Up and out

I have been going to a Chiropractor who specializes in Kinesiology. So, basicly he does all these really weird tests on my body and in my mouth and then he lazers me and electronifies me and sends me on my way. Truely, he is the only one really DOING anything for my chronic headaches. So, I am much appreciative. He is making me take a break from biking...which I was planning to do this weekend anyway. I am going to try to do some yoga to strengthen my core and then get back after biking. I have to lay on tennis balls as a therapy and do some marching in place at my desk at work. This will be interesting.
I have been signed up to do a girls night bike group with a girl at work. She is a much better biker than I am which makes me very nervous. I guess the worse thing that will happen is that I will be a half hour behind her. We are planning to go to Burke Mtn. next weekend and I have never been there before. I hope its not tooo difficult.
Today Roger is working on Mirabel's room. She is psyched. I have taken the walls down between the closets upstairs and created a room for her. It is rather long and skinny, but will do the trick. She wants to have a sleep over on her birthday next month, so I will have to get after it if I am going to have it ready. I am really glad he at least decided to put in a window, that way it will have light and some air.

I am going blind. I guess not really technically but as far as I know. My doctor used an eye chart with my glasses and I was like 20/25 so I guess that isn't like 'blind' but I can't focus and my eyes are all burning and dry and stuff. It's really quite annoying. My neck is tighter than a drum and my head is killing me.
I am supposedly stressed out. I mean, I guess I could be. There is always a lot going on i my life. I am a busy person.
Plus, work is sucky. It's busy and people are all stupid and crabby. We work too many hours and sit all day and it's not fun.

Stupid Quotes of the Month:
1. Who is Fairpoint?
2. Every since Fairpoint took over my bill went up and the service is lousy.
3. Why are you reading my meter? ...ooooh you took over Verizon...I thought you took over Green Mountain power.

There are so many stupid things people say to us. But, the most annoying are those. People will talk 5 minutes about how they had to wait 15 to get through to us...thus, making the wait for other people longer. Then ask...who is Fairpoint? And I am thinking....'you just waited 15 minutes to ask ...who is Fairpoint??'
No wonder I am going blind. I can't take it.
It's oddly quiet today..due to some phone issue which means its slow now but we will get really busy at some point.

All's well that ends well

We biked on Wednesday. We got out at 3:30 and it immediately started raining and continued for a half hour. But, of course, like I said, nothing stops us from biking. We started out slow but Ben and I 'raced' the end section. "I am NOT racing you" "uh-huh" "Ok, I was trying to get ahead of you"
Then we brought the bikes home...I did a quick bun to my greasy hair and we went to the Longhorn w/Jason. That hit the spot. Any and all calories I may have burned biking I gained back eating a Filet wrapped in bacon. Sooo bad....yet soooo good.

First trail ride of the year

I got home from Marlborough around 2:15 on Sunday. I was still recovering from a cold and car lag from driving 4 hours. But, I am never too sick or tired to bike...especially when it's 75 in VT and sunny. Ben and I went to Camp Johnson. I felt very good with my new bike. I love my new bike by the way. Buuuuut, I got really frustrated with my new pedals, which are off it now, because I couldn't deal with them. I kicked them a few times and swore a lot. I was not used to my new bike, so I ended up walking hills and doing weird wimping out stuff. But, overall I had fun.

I liked that it was pretty flat and technically I could have gone pretty fast. Ben is just amazing to watch. He is like an angel on his bike. He rides effortlessly over obstacles and jumps. He is a beautiful biker. I just watch him in awe. I strive to one day be half that good.

Marlborough Madness

I am in Massachusetts. The hotel is beautiful. (Hampton Inn- I don't get paid for this plug either) They have down blankets and million dollar pillows and flat screen, hi -def tvs and cherry wood desks and huge bathrooms with touch lights. I could get used to this as a bedroom.

The hotel is not the hotel I was driving for the past 4 hours to get to....I thought for sure we were staying at the Best Western....but thankfully, this hotel is literally next door to the other one. Thank God because otherwise...I may still be looking for my baby boy.

So, we are in Massachusetts...with the Mass-holes I just got rid of because my job changed so that I only talk to people in ME, NH and VT. So...in preparation for dealing with a weekend of Mass-holes, I get to the gas station in Waterbury and there is a Mass-hole pumping gas in this huge Land-rover. He took up two pumps. And I could not get to the front pump with my massive bike rack. I pulled behind him as he pumped gas. He finished and I figured he would pull forward to let me in....but NOOO he just stayed there and washed his windows with the squegee and then went into the store. I was going to be all road raged when another pump finally opened up and I went around and got my gas. I finished pumping my gas and his vehicle was still there. I am really not sure why that was annoying to me. But, it was.

The tournament was not a huge success. Justin scored 2 goals in the first game. They won one game and lost two. They did not get to play Sunday because they were in last place. Oh well. We got to shop at Target and the mall. We got to eat out and spend time together. The kids all got to play together. So, It was not a complete loss.

My Boyfriend, My Friend

This is a tribute to the man I love. My boyfriend, Ben. We have been together for about a year now. He is my best friend. We do everything we can together, inseparable. And bonus, we don't get sick of each other even though we spend a lot of our waking hours together or talking or chatting. We are both incredibly passionate about our kids, mountain biking and spending time just hanging out enjoying ourselves talking and laughing. He is very funny and so smart. I can talk to him about anything. He is a very kind-hearted and loving person. He thinks of my feelings before anything else and he understands me....maybe too much though, cuz I can't get away with anything! We have a connection that is supernatural and we pretty much complete each other's sentences. We think the same things at the same times and we know what each other is thinking with just a look. (good and bad)
We are both really looking forward to mountain biking. He is a mountain bike God...well, to me anyway. We both are really excited for the trails to open. We have so many plans for the summer and I am sure you will see my posts will contain more biking stuff this summer. He has taught me a lot ..except how to get down a rock without pitching over the handlebars...ok...he did teach me that too but I didn't learn. Dang.
Anyway, I love him and he is a huge part of my life. And my kid's life too. They run just as fast or maybe faster to see him as I do!

She's back

So, I can NOT believe it has been nearly 2 years since my last post. It literally feels like weeks! I am back. I am going to attempt to blog on dialup. Hmm. We shall see how many pictures we have on here from now on!
What is up with me? We are still hockeying non-stop. Justin is on the VT Jr. Cats AAA team, which means ... traveling. Next stop is Marlborough, MA this weekend. Massachusetts teams are very good and they check, which our VT kids are not used to. Quite frankly, I am not used to that either and I crindge every time 'my baby boy' gets hit.
I can not wait to be in MA with the nice weather. It is supposed to be 70 here this weekend and usually that means a few degrees warmer down in MA. Yay! I went for a walk and was actually a little sweaty. That is a pleasant change. Bring on the sweat. The only thing I hate about warm weather is snakes. I get all paranoid. Can NOT stand snakes. I won't even go in my basement now. It's snaky. (well, I actually haven't been down there to know...but I'm pretty sure it is.)
I am wicked excited for mountain biking trails to open also. I have been biking the road for the past few weeks. I pumped my tires up to 50psi (much to my boyfriend's dismay) and I rode the pavement. But, I have a new bike and no place to ride....not fair! I really need to get in shape because I am going to die on the trails with this extra 10 lbs. It's sort of like biking with a sack of potatoes on the back...only really, truly on my back. Come on dry weather. Let us pray....dry trails!

Saturday we went to gymnastics and then over to Mom and Dad's house. Dad tried to sneak out of the house for a bike ride and I caught him. So, I went home, and got my bike because I didn't have any pedals or a decent bike to ride and my road bike is a mess and the tires were leaking air. Then we went for about 20 miles. Dad had his fancy new bike, and I had my mountain bike...so basicly I was pedaling as hard as I could and he was coasting. Crazy. We got back and the kids were playing on the slip and slide and Justin had organized an obstacle course. So, when Great-Grandma got there and after we ate we watched the kids do that. It was fun.

Marina is now on the St. Alban's Sharks. She is a swimmer on the swim team. She participated in her first swim meet this summer on Thursday. She did the back stroke and the freestyle...but somehow got out of doing the relay. What a kid. I could tell she was really nervous at first but after the first event she looked a lot better. She did well for a first-timer...and even went off the blocks..which she swore she would NOT do. She is also doing soccer this summer and hockey, so she is a very busy kid. That will no doubt keep her and her whole family out of trouble.

The annual Playcare family picnic. Our last one!

Happy 7th Birthday Justin!

Justin apparently had a 'bad' birthday...and didn't want to talk about it on Tueday. Poor thing, I think at his age birthdays are overated and never quite live up to the expectations. Oh well, we got home and had cake. Since he had already opened his "heeleys" we rembered that the kids forgot to open the package from Daniel and Marlen. So, they were thrilled to get some Shel Silverstein books they did not have. Very cool! Then Justin went for a bike ride with Felix and I went for a walk with Mirabel. Not a bad ending for a crappy day.
Last night Justin and I went for a bike ride and he is really getting good. He has his 6 speed and really knows how to use the gears and hand brakes. Very cool.

In the hammock...until I started getting eaten alive by horseflies!

The view from the hammock where I spent a few hours Sunday watching the kids play in the water. It was very warm out and the breeze from the swinging hammock was so nice.

Fun in the Sun

Father's Day

Happy Birthday Justin and Mirabel !!!

Today was party day. We had Justin's kid party from 1-3. My family and Ann came over for a barbeque after that and for cake and presents. The morning was out of control because I was not mentally prepared for this party at all. I soon found out that I was not physically prepared either with food and cake and stuff. So, I went to the store at 9am...and not only did I have to grocery shop and got to I-party for balloons and a pinata (which I totally forgot until today,) but then I had to do Father's Day shopping...which meant going to the mall and Earls. (Hope Dad doesn't read this til after tomorrow!) I got done with that at 11:30...and that meant that I had to give Mirabel a bath and get her dressed, decorate the deck, decorate the cake (because there really isn't a skateboarding cake at Hannafords at the last minute,) make a vegetable platter, fill the pinata with candy and hang it up, wrap Justin's present, and just get food out onto the deck. All that in about an hour and 25 minutes....I did it, but I felt a bit like the tasmanian devil.
The kids all arrived about the same time. Unlike last year when there were more kids that I could even count on both hands, there were four classmates, my kids, and Marina and Derek. It was really just right. I was not nearly as overwhelmed. They did all the dangerous activities I was hoping they would not....like play on the disc swing, jump on the trampoline, and play on the zip line. Peter's mom dropped him off and said..."please don't get hurt.." since he has had a broken wrist, a broken arm and a scraped up head all in the last year. So, keeping that in mind...Shelley and I watched him out of the window..and he did every single dangerous thing there was. He jumped, flew, zipped...he walked in front of the swing as others were on it..he even played with the citronella torch with a branch and nearly caught it on fire!! It was more than we could take...we were cringing the whole time. He got something in his eye that I had to visine out...and that got in his mouth...it was just all bad.
Chris had to leave early which meant that they had to do the pinata pretty early on and then he wanted to see him open his present...and of course, Justin couldn't stop at one. Shelley and I were like..."we need to get our camera"...we are missing the party here. It all happened in a matter of maybe 15 minutes. Dang.
After the boys left, my family came over for a barbeque. The kids couldn't wait to open presents, so they did that first, which got Uncle Roy all out of whack. Then we ate and they boys put up Mirabel's new trapeze for the swingset. Justin got out his new guitar and they all played with the new toys. Derek was the water boy...he had the most fun with a squirt bottle I had full of water just randomly squirting people. Uncle Roy offered him a dime to JUST squirt Grandpa and not HIM...but after about 15 squirts on Grandpa...he looked at him and said, "NO" and started squirting him unmercifully. It was rather amusing..to us at least. Besides, who offers these kids a dime...that is just an insult.
Justin's new 'Heely's' were a little on the small size..and I kind of want them to fit at least until hockey season...so he had a (what I like to call) "hissy fit." Maybe it was more than that but...boy, he was disappointed. Tomorrow we will find him a new pair that fit and that have red trim. I am thinking...it's gonna be the expensive pair after all. We will see tomorrow.
After the party, the kids crashed. Both of them. It was a miracle. Of course, I had to first help Justin figure out a "Transformer" thing. I really, really dislike transformers now. I felt like a monkey doing a math problem. Those things are insane. It took me like a half an hour to change it from a car to a robot...why is it that when I was a kid, it did NOT seem all that difficult??? When the kids were asleep I finished watching the movie "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." Then, I found an episode of "The Office" that I hadn't seen...which was really cool. It made me really happy after a long day to get to see a new "Office." Now...I think I will crash.

Cake number 2

Rock Star

The trapese 'artist'...Mom.

Presents with the family

Cake number 1

Presents with Justin's friends

Flying Kids!

Field Days at Smilie! Look at the loot! Out of control!

Smilie School has a Field Day every year to celebrate the end of the school year. Justin entered the school saying, "I am going to win every event! I am going to come home with a ton of stuff." I was like, "Well, Honey, you better not get too (cocky) because you may not always win..you never know." Well, Justin being Justin and uncontrollably competitive...did actually win everything and came home with about 12 stuffed animals, and various other toys and games. Mirabel also had a bit of loot..not nearly as much, but she said that they got stuff for "just trying." She is as amazing as Justin...in all different ways. It is funny how different they are. So, anyway...thanks Smilie School for filling my house with more toys than we could ever possibly need to bring home in one day.

Happy 5th Birthday Mirabel!

The gumball machine

The cake

The gumball

By far, the best picture of the Tour de Cure in my opinion! Our Personal SAG Wagon!

The Tour de Cure

Sunday was the Tour de Cure 100k bicycle ride for diabetes. It was a nasty, cold, rainy day. I was prepared for the distance, but I was not prepared for the weather at all. It took a huge toll on me mentally. On the first corner coming out of the parking lot, one of our teammates decides he is going to pop a wheelie and fell with his bike to the ground smashing his cell phone and hurting his back. He was quick to recover though and be sure everyone knew he was totally fine. The whole team pretty much stuck together for the first fifteen miles. When we got to the first checkpoint, Steve was complaining.."Are you two (Roger and I) in a race or something..cause you're killing me." So, then he and Mike (the one who fell) raced out of the checkpoint and lost us for the rest of the ride. That was a little odd.
Somehow, I got separated from EVERYONE for the next fifteen miles. I think, for me that was the hardest part of the whole ride....just me and the road. It was a very lonely road. The Ski Rack Van kept driving by me, but that was pretty much the only person or traffic or bike or anything I saw. No fun. When I finally got to the checkpoint I told Roger, "I can't do this by myself...we all have to stick together or I am not going to make it." It really reminded me of when I "hit the wall" in the marathon and started crying and getting all depressed. I got out of that. Roger agreed that we should stay together. So, we did for the rest of the ride.
The next fifteen were pretty uneventful...except for finding our own personal SAG (personal sags: not allowed) and getting dry socks...and pants!! I felt a tiny bit better with pants on. The socks got soaked very quickly since my shoes were like sponges...but they felt better for a minute. The last fifteen miles were all uphill. I really don't mind hills that much. But, after like fifty miles...they get a bit old. Of course, Dad had his brand spanky new bike with 21 gears and I had the old crappy bike..so I kept having to pass him and say, "Buh Bye, Mr. 3 Big Wheels." I had to stand up for most of the hills and at the top of a really, really steep one, I was right behind this older guy ...and when we got up to the top I yelled out, "Yeah, Baby!" And he was like, ok. But, then I stayed and waited at the top for Roger and Dad and I said to him, "Ok, sprint the rest of the way back!" I am pretty sure he thought I was crazy..and at that point...I may have been. Of course, the last few miles seemed like forever because we knew we were close, but couldn't get there fast enough. When we got back, we had an awesome cheering section and a really nice lunch from the Outback. So, (3 days later) we will probably do it again next year.

Dad's rubber booties ...do they hold out water...or hold IN water Dad?

The first fifteen

Our biggest fans

The three of us sticking together

Leaving Tom and Beth behind...again..."Have fun storming the castle!" they kept yelling out

The last 15 miles...all uphill.

A race to the finish?

The Outback Steakhouse provided a nice meal after the Tour

Just the fact that we were still alive to enjoy it was a major accomplishment!