Vocation of Wife and Mom of teenagers, Career Techie, High School Band Booster Mom, Doing my best to juggle it all.
Band Parents
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Not bad for a wrestler
When he was in 3rd anf 4th grade, he also played basketball. That school is a feeder to a High school known for excellence in Basketball. And that school was right across the parking lot. But this basketball league was Friday nights only. Practices and games were Friday nights. Great! Wreslting was not Friday nights. So he played. And discovered that he wa a better wrestler than a basketball player.
So imagine my surprise when he comes home with a flyer about a free-throw contest sponsordd by our parishes Knights of Columbus Council. "I can throw free-throws Mom!" So Of course, I took him. (He's having a rough year in wrestling). Last night we got a call that his 9 out of 15 shots was the record for his age group. So Tomorrow night I need to take him to another Church in town for another round of free-throws.
Oh, and he wrestled on Sunday and took second place. He got beat by the teammate who keeps beating him out for a position to go to dual meets.
Friday, January 25, 2008
I Must be crazy
But I met another Mom last night and we decided we live close enough to carpool. Oh joy! Of course the boy still does not get home until 8:30. Yes, he is 12, but he boards the school bus at 6:45, which backs up to mean we roll him out of bed at 6:00 AM. I worry about making sure he has the opportunity to get enough sleep. He is starting to sleep in on the weekends, just like a teenager. He also stay up lat some nights reading.
So here is why I am crazy, I am going to sign him up for a boating safety class. It is Wednesday nights, 7 - 9 PM for 8 weeks. I have been wanting to get him into some sort of water/boating safety class. My Parents have a house on a lake with 3 boats. My Dad got a little row boat with an electric motor that he can take out himself. My son will probably spend upwards of a month there this year.
This class is conducted by the Coast Guard Auxilliary. The cost is $25. I'd be willing to pay three times that amount for such a class. So we are going to go, get the class materials. If it proves to be too much after a couple of weeks, I have no issues with pulling him out. I talked to the instructor last night asking if it would be appropriate for a 12 YO (Almost 13 he reminded me). The isntrcutor said if another family member wanted to come too, the cost would be $5 as long as they shared the materials. We also discussed retaking the class if it's over the head of the 12 YO. He said, as long as we still had the materials, the cost would most likely be $5.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Dieting stories
So in January he starts this program. He decided that he is going to shoot for the highest calorie expenditure on the chart, even though he has a desk job. So I look at it, the Plan is a low carb, high protein, makes sense since the workout program expects an hour to an hour and a half workout per day. I can work with this. I do better limiting my carbs, I do have a bit of an insulin resistance issue. So I start to make appropriate meals. I can venture away from the limited meal plan in his book. He is having trouble dealing with the one serving of carb per day. (Hey, here’s my chance to start shifting the family towards whole grain/high protein pasta.)
Now Hubby is finding that life is getting in the way of his 60 to 90 minute workouts per day. Life being 9 hour workdays, 40 minute commute and getting the boys to wrestling practice 4 evenings a week. But he’s not doing badly. He’s sticking too it longer than he’s stuck to similar things before. He’s learning to appreciate turkey bacon.
Hubby also realized how helpful it is that I am buying groceries and cooking meals and even bringing him snacks to a wrestling meet that fit with the plan. He even apologized to me for the times when I was seriously watching what I ate and he brought home his own treats. He now understands why I asked him to keep them out of the house or to at least hide them.
Last night he told me he though he had hit a plateau. He lost 10 pounds the first week and the scale is now moving very slowly. He asked if I had any hints or tips. So we discussed how all diets give you immediate gratification with a large loss of water the first week and that a healthy weight loss is 1-2 lbs per week.
So our meals are consisting of pork loin, top sirloin, chicken and turkey. Our boys are missing the casseroles. But we are eating more rice. Hubby is learning the necessity of planning his eating. He has always operated on a “I’m hungry, what can I put in my mouth right now” mode. I have been trying to explain that “Hey you are going somewhere and will be there for a long time, you will get hungry. The Concession stand costs a lot of money. Plan ahead. At least pack some drinks and snacks so you can enjoy the hot dog or pizza without feeling like your wallet got stolen.” After fifteen years, it may be starting to sink in.
Dieting stories
So in January he starts this program. He decided that he is going to shoot for the highest calorie expenditure on the chart, even though he has a desk job. So I look at it, the Plan is a low carb, high protein, makes sense since the workout program expects an hour to an hour and a half workout per day. I can work with this. I do better limiting my carbs, I do have a bit of an insulin resistance issue. So I start to make appropriate meals. I can venture away from the limited meal plan in his book. He is having trouble dealing with the one serving of carb per day. (Hey, here’s my chance to start shifting the family towards whole grain/high protein pasta.)
Now Hubby is finding that life is getting in the way of his 60 to 90 minute workouts per day. Life being 9 hour workdays, 40 minute commute and getting the boys to wrestling practice 4 evenings a week. But he’s not doing badly. He’s sticking too it longer than he’s stuck to similar things before. He’s learning to appreciate turkey bacon.
Hubby also realized how helpful it is that I am buying groceries and cooking meals and even bringing him snacks to a wrestling meet that fit with the plan. He even apologized to me for the times when I was seriously watching what I ate and he brought home his own treats. He now understands why I asked him to keep them out of the house or to at least hide them.
Last night he told me he though he had hit a plateau. He lost 10 pounds the first week and the scale is now moving very slowly. He asked if I had any hints or tips. So we discussed how all diets give you immediate gratification with a large loss of water the first week and that a healthy weight loss is 1-2 lbs per week.
So our meals are consisting of pork loin, top sirloin, chicken and turkey. Our boys are missing the casseroles. But we are eating more rice. Hubby is learning the necessity of planning his eating. He has always operated on a “I’m hungry, what can I put in my mouth right now” mode. I have been trying to explain that “Hey you are going somewhere and will be there for a long time, you will get hungry. The Concession stand costs a lot of money. Plan ahead. At least pack some drinks and snacks so you can enjoy the hot dog or pizza without feeling like your wallet got stolen.” After fifteen years, it may be starting to sink in.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Menu Plan Monday 1/14/08
Hi Everyone,
I've still been doing menu planning even if I have not been posting. Hubby started a diet. It's been pretty funny. He's apologized for the times when I dieted that he did not fully support me and brought treats for himself and to boys into the house.
He's allowed 1 serving of carb per day and low fat. I have been supporting him with the menus and showing him how he can go beyond the meals printed in his booklet. He's actually doing an ok job.
Anyways~
Sunday - Turkey meatloaf, steamed spinach (boys had fruit) and rice (I made regualr and wild)
Monday- (Hubby's out of town, DS12 has wrestling at 6 PM) - Pulled a 2 serving-sized container of Chicken and rice casserole out fo the freezer for the boys to eat. There is leftover Chicken stir fry for me.
Tuesday - (Hubby's out of town, DS12 & DS8 have wrestling at 6 PM) - I'll find something else for the boys to make on their own.
Wednesday - (Free night, yipee) Pork Loin chops, Broccoli or green beans, leftover rice
Thursday - (Just DS8 and I, DS12 has band practice after school, Hubby will pick him up, get some fast food and go to 6 PM practice) - We'll dig for stuff - homemade pizza maybe
Friday - (DS8 practice at 6:30) - Hubby works a half day on Friday's, so I leave it up to him. However he invaribly calls and asks what I have planned. Last Friday, instead of getting frustrated, I told him it was "Dad's choice" night.
Weekend - We are going out of town for a wrestling meet. The hotel includes breakfast. But we do have a fridge. So I will pack some snacks to lessen the times at the concession stand.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
I'm still here
Anyways, Hubby is dieting for the first time. He wants to drop a few pounds. He's never really gone hard core before. He did thank me for the effort I have being going through to support him and he also apologized for the times when he was not supportive of my efforts by bringing home sweets and stuff. "I now know how hard it is to have them around and not go for them."
The 8 YO has all but given up on putting much effort into wrestling practice. We did tell him we wanted him to wrestle in 2 meets per month. So this Sunday he is signed up the wrestle. He's signed up for baseball. That will start in April. With games in May and June. Then Fall will most likely be football. Hopefully Flag Football for the next few years.
The 12 YO is inconsistent with his efforts in wrestling. There are certain Jr high meets where they allow 6th graders to participate. In those instances, there are 4 kids in the 86 lb weight class. He just has not adapted to the style of this club. It is more intense than the last club. But that is a big part of the reason we choose this school.
I am being challenged with a new smartphone. The CIO has one. We had a serice problem last month. No one but the CIO complained. We eventually got it fixed, but I now hope to know about service issues befoe the CIO notices. But My Blackberry was much simpler.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Celebrating small victories
He is doing better about keeping his room less cluttered. It may help that the room is bigger, but there are not as many trinkets or treasures lying around. (Oh yes, Mom does not walk by his room on a daily basis in the new house. That might help also). Maybe the "Clean Sweep"-style room emptying sessions we perfomred every couple of months taught his some things. A Mom can hope, right?