This is 10!

We have a few birthday traditions in our neck of the woods... the first is the birthday balloons that hang in the doorway of the birthday boys bedroom so they see them first thing on their birthday morning.  

I didn't know how much he enjoyed them until he told me to hang them back up after they had to be taken down the so the door could be closed the next day.  Someone may have been having a little time out. He told me that it makes the day feel like your birthday.  So I guess we will continue to hang balloons for the years to come!

Another tradition is the birthday hat.  I started this tradition before Coopers 1st birthday and it has been going strong ever since.  Even the adults get to wear the birthday hat on their special day!

Our favorite tradition is that Nana always make the cake with love.  It makes both Grady and I happy as he gets to choose whatever he wants and I don't have to bake the cake.  She does a great job!

Here is a closer look at the cake.  I bet she never expected to make a poop cake, but I'm thinking it was easier than all the red cakes she has made in the past!

This year Grady was lucky to have his birthday fall on the weekend so we were able to celebrate with his friends on the actual day. 

Grady really wanted to have his birthday at Southland Leisure Center pool.  I am sure it is his favorite place in the city.  The thought of having a bunch of boys there under my supervision terrified me so we compromised and had it at the Inglewood Pool.  It is a large rectangle pool where we (along with the lifeguards!) can see all the kids.  It comes complete with 2 slides, a climbing wall, and lots of floating rafts.

The odd thing is that they wanted us to eat before we swam.  That goes against every thing they taught us growing up.  For the first time ever I ordered exactly the right amount of pizza for 16 boys.  Yes, 16!!!  After pizza and cake I tried my best to contain them behind the ropes.  Finally I inquired how much it would be to let them in the pool 20 minutes early.  At $1 a kid it was worth every single penny!

They boys had to sit down and listen to the rules, and there were a lot!  They also enforced them which I was thrilled about.  They are more used to a group of boys in the pool than I am, that is for sure!

The lighting in the pool was terrible and most of my pictures ended up like this one.

I loved the climbing wall.  It is angled towards the water so when the kids fall they fall right into the pool.  I've never seen one of these at any other pool!

The kids had no problem swimming in the water for the 1 and 20 minutes and literally had to be dragged out of the water when the time was up.

Cooper was there to and had just as much fun with the big kids!

At the end of the party, each kid got a poop pillow to take home with them.  The boys went wild for them.  Though most of them already knew what they were getting since Grady was equally excited to hand them out!

At the end of the day Grady thanked me for making his say amazing.  That is exactly why we do crazy things like hosting a 16 person pool party!

Happy Birthday Grady!

What I'm Priming Vol. 3

With out further a due, this is what I've been priming lately.

iPad Case

I have been eyeing this case up for months and I finally pulled the trigger.  When I bought my first case almost a year ago I chose one with a stand because the majority of the time I used my iPad for watching Netflix or for recipes.  I also bought a pink one to deter the kids from using it. It didn't work.  I loved having the stand, but sadly within a few months the plastic leg broke off courtesy of a child that refuses to admit it.  Then I found this kid friendly indestructible case with a stand that is not going to fall off.  I had it in my saved items forever and finally pulled the trigger.  I chose purple to deter the kids and again is didn't' work.  LOVE this case!

Phone Case 

I have a 6S and it is over 2 years old.  I am contemplating an upgrade but because I just switched plans where my phone is no longer covered I am trying to delay the purchase of a new phone.  Instead, I bought a new clear case.  My phone is a pretty pink and the case had turned brown over the past 2 years without me even noticing.  I love my new case and for $10 I've successfully delayed the purchase of a new phone until fall!

Reading Light

I bought this light thinking it would be great on my field trip with Grady.  Well, I use this bad boy all the time.  When I lie with the kids I use it and the best thing is that James will even tolerate it in bed if I face the opposite way.  I didn't say that he likes it, but he tolerates it.  This was a great purchase for me!

Phone cords

Am I the only one that can never find a charging cable?  I didn't think so.  Especially not that my kids are using charging cables they are all over the house and arent' as durable since the kids aren't all that gentle with them.  I've had some packs that are duds and they don't last longer than a few months so I went to the apple store to find out they only guarantee them for a year.  So I went back to these cheap ones and figure even if they don't last I get 4 for the price of a fraction of an apple cord.  So far these have been great and I like the variation of the cord size.

That is what I've been priming lately.  I'd love to hear if you've bought anything you can't live without!  Or more likely you could... but you don't want to!

Happy 10th Birthday Grady!

Dear Grady,

Double digits this year! How can it be that its been 10 years since that rainy June morning that you were born?  They were right, the days are long but the years are short.  When you were little I always thought I'd be sad as you grew older, and I was, but I was also excited.  I have loved watching you grow up and have loved each year more than the last. 

Don't get me wrong, I love looking at pictures of you as a baby.  Just the other day I was watching a video from the day you were born and my heart melted for you as a new born but also for me as a brand new mom.  I wish I could go back and relive that single moment.

I loved holding you, watching your reach milestones, listening to you giggle... I miss those things but I also love watching you play sports, seeing you succeed at school, and meeting your Friends. 

While you and I may have changed over the years, my love for you has not and never will.

Love,
Mom

Now let me tell you a little about your 10 year old self.

This year your biggest accomplishment was changing schools.  You were a little excited and a lot nervous at this time last year.  You have had an amazing year.  You started in a class where you knew one kid that went to your school 2 years ago to having an entire class of friends, including 6 that you invited to your party this year.  I have love watching you conquer your fear and finding out it was worth it.

You wrapped up your first year of Atom in the spring with your team taking home the south side title.  I don't think you appreciate how fortunate you are to have won Esso Minor and south city finals already.  You have been on some great teams with many familiar faces.  We have our fingers crossed we'll be as lucky this year.

After the hockey season ended we switched over to soccer.  We played in the rec league this year to accommodate a 3 on 3 hockey league that ran once a week. You are a great little soccer player and I see a fire in you during most soccer games that isn't always lit up on the ice.  Maybe that is because you can hear your Dad/coach yelling from the sidelines!

You've grown your hair out this year.  When you style it, your hair you look so handsome, and so old.  But most days you still roll out of bed and don't even comb it.  The day that you start wearing gel on a regular basis will be the day I know you have a crush.

You are learning about sex ed at school right now.  At first I was over whelmed by all the questions you were asking and knowing how to answer them but a friend explained to me that I should feel happy that you trust me enough to ask. I suspect we will have some interesting conversations this year.....

As afar as I know, you do not like any specific girls.  You often ask me about my grade 4 crushes but refuse to admit that you may have one of your own.

You are still going through a phase where you are full of worry.  About people breaking in, getting lost, being in the house alone, being upstairs alone, and the list continues.  It has been almost 2 years since you abruptly became scared of being alone and I think you may be starting to overcome it.  It has been slow but I know that it is a phase and you won't need me like this forever.

You are a gamer.  This is something that I just don't understand.  Why do you and all your friends cram around one device to watch each other play the latest video game? It must be a boy thing.  Right now your current game obsession is Fortnite, give it a month and I'm sure you'll be onto something new.

We still walk you to the bus stop.  We've talked about when you may be ready to walk the block on your own and you tell me you are ready.  We've decided to be safe we will start with the walk to the bus stop solo next year.

I love to see how you value your friendships.  You didn't want to have a hockey party because some of your school friends don't play.  You didn't want to have a sleepover because you didn't want to leave any of your friends out.  Despite moving away from your best friend and changing schools you have still kept a close relationship with him.  Friendship has always been so important to me and I hope that I have passed that along to you.

You and I have started to read books together.  By that I mean I read and you listen.  Your Dad thinks its silly but as long as you keep wanting me to I will continue to do it.  So far we have read Wonder, Auggie and Me, Charlotte's Web, and 2 Gordon Korman books. I Want to go Home by Gordon Korman was read to me by my grade 4 teacher and I loved it.  It was such a pleasure to read it with Grady and have him enjoy it just as much.

If I don't read to you, you prefer to re read books you've already read.   You did not get that from me, I never re read books, even if I love them.  That is why I started reading to you, to make you read a new book!

These days your personality reminds me of Jekyll and Hyde.  You can explode with a nasty tantrum (yes you still have those!) then an hour later be the sweetest young man showering me with apologies, hugs, and kisses.

You are very aware of others feelings.  If I am sad you will make me a card.  When I run a race you make me a medal.  Even if you are the one that makes me angry, eventually you will recognize it and try to make it better.  

This year for your birthday you really wanted a skateboard, and a dog.  This coming from the kid that needed to be carried across the kitchen so he didn't have to be near Grandma's dog!  You cried when we dog sat and Cobee left even though you didn't show much interest during her stay.  I'm still unsure whether a dog is in our future or not.

You stay up late and get up early.  You are rarely sleeping before 9pm and you are often still up at 10pm.  You are no longer scared to go downstairs in the morning when you get up so you sneak down before are 7am agreed upon wake up time.  I should say you think that you are sneaky but seriously you walk like an elephant and I can hear you going down the stairs.

You are the only man in my life that likes to snuggle.  While it used to be every night you don't ask for it as much.  But when you do I soak it up. I know that the days of you hugging and kissing me are probably nearing an end.  Yet, you will still hold my hand in public and even when I volunteer at school.  That make me feel so special.

Your eating still sucks.  You refuse to eat essentially anything healthy.  A healthy snack for you would be cheese. Enough said.

You have a love/hate relationship with your brother.  It is what you and I fight about the most.  You can be really nasty and call him some bad names, you are the oldest and biggest and you like to remind him of that.  On the flip side you like to play vids together and always include each other with your friends.  My one hope for you both is that you become and stay best friends.

You've had such an amazing year this year it is going to be a tough one to top.  

Happy 10th birthday Grady.

Love,

Mom 

Grady's Birthday Interview - Age 10

Someone is turning 10 this week!  In honor of Grady's birthday it is time to dust off the annual questionnaire and see how your answers have changed. As always, my comments are in italics.

Who is your best friend? Alex, Jayden, Sav and Ian.  I'm happy to see 2 new kids from school on your list.  Though one is more an old friend than a new friend since I've known his mom for years!

What is your favorite animal? Panda, I don't know. I think this will be the last year for this question.  Grady is not into animals.  Never has been.  Though I'm surprised he didn't say dog.

What is your favorite subject at school? Art.  Humanities.  Really?  It isn't an elective?  Oh yeah, its actually coding.

What do you want to be when you grow-up? What should I be?  Accountant.  No, I don't want to be an accountant.  I want to be a teacher. Art, no, gym. Where are you going to teach?  Connect.

Who is your favorite teacher? Ms, Montgomery.  This was his kindergarten teacher and truthfully a fantastic teacher.

Who is your favorite hockey player?  Patrick Kane. No change here.

Favorite team? Chicago, Nashville, Vegas

Favorite trip this year? I liked Frank Slide. Really?  I was thinking about a family trip.  Then, Mexico.

What is your favorite TV show? You Tube.  Do kids even watch regular TV anymore?  I think this one is coming off next year as well.

What is your favorite book? I Want to go Home or Restart. I have been reading both books out loud to him and they are also by my favorite child hood author.  So glad he is enjoying them.

What makes you happy? When you get me gifts or when I see you after work.  This is a lie.  No one cares when I come home from work!

What makes you sad? When you put me in my room.  Grady, it makes me sad as well.

What is your favorite food to eat? Burgers.  The ones from Southland Leisure Center, Mcdonalds or the Gutsy Walk. McDonalds maybe...  but the other two are questionable....

Fave restaurant? - Swiss chalet. Only Nana is willing to take him there for the chicken and ribs.

Favorite treat? Freezie.  This may have to do with the fact that we just bought a giant box to kick off summer!

What games do you like to play?  Fortnite.  No surprise.

Favorite Sport? Hockey, I like to play center.

Favorite thing about your new school  - All the field trips!

A food I don't like is? Fruit, veggies and salad.  Will I ever get this kid eating healthy food?  How does he maintain his slim physique on mostly carbs?  I want his metabolism.

What are you scared of? Someone breaking in.  We've spent so much time talking about this and why he should be scared.  His bedroom is on the second level, we have an alarm system that will call the police...   No matter, it still causes him worry.

What do you like doing with me? Camping.  Really, I am certainly not a camper.  I thought he'd say reading.

Do you have a girlfriend? No! I had to ask!

As Grady is getting older his answers are changing so much, as are my questions.  I hope he'll enjoy reading these when he is older. I know I will!

2018 Banff Half Marathon

Before

After a lot of struggle that included me starting my training from scratch after an injury, I completed the full 21.1 km race this weekend!  There is a but.  I wasn't able to run the whole thing.

I crushed the first 15km.  I ran at a good pace.  I stuck to my plan of 10s and 1s right from the start.  I maintained a good pace.  At about 7km I started to feel something in my knee.  I hoped it was nothing and kept going, after all, I am hyper sensitive to any sensation down the my right leg these days.  I ran essentially pain free until right after the 15k mark which was about 90 minutes into the race.

My physio therapist (who I adore and credit with my ability to run at all!) told me that I may have to extend my 1 minute of walking at some point during the race to give my leg extra recovery time.  I kept that in mind hoping not to have to use that tip.   From 15-17 km I did a mix of walking and running.  I would run until it started to hurt then switch to walking.  I did this for 15ish minute before I decided to stop.

My ultimate goal was to not further injure my leg so I could continue to run this summer. 

I knew that I could continue to run the rest of the race but that I would also have to start from scratch all over again so with a heavy runner's heart I decided to walk the last 4 km.

Now when I say walk, it was more of a power walk.  I was walking as fast as I could and must have looked ridiculous.  I was walking faster than some were running!  I just really wanted to get the best time possible under the circumstances.

My time for my second half marathon was 2:18 which included a stop for a train.  That was only 3 minutes slower than my first half marathon where I finished with a time of 2:15.  Let's think about this, I walked for 4 km and only finished 3 minutes slower. 

Shouldn't I be happy?

I should be thrilled. I worked hard, I made a smart decision for my body, my time was decent given my walking.  Yet, I felt and still do feel deflated.

I may have shed some tears while I power walked.

I hated that my body wouldn't let me do something I wanted to do so badly.  I hated that people were passing me and I hated that I couldn't beat my previous time.   Good thing I had my sunglasses on so my eyes could get teary in privacy. Ha!

The great thing about coming in last of your group is that you have lots of pictures of your finish.  I even have a video.  As I approached my friends and they congratulated me, I was holding back tears.  My friend that took this photo had no idea that she captured me fighting tears.  Classic lip bite.

Now let's talk about these ladies.

After!

I am so lucky to have found a group of ladies that share the same passion for running as me.  These are fellow school moms that I've met over the years and have become a big part of my life, not only as runners, but as friends. I've come to look forward to our running weekends where we put ourselves first (even if its father's day!) and do something that we are passionate about, followed up by a whole lot of indulgence, starting with this:

We are already talking about which run we will do next year.  Yes, it was hard.  Yes, I am sore.  Yes, Yes, YES I want to do it all over again next year!  I love that it gives me the motivation to run not only that day but the months leading up to it.

I learned several valuable lessons this year.

1.  Doing a race while training isn't a great idea unless it fits exactly into your training plan.  Don't run 5 extra km so you can race.  Especially in my case where I am prone to injury.

2.  Start my strengthening exercises before you get injured.  I plan to continue with my exercises a few times a week year round but will start doing them daily again 1 month before training officially starts. I want my glutes in tip top shape for running season.

3.  Stretch, stretch, stretch.  I started doing 5+ minutes of stretching after my runs and as I get older this will become more and more important to injury prevention.

Hopefully with a few small changes to my training regime I'll crush my PR next year.  I'm coming after you 2:15!

Race Ready?

Last night I finished my last training run before attempting my second half marathon on Sunday.

I did so with mixed emotions.  I am not ready for this race. If you remember, I did a 15k race in April and injured myself.  Some may have thrown in the towel and accepted that running another longer race less than 2 months later wouldn't be feasible.  Not me, me and my A type personality had a plan and I was going to follow it through, even if it meant making modifications.

Over the course of the last 8 weeks I have been to countless appointments for the damage that I did by running 5k on an injured leg.  I've seen my physio therapist who set me up with exercises to strengthen my glutes and a training program that substituted the eliptical so I could get some endurance training in.  I've seen my Chiropractor to fix my body up after some muscle groups had to compensate for the ones that were injured.  And finally, I tried acupuncture for the first time on a sports related injury.  I'm still on the fence about whether acupuncture helped but it sure felt good to lie in a dark room over my lunch break and rest.  It was good for my mind if nothing else.

Running is a mental game.

I am prepared to stop at any indication of pain during the race.  I love to run and I don't want to injure myself again and not be able to run the rest of the summer.  I plan to start the run as usually running 10 and walking 1, but at the first hint of pain I am pulling the plug.  That is what I am telling myself even though that is not what I did last time.  I need to prepare myself mentally that finishing fast is not a priority, but finishing uninjured is.

It's not worth it.

My longest run to date was 10km on Monday.  My knee didn't hurt but it doesn't feel quite right.  Maybe weak is the right word.  It feels like new muscles are working, or hopefully, it is old muscles working differently.  I have to run double my longest distance to complete the race.  While I am hopeful that it is possible, the realist in me is preparing myself for defeat.

No matter how many times I tell myself it is okay to walk the second half if I need to, I know it will be a tough decision.  I have to do what is best for me, even if I feel dissapointed.  I've done everything I've been told, but is that enough?  Only time will tell.

This weekend you will find me on my roller and working those glute muscles while my body prepares itself for a 21 km run first thing Sunday morning.

Finish or not, I know there will be wine at the end and that is what I am running towards.

An Anuual Visit with Sara: The one with all the poop

Meet Sara.

We went to high school together, then lived together for 3 years during university before I eventually moved to the big city shorty after graduation.  Over 15 years later and we still talk on the phone once a week for an hour.  Truthfully, it is probably the biggest reason I still have a land line.

She started coming once a year during the weeks that her childcare was closed and now she and her kids continue to come because we have so much fun.

This year, she arrived late Thursday night and we left all the kids with Jasmin Friday and went to the mall for some retail therapy.  Sara was on the hunt for a purse. Not just any purse... but a purse with an outside zipper and a zipper that closes the whole thing up.  I am no stranger to her prerequisites for her purses and it amazes me every time she finds one that meets her criteria.  It was also amazing to me how she fits so much in her purse and how heavy it is.  I carry my wallet and glossy gloss.

On our shopping trip we bought each of the boys a new poop shirt for $6.  Best $6 ever spent.  They loved them and proceeded to wear them for 2 days.  Grady and Aiden are both having poop themed parties this summer so it was an obvious choice.

Each year my kids seem to introduce Aiden to some new thing that they all become obsessed with  and this year was no different.  This year the game of choice was Fortnite. They are obsessed with the dance moves in the game and have taken to watching (and making!) videos of others attempting the different dances.  it was fantastic entertainment!

We caught Aiden practicing his dance moves on the way out to yard as us girls watched from the window and giggled. Poor guy was embarrassed when he turned to see all 3 of us watching him out the window.  This continued in the field, at the mall, every where we took them.  They tried to post the video on Coop's YouTube station but the ipad got confiscated before they were finished or I would have posted the video.

The kids started having sleepovers during the visit last year which means later nights, early mornings, and tired kids.  No wonder they are tired, Aiden isn't even sleeping on the mat!

Like previous years, we packed up the kids and took them to Calaway Park for the day. Sara's kids love it there, mine, not so much.  They like to go to play games and eat cotton candy and maybe go on about 5 rides and definitely no scary ones.  Notice the poop shirts again on day 2.

Macy spends time with me and my boys while her mom and brother go on the roller coaster.  Not because she is scared, but because she is too short. In prior years, Macy screamed the whole time her mom was gone but I think I am finally growing on her.

Can I just say how nice it is to have a little girl around.  My favorite line of Macy's this weekend was when her Mom asked her to wash her hands and she turned around and tells her "I'm not into that Mom".  OMG I laughed.

A close second was when we were watching The Bachelorette and little Macy was still up at 11pm and she snuck upstairs to watch the rose ceremony with us.  She takes one look at Jordan (the model) at the rose ceremony wearing only a towel and asks very frankly,  "Where are they going to pin the rose"

Good question Macy, good question.

While at Calaway the kids found these poop hats.  They really wanted the hats and for $10 you could get the hat full of rings and play the ring game.  Bam!  We had 4 hat fulls of rings and not one ringer.  That game is harder than it looks!

 As if the 5 hours we spent at Calaway wasn't enough, we came home and had a lemonade limeade stand at the house.  It certainly wasn't my idea but when I said no and they asked for a garage sale I decided the limeade stand would be easier.  Truthfully, the accountant in me loves the idea of teaching them about profit and loss.  We made $4 in revenue (8 glasses) and truthfully they drank half the product and didn't buy the supplies.  I'm pretty sure they were operating at a loss.

Why limeade you ask?  Because the frozen stuff can also be used for Margaritas!  I had lots of them on hand but me thinks its time to reload after my loss in supply.

While the kids filled up on limeade, us ladies drank mojitos.  I have declared it the summer of the mojito after I bought a bar muddler. I have almost perfected it.  Did you know there is 2 tablespoons of sugar in a mojito?  Me neither.

Like every other year, it rained for one of our few days together.  We planned to go hiking on Sunday since Sara's kids have never been to the mountains but when the forecast showed lots and lots of rain we opted instead of a day at the pool.  Next year we have already decided to make the mountains a priority.  Yup, already planning next year.

..

No matter what we do or how long they stay, my absolute favorite part of the weekend are the mornings when we pour our coffee and sit in our PJs and visit.  Or when we pore a glass of wine for me and a beer for her and pretend to watch TV while we spend the time catching up after the kids are in bed.  It's the little things.  It is quality over quantity.  The every little day things that we do together instead of apart.  I am so lucky to call her my friend.

Thanks for a great weekend!