As fall arrives so does my penchant to crank up house projects. This year, with the change of job and life in general I worked it out that I could complete several projects at once, some I have been waiting many years to complete.
Fencing, they are up and beautiful. The dog loves the freedom to run and I like the freedom to just let him out the door. But, as with any one project several will follow - its a cascade effect.
Downstairs, the flooring is removed, most of the walls are painted, flooring purchased now just awaiting a little assistance in getting the floors laid out. I just don't trust myself enough when it comes to measurements and fractures. I have laid out the foyer tile and got an idea of what I want it to look like, but I am not yet prepared to dive into the actual application yet, I am getting there.
Things left to do, finish painting the hallways, course with any project this involves 'preparation'...something I am not fully known for. So, my 18ft ladder is buried away in the garage behind a mass of stuff that was evacuated from my living and dining rooms.
The kitchen cabinet needs to be moved, again, just hesitant in my skills into moving the actual cabinet, I am awaiting help to arrive with direction soon, once this is complete I will continue with tiling into the kitchen. Once complete, new countertops and sink will be installed.
Upstairs, we are replacing the shower/tub with just a shower unit, complete with glass sliding doors. I have the big tub in my bathroom, and we just don't use this one, besides its cracked and needs to be replaced. I have found the shower and surround I want, now just got to price out installation (I hate working with contractors and just the whole process of it all - its why I tend to do things myself). I miss Armin, my handy man in Kentucky...could always trust him, he did great work and the prices were reasonable.
I'm workin on it as I can, it gets frustrating some days, I just want it done but I figure, if I wasn't waiting on myself, I would be waiting on someone else and that would be more expensive waiting! ;)
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Soccer for Kelsey is done.....
As one of many final chapters in Kelsey's high school career begin to close, soccer is the first. The girls played a tough state game and it came down to one goal, the other team won. We as parents were so proud of our girls and how they handled themselves, a parent couldn't ask for a better group of girls.
you were just four
when soccer came knocking at our door
the ball, shin guards and cleats
they look so big on your feet
I stood there at the fields
watching you never yield
I gained more daughters
than any mother should
I felt pride, joy and laughter
in all that you were after
I prayed, hoped and hurt
when the game put you in the dirt
you learned strength, skill and resolve
through this you all have evolved
you learned friendship, leadership and team
in it you all found your dreams
never has a mother felt so much pride
thank you for the ride....
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
CGHS - Wins Semi-State
After making it through sectionals and regionals, we were off to Evansville, Indiana for the semi-state matchups. A three hour, no easy way to get there drive, I left on Friday to make the trek. One missed turn and several small town, country road and s-curve roads later I made it around midnight, missed the trip down to the boat, but relaxed with a few of the other parents that had come in late.
Up early Saturday, we were off to play our first game of the semi-state, after a early first goal, the girls finalized the game winning 5-0, that put the team into the elite 8. A 5 hour layover between games left us sometime to relax, eat and in the case of Lisa, myself and a few other parents, head down to the riverboat casino.
I quickly lost $20 on the roulette table, my numbers weren't hitting so off I went to seek out the penny slots, an hour later, I was up 120.00. Knowing we had to get back for the evening game I found Lisa working a slot, I sat down next to her, while waiting I stuck 10 into the machine in front of me....it hit, another 30 up!!!
The girls faced Columbus North for the final game, it was an even match, with 2 minutes left in the game, score 0-0, Lindsey scored a final goal and the girls won Semi-state for the first time in 10 years!!! It was a great weekend all around!
Up early Saturday, we were off to play our first game of the semi-state, after a early first goal, the girls finalized the game winning 5-0, that put the team into the elite 8. A 5 hour layover between games left us sometime to relax, eat and in the case of Lisa, myself and a few other parents, head down to the riverboat casino.
I quickly lost $20 on the roulette table, my numbers weren't hitting so off I went to seek out the penny slots, an hour later, I was up 120.00. Knowing we had to get back for the evening game I found Lisa working a slot, I sat down next to her, while waiting I stuck 10 into the machine in front of me....it hit, another 30 up!!!
The girls faced Columbus North for the final game, it was an even match, with 2 minutes left in the game, score 0-0, Lindsey scored a final goal and the girls won Semi-state for the first time in 10 years!!! It was a great weekend all around!
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Soccer
Friday evening I got in the car to go to Alex's game, the temperature gauge read 105, it cooled down a bit before I hit the school...99. They didn't win their game, but the football team did in between a huge downpour, think it got over at midnight. Not a big high school football fan but can't help know when they score, they fire off a cannon, with my house only 2 blocks away, its just like being there.
It was a hot, wet Saturday, the weather couldn't decide if it wanted to pour or roast us as we sat on the sidelines. We played 2 games, here are few pics of Kelsey.
The games were brutal, the refs not calling anything and the girls came away victors in both games but with a lot of war wounds, thankfully nothing serious but they were hurting. I took off between games and dried their pre-game shirts that were soaking wet from the first game, it was all worth the hassle of finding a laundry mat (15 minutes away and had to ask 2 stores for directions) when the I left and over heard the girls exclaim with excited voices 'they are still warm', everyone loves shirts right out of the dryer.
The CG Lady Trojans now have a website here: CG Lady Trojans
It was a hot, wet Saturday, the weather couldn't decide if it wanted to pour or roast us as we sat on the sidelines. We played 2 games, here are few pics of Kelsey.
The games were brutal, the refs not calling anything and the girls came away victors in both games but with a lot of war wounds, thankfully nothing serious but they were hurting. I took off between games and dried their pre-game shirts that were soaking wet from the first game, it was all worth the hassle of finding a laundry mat (15 minutes away and had to ask 2 stores for directions) when the I left and over heard the girls exclaim with excited voices 'they are still warm', everyone loves shirts right out of the dryer.
The CG Lady Trojans now have a website here: CG Lady Trojans
Sunday was the day I decided to tackle the yard. With no rain this summer, the weeds are growing just fine, the lawn, well, its been almost 6 weeks since I mowed if that tells you anything. (I just trimmed the tall weeds). I managed to get a few things done outside and it is now ready for fall, the worst is getting all the tiny weeds growing on my patio. I gave Patches a new soccer ball to destroy and he was having a good time.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Big Weekend
Whew! We all made it through the first week of school. Kelsey's varsity team beat their rivals 2-1 for the first game of the season. Alex played Friday, their game ended in a tie 0-0.
A very good week of family and fun!
Grandma and Grandpa came down on Saturday for a visit and I was having fun making my niece giggle. We all went to the zoo on Sunday, it started out with beautiful weather, getting a little hot and humid towards the afternoon. We all enjoyed the day.
We were also introduced to Chris's new baby.
A very good week of family and fun!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
First Day of School
It's here....both my girls are now in High School and I feel old.
But as tradition, here is the first day off to school picture!
But as tradition, here is the first day off to school picture!
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Ticking off Worry List Items
Thats all I can call it, my worry list on Saturday it was very long by today there many things to be done and still a few big tasks to accomplish but as each one fades, so does my belief the world just ended for me. I took the day off today, a needed break to rebuild myself a bit. Diet by stress, not eating and not sleeping is truly not a good thing for a body, I might look skinny, but damn....who wants that if you have to feel this way, um, not me.
The girls have stepped up, Kelsey took her drive and tenacity for which I admire her for and worked on getting 72 tubs of cookie dough sold to cover both her and Alex's fees for soccer. You'll be getting a call soon, if you haven't already! They both continue to assist on the house. I had to re-engage as Mom and get Alex out of her contacts for which she is allowed to wear only for soccer....had to, maybe a little to loudly, remind her what would happen if she doesn't quit wearing her contacts and let her eyes heal, vanity is sometimes tough but loosing your vision would be far worse.
Family and friends, all I can do is thank you. Those who know me know I find it difficult to ask for help so as not to impose or bring my stress into their lives, each call and e-mail I have received with your support, assistance and mentoring have led me to tears of relief and joy. I am so selfish in never realizing what good people I have surrounded myself with and they have always been there ready when I truly needed them. You know I can thank you all enough.
I am off to shake the stress from my shoulders and chant my mantra of 'opportunity, opportunity, opportunity'. A tip I received, it does help.
The girls have stepped up, Kelsey took her drive and tenacity for which I admire her for and worked on getting 72 tubs of cookie dough sold to cover both her and Alex's fees for soccer. You'll be getting a call soon, if you haven't already! They both continue to assist on the house. I had to re-engage as Mom and get Alex out of her contacts for which she is allowed to wear only for soccer....had to, maybe a little to loudly, remind her what would happen if she doesn't quit wearing her contacts and let her eyes heal, vanity is sometimes tough but loosing your vision would be far worse.
Family and friends, all I can do is thank you. Those who know me know I find it difficult to ask for help so as not to impose or bring my stress into their lives, each call and e-mail I have received with your support, assistance and mentoring have led me to tears of relief and joy. I am so selfish in never realizing what good people I have surrounded myself with and they have always been there ready when I truly needed them. You know I can thank you all enough.
I am off to shake the stress from my shoulders and chant my mantra of 'opportunity, opportunity, opportunity'. A tip I received, it does help.
Red/White and So Blue
What was supposed to be an exciting day for the girls and me, the Red/White game which introduces the seasons Soccer teams to the parents with a day of exhibition games, cookouts and fun, I baked in the sun for 5 hours, the day was hot and I found out I could sweat in places I didn't know I could, maybe in the end a cleansing of the body and mind.
The girls had plans for the evening and I did as well, 2 bottles of wine, a good friend to talk to and 2 big golden retrievers laying on top of us. It rained, again another cleansing? We sat out under an umbrella feeling the gentle mist of the rain fall over us for a little while, enjoying the sound. It was a welcomed respite, even with this, sleep was limited and food really didn't look interesting.
The girls had plans for the evening and I did as well, 2 bottles of wine, a good friend to talk to and 2 big golden retrievers laying on top of us. It rained, again another cleansing? We sat out under an umbrella feeling the gentle mist of the rain fall over us for a little while, enjoying the sound. It was a welcomed respite, even with this, sleep was limited and food really didn't look interesting.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
I'm Over It - Timeout
There comes a point in your life you have to call a timeout and I did, I was feeling angry, stressed and bitchy, I needed a break to spend some time catching up with friends, of course playing poker and letting some of the tension in my shoulders relax enough so I don't look so hunched back.
Kelsey spent the weekend at Ball State attending a newspaper clinic they ran, Alex was out and about with friends all weekend, mom as always was attending to the house and getting in a few work hours to catch up before the week ahead hit.
Tryouts for soccer were this week and the girls were both nervous and excited knowing 3 days of hard practices and tryouts would be there. Each day, they got up at were at the school by 6:45am. God love them.
Tuesday was again a horribly stressful day at work with the fallout of the server, another large deadline looming, and 2 more right behind it, I threw up..my body reacting when I could no longer do so and wondering why ultimately I put myself through this. Wednesday slammed in with more, the air at work filled with tension and stress, ....the other thing it was the day to find out who was to make what team, Kelsey made Varsity, Alex Freshman....this was tough for Alex and me as well. Freshman is a developmental team, not bad, but truly she wanted to be along with many of her friends on JV, I know this was tough and it took everything I had to put away my own stresses and focus on her disappointment. As I had with Kelsey, I tried to encourage to talk her to the coaches and ask what does she need to work on to have the opportunity to be moved up to JV, unlike Kelsey, this is a little harder for Alex. Oh, dang, this is what motherhood is all about. Life has not been all roses and we need to all get back on balance - especially me, I feel like I am spiraling, trying to get things back in line and it ain't working - I am only one person.
Another long day facing a computer, my shoulders knotted to a solid mass from hours of continuous work without getting up and the news that Alex has eye infections. Her contacts aren't allowing enough oxygen to the eyes - as explained whites cells were developing and if left to continue without treatment she could get ulcers and possibly loose her vision, alright god, enough, come on now - its really time to stop. can I cry for a minute now, please?
Kelsey spent the weekend at Ball State attending a newspaper clinic they ran, Alex was out and about with friends all weekend, mom as always was attending to the house and getting in a few work hours to catch up before the week ahead hit.
Tryouts for soccer were this week and the girls were both nervous and excited knowing 3 days of hard practices and tryouts would be there. Each day, they got up at were at the school by 6:45am. God love them.
Tuesday was again a horribly stressful day at work with the fallout of the server, another large deadline looming, and 2 more right behind it, I threw up..my body reacting when I could no longer do so and wondering why ultimately I put myself through this. Wednesday slammed in with more, the air at work filled with tension and stress, ....the other thing it was the day to find out who was to make what team, Kelsey made Varsity, Alex Freshman....this was tough for Alex and me as well. Freshman is a developmental team, not bad, but truly she wanted to be along with many of her friends on JV, I know this was tough and it took everything I had to put away my own stresses and focus on her disappointment. As I had with Kelsey, I tried to encourage to talk her to the coaches and ask what does she need to work on to have the opportunity to be moved up to JV, unlike Kelsey, this is a little harder for Alex. Oh, dang, this is what motherhood is all about. Life has not been all roses and we need to all get back on balance - especially me, I feel like I am spiraling, trying to get things back in line and it ain't working - I am only one person.
Another long day facing a computer, my shoulders knotted to a solid mass from hours of continuous work without getting up and the news that Alex has eye infections. Her contacts aren't allowing enough oxygen to the eyes - as explained whites cells were developing and if left to continue without treatment she could get ulcers and possibly loose her vision, alright god, enough, come on now - its really time to stop. can I cry for a minute now, please?
Monday, July 30, 2007
Brickyard 400
For the 2nd year, Dave, Amy, Rich and myself were off the Brickyard 400. It was a sweltering hot day and we were grateful for the seats under the stands! Surrounded by Jeff Gordon fans, I proudly wore my Tony Stewart shirt, they were not all happy.
The race was great, Amy and I managed to get most of the beers before the boys did, we are so good at this.
And of Course - Tony Won!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Whew! Another stressful day
Work is 24/7, my mind reeling with all the tasks needing to be accomplished, support to be given and engaging everyone of my skills to keep them all juggling. It does get tough at times. The two biggest items on my plate, Kelsey getting an endoscopy and moving the hosting servers for work. Both truly require my full attention.
Kelsey, if you have read previously was suspected have had ulcers, she was going in for an endoscopy to verify this and to what extent. Selfishly I was again putting work before my family and had been considering canceling and re-scheduling this because as life always likes intervene, the final move and her endoscopy fell on the same day. I am so glad I didn't. She was scheduled for early in the morning so it meant we had to be up and out to go downtown. Jarod wanted to go along and to my surprise, he was up and moving, a little sluggish. Kelsey understandably was scared, but overall was a true trooper. I got to participate along with her in tasting the nasty medicine she had to hold in her throat for numbing (I tasted it, its truly nasty). Off I went to wait with Jarod. I don't know how long had past and they came and got us. She was in recovering, drowsy from the meds and just as silly as could be. The Dr. came in and let us know what was going on, not good but manageable. Poor girl had been suffering with a small intestine & 3 stomach ulcers along with an inflamed esophagus. The plan of action, medicine and absolutely NO, NO ibuprofen and aspirin, this was the probably the root cause of her troubles. I feel responsible for this, both girls use ibuprofen on a regular basis for their various sports related injuries and bruises. Ice and ibuprofen was my usual response for first level of treatment. This ain't all bad, but not good on a regular basis especially when taken on empty stomachs. Learn and live. Tylenol is safest on your innards just in case you wanted to know.
As she was getting awake enough to get her moving, she realized she was hungry, still being silly from the meds, a very quick litany of food thoughts spewed from her mouth.......oh I want, two mcdonald cheeseburgers, no taco bell, no arby's, hardees oh I am so hungry. We settled on Denny's and proceeded to head out. She didn't eat, tried, but when it finally came down to it, she was still not fully up from everything. Off home to get her settled I was forced to leave her at home in the care of Jarod with explicit instructions to keep her down....don't let her do anything!!!!
Off to work I went, my mind switching gears and trying to figure out what order and items still need to be completed to get the servers moved. Moving servers is difficult, it's like unplugging a hugely sophisticated stereo system, throwing all the cables in a box, mixing them up a bit and then trying to resemble it all in its new home - remembering everything that had to be moved, components that need to be connected and testing it all to make it worked. Thankfully for myself I am organizer, it makes my brain be able to focus on getting the tasks done rather what needs to be done.
I arrived to my new recently moved office with my computer system running, files/supplies in boxes with construction workers all over the place. I tried to get going but damn, its pretty hard, already stressed, and trying to think when you have people working on ductwork over your head and full blown construction work happening all around you. Interrupted twice for them to work over my cube after just being there an hour, the many tasks that needed to be done, I and another choose to head out knowing we could better focus elsewhere. Back in the car again, by this time I have already put a good 100 miles on the car, stress building for the days events and worry about Kelsey.
What do I arrive to? My biggest fear, Kelsey is up and baking banana bread and doing laundry....where is Jarod, the boy was passed out. I allowed her to finish and ordered her back to bed where with my fussing out to her to stay down, she did. With a school meeting that evening, I got straight into getting everything setup for the server move, its an orchestration with trying to keep everyone on the same page and trying to account for everything that might go wrong, the move was to occur at 6pm. With my plan in hand to minimize downtime on the site, everyone notified, feeling satisfied I done what I could do, I left for the meeting .
Boring meeting, but necessary - school starts in a few weeks - Alex being a freshman, its required - course I was distracted the whole time hoping everything with the move was going smoothly and that we had covered all bases.
Meeting over, straight to my computer (its sick sometimes, I know this) I checked in with my developer who assists i - uh oh, trouble in paradise....plans had been changed without my knowledge, the result the site was down and that was a problem, ultimately my problem. Oh God, why do you do this to me, hey I am strong, but come on...give me a break here - a girl can only handle so much. Well, again, best laid plans and a change of plans it didn't happen that way. essentially by midnight everything was down on something that was completely out of my control, I would have to wait until morning to deal with ramifications and work on getting things fixed....Kelsey thankfully been following my instructions remained down for the rest of the day by 2am my mind slowly wound down enough to let me drop off into a fitful sleep....
Kelsey, if you have read previously was suspected have had ulcers, she was going in for an endoscopy to verify this and to what extent. Selfishly I was again putting work before my family and had been considering canceling and re-scheduling this because as life always likes intervene, the final move and her endoscopy fell on the same day. I am so glad I didn't. She was scheduled for early in the morning so it meant we had to be up and out to go downtown. Jarod wanted to go along and to my surprise, he was up and moving, a little sluggish. Kelsey understandably was scared, but overall was a true trooper. I got to participate along with her in tasting the nasty medicine she had to hold in her throat for numbing (I tasted it, its truly nasty). Off I went to wait with Jarod. I don't know how long had past and they came and got us. She was in recovering, drowsy from the meds and just as silly as could be. The Dr. came in and let us know what was going on, not good but manageable. Poor girl had been suffering with a small intestine & 3 stomach ulcers along with an inflamed esophagus. The plan of action, medicine and absolutely NO, NO ibuprofen and aspirin, this was the probably the root cause of her troubles. I feel responsible for this, both girls use ibuprofen on a regular basis for their various sports related injuries and bruises. Ice and ibuprofen was my usual response for first level of treatment. This ain't all bad, but not good on a regular basis especially when taken on empty stomachs. Learn and live. Tylenol is safest on your innards just in case you wanted to know.
As she was getting awake enough to get her moving, she realized she was hungry, still being silly from the meds, a very quick litany of food thoughts spewed from her mouth.......oh I want, two mcdonald cheeseburgers, no taco bell, no arby's, hardees oh I am so hungry. We settled on Denny's and proceeded to head out. She didn't eat, tried, but when it finally came down to it, she was still not fully up from everything. Off home to get her settled I was forced to leave her at home in the care of Jarod with explicit instructions to keep her down....don't let her do anything!!!!
Off to work I went, my mind switching gears and trying to figure out what order and items still need to be completed to get the servers moved. Moving servers is difficult, it's like unplugging a hugely sophisticated stereo system, throwing all the cables in a box, mixing them up a bit and then trying to resemble it all in its new home - remembering everything that had to be moved, components that need to be connected and testing it all to make it worked. Thankfully for myself I am organizer, it makes my brain be able to focus on getting the tasks done rather what needs to be done.
I arrived to my new recently moved office with my computer system running, files/supplies in boxes with construction workers all over the place. I tried to get going but damn, its pretty hard, already stressed, and trying to think when you have people working on ductwork over your head and full blown construction work happening all around you. Interrupted twice for them to work over my cube after just being there an hour, the many tasks that needed to be done, I and another choose to head out knowing we could better focus elsewhere. Back in the car again, by this time I have already put a good 100 miles on the car, stress building for the days events and worry about Kelsey.
What do I arrive to? My biggest fear, Kelsey is up and baking banana bread and doing laundry....where is Jarod, the boy was passed out. I allowed her to finish and ordered her back to bed where with my fussing out to her to stay down, she did. With a school meeting that evening, I got straight into getting everything setup for the server move, its an orchestration with trying to keep everyone on the same page and trying to account for everything that might go wrong, the move was to occur at 6pm. With my plan in hand to minimize downtime on the site, everyone notified, feeling satisfied I done what I could do, I left for the meeting .
Boring meeting, but necessary - school starts in a few weeks - Alex being a freshman, its required - course I was distracted the whole time hoping everything with the move was going smoothly and that we had covered all bases.
Meeting over, straight to my computer (its sick sometimes, I know this) I checked in with my developer who assists i - uh oh, trouble in paradise....plans had been changed without my knowledge, the result the site was down and that was a problem, ultimately my problem. Oh God, why do you do this to me, hey I am strong, but come on...give me a break here - a girl can only handle so much. Well, again, best laid plans and a change of plans it didn't happen that way. essentially by midnight everything was down on something that was completely out of my control, I would have to wait until morning to deal with ramifications and work on getting things fixed....Kelsey thankfully been following my instructions remained down for the rest of the day by 2am my mind slowly wound down enough to let me drop off into a fitful sleep....
Sunday, July 22, 2007
It's Cheer Camp Time
Off to IU for a 4 day Cheer Camp for Alex. She will be a Freshman basketball cheerleader for the high school this year, cheerleading is all new to me. Thankfully, if she wanted to play soccer, basketball was the only squad she could tryout for, it keeps me warm! ;)
The girls left early in the morning, loading the buses was an interesting mass organized chaos children, luggage, huge coolers, bags of food all trying to get into 2 buses and one van. Off they went. There were several items, tryouts and the such through out the week the parents could attend, on a couple I would of like to have gone down, but by the time I put in all my hours at work (stress factor 9) and drive an almost 2 hours down to where she was, I just couldn't. It did provide Alex some private, bonding away time and of course fun. I know she missed me on Monday evening.
When Thursday came along, it was the parents responsibility to pick them up. Having taken a welcomed morning off of work, i rode down with a fellow parent for the days activities. We arrived at 9am with a gaggles of cheerleaders spread all over the center. Some practicing for the competition ahead of them, some hanging out and chatting and parents slowly filtering in and getting re-acquainted. After about an hour (and parents getting restless), the show began. Each squad was to compete in three different categories for camp trophies. I settled to sitting on the track (no bleachers) with a few of my favorite cheer moms to proceed to watch the festivities. Okay, I will admit it did get a little old when you have to wait for all the squads to go through their routines before having the opportunity to view your girls.
Alex is a flyer or the person who gets lifted up and in the older squads thrown into the air. Those who know Alex are saying 'well no duh!', for those who don't, she is very petite in stature and weight. This is both fun and scary for me to watch. She is trusting a bunch of girls to lift her by either both her ankles or just one and lift her above their heads. It takes practice, communication and trust on all their parts to ensure that Alex does not drop or get hurt. All the squads had some falters and Alex's was no exception. Don't ask me which routine this is, all I know Alex went to be lifted and some mis-communication ensued, bottom line, she bowed out and starting cheering. She didn't feel safe and good for her to understand this.
Will post a couple of videos & pics soon I took with my camera, you can see we are sitting on the track right along with the kids, oh my butt after hour 1. They won 1st place for their nicely executed Pom routine.
All Cheer Routines - Alex is one nearest camera on top!
Awards (finally) and now off to the dorm to get their stuff. We grabbed lunch and back home by noon. For me it was work, back to the stress of horribly tight deadlines and expectations with no support. I have not ever seen in my life the degradation of a company's culture than I have witnessed over the past year. I try to keep focused and get done what I can and need to, I ended up working late into the evening as always.
The girls left early in the morning, loading the buses was an interesting mass organized chaos children, luggage, huge coolers, bags of food all trying to get into 2 buses and one van. Off they went. There were several items, tryouts and the such through out the week the parents could attend, on a couple I would of like to have gone down, but by the time I put in all my hours at work (stress factor 9) and drive an almost 2 hours down to where she was, I just couldn't. It did provide Alex some private, bonding away time and of course fun. I know she missed me on Monday evening.
When Thursday came along, it was the parents responsibility to pick them up. Having taken a welcomed morning off of work, i rode down with a fellow parent for the days activities. We arrived at 9am with a gaggles of cheerleaders spread all over the center. Some practicing for the competition ahead of them, some hanging out and chatting and parents slowly filtering in and getting re-acquainted. After about an hour (and parents getting restless), the show began. Each squad was to compete in three different categories for camp trophies. I settled to sitting on the track (no bleachers) with a few of my favorite cheer moms to proceed to watch the festivities. Okay, I will admit it did get a little old when you have to wait for all the squads to go through their routines before having the opportunity to view your girls.
Alex is a flyer or the person who gets lifted up and in the older squads thrown into the air. Those who know Alex are saying 'well no duh!', for those who don't, she is very petite in stature and weight. This is both fun and scary for me to watch. She is trusting a bunch of girls to lift her by either both her ankles or just one and lift her above their heads. It takes practice, communication and trust on all their parts to ensure that Alex does not drop or get hurt. All the squads had some falters and Alex's was no exception. Don't ask me which routine this is, all I know Alex went to be lifted and some mis-communication ensued, bottom line, she bowed out and starting cheering. She didn't feel safe and good for her to understand this.
Will post a couple of videos & pics soon I took with my camera, you can see we are sitting on the track right along with the kids, oh my butt after hour 1. They won 1st place for their nicely executed Pom routine.
All Cheer Routines - Alex is one nearest camera on top!
A Few Pictures
Awards (finally) and now off to the dorm to get their stuff. We grabbed lunch and back home by noon. For me it was work, back to the stress of horribly tight deadlines and expectations with no support. I have not ever seen in my life the degradation of a company's culture than I have witnessed over the past year. I try to keep focused and get done what I can and need to, I ended up working late into the evening as always.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Happy 4th!
Happy Fourth Everyone!!!
Alex headed off to the beach to spend a weekend with one of her friends, Kelsey and I headed up north to meet our new editions to the family, to celebrate my mother's day of birth and spend time with family.
First - Happy Birthday Mom, this great lady came into this world on July 3rd and this year celebrates another good year of life - hey, I won't disclose her age but she's a youngster. Our gift to her this year, the opportunity to spend time with both her daughters, new grandson's her eldest granddaughter and of course, my brother in law and Dad.
After arriving into town on the 4th, Kelsey and I tired from the hectic weeks preceeding were pretty much in the mood to just hang and relax knowing the next day we would back into the car to be headed up north. We did enjoy a mini shopping spree for baby stuff in our anticipation of meeting our new editions to the family, that is always fun and thankfully for me, someone else is using it. Fun to buy but I would no longer want to be in a position to use it!
We headed up north to the land where they say 'eh, cows roam, cheese and bratwurst are readily available. The boys are beautiful and we all took many turns holding them, loving them and visiting with Steph & Todd. They are both looking tired and doing well taking each day and its challenges as they come along. Excited we of course showered them with all our newly bought things that provided which is always fun and geez, two boys, who doesn't need super industrial need a fork-lift size box of diapers.
Though we were excited to have the opportunity we also knew that we couldn't go overboard as not to stress them out. But this allowed us to visit with Steph & Todd, something I don't get to do often enough (miss u both).
The boys are movie stars in their own rights with video and pictures being taken constantly, with no flash as not to strain or hurt their still developing eyes.
Pics available of our visit shortly.
Kelsey we found is a natural at keeping the boys calm, but on her first try to change a diaper, well I will post the video clip soon! We came back home on Saturday, Alex arrived home on Monday after some car trouble delayed their trip home. I know Alex was so upset they had to stay in Florida one more day.
I hope your holidays were as enjoyable as my own!
Alex headed off to the beach to spend a weekend with one of her friends, Kelsey and I headed up north to meet our new editions to the family, to celebrate my mother's day of birth and spend time with family.
First - Happy Birthday Mom, this great lady came into this world on July 3rd and this year celebrates another good year of life - hey, I won't disclose her age but she's a youngster. Our gift to her this year, the opportunity to spend time with both her daughters, new grandson's her eldest granddaughter and of course, my brother in law and Dad.
After arriving into town on the 4th, Kelsey and I tired from the hectic weeks preceeding were pretty much in the mood to just hang and relax knowing the next day we would back into the car to be headed up north. We did enjoy a mini shopping spree for baby stuff in our anticipation of meeting our new editions to the family, that is always fun and thankfully for me, someone else is using it. Fun to buy but I would no longer want to be in a position to use it!
We headed up north to the land where they say 'eh, cows roam, cheese and bratwurst are readily available. The boys are beautiful and we all took many turns holding them, loving them and visiting with Steph & Todd. They are both looking tired and doing well taking each day and its challenges as they come along. Excited we of course showered them with all our newly bought things that provided which is always fun and geez, two boys, who doesn't need super industrial need a fork-lift size box of diapers.
Though we were excited to have the opportunity we also knew that we couldn't go overboard as not to stress them out. But this allowed us to visit with Steph & Todd, something I don't get to do often enough (miss u both).
The boys are movie stars in their own rights with video and pictures being taken constantly, with no flash as not to strain or hurt their still developing eyes.
Pics available of our visit shortly.
Kelsey we found is a natural at keeping the boys calm, but on her first try to change a diaper, well I will post the video clip soon! We came back home on Saturday, Alex arrived home on Monday after some car trouble delayed their trip home. I know Alex was so upset they had to stay in Florida one more day.
I hope your holidays were as enjoyable as my own!
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