Christmas Recap 2013

The day after Christmas coma has arrived. Aaron has already been sent back to bed for a half hour for attitude adjustment and I can't seem to get my butt off the couch from under a blanket. I had the living room mostly clean before I headed to bed last night but it seems to have become a disaster overnight. I want to record some of the highlights and a few things I want to remember for next year.

Christmas Eve was a little odd this year since we didn't go to church on the actual Christmas Eve. Our church tried something new this year and did identical services on the Sunday before and Christmas Eve. Because Steve had to work on Christmas Eve, we chose to do the service on Sunday, which was fine but I definitely think I missed not going on Christmas Eve.

We got all of our baking done on Christmas Eve, as I have the last two years. Unlike last year though, the boys were completely into it and we made gingerbread decorated with candy before they cooked as well as sugar cookies that the boys frosted and decorated. The boys got along really well all day on Christmas Eve which was a change and they even went outside to play for awhile with no fighting that day. It was amazing!

After Steve got home we went out for dinner to On the Border and then came home and opened the presents we had gotten each other from Five Below. We got the boys to bed at the regular time and then settled in to wait until they fell asleep to bring stuff down.

Christmas morning was nice. The boys waited until 7:30 to come wake us up, which was impressive I thought. Present opening was somewhat uneventful except that we did surprise the boys with  the technology items they had been hoping for.  I got great video of both of them opening their big gifts. I made a breakfast casserole that was pretty good, even though neither of the boys liked it. We went to Frozen at Rivertown in the early afternoon, which was a very good movie. We came home and had our usual dinner, although it really wasn't all that well received my anyone. I think we were all just burned out from Christmas by then. The boys spent quite a bit of time on their tech items throughout the day which was fine since they were new but it is clear that we are going to have to ration their time on the devices.

Other fun moments from the day included Aaron trying out his new karaoke machine (Steve hooked our old TV up to the machine in his room). Noah's media player is old and refurbished (which he doesn't know) so I am panicking that it is going to crash at some point). Since there is a foot of snow outside, the boys are pogo-ing in the hallway and I am waiting for someone to break a bone before the break is over. But they're having fun in the meantime.

Now we are in day after coma. I am hoping to get out to Target at some point today and Steve is going to be gone all day and night for a barbershop thing so it's just me and the boys again. It was a pretty laid back Christmas and that is just a good way for it to be,. Not very many presents for the boys but they really liked what they got so that's all that matters.

Now for the Thank you cards. Hoping to get them done by New Year's Day.

2013...My Newest Venture

So it's been another two months since my last post. To say it has been busy is a bit of an understatement, but isn't it for all moms? Trying to settle into a routine this school year has been a challenge, in many ways.

But, as things start to settle in some ways, things get busier in others. Today I completed a milestone though so I thought I would post a little about it since I am feeling nostalgic (and I need a break from the mind numbing existence that is facebook). I figure I need to write a little of my history of this journey so I never forget.

Back in January, I began the year that I would turn 40. I hated the view in the mirror, as I was EXTREMELY close to the 200 lb mark and disgusted by it.

I tried Weight Watchers yet again and by May had only lost a total of twelve pounds and was starving all the time. Then we went for my birthday family vacation trip to Florida and a few days after we got back I made a change that I hope to last the rest of my life.

Aaron had asked me to go play tennis with him and I agreed. We played for over an hour and I worked up a great sweat and felt so alive for the first time in a long time. A few days later he asked again and we did so again. At that time, I started wondering what it would take to try to run a little bit. I went out and couldn't even go three driveways before I was huffing and puffing and felt like I was going to die.

After some gradual increases, I got to the point where I could run a mile without walking and I made a crazy decision to try to run a 5K before the year was over. So I went home, searched the computer and found one  for September 15th, three months later. I figured I could get myself to that point. My goal was to run it in under 45 minutes.

A short while later, I started becoming obsessed with reading everything I could about running and even entered a contest to run a "practice" 5K. Crazily enough, I won and I found myself registered to run my first 5K on August 1st, six weeks earlier than I had planned!

August 1st came and I was scared to death as I lined up for the Metro Way 5K. It was not pretty. It was not fast. I even walked a bit of it. But I finished it with a smile on my face. My amazingly supportive husband and my sons were there and I was so proud. My time was just over 38 minutes. I figured for a first 5K for someone of my weight, it wasn't a bad start. AND I had my REAL first 5K only 6 weeks later.

Six weeks later, I found myself again at a 5K starting line. This time it was for the Grand Rapids Bridge Run and I was feeling more prepared this time. As I was getting lined up, the skies opened and huge raindrops came pounding down. I had given Steve and the boys permission to go to church rather than being at the waiting line this time. But as I was coming halfway through mile 2, I looked over to the Gerald Ford Museum parking lot and there were three awesome Wheelz Boys, cheering for Mommy. After turning the last corner, they had walked up the street and were there again waiting for me. This time Aaron even ran about a half of a block with me toward the finish line. I cut abut two minutes off my time and enjoyed the chocolate milk at the finish line before heading home to dry off and take a very long bath.

Then school started and I wondered if I was going to be able to keep up with this running thing. No question, it became more and more difficult as my schedule had something every night of the week and the skies became dark earlier and earlier in the evening. I figured the only way to get motivated again was to sign up for more "races". So I found one that ran through a local college, which looked like fun.

For the Grand Valley Turkey Trot the Saturday before Thanksgiving, I recruited my teaching partner from last year, who was one of the three women who motivated me to try this running thing in the first place. The forecast for the race was a 16 degree windchill and I was panicked about what to wear. I had to justify the cost of some cold weather running gear and even then I didn't  know if what I got would satisfy that cold of weather. I was also nervous because this would be the first time I would be running with a partner, after having spent 5 months only doing solo running in training. There were definitely good and bad moments of the event. The timing got goofed so I don't have an accurate time and the route was pretty uninteresting. But running with my friend Heather made the day great, with a chance to catch up and we were very evenly matched as running partners. (She has since asked me to do a half...yeah right!)

After that, the Michigan snow season began and getting out to run became even more difficult than it was before. BUT...my sister, who was another of the three women who motivated to begin this journey,  asked me if I was going to run the Whoville 5K with her. $30 for a race in the throes of winter didn't seem very feasible, but I still went ahead to enter. I was extremely nervous for this one as well, given that as of the morning of the race I had still never run in snow.

So December 15th (this morning) arrived and I bundled up, again having no clue if I was wearing enough clothes. My sister gave me a wonderful gift when I got there, which was yak trax which are basically coils that attach to your running shoes to make your run grip the snow.

The race did not have an official time and that wasn't the point of the race anyway. It was so very fun. The snow was coming down hard as I ran along the Grand River riverbank and it was absolutely beautiful. My frozen toes started to thaw a bit after about the first mile and a quarter. Every so often a Grinch would jump out at you to throw you off and Things 1 and 2 would hide behind trees and throw snow balls at you if you weren't paying attention. It was a blast and by far my favorite of the FOUR 5K races I have run in the past 6 months. It was fun doing it with my sister too! When I got back in my car, I saw that the wind chill outside while we were running was a balmy SEVEN DEGREES. I felt like I had conquered a mountain!

So here I am at the end of six months contemplating where do I go from here. I have many ideas. After today I know that I can handle this cold weather and don't need to stop. I have spent some time already today researching the next few races in which I want to participate.

But mostly I just think of how far I have come in six months and hope that I can stay with it and not quit. Yes I am a quitter and hoping to break that habit when it comes to my running. Will I be sitting here a year from now writing about new running

accomplishments that occur in 2014? Or will I discover that I just didn't have the discipline to push through? I guess only time will tell.

A Bedroom Makeover

Yes, it's been awhile. Yes, we're still alive...at least in body. Spirit is another story...

Through the years, I have often tried to battle some of my despondency with a change in scenery in our home. Sometimes it results in my need to paint something. It often includes rearranging at least one bedroom.  In the past month BOTH have taken place.

The first was thanks to my good friend Chris at Dad of Divas. I was asked quite a while ago if I would be willing to try out some bedding from Sweet Jojo Designs and write a review.

Aaron has a long history with blankets. And bedroom switches. And beds. He is currently in a loft type bed about two feet from the floor, which was actually the top bunk of a bed from my parents. It works our well for him since he has so many blankets and stuffed animal "buddies" that stay on his bed at all times. As a matter of fact, his bed is always overcrowded with various animals, blankets and clothes. And his bedding was still a spiderman blanket from when he was four. It also had holes in all four corners from his chewing on the sheets and blankets at bedtime. So when the offer came to bring his bedroom and bedding up to his age, we were both pretty excited.

We went on the website and picked out a fun set with brown and blue circles that would go well with his blue walls. He was very excited about it and we cheered when it was delivered.

I'm not sure who was more excited, Aaron or me.
The set contained a comforter, pillow sham, dust ruffle, and matching window valance.  The very first thing we noticed was how incredibly soft the comforter was. I have to admit I wanted to keep it for myself :) Same was true of the pillow sham. The fabric feels so soft and almost silky and most definitely luxurious. I also like that the pillow sham zips closed so Aaron's pillow can't slide out.


We did have a few challenges making the dust ruffle work for Aaron's type of bed, however with a little creativity it worked and I truly love the color scheme. At the time of the photo we had not yet hung the window valance but it definitely looks like a pre-teens bedroom now, rather than a little boy's room. And even better, Aaron is so comfy snuggled in that not a single corner has been "eaten".

The company does have a few more accompanying pieces to the set, including some sheets, pillows, and wall hangings that would be excellent complements to this set and they are reasonable in price in my opinion. I love the material and the designs offered by this company and I am not surprised that Noah is now also asking for a set from this company. Maybe for Christmas...

A huge thank you to Chris at Dad of Divas and Sweet Jojo Designs for the opportunity to experience the luxury of a wonderful new bedroom set and helping Aaron to make the transition from a little boy into a young man.

What the Heck and I doing???

Seriously, a 5K or someone like me?? Absolutely ridiculous, right?

The story, just so I can look back and remember:

Just over two years ago, Noah was running the kids race that is related to the biggest race in Grand Rapids, the Riverbank Run. At that time, he asked me to run with  him and I knew that there was no way in a gazillion years that I could do it with him. And it was the time when I realized just how fat I had gotten, which has only gotten worse. I still remember that day like it was yesterday and I remember telling myself that SOMEDAY, I am going to run a 5K.

Fast forward to this past January when I started a new job/career, I had to get some actual clothes to wear and it was at that moment that I really saw how bad things had gotten, with rolls and rolls of muffin top over my pants. And then to make things worse, I stepped on a scale and had a number to reaffirm how bad things had gotten.  A REALLY BAD NUMBER!!!!!!!

So I found an online deal through weight watchers. So as I was working this new job in a VERY stressful situation, I also tried very hard to stick with an online program to lose weight.  However, I only lost about 12 pounds. Not much when you put it in relation to how much NEEDED to be lost. The program that had worked for me ten years ago just didn't cut it anymore.

So the school year ended, we headed to Florida for the vacation that was the main impetus for me trying to lose weight in the first place. The following week summer vacation had begun and I was still feeling ugly, fat, and useless.

Aaron asked me to go play tennis with him. Back when I was in high school, a friend and I used to enjoy going to hit balls back and forth.  Neither of us were thin or in any kind of healthy shape, but even so we could spend an hour hitting balls back and forth and having a good time. So I figured that maybe this would a good way to get some exercise and have a fun time with my son. So we went.

I got sweaty. REALLY sweaty. And it was wonderful! It felt sooo good to feel like I had gotten my heart pumping and been active with my son. A couple of days later, Aaron asked to again, this time with Noah asking as well. So we went. And again, I got a great workout and came home feeling not only like I had exercised, but maybe I was actually showing the boys that we could be out playing together instead of sitting inside watching a dumb screen.

For some reason,  the next day I decided to go out  and see if I could run a little. I couldn't....at all! We live on a main street with tons of little tiny feeder streets so my goal was to walk a street, then run  a street.  All the way to the end and then do the same coming home.  I wish to anything that I could have timed myself on that very first outing so I could know now how far I had come.

The next day I decided to try a little more running and a little less walking. And for the next couple of weeks, I am not really sure where the training went since I didn't start logging it until the end of June, other than I jumped into it whole hardedly, hating every moment but feeling like I was growing stronger with each run.

Somewhere in those first few weeks, I came up with an idea. I am going to run a 5K! Where did this idea come from?  Who knows. But I went online, used literally the LAST $30 in our checking account (yes, it's been another very difficult summer) and registered for a 5K race in September. I figured if I made a financial commitment, maybe I would actually follow through. You see, I am good at STARTING things. Not so good at FOLLOWING THROUGH.   I of course didn't tell Hubby, being sure that he would second guess me and scold me for spending the money. As I will mention later, he has been surprisingly supportive of this. Maybe his prize will be a skinny wife someday :) Doubtful but miracles can happen I suppose.

So began a journey. I was running in just regular tennis shoes and somewhere in that first couple of weeks, managed to injure my left calf. The injury has progressed as training continued to a point that I am in constant pain. But I will come back to that. I figured if I am going to do this, I NEED to get some shoes.

Having mentioned already that there is certainly NO money to waste on something frivolous like running shoes, I pulled out the trusty Kohl's card and found a pair of a brand I know to be good and bought them, after trying on basically every pair of women's running shoes in the store.I knew that I was supposed to go to a running store and get fitted and all that, but that would have definitely been out of capability for us. Do I believe that they are PART of the problem with my injury? Possibly. But they are still very comfortable and I do think they are better than what I was wearing before.

I have had to make a couple of other purchases, namely running shirts and shirts, an arm holder for my ipod, and a headband since apparently I am a sweating machine. I had been afraid to mention these purchases to Steve, since we don't even have the money to buy food right now, but surprisingly, he has been 100 percent supportive of this adventure so it was okay.

I joined two different running web sites to track my progress and followed a 5K training plan that seemed to be a good fit for me.  About mid July, I found another race and knew there was no way I could waste more money that we didn't have on a race registry, so I entered a contest for a free entry, figuring that if I won, maybe I would be ready.

Lo and behold, I won! Oh Crap! Now I have to follow through on this.

Just as I was registering, the pain in my leg was progressing to a point where I had to change my training to every other day, trying to fit cycling or swimming in on the other days. But the week leading up to it, I ended up not even being able to cross train, for reasons that I am too depressed to get into here.

So the day of the 5K came. I felt like I was prepared in some ways, and in many other ways, I must be a complete idiot to even try this.  I will tell of the event in my next post.

Weekend Top Five June 16 2013

Wow, missed quite a few weekend to fives. I guess i kind of got off whack when we went to Florida and never quite got back on.

Friday Steve was gone for a barbershop show so the boys and I just hung out and read more of Matilda. I had a massive and horrible headahce every day this weekend so I will be seeing a doctor soon for that.

Saturday, Steve took the boys to the Saturday slip and slide that they went to last year. Noah found an eighth grader who was into pokemon so I guess they spent the entire time sitting and talking about it (grrrr). Aaron, as to be expected, spent the entire time in the dunk tank and loved every moment. Steve fell and hurt his foot so that pretty much did him in.

Meanwhile, I headed out to my team teacher's baby shower. Interesting for sure.

Sunday was Father's Day. Since we got to church on Monday nights in the summer it was good to sleep in for awhile. Steve knew of an old movie theater south from here that shows new run movies at low prices and wanted to go check it out so we went for a road trip to Plainwell after lunch at Moe's, everyone's favorite eat out place.  We saw Epic in the theater and then we went downtown Plainwell to Dean's Ice Cream for ice cream and a walk aong the river. A very relaxed and fun little road trip.

We came home to no power and a run away dog, just to make the evening interesting and got the boys to bed early.

I added to my nightly walk/run and did a two mile loop Sunday night.

Strange Happenings

With my "baby" finishing up elementary school this week, I got quite nostalgic the other night. I started blogging the year that at Noah entered kindergarten, both because I needed an outlet to a very stressful start of schooling for him and also because a friend on min told me I have lots of strange stories to share.

So fast forward six years and  my teaching partner and I have been chatting/ laughing about some funny or strange happenings during the five months that we've been working together. I am writing them here just as a way to remember...

1. What Happened To The Fish???

Aaron was sad earlier this year that Noah always has named all of our pets and he wanted one of his own. After some discussion, twp danio fish, named Leopard and Jaguar, joined the Wheelz Family.  For a short while, Aaron did okay with feeding them but then, as predicted, forgetfulness set in. So our fish friends were then moved to a common area in the house so we could all work together to keep them fed.

A few weeks into the venture I was shocked that they were still alive, since I've killed every fish I've ever had quite quickly. Then, one morning on the way OUT THE DOOR, I heard water dripping and sure enough, there was a leak in the tank.

As we were leaving for school. I quickly grabbed a big bowl, filled it with new fish water (that I kept in a jug for this purpose), moved the fish to the bowl, locked them in the bedroom where they would be safe from Minnie Cat,  and set off for the day.

After picking up the boys from school, I figured we were going to need some new food and other supplies for the fish before we went home to fix the situation. So we stopped for those items..

When we got home, I went in to check on our fish friends. The first thing I noticed was that there were NO FISH in the bowl. Upon looking further, I found ONE of the fish bodies dried crusty and stuck on the floor.

Here's the kicker...the other one has never been found

Now, this story has evolved into a "Finding Nemo" scenario that had poor Leopard and Jaguar jumping to their freedom. We are two sick preschool teachers, huh?

2. Strange Maladies in the Wheelz Home
We've had two recently...

A. Sting?
Everyone gets stung by bees, right? Well apparently, only I have the talent to turn a sting into a medical mystery. As we were driving home from the park awhile ago, I suddenly had extreme pain in my side and I was sure it was a sting by the feeling. It hurt so bad that I actually had to pull over and no one ever saw what it was that got me.

The welt grew and grew and grew for over a week when I finally had to see a doctor and take antibiotics for it.  About a month and half later, there is still a red blotch in that area and a scab about a quarter inch across...crazy

B. Puff Eyed Boy
Aaron seems to have allergies and they only seem to show up beginning of May each year. This is the second year that it has happened but definitely worse in degree (and it is still going on at this writing).

The poor kid doesn't just have "allergies". The kid's eye (always the left) blows up, turns purple, oozes all king of nastiness and eventually sticks closed. We get sopped everywhere wondering how he "got the shiner".

If I mention, yeah my kid has allergies, then everyone just says, "yeah, it's bad this year." But then if I share some pictures, it become "OMG!".

So after a blood draw at the second Dr appt in a week, we will hopefully get some answers but for now the poor kid is being drugged up a storm to try to get him normal before we leave for vacation this weekend.



(Aaron got a hold of my camera and was fascinated with taking pictures of his disgusting eye)







Follow up...Aaron is allergic to elm, birch, maple and oak trees.



Yes, weird things happen to us. But we always have fun stories to tell as they evolve so that's good.

You always need a good story to tell, right?

Spring Break ReCap 2013

So I know that no one reads this anymore but that's okay because it's now become my own personal journal of family goings on.

Spring Break this year was great. We stayed home, given that we are leaving for a real family vacation in seven weeks. But this year we managed to have something special each day of the break, which was my goal for the week.

Personally, a week of NOT stressing over my job was the biggest bonus of all. I hadn't realized HOW stressful this job had become until I had a week free from the panic feeling I was experiencing each day. Another nice thing was making dinner each night, being able to try new recipes and being home to EAT with my family each night rather than rushing off to piano lessons that may or may not show up on any given weeknight. Steve certainly liked not having to rush home every day from work to be with the boys so I could leave too.

The last day before break is always the school's fine arts fest (talent show) and BOTH boys chose to participate this year. Aaron played a piano solo and Noah played a trombone solo. I was very proud of them both for their efforts.











The first weekend of break was Easter weekend. Saturday I found a local church Easter egg hunt outside, which  was finny because we have never done a local hunt and this is the last year Noah can do it because he "ages out".  Normally, we try to do things outside on Easter Sunday after dinner, but given that the day was rainy and cold, we found ways to spend time together inside instead.  The boys picked out some projects for us to do together over the week so we started on them.

Boys loved their Easter baskets this year. In past years, we've given them quite a few gifts in their Easter baskets, but this year I really wanted to scale back. And the cool thing is, they didn't even notice. They LOVED their stuffed friends (yes, ANOTHER sock monkey for Noah) and each got an mp3 player for our trip next month.











That afternoon, Noah and I started on one of the projects for the week, a 100+ piece wooden 3D puzzle of a dragon. We really enjoyed working on the project together and it did indeed take the entire week to complete.  He is so proud of his accomplishment and is asking when he can work on another one.












Easter evening we took the boys to my parents for a sleepover, which they LOVE. The next morning, they were treated to a movie with their cousins before coming home Monday afternoon. I enjoyed a day to try to get my house in order before the busy week started.

Tuesday was the day Noah had been waiting for for weeks. He FINALLY had a play date with a friend. As I have said in the past, one of the problems with the boys going to a VERY small school is that friendships are a tricky thing, especially this year, which has been very rough for both boys. A new boy moved into the class this year, and...fingers crossed...could FINALLY be a friend for Noah worth having that could be a lasting friendship. I really really really hope so. He really needs a good friend... don't we all? So this boy came over for a few hours Tuesday afternoon, which Noah loved but Aaron not so much. Hopefully this friendship will last and we can have many more play events with this young man. He was a pretty nice kid.

Wednesday began my goal to have fun with the boys over break. I wanted to do some activities that were different than the norms that we always do, but not break the bank in doing so. We took advantage of the reciprocal membership we have to the local museum and took a road trip to Lansing to visit a science museum there. We went once last summer but haven't been there since. The boys had a great time and even found some activities that we hadn't discovered the last time we visited.









Thursday we tried out a new attraction in Grand Rapids. Given the cost, we only paid for an hour, which ended up being plenty of time. SkyZone is an indoor trampoline park with wall to wall trampolines, a huge foam pit, two dodge ball arenas, and a basketball court. The boys had a good time until Noah was told he couldn't play dodge ball without wearing these big nasty goggles. I even told them I was okay with me if the glasses broke but they still wouldn't let him so he was pretty upset the rest of the time and I am not sure that he will want to go back. Definitely disappointing.




Friday was another attraction that I went back and forth about. A  local arena sets up an "indoor amusement park" which cost a little bit of money but with the coupon online I figured it was the last day of break so we had to go out with a bang. The kids got to try their hand at trampoline bungee, bull riding, and other inflatable fun. There was even a "game show" that we tried to be part of but it was still fun to participate in the audience. Boys even got to try  "jousting". It was a fun day but probably once was enough.

Saturday Hubby ended working longer than we anticipated so I brought the boys shopping with me and then they went to the free movies at the mall while I got more shopping done. Afterward, it was home for taco dinner and then the two semi-final basketball games.


Sunday was an at home get ready for the week kind of day, which is good to have once in awhile.


 It was a great week with my boys. It wasn't because of the things we did, although I think they had a good time. I think we all just really enjoyed the break in the routine and had some much needed-low stress- fun time together.

Although I am panicking about finances this summer, I know that a summer of three months of hanging with these two special boys is going to be wonderful.