Pinewood Derby, Chili Cook-off and Some Stuff

I just realized that I never posted the photos from the Pinewood Derby. We did much better this year. I can't remember the exact standings but I think Jacob came in 8th of 14 and Daniel was 7 of 21 or something like that. Every year, we learn a little more about how to build a better car. Jacob did win Most Realistic Looking Car, and he was excited about that. Here are some photos.

Hannah and her friend, Katie, watch the race.
Rodger gives Jacob his award for Most Realistic Looking Car.
Mike and Jacob watch the Webelos I race.
Jacob and friends watch the Webelos I race
Daniel and friends watch the Tiger race.

On Saturday, our synagogue held it's annual Chili Cook-off. Mike signed me up as a competitor and I took in my chicken chili. It was a blast. I didn't win but that's okay. We made a bunch of new friends and the kids won some prizes as well. We did win the big raffle of the night, which was a $250 portrait package for the family. Nice! Especially since we didn't do family photos last year. Here are some photos from the Chili Cook-off.

Jacob and Mike with their silent auction win...a big plate of chocolate! All of us right after set up.
Daniel's poster for my chili
Hannah's poster for my chili
Jacob's poster for my chili. If you can't read it, it says, "Vote Mom's Chicken chili. (It's the best) Good with chips! Try it with cilantro! Yummy!"

Jacob wanted to win soda (it was all he talked about for three days before) and he did!
They asked a former player for the KC Chiefs to come help and he did! Here's Daniel and Hannah with him. (I can't remember his name!)
Friday, my van decided to freak out on me. It starts but whenever I slow to a stop, it stalls. It starts back up again but it's really annoying. So, it's off at the dealership getting fixed. Ugh. I hate it when I don't have a car!

Ten Years

Ten years ago today, I married my best friend. Three kids, five houses, four states and many jobs later, we're still here. Amazing! How is it possible that I love Mike more today than I did 10 years ago? Happy Anniversary, Honey! I love you!!! Here's to the next 50!

It's a Monday

It's been a long and busy week here.

Friday morning, I got up and came downstairs to find that the kids were already up. That's always nice. Jacob tells me that he thinks there's something wrong with Daisy, so I go over to her cage. I see that she's got some goo coming out of her eye and she just looks sad. I pick her up to check her out and she just looks at me. She inhales deeply and dies. WHAT????? We think that she got bunny bloat or an intestinal blockage but this is really starting to piss me off. Bumper lived for years. And why do they have to die in my arms??? The boys were okay with it. Hannah cried for about 5 minutes and then began asking when we were getting another one. This will be the last bunny for a while.

I was pretty sad about it (not nearly as sad as with Ruby but that seemed to drag on forever and I think I was much more attached to Ruby) and Mike said he was happy that I had plans to go out with Val that morning so it would keep my mind off of it. So, Val and I go get our pedicures and as soon as I opened the door to the house, I heard the phone ringing. It was the school nurse telling me that Hannah'd had an asthma attack and that she gave her some of her inhaler but she felt Hannah really needed her nebulizer. So, I head off to school to pick up Hannah. I know that a good part of that was that Hannah had been without her Singulair for a couple of days because I couldn't get the pediatrician and Walgreen's to talk to each other. Each wanted me to have the other fax them something. Ugh. Both said they would but neither did. After picking up Hannah, I called the pediatrician and told them that they had to do something because Hannah's asthma was beginning to act up and she needed that medicine. The nurse told me that she would take care of it. I was thrilled when Walgreen's called and said that her refill was ready.

Saturday, I woke up feeling awful. It lasted all of Saturday and most of Sunday. I'm feeling better now but I still have a cough. I'm tired of getting this same cold over and over again.

Saturday afternoon, I began getting e-mails from every old Minee Subee co-worker in my address book. Apparently, one of the teacher's aides at the school in Lincolnshire got frustrated with a 16 month old and slammed him to the ground. With enough force that it was like he had fallen off a 2 story building. The baby died and she's been charged with 2 counts of first-degree murder. It's incredibly tragic. I just keep thinking that Jacob was in that room once-upon-a-time. So sad.

Today, the kids are all sick. Thank goodness for MLK day because I'm sure I would have kept them all home. In fact, Daniel's currently sleeping on the couch. I hope Hannah's okay for her Daisy's meeting this afternoon!

Anyway, that's about it from here for now. Sorry if it felt that I've dropped off of the face of the earth.

Test Results

We got our jiu jitsu test results yesterday. Of the 5 of us that tested, only 3 got their belts. I was one of the 2 that didn't. I'm sad but it's okay. I got this e-mail from Dave, our school's main teacher yesterday:

Karl, Steve and myself take full responsibility for this. We pushed you guys to do in 6 months what it should take to do in a year. If given the opportunity to test whenever you were ready, I am sure you would have chosen a little later. Comments on your techniques are good and I have those at the school. Please do not be disappointed with the results. If you consider that you have never taken Jiu-Jitsu before and that 3 of the people testing had previous experience, you accomplished quite a bit. I am, We are, very proud of what you have done and looking forward to helping you retest.

I did get my comments sheet and it's kind of cool. My evaluator was Rener Gracie and it makes me smile to know that he actually watched my tape. His comments were good (a little harsh at times) but they were very critical. My favorite comment was "awkward falling motion" on one of the standups. Of course, that was a deduction. According to Rener, I was right on the border and they had to err on the side of no belt. A few of the comments:

She stood up in base every time she got up - very impressive

Barbara knew several of the techniques very well. She seemed to be comfortable with the step by step execution with all of them.

Barbara was right on the border, she knew most of the techniques very well but there were critical errors made.

Overall, she did good and I would like her to retest after a few more months of practice.

Right now, I'm teetering on the edge of going full on back into it to prove that I can and quitting. It's not that I only did it for the belt but it's pretty humbling to know that I busted my butt only to find out that I was that close. I don't know.

Back to the Grind

The kids went back to school today. I've been cleaning like a mad woman and I've only gotten the kitchen done. Doesn't help when I opened the fridge to get creamer for my coffee (after I was done) and a whole thing of chocolate sprinkles fell down and spilled all over the place. *sigh* Luckily, I hadn't put the broom away.

The house is so quiet without the kids here. Kind of sad, really. I was just thrilled they went to bed on time last night. That made my night. Daniel got an alarm clock/radio for Christmas and made me set it for him. When I came downstairs at 7am, the boys were both sitting on the couch watching Pokemon. It was nice to only have to wake up Hannah. I wonder how long this will last.

Sorry this post is lame...we haven't been up to much this weekend. Now, I'm going to grab a salad and get to cleaning again.

Okay Deb...

Where's the bread recipe you promised???? LOL!!! Jacob's been begging for some homemade bread and all I can make is challah. He really loved your bread.

Actually, I got nervous when I was at HyVee yesterday and couldn't find the wheat grinder. They just moved it further inside the organics section (they actually have 3 aisles of natural/organics which I think is pretty cool). I did look at it a little closer and one is a soft wheat and one is a...ummm...red wheat (I think). I'll have to look a little closer next time I'm there. I guess I didn't look as closely as I thought! I'll take a picture of it, too...so you can see it.

Anyway, I need that recipe, woman!!! :)

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEBBIE!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We had a nice New Year's Eve. We went to Stephen and Roxanne's house and ate fondue and drank. The kids love going over there since they have two boys Jacob and Daniel's age too. Anyway, it was such a long evening for the kids that they slept until after 11 this morning. Getting back on the school schedule is going to be hard.

Jett, Daniel and Jacob play their DS games together
This picture cracks me up. I do love my Asti...I gave up the glass and drank straight from the bottle. I had a big straw but it's not in this picture.
This picture of Hannah is awesome. She'd never had sparkling grape juice before and this was her reaction. She loved it!
Mike and Stephen chat over champagne
The kids started making crafts about halfway through
Hannah and Roxanne show off the big eyes

Getting Back in the Groove

We've been home for a day or so now and I have to say it's nice. Not that we don't love visiting family but there's just something wonderful about being away and then coming home to the familiarity of your own home, bed and routine. I don't feel like I got much done yesterday since I was helping with Lego building for most of the day but I did get a ton of laundry done. It's all sitting in my dining room so let's hope I can get it all upstairs. I really need to do some sheets today.

I finished my Jiu Jitsu testing last night. A four minute "simulated fight" using as many techniques and submissions as possible. I thought that I would be the only one testing but there were two others, Ron and Mark, testing as well. Ron also had his simulated fight and Mark had to re-do his standing techniques since whoever called out the moves forgot about 4 of them.

As we were getting ready, they were telling me stories about how last week, they really did a poor job of timing during the simulated fight. That's why Ron had to re-test. His was only 3 minutes. They did the same thing to Val but they caught it right away. She then redid it and after a while, Karl (who was the testing instructor) began to think that the extra minute was a killer. Apparently, Val began saying that she was running out of moves and whoever was timing finally called time. Her roll was seven minutes. LOL! Needless to say, I was nervous about the timing.

I think I did okay. Stephen and Dave said it looked good so I'll take their word for it. I hope I get this freaking belt.

Illinois Trip Photo Post

We had a great visit to Illinois for the holidays. Our first stop was Peoria where we got to spend time with both of my sisters and their families. Dad's house was pretty cramped but it was all good.

All of the cousins
I love this picture. I can't wait until I can really embarrass Sarah with this one. LOL!!!
Daniel had a thing for Sarah, even though he would never admit it.
Glenn playing a game with Daniel
Mary Rose, Aidan and Hannah all look like they could be sisters!!


After Peoria, we headed up to Chicago. Hannah had her manicure and we also went up to the Botanic Garden. We also went around and took pictures of our old houses. It was a little sad but kind of cool, too.
We visited with Dave, Patty, Ken and Donna too. I can't believe how big the kids are getting. In age order from right to left...Eric, Jacob, Catherine, Daniel, Adam, David and Hannah. BTW, Eric is now taller than Mike.
Our house on Brandywyn. It was blue when we lived there.
The old apartment in Palatine.
The townhouse in Palatine. I loved this house.
The kids made crafts at the Botanic Garden
The boys loved the big lighted ornaments
It was a good trip but we are happy to be home.

Another Snowy Tuesday

At some point last night, it started snowing. When I woke up and looked outside, I decided to check the school closings before waking the kids up. I knew I'd have no problem going back to sleep but once the kids are up, they're up. I come downstairs and find Jacob watching cartoons on the couch. I turn to NBC and wait for the closings to start over since we're at the beginning of the alphabet. The schools jump over our district and I tell Jacob, who is anxiously awaiting word that there's no school, that he needs to get some breakfast because he's got school. He's more than mad. In all actuality, there really wasn't a reason to close school. We only got a couple of inches. What surprised me was how many people were mad that there was school today. For crying out loud people. Grow a pair and get the kids to school.

I was really surprised when Mike called around 2:30 to tell me that he'd gotten an e-mail saying all evening activities through our school district were cancelled. It had stopped snowing and the plows were active. WTF? It normally isn't an issue but the boys had a Pack meeting tonight. Mike decided to call our Packmaster to see if there'd be a meeting tonight. Turns out there was but it had to be moved since the school would be officially closed. How annoying.

When I picked the kids up from school, everyone was buzzing about how there wouldn't be school on Thursday. What? Why? Well, I guess there's going to be this big ice storm Thursday that will cancel school. The teachers were all talking about it. Ugh. I really hope there's no ice storm on Thursday because we'd like to leave for Illinois on Friday and Hannah has her holiday party Thursday afternoon. I guess Jacob has a class pizza party that afternoon as well. In any case, if it's going to do something, I'd rather it just snow. Ice sucks.

I'm so tired of winter already.

What to Say...

It's been crazy here. First, the weather's been nuts. Sunday, we had a high of 60 degrees and then the bottom fell out and we got down to 5 degrees with snow and freezing rain. I don't think we got above 12 degrees today. I feel like we've moved back to Iowa! Grrrrr...

We got the basement done. Well, there's still a little cutting in that I need to do but we are 99% done. We got these foam rubber blocks to put on the floor in the playroom (since the painting didn't turn out so well there) and it looks super cute. Since it's the same type of floor that our TKD school has, we've been referring to it as our dojo. LOL! I think it turned out nice, and the kids love it! And, yes, I do know that the pattern is off. So frustrating for me.
In the process of putting the basement back together, we decided it was time for a TV upgrade. Now, if I could just get the thing to work right.
Mike picked out that rug all by himself. He's been really impressing me with his decorating skills.


Hannah had her consecration on Sunday. It's a ceremony, at the synagogue, welcoming children into the world of learning. It was really sweet. They gave the kids robes and wrapped them up in the Torah. I didn't get photos of the ceremony because it wasn't appropriate but here are some of Hannah before and after the ceremony.
Hannah and her Torah.
I've also been trying to wrap up my jiu jitsu testing before we leave for Illinois. I was doing well until tonight. We did Guard techniques and I was all over the place. I had to restart once and will probably have to re-do that section again on Wednesday. Ugh. Oh well. I'll be really happy to have that behind me.

Snowy Tuesday

Last night, they said it would snow today. It certainly is. It started around 10am and hasn't let up. I can't believe they hadn't pre-treated the roads...they were pretty slick when I left my MOPS meeting at 11:30. It's days like this that I miss my old Cavalier. Ugh I loved that car.

Oh, sweet! A salt truck just went down the street. That'll help.

Last night, we had round two of Jiu Jitsu testing. We did all of the stand-up techniques. That would be where someone is coming after you and you take them to the ground. Not my favorite thing in the world. Mostly because I'm afraid of hurting my partner. There are also three moves where you head to the ground while either you (or your partner) is in a headlock. Those really crank on your neck. This week, we'll be working on Side-Mount techniques and then move on to the Guard stuff. We have to move quickly since most of us will be out of town for Christmas and the tapes have to be in by December 31st.

Monday...Phoootooos

We had a pretty busy weekend. Well, really just Saturday. Hannah and Daniel had TKD testing and that seemed to take all day. It was interesting, though, because I sat next to our friend, Stephen, and he gave a commentary throughout the whole thing. I got the full scoop on everything. Here are some photos...sorry they're a little blurry.

Daniel's form (he's in the middle)

Daniel breaking boards
Hannah's form
Hannah sparring


Saturday was also our TKD school's Christmas party. We had a good time up until Jacob had a meltdown and we had to go. While we were there, we had a great time. I got tired of never being in pictures so I did a lot of self portraits with our friends. So, in this post you'll also get to meet some of our friends.

Val (my usual partner for Jiu Jitsu and very good friend...you may remember her dog from a few posts back) me and Roxanne

Me and Karl (Val's husband and one of the Jiu Jitsu instructors)
Me and Stephen (from story above...Roxanne's husband, second degree black belt in TKD and Jiu Jitsu instructor
The kids eat dinner
Stephen, Mike and Ron

Me and Beth (Master Johnson's girlfriend and fellow Jiu Jitsu-er)
The kids learn how to play Othello
Dave, Beth, Dave (aka Master Johnson and head instructor of our school), Karl, Andry and Val
Hannah had a lot of dancing partners...Stephen and Hannah
Grandmaster Lee and Hannah

Testing

Tonight, we started the testing process for Jiu-Jitsu. It's a five part test that we have to video tape and send it to California for certification. If I pass, I get my blue belt. That would be really cool.

There are about 6 of us testing. We did the first part tonight: all of the escapes, control strategies and submissions from the Mount. In all, that's 9 techniques and 23 variations, in order and in 5 minutes.

Next, we'll do all of the Guard techniques, then Side-Mount and then Standing techniques. To end it, we have to freestyle fight for at least four minutes using as many of the different techniques as possible. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

And my back is killing me. Wish me luck!!!

Update...and Some Photos

We had a very uneventful Thanksgiving this year...not that it was a bad thing. I hate to admit that it was really nice to just spend the time with Mike and the kids. As always, I made way too much food but it was very tasty. I promise we'll be heading to Illinois for the holidays.

When I saw all of the snow yesterday, I was happy that we weren't on the road for it. We didn't get much here...about an inch or so, but it was enough for the kids to have fun playing in all day long.

Some other stuff has gone on since my last post, too. Daniel had his second grade program. It was super cute. They even learned the School House Rock Preamble song. Daniel has taught it to Jacob and Hannah as well. At any given point in time, you can hear someone singing, "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union..." LOL!!!

I finally got around to taking some pictures of Hannah at gymnastics. She's getting a lot better and she really likes it. (She's the one in the bright blue leo)



I've also spent the past week being sucked into the vampire world that is Twilight. I was bound and determined to not like it, but I wound up enjoying it immensely. I read all four books in less than seven days. How crazy is that?!?

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and I promise to post more soon.