Another Week of Blessings * week of 11.17.13

MUCH more excited about our 

first snowfall than I... :)

What a week.  Again!  Seriously, if these weeks start flying by any more quickly, I'm really going to have to stage some type of intervention.  

We are having a ball.  I am having a ball.  We are living and learning and learning and living.  Being the type of person ( I thought) who prefers a laid-out plan for, well, life, I am finding a whole buncha joy in going with the flow.  I'm learning so much about myself, and my kids' learning styles.  A and G are complete visual and kinesthetic learners, while S is an auditory (as well as kinesthetic) learner.  My learning style fits more with the girls', so I am learning that I need to be intentional about remembering how S learns.  More reading aloud, and discussion :)  

This week, we conquered half of "Old Yeller".  Of course, as I read, the kids do handstands, and the like.  It's all good...!  I have learned that some learn and hear better if their bodies are occupied :)

It's worth it, just for the reactions I get when the story line gets intense... they all stop in their tracks, mid-handstand, mid-whatever, and just stare at me, motionless. HA!  Today, I told them that we were going to have, "Old Yeller" day.  <interest peaked> And then I proceed to go into detail about how Soren could trap and kill the squirrel, and the girls and I could cook it up for dinner!  Haha, Soren was all for catching the squirrel; the girls - not up for their part, as much :)

Random things learned this week...

Ava learned how to use the Thesaurus - and really well, at that, as evidenced by her English assignments.  I love that this girl's strength is English :D

Soren, after reading a book from our "Egyptians" selection, informed us that the Ancient Egyptians all shaved their heads due to the heat (women, too).  Women wore wigs when seen in front of men.

Earthworms have no heart or brain... their main function is to benefit the soil with their dung. Also, they develop into two completely separate earthworms, when cut in two.  Particularly useful, as they reside in gardens and soil, where they often are split with gardening tools, such as a hoe.

Gressa has become proficient with her addition and subtraction facts, even asking to do some, "Math for fun" on Friday night :)  You go, girl.  Math and fun don't go together in the same sentence, for me!

Soren has learned how to locate articles in a magazine, using the table of contents.  All three kiddos are becoming masters at using the library to find what they are looking for, place materials on hold, and check out their resources.

All have learned what Caldecott and Newberry Awards are, and how that is determined.

Other highlights from this week:

field trip to the Post Office

Ava finally received her volleyball certificate.... MVP! :)

We attended, "Skippy Jon Jones" at the PAC

Soren's printing continues to be a work-in-progress, and this mama couldn't be more thrilled.  This is an English assignment, in which I read the sentence, and he writes it down, concentrating on what punctuation goes where.  

Soren continues with his shoe fetish... "needing" another new pair of running shoes :) This pic was taken at approximately 5am on Friday.  He ran into our bedroom for some snuggles, and me, bleary-eyed and exhausted, rolled over for a snuggle.  When met with rubber soles, what could I do - but take a pic! :)   We also had to head out on a run to try them out, of course.  Love him.

We picked up our projects from the Fire; they were created last week :) 

Gressa's soccer ball bank

Soren's bulldog

 Ava's owl

I thank God for another blessed week, with so much more mercy and grace than we deserve!  We are looking forward to another week filled with His love, as we approach the blessed Christmas season!

This Is Me.

This is me.  Yep.  Crooked, imperfect, scoliotic me.  Sometimes I feel like a really, really ollllld soul.  Or, perhaps more accurately, like an incredibly ollllld body. Ha.

Recently I've had to realize (haven't accepted it, yet) that scaling back any type of weight-bearing exercise is in the cards for me at this point.  I've had a 2x4" pocket of fluid (aka bursitis) underneath my right, thickened, iliotibial band since last February, and recently was advised that surgery is recommended.  

Well, that didn't sound like much fun, and Last May I'd found something wonderful in CrossFitting.  I scaled back the running, thinking that may help.  I concentrated on my core and I continued to CrossFit.  Things were going well.  Unfortunately, at some point over the summer, my other knee started to flare up and the initial injury also worsened.  I think that my relapsed night owl habit may have contributed.  Or, who knows, the lingering injury just finally got the best of me.  ARRRRH I don't hate much, but I HATE to admit that I CAN'T do what I want to do, especially when it comes to getting my sweat on.

It seemed to appear out of nowhere, the lump. I noticed it after a workout, while in the shower and shaving my legs.  Whaaaaat is that huge lump?? Truth be told, my ITB has been being abused for over 3 years, yet somehow I've managed to convince myself along the way that I haven't actually been pushing my body's limits with an injury, all this while.  While running and working out, and getting really comfortable with pushing away discomforts, it became really difficult for me to discern what types of injuries needed rest, and which to ignore. as any athlete does, in order to improve.  

All of my injuries (there's been achilles and calf strains, quad tendinitis, and patellar bursitis, and neck spasms requiring injections to restore range of motion, in addition to the ITB saga) ultimately stem from my horrible mechanics and movement patterns, secondary to my Scoliosis.  

I have an approximate 45 degree thoracolumbar (a fancy way of saying mid and lower spine) curve, as well as a 20-something curve both above and below my main curve.  Other diagnoses I'm the non-proud owner of, include: Degenerative Disc Disease, Spinal Arthritis, and Facet Arthropathy (enlarged sections of vertebrae), as well as several disc bulges, exacerbated by the spinal misalignment.  None of these things are without unpredictable, physical consequence, typically in the form of pain, fatigue and muscle spasms; sometimes numbness and tingling.  I live with daily, chronic lower back pain, which fluctuates in severity. I've done the childbirth thing without pain medication.  Twice.  Needless to say, I'm not the best gauge of pain, and knowing my limits.  I do what I want to do, simply because I WANT so badly to do it.  

I first developed the ITB issues while training for the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon in 2010.  I couldn't walk on that leg a week before the big day, however I was sure that I could run on it.  It did loosen up a few miles on each run?! To be clear, I wasn't exactly advised not to continue running.  

Since 2008, when I fell madly in love with distance running, I have established a pretty regular relationship with more than one Orthopedic Sports doc, visited an Ortho Surgeon, 2 Rheumatologists, an Adult Spinal Deformities Specialist, a Physiatrist, and also baffled my share of Physical Therapists.  I've done intensive Chiro and muscle stim, 3x/week for 9 months.  I've had both typical and Thai massages, practiced Yoga, and stretched and utilized my foam roller like it was my full-time job. I've tried core-strengthening, maaannny times.  It would be putting it mildly to say that I have exhausted as many resources as possible, in order to stay active at the level I wish to, which is training for a Half or Full Marathon each Spring and Fall, and running and doing yoga/CrossFit year-round.

Happily, I have enjoyed many, many running highs that will last  me a lifetime.  Several of those happened out of the road, all by my lonesome :) But, many materialized within the context of a trained-for race and with the physical and emotional presence of my husband either inside the tape right beside me, or directly on the other side, cheering me on.

Our first Half Mara!  Fox Cities 2008 :)

Our 1st Full Mara!  Fox Cities 2009
As everything else near and dear to my heart... words are necessary to try and trap the moments which have shaped a very big part of who I am. Blogpost about Door County Half Marathon 2011: 

http://www.thesearethedayze.blogspot.com/2011/05/race-recap-for-door-county-half.html

Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon:  the days the stars aligned... <3 Blogpost about the sunny October day which truly ranks right up there with graduating from college, getting married, and the births of my babies! 

http://www.thesearethedayze.blogspot.com/2011/10/run-now-wine-later-race-recap.html

Why am I writing about my contorted, broken self right now?  It's because I am on the brink of having a little bit of self-pity, and I will tell you, THAT is NOT going to happen.  Writing usually shores that threat right up for me.  Lucky you, reader... ;D

I am a runner to the core.  I am a busybody to the core.  I am a girl who like to push myself to the edge of my limits, and then just a bit more.  I like, no I LOVE to get steamy and out of breath all because of working harder than I ever have before.  But, right now, I don't own that gift.  It's not mine.  At least, not in the same way that I'm used to.  And if it's yours, please - don't let it pass you by.  Don't deny yourself that right to find out who you are, who you can be. Appreciate that gift which is yours! 

Sure, working out is fulfilling and valuable in all kinds of aesthetic and healthful ways. None of those reasons, however, are at the VERY top of my own personal list.  Working up a good hard sweat, particularly in the way of running, for me, allowed me to become who I was, who I am.  Running isn't something I do, it's part of who I am.  It's difficult to explain if you aren't someone who has embraced this, however, if you are, you know EXACTLY what I mean.  Discipline in sticking to a workout routine, or a training schedule keeps you disciplined in all other areas of life!  I am a better mom, friend, wife, sister, money and resources manager, grocery shopper, and child of The King, when I am seeking out a goal and regularly getting a workout!  Again, if this is also you, I need not say more.  The best version of ourselves shines through our greatest efforts, in combination with all of the blood, sweat and tears.  

Running has also just made me more of a positive person, in general!  I absolutely am thrilled to pass on to our kids, all of the and advantages (physical and mental) that running gives!  It's the best!  Running with with them have been some of the BEST times I've been blessed to have, as their Mama!  Hands down.   So thankful.  

Able-bodied-ness is a GIFT.  A ginormous, humongous, genuine gift. Be.Thankful.  When I was in Nursing School, I was ever-reminded of this truth.  Seeing hospitalized patients day after day, and regularly witnessing the struggles of day to day activities for some - the very activities we healthy people can easily take for granted, gave me a unique perspective that I am so thankful for.  It's a big part of the reason that I won't wallow in sadness over the idea that I can't do all that I want to, for right now.  I KNOW that if I can walk and talk, that's a lot more than many others can do.  True story. Sure, I'd love to say that floundering around in self-pity would help, but it wouldn't, and it isn't right.  I CAN walk.  I CAN do so many things that others can't.  I never, ever took a WOD, a mile, a run, or a race for granted.  And for that, I am truly, eternally grateful.  If I am blessed to be back at it again, one day, I will be the goofiest gal out there.  You'll recognize me by the incredible, unwaning, unapologetic grin on my face with each step or lift.  And until then - please don't confuse my acknowledgement of my blessings - with contentment with injury.  I'm still searching for a way around this. ;0)

"I believe in redefining my impossible" - Nike

Think Outside the Box. 11.11.13 - 11.16.13

Nana did such a fantastic job with the kids and their schoolwork while we were in California for a few days, recently!  I was torn between giving them the week off, and giving them work.  In the end, I decided to have them keep up with just their daily Handwriting and Math lessons, and spend the rest of the time on Nana-cation.  It worked out really well!  Proud of you, Mom!  And proud of the kids... who thought that since WE had a break, THEY should have a break :)  Pretty sure it was still quite a break! 

*Hoping to have a Napa/Sonoma blogpost done soon!*

Homeschoolin' Daddy's Monday report was that the kiddos all happily co-existed... better than usual.  Crap.  Crap, because parents everywhere know, that when the everyone-gets-along-all-day-long thing happens, it's almost always followed by a can't-get-along-all-day-for-ANYthing kind of day.  Rawr! 

"Better than usual", turned out to mean that there was a lot of laughing and playing together, as well as helping each other with schoolwork; everyone's attitudes stayed intact, for the most part.  And Gressa announced that she would be playing Flag Football next Fall, after learning the rules with Soren that afternoon.  

When I got home from work, I knew that I was going to have my work cut out for me with some Math with Ava.   Ava.... oh Ava...

This is where we are at with Ava right now...

Sigh.  An inch closer to teeanage-dom, every second, it seems...

Anyway.  Math.  So, we needed to cover some corrections and some new material, on angles.  I have no idea, really, what prompted it, but after going through her previous corrections, I guess both of us needed to 'up' the fun factor in this subject that neither one of us care much for.  Introducing: The English-born, Mrs. Schmitzelberger.  With the help of the 1 glass of Napa-born Cabarnet that I had with dinner, suddenly the room was filled with this new faculty's knowledge of obtuse and acute angles (and how to label them), as well as her proficiency with pah-pen-dic-ulah lines.  Muah haha... :)  We finished in record time - and with comprehension.  When the student would become disengaged for a moment, Mrs. S. would rap her pencil on the table, while saying, -"Attention, please!  This is im-POH-tant!"  Winning.  It could be noted that I dreamt with an English accent that night.

On Tuesday, I decided that we would head to the library to do our book work.  Even though we aren't really trying to simulate "school at home" in our homeschool (meaning school just looks different at home - less sitting work/transitions, etc.), I have thought of packing us up for a change of scenery for awhile now, for a few reasons.  The main reason being that, since all of the kids take frequent breaks, they would naturally be in a book or being stimulated by some type of literature, etc. during that break time - no other real distractions. It worked out pretty well.  We will definitely mix it up again, soon.  It just requires me to be super organized in making sure I remember to bring all assignment-related items, etc., along with us. 

Highlight: Ava aced all questions related to angles, on her Math homework! Ha.  It seems Mrs. S may be sticking around.

Backing up for a moment, to Monday's great vibes and its associated, anticipated ramifications for Tuesday... not tooo bad, after all!  Soren was a grump for a big part of the day, tho, and of course that type of thing is a bit contagious.  He had a Soren Fixation going on; he finds something to fixate on and it rules his day.  This day?  He was sad that Tony now returns from work when it is already dark outside.  He can't get enough football with Dad, and so this is wrecking his program.  Sigh.  On that note, this mom's done her fair share of quarterbacking in this week's daylight hours, on account of the fixation.  At one point (I believe on a 3rd down), I said something to the effect that he sure is lucky to have a mom who would play football with him out in the backyard, in the middle of all the un-picked-up dog poo.  He didn't even hesitate (though, he smirked), saying, "YOU sure are lucky to be getting these private lessons I give, 'cuz you need 'em!"  Stinker.  Love him.

Soren also made the entire Toyota Sienna erupt in giggles during a convo on the way home from the library:  

Me:   What do you guys want to do when you grow up, lately?

Ava:  I still want to be a Vet... but I dunno... it makes me so sad, too!

Gressa:  I want to be a librarian. :)

Soren:  Wellll... you know... I want to be a person who looks for a way to stop people from being sick.

Me:  Sick... like cancer?  You do like research.

Soren: Yeah... I want to research to fix cancer.

HEART MELTS...!  And THEN, he says... wait for it... "Either that, or I want to work at Dollar Tree.  That looks really fun." Ohhh yeah.  

Well, I did get some insight into those remarks, when sharing them with Tony that night.  Apparently, there was an Undercover Boss episode at Dollar Tree and the guy LOVED his job.  I love this kid.  Passionate.  Love.  Of course - the disclaimer is that this (both the cancer researcher and Dollar Tree associate) are all a back up plan if he doesn't make it in the NFL or the NBA.  Fo' real y'all.  Oh, the can-do-anything attitude of a kid!!!

On Wednesday, after Reading, Writing and 'Rithmetic, we headed out on the Valley Home Schoolers field trip to Petco to learn find out what it takes to run a pet store with a multitude of different types of animals, and learn more about them.

California Crested Gecko

Guinea Pigs are definitely still all the rage, at our house.  

Ava really wants one.

On Wednesday we also went swimming at the YMCA with some friends :)  I wish I'd have thought to get out the camera when they were there!

+

The kids were soo excited to use the flippers, masks and snorkels.  1 1/2 hours + of good phy. ed.

Thursday was a great day of gettin' stuff done!  Love days like this! 

We also took a trip to the Fire this week - a paint-your-own-pottery store.  Can't wait to pick up our finished products this week!

Ava and her friend, Leyna! 

I also was also blessed with some really warm fuzzies this week, in terms of progress.  It can be hard to gauge progress at home, in the midst of the creative challenges & struggles, and yet so easy sometimes, as in this week :)  In addition (no pun intended) to Ava's improved math skillz, Gressa is also ramping up her reading and flying through her library books :)

Improving Soren's printing is something I really wanted to work on with him.  He has always had a hard time with fine motor skills (as many boys do, early on), such as in holding the pencil correctly, and his printing was almost illegible.  Below, is an example of some printed words from the first week or two of the school year, this year.  Pretty messy.  In fact, Gressa's printing is MUCH neater than his.

I decided to seek out some D'Nealian help!   I KNEW he was more capable.  We moved on to cursive, as most do, in 3rd grade.  And it seemed so forced!  He was simply trying to imitate all of the "loops", without focus on the whole word, or what he was writing.  It was a mess. So now, after some D'Nealian practice, we will soon move on to D'Nealan Manuscript (cursive).  It's much less loopy. This is so much easier for him to do a neater job with!  I think he will pick up neat, D'Nealian cursive in no time :) 

Ava had a seamless transition from printing to cursive.  You go, girl.  Soren will be a fine cursive writer, too, I'm sure :)  But we will get there via a different route.  I figure, for high school and college, the requirement is neat writing.  It's not strictly, Zan Bloser Cursive.  If he can print neatly and clearly, and link letters together legibly, he's home free :)

Of course... we had to end the week, as usual, at Dunkin' Donuts :)  We met The Hirschfields there this week :) My son ran into a parked truck.  It was Jack Ass - style.  He's actually grimacing in this photo, due to his knee and elbow injuries.  Before or after the sugary donuts?? You decide.  ;D

Primal Taco Softshells

So very, very excited to have found a tortilla recipe that is primal AND delicious, AND one that doesn't fall flat or fall apart!  Plus, one kid bought it (and the other 2 don't eat softshells, anyway).

When coupled with homemade taco seasoning - this is a truly delicious, primal alternative to preservative-laden packaged taco seasoning and flour-y tortillas.  And at nearly 5g protein and only 46 calories per tortilla?  Killer.

The tortilla recipe is found here:  http://askgeorgie.com/coconut-flour-tortillas-grain-free-gfcf-paleo-gluten-free-younameit/

The tortilla, prior to a flip

After the flip

YUM.

This isn't my own recipe, but I really feel like the grapeseed oil I fried the tortillas in made.it.rule.