Monday, May 21, 2012

Warrior Dash

So, my running story continues with my current running plans and adventures...

These days I try to run 3-4 times a week. I usually aim for 2.5-3 miles, though I have had to quickly grab 2 miles and have pushed 4.

I would LOVE to work myself up to a 10K next April, but we'll see.

In the meantime, the 5K run has become "old hat", so I guess I felt the need for a twist?

Or maybe I was going through the winter blues when I registered in February?

Either way, last weekend I completed the Warrior Dash with 5 other friends, including my adventurous, "now a runner too", husband!  (He just completed the couch potato to 5K...what a way to celebrate!)

We all wore orange for a little team spirit...nice and clean orange shirts before the race!



The race itself consisted of all sorts of climbing obstacles, cargo nets, slip and slide, muddy nuttiness, and such. While I was soaked from head to toe from the muddy puddle at the bottom of the slip and slide, I didn't get muddy until the pit at the end. This pit was about 2 feet deep and the bottom was a slippery tarp of sorts. You had to crawl through this mud mush (NOT muddy water...more like muddy pudding nastiness) to the end. There was barbed wire above the pit, lest you think you might walk instead.



 Getting out wasn't so easy either in the muddy, slippery mess...

 

But we all survived and had a blast!


After a hose down (literally), we got cleaned up and enjoyed the atmosphere for a bit before heading to Panera and then home.

 

We had a GREAT time!

It was a blast, and we all hope to do it again next year. I was particularly thankful for a female in the crew who trained for the run and was nutty enough to do this with me!  The six of us are eager to plan another crazy adventure soon!

Of course, our family is going to enjoy a bit of an adventure when we participate in the DC Color Run in October. This adventure will include the girls with Eric and I. We hope it might inspire some little runners in the house and we can enjoy a family sport together!

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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The way you were created

Dear T (age 7),

I have not met anyone who feels things as deeply as you.  Your sorrow, your joy, your love, and your fears run DEEP.   And we see it in so many ways in your life. 

The one that comes to mind daily is the way you struggle with goodbyes.  You still chase us down the moment you think it might be time for us to leave and begin…

When are you leaving?  When will you be back?  What time will I see you?  How many hours is that?

Bye.  Love you.  Miss you.  Mom.  Bye.  Love you.  Miss you.  Mom.  Look.  Bye.  Love you.  Miss you.

With hug upon hug. 

And admittedly, it drives us all batty.  You interrupt conversations to begin your dialogue.  It is hard for Daddy and I to catch up on things that need to be addressed before one of us is leaving. 

I find myself saying, “That is enough T.  You said Goodbye.  Now you have to let me talk to Daddy.  Go back in the house!” 

I mean, enough is enough!  Often, I am only going up the street for a quick errand at the store. 

The goodbye production drives my logical, left-brained, fact-driven adult mind crazy.

I am leaving.  I will be back in less than 10 minutes.  It is not a big deal!

But it is the same big deal to you every time.  Three days or 10 minutes doesn’t seem to matter.  They both represent good-byes. 

And it isn’t just with people…

You have a hard time giving away pictures and cards you create for people.  You invest so much of yourself in the pictures that you don’t want to part with them.  You always ask me, “Do you think they’ll keep this?”  It pains you to think someone might throw it away.

In an effort to help you part with your pictures and cards, we began taking pictures of them so that you could always see them again if you wanted to.   Interestingly enough, the picture taking seems to be enough and you have never asked to see the pictures again.

Here is your card for Mrs. Tandi, your bible school teacher.

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I used to think that all of this drama had to be a game, some annoying habit you developed.  I used to think I could some how convince you to stop…

I am only going up the street.  I’ll be right back.  I already said goodbye.

But for you, it isn’t a game and it isn’t going anywhere.  You feel things more deeply than many folks.  It might be part fear, part love, and part anxiety.  Whatever it is, you don’t “control” it well and it just spills out.

That’s the hard part.  The spilling out of these uncontrollable desires to have your very deep feelings addressed don’t seem logical to me.

In fact, this past weekend I was going away for two nights.  You drew me a picture so that I would “remember you” and you asked me to draw one for you.  I forgot while I was packing the night before, but you didn’t.  The next day you reminded me over and over until I grabbed a post-it note and a sharpie marker about 10 minutes before I had to leave.  I made two quick stick figures and labeled them “Mom” and “T”.  Then I wrote, “I love you T” and handed it to you.

Admittedly, I was more frustrated than anything else.  I just wanted to get the final stuff done and I had a 7 year old begging for a picture so she could “remember me”.   AHHHH!

At some point on the trip I felt bad about how I neglected your feelings.  I told my friend she had to drive safely because this could NOT be the last picture you were left with from your mother!  Thankfully, I made it  home in one piece!

That night when I was tucking you in bed, I saw that lame post-it note in your bed.  You showed me how you kept it so you could remember me at night.

*sigh

You are unique and so different from your “less emotional” Mommy.

And I am learning.

In fact, on my weekend trip, one of the speakers said that the “characteristics of my children right now are the seeds of who they will become”.  Right now these behaviors are “too big” for you and you handle them as a 7 year old, spilling them forth with little self-control.  But you will “grow into them” and begin to handle them with more maturity as you develop into the person that He has planned. 

One day I am going to be amazed at the beauty and strength of these feelings that run so deep.  Right now I am seeing the 7 year old child, awkward version of it.  But God has given this to you and I can trust He has a plan. 

And He has a plan for me, as your mother, to cherish and nurture every aspect of your personality.  You’ll just have to be patient with me as we learn from one another.

Bye.  Love you.  Miss you.

(Don’t worry, I am just headed to bed)

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Tiny Talk Tuesday




I am finally joining back into Tiny Talk Tuesday! Head over to "In Everything" to join in the fun...

The book series, "Childhood of Famous Americans," is a great series.  I am reading the childhood of Marth Washington aloud to T (age 7) right now.  Well, Martha's nickname as a child was Patsy and her maiden name was Dandridge.  So, we are basically reading a book about a little girl named Patsy Dandridge.

One morning T asked me, "Why is this book called Martha Washington?"  I told her, "Well, you remember what Patsy's real name is, right?  It is Martha.  And when she marries George Washington, she takes his last name and become Martha Washington."

Suddenly, T looks at me with HUGE eyes and says, "THIS is the lady who marries GEORGE WASHINGTON?"

*sigh.  I ruined the ending for her.
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C's phrase (age 2.75):  I not feeling better
What he means:  I don't want to be in this crib.  Someone get me out.
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Saturday, May 5, 2012

My Running Story

Inspired by the book, "Run like a Mother" by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shae, I have decided to record my personal running story.

I ran track in high school my freshman year, but quit when the track coach told me that I had to choose between volleyball and track.  I chose volleyball.

Fast forward to my senior year and I quit playing volleyball.  I was hanging out with quite a few folks that ran track, so I decided to run indoor and outdoor track again.  I had a great time and ran the 1/2 mile and on a 4x8 relay team.  I could run a mile in less than 7 minutes, but HATED that race and how I felt when it was over.  The 1/2 mile was perfect for me!

After high school, I didn't stick with running.  In fact, I was told that I should stop running due to my knee problems.  Instead I began walking for exercise and never gave running a second thought.

Fast forward many many years and I had just given birth to child #4.  Quite a few of my blogging friends began running and I started to consider the possibility.  Then I heard about a local running store that would watch how I ran and fit me for shoes, so I thought I would give it a try.  I thought maybe that would help my knee issue if I had proper shoes.

Two months after giving birth to C (who is 2.75), I wen tot the running store.  Turns out that I have a flat foot and a high arched foot.  As a result, the running store got quite a bit of my money and I received stability running shoes with custom insoles, and the hope that this might be the solution to my knee problem.

I began the couch potato to 5K program that I found online and it was perfect.  I ran my first 5K at the end of the program in 34:05.  It felt good to be able to run for a half hour.  I continued to run on and off and then slowly I was more off than on.  About a year and a half after I initially did the program, I had to gear up to do it again.  Thankfully, I was able to move through it faster the second time.

And then a friend talked me into a 10K that spring.  I am so thankful that she suggested it because I never would have considered a 10K.  It took 1 hour and 3 minutes, but I did it!

Then....I got mono.  MONO.  The sickness kids get in high school.  Here I was a grown mother of 4 and I had mono.  The first sign that something was wrong was actually the fact that I could no longer run more than 15 minutes without stopping in exhaustion.  And it got worse.

Months without running followed.

I got back into this winter, but wasn't at the point that I could run the 10K in the spring again as I had hoped to do.  Instead, I just kept trying to get in consistent running.  Thankfully I have been able to keep it up and this morning I ran my second ever 5K race!  I dropped quite a bit of time off my original race and finished in 28:11!

And there you have it.  My running story.


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Friday, March 30, 2012

I scream, You scream, We ALL scream for…

Graeter’s Ice Cream!

Ok, so I changed the words a little bit.  You caught me.  But right now my freezer has four pints of Graeter’s Ice Cream and it is absolutely fabulous.  And it is now available in MARYLAND at Weis, Mars, and Fresh Market!

I admit that ice cream is one of my guilty pleasures so when the folks at Graeter’s contacted me about reviewing their ice cream, I accepted the offer. 

While waiting for my ice cream to arrive, I had some time to look around their site and read about the French Pot process that makes their ice cream so creamy.  In order to use this process they make the ice cream only two gallons at a time!

Then the big day came and our ice cream samples arrived!  We received four of their “signature chip” flavors.  Mint Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chocolate Chip, and Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip.

Just typing those names makes me want to get up and head to the freezer again.  But alas, I resist. 

First of all, they are not joking about how creamy this ice cream is.  AMAZING!  I can see why Oprah declared it her favorite.  Every single flavor was fabulously creamy.   I don’t know everything about their French Pot Process, but when they say they have perfected it, they have!  YUM!

The second thing we noticed about each “chip” flavor was the consistency of the chips.  They aren’t uniform in size or shape.  It is more like someone drizzled melted chocolate into a bar and then broke it into pieces and put the pieces in the ice cream.  My daughter was completely excited to get a 3 inch size chocolate “chip” in her scoop of Mint Chocolate Chip. 

(I looked it up on Wikipedia and that is close to what is done.  Chocolate is drizzled on top of the pot of ice cream so it forms a layer.  Once it hardens, the layer is broken up into pieces and mixed into the ice cream.)

Now for the flavors, in order of preference…

Black Raspberry Choc Chip1.  Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip.   Oh. My. Word.  This is good stuff.  I am not even sure how to describe how amazing this flavor is.  The raspberry isn’t too sweet, but sweet enough to provide a lovely contrast to the chocolate found throughout.  Hands down, I will be buying more of this flavor if I can find it at the Weis up the road.

2.  Chocolate Chip.  I am surprised I liked this one so much because vanilla isn’t my favorite flavor.  I am much more of a chocolate fan.  Something about this particular chocolate chip was delicious.  The vanilla ice cream was creamy and tasty in a way that vanilla ice cream usually isn’t for me.  And it was the perfect amount of chocolate throughout.

3.  Chocolate Chocolate Chip.  This was just as creamy and delicious as the rest!  For me, it was a bit too chocolate-y.  Surprisingly, for my husband, it was perfect yet he doesn’t normally like chocolate ice cream.  It was an interesting twist.  Again, the chips of chocolate are just fabulous!

4.  Mint Chocolate Chip.  Now, this is normally my favorite flavor but it didn’t pan out that way.  I am a green mint ice cream girl and the Graeter’s Mint Chocolate Chip is a white mint.  It tastes exactly like a peppermint patty.  Of course, that meant my daughter’s thought it was delicious because they like peppermint patties, but I don’t care for the candy and didn’t particularly like this flavor.

Overall, this is probably one of the smoothest, creamiest ice creams I have ever tasted.  You should truly do yourself a favor and get to Weis, Mars, or Fresh Market this weekend and pick up a flavor.

I am just informed my husband that we will be picking up a pint of their Peanut Butter  Chip as well as the limited edition Strawberry Chip.  They both sound delicious and I can’t wait to try them. 

How about you?  Are you a fan of Graeter’s?  Got a flavor you’d recommend?

Saturday, March 24, 2012

School End-ish Year Update

This year is flying by.  It continues to be the best homeschool year we have had so far. 

Maybe we have found our groove.  Maybe I am getting more sleep (no pregnancy, no newborn)  Maybe our new curriculum choices are helping.  Maybe it is due to the design of our own co-op group.

Maybe it is all of it.

Either way, here is a little update on how the different subjects are moving along this year. 

Math – We use Singapore Math.  I LOVE this math program.  My kids are taught how to think mathematically and not just how to use algorithms.  There is a heavy focus on mental math, which can be tough, but we take it in doses.

I also like the variety of resources at my disposal for this curriculum.  We use the basic teacher’s guide, textbook (sometimes) and workbook.  When a topic is too easy, we use the intensive practice books.  These allow us to dig deeper into a math topic instead of just moving to the next topic.  I love the depth of understanding these books help us achieve.  I also have made use of the challenging word problem books that coordinate with each level.

We continue to supplement with flashcards and Minute Math for our fact practice. 

History.  This is the first time we tried Sonlight History for our main curriculum.  We choose to do US History I (level 3) for both girls.  It is exactly what K (age 9) is ready for.  Sonlight recommends this level for ages 8-12.  T is only 7 and aspects of it are definitely beyond her abilities right now.

As with everything, we have modified it for our own use.  I made the decision early on to do level 3 and level 4 over the course of 2.5 years.  There is a TON of excellent history and I want to take my time.  This plan also gives us some time for a MD state history study at the end of the third year.  Then when we begin Sonlight 5, K will be in 6th grade and T will be in 5th grade.  I think this will be a better match for their abilities.

The read-aloud books have been wonderful.  K has enjoyed the advanced readers.  I have chosen a few of the regular readers to read to T this year and we have loved them.

I am not a “workbook” person, but I have liked the Story of the USA reading comprehension book this year.  We complete one chapter every other week, so we have had to skip 2 in order to keep up the pace, but it has worked really well for K.  T is not ready for this part either, so we just pass on it for her at this point.

History has become a memorable and lively subject in this house and I think we’ll continue with this curriculum at our own pace for a long time.

English. Oh my. Grammar is probably the one subject that fell apart this year.  We started out the year trying to do grammar with both of the girls together.  This did not work out really well.  So I dropped back to some new workbooks for K.

After some various attempts, we settled into the Evan-Moore “Grammar and Punctuation” workbook for grade 4.  We are also using “English for the Thoughtful Child" vol. 2”.  I pick and choose from these workbooks because I like them both for different reasons.  We are doing grammar 4-5 days a week right now because of the disaster in the fall.

(Note, : but even with the disaster, I noticed that K had learned all of the grade 3 grammar and we had to get the grade 4, so we must be doing OK)

Our literature studies have been through our history curriculums, though I have added in some activities this year.  We spent the first half of the year working on character traits. 

T (age 7) is working through Veritas’ First Favorites Guide.  She and I are enjoying wonderful stories that she reads to me each week and completes comprehension activities.

Vocabulary.  This year K has been using Wordly Wise 3000.  This has been another great fit for our curriculum this year.  I think the vocabulary words are great and the tasks reinforce what you are learning. 

But, once again, I have made some modifications.  I don’t think you truly learn vocabulary with a bunch of worksheets.  You do get some great exposure, but I wanted us to try to incorporate the words into our daily vocabulary.  I decided to type up the words each week and hang them in the kitchen.  We try to use the words when we talk at mealtime and we keep tally marks to see which word we can use the most.  This has actually been fun for us!

Each week there is a comprehension passage that uses the vocabulary words.  Each passage has 10 questions that either use a vocabulary word or you have to use a vocabulary word in your answer.  These passages drive us crazy.  They seem quite contrived and K’s answers always seemed contrived when she tried to force a vocabulary word into the answer.

After a few weeks of this, we finally came up some other options.  Some weeks she uses the words in sentences.  Other times I have let her write a skit with the words.  This is SO much more enjoyable and it lets her use the words in her way.  

Science.  We have focused a lot of our time in co-op on Nature Study.  The kids love this.  We record signs of the seasons, bugs, birds, and all sorts of things that we explore.  I have purchased the Apologia Botany book for next year so that I can focus our nature studies each week.

We also used Real Science for Kids this year.  It went REALLY well.  We used the Pre-Level and Level One chemistry.  Each level comes with its own textbook and lab book.  Our family only used the Pre-Level chemistry, though I taught the Level One chemistry.  I have enjoyed it enough that we are going to do the Level One Biology next year.

Fine Arts.  The kids have studied a variety of artists at our co-op classes.   They have really enjoyed it and studied a variety of techniques as well.

On my own, I have attempted some drawing lessons with them using the guide, “Drawing with Children.”  I hope to do some more as the year ends.

We have bee VERY fortunate this year to have a friend in our co-op with a music degree.  She has done a wonderful job teaching folksongs, hymns, and music theory.  My girls have learned a ton. 

I had to smile when we were on a trip and K was walking down a path and humming, “Come O Thankful People, Come.”  (not your typical 9 year old tune)  YAAAY to the music teacher this year!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

 

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