So Grateful

This morning, Phil and I went for a morning run around the neighborhood. We took the back roads that I had only been through once before, so I really didn't know where we were.

At the last minute, Phil asked, "Want to run by the house Janette grew up in?" (Janette is the boys' mom.)  I immediately said yes!

So we took a short detour, kept running, and talking.

Then finally he said, "that's their old house!"

Awesome!!

He went on and on about with stories about high school, the neighbors, etc... as we made our way back to our house.

Made me feel so grateful that we all get along. Phil, Janette, me, her boyfriend, her parents, our parents, .... Amazing.

There is no reason to fight, it would only put the five boys in a bad place.

Thank you for all getting along... for everybody's sake involved.  :-)

Want to See The Twins?

Not what you were expecting?? ... Well, this is how I see the twins every weekend also... So this is what you get... 

:-)  lol

Twins Birthday!!!

These two itsy bitsy boys right here. Can you tell which is which??  Don't worry... I couldn't either!

Turned 8-years old today! This is now their 2nd birthday that I have been a part of. Watching them grow up - learn how to swim this summer, listen to them read this year, and watching them complete their first triathlon - has been so much fun!

Twin Brother Love

I can't wait to see what else they do! 

(hopefully without all the poopy pants, throwing up, and butt wiping, etc...)

Benadryl Backfire

Last night was a normal night in the house with the boys. Dinner, homework, bedtime.

Well, kind of... I decided to send the three youngest outside to play since it was such a nice evening. (And they are distracting the big brothers from their homework.)

They came back in and the youngest was complaining about mosquito bites all over. And when he gets mosquito bites, they blow up. One small little mosquito bite turns into a size of a quarter!

Of course, I do not have any After Bite anti-itch cream. So Phil and I thought, "hey, how about some Benadryl?"  Why not kill two birds with one stone?  He'll stop itching AND it will knock him out!  :-)  Sweet!

Everybody went to bed at 8pm and I passed out at 9pm.

Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning, went to the restroom, and found throw up all over the toilet seat. Oh, and the floor... and the wall... (what?)... and the bathroom rugs... You get the idea. 

So, since I've already met my quota for cleaning throw up for the year, I let Phil take this one.  :-)

Talk about your all time backfire!

But First - Run

I went to work this morning at 6am. That means I was able to leave work early today.

Imagine my surprise when I pulled into the driveway and the boys were all at the kitchen table doing their homework.

Well, the twins were pretending to do homework with a couple of the big brothers books. (I know they can't read that level yet!)   :-)

As I said before... I got home early...  So I wrote down 10 math problems each for the twins (long addition), told them I'd be back in an hour, and I left the house!

Yep. Homework was the baby-sitter and I went for a run!

#stepmomfail

On a side note... I did check the math homework when I got home... That counts a little bit, right?

Stepson's Father

I use this blog to tell funny stories or funny comments from the boys. Rarely do I write about their dad! So I'm going to tell a story about him... After all, he is the reason these boys are in my life!

Phil grew up as an athlete, but more specifically, he grew up a swimmer. He participated on the swim team through high school and could have competed through college, but focused on his degree.

So when Phil told me he wanted to do Big Shoulders 5K and knowing what a great swimmer he is, I had no doubt that he could do it!

What is Big Shoulders?  Big Shoulders is a Masters Swimming event in Chicago, Illinois, in which swimmers are challenged to swim 2.5K or 5K in open water. The conditions for this event usually are not favorable - cold, wind, rainy, wavy water, but lightning cancels the swim. The biggest challenge is that swimmers are not allowed to wear wetsuits if they want a finishers award in their age group!  (Sure, all swimmers finish get a medal, but if you want to place in your age group, no wetsuit allowed!)

Panoramic view of the swim start area. 

I've heard stories of Big Shoulders before. The water is so cold the athletes get hypothermia. The water could be rough, making a difficult swim. They swim regardless the weather, unless there is lightning.  (Ok, horror stories)   :-)  lol... 

So when we showed up yesterday to a smooth lake, no rain just overcast, the Race Director apologized for having such a great day!  "Sorry to have smooth water today, I promise it won't always be like this."  :-)  lol... 

I tried to read all of the race director emails that Phil forwarded to me prior to this weekend. I was nervous but I was ready to take care of him no matter the conditions. 

Honestly, because of all of the race director emails and directions, we were really over prepared. It made for a really great day! 

Phil's main goal was to just finish the 5K swim. He thought it would take him around 1-hour and 30 to 40-minutes. He said that on the first stretch to the first buoy, he got beat up by a guy going all out. Don't we all have those during triathlons? You almost have to stop and let the guy go or move into your own open area. After that, he said it wasn't too bad. Phil also mentioned that the water was very clear (which I noticed also as I walked around the lake area.)

Overall, I think it was a really great day, great swim, for Phil. He finished at 1:35:something, which was within his timeframe! 

A huge smile at the finish line!

I'm so very proud of him! He had a great swim!

Congratulations Phil!!

What a great, fun, different event for us to experience. 

Shitty Story

No really, this story is about poop.  :-)

I'm seriously head down, focused at work, when I get this text from the boys' mom, Janette:

Hmm... Ok...  :-) 

Well... That's a new one for this step-mama!  As bad as I felt for him... I just started laughing. I couldn't help myself. 

We're talking about a boy that can eat and poop on command. Honestly, I'm jealous of him. 

I understand she waited for him to do his duty to make sure he wasn't sick... And then I got this text:

The "all clear" signal.  :-) 

Deja Vu

Less than a year ago, we had a boy that would tell us, "I don't have any homework." And then would go off to his room to his computer games.

Then we found out about bad grades, homework not finished, etc... So we tried really hard and worked with him in the evenings. It was a hard year, honestly.

This year, we're focused. Determined to get his homework done and keep the grades up ... In a way, being proactive.

But then, at the same time as we were focused on him, another boy started saying, "my homework is done. I don't have anything."

And what do you know? An email from his teacher about incomplete homework assignments.

*sigh*

Here we go again.

TIME TO NIP THIS IN THE BUD!

No football practice for him. No TV for the boys. No electronics for the boys. Homework. Reading. Studying. We have had enough!

Hopefully (since we're only, what? two or three weeks into the school year), we caught this just in time to not have to "deal" (for lack of better word) with it the rest of the year.

So Phil worked with him on his homework.

While I helped the other four. Here is 2nd grade reading:

So cute!!  :-) 

Kris Kross Action

Time to leave the lake... but first... let's put our pants on right...

Can you see it?

Let me zoom in...

Labor Day Weekend

What an awesome time at Oak Run lake with Phil's parents and brother! The boys got to hangout with their cousin.

There was a snake, some frogs, father-son bonding, riding the lawn mower, boating, and tubing... s'mores and beer (for the adults!).  :-)

I even got to run this morning before everybody woke up. VERY enjoyable weekend!  :-)

Memories from this weekend