Cantaloupe and Puppies

Our cantaloupe is growing!  Henry told me that now he can write about what he grew over the summer. Apparently, every year he has to just write about the weeds and wildflowers that we "grow" in our garden.  So we are all pretty excited about this little plant. 

Also, we are all spending the night at my mom's house tonight. Henry is playing with all of the toys that his little cousins left out here. He found a purse and a puppy.  This boy will never be bored in life.

I noticed tonight that Henry and Hayden are very good at entertaining themselves.  This is a good skill to have in life.  They are pretty cool kids.  We are watching Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  Every year, I do the Bueller... Bueller joke while I'm taking attendance and no one ever gets it.  So disappointing. 

long day

I watched Wolverine with my mom and my boys last night and then we came home and watched TV late into the night.  Harrison went to bed at midnight.  He had practice at 8am and he takes his running schedule very seriously.  My sleep schedule is a mess!  This is going to be a problem for me next week.

I spent the day with lots of great friends.  I had a lot of fun and after everyone left, I went on a 2 hour bike ride.  It was a perfect night for a bike ride.  Perfect weather, no traffic, IU campus empty.  A friend of mine joined me at about mile 8.  It's great to bike with a buddy, but honestly, I don't mind biking alone during the day.  When I bike alone, I don't have to worry about whether I'm going too fast or too slow.  I'm not great at biking, but I do love it.  I'm in no hurry to get anywhere when I'm on a bike.  I don't worry about pace or time.  It's a nice feeling.

33 days

I have 33 days until the half marathon.  I biked for an hour today and then ran 2 miles.  I'm running 15 minute miles, which is pathetic.  Harrison runs 5 minute miles and 4 when he only has to run 2 miles.   I know I shouldn't compare myself to a 16 year old boy, but I'd like to get closer to 12 minute miles.  I'm making progress, but this run is probably going to take me about 3 hours to finish.  My trainer tells me everyday that if I eat healthy, then the training will take care of itself.  I'm trying so hard to make good choices when I eat.  I have some seriously bad habits.

School starts in one week and that will make all of this training about 1000 times more difficult.  The first couple of weeks of school are exhausting.  It's kind of like being hit by a bus, a school bus, and then you are made to get up off of the ground and drive the bus.  You are then responsible for driving the bus around for 6 hours while everyone runs up and down the aisle talking and singing at the top of their lungs.  I'm so glad that the students are starting on Wednesday this year.  Last year, they started on Monday and by Friday, every teacher, student, and administrator was like the walking dead.  Stamina people.  It's a word.

Presentation

I survived my first presentation today.  There were 16 people signed up and only about 7 showed up.  That was a little disappointing, but I think the participants enjoyed the training.  I taught all these wonderful people how to use My Big Campus in their classroom.  I love using My Big Campus in my class, so I was pretty relaxed during the presentation.  The only thing that was stressing me out was the time.  I wasn't sure that I had enough planned to last the entire 3 hours.  I allowed time for the group to create a few assignments and ask questions, but I still ended about 30 minutes early.  One teacher stayed and talked to me until almost 4 and I showed him how to do a few other things that were not on the list, so I felt like I did my job.

Hayden is using his underwear for a pillow.

Now, I just need to finish my assignment for the summer class and all of my stress will be gone!  I just need to get focused and stop checking facebook, looking at blogs, and watching tv.  I'm obsessed with the show Orange is the New Black.

I think my workouts with my personal trainer are doing some good.  I hit the ball over the fence in my softball game tonight!  The fence was only 250 feet, but it still felt pretty good.  Now I just need to be able to run 13.1 miles.

Half Marathon

My mom has been begging me to do a run with her.  I just wasn't ready.  I've been slacking off and pretty much sucking at life.  I'm trying to get back to where I was a couple of years ago.  Let me think, oh yeah, I was doing ok until I tore my calf muscle and could barely walk for 3 weeks.  Yesterday, I made the decision to finally be ready.  I signed my mom and I up for the Indianapolis Women's Half Marathon.  I'm pretty excited to be running in a marathon that is only for women.  I've read so many stories about how women were not allowed to run back in the day.  They thought their uterus would fall out or something stupid like that.  You know what's crazy?  The run is in 40 days.  Well, 39 now.  So, um, I need to get to work ASAP and I'm completely out of shape.

Today, I made the boys go on a long bike ride with me.  We probably biked 10 miles together.  I let Hayden make his all important stop at Cresent Donut.  Henry and I refused to go in with him.  When we got back, I took off on my own for awhile.  I rode for another 30 minutes by myself.  It was a great day to ride.

The Insanity Workout infomercial is on right now.  They are pretty much guaranteeing that I will be in shape in 60 days.  I've read a little about it on line and everyone says that it works.  I doubt that I could handle that intense of a workout right now.

I knew this was going to happen.  It's 4 am and I have to get up in three hours for work.  I took a sleeping pill two hours ago and nothing.  I'm wide awake and tomorrow is going to suck now.

Train

I took the twins to their first big concert last night.  We started out in the lawn, but thanks to Goodwoman's connections, we were moved to about row 15.  The seats were awesome and it made the twins's first concert experience amazing.  The Script and Gavin Degraw opened up for Train.  The lead singers for both bands left the stage and were running around the crowds of people as they sang some of my favorite songs.

We saw a ton of people dressed as mermaids last night.  The tour is called Mermaids of Alcatraz and Train announced that if you come dressed as a mermaid, you can score seats in a better section!  Here are a couple of guys that really wanted to sit up front.

I had a lot of fun watching the boys sing along to all the songs that they knew.  My favorite was when they sang 50 Ways to Say Goodbye.  The boys watched this video on youtube over and over again.  They loved watching all the ways that the lead singer made up about how his girlfriend died.  They played the scene where she fell down the stairs like 20 times.  I think they were really into how the video was made because they were zooming in on the mannequin falling down the stairs.

I really want to take the boys to the Bruno Mars concert that's in August, but the tickets are so expensive and it's a school night.  Maybe if we eat PB&J every night until then, we can go.

City Museum

I finally found the pictures of our past visits to the City Museum.  I knew that Harrison had gone twice, but I couldn't remember when. We went over with some friends and watched the Cubs play the Cardinals.

Harrison age 5

My boys are too big for the little train ride now.  Harrison is on the left in the red shirt and Henry and Hayden are in the blue shirts with Titus in the middle.

Ball Pit 2005

To get to the airplane, you have climb outside through the wire cages.  

2005 Henry

Hayden

The boys love playing in this area.  They call it the Skate Park.  They slide down the hills and run in circles.

Skate Park

Henry, Hayden, and Titus love to tell everyone that they have been friends since the day the twins were born.  I have so many great pictures of the three of them together.  It's been a ton of fun watching them grow up.  They've never been in the same class together or even gone to the same school, but somehow these boys are best friends.  They must know the secret to friendship.  They will meet up at Bloomington North High School one day as freshmen, but I'm ready to slam on the brakes of this whole growing up thing right now. 

I can not find the pictures that I took from our 2007 visit and it's making me crazy!  I'm going to keep looking and update this page someday!

St. Louis

My mom and I took the twins and their "bestie" Titus to St. Louis for a little vacation.  Our first stop was a water park in Collinsville, Illinois.  I played in the water a little with the boys, but mostly I just sat there trying to get my back to calm down.  Stupid back.

Hayden Surfing

Henry on the Aqua-Climber

I read a little, but mostly I watched the lifeguards walk around with their whistles in their mouths.  If a kid broke a rule, they just did a quick short blow and guess what?!  The kid stopped breaking the rule.   So, I was wondering if a whistle would work in my classroom.  I think blowing a whistle on and off all day would make me crazy, but it was fun to imagine for a minute how the students would react to a whistle blowing every time they ran in the hallway or talked without raising their hand.  

 Our next stop was the City Museum.  The boys just love this place.  We've been there four times now and it's crazy fun.  Our first visit was in 2005.  The boys were so little.  I watched all the little kids running around the museum and wondered, at what age do kids start asking to go back to visit a place that they love?  The boys were 3 years old when we first visited the City Museum, but they didn't start asking to go back until after their second visit, when they were 6.  I also wondered at what age do kids stop wanting to go.  Harrison has been twice and he loved it, but when I asked him if he wanted to go, he said no, because he had practice.  I saw a few teenagers running around that place, but not many.  I don't think Harrison would've gone, even if he didn't have practice.  

Henry outside of the
City Museum

World's Largest Underpants

Granny on the roof

The city museum is a strange, but exciting place.  A friend of mine asked me what was so great about it.  They have a little bit of everything there:  a few animals, an aquarium, a collection of doorknobs, a mini-circus with acrobats, and many other oddities.  It's a lot of climbing, running, crawling, and exploring.  The place does not have maps, they just want people to have fun and to look for new places.  This was my mom's first visit and I wanted her to try as much as she could.  She was a good sport until she got stuck in one of the wire crawly cage things outside.  She was just about to panic, but I talked her through it and she made it out alive.  Hayden was afraid to crawl in some of the high places.  He does not like heights.

Hayden with the Turtles

That night, we headed to the Arch after a long day of crawling and climbing.  My mom had never been up the Gateway Arch either!!  I couldn't believe it.  She wasn't too impressed with the observation deck.  It's pretty small and it was crowded up there.  We took a few pictures and then we walked along the Mississippi river to dinner.  

Henry

I have to go back to work next week and this little trip was a great way to end my summer break.  Somehow, it took us seven hours to get home, but we made some fun stops.  

Homewood Grill
Effingham, IL 

Silliness

Firefly Grill
Effingham, IL

Craft Beer Belly

I'm blaming all my weight problems on the craft beer that I love.  The wheat beer is 135 calories per glass. I compared it to Pinot, 120 calories per glass. So, here are my drinking choices for the rest of the summer:  Beck's Premier Light 64 calories, water 0 calories, or diet coke 0 zero calories.

I really need my clothes to fit when school starts.  I have no money for new clothes!!

The Moose and the fight

I remember how the big fight in the car started now.  Henry was telling me all about how one of his camp counselors rides a moose to school everyday.  I told him that it wasn't possible to ride a moose and he went on and on repeating the story that the counselor told him.  He didn't leave out a single detail.

It's all coming back to me now.  I'm entering that era where my word means nothing and everyone else is the smartest person on the planet.  What do moms know anyway?  I do know one thing.  I'm looking for moose riding lessons on-line and I can't find any, so now I'm looking for other Christmas and birthday present ideas.  I found a few that I like....

 

Hockey Camp

I drove over to Ohio last night with my good friend Amy.  We watched the boys play a practice game and then waited outside of the locker room for them.  Ryan came out first and gave his mom, Amy, a big hug.  Hayden came running out next and gave me a giant hug.  Henry didn't come out.  We waited and waited and I told Amy, let's just go.  She said, no, they have to come out eventually.  So, when they did come out, like 20 minutes later, Henry walked right passed me.  I grabbed him and hugged him, but he clearly did not want this to happen, especially in front of all of his hockey pals.  And I'd like to mention here, for the record, he will NEVER see these "hockey pals" ever again.  He might not even see 6th grade after today.

So, anyway....  Amy and I left and we went to the drive-thru liquor store down the road.  We had no idea what we were doing.  I just told the guy that we wanted a bottle of white wine. We just sat there laughing trying to figure out what to do next.  The guy rolled his eyes and listed a few wines and I said, just give us the first one.  He took our money and we bolted.  We crossed that off of our to-do list.  I think it's time for me to make a crazy bucket list.   I'll need to think about this.

So, the next day.  We went back to the ice rink and watched the boys play their final game. Hayden was his love-able self and Henry was still acting like he didn't know me. When we got to the car, he told me that he had so much fun, that he didn't miss me at all.  Things went downhill from there.  It was a terrible ride home.  Henry and I had a big talk when we got home and then I left.  I went out with a bunch of my friends and tried to relax.  It's 3 o'clock in the morning and I'm still trying to relax.  This is about the age where Harrison started to give me grief and stress me out.  I'm not ready for round 2.  I'll pretty much do anything to avoid round 2, but deep down, I know it's coming.  I have to prepare myself.  I'm thinking yoga or maybe kickboxing.

This kid was on Henry's team.  I chased him down to take a picture of his jersey.  The players were allowed to pick any name to put on the back of their jersey.  This kid picked PRODIGY.   I might see his mom in my kick boxing class.

Cantaloupe

Henry loves cantaloupes, so I buy them all the time for him.  I found one rotting on my table about a month ago, so I threw it in my garden.  It started to attract tons of little flies, so I buried it.  Now, I have cantaloupes growing among all the weeds.  I guess all of that rain we had was good for something.  Henry is going to be so excited when he gets back from hockey camp.  I doubt that we will get an actual cantaloupe to eat from this plant, but it will be fun watching it grow.

I miss my little hockey boys.  Henry was being a little smarty pants last week and I told him, I can't wait until you leave for camp!  He said, WHATEVER, you will miss me.  He was right.  I know they are having fun with all of their friends.  They are staying in the dorms of Miami of Ohio.

Time to Update

I haven't posted in awhile.  I promised myself that I would blog about all of the amazing highlights of my summer.  Henry and I went on a long bike ride together today.  It was our first bike ride in a couple of weeks because of the rain.  We've all been really bummed about the rain.  After three rain outs, Henry finally got to play his championship game.  His team won first place.  I didn't think they were going to be able to pull it off.  They were down 2-7 in the 3rd inning and they came back and won 10-7.  Henry had a lot of fun with this team. 

First Place 2013

I finished up the downstairs play area for the boys.  They helped me clean a ton, so we all won in the end.  It was a lot of fun putting all their cool stuff in one little area.  I love their little hockey puck lights.  

The twins are leaving for hockey camp in the morning.  I'm going to miss them, but I have a list of things that I need to get done while they are gone.  As soon as they get back, Harrison leaves for XC camp.  He gets to run the sand hills at the Indiana Dunes.  His goal is to make it back to state this year.  

Turtles

I took the boys to the 4th of July parade for the first time ever this year.  Henry enjoyed it and Hayden said it was boring.  They saw a bunch of their friends in the parade and I saw several of my students.  Henry will probably want to go again next year.  

Roman Candles

doctors

I'm really tired of doctor visits.  Today did me in.  The twins had to get shots today, two in each arm.  I watched the tears roll down their little faces and puddle up on the paper.  As I helped hold my little boys and calm them down, I stared at the tear drops and wondered if I was doing anything right as a parent.  On the way out, the nurse practitioner asked if I wanted to make an appointment for them to come back and get their flu shots.  I told her, no thanks, I'll take my chances.

I did find out that Hayden weighs 11 pounds more than Henry.  11 FREAKIN POUNDS!!! And he's an inch and a half taller.

I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow.  I'm really dreading it.  I've been putting it off for months.  I hope it doesn't result in another appointment and more tests.