Sunday, July 20, 2008
A Relaxing Sunday Afternoon
Well, today was a good day. It has been on and off cloudy today but we enjoyed the pool most of the day. Smart me ignored the fact that I know you can get a lot of sun through clouds, so I am a little on the pink side, but I will be fine. I did yoga on the beach this morning. At first I was a little timid thinking I might look a little weird to the beach go-ers, but I went early enough that it was only us freaks out there, freaks being us that wanted to exercise on our vacation, so no one looked at me too strangly, or maybe I did not notice. It was actually very relaxing, I tried to imagine all the stress and worries of my life washing away with each wave. (It kind of scares me how groovy I am beginning to sound.) We, meaning me, Mackenzie, Callie, (my neice), and Jane, (my sister in law, once removed, but I got custody of her in the divorce from my brother), anyway, we have giggled constantly. It cracks me up over some of the things we giggle about. But, once we start, there is no stopping us. I had a memory today of when I was a kid, my grandmother use to tell me and Tracie, (my cousin) that our giggle boxes had turned over. Well, our giggle boxes are not on steady ground! Sheldon and Chase played in the pool for a while today. I decided to close my eyes and pretend I was asleep, because Sheldon was tossing Chase around like he was a ball. Chase was certainly enjoying himself, so that is all that mattered. We had a delicious supper tonight, thanks to Stouffers. We cooked a frozen lasagna, made a quick salad and garlic bread. It was soooo good, or I was soooo hungry. Either way, I did not have to think too hard, or work too hard to prepare dinner, which ended up being a real good thing since I had a sudden migraine this afternoon. Fortunatly, after a small nap and a migraine presription med, I was back enjoying my vacation shortly after. So now I am sitting at a cute cafe table on our balcony, overlooking a playground and courtyard. I am trying to convince the kids to go play, but I think they are afraid that I might fart and they will miss it. I just looked up in the sky and there is the prettiest rainbow, actually two, side by side. The cool thing is it looks like the ones that I use to color on paper when I was 5, it actually is a full arch across the sky. So beautiful. So, I think God did it just for me...cause he loves me!
On Vacation!!!
So, we got to the beach pretty early yesterday. The weather was perfect. The kids seemed to have a good day. Papa Bill and Granny Julie, (ha ha, not really but that is what we told the staff here, so they could come spend the day with us) came to our condo to swim. Bill wanted to go down the slide here at our place. We have a huge water slide, and it certainly keeps the kids entertained. It started to rain a little while they were here, but it did not stop our fun. Later we went to supper and then to Walmart for grocery shopping.
By this time the kids were EXTREMELY TIRED, AND WHINY, at least Mac was. I ended my day sitting here reading Helen's blog, laughing hysterically.
My poor husband has heard so many times how much I am excited that I have all these new friends. I think it is pretty cool that there are people all over the United States, Canada, and even England that possible thinks about me each day. I know I think about every single person I met in Boston and I am so thankful that I had that opportunity.
Hopefully the next few days will be sunny. We are planning to snorkel tomorrow and on Tuesday we are all going Parasailing. I am so excited. I will be interested to see if the kids go through with it. I think Kenz will, Chase will probably go but he will be very hesitate.
Thanks to Jackie sharing the simple recipe of Jello Shots, I have some "brewing" in the frig....Yummy.
I am off to the pool, hoping for a little sun tan. The kids are bout to drive us crazy to get to the pool. Eager beavers.
By this time the kids were EXTREMELY TIRED, AND WHINY, at least Mac was. I ended my day sitting here reading Helen's blog, laughing hysterically.
My poor husband has heard so many times how much I am excited that I have all these new friends. I think it is pretty cool that there are people all over the United States, Canada, and even England that possible thinks about me each day. I know I think about every single person I met in Boston and I am so thankful that I had that opportunity.
Hopefully the next few days will be sunny. We are planning to snorkel tomorrow and on Tuesday we are all going Parasailing. I am so excited. I will be interested to see if the kids go through with it. I think Kenz will, Chase will probably go but he will be very hesitate.
Thanks to Jackie sharing the simple recipe of Jello Shots, I have some "brewing" in the frig....Yummy.
I am off to the pool, hoping for a little sun tan. The kids are bout to drive us crazy to get to the pool. Eager beavers.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Tonight, I Am Thankful For:
-In less than 30 hours I am leaving for the beach!
-My husband and all of his hard work in our yard this week!
-Clean Laundry
-My desk at work is visable, it is grey...imagine that. I have about caught up on everything so that when I go on vacation next week...maybe it will float.
-My computer pals, can't wait to stay in contact while I am at the beach next week.
-My kids, they are so dang cute!
-I have a house to live in, healthy kids, wonderful husband, my D2 loves me dearly, my broher loves me dearly, my dad loves me dearly, my neice loves me dearly and she thinks I rock! Thats big.
....Lastly, tonight, I am thankful for Ambien, the good ole sleep medication that will allow me to sleep, and not obsess over how it is less than 30 hours before I leave for the beach and I have nothing ready, it will not allow me to feel guilty about Sheldon having to do so much work on his own this week, it will not allow me to obsess over everything that I want to be sure is done and covered for the week I will be gone, I will soon sleep and not wonder how I have became such close friends with so many wonderful women, and worry about when they will discover that I am a fruit loop. I will sleep soon, and not worry about how cute the kids are and how they use that to get everything they want, and soon, the worrying about the messy house that we live in, and how my D2, brother, neice, dad, and everyone else perceives me as a mom and housewife from the looks of my house....all of that will just be drool on my pillow....in a f.....e......w m....i.....n....u....t....e...s
I love Ambien!
-My husband and all of his hard work in our yard this week!
-Clean Laundry
-My desk at work is visable, it is grey...imagine that. I have about caught up on everything so that when I go on vacation next week...maybe it will float.
-My computer pals, can't wait to stay in contact while I am at the beach next week.
-My kids, they are so dang cute!
-I have a house to live in, healthy kids, wonderful husband, my D2 loves me dearly, my broher loves me dearly, my dad loves me dearly, my neice loves me dearly and she thinks I rock! Thats big.
....Lastly, tonight, I am thankful for Ambien, the good ole sleep medication that will allow me to sleep, and not obsess over how it is less than 30 hours before I leave for the beach and I have nothing ready, it will not allow me to feel guilty about Sheldon having to do so much work on his own this week, it will not allow me to obsess over everything that I want to be sure is done and covered for the week I will be gone, I will soon sleep and not wonder how I have became such close friends with so many wonderful women, and worry about when they will discover that I am a fruit loop. I will sleep soon, and not worry about how cute the kids are and how they use that to get everything they want, and soon, the worrying about the messy house that we live in, and how my D2, brother, neice, dad, and everyone else perceives me as a mom and housewife from the looks of my house....all of that will just be drool on my pillow....in a f.....e......w m....i.....n....u....t....e...s
I love Ambien!
Childhood....Great? or Go Ahead and Set Up the Therapy Fund
Have you ever heard the quote from Hope Floats (which happens to be one of my favorite movies of all time) where Sandra Bullock says "Childhood is what you spend the rest of your life getting over." I think about that quote often. Not so much my childhood, but my children's childhoods. I wonder when they think back to their childhood will they have terrific memories that they will share over the Thanksgiving table with their own families or will they just change the subject when it comes to family stories?
As a child we did not have a lot of money. There were many times that we would go to the store and my Mom would tell my brother and I no when we asked for something as small as a candy bar. We received clothes and gifts on our Birthdays, at Christmas and there was always the back to school shopping for new clothes. This was the only time we got things. Do I have bad childhood memories because of this, no, not at all. In fact, I certainly can appreciate my Mother more and all the hard work that it must have been to raise us as a single parent.
Then, if I feel this way, why do I feel like every time the kids ask me for something that I should buy it or they will remember me not getting it for their entire lives? Like they will be the ONLY kids out there without the newest version of a particular video game. How come they can flash those pitiful eyes at me and I melt? Am I creating complete monster children that will grow up to be complete monster adults? Is it fair to justify my purchases for them because they are honestly really good kids, they work hard at school. If I want something I buy it for myself, (within reason of course), so why should I not buy for them?
Growing up my house was always clean. So, did my mother set me up for anxiety over a clean house? I cannot keep a straight tidy house. It is not in my bones. I try, but I fail. We always had clean laundry in our drawers, am I setting my kids up for some bad childhood memories when they grow up and think back to having to dig through laundry baskets for a clean pair of underwear???? Or perhaps, wishful thinking here, they will be so done with living out of laundry baskets they will be obsessive to keeping their laundry caught up! Hopefully.
As a child we did not have a lot of money. There were many times that we would go to the store and my Mom would tell my brother and I no when we asked for something as small as a candy bar. We received clothes and gifts on our Birthdays, at Christmas and there was always the back to school shopping for new clothes. This was the only time we got things. Do I have bad childhood memories because of this, no, not at all. In fact, I certainly can appreciate my Mother more and all the hard work that it must have been to raise us as a single parent.
Then, if I feel this way, why do I feel like every time the kids ask me for something that I should buy it or they will remember me not getting it for their entire lives? Like they will be the ONLY kids out there without the newest version of a particular video game. How come they can flash those pitiful eyes at me and I melt? Am I creating complete monster children that will grow up to be complete monster adults? Is it fair to justify my purchases for them because they are honestly really good kids, they work hard at school. If I want something I buy it for myself, (within reason of course), so why should I not buy for them?
Growing up my house was always clean. So, did my mother set me up for anxiety over a clean house? I cannot keep a straight tidy house. It is not in my bones. I try, but I fail. We always had clean laundry in our drawers, am I setting my kids up for some bad childhood memories when they grow up and think back to having to dig through laundry baskets for a clean pair of underwear???? Or perhaps, wishful thinking here, they will be so done with living out of laundry baskets they will be obsessive to keeping their laundry caught up! Hopefully.
I never remember my mom coming home and being grouchy from a bad day at work. Surely she had to of....right? Are my kids going to grow up and remember horror stories of me coming home being grouchy and snapping at everyone? Will the happy times I spend with them, over rule the grouchy times?
Of course if I ask the kids, well, Mac will tell it like it is, which is why I choose not to ask, she might just hurt my feelings, but Chase will tell me exactly what he thinks I would want to hear, but if I could get into their heads, would they be excited about their childhood, or would they be so disappointed and feel like orphans cause we made them eat at home last night instead of Bojangles???? I guess I will never know, but I hope they are building fantastic memories everyday, memories that will make them smile as they are driving into work one day, or sitting at their desk, or as they watch their own children and they wonder if they are upholding the extremely big title of the "Memory Creator."
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
OMG---I Swear, We Are Still Here...
So, Life....how busy can one get...it seems like when I think we are filled to capacity on our calendar, we add more.
The kids are-no were winding down. Swim season ended this past weekend, but as soon as I think things are ending, my friend talks me into letting Mac go to dance camp every afternoon this week. But...she loves it and selfishly, I do to, cause I will get to see my friend each afternoon when I pick her up. Last night, after a HORRIBLE day, Sheldon picked Mac up, and when he arrived home, he delivered me a glorious piece of Chocolate cake with white icing and red yummy cherries that my friend had sent to me. I almost cried, even though I knew she was sending it, just because it was another reminder to me that she is a wonderful friend that knew I had a horrible day, and she knew by sending me a little piece of cake, I would enjoy a few minutes, okay less than one, but I would enjoy each bite and my day would look a little brighter. It worked. I mean, really, chocolate cake for dinner makes everyone smile, right?
So Swim Champs was this weekend. The kids did really well. Mac swam on Friday night. For those who might not know, Mac hates swimming. She begs not to do swim team every year, but I make her. Why? Well, it cost all of $65.00 to join. The practices are from the end of May through the first part of July. Not a very long season at all. Practice is everyday, however. (Not that we went but that is my next story). So, the way I see it, if I have to be there waiting for practice to be over, I should have a little me time, time for me to reflect, time to read a book, time to not do anything, and if she is not swimming, well, then the time I sit changes to occupying her, telling her that I know she is hot, I am sorry, having her interrupting my quiet time with off the wall stories....anyway...that is why she swims. Also, she gets great instruction that she would never get without swim team.
So....anyway, we have Champ Friday night. My "I hate swimming" child wins first place in her Freestyle heat and her Breast Stroke heat. I am so proud I am about to burst. She acts as if it is no big deal, later I realized that she probably did that on purpose, cause if we know she is good at it, she will be made to do it more...
Saturday, our natural born swimmer, the child that loves to swim every day, swims his champs. He does very well. He swims in the later heats now, which means that his times are shorter so his competition is really tough. He received 20th place in his freestyle which is really awesome. There are a lot of kids swimming in his division. I think 84.
This swim season was a little tough on us this year. There were a couple of issues that I won't bore you with,but never the less, we did not participate as much this year as we have in years past. We did not stay of any of the potluck dinners that was after home meets, we did not do the big Spaghetti Dinner the night before Champs, we did not even go to many practices. We used the fact that Chase had swam all year long as a good enough excuse that he would swim decent at the meets, and Mac did not want to be there anyway...so screw it.
Before going to the banquet on Saturday night, I decided that I should be motherly and protect my young from hurt. See, I was afraid that after the season we had had that the kids would not be recognized very much. So....we go into the banquet, have a decent dinner, and then it is time for trophies and awards.
There is a tradition for Paper Plate Awards, which is an award that the coach makes special for each team member. Mac's plate says "Pretty in Pink" because her coach says she always wears pink...I haven't noticed, bad Mom that I am. Chase gets the "Strong Man" award, his has a muscle man drawn on it. Pretty cute.
They both get their trophies for the season. Then comes the special awards. Mackenzie gets the MVP award, which is a very nice plaque. Then Chase gets the Coach's Award from his coach. His coach talked about how he was such a pleasure and how he wanted to do so well, he had even stayed late one afternoon to practice his starts....it was a very proud moment for us.
We get to our car and Sheldon starts to laugh and tells the kids he had faith in them the entire time, it was their mommy that did not think they did well. I wanted to hit him up side his handsome head!!!! Thankfully the kids laughed!
The kids are-no were winding down. Swim season ended this past weekend, but as soon as I think things are ending, my friend talks me into letting Mac go to dance camp every afternoon this week. But...she loves it and selfishly, I do to, cause I will get to see my friend each afternoon when I pick her up. Last night, after a HORRIBLE day, Sheldon picked Mac up, and when he arrived home, he delivered me a glorious piece of Chocolate cake with white icing and red yummy cherries that my friend had sent to me. I almost cried, even though I knew she was sending it, just because it was another reminder to me that she is a wonderful friend that knew I had a horrible day, and she knew by sending me a little piece of cake, I would enjoy a few minutes, okay less than one, but I would enjoy each bite and my day would look a little brighter. It worked. I mean, really, chocolate cake for dinner makes everyone smile, right?
So Swim Champs was this weekend. The kids did really well. Mac swam on Friday night. For those who might not know, Mac hates swimming. She begs not to do swim team every year, but I make her. Why? Well, it cost all of $65.00 to join. The practices are from the end of May through the first part of July. Not a very long season at all. Practice is everyday, however. (Not that we went but that is my next story). So, the way I see it, if I have to be there waiting for practice to be over, I should have a little me time, time for me to reflect, time to read a book, time to not do anything, and if she is not swimming, well, then the time I sit changes to occupying her, telling her that I know she is hot, I am sorry, having her interrupting my quiet time with off the wall stories....anyway...that is why she swims. Also, she gets great instruction that she would never get without swim team.
So....anyway, we have Champ Friday night. My "I hate swimming" child wins first place in her Freestyle heat and her Breast Stroke heat. I am so proud I am about to burst. She acts as if it is no big deal, later I realized that she probably did that on purpose, cause if we know she is good at it, she will be made to do it more...
Saturday, our natural born swimmer, the child that loves to swim every day, swims his champs. He does very well. He swims in the later heats now, which means that his times are shorter so his competition is really tough. He received 20th place in his freestyle which is really awesome. There are a lot of kids swimming in his division. I think 84.
This swim season was a little tough on us this year. There were a couple of issues that I won't bore you with,but never the less, we did not participate as much this year as we have in years past. We did not stay of any of the potluck dinners that was after home meets, we did not do the big Spaghetti Dinner the night before Champs, we did not even go to many practices. We used the fact that Chase had swam all year long as a good enough excuse that he would swim decent at the meets, and Mac did not want to be there anyway...so screw it.
Before going to the banquet on Saturday night, I decided that I should be motherly and protect my young from hurt. See, I was afraid that after the season we had had that the kids would not be recognized very much. So....we go into the banquet, have a decent dinner, and then it is time for trophies and awards.
There is a tradition for Paper Plate Awards, which is an award that the coach makes special for each team member. Mac's plate says "Pretty in Pink" because her coach says she always wears pink...I haven't noticed, bad Mom that I am. Chase gets the "Strong Man" award, his has a muscle man drawn on it. Pretty cute.
They both get their trophies for the season. Then comes the special awards. Mackenzie gets the MVP award, which is a very nice plaque. Then Chase gets the Coach's Award from his coach. His coach talked about how he was such a pleasure and how he wanted to do so well, he had even stayed late one afternoon to practice his starts....it was a very proud moment for us.
We get to our car and Sheldon starts to laugh and tells the kids he had faith in them the entire time, it was their mommy that did not think they did well. I wanted to hit him up side his handsome head!!!! Thankfully the kids laughed!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Our Shining Star
This weekend Mackenzie participated in her first performance since being a part of the "company" at her dance studio. It was called Company Showcase. Basically, according to Ms. Lauren, the owner/director of her dance studio, this was a dry run to get ready for their first competition that will be at the end of April.
The performance took place at a local arts center. We had dress rehearsal on Friday night, and then the the actual show was on Saturday evening at 5pm.
We had a meeting a week or so ago, getting instructions on every detail of the make up application, the hair style, the correct tights, and all the accessories required for the girls to wear. I am a girly girl, this should not be any problem. None, nada, zilch. Ha Ha Ha.
First, the hair style, half up, half down....easy enough. UNTIL, we cut her hair pretty short recently. After using a lot of hair spray, I was able to accomplish this first task. Then on to curling the back so it looked cute. That was like curling the hair on a monkey's head. Mackenzie is like a moving target when it comes to fixing her hair. She has to be in the know about everything, so she is constantly turning to look at whatever is going on around her.
Next, the makeup! I have been wearing make up for many years. I wear it everyday. Putting makeup on my daughter should be easy, but, remember that monkey...yeah. I apply her foundation, blush, lipstick, everything is going good. I start with the eyes, apply the shadow, it looks good, I am proud. I tell Mackenzie to go show her teacher, get her approval...I know I have done good....right? WRONG. Well maybe not completely wrong, she says it looks good, but needs to be much darker. So I reapply, and reapply, and reapply some more. Then I move on to the dreaded eyeliner. Mackenzie hates eyeliner, so she starts to fret and fuss, complaining that I am hurting her. Once I have finally accomplished this task, and Mackenzie is absolutely not having fun anymore, it is time to apply the mascara. Before doing so, I give her a good look over, making sure that my masterpiece is almost complete. I am pretty impressed, she looks like a little model. Just perfect.
I start the mascara ordeal. I am almost completely done, when she suddenly moves and the mascara wand pokes her eye. Oh Lord this is not going to be good. Her eyes well up with tears. I am frantically telling her to stop crying, sounding extremely unsympathetic, but knowing if the tears start rolling down her face, we will have a complete disaster. Streaked foundation and blush, smeared eyeliner, and black mascara running everywhere is not what we needed five minutes before call time.
It is finally time for the show to begin. I have already taken at least 20 or more pictures. Mackenzie looked like an angel. A grown up angel, but an angel none the less. I kept staring at her, thinking to myself how gorgeous she is. When she smiled, her entire face just sent out rays of light. She just looked beautiful.
She performed a tap routine, wearing a red and white polka dot costume complete with black gloves, and a head piece that had black feathers attached to it. The costume had a belt attached to it that had a diamond like buckle. She had diamond like earrings to complete the look. Her costume fit her perfectly. She looked awesome in it.
The tap performance was a little on the side of not being really ready to perform yet. According to Mackenzie, they just finished creating the dance in the last week or so. It did not matter to us moms though. They looked pretty darn cute to us. I think it will be cool to see how far they will have came at the actual recital compared to this performance.
Her second and final dance was her jazz. It is so apparent by the photos that Mackenzie really enjoys this routine. Her smile just shined while she was doing this dance. Ironically, she was dancing to "Momma, I'm a Big Girl Now". She looked it for sure. The costume for this one was pink, sparkly, and had the same diamond like buckle for the belt.
The girls really did a terrific job on this number. They had been practicing this one much longer and it really showed.
As we were leaving at the end, several people complimented Mackenzie on her performance. One friend of ours told Mackenzie that she reminded her of her little girl when she was that young by the way she was smiling on stage. Later, on our way home, Mackenzie told me that it was nice that people were there to "support" her, and she knew that Tina really watched her, and was not just saying that, because, she said she was smiling. I think this might have been the first time that Mackenzie cared....I mean, that she was proud of herself for something she had been working on. As her Mom, it was a proud moment for me to see her "shine" even more as other people complimented her. It is one thing for Mom to tell you that you did a good job, and I did, a lot, I was so proud of her. But, still, to have other people make a point to find you and tell you how great you did, that is a whole different story. I was happy that Mac had that.
Mackenzie is going to be a very lucky girl. She is that girl that girls like myself are jealous of. She is the total package. She is beautiful. She is funny. She is very outgoing. She is not shy. She is smart. She is going to be a talented dancer. All I can say is her daddy is going to very busy keeping the boys at bay in a few years.
The performance took place at a local arts center. We had dress rehearsal on Friday night, and then the the actual show was on Saturday evening at 5pm.
We had a meeting a week or so ago, getting instructions on every detail of the make up application, the hair style, the correct tights, and all the accessories required for the girls to wear. I am a girly girl, this should not be any problem. None, nada, zilch. Ha Ha Ha.
First, the hair style, half up, half down....easy enough. UNTIL, we cut her hair pretty short recently. After using a lot of hair spray, I was able to accomplish this first task. Then on to curling the back so it looked cute. That was like curling the hair on a monkey's head. Mackenzie is like a moving target when it comes to fixing her hair. She has to be in the know about everything, so she is constantly turning to look at whatever is going on around her.
Next, the makeup! I have been wearing make up for many years. I wear it everyday. Putting makeup on my daughter should be easy, but, remember that monkey...yeah. I apply her foundation, blush, lipstick, everything is going good. I start with the eyes, apply the shadow, it looks good, I am proud. I tell Mackenzie to go show her teacher, get her approval...I know I have done good....right? WRONG. Well maybe not completely wrong, she says it looks good, but needs to be much darker. So I reapply, and reapply, and reapply some more. Then I move on to the dreaded eyeliner. Mackenzie hates eyeliner, so she starts to fret and fuss, complaining that I am hurting her. Once I have finally accomplished this task, and Mackenzie is absolutely not having fun anymore, it is time to apply the mascara. Before doing so, I give her a good look over, making sure that my masterpiece is almost complete. I am pretty impressed, she looks like a little model. Just perfect.
I start the mascara ordeal. I am almost completely done, when she suddenly moves and the mascara wand pokes her eye. Oh Lord this is not going to be good. Her eyes well up with tears. I am frantically telling her to stop crying, sounding extremely unsympathetic, but knowing if the tears start rolling down her face, we will have a complete disaster. Streaked foundation and blush, smeared eyeliner, and black mascara running everywhere is not what we needed five minutes before call time.
It is finally time for the show to begin. I have already taken at least 20 or more pictures. Mackenzie looked like an angel. A grown up angel, but an angel none the less. I kept staring at her, thinking to myself how gorgeous she is. When she smiled, her entire face just sent out rays of light. She just looked beautiful.
She performed a tap routine, wearing a red and white polka dot costume complete with black gloves, and a head piece that had black feathers attached to it. The costume had a belt attached to it that had a diamond like buckle. She had diamond like earrings to complete the look. Her costume fit her perfectly. She looked awesome in it.
The tap performance was a little on the side of not being really ready to perform yet. According to Mackenzie, they just finished creating the dance in the last week or so. It did not matter to us moms though. They looked pretty darn cute to us. I think it will be cool to see how far they will have came at the actual recital compared to this performance.
Her second and final dance was her jazz. It is so apparent by the photos that Mackenzie really enjoys this routine. Her smile just shined while she was doing this dance. Ironically, she was dancing to "Momma, I'm a Big Girl Now". She looked it for sure. The costume for this one was pink, sparkly, and had the same diamond like buckle for the belt.
The girls really did a terrific job on this number. They had been practicing this one much longer and it really showed.
As we were leaving at the end, several people complimented Mackenzie on her performance. One friend of ours told Mackenzie that she reminded her of her little girl when she was that young by the way she was smiling on stage. Later, on our way home, Mackenzie told me that it was nice that people were there to "support" her, and she knew that Tina really watched her, and was not just saying that, because, she said she was smiling. I think this might have been the first time that Mackenzie cared....I mean, that she was proud of herself for something she had been working on. As her Mom, it was a proud moment for me to see her "shine" even more as other people complimented her. It is one thing for Mom to tell you that you did a good job, and I did, a lot, I was so proud of her. But, still, to have other people make a point to find you and tell you how great you did, that is a whole different story. I was happy that Mac had that.
Mackenzie is going to be a very lucky girl. She is that girl that girls like myself are jealous of. She is the total package. She is beautiful. She is funny. She is very outgoing. She is not shy. She is smart. She is going to be a talented dancer. All I can say is her daddy is going to very busy keeping the boys at bay in a few years.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
I goofed.....again!
There are times when you just know you made a mistake. I have made many. Mother of the Year Award....not planning on getting it this year...again!
Chase has been swimming since fall for Blue Devil Aquatics. Every meet he as competed in, he has made improvements, cutting his times. We have been so proud of him, and so thankful for coaching he has received. Chase enjoys swimming and he is good at it. He has worked real hard all year long.
He competed in a final meet this past weekend. It was sort of a championship meet, but for children that did not qualify to go to State Champs. As good as he is, there are some amazing kids that swim incredibly well. We have no doubt that if Chase continues to put as much effort in his training he will too be at State Champs one day.
Anyway....here we are, the eve before his "champs." Chase has this nice cough that sounds horrifying. It is allergy season, which he has a tough time with, and there are about 100 bugs in the air at school. We come home from practice and start to get ready for bed. Cough....cough.....cough....cough. How pitiful. I think to myself, he needs sleep, this meet is important tomorrow. Knowing him like the back of my hand, if I don't do something, he will not sleep at all.
You see, his nerves always get him. He starts to worry and then he gets so worked up he cannot sleep. Normally, (without a horrible cough) after some coaching, he will finally slip off to sleep. Add that cough in the mix, sleep seems to be not in the plans...unless....I just give him a little night time cold medicine. Seems like a good idea, right? WRONG.
We wake early on Saturday morning, since we are expected to be at the pool at 7:45, and the pool is almost one hour away from our house. Everything seems to be okay. Until........
It is time for Chase's first race. He dives off the block, in slooooooooow motion. He swims in slooooooow motion. It was almost as if he were on tv and they had singled him out to show how exactly to do the stroke or something. His freestyle looked really nice. Nice and slow. Sheldon and I just looked at each other. We immediately started repeating back and forth to each other, "He does not feel well." Followed by more Mommy and Daddy excuses for our perfect child.
I go down to the deck after his race and check on him, he feels warm to me. He insist he feels fine and does not want to leave. Sheldon justifies that there is so much chlorine there is no way he could share his germs with other swimmers.
Two more swims to go. Freestyle done, backstroke and breast stroke to go. 50 Back, and 100 Breast, that is four lengths of the pool. Oh my. Not good.
He started each race out pretty good, but got slower and slower and slower. I felt about one inch tall. I know that combined with the sinus/cough issue, night time cold meds the night before the big race....just not a good idea.
If there was one good thing about this meet it was that Chase felt so crappy he did not care. Normally he is so hard on himself and so nervous before every race. Not so much this time. He hated that he did not cut time off his races, but it was a passing thought.
In case you don't see what is going on here....I am trying to make myself feel better here. If I convince myself that Chase was not upset about his bad performance, then I won't feel like the worse Mommy in the world. I don't want to have to put another thing on the list of why I will not get Mother of the Year Award. My list is long enough. One day, maybe, I will get to walk down the Mother of the Year Red Carpet. At best, I can just hope that my kids will forgive me for my mistakes, Lord knows they are the ones that will be picking out my nursing home.
Chase has been swimming since fall for Blue Devil Aquatics. Every meet he as competed in, he has made improvements, cutting his times. We have been so proud of him, and so thankful for coaching he has received. Chase enjoys swimming and he is good at it. He has worked real hard all year long.
He competed in a final meet this past weekend. It was sort of a championship meet, but for children that did not qualify to go to State Champs. As good as he is, there are some amazing kids that swim incredibly well. We have no doubt that if Chase continues to put as much effort in his training he will too be at State Champs one day.
Anyway....here we are, the eve before his "champs." Chase has this nice cough that sounds horrifying. It is allergy season, which he has a tough time with, and there are about 100 bugs in the air at school. We come home from practice and start to get ready for bed. Cough....cough.....cough....cough. How pitiful. I think to myself, he needs sleep, this meet is important tomorrow. Knowing him like the back of my hand, if I don't do something, he will not sleep at all.
You see, his nerves always get him. He starts to worry and then he gets so worked up he cannot sleep. Normally, (without a horrible cough) after some coaching, he will finally slip off to sleep. Add that cough in the mix, sleep seems to be not in the plans...unless....I just give him a little night time cold medicine. Seems like a good idea, right? WRONG.
We wake early on Saturday morning, since we are expected to be at the pool at 7:45, and the pool is almost one hour away from our house. Everything seems to be okay. Until........
It is time for Chase's first race. He dives off the block, in slooooooooow motion. He swims in slooooooow motion. It was almost as if he were on tv and they had singled him out to show how exactly to do the stroke or something. His freestyle looked really nice. Nice and slow. Sheldon and I just looked at each other. We immediately started repeating back and forth to each other, "He does not feel well." Followed by more Mommy and Daddy excuses for our perfect child.
I go down to the deck after his race and check on him, he feels warm to me. He insist he feels fine and does not want to leave. Sheldon justifies that there is so much chlorine there is no way he could share his germs with other swimmers.
Two more swims to go. Freestyle done, backstroke and breast stroke to go. 50 Back, and 100 Breast, that is four lengths of the pool. Oh my. Not good.
He started each race out pretty good, but got slower and slower and slower. I felt about one inch tall. I know that combined with the sinus/cough issue, night time cold meds the night before the big race....just not a good idea.
If there was one good thing about this meet it was that Chase felt so crappy he did not care. Normally he is so hard on himself and so nervous before every race. Not so much this time. He hated that he did not cut time off his races, but it was a passing thought.
In case you don't see what is going on here....I am trying to make myself feel better here. If I convince myself that Chase was not upset about his bad performance, then I won't feel like the worse Mommy in the world. I don't want to have to put another thing on the list of why I will not get Mother of the Year Award. My list is long enough. One day, maybe, I will get to walk down the Mother of the Year Red Carpet. At best, I can just hope that my kids will forgive me for my mistakes, Lord knows they are the ones that will be picking out my nursing home.
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