Bummer

It is 5:59 a.m. on a Saturday morning. I woke up about a half hour ago and couldn't go back to sleep. Sometimes, I can't turn off the continuing "list" in my head.

Last night was pretty hard for The Boy. He has worked his little fanny off to get ready for this TKD test. He let others (people he very rarely sees and probably will never see again) influence him and what he does.

So, this morning, I am left with the lingering question: How do you teach someone to be true to themselves? (And do it before 9:00 a.m.? Just kidding)

He is a hard worker, but is so easily influenced by others in the vain attempt to fit in. I remember that feeling; I went through it in high school. I loved my friends that I had there, but I didn't really become "me" until college. Being (more or less) responsible for myself was a great experience for me. I learned that I didn't have to do everything that everybody else did. I wish that I could pass that on to The Boy without having to wait until he is a "grown-up" or until he has more self-inflicted set-backs. This whole TKD thing has do not come easily to him. He has worked HARD to learn to do this. He sheds tears because he wants this SO BAD but it doesn't come naturally to him. Do you remember wanting something so bad and having it just out of reach? I sure do.

So, we are left to figure out the next step this morning. 

Please pray for my little boy. He went to bed lacking in the self-confidence that he has been working SO hard to earn.

We, as parents, could also use any positive energy. We have to be in two places at once today. Should be a riot.

Famous Last Words....

ok - Not famous or last but ironic would be a better word choice!

Last night (about 7:30 pm) on Facebook, I posted the following:

"Wahoo! Today has been a great day!"

It really was great! The kids were mostly well-behaved and we accomplished lots of things that needed to get done. Great!

We still had one or two things to do - like practice our weapons form for TKD. Bo staffs are long weapons that, personally, are kinda fun to learn. The Hubby really needed the practice so we all traipsed outside to practice.

After about 5 minutes, The Boy and The Hubby started to play around (bad) and five inches of The Boy's bo staff got broken. Yep, testing is coming up and he is dealing with a broken weapon. Nice. (Just FYI, I broke mine a couple of weeks ago also. So, we are down 2 weapons.) We duct taped it together and it appears to be holding. I guess we will see if it lasts to September 12!

Later, The Hubby was really focusing and had run through the form lots of time and it was looking good! Then, The Girl wanted her daddy and sneaked up on him. BAD. He didn't even see her and she literally walked into his staff. At first, it didn't look bad, but this morning she is sporting some lovely facial color. Good thing she is a tough chick!

our latest boo-boo

So, to sum up.

Great day - Not so great evening.

Oh, and The Girl crawled into bed with us at about 12:30 and kicked us both all night.

Not at great night, either!

Yes, We Have Been Busy!

No more than anyone else, I guess. I would enjoy having some down time.

THIS POST HAS A TON OF PIX! Just a warning.

So, let's recap my last two or three weeks.

OK- here it goes.

May 21: The Girl has a tumbling year end 'recital.'

She did great! We will so miss our "tumble rumble" class. Thanks to Mandy at All Star Athletics!

May 23: After school, the Primary had an activity and asked if I could come and help. Of course, The Boy was there and, because The Hubby was working, so was The Girl. Hilarity followed.

May 25: The Girl and I went to the last day of Tumbling. I took lots of pictures. The Girl felt strongly that she must wear the pink tutu! Here is one of my favs.

 

Later that day, we were off to Tae kwon do for more practice.

The Girl is just the cutest with her little nunchakus.
 

May 26: Pack Meeting in which they had a space derby. Oh yeah, I put my foot down and did NOTHING but provide the craft paint. All The Boy and his dad. The Boy led the color guard and did fairly well on the racing - came in almost always in second. Since this was just a race 'for fun' the boys were awarded stars and stickers according to where they placed in each race. FABULOUS!

May 27: Movie premiere of Kung Fu Panda 2. We all performed at the movie theater. The Girl was too cute. The Boy did great on his weapons and traditional form. The Hubby and I tried to wrangle all the kids. Fun. One of these days, I really need to share the story of how we started in martial arts. To sum up - Kung Fu Panda 1. 'Nuff said for now.

May 30: Memorial Day in Wyoming. The Hubby's mother and brother are buried in Wyoming so we usually run over there and decorate their graves. With the exception of 2 years, I think it rained, snowed or slushed on us. Great. It really is nice to see the extended family and enjoy the FABULOUS scenery.

We drive home by way of Idaho Falls, where my older sister is buried. Still miss her.

June 1: Last Day of School. Whew! We made it through another year. We now have a 4th grader in the house. Nothing to show you... move on.

June 1: TKD Testing day. Yipee. I think I was looking forward to it being over. Here are some highlights of the kiddos. The Boy didn't take any pictures of The Hubby and I testing. Thank heaven.

The Girl sparring.

The Girl getting her ORANGE belt.

The little ones get their belts the same day as testing. The rest of us have to wait.

Breaking boards - back elbow I believe.

Self defense - The Boy is being attacked - get away!

We all passed. Yeah! The Hubby and I did two of everything so we earned 2 belts instead of just one. We are now YELLOW belts (skipped ORANGE). The Boy is a BROWN belt. He is getting closer and closer to his black belt. He is still so excited about TKD. It is so great to see his enthusiasm for this activity.

The last two days have been filled with cleaning and errands and the weird adjustments that have to be made when one schedule stops and another begins.

Doesn't matter! We are all ready for SUMMER! I just wish it would get here.