No School

Who decided to have a holiday in the middle of the week? Oh, yeah...it is to honor those who have served our country, not that I am not eternally grateful, I am, but couldn't it be a Monday or a Friday?

Yesterday started out okay. My kids are getting older and I am generally under the impression that they can do a lot for themselves...unless it is a holiday and then suddenly they become incapable of getting their jobs done, or entertaining themselves. These kinds of days turn into, "Mom, I'm bored", or "Mom, I don't have anything to do".

Then again, maybe it is me that is out of the mode. I used to plan fun things for us to do...parks, bike rides, the library. So yesterday I had had enough (and it was only 10 AM), and packed up everyone who would go with me (Amber, Kent, Lindsay and Rex) and we went and explored the Riparian. After an hour we came home and picked up the rest of the crew and headed over to the Rec Center. I think Samantha summed it up best when she commented as we drove home, "That was actually fun".

Halloween

I think that my kids growing up is helping me to get some of my sanity back...well maybe a tiny bit. I always wanted to make Halloween fun for my kids, but it always ended up stressful for me...figuring out costumes, make up, school parties and trick-or-treating. I have always ended up grumpy with a BAD headache despite my efforts. For a few years I kept hoping that it would get better, but it didn't...until this year! I let my kids choose their own costumes (from our overflowing dress up box). I told them if it wasn't in there they would have to figure something else out. To my great surprise they did it! I didn't even mention make up and no one asked! Yeah! So far so good. My two oldest did their own thing with their friends...so they took care of themselves. I only had to take the 3 youngest out trick-or-treating and I didn't even mind that Dave got home later than he usually does. We went around our neighborhood with some friends and the only glitch was that Kent got REALLY thirsty about 1/2 through. My friends came through with some water bottles and we went on, until they didn't want to carry their candy anymore because it was too heavy. A sure sign to me that we have had enough! On to Dave's parent house and home to bed!!!

Schnef Farm

I try and go on at least one field trip with each of my kids (not every year, just ever...and Amber has informed me that I have not gone on one with her yet..."Soon" I told her!). Lindsay's Kindergarten class went to Schnepf's Farm on Friday. I was just hoping it would be tolerable and not too hot. Her teacher tye dyed everyone t-shirts. I was in charge of these three cute girls. Gabriella's (the one in the middle) mom ended up coming so we had an easy little group. It turned out to be okay! It did get HOT, and it was DUSTY, but overall a good time.

Paige on the news!

Tonight is my catch up night:)! On Friday afternoon, Paige and her best friend Haley went to High School Musical 3 at the San Tan Theater. About 5pm or so I get a frantic call from Paige saying, "MOM, TURN ON THE TV RIGHT NOW, HALEY IS GOING TO BE ON CHANNEL 12 NEWS! I have to call her mom, just TURN ON THE TV!" I tried to ask her some questions, but she was gone before I could get any in! So we turned on the TV and sure enough (after a few minutes) the anchor says they are going to Gilbert for a live shot. The weatherman is reporting from the San Tan Mall and there are Paige & Haley as the camera pans around. They were shown several times and because of the quick thinking on Paige's part we were able to record it! FUN memories!

Tenderhearted Kent

Living in a household of girls, you might think that my only son would be a softie, and in some ways he is, but in most ways he is not. This kid is built like a tank and appears pretty tough. On more than one occasion can have all of his older sisters begging for mercy. Other times he is painfully shy. He loves rough and tumble playing and constantly has his toys at war with each other (literally!). But, tonight he had a very tender side and I just have to record this so that I will remember. We were at Dave's parents house with most of the cousins (there are a lot). It can get a little crazy and often there are tears because someone gets hurt, or someone won't share or take turns...anyway you get the picture. I had just given the kids the 5 minute warning, when Amber runs in from outside crying that Kent hurt her "on purpose". Now Amber can be a bit dramatic and is our resident hypocondriac...so I always approach her crying with caution and try not to jump to conclusions either way (sometimes she REALLY is hurt, but more often it is emotional rather than phsyical). Kent came in behind her, with tears in his eyes and biting his lower lip. Now, on most occasions he is vehemently denying any wrongdoing (especailly if he is really guilty), but tonight was different. I could tell that he thought he had really hurt her and he was truely sorry, but didn't quite know how to process this newfound...I guess that I would call it guilt and remorse. It was one of those moments that I really wanted to comfort Amber, but mostly I wanted to acknowledge that what Kent was feeling was a good thing. This is the point that I wish I had a handbook so that I could say the right thing, because I KNEW it was one of those teaching moments! UGH, the pressure! So because I didn't want to blow it, I just held them both for a few moments and waited until they could both talk. I can't remember (or maybe if I block out exactly what happened, I will be able to believe that I said the right thing and did the right thing!) what I said, but I do know that it was a moment that I wanted Kent to remember and to know that other people and their feelings are important. We don't have a lot of these moments at our house...mostly just me telling my kids that they should be nicer to each other. After tonight I think there is some hope!

On the Flag

If you want to read a great commentary on the flag and the importance of putting our hands on our hearts when we say the pledge, link on my friend Lena's blog. She really puts into words the important symbol that our flag has been and should continue to be in our country!

We DID IT!

Today Dave & I ran our first 1/2 marathon. That is 13.1 miles. I wasn't sure that I would ever want to run one. Last year after running my 2nd 10k I figured that maybe I could do it in a year. When we found that the YMCA 1/2 marathon was on a Saturday and was sooner than the one we had originally planned on. We decided to do it and it was at that point that I got a sick feeling...what had I gotten myself into???? It wasn't until I ran 10 miles a few weeks ago that I really had any confidence that I could really run that far. Of course the last couple of days I have been nervous. I am not really competitive, but I wanted to finish and I wanted to run the whole way.

The day started early this morning. We were up at 5:40 and left at 6:15 am. Here we are at the starting line. It was a little bit chilly before the race started, but that is a good thing and the day couldn't have been better!

Dave's sister ran this 1/2 last year and was back again this year with her friend and running partner Catherine. She joked at the end and said, "I just spent $50 to torture myself!"
Here we are at the end, not too much worse for the wear:)! The last 2 miles were mostly up hill. The last mile included a steep dirt hill that was a killer, but we still did it!

Dave, Me, MaryAnn, Catherine
(after all that and we can still smile!)

Dave came in with the best time at 1:51:07. MaryAnn next with 2:04, Catherine at 2:07 (if my times are off they are pretty close). I came in last of crew at 2:11:38. My goal was to run 10 min 30 sec miles which would put me at a time of 2:17. So I beat my time. I ran with MaryAnn and Catherine for the first 3 miles until they pulled away. There was another gal that was running about my pace and we introduced ourselves (Laurel is her name...didn't have time to catch the last name) and ran most of the rest of the race together, keeping each other motivated.

The last two miles I just told myself that I run this all the time and from here on out it is all in my head and I can do it! I am so glad that Dave got me started running and that the rewards of feeling better keep me going. I am not an elite runner, but I am a runner nonetheless!