Grandma's visit and my Marathon

What a week ..... I'm definitely feeling a little older as I'm having to think about all the events from last week. Where do I start?

Soccer Update.....none! We were rained out again so the kids enjoyed another week of absolutely no form of exercise what so ever. They'll moan with disapproval but quickly find something to entertain themselves at home. We were really looking forward to the games last weekend and Rits was playing against his former team mates from last season. We have a friendly banter going on saying our team is better. At U8level, we don't even have make-up matches so we may need to arrange something on our own. As for Niks, we were looking forward to another great game and his team has finally realised that playing as a unit is more beneficial than trying to get the glory on your own. We'll have to wait for a couple of weekends before our next game because we have Spring Break next week.

Sunny is home again and his mom is doing great. We really missed him so are glad to have him back. We don't realise how much the men folk do around the house until they are not there....I'm grateful to have him in my life, for sure. The kids missed him too, especially his little Rits...He's a bit of a daddy's boy.

My mom decided to visit for a couple of days so the kids were excited to see her. When ever she comes, she spoils all of us and cooks some great food...mmmmm! She is such a strong woman who never seems to tire and continues to find something to do all the time. She cleared my vegetable patch for me, so it's ready for spring. I'm not much of a gardener so I always look forward to her coming and setting me up. Now all I have to do, is remember to water the plants regularly. She'll even call me to remind me.

My mom found out that Rits is having a few problems at school...he can't keep his mouth closed when it needs to be. He is a master chatterbox and finishes his work quickly so he can talk. I started a new plan at home for him. We made a deal...OK, I made a deal. The first time he came home with a note, I made him write 2 sides of a regular sheet with the following:"Listen more, Talk less". Nice and simple and to the point. The deal is that every time he brings a note home, he has to complete an additional 2 sides. At his last count, he completed 6 sides....we haven't had a 4th note so far.

His Grandma is using her own method to help him...I actually think he is doing better because of her. She has promised him $1 for every "E" he brings home for conduct. If he brings a note, he owes her $2. Money seems to be a great motivation for Rits. I never use money because I feel it's not a good thing, but who can stop Grandma?! I'll keep you posted with his progress.

Niks, meanwhile has been accepted into Duke TIP, because he did well in his SAT test. This is a great acheivement for him and we are extremely proud of him too. We know he is very bright and this has shown us that he is above average and now we are trying to offer the best opportunities to him. There is a three week camp in the summer which he can attend, but we are not sure of all the benefits. Many of his friends are not attending so we'll do more homework before we decide....again I'll keep you posted as we only received the information a couple of days ago.

Now it's my turn...Last weekend was the ING Half Marathon....the one my friends and I have been training for, for the last few months. WE DID IT!! It was and amazing experience....even though we walked most of it. My official time for completing 13.1 miles was 3hour 37 minutes...not bad if I say so myself. We were up at the crack of dawn because we took the train into downtown and the race started at 7am. My legs seemed fine until our return journey. Seeing as we were famished, we decided to stop for lunch, which was a great time for my knee to seize up! Boy, did I feel old. I couldn't wait to get home and rest my legs. I strapped my knee with some tiger Balm and was as good as new the next morning.

I've even managed to keep up with the walking doing slow 20-30 minutes worth just to keep my leg muscles motivated. We've decided to do another walk later in the year so we have something else to look forward to. It's a great way to keep in shape and gives us an opportunity to hang out on a regular basis as it forces us to make time for each other. I may even encourage Niks to join me, if he is old enough.