by Sarah | Sep 13, 2012 | All About Denver, Cross Country, The Teenager
[flickr id=”6087274981″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]We aren’t really a sports family. Denver never really was a sports kid. He played soccer for a while, but then the cost outweighed his enjoyment factor and we let it go. For a while he played an instrument, but again he didn’t care for it as much.
So just before 7th grade he told us he wanted to run.
And he ran.
Last year in 8th grade he excelled beyond measure, his pride in his abilities grew. The kid was on his game. We were proud of him, he was proud of himself. It was a pretty stellar way to end middle school.
This year he’s in high school and joined the team again.
But this year there’s a problem.
Pain in his knees – and a new severe pain in his back are crippling his ability to run. He barely makes it a mile in practice.
So tomorrow we go and do something I never thought this family would see. A sports medicine doctor. Try to help his pain levels before the season is over. So that maybe he can again enjoy the sport he loves so much – and achieve the excellence we all know he has in him.
by Sarah | Sep 6, 2012 | All About Denver, All About Family, All About Home, All About Me
In the outer edges of Virginia. Just outside of Dayton. There’s a small little dirt road off of a dirt road.
That road is called Denver Lane.
That road is named after my son.
Yes. Literally.
See that house at the end of Denver Lane? We lived there. A lovely house on 40 acres. My dog Sohio is buried next to that large pond. My cat, Calicow, is buried in the yard by the shed. Denver was a baby in that house. We lived “next door” to the man behind one of the biggest discount tire stores in Virginia – and he had a son about 2 years old. We spent some time with them, had a couple of cookouts during that summer. They were good neighbors – and with each of us having so much land we didn’t encroach.
Back then Denver Lane was Rural Route 12 (or something like that).
And the city decided to renamed all rural routes for 911 calls, etc. We were told to make our submissions for road names.
Our neighbors submitted their sons name. We submitted Denver’s. We joked back and forth with them over who would win the road name. After all, at the time there was just the two of us on that road back then. Not many options to choose from.
Two weeks before we moved we learned the city had picked “Denver Lane”. Not just that, but our house number would have had the month, date, and hour of Denver’s birth.
Unfortunately, we moved away from that gorgeous land before we ever got to live on his namesake street.
But I know it’s there, and it’s on google maps…
So yeah, my kid’s awesome. They named a whole street after him.
by Sarah | Aug 13, 2012 | All About Denver, All About Kennedy, All About Learning, All About Molly, All of Us, Blogging Life, Clever Girls, The Teenager
School starts tomorrow for my kids. We did the school supply lists provided by the teachers. Pencils, pens, notebooks & more. Spent hours in the store fighting the crowd of other parents and realizing that the store was sold out of quite a few needed items. In the end, headaches abounded and we headed home.
Of course, that only got us the necessities the SCHOOL declared necessary.
I still had three kids to make happy. What makes kids happy for school? Getting all the clothes considered ‘cool’. The most important requirement for a new school year.
Which I find hilarious considering at Christmas they all sneer at the ‘clothing box’ shaped presents. What is it about the new school year that makes buying clothes more than acceptable when any other time you dare to buy clothes you’re the devil?
Ah well, my favorite part about shopping for clothes that we don’t have to fight the stores. The teenager doesn’t want me to ‘help’ him shop for nothing, my girls are chaos in a store and I know their sizes.
Online I can find great deals, clothes on clearance that have been wiped out at the stores (believe me I’ve tried).
I can get ‘cool’ clothes for my kids that they pick out (like the “Awesome” shirt above – tailor made for the teens level of attitude and confidence…and the adorable dress over here -> that fits with my girls obsession with dresses, both at Old Navy).
So easy, convenient and doesn’t waste my gas driving into town for a stress filled afternoon of attempting to shop with a teen and two girls – one of whom gets over-stimulated in our backyard and is oh-so-fun when we get to crowded stores.
My kids are happy. I’m far less stressed, and saved a few bucks.
No wonder I’m addicted to the internets 😉
*~*~*
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
by Sarah | Aug 9, 2012 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Learning, All About Me, Cross Country, Friday Fragments, Random, The Teenager
[flickr id=”7665949676″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]I’ve been having a good week…month…year. Whatevs, it’s all good. Okay, so there’s been ups and downs, but as I said recently I feel like I’ve hit my prime.
But for whatever reason my mind can’t wrap around a cohesive lengthy post today so you get the ever-marvelous bullet list of awesome.
- School starts in less than a week. Three kids. Gone all day. Makes me salivate at the thought of all that might get accomplished.
- Erik is doing a lot better. We’ve had a change in diagnosis & treatment plan, and things are looking up. Hopefully soon we’ll dive more into it – when he’s ready.
- In case you missed it – I’m being published. I so cannot wait until February to cross that sucker off my 45X45 list.
- The teen is entering high school. Honestly, not sure if this goes on a list of awesome b/c it sort of freaks me out – but it is happening. He’s in JV Cross Country practices now.
- We’re going to the State Fair on Monday. I’m actually pretty excited for this. Been a long time since I’ve done this.
- Erik & I have started walking together every night. It gives us added exercise & some time for just the two of us.
- I still have this 5k coming up but with the heat I have lapsed on training. Starting again real soon because time is running out (pardon the unintentional pun)
- Did I mention school starts soon? No? Well, it DOES.
- Oh, make sure you come by here tomorrow…I’m having a fun, flirty, sexy giveaway you do NOT want to miss.
by Sarah | Aug 1, 2012 | All About Denver, All About Me
I lived in Maryland for a brief year back in 2000. It turned out to be a glorious year where I found myself in New York City for the first time in my life.
And went back 5 more times (each time to see CATS before it closed, but I digress).
I loved being that close to NYC without actually being in NYC.
During my year there I had a friend come to visit. We would go to NYC together and then just spend the rest of the week hanging out. We had a great time, and as always happens the time came for her to return home.
I packed up 2 year old Denver and my friend in the car and we went to the airport to prepare for the flight.
Everything went smooth and we ended up at the airport way ahead of schedule (keeping in mind this is pre-9/11). So we checked her bags and walked through the airport. Along the way to her gate sat a ‘playground’ of sorts for the kids. STuff to climb on and in, a miniature playground-type plane to climb through, other random items I can’t even remember.
Just a little out of the way area with wide open space and exits.
We sent him playing in the toy area and sat down on the ground, our backs pressed against a large pillar so we had a clear view of the whole play area. We chatted, laughed, reminisced over our time in NYC.
And then.
Denver disappeared.
No one came and snatched him, though people stood nearby, no one stepped into the play area.
He didn’t run away to make us chase him down the hall.
He just disappeared.
Poof.
My heart seized into a tight ball, I called for him. Denver, the good boy, always answered my calls.
Nothing.
Panic poured through my veins, my heart pounding a rapid cadence in my chest.
I rose to my feet on shaky legs, needing the support of that pillar to even make it.
Words clogged in my throat as I called for Denver again, frantic notes raising my pitch. A couple of heads turned our way, no one moved to help.
I gripped the pillar, unable to move my feet, this time screaming his name, searching every inch of the open area.
Finally my legs moved without my push to do so, racing through the play area. I ducked to peek into every nook, every cranny.
Hands shaking, stomach turning, sweat and tears clinging to my forehead and cheeks.
And found him.
Hiding and playing inside the pretend plane.
Happy as a clam.
Oblivious to my terror.
Never before that moment had I felt more like a mother…and less of a failure.
In truth he was “missing” for all of 30 seconds, and he was only feet away from me…but I have never been more scared.
And I hope to never have that feeling ever again in my life. I hope none of you ever do either.
by Sarah | Jun 18, 2012 | 45 before 45, All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Marriage, All About Me, All of Us, Bucket List, Random
*Please excuse the crappy quality of this picture. I assure you the original is AWESOME…my phone just took a really crappy photo of the photo…
Two months ago Erik & I went to St. Louis. It was a “knock some sh*t off Sarah’s bucket list while getting the heck out of dodge & being child-free” weekend. We had a great time. The highlight of the trip (especially for Erik) was the Anheuser Busch Beermaster Tour.
Running in a close second was the Star Trek Exhibit at the science center. Depressingly, pictures were not allowed in any capacity – except for those that they themselves took & you had to pay for (mind you, it was an expense I didn’t hesitate to pay…but I digress).
Erik & I spent over an hour looking at everything on display. Pointing out errors in the placards (seriously? You’re going to allow blatant errors in a ST exhibit? Shame…). Soaking in the dozens of costumes on display. Erik took this killer picture in the original series captain’s chair (depressingly not set in an actual set – but against a green screen). Toward the end I about passed out as I beheld the TNG bridge set. In geek heaven I wandered around, had my picture taken in the captain’s chair, kept wandering. I sat in Data’s chair, people…DATA’s CHAIR.
Geek heaven.
In the past few weeks there’s been an emergence of an up and coming geek.
The teen has been watching anything & everything Trek (or Trek-approximate) in our house. Considering Erik has ALL the movies (some in double w/ Blu-Ray and Standard) – and Netflix carries all the series – this is a lot of Trek. He also has a Play Station Star Trek game that I don’t remember us having…but he’s been playing pretty non-stop
First it was the movies. All of them. From The Motion Picture to the new Star Trek.
Then he tried the series. Much like me, the Original Series didn’t float his boat much – and he stopped watching it within about 3 or 4 episodes. In the past two days he has watched the entire first season of The Next Generation. I know he’s chomping at the bit to get to Deep Space Nine, but seems dedicated to watching them in order. The proper order.
The kid is my kind of geek.
Wish I could take full credit – but I’m pretty sure most of it goes to my movie-obsessed husband whose fail-safe “I don’t know what to watch” movies are the Star Trek movies.
Either way – the new generation has started it’s Trekkie-love. And I couldn’t be more proud. After all, this is something we can share as a family. Most of the time, we don’t agree on much (that is difficult to do with a teen).
