Our Karate Kid.

We had a lot of wax on wax off activity this week.....Brady had his test to get his yellow belt this past week and proudly so earned it, at his last class on Thursday. He was super excited to wear his new color proud at his first ever karate tournament over the weekend. Below he is accepting his certificate to become a yellow belt from his sensi' Ms. Rachel, a pretty big deal in this five year old's eyes!

Yellow Belt Brady......he told me tonight he wants to be a Karate Master when he grows up....he has committed to signing up again to earn his green belt!

This was warm ups for the tourney and it makes me laugh every time when I watch my once little shy, intimidated boyfriend get out there and yell Kiai and punch with enthusiasm and confidence!

This was Brady's first "event" it was for best kick. You had to name your kick, he chose the "front snap kick" and perform it three times......and lo and behold he took home 2nd place!

Then to continue on with the confidence building they teach in the class, if you win you are required to go up accept your trophy and say your name in the microphone, something that would have never happened a year ago! Congrats bugaboo!

To say the least the trophy was a big hit, I mean the thing is half his size and he thought he was hot stuff, I don't think he has stopped carrying it around with him since he got it, I won't be surprised if he sneaks it into his school backpack tomorrow.

Accepting his trophy at the winners table.

This was "event" number two, called "show what you know" where the judge yells out commands or "moves" and they are supposed to replicate what they learned in class.......we could have practiced this one a little more in hind sight, he didn't place even though Chris and I thought he was a shoe in for 3rd....but that's why they don't have parents as judges I guess. Still did good.

Event number three: "walk with confidence" This is where you have to walk up to the judge and state your name, age, and what school you attend. Let's be honest eye contact with adults/strangers isn't Brady's strong suit, but he did us proud. (you may have to turn the volume up as you can see he might need another session to be a bit more confident) I am gonna go ahead and say the shrug of the shoulders at the end could have knocked him out of running....hahaha.....gotta love him.....the walk with confidence and he is shrugging his shoulders as if he is unsure that is really his name......ugh I could eat that little cutie!

Fourth and last event "Sparring" (ie dueling with another contestant)

Bring it on.......

Hilarious.....

Here is one of the sparring rounds......he won the first out of three......I will spare you and only include the one he actually won. He did good since he never really understood until about 5 minutes prior to the spar how you got points and actually won a "bout". I also have to be honest Chris and I had to resist with everything that we had from yelling out absurd things from Karate Kid like "FINISH HIM" and "SWEEP THE LEG" but we held back realizing we were watching two five year olds

Brady ended up placing Third in sparring and again, thought he was walking on water with these trophies, mentioning every 3 to 4 minutes that they were way "huge-er" than the "one" Brookie has at home.

So to say the least the tourney was a HIT and I have a feeling we have not seen our last days of Karate.

Our Pollywog.

She has been practicing and practicing and practicing.......singing and singing and singing(let's face it we all were by the end of it....I even caught myself singing it at the bank the other day)......running lines and running lines and running lines.....and WAITING and WAITING and WAITING to make her musical debut. The show was really cute, Brooke was cast as a pollywog (tadpole) in the Musical A froggy Day in Lindentown, a show about a Bully Frog that comes to town and stirs things up a bit. The kids were great and loved being on stage. It is fun to watch your kid's smile during the performance and rewarding her with a bouquet for a job well done at the end like she just finished Les Miserables. I can't wait for next years!

Our Pollywog giving a shout out.....

That's bully.....Bully yeah Bully thats right.....a line from my favorite rap song.

Never a dull moment with the lil' guy, but in his defense the play didn't start until 7pm and he knew the thing from start to finish anyway....

Brooke's solo speaking line above and her solo singing portion below that of course you won't see because my memory card was full the moment she walked up to the microphone, figures. But I did catch some of the ensemble and I can't imagine we won't be purchasing the full DVD when we get the offer in her folder this week.

Roller Coaster......

These past two months have been nothing but a pain in the neck. Literally. It’s really unbelievable the amount of medical ailments I have encountered within 60 days. Let’s recap shall we…..(I am only putting this to paper so I can laugh about it one day……but unfortunately that day is not here yet!)

• I turned 39.
• Next week I woke up with a swollen left hand, so much so I couldn’t make a fist or type at work.
• Saw a hand specialist at my work she worked on me and then decided this wasn’t normal go see a hand surgeon.
• X-ray at the hand surgeon told me I have a floating sesmoid bone; they should be on the palm side of your hand mine was up on my knuckle side, okay great.
• Get a shot of cortisone straight into my knuckle and he warned me it would hurt and it did, so much so that I stood up because I felt a wave of nausea come over me and went for the sink when I passed out cold in the 8 ft doctors arms. (Are you kidding me and we are only at bullet point number 4) wake up with drool on my sweater and a straw of orange juice in my mouth. Missed the rest of the day at work.
• Went to go get blood work done to test for arthritis – came back normal and not at risk. Finally some good news.
• Two days later hand back to normal. Hip Hip Horay…..Age has nothing on me…..
• Two weeks later woke up (you will see a trend here) with a kink if you will, in my neck and shoulder blade. Been down this road before no big deal will get adjusted and get back to life.
• Next day wake up with a vice grip on my neck and head. So much so that I can’t lift my own neck or head off my pillow. The pain was so extreme that touching my face or combing my hair literally sent me into a pain coma
• Try to sleep in any position but laying down, I considered having Chris duck tape me to the wall just to get some shut eye…..the backward motion of laying down still makes me shiver as I type this…..
• Head to the ER because I couldn’t take the pain – got a shot in the hip of pain meds, drove straight to Walgreens to pick up Vicadin, muscle relaxers, 600MG of Ibuprofen, flexiril, feldene lets just say my purse became a drug store, my body became a zombie, and my life took a sudden halt.
• Go to an orthopedic surgeon to get an x-ray – confirmed that my neck/spine are not in there normal backwards c- shape….mine straight line……he thinks its some discs out of place but lets just get on meds and therapy before an MRI is needed.

• Two weeks of no sleep, a lot of ingested meds, and no progress I head to get an MRI.
• MRI results come back I have three discs out and an annular tear in one of them. SUPER. Did I mention that there was no injury or no triggering event other than waking up one morning……so of course I blame Chris for beating me in our sleep….remember I am hoped up on lots of meds.

• He also proceeds to tell me that there is no surgical procedure to repair a tear….and it could take up to 6 months to heal itself……Fantastic!
• So at this point I am running my own physical therapy clinic out of my basement, mobile traction machine, e stim unit……. (benefits of the job)and I am trying to be patient but bordering on insanity from not working out, not sleeping through the night, not snuggling with my kids without a warning “easy on the neck”
• I finally get in with a pain clinic to get an injection, (thanks to some strings being pulled since they told me I would have to wait four to six weeks to get the injection once they surgeon decided I needed it……are there that many people in pain? WTH?
• Go to the pain clinic get an epidural in my neck and cortisones shots on my c4 and c5 (Yeah at this point I can speak in medical terms)
• Feel instant relief of the throbbing head/shoulder pain! TEMPORARY VICTORY! I will take it.
• So within these two banner months I have maxed out my deductible in 60 days, I have purchased a $70 memory foam pillow that is like quicksand for someone with a neck injury to get out of, I wear a neck brace sometimes, I have and go have PT done 2-3 times a week (luckily its convenient for me.)
• Semi feeling some relief – I have lost the pain and sharp pinch behind my shoulder blade (forgot to mention that is a sweet perk of the one disc I had out it was associated with that nerve) and enough mobility that I no longer have to take my seat belt off and rotate my entire body every time I make a right hand turn.
• ….just as I was on my way to recovery……
• I woke up (no lie……..I mean at this point I am installing a nanny cam, right?) with a finger that is black and blue and pointing the wrong way……how does one jam a finger in the course of eight hours while doing no physical activity??
• Also woke up two days later with some numbness and pain in both pads of my feet……so now I can’t turn my neck or walk on my feet??? I mean for sure I will laugh at this some day, right? Could be the cortisone running through my body, or just another injury to add to the list.
• Have had thoughts of doing some online shopping and looking up a “new body” on Amazon.com and hope I qualify for the super savings free shipping.
• Even I am getting sick of the “poor me” drama of this post. But all I am saying if this is 39 I don’t want to see what 40 looks like.
• And as a reminder when I am all good and better, I need to come back and read this because I will appreciate every moment that I will wake up early to get back in my running shoes and back on the trail, and will not complain one bit. (I am pretty sure I have maxed out my complaint quota for 2012, Chris confirms.)

Gheez.......

Sometimes it just won't get done unless you do it yourself......

A Right of Passage

There are a few things as a parent that you can’t explain the joy of experiencing them with your child. There are those milestones of them growing up, reaching new crossroads, but what I never expected was one of those moments to be “watching Star Wars” with your little boy. I mean I know it is sort of a right of passage for the male gender to watch this movie and fall in love with it but being of the female gender and sort of a realist I was never into it, never understood it, and completely could not grasp this six foot hairy human like creature who only moaned the whole movie. But sitting down and watching Brady’s mind in motion as he experienced a whole new set of “superhero” like characters was one for the record books. Listening to him and Chris discuss the plot (I actually never knew there was one) and him actually understanding what the heck a death star and wookie is was truly a site to see. He asked questions for two hours straight and starred in amazement. So in typical Brady Munson fashion it has become his latest and greatest obsession. We got through the original three (which is really 4,5, & 6???) and Brady has been begging daily for us to stop watching American Idol so we can see episodes 1, 2, & 3. Hopefully we can make that happen soon. Until then, Brady has been on a non stop adventure land with all the Star Wars characters…..Lucky enough Dad and Uncle Greg still have the original death star, all the original figurines, except a few that are in Lake Michigan somewhere, and they were gracious enough to let this little guy “borrow” them. He is accumulating piles of books, that he enjoys and I am getting educated on, wears the logos proud, calls our neighbor just to hear his awesome impersonation of “chewy” and of course the light saber which now everything that is long and skinny has to make the “juuttteeee” sound when its in his hands. Here are just some pictures to remember the time where Brady Munson had his Star Wars right of passage.

Sporting his new Valentine gift.......his red shirt for the day was immediately replaced before he left for school.

The Guys......stored in what else a Darth Vader head......compliments of Dad and Uncle Greg.

Learning the ins and outs of the Millennium Falcon.....

Just another day of fighting with good vs. evil..........




Just because its funny.......

http://youtu.be/2nJmXBEx7FA

If you build it..........

THEY WILL COME.......

Well maybe they will come......if it would get cold......so the one year we are on the ball and Chris got the boards up, the tarp ordered and laid out, the goals built, and the skates sharpened we spent the better half of December and January waiting.........it has been one of the warmest winters that I can remember and the first that we have been praying for freezing temps.

We thought about an outdoor hot tub if we could install a heating tank.....

But then finally it came! The below freezing temperatures came, and left, and came and left....and came and left.....So we have been skating and waiting and spraying down, and then skating and waiting and spraying down. Mother Nature is making Chris work for it this year.

But they definitely come in loads when the ice is out there. The kids have had a ball and their skills are improving!

Poppa taking a whirl at Goalie....

Brooke going for a spin.....she likes to give chair rides to the little ones.

She loves to be out there skating, hockey or just sliding.......it is the perfect winter playground.

Brady and Dad facing off....

Dad living the dream.....

The girls snuggling on the ice.

They love night skating under the lights........

school night - what's that? "can we go out and skate" & "10 more minutes"

We recruit any help we can get -funny enough this gets shoveled before our driveway at this point.....

apologies to all their teachers homework time has been officially replaced.

Here is Brooke making up a new sport blade ball........

So cross your fingers for a cold finish to the winter......we need the prayers......forecast for tomorrow almost 50 degrees......boo hoo........

KIAI..........

Our Ninja warrior had one request this winter. Karate. Brady is constantly pretending to be a ninja, more along the lines of the mutant turtle or the Lego ninjago, than the disciplined concentrated type. So we went off searching for Karate classes for five year olds. We spent one morning "viewing" a class at a Karate "Academy", and thank goodness we did. The class had 9 year olds, 40 year olds, 6 year olds, 30 year olds, and they stretched and did slow mental poses for a good 45 minutes straight and as Chris and I caught wind of the quiet concentrated class doing their business and the five year old in the toy corner doing side kicks and yelling He-yah at the top of his lungs while doing a dive roll back to the viewing section, we gave the head nod to each other that we are all set here, this is not for one Brady Munson. We thought perhaps Karate isn't for five year olds we should wait, these "academies" are monthly membership types and not what we were looking for. Luckily a flyer came home in his backpack one day and what do you know a Karate class sign up for 5-7 year olds and its for eight weeks.

JACKPOT!!

And Boy was it ever........."Kiai", I quickly was corrected is the official "grunt" for Karate not the aforementioned "he-yah". And we heard it loud and proud the first night!

KIAI!

This one hour class was the single most amusing thing I have watched in a long time. Brady was in his element he couldn't have been more excited and thrilled to "be told" to act out these moves and yell like he has done a million times at home.

The get up kills me.......

The cherry on top..... his good buddy from young fives was surprisingly also registered for this class......so the sparring begun.

I will make sure I put my camera in action mode next time!

The class has approx 30 kids.....yep....30 I and yes I thought the same thing .....utter Chaos. But kudos to this woman who runs the program she had all 30 kids sitting fully concentrated for an hour straight and yelling Kiai on cue. Shes loud, she yells a lot and they were in utter compliance to her every word.....hmmmmm.......I yell .....I am loud......and in control ......I am not ......must remind this lady to put on a seminar for the parents!

Brady and a few buds from his class!

Here are a few videos of him in action......I tell you what I don't know who is more excited to go next week him or Chris and I. We had so much fun watching him and laughed for an hour straight.

These were a few memorable quotes from the Ninja himself after class on the way out to dinner.

1. That was really the beeeeessssst night of my lllllliiiiiife...... said very dramatically.

2. I am going to sleep in my costume tonight.

3. Do we go to Karate tomorrow

4. While in chipoltle......KIAI..........KIAI........KIAI........KIAI.......

So Jackpot indeed!

Sweetheart Swirl - 2012

Brooke and Dad attended another daddy/daughter dance a few weeks ago, and my most proud moment wasn't when she walked out the door with her dad to dance the night away but rather on our shopping excursion to find "the dress" She of course twisted my arm and requested that we go see what kind of dresses were out there, I complied, shopping for dresses.....I am in. We headed to the mall found some awesome dresses, I told her they had to be age appropriate. She understood. Some she would try on and she would say this is too Nicole and inappropriate (meaning Nicole Scherzinger from X-factor not you coco.) she was making good choices and then she finally found one and fell in love with it. I did as well since it was on the 75% off rack. We took it to the counter and the lady said that will be $45. I looked at the lady and said isn't it 75% off she told me it must have been misplaced on the wrong rack. I saw Brooke's eyes go sad but she just looked at me and said "Mom, that is too much money to spend for one night, even if I used it for dress up" I replied "Yeah I think your right, hon." (insert proud money management mom moment) She was bummed but she agreed it was the right thing to do. The next week she came home with a bag after playing at our next door neighbors house and said "Mom you'll never believe the bargain I found" "Bargain...okay I am all ears" "Ms. Nikki said she had some extra dresses that I could look through to borrow for the dance and one of them looks kinda like the one I wanted to get." "Wow Brooke that was really nice of her, so do you like it" "Yes I love it, and the best part Mom, is it is FREE" (insert second proud accountant mom moment.) So off she went to the dance with her Free borrowed dress from Luci to dance the night away with her dad.

Beautiful and economical.

Brooke and her Date.

Group picture with Luci and Hannah.

This year the dance gave the girls a pearl bracelet.