Black Stripe Boys

Whew! The summer is flying by and I can barely keep up with all of the activity! The latest summer high point came last Friday when the boys tested successfully for their Black Stripe in TKD. Operation Black Stripe was years in the making... 3 1/2 years to be exact! We all traveled over to the Bradford Dojang to participate in their Quarterly Testing. Austen & Peter were great! The Dojang was sooo hot and the testing was vigorous, but they did it!
Here's a shot of the boys 2 years ago with GrandMaster Tae Sung Lee (above) and at their testing. Nice high kicks, boys! I am such a proud mama!!
Gerry also did a mock testing for his Black Belt. He was fierce! His official test will be on July 31st in front of the whole Blue Wave Association! Good Luck, honey!

Austen Plays Lax, Peter Plays Third!

We are officially a two sport family. Peter is playing really well for his Little League team, the A's. They are the team to beat this year with a record of 5 and 0. As a mom, I appreciate their enthusiasm and great sportsmanship. Their coaches are fantastic and we parents have a raucous time in the bleachers! It's always a great time!

This year Austen is playing Lacrosse for the Randolph Middle School Ghosts~that's him with the #1 on his shirt. He is playing quite a lot since they only have 2 or 3 subs for the team. He plays attack mostly and has had a few "pancake" moments. Of course, I had no idea what that means until he explained to me that being "pancaked" is to be flattened on the field by the opponent. One worse than that is to be "sancaked". Yep, it's being flattened by two opponents in the sandwiched and squished sense. Deep breath. Thank goodness for pads and a great coach!

The challenge is to be at two, three or four places at the same time. We are also still way into TaeKwonDo and the girls have concerts & school functions a lot! Last week, Gerry covered lacrosse & I covered baseball. We updated with text messages and reunited at the ball field since 6 innings takes about twice as long as four quarters. I wonder how our parents managed without all of the great technology?

These are truly awesome, fun days. I'm hanging onto them because I know they will pass in a flash

While Mom's Away, the Kids Will Play

Here are some cute pictures of the girls playing cub scout dress up while I was away on my Girlie Weekend. I don't even know how they found the uniforms! LOL Thanks to Gerry for being such a fun dad & for taking pics of the chitlins!

They also worked on Austen's Family Tree project for his Living Arts class. I love the spring sun shining in and Max chilling out with all of them.

Prayers for Max

Those of you who've been sweet enough to read One Bubble at a Time for awhile, have met Max.
He's our 3 1/2 year old yellow lab. He weighs in at about 120 and he is a handful! I haven't gone to see Marley & Me, because I'm pretty sure I live it. Read here, here, or here for more Max stories.Some odd behavior from Max prompted me to call the vet this morning. By 1 pm I was frantically driving him to an emergency appt. after my sweet friend Ramsey & I carried him up the stairs using a blanket as a hammock under his chest. Max had been carrying his head very low for 36 hours. I thought it was a flare up of an ear infection he's been treated for. Then he couldn't straighten his paw to walk and began to stumble around.

The Vet, Dr. Bob *(who I love) thinks he was having a stroke. He's at the Hospital having had a large dose of antibiotics & steroids to try to reduce the swelling causing the problems. He perked up a little as I was leaving and I'm praying that he'll be ok. Even though he drives me a little crazy, I love that big dog to bits. So, if you have a moment to say a little something for Max, we would all appreciate it! I'll keep you posted on his condition!

Ellisms

Ella has a language all her own. We call her personal interpretation of words Ellisms. I don't think she means to change the words, but we all crack up when she does. (Quietly or else she gets super~mad at us.) We've actually incorporated some of her words into our everyday language. Here are a few examples:

Friona~her friend Riona

Monnenary Jack~Monterey Jack Cheese
GlipGloss~LipGloss
The Combo~Gerry's parents'ski condo

Framilla~Vanilla

There are more isms to share... I will fill you in every once in awhile. What will we do when she says all of these words the right way?

First Day of School... Check!

We all survived the first day of school. Some of us had butterflies (like me!). Ella started Kindergarten, Cora went to 2nd grade, Peter went to 5th grade & Austen went off to the Junior/Senior High school for 7th grade.

Everyone made the transition really smoothly. We had a fairly relaxed morning. It was probably as relaxed as we could be on any given morning. Ella had a 1/2 day from 8-11:30 and Austen had a 1/2 day from 11:30 'til 2:30. Luckily, I've learned how to be in two places at (almost) the same time so it all worked out.

The best part of the day for me was collecting everyone back up and hearing all of the chatter about who, what, when & for how long! Wishing you all a great start to the school year~

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.

Is This Really Something a Mother Should Have to Say to Her Child?!

This is Ella. She's 5. She's bright, funny, kind and a wonderful daughter. Today I had to say something to her that I never dreamed I'd have to say as a mother. I said,
"ELLA!!!!!!!!!!!
DON'T LICK
THE CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
That's the first time I've ever had to say that to one of my kids. Will it be the last? Stay tuned!

Ella the Graduate

For the seventh time, we were so happy to go to the School Street Montessori End of the Year Party yesterday. It was a big day for Gerry and me because Ella graduated from pre-school and is headed off to Kindergarten in the fall. We were giggling about having been there for the two years that Peter attended, the three years that Cora attended and the three years that Ella attended. Wait! that's eight... wow. (Austen attended Gifford Pre-School but has been named an honorary alum of S.S. Montessori!)

Anyway, we were treated to lots of cute songs, great conversation with fellow parents and dear friends & watching Ella get her Montessori Diploma. She also received a blue ribbon for being the "Best Monkey Bar Climber" in the class! She and Cora have shared that title for the past 4 years. You can see her in the picture wearing her brand-new-most-favorite-of-the-moment- pink dress with polka dots. Very fancy!

There aren't words to describe how amazing and wonderful our experience with Montessori has been. Carmen, Marla, Sally, Edie, Cindy & Kirsten have taught and loved our kids in such a magical way. They have shared,with so many kids in our community, the wonder of exploration, learning and good friends. Our kids and so many others in our town are very blessed to have had the chance to take their first steps into the "big world" with all of the amazing women there!

So, yesterday's ceremony was bitter sweet. I am so proud of Ella and I can see that she is really ready to start the next phase of her life. But, I have really enjoyed watching Ella grow with Carmen and her staff! I can't imagine life without a few 5 or 6 minute chats with Ella's sweet teachers. I can't imagine leaving behind the place that shared its magic with my family for all of these years. Most of all, I can't imagine the end of the days of standing by the playstructure in the Montessori yard watching one of my wee ones crossing over the Monkey Bars and yelling, "Mommy! Watch!".

Thank you, Carmen and all of you wonderful ladies. My family is a better group for having shared these years with you.

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!)

Feelin' Crafty

I had a space at Crafts in the Park, a 32 year old event in my hometown of Andover, MA. The park is in front of my junior high school(!). Because of weather, it was moved to Sunday~Mother's Day.
The best part was seeing my sweet, shiny brood walking across the park, ready to help out. Thanks to Austen, Peter, Cora & Ella! You are my favorite Mother's Day gifts! Super thanks to Gerry for all of his help & hardwork. (And especially for going to Starbucks for me!)

Dear Best Friend, Happy Birthday!

It's a very special day! Today is Gerry's (my darling husband) 42nd birthday! I have to share about how amazing he is and how lucky I am!

I've been lucky enough to call Gerry my best friend for 23 years. He is all of the things that a girl could hope for. He's smart, funny, kind, generous... he knows how to use a vacuum cleaner! He treats me like a princess. (And I only deserve it some of the time!) He is a successful attorney who treats everyone that he works with, with respect and courtesy.

Gerry is the best father I know. He's patient, loving and 100% active in his kids' lives. He plays games with them for hours! I've seen him play Barbies and then go throw the football or teach lacrosse or baseball techniques. He wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy the other night because Cora mis-placed her tooth before it made it under her pillow! He also spent 2 weeks working to help kids who had missed Little League sign ups get a second chance. (this included Peter who missed try outs. After 3 weeks and lots of energy to keep him off of the team, the Board generously voted 6-2 to allow a second try out day. That's a story worth its own post!)

He is even behind my bubble business in every way. He counts my inventory without grumbling about the 457 different organza bags I have. He helps get ready for craft shows. He turned his life upside down so that I could go to the HSMG conference for three days! He smells, washes and tries everything! He even smiles about being covered in Diamond Mica from a shimmer bar experiment!

I love you with all of my heart, Gerry. Thank you for being the most wonderful person in my life. Your arms are the safest place I know. Happy Birthday!

Sun Worship

I think I'm going to make it. The sun was out in all of its glory today. It was working hard melting the snow, warming the Earth and giving me the Vitamin D that Dr. Oz says I'm missing!
I guess I'm not the only one who is Vitamin D deficient. Max was doing some serious basking today! Happy Spring to all of 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!

Spa Night & a Lunar Eclipse

Sometimes, I am torn between crafting soap and mom stuff. Sometimes I'm working under a deadline and my super-patient kids are so understanding and helpful that I know I'm the luckiest mom ever. (The same holds true for my wonderful and supportive husband. Just last night he was with me at 2 am putting the final touches on an order that needed to be delivered this morning!)
On Wednesday night, I had the chance to pamper the kids with a warm foot bath, foot massage & pedicure.

All of the kids sat in front of their own little bowl and dropped in a Mint Chip Bath Bizzy . After some fun fizzing and bubbling, the kids dunked their piggies in and sat back for a nice soak! I put on some great spa music and lit some candles. They really loved it!

When the soak was over, it was time for a relaxing foot massage with some Tingle Foot Lotion, which I include in my Pedi Kit on etsy. It was so great for me to have some time to massage those little feet and watch them just relax and enjoy it. I really loved taking care of the boys' feet, since they are so much older and not so quick to cuddle! :) After all four were done, the girls had some nail polish applied to their toes and we were ready for the eclipse.

Needless to say, it was a little late for everyone! They boys saw the full eclipse but didn't make it to the re-emergence. The girls saw the first bite taken out of the Moon. I saw the beginning of the re-emergence and was inspired by the lovely rusty color that the Moon reflected. Perhaps there is a new soap recipe in that image!