Spring

I have been put on blog probation for discussing the weather too much. But, if I WEREN'T on probation, I would tell you that spring has finally arrived in Wheaton. This past week we have enjoyed sunshine, rain, and temps ranging from upper 50's-mid-70's. It's been nice.

I'm happy to have the winter behind us and the summer before us. That's all I'm sayin'.

An End to the Running?

So the running may be over....at least the running a lot.

I went to the physical therapist for an assessment since my hip still hurts....even after two weeks of laying off. The PT's best guess is that it is a combination of some of my physical aspects that may be causing the pain. Did I hear him right? Is the way my body's built actually going to give me reason NOT to run?

About 6 months ago that news would have overjoyed me. I used to run because I felt like I should...even that I HAD to. But, somewhere in the last few months of training for the 8K I grew to LOVE to run. And after the experience I had running the actual road race, well, call me addicted to that feeling.

So here's what the PT said: my right leg is shorter than my left leg. So, my left leg decided to help even out the discrepancy by bowing out. (And I thought my bowed leg was from being a Texan and riding horses! Ha ha!) After he realized this he was puzzled. Why was my knee able to do that? An assessment of my joints showed him that I have a lot of flexibility in all of my joints.....not great for running.

So here are the things that are against my running:

1. Torn quad muscle
2. Torn plantaris muscle (in my calf)
3. Remember the HARD fall I had on the stairs a few years ago? He suspects that I actually hurt a joint in my hip
4. Leg length discrepancy
5. Bowed left knee
6. Flexible joints

I guess normal people would say, "GREAT! I don't have to feel guilty about not running anymore!" But if you know me, you realize that I won't just roll over like that. I'm head-strong enough to press forward and try to make this work!

This is how I've compromised:

1. Instead of training for the 10K on the Intermediate schedule, I'll back off to the novice. This will cut my running down from 6 days a week to only 3 or 4.
2. I will cross train more so that I don't have the repetitive pounding on my joints that running causes. I'm hoping to get a bike for my birthday!
3. I will go to a specialty store and get a pair of shoes suited for my arches and running style.
4. I will go to PT for a few weeks in an attempt to strengthen my muscles.
5. I will not make a career out of running marathons.

If, after all of these adjustments my hip still hurts, I might have to hang up my running shoes. Hmmmm. I wonder if I could play tennis?

NCAA Tournament Results

If you voted for Grayson to win the tournament bracket, you would be right. The fact that he KILLED Parker, Halle, and me is an understatement, but he even managed to beat Johnny by 27 points! He got 6th place overall in Johnny's bracket of college friends.....and it came down to the wire! He had picked BOTH of the teams that competed for the final title, but he chose Memphis to win.....and win they almost did! Kansas tied the game in the final seconds and then over-took Memphis in over-time. Wow!

All I can say is that if you are planning a Vegas trip, you might want to slip Grayson in your pocket!

Signs of Maturity

Parker came in today from playing at his friend, Andrew's house. It was about 5:45. Andrew's mom was taking him to see a movie and invited Parker and Grayson to go along. Parker asked me if they could go. I told them yes.

The next thing that happened shocked me! Parker said, "I'm going to take a quick shower before the movie since I was playing outside." What?!?! He was going to take a VOLUNTARY shower? Right now with only 15 minutes to spare before leaving for the movie?

Huh. I sat at the table and pondered this for a minute. My mind flashed forward to Parker showering and heading out to spend the evening with friends. Maybe even driving himself there. I realized that the time is coming...and it may be sooner than I am ready.

See, I have always had little kids. My three older siblings all have GROWN kids, but not me. Mine are little. But today's events made me take a long, hard look at my little kids. I thought back to my trip to Target today and about the band-aids I bought for my accident-prone Halle. They were of the High School Musical and Hannah Montanna variety and no longer Barbie and Hello Kitty. And Grayson's shirts just slip right off of those small kid hangers. I think most of them have been replaced with the adult-size.

There's no question. They are all three doing what kids are supposed to do....GROW. I guess that's what I want them to do.....maybe just not so fast.

MEET BELLA!

We have a new family member!!!!! This is Bella, our new dog. She is a 15-week old toy cock-a-poo (cocker spaniel and poodle mix), and she is just DARLING! She should weigh around 10 pounds full-grown. The kids are so excited they can hardly stand it! They have all been very helpful with her. Just now Halle said the most profound thing, "Having a dog is better than not having a dog." Well said!

Don't you just want to eat her up?? Look at those eyes!! I'm not sure she has legs, though, Halle won't put her down!

Brave Halle

Our sweet little Halle got "a" stitch in her chin today. She had an untimely encounter with the head of a golf club as her brother swung for a hole in one. She was very brave after her initial realization that she had to get stitched. That part was pretty ugly, but once we got the numbing stuff on it she relaxed and was a trooper! Anything for a Hannah Montanna sticker and a grape sucker!

On a side note, before we moved to Wheaton I had visited the ER with only one child one time. Since moving to Wheaton, I have taken Halle to the ER in the middle of the night for croup, Parker to the ER for stitches in his knee, Parker to the ER for the busted stitches in his knee, and now Halle again for her stitch. I hope Grayson doesn't start feeling left out!!!!

What Chicago People do at Spring Break.....

......head to the WATER PARK, of course!!

The kids had expressed many times how much they wanted to go swimming. Wisconsin is known for its water parks, and many of them are actually indoors! So, without telling the kids where we were going, we packed up for an overnight stay and headed to the Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. It's about a 3 hour drive from Wheaton.

The kids had a GREAT time! (So did their parents!!!) The temp in the water park was a balmy 84 degrees.

Halle was just learning to swim under water last year. It took a few minutes, but she once again found her sea legs. After this picture was taken she shed her swim vest and took off!

There were slides galore! I didn't get any pics of the big tube slides, but there were 4 of them.

And my favorite, the Turtle Tub which was actually a GIANT hot tub!

This is a shot of the outside of the resort. (Grayson was our photographer--he did a good job, huh?) It was very nice.
Turn around 180 degrees from the previous picture and get a look at Lake Michigan! Stunning!

This picture was taken in the hotel lobby.

We booked the "Kids Aquarium" room. The whole room looked like it was underwater! The kids were ecstatic! They had their own little "cove" complete with their own TV.
I can't believe that we are already at the end of Spring Break week. We had so much fun it flew by! But, I think this is a spring break the kids will remember.