Blue Belt Mid Terms

I seem to always get very gushy about my kids at karate graduation time, but they just continue to amaze me and it all sort of culminates when I watch them in the dojo. They had the very tough Master D again this time and he was definitely true to form. What's sort of amazing to see is how much the kids have upped their game. They did EVERYTHING they were supposed to. Clapped, paid attention, worked really hard on sit ups, push ups, near perfect jumping jack sets. They both shot their hands up to volunteer over and over again (and both were chosen to show their 2 kata). Are these the same kids I drag to karate with groans week after week??

This was all great, in of itself, but what made me most proud was how they reacted when someone in their class struggled through his 2 kata. He is a quiet, sweet kid, very big dude for his age. It is REALLY hard for him to even talk in class. He has been working hard on building his self confidence and decided to volunteer to show his 2 kata for the class. With all eyes on him he really struggled with his nerves. Everyone held their breath as they waited for him to remember his steps. I admit that it was really hard to watch him struggle so much.

At this point there were a few snickers from the class. I shot my head in that direction ready to give the VERY angry eyes at my kids if one of them were responsible for the laughter. But they were both glued to him with the same pleading expression in their eyes for their friend to succeed. I was very humbled at the compassion a 7 and a 9 year old could possess.

After fighting his way through a few steps Mr. O joined him and they did it together. It was such a huge thing for him to do what he did. And though it would have made our hearts sing to watch him execute it perfectly, it turned out to be a tremendous lesson for everyone in courage and tenacity. Master D totally called out the snickering and made it clear that this was NOT the kind of behavior that would ever be acceptable in there. He told stories about his successes and failures at tournaments and made everyone realize that even a 5th degree black belt has not always been great at this.

We celebrated with a big dinner out afterwards with Papa, Aunt Bet, Mima and Stipa. It was a great kick off to the weekend. I am so proud of these kids. Remind me of that the next time one of them talks back or forgets their homework, ok?

My little Ice Capade

Julia was invited to a birthday party for a classmate this past weekend at the local skating rink. I thought how fun, but can she skate? I haven't been skating in a LONG time. I think I tried it again as an adult, fell, really hurt my bum and that ended my skating career. So, as a result, we've never taken the kids ice skating (Neil doesn't skate either). So, it was going to be interesting...

I have to admit that I had one of those over protective mom moments where I resisted bringing a helmet for her. I had visions of her being the only kid with the dorky mom that made her bring her helmet. But in the wake of Natasha Richardson's untimely death, traumatic brain injuries were definitely on my mind.

Well, half the kids there had helmets. And now I was panicked because she DIDN'T have one! But I quelled my anxiety and helped her lace her skates.

I thought one of the first big tests would be to see if she could even walk on these skates? No problem!

She got onto the ice and held onto the side for about 2 laps. Her friend "S" came along and, being much more comfortable on skates, took her hand and coaxed her away from the side. They did pretty well for a few laps. Then boom! Down she went and bumped her head. Ack! First thing I did was look at my watch. (I know, I know.) She was totally fine after a quick drink of water and a kiss. Bless her heart, she went right back out there.

I'm not sure this was the start of a life long love affair with ice skating, but it was a fun afternoon and definitely exposed her to something new. (Sorry about the poor photo quality. In my helmet or not to helmet tizzy I forgot my real camera, so these were taken with my phone.)

Toll House Cookie Pie

Notice how my last 2 blog entries have been about food? Spring walking needs to start soon, or I'll never fit in my clothes. The kids love my Toll House Cookie Pie (ok, it's really JoAnn Burke/Kelly Mel's THCP recipe from college). It occurred to me the other day that I usually have all of the ingredients in the house at any given time (including the frozen pie shells, we like quiche, what can I say?). So, in a burst of Sunday nesting I made one. Look at those happy faces!! Two seconds in my mouth, three years on my thighs...

Best French Toast

I consider myself to be a connoisseur of all things related to breakfast food (read: full of fat and sugar and I'm there) so when we hit a new place for breakfast I always go for the richest, sweetest thing. While we were in Sturbridge this year over February vacation we hit a little spot called Churchill's Village Eatery. They have something called cinnamon roll french toast. TO DIE FOR. It's only 45 minutes away, so if the craving ever get too bad again, I'm there.

Julia's First Sleepover

Julia's friend L and her mom called to see if she'd like to try a sleepover? It's been a source of much discussion this year but I wasn't sure if she was really ready yet at 7? Well, once the plan was formulated she was just beside herself with excitement. When the big day arrived she had her bag packed and sitting by the back door at 10:00 a.m. (she wasn't going until 5:00).

She and Miss L had a ball. I was wondering if I'd get a call late that night or not, but either she did very well, or L's mom, a veteran with 3 girls, was just a great girl whisperer. Julia said she had a great time, but would like to have her next sleepover at our house. :)

As you can see from the "next day" photos, sleepovers still tend to involve very little SLEEP. Girls will be girls!

Port Canaveral Fun

On Saturday we had to debark the ship at some really early hour. We had a bit of a wait between when we were brought back to the hotel and when our car was coming to pick us up. We had thought about a movie, but none of them started until noon, which was too late. So Neil spotted a "Family Fun" park just a short walk from the hotel. So we had some breakfast and headed over there to kill some time. They had a few different go cart tracks, and now that Devin was old enought to drive himself, he was FIRED UP to try it. I'm not sure I captured the glee as well as I could have, but he was beaming. It was a fun way to kill some time, for sure.

Stingray Video

A little snippet of stingray feeding from the water camera...

Last Day of Cruise

The last day of our cruise was very bittersweet. Gorgeous Castaway Cay, sunny but on the cool side and Devin so sick he barely left bed until later in the day. Poor baby was so sick when we got up that we took him to the health center to get checked out. 103 temp, almost delirious. This kid hasn't been this sick in a LONG time. But the doctor on the ship promised they'd fix him up, and fix him they did! He was a million percent better in 24 hours time. Thanks Doc!!

We had booked a stingray encounter on the island and they let us split them so that Neil took Julia in the morning and then we switched off and I went back with her in the afternoon! It was great, because she was like my own little personal tour guide.

Julia was great with the sting rays. You get a little orientation and then get into the water to feed them. They've been trained to look for their food on a "dinner plate" that looks like Mickey's ears. So when they see that plate, they scoot on up for lunch. Julia was very at ease with petting them, a little hesitant about holding the food to feed them (understandable since they suck their food up like vacuums) but she did a great job - both times. I like that our kids are willing to try new things like this, even if they aren't 100% sure about them.

We did have to miss our couples cabana massage though (sigh). Oh well, good excuse to go back.

Castaway Cay is a GORGEOUS little island. I was talking to one of the marine biologists who lives there and I was sooooo jealous. Disney has a little gem here.

We got to see The Flying Dutchman ship that was featured in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies that is docked right there, and took a little tram to the end of the beach where the stingray hut was. We did a tiny little bit of shopping on the way (thank goodness, because everything closes up well before you have to be back on board). We did finally get Devin up onto one of the outer decks later in the day to at least see the FD with his own eyes, but that was about all he felt good enough for.

Everyone rallied around dinner time to make it down for our last dinner. We had a parade and took lots of pictures of Adi and Willy. Willy showed us one last magic trick. I miss the Mickey ketchup and the magic tricks!! And by well into the cruise they no longer had to ask that Julia wanted chocolate milk and Devin wanted plain, they'd just bring it. Not cooking for a week was heaven!!

After dinner we made it to the last show on the cruise. It was funny and entertaining and we still talk about "Freddie Fushion". He's a comedian/performer who does amazing things with giant balloons and toilet paper rolls. Hysterical. Still one of the highlights of Devin's week, fever or not!

We had to get up early the next day, and although we were sad to leave, we were looking forward to getting home.

Video from Day 6

Here is the evidence of how rocky the ship was on Thursday. Here are Julia and Neil in the pool getting battered by the waves. They made a game of it by holding their breath and letting the waves go over their heads. Julia got popped up like a cork a couple of times though!

Cruise Day 6

Thursday was a busy last day at sea. We were so tired from the day before and Devin was still not up to par, so I think we all slept in a bit, which was fine with me! For the at sea days there were always cool thing to see and do. There was an art auction (which we passed on, but it was fin to watch other people spend $30,000 on Picasso originals). There was a princess gathering in the atrium, movies etc.

The kids each had activities in their kids clubs that they wanted to do that day, so we got to spend the day with both, neither or one at a time which was nice too. Devin was with us on deck when they did a live ice carving demonstration. The ice carver was from Thailand, so of course I felt the need to go talk to him after wards.

We sat by the pool some more and I did a full out slip onto my butt by the side of the pool. I was "that woman who fell". Fortunately it did nothing but leave me with a couple bruises, a spilled drink (which they replaced for me) and a sheepish look on my face. I had seen a few other people go down in this spot and realized that wearing flip flops there was not a good idea. Oh well!

It was a pretty bump day at sea. The water in the pool was sloshing to and fro like crazy. I'll try to upload the video of Julia and Neil in the pool - quite funny! By that night it was so bumpy they were putting motion sickness bags out in the common area bathrooms. Never a good sign!

We had been feverishly (no pun intended) trying to gather autographs of all the characters all week but still hadn't found Donald Duck! We finally got to meet him that day. Julia was petting his feathers and telling him how soft he was. Hee hee.

The kids both had an opportunity to be part of the Ocenareers Club/Lab show with all their new friends called "Friendship Rocks". It was held in the big theater right before dinner. Very cute. Devin chose to participate and got a tee shirt to keep. Julia had chosen not to and sat there through the whole show wishing that she had.

Devin is also wearing a baseball cap that he won for being on the first place team that afternoon playing "Disney Scene It". Anyone who has played this game with our children know that they dominate at it, so I was NOT at ALL surprised to see he'd won something!

This was our "semi-formal" night at dinner and we all got dressed up and headed down. Neil started to get a fever right before dinner, so we were down two now. He and Devin didn't stay through all of dinner, so we had some food sent up. They each took some Tylenol and rallied to go to the show that night which was incredible. Julia even had a "Slumber Party" with Goofy after the show. She she was going until late that night! Goofy showed up in his jammies, they decorated pillow cases and told campfire stories. How fun!!

We went to bed and this was the night that the boat was REALLY rocky and Devin woke up with a fever that had spiked way up and felt really bad. Poor buddy!