The Districts Disaster... With A (Somewhat) Happy Ending

Districts is done!

For those of you not into the sport of wrestling, you might want to skip this post.  ;)  For those of us who have been sucked into the world of it, this time of year, it's all we think about.  Its such an integral part of my life, I can't help but post about it.  Actually, I'm surprised I've been able to keep my mouth shut on here about it (for the most part) for this entire season.  LOL!!  :D

So, we had Districts on Sunday.  

Its a big deal.

A quick explanation of how the process works here in Iowa:

1) The state is divided into eight districts.
2) The kids are bracketed according to grade into 3 divisions:
     3rd/4th Grade:  A Division
     5th/6th Grade:  B Division
     7th/8th Grade:  C Division
3)  After division, they are further broken down and bracketed by weight by 5 lb increments.
     Division A:  55 lbs - 175 lbs
     Division B:  60lbs - 205 lbs
     Division C:  70 lbs - 260 lbs
Brackets can be as small as a 1 man, who doesn't have to wrestle to qualify and as big as a 32 man.  In bigger tourneys, there are 64 man brackets, but those are national tourneys.  
4)  The Top 4 Place Winners in each bracket qualify for AAU Kids State in Des Moines to compete against each other for the Top Eight Places in the state.

Soooo....

Sunday was the AAU Districts Qualifiers.  Fortunately, our school is the host school for the District #3 Northeast Qualifiers, so we didn't have as far to drive as some.

Pretty much our whole family has been dominated by thoughts of this for the last two weeks.  Last week was filled with practices, eating super healthy, and getting mentally prepared for this day.  Some might say that these are just young kids...  Yeah.  Try telling THEM that!  LOL!  They take it pretty seriously, as do we.  So, it was pretty much the dominate topic for the last couple of weeks.  In fact,  I slept poorly all last week because every night Ian and Noah were wrestling in my dreams.  Not so good when you're trying to get over some lingering crud like I have.  LOL!

Sunday morning, Noah woke up at 5:45am, by himself, raring to go.  Ian had spent the night at Grandpa and Grandma's, so we picked him up on the way to the school and got there around 6:30 am.  Ian weighed in and his weight was fine, even a little lighter than I would have liked to see him at 82.9.  Noah...  Disaster!  .4 pounds over at 65.4.  He had to weigh 65 or under to register at 65. So, he suited back up and layered on the sweats to try to get under.  After about 10 minutes, he said he wasn't going to do it.  He just didn't think he could get it off.  Personally, I didn't think he could either.

Sidenote:  For those of you who think this is completely barbaric, give me a chance to explain the concept.  The concept is that you want to be the heaviest possible, while still making the weight you have chosen to wrestle at.  If you qualify at a few ounces under, after you eat, you're heavier and actually, even OVER your qualifying weight.  It helps your odds in winning the bracket if you're heavier than those you're wrestling against.  Yes, its called "cutting weight".  However, if you are only over a pound or so, this isn't a big deal.  You can lose a pound, like I said, overnight when you sleep or by urinating.  Yes, there are people who will cut their child down 5 lbs. or more to try to get into a bracket they think they have a better chance of winning (COMPLETELY CRAZY!!!!).  WE don't do that.  Two lbs is all we're willing to do.  Noah had been working to get 1.5 off for two weeks.  It wasn't happening.

Personally, I had wanted Noah to go 70, even though we didn't know a thing about most of the competitors in that weight class.  I just didn't think with his build he had the extra 2 lbs to lose.  Scott was afraid we wouldn't be able to get enough weight on him before Districts and he'd be at disadvantage being at the light end of the weight.  When are men going to learn to listen to their wives???  LOL!!!

So, Noah was beside himself (Translation:  He was mad, pouting, and refusing to wrestle).  I decided to take him to McD's and try to get some food in him and talk him into the right frame of mind.  I was so frustrated that he had woken up so happy and looking forward to the day, only to be completely derailed over a pesky 5 ounces!  He wouldn't even LOOK at me!  Each child has a different personality and Noah, when he's upset, just shuts down.  Won't talk.  Won't look at you.  Nothing. (He's his father's son LOL)  So, I've learned that I have to just sit and be patient.

Finally, he says, "I'm just going to let them pin me." ARGHHHH!

So, I say, "Noah.  You can do that.  However, you will be letting your club down.  But more importantly, you will be letting yourself down."

He thought on that for a few minutes and says, "I can't wrestle kids 5 lbs heavier than I am."  You see, to a kid that wrestles at these ages, 5 lbs might as well be 100.

I said, "Noah.  Listen to your momma.  Yes, you can.  You've been wrestling heavier kids all season.  If I didn't think you could handle it, I wouldn't put you on the mat."

He says, "But I won't qualify."

And I said, "No, you may not, but how are you going to know if you don't try?"

And he says, "What if I don't?"

And I said, "Noah.  Its not about qualifying.  I don't care about you qualifying.  All I care about is you giving your best effort and not letting down yourself or your club.  That's all I'm asking of you."

Then, dead serious, he says, "I'll need a pack of Skittles and a Gatorade."  Them's fighting words!  Noah's head was back in the game. (Okay, and maybe I bribed him a little too.  HA!)  Thank goodness!

So, we ran to the store, got him his Skittles and Gatorade and he was raring to go - kind of.

I admit, I didn't watch a single match of Ian and Noah's.  For one, I was busy helping with the concessions, running errands, and popping in and out of the hospitality room that was set up for our volunteers working the tourney.    Scott would seek me out and tell me how they did after each match.  If I'm honest, I purposely stayed away from the mat.  Seeing your child out there evokes the most consuming emotions in a mother.  More so than seeing them play soccer, baseball, basketball, or football because it is them and them alone, out in the center of a circle fighting with everything they have to win the match.  It it up to them, with no one to help them.  Even the calmest mothers I know, turn into ranting and raving lunatics when their child is on the mat.  And I'm no where close to being a calm person to begin with.  LOL!  It's just better for me (and sometimes I think, for them) to not have me on the sidelines.  Its just too emotional.  ;)

Side Note:  Each match is 3 one minute periods.  They both had 16-Man brackets.  Ian's had 4 byes and Noah's had 3 - although neither of them benefitted from them.  A bye advances you to the next round without wrestling because there's no one to wrestle that round.  If you keep winning, you stay on the front side of the bracket, if you lose, you get knocked to the backside (or consolation side) of the bracket and the best you can get at that point is 3rd place.  It took me the entire first season and half of the second one to figure out how that all worked - and I still don't understand where they go to on the backside when they lose.  LOL!!!

Ian won his first match (unfortunately against our nephew) with a pin in 2:53.

Ian wrestling his 1st match.
You can see Scott on his knees at the upper right corner,
with Noah sitting indian-style beside him to the right.

The pin.

Noah won his first match 2-0 with a reversal in the last 11 seconds of the 3rd.  Scott said he nearly had a heart attack.  LOL!

Ian won his second match with a pin in :46.  SWEET!

Noah won his second match with a pin.  BONUS!

At this point, they were both in the semi-finals.  If they both won their next match, they would go into the finals round to wrestle for District Champion.

I was on pins and needles and saying prayers in my head.

I was at the grocery store getting soda when Scott called.  He says all dead serious, "Noah WILL NOT be going to State as 3rd or 4th place qualifier."  He sounded kind of mad.

I said, "Oh God.  Did he have a meltdown after he lost?"

Scott says, "He will be going as District Champion or District Runner-Up!"

I said, "He won?"

Scott said, "He won.  7-2."

I whooped down the entire store - and got a few odd looks when I did a victory dance.  LOL!  Hey!  I have no shame when it comes to my boys!  HA HA HA!

Unfortunately, when I got back to the school, the news for Ian was not so good.  He had lost his semi-finals match to a phenomenal kid he's wrestled 3 times this year and Ian's never managed to not get pinned.  However, there was victory in the fact that he didn't get pinned that time.  He did lose though, 12-0.  That was tough for him, but he handled it well and showed good sportsmanship.  Thankfully, it looks like we're past the temper tantrums on the sidelines after he loses.  :P  He's grown a lot in that this year.  It must come with age.

So, Ian had to go to the consolation side and had to win his next match to advance to the 3rd/4th place round.  Unfortunately, he lost that one too.  12-6.  Bless his heart.  He was devastated.  He cried, but he kept it together until he got out of the gym.  My heart broke for him when he came and found me.

And how do you balance elation for one with heartbreak for the other?  It was an emotional roller coaster of a day.

So, after loving up on Ian, I found Noah and pumped him up a bit.  And then I actually watched the match.

So, the Finals...

Noah lost.  7-0.  It was a tough match, and he handled it well.  We were just tickled to death that he didn't throw a fit over his first loss this season.  Thank goodness!  It is a MAJOR breach of wrestling etiquette to throw a fit when you lose.  He kept a poker face until he got off the mat.  He actually handled it better than some of the high school kids I've seen.  Going into State being 24-1, isn't too shabby - especially after a 6 week hiatus!  :D

Although, come to find out, the boy that took first place had taken 3rd at USA State the previous weekend in the 75 lb weight class, so that made it a lot easier for him to take.  Talk about cutting weight!  Although he may have weighed 71 and still been in that weight class.  But looking at this picture, Noah looks tiny compared to these kids!  He was disappointed,  but by the end of the day, was goofing off with everyone else.

Ian went on to pin his final match of the day in :41, so that was a great way to end things.  He'll be the alternate in our district for that weight class, should someone be unable to attend - although that is pretty unlikely.

Still, its like I told him, "You're a 5th grader and you had a pretty strong showing against some really good kids that are more than likely 6th graders.  Be ashamed of nothing, because we're not.  We are very, very proud of you."  And we are.

So, now our focus turns to State.  2 days, 32 kids, and a huge mountain to climb.  But for Noah to be in the top 32 in his weight class out of hundreds of kids in the state, is nothing to sneeze at.  Its a privilege for him just to be there!  :)

And hopefully, I can get to feeling better and kick this nasty head and chest cold well before February 26th!  Even I'm getting tired of not having any crafts to post about.  I need to get over this!!!!

MIA... Me.

First off, I've totally got to apologize for being MIA these last couple of weeks.  I've been fighting something or other than keeps me just this side of feeling well and haven't been doing anything worth blogging about...  Unless you'd like to hear about how comfy my couch is and about all the reruns of Sponge Bob and Dora the Explorer I've been listening to, as I've stared sightlessly at the TV.  BLAH!

I'm finally feeling more a bit like "me" today, but everything that I accomplished has been un-accomplished, so I'm right where I left off.  Fun times!  We're even down to the last inch of milk and if I talk into my refrigerator, it echoes back.  LOL!  Pretty much the only time I've left the couch is to drag the boys to practice, so I'm really up for the Mom of the Year award.  :P

And...

You know me and honesty...

It's that time of year again...

Where I am consumed by stats and records and the websites of Track Wrestling and The Predicament.

Districts are Sunday!!!!  

This is the qualifier for the 2012 Kids State Championships in Des Moines.  I become just "slightly" unbalanced and begin stalking message boards and other wrestlers stat pages to see how they're looking.  Believe me, this is completely "normal" in the wacky world of wrestling.

And I've never denied being 100% Mat Mom:

Ian's going to have a tough year this year and we'll be super happy if he makes a top 4 finish at Districts.  His bracket at Districts and State will be stacked with some phenomenal talent.  We just hope he will have the opportunity to experience State again this year.  Being a young 5th grader in a 5th/6th age group with only 3 years of wrestling experience is not going to be a whole lot of fun for him. :P

And Noah...  Well, that's a whole 'nother ball of wax.

He's back full force.  We're hitting our regular practices with the club, as well as practicing with another team on our off days to try to make up for 6 weeks of lost time in a mere 2 weeks.  ACH!  He's 1.6 off his 65 lb qualifying weight due to muscle swelling and we've got 4 days to get him down to his natural weight of 64.6 (shown in the picture above).  Now, don't be judging.  Cutting a pound and a half is normal practice done in a healthy way by eating clean and staying away from the ice cream, junk food, and soda.  We're not making him sleep in plastics.  HA HA HA!  ;)

And just for fun and to add even more worry, I logged on to find this yesterday on The Predicament...

We were really hoping that no one would mention Noah's name, since he's been out of the loop for all that time.  No such luck.  However, we were breathing a little sigh of relief that it was only on the Waverly NE Districts thread and not the main State thread for A65.

And then this morning...

His name is spelled wrong, but its there.  DARN IT!

Yeah, I'd be lying if I didn't say it didn't tickle us to death that he's mentioned in with some really phenomenal talent, but talk about pressure.  Needless to say, we're keeping him FAR from the computer!  There are positives and negatives to having your name on The Predicament...  Positive:  Dads and moms see the name, tell their kids, the kids worry, and think they can't beat them.  Negative:  It puts a huge bulls eye on your son's back because he's the one they need to beat.  GAH!  If Noah were in peak condition, then it wouldn't worry me so much, but he's not.  There's no way to undo 6 weeks of no wrestling.  Fortunately, he's not near as unconfident in his abilities as I am.  He's going in at 21-0, which is about half the matches I'd like for him to have going into Districts, but in his mind, he's undefeated.  So much of wrestling is a mind thing...  And he's strong there.  But nothing is better than lots of mat time and he just doesn't have it.  Just talking about it gives me butterflies!

So, anyway...  I won't be on tomorrow because this is going to consume me from now until Sunday.  If either one of them qualifies, I'll probably need something to keep my mind off of the pending State Tournament 3 weeks from now, so I'll be churning out some good stuff left and right to keep my mind occupied.  Nothing like craft therapy, huh? ;)

Don't give up on me, this is just how it is in February and March when you eat, sleep, and breath wrestling like we do.  :D

Take care, y'all and say a prayer for my little men!

Taking The Challenge: A Technology-Free Christmas

Oh my gosh!  This week is flying by.  I've got about a bazillion things yet to do.  This year, my procrastinator streak really bit me in the hiney.  Plus, we've an some "ah-hah" moments that have really limited what our buying options are for our older boys.

Here's where I'm at...

Landon is done.  Eva is done.  But the boys...  Yeah.  What do you buy a 9, an 11, and an almost a 13 yr. old boy?  Ian wanted an iPod Touch...  We bought one, only to return it because of a certain event the other night that proved to us he's really not ready for that kind of responsibility.  Texting on your brother's phone at 10:30 p.m. under your covers when you're supposed to be asleep????  Really???  I don't even want to talk about the meltdown that ensued.  HUGE, folks.  Just because I demanded that he surrender the phone to me.  REALLY!  You would have thought I was cutting off his right hand!  Now, I feel like the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld.  Remember him?  Except its "No iPod for you!  Next!"  :P

Let's look back at how far society has come...   For me, it was a book and a flashlight.  For them, its texting or the TV or the XBOX or the iPad.  At least the reading was improving my mind!  Ian wanted the iPod Touch.  Hmmmm...  Not gonna happen now.  So, now we have to figure something else out.  Noah said the only thing he wanted was his DSi XL fixed...  That's the only thing he could think of!  OMG.  Seriously???  Greyson wants a basketball hoop and a new ball...  That's reasonable.  However...  We live in Iowa.  Its winter time.  All he'd be able to do is look at it in the box for 5 months before the ground thaws enough to be able to concrete it into the ground.  He's just going to have to wait until his birthday for that one.  ARGH.  But at least it wasn't another piece of technology

To be honest, I am sick of technology.  It sucks up all of our time.  It takes us away from time that should be spent as a family.  As an adult, I can self-impose time limits on the amount of time I spent online.  And even as an adult, I find that difficult.  How many times have I been sucked into other people's blogs, Facebook, and do I dare mention it...  Pinterest.  If I, as an adult, have a hard time and I know the boundaries, what about children who haven't learned that yet?  Kids...  Its a whole 'nother ball game.  Especially my kids.  If they're not watching TV, they're texting.  If they've not texting, they're on the computer.  If they're not on the computer, they're on the XBOX.  And just for fun, let's also throw in the school endorsed iPads.  Grrrrrr!  I feel like I never "see" my children!

After a lot of reflecting the last couple of weeks, Scott and I decided to have a technology-free Christmas this year.  Last year they got an XBOX (bane of my existence) and Greyson got a cell phone.  The year before, it was their flat screen (another bane of my existence - Parents:  Keep the TV out of your kids' bedrooms!)  I feel like I spend half my time coaxing them out of their bedroom to spend some time with us or chastising them to turn them off at bedtime.  Noah:  "Just wait until my man dies, Mom." (Yeah, two hours LATER.)  Ian:  "But I've been waiting for this game all week!" (Its every sports game, no matter what the season.)  Greyson:  "But I'm right in the middle of this show." (There's ALWAYS a show on!)  And just for fun let's throw in the inevitable arguing because one wants to watch TV and another wants to play XBOX.  And the other half of my time is spent chasing them away from one piece of technology, only to have them go to another.  Is this really what our family has become???

So, this year I have decreed a technology-free Christmas.  Scott thinks I'm certifiable.  That within a day I will driven insane with bored children who have nothing to do.  And it will probably take a while for all of us to get used to it.  But.  I am sticking to my guns.  There will be absolutely not one single thing that promotes technology.  No video games.  No iPods.  No movies.  No iTunes cards.  No nothing.  The computer will be locked down.  I have already told Ian and Greyson, but have yet to break it to Noah.  It didn't go over with them too well and we even had a few tears.  Noah is by-far the most addicted to the XBOX, so I'm bracing for a nuclear explosion.  And that's not all...  The day after Christmas (I'm not a TOTAL grinch - I'll at least wait until the day after),  their TV is being taken out of their room.  I can't remember the last time we all sat down together and watched something - and that's sad.  The XBOX is being removed from the house all together.  Its going to be a tough Christmas break - for them.  For me...  I'm really, really looking forward to spending some quality family time with my kiddos...  If they're not ignoring me because of this total shift in the family dynamic.

You may wonder where this epiphany came from.  Why the 180* turn?  Well, I was going through some old videos that I've thrown together the last couple of years and I came across this:



I've watched it a gazillion times in the past week.  And that was a year ago...  They've changed even so much since then!  Where has the time gone????  It just seems like yesterday Scott and I were newly married.  Then came the babies one right after the other.  Then they all started school and then came the sporting events and the never-ending running, running, running.  I spent all of 5 minutes home yesterday and barely saw any of them at all.  Savanna is now 17, all grown up, living out on the east coast, has a job, and will be starting her first semester of college in January.  Yesterday she was my baby!  There are so many things nowadays that compete with my time with my children.  School, I can't control.  Sports is something they love and I don't want to limit.  Technology...  Well, that I can do something about.  I do not want them to look back on their childhoods and only have memories of TV shows and XBOX games and absolutely none of family time spent together.  Its time to simplify life a little bit and get back to the basics.  Back to what really matters.  Each other.  So...  Here we are.

Some of you may be wondering why I let it happen in the first place.  Or you might ask why I didn't realize it sooner.  Well...  being a slave to technology is something that happened over years.  It kind of just snuck up on us.  It began by adding one piece at a time, until suddenly we just realized that we have been inundated by it.  Its been a slippery slope and one that we now find our family at the bottom of - in a gigantic messy heap.  I am just so glad that the Lord has put it on my heart to do something about it - before technology raises my children for me.

However, this revelation has also brought about a big conundrum:  What in the world do we get the boys this year for Christmas????  My sons have never been ones to play with Legos or other "toys".  They have all the sporting equipment they need.  They have so many clothes (its hand me down heaven around here), that they don't need anything in that department.  I am completely at a loss.  Its really sad that I can't think of a single thing that they would like that isn't technology related.  So.  Here I am.  Its five days before Christmas and I have NOTHING.  They're getting books from us because thankfully they've all inherited my love of reading - well, except for Ian, but he's still getting books.  He will convert!  LOL!  There's the prerequisite pajamas, underwear, and socks that they know to expect from us.  But anything else?  No clue.

So...  I'm asking for some help in coming up with ideas for presents.  Yes, I am so desperate for ideas that I'm reaching out to all of my friends in the blogosphere.  I know y'all won't let me down!  :)

Until then...  I'm sitting here wracking my brain because I refuse to be sucked into buying them video games or iPods or anything else technology related because I can't think of anything.  Ugh.  And that's how I really know things must change - and fast!  :P

Morning Moodiness and The Battle Plan

Okay...  So how many of you moms have experienced a child that is Dr. Jekyll by night and then morphs into Mr. Hyde in the morning?

That would be my Noah...

Greyson and Ian get up in the morning with absolutely zero issues...  A little touch on the shoulder or running my hand over the top of their heads and they're up and getting ready.  Shoot, if I'm honest, Greyson often hears my alarm before I do, and is already up and in the shower before I crawl out of bed.  Who do you think Noah inherits his morning humor from?  Yep.  Uh-huh.  I admit it. You probably don't want to even be around me until after my 2nd cup of coffee.  LOL!  I communicate in grunts.  Just.  Like.  Noah.

Noah has always been a little difficult to get going in the morning, but this year it has morphed from occasional morning mishaps into nearly impossible to get him out of bed.  Every.  Single.  Day.  He's missed the bus countless times and been tardy more than I would like to admit.  I am a firm believer that mornings should be started out on the right foot because it determines how the rest of your day goes.  But lately more often than not, I've looked like this...

and he's looked like that:

and the rest of my kiddos reap the side effects of a chaotic morning.

Not a great way to start the day.  And then I end up feeling bad that I've yelled at him and he goes to school feeling bad.  I feel guilty.  He feels sad.  Ugh.  Parenting...  One of the hardest jobs EVER.

After one particularly bad morning, I called and talked to the school principal.  I am pretty blessed to have a great working relationship with her and the rest of our teachers at our small elementary school.  Of course, it helps that I've had a child at our school for the last 6 years and between 5 of them, we've had pretty much every teacher at least once, sometimes twice...  with the exception of two recent hires.

In complete frustration, I called her and asked for her help.  Never underestimate what reaching out for help can do.  I have come to recognize that any problems I've had with my kids regarding school or even at home (thankfully they've been few and far between), someone else has had too.  It doesn't make you less of a parent to ask for advice, but instead it makes you a better parent to admit that there is a problem and you're at a loss for what to do.  And usually, it helps you get a fresh perspective or maybe think of things from a different angle.

Thankfully, I had already spoken to Noah's teacher about his mornings during conferences, mainly because I wanted to know if he seemed sad at school.  Thank goodness she was surprised to hear that our mornings were so awful and he never gave a hint of what was transpiring nearly every morning.  She said she would continue to keep an eye on him and if she noticed anything amiss, she would give me a call.

Since the problem has only gotten worse the last couple of weeks, we decided to implement a plan of school and home working together to get Noah motivated to get up in the morning.

This is morning #1 of "The Plan".

1.  Lay out his clothes the night before, so he all he has to do is put his clothes on, brush his teeth, wash his face, and walk out the door.  We do this anyway normally, but Noah generally slacks on that.

2.  Be in bed by 9:00 p.m.  For a night owl, this is actually early.  I usually start trying to get him to fall asleep by 9:30, but more often than not he's still going strong by 10:30.  Okay, now how many of you just gasped out loud?  Yeah.  I know.  Not good.  But this is a child that gets wound up the more tired he is (Great for wrestling, not so good at bedtime) and especially after a wrestling practice with his endorphins going, its nearly impossible to get him to sleep at any reasonable hour.  I have literally seen him be bouncing around one minute and then take a minute to lay down and be out in seconds.  Its getting him to lay down and keep still long enough to fall asleep that's the issue.  

Yesterday Noah and I sat down and discussed what would help him be able to get up in the morning.  The first thing out of his mouth was, "Go to bed early."  Okay.  He understands that.  So, last night (Praise the Lord!) he was in bed and asleep by 9:00.

3.  I wake him up in increments.  I go in 30 minutes before he needs to be up to start the process of waking him.  Then, I go in again at 15 minutes before, telling him each time how much time he has left.  Then I go in at 5 minutes.  This morning, he got up at the 5 minutes til mark.  YAY!

4.  Instant gratification.  He earns incentives at school.  His teacher already has a program set up where they earn "money" to "spend" in a treat box. Noah loves working for something, so he really gets into "saving" and then "spending" his money.  The children earn "money" by doing homework, paying attention in class and doing their "job" at school that goes into a "Super Savings Account".  Its an ingenious idea, really.  It teaches the kids to work hard and earn something in return for hard work.  At the end of the week, they have the option to spend their earnings.  Noah will get 3 cents each morning he is on time that goes into his "account".  That's an extra 60 cents a month that he gets just for being on time in the morning.

5.  He earns incentives at home.  Noah will also get a sticker at school on a chart for each day that he is on time.  After three days in a row of being on time, he can then play his XBOX for 30 minutes.  If he is on time for the entire week, he gets an hour of XBOX time each day on the weekend.

This is really a great example of home and school working together to solve a problem.  I am so very blessed to have such wonderful staff at our elementary school that I feel I can call on and then work with for the betterment of my kiddos.  I know there are many out there that aren't so fortunate.

So, this is me hoping that this will work.  The goal is that after a while he will be so in the habit of going to bed at a decent hour and getting up in the morning, that the incentives at home are no longer required and he can have his normal hour of XBOX time back each day.  He will continue getting his 3 cents a day at school until the end of the year.

I tell ya, it was so nice to send him out the door this morning with a smile and a hug, instead of a frown and a hug.  And hopefully each morning, we'll look this this:

Fingers crossed!

Just One Of Those Days

Sorry I was MIA, yesterday.  Just seemed like someone was driving a big old dump truck of poo...  and decided to unload right on little ole unsuspecting me.  Nah...  Its really not that bad.  I have so super much to be thankful for, but little things become big things and you get overwhelmed and just want to scream, "Enough already!"

Sunday wasn't the greatest day.  Noah informed us that he wants to quit wrestling, which in our household is a minor catastrophe.

Instead of looking like this:

Our afternoon looked more like this:

And instead of getting the family harmony back on Monday (Yeah, I know...  Monday and harmony are like the ultimate oxymoron)...

My morning started off right away on the wrong foot.  Noah woke up on the wrong side of the bed, which is pretty much a daily occurrence anyway, but Sunday's issues made it that much worse.  A morning ray of sunshine, he wasn't.  He missed the bus, the hubs had somewhere to be, and I had the pleasure of getting him to school, grumpy butt and all.  Ian woke up with a sore throat and a bad headache, so he stayed home.  I took Noah to school, picked up some Sprite and Coke - the southern cure-all for everything that ails ya and forgot the apples and oranges that Ian had expressly asked for.  Sooooooo...  Back out I went.  You know, because good moms do things like that.

After spending a lengthy amount of time talking to my mother on the phone about some unpleasant family issues to give a further nudge to the migraine that was threatening to erupt, my day was pretty much shot.  I'm not one to get started on something that I know I'm going to have to stop in just a few short hours.  So, I just did a minimal pick up, instead of a thorough cleaning as I had planned.  Then there was Greyson to pick up from basketball practice and groceries to run and buy.  I walked back into the house at 7:00 to pure chaos.  What little I had accomplished was undone.  Dinner still had to be made,  and then the kids started arguing...

So much for the good mood I had picked up along with a few purchases from the thrift, while I was waiting for Greyson's practice to be over.  And then that splitting headache exploded that had been growling under my temples all day.  :P

At that point, I was ready to throw up my hands and go hide somewhere...  Somewhere preferably dark, quiet, and ALONE.

The house was still a wreck from my kiddos plus my niece and nephew being here all weekend, I was still behind on laundry, dishes were piled in the sink (they procreate and multiply, did you know that?), I determined that my cats that I THOUGHT I had finally trained to go to the bathroom outside had another option in mind...  and I had the pleasure of finding.  GROSS!  (This is why I don't like cats - but I like mice even less, so its the lesser of two evils.  I love farm country, don't you?)

Sooooo, portions of my house are beginning to look like something from an episode of hoarders...

NO, THAT IS NOT MY HOUSE!  LOL!  Its just makes me feel really good to look at it and realize that even on its worse day my house is no where near as bad as this (and if it ever does, please feel free to call CPS and then shoot me).

So, there are some times when you stay and deal, and then there are some days where you retreat.  I retreated.  My patience was worn out and Mt. Momma was about to blow sky high.  I fed them, made sure they were bathed, did homework as quickly as possible, and then hid in my bedroom...  Where they followed me.  Every.  Single.  One.  REALLY??????  You would think they were father-less!

By 9:00 p.m. I was in bed, lights out, snoring away.  I can't remember the last time I did that.

And then was wide awake at 3:00 am.

Darn you, internal alarm clock!  Why can't I ever sleep more than 6 hours??!!!

So, it's now 4:43 am.  I'm up (obviously).  I'm dressed (sporting a lovely pair of sweatpant capris, nightgown, sweatshirt, and wool socks pulled up to my knees.  How's that for a visual?  June Cleaver, I ain't.  LOL!)  I've had my cup o' joe, sorted laundry, gotten a load going in the washer and in the dryer, picked up the upstairs hallway and bathroom, hauled more dirty clothes downstairs, put all the clean dishes away, changed all the lightbulbs downstairs, gotten in some internet time, and done my blog.  Whoa.  On a roll Ta-Day!

Not.

On the bright side, I've got three extra hours to get more accomplished.  Perhaps I'll even get my bedroom shoveled out and rearranged like I've been wanting to do for a week.

So, this is just me touching base with what I've been up to.  And about as real as it sometimes (all though thankfully not all the time) gets around our home.

Sooooo...  How's your day going?  LOL!

TGIM!

Good Monday Morning!

I think this is the first time I've actually been thankful for a Monday.    Monday means normalcy.  Quiet mornings with a cup of coffee and time to just be.

Well, usually...

This morning I woke up to the sound of the little man retching beside the bed, only to be hit with my own nausea when I sat up.  Luckily, it seems to have passed for me - that's sheer mom determination right there - while he's sacked out on the couch.  Fortunately he was able to eat a couple of biscuits, so hopefully that has settled his stomach.  Noah, on the other hand, is still upstairs in bed after an evening of the upset stomach.  Eva had the same yesterday, but was feeling fine this morning, so hopefully its a fast-moving thing.

So, instead of going to order our family pictures and partaking in fall parent-teachers conferences this afternoon, I'm home.  And actually kind of glad for it.

What an insane weekend we had!

I'm not quite sure I'm ready for the full-on go-go-go of youth wrestling season.  But I sure did enjoy it!

Saturday found the boys weighing in at 10:00 am at Nashua-Plainfield's Little Huskies Tournament.  N-P usually boasts super-good competition since its the first local tourney of the season.  We were not disappointed.

Noah had a phenomenal day.  He won 4-2 in OT against a boy that beat him 14-2 in his 1st match last year at the same tournament.  That one was a humdinger!  The 2nd match he pinned his opponent in the 1st period and the 3rd match was just as riveting as the first.  I wasn't sure Noah would win since the other boy had pinned the other two kids in no time flat, so we had prepared him for the possibility.  But my boy FOUGHT.  He ended up winning 3-2.  Whoo!  A very well-deserved 1st place for him.

Gotta be "serious" for his pictures on the stands.  ;)

Ian had a tougher day, which I think is going to be the case for him this year.  He's going to be a 5th grader in every 5th/6th grade bracket and you've got kids that are already starting to enter puberty.  In wrestling that means muscles on top of muscles and growth spurts.  Plus, since he just started 2 years ago, they've got technique up the wha-zoo from several years of experience.

He pinned his first match within the first period for a nice win against a very talented 6th grader.  The 2nd match...  Eh.  Another 5th grader and one he's beaten twice previously.  Once in an overtime situation and another match 1-0.  Always close matches because the boy usually just grabs a leg and doesn't move - but is impossible to turn.  Well, the boy got some technique since the last time we saw him.  He showed us!  LOL!  Ian had him on his back for the pin, got too far over the top, got flipped and pinned in 2 seconds.  It was over just.  like.  that.  Ian was not a happy camper, but still managed to go out and pin his next opponent in the first period to take 2nd.  I think he was okay with that.  We've taught both the boys that you respect the kids that beat you, learn from your losses, and move on.  He did awesome on sportsmanship and that's super important in this sport and more importantly to us as parents.

Ian doesn't mind giving me little faces on the stands.
He doesn't take himself as seriously as Noah.  LOL

Sunday found us up bright and early to head to Vinton-Shellburg's Viking Wrestling Tournament, about an hour and a half south of us.  We made a promise to ourselves that we weren't going to do two tournaments a weekend this year, but since we knew a family that lived in Vinton that would be there, we decided to make an exception for this tournament.  And oh my!  I should have known when they requested last year's records and inquired about State Qualifier status that we were going to be in for a tough day.  Bracketing according to record pretty much always means super tough competition, although not always.  Since Vinton is a pretty small town, I wasn't too worried about it.  WRONG!

Vinton turned out to be the Who's Who of Iowa Youth Wrestling.  Everywhere you turned there were names with faces you'd heard from parents talk about who was the tough of the tough.  I saw kids do some things that left me just gob-smacked.  Total excellence.

By the time the boys' brackets were up, I was literally shaking inside and trying to put on a calm, serene expression for the boys.  I knew that both of them were going to face some of the toughest competition they'd ever seen, outside of AAU Kids' State.  To be honest, I wanted to throw up.  Stupid for a little local tournament, I know!  LOL!

Usually, I video tape their matches so we all can sit down and watch them later.  At the minimum, I take pictures.  Yesterday, I didn't do anything but watch...  and mutter prayers.

Ian had an insanely tough bracket.  The only 5th grader in the bracket against three other 6th graders with a TON of experience.    While Ian qualified for State last year as a 4th grader, he didn't place.  But I have to admit I've gotten used to big wins and quick pins.  That totally didn't happen yesterday.

He won his first crazy tough match over a Kids' State Placewinner, 8-5.  The 2nd match he was pinned in the last few seconds of the 3rd period, although he was still losing 7-0.  And the 3rd match...  Well.  Let's just say he found out what it was like for the kids he's been pinning in the 1st period.  It was over that quick.  He took 3rd and although he doesn't believe me, it was the best I've EVER seen him wrestle.  Try explaining that to a competitive 11 year old.  He sulked in the car for the remainder of the time we were there, but at least he held it together on the mat and didn't resort to some of the displays of bad sportsmanship that I saw.

Noah.  Oh, my Noah.  Wow.

Noah has gotten some name recognition over the last 6 months since he won SPW State Runner-Up and qualified for Kids' State as a 2nd grader, so we knew that he would probably be in a crazy bracket.  Yep!

Not only was his bracket tough, he was the lightest of the four.  The first boy was from Wisconsin, outweighed Noah by 6 lbs., and I was rendered nearly speechless by how tough they both wrestled.  And if you know me, you know that's pretty hard to do! ;)  I just didn't know what to tell him.  LOL!  Thank goodness he had 2 of our coaches in his corner and a ton of Go-Hawk supporters!  Noah won that match 7-0, but don't let that zero fool ya.  It was insane.

The 2nd match was even tougher than the first.  He was up against another State Qualifier, a 4th grader, and a name I had heard many, many times - but we've never had the opportunity to wrestle. That match went into overtime, tied 2-2.  Noah took a bad shot at the whistle and ended up in a headlock.  A TIGHT headlock.  He was turning purple around the lips and I was grabbing the arm of the coach sitting next to me (Sorry, Chad!) telling him to stop the match.  Then the official called a stalemate.  There was some confusion as to why the other boy didn't get the points to win it and it literally came down to the fact that Noah had kept his hips twisted in such a way that the ref said the other boy didn't have control.  It was that close.  I was as shocked as the other parents were.  So they went at it again.  I really didn't know how Noah was going to do it.  He had just been purple 2 seconds before!  This time the other boy took the shot, but Noah got behind for the 2 and the win. WOW.  I about fell over!  Unbelievable.  I actually searched out the official (from the look on his fact I think he thought I was going to be one of those crazy wrestling parents that want to argue a call  LOL) and asked him to explain to me why Noah didn't lose since he was in the headlock.  I think he was pretty surprised that I wasn't some nut, but just a parent that wanted to make sure it wasn't a bad call and the other boy deserved the win, like I had had someone come up and tell me.  Scott, on the other hand, thought I was nuts.  Take the win and run with it, right?  Nope.  If the other boy deserved it, he was going to get it.

The 3rd match was a squirrely little 4th grader that Noah pretty much dominated, but couldn't get pinned.  He almost had him, but his hand was underneath on the boy's shoulder blade, so the ref couldn't call it.  We all kept telling him, "Move your hand!  Move your hand!  Your hand is in the way!"  But he kept moving his other hand and not the one underneath.  Finally he just stops moving, looks up at me, and says, "What the frick?"  I just burst out laughing.  It was so typical Noah.  I hate it when he says "frick" and usually get after him, but that was hilarious!  Although, I probably shouldn't have laughed so loud because I got a really dirty look for the other boy's dad.  I think he thought I was laughing at his kid.  Which I totally wasn't!  Anyway...  Noah won that match 10-0 to take 1st.

The other two didn't stick around to be on the stands.
It really was a long wait for that.

 The thing that I really like about wrestling is that most parents instill in their children respect for the opponents you lose to.  And in especially hard matches, they learn to really like and respect the better opponent.  Noah and Jake were fast friends by the end of the day, despite Noah winning in overtime and spent the rest of the time running around together while we chatted with Jake's parents.

Jake pretending to sock Noah.

Noah "wapping" Jake with his jacket string.  LOL!

It was a good day, but a long one.  We didn't get home until 7:00.  Next weekend we'll be at it again, but not two.  Nope.  Like we promised.  We'll go to a Saturday tournament and go to church on Sunday.  And that's the way it should be.

This week is a crazy one, so don't expect a lot of postings about anything crafty.  I've got dentist appointments, parent-teacher conferences, and wrestling practices.  Although I don't want to lose any of you as followers!  I'll just do the best I can!  Just gotta get into the swing of wrestling season.  :)

I hope y'all had as fun of a weekend as we did and  were able to get up to some craft goodness!

Take care,

Living the Life of a Wrestler's Mom

First of all, I just want to thank each and every person that left such kind comments yesterday about my blog post.  Each one touched my heart.  :)  We had a wonderful day, Landon enjoyed his new Innotab (which eats batteries like no tomorrow), and we got a good laugh when he ran away while we sang Happy Birthday.  I have yet to figure out why he doesn't like it when we all sing to him.  LOL!  We did manage to coax him back to the table, where he blew out all his candles at once - with a little help from his big brother and sister.  :)

I didn't get any crafting accomplished this weekend and from now until March, that's going to pretty much be the norm.  You see, we're entering into wrestling season.  Time for tournaments!   WOO-HOO!

Here is a different side of myself that I've decided to introduce to you...  One of a fiercely competitive, insanely supportive, 100% mat mom.  That's what the mothers of wrestlers are called.  :)  And I personify it to a T.  My boys love it and so do I.

This is their serious "wrestling face".  No smiles.  Ever.  LOL!

Even Landon gets in on the action:

Show me your stance, Landon!

Although we won't put him into practice on a competitive level until he's 6.

For those of you who don't know a lot about the sport of Folkstyle Wrestling, there is nothing like it in the world.  For three years, I wrinkled my nose up at my brother-in-law as he tried to talk us into getting the boys into the sport - Wrestling parents are weird, don'tcha know.

Two years ago, Ian decided he wanted to go out (My brother-in-law got a hold of him) and badgered me to death until I said okay.  I approached sign-ups with trepidation and hoped he'd try it out for the one year and move on to a more civilized sport...  Like basketball.  Noah, who was in 1st grade at the time, didn't want to be left out since his older brothers were becoming more involved in various sports activities, so he was signed up as well.

I mean, what's the point of two sweaty guys rolling around on a mat in a bathing suit???  How do you keep score?  Ride time? Takedowns?  Shots?  Single-legs?  Double legs? Kill the head? Drive him? Break the arm? (You're going to break someone's arm????)  It was like another language.  One, I can assure you, I speak fluently now.

Now fast forwarding two years later, with one Super Pee Wee State Runner-Up, two District Runners-Up, two State Qualifiers, and a trip to the AAU Kids' State Wrestling Championships under my belt, I am 100% Mat Mom.

You know...  the crazy moms you see on youtube that look like this:

Yep.  That's Scott and me with two of the wrestling coaches mat-side during one of Ian's matches last year at the Columbus Sailors' Black Friday Tournament.  No Black Friday shopping for this mat mom.  We're gonna go wrestling!

I literally have thousands of pictures of Ian and Noah in action.

Ian's fastest pin:  0:18

Some people think that wrestling is barbaric, especially when children are young.  I even had one of my good friends tell me it was a "cult" and I should hear how I sound to others when I'm talking about tournaments, matches, competitors, and my sons' weight. (We do NOT cut weight.)  However, we do what every other parent does when they're child is in a serious competitive sport:  We eat healthy.  We have good bedtimes.  We pump them up mentally.  And there is nothing wrong with that.

Wrestling teaches so much that many other sports do not.  Mental preparation and self-confidence is key.  You can't blame your failures on anyone else - "My line wasn't blocking", "It was a bad pass", "If he hadn't..."  Wins and losses rest on your shoulders alone.  My sons learn to respect their opponents and the ref, and most importantly, themselves.  What other sport makes their athletes shake the hands of their coaches at the end of each practice?  And although wrestling is a singular sport, the team concept is one where they encourage and support each other before, during, and after matches.  My sons head for their friends after a hard loss, not to Scott and me.  And if they have to compete against a friend?  Well, gloves off during the match and the friendship and respect still endures.  They gain not only a physical strength by conditioning, but also a mental strength with a drive and work ethic that will stay with them the rest of their lives.

We have formed bonds with other wrestling parents that I just don't think you see in other competitive sports.  If others think its a "cult" because of this, well, so be it - even though I still love and respect the person that told me that.  :)  These people are our family.  We celebrate their victories and we mourn their losses.  We are a tight-knit group that cares, supports, and looks after each other and our children.  And I can't imagine my life without them in it.

This is why we wrestle and that is why we love it.

So, from now until March its focus, determination, and a drive to win.  We may not have as good of a season this year as we did last year, but we look forward to it nonetheless.  And you know...  There's always next year.  ;)

Noah in action:

2010 AAU Super Pee State Placewinner 52 lb K-1 Division
2011 Season Record:  63-11
2011 AAU Super Pee State State Runner-Up 58lb 2nd Grade Division
2011 AAU Northeastern District Runner-Up 60 lb 3/4 Grade Division
2011 State Qualifier as a 2nd Grader - 60 lb 3/4 Grade Division

Districts and State are usually reserved for 3rd-8th grade only, but 2nd graders can attempt to qualify.



Ian In Action:

2011 Season Record:  56-13
2011 AAU Northeaster District Runner-Up 75lb 3/4 Grade Division
2011 State Qualifier 75lb 3/4 Grade Division

It won't let me post Ian's video due to copyright violation of the music I used (eyeroll), but here's one of our wrestling club that I made last year at the end of the season.  Look for Ian in it - and Noah, as well.

We're pretty hard core.  :)