The After

Thank you all for your kindness and love after this weekend. It was rough, but things are okay. Hunter is such a rock star that I know he will let it go and move on from it, he sort of has too. He spoke his mind, said his peace. He is better for it.

How did he do at the tournament? Not the greatest.

The lanes were way different then anything he had ever bowled on, and he hasn't mastered the art of self-adjustment. He was not in a good place to start, so the frustration that came from that made it ten times worse all around.

HOWEVER! We are still so very proud of him. Why? He has worked so hard on his bowling, but also on his temper. He is not the child that hits, screams or "freaks out" but he can get mean if he doesn't work to control the temper.

This past summer, when Koda was still so new and SO wild Hunter had the hardest time. He wanted Koda to listen, but wouldn't take the steps to make that happen. After working with both of them all summer that relationship has changed a great deal. During the summer, Hunter would get angry and move to lash out at Koda, something that ended pretty quickly thankfully. As we worked with Hunter on how to train the dog, how to show him who was in charge, his attitude toward Koda changed.

In November Koda decided that he HAD to have the cereal that Hunter was getting ready for himself. All it took was a split second of Hunter turning his back (and me not being anywhere near fast enough to stop it) and Koda had the cereal, milk and bowl on the floor. It was a fine fine mess.

What did Hunter do? He took the time to calm himself down. Yes, he was upset. Probably more upset than many other children would be, but he didn't loose his temper. He kept it in control by taking deep breathes, by realizing that Koda is just a puppy and by understanding that it was NOT a big deal at all.

We put the dog outside, and cleaned up the mess, together. We talked about how well he had done, how proud I was of him and how hard it was for him to do. He was proud of himself that day.

Saturday, even with the emotional feelings that were coursing through him, he didn't loose his temper. He didn't show bad sportsmanship, and he continued to try. While his attitude wasn't great, he wasn't taking it out on anyone else. That alone is a HUGE accomplishment for him.

I can't believe how much he has changed since this summer, and now turning 13...oh man.

The Big Day

Today is the big day for Hunter.

He is bowling once again at State.

He is excited and nervous.

He is anxious to the point he was up at 6 am this morning.

I can't wait to see what he does after last time.

No matter what happens I am so proud of him, he has worked so hard.

One of my co-workers said to me "He is going to be one of those kids isn't he, the ones they talk about in the papers".

He just might.

Wish him luck!

What I Learned This Week

The past two weeks have been filled to the brim, with a quieter weekend this past one. Between Boo having the stomach bug, Hubby and I passing a nasty cold bug back and forth and Hunter ROCKING his bowling tournament there has been little time. BUT, lots to learn!

- When your son is bowling in a tournament, you will need to hide behind your husband when said son gets 4 strikes in a row. Holding your breathe is not enough.

- Having a cold that will knock you over is not fun, but having it at the same time as your husband makes for some hilarious conversations!

Me: honey...honey..HONEY
H: What?
Me: Can you get this for me?
H : What?
Me: CAN YOU GET THIS FOR ME?
H: mumble mumble mumble
Me: WHAT?
H: mumble mumble mumble
Me: WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU
H: Here you go shorty

Hilarious I tell you! Hearing is so overrated!

- It is possible for a child that weighs a total of 58 pounds to throw up 22 time in 8 hours...important information...or just plain nasty which ever way you want to look at it.

- When said child does this, a trip to the local Children's Hospital will be in order and they will take ONE look at your child and bring you back right away.

- An IV is NOT a needle once it is in your hand, but a straw that your "veins drink from"

- Child Life Specialist are FABULOUS!

- Pandora is the best thing ever...EVER

- The chance of major snow is fun, but could cause some MAJOR problems over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day...planning for the possibilities makes my head hurt.

- Even though I said I would wrap presents last night, it didn't happen. And I am not surprised.

- When your dog eats half a tray of hand-made truffles your head might explode because you have to remake them for co-workers who will LOVE them!

- Trying to figure out why my blog layout is all jacked up is driving me nuts.

For more What I Learned This Week posts, head on over to Musings of a Housewife!

Some Closure

I realized this week that I have left a TON of things open lately, so sorry. So in effort to close some thing out, I give you this post. lol

Boo's Foot:
Boo foot was NOT broken, but she did have two inflamed ligaments and a strained tendon. You could feel the heat coming off her foot. The surgical shoe wasn't needed, but she was ace wrapped for over a week, and was not allowed to participate in gym or regular recess. All is better now, with some slight discomfort only every once in a while.

Hubby's Grandma:
Being the over-achiever that Grandma is, she is already back in Iowa resting in a smaller hospital. She spent a total of 4 days in the big hospital when they deemed her well enough to not be a high risk patient. This woman is a rockstar!

The Bathroom:
We are slowly working on the bathroom. To get it framed in we used gift cards only, so now we are slowing down. Small steps! It should be done by the time I turn 80 or so! lol

Hunter's Mad Skills!:
I can't say enough about Hunter's Mad Skills right, I am still a bit in disbelief of how his day at the tournament went. He spent some time this morning focusing on what he wanted to happen today, and how he wanted to bowl. Warm-ups were good, he adjusted where he needed and read the lanes pretty well. His first game, 154. His second game, 158. His third game, Oh My Lanta, 188!! I was amazed and so very proud of him, still am. There is a good chance that he will once again make it to state, but we won't know for sure until after the 30th, and state is on the 9th or 10th. Good thing he is here that weekend!

The Sleep Clinic:
This is really a post within itself, but because we don't KNOW a ton, I will trim it down a bit. We spent almost two hours with the doctor for her appointment. He told me first off, that I was doing everything that I possibly could right (woohoo!) and that he wished all his patients parents filled out the forms as well as I had.

Right now we are working on the Quality of her sleep, and once we figure out why that is all goofy we will work on the Quantity of her sleep. He told me that every time she gets up during the night, it takes close to a hour to get back into good sleep. So, if Boo sleeps total 10 hours, but gets up three or four times she is really getting six or seven good hours of sleep. Not much for her. We are working to clear up a couple issues first, see if they impact her sleep at all and so far they have. She is still getting up, but some other "while sleep" issues are getting better. She still has a hard time going to sleep at night, but that will be worked on once this stuff is fixed.

She will have a sleep study, but not until February or so. They want to give her treatment now a chance to work before we go that route. After the sleep study, she will most likely pay a visit to ENT and Allergy as they both seem to play a part.

Did you know that they "grade" tonsils on a score of 0-4? Boo is at a 2, not bad but not great either. Also, did you know that bags under your eyes is NOT from lack of sleep but sinus and/or nasal congestion. Strange facts I learned at the sleep clinic!

I think that's it. I have to start getting this house ready for The Great Cookie Bake Off 2009! We are all gathering tomorrow to bake the day away, and I can't stinking wait!

Hunter's at it Again

With his MAD SKILLS!

Once again Hunter has qualified for the local District Bowling Tournament. He will be bowling December 12th for a chance to go to State again, this time in the higher age division.

We are so proud of him! He has been working so hard, and had an amazing series to get to Districts.

We can't wait to see what happens this time around!

What I Learned this Week - The Boo and Me edition

This weekend was a blur, but so fun. Boo and I learned a lot, about each other and life in general.

Did you know that dogs like tomatoes? Well, Koda likes anything, but this weekend he ate an onion, tomato and tried to eat a Habanero pepper ( I got it out of his mouth before he bit down on it)...it was interesting. There were tomato seeds everywhere, I guess he hasn't learned the proper way to eat a tomato yet.

We also figured out that bowling is a dying sport. League started this past Saturday, and there are only 7 lanes of kids, not the normal 12. It is such a great sport, as my old dance teacher called it "very Zen". It takes skill, balance, concentration and athleticism. It is something I hope my kids do for a long time.

Oh, and I CAN make my own tomato sauce. It was great. Well, not great but decent. It needed more spices ( I worried about over seasoning it) and more onion and garlic. But, it did get the nod of approval from Hubby last night.

Having a sore throat and ONLY a sore throat is strange. I have no headache, cough, fever, ear pain, cold symptoms or sinus pressure. Only a sore throat. But is bad enough that today is the first day I have been able to really eat since Sunday. I lost 6 pounds.

Having two days off when you have nothing to do is not really a good thing. I am bored...and my DVR is my best friend. Just saying.

For more What I Learned this Week posts, head on over to Musings of a Housewife.

Three days in a row...Wow

For someone who was going to step back for the move I am posting more in the two days than all week. Oh well!

The tournament went well. Hunter did a good job, and was above average for the series. I don't think it was enough to place, but he had a great time.


We had Big Sis and her Hubby over for dinner last night, and within an hour I had a headache from laughing so much. Between all of us it is a constant thing lately. I love it.

Today was Hunter's packing day. He won't be back here until after the move, so we had to go through all his stuff to see what was to small and what he didn't like/use anymore. It took us about 2 hours, but it was great. We now have three boxes of just clothes and I am waiting for the last of the laundry to get done to finish his stuff off.

The kids are outside playing ball until we have to bring Hunter home. With Boo playing baseball, Hunter is giving her some tips. "Two Hands, move to the ball, eyes open" all that fun stuff. Of course when I say it, it doesn't count.

While they are doing that, I am tackling this...my box filled garage. We can't find anything in here, but hopefully soon. I am packing away this weekend, getting as much done as I can. It is going to be a long two weeks!

And the beat goes on

Blogging has been light this past week, and it will be again for the next little while. Things are moving so fast, that I need to step back and live a bit of it.

Yes, we are moving. It is a long story, and one that I just can't put into comprehendable words at this point. In time, and soon I promise.

We did have baseball last night, and I still haven't thawed out from that yet. It was cold and windy, but the kids didn't mind a bit. Boo had her first hit of the season, and even caught a couple. It was a great time.

Tomorrow is Hunter's State Tournament for bowling...talk about a nervous little boy (if anyone tells him that I called him a little boy I will deny deny deny!!). We had a great talk tonight about what it all means, he remembers that I have been there many times before. I was impressed that he listened to me, and took it all in. I can only hope that tomorrow he remembers it still.

It is only 9:30 and I am ready to crash. Tomorrow will be a busy day, keep Hunter in your thoughts!

Hunters the man!!

Bowling is done for the season.


Last week was the last week of regular league. Hunter did make it to state though, so he has one more big weekend in a few weeks.


For as long as I can remember, the last week of bowling is a 8-Pin No-Tap tournament. That means that if you knock down 8 (or 9 or 10) pins on your first ball, it is a strike. Last year Hunter placed 4th in the tournament by getting a very high score and series.


This year, he just might place even higher.


First game - 245 (Holy Cow!!)
Third game - 185 (wow!)


Second game made me want to fall over I was so proud of him and so shocked! He got a 300!! That is a PERFECT GAME! That is 12 STRIKES IN A ROW! Of those 12 strikes, 6 were "natural" strikes, meaning all 10 pins in the first shot.

I am not allowed to stand at Hunter's lane to watch him bowl, I always seem to jinx him when I do. I usually sit down by Boo and watch from a distance.

This week, Big Sis sat by me, laughing as I almost choked on my cheeseburger (mmm...bowling alley food....). I held my breathe each time Hunter walked the approach, willing the pins to fall down each time they were struck by the ball.

I am so proud of Hunter. He has worked so hard this year, and having 6 natural strikes in a game is pretty amazing. The coach even made him is own 300 Ring, with the date "engraved" and everything.

Tournament Day! UPDATED

Today is a big day for Boo and Hunter.

In less than 30 minutes we will be heading out to their first bowling tournament ever!

Both kids are excited, but a little nervous. New lanes, no coaches and rules they didn't have to deal with before at house league.

They are going to rock it out. I am nervous, but excited for them too. They have both worked so hard to get to this point, and have earned this opportunity.

Good luck my babies! I am so proud of you!

**Update: both kids were wonderful! It was a rough start, but Boo finished a couple pins over average and Hunter about 30. It was a great time.**

This weekend was fabulous! Busy, chaotic and wonderful.

Hunter's mouth is doing well. He still has some aching and limited eating, but other than that he is a rock star. I always think something is going to be much worse than it is.

He did bite his inner cheek/lip on Saturday. Normally it wouldn't have been in the way, but braces put it right on the edge. Major pain. We figure he was fine though, since he was in the middle of bowling his BEST GAME EVER!

Hunter shot a 176 this weekend. A 176!! It was incredible. If he hadn't bit his lip and thrown a gutter (he was walking his approach when it happened) he just might have had a 200. It was amazing.

Boo did well too, above average all three games. She was so excited to bring her ball home for the tournament next weekend, and reminded me 5 times today to pick up her shoes this week (Yes dear...).

Last night both kids slept over at their uncles house for the first time ever. They were freaking out with excitement. Homemade pizza, movies and pancakes will make any kids a little nutzo.

Hubby and I took in a band at a local bar. We have seen them before, but this time I was a bit more focused, lol. We had a great time visiting with friends, dancing and just relaxing after the busy weekend.

Today the kids came home, played outside until this nasty wind picked up and then Boo left for her Grandpa's house. She was even more excited to spend two days in Wisconsin. She will plant some seeds, play with the animals and have some great lovin time.

After bringing Hunter home, Hubby and I went out to our favorite restaurant to have a nice quiet dinner...alone. It was wonderful. We got a lot of talking done, great food and some great time alone together.

Things might be crazy at work this week, won't know until tomorrow. If blogging is light, I will be back I promise! Hope you all have a great Monday!

The record breaking day

Yesterday was a huge day for my kids. HUGE!!!

Not only were they exhausted from their birthday party, but they both had record breaking days at bowling

Did you read that...RECORD BREAKING DAYS!

I have never held my breathe so much ever.

Both kids have been working hard at bowling. After qualifying for an up-coming tournament Hunter especially has been even more focused, for the most part.

Let's start with him. The first game was rough, about 20 pins below average. We figured pure exhaustion from the night before and goofing around with a team mate was the blame, but he pushed past it.

The second game, a 155! That is 48 pins above average. But the third game was even better. He didn't have an open frame (a frame without a spare or a strike) until the 7th frame. That is huge. He was on track to throw a 180 or so, but I think I jinxed it. I came over to watch and he got open frames. My bad.

But, he shot a 156! 49 pins over average. I about passed out. One game that huge is one thing, but two in a row was amazing to watch. He is geared up for that tournament next month.

Now Boo. This little girl has been working so hard. She listens to her coaches, tries really hard but still has a blast each week. She is on a team with three older girls, and they have embraced her with such openness.

Boo has been working towards her first 100 game all season long. She even had a 99 game...as close as you can get to 100. She wants it so bad, and gets a little frustrated when she doesn't get it.

Well yesterday that all changed. Again, it might have been the pure exhaustion, but my little girl got a 102...TWICE! I screamed a little, ok a lot. She was so excited, jumping around and running to get her score print out each time. Boo shot about 106 pins over average with both games plus her rough first game.

She couldn't wait to tell Grammy, and anyone else that would listen. I am so proud of my kids. They have worked so hard, and come so far this year. I can't wait to see what they do next!

On the run

This weekend is pretty busy, so I wanted to write a quick note before we headed out for the crazy day!

Last night Boo and I babysat Mikayla. Poor thing is teething so bad, she is just plain miserable. I felt so bad, and gladly snuggled anyway she was comfortable. Boo fell asleep on the couch around 10, curled up in a little ball.

Today we have bowling, a girls night of sorts and house shopping. Yes...I said house shopping. Hubby and I are starting this process, and I am terrified! Excited, but terrified. Such a huge step for us, and we have worked so hard to get here.

Boo and Hunter qualified for their first ever bowling tournament. You have not seen excited until you saw my kids faces last weekend. Today I turn in the registration forms, and hopefully we get our first pick of weekends.

I have to get ready. Have a great weekend!!

Wordless Wednesday - Going for the Spare

We recently went bowling for my Dad's birthday, and we had such a great time. Boo was shooting to pick up her spare. I don't remember is she got this one or not...

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, head on over to 5 Minutes for Mom.

Mad Skills!

From time to time I talk about the kids and their bowling league. This is something that both kids love, both the sport and the friends they have there. My old coach is their coach now, and he loves telling them embarrassing stories about me. I love Don, really I do. He just knows WAY to much about me.

Anyway...after shopping with Hunter yesterday, and the amazing day we were having, I decided to head to the bowling alley to talk to Don about the problems that Hunter has been having at bowling lately.

Hunter has been over-throwing the ball. All that means is that his brute strength is to much for his measly 10 pound ball. He is throwing the ball so hard, that it isn't doing what it needs to do, there isn't time before it hits the pins. Hunter has been very frustrated the past few weeks, and I wanted to see what we could do about it.

Don agreed that Hunter needed a new bowling ball, he moved him up to a 12 pound ball (a huge jump for a 11 year old). Not only that, but he is converting him to Finger Tip grips. This is a bit more advanced than what Hunter is doing right now, but once he gets a hold of it will allow him more control and a better curve shot. I was about 15 when Don converted me, and Big Sis was about the same.

I remember when I converted to finger tips, it was bad...really bad. I struggled for weeks trying to the line up right, hitting the right boards and willing the stinking ball into the pocket. And trust me, Don remembers too (he made sure to tell Hunter all about it).

So this morning we headed off to bowling, Hunter as nervous as I was. He expressed his worry, and we figured it all out. I reminded him that practice is what will make him better, and it won't happen over night.

Could I have been more wrong??

We got there, got his new ball and he went down to practice. Don was down there watching him, giving him the low-down of what he needed to too. I talked to the other coach, and told him I was nervous for Hunter. Guess what he said..

"Don't worry, Hunter has MAD SKILLS."

Yes he does.

After a little struggle in the first couple frames, Hunter hit his groove. He shot above average all three games, and hit a new high game with a 139. And his high game was after he cracked his shin on the step, causing a major bruise and a lot of pain. But being the rock star that he is, Hunter pushed through it and nailed the game.

I guess my worry was for nothing. Don was there whenever Hunter struggled, giving him tips and keeping his attitude up. He only had 3 frames between all three games that had less than an 7 pin count. That in itself is pretty good.

I am so proud of Hunter. He worked past his nerves and was amazing.

Hunter has MAD SKILLS!

I love the Bowling Alley!

There are many mile stones for kids. The start of school, learning to ride your bike, loosing your first tooth (two of three isn't bad for Boo).

For my kids, there is milestone that not many children have.

When Boo started bowling last year, she was a "Mat Rat". The roll a mat halfway down the lane, and she bowled from there. Around Christmas time, they took away the mat, and she started bowling from the foul line. By the end of the season, she was taking a couple steps before she threw the ball.

When this season started, she was down with the "Mat Rats", but not using the mat. She would bowl with John, a young man that has had a challenging life. She loves bowling with John, and can make him laugh like no one else. Her coaches set a goal that by Christmas she bowl with the regular kids, the kids her age and her level of play. She didn't think she would be ready, but said ok.

This past Saturday, and pulled into the parking lot of the bowling alley, Boo asked if she could bowl with Hunter. I told her that Hunter already had a full team, but we could ask if there was a team that needed someone that she could play with. There was! There were actually two. Both teams were not there this week, but would be back next week. No problem. She got to bowl with her former "Mat Rat" team mates.

She bowled all three games (for the first time all season), and did pretty well. Especially since it was her first week with the regular kids, even after a rough start. She was so excited she forgot how it bowl. It was hilarious.

She even picked up a 4-7-9 split, which is not easy. If her ball had been going any faster, it would have missed. I stood up and cheered, which is funny when you are at a bowling alley.

I am so proud of Boo, she has worked so hard for this. I can't wait for this week, to see what else she can achieve.

Gooooo Tim!!

T had a great week bowling. He had some great games. But the best thing about this week, was the very end...Tim got his very first Turkey EVER!!!! So proud of him!!!