9th Place Sucks!

First off, let me say I am so totally proud of K and all of her accomplishments this season. In no way am I upset with her performance today because I know that she stepped on the track ready to put forth 110% effort. With that being said, let me vent some of my frustration.

K's goal all season has been to run a 2:20 at the state meet and win the 800 title. Because today was all about her (she wasn't racing for the team, she wasn't racing for me, she was racing for her, for her dream) I totally encouraged her to go for it. She wanted to run 1:10/1:10 and she was doing it... for the first lap. She got into the 8th spot and held her position until the very freakin' end when a late kick by #9 runner moved her out of medal position. Ugh! The 9th place is the worst place to finish! So close, yet no medal, no state honors.

K's time wasn't her best. She battled a strong wind and no doubt an even stronger case of nerves. To top it off, the time she ran on Tuesday would have given her a 5th place finish today.

It's difficult as a coach to see your athlete fail at reaching a goal she's worked so hard for all season. Immediately after the race I started second guessing my coaching abilities. Maybe I had her rest too much this week. Maybe she peaked too early. What could I have done differently? In the end, I cried for her. Not because I'm disappointed in her but because I'm disappointed for her. The loss is still very fresh but I'm hoping that in a couple of days she'll be able to look forward to her senior season next year and use this experience to ultimately reach her goals on the track. Awesome job today, K, I'm so very proud!

Queen Bee

We were heading back from our errands earlier today and I was talking to the kids and during the course of the convo I called Audrey "Audge" (her nickname from Austin shortly after she was born). She cut me off and holtly informed me from her car seat throne, "I'm not Audge, I'm the queen!" Where the heck did that come from!? Sure, she knows about princesses, but queen? In Hosmerville, there's only one queen, so excuse me, Little Miss Queen, but mommy's not quite ready to give up her castle. And when I do, we are definitely in trouble.

There's No Place Like Home

I've been looking forward to this day all week! GR, here we come! I woke up early to finish some chores around the house and enjoy the quiet of the morning all to myself. Austin was the first one up at 9:30. Once the girls woke up we left for some last minute errands. We made a quick stop to Target where I picked up a few of the basic tees and strappy tanks that were on sale this week. I rationalized the purchase because I DID clean out my closet for the upcoming garage sale and I needed to fill up the newly empty space. I also found a cute tote to take for the weekend and the kids were thrilled because I allowed them to each pick out something from the dollar spot. Then we were off to Meijer to stock the pantry with lots of junky goodies for the kids this weekend- frozen pizza, Ben and Jerry's, Fruity Pebbles, and Starbucks for this saint who arrived promptly at 2pm to be "mommy" for the weekend. The kids love "Windsey" and she was barely through the door before Audrey was asking to see her purse and all the treasures inside.

We arrived in GR shortly after 4 and headed straight to the track for a quick workout. It's funny, but every time we travel to the GR area it makes me fell like we're coming "home". I got that feeling again today as we were passing familiar spots. There are so many good memories here. Why did we ever move away? Oh yeah, family, yeah, yeah, yeah.

After checking in here, we headed for dinner here. Now we're just relaxing in our room, enjoying the free wireless and the Pistons game. Go Pistons!

I'm really excited for tomorrow. K has been working so hard all season, she has amazing devotion and drive to reach her goals. She ran in the Selby Classic at Jackson High on Tuesday and lowered her PR to 2:26. It was her most perfect race so far- she ran smart and she ran perfect 1:13/1:13 splits. I know that she couldn't prepare herself anymore than what she already has for her race tomorrow. I can't wait to see her run!

Oh, and kudos to the person in charge of hotel reservations this year! Very nice! Let's just say that last year's overnite stay in GR for the state meet left much to be desired. Flip flops for the shower, anyone?

The Mother Of All Garage Sales

I'm gearing up for the biggest garage sale of the 21st century. It's been 2 years since I've had such a glorious event. Couple that with 2 grandmas who over-indulge plus all of the basic necessities that go into raising 3 kids and our home is bursting at the seams. I can't wait to clear out the clutter and roll in the cash.

I've postponed having this sale until this summer because I want to sell all of the baby stuff together, but Lexi is still sleeping in the crib. However, she is 21 months now and right around the age when we put Austin and Audrey in their big kid beds. So now I'm trying to score a bargain and find a white toddler bed to replace the crib. I'd love to get a good one at a garage sale but I'm going to be pretty picky about the style and condition. Whether or not I find one, the crib will be gone in less than 2 weeks. My biggest fear? Both Austin and Audrey went down easily for bedtime until we moved them to their toddler beds, then the battles began. I'm afraid we're in for the same struggles with Lex. And now I'm working at least 3 nites a week. Let's face it, everyone around Hosmerville knows that momma wears the pants when it comes to routines and consistency and with Tom-the-softee in charge (and unsupervised) for so many bedtimes... whew... pray for us. Any suggestions on how to make staying in her own bed appealing to a toddler with new found freedoms?

Of course I could always put off having the sale until later in the summer when Lexi's a little closer to 2 (there's no way in heck I'll go thru another year with so much junk... um, I mean treasures, taking up precious space in our home. But some lady from the neighborhood is organizing a neighborhood sale for the first weekend in June. I figure I might as well bite the bullet and get it done with now.

So I'm seriously not exaggerating when I say this... our 1300 square foot basement is FILLED with stuff for the sale. Like, filled as in you have to walk sideways through the mess to get to the laundry room. Where I find the time to organize and price everything is another question in its self, but my question for you is this... Do you have any creative ways to put everything out to sell? I'm figuring I'll need at least 10 full-sized banquet tables to display everything from home decor and dishes to toys and baby stuff as well as foldable clothes. I think I can get a couple tables from our church and we have a couple card tables but that still leaves me really short. I'm also going to have a ton of clothes that would look nicer and probably sell better if I hung them up. Any suggestions on how to construct a make shift clothes rack? Perhaps I could rent a clothes rack or something like that? Anybody have any ideas?

Dear Purse Snatcher,

You are a thievin' piece of crap! I can't believe I'm about to devote an entire post to you, but I have to vent somehow. You see, while my family and I were peacefully sleeping last nite, you cruised around our middle-class subdivision (no doubt with a low life friend or two) and invaded my privacy and my sense of security. You walked up my driveway and broke into my van and not only took my purse but rifled thru the glove box as well.

So while I should have been spending the hour I had in between dropping Austin off at preschool and getting on the bus with my team to Hillsdale having quality girly time with my girls, I instead had to spend it on the phone canceling accounts and calling the police. When the police arrived to take a report they said you got away with over $1500 worth of stuff from my neighbor's garage and car; and that I was the 3rd person to report stolen items on my block this afternoon.

Too bad you didn't know beforehand that I'm dirt a** poor. Too bad you didn't know beforehand that my fabulous Prada bag only looks like the real thing and only contained a beat up cellphone, a coupon holder, various tubes of lip gloss and my super cute Kate Spade wallet. Too bad you didn't know that I don't carry my credit cards anymore so that I won't spend money I don't have. That the only thing of value in my wallet was a lone crumpled $10 bill. I hope you get satisfaction from knowing that that was my birthday money and I was planning on treating my tired out tootsies to a well-deserved pedi.

I am freaking mad at you that I have to drag 3 kids with me to the Secretary of State to renew my now-stolen driver's license. I'm so angry that this picture won't be nearly as good as the last pre-baby tanned face picture I had taken for said license. But man, where's the decency!?! You took my favorite purse! Do you think you could at least have the courtesy of tossing it back on my lawn when you realize you didn't get nothin' from me? Every time I have to flash my driver's license I would be much obliged.

And Then There Was One

One lone runner. Only one of my seven girls to qualify for the state meet. Bummer. I had high expectations for my girls going into tonite's regional meet at Bath. But my high jumper didn't jump... very well, that is. And my miler had a brutal race to the finish and was temporarily disqualified until I went down to the scorer's table and showed them who's boss- ha;) Even after the official ruled in her favor, her 6th place finish and time wasn't quite good enough to advance her to the state meet.

I debated all week whether or not to run K in both the 400m & 800. This girl has amazing talent and I have no doubt that she could have qualified for both events. She was leaning toward only running the 800; I was pushing for the double. However, I felt that if I made the decision to run her and heart wasn't in it, it wouldn't be to her advantage, so in the end I let her call the shots. She went for just the 800 and put in a qualifying time of 2 minutes 28 seconds which means.... we're going to states, baby!

For the past couple of years the state tournament has been held in the Grand Rapids area. The division 4 tournament will be held at Forest Hills. We have ran here the past 2 years and I love their facilities. Having the girls run against the best high school athletes in the state is definitely an honor, but I have to admit that there is a little selfish ambition on my part in pushing them to excel at this level. After having lived in GR for 5 years, going for the state meet is like going home! Plus this little "mini vacation" is financed entirely by the school. We go up Friday for check in and practice at the track. We take the kids to dinner at Olive Garden (pasta=carbs=good the nite before a big race), stay overnite at a nice hotel, have a full day at the track before enjoying a nice dinner on the way back to J-town. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that babysitting plans, aka grandma, don't fall thru so I can take Tom with me and we can enjoy our 8th anniversary weekend together. He has attempted to go with me the past 2 years and has had to stay home both times last minute when such plans didn't work out.

So, thank you, K, for running your heart out tonite, for qualifying for states, and for my weekend vay-cay! Let the good times roll in GR!

Mental Health Day

The track meet in Camden was canceled today due to bad weather. Too bad I wasn't informed before I spent a whole hour stressing out about getting my kids ready to pick up the sitter at 2:35 to drop them off at home to be back to the school before the bus left at 2:50. Still with me? I drove past the school at 2:45 with kids and sitter in van. I took a quick note that the bus was outside but no one was loading... yet. 5 minutes later (and on time... barely) I pull back into the school to jump on the bus and it's gone! WTH!!! The basketball coaches have left me on more than one occasion, meaning I have to find my own transportation to the game, but come on, this is a varsity level position, I'm not just the lowly junior high cheer coach, sheesh!

I went storming into the school ready to tear someone apart and saw one of the guys' coaches and several runners standing around. It took several seconds for the fact that the meet had been canceled to sink into my stressed out brain. Due to the stress of the afternoon and the fact that I feel like I just cannot get caught up on "life", I called a mental health day and sent all of my girls home to run on their own. Then, because I can't afford to pay anyone to clean my house, I payed my sitter to hang around and watch the kids so I could clean my bathroom for the first time in a, um, let's just say, a long time.

My mom stopped by and we took the kids for a walk on the trail before plunking them into the (now clean) bathtub;). Now they're all tucked fresh and clean into bed and I seriously have 10, t-e-n, clean baskets of laundry that I am going to attempt to fold and put away before Tom returns from his MNO- man's nite out- from the Tigers game.

I keep holding onto the hope that life won't always be this crazy, that I'll actually be able to have the opportunity to sit back and enjoy my kids growing up instead of feeling like I'm just running mad circles around them. Tom got some could be good news today in regards to his summer internship. There is a company looking for several students to complete a project over the summer. It's only a temporary position, but it is a paid position and it could turn into something more long term. We'll know within the next week or so if he's chosen. Perhaps this is the opportunity we've been waiting for?

Does This Make Me A Bad Mom?

Never mind that it's Austin whose asthma is flaring up. Austin who is struggling to breathe. Austin whose throat must be incredibly sore from 2 days of nonstop coughing. But if I hear one more cough I will lose my freakin' mind! Sucks to your asthma!!!