learning to fly requires falling

Mary had her third tumbling meet of the season on Saturday.

 

We got up super early in order to make it to Farmington by 7:50am.

 

We were running late, and it was a bit stressful, but we walked in the door minutes before she was supposed to be out on the floor.

 

I found my seat, and waited, and waited, and waited.

 

I was sitting by the mom of another tumbler on Mary's team, and mentioned that it seemed to be running really behind.  She them reminded me that Mary is now competing in the 12 year old group.

 

DOH!

 

I had looked at the wrong schedule!  Mary didn't compete until 9:30.  Go me.

 

We thought she would be done with both events by 9:30, but in reality, she would not be done until 2:00.

 

Double doh!

 

So we killed some time.

 



cute shirt she got at the meet, it says, "this is my handstand shirt."

 

 

 

Mary has worked really hard the past few weeks to clean up the little things she stumbled on the past two weeks.  They were not big things, but they prevented her from getting on the podium.  This week, with everything fixed, she was really excited to see how well she could fly.  She was looking great!

 

I was excited for her too.  I knew that she had a great shot of getting in the top 3, which was very normal for her last season.  She needs scores like that in order to qualify for Nationals.

 

She had floor first.

 

Her first pass was beautiful, but she started her last of 7 flips on the red line, so her last flip was not counted!  This was all due to her not starting her pass back just a few feet.  She was trying to make her back hand springs longer and prettier (which she did), but in return, she landed further back than normal.

I could see it in her face that she new it, and she was very discouraged.

 

Her second pass was flawless. She nailed the landing and everything. That got a grin out of her.

 

My heart hurt for her.  She did her passes perfectly, but just one little mishap, that had nothing to do with her form, or her height, or her execution, killed her score.

 

She ended up taking 5th out of 11 girls.

We checked the score sheet afterward, and without landing in the red, Mary would have taken first place!

 

Argh!

 

 

 

 Double mini was next.  You can see in the picture below, that the girls on the podium are much bigger than Mary, and much older.  They have all turned 12 already and have matured also.  Mary doesn't turn 12 until December.

With trampoline and double mini, the judges can judge on height as well as everything else.  Some judges give huge points and huge deductions for height.  Others do it for form. 

The judges at these meet were very focused on height.  These bigger girls can get huge height on the double mini with just one jump.  The smaller girls just can't match that.

Mary's form was perfect, and she only took one step on the landing of her first pass, and stuck the second.

Because she was not as high, she came in 6th out of 12.

When judges are more focused on form, Mary almost always is in the top 3.

Mary was pretty quiet in the car on the way home, and my heart ached for her.

This was her third meet in a row where she did awesome, but one dumb little thing got in the way of her scores.

She had an amazing season last year, and her confidence was high.  She was on the podium at every single meet, won Regionals, and placed 11th out of 56 in Nationals. 

This season has been very different.  She is just as good, and is improving every meet, but in these upper levels, the tiniest little thing can just kill your score.  She is now in the upper levels.
Unfortunately for Mary, these tiny things keep happening.

She is learning a lot though.  Every athlete will have a season of learning, growing, and becoming stronger.  OR, they can let the season make them upset, bitter, and wanting to give up.  Mary has chosen the first choice.

I have watched Mary to see how she wants to handle this, and I have been so proud of her as she lets herself feel bad for a minute, but then immediately focuses on what went wrong, what she can do to fix it, and sets her eyes on the next meet.

I don't say much to her either way.  I am very proud of her when she has success, and I am very proud of the way she handles it when she has disappointments.  I let her know this each time, and then I just try to listen.  It is really hard as a mother to know exactly what to say.  I just love her, support her, and make sure that tumbling is always fun for her.  If she is not having fun, she doesn't need to do it anymore.

I am very proud of her as an athlete with how she handles the success and the disappointments.
She is an amazing athlete, and her tumbling is incredible.  I have no doubt that this glitch in the road is just a glitch.

I just pray that sooner than later she can get everything aligned just right at a meet, just how she can and is able to, and blow it out of the water! 

She is quickly learning that the sport is not just about the sport.  It never is.

big boy counts to 100....in espanol!

 

William came home today wearing this amazing hat, and sporting this cool necklace.

 

He was beaming!

 

Everyone in Williams kindergarten class can count to 100 in Spanish, so they had a party!

 

How cool is that! 

 

 My little big boy can count to cien!

 

 

 

miss molly goes to nursery

Technically, Molly will not be 18months until March.  (thank goodness, I can't handle it)  BUT...the nursery was emptied out with the new year and everyone moving up to Sunbeams, so they let us start bringing Molly.

 

It is so crazy to me that now all of my kids will be in some sort of class during the last two hours of church now.  No more babies to tag along with us.  So weird!  Bitter sweet for sure.

 

She was very unsure of it for a few weeks, but the past couple weeks, she has done great!

 

My sweet little princess is growing up. (sniff, sniff)

 

happy heart day

Valentines was good over here in these parts.

The kids had a blast at their school parties.  They did their traditional face valentine boxes, and as usual, they were a huge hit!  Love it.

their classmates put the candy in the mouth, and there is a box behind it that it falls in to.

They came home with smiles, and loads of candy.

Mary and her friend Eden made these cupcakes over the weekend.  They were going to be Valentine cupcakes, but then they got on Pinterest and found this cute idea.

They made them completely on their own....zero help from me.
I was totally impressed!

cookie monster cupcakes

On Saturday night, we got a babysitter, and my boyfriend took me on a date. 
We went to Vitos, a new Italian restaurant here.  It was aweseome!  I love going on dates with my Valentine.

On Sunday, the actual Valentines Day, we gave each of the kids a box of chocolates and a small gift.   I made a fun Valentine dinner, complete with these awesome Jello hearts!  Mary helped me make them.

Dessert was, well, not the jello hearts, but it probably should have been.

We had these killer kabobs!  Sooooo good.

brownies, marshmallows and strawberries!

Lots of love, lots of treats, lots of red, lots of hearts.
It was a good Valentines weekend.

oh luke

Luke had his preschool Valentines party on Thursday this week, because that is the last day he has preschool before Valentines Day.

I let him pick out the Paw Patrol cards/magnets that he wanted to give his friends.  He is majorly in to Paw Patrol right now.
I think I spent almost 10 minutes trying to explain to him that he gives them to his friends, and that his friends give him valentines too.  He was totally confused and could not figure out why the Paw Patrol valentines were not all his.

The next morning, we sat at the table, and I helped him put his name on each card and get everything ready to go for his party.  I re-explained it all to him again, and I thought he was starting to get it.  We put everything in his backpack, zipped it up, and he was all set for his big party.

Later that afternoon, Molly took longer than normal to get down for a nap, so I was MIA for about 20 minutes.  I thought Luke was having some quiet time watching a show.

You would think I would know by now, that "quiet time" is actually "I should be scared because it is too quiet" time.

I came out of the room, and found Luke's valentines spread all over the table and the floor. 

These are just a few of them

Luke had ripped the magnets off of every single one, and placed them in his own Valentine Mailbox..  He was thrilled to show me that he had given himself  35 valentines, and he had already taken the magnets off.

I had no time to go back to the store, and by this point our wonderful Heber Walmart (note the sarcasm here), was completely out of any valentine stuff.

We spent the afternoon taping the magnets back on the cards, with Luke protesting like crazy.

I did cave and let him keep some for himself...the ones that were too destroyed to save.

He did end up making it to his party, with enough taped together valentines to pass around.

He came home with the biggest grin I have seen in a long time, and proudly showed me his massive bag of valentines/candy!  He literally jumped off of the last step of the bus and shouted for joy holding out his box for me to see.  It was pretty dang cute.

 He also explained to me how he put his cards in his friends boxes, and they put some in his.  He finally got it. Go figure.

I got him some lunch, turned on a show for his "quiet time," told him that he could have two pieces of his candy after he ate lunch, and I went to put Molly down for a nap.

Why, oh why, do I ever think that Luke will just sit and watch a show while I am getting Molly down.

I came out 15 minutes later, and Luke had eaten all 28 pieces of his candy.  Most of the candy was just straight sugar (Fun Dip..I HATE those things).  It was A LOT of sugar.
His lunch was completely untouched.

I just about died, because I knew what it meant for the rest of the afternoon.  I tried in vain to get him to eat his lunch, to try to get something in him to soak up the sugar, but it was no use.

I was right to be worried.  The afternoon for Luke was insane.

I did not ask him to pose for this picture.  I just snapped this mid- sugar rush.

did not ask him to do this either.  Nope, this was all Luke.

Luke spent the next 6 hours literally bouncing off the walls, the couches, the railing, the chairs, the beds, and even the table.  He turned into about 30 different animals in that time, complete with the animal noises, he didn't stop talking or making animal noises for more than 5 minutes, and he was literally bursting out the eyeballs with the biggest sugar rush known to mankind! 

The older kids literally just sat on the couch and watched Luke go crazy.  They thought it was amazing, even for Luke.  It was like watching a talking, noise making, pinball, bounce all over the place at crazy high speeds.

And then, an hour before bedtime, I walked into the room and saw this.

He looks like he literally just collapsed.  His cheeks were even still rosy from the sprints up and down the hall he had been doing just minutes before.  Quite the sleeping position!

The crash!  He didn't open his eyes again until morning.

Oh Luke.

seriously?!?!

This was today's punishment for going to the bathroom.

 

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

 

It was time for a new bottle, so I guess Molly can thank Luke for speeding up the process.

 

Geesh!

 

count your many blessings...update

blessing:  the car was out of gas

curse:  the car was out of gas

blessing:  obviously, a very easy fix

curse:  the first thing I did when the car stopped, was check the mileage, and we should have had 60 more miles worth of gas.

blessing:  the car was just out of gas

curse:  we have to pay the auto repair shop, and the tow truck company, to tell us that our car was out of gas. 

blessing:  paying for a company to tell you that you are out of gas, is way cheaper than being told you need a new transmission

curse:  totally embarrassing, even though I checked the gas right when the car stopped

blessing:  I will have a car again!

count your many blessings

blessing:  We own two vehicles, therefore I have a car here during the day.

curse:  the car I drive during the suddenly broke down yesterday on our way home from the dentist.

blessing:  it broke down in our neighborhood, close to home.

curse:  my friend and I tried to move the car to the side of the road, but I have a bad leg, and she has a bad shoulder.

blessing:  It was sort of off to the side of the road already.

curse:  Molly had just fallen asleep, and I had to wake her up to walk home.  No nap for Molly the rest of the day.

blessing:  The weather was actually above freezing, and the sun was out.  The walk home wasn't bad.

curse:  I don't have a car

blessing:  Ben was home this morning and was able to help get kids to the bus stop, without a car.  My friend Karli gave me a ride to the gym, so I was able to get a great work out in.  My leg made it through an entire power pump class.  Made my day!

curse:  I don't have house keys (they are with the car keys at the car shop), and Ben left the house after I did.  He did a great job of locking the house up nice and tight. Needless to say, I was locked out of the house when I got home from the gym

blessing:  I have awesome friends who took Luke and Molly and lent me their car so I could drive to the car shop and get the house key

curse: I don't have a car to run all of the errands that I need to do tomorrow.

blessing:  I have a car

curse:  I don't have a car at the moment

blessing:  tax return comes this week, to help pay for the car

Curse:  have to use tax return money to pay for car

blessing:  God is very aware of me, and cares about the small stuff, like me not having a car.

The end

abscess

A few weeks ago, Mary starting telling us that her gums here bothering her under one of her molars.

I looked in her mouth and noticed a white bubble forming.

We asked our neighbor dentist about it, and he said it was probable an abscess tooth, and to get it removed.

I kind of, sort of forgot about it, until this Sunday at church.

Mary was really complaining of her mouth hurting, especially that tooth.

I whispered to her to show me her gums, and she pulled her lip down and touched her gums.

Puss flew out everywhere!  It was next to impossible for me not to shriek and barf right in the middle of the sacrament.  Mary found it absolutely hilarious, yet terrifying.

I am sure I did some sort of weird grunts and noises in the process though.

The next day, yesterday, it was off to the dentist.

Poor Mary was scared out of her mind, and I don't blame her at all.

the abscess bubble is really hard to see.  It is that bump on her gums in the very corner of her mouth.

 Mary was one tough girl, and pretty soon she was completely numb and molar-less.

gag

I guess it is pretty common for kids to get infections underneath fillings on baby teeth. 
Good to know.

Hopefully a nice, new molar will be filling in that nasty blood filled hole in her mouth very soon.

Good thing our tooth fairy knows exactly what it is like to get teeth pulled at the dentist, and rewarded Mary accordingly.  :)

cabin fever

In the winter, Sunday's can be very long for us.  It is hard to be cooped up inside all day with nothing much to do besides pick on each other and drive everyone crazy.

Anyone else cringe and picture a massive hole being ripped through the trampoline, when looking at this freezing picture?

We have had LOTS of snow this winter.  Snow... good. Grey and no sun and negative temps...not good.

I CAN'T WAIT for spring/summer, when we can resume our Sunday hikes and walks.  Oh, just the thought of it makes me smile.

Spring...please hurry!

This Sunday, we tried to kill the cabin fever with some random, fun family time.

We had a silly face contest, a flexing contest, and played a few games.

sam the nerd

William the monster

dad's face made everyone laugh the hardest

scary mary

must. flex. harder.

battleship

trying to decide if his hernia is bigger than his "4 pack"

I should be paid for posting this

Nothing was as big a hit as the strawberry shortcakes we had for dessert.

I had no idea the kids would love those soooooo much!  I should have taken pictures of everyone with whip cream covered smiles, and strawberry stained chins, but the moment was too great, and we don't allow phones at the table anyway.

Hopefully we only have a handful of crazy Sunday's left, before we can get outside!

notes

As I was going through the mail today, I found this. 

 

Sam has been working extra hard to stay on task and to make sure he remembers to turn his homework and assignments in, on time, every single week.

 

This may come easy to some kids, but Sam really has to work hard on these things.

 

He is a very smart kid, and sometimes he just gets bored.

 

He has put in such a strong effort lately, and I have been very proud of him.

 

This note warmed my heart so much and I was extremely happy for Sammy Boy!

 

Go Sammy Go!

I can't figure out how to flip this the right way, so sorry if you get a strained neck reading it.

da bits

Wow, it has been busy in these parts this week.

Here are some "bits" from the week.

Maggie was FINALLY groomed.  It took three hours, but she looks adorable...and clean!  No more pee stained paws and sticky food face.  She can also see!  Her hair was so long around her face, that she was starting to run into things from lack of being able to see.

poor, poor Maggie

I did a lot of physical therapy, but it is really helping.  I was able to ride a spin bike yesterday!!!  I was so terrified that it would hurt, and that I would not be able to even ride the bike.  I was thrilled when I discovered that it was painless, and that I could get in an amazing interval workout.  I even had Karli swearing and everything.  When she is swearing, you know it is a great workout. :)

The stem machine.  I have spent a good amount of time hooked up to this.  It is working wonders for my leg though.

The massive heat pad/blanket.  I love this thing...especially on these freezing days.  I almost feel asleep lying under this thing today in physical therapy.

My leg is still extremely sore, and if I move it wrong, it can feel like being stabbed (the torn muscle).  It still aches terribly at night (the bone), but I can tell that each day is better than the one before.  Slow and steady wins the race.

Molly loves to draw lately.  I think it is so stinking cute....as long as it is on paper.

I did my normal Friday grocery shopping yesterday.  As I was carrying in the bags, I was very proud of how many I could get in the house at once...even with a bum leg.  I don't know why I feel so much satisfaction with this, it's not like it is a huge walk from the car to the door, but hey, simple pleasures are nice.

my hero

As I was getting Molly down for her nap today, I snapped these.
It is how she falls asleep every day for her nap, and I sing her the same songs too.
I just never realized how precious this time is, until I started paying more attention.

I will miss this

My boyfriend and I got to go on TWO dates this week!

Cintas had their Achievers club dinner.  It was at a steak house in Sandy.  It was the best steak I have ever had in my life!  The cheesecake came in a close second.  I feel like Ben's team is becoming more and more like family.  It is fun to be with them and to get to know them better and better.  I can tell they love Ben, and also admire him for his silent strength and his friendship with each of them.
I am so proud of Ben for hitting his goals and for working so hard for our family.
He even let me hold on to his arm in the parking lot, so I wouldn't slip and scream for an hour from leg pain.  What a man!

Our friends had a Valentine's party up at their cabin last night.  We had to leave right as the games were starting, but it was fun to hang out with lots of friends, and have our own "play date."  We are so blessed with a neighborhood full of great people and good friends.

Mary got a 100% on her math test this week!  She has been working so hard in math, and this was a huge deal. 

We went to Quench It (her favorite place) to celebrate.  I will buy her as many Almond Joy Hot Chocolates as she so desires, if this keeps up.  :)   

She also got the highest scores for the fitness test, out of her entire grade.  She did 61 push ups, 60 crunches, 11 pull-ups, and she held a plank for 10 minutes.  Mary rocks!

She is learning a lot this year about overcoming disappointment, reaching for the stars, trying new things, relying on the Lord, and how to be a good winner, and loser.  She was invited to New Beginnings this week.  Young Womens next year!  What the?!?!

And that about sums it up.  Oh, and the boys still do exist, believe me.  I will post more about them soon.

keep on keeping on

I have put off posting about my leg, because I am sick of posting about running injuries, and I am just trying to deal with the most recent one the best I can.

On Friday, while I was doing my favorite workout (interval training with sprints), with a good friend of mine, my leg went numb, and then about 10 seconds later, I felt horrific pain.

I hopped off the treadmill, and limped/hopped my way straight down to the physical therapy office, which luckily, is located in our gym.

I was in a ton of pain, and I was extremely upset.  I am just plain sick and tired of injuries.  I knew this one was a bad one, and it is.

I have been to physical therapy three times since Friday. Yesterday, with me being on narcotics,  they were finally able to feel around enough without me freaking out in pain, and they finally found a diagnosis that they all feel is right on.

They think I have an avulsion fracture.

It is basically where a muscle is torn, in my case, the psoas muscle which hooks into the hip.  When I tore part of the muscle from the bone, it took a small chunk of bone with it.

And yes, it is exactly as painful as it sounds.

This is a picture of an avulsion fracture to the hip.  Mine is a different muscle, but it is the same idea, and in the same general area, just a little higher.

This is definitely one of the most, if not the most, painful injury I have ever had.  Even with narcotics, I haven't been able to sleep through the night since Friday.  I am in constant pain, and it is miserable.  Any time I have to lift my leg (even to go from the gas pedal to the break), I feel like someone is stabbing my hip with knives.

On the up side, this type of injury does not require surgery, and believe it or not, within 8-10 days from the injury, I will be able to do some very light elliptical, depending on my pain level.

I am done running for at least 3 weeks, and that is being optimistic.  That has been extremely hard for me to mentally handle, but at the same time, I have been in so much pain, that running hasn't even sounded fun.

So, here I am again. 

I know that running as much as I do, will eventually create some injuries, and I am willing to accept that.  It doesn't mean that it doesn't completely suck every single time something happens though.

I guess all I can do it let time slowly pass, let my leg slowly heal, and keep on keeping on.