Thursday, February 27, 2014

Swimming Championships

About a month ago we made a tough decision and changed the year round team that Roo swims for. He moved from the Raiders to the Rays. There were a couple of reasons for the decision, the primary one being the communication from the head coach and the secondary one being the difference in the hands on nature of the teams developmental programs. Leaving his old team has been hard for me, I have lots of mommy friends I really enjoyed talking with while he practiced. He was able to make the switch pretty easily and though he misses his coach and a couple of his friends, he admitted that he was learning more and having more fun.

This past weekend was the North District 12U Championship meet and he participated in both days of the meet. One the way there the first day I realized I forgot my good camera, one of our friends took a few pictures. And then again on the second day I forgot my camera. I should have used the video on my phone but I had it in airplane mode, sitting in my purse the entire second day b/c the facility drained the batter the first day. I wish I had take video of him when he swam the 100 Free, he won his heat and came in 7th in the event, he was so excited!

He had a great meet and on the way out on Sunday he said "this was a lot of fun for something I didn't want to do!" He essentially got to have a two day playdate with his buddy from his old team, while taking short breaks for each of his races, of course he had a blast. And though it was awkward a few times when parents we know from the old team saw our new team shirts, I had a great time hanging out with a few of our good friends on the old team and even making a new friend on the new team.

His 7 events and results were as follows:
25 Free - added a tiny bit of time
25 Breast - didn't DQ for the first time!!
50 Back - took time off, said he meant to crash into the wall with his head!
100 Free - took time off, 1st in his heat, 7th overall, time was under 2 minutes
25 Fly - DQ (he hasn't had a legal swim in this yet)
25 Back - took time off and was under 30 seconds for the first time ever!!
50 Free - took time off

That's 5/7 personal best swims! He was very excited and I was one proud mommy!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Racing

Yesterday I registered for the Marine Corps 17.75k. That's a little over 11 miles. I don't know what I was thinking or how I even got in. I haven't been running as consistently since the holidays but I did get a 5 mile hilly run in a few weeks ago. I've got 7 weeks to get ready and I'm sure it'll be ok. Change that, as long as the tendon in my foot doesn't actually tear, it'll be ok. After that race I have an 8k in Williamsburg with Nancy in May, the Color Run in Richmond with multiple friends in September and then I'll do something around Thanksgiving before getting my foot fixed in late November or early December. If you finish the 17.75 you gain automatic entry into the Marine Corps Marathon, but that distance is too far for my foot this year. I'm hoping I'll be able to defer that until next year. There's the potential for a sprint tri in August but I just don't know if the pool is the right thing for my foot, I need to think more about that one, or perhaps doing it as a relay. Anyway, all of this to help me get fit for Uncle Matt and Future Aunt Leah's wedding!

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Did He Really Say That?

We went Mom and Dad's house this weekend, and when Daddy was putting Bug in the car to head home, this is what I overheard Bug say to Daddy "well, you married her."

Saturday, January 11, 2014

What Day Is It?

That's how I felt Wednesday. Well, that's how I felt most of this week. Monday started off with the hubby's car not starting. See, mom had her knee replacement on Tuesday and my Aunt and I promised her we'd spend the night with her in the hospital each night and I was scheduled for Tuesday night, so there was no time for a car to not work, much less a 3 year old car.

So, we called the insurance company and had the car towed to the dealer. A few house later, we left with a new car. The lease was coming up in a couple of months so we just started the new lease a little sooner.

Mom had her surgery on Tuesday and it went well. I got to the hospital Tuesday night and we had a pretty smooth night. It's hard to sleep well in the hospital, even when you're not the patient. Mom's nurses were pretty attentive which was good, especially after how bad my hospital experience was this past summer.

After calling home to wake the family up so they could get out the door and make it to the bus stop on time, I got a call back from them on the way out the door and was instructed to make a doctor's appointment for Bug, his foot was swollen and red again.

I made the appointment and Nate picked him up and brought him to me since I was right by the ped's office and there was no way I could get to Bug and back to town in time for the appointment. The red swollen spot on his foot is a different spot than last time and may be from the crocs we forgot to wash after the first incident; if this issue is in fact from brushing against something in the woods, otherwise we're at a loss. So doctor's appointment done but we have another problem.

To get rid of the celluitis on the foot, oral steroids are needed. Bug's annual food allergy blood work was scheduled for today. Guess what I got to do, yep take him for his blood work. Well, that was a nightmare but we got it done. I will be filing a complaint with Quest though. Their complete lack of compassion for pediatric patients year after year is simply unacceptable. We started the blood work with them and for the sake of consistency we continue to use them for this once a year, and it's always a horrible experience. Any other time we need Bug's or even Roo's blood drawn we go to LabCorp at the hospital and they are far and beyond better. Rant done...lets continue figuring out what day of the week it is.

So, that's done and we go to Toys R Us and get a toy. Then back to the hospital to visit mom. Bug picks out flowers and is beaming ear to ear as we're walking down the hall to visit grandma. We find grandpa in the hallway and he leads the way and tells grandma that he found something in the hallway. Bug is beaming as he enters the room and gives her flowers. Then within 3 minutes, he sees her IV and takes in everything going on and he was done. Like, I have a stomach ache, get me outta here as fast as you can, done. He's going to be my fainter, just like his mama!

After that we went to lunch at Basilico's and had a wonderful time, the staff loved Bug. On the way out the lady at the register said "he's the cutest kid I've ever seen."

Whew, we finally got home and I was able to finally shower and relax.

I think Thursday and Friday were fairly normal, just swim practice and the normal routine. By Friday I had finally figured out what day of the week it was and luckily remembered to update our auto insurance with the new car info. I don't usually take that long to do that, just glad I didn't completely forget!

Today I took Roo to a swim meet in Richmond. He did great. He hasn't been focusing on back stroke as much this year and this past summer his times started getting worse. I was super nervous for him because he had 100 back today. He did great though, just needs to work on his turns. He didn't have any DQ's and he got ribbons in two events including the 100 back, which is great. One benefit of a long race is that there are usually fewer kids his age signed up, so it's very motivating to finish those races. I have no doubt that he would finish any distance his coaches ask him to swim, he's a hard worker and works his tail off in practice. I love his work ethic and hope he keeps it and that it translates to school as he gets older.

After the meet he and I had fun going to Target for his Pokemon cards he earned, going to the Apple store to visit the Apple doctor for my computer and getting a good prognosis, having dinner together and then a quick stop at Trader Joe's before heading home. I think next time I know we're going to Trader Joe's I'm going to ask facebook friends for input on what to get, that would be fun!

Nate spent the day with Bug and took him back to Basilico's. He said everyone remembered Bug and they even offered to bring him a free dessert. He said it was crazy, that the servers were having fun chatting with him and saying what a cute kid Bug is. He also went to Target to get some workout clothes and then they went over to a friends house.

And, we're ending our Saturday watching the Patriots game.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Warm December Day

Today we went hiking at Caledon State Park with our neighbors. It's amazing to have such beautiful state parks so close to home. It ended up being a 3 mile round trip hike. The weather was beautiful and the beach are on the Potomac was fantastic. I even found a sharks tooth.


I loved it and the kids only complained a little bit. Daddy had to go a half mile with Bug on his shoulders on the way back.

Roo had a hurt foot until I distracted him with a cool looking tree. After that he was fine.

Bug said at bedtime "I don't want to go hiking again, it's painful." I think we'll ignore him.



Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Nice List

The boys got greetings from Santa this morning via Portable North Pole. The look on Roo's face was priceless. He was well aware that he was a good boy this year and very intently listened to what Santa had to say and was very happy to hear that Santa knew so much about him. He was pleased to hear Santa put him on the nice list.

Then in was Bug's turn. Bug was very excited to hear what Santa had to say. He agreed with Santa when he said this year Bug was working on no more temper tantrums. And when Santa said lets see if you're on the nice list, Bug shook his head no, very seriously. With that same seriousness, he turned to Roo and said "you're nicer than me." Imagine his surprise when he found out he made the nice list.

When I got home from work today, I gave the boys letters from Santa that were in the mailbox. They loved them and were happy to hear again how good they've been and how much Santa knows about them.

They're finally in bed now. All night they wanted to go to bed. Now that they're in bed, they can't fall asleep. Love their excitement!

Sunday, December 22, 2013

First Day of Winter

Yesterday was the official first day of winter. We had amazing weather, more like summer than winter. I loved wearing flip flops all day. The kids were able to leave the pool without having to change (which means I didn't have to chase them through the women's locker room!). And we had a bonfire and roasted smores (no toes were burned this time)! The one good thing about a winter bonfire is that it's dark early, so the kids can enjoy it at night and still get to bed on time, that's a win all around!


Friday, December 20, 2013

If..

Roo was sick and missed school on Thursday and Friday. I sent his teacher an email to let him know why he was missing school and he replied saying that Roo had made us some gifts and if I could to stop by and pick his stuff up. I did, and as I looked through everything (but the gifts), I found this project and it brought an instant smile and chuckle!
It says "If I lived in a snow globe I would play hide n go seek inside the snow."

Thursday, December 19, 2013