A very Happy Mother's Day

What a nice Mother's Day this has been. Actually, the whole weekend has been really nice and very productive. First off, earlier this week I had a revelation. In truth, I think it was God tapping me on the shoulder to remind me that I am still a wife and mother and that I have been somewhat neglectful in these areas lately. Although the Internet is a wonderful and very useful tool, it can also be addictive. Somewhere along the line I have spent more and more hours on my computer. It was as if I thought that as long as I finished work and my training, all the rest of my time was available to waste watching TV with my computer on my lap. I was neglecting spending time with my husband and my kids and I was not getting anything done around the house either. So, I decided that I am going to limit my computer time to checking my email in the morning and then 1 hour at night. I am not watching TV until everything else is done or I am watching a show with my family. I actually cooked dinner for the kids 3 nights in a row (hubby was traveling) and we all sat down together. I got caught up on all the laundry, my kitchen was completely clean every night before bed and I vacuumed every single day (because the dogs are shedding like crazy). It is amazing how much better I feel physically and mentally because of this change. I am now spending time doing things around the house with hubby or the boys, or just hanging out with them. I am loving it and I think they are too. I am just so happy that God did get me on the right path again because I have so little time left with son #1 who will be graduating next year. Also, isn't that kind of disconnection bad for a marriage as well? I have a terrific marriage and a wonderful, loving husband and I want to keep it that way. We love spending time together and I just wanted to get back to that. I know hubby was missing it, but I didn't realize how much I was too. So, I just want everyone to know, now that I am on this new and better path, I will likely just be blogging once or twice a week and I feel really good about that!

So, back to this weekend. Usually, hubby and at least one of the boys go to the lake every weekend. My request for MD weekend was that he stay home, and in line with my new resolution, help me get some much needed things done around here and spend time together. We spent the day Saturday doing yard work. We trimmed all the bushes in the front, re-mulched all the beds, trimmed almost all of the trees in back, cleaned out the pool, took down the trampoline, mowed and dug up unwanted banana trees. I have some new ideas for the space where the trampoline was and we will get started on that project hopefully by the end of the month.

Today, I was served a scrumptious big breakfast at home. Then, we headed to the rink for L2 and G's ice hockey game, which they won 2-1. I spent the afternoon organizing our office/dog kennel while L2 and G went fishing and hubby hung new ceiling fans. I can actually see and use my desk now and I am so excited! Then to top off the day, I was given this by my "boys"!



Isn't it great? I just LOVE it!! What a really nice surprise...thank you honey! :0)

Poor L1 has been sick since Wednesday. He came home from school with a bad headache. When I got home he came down to tell me and I checked his temperature. It was 101.4 degrees! The last time he was sick, when he missed regionals in swimming, he just had some random virus that gave him fever and aches for 3 days and then he was better. I assumed that was what it was again, since Ibuprofen was keeping the fever under control. But today is day #5 of fever and now sore throat. I am going to assume he has strep at this point and will get him to the doctor tomorrow for some antibiotics. Poor kid! He missed a pre-cal test on Thursday, his AP history exam on Friday (which he had been studying for, for a week) and his summer swim team time trials on Saturday. He also missed work this weekend. Even after all of that though, in between fevers, he managed to write this poem.

Poet, Don't Be Silent
by Luke Kerschbaum copyright 2009

Poet, don't be silent
You've a message to convey
Words of life that must be spoken
Words your God wants you to say.

It's a gift that you've been given
Now, you'll never be the same
Seek the Spirit's great anointing
You've a gift; now, fan the flame.

Poet, don't be silent
You must let your voice be heard
Let it all be for His glory
Every line and every word.

There are those who live in sorrow
Condemnation and in strife
Poet, don't be silent
Let your words be words of life.

Let them echo every promise
Every truth found in His Word
Let the seeds of life be planted
Where your rhyming lines are heard

Don't seek fame and don't seek glory
Seek to magnify your Lord
For indeed He's coming quickly
Poet, that is your reward.

I know I am probably just biased, but I think he has so much God given talent and I am just really proud of this one. He is such a great kid!

Well, as you can see, it was a very productive weekend around here! I am now quite tired and ready for bed and so are my babies!





Awwww, aren't they just adorable?

Hope all of you have had a wonderful Mother's Day, whether you are a mother, or you just have a mother (on earth or in heaven)! I feel so blessed and I hope you have been too.

Peace Out!

Tri-Vet

We Tried

This past Saturday I had my second triathlon of the season. It was in The Woodlands, where my brother/sister in-laws live. Mary (SIL) is a great biker and a marathon runner, but she is not really into swimming. She wanted to do the race with me, so she asked if L1 would do the swim for her. He had been wanting to swim in a tri as a relay, so it was perfect. Mary had to wait in line the night before the race to get a race entry for them. Her co-worker is a great runner and she had never done a tri before either, so she decided to do the run portion. The distances for the race were a 500 meter swim, a 15 mile bike and a 5K run. L1 was a bit nervous about swimming in brown open water with a bunch of other people who don't necessarily swim that great. I told him to definitely start in the front of the pack. The start horn blew and he and one other young man were leading the pack. Then L1 ran into the pack of slower people from the wave before him. He couldn't get around the slow people and had to tread a bit to sight a way around. He ended up getting second in the swim for the relays and 10th place overall out of nearly 800 people! What a fantastic swim for his first time in open water. He complained that he would have had first if the people who were slower had just moved out, but that isn't the way it works! LOL Mary had a nice strong bike leg and Pam had a great run and they finished in first place for co-ed 2 female/1 male relays.

Anyway, despite my knee problems lately, I had a fairly good race. I had a pretty good swim and a strong bike leg. My run was slow but not painful and it was my first time running without my knee brace since my last race. I got third place out of nine in my division. I won a nice metal reusable water bottle.



Here are some pictures of us after the race.





It was really fun to do the race with family! I'd love to do more!

In other news, Dudley finished puppy class last week. He got a certificate and everything. He still needs a bit of work on the heal and the roll over, but he has perfected sit, shake, stay, down and leave it. We will have to practice on the other things, but he is a pretty good boy. Oh, and he weighed 66.6 lbs and was just 4 mos. old. That is almost 20# more than Huck at the same age. He is also completely potty trained and I am most happy about that! :0)

Huck is doing OK. He has some arthritis going on in his ankle on his good leg, most likely from putting more weight on that leg to get it off of his bad leg. But, he is happy and loves his baby brother and his food of course! LOL They are so much alike. You should see them come running when anyone gets ice out of the fridge dispenser. You would think they are getting a steak treat instead of just an ice cube.

I don't know if you watch American Idol, but I have to tell you I was quite surprised and a little scared that Adam was in the bottom two last week. I voted for him 5 times. I think there is a limit to how many times you can vote from a phone number (10 I think) so I plan on using all of our cell phones and voting for him the maximum number of times on each this week to help ensure his stay. He is meant to win....I just feel it. Check him out if you haven't seen/heard him.
Want more American Idol videos? Click here.
He is the bomb!! A lot of people don't like him because they think he is over the top. I just think he is such a great performer with a beautiful voice. He is always recreating the song to make it his own version every single week. I know even if he doesn't win, he is going to be very successful, much like Chris Daughtry.

Well, I am off to watch Dancing with the Stars now. I am rooting for Gilles (so sexy) and Melissa (so lovable).

Peace Out!

Tri-Vet

Letterman

L1 just got his letterman's jacket on Friday.  As tradition would have it, he had to wear it on the first day he got it, despite the temperature outside being in the 80's.  He tried to leave it in his locker in the pool, but the coach saw it and called him back and told him he was not breaking tradition.  He looks pretty spiffy  in it if I do say so myself.

In other news, one of our cyclists in our group had a bad crash on Saturday morning and is in the neuro intensive care unit in Houston with a skull fracture, some bleeding and broken ribs. Please keep him in your prayers, his name is Dan. It is really scary to know how dangerous cycling can be, despite all the safety gear we wear to minimize it. He was wearing his helmet in case you were wondering.

My next triathlon is this coming Saturday in the Woodlands. I can't believe it is here already. Unfortunately, I am still nursing runner's knee right now from wearing the wrong shoes for my foot type in my first tri of the season. I am able to run, albeit with a brace, but I am not running as fast with the pain, and I am not too fast on a good day anyhow. Fortunately, it is still early in the season and this is just a training race for me. I still have 4 more races for the season and my 'A' race isn't until August. Hopefully, now with the right shoes and time, I will be healed by then.

It is definitely spring time around here. We are in the process of getting the pool cleaned up and ready and some much needed yard work done. The boys have one more grading period left for the year and they are all looking forward to summer. L1 is swimming his 11th year with the summer league and practice starts tomorrow and the time trials are just 2 weeks away. L2 and G have a few more select hockey games to play and should be done in May. It is about the time that A and the boys start heading up to the lake for the weekends. Hopefully, L1 and I will get more time up there this year. We really need more rain in the lake as it is down again over 3 feet right now. It really isn't very fun at a lake house if you don't have access to the water! We are starting to make some plans for the summer, but so far only know for sure we are going to a wedding in Colorado on July 4th!

Well, not much else to say on this lazy Sunday. I am headed to the track for a speed workout (almost an oxymoron in my case) and then to the Y for a swim. I had a nice 25 mile bike ride yesterday, except for the dang wind. This has been one windy bike season so far! Hope everyone had a nice weekend.

Peace Out!

Tri-Vet

The Finish Line

Well, I am back and here is the post I promised all about the MS 150 weekend.  First off, as you may or may not know, the first day of the ride was cancelled.  There were torrential rains/thunderstorms from here all along the whole route on both Friday and Saturday.  Besides it being very dangerous to ride in t-storms, the campgrounds where we stay overnight were flooded.  In the 25 year history of the ride, never have they had to cancel any part of the ride.  The MS society was scrambling to figure out what to do with 13,000 cyclists who were here for a 2 day ride.  The weather for the second day was beautiful, so they had us start in La Grange, TX where we would normally start the second day.  The problem with starting there is that it is over a 2 hour drive from Houston.  I stayed all night with my brother/sister in laws since there was no place to sleep in La Grange the night before,  and we had to get up at 4:30 am, so we could leave by 5 am to get there and be ready to roll.  Todd drove us there and dropped Mary and I off at a hotel in La Grange where our team was starting. Then he drove on ahead to Austin to wait for us at the finish. The day looked very overcast and the air was very wet and a bit chilly feeling when we started.  Very quickly though, the clouds cleared and the sun came out and it was just beautiful!  The first half of the ride starts out of La Grange and heads into Buescher and Bastrop state parks.  They are very hilly and absolutely stunning.  This is always my most favorite part of the ride every year!  The hills are very up and down, and I was definitely standing on my pedals to power up the hills at times, but it's all worth it.  The second half of the day is not as exciting scenery wise and it was also hilly and all into head wind from lunch to Austin.  My speed definitely suffered from the combination.  Mary and I made it in to the finish together at about 2:30 pm.  It is so exciting to roll in with thousands of people lining the route to the finish and cheering for you!  All along the route there are lots of people cheering as well, and it is especially touching to me for those afflicted with MS to be out there cheering for us and thanking us for helping.  It is a great event, and even though it was a bummer that day one was cancelled, 11,000 people still rode the second day to make it a big success and a good time.  Here are some pictures of the day.

Here we are with some friends of ours who also ride every year. I am on the left and Mary is third from the left.


Here is one of the many people who entertain us from the side of the road along the route. This guy was really good!



This is the top of the highest hill on the ride (fondly called suicide hill). If you don't ride your brakes and you get into aero position, you can reach over 40 mph on the way down. My max speed was 35.5 mph, which is really fun, but kind of scary!



It can also be dangerous if you don't maintain some control, as evidenced by this emergency vehicle that was picking up a "rider down". I didn't see what happened, it was there when I got there. Thankfully, this was the only accident I saw the whole day. Normally, I see several on both days of the ride.





I couldn't really ask anyone to stop to take my picture on the hill, so I took this picture of myself.  This is one of my favorite pictures ever!  I just think it is so cool!



This is a small lake at the beginning of the route through Buescher SP.



An overlook in the park.



This is a picture taken just before leaving Bastrop SP. Almost the entire park ride is tree-lined like this.



Mary and I feeling good at one of the rest stops.



The finish line as we approach.



Victory stance in front of the capitol building in Austin (it's behind my bike!)!



Feeling fresh after a nice shower right on the street in Austin!



I got home about 10pm last night, so it was a long day. Other than being sun-burned on my left arm (facing the sun most of the day), I feel pretty good after some much needed sleep. I love doing this ride and if you donated to the MS society in support of me, thank you SO MUCH!

Off to bed for me now.

Peace-Out!
Tri-Vet

Total Randomness

Nothing much really happening here. I did take G for a very much needed and requested my him haircut yesterday. I love it when there are dramatically different before and after looks. So...here he is before you will remember from Easter.


And here he is sporting his new cool doo for you!




Now isn't he so cute? You know, now that you can see he has eyebrows and ears!

The MS 150 is this weekend, so countdown for all of you...2 more days till I do it, 4 more days till I blog about it and 5 more days till I stop talking about it already! At least till next year. Anyhoo, I was shopping for a pair of waterproof shoes that I can wear in the public shower (ewww!) and around the fairgrounds where we will camp in LaGrange. I found a cute pink pair of crocs, which are just perfect and while I was looking for my size, I looked over and saw these.



A pair of croc crocs! OMG, they are soooo cute! And since there is no way my boys would wear them, and they don't come in their size anyway, I bought them for my best friends little boy who just turned one in February! I can't wait to see him in them this summer!

In other randomness, does anyone else think that the judges being able to save someone on Idol is like taking the vote away from the people? Matt was saved tonight and so now two people will be going home next week. I think all they did was delay Matt going home for another week. It doesn't really matter anyway, because Adam is totally going to win.

And while I am complaining about reality shows, I want to complain about 60 Minutes running over EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK. and so my DVR records half of it and thus only half of the Amazing Race. L1 and I like to watch that together, some of the rare time he still likes to hang out with his mom, and we have not seen one complete episode since before spring break!! GRRRRRR!

Well, I don't have any more random thoughts right now...and no organized ones either, so I guess that means I am ready for bed.

Peace Out!
Tri-Vet

Weekend Update

Christ is risen! Alleluia!

Hubby and L2 were still at the lake Easter morning, so L1, G and I went to church. I am so glad we went to the mid-morning service because about 10 minutes after we got home, there was a torrential downpour. L1 and I hid Easter eggs for G to hunt in the house! Actually, he had a lot of fun. There are some really good hiding places in a house, and we only used 2 rooms.

Here is a picture of the 3 of us after church. Sorry the quality is not that great. Not using a tripod requires some creativity and sometimes the photo quality suffers for it.


Here is L1 showing how much he still enjoys getting his Easter basket.


My (two out of three) handsome boys.




Mid-afternoon, L2 and hubby got home from the lake. They brought the dead unicycles home with them. I don't really think there is any hope of bringing them back to life, so they will be laid to rest by the curb for Wed. trash pick-up and their replacement should be here by next week.





And please just ignore the background mess that is my hubby's office.

The sun also broke out in the afternoon, so it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day. After doing laundry and packing for the MS 150 next weekend, I was able to get in a nice 6 mile run. I must say, it gets easier and easier to do this mileage the more I do it. Now if only I would get faster too!

Dudley is 3 months old and has still not figured out that he is NOT a little puppy. Here he is sleeping "in" Jitter's bed.


Here he is sleeping (he sleeps a lot!)on a pile of towels in the laundry room. My foot is in the picture to give some perspective as to his size now. The spots all over him are water drops because he and Huck also think they are labs and I can't keep them out of the pool!



We are in puppy classes now too. He is the star pupil too because he is just so lazy laid back. There are 2 labs, a german shepherd, a pit bull and a jack russell in the class. He is the heaviest of them all (55 lbs last week), though not the tallest. But he will sit the longest and stay the longest because he just doesn't have the energy to do anything else.

So, that is the weekend update. All in all, a very nice relaxing weekend. Hope yours was equally blessed.

Peace Out!
Tri-Vet

The holiday weekend so far...

L2 and hubby went to the lake this weekend. Those two are two peas in a pod...seriously. Anyhow, from the sounds of it, the weekend isn't going so well. Yesterday, the lake was white capping from the wind and the weather was cold, so they really weren't able to fish. Then today, I got a text from hubby saying that he ran over the unicycles with the suburban, and then, when they were out fishing, the boat motor caught on fire! Thank goodness, my ever safety conscious husband had a fire extinguisher on board. And thankfully, nobody was hurt. However, the fact that the motor was just rebuilt a few months ago to the tune of $2000 has just about put hubby over the edge! Do you ever just have those times, when you think, what else can possibly be destroyed and need to get fixed? or how much more money can I just keep throwing into repairing things? I mean, between our dogs destroying window sills (Huck) and window screens (Frankie) and L2 breaking a window in the upstairs on Wednesday and G breaking a window in the laundry room on Friday and then the unicycles being destroyed and then the newly repaired boat motor catching fire, and then on top of all that financial burden, the tax bill that is due in a few days...well, it is no wonder hubby is about to go over the edge!

One bright spot in an otherwise cloudy week, L2, being the fantastic angler that he is, did manage to get a good catch today, in between the unicycle mishap, and just before the boat motor caught on fire.



This kid seriously needs to be on Survivor as soon as he turns 18!

L1 has spent the weekend so far with friends and I have seen him a total of about 10 minutes I think. G has pretty much done the same, only he spends quite a bit of time here with his friends playing basketball and having air soft gun wars, oh, and of course wally-ball, which is how he broke the window. I had brunch and shopping with a dear friend yesterday, and today Mary, my sister-in-law, and I did a 62 mile bike ride in Katy. It was pretty windy, but not as bad as last weekend. Anyway, the last big ride before the MS 150 next weekend. I am praying for good weather and NO wind!!

Well, I must get myself to bed. It has been a long day and I would like to go to an early church service for Easter tomorrow.

One last picture for you to enjoy!