Oh dear...8 months Later

Yes, you are seeing a Christmas Video. If you read the following post, you will see I found a bunch of videos to upload...and yes, you hear me yapping because I didn't have quite the hang of my new camera.

I saw a Duck Dynasty shirt with Phil saying "High Tech World, Low Tech Man." That's me in a nutshell, okay, Low Tech Woman.

MVI 0286[1] from Susan Bice on Vimeo.

Roo's Birthday

I discovered a batch of videos on the camera that I need to upload. When I hook up the camera to get pictures, the computer automatically grabs them and I forget that it doesn't upload the videos along with the still shots so I spent yesterday afternoon uploading...it takes a long time...I have quite a few more to grab BUT here is a short goofy...it may be Roo's birthday but he steals the show...like usual...

MVI 0473[1] from Susan Bice on Vimeo.

Competition Routine

MVI 0493[1] from Susan Bice on Vimeo.


M's Competition Routine, first run.

I Need to Check my Email!

I have never been one to check my email daily...there is usually junk and well, I'm lazy. Last week, we went out of town for a wedding and needless to say, I didn't check my email. Now I do get my personal emails on a different account attached to my phone and I received one that needed attention and more of a response than I could hunt and peck out on my phone. I needed a keyboard.

Tuesday morning I sat down for 5 minutes to respond to the above mentioned email...and finally get around to checking my email, (By the way, I need to check from the oldest up and not start at the top and work down like I do) Here's why: I received an email from Matthew's Skating Coach wanting to know if I got Erin's email, obviously, I hadn't. I responded "No" and plowed on through my email. I got further down and found the email from Matthew's Skating Coach that US Figure Skating Magazine wanted to feature Matthew in the "Kid's Spotlight." Questions needed to be answered, photos submitted, and a release signed and returned. Deadline on Wednesday. Whoops.

Not being the most technologically savvy person and having a hate/hate relationship with my printer, getting the information took all morning and crept into the early afternoon.

AND then I realized I did not have a single picture of M figure skating, just playing hockey. The magazine wanted a school picture...uh oh, this required scanning...this took an hour because the hated printer is also the scanner. Have  I mentioned the hate/hate relationship?

I asked Matthew is favorite food, he says the drumstick from KFC. (Keep in mind he has probably eaten there 8 times in his entire lifetime) so I put it down. Now the Coach sees the pictures, questions, etc and tells me the magazine is encouraging kids to eat healthy and Matthew's answer to favorite food is fried chicken. My ability to defend myself flies out of my brain because I have never made fried chicken or fried anything, if I can't bake it, I don't make it.

Are you beginning to see the making of a very frazzled mom? The Coach tells me that we will have to hold the article for another month since I didn't have any skating pictures. Now I have to tell Matthew he isn't going be featured in the magazine next month, why did I mention this in the first place?

Later that afternoon, I had to drop by the Ice Complex and the Coach let me know it's a go for next month. SO, it looks like Matthew will be profiled in the Kids' Spotlight next month...unless, they send me another email and I neglect to check it....cross your fingers.

Summer

I am being completely lazy and copying a portion out of a real bonafide letter that I am sending a friend, some of the information is redundant...please forgive...

Life here is busy. The kids look at me each day and ask “What are we doing today?” I feel like the Cruise Director, Julie McCoy on the Love Boat. Whatever happened to just playing?

Matthew tried out for the Squirt level Travel Hockey Team last week. He made the team and is very excited. I thought they accepted everyone that tried out but I guess it was a “REAL” tryout. Three boys from Matthew’s last year did not make it.

Hannah is keeping busy with figure skating. We will never go beyond the local competition level. She is very talented but doesn’t have the drive that Matthew has…she just likes looking pretty in the cute outfits…I think she takes after me in that area.

I will say that Hannah has Greg’s brain. She is extremely inquisitive, knows more than I do and makes my eyes roll to the back of my head with all of her questions. She does Power Point slides of animals for “fun.” Matthew has Greg’s engineering brain and talks airplanes non-stop.  He prefaces all conversations with “One question” or “Mom, I have a question.” However, it is never just one question…more eyeballs rolling to the back of my head. Many of these conversations take place in the car on the way to skating (a 30 minute drive) so I cannot divert their attention by asking them to pick up their room or go outside to play or “Hey, wanna watch Psych?” (Psych on Netflix Instant Play is our family past time when we get home from skating before bed)

And now you are caught up for today...

Tryouts!

So...I forgot the camera...had my phone, forgot to take pictures...my brain cells seem to exiting at an accelerated pace these days. But! I do have the presence of mind to announce that yes, indeed, our little guy made the "04 Squirt Travel Team. I honestly thought that all who tried out made the team but after seeing the Roster, I saw three team members from last year didn't make it so I am sad for them and really proud of M. It really WAS a serious tryout and not the formality I thought it was.

I guess his skating lessons are paying off. I can't remember if I mentioned that after The Nutcracker had its last show, M skated with H and the rest of the cast at the Cast Party. M was just as fast but couldn't do the spins and jumps so he asked for figure skating lessons. Bless his heart, his innocence kept him from knowing how badly he would be teased by his fellow hockey players. A really great skating coach moved her in March and Matthew has been taking lessons from him. (The husband was okay with this after talking to one of the hockey dads who used to play NHL for the Blackhawks, Dallas Stars and Toronto. He told us figure skaters make better hockey players...so M started lessons, LOVES Coach Glenn, and is getting teased)
Thankfully, Coach Glenn told him this was going to happen.

On a side note, because y'all know I digress. I had no idea the Skating School was run by the '83 or '84 Female World Champion. She met her husband, another champion while touring with Katarina Witt and Brian Boitano, Coach Glenn is a Pairs National Champion. So...H and M are in very good hands. Oh, and we will not be shooting for any national titles, this skating stuff is WAY too expensive. Not only are the skates EXPENSIVE, you pay for the lesson, the ice time, entry fees and if you travel? Coaches trip as well as yours. Competitions will stay here in the area  for us, but I am sure I will tell you about one of the other skaters being a champion soon. One of the kids is ranked 12th in the Nation for his age. Go Luke!!!

June

Well, here it is half way through June, one third of the way through Summer Vacation and I have yet to sit down and write a post. I had illusions of updating my blog every single day...just so I could remember the things the kids say and do...my brain cells seem to be vanishing at an accelerated pace.

I have decided that it is official, Hannah is smarter than me. I am doing a lot of faking intelligence these days by having her look up the answers. She loves to make power point slides...for fun. She also talks a whole lot more than me. Right now, it exhausts me but one day, I will be very thankful when she becomes a teenager because if she ever does become quiet, I will know she is up to some thing...

Matthew has travel hockey team try outs tomorrow. He is so excited. His figure skating coach is very subtly trying convert him to a male or pairs skater. If he wants to change, I have no problem with it but I think Greg would have a stroke. I just want him to have fun. I have no ambitions of a national title because just at this hobby level the cost is prohibitive. I see some of the kids at the rink on the title course and I don't know how the parents can afford it, It is about $100,000 a year for that...they are at the rink all day, every day. Besides equipment, lessons, ice time (lesson cost and ice time are two different costs) , entry fee competitions and the cost to travel, you have to pay for the coaches travel. I don't see any change in the near future because that boy loves his hockey! He is also a Bruins fan :-) You would think he would like the Capitols since he lived in VA longer but no, Bruins.

While driving to Matthew's skate lesson today, I was subjected to a long discussion on Air Force planes, I think my eyes rolled to the back of my head because there were some things I could not answer. "Ask your father became a recurrent reply." My eyes tend to roll to the back of my head a lot during drives to and from the Skate Complex (30 minutes each way) and this is where I also discovered Hannah is too smart for me. Again, same reply "Ask your dad" or "Here is my phone look it up."

Okay, I will wrap this up and hopefully, write again soon to let all know how the try out went. (M moves up a level to "Squirts" and five team members from last year are not moving up so there will be a limited number of slots and EVERYONE from his Mite travel team are trying out along with kids who were not on the Mite travel team)