I Should Be Sleeping

It's 9:30 pm at my house right now. EVERYONE is asleep. Except me. The one night everybody is in bed conked out at an early hour and the one who should be exhausted isn't. Ug! It's not like I'm not tired. I have just reached the point where I no longer look forward to going to sleep, which is terribly sad as I love sleep! I know what will happen. I will lay down exhausted. I'll start to drift off when my legs will either start itching like crazy or they'll just start moving on their own. I get restless leg syndrom really bad when I'm pregnant. It is incredibly annoying! If it's not that it's the horrible heartburn I've got going on these days. I have never dealt with that with any pregnancy before. I feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with this on a daily basis, it totally SUCKS! Zantac was working but the last two nights it hasn't even touched it and laying down will just make it worse, so why try? And lately, when I finally do fall asleep, I'll wake up every 1/2 hour to change sides as my hips get very sore. I'll officially wake up around midnight thinking it's at least 3 or 4 am. I just cringe when I realize I still have 6 1/2 more hours of trying to sleep!!


So, I'm sitting here emptying one of my memory cards to my camera. Figured I may as well use the time to organize the photos off of it somewhat and then get it emptied so we have a camera ready for the hospital. It has been fun to go back through the photos. They go all the way back to Oct 2010 with Elizabeth's baptism. I never got those photos up at the time so may share some here. Then there was the crazy busy Christmas season. Then the pictures jump to Seth's bday in April.

I did finish the top to the quilt I'm making the baby. I will get a picture of it later. I don't feel like getting it and hanging it up so I can get a decent picture of it right now. I like it, it was a very fun pattern to work with and I will be trying some other colors with it in the future. The rest of the quilt will have to wait until after the baby is born as I have to lay it on the floor to pin it and, well, just not a good position to be in with a belly bump the size of a boulder hanging off the front.

I will be so glad when this is over. Not like I'll still get any sleep but at least it won't be because I'm in pain or I can't get comfortable around this ginormous belly. So looking forward to being able to sleep on my stomach again!!

As promised a few pictures from the past :)

Elizabeth and Rob before her baptism. She was baptized by her dad.



Elizabeth and Christy



Our beautiful happy daughter after her baptism



Our mad scientist around Halloween time



Seth being cute in front of the newly decorated Christmas tree

Seth's little music group performed Christmas music at a local nursing home



Jonathan's first band concert Dec 2010



New Belts

Yeah! We finally received our belts!! Mine's really hard to tell I progressed. The only difference between a low blue and a high blue is there is a black stipe on the high blue. It's really hard to see in the picture, I'm trying to point to it. Can't wait to get a yellow like Nathaniel's :) His belt is so bright and cheery :) Nathaniel has worked hard for his yellow and I'm very proud of him. He's going to have work harder now as a yellow, his instructors will be expecting more out of him but I'm sure he will be able to keep up.

Recent Events

I'm not keeping up with my blog very well right now. I don't have a great place to sit and do it, have to sit on my bed and it's not the most comfortable spot to blog :P

First big event was Jonathan's 9th Birthday on July 18. He got to spend the day at Day Camp and after we went to my Dad's for ice cream cake and presents. The following day we were supposed to do the Spaghetti Factory and watch WALL-E but the stomach flu hit and he was sick :( We made up for it last night. Good movie, we recommend it. Anyway, here are some pics from his little family party.

A week later Rob's company, Cognex, paid for a day at Oaks Park, an amusement park down in Sellwood. They had Buster's BBQ come cater our lunch. That is some really good food! We had to sit around for about an hour after before going back on the rides. I was sure I'd have sick kids all over but they did great. Nathaniel and Jonathan are big enough now to ride all the big scary rides and they went on them all! I can't do it anymore, the mini roller coaster is my limit now :) Seth even got to go on a few rides, mostly the carousel. We had a great day and stayed there for about 8 hours since we had no where else to go. We were homeless again for a few days.

Seth really likes snow cones now :)

Thursday of last week was the belt testing at the dojo. I had attended enough classes that I could test if I wanted. The kids were testing again too but Nathaniel didn't have enough lessons. It takes more and more the higher you go. He was asked to help lead warm ups so I have a few pics of him doing that. Three of his classmates tested for their orange belts and I'm sure they earned them, they did a great job!

Nathaniel helping with warm-ups.

This is his class. Senpai Devon is on the left, Senpai Lance is on the right.

The kids thought it would be fun to tackle Senpai Lance. Senpai Devon got in on the action also.

Following the kids were the adults. I was only going for my low blue belt but I was so stinkin nervous. I've never tried to earn anything in sports before so this was important to me. They had some former students come in to help with the testing so the dojo was packed, it was so fun to see. Warm ups wore me out, because we were testing we had to show off :) Next we had to demonstrate our kata. First thing I did was screw up three of the moves. I was so mad. Fortunately they have us do the kata twice and I did much better the second time around. If I had done really bad they would have let me do it again so I wasn't too worried. Following that we had to use the Sabaki pads to show that we could do some pad work and follow directions. I like doing that so I wasn't too worried about that.

This is me working with Senpai Trish.

Last was the sparring. Since I was the lowest belt testing I got to go first. I had asked Sensei Heather who would be my partner but she just gave me this mischievous look and said she'd let me know when I got up there. I didn't think anything of it. As a white belt I'm only required to spar one 1-minute round. That's all I was expecting, and maybe a few rounds later with the higher belts testing but that would be their test not mine. I got on the mat and saw that Senpai Trish was my partner. I love Trish, she's helped me with most of my training. Of course, she also knows all my weaknesses!! I did get her down at one point but I went down with her having lost my balance. In a real Sabaki challenge I would have lost the point. So we got through the round and I was glad it was over. It's amazing how just one minute of that completely wipes you out. So I was headed over to sit when Heather threw her little secret at me. Alex, a black belt, had come to help with the testing. I was told right then that I would sparring her as part of my test. Rob said the look on my face was pretty funny, total shock. I was worried for about 5 seconds then realized Alex wasn't there to kill me. She was there to test me. So I relaxed and had fun with it. You'll see in the video the first thing she does is a smooth roundhouse kick to my head.

I cannot see those coming. That is my goal is to learn to recognize those and block them and use it to my advantage. That is my biggest weakness right now is not being able to see the kicks coming. At least it wasn't a hard kick. She was fun, I was glad for the opportunity. Sensai Heather told me later that she did it cause she knew I could do more then a white belt. That makes me feel good. I'm too hard on myself, feel like I should be able to do so much more and I get frustrated when I miss the blocks or forget how to throw someone. There were three others testing that night. They all did really well. Lance, Heather's husband, was testing for his brown belt. He sparred eight 1-minute rounds. I can't imagine, I was wiped out after two. He was a lot of fun to watch. We both showed up yesterday morning for kickboxing and he was limping. Those guys get pretty intense when they spar each other :) I came home from kickboxing and went straight back to bed. I was feeling pretty good yesterday morning and was surprised I wasn't more sore but by evening I was feeling it. Every muscle in my back and around my ribs was just aching. Feeling much better today. I'm pretty sure I earned my belt. Have to wait for them to grade everything, had a written test also. Will be nice to see some blue around my waist instead of all white :) I have really enjoyed karate. Lots of bumps and bruises and some nights I come home just exhausted with knees and feet hurting. But there is great satisfaction in knowing I did what was required of me, that I could push my body and make it perform the moves.

Tagged

Julie, Julie, Julie. My dearest friend decided it would be great to "Tag" me. This means I get to go around and take photos-none staged- of various objects. Ug. She even warned me she was going to but I just now found it on her blog. I'm only doing this because I love her so much :) That and I have nothing else to do while my house gets torn apart :) Thanks, Julie!!


1. Favorite Vacation-Every year we go to the yurts down in Winchester Bay, OR. They are deluxe, so they have a bathroom and mini-kitchen inside. That is my idea of camping! We spend a lot of time each year finding and exploring new beaches.

I think this one is at Horse Fall beach.

Taken at Sunset Bay, newly discovered by us this year. It's gorgeous and I can't wait to go back. We had nice sunny days this year too.


2. Laundry Pile- HA! Just got caught up the other day so this is what is left. Unfortunately my washer goes away as of today so it's not going to be looking too pretty in a few days.

3. The Fridge- What can I say, it's a fridge :)




4. The Closet- It was just cleaned up since the workers had to come in this morning to look under the house, the crawl space opening is there under my side of the closet. Phew!





5. The Toilet- It didn't say which one so I chose the kids' bathroom. I'm impressed, it's actaully clean, I don't have to be embarrassed :)






6. The Kitchen Sink- Soon to be long gone!! YEAH! Tom came in today and put blue sharpie markings all over the counter. Dang I lucked out today, it usually looks so much worse.




7. Favorite Room- Sorry skipping out on this one cause right now I don't have a favorite room. Every room is trashed from the remodel so I really don't like looking at any of them! I'm sure it will soon be the new family room upstairs :)


8. Favorite Shoes- I wear these everywhere and have gotten lots of comments on them.





9. What My Kids Are Doing Right Now-Ah, game time! Now that school is done they get time every day to play instead of having to wait for the weekend. They have to earn Beasley Bucks though to do it and I think in their excitement blew all the Bucks they had earned. Guess they weren't thinking about tomorrow :) By the time I wrote this Seth was letting us know he was awake.





10. Self-Portrait- There is a reason I don't like to post pictures of myself. Dang I look tired. Feel it too :P I debated make-up this morning, should have done it. And so in need of a haircut! Wearing a jacket because it's FREEZING in here.




Your turn. I tag: Breezy, Rachel, Megan, Melissa S. and Heidi.

Mother's Day

I know it's been a couple days since Mother's Day but this is the first chance I've had to write about it. All I really wanted was to be left alone to sleep :) And maybe some chocolate! So that's what I got. No one bothered me and I got to sleep in til 9:30 then couldn't lay around anymore. I came out to see everyone frantically trying to finish up the cleaning they were doing. Waiting for me on the table were some flowers and chocolate. Many small boxes of chocolate :) MMMMMM! I opened the homemade cards, which were too cute and made me smile, and helped myself to a chocolate or two then noticed a black box under everything. It was my gift from Rob. I opened it up and saw a beautiful crystal piece with the kids' names etched in. There was also a little handprint and some beautiful words from Rob. Unbeknownst to me he had been having this made for me. Then he told me that the names were the actual signatures of the kids. He had, awhile ago, had the kids sign their names then scanned them in so the shop could use them to etch into the glass. Then he showed me that the handprint was the perfect size of Seth's hand, and was in fact the actual outline of his hand. That's when I lost it and just started bawling. He's never given me a gift that made me cry. I don't think he'll ever be able to top this one, nor will I. It's beautiful and such a wonderful keepsake. Definitely better then chocolate!! What a wonderful man I am married to! I love Rob dearly.

Missing him a lot right now. Rob's in Boston for work until Thursday. It's the farthest and longest we've ever been apart. Pathetic I know but we kind of like each other :) I don't know how other wives do it, with military husbands or husbands who have to travel a lot for work. It's times like these I realize how much I depend on him to help keep the house running and just how much he actually does around here.

Sparring for the first time!

Last night was belt testing time at the dojo for both the kids and the adults. Nathaniel tested for his high blue. He did great on the sparring and passed that portion of the test. We are waiting to hear how he did on the written test. I'm so mad at myself for not bringing a camera with me. He looked so good!

Following the kids were the adults. Sensai Heather asked if I would spar the higher belts despite having only done this like what? Five weeks? I, of course, said yes. Why not? I was assured the whole purpose was so the higher belts could prove they had control when dealing with a lower belt. I had so much FUN! I sucked, but it was fun :)

Melody was the first I had to spar. The rounds were only a minute long but dang it feels like a long time when you are getting punched and trying to punch and kick back! About 30 seconds into the round she grabbed my arm to do, I think, hiki mawashi, a two hand pull around. Usually from there you can knock your opponent to the ground. Well, I pulled back or something to get our of her grip and a good part of my sleeve ripped away from the seam!!! Took us both by surprise and it let me get out of her grip :) After that she couldn't attack my left side because of the rip! Actually no one could, no fabric for anyone to grab! My first round wasn't bad. However, as soon as they yelled "Hajime" (begin) anything I had learned left my head. It was purely try and block and try and get a shot in. I really don't remember what happened except for the rip and I know Melody landed a solid kick into my shin! Thank goodness for shin pads :)

After watching a few more rounds I was up again against Nathaniel (not my Nathaniel). Nathaniel is TALL and he is all legs. Nathaniel also knows how to use his legs in sparring. Twice his foot ended up on my shoulder tapping my head (we do wear head gear). I never once saw it coming, even if I did I probably could not have blocked it :P That was a little unnerving! All I could think was thank goodness I'm a white belt, he had to go easy on me. I've seen him use that move on the other higher belts and it's just amazing. I was so mad because twice I managed to grab his gi to try and do a hiki mawashi but my dang nails were too long and I bent back the nail on both my middle fingers and had to let go cause it hurt. So, bye bye long nails, at least at testing time :) After that round I was shaking so bad I could barely clip my nails (I had one more round so thought I'd better take care of them). I was surprised by that, I didn't feel like I should be shaking.

Last round was with Senpai Trish. She has been teaching me most of what I know. She was testing for her brown belt. It was fun to go up against her but once again, the ref yelled "Hajime" and all knowledge left the building. I don't even remember what happened during that round except she grabbed my right arm and that sleeve tore also!! I could not believe it. By the time I was all done I looked like I had gotten badly beat up, if you were just looking at my gi. There I was the newest white belt all in tatters! It was pretty funny. I had to assure Melody I'm a seamstress and can take care of it, she was feeling bad.

The rest of the rounds were just fun to watch. I had a great time cheering each person on when it was their turn to test. It was awesome to see the moves they used on each other, especially the higher belts, we had a couple testing for their brown. But oh my gosh, so exhausting. You get to that level and you have to spar 7 different rounds in a row with only 30 secs in between to catch your breath. I can't imagine, the 3 rounds I did were spread out and only one minute each and I woke up just wiped out. I can't imagine how the others were feeling this morning. I woke up at 4 am and just could not stop thinking about all the mistakes I made. I was told I did really well for a white belt but still I feel so clumsy. So laid there for an hour this morning going over the rounds. I had gotten a couple hiki mawashis in but then couldn't remember how to throw my opponent. We practice this every week but I just could not remember. When we practice it's very slow and I just did not have time to think when sparring. I remembered how to knock someone down at 4:30 am :) So, now I am very excited about my belt test which isn't until August, thank goodness. Gives me three more months to learn :)

My gi after sparring last night. Melody did the big rip. Then Trish got the other side.

Enshin Karate

Last year Nathaniel started Enshin Karate. It's a little under one year later and he is up to a blue belt and will soon be testing for his high blue belt. He has gotten pretty strong and it's fun to watch him take down his instructors Senpai Lance and Senpai Devin. He loves passing on his knowledge to the new students who have just joined. I've been watching him for probably the last six months having signed up for a kickboxing/resistance band class right before his. I finally decided I would do it too. I thought if I could do the kickboxing the karate would be no problem! HA! Karate kicks my butt but I love it! Senpai Trish is great. She is another student there who will be testing for her brown belt here soon and she takes the time to work with me and gently teach me the ropes. Sensei Heather runs the whole show and she is awesome. She also teaches the kickboxing class that I still attend. Yes, you'd think I would be way skinnier by now, LOL! But I'm definitely in much better shape then I was a year ago (having just had a baby). Unfortunately last week I was attempting to learn a break fall that requires rolling, not quite like a sommersault, in my home. I was first trying on a mattress to get the technique and when I thought I got it I tried my carpet. STUPID! I misjudged the distance from my head to the floor not taking into account when I was using the mattress it was a good 5 inches off the ground. I rolled, kinda, but landed on my left shoulder and heard a lovely chorus of cracks and pops in my back and since then my shoulder has been almost useless for certain things. Though, amazingly, I could still punch a bag with it, weird! I did go to the chiropractor today to see what he could do. After some serious adjusting and a very deep massage into my shoulder I was able to do a push up again. So, thinking I was fine, I went to class and almost instantly hurt my shoulder again just doing the warm-ups. Sigh. It sucks being old :) So, will have to take it easy for the next couple of weeks. But if anyone in the area has thought of signing kids up or even signing yourself up I'd go with Heather. The kids class is great and the adult one is challenging and a great workout.