Tongue-Tied

'Tis the season for frozen noses, tingly toes, and tongues stuck to frozen poles. Yes, my three-year-old had to test that tongue-pole idea on a perfect single-digit day. Fortunately, my eyes were on her and I yelled and so it was just a quick meeting of tongue and pole outside the elementary school. Fortunately, she was not stuck there so I didn't have to go to the cafeteria for boiling water. And it was too cold for outdoor recess so no kids witnessed this phenomenon.

No, we just walked home (luckily close by) with a shocked little kid wondering why her tongue was bleeding. I searched the old toddler books under "tongue" and found nothing and resorted to the Internet for the cold compress cure. I also checked in with my sister, who's a nurse, and learned that my niece (also a second child) had tried the pole trick as a youngster. I've also since learned that my mother-in-law stuck her tongue on a bridge rail as a child thanks to coaxing from an older sister.

So, watch your young kids on the playground (lots of good metal there) and ask friends and family for their tongue tales. You may be surprised to find how many kids have been stuck to a cold pole.

Annual Christmas Tree Excursion

Yesterday, we carried out our annual Christmas tree search. It didn't feel like winter or look like winter, but none of us minded.

I stuffed the girls' hats and mittens in my pockets and we hiked up a forest service trail in snow boots, just in case. We hiked up and up alongside a river and all the evergreens were small and crowded. I was thankful for the walk, though, as I ran 10 miles in the morning and didn't stretch afterwards.

Before long Tom and Ava were out of sight up ahead and I could only hope that Tom wouldn't find a tree and cut it down before I could weigh in on his choice. I tried to explain this predicament to slow-moving Julia, but she was more interested in the bow and arrow she had created by crossing two sticks.

My worries were eased when Ava and Daddy and our dog, Abby, came into sight heading down the trail treeless. Then, we had a new worry of not yet having a tree. Should we get in the car and head to another national forest location or would that use up too much time since it was afternoon and we only had so much daylight?

To Ava's delight, Daddy decided that the potential Christmas trees looked better across the river. When we got down near our car, Ava joined him for a river crossing. Luckily for me, they were in view of where we had parked the car as Julia decided to park herself in the car with the graham cracker bag and with her boots and socks off.

Eventually, Tom hollered for me to check out a tree and luck would have it that it was a good one -- "the best one we've had in a long time," we both declared. He was able to drag it through the woods a bit and then across the road where there were culverts, avoiding a river crossing and a wet tree. Ava joined Julia for graham crackers while Tom and I tied the tree to the roof. Then I put our bright orange national forest service tree permit around the base -- proof that (for five bucks) we could legally cut and drag this tree from the forest.

I did forget to bring the camera for our tree excursion, but here's our good 'ole Charlie Brown tree in the living room. The girls helped decorate this year, but they were in their underwear so that picture will be saved for the family photo album.

Training With Kids

I'm breaking from my usual blog post to share a few fitness-related things I'm connected to.

1. Diana Whitney wrote an extensive article on "Training With Kids" that cites my book:

"An excellent resource for how to include kids in exercise is Heidi Hill’s book Fit Family: The Infant, Toddler, and Preschool Years." The article originally ran in Faster Skier magazine and is reprinted in the current issue of Vermont Sports at http://www.vtsports.com/articles/training-kids. (Scroll to the bottom of the Latest Articles section.)

2. My "Nordic Family" column is now running in Cross Country Skier magazine. The magazine is published October through February. Subscribe at: http://www.crosscountryskier.com/ for only $12.

3. I will be giving a clinic on ways to get your family fit on December 6 at the open house for The Confluence Center in Montpelier, Vermont. This is a unique fitness center specializing in functional fitness, which is described on their website, www.theconfluencevt.org , as such: "The Confluence provides low-tech equipment to support adults, youth and children in their pursuit of strength and conditioning for a specific sport or the achievement of basic physical fitness goals."

And that's all for now.

Beyond Babies

Our Friday out-to-dinner nights have been ruined this year by the fact that both girls have a full day of school on Friday and are too wiped out to handle restaurant etiquette at the the end of a long day.

Last week, we made an attempt to go out anyway and we had to turn the car around en route because of bad behaviors by the kids, well, mostly by a know-it-all kindergartner who was telling everyone what to do, kicking the back of my seat, and shouting that no one could look at her.

This week, we opted for a Thursday night out and for dinner right downtown so that we could walk from our house in the village.

One of the best fitness feats this year has been my three-year-old daughter's willingness to walk downtown. She was a jogging stroller gal for quite a while, which was a nuisance in the drawn-out stage of wanting to be in and out. And last year, when we just attempted a walk with her, she always ended up in my arms or on Tom's shoulders.

Now, that Julia is an official preschooler (two days a week), she is acting older. She is proud to walk and run and skip and jump. She is showing some stamina. So, tonight we basically ran down to dinner, trekking about a half a mile.

The kids were well-behaved and had a chance to greet a little baby in an infant car seat as we were finishing up our meal. Tom was telling the parents and our kids how he remembered when our kids were that size. Now that baby was cute and quiet and content. But I didn't go over and greet her. I reveled in the fact that I'm beyond that stage. I have two walkers. And away we went, holding hands, walking and even counting stars because preschoolers can count, too.

Jogger for Sale

It looked like the perfect family outing: a father, mother, two young daughters, and a border collie all out exercising together -- our fit family. Tom ran with Abby, our dog, I pushed Julia in the jogger, and Ava rode her bike; she just upgraded to one with gears.

The first mile was great. The air was cool but not cold. We waved to friends heading home from work and school. And then Julia squirmed in the jogger and tried to break free of her harness.

Tom convinced Julia to ride longer by suggesting that she could get out and run through the paths in the cemetery. Once we reached the cemetery, Julia was happily running until she decided to climb on the gravestones! I launched into a discussion about respect, but kept it short realizing that we had another mile to go and we had to get Julia back IN the jogger.

Just before we reached Main Street, a dog start chasing us. Tom yelled at the dog to go home and instead the dog ran into the street. Fortunately, a pedestrian offered to help with the dog and Julia actually sat still in her seat, entertained by the pandemonium.

Somehow, we made it home without any more mishaps, but now it is clear that we have another jogger for sale.

Hike for Health

I've been sick for eleven days. Yes, I've had some ups and downs. But I've been so tired from head and chest congestion that I've had a lot of down time, especially lying on the couch. My daughters asked me to play London Bridge and I suggested that I should sit on the couch so I wouldn't be too tall when really I was too tired to stand up.

The resting is really not that easy with kids around so I decided it was time to fight the fatigue and get the kids tired instead. We got the family up and out on Sunday morning for a fall foliage hike up Mt. Ellen, the northern base of Sugarbush Mountain Resort. (Thankfully, the foliage lift rides that were advertised were not happening as we headed up right near the chair lift.)

Julia began moving at her usual snail's pace so I had to motivate her to find Daddy and Ava at pole number 5, 7, 9, and so on. We decided that pole #12, at the base of the next big climb, would be the lucky spot for a Hershey's Miniature. And we snacked on the next chair lift.

Then we ran down another trail. We like to say that Julia"can smell the barn" like an animal heading home. She almost always has energy for the return trip.

As for me, my energy plummeted at dinner and I started getting chills. So I slept by the fire, just like our dog. That amused the girls. Then, I went to the doctor -- something I hadn't done in a couple of years. I'm on an antibiotic for a sinus infection and on the way to recovery.

Sometimes it takes a little fresh air to get you going, for better or worse, but at least going.

Army Adventure

The girls pretended to be Jack and Annie (from the Magic Treehouse series) as we embarked on an afternoon adventure. Our destination: the army building. We've been seeing the Reserve soldiers walking around town and the girls wanted to know where they were coming from. So, when Ava asked yesterday, "Are we just going to stay home and do something boring?", I let her know that we had a mission. We were going on a trek to check out the local Army National Guard base, a.k.a. the Army building.

The girls found their own little backpacks. Julia filled hers with snacks. Ava put in some snacks as well as a notebook and two red crayons so she could "study" the building, as Jack would study something. We took our dog, Abby, and pretended that she was "Peanut," the mouse in the book that leads the way.

From our house, we quickly got onto a trail that linked to the dead end road of our destination. Even I was intrigued by a road that I'd never been on in my town though I pass by it almost daily. The road was probably a quarter mile long with a slight upgrade. We could see the open gate to the Army building in the distance. Soon, we could see the brick facade. As we got closer a dark sedan passed us filled with men in fatigues. When we got really close, a tank left the gates. What an adventure.

The actual building was not spectacular. Ava, however, took out her notebook and crayon and drew the building -- a rough sketch. Then she wrote down her clues: "Brick Red" so that she would remember the building. Mission accomplished. We saw the Army building and documented it.

We stopped on the way back to snack and hit a bit of slump when Julia wanted to take the sidewalk home rather than the trail and kept running away and crying and then whining to be carried. Next time I'll bring along some more exciting snacks to keep up Julia's stamina. In the meantime, we're thinking about next Tuesday's adventure.