Saturday, August 23, 2008

Ok, that was painful.

So my alarm blissfully tries to wake me at 4am, I hit snooze.
Five minutes later, it manages to get me out of bed. My body was moving, but my mind was says "Maybe it will be raining and I can go back to bed?".

I check the weather online.

Kinda looks like a storm briefly coming through our area! Then I begin to think of the other girls that were supposed to meet us and I can't just not show up. Even if there is a storm.

I grab my rain gear and hope that they are worried about the weather too and head out the door.
Yes. At 4:30am.
I was supposed to meet her at 4:45am at Y I work at, so I could shower and get ready for work there.

As I drive I see no one in the parking lot, waiting for me, so I drive further to see if Tammy and her hubby are walking up the trail. Sure enough they are comin'. Bummer. I have to do it.

"I am hungry" I thought. They were far enough away that I was able to stop by Mc Donalds for breakfast and eat it before they got to me. I need energy, Right? Of Course!

I sat in the car a short time before they came to meet me. It was still black out. I didn't know how the storm was looking so I brought my rain gear with me. They were booking right along when I joined them. She apologized for going so fast, but I was ok.

The plan was to walk to our work, Aurora in KK and back then I was going to walk all the way to their house and then back to the Y.

About 45 minutes into our walk the rain began. It was more like a mist again. We liked getting cooled off a bit but the water.

We walked to a gas station for potty break and headed back out to the Y. We stopped at the Y for some water and continued on to Tammy's house.
My left lower leg started to ache. Specifically the tibialis anterior. (According to the picture on the right) Tammy was game for running a bit which helped ease the pain, but didn't help the tiredness, of the walk. I made it to Tammy's at mile 9 for me, 10.5 for her.
After some water and a very appreciated banana I headed back to the Y. I decided to continue on going down to the end of her street and taking a different way to the Y. I ran 2/3 of it just to get it over with. I was tired. I had tried to get someone to take over my hours at the Y, but I had no takers. I made it to my car about 8am after 11.64 miles. I now know that last bit was the LONG ROUTE. I added almost 2 miles to an already long enough route!
Ok so it wasn't the 100 mile Lean Horse ultra that Mr. Geek Grl is RUNNing today (yes, he is running 10x my short route, and hoping to finish within 24 hrs!) Good Luck to Mr Geek Grl! WOW!
This was the route we took...

So I am home from the Y, I am not in pain, but my body just wants to lay down and not move. I kind feel like a slug. I am trying to help Zeb learn how to tie his new shoes. Thankfully that requires no leg movement. Right now he is taking a much deserved mental break.
We are trying to figure out how to make supper without me having to move.
Dang, I think my break is coming to an end.
*sigh*
It was nice while it lasted.

Friday, August 22, 2008

I am trying to get sleepy.

I have to get up early tomorrow because I am going for a 10 mile walk.

At 4:30 in the morning.

*sigh*

Not getting to sleepy.

So I will tell you about my day.

Today I took off the day from work so I could organize and get a grip on 'pre' school stuff. I managed a 5.45 mile run this am. It was overcast, but it was EXTREMELY HUMID. I would rather have sun and dry, at least you can randomly catch some shade. I am not sure how long it took me because my watch band was broke and so I didn't have it with me.
I came home woke up Duner, who worked nights last night and we headed to Appleton. Duner had to donate plasma, so the kids and I did some more shopping (for shoes) and got some tickets to the Great Outdoors festival at EAA in Oshkosh. Zeb cried all the way out of the store because he didn't want me to buy shoes that required him to tie his shoes. *sigh* Oh to have those issues.

We picked up some NAKED brand fruit smoothies while we were picking up the tickets. Naked drinks have one pound of fruit in each bottle.
My favorite is Strawberry Kiwi Kick. It is supposed to deliver energy. I could use it after my run that morning.
Reece also chose an energy booster, called Orange Mango Machine.
Zeb picked Blueberry Pomegranate. It was an antioxidant booster.
Brock picked one called Protein Zone. It had pineapple, coconut and banana. 30 GRAMS OF PROTEIN!! Now that is a ton of protein!

How did they rate?
Reece liked his... It was like Tang.
Zeb liked his... It was always by his side til it was gone. I didn't get a chance to try it.
Brock did not like his. At first he did, but it had a chalk like texture he couldn't get over. But that was ok, since Duner could use the extra protein since he donates plasma.

So What else did we do today?
Grabbed some food from Burger King and headed to the Outdoor festival. The kids road bikes, shot bows, road 4 wheelers, fished for catfish, tested canoes and kayaks (saw someone fall into the water), watched some dogs jump into water to retrieve things, and road the tram tractor... which Zeb loved.
Oh yeah and got some sunburn, just a bit. It was overcast and somewhat rainy, er, misty today. It was just enough to annoy you, but not enough to water my plants or trees. Then again, we weren't home, but I am pretty sure it was the same here.
*sigh*
Oh, and I tried this really good beer battered Tilapia recipe tonight! It is supposed to be good for you too! I found it at Real Age.com, Check it out! Real Age has this 'age calculator' that tells your 'real age' instead of your natural age. It says I am 18 months younger than I really am. Thats nice.
ok.
Time to sleep.
now.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Obsessions

Zeb was in on Tuesday for a check up and shots. Since then Brock has been asking me about every 4 hours if he will need any shots next week when it is his turn. EVERY 4 HOURS. He even called me twice at work to see if I asked the nurses yet.
There is a way to look it up online but you need to enter info, but for some reason I wasn't able to do that at home.
I didn't want to bother the nurses, because they are busy enough with stuff at work. I finally was able to bring it up and print it off at work for him, through the state website.
It said he doesn't need any shots. BUT... The nurses (and probably DR) do recommend kids his age getting the shot for Meningitis. It is not required for now, but recommended.
I told him he did not need any shots but I explained the Meningitis shot to him. He said he would rather die of the disease than get the shot. If you saw us try to get him his tetanus shot update 2 years ago, you would understand why I am not pushing this right now.

Hmmm. Maybe I should see about something for ANXIETY or OCD? WOW!

Reece was trying to talk him into it, and told him "If you would die I would miss you, Brock!"
All together now... Awwww...
How sweet is that!

It is kinda strange how Reece is almost looking forward to getting some shots next week.
What a difference the kids are!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Basement Update

Our Drywall guys left today, they were all done by 6pm. Yep. It only took two days. They were great! Bellis Plastering is who did it, if anyone needs some work done, they are well worth it! The layed down paper and tarps all over, and cleaned up everything when they were done. I think they cleaned up better than me! It looks Awesome! Um, ok not so pretty on this wall , but just wait!
I spent 2 hours on Sunday hanging pegboard in out basement to organize some of our stuff in the new workshop. Note the new switch plate. Aren't the flowers pretty? he. he.
This is the finished walls in the main room. It looks like a neat paint job right now, but that is because the walls are still wet.
The other direction, our new TV/ Computer area. They did a great job fixing out crappy outlet cutting job!
This is the bump out area where we are eventually going to put the 'game' or 'model' table. Zeb is so excited, he wants to build model cars with Dad. We told him we can't buy any 'til our basement is done.
My head is spinning with all the different paint colors I can chose from. The wall behind the pool table I am thinking of putting a big 'Wisconsin' W. The Wall to the right would be nice for maybe a Green Bay Packer 'G'. Then, of course, we would need a wall for the Brewers... hmmm.
This will be the new 'kitchen' area. It will have a sink, mini fridge, microwave and Do you see our new water access shut off in the ceiling? Nice, Eh?

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Motivation

Summer is winding down... Fast.
Kids need to get back to school. The are getting LAZY.
Last night Reece wanted to go the a local Video store. "Oh, No" I said, " I don't think the way this house looks, it deserves a video store run tonight."
It would be one thing if they were too busy playing with friends or exploring the neighborhood, but they were inside all day. Doing 'nothing'.
I don't like 'boredom'. They have no reason to be bored. They have a bike. They have an awesome neighborhood. Creek nearby, loads of wildlife, 2 nearby parks, and legos... It was a BEAUTIFUL DAY on Friday. They could have been outside, but no they watch some kind of box all day. Computer or TV they did nothing but sit all day.
So...
I came home and announced "I am going for a run and you all are coming with me! Z (aka 5 yr old) will ride his bike next to me... Reece and Brock you go on your bikes the 7 mile route and head home."
"I don't want to ride my bike. Can I run the loop?" Reece asked.(aka the 1.2 mile loop known as our neighborhood)
"No." I said. Not wanting to run the loop with him.
"How about 2 loops?" He asked.
"Hmmm. OK." I said. "But I am running it with you."
"Darn." He said.

So Zeb, Reece and I head out on the loop, while Brock headed out on the 7 mile ride.
Zeb grabbed a water bottle and put on his helmet. We made it to the corner when Zeb started asking us to stop. He was having a hard time riding and holding the beverage. I grabbed it and started to run with it. Shortly after that Reece started whining about how hard it was and how he needed to WALK. This kid has 2 speeds. He is like his dad. Full force fast or walk. I tried to tell him it is still a run (ok, maybe jog) if you SLOW DOWN. You don't have to just walk.
I eventually let him walk but I had to run backwards to keep my eye on him, and it was just a break. I did the first loop with him and then we had to stop back at the house to let him have a drink, then we did the second loop.
This time Zeb didn't want Reece to have any of his water and somehow Z figured out how to ride with the water bottle in hand this time. I had to chuckle as he rode his bike away from Reece as he was running up to him to get a drink. I like to think of it as MOTIVATION.
It took me 30 minutes to run/walk 2.4 miles with him and 35 minutes to run 3.3 miles after that with out him.
It kinda feels good to know you can out run your kid, but I would LOVE FOR THAT TO CHANGE! Maybe I need to figure out his kind of Motivation.

Friday, August 15, 2008

$ and more $

I admit it.
We caved.
We threw in the towel, waved the white flag, whatever you want to call it.
We are having someone do the muddin' and texture on the walls in the basement.
It would have easily taken me 4 weeks and they can have it done in 2 days.
TWO DAYS! What?? That is what he says, but I would not be surprised if it took a bit longer.

On a related note I have found some excellent websites to SAVE $!
rtownshopper.com has some awesome money saving certificates. A lot of the items are 50% off or MORE! I don't know if everyone's area's are in it but in the Fox Valley it saves a ton!
Family 4 pack of Tickets at the Shawano Speedway is normally $30 bucks, you can buy a certificate for $12!! Zeb and Duner Love that !
Badger Sports Park $20 certificate for $10 bucks!
Bowl 3 games at 10th Frame Bowling Alley for $3 (Value is $10 bucks!)
They have a bunch of restaurants, salons, retailers and hotels! Well worth the look!!

A coworker of mine told me about freecycle.org.
It is a really cool site that has people trying to give freely to keep items out of the landfills. I love the idea! It is a win, win on so many levels. She even tried to get a microwave for over your range that she saw listed, but it was gone. Can you imagine? FREE! Wow!
I will be listing some of the stuff I have when the basement is done. What a great way to lose stuff!

Monday, August 11, 2008

Legoland Chicago?

I picked up some excellent deals as far as clothes for school shopping online at childrens place.com, gap.com and Old Navy.com. Lots of T-shirts, and some jeans. I love that I didn't have to leave the house and the kids didn't drive me nuts begging to eat at Mc Donalds!

I was picking up a lego magazine that they left in the bathroom and I came across a ad for Legoland Chicago. Hmmm. I didn't know they had such a thing! Maybe I will have to see if any sister's or anyone else would be interested in joining me, taking the kiddos on a fall break down to a Schaumburg (a suburb of Chicago) for a weekend. Maybe stop by IKEA. I am hoping to have a new kids bedroom by then so I may need a few items to organize it. Hmmmm.

I also hear many great things about Shedd Aquarium. I would love to check that out too!

Anyone up for a fall trip? Say October-ish?

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Access Shut off...

* Cue the Brady Bunch theme music... *

Here's a story...
Of a Man named Duner,
who was trying to drywall the basement...

One wall of the shower,
had a faucet,
he wasn't sure what it meant.

So, he grabbed his drill
and his wife said "Oh,no!~
I wouldn't do that if I were you!"
The drill began,
the water shot,
straight to his socks!

Til' the wife ran to the water main and stopped it.
Then they knew that it was much more than for looks.
Yes, it was live... And very filled with water.
That didn't want to shut off...

Access shut off..
Access shut off...
Yes, that's the way to make access to shut off!


Thank you very much,
Ahem...

Really cool, huh?
: )
So what have we learned?
Now we have an access panel to shut off the H20, some fresh drywall that is now wet, a working drain in the shower and a dehumidifier in our basement to dry it up quickly... Fun times!!

Moral of the story? YES, WOMEN SHOULD BE HEARD AND LISTENED TOO!

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Mt: Olympus Day 1 & 2


Zeb's first ride was on Poseidon It is a neat track lots of circles, and goes 'under water'. Zeb got to ride with Duner for a lot of the Go Karts.

These bumper boats were the SLOWEST things one earth. It was not a ride to go on if you were looking to get wet. Brock was trying his best here... He is in the #2 boat.


Reece got to try his luck at the batting cages. I missed most of this because I was watching this...

Zeb got to actually DRIVE HIS OWN CAR! He was super duper excited. He loved it!

He was so fast it was hard to get a nice picture of him. They have 2 tracks that he was able to ride on by himself~ I was able to get the first one because he hadn't moved yet. (He is the 2nd from last in this picture.)




Zooom! There he goes!!


We went for a Dells Duck ride that was included in the park admission and it took us past an animal farm/ petting zoo. One that you can feed and pet the deer. They also had elk and some white antlered animals from some other country. (I forgot what they were called)

While Zeb rode some kiddie airplane rides, Brock and Reece volunteered to watch Zeb so Duner and I could go on the Pegasus coaster. It was all right turns, mainly, but it still had some drops that took your breath away. I tried to take Reece on it later and actually got him up to the platform, but then he chickened out as the coaster pulled in and he walked away. : (

This was the coaster I went on by myself, while Duner and the boys rode their first Go Kart ride. I am amazed anyone is able to record anything on these rides... this is crazy.

This one gave me a headache!





This was where we spent most of our time on Tuesday. We spent 11am to 2pm and 4pm to 6pm in the wave pool called Poseidon's Rage. It shoots out a 8 foot wave every 2 minutes, but it felt like every 45 seconds. Duner, Brock and Reece spent most of there time in the water about 4 to 5 feet high and let the wave push them back in. One time Duner got slammed into someone and has had a stiff neck ever since. Zeb and I hung out in the 2 ft section. He loved to run out to the end of the water and run back in as the wave would come to the shore. We put a life jacket on him, just to be safe. He loved it. A few times he scraped his elbow or knee, but he kept going for more.
This movie shows how they make the waves, it is really cool. A wave would shoot out you would hear a puff of air like a whale blowing, then screams from the crowd. EVERY TIME! Duner and the kids stayed on the front line the whole time.
***WARNING: MUSIC IS THE EXPLICIT VERSION KANYE WEST'S SONG STRONGER***



We took a break and tried out The River Troy, which is like a lazy river, but after 30 minutes the kids needed some food and a break. We never did make it to the other end of the park. The kids just didn't want to leave the wave pool. But that's ok, we did a lot of rides the day before.

We all got sun kissed. We even put multiple layers of sun screen during the activities. Zeb fought me putting sunscreen on his face but you could see where I wasn't able to get too close to his eyes and on his for head.
We had to take a break (Zeb and I) and he rode the kiddie coaster!! He even put his arm up a few times during the rides! It was great~!

Well, We came home and settled in for the night. The kids had a BLAST. We even did some mini golf, and GUESS WHO GOT A HOLE IN ONE!! I just love that, especially since it happened just as Duner was telling me I was doing it WRONG!!! Ha! Gotta love it!

Definitely in the plans for next summer! The kids are already talking about it!

It was picture day for Reece and Brock today, so they have some color to their photos. Opps!

Day 1: Mt Olympus Experience, Um.... Almost!

After Lake Delton, it was still too early to check in to the hotel, so we grabbed some lunch and decided to try the 'dry' rides at Mt. Olympus. They had all kinds of Go Kart tracks and roller coasters. The Trojan Horse is part of one of the kart tracks!
The weather was lookin' stormy so we weren't sure what to do.
Well, I didn't want to just wait and see, time was wastin' so we grabbed our tickets and went to the counter to get our wristbands. I figured, at least we are able to bypass this step next time we come back.
As we got to the ticket counter the rain came. And I mean BUCKETS.... Wow. I am not a fan of hanging outside when it storms so we ran back to the car, but it didn't help much we were SOAKED! We didn't even go on a water ride!!
It was about 1:30, check in at our motel wasn't till 3pm, but we were hoping they would let us check in early. Thankfully they did. So we went for a swim....

Our hotel was a nice place.

Older. Way older, but it was very well maintained. The check in woman was very nice and from another country and I think one of the owners. She had a dog in the lobby that was waiting to enter the main house. Almost like a polish accent.

The main building of this place was a older home, but the lobby was in immaculate condition. Even the light fixtures were sparkling.

I stayed in other hotels that are newer but not NEARLY kept up as well. They were close enough that we walked to the 'downtown' Tuesday night. It was a great day for a walk.





















It had one indoor pool with a whirlpool and sauna, outdoor pool with swing set, ping pong table and shuffle board. Lots of grass to play in. They supplied badminton equipment too if you wanted. All Free! They had 2 residential Grey squirrels that would let you get really close to. Duner and Reece were both pretty good at Ping pong, Brock and I played Shuffle board while Zeb wandered between us.










It also has nice trails in the back. It is right on the main drag,but with all the large trees you don't hear all the noise.
We saw lots of deer tracks on these trails.

After the weather passed and we got some swim time in at the hotel, we headed to Mt. Olympus again for some rides...

Here is a great video I found on Youtube! Enjoy!

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Day One- Lake Delton Visit.

Monday morning we loaded the car and drove to Wisconsin Dells. We got there at 10:30 and we couldn't check in to our hotel yet. So, We took a drive to see Lake Delton. Lake Delton was a man made lake that was dug about 80 years ago, and with the mass of water we recieved this year, it washed away into the Wisconsin River. Along with a few homes...

Yep. It's gone.

We drove in just north of the 'red zone' where the water washed away the area. About the only vehicles they allow are the 'Dells Ducks' on the tour route, of course.











Nothing left but an outboard motor,










lots of old cans










and mud.... er, what used to be mud.












We walked about 20 feet of shore along the north side of the lake. We also walked into the center of the lake on these dried up clumps of mud.




Some people really missed their swimming beach so they bought pools set them up on the beach.

I was surprised, we didn't see more fish.

We only saw one dead one.







There were some pontoon boats still halfway up sitting awkwardly on some docks.










There was a section that had a lot of pretty neat rock. It was like chunks of sand rock. If there is such a thing.


Next adventure... Day 1: Our Mt Olympus experience... um, almost....

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Healthy travels?

Since we are going away for a few days, I really don't want to waste all the hard work I have done this summer as far as eating right and exercising. So, I challenged myself to bring a BUNCH of healthy snacks with us on this trip.
Not only will it save us some $. Which we really need right now. It will also so the kids how to eat right even when your away from home.
Today we took every water bottle I have, about 10 or so, and we filled them halfway with water and put them in the freezer for the night so we can fill them the rest of the way in the morning and put them in the cooler for later.
We also made some Jell-o with gelatin so we can have finger Jell-o by the pool later. (Our Hotel has an indoor and outdoor pools.) Zeb requested vanilla pudding. So I made some (sugar free) and put in containers to bring with. I think Duner will be finishing that off.
We cut up green peppers, cauliflower, and carrots to bring with.
We are bringing some grapes, apples, bananas, peaches and applesauce.
I also cut up cantaloupe.
We are going to bring some whole wheat and oat bagels, whole wheat English muffins to have for breakfast or lunch, for sandwiches.
Now I like my salt from time to time, so I did pick up some cheese curds, but I am not a huge curd person... um.. unless they are deep fried and breaded, so I will be safe since these are not. We also have reduced fat pringles for a snack as well. Not great, but I do have some pretzels.

You think that is too much???

YOU HAVE NOT HAD TO FEED MY CHILDREN.

It is not perfect, but it a lifestyle that I can live with ... not a diet.

I am beat. Now I nap.

Friday, August 01, 2008

Decisions, Decisions

Ok, Ahem.
We reached a decision and we went with....

The BLACK Saturn Vue!!!

The almighty $ Won. The kids LOVE IT!
We really like how roomy it is inside and how quiet it is outside and how little it costs to fill 'er up!! Only $48.00! Our truck is more like $80, but still not as bad as someone truck I know that is over $100. I asked her how she fills it up because most pumps shut off after a set amount. She has to do it twice when she fills up. How frustrating. But at least the cost is going down! I saw $3.71. Woo Hoo~

I am busy doing laundry and catching up on some housework before heading to Wisconsin Dells on Monday. I am going to bring a cooler stocked with bagels, HEALTHY snacks and sandwiches, so we don't spend so much of our time and money in the dining areas. Our hotel has a trail, indoor and outdoor pools and a park area. The website says they have bonfires too! How fun!

A said bit of news...
For Those of you not in our neck of the woods, please keep the employees of the Stora Enso/ Midtec/ Repap / New Page, what ever you want to call it... in your thoughts... They announced on Wednesday they are shutting down that plant. Over 470 people will be losing their jobs between now and Sept 1 of this year. Just one month's notice (or less). We will soon have over 650 people in the valley that used to have nice paying jobs. OUCH!

Dr Al's nurse's husband will be one, my friend (Amanda's) dad worked there and some guys that used to work with Duner back in January of 2002 at the Stora Enso Appleton Refiber plant went there when they shut it down.

I am sure there are a lot more than I can think of right now, but just please keep them in your thoughts and prayers during this time.
We thought they were so lucky to have been able to stay there.

What a bummer. Just when you think you are safe.