Race for the Kids

Wow! I can't believe it's been a year since I started this blog. Who knew insomnia could be such a spring board?

So here we come full circle. It was Race for the Kids weekend again.

I did double running duty since Bill is still recovering from last week's soccer injury. Lauren moved up an age group and did the full 1 mile fun run this year. Kristen also moved up an age group and actually participated in the run this year. She ran about 1/3 of a mile and was cheered to the finish line by Alan Webb who then gave her a high five. And...as you may notice in the photos, I did manage to remove the hundred year old lift tickets from my jacket since last year's event.




After the races we stayed for the entire holiday parade. The parade consisted of your various girl and boy scout troops, large inflatables, classic cars, firetrucks, politicians, Santa, and the very disturbing...Urban Gypsies. If you ever find yourself near an "Urban Gypsies" belly-dancing demonstration, RUN far far away! Trust me, you do NOT want to witness this performance.

We made it through the parade but it took me several hours to feel warm again. Luckily, the drinks and subsequent "running man" at my high school 20th year reunion later that night helped thaw me out.

Happy Thanksgiving

Lisa and I started Thanksgiving day with the Turkey Trot. Bill was home with the girls while his soccer injury heals and Carol dogged us for a road trip to South Carolina...or so she says. ha! It was mighty cold but it was a beautiful morning and it was nice to chat for a little while before we parted ways for our respective Thanksgiving celebrations.

I enjoyed a wonderful meal at Bill's parents' house. Other than the minor head injury sustained by my nephew, everything went well. Hope you are feeling better Jack!

Here are the kids (Sam was still napping) prior to "the incident"...

A New Odyssey

www.odysseyofthemind.com
I decided to volunteer/coordinate the Odyssey of the Mind program at Lauren's school. I think it has sucked some time away from blogging but I'm confident that it will be worth every minute.

I'm coaching Lauren's team. The team will be "solving" the Candy Factory problem. The kids will create and perform a skit about a Candy Maker in a candy factory who makes candy with at least one healthy ingredient. The kids have to create the set, make the costumes, write the script, and act out the solution without grown-up interference. I'm allowed to help organize the team and be a go-fer for supplies.

I can't wait to see what they come up with.

My trip to NYC

This past weekend I enjoyed a Moms weekend away to NYC. I had a great time. Cathie did a FANTASTIC job with the itinerary and many thanks to Marlo for driving.

Some of the highlights include:


Running into Miley Cyrus at Madame Tussauds. What an airhead! I attempted to get her autograph but she just stood there frozen staring straight ahead like a deer in headlights. She didn't even seem to know what to do with a pen. Eventually I convinced her to come sightseeing with us.







Here we are on the Staten Island Ferry with the Statue of Liberty in the background. I thought she should bring a coat but hey... I'm not her mother. She did mention how much she liked my purse.




We headed back into the city and I bumped Bill Clinton. A fist-bump is all you're getting from me, buddy! He wasn't feeling chatty so I moved on.






I got lost a few times trying to get to Rockefeller Center but eventually rejoined the group and we made our way up to "Top of the Rock". We saw the Christmas tree right after it was delivered and thought it looked a bit sad. I'm sure the lights will help but all we saw was scaffolding.

We ate at Anthony Bourdain's home-base restaurant, Les Halles. I felt inspired to try something new so I had Confit de canard, pommes salardaise (crispy duck leg confit & truffle mashed potatoes). I think it would have been great if it turned out that I liked duck and truffles. I'm not sure which taste to associate with the duck and which taste was the truffles. Either way, pretty darn adventurous for me.

Hoopstars...

Lauren and Kristen tear up the court at their first basketball practices over the weekend.

They really enjoyed it but I've got to wonder, where are all the other girls?
Kristen's class male-female ratio -- 13:1
Lauren's class was slightly more balanced -- 12:2

Congratulations Frank Kratovil!

He won his congressional race. Congratulations Congressman-elect Kratovil.

Remember me from QAS? I was the one wearing the argyle socks with my basketball uniform. I'm pretty sure I have the record for longest "get ready to shoot" a free-throw too. ha!! Kim-you look great. Same as you did in high school!

Way to go!!

Last Game of the Season

Today was the final set of Fall '08 soccer games for Coach Nancy and Coach Bill.

Check out Bill's halftime speech to the Tigers...
http://vimeo.com/2191570

Here's Kristen showing off her moves last week...


I'm on fire with the video camera this week.
Lauren's video...
http://vimeo.com/2204832

Neither Lauren nor Kristen was feeling 100% but gutted it out to finish off the season. It wasn't until after the games that Bill and I realized that they weren't even 70%. Kristen fell asleep in a camp chair while watching Lauren's game. Not an easy thing to do. Lauren broke down in tears after her game, fell asleep on the car ride home, and then woke up briefly to barf a few times. We're such good parents. I'm a shoo-in for Mom of the Year.

Update 11/10: Lauren has strep throat on top of her cold.

Bingeing

The silence on the other end of the phone confirmed my suspicion. Obviously, my behavior has gotten out of control. I knew something wasn't right when I began to resist revealing just how many times a week I've been doing it. I know it seems excessive but the offers were just too tempting. It's only a temporary situation. In a couple of weeks I'll cut back.

I blame it all on triathlon training. I can't bring myself to hop on the stationary bike, go for a swim, or even jog around the block. I simply cannot make myself do it anymore. So...I'm soccer bingeing..Sunday morning coed, Sunday evening women's indoor, Wednesday morning mom's pickup, Friday evening coed. There, I've said it. I'm coming clean.

I know it can't be good for me. I'm getting too old for this. I could break a hip or something. It's only a matter of time before my ankle twists or my back goes out. It would be different if I had some talent, speed, or fitness. It's just not fair to my teammates!

I even bought One A Day - Energy vitamins today at Harris-Teeter.

Scary Weekend

We had an action packed weekend starting with Friday night Trick or Treating, Saturday soccer, and Sunday birthday celebrating. Happy Birthday, Bill!