The Swim Meet

Last night was our first real competitive swim meet against a neighboring team. Piper and Cohen did so well! We did go to swim practice this morning but they still did not have the results/ribbons ready for the kids, so I am not sure how they did time-wise. We got lots of compliments from the coaches and other parents about the kids' swimming. Cohen swam a 100m freestyle relay with 3 other swimmers and a 25m freestyle individual and 25m breast stroke individual. Here he is getting ready for the 25m breast stroke:
Here is Cohen jumping in for the 25m freestyle. He is in the last lane mid-air:

Cohen in the water with the Coach cheering him on (the lady in the dark blue tee):

Piper swam in the 25m freestyle, 25m backstroke and 2 100m relays (one freestyle and one backstroke). Backstroke is definitely her strongest stroke and her favorite. Here she is waiting for the backstroke race to start:

Piper, mid-stroke:

Piper finished first in her heat:

Abe, trying to stay out of trouble:

Cohen, after his last race:

Recap

The YMCA was successful last week. I really kicked my own butt there everyday doing at least an hour of cardio and lifting a little Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I took yesterday off and I am planning to head there after swim team this morning for another day of work-out bliss!

Last week was low key with afternoons spent at home and evenings spent at the pool for Piper and Cohen's swim team practice. They have their first swim meet this Thursday so I will be sure to get some good pictures.

We attended a graduation brunch party for Chad's cousin on Saturday morning which was so yummy! His Aunt even gave me a small bag of clothes for myself. I love hand-me-downs, even for myself!

Saturday afternoon we had this crazy rainstorm that came out of nowhere and thundered and poured. The same thing happened yesterday afternoon, kinda crazy weather! Great for the garden though which is totally out of control in it's little square plot. The green beans and cucumbers are latching onto everything and the squash and zucchini are producing more than we can eat. I made my Nanny's squash muffins last night and I think I will try some zucchini bread today. I have also been shredding and freezing the zucchini to make zucchini bread later in the year.

Abe keeps asking me to make Ovaltine so I better get to my mothering duties!

New workout

Yesterday was my first day in almost a year not getting up at 5am and working out at home. I think I was starting to get a little burned out so I am trying to mix things up this month especially since we are out of school. I got the kids up, fed them breakfast and headed to the local YMCA yesterday morning. Abe did so well in the childwatch and the older kids seemed pretty excited about being there too. I jumped on the treadmill for a little over an hour (mostly walking 4-4.6mph and a little running 6mph) making it 4.8 miles total! Then chatted with a friend for a few minutes and did a little resistance training on the Nautilus machines.

It was so refreshing and totally what I needed to break the monotany. And did I mention that I slept in until 6:20am, that's pretty late for me! This morning my whole body aches so I definitely needed to change-up my routine. There is nothing simple about P90X and Insanity but I think I was so used to the workouts that my body was not benefitting like it had in the past.

After the Y we went to the library to sign up for their summer reading program and then on to Target to pick up a baby shower gift for a shower I missed this past weekend. We ended up running into my friend from the Y at Target and even saw her again at the pool when I took the kids for swim team! Pretty random to go for months without seeing someone and then run into them 3 times in one day!

Cohen did so well at swim team according to his coach. He was swimming up a down his lane without taking breaks (holding on to the side of the pool or the rope down the lane). Most the kids his age will grab on to the sides to get their breath and the swim on, but I just learned yesterday that actually disqualifies them at a meet, so it was a big deal that Cohen was swimming without stopping. The parents had a meeting during swim practice which was a little uptight and overboard in my opinion. I brought the kids to have fun and work on their swimming skills, not to be the fastest, most skilled swimmers out there. I guess with all children's sports, there are parents that are going to go overboard and ruin the fun for their kids. As long as they do not shout at my kids we will do just fine!

Pole Dancer

I have to share this story because it is both appalling and hysterical!

Although I have never really let Piper spend the night with friends, I am always more than happy to host her friends at our house. More often than any other friends, we have her distant cousins stay with us. They are girls, 6 and 8 years old and very mature for their ages. During the weekend of Abe's birthday party they spent the night and as usual got up way earlier than my kids. I was in the kitchen with them both and the younger one was belting out a tune. I turned to her and complimented her singing, telling her she might be an opera singer when she grows up.

The older one turns around in her seat and states very matter-of-factly, "No, my mom says she's going to be a pole dancer because she dances like crazy every time we turn on the radio."

I had to ask her to repeat herself to ensure what I just heard. Indeed, I had heard correctly but to press the issue even further and to see if she knew what she was talking about I said, "Well, that's not a very respectable career."

And as she is turning back around to the table she says, "No, it's not."

Wow, I had to pick my jaw back up off the floor. Not only do these sisters know things too mature for their years, these things are being spoken over them. What to do, what to do??

What's been going on?

We finished our homeschool year on Thursday which was very exciting! This school year went so much more smoothly than last. I had always heard that your first year is the hardest and now I can attest to it. Our days were not without problems but I guess you get to a point that you are not discouraged by bad attitudes and days that go totally off your original plan. You just roll on and deal, knowing you are committed to educating your children at home.

Friday was spent relaxing and enjoying having no committments. We did go to the homeschool supply store looking for a planner for next year, but I am having no luck finding what I am looking for. I am a planning, organizing freak, so getting the right planner is a must for me.

Yesterday was Gold Medal Day at Piper's gymnastics facility. She was so excited and so nervous! She practiced for 2 days memorizing her routines for floor and beam and trying to get them perfect. Her performance at the ceremony was awesome; she has made so many improvements this year with her tumblig particularly. We are currently driving 30 minutes each way to gymnastics, so I asked her last night if she would like to try the local one again (3 minutes away) but she wants to stay where she is. It is obviously a good fit for her just a long drive!

Here are some pics from the performance, not great ones as my camera's flash does not match its zoom capability.

Just another day...

Yesterday was back to the regular daily grind for us.

Chad and I took the kids for their annual check-ups at 9am, which is really early for my crew to be up and out. Cohen had been so excited about his vaccinations because they give the kids one token for each shot administered to be used in the toy vending machines at the entrance. Well, with the first prick of the needle, he jerked his arm away and the needle came right out. Then the nervousness set in. The nurse had to prick him again to give that shot and he started crying. Chad had to hold him for the 2nd shot and he still managed to jerk his arm away before all the vaccine went in! So he had to have 4 pricks total to get the 2 vaccines. The nurse gave him 4 tokens which seemed to make the pain disappear more quickly! I have delayed Abe's vaccinations (except dTap) so I am starting to get him caught up now that he is a little older. He had the MMR and Prevnar vaccines yesterday and screamed even louder than Cohen! A few plastic toys later he regained composure and the visit was complete.

The kids are all about 50% in height which I am thrilled with, considering the older two generally stay in the 25%. They are starting to catch up and Abe has defintely slowed down. Their weights were all inline with their height but the doctor did say they were muscular in build so it would be important to keep them active, which we already do and plan to keep doing. Chad has a muscular build and I have never been a "thin, thin" person, my build is probably a little thicker so they are taking after their parents.

We celebrated at Bojangles for a late breakfast after the doc visit then headed home for schoolwork, outdoor play and naps (for Abe). Chad took the kids to swim team while Abe and I started weeding around the house. The weeds have multiplied daily so I have got to get to work on them. Since we are finishing our school year on Thursday, I should have some extra time for yard work. Schooling is so time consuming but I love the peace of having my kids with me all day, every day!

Sickies

Yesterday was a sick day. I rarely feel yucky but at least this time I was the only one affected. I laid around as much as possible and even missed my exercise, which I never do. I did manage to make a grape salad and a cucumber salad to take to a family get-together at my Papa's house yesterday afternoon. We had a nice visit, but I just moved around from chair to chair visiting and watching the kids.

Most importantly, I am feeling almost 100% this morning, so it's over PRAISE GOD! We have check-ups for all three kids, schoolwork and swim team today, so it's a good thing I'm feeling better!