Pinewood Derby Day

Today was our scout pack's pinewood derby. We had to be there before nine this morning and were there until after one, but it was totally worth it. 

Trying to smile, but it was early

Ready to race

Waiting for the first heat

Jack and Wesley in the hole

A little treat between heats

Getting some reading done until race time.

The Bears and Webelos raced first and after 40-some-odd heats, Wesley placed fourth! That meant he advanced to the racing finals in the afternoon for the first time EVER!

Ryan and Daniel waiting for the Tiger and Wolf races to begin

Ryan's car did really well today too. After the 40-some-odd heats in his racing time, he placed second overall, meaning he also got to head to the finals.

The finals were a little bit of a let down for us. Despite Ryan's car being super fast in the preliminaries, the other cars were just a bit faster. Wesley's car was making great time at first, but he lost a wheel and, despite some track-side repairs, it never really ran right after that.

Trying a quick fix

The boys placed 7th and 8th overall. I know Wesley was a bit disappointed since he probably would've placed higher if not for the broken wheel, but he held it together like a pro - or like a scout. He showed great sportsmanship and we were all super proud of him for it!

More Than One Reason to Have a Dog

This morning after getting out of the shower, Wesley hurried downstairs to snuggle with Lucy. She begin to lick him and his hair rather enthusiastically, so I tried to get her to cut it out.

"It's okay, Mom. I never get my hair dry enough so I just let Lucy lick it until all the water is gone."

Gee, I wondered how he was getting that spiked 'do without using any hair gel.

My Sweet Boys

As much as I talk about my kids driving me completely nuts, I do love them both desperately.

This morning when I went to wake up Ryan he wrapped me in a hug and said, "Mom, there is no way you could possibly love me more than I love you!"   Oh Ryan, just you wait until you have kids of your own. Then you'll get it.

In other sweet news, we took the boys out for a special dessert to celebrate report card day.  They had their choice of several places to go, but they chose Tim Hortons for donuts. Unfortunately, the donut selection was mighty slim when we arrived and the people in front of us ordered the last of the donuts that Wesley and Ryan wanted. 

So we went to Krispy Kreme where we got to experience the joy of a free, warm glazed donut right off the conveyor belt while we decided on our "real" order. It certainly was a sweet treat. Almost as sweet as my kids.

Heaven is a Place on Earth

Last night we had to run a couple of errands, including a stop at the office supply store to pick up a trifold display for Wesley's Invention Convention. Now we've been to office supply stores before, but I guess it's a been awhile. Wesley, the kid who honestly asks for office/school supplies for birthdays and Christmas, went completely slack jawed and wide eyed when we walked in.

"I want to live here," he breathed.

We practically had to drag him out of the store when it was time to leave and head to Target. As we entered Target, Wesley shook his head and softly said, "Now I know what heaven is. It's Office Max."

He would not stop talking about the awesomeness of Office Max the entire time we were at Target and kept asking to return to what has now become his favorite store. Never mind the fact that he has zero money to spend.

It was raining when we left Target and I jokingly turned to Wesley and said, "Wesley, why did you make it start raining?"

"Because I'm sad we're not going back to Office Max."

"So what? Are you going to try and tell me that it's not raining, but that these are just tears of angels falling from the skies?"

He sighed happily, "You do get it, Mom."

License to Drive

My youngest son woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. He didn't want to get up. He didn't want to wear the clothes that were out. He didn't want to eat breakfast. He complained about the food I made even though it was exactly what he asked for.

"Child," I sighed. "You are driving me completely bonkers!"

Ryan put on the biggest puppy dog eyes he could muster to go with his most over the top angelic face and beamed, "But I didn't think I was old enough to drive."

"Trust me, kid. You're an expert."

Super Saturday

Today has been one of those days I'd like to lock away someplace so I could revisit it whenever I want.  It's been that good!

I started the day off by completing my first race of the year - The 5th Line 5K. Yes, the temperatures were in the mid-twenties before you factored in the wind chill, but it felt amazing to get out there and get moving.

A little pre-race selfie to show off the great race shirt

Getting ready to head into the cold with my friend Molly, and her hubby, Lloyd.

Despite the cold temperatures, I finished with my fastest time ever - 33 minutes, 41 seconds. I'm starting to run more too. I ran a little over a mile during this race. Don't look now, I might just become a runner. 

After getting home and taking care of a couple errands, Duane and Ryan headed off to a scout outing at a college basketball game, while Wesley and I had a movie afternoon. 

Wesley and I enjoyed E.T. and cookie dough.

We just kind of spent the evening vegging out in the family room, then went to see family for a little belated birthday dessert for Aunt Susan. 

Can I just hit rewind and do today again?

Q & A

There are some mornings that I breeze into work with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. 

There are other mornings when I plop into my chair and breathe a sigh of relief that I get to spend the day talking to adults and doing adult type things.

Sometimes the second type of morning is because the kids have been fighting and sometimes it's because I had a morning like I had today where apparently my children think I'm the keeper of all knowledge and bombard me with questions before I have even finished a cup of coffee.

My kids are awake for about 45 minutes to an hour before we actually head out the door for school. In that time today I was asked:

• Did you already walk Lucy? (yes. As I do every morning before you get up.)
• What should I wear? (As long as it's clean and doesn't have a bunch of holes, I don't care.)
• What should I eat for breakfast? (We have the same choices as yesterday, kid.)
• Why is my brother such a jerk? (valid question most mornings)
• Where's the Lego book I had last night? (Probably where you left it.)
• Do we have any Nutella? (You mean other than the two open jars in cupboard?)
• Are there any more waffles? (Child, you are looking in the freezer, do you see any more waffles?)
• Do we have any chocolate chips? (Um...yes. In the cupboard. Probably by the open Nutella)
• How long should I microwave my pancakes for? (Until they are hot)
• Why won't the waffle come out of the toaster? (Because it's stuck and DO NOT use a fork to dig it out!)
•  Am I hot lunch today? (Did you pack your lunch last night? If not, you're hot lunch.)
•  Can I feed this bite of bacon to Lucy? (Yes. She puts up with so much from you both. Give her the bacon.)
•  Do I have to wear boots today? (You can if you want, but you probably don't really need them.)
•  Can I watch TV while I eat breakfast? (No)
•  Can I watch TV after I eat breakfast? (Probably not since you've wasted so much time asking me a million questions and it's almost time to leave.)
•  Do you like the Lego troll I made? (Yes. It looks great. Get your coat on.)

I'm not sure which is "better" being the wise woman who know everything, or being a mom who knows nothing. Sometimes I even get to be both on the same day.

Checking In

I'm really trying to do better with the blog, but sometimes the days just roll by and it's like we're on auto-pilot. We're busy, but it's not like we're really doing a whole bunch.

Take this week for example.

Sunday I fought with Wesley and cried all the way to church. We taught Sunday School (the preschool class, which made me feel much better), led our small group at church, then went to a birthday party at a local arcade. Fun, but not horribly blog-worthy.

The boys had an overnight with Grandma and Grandpa P. Sunday night since there was no school on Monday, but really, Duane and I just used the evening to catch up on our TV shows.

Monday Duane went to Grandma and Grandpa's to get the boys and they worked on cutting out their pinewood derby cars. And that was Monday.

Tuesday Duane was off with the boys again and they all had dentist appointments - no cavities for anyone!  Grandma and Grandpa P. came for dinner that night too.

Tonight we went to dinner for a school fundraising night and picked up my race packet for this weekend.

See, lots going on, but nothing particularly earth shattering. Sometimes that's nice, but it doesn't make for a very interesting blog post. Sorry.

Easy as 1,2,3

Ryan seems to have inherited Duane's math brain. Where I have always had a difficult time with math, it just seems to make sense to Ryan.  I'm a little envious of it. 

This morning Wesley was giving Ryan random division problem to do at the breakfast table. Ryan solved them all, very quickly, in his head.

"Division is easy!" Ryan chirped. "It just times, but backwards!"

I love his enthusiasm of all thing numbers. I hope it keeps up because it's going to serve him very well some day.  Now if only I could convince him to let his allowance add up.

The Real Lesson of Being a Parent

I would venture a guess that most parents have uttered the phrase, "I hope someday you have kids just like you!" to their child/children at some point or another. If you haven't uttered it yet, you will. It's just one of those things that you don't think you're ever going to do, but then it slips out of your mouth and you realize you sound just like YOUR parent.

And those moments don't stop. More and more, you will hear your parent's words being spoken in your own voice.

"Where are your gloves?"

"Put on a hat."

"I worked hard to cook that dinner, the least you could do is try it."

"Stop hitting your brother."

"Where is your other shoe?"

"Turn that music/tv down!"

It goes on and on and on.

Not only do you start becoming your parent, but you begin to realize how wise they were and still are.

You also start to watch your own kids and start thinking, "Wow, I owe my mom/dad/stepmom/stepdad an apology! I need to thank them for putting up with me when I behaved the way my kid is behaving."

So let this be an official start to my apologies.

I have a super picky eater now. I am so sorry for my own pickiness growing up and doubly sorry for my "I won't eat red meat" stage in middle school.

Speaking of middle school, I have a child that has fully embraced the tweenage years - complete with sighing, eye-rolling, and a tone of voice that makes it clear that I could not possibly be any stupider. I am so sorry for my own tween and early teen years. REALLY sorry! I cringe just thinking about them and not just because of mid to late 1980s fashions.

I have a child who loves the pets a little too much and won't let go of them when they clearly want to run far far away.  I am sorry for being that kid and for probably singlehandedly creating the world's meanest cat.

I have children who LOVE to talk. 'Nuff said. I'm surprised you didn't pay me to just be quiet.

I have children who like school but despise homework, and will throw fits and fight about it, but will also not follow the directions because they know how to do it "in their head." I remember my stepdad helping me with math in college. It was not pretty for either of us. I'm sorry.

I have children who love pop radio - especially any song I find particularly annoying. I know the 1980s were not exactly the best and most diverse music years, so I'm sorry. On the upside, walkmans were invented then so hopefully you didn't have to suffer too much.

I'm sure this is just the start of my apologies to my parents. After all, my kids haven't started to date or drive or chose their own classes yet. Guess those apologies will have to wait just a little longer. Just know that I'm sure I will feel your pain.

Hot Chocolate Time

We FINALLY got our first measurable snowfall of the winter today.  Ryan was especially excited and couldn't wait to walk the dog with me after church to see how Lucy did in the snow. She did fine and thinks that snow is a tasty treat.

Speaking of snow and tasty treats, I'm half convinced Ryan likes the snow because it's perfect hot chocolate weather. Now, I am a from scratch hot chocolate girl myself, but making "real" hot chocolate takes a little time and is not always practical on busy mornings. For those days we keep a small supply of hot chocolate K-Cups for the Kerig. 

Today Ryan opened the K-cup holder to take a little inventory of cold weather drink supply. "Hmmm....too much coffee and not enough hot chocolate," he pronounced.  Guess he'll just have to butter me up to make him some of the good stuff.

New Year, Improved Me

I know I've talked a fair amount about the races I've been participating in over the last year, but I don't think I've shared the positive outcomes of all my work.

• I've lost 10 pounds in the last year and attribute most of that to that amount of walking I've been doing.
• My cholesterol has been lowered by nine points, in a large part because of my exercising  
• My antidepressant dosage (that I have been on for YEARS) has dropped by half and I feel good enough that my doctor and I are working on getting me off it completely. 
• I have more energy and am slowly gearing up to maybe run a bit instead of just speed walking. 

All great things, right? Yes, but they come with some other unintended consequences.  I have lost weight so none of my clothes fit right. In fact, my boss jokingly told me I had "pumpkin britches" - meaning enough spare room in my pants to stick a pumpkin in! I guess other people agreed because several family members gave me gift cards for clothes stores for Christmas. Last week I got a couple new pairs of pants that actually fit! I so many compliments at work when I wore them. I guess wearing clothes that aren't hanging off you actually makes a difference.

I also got some new bras, and while I don't think I'm going to get tons of compliments on that, it sure feels great!

For Christmas, Duane got me a gift certificate for a new pair of running shoes and we spent part of yesterday getting me fitted for the perfect pair for me.  

I feel like I'm starting 2016 as a new, improved version of myself. Can't wait to see what other changes this year brings!

Back in the Swing of Things

Can you believe this is the first full week of work I've had since before Thanksgiving? No wonder I'm feeling a little worn out and it's only Thursday.

But in some ways it's nice to be back to "normal" after the holidays.

The calendar is filling up with scouts and church and socials and appointments and parties.

I'm signing up for races for the year. 

I'm already looking into summer camps for the boys.

We're working on school and scout projects.

Everyone has a regular bedtime.

Meals are planned and actually cooked.

In some ways we're busier now that during the holiday season, but in other ways it's just back to what we do. And I'm thankful for it.

Pardon My Rant

Please excuse my ranting raving post tonight but I am irrationally annoyed about an upcoming school project that my oldest son has to do.  All the fourth and fifth graders are required to participate in the Invention Convention where they have to come up with an idea to solve a problem or make something easier, then check to see if the thing has already been invented, then work out a prototype of the thing (while keeping a journal about how it goes and what work/what doesn't), and then create a poster board display for the school convention.  We just got the paperwork on it today and I already despise this project. Loathe it.

Maybe it's a hold over from being forced to participate in science fair when I was in middle school (which I also hated) but I dread this with every fiber of my being. Because let's be honest, as much as this is supposed to be the child's project, it spreads to the whole family. We're already working on brainstorming ideas and have even pulled the grandparents into that one. Then there's going to be the nagging to journal, the help constructing the prototype and making sure he has everything he needs for his poster board. And trying to keep him on task and not waiting until the last minute to try to complete this big project. I've already heard, "But it's not due until February."  Dude, you are getting a month to work on it because it's a big honking deal.

I'm trying not to be too negative about it, but like I said, it's hard. Usually Duane can help me see the positive in something like this, but he is also pretty much annoyed by the whole thing. Add to this the fact that the blasted printer wouldn't work and I was trying to fix it and it has not been a pleasant night in our house.

Deep breaths, right? Not my circus, not my monkeys and all that.  And only 19 days until my first race of the year, which always improves my mood.  Maybe I should take up yoga this year too.

Scout Made Dinner

Ryan had to help make and serve dinner tonight for a scout requirement.  It was so much fun to have a little helper in the kitchen with me - although it was a lot messier!

Peeling sweet potatoes is a tough job no matter how old you are

Honey cinnamon sweet potatoes ready for the oven

Opening the green beans

Flipping the pork schnitzel

A well balanced meal a scout can be proud of

And pudding with homemade whipped cream for dessert!

Funny, there were zero complaints about dinner tonight.

Here's to a New Year!

Hello 2016!!

2015 ended a little rough. The boys spent most of New Year's Eve day fighting - to the point where I considered NOT going to a New Year's Eve party at a friend's house (with a bunch of  my other friends) because my kids were being so awful.  But when Wesley shoved his brother as hard as he could because "he was going to burp in my face. I could tell,"  I knew that I needed the party! Especially when, in my extremely awesome parenting style I yelled, "You know what your New Year's resolution to be? To get a new attitude!" Good times.

I walked into the party, turned to one of my friends and said, "All I want tonight is a bit too much to drink and not to have to talk to my ten year old until 2016."  And that's pretty much what happened. We had a fantastic time with so many of our friends and all 17 of the kids there played together so well. I did speak to Wesley a few times, but he was smiling and I was smiling and all was well!

My friend Angee and myself getting ready to get our party on.

Christy and Scott

Ryan, his buddy Adam, and Wesley

Dennis kept an eye on the booze

Scott and Angee

Me and my favorite New Year's date of all time

Pam and Craig, our fabulous hosts

 The rest of these pictures were taken much closer to midnight (or just after) and trust me, you can tell.

Duane and some of the boys

PTA moms know how to party

If Mark thought a goofy face would stop me from taking his picture, he was totally wrong!

The party was definitely in the kitchen

This is my friend Erika, and the picture I sent folks at midnight to show how much I was enjoying my NYE

Love this lady. I'm so lucky to have met her when our boys were in Kindergarten together

So that was New Year's Eve. New Year's Day was MUCH more subdued - which was good for me since I woke up with my body reminding me that I am in my 40's and perhaps should limit my partying. Poor Lucy only got one lap during her morning walk instead of her normal two and it was a s-l-o-w lap at that. It certainly wasn't the worst I've ever felt (hello bachelorette party of 2004) but it wasn't my best either.

I recovered sufficently by Ohio State game time and we enjoyed the game with our friends Ray and Krystal.  And ate WAY too many candy buckeyes.

After the game we went to Grandma and Grandpa H.'s for the traditional good luck dinner of pork and sauerkraut. YUM!

Today Duane and I decided to get all of our errands out of the way, so we can just relax after church tomorrow. It was a great idea, but then Wesley informed us that he has a book report due on Tuesday on a 500 page book and that he was barely 100 pages into it. WHAT??? Oh Wesley.  I was pretty proud of myself though. Somehow the voice of reason piped up and I didn't yell. I informed him that he'd be spending most of the weekend reading, but there was no yelling. I even managed to believe it when I reminded myself that he is old enough to learn to budget his time and to take the consequences if he doesn't get his work done. It does not reflect on me.  Wow, maybe I'll actually start to mature in 2016.

We did do all of our running around, but Wesley read in the car and at the couple of stops where only one parent had to go in. We went to the vet, the pet store, Target, the grocery store, another Target, COSTCO and the toy store as a treat since the boys were really good and had Christmas money burning holes in their pockets.

Wesley is currently in a reading break and we plan on spending the rest of the day just kicking back at home. I'm probably going to my third jigsaw puzzle in as many days and I know there is football that needs watching.   Not a bad kick off to 2016.