On this day of Thanksgiving I wanted to take a moment and be thankful myself. I so often joke about my family and the situations we find ourselves in or I complain about things, but today I wanted everyone to know that I do truly appreciate my life. I have so many things to be thankful for and there are so many people who are not as blessed as I am. Thank you God for the bountiful blessings you have given me. May I truly appreciate them each and every day. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Senior Cross Country Banquet
Monday night we went to Belle's last country banquet. It was certainly a bittersweet experience in so many ways. You already know that this wasn't the senior season she hoped for personally, but the team overall had a fantastic season winning their district, region and placing 5th in the state. While Belle wasn't one of the top runners she certainly contributed in her own way. She was a superb teammate and always supported her team. She pushed her faster teammates to do there best all the time and encouraged her slower teammates as well. While I may be an insane sports mom, I do realize that high school sports is about much, much more than athletics. It is about being part of something bigger than yourself and learning how to balance school and sport. It is about belonging in a way that only being a part of a school group or team allows you to belong. Most of all it is about achieving your personal best.
So as Belle moves on I reflect on cross country and hope she learned life lessons from it. We do have a couple more milestones this senior year, but the clock is ticking and soon my last bird will fly away. I will have to cultivate new obsessions since there will be no daily sports fix here at home. I am working on my application for grad. school. At least it will keep me busy. Life moves on.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
We Really Tried
Today we were blessed with new living room furniture. It has been a while coming and we really needed it (more on that in a minute) so Peter Pan and I were extremely excited. Our old sofa/sectional was too big for our room. It always had been and we should have returned it as soon as we bought it, however we don't really think through problems that way. In any case it was too big and now it has become sort of stinky and stained. I could get it clean if I really scrubbed it, but to be honest it was sort of an eyesore. It also wasn't really comfortable. Even the recliner was a bit bumpy. I think the killer moment was when poor Fenway had her urinary tract infection and, you guessed it, peed all over it. I never really could get it back to normal after that. Since we are getting new floors (another story and thank you broken dishwasher!) we decided it was time to get rid of our old furniture.
Peter Pan called the Salvation Army and made an appointment for them to come and get the old sofa. I couldn't wait to get home from school to see my empty room, ready for new furniture. I arrived home, having spent my day on the coldest and wettest field trip in the history of Kindergarten, to see Belle sitting on our old sofa reading. "What are you doing?' I exclaimed. "Reading" she answered back sarcastically not realizing that the sofa was supposed to be gone. "I know that, but why are you on the sofa?" Now she was totally confused and answered with something about where else should she sit. Through this whole conversation there was no sign of Peter Pnn. I tried (sort of lamely) to explain to Belle that I was trying to figure out the sofa situation and set off in search of Peter Pan.
He was in bed (which was where I wanted to be, I was freezing!) "I tripped on your shoe when I was bringing the laundry up. I hurt my back." So it was my fault, whatever, I asked about the sofa. "Oh, yeah, the Salvation Army came and they won't take it." Huh? Won't take a free sofa. Nope, it had too many stains. In other words my sofa was too disgusting for even the Salvation Army to take it. As we were talking the furniture store called to confirm our delivery. "No, no, no. You can't bring it tomorrow. Yes, I know we scheduled it, but we have had an emergency. We'll reschedule," was my sort of paniced response. Peter Pan asked why I said we had an emergency and I told him it was the first thing that popped into my head and I just sort of blurted it out. So we were back to square one.
Yesterday he called ReStore and set up a pick up for our old sofa. We were a little anxious. Would they take it? Would it be too dirty? This morning they called and unfortunately there were no drivers available. They wanted to know if we could bring it down. Well sure, but will you take it. Turns out that NO they don't want our yucky sofa either. So Peter Pan and I had to make 2 trips to the dump to get rid of the sofa. This really bothered me because with a little TLC it could have been usable.
It turns out we were not the only sofa pitchers today. There were several people at the dump discarding sofas and some of them looked pretty good (the sofas I mean). I was really bothered now. Americans waste a lot of stuff. It is a shame. I just want to state for the record that we really did try to find a new home for our old sofa. Not hard enough I guess.
The best part of the story: while we were driving to the dump the second time Peter Pan says (and I am not making this up), "This is sort of fun, like we are on a date!" Are you kidding me? The dump? No, it isn't really sort of fun. No, this in no way qualifies as a date! Peter Pan needs some retraining! In any case, our new sofa, love seat and chair arrived this afternoon and although we had to do some rearranging our living room looks great. Now if we can just keep the dogs off of them.....
Peter Pan called the Salvation Army and made an appointment for them to come and get the old sofa. I couldn't wait to get home from school to see my empty room, ready for new furniture. I arrived home, having spent my day on the coldest and wettest field trip in the history of Kindergarten, to see Belle sitting on our old sofa reading. "What are you doing?' I exclaimed. "Reading" she answered back sarcastically not realizing that the sofa was supposed to be gone. "I know that, but why are you on the sofa?" Now she was totally confused and answered with something about where else should she sit. Through this whole conversation there was no sign of Peter Pnn. I tried (sort of lamely) to explain to Belle that I was trying to figure out the sofa situation and set off in search of Peter Pan.
He was in bed (which was where I wanted to be, I was freezing!) "I tripped on your shoe when I was bringing the laundry up. I hurt my back." So it was my fault, whatever, I asked about the sofa. "Oh, yeah, the Salvation Army came and they won't take it." Huh? Won't take a free sofa. Nope, it had too many stains. In other words my sofa was too disgusting for even the Salvation Army to take it. As we were talking the furniture store called to confirm our delivery. "No, no, no. You can't bring it tomorrow. Yes, I know we scheduled it, but we have had an emergency. We'll reschedule," was my sort of paniced response. Peter Pan asked why I said we had an emergency and I told him it was the first thing that popped into my head and I just sort of blurted it out. So we were back to square one.
Yesterday he called ReStore and set up a pick up for our old sofa. We were a little anxious. Would they take it? Would it be too dirty? This morning they called and unfortunately there were no drivers available. They wanted to know if we could bring it down. Well sure, but will you take it. Turns out that NO they don't want our yucky sofa either. So Peter Pan and I had to make 2 trips to the dump to get rid of the sofa. This really bothered me because with a little TLC it could have been usable.
It turns out we were not the only sofa pitchers today. There were several people at the dump discarding sofas and some of them looked pretty good (the sofas I mean). I was really bothered now. Americans waste a lot of stuff. It is a shame. I just want to state for the record that we really did try to find a new home for our old sofa. Not hard enough I guess.
The best part of the story: while we were driving to the dump the second time Peter Pan says (and I am not making this up), "This is sort of fun, like we are on a date!" Are you kidding me? The dump? No, it isn't really sort of fun. No, this in no way qualifies as a date! Peter Pan needs some retraining! In any case, our new sofa, love seat and chair arrived this afternoon and although we had to do some rearranging our living room looks great. Now if we can just keep the dogs off of them.....
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
This is Not What I Planned On
So it is November and I am not having the Fall I had planned. I was anticipating going to a lot of VMI games, home and away, watching Grafton Cross Country, and going to regionals with Belle. None of that has happened. Injuries have stolen it away from Belle and Moose. So here I sit on November 18 thinking about would/could or even should have been. It is a little bit depressing.
Moose has definitely had it the worst. He has just finished having surgery on his preseason injury. Peter Pan and I went to Roanoke to take care of him and bring him home for a couple days of recovery and pampering. He tore his sub-scapularis tendon and had to have it repaired. The doctor said it looked "shredded" but he also felt like the repair went well. He had to go back to VMI pretty quickly and I hated to let him go. I just wanted him home where I could take care of him and make sure he was comfortable (comfort and VMI really don't fit together.) He has made the best of it. While he can't do much with his arm, he is really working his legs and when I talked to him last night he was in an ice bath because his leg workout was so intense. He is trying to actually lose some weight and has been pretty successful at that as well. Making up class work has been harder and he had to drop a class because of the surgery. Hopefully the rest will be okay, but we will see.
Belle finally got to run the last 2 district races of the season, but of course she wasn't really in shape. She didn't have great times and wasn't even in her own teams top 10. That wasn't how she wanted to finish her senior year. And of course she had decided not to even attempt skating at regionals. She hadn't jumped for most of the summer so she know that she wouldn't be ready. Financially I was glad, the regionals trip is always really expensive, but it just wasn't what I planned for her last fall at home. I am hopeful that she will have a better track season than ever this year, having not overtrained through the fall, but she is fighting bronchitis and it just isn't going away so I am hoping that indoor track won't be off to a rotten start as well. She and I are planning a quick trip to Boston to look at some schools. The stress of planning for next year is difficult for her. She has a lot of options and doesn't want to make the wrong choice. I don't think there is a "wrong" choice, but I have a lot of hind sight (I have a lot of "hind" in general.)
So onward we go, and I guess hope springs eternal because I am already planning for next fall when I will be juggling VMI football and whatever Belle chooses. Life keeps moving forward, regardless of setbacks so you just travel with it. Now if I could get my house together before the holidays I would be in business, but that is a whole different blog!
Moose has definitely had it the worst. He has just finished having surgery on his preseason injury. Peter Pan and I went to Roanoke to take care of him and bring him home for a couple days of recovery and pampering. He tore his sub-scapularis tendon and had to have it repaired. The doctor said it looked "shredded" but he also felt like the repair went well. He had to go back to VMI pretty quickly and I hated to let him go. I just wanted him home where I could take care of him and make sure he was comfortable (comfort and VMI really don't fit together.) He has made the best of it. While he can't do much with his arm, he is really working his legs and when I talked to him last night he was in an ice bath because his leg workout was so intense. He is trying to actually lose some weight and has been pretty successful at that as well. Making up class work has been harder and he had to drop a class because of the surgery. Hopefully the rest will be okay, but we will see.
Belle finally got to run the last 2 district races of the season, but of course she wasn't really in shape. She didn't have great times and wasn't even in her own teams top 10. That wasn't how she wanted to finish her senior year. And of course she had decided not to even attempt skating at regionals. She hadn't jumped for most of the summer so she know that she wouldn't be ready. Financially I was glad, the regionals trip is always really expensive, but it just wasn't what I planned for her last fall at home. I am hopeful that she will have a better track season than ever this year, having not overtrained through the fall, but she is fighting bronchitis and it just isn't going away so I am hoping that indoor track won't be off to a rotten start as well. She and I are planning a quick trip to Boston to look at some schools. The stress of planning for next year is difficult for her. She has a lot of options and doesn't want to make the wrong choice. I don't think there is a "wrong" choice, but I have a lot of hind sight (I have a lot of "hind" in general.)
So onward we go, and I guess hope springs eternal because I am already planning for next fall when I will be juggling VMI football and whatever Belle chooses. Life keeps moving forward, regardless of setbacks so you just travel with it. Now if I could get my house together before the holidays I would be in business, but that is a whole different blog!
Monday, October 3, 2011
I Can Finally Talk About It
So now that it is starting to recede into the background I can start to talk about that horrible night last week. It actually started off at the beginning of September. First it was one loss, then another and suddenly a 9 game wild card lead was gone. If you haven't figured it out yet I am talking about the horrible, history making slide of the Red Sox.
I can't believe it even now. It seemed like such a sure thing only to be gone in a gut wrenching, infuriating lack of playing. So who is to blame for this awful mess. The first casualty is already gone and I am sorry to see Terry Francona go. Even if he looked more like a librarian than baseball manager I really liked his style. He was cool.
On paper the Sox should be at the top of the heap, but paper doesn't win games. Heart, soul and effort win games. So did they give up? Who knows. I know it was painful to watch. I also know that somewhere there are lessons to be learned. It isn't always about having the best players or the highest payroll. At some point pure desire and drive play a big role. This is a good lesson for every athlete competing in any sport. Keep playing and trying, keep improving, victory is there for the taking.
Okay, so maybe the victory is not always the World Series. Maybe it is finishing the race, playing the game, completing the event. There is victory to be had in that as well. I may be an insane sports mom, but I actually do know the true value of sports! Sadly the Red Sox don't seem to!
I can't believe it even now. It seemed like such a sure thing only to be gone in a gut wrenching, infuriating lack of playing. So who is to blame for this awful mess. The first casualty is already gone and I am sorry to see Terry Francona go. Even if he looked more like a librarian than baseball manager I really liked his style. He was cool.
On paper the Sox should be at the top of the heap, but paper doesn't win games. Heart, soul and effort win games. So did they give up? Who knows. I know it was painful to watch. I also know that somewhere there are lessons to be learned. It isn't always about having the best players or the highest payroll. At some point pure desire and drive play a big role. This is a good lesson for every athlete competing in any sport. Keep playing and trying, keep improving, victory is there for the taking.
Okay, so maybe the victory is not always the World Series. Maybe it is finishing the race, playing the game, completing the event. There is victory to be had in that as well. I may be an insane sports mom, but I actually do know the true value of sports! Sadly the Red Sox don't seem to!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
The Most Expensive Gum Ever
Last week was "Back to School" night at school. This is a great chance to see my students and their parents and enjoy a chance to get to know them. I had planned to work through until the PTA meeting and back to school night. I had several things to take care of and this was a great time to do it. I actually had a great evening and headed home tired, but satisfied.
When I got home Belle and Peter Pan wanted to order Domino's, which was fine. Belle was just walking in the door as well, she had just gotten a haircut. So, since it was late and we were tired we got a pizza, watched some TV and enjoyed some conversation. About the time I finished my pizza I looked at the coffee table and noticed that 2 packs of sugar free gum I had left there were missing.
Of course neither Belle or Peter Pan had any idea where they were, and a quick look didn't provide any clues. Fenway quickly solved the mystery by throwing up in her crate (she is really good about going to her crate if she is sick). I knew as soon as I walked in the room that she was the gum thief. You could smell the peppermint. I cleaned it up and made an annoyed comment on my facebook only to find out that Xylitol (the sugar alcohol that makes it sugar free) is incredibly dangerous to dogs.
So, at 8:45 on a Tuesday night Fenway and I were off to the Emergency Vet. I was there till after 11:00 and Fenway got to spend 24 hours there. Poor baby had to have her blood sugar monitored (that seems to be a theme at our house these days) and her liver function checked as well. She had to have an IV for at least 24 hours. Who knew that gum could be so dangerous!!!!!
Tomorrow she goes to our family vet for one more check of her liver function. The final total for the 2 packs of gum- $1.75 for the gum, $612 to the E vet, $150 to our for follow up, for a total of about $764. I don't think I can afford to chew gum at that price!
When I got home Belle and Peter Pan wanted to order Domino's, which was fine. Belle was just walking in the door as well, she had just gotten a haircut. So, since it was late and we were tired we got a pizza, watched some TV and enjoyed some conversation. About the time I finished my pizza I looked at the coffee table and noticed that 2 packs of sugar free gum I had left there were missing.
Of course neither Belle or Peter Pan had any idea where they were, and a quick look didn't provide any clues. Fenway quickly solved the mystery by throwing up in her crate (she is really good about going to her crate if she is sick). I knew as soon as I walked in the room that she was the gum thief. You could smell the peppermint. I cleaned it up and made an annoyed comment on my facebook only to find out that Xylitol (the sugar alcohol that makes it sugar free) is incredibly dangerous to dogs.
So, at 8:45 on a Tuesday night Fenway and I were off to the Emergency Vet. I was there till after 11:00 and Fenway got to spend 24 hours there. Poor baby had to have her blood sugar monitored (that seems to be a theme at our house these days) and her liver function checked as well. She had to have an IV for at least 24 hours. Who knew that gum could be so dangerous!!!!!
Tomorrow she goes to our family vet for one more check of her liver function. The final total for the 2 packs of gum- $1.75 for the gum, $612 to the E vet, $150 to our for follow up, for a total of about $764. I don't think I can afford to chew gum at that price!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
I'm Back
So, I know I have been absent for the last few weeks. There has been a LOT going on. I will get to all of it in time but the brief version is, school started, I got sick, the kids are still busy with sports, and the dogs are causing issues.
The main reason for my absence has been getting back into the swing of teaching Kindergarten. I always forget how draining the start of school can be. Plus we are making some curriculum switches this year to try and make the children more successful so I have really been working my tail off to stay caught up. Fortunately I once again have an amazing class. They are really cute, sweet and fantastically well behaved. It helps a ton to have a class like that.
On the fifth day of school I went home with what I thought was a stomach virus on steroids. It was not a stomach virus, and my years of self neglect have taken a toll. My blood sugar was through the roof so I have officially been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. No more self neglect. I am embarking on eating right and exercising. I no longer have a choice. Fortunately Belle can drive herself to practice now so I don't need to be a taxi service which allows me more free time. I am struggling with this new lifestyle, but I already feel much better and hope that it continues. I will keep you all updated as I progress. The exercise will be the hardest part for me, it has been a long time since I did anything but warm the benches, but I can't wait to see where this will take me in the next year. Well, that, and I really already miss a couple of things like funnel cake and caramel apples. Life goes on though.
Belle and Moose are working hard at school and sports. Both seem to be doing well. Moose is struggling behind several scholarship players and is frustrated at a lack of playing time, but he is working on extra conditioning to hopefully help him improve for next year. He is studying and trying to get a job in the mess hall to earn some extra cash. Belle is finally healthy enough to run and will hopefully break into the top ten for her school at the next race. She is starting back on her Ice Dancing as well and has signed up to be part of US Figure Skating National Solo Dance Series next year.
Peter Pan is still job hunting and is now looking at going back to school to maybe broaden the hiring opportunities. It is not a great time to be looking for a job, but I know the right one is out there.
So, that is where we all are. I have a great dog story, but it will have to wait for another blog. I am not sure I have the energy tonight to relate it all. Let me just say that it was quite the learning experience and you won't want to miss it.
The main reason for my absence has been getting back into the swing of teaching Kindergarten. I always forget how draining the start of school can be. Plus we are making some curriculum switches this year to try and make the children more successful so I have really been working my tail off to stay caught up. Fortunately I once again have an amazing class. They are really cute, sweet and fantastically well behaved. It helps a ton to have a class like that.
On the fifth day of school I went home with what I thought was a stomach virus on steroids. It was not a stomach virus, and my years of self neglect have taken a toll. My blood sugar was through the roof so I have officially been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. No more self neglect. I am embarking on eating right and exercising. I no longer have a choice. Fortunately Belle can drive herself to practice now so I don't need to be a taxi service which allows me more free time. I am struggling with this new lifestyle, but I already feel much better and hope that it continues. I will keep you all updated as I progress. The exercise will be the hardest part for me, it has been a long time since I did anything but warm the benches, but I can't wait to see where this will take me in the next year. Well, that, and I really already miss a couple of things like funnel cake and caramel apples. Life goes on though.
Belle and Moose are working hard at school and sports. Both seem to be doing well. Moose is struggling behind several scholarship players and is frustrated at a lack of playing time, but he is working on extra conditioning to hopefully help him improve for next year. He is studying and trying to get a job in the mess hall to earn some extra cash. Belle is finally healthy enough to run and will hopefully break into the top ten for her school at the next race. She is starting back on her Ice Dancing as well and has signed up to be part of US Figure Skating National Solo Dance Series next year.
Peter Pan is still job hunting and is now looking at going back to school to maybe broaden the hiring opportunities. It is not a great time to be looking for a job, but I know the right one is out there.
So, that is where we all are. I have a great dog story, but it will have to wait for another blog. I am not sure I have the energy tonight to relate it all. Let me just say that it was quite the learning experience and you won't want to miss it.
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