No, For Real...

Ok, so I feel like all parents out there brag about their kids and their athletic abilities.  But, really?  Who is that good at sports at the age of 4?  Not many kids....except for OURs.  The big Al-Man.  No, for real....

This kid is seriously good at every sport he has tried.  His specialties?  Basketball, Baseball and most recently, Soccer.  How do we know this considering he has only been on this earth for 4.5 years?  And, has only been walking for about 3 of those years (he walked late....you may remember this.  Don't judge)?  Well, because, we are that family who literally has a basketball hoop in our house.  Not in the basement.  But, in what should be our main entrance of our house, but is currently the corner where all of his toys go.  One of these days, we'll have an addition, I swear.  BUT...that basically allows for him to shoot hoops whenever he would like to.  And, I swear - he makes almost every shot.  Not only does he make almost every shot, but the hoop?  Is high.  Like, on the highest setting.

Now onto baseball.  That kid can seriously hit the ball out of the park.  I swear.  AND, this isn't t-ball.  This is us pitching balls to him.  It is really unbelievable.  I can't wait to get him onto an organized team this spring to see what he does then.

And, soccer...bless his heart.  That child runs!  And, runs!  And, runs!  And, runs!  I was a little nervous about this sport at first considering the first 2 games were spent playing for 30 mins and crying for the other 30 mins (about what?  who knows).  But, after those (and our little pep talk about being team player)?  Holy crap.  That kid came out of his shell. That little stinker goes after the ball and once he gets it?  He just goes.  The funny thing?  He goes in whatever direction he is headed - whether it be towards his goal or the opponents.  Also?  He has NO idea if he is in bounds or out of bounds.  I swear - that kid covered more surface area of the field (the field as in the entire soccer playing area) than any other kid before in one game.  It was hilarious.  But, so fun watching him get so into it and put so much effort into it. 

 

 

 

Here's hoping that all of this athletic ability will lead to lots of scholarships.  :)  And....maybe a pro career (and paycheck for mama and papa!).  No, for real...

Happy Halloween!

Unfortunately, the big Al Man has been fighting a cold for a couple of weeks and of course, it seemed to be at its peak on Halloween.  As a result, the morning of started off with an epic battle to get him to wear his Halloween costume, which nearly resulted in me strangling him, but after we got over THAT hurdle, we were good to go....

As with all kids their age, I think that we went through 5 different costume ideas before coming up with a Cowgirl and a Cowboy.  How did we end up at that?  Because Avery is too smart for her own good.  She had been asking me to get her cowgirl boots forever.  Of course, she asked right at the end of the season last year, so after searching literally every shoe store in the mall, I still came up with nothing.  So, this year?  She figured if she wanted to be a cowgirl for Halloween, I would HAVE to get her boots.  And, she was right...

Unfortunately, Halloween falls during a pretty busy time at work, but in sticking with the whole "I'm a working mom, but I can still make time to be at my kids' activities at school" thing, I volunteered to help out at both of their parties at school that day.  Of course, when given the list of things that needed to be done, I immediately signed up for the sweet treat decorating, knowing full well that there would be plenty of sweet treat tasting by Mom during the making process.  The room mom clearly doesn't know me well enough, as she sent an email offering to buy cookies and asked me to bring the decorations.  I'm sorry, what?  We don't BUY cookies around here.  We of course need to make everything as difficult and as time consuming as possible!  Although, on that note, I lucked out, as there is a kid with peanut allergies in Alex's class, so I was limited and forced to do Rice Krispie Treats.  So, I made those.  Used cookie cutters to make them fun shapes.  Made the frosting (of course).  And, bought the decorations.  Of course, by the time the kids were done with them, they just looked like a pile of frosting with candy bones and bugs all over them and you had no idea what the hell it was supposed to be, but whatever.  They had fun. 

After Alex's party, I raced to a local coffee shop and worked for a couple of hours. Then, headed over to Avery's Halloween party.  Luckily, I wasn't in charge of anything for this one and could just enjoy.

After her party was over, we picked up Alex and headed home where I attempted to work for another couple of hours and I let them just chill out and watch tv.

Then, we encountered another episode of "Battling with a Cold" Al-Man when he decided that he really didn't want to go trick or treating.  I mean, I can't really blame the kid.  He wasn't feeling well. He didn't want to put his costume back on.  And, the kid doesn't even like candy.  So, really?  What was the incentive (besides his mother forcing him to do it because I knew he'd have fun once we got there)??? 

So, we went.  This year, we tried a new neighborhood because ours is well, pretty dead on Halloween night.  So, here we are with Alex who really isn't too sure about this whole thing and we walk up to the first house only to be greeted by a man dressed in one of the most scary looking ware wolf costumes I've ever seen, making all sorts of growling noises and playing spooky music.  I thought the kids were going to die.  Thankfully, as soon as he saw the horror in their eyes, he started dancing around and became a friendly ware wolf and eventually took off his head piece.  I think Avery's exact reaction was "He scared the Heck out of me!"  And, I couldn't even correct the poor choice of language, as quite frankly, he scared the FU$K out of me!

The rest of the night was great.  Both kids had fun and got a lot of candy.  Of course, Alex clearly couldn't get the ware wolf off of his mind and decided to remind me of this from approx. 130-430 in the morning.  Literally.  But, other than that, I'd say it was a successful and fun Halloween!

On Wisconsin, AGAIN!

So, well before I got asked to go to Green Bay for work, I had actually planned a trip to WI for just a girls' weekend and it happened to fall just 2 weeks after my work trip.   I think that my boss put it well when I told him that I was leaving for WI that Friday afternoon..."Wow.  You really like WI, don't you?"  As it turns out, I do.  Actually, I do like the state and all that it has to offer, but even more so, I like the people in it...

It couldn't have been a better weekend.  It was the perfect mix of adult time, kid time, relaxing time, laughing time (LOTS of laughing time), wine time, food time (Lots of those too), and catching up time. 

You know that you are great friends when you can get together after over a year of not seeing each other and just pick up right where you left off.  Love you girls and miss you already!!!!

On Wisconsin!

You can imagine my excitement when I found out that my company has a location out in Green Bay, WI AND not only do we have a location out there, but it just so happens that someone from our office would need to fly out there to do some work this year.  CLEARLY, I volunteered for this one and as a result, ended up flying out there last week.  What a great trip!

Ok, most of it was a great trip.  But, it didn't start out so well...So, as I'm going up the escalator in the airport in PVD, I hear this horrible sound - only to look up to see that the woman ahead of me had let go of her freaking suitcase (the hard metal kind) and it was flying down the escalator right at me.  I had no time to think or to get out of the way, so it proceeded to slam right into my freaking foot (yes, the one that I had the surgery on).  It was the kind of pain where I thought I was going to throw up.  Just so I don't keep you all hanging, here is the progression of the injury (it felt much worse than it looked - I swear!). 

Once I got over that, everything was up hill from there...

While in Green Bay, I got to see Lambeau for the first time ever.  Not only did I get to see Lambeau, but I got to go inside the stadium and onto the field!  The guy who works at our location there totally hooked me up and took me into the stadium.  So cool.  I was told that we were being watched wherever we were while in the field, so I had to act professional and not take any pictures.  But, I did get some of the outside.

Then, lucky for me, I finished work an entire day earlier than expected, so I took off on Thursday night and went to Opa and Grandma's house for the weekend!  It wasn't until I stepped inside that I realized that I have NEVER been in that house by myself.  What a strange (yet, really really nice and RELAXING feeling! ). 

Friday morning, I took both dogs for a run, which we all appreciated (especially me given the amount of calories I feel the need to consume while in WI) and then it was off to the lake! 

 

 

My parents had already had plans with friends of theirs to go fishing, so I decided since I didn't have 2 kids to be chasing after, this would be a prime opportunity for me to partake as well! 

 

Of course, first, I had to get a fishing license.  Seriously?  It was as though I was applying for a freaking passport with this thing.  They needed my address, my social, my height and you can only guess what was next.  Yes, they needed my weight.  So, with a straight face, I look at the girl and say, "100."  I mean, it isn't like she could look at me and say, "You're full of crap!  There is no way you are only 100 lbs!"  So, she just said, "OK" and put it on my license.  Yes, it is going in a frame.  The funny thing was it turned into the running joke all weekend. Which, as I look back, was totally at my expense.  Basically, every joke made about me being 100 lbs was saying exactly that..."You're full of crap!  There is no way you are only 100 lbs."  But, whatever.  It clearly didn't stop me from eating and drinking my way through Green Lake...

And, as it turns out, it was a good thing I got that license because, I caught a fish!  The first one in probably 20?? years?

 Mom was the real winner that day, though.  Check out this one that she caught! And, to answer your question, yes - we can catch the fish, but putting the worm on the hook or touching the fish afterwards?  Not so much...

That night, we went to my parents' friends' house for a beverage (where I tried my first Brandy Old Fashioned  - when in Wisconsin!).  This is the view from their deck...not bad, huh? 

 

 

After that, we all went out for a WI fish fry, which we all agreed has gone down hill since I was younger, but it still satisfied my craving. 

 

The next day was the Green Lake Fall Festival!  Picture every craft you can imagine and it was there.  I found a couple of things, but focused most of my efforts on the food and the beer.  Then, it was time for the parade.  Man - I thought the 4th of July parade was good.  The Fall Festival Parade?  Puts that one to shame.  I mean, we had...

 

The local preschool float...

 

 

The Past Princess of the Fair Float...

 

 

(some of them have aged better than others as my father so kindly pointed out, but seriously...you have to agree with him)

 

These weird little men driving around on bikes performing a very well thought out and rehearsed routine and managing not to run into each other...

 

The local scottish population???

 

The local septic company truck (whose marketing department should receive a raise...)

 

The walking corn chick

 

 

You get fun things thrown at you like string cheese (of course!)

 

 

and beach balls (why not??!!)

 

 

Then comes what we have been waiting for now for over a year.  Wait for it, wait for it....

 

 

THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE STUDENT!!!!!!!  Where the hell was she during the 4th of July parade is what I want to know???

 

But, if you are REALLY lucky?  You get to witness the local butt crack photo bomb...

 

 

Believe it or not, I was able to maintain my appetite after that and go back to Mom and Dad's to have a great steak dinner on my last night there.  And, after dinner?  I got to go through my grandmother's and mom's old jewelry - definitely a memorable way to end a memorable trip! 

 

The only negative (other than my foot nearly getting ripped off my body) was that I had to get up at approximately 3 AM for my flight the following morning (note to self - maybe one less glass of wine next time).  But, the good news was, I got to get home to see the kids and Josh at noon that day.  So, all in all, a good call on my part.

 

Thanks for a great weekend, Mom and Dad!!!!

 

 

 

350 Miles

Yep!  That is how far Lexi and I have now walked over the last 7 Multiple Sclerosis Challenge Walks that we have participated in.  Simple math would tell you that that is 50 miles each time.  Granted, it is over the course of 3 days, but still.  20 miles in one day?  And, then again the next?  And, then 10 the next?  It's a long time to walk.  Trust me.  But, it's all worth it.  Lexi and I get to spend an entire weekend together doing that sister bonding thing.

Because the walk starts at the A$# crack of dawn, we stay in a hotel on Thursday night. As you can see, we travel in style...

Lucky for us, one of the best restaurants in town was located right across the street from the hotel, which made it quite convenient (disregard my stomach roll please - these pictures are put on this site and not on facebook because I trust that any of you reading this will not judge :))...

 

The next morning started off with our annual trip to Dunkin Donuts (followed very closely by our annual question of "why in the hell did we think that eating 2 donuts before walking 20 miles was a good idea?")

 

 

 

 

and then it was off to the bus stop!

 

 

Yes, these are just a couple of the 1000 selfies that will be in this post.  This is what happens when there are just two of you. 

Finally, after 6 years of participating in this walk and after 6 years of discussing possible t-shirt ideas, we made our own TEAM SWEETPEA shirts.  I have to say, our quotes on the back were pretty good (although, you really only get them and find them funny if you participate in the walk).  The only problem?  We decided to go with a local screen printing company that happens to be a not-for-profit that employs inner city high school kids...who apparently need a little help in the spelling department...

Seriously?????  This was on all six of our shirts.  The sad part is that I had already corrected this error on the first round of edits I sent back to them.  AND the final proof had it right!  Ugh.  We did our best to change the 'a' to an 'e' with a bit of fabric paint.  Some turned out better than others, but whatever.

 ANYWAY....Day 1 shirt was as follows:

We didn't really even mean for this to be all that funny and/or memorable, but man!  We got a lot of comments on it!  People loved it!

Day 2 is one of those that you won't find funny unless you do the walk. Most of the second day is spent on a bike path and inevitably, bikers come through going way too fast and giving too little notice with their "On Your Left!" warning...about 3 seconds before they are about to run you over.  Needless to say, this become really freaking annoying for walkers - especially considering we've already walked 30 miles at that point and we really feel like we should be able to walk wherever we damn please.  Hence, the "On Your Right!" shirt (which is obviously funny to other teans as well...)

Day 3 was "10 miles?  I can do that before lunch"  Again, you probably don't see the humor, but people laughed and liked it...I swear. 

As you can imagine, an event like this can't be done without, well, lots of porta potties...

And, lots of volunteers.  I'm telling you - these people are amazing!  The amount of effort, energy and enthusiasm they put into this event is unbelievable.  It's amazing how a simple thing like a well decorated rest stop can make the walk that much more exciting...

 

 

And, of course, there are all of the signs along the way (and apparently the need to make a muscle while posing with them) that keep you motivated...

\

 

And, there's also the music.  Between the two of us, we had a pretty decent play list.  The best, though???  Thriller.  Or, rather,  Lexi's rendition of the thriller dance...

 

But, I'll be honest...the true motivation?  Day One?  Getting to the cabin first so that we can pick out our bed location.  There is definitely a science behind this - primarily, distance from the main entrance, the bathroom and the rest of the people in the cabin. Oh, and distance from spiders and spider webs.  That's an important one.  This year, we booked it.  Like, walked really really fast (you know, because we're in shape like that). And, as a result, we were rewarded with the "counselor side" of the cabin, which included a wall separating us from the rest of the cabin AND 2 beds on GROUND LEVEL!!!! It was like staying in the Ritz Carlton of the Cape Cod Sea Camps I tell you.  The only downside was that there was no shower in our building, so we had to shower in the communal showers.  BUT, yet another motivating factor - being the first in the showers so as to avoid the drain that eventually gets clogged with every one's hair.  Disgusting and definitely something worth walking quickly to avoid. 

And, then of course, the other motivating factor?  The beer and wine waiting for us every day at the sea camps when we finished.  Not to mention, the gorgeous beach that we got to sit on to consume said beer and wine...

 

 My only complaint?  They served wine in cups that were basically the size of a shot glass.  Clearly I figured out a way to fix the problem, but still...

 And, the wine takes effect (which apparently makes Lexi turn into Miley Cyrus)...

The last day was "only" 10 miles and one of the rest stops has munchkins from DD.  It's all about motivation people.  And, as you know, my motivation is food (well, and wine).

 

 

The walk ends with a bbq at a local high school (and more importantly, a good 2 hours to just sit and do nothing). 

 

They're getting there guys.  They have come out with new treatments for people with MS and I'm sure they will continue to come out with more in the near future.  And, eventually?  A cure.  This is all possible through your donations.  So, thank you! 

While I love this weekend with my sister, I would take a weekend of leisurely walks, wine and food celebrating a cure vs. trying to find one any day.  Until then, we'll keep walking...