Breathe

It's amazing to me that summer is almost over. Even though the calendar says we have about 6 weeks left, kids go back to school in 2 weeks. Here in Vermont, the crickets are singing. For me, that's a real reminder that the schedule is about to become busier and the relaxed yet full days of summer are coming to an end. It's at a moment like this that I have to remind myself to breathe.

Many times this summer, I have felt a twinge of guilt because I haven't been the blogger that I aspire to be. I've also been squeezing in soaping instead of making it my daily focus. I'm sure I'm like lots of other moms who put all of the "important" stuff on the shelf to submerge into the joy of being with their kids and soaking up these fleeting days. It's such a balancing act. Again, I need to remember to breathe.

Gerry tested for his Black Belt successfully a couple of weeks ago. He made a great montage of photos from his testing and the rest of the Blue Wave Summer Camp weekend. I smiled when I listened to the song that he put with the pictures. Good to know we're on the same page. Congrats, Mr. Tallman!

Here is a great video done of Summer Camp 2008 by Mr. Emerson & Miss Kline. Summer Camp is such a blast!!

Feeling Green

Cora, Ella & I tested for our next belt in TKD this week. Happily, we all passed. Cora & I are now Green Belts & Ella earned her Green Stripe. The girls did a fantastic job!
In other green news, I find myself falling in love with all of the yummy Spring & Summer fragrances that I have. Lately, I've been using LOTS of Shea & Shimmer Scrub. It's been soooo good for my sunburned skin. (I'll admit that I let the sugar rinse off & then just rub the magic shea all over) I've also rediscovered Summer Green Shower Butter. It's just a wonderful, lush, green fragrance! It's citrus-y & summer-y & yummy! Shower Butter is perfect for your skin. It's a soft, whipped soap that softens while it cleans. I love it. Stop by Twin Birch on Etsy to grab yours.I hope it's as beautiful where you are as it is here! Spring in Vermont is our prize for getting through the final, cold days of winter! Happy Spring!

They Went, They Tested, They Passed (& so did Ella & I)

Hooray for Peter & Austen! They were invited to test for their Red Belts at the Bradford Dojang quarterly testing. Bradford has at least 20 Black Belts in their gym, plus many students, so the testing is really intimidating! (I know because I tested with Ella for our Yellow Belts on the same night! *gulp!*)

Anyway, the boys did an outstanding job. Here's a peek at their board breaking~pretty cool!


We are so proud of them! Hopefully, they'll test for their Black Belts in March 2010!




Special thanks to all of the Randolph students who made the trek to watch our testing! You guys are the best!

Way to Go Ella!!!

Little Miss Ella is well on her way to being a Black Belt! She tested successfully for her yellow stripe last week! I can tell you first hand that it's a tad nerve~wracking to stand in front of the instructors and the whole class to test for your next rank. Ella did it on her own and she did an outstanding job! See for yourself:





Here is our instructor Master Tom Chase putting Ella's new belt on her!
Both Master Tom Chase and our other instructor, Master Peter Chase (his father) are 5th Degree Black Belts. Toms daughter Jenny (our excellent babysitter) is a 2nd Degree.
Ella and I only have 9 more testings to be recommended for our Black Belts. :)

How Cool Is This?!

I got to try some Bo Staff work at Blue Wave Summer Camp. It was awesome! I love it and I'm determined to master it (I'm sure it will take a long time!) Here is Mr. Kwiatek who is one of the instructors at the dojang in Beverly, MA. He makes it look so easy and seamless. I can share with you all that I bonked myself in the head more than once during our seminar.
Find more videos like this on The Blue Wave Taekwondo Association


I'll post some pictures of summer camp next week. We are off for a long weekend to Loon Mountain. Gerry's parents have had a condo on the mountain for many years. It's a great, quiet place to go and regroup. Can't wait for some hiking and playing at the Whales Tale Waterpark.

Red Belt Success!

Last night the Randolph Blue Wave TKD clan traveled up to the Burlington Blue Wave Dojang for a great night of testing. Once a student has reached 3rd Gup (Blue Belt with Red Stripe), they must test outside of their home dojang. Gerry was notified last week that he would be testing in Burlington for his RED belt. This is a huge deal because earning your Red Belt leaves you only 2 tests away from BLACK BELT! It also means testing in front of a formidable panel of Black BeltsTesting is really hard physically and pretty intense emotionally. Here's a quick vid. of Gerry's Board Breaking and Sparring segments. You can see that he kicked Master White and Miss Essig when he tried to break. It looked painful. Gerry apologized after the testing. He did an amazing job during his testing! He was very focused and looked great!!

I get the sense that being a Red Belt is kind of like pledging for a fraternity. Master White was telling the dojang last night that lots and lots of people quit TKD as Red Belts and that students have to stay focused and determined to make it all the way. They often have to drop and do push-ups for whatever reason a Black Belt comes up with. They also fetch the Black Belts their coffee, serve ice cream to 350 people at Summer Camp and do other types of scrub work.

I can't wait for the day that my three boys test for their Black Belt. Although Austen and Peter weren't quite ready for this testing, they are working really hard to earn the right to test before the Fall. Gerry has said that his goal is to test with the boys for Black Belt. Big congrats to Sonja and Mike who also earned their Red Belts and Ramsey who earned her Red Stripe! Huge congratulations to Gerry for his outstanding job!! We are all so proud of you!!!

Meanwhile, I will test (with Ella?) for my yellow stripe on Tues 7.29. I'm nervous, but I totally love the personal challenge that TKD is making me face. TKD couldn't possibly be any further out of my comfort zone and I am totally into it.

OMG! My Butt Hurts!

So, I completed my first TaeKwonDo Class last night. Two things became blatantly apparent to me. The first revelation was that I'm not so coordinated! I've been watching my family do TKD for almost 2 years. It didn't look so hard from where I sat... on a bench, on my butt (more on that later!) I even fought off giggles a couple of times when Gerry or the boys got their limbs tangled up! Guess what? It's HARD!! I can't tell you how many times Miss Chase (my instructor/best babysitter in the world) told me to do X & Y at the same time and not one part of my body listened! Yikes. If you check out the YouTube vid, you'll see what it's supposed to look like!!

Item two. My butt has muscles in it that haven't been used....ever! As a point of reference, this might be a good time to share that I used to weigh about 80 lbs more than I do now. Well... we are the home state of Ben & Jerry!! After four pregnancies in 7 years I was quite LAHHGE as they say in my home state! A friend sent me a postcard with information about how to drink her special shakes and loose weight. What struck me was the vision of her sitting at a desk thinking of who to send these cards to, and coming up with my name! It was the reality check that I needed. I DIDN'T drink the shakes, but I did shake the weight. So then I started working out.
Not fanatically, but enough to tone up a little and feel ok in jeans...most of the time.
Anyway! Last night I did about 25 round kicks and 25 side kicks and 15 axe kicks and some other stuff and I can feel it!! Here and here and over there! Ouch! I'm now lowering myself into chairs in an awkward, slow way!

It was actually a blast and I can't wait to go again on Tuesday. I love the idea of getting past the "I can't do this" that I started to feel and getting to the "YESSSSS!" of actually doing it! And, if the promise of a better butt isn't enough, then certainly looking at Ella in her sparring gear is worth it!

Hi-Ho-Hi-Ho To TKD I Go!

I'm off to my first TaeKwonDo Class. All of my kids and my husband out rank me when we're there! Wish me luck!! Stay tuned for the full description of my experience. (Here's some inside info... I'm not a jock!)

Red Stripes!!!!!!!!

The boys tested for their Third Gup Red Stripe last night and passed! Now that they are Red Stripes, they are only 2 testings away from their Black Belts. This is where the hard work begins.
Not only is there the strenuous physical work, but also the discipline & humility needed to earn these last high ranks! Master Chase had the boys do 20 push-ups in front of the rest of the gym as soon as their new belts were tied! Time to get humble and work hard!! I am so proud of you guys!!!

Here's a link to the Blue Wave Tae Kwon Do Association. If you're in the Northeast, there's probably a gym near you!

Rocking in the Randolph Dojang

One of the coolest things that we ever got talked into doing, is TaeKwonDo. A long time friend named Master Peter Chase "chased" us around for a long, long time telling us that we should have the boys participating as students. We finally joined them up about 18 months ago. Gerry decided to join with them. Cora started in September and I hope to join with Ella in about a year (when she's old enough.) Master Chase and his son, Master Tom Chase are amazing instructors full of great encouragement and constructive instruction. It's a fabulous workout, too! Can't wait to get myself in the dobak (uniform!) especially for the hips, etc!

I didn't know a thing about TKD before we joined and thought it was all about self defense and fighting. WRONG! Happily, it teaches lessons of patience, perseverance, self-confidence & good sportsmanship. Although the boys also enjoy team sports, this is a sport where you get out exactly what you put in. There are a number of great families in our dojang (gym) and I am so psyched that this is part of our lives.

Last week, Great Grandmaster Lee visited our dojang from South Korea. Yes, he came to tiny Randolph Vermont but he is also "touring" the region. There are many Blue Wave TKD dojangs in New England. The boys and Cora were so lucky to benefit from his instruction. It was great to watch the class!

Here's a group shot. Notice all of the black belts in the crew. Master Gordon White, pres of the Blue Wave Association, Mister Michael Wood and Mister Matt Wood all visited our dojang to work out with Great Grandmaster Lee. As you can see from the color of people's faces, it was a
serious work out!