Snow Day!

Winter Storm...
Originally uploaded by ann j p

We had been hearing the news/weather reports that began Tuesday afternoon warning us to hunker down and tie down anything that may take flight in heavy winds. Temperatures were to drop drastically and the wind was to pick up to 60-65 mph. All this was to start after midnight. There was no talk amongst the kids of a possible "snow day" - the good ole' superstition of wearing your pj's inside out, backwards, 1 sock on, 1 sock off with a spoon under your pillow did not play out last night before bed. Thank Goodness for this as it is a production of sorts. The wind did pick up and awoke me twice that I can remember. Alarms went off and we went about our morning routines. Connor and Rick went out to wait for the bus and when it hadn't arrived by 7am we began to get a little curious. Turned on the TV to see the School Closings scroll at the bottom of the screen. And there is was LIVONIA Central .... Closed! Oh, the excitement and joy that Connor felt. I can remember whenI was a child how that felt... a lottery win feeling! Jackpot!!!
So the Snow Day begins... the energy level is high, cabin fever sets in early. No chance to send the restless ones outside because I am sure that when one of the wind gust blows through the kids will be swept clear down to the Lake! Forts begin to be made, tempers flare, tears are shed, wrestling insues and I am ready to scream.. "Calgon[not even sure if they make this stuff anymore] Take Me Away!"
I decide to retreat to my treadmill - 35 mins. of exercise should give me some peace!? No, the arguments follow me to the workout area in our basement. My solution, make MaKenna ride the bike until I say switch and make Connor do pull-ups on the total gym until I say switch! Wasn't long before they were winded and the only thing I heard were all of our pants and the hum of the exercise equipment. I was telling Rick about it and I have officially named this Mom's Snow Day Survival Tip - Exercise Boot Camp!
Looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully NO SNOW DAY!

Optimism?

"I know I probably should
have outgrown this by now, but somehow I'm always surprised when someone - or
something - lets me down. If you are constitutionally optimistic, as I
apparently am, you expect a certain something [call it quality functionality]
from the things and the people that surround you, which in itself is not such a
bad trait. But what accompanies sunny optimism all too often is the surprising
disappointment that comes when something - or someone fails you. You think
to yourself, Well, I should have seen that one coming. But you never
learn, and then it happens again.

The upside is that you start to develop The List.
That is, the list of people and things that don't ever disappoint. There is
something comforting about the old-faithfuls on the List; they bring their own
kind of order to a messy world."

I read this article of sorts in a magazine not to long ago and it has resonated with me. I can identify with so many of the statements above and dare say that I have spoken similar words before. I like the fact that the author or the above entry takes the positive spin on her trait rather than finding fault with herself. Truly an optimist, I suppose!

This made me wonder about my List. I'll share some of the List with you and please note that they are random, none more important than the other.

Seltzer Water - just enough carbonation, refreshing and thirst quenching & ZERO calories.

A Nap - if you get the chance to enjoy one, you're never disappointed in how refreshed you feel after one.

Baby Shampoo & Lotion - smells so clean and takes you back.

A Morning Cup of Coffee - so warm in your hands, comforting and a great way to start the day.

Exercise - say goodbye to stress, toxins and some calories all at once!

Swimming - my standby, head down in the water, quiet, alone in your thoughts, all while the water rushes and swirls around & over your body.

Blistex - love the stuff!

my Faith - this has grown on me - through trial and tribulation.

I'll stop now because the List goes on! Hope that I have left you will something to ponder.

Update on My Sister Sarah...

Air Force Medallion
Originally uploaded by rjseg1

Many of you have been asking about my sister Sarah and her deployment to Iraq. First, thank you for all your support and kind words, I think that I can speak for her and our family when we say that that your heartfelt support and inquiries are appreciated... more than you know.
Sarah sent an email saying that she is in the process of re-locating. She will be without email for about a week. Please continue to keep her in your prayers, especially during this transition. Her mailing address is the same for now.
Sarah also said how much all of your emails and packages mean to her. Her days are long and tough and your correspondances are a bright spot in her day.
As some of you [Rob's Blog readers, etc.] may know already and for those who do not, Congratulations are in order for Sarah as she was promoted to Senior Staff Sergeant - E8. This is a huge accomplishment! We are so proud of her and all of her hard work!

Working It Out...

Back to my 2008 Goals List. As some of you may know, In September 2007, a group of 3 of my girl friends and myself decided to make a change in our lives. We came to realization that we needed to make a commitment to ourselves to lead more fit lives. We had all verbalized many times how "unhappy" we were with our bodies, fitness level, etc. and decided that "enough was enough!" One of the ladies suggested that our group hire a personal trainer. We did it and have been working out and training with her every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 6am. It has been an amazing experience [all aches, pains, sweat and puke aside]. There is a certain level of accountability, responsibility, motivation and competition that this group provides that has been like no other that I have experienced. Our trainer is certified in a method of training that is called Cross Fit [check out the link to the right] and it is a great workout! I have been able to workout a total of 5-6 days per week with the exception of when we were at Disney. I have noticed physical changes - losing weight and toning but even greater are the over all attitude changes. I feel so much better about myself and the most committed I have been to this being a lifestyle change! Oh, I get frustrated that the weight doesn't come off faster but I didn't put the weight on overnight either!

So why share something so personal, well because it's another form of accountability. While I realize that true friendships and family-ships [a jessicaism] are not based on surface deep junk I know that those relationships can help keep me motivated and on track! Also, I hope that I can inspire those of you who may be doubting yourselves. Heck, if I can do these workouts, run [yes, run] and the Woman's Health Fitness Challenge test [hence the pic above] you can achieve your goals. Another 2008 goal was to maintain my commitment to a healthier, more fit way of life and so far so good!

If you get a chance you can check out the link to our Fitness Group's Blog that I started, it's called Working It Out - to the right. Also, check out the Woman's Health January Issue for the Fitness Test. I did it and will post results soon.

Good Luck with your goals! If you need a cheerleader let me know! I'd love to encourage you!

Jess

A lesson in learning...

I like the motto of trying to learn something new everyday. Rick and I try to pass this along to the kids in some form or another. As it turns out, that motto works both ways. On most days our kids teach us something new!
MaKenna has be sick, she came down with a stomach, fever bug and has really been under the weather. Just lying on the couch and in her bed for most of the day. It is so unlike her. She has been very weepy and wanting me to just sit at the end of the couch or at the foot of her bed. I think she just wants me close. Poor thing! This morning MaKenna started to panic, thinking that she had missed school. Our conversation went like this...

"Mom, is today a school day? I said, "yes, it's Monday but you don't have school today

because it's a holiday" "What holiday is it Mom?" "It's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day", I said.

"What do we do for MLK, Jr. day?" she asked. I said " well, we could talk about who

MLK, Jr. was and what he did". I went on to explain that MLK, Jr. fought for the Black people so that they could have the same civil rights that White people had. Civil rights such as being able to drink from the same water fountains, ride the same buses, go to the same schools, vote, etc. as White people. MaKenna then asked me "Mom, are we White people?" I said "yes, we are." She said "you mean tan, right?!" I said "no, we are considered white people." At this point MaKenna now says "so MLK, Jr. tried to change Black people into white/tan people?" I said, "no, he tried to give the Black people the same chances as White people." MaKenna pulled up her shirt sleeve and said [rather perturbed with me, I might add] "why do you keep saying White people? We are tan, this skin is not white!"

I tried to teach MaKenna something about Martin Luther King, Jr. this morning but I think that she ended up teaching me something. That lesson was that MaKenna didn't even really notice that skin color was a defining factor until I pointed it out to her. She didn't define a group of people by a physical characteristic... and I like that! I love the innocence of children and I love to see how their minds work. In so many ways it is refreshing and puts a bright spot on my heart!

TGIF...We're ready for the long weekend!

"Thank Goodness it's Friday" was Connor's greeting to me this morning! His remark summarizes the family's general attitude about the upcoming long weekend! Connor's new favorite day of the week is Friday because he has his Indoor Lacrosse League games. Their team is 1-1 and they play the topped ranked team tonight. To say that Connor is pumped is beyond accurate. Rick caught him with his Lax stick in one hand and brushing his teeth with the other this morning. When Rick questioned him, Connor said "Dad, I am so psyched for tonight's game...that's all I can think about, and I'm just practicing my cradling with my weaker hand!" I reminded him, gently that he needed to "get his head in the academic game" [High School Musical relate...anyone?]first as he has a spelling test, etc. today! Moms are sooo boring!
It looks as though we will be able to get some skiing in this weekend. Rick and Connor went last night with the school and said the conditions were fair. It's been cold today so I assume their making snow too! Should be fun to see friends and spend the day outside in the fresh air. MaKenna is ready to test out the slopes and more importantly [to her anyway] is to "finally get to wear my awesome ski boots" [oh,they are white and they have flowers{pink, of course} on them].We'll have to see about Sunday as it is suppose to be frigid here. May end up being a day for baking some cookies for a certain Aunt who is deployed and a lonely Uncle as well. We may wrap up the long weekend with a Mom & Kids ski day on Monday!
It amazes me how busy our lives can be. Albeit that we tend to do this to ourselves it is nice when the schedule allows for some fun activities that we all can do together.
Hope that you all have a great weekend too!

"They Say It's your Birthday"....

I have to say that my perspective about my birthday has changed. When this change occurred I am not sure but I think it happened sometime after becoming a parent. As a child having a birthday that fell two weeks after Christmas didn't phase me at all. It was kinda handy in the materialistic sense that I could have another opportunity to ask for something that I didn't receive at Christmas. Now as a parent I feel like I am still winding down from the Christmas Holiday when my birthday comes around. It's like it almost sneaks up on me. I find myself down playing the pomp & circumstance. By the way, I am totally okay with this! But, remember that I have a 9 & 5 year old and they LOVE celebrations! They were so excited about my birthday that it was comical! MaKenna's teacher said that there wasn't a day that went by for the entire week before my birthday that she did not tell her and her classmates! So adorable!
I don't have any hang ups about turning a certain age. My parents have never been age obsessed people and have led very active lives. So my example has been that age is only a number. I prefer to look at each birthday as another chance to improve who I am and make a difference in this world and in the lives of the people who matter to me.
So my birthday started with a wake up phone call from my sister Sarah who was calling all the way from Baghdad, Iraq! I was so over come with relief and joy to hear her voice! Hard to explain how it feels to hear her and know that she is "okay"! It was the best birthday gift I could have ever gotten. The beautiful birthday flowers pictured above were sent to me from Sarah and Jason. They have brightened up our home! You can't help but to smile when you look at them.
Next, Rick, the kids and the dogs and I went down to Hemlock Lake and hiked/walked the East side of the lake. It was not skiing conditions so we settled for the walk. It was great! We took the kids to see the Bee Movie - very cute. We ended the night with a nice dinner. It was a wonderful day that was relaxing and quality family time.

Rewind a few weeks ago...

I decided that I had better post an entry that would include this family photo of us because it is rare to get one these days. The picture was taken at our friends home on Christmas Eve. They decided to host a family get - together for those of us who did not have family coming for the holidays. So after Christmas Eve Mass we joined two other families for a very nice evening. It was a great way to relax and enjoy the spirit of the season.

Swooosh.....oops

Connor came home from school today and said that Ski Club was on for Tomorrow night [Thursday]. The weather here has been unseasonably warm and we weren't sure if the school would actually go down to ski at Swain or not. He seemed excited about going. We were wondering how he would feel about going this week after last weeks events.

Last Thursday Rick met Connor down at Swain for Ski Club and MaKenna and I stayed home. It was bitter cold and MaKenna had been fighting some type of bug. Towards the end of the evening while Connor and 2 of his buddies were riding up on the chair lift they had a scare. One of Connor's buddies who was sitting in the middle never quite got on the chair and did not say anything at the time so the lift continued to move up the mountain. As soon as the boys skies lifted off the ground he asked Connor and the other boy to help him get on. Connor and the other boy grabbed onto him and tried to pull him up onto the seat. Meanwhile Rick was boarding the chair lift behind them with 2 other friends of Connor's and noticed that the boys legs were hanging lower than they should. Rick yelled to Connor to hold onto him, then yelled back to the lift operator but didn't have any luck. Connor started to slip so he let go with one of his hands to grab the chair railing. The boys hands slipped and he fell over 18' to the ground. Thankfully he was okay. Rick said it was awful to see that happen and he felt very helpless. Connor told me that it was "the worst feeling to feel his buddies hand slip out of his grip and hear him scream the whole way down"! Poor kids and Rick!

I think they'll all be glad to have the opportunity to get an "uneventful" night of Ski Club behind them tomorrow night!

MaKenna and I will stay home tomorrow night too because the conditions aren't the best. We'll save our lift tickets for more ideal conditions. Hoping that we can all go skiing this Saturday for my birthday! Jess

I'm having a Flashback!

Some of you are for sure going to get a laugh or two out of this post.

You see, just a few moments ago MaKenna decided to treat Rick, Connor and myself to a "performance". We were all hanging out in the living room and in walked MaKenna and announced [not in her "indoor voice" either, I might add] that she wanted to show us something! I was told to stay seated, Rick was to pllleease stop using the computer and Connor "come on, I NEED to to pay attention to me!" On she went with her instructions and her pre-show routine. [Flashback starts... I remember something vaguely familiar from my childhood]MaKenna shared some of the songs & animated gestures that go along with the songs that she learned in music class today. There was the Spotted Penguin from Boca Raton and the Sleeping Bear song. We were told to "hold our applause until the VERY end" by MaKenna. [more flashbacks]The next part of the performance was the audience participation portion. I was hauled out of my seat and dragged over to stand in front of the couch, Connor "because he loves his Nerf b-ball hoop from Uncle Jesse and Aunt Brooke", had to stand under the hoop and Dad could just stay still and watch. I was told to sing "exactly" what MaKenna sang and when we sang about shooting one through the hoop Connor was to shoot and make a score. I was quickly lectured because I fell behind in the singing as I did not know what MaKenna was going to sing about next. [The flashbacks are getting really intense at this point] Next MaKenna launched into a full blown rendition of "You are the Music in Me" from HSM 2 [High School Musical 2].

I tried to capture MaKenna at her best but was having a hard time focusing because I was laughing so hard.

For those of you who grew up with me you are probably experiencing the Flashbacks now also.

For those of you who came into my life later down the road, I am sure you will relate as my "organizational" skills started somewhere. When I was a young gal, I too, like MaKenna liked to have performances. Oh, they ranged from gymnastics in the living room, to flying rope routines on the back yard rope swing, to belting out Andy Gibb songs and 8675...309999 at the top of my lungs. I, of course, co-hearsed my brothers and sisters, neighbor kids alike to participate. I have to say that IMO my greatest production was the Rope Circus that was held in our backyard. Sarah, Rob, the Alesia kids, Sarah's friend Tracy were the performers, I was the announcer [big surprise?]. We had music and had set up chairs for the audience. We invited our parents to watch, etc.

When MaKenna was directing us around tonight it was pay back!

Tata for now! Jess

Okay, now what...

Nice Candid of the Kids.

The excitement of creating this blog has not worn off but some frustration has set in. Just mildly annoyed at my ineptness[not even sure if this is a word] when it comes to adding links, other blogs, adding images behind my title and adjusting photo sizes. My " about me" photo is rather large IMO and I would love to down size it but have taken a temporary break from it as I can feel my blood pressure rising. So I am asking all the blog savvy people out there to help me with any suggestions.

Glad to see that my friend, Lynn has joined the blog world and as soon as I figure out how to put a link to her blog on my blog you can check it out.

I have gotten most of my pics in order and will start posting some of them soon. All for now, take care! Jess

A 2008 Goal Acheived...

Actually creating this blog may qualify as two goals on my 2008 list. I have been wanting to create and maintain a blog for some time now. I have started several but have not ever seen them through. So when I was writing out my goals for 2008, creating a blog made the list. The other was to be proactive, "don't put off what you can do today", etc. There is always room for improvement in this area of my life. So you can bet that I will be making my way out to my Goals List and grabbing the red marker and crossing it off.
Seriously though I am hoping that this blog will help me keep in touch with all of you. I know that we are all busy and our lives are full but hopefully this will be a format that can keep all of us updated on the daily happenings in our lives.
For all you "pro" bloggers and computer savvy friends and family, bear with me and I welcome helpful hints etc.
Yippee, I am so excited to have done this!
Until next time! Jess