nevertheless I got in 4 miles in under 30 minutes. But it did nearly kill me. I had a low grade fever and tummy ache afterwards but felt better Wednesday morning.

I was thinking I dodged a bullet.

But I had to skip my morning run because I decided I should take the Carmella to the doctor. Carmella has had a cough for almost 2 weeks. Now I had the kids at the doctor last week for flu shots and a check up and inquired about the cough then. The doctor assured me her lungs were clear and it was from nasal drainage. Everyone is phlegmy these days she said.

But after 2 weeks it still wasn't better and while I was partly worried she was on the fast track to pneumonia; I was also just sick of hearing her cough. So I decided to take her in. She grumbled a bit but at the first mention that there might be medicine involved she was on board.

I have found that the general rule of thumb is if you take one kid to the doctor inevitably the other will have to go in a few days. So I decided to take Beau too since he was also coughing. I kept them both home from school and made an appointment. I tried to get the first appointment so that if they were fine I could still send them to school.

First available was a 10:30 am appointment. Barnacles.

In the 3 hours before we left they managed to completely trash the house and Beau needed his clothes changed because he fell and got dirt all over his shirt while they were playing outside.

To say I was beginning to regret my choice of keeping them home is an understatement.

As I drove them--singing Christmas carols from the backseat at the top of their lungs--I braced myself for the "this is one of 10 colds they will get this year" lecture from the doctor. The kids on the other hand could barely contain their giddiness at yet another opportunity to pee in a cup. Not kidding. They are still talking about the cup peeing incident from last week.

So after a battery of tests to check oxygen levels, lung capacity, ear fluid and all coming up clean the doctor had the nurse swab their throats for Strep. And surprise surprise they both had Strep.

I could not convince the doctor to swab my throat. She said I was "too old." Whatever, the guy at Roswell Bikes thought I was 25-- 18 isn't too much of stretch. Nothing doing. So the kids and I stopped on the way home at a CVS Minute Clinic and I had a Strep test done. Negative. I just have a cold. Today though it feels like bronchitis. Fire in my chest. Hurts like hell.

Whatever.

I went for a trail run anyway. 5 or so miles and it totally sucked. Hacking. I was tired.

But I am love, love loving running on trails. I try to incorporate a trail into almost every run lately. It is like I have just realized that I've been cutting meat against the grain or something because now--with just 2 weeks of running on trails-- I feel like I have discovered what running is suppose to be like. I had no idea. All these years of running on the sidewalk and now--9 years later-- I find out I've been doing it wrong all a long. Who knew leaping over rocks and logs and bounding up and down hills could be so much fun?

So yeah, Santa, this Christmas some good health and a pair of trail shoes would be great.