Our New Pool

I think my cheeks are still numb from blowing up this pool, but it was worth it when Madeleine started running around, splashing and screeching with glee. I think she likes it just as much as the fancy playground in the zero-depth pool at the Edina Aquatic Center. We even got our neighbor, Hannah, to come over and keep an eye on our little fish.

Tri-Loppet: check!

I'm happy to say Lindsay and I survived the Tri-Loppet, and we were energized enough to enjoy a free beer and brat after the race. We had a little trouble steering our canoe (maybe we should have practiced?), but we didn't finish last. Five miles of canoeing isn't a picnic, but it really wasn't that bad. The run (5K) was definitely tougher than I expected, with about six good hills and lots of smaller ones, but I thought that was my strongest leg. The bike, on the other hand, was another story. It started raining pretty hard when we were running, and by the time we got to the bike trails, they were a muddy mess. And it didn't help that my tires are NOT mountain biking tires; I had taken the bigger tires off a few years ago, since I'm really not a mountain biker. And not being one, it was quite an ordeal as I was trying to pedal up a trail hill in the mud, with my tires spinning. Lindsay and I ended up running our bikes up quite a few hills. Needless to say, it was a pain in the rear (literally and physically). And we ended up absolutely filthy, which was kind of fun, until I got a big chunk of mud in my eye. Next up I think I'll tackle the Twin Cities 10-mile run, assuming I get in the lottery. I might be addicted! Then again, I might just spend the rest of the summer walking briskly.

Ready for the Court

Ventilation

I know I haven't really written anything in ages. But sometimes you just need to vent. This has been a somewhat hellish week at work. Good editors quitting, tricky transitions, difficult clients, dumb mistakes, annoying people. You know, the usual for a bad week.

There, I've vented/whined.

On the bright side, the weather has been absolutely perfect. Which is good, because the Tri-Loppet is a week from Saturday, and I've been trying to train the best I can, given the tight timeframe. I figure even if I didn't train at all, I'd (hopefully?!) at least be able to finish. The race is an 8k canoe (with my friend Lindsay), a 5K trail run and 11k mountain bike. Easy, right? Never mind that when I took my bike in to be tuned in about a week and a half ago, it literally had cobwebs on it. Couldn't really bike while I was pregnant. Then I couldn't really bike while I was recovering from labor and trying to figure out motherhood (or at least, I didn't). Now I have no excuse, and when I finally got out there I remembered how much I enjoy it. Now I just have to get a Burley so I can take M with me. And I am getting some bonus exercise chasing Madeleine around.

Hope everyone had a good week!

We better get saving.

Not super stable, but walking!

Tipsy Baby from Sarah Elbert on Vimeo.

The President's Speechalist

A tree fell on our house.

We are all ok, thank God. Saturday night we were about to eat outside on the deck and Matt thought we should probably stay inside because it looked kind of dark in the distance. Fifteen minutes later we were running around the house, shutting windows when the wind picked up and we heard a loud crash and the house kind of shook. Matt yelled to go downstairs with Madeleine. When he came down, he said there was a big limb sticking in the wall of her room, just above her crib. Our neighbors' tree had fallen on our house.

Yes, a tree fell on our house. We will now be known in the neighborhood as the house the tree fell on.

Things have been interesting since then. They've torn out part of M's walls and ceiling, and the carpet in her room (the carpet installed a year ago). The roof has various holes in it. And the house appears to have shifted, with cracks in the plaster and the door frame in our bedroom off kilter. This is the most worrying, obviously!

We did have a disaster response company come out and patch the holes in our house so the water damage didn't get worse (there was water running in our basement through the heating ducts). A tree company came out and removed the tree ... all 15,000+ pounds of it.

We are back at home (Madeleine and I were at my parents' house), and waiting for things to get more crazy when the construction begins! One guy told Matt they might have to tear off the second floor of our house and rebuild; I don't know if he knew what he was talking about, though.

Anyway, that's the latest from here. Otherwise, we're all doing great! Hope you are, too. And get good home insurance! I'll let you know what we think of Ameriprise in a month or two, but for now I'm not too impressed since we have yet to see our adjuster.