Some numbers for you:

27 days of school left for Matthew (we’ve started a countdown calendar on which he colors in one box as soon as he gets home from school). This could be a LONG several weeks. That kiddo is more than ready to be done.

Only 4 days of preschool left for Zachary! (And yet, he’s the one who’d rather have 27 left).

9 – the number of miles in my long run last week (in which I almost lost my running shoe down a cliff and I got fairly lost…aside from that, it was a great one)! 106 – the approximate number of training miles I will be running between now and June 26th when I run my 13.1 mile Half Marathon.

3ish – the number of days until I get to go see Straight No Chaser (http://sncmusic.com ) in concert (for part of my early birthday celebration)! Mike and I saw them in November. This time, I get to take Mom and a couple of friends.

10 days until I turn 30. 15 approximate gray hairs I’ve pulled off my head in the last several weeks. $7 the average cost of a box of hair dye…I might be spending this sooner than I’d like.

21 days until I fly/travel approximately 900 miles to visit my friend Katherine in Monterey, CA!! I’m SO excited! Our birthdays are two days apart and for the last 7 years, we’ve often celebrated together – especially when Katherine’s Special Force’s husband, Dan was in Iraq. Last year, not only was he in Iraq but she was pregnant on her birthday, so I just HAD to see her (and I got to visit family in the Windy City too). Now, Dan is back and along with their beautiful baby girl Grace they live in sunny Monterey. Mike’s been kind enough to agree to “release” me for the first weekend of June so that I can fly down for a brief (post-birthday-celebratory) trip.

Zero – the amount of magic that teachers have according to Zachary. He told me one day after school that he “painted something.”

I said, “Ooh! What is it?”

He responded, “I don’t know. Mrs. Mac will turn it into something.”

“Does she have magic?!” I ask. “Will she turn it into something with teacher magic?!”

Zach studies me like a.) he’s appalled at my stupidity and b.) he’s disappointed that I’m the one assigned to be his mother. He shakes his head and sighs, “No, mom with scissors. She’ll turn it into something with teacher scissors.”