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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

You can't.

Last Wednesday morning, I was checking emails before dragging the kids out of bed for swim practice when I saw I had one in my inbox from the swim coach.  She was on vacation and the email was sent at 1:00 AM.

I quickly opened it, wondering what was wrong.  It was a brief note.  Only two sentences long.  It said there had been a tragic accident at one of the pools we swim against but the County Meet would go on as planned on Saturday.

I Googled it and found that an 11-year-old girl had been electrocuted at the pool in a freak accident.  As I read the article, my heart felt heavy and my eyes filled up with tears.

I told the kids about the accident as they were sitting down for breakfast and once again I began to cry.  My kids looked confused and wondered why I was crying about a girl I didn't even know.

How do you explain to your babies the fear you feel as a mother knowing that it could have just as easily been one of them? How do you explain the sadness you feel for another mother knowing that her one and only child was taken from her, right before her own eyes? How do you explain yet another round of  tears when you read that this poor mother was holding her daughter's limp, lifeless hand and praying over her the whole time the lifeguards were performing CPR?

You can't. 

So you dry your tears, pray for the little girl's family with your kids before they eat their cereal, hug your kids before swim practice, and go on with your life.

Monday, July 22, 2013

FOUR!

It is done.  The swim season is finally over. 

Our team has gone undefeated 4 years in a row and we won the county meet for the 4th time in a row.  I am so proud of my kids and the entire team. 

Swimming is hard work.  It's even harder work when your mom makes you go to practices twice a day.  But the swim season is short and if you want to get into shape you really need to build up your endurance.  And that takes lots of swimming!

Now our trips to the pool will be just for fun. The kids are ready to relax and enjoy the rest of their summer. 

Go Ducks!  Quack! Quack! Quack!






Sunday, July 21, 2013

WIWS: The I had to dig deep for this one....

So I'm digging deep into the old closet to come up with something new and different to wear on Sundays.

I find it easier in the winter to come up with new outfits because you can do lots of layering.

It's in the 90's here and the humidity is high.  Ain't no layering happening on this body until the end of September.  At the earliest.

I found this black skirt in the back of my closet and paired it with this tee shirt.  I dug this old necklace out of the back of my closet as well.  As I was digging I was thinking how I could really benefit from some new necklaces.

But I'd be a fool if I drug the kids to Target and Kohl's to shop for accessories.  Ain't no accessory shopping happening until August 21st.  At the earliest.

Anyone have any idea what August 21st is? ;)


So without further whining and complaining, here is my dug-from-the-depths-of-my-closet outfit.




 Details:

Tee-Shirt: Target
Skirt: - Target (years ago)
Wedges: Kohl's
Necklace: Either Kohl's or Target (years ago)

Head on over to Fine Linen and Purple to see what everyone else wore today.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Hot and sweaty! Finally.

It's hot here. Finally!  And no, I'm not complaining.  I've been waiting all summer for summer to begin and now it thankfully has. 

If I'm going to be sitting at the pool, I want it to be sunny and hot.  Clouds and rain just don't cut it.

Yesterday was in the 90s and I was sweating like a pig the entire time.  When I got home from the pool, I weighed myself and I weighed a half pound less than I did when I went. 

And I hate a ton of grapes, a big bowl of corn salad AND a tomato sandwich while there and I still lost a half pound. Sauna anyone?

But don't worry, that half pound resumed it's rightful place on my thighs this morning so all is well with the world.

Seaking of pounds, I am thiiiiiiiis close to reclaiming my January weight - the weight I was prior to the beginning of the Stuff Face and Don't Exercise Extravaganza of 2013.

I figure I'll be back to my regular weight just in time for the Gorge Self and Lay On Couch Spectacular of 2014.

So that's all from here.

Just lots of swimming pool time and sweating.  Oh, and eating tomato sandwiches!

I love me a mater sammich!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

WIWS: The Ebony and Ivory Edition


I'm linking up with all the lovelies at Fine Linen and Purple today for another edition of What I Wore Sunday.

And just like the post title implies, I went with classic black and white.

And not because I'm necessarily classic but simply because it was easy.  I pulled it out of the closet and threw it on and knew that it would look good together without thinking twice.  Black and white always look good together!


Shirt: Target
Pants: Marshalls
Shoes: Kohls








Saturday, July 13, 2013

Cow Appreciation Day!

Yesterday was Chick-fil-A Cow Appreciation Day! 

So we did what any good free food loving gang would do.  We dressed up like cows and got our entire order for free!

Here is a picture I snapped of the kids (Jennifer's included) outside of our local CFA.


Peter and Sarah are wearing the same thing we've worn the last two years and so was I in case you are interested!  Nothing like recycling the CFA cow costumes to add to the extra frugalness of the meal.

We had fun eating our free food and we're already looking forward to next year!

Friday, July 12, 2013

Still handsome.

Remember how in this post I waxed poetic about all the lasts your kids will go through and how we aren't on the lookout for those like we are for all their firsts?

One of the lasts I mentioned was the cute way Peter twirled his hair.  Well apparently this isn't going to be one of those cute little habits he grows out of when he's older because at 10 and a half, he still twirls his hair between his fingers when he is concentrating on something.  He does it when he's thinking, when he's reading a book, when he's watching something on YouTube. 

And while it was cute when he was two, it's a little worrisome now. 

We've always kept Peter's hair pretty short but whenever it starts to grow (usually right before haircut time) if there's any hair length at all, he will twirl it.

At the end of the school year, we decided we would let his hair grow out over the summer to see how he liked it.

And it's been growing and we've just been getting it trimmed around the edges.  I just wanted some hair that he could comb into a style - not a Justin Beiber or anything like that, just some actual hair.

Well over the last month, I've been noticing twirling and twisting and more twirling and more twisting.  He was actually twirling it so much that it was starting to get shorter where he was doing all the twirling...he was wearing his hair away!

But then, I looked closer.  As in, I lifted up the shaggy hair that was growing around the twirling spot and noticed that underneath, he had rubbed the hair AWAY! 

He had rubbed, twirled, and twisted himself a BALD SPOT!

So off to the barber we went.  We had to take drastic measures.  We went back to his old super short cut which is the only way to get him to stop twisting.  If there's no hair, there's no twisting.

The bald spot is clearly noticeable but there was no other choice.  If we left any hair to try to cover it, he was only going to twist that away as well.

The next day at the pool, moms were asking me what happened to Peter.  They wanted to know if he tried to cut his own hair.  HA!  At 10 and a half, I hope we are out of that phase but that's exactly what it looked like.

Kids were asking him what happened.  Before we went to the pool, he said he was going to tell them the barber did it accidentally or that he didn't know what happened.  I encouraged him not to lie.  So he ended up telling them that it got twisted off but he wasn't sure how it happened.  Okay...not exactly a lie but not exactly a truth.

Anyway, it's starting to grow back in and surely by the beginning of school he will have a full, yet short, head of hair!

Still handsome even with the bald spot!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

We've been looking for those for a while now!

We had the best swim meet yesterday.  They best, Jerry. The best!

We made it through the entire thing with no rain, no thunder and no lightening!  It was so great to be done in only 4 hours and it was equally great not to be wet.

But the best thing of all?

My kids swam so well.  I was so proud of them.  The last swim meet of the regular season is always bittersweet because by then, the kids are really swimming well and you hate to see it end.

Both the kids got first place finishes on their freestyle relays and medley relays.  Sarah finished 1st in freestyle, 1st in back stroke and 2nd in butterfly. Sarah's a great swimmer and always rocks it out!

Peter finished 3rd in backstroke, 1st in butterfly and the best of all?  He finished 1st in his individual medley relay!

He first raced that event last week but got disqualified for his breast stroke kick.  But this week, I told him to just go slow and steady and concentrate on the strokes and not to worry about winning. 

He was in second place the whole time but at the very end, on the freestyle lap, he looked over and realized his teammate David was edging him out so he actually kicked it in and poured it on.  And he won!  It was by less than half a second but he won!

I was trying to remain calm but I was jumping up and down like a fool.  Dan wasn't there so I was grabbing Jennifer's shirt while jumping up and down like a fool.  Normally I would have been screaming like a fool too but the IMs are at the end of the meet so there were less people at the pool and it was fairly quiet and I didn't want to sound like a fool in addition to looking like a fool.

Also, David's parents were standing near us and I thought it would be tacky to be screaming so loud for Peter when it was such a close race.

But, oh, I was proud of that kid!  Best of all?  He was so proud of himself!

Maybe he's finally found his speed and his competitive side! 




Tuesday, July 9, 2013

The fourth.

In my quest to tell you about our 5th of July fun at the wet ballgame, I forgot to mention our 4th of July fun.

My parents had us and my BFF's family over for a cookout.  The menu included:

London Broil
Grilled Chicken Thighs
Hot Dogs
Twice Baked Potatoes
Salad
Deviled Eggs
Bread
Corn on the Cob
Mom's Super Chocolate Cake
Cherry Yum Yum

And Jennifer brought jalapeno popper dip and I brought baked beans (using Mom's recipe, of course!).





Cheyanne and Sarah

Sarah and my mom, the chef extraordinaire!

My dad, the grill master!

All the men!

Cheyanne and Jennifer


And then after gorging ourselves on all of that delicious food, we did what all good Southerners do - we sat on the front porch!

Monday, July 8, 2013

Play ball! After the tarps are removed and the rain finally stops, of course!

We went to a Winston-Salem Dash game on Friday night.  We try to go to at least one Dash game a year.  I looked at our schedule and their schedule last week and realized that if we didn't go on Friday, we weren't going until mid-August.  ACK!  Mid-August?  School starts on August 21st so it seemed imperative that attend a game as soon as possible.

And the bonus?  There were going to be fireworks after the game.

But seeing as how North Carolina is now located squarely in the middle of a monsoon belt, it rained.

The game was set to start at 7:00.  We were in our seats at 6:50, glancing nervously at the darkening skies.  And at 6:51, the grounds crew began to roll out the tarps.

Uh-oh, they most know something we don't know.  And then as Dan and I were eyeing one another, a few rain drops started to fall and they made an announcement that the game (which had not even started) was in a rain delay.

We spent the next hour posing with Bolt, the team mascot, and eating over-priced yet very delicious concessions, and trying to avoid the rain that at times was very hard and blowing all over us.

Finally, at 8:25, our rain delay was over and they began to play ball!

The Dash won, the fireworks were great and the kids were thrilled to be up past midnight!

The wet, wet summer continues but we aren't going to let a little rain stop us!



Sunday, July 7, 2013

WIWS: The Sarah Says It Doesn't Match Edition.

I have finally fully recovered from my latest bout with strep throat! I normally bounce back with in a day or two but this time it took my until about Thursday evening until I finally felt 100% like my old self. So to celebrate, I decided to wear an outfit to Mass today that Sarah said didn't match. I'm such a rebel.

And I knew should would say that.... but... remember when I wore the same skirt here? 

And in that post I said that a fashion blogger said that black and white skirts were in this summer.  But to really make them pop,you needed to wear them with a brightly colored top.  So:

Here you go!  Brightly colored top!

And the shoes I wore with the skirt last time were returned to Target because THEY SQUEAKED THE ENTIRE WAY TO THE ALTER FOR COMMUNION.  THE ENTIRE WAY.  AND WE NORMALLY SIT IN THE BACK OF OUR LARGE CHURCH!

It was horrifying.  So I promptly took them back to Target, admitted that I wore them once but that they SQUEAKED.  And they took them back.  Good retailer!

So I paired the outfit with these pink shoes.  Probably a little too much pink but it's what I had so I went with it.  And then I took a long necklace and doubled it up to give it some black on top for balance.  That makes it sound like I know what I'm talking about.

Even though Sarah says it doesn't match, I think it looks pretty good.  And I didn't feel as dorky as I thought I would with my bright pink top on.

Head over to Fine Linen and Purple for more What I Wore Sunday.





My all time fave WIWS photo.  My head is not on here!  Love it!


Check the strange pink pose.  I really should have been a catalog model.  All this talent wasted!

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

More of the same...

We had another swim meet yesterday.  And of course it rained and rained and then, just for good measure, it rained some more.  I'm really beginning to think that we live in Seattle. 

But there was no thunder and no lightening so the swimmers swam in the rain and we completed our third swim meet.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that we actually have sun and no rain for next week's meet.

Here are a few pictures I took.  And yes, they basically look like the ones from last week but they are my kids and mommas do love pictures of their kids - even if they look very similar to other pictures of their kids!














Monday, July 1, 2013

Whose the old lady at the grocery store? It's me! It's me!

I went grocery shopping on Saturday a little later than normal because Sarah's new bed was being delivered.  After they got it set up, I hit the road to Aldi's and Wal-Mart.

The whole time I was shopping, I felt like an old lady.  As I loaded a case of water, a case of Coke Zero and a watermelon into my card I couldn't get over how heavy they felt.  Why do they feel so heavy, I wondered?  Perhaps I should be working on my upper arm muscles instead of doing all this running.

I trudged through the rest of my shopping and finally made it home, unloaded and put away the groceries and made lunch.  At this point, I just wanted to sit down but Sarah was ready to put her room back together.

So I helped her but everything back onto the bookshelf and into the dresser.  And finally, we were done.  I told her we would hang everything on the walls on Sunday after church because I just didn't have it in me to do one more thing.

While we were dusting her bookshelf, I got some dust caught in my throat and started coughing and sputtering like a two-pack-a-day smoker.

And after all the hacking was done, it hurt every time I swallowed.  But I proceeded to make the world's best burgers for dinner (stuff the patties with cream cheese and jalapenos, yum!) while watching a Red Sox game, convinced my husband that when we go to the Cape this summer we really should go see the Red Sox play (at 9 and 10 the kids are finally old enough to appreciate it), and spent some time at my parent's house after dinner.  The whole time my throat was scratchy and by bed time, it was down right sore.

I went to bed, tossed and turned, woke up at least 78 times to swallow and the pain got progressively worse with each swallow.  I laid in bed trying unsuccessfully to go back to sleep and realized, I had strep.

So as soon as I could pull myself out of the bed, I got dressed and went to the Urgent Care.  And of course, the speedy strep test came back positive.

I spent all day yesterday on the couch with a fever napping  on and off. Typically when I have strep, I feel remarkably better after just the first dose of antibiotics.   Not so with this fun case.  I'm on dose three and my throat is still sore.  Hoping by tonight when I hit the 36 hour mark on antibiotics I no longer have to wince with each swallow.

So to all my adoring WIWS fans, there is no post and no picture since I did not go to Mass and spent the whole day wearing capris and a sweatshirt.

And a blanket.