Disney on Ice

Crazy Hat and Glasses Day

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OMG I'm Jogging

Oh my god I'm jogging.

And not completely hating it.

Ben and I have been working out on the treadmill almost daily since the New Year. And about a month ago he decided he liked to run. Now he runs outside when he can, tracks his miles and times, and signed up to run a 5-K with Andy in May. And he loves it. Really loves it. Especially when the weather is good enough to run outside.

I was glad he found a workout routine he enjoyed, and I was proud of trudging along on the treadmill 30 minutes, night after night, and losing a little weight even though I hated every minute. I knew I would never run - I have always hated running. The kid who cut corners running laps in gym class - that was me. And my aversion to playing sports also had a lot to do with this dislike of running (could also be lack of coordination and skill, but probably not).

Then Ben suggested I pump up the speed on my customized workout so that I would have to jog at the highest speed, which occurs during 10 of the 30 minutes. So I did. And the first couple of weeks I just had to really power walk to get through that speed - I couldn't jog. But in the last week I have been jogging all of those 10 minutes. I huff and puff and don't think I"ll make it through, but I do. I did that four nights in a row, then had pain in my legs that kept me awake at night and so took last night off (please explain to me why it is so hard to take a night off?). Anyway, I got back on tonight, and once I got through the first several minutes, it wasn't that difficult. I may be jogging the majority of the time in a few more weeks.

I don't love it. But I think it's a workout I can keep doing for a while. And both Ben and I feel good about being healthier - in eating habits and exercise. I just hope it lasts.

Schedule Frustrations

In the last 24 hours we have had a few schedule changes that are really making things difficult around here. I know sometimes activities overlap, but in these cases, at this time yesterday everything was going to work out and now, not so much. Here was our schedule for Saturday:

9:00 Sam's last basketball game
11:00-1:00 Birthday party at Pump It Up that both kids are invited to (Ben and I were planning to go out to lunch while they party)
3:30-5:30 Lindsey's birthday party for the whole family

Busy, but everything was doable. Then Sam's coach called today. Another team had to switch games, so now Sam's team has a double header at 10 and 11, and then the coach is taking the kids out for pizza afterward since it is their last game. Great idea, except now Sam has to choose between his last basketball games and team lunch or a birthday party. And if another coach hadn't rearranged the entire schedule to be more convenient for him, we'd be fine. Sam chose the birthday party, and it was a very easy decision - he loves Pump It Up. But still, he wasn't supposed to have to choose and miss his last basketball game.

Next Saturday Maria has two things - Makenna's birthday party and a group ballet rehearsal for the recital. We've known about the party for weeks but just got the time for the rehearsal last night. The party is 10-12:30. The rehearsal is 10:30-12. So we came up with a plan that Maria will swim at the party until 11, then go to ballet until 12, then back to party for the end. Don't think the ballet teacher will be too happy, but that's what happens when they give us 10 days notice about a Saturday rehearsal. And we have nothing else the rest of that weekend, it just so happens that the two things she does have are at almost the exact same time.

Again, I am reminded about how hectic life can be with two involved children, and am glad I don't have any more to worry about - these two are keeping me pretty busy as it is!

Broken Dryer

I think I've mentioned before how I try to do laundry only one day a week, when I can. Usually in the nice weather, when the kids get dirty and muddy, or are playing soccer and baseball, I have to do mid-week laundry. But during the winter, I can usually get away with waiting until the weekend. I tend to do it all on Sunday, one load after the other, and taking everything out of the dryer immediately means we have to do very little ironing. Which is important to me.

Sunday we had Family Fun Day at the elementary in the early afternoon, so I started laundry at 7:30 a.m. so I could get the bulk of it done before we left. And I did have 4 loads of clothes washed, dried, folded and put away by 1:00. Then I had two loads of towels to do after we got back. But when I took the first set of towels out of the dryer, they were still wet. I (optimistically) assumed I had forgot to turn it on and just set if for another cycle. But then the same thing happened next time it dinged - wet towels. A little investigating determined that it was blowing air, but no heat. And I still had another sopping wet load of towels in the washer. So both bathrooms were covered in hanging towels and the heat vents were wide open to try to get them to dry. Why couldn't this have happened in July, when I could hang them outside?

Anyway, Ben scheduled a time for Sears to come Friday afternoon - I'm taking a half personal day. They would only come out on Monday or Friday, and I couldn't ask for a personal day on Monday for that afternoon. I'm just hoping when they come out they will have the correct part - we were able to tell them what the dryer was doing so hopefully they will. Both the washer and dryer are a little over 5 years old, and both have broken down in the last few months. I know that I do a lot of laundry, but it still seems like that's a little soon for both machines to have problems.

In the meantime, we are trying to make certain we can make it to the weekend without needing laundry done. The worst part is that with Ben and I working out, we have more smelly clothes that sometimes need done mid-week. It's amazing how insecure I feel without the ability to do laundry, even if I wouldn't actually do any during the week. Not having the option is driving me crazy!

Fish Tank Problem Solved?

I have written a few times about our persistent algae problem in our fish tank. Officially, it's "green water," which is green algae in the water but not growing on the sides of the tank or the stuff in the tank. We have spent a few months trying to get rid of it, using all sorts of ideas from Internet research, and nothing works. On the up side, the fish don't mind it and three are surviving - one has been with us since Thanksgiving. Ben finally asked about it at Jack's Aquarium Tuesday night. They said it sounded like phosphates in the water (not sure why our $40 water test kit does not test for phosphates), and so Ben brought them in a sample of water to test at the store. They concluded that our water does contain too much phosphate, so they sold us a special filter and said within two weeks the green water should be clear. After that, we only have to do water changes once a month (Ben had been doing weekly), and use the special filter for the first week of the month.

So Tuesday evening Ben put in the new filter. And sadly, there has been no change that we can notice. We keep telling ourselves it's only been a few days, and it's supposed to take two weeks. The fish are fine, but we would like to see them, and the water is so green that it's hard to find the fish unless they are right up against the glass.

Weekend Getaway

This weekend we planned a short 24 hour getaway with the kids. We have a 3-day weekend, and 6 more weeks until spring break, and are tired of being snowed in, so it seemed like a good time. We went to Cincinnati and visited the IKEA store, then took the kids to the Union Terminal museums today. We also stayed in a hotel last night, and the kids had a blast swimming.

We bought nothing at the IKEA store, and although we hadn't planned to, I was still glad we were so good. We met the Stauffers there, as a spur of the moment surprise, and Maria and Sam and the triplets played in the play area while we looked around. The play area kept the kids for one hour, which was just enough time for us to look at everything. Then we picked the kids up, and headed to the hotel. Luckily, the hotel was right next to a Pizzeria Uno, so after the kids had swam for about an hour, Ben walked over and picked up dinner, and then we ate it in the lobby in the Hampton (they have tables there for their breakfasts). The kids didn't even have to change out of their swimsuits. After dinner all four of us swam, and we headed back to the room around 8:00. The kids crawled into their bed around 8:30 and fell asleep on their own around 9:00, without us really having to do much except keep the TV volume low - they were exhausted. They did have a couple of problems in the night though, as Maria tries to take over the bed in her sleep and Sam finally asked me to get her back to her side. It's a queen bed but for some reason Maria tries to sleep diagonally and poor Sam is huddled on one side of the bed.

This moring after breakfast I took the kids to the pool for another hour and Ben ran on the treadmill. Then we headed to Union Terminal to the museums. We started with the Omnimax movie "Dinosaurs Alive!" which was very cool and the best thing we saw all day. The Childrens museum bored Maria fairly quickly, so after about an hour we headed to the Museum of Natural History. They had fun in the human body section there (the digestion pin-ball was a favorite) but were ready to go after another hour. At the gift shop they each picked a small Excavating kit - 2 small minerals that they have to carefully dig out of a block of dust. They have been working on them almost nonstop since we got home 2 hours ago. They saw a lot of bone digging in the movie and I guess it's proving to be as much fun as it looked.

All in all, we had a great time. The kids behaved great and are so appreciative - it's cute. They thank us for taking them to the pool, and getting them something from the gift shop. They also got along well (in spite of Maria trying to kick Sam out of bed). Hopefully we're refreshed and ready to get back to work and school on Tuesday.

Maria's Parent Teacher Conference

This afternoon I met with Maria's 4th grade teacher, Mr. Hammond, for the 2nd and final parent/teacher conference of the year. And as usual, it went very well. Basically, she's a great student and kid. Mr. Hammond showed me a writing sample, a short report on Antarctica, and the grading rubric that went with it. He told me that he rarely gives out 4's, the highest number on the rubric, unless the writing is really superior. Maria had 4's in every single category. He also mentioned that her creative writing includes quotes and great descriptive vocabulary, which is not common for her age. I believe a lot of it comes form being so well-read.

Her reading was tested last month, and she continues to improve there as well. She is at a 6th grade reading level, and he said he feels that she could probably handle some more complex vocabulary at a higher level than that. He also commended her on always doing her best work, and never hurrying to finish - "diligent" was the word he used. I was told that she is not only very academically inclined, but is polite and challenges herself with every assignment (does not have the arrogance that many kids in her situation display).

All in all, a great report and no surprise to us. We are very proud of her!

Party Boxes

For their Valentine party at school, each child makes their own box/bag to collect Valentines in and then brings it to school with them on party day. Between that and addressing 20+ Valentines, this can be a lot of work. Or it is for Maria, who carefully plans out her box - colors, designs, numbers and sizes of hearts needed, etc. She started when she was home sick on Monday and finished it one day later in the week. Her boxes have gotten better over the years, as she gets older and can do more things. But she always spent a lot of time on her box and tried to make it look really nice. Here is her box for this year:


Sam, on the other hand, is not into making his box look that great. He won't even let me cover it with colored paper to cover up the "Converse" from the shoes the box used to carry. I can say that the decorations on his box were designed and executed entirely on his own. I thought maybe it was only half done, until I asked him about it tonight and he told me in no uncertain terms that the box is finished and will be going to school just like that on Friday. But it's his box, and if he's happy with it, then so am I. This is his box:


Another example for me on the difference between boys and girls. At least my boy and girl.

Sick Day

Last night was Sam's turn to be sick. He was fine until after dinner, when he laid down on the couch, covered himself up, and went to sleep. At 6:00. So I checked him for fever and he woke up. He felt warm, but didn't run an actual fever until right before bed. He carried a bowl around with him, and mostly laid around until bedtime last night. We were sure he would get up sick in the night, but slept through, and whenever we checked on him he was warm but not alarmingly so. And he kept sleeping so we let him sleep.

He got up at 6:15, flushed and hot, and the thermometer read 102. So I gave him Motrin (we both had to talk him into it - he is so stubborn!) and Ben stayed home with him. He never did get ill, and has eaten a normal lunch and dinner. He hasn't had a fever since this afternoon, and goes in shifts of being up and playing, and then laying down in front of the T.V. His voice is a little hoarse, although he never showed any other signs of a cold. So we're hoping he feels up to going to basketball at 8:30 in the morning, and then swim lessons at 11:00.

Right now we're having a popcorn movie night watching Madagascar 2. And hopefully everyone will be able to stay healthy now!

Maria's Report Card

Click on image to enlarge.

Lost Teeth

Today both kids lost their loose teeth - Sam lost his at school, and Maria lost hers on the way home from school. Apparently Sam lost his at lunch when taking a bite of his peanut butter sandwich. He also said that he dropped it and couldn't find it and cried, but Ms. Janice looked for it in the cafeteria and found it on the floor. (I asked him if he thanked her - can you imagine how hard it was to find a baby tooth on the cafeteria floor - and he said he forgot!) So the crisis was averted, and he came home proudly showing us his special tooth box with his tooth inside. And now hopefully the permanent tooth behind it will move into the correct space.

Maria's tooth, which has been very loose as well, fell out (probably with some help) on the way home from school. She has been playing with it a lot lately and I knew it would be soon. She feels better today too, and is completely back to normal. Yesterday she slept from 3:30-6:45 in the afternoon - right through dinner. When I woke her, she had a fever of about 101, but ate some dinner after more Motrin took effect. We were wondering if she could go to school today, but when she got up she had no fever and ate a big breakfast and has been great ever since. Glad it was such a short virus, and we're hoping no one else gets it!

Sam said, "The tooth fairy is going to be busy tonight!"

Another Stomach Bug

This morning Maria woke me at 3:30ish saying she had a stomach ache and thought she was going to be sick. Eventually she was, and said she felt better, but after we went back to bed she got up again about 45 minutes later. So about 5:00 we decided to stay up and I put in for a sub for the day. She started to run a low-grade fever, which she finally took Motrin for around 8:00. Once the Motrin kicked in, she tried some dry cereal for breakfast and has been perfectly normal ever since.

I don't know if it was a super short bug or something she ate last night. We had our special Super Bowl dinner - a Team platter from Boston's with potato skins, chicken wings, pizza, and mozzarella sticks. Not exactly healthy, but it's one night a year. We all ate the same food, though, and everyone else was fine.

The bummer about the timing was that the kids were supposed to have a double play date with Makenna and Gage - they were going to go home with Dolly after school and be brought back around 7:00. And Ben and I were going to take advantage and go out to dinner. So we cancelled since only Sam could go, and rescheduled for next week. It's also ironic that we have been home for the last 5 days, and everyone was healthy. When it's time to go back to school, that's when Maria gets sick!

On an up note, I was able to get online to get the last of our 1099's, and then completed our taxes on Turbo Tax while Maria was stilling feeling bad this morning. First time I've done them by myself, but Turbo Tax does make it easy and I was done in a little less than two hours. Yay!

Cute Sam moment: He decided to root for the Cardinals in the Super Bowl last night because "they look kinda like the Redhawks." The fact that Big Ben actually was a Redhawk - not exactly common for a Super Bowl team - was not going to sway his decision in the least. But as Dugo pointed out, at least he didn't pick the Cardinals because they're the same color as the Buckeyes!