Bloomsday & My Sporty Kids…

I was so proud of my son Connar today!  Several months ago he asked me if I would run Bloomsday (a huge, 7.2 mile road race) with him.  I agreed.  Honestly…I didn’t think he would run far, I thought we would walk most of it – I completely underestimated him!

Bloomsday is huge…our group crossed the starting line about half an hour after the top seeded runners began the race.  {There was actually an announcement before we began, that the race had been won}.  I kept telling Connar that he could set the pace, I would follow him.  When we started he took off like a shot, running like a pro and he didn’t slow down until the 4-mile marker.  I was so impressed, he wove in and out of the crowd and just kept running.   I was amazed and so proud of him. 

Around 4 miles…he started getting tired and needed a quick pit stop.  We stopped at the bottom of Doomsday hill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Connar and I walked up the hill, and ran/walk to the Fire Department water station…we kept saying, “We’re almost to Daddy!” From there we truly were almost done.  Connar was really tired and his stomach hurt, but he kept going….running a bit and then walking to catch his breath.

When we turned the corner to the Finish Line I was overwhelmed and teared up.  Connar gave me a high 5 and a grin saying, “thanks for running this with me Mommy!” What an overwhelming mom moment…I even forgot to get a picture.  We ran all the way across the finish!  It’s an unbelievable feeling to be awed by your kid….this was a great day!

It's the First of May...

When I was growing up, I used to take flowers to my Gram on the first of May!  Today I am getting my calendars aligned for the month ahead.  Here's some things for you to think about including on your May calendar:

Kids at School - As the end-of-the-year approaches kids will involved in concerts, field days and other events.  Make sure those are posted on the family calendar and all the details are taken care of. (Aiden's Kindergarten Family Night is on the 21st.) 

Teacher Appreciation - Make sure you remember your kids teachers this month.  Teachers work really hard all year for your kids.  There are tons of craft ideas out there, help your kids create something special for their teachers!

Kids Sports - Are your spring sports wrapping up?  Have you thought about a thank-you for your coach?  Do you need to register for summer sports or camps?  (Connar is trying out for two soccer clubs this month - wish him luck!)

Summer Camp - Are your kids going to camp?  Some camps have an early-bird discount.  We signed the boys up early and contributed the $20 off to their camp store account.  Also, plan for time to complete all the paper work and get medical releases signed off prior to camp.

Birthday Parties - Look ahead...if you have several birthday parties to attend you can take care of gifts in one trip rather than several.  (We'll be at my Gram's birthday on the 15th and Lukey's 5th birthday on the 22nd!)

Mother's Day - Do you need to leave a subtle hint or just circle the date on the calendar?  Either way, let your family pamper you a bit! (My father-in-law organizes a fantastic brunch where the moms sip mimosas on the deck and the guys do all the work...my boys are the cutest waiters!)

Other Stuff - I have a note on my calendar to take my ring into the jewelers to inspect in order to keep my warranty - don't want to forget that!  My husband and I get to go to a concert - yay, date night!   We also have another full month of soccer games and Shock Football games. 

What are you looking forward to in May?  Do you have your calendar ready-to-go?

5 Question Friday!

I am participating in 5 Question Friday hosted by My Little Life...



1. If you could, would you go back to high school? - No, I enjoyed High School, but I really discovered who I was afterwards.  As a professional move, I have chosen to spend my life in middle school :) hmmm.....


2. If a genie appeared and granted you two wishes, what would they be? (And, no saying "more wishes".) - wow...that's tough...first I would ensure my kids could attend their college of choice and then I would wish for a cottage on the Oregon Coast.

3. What kids show do you secretly like? - iCarly...Spencer cracks my up

4. What is your beverage of choice? - depends on the time of day...cup of coffee or a nice Shiraz

5. What is something that you would change about yourself (or are working to change in yourself)? - healthier eating and a bit of weight loss

Allowance...

I have been talking with many of my mom friends lately about allowance.  How much should we pay kids?  When should we start?  How can we manage all the details?  I thought I would share our families strategy for allowance...

It starts with work... I wanted my kids to understand that their allowance is connected to the work they do.  My kids have two sets of jobs, we call them "Every Day Jobs" and "Weekly Jobs".  I printed out the jobs and put them in inexpensive, magnet backed plastic frames which are on the fridge.

Aiden has pictures on his since he wasn't a confident reader when I made the lists.  The top set of jobs are daily and the bottom set are weekly.  At a glance the boys know what they need to do.  Each boy is responsible for making sure his daily jobs are done before the end of the day.  {and since they are who they are, they usually do their jobs as the very last thing before a bath!}  Weekly jobs are usually done on Saturday.  I treat the boys as if they have arrived at work when jobs begin.  They each have a clipboard with the details of their jobs in a checklist - this helps them remember what needs to be done and it helps me remember what I can be picky about!   Daily jobs take about 10 minutes each day and Weekly jobs take about an hour. 

Then they get paid... My primary goal with allowance was to teach my boys how to be responsible with money.  I wanted to make sure they had enough money to spend it all at once on an impulsive toy or to save for a time to buy something more valuable.  After weekly jobs, they get their paychecks.  Each boy has three accounts...Charity money, Savings and Spending money. 

• They are able to spend their charity money on anything they wish as long as they don't get anything material in exchange.  {They have contributed to care packages for U.S. troops, bought school supplies for the Salvation Army and sent money to Haiti recently}
• They track their savings with a ledger similar to a check book.  In order to access their savings, they need to identify something they are saving for and write this on the ledger.  Currently I have frozen their savings accounts so that they will have spending money for our summer vacation. 
• Finally, they receive spending money each week to put into their wallets.  I don't usually carry cash, I'm a debit card girl, and having cash on hand for allowance was an extra chore for me.  I created Chase Bucks - which are token dollars that spend like real money.  If the boys have their wallets and enough money when we are out, they may spend it however they wish.  This eliminates the "Can you buy me something?" every time we're at a store {and I try to point out how they chose to spend their money that week and reinforce saving for something special} You can download these Kid Dollars to use with your kids.

This strategy has worked very well for my family.  In fact last week, as we were driving past the library Aiden remembered he had a fine for overdue books.  Since the library was closed, he took a dollar out of his wallet and asked me to save it for him.  He thought he, "would be tempted to spend it on a toy." 

How does allowance work in your family?

A Sporty Mom...

I was never sporty growing up.  It might have been the 4th grade softball experience when I was on the E team...or the 8th grade basketball season  in which I scored 2 points {total...for the season!}.  Whatever it was, it wasn't sporty.

About three years ago, on a whim, I bought a Denise Austin workout video.  I'm already a morning person, and I discovered that a workout in the morning not only felt good but it bought patience for my kids in the afternoon.  A year...and many workout videos later...I joined my local gym.  The gym is literally 2 driving minutes from my house, and a nice walk when I have more time. The best thing about the gym, is that I have met a whole group of friends there who also love the 5:30 am time slot.  With my working-mom days and soccer-mom afternoons, 5:30 am is time that's just for me.  I get a great workout in, take a class and have some social time too!

I always do better when I have a goal, so last year I competed in my first 2 sprint triathlons!  It's kind of like 0 to sporty in 37 years :)  I am looking forward to 3 sprint triathlons this summer and an 80 mile bike ride in September.

This morning I had a great weights workout with my good friend Tessa.  We started with some abs, worked on our arms and ended with legs.  We'd done a hard workout yesterday, and didn't push it too much today.  My regular schedule is: 
Monday - Spinning (I love this class!)
Tuesday - Short Elliptical & a Weight Lifting class
Wednesday -  Weights workout with friends
Thursday - Swimming workout or Endurance swim
Friday - Run
Saturday - If I have time I like to take a weight lifting class
I also love yoga.  My regular class was canceled, but I work it in whenever I can.  Often it's in the hall while my kids are in the tub!

What's your regular workout?  Do you have any events you're looking forward to?