Goals

Last night, Reagan and I earned our first stripes on our yellow belts.

I knew Reagan would earn hers. I wasn't so sure about myself.

We've been in the yellow belt class for 4 weeks now and we have been working on Form 2 the entire time. We've also been reviewing Form 1, which is necessary because you can forget parts of it.

In the beginning, Reagan and I struggled with Form 2. I remembered how we struggled with Form 1 in the beginning and kept encouraging Reagan that we could do this. Form 1 looked impossible at first. And we learned it. We could probably perform it in our sleep...or at least with our eyes closed.

Form 2 looked impossible at first. New stances, new blocks, new twisty motions. But we practiced. We practiced in class, we practiced at home, and we practiced with a friend of Reagan's from school who got the hang of it before we did. We watched it on my iPhone (there's an app for everything!!).

We asked the instructors over and over to show us, one more time, how to fold, how to turn, how to remember which way to fold and turn. They were patient. They were helpful.

And we practiced. Reagan got the Form down before I did. I even opted, in one class, to do 10 push-ups rather than attempt Form 2 and mess up and have to do 15 push-ups.

The goal had been set. We were being assessed over Form 2 on May 27. We had to know it.

So we kept practicing. We practiced together, we took turns, we critiqued each other. We concentrated on others when they were practicing. I'm telling you, this was really hard for me. (I already mentioned that Reagan got this down before me, right?!) I would get one part of it, then forget another part, then forget all of it when I had to perform it by myself.

But, you know what? In the end, we did it. We performed it, two at a time, in front of our instructors and we did it. Reagan nailed it. She is good at this karate stuff.

I felt like I messed up one punch, but that might have been the adrenaline washing away my memory. In the end, I was awarded my stripe for Form 2.

It feels GREAT to have set a goal (learning Form 2 and earning a stripe for it) and accomplishing that goal.

Makes me realize that I need to set goals for other areas of my life. If I can set one karate goal and accomplish it in 4 weeks with a lot of practice and concentration, then how else could my life be affected by goal setting?

Finished!

We did it. We made it through another school year.

And it was a wonderful school year.

The girls both had great teachers and they had so much fun. And they learned some stuff along the way, too.

I now officially have a 2nd grader and a kindergartener.

It's been harder dealing with the fact that my youngest is going to kindergarten than it was with my older one. She's 5 and a half and is SO grown-up.

She and I won't have anymore Tuesday/Thursday time to spend together since she'll be in school 5 days a week next year. No more letting her sleep in on those mornings, or taking big sister to school in her p.j.s.

Once a week the Princess and I would go to Starbucks for a drink and a mid-morning snack. We'd giggle about stuff and try new foods. She is now very much in love with the pumpkin bread.

*sigh* Maybe I'll have to take her late to school next year, just every once in awhile so we can keep doing that.

Princess has grown so much in the past few weeks. And not just physically, although she has done that, too. She has matured emotionally and mentally. She is ready for kindergarten.

Wow.

Bask Shower Caddy by Umbra

I bought this at The Container Store yesterday and am already in love with it!

The girls share a bathroom, and we had Barbies all over the bathtub. At least 10 Barbies. I kid you not. Plus smaller toys that squirt water, washcloths, and Barbie accessories. What a mess!

I have tried many other products that claim they are for holding toys in the bathtub. Not one of them has ever worked for me. Anything with a suction cup DOES NOT stick to the wall.

We had Barbies all over the tub. It's not a pretty sight.

I found this, the Bask Shower Caddy by Umbra, at The Container Store yesterday for $19.99. It has two hooks at the top, so it can hang from the curtain rod, towel rod, or the shower head. I hung ours from the shower head. All three baskets have holes in the bottom for draining, and the baskets can be adjusted up or down the chain. This is GENIUS!

All of our Barbies fit in here, all our washcloths, all the itty bitty toys that seem to be so necessary for bath time.

Princess was quick to point out an additional feature that I was unaware of: I had inadvertently put all of her toys in the top basket and all of Big Sister's toys in the middle basket. You can divide toys by kid, by basket. Even better!!

I Lost A Toof

I don't mind blood. My blood, that is. It's kind of fascinating, really.

But Scott's blood? Nope. Can't handle it. I have to throw him a towel from across the room or send the kids to get him Band-aids.

I really, really can't handle the girls' blood. I can handle vomit, but not blood. Thank goodness I can run to the next door neighbor's house and let her bandage up my kids.

Thank goodness that Band-aids fix anything. They make mosquito bites better, make mini scratches better, they make any owie better. Fascinating. We keep several boxes in the bathroom. Hey, a girl has to have options!

Back to the blood. I can't handle loose teeth, either. The girls like to twist them and wiggle them, all while giggling at my discomfort.

The Princess, who is 5, has lost 4 of her bottom teeth and had a top tooth dangling. People ask me if she got her baby teeth early. Nope. She's just losing them early. People ask me what that means. I tell them it means she's a genius. (There is no scientific evidence to support this, but it's a great response.) And by the way, she's not a genius. Smart, yes. A negotiator, absolutely.

She ran up to me the other day, with a puddle of blood in her hand. "Look, mom! My toof came out!" I froze. I didn't even hear what she said. I was focused on the blood in her hand. I looked at her mouth. Blood.

Ohmigosh! She lost a tooth! There was a tooth in her hand, under all that blood. Wow. And sure, honey, I would LOVE to pick up that bloody tooth and wipe it off and hold it for you until we get home and you can put it under your tooth fairy pillow. *shudder*

And now The Princess looks like a hillbilly with that tooth missing! But don't worry, the other one is loose, too.

The Princess is a fashion maven

I wish I had taken a picture of her this morning before she left for Museum School.

She wore a new, pink dress. And her pink cowgirl boots with rhinestones. And a sparkly headband, which she pushed so far back on her head that it doesn't keep any of the hair out of her face.

She then asked me if she could wear makeup to MSchool. Uh, no.

She pranced her way into MSchool, smoothing her dress down, and twirling around so everyone could see how beautiful she looked.

I love it!

Will try and post a pic of her soon. She's priceless!

Reflections on the Tri

I finished my first triathlon two weeks ago. It was a Sprint Triathlon, which means we swam (in a pool) for 275 yards, biked 12 miles, and then ran a 5K.

I had a BLAST.

Well, honestly, during the biking part I was ready to throw in the towel because it was so damn hilly and there was a terrible headwind. But, I persevered. I finished!

I was more nervous testing for my yellow belt than I was for this race. I knew that if I could perform in front of strangers for my yellow belt, swimming, biking, and running would be easy.

And it was easier than I thought (except for the biking part).

I started in the back of the pack due to my lackluster swim time, so I had plenty of time to watch the better swimmers. I chatted with the men and women around me as we waited our turn in the pool. There were people of all ages and all fitness levels there.

I had been the most nervous about the swim leg of the race, but it went so much better than I thought. A few people passed me; I passed a few people. Never once did I have to stop and walk or hang on to the side of the pool. I was so thankful when I got out that I walked to the transition area to get my bike. I WALKED (note to self, in next race, RUN to the transition area).

Managed to get my socks, shoes, helmet, sunglasses, shirt on. Walked to the mounting area, got on the bike, and I was off! I was on a friend's bike and hadn't spent enough time getting familiar with it, so that slowed me down a bit.

Like I said earlier, the bike leg was my worst. I was not prepared for the hills. And I was paranoid about crashing my friend's expensive bike. Don't even think I passed one person on this leg of the race. There wasn't much scenery to look at, and honestly, I was so focused on the road because I didn't want to hit any potholes. Those bike seats are NOT comfortable, and hitting holes in the road hurts.

Dismounted at the transition area, and my legs nearly collapsed under me. And I was just walking the bike back to the rack! I still had a 5K to run. Yikes! Took my time here, again, as my legs were recovering. Switched shoes, took off the helmet, put on my running hat, and was off!

I rounded the first corner and saw my sweet, sweet girls and husband, cheering me on. That gave me a boost of energy and made me smile throughout the run. It was such a good feeling to have someone cheering me on. The 5K was a circular course that we looped twice, so I got to see the girlies again on my second loop. This course was hilly, too, but wound through a neighborhood, so it was a nice distraction to look at the houses as I ran by.

As I approached the finish line, my girls jumped off the curb and grabbed my hands. I ran with them across the finish line and it was the best feeling EVER. Yes, even better than getting my yellow belt. I did it! I finished my first triathlon, and my girls helped me finish it.

The next day my quads were sore, but that was it. So I signed up for another sprint triathlon at the end of May. Can't wait!!