The Karate Kid

I'm so glad I wasn't blogging a year and a half ago when Aidan was doing soccer because had I been I would have had to disclose the utter torment that the experience was to all of us.

He's had a year and half to mature, and has expressed a lot of interest in karate (his good friend Bryce in TX does Tae Kwan Do and Aidan loved watching him). So...we signed him up for karate

and I think it is a great fit for this very serious little 6-year-old.

The Martial Arts Academy that he will be attending does things just the right way to fit Aidan's personality. For the past two days we've gone to the Academy so he can work one on one with the head dude (with countless stripes on his very black belt...very cool!). Tomorrow he'll join the rest of the students who have his same belt color for a group session, but now that he's been there a couple of times and knows the instructors he will be a lot less nervous to just jump in. Ambiguity is something he does not handle well. He has the option of attending up to 6 sessions per week, but we'll probably just have him do a couple. I refuse to sacrifice precious family time, however, this academy is very strict and expects a lot from their students (unlike one of the ones in Brenham that put equipment on 5 year olds and let them beat up on each other...zoiks!).

Here he is...our very own "karate kid"

Do you think he'll scare anyone with his toothless grin?

The back is way cool and he was so excited that he gets to be a "white belt". "I know it's the lowest color that you can have", he says, "but that way it'll give me something to work towards! His friend in TX will be testing for his black belt in a couple of weeks, so Aidan definitely sees that as a tangible goal! Hai-YAH!

Happy Birthday Gigi!

Gianna is two!!! She had a wonderful birthday filled with much spoilage and a store-made birthday cake (sorry, Gigi). Quite a big year this is for her. She talks like crazy, is potty-trained, and we solved the mystery of those darn spots that she had last year! Yay!
She is the sweetest little gal that ever was (truly, I'm not just saying this because she's ours...really). She's snuggly and sweet and full of spice!

And how can you resist that bedhead!

She thought I was taking a still picture, hence her new and crazy two-year-old smile...oh, and she says "welcome" instead of thank you!

Creative

Remember the picture of the Kleenex box from a couple of days ago? Three sick kids and a couple of days later and we had two empty Kleenex boxes in the house. I was going to use them for a Valentine's craft (remember the Valentine's boxes from elementary school), but I decided not to.
It didn't take Aidan too long to grab ahold of the boxes and this morning they were sitting on top of his dresser just taking up extra space. This afternoon however he came down the stairs with them, put them on his feet, and started "box-skating" on the livingroom carpet. It didn't take long before Emma had one and Aidan had one and they were doing all sorts of silly tricks.
I had a sleeping Gigi on my lap otherwise I would have grabbed the camera, but you will have to believe me when I say that it was a very funny sight with lots of giggling!

Motivation

Who says bribery is a bad thing? I like to call it motivation.

"We have one hour to get this house in order or we won't get to go to the library and get new books!"

Did it work?

Why, yes it did!

Happy Saint Valentine's Day!

Truth be told, there's not a lot we know about St.Valentine except for that he existed, and was martyred on February 14th! So, how and why Hallmark has taken off with his Feast Day (which is actually not on the calendar anymore) we'll never know....but, it is a great day to remind us what life is about....love!

Here's a pic of our LOVEly children posing with their Valentine's Day surprises!

The girls each received a pony and Aidan a lego racecar and they all got a heart filled with M&Ms. Brett got some new black dress socks and some Resee's Pieces, and me? Well, let's just say that my Valentine is not a gift giver, and he (whoever "he" may be) is really sorry about that, but has resolved to the fact that no matter how hard he tries, that fact will probably never change! :-) It's alright...he loves me and that's really all that matters! Truly...after 7 1/2 years of marriage I am absolutely okay with that.

What's on our schedule for today?

-baking bread

-kids get to watch "Spirit" since they have been waiting for it to arrive for a long time

-Valentine Crafts

-art with the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart

-possibly some brownies (but only if I have the will-power to freeze most of them)

-writing some LOVEly poems and stories

-counting hearts (that counts as Math for the day, right? Even if the main student is way beyond counting?)

-Mass at the Newman Center said by our favorite Benedictine monk followed by dinner

-tucking in sweet children and enjoying a quiet Valentine's Night by myself (my Valentine has a concert to attend)

The Race Is On!

We have great neighbors. We've known this since we moved in by the warm welcome we received from every one and the help they've given us. In these cold snowy months their neighborliness (which I'm sure is a word) has really shone! Every time it has snowed our sideswalks, right up to the path that goes to our front door, has been shoveled out before Brett can even get his boots on. This morning is no different.
Thursday mornings are pretty light for Brett so he had breakfast with us, enjoyed the kids playing with their Valentine surprises and was starting to get his shoveling stuff on. Just on a whim I looked outside from our bedroom window only to see our neighbor, Skip, who is retired and lives two houses down approaching our part of the sidewalk after having cleared all the snow from his house to ours.
"Hurry up, Brett! Skip is almost to our house. You've got to get out there before he gets to us! Hurry, hurry, move, move!"
His shoes were tied and his coat almost on.
"Ah, the path to our front steps is already clear, and he's turning the corner to the side..hurry!"
Brett got out the door I think in time to clear the "apron" off of our garage.
So, now...the race is on! Next time it snows...it's ON!!!!!!!

Blessings

Me to Him: You should feel blessed that at least we have hot water so you don't have to go out in sub-zero temperatures to fill a pail before you can wash all the dishes.

Our dishwasher broke....again. This isn't a post to complain about how things are made to be broken and then replaced instead of fixed. Modern conveniences are so nice when you have them. It is easy to rely on these little machines to do our daily chores for us. I might "run a load of laundry", but that is not the same as washing clothes. My hands hardly get wet thanks to a super spin cycle and I don't bang up my knuckles srcubbing clothes on a washboard...nope, just stick 'em the machine and go about my business.
When our little chore doers break, however, it is a big wake-up call. Of course it was easy for me to tell Brett to be thankful since I was on my way upstairs getting ready to bathe three sneezing, coughing, fevering, precious little ones and didn't have to face the counterful of dirty dishes. He was the one who wanted to make that ginormous pot of soup in the first place. :-)
Off to wash my share of dishes so we have some kitchen space for the Maytag man to work tomorrow!