Sometimes kids are so funny...

Makenzie had dance class today and as we were leaving the girls wanted to get a drink from the drinking fountain. Usually I hold the girls up there so they are tall enough to reach the fountain, but Freestone Rec Center conveniently has step stools so children can get their own drinks. Makenzie went first and had no problems so, of course, Madison wanted to do it by herself as well. Unfortunately, she was still not tall enough to reach the stream of water, but watching her try over and over again was hilarious. I pulled out my camera and got most of it on tape, but I did miss the first few tries where she totally wet her head. She was so determined though and kept at it. I couldn't help but laughing because it was so funny and adorable at the same time! I finally helped her out and lifted her up there so she could get a drink. *** In the background you will hear Makenzie begging me to get her on camera ( I think someone was a little jealous).

Goal for Myself

So now that cheer is over I am going to take some time for myself and lose this baby weight (or in my case toddler weight). My motivation is Brian and my trip to Nashville in the fall. I want to lose 50 pounds in between now and then. I definitely think that I can do it as long as i stick with it and find a time that is feasible for me and the girls. The hardest thing will be eating the right foods. I am just tired of not feeling like myself. It has been three years of being in this strange persons body and I am determined to get mine back before it is too late! I know I am going to need support and encouragement along the way, but I am ready to do this!

So, cheer is officially over!!! I can't say that I am not ecstatic. I mean I definitely enjoyed getting back into coaching and anyone who has ever coached knows how rewarding the experience can be, but then again when you have 15 teenage girls that you are in charge of, it can be enough to drive you insane. These last few weeks were especially stressful as we were preparing for our competition. In those weeks we had practice every day and our squad dwindled down to 10 so instead of practicing our routine over and over we had to constantly keep changing it to adapt to our new number. It was extremely frustrating for me because it caused me to stay up late at night making these changes, but also it was hard to see the disappointment on the girls' faces every time they found out another girl had quit. Why were all these girls quitting??? Well, I guess the only way that I can sum it up is that they were not dedicated and did not care at all about the girls (friends) that they were affecting by making selfish decisions. I was also frustrated with the parents of these girls who enable their children to quit when they don't like something rather than sticking it out. I feel if you make a commitment to something you should see it through good or bad and then afterwardes choose whether or not to do it again. I see these girls treat their parents with such little respect and, in turn, I got the exact same treatment from a majority of these girls. Again, I am grateful for the experience because I feel that i am learning to be a better parent by learning how to deal with a variety of different personalities. Also i am getting prepared for when I have 2 teenage girls in my own home. (I know I am a long way off, but practice makes perfect... right?) Anyways, yesterday was the Competition. 17 hours of cheerleading!!! we left at 6:30 AM and did not get back until 11PM. Cheer competitions are a way of proving yourself in the cheerleading world. You are proving yourself to the other schools, the judges, the parents, and colleges that come to scout out cheerleaders. In the case of our school we also had to prove ourselves to the other squads within our own school. This makes it very stressful for a coach, especially one who has not choreographed anything in over 3 years. I was so nervous and even threw up in the morning from butterflies. Even though we had to be there at 7:30 AM we did not perform until almost 5PM. So I had all that time to scope out what other squads were doing and how I might measure up. I felt like I was going to pass out from nerves!!! Finally we were up and I have to say that i am so proud of my girls. They did amazing considering what we had gone through in the last couple weeks and the limited time they had to practice our final routine. We hit almost everything and the things that we messed up on were things that could have been fixed with more time. I was so happy with the end result. In the end we were fourth place. It wasn't enough to get anounced or receive a trophy, but it was enough for me and the girls seemed to be happy as well. We had proved ourselves and showed that even through adversity we could get something accomplished. Thank you girls for sticking with it and showing so much dedication and working so hard. I could not have asked for a better group of girls to end the season with.

Birthday Curse

Some people may know about Brian's curse, but for those who do not Brian has a birthday curse. Either on or around his birthday (usually the day we plan to celebreate his birthday) he has to work and while at work he experiences some sort of freak accident where he gets hurt. A couple of years ago he had a wood chip fly into his eye, last year he was very close to an explosion, and this year was no different. His birthday was Friday, but we were celebrating on saturday by going out to dinner and a movie but during the day he had to go into work. The night before we had been joking about the curse and so when i got a call from his co worker that he was hurt I thought it was a practical joke. When I called back and heard the panic in his co workers voice and brian got on the phone and said it was pretty bad i knew that it was not a joke. I rushed to the hospital and was told that he has cut his arm very bad (not off--thankfully). I was completely unprepared for what I was about to see. I go into ER room number 12 and Brian asked me excitedly if i wanted to see it. He lifted up the guaze and his arm just fell open. The gash was about eight inches long, over an inch deep and about 2 inches wide. It was quite a shock!!! The doctore informed us that it was a pretty clean cut and he paraded other doctors, med students, and even the security guard in the room to show them this massive wound. He had cut himself so deeply that when he flexed his hand you could clearly see the muscle moving. the doctore pointed out muscles, nerves, and other parts and tissues that people cannot normally see. The wound required over 100 stitches in several layers in order for it close. Overall it was a very stressful ordeal and Brian is going to be fine. throughout the process brian made me take progression pictures so i thought that I would share them.

***Please be advised these pictures are graphic and bloody so do not look if you are squeemish.

A Good education is priceless (but it comes with a hefty price tag)

I don't think anyone tells you the insane amount of worries that comes with having children. I mean it goes from the obvious like sickness and eating habits to the less obvious such as education. That is where my current problem lies. Makenzie goes to an amazing school!!! The teachers are great, the staff is very friendly, the kids all seem happy, and the tuition is reasonably priced. However, I do not feel that Makenzie is being challenged as academically as I would like. The problem first came up in the beginning of the school year when a friend of mine and I were comparing our children's preschools. (There we go again...constantly comparing) Anyways, her son was learning so much more than Makenzie and I tried to put it out my mind, but more recently some parents in her class have decided that they are not going to enroll their children next year and want to find a more academically challenging school. I have looked into these schools, read the reviews and have come to the conclusion that they are far more academic than Makenzie's current school. The children are leaving pre-K reading, writing their own names, and have basic math concepts among other things. The only catch is the tuition is $100 more per month than what we are currently paying. My husband already has a heart attack every time we have to shell out money for school and I will have a hard time convincing him to shell out even more, but what is the point of sending her to school at all if she is not accomplishing the things that I want her to accomplish in school. I already work with her and feel that she is very bright and I want school to go even further and challenge what she already knows rather than have her possibly forget what she knows. How do you decide the price of a good education???

--ahhh the things we never discussed in lamaze class...

My little beast Mode Fan!

My super football obsessed husband stumbled upon a contest for kids doing their best beast mode impressions. Being that he has brainwashed Makenzie into saying his favorite football expressions she was up for the task of submitting a video and entering the contest. Lo and behold, she was anounced this morning as the winner!!!! The video was so cute and I wanted to share it. I will post the video straight to this site later, but you can click on the link for now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PW868QyOB4

Bored out of my mind...

Let me just say, i HATE staying at home. This is part of the reason that I would consider myself an active participant of moms groups. Life as a stay at home mom is not exactly what i thought it was going to be. There are so many times when I am so bored. I try to get out of the house as much as I can possibly afford, but there are some weeks when I am actually at home. This happens to be one of those weeks (well, last week too). Ask anyone who knew me when i was growing up and you would seldome find me at home. I know many people thought that I was trying to escape my family and the drama that seemed to be a constant in my house growing up. I may have even thought that was the reason, but turns out I just cannot stand being home. I have this idealized fantasy of what I "should" be doing and when i do not measure up then I tune out and pack my girls in the car and go somewhere. I leave behind my months worth of laundry, sink full of dishes and unmade beds so that I can escape. There are many days when i wake up and I have no desire to kill myself cleaning and cooking just to turn around and see that my two little hurricanes have left a scene that could rival Katrina and start screaming that they are hungry again. Well that is what has happened in the last week or so. If I have to watch one more Grey's Anatomy episode (I have the first four seasons) then i swear i will scream. This is one of the bad aspects to moving. I am staying home convincing myself that I "should" be packing and getting ready to move ( this weekend, i mght add), but again I have no desire. Generally, I could occupy my boredom by setting up Christmas decorations, but with the move I cannot even do that. I need to get away. I need to do something. Agghhhhhh this is torture.