Ice hockey and a proud mama

On Saturday, Will played ice hockey.  I actually wouldn't call it playing.  It was like an introduction to ice skating for him...with pads....and a stick...and a huge helmet.  It was bring your buddy to skating day and a buddy invited Will along.  He was excited a month ago when I asked him.  But then the Olympics were on and the people were crashing on the ski slopes and the previews for hockey were pretty intense and so when Saturday came, he wasn't so excited.  He was mean and mad and didn't want to go.  But, I made him and off he went.  Rob said it took them an entire hour to get him in the gear (which was head to foot ice hockey gear) and then the stood in line at the door to the ice rink waiting for the Zamboni to finish icing down the rink.  Can you imagine the thoughts that go through a 5 year olds head as they are waiting in line with people they don't know in gear that is foreign to them with his parents sitting across the way waving and smiling like idiots.  I'd be freaked out.  i'd run away and probably cry.  I bet that's what Will wanted to do.  but he didn't he waited in line and when he stepped out on the ice...he fell.  along with 65 other 'midgets'.  I wasn't there but rob said it was like a dog pile of little people!  
And when he finally got up...he spent most of the next two hours down.  Like that picture above.  Ice skating is HARD!  no toe picks, no stoppers, no brakes like on roller skates.  Just plain ole hard.  But Will kept trying.  He would fall, get back up and no kidding...fall again.  He'd get back up and then fall again.  His job was to go back and forth on the ice to get used to the skates.  At one point he ended up like this:

That's him on his back leaning up against the wall.  At first I thought it was ok because that kid next to him (on the right) was laying down too...but that 'kid' was a bag of equipment that never moved.  oops!  Will would fall and then get back up and when he made it to the wall...he'd rest.  Then he'd get back up.  At another point, he took to crawling because the number of falls was in double digits.  So of course crawling seemed like a better idea (on a side note, on a trip to Whistler rob was snowboarding and he thought the hill was too steep so he crawled down -- maybe not crawled but we walked.  like father like son!  love you honey!!!!) 
In that picture above, he's crawling to the wall to say hi to me.  He gets there, reaches for the wall, pulls himself up and then falls.  So he lays on his back, looks up at me with a smile and says he thinks he's crying because there are tears on his cheeks.  Just sweat my dear!  lots and lots of sweat.  

I was so proud of Will on saturday.  like getting choked up proud of him because I'll be damned if I would have ever gotten out there on that ice.  I'd be in the bar with a drink in hand laughing at the rest of them still trying.  But there he was, fall after fall getting up and trying it again, and again, and again.  And he wanted to stop.  If he could have skated to a door, he probably would have stopped but it was just too far to go.  So he kept trying.  I had to leave early to take addi to dance but Rob said by the end he was skating.  like actually going a foot without falling and he got to hit hockey pucks and balls into the goals.  And he was so excited!  When i got home his hair was all messed up and when i ran my fingers through it it was that gross sweaty hair where it looks ok but feels like straw because of the salt in it.  He was grinning ear to ear saying he wanted to go again.  If only us adults had that perseverance, that ability to fall and get back up over and over with people watching, mom and dads laughing and others all around you doing it 10x better.   You go buddy!  

Daddy/Daughter Dance

Last weekend was the annual Daddy/Daughter dance up at the neighborhood Rec center. I've always forgotten to sign Addison up so this was her first year. so. excited. that about sums it up. she talked about the dance for the entire week discussing the dress, trying out moves and giving lots of hugs. On Friday when we picked her up from daycare we raced home, she picked out the perfect pink dress, and we did her hair. there was also a time out in there for when she was being mean, but because it was supposed to be a special night just for her, we won't dwell on that! Then, daddy pulled out the sweetest corsage and a special necklace just for the occasion.
this is the 'thoughtful' pose. kind of looks like they are pondering the evenings events that lie ahead.
the new necklace-it's a mood necklace. based on the past week, it's broken, because Addi has been a true woman and displayed such a range of emotions that the necklace can hardly keep up!
the corsage. SO sweet!

I think those eyes are just about the cutest things I've ever seen.

While they were gone, Will and I went to the Lego store and drooled over the biggest Lego ever (which I can't remember the name of right now). it costs a fortune and Will is now asking us to be conscious of our purchases EVERYWHERE so that we can help him save his money for it. Seriously. Tonight, we talked about his birthday party and he wants to try and keep it 'less money' so that we have more for the Legos. Is that odd? or good? I don't really know. A frugal son....I'll take that. A frugal son on a quest for legos? Does that still make him frugal? I don't know. I do know that he wants to sell all of his toys on craigslist which makes me happy because I have mommy guilt everytime i try to throw them away...

Hello February!

I love the month of February. The short month tucked quietly between january (yuck) and March (yeah for sun!). Just 28 short days, 4 exact weeks, seems to be the perfect length of time to enjoy the last bits of winter. For me, February marks the end of a VERY long schooling process. At the end of the week, I'll be an MBA graduate. Whew. just a relief to say that. I've spent the last 20 months reading, writing, and buried in research. Call me naive but I didn't think it would take as much time as it did. That's life though isn't it!

So we've been doing a whole lot of nothing this past month. That's ow January's are though right?

I painted our brick fireplace white. Love it! why I didn't do this the day we moved in I don't know. SOmeone said...because it's permanent. yep..probably so. Once you paint brick you can't go back. If you are thinking about doing this.... DO IT! such a difference.





Then we put together the biggest marble machine ever. Thanks Santa for not assembling on Christmas morning! Rob spent 4 lovely hours putting this bad boy together. and now it is permanently housed on the kitchen table!



he looks happy there but he's not. 4 hours is a LONG time when you have a 5 year old that really wants to play!