What happens in the daily life of the family.. the drama of foster care, the adventures of parenting, & pictures to share with everyone!
?? Sort of!
The kids are out of school.
Good= No homework.
Good= Minimal fighting since they are all separated and staring off at screens.
Good= No early alarm clocks for them.
Bad= Still need an alarm for me–gotta get to the gym still and I still have my little guys to watch.
Bad= Four kids who need lunch every.single.day.
Bad= Football season has started already?? That means I am a taxi cab.
Good= Arizona hasn’t gotten the memo about the break and it’s still beautiful out.
As in defeated. They do dole out some harsh physical punishment, but no actual beatings.
However, today, I was beaten.
I have been dealing with a strain of my achilles’ tendon. I don’t think it’s even a partial tear (the only way to really know is an MRI that I will not be paying for). But, it did hurt and it has kept me from running.
On my drive to the gym this morning I really wanted to turn back around and go home. I was already sore all over from the previous days, I was (am!) tired. I just didn’t want to do the gym. But, I didn’t turn around.
In fact, I decided that I would try to run! And I did. I ran the first few little laps as part of our warm up, until I tried to skip and my heel informed me that there would be *no* skipping.
The gym has been good about modifying and working around this pesky injury of mine, but it’s meant that pretty much all of my cardio has been on the elliptical trainer or the bike. I don’t like those machines anymore. I just want to run! I was stewing in those thoughts as I watched everyone else warm up.
Then, in our first cycle of exercises I was supposed to do a pull up.. Thankfully, they had some support if we weren’t strong enough to do a pull up (spoiler, I am not!). But, I wasn’t even with the support. I spent the first minute just trying to figure out how to use the help. The second round was pretty much the same. The third I just struggled… And then, my body truly betrayed me. I started tearing up.
I cry during runs. Usually if I make it farther than 9 miles, there will be tears. But, I am in my own world then. I am not in a gym with hip hop blaring surrounded by other people who *can* do a pull up. I am not frustrated by injury.
I was so very tempted to go to the bathroom and have a good cry. I was half tempted to just grab my keys and leave forever.
But, I did neither. I sucked it up, wiped my eyes and kept going.
I don’t know that there was really a victory.
I am sitting here with tears in my eyes as I replay the morning. And I know it will be very, very hard to go back tomorrow.
In case you didn’t know, MOTY = Mom of the Year.
And I fully expect the award. For reals. I survived a two week break with all of my kids home plus my extras. And my husband worked all of the weekends and we didn’t go on a trip. On top of that, I only lost my mind one day. And, even then, it was only for a few minutes. Seriously. I am waiting for my award.
I struggle with self-doubt. I wonder if it’s just because of my gender. But, I often feel less-than. I struggle with my worth. Even though I love to run & I have accomplished so much with it, I usually finish races feeling bad about what I did. It’s hard for me to not down-play. It’s even hard for me to admit that I am a runner.
All of that being said… I do have some pride. Most of it surrounds my kids!
And this week has been a good week for that!
V & B both were in their school talent show. B’s Brownie troop made it in with a little skit. Out of 50 acts that tried out, she was in one of only 12 that made it. And they did a really good job! V’s class did some line dancing… And, even though he will *not* admit it, he willingly participated and was sort of excited about his partner.
Then, this weekend we went running… V & B did a 1.5 mile run with their running club. Neither won or placed, but V worked hard! He actually beat his sister and had a decent time. B learned how to pace this year. And that is a cool thing to see!
After their race, Dave watched them so that Dan & I could run the 5k. Dan is still a speed demon. He placed third in his age group.
As we were driving away, I was telling them how cool it is to be a parent. Those moments that I get to watch them succeed are just so very cool. There’s nothing like it. I think that watching them succeed feels better than doing it myself.
All four of our babies have birthdays within a couple months. And all of their ages are really close. So, it can be confusing… Yesterday, if you’d asked me how old my kids were it would have sounded like I had twins.. 13, 13, 10 & 9. Since December 5th, I have had overlapping ages.
Today we reset until next December.
Our oldest is 14.
We have survived our first year of teen parenting.
It was not an easy year. And I don’t know that this year will be any easier.
However, I am happy to report that D survived his first year as a teen!
He is chased by the girls, admired by the boys for his running skills. He’s quiet and shy at times, but goofy and silly and loud at others. His laugh can fill a room. He challenges his teachers.. But, they all still seem to like him. He challenges us, but we do love him.
You know how the first born kid has books upon books of photos & the next kid has maybe a handful? And if there are more than 3 kids, there is no chance for that last kid? Well, that’s sort of how I have been lately! I was so good about getting some photos of d up on this page and I got all misty posting them.
Well, I did the same for V. I combed through photos and got all misty again and was all set to share them, but it just never happened. The truth? Having a kid here 5 days a week is kicking my booty! But, one of the kiddos I watch is sick. And that gives me a little breathing room. So, I did what every SAHM to school aged kids should do. I relaxed! I slept in, I did my chores at a leisurely pace and I even spent a little time sewing! And now I have a little time to blog.
Our youngest son turned 10 last month. In fact, it’s nearly been a month since his birthday! V came to us at 20 months old. And he has been a surprise in so many ways… We never thought he’d be placed with us. We had a crib ready when he was born, but they didn’t remove him. So, we were shocked when they called a year and a half later asking if we knew he was in foster care. Then he showed up a couple months later with dark blonde hair and huge blue eyes. We thought they might have the wrong kid at the wrong place. But, it turns out he was in the perfect place. He was Grandpa David’s favorite grandkid… He is Mr. Popularity. He is stubborn and smart–maybe even a little too smart! He is the most loving and gentle kid. He has a soft heart, but does protect it. And he’s so very handsome.
Happy birthday to the Vinstigator!
Wasn’t he a doll?
My 3 boys the first day that the little dude was placed with us.
And now he’s a total ham!
I have survived nearly a year of being the mother of a teenager. And tomorrow I get to start the journey of being the mother of more than one teenager. I will say, however, that this dude has already given me a taste of his teen attitude. He and I clash on humor and school and clothing. But, I know that somewhere in there is the little guy who came to us all those years ago.
I used to get teased that he never had to walk anywhere because I would happily carry him and he was happy to be carried.
He has always been quick to smile and laugh and, even though he won’t admit it, cuddle.
He is the favorite sibling of all of our other kids. He is just a nice kid (when he’s not around me! Ha!).
Happy Birthday to my David!
Now that we’re under the 90’s, we have broken out the long sleeves (for the mornings & evenings only) and I have started shopping in earnest.
I *never* pay full price. And the reason that I start shopping now is to try and get the best deals. One of my newest addictions is Ebates! If you click through Ebates (totally free site), you can get cash back from tons of stores. It’s really paid of for us big time on booking our travel!
Hope that you’re all staying warm!
One of the things that really excited me about our new school district when we moved 5 years ago was the calendar. Our school does a modified year round calendar.
That means a shorter Summer break, but longer breaks in the Fall & Spring.
Which means we get a chance to really enjoy Arizona when it’s pleasant in Arizona. It also means we can travel & not stress about rushing back.
This year we really didn’t travel, but we did what we do when we have the chance… We crammed as much fun in as possible. We went to multiple parks, we met friends at the Science Center, we ate out a million times, we did a day at Amazing Jake’s and a night at Dave & Busters, we slept over & hosted friends, we watched movies at home and at the theater.
As I am typing, we are on the road home from a couple quick days away. Heading home for one of the traditions that I hope my kids will fondly remember. For the last few years we have always had one craft day in the Fall. The last couple have been with our Girl Scout troop, but we had them before our troop, too.
We will make soap and Christmas decorations.. Possibly candles.
Wish me luck!
Results:
Cupcake Ornaments
An army of handmade soaps!
Jars halfway on their way to being transformed into snowman luminaries.
And a part of the cleanup 😉 Dishes, glitter & soap is now coating my kitchen.
But, I think they all had fun!
The sprint triathlon was yesterday morning.
With all of my races, I get nervous and can’t sleep. But, usually I am really excited, too.
This time around, I honestly wasn’t. I was just freaked out.
Danny was doing it with me and he admitted to being a little nervous (huge for my 13 year old boy to do that!). So, I was trying to keep it in check (and probably failing).
Friday night we laid out our stuff the way that we envisioned it for the race the next morning and practiced putting our shoes on. It felt silly! And, since nothing looked quite the same at the actual race, it probably was. But, I think it did help my nerves.
We got up around 5:00 in the morning.. My neighbor, the one who thought up this whole thing, loaded up our bikes into his truck and we were watching the sunrise as we drove to the race.
This entire thing was so new and foreign to me! We racked our bikes and laid out our gear for the transitions, but there was hardly any space. When Danny dropped his bike at the second transition he wasn’t even able to put it back.
For this swim, we were doing a serpentine of the pool, it was 8 x 50m laps. And they didn’t let you dive… you jumped in, one at a time, every 5 seconds roughly by pace. I knew this ahead of time, but it was so hard to envision! Dan started before me and his swim looked great. I have no clue how he did it without goggles (even with goggles I got jostled by other swimmers!), but he started ahead of me and gained ground.
When I jumped in, I a managed to inhale a ton of water. I spent most of the first lap trying to avoid choking and drowning. It was ugly! And my swim really didn’t get any better. I couldn’t get a rhythm, I kept getting trapped behind 2 slower swimmers at a time. I had a hard time breathing.
But, I will say that it didn’t wear me out! I had more laps in me. I could have gone farther/faster had I not started out in such a poor way. So, live and learn for next time.
When I made it to the first transition Dan was still there. He was a little slow getting into his running gear so we left on bikes together.
This was the last point I saw him :/
We took off on the bikes and I actually felt pretty good. I kept up a decent pace, nothing crazy, but it was ok.
I kept waiting on Dan to pass me. He never did.
Later on, I learned that his shoe lace had come undone and been caught in his chain. His chain even popped off and he took a spill.
While I was worrying about him, I kept telling myself that *someone* would help my baby. I told myself that if he were hurt they would call. If he broke down, he would get back to the transition point and someone would call.
Turns out, he was on his own, but he handled it like a champ. It just took a huge bite into his time.
I was even more worried when I didn’t see his bike at the second transition, but since I was jogging, I sent a text to Brian. Knowing that both of us were looking made me feel a tiny bit better.
The run was ok.. It wasn’t fast or really slow for me. My GPS was off so I have no clue of my actual pacing or time, but I got it done and felt great at the end.
Brian and the other kids came out to cheer and I totally teared up when I saw them. Their high 5’s gave me the boost to sprint to the end.
Danny finished within a couple minutes of me.
So very proud of that boy!
He came in 11th in his age group!
He told me he’s not super excited to do it again, but he also admitted that what he really didn’t like was waking up at 5:00. So, the second I find a race around the crack of noon, he’s all in.
