Voo-Doo Craft Therapy

Well, I suck.  LOL!

Its the end of the week and I'm no where close to being done with the dining room.  In fact, I've done so little that even Greyson was like, "Uh, Mom?  Can you finish it already?  I'm tired of all the junk in the living room."  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Well, if I wasn't running kids, having sick kids, washing clothes, and cleaning up after my little bunch of Pig Pens, I'd have a lot more done.  Feel my pain, moms?  ;)  Well, that and I've not really been hitting it as hard as I had planned.

I lost my mo-jo.  If you find it, will you mail it to me?   :P

I'm currently sitting at my desk, still in my robe, sipping Diet Dr. Pepper, and eating cottage cheese straight out of the container.  I think I might need an intervention.  HA HA HA!

Well that, and I'm starting to obsess about this weekend.

And with that obsessing came a funny little craft.  Its amazing how good laughter is for your soul - and how relaxing it can be.  And sometimes, crafts can be a great way to blow off some steam and doesn't always have to be something that's blog-worthy or magazine material.  But, I'm going to blog about it anyway.  HA!  I'm such a blog rebel.  ;)

I guess it would help if you knew what this weekend is...

IOWA 

AAU KIDS' STATE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

ARGH!

I'm not sure where the time went because it just seems like yesterday that Noah took District Runner-Up.  But, here we are.

This is a big deal, peeps.  A huge deal.  It is the pinnacle of Iowa youth wrestling.  Hundreds, if not thousands of 3rd-8th grade wrestlers in the state - and only 32 from each grade and weight class make it this far.  SCARY!

Wells-Fargo Arena

Des Moines, Iowa

This is Noah's second time at State.  

He qualified last year in 2nd grade.

Clipping from our newspaper last year.
Ian is on the far left on the bottom row.
Noah is second from the right on the bottom row.

Last year gave him a little taste of what he'll be coming up against this year.  He went 1-2 and never made it close to the placing rounds.  Of course, he was a 2nd grader in with 3rd and 4th graders and we were just thrilled he was able to win one match.  This year, well, lots more pressure - at least for us.  Him?  Yeah.  Not even thinking about it.  Which, could be a good thing or a bad thing.  No nerves is probably a good thing.   Lord knows I've got enough for him.  But shouldn't be thinking about it a little bit?  According to him?  Not.

So, yesterday I was talking to another mom who's son has qualified in the same age group in the 65 lb. weight class.

We've wrestled their son once, and although Noah was able to eek  out a win in a weird overtime match, we've managed to become good friends.  We've cheered their son on at USA State, gone out to dinner, and even had the boys practice together.  They're just good people.  And the thing I like most about her is that she "gets it" when it comes to kids, competition, and youth wrestling - and the big picture of it all (This is just practice for high school and not the be all end all), but she's just as crazy of a mat mom, as I am.

So yesterday, we were discussing the weirdest mat mom behavior we've seen.  Kneeling on the mat while screaming encouraging your son is pretty basic behavior - and something you just expect,  however, she saw a mom at the recent high school state tournament literally twisting the life out of a beanie baby while rooting her son on from the stands.  A BEANIE BABY.  Really?  What'd the beanie baby ever do to her? LOL!  Somehow, one thing led to another and we started talking about making voo-doo wrestling dolls for mat moms.  And the more we laughed over it, the more I knew I actually had to make one to take to her on Saturday.

So, despite the dining room shouting withering insults at me, I brought out my tools and scraps.

Here's what I came up with and posted to my personal Facebook page last night:

I give Jennifer full credit for the suggestion of using panty hose for the body. HA HA HA!

The ensuing conversation with a few other wrestling parents chiming in was EPIC:

Its been a long time since I laughed that hard.  So I made another one for another friend of mine...

Complete with the annoying mo-hawk that some kids sport (  Some advice:  If you ever get into this sport, stay away from the mo-hawks, hair dye, and glitter...  Those are the ones the kids really rough up...  Unless of course your kid is a stud and can pull it off - same with multi-colored knee socks or a pink singlet) and a felt and button head gear.  HILARIOUS...  In a somewhat twisted and warped way, but oh so good for my heart.

See?  Sometimes crafting doesn't have to be all about the brouhaha of making something fantastic, but sometimes you can use it to brighten someone's day or just to have a good laugh.  It certainly worked for me!  Nothing like Craft Therapy.

So, now I'm off to pack.  We're heading out tomorrow - the living room is still trashed, wainscoting is all over the floor in the dining room, and the stairs are half primered.  Oh well, it'll still be waiting for when I get back on Sunday.

Say a little prayer for my little man.  Its going to be a long, tough weekend and I just hope he's not on the receiving end of this...

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!

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.  :)