A Nice Weekend...

....so far, the weekend has been good! Friday night found me in my kitchen with my neighbor and a bottle of wine (...and later on a bottle of sake and some Coors Light for homemade sake bombs)...and a box of whoopie pies. We've decided that a bottle of wine and whoopie pies might be a recipe for a good time. *winks* But my neighbor and I laughed and drank and giggled while the kids played hard and long into the night.

...needless to say, Saturday wasn't as much fun with the KIDS as Friday night... for they were tired and emotional messes. But Saturday afternoon was fun, for my friend Judy came over to craft with me. It had seriously been nearly six months since my last crafting experience, so this was long overdue and more than welcome. We had a seriously good time, and you can find the results of my efforts here.... Upon discovering that we'd left the grill on and couldn't make the brats we'd intended, we made impromptu plans to eat at Steak 'n Shake with Judy and her family. It was fun and relaxing. After supper, we all hit the sack pretty early.

...this morning was the kids' first Sunday school morning of the year. While the kids were at their class, Aaron and I hit Starbucks and had a mini-date. The kids did really well at church this morning. Usually about the time communion hits, they are ready to go home. Today was no different, but the drama wasn't as significant as it usually is. So that was nice.

...Today finds Aaron at Fantasy Football draft day.... I tell you, the man has more twinkle in his eye in talking about the draft than he had on our wedding day or on the day of any of the births of our children. It's truly funny. So he's going to be gone for the afternoon. The kids and I are going to be going to Collin's Boy Scout Court of Honor. Collin will be getting some merit badges, but not rank advancement (that was earlier this year), so it's OK that Aaron won't be there. I really wish I had a "signature dish," because the Court of Honor is a pitch-in picnic. I need to channel my inner-Judy.

Decisions, Decisions....

I have a little bit of money earmarked for a vacation. When I put it in my savings account, the intention was to take a family vacation. Of course, we've tried to take the kids different places over the past six months... all local. We have a membership to Conner Prairie and have gone a few times....they complained because they had to walk. We have a zoo membership...I think they did a little better with that. We went to a festival... they complained because they had to walk. We went to Chicago... they complained again.

I have threatened a few times that I would just leave the kids and go on a vacation with Aaron. I was joking, really. But after we went away earlier this month just the two of us, I've thought more about it. Collin is going to be going on a wonderful vacation over Fall Break....Dude's going to California with one of his good friends. The twins are still too young to really enjoy a big vacation, in my opinion. They like to go places, but it becomes less of a good time when the complaining and ungrateful behavior sets in.

So here's where my delimma hits. There is an opportunity to go to Las Vegas for a karate tournament the first weekend of Spring Break next year. I would really love to go. But should I spend my earmarked money on myself and Aaron (cos you bet your bippy that he'd be going with me!)? Or should I save it for the kids?

Decisions, decisions..... more to follow on this topic, I'm sure!

I Couldn't Have Had More Fun If I'd Tried....

...Yesterday found me in Columbus, Indiana at the National Guard Armory. It was my very first live MMA fight, and the bonus is that one of my very best sparring partners was participating in his first cagefight. To me, this was a huge deal, for it took such guts to sign up and actually DO it. We found out late on Wednesday that he was actually going to do it, and by Thursday night, we had laid out the plans that Aaron and I were actually going to be able to go.

...It was so very nice to hang out and have fun with my karate buddies OUTSIDE the dojo. We're all kindred spirits who care about one another on and off the mat. We laughed, drank, cheered, and had a fabulous time.

....This is Gary, walking up to the ring. He won in the first round by TKO. I couldn't be more proud of him. He showed up and really made us proud by turning it on in the octagon. You would never know how humble and gentle-spirited he is if you saw him fight. But he is. He was as thankful for us to be there as we were happy to be there.

Soccer and Cage Fighting and Cancer....

...they really have nothing to do with eachother, but I wanted to make note of Byers' current events.

...I signed the twins up for soccer recently. Practices start the first week of September, and the games will last through October. I was really thinking that they'd be playing boy/girl soccer at this age, so that we could get them on the same team and that they would have the same schedule. Alas, my wish did not come true. They will be playing on separate teams, for they have separated the sexes by this age group. Am quite nervous as to what the schedule will hold. Between Boy Scouts, karate, Aaron's guitar lessons and soccer, I'm really quite certain that our schedule will be nutty. Who knows? Maybe my worries will be for naught, but I do foresee some scheduling madness in my immediate future!

...Tonight, Aaron and I are going with a group of my karate buddies to see one of our own do his first cage fight. I'm way excited to see it and to spend time with my karate friends outside the dojo.

...And last, but certainly not least, I want to ask for positive thoughts and prayers for one of our relatives. He's eight months to the day older than Collin, and was recently diagnosed with a nasty form of bone cancer. He's started chemotherapy recently, and has already been feeling the effects of it. Please keep their family in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this. Since his cancer is localized to the tumor at this point, they feel positive. But the harsh reality is that it is cancer, which leaves room for uncertainty.

Who Needs Sleep?

...Am totally reminded of the Barenaked Ladies song that came out in about 1998.... At about 8 o'clock, all I wanted to do was to crawl in bed and go to sleep! I'd had a great workout that day, and I was dog-ass tired. Alas, the bed needed to be made and the laundry folded before I could go to sleep. Around ten o'clock, I'd folded most (who the hell wants to fold the whites and sheets so late at night anyway) and Aaron helped me make our bed (we have a super-thick mattress and even after ten years, we've yet to find a bottom sheet that actually fits the stupid thing). I finally crawl into bed (nothing like crawling into a freshly made bed!). And then spend the rest of the night tossing and turning. No workout for me this morning...

...What's funny is that I logged onto Facebook this morning, it seems like many people had the same affliction.... Is there some sort of atmospheric shift?

Feeling Fine....

....I had a fantastic weekend. Friday night, I went to sparring class and hung out at home with the kids. Later in the evening, my friend Beth and her friend Suzanne came to my house to spend the night. They live north of Fort Wayne. And they wanted to go to a hot air balloon launch at the state fairgrounds, which started before 7. So I told them they could crash at my house. It was fun to catch up and not have to hurry.

...Saturday, I slept in... ahh sweet sleep! Then I worked out... one week of P90X in the record books! After hosing off, we went to Wal-Mart to pick up some necessities... aka... spend all our money. In the evening, we had Alaina and her fiancee Tim over for a fire pit. We also had Steph, Paul, and Maggie; Matt and Renee; and Judy and her boys over. It was a nice, relaxing evening.

....Today we got up and went to church as a family. Then I went to the dojo of some awesome people I've met through the tournament circuit for a sparring party. It was an awesome learning experience! Their caring and sharing spirit are what makes the martial arts so wonderful. They taught me a lot, and I had a blast. Hope to be able to work out with them again. After a few minutes at home, we went to the sprinkler park to pick Erin up from a birthday party... the boys hadn't been yet, so we called up a friend for each of them and brought them with us. They had a blast. Melissa and her boys met up with us there, and we hung around, chatting and watching our kids in action.

.... I'm feeling very blessed in life right now.

First Day of School....

Collin... the seventh grader! He was so nervous to start the day off. By the end of the day yesterday, he was wiped out. He only has one teacher that he says he doesn't care for. Not too shabby. By the way, the poor kid gets on the bus before seven in the morning.... so there was no way I was going to go outside with him!

















.... I love it when they do this. This was their first picture...













....standing by the bus stop, all decked out in their new duds!

A New Blog....

...since the past few years have been mostly surrounding my karate lifestyle and whatever whim of fitness I've chosen, I've started a new blog. So I will still periodically write here... for those two of you still reading me... and I will post, probably more frequently, here.

Things I've Pondered Recently....

1. Teaching a kid to tie shoes is hard work. Teaching two simultaneously is just another plight of a mom of multiples. No wonder Kate is such a grumpy mess. Imagine six simultaneously. We spent about twenty minutes on this last night, and there was weeping and gnashing of teeth. We still have a way to go....
2. Plyometrics will never get easier. Ever.
3. Flax seed oil is a wonder drug. My cholesterol has gone from 213 to 182 in the few months I've been taking it.
4. Concentrating on positives is key to happiness. There's plenty of shit to go around, but if we dwell on that and concentrate only on that, we might as well round up and slit our wrists. Concentrate on positives, work on the negatives as you can. If you don't like something about your life, work your ass off to change it.
5. Attitudes are contagious. See Number 4.
6. It's very important to have time alone as a couple. We had a night away this past weekend, and it was fabulous to only be with eachother.
7. I have a lot of great friends. Friends that will go above and beyond. Friends who will go with me to give blood so that we can get tickets to see a concert. Friends who will watch my kids with no hesitation, and then give me dinner to boot. Friends who listen and laugh.
8. Making happy memories for my kids is important. And it doesn't have to be big. Some of our best times right now have been walking around our neighborhood together. The kids ride their bikes, and Aaron and I huff and puff behind them, doing our best to keep them in sight. They love it and look forward to it. Good stuff.