Weekend Update - It's all about ME!

It's all about ME.

Well, actually, it's so totally NOT about me, but last night all I could think about was ME.

So, today, it is all about ME. When I get the photos organized, there will be a post All About Aidan and another post All About Bridget.

But, back to ME.

Guess I'm feeling that way because the last 48 hours have been completely dedicated to the support and well-being of my children. Well, for the last 11+ years, LIFE has pretty much been dedicated to that, but there are seconds, minutes, sometimes even HOURS where it isn't.

Not the last 48.

Up by 7am Saturday. Wake The Girl, feed her, gather up the tack and head to the barn so she can get in one last good practice before tomorrow's penultimate horse show, The Battle of the Barns. Bathe the horse, Bridget has already cleaned her tack.

Home by mid-day, just in time to wolf down a sandwich and "turn 'n burn" for Aidan's swim meet. Final meet of the season, championships. Do I have everything? Video camera? (is it charged?), extra disks? history and analysis of Aidan's swim times? Goal sheet? Does HE have everything? Towels, goggles, cap, food, drink, nintendo, ATTITUDE???

Head to Frisco, sit in noisy, uncomfortable aquatic center for 5 hours. I'll let you know how Aidan did later, remember, for now, it's all about me.

Dinner, home by 7. Asleep on the couch by 7:15.

Sunday. Up at 5am. Wake The Girl. Feed her - chocolate chip pancakes at 5am because I am The Best Mom in the World. Braid her hair. Be thankful this show doesn't require that we braid the horse's hair as well. Load up tack, cooler w/ snacks, drinks. Camera (is it charged? Do I have extra disks?), helmet, knee straps, hair ribbons, show shirt, show coat, crop, horse treats, blah blah blah blah. You get the picture.

Head to the barn. Play Find The Pony In The Dark. Stand him in front of the headlights of the truck so Mary (trainer) can wrap and pad his legs so he doesn't injure himself on the trip to the show. Feed the Angry Pony copious treats as breakfast hasn't yet been served. Load him up, drive to the show.

Unload the pony. Run around the 50 acre facility between trailer, stall, arena, parking lot, office managing grooming, registration, tacking, equipment movement. I'm hungry. I fed The Girl. I fed the Angry Pony. I never fed me.

Show is about to start. I don't know who is more nervous - The Girl, the Angry Pony or the wilting mama. The Fan Club arrives: Lori, Carolyn, Elle, Lisa, Gillian, Kirsten, Stacey, Kayla, and best of all Daddy.

All in all, it takes about 90 minutes for Bridget to have all her turns. More on that later, as this is still all about ME. The temperature is rising. Run around the facility more dealing with the Hot Angry Pony, haul tack back to truck, etc. Finally I get to sit and watch a friend's daugter show. When she is done, it's time to haul the Tired Pony back to his home. I know I'm missing a teaching opportunity, but I elect to leave Bridget at the show to cheer on her friends while I manage the horse chores. It's quicker that way and I am on a Schedule.

Take pony back to the barn. Bathe him (he's cleaner than I am at this point), disperse all the pads, bridles, girths, etc. to the various places we've pilfered them at 6am. Make sure the Hungry Angry Rude Pony finally gets his breakfast.

Head back to the show. Pawn my daughter off on an unsuspecting mommy for the remainder of the day so I don't have to tear her away from the horses and drag her to the swim meet.

Head home. Unpack the cooler, transfer video camera from Horse Bag to the Swim Bag (is it charged? Do I have extra disks?) See if Aidan has towels, goggles, etc. Load up the car. Remember to move folding chairs from truck to sedan.

Drive to Frisco. Again. Sit in hot uncomfortable aquatic center. Again. Drive home.

Enter house with 48 hours worth of dishes, horse show crap, swim meet crap, and life crap strewn about.

Collapse.

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Somebody Stop Me Please!

Now I have the bug. Those mustang grapes keep ripening on the vine and I just HATE to see them go to waste! I feel as if I must pick, can & preserve them ALL!

Sick, I know.

Domesticity

Look what I did!

It all started when I noticed something growing wild by the side of the road. Hard and green, very small bunches. Gooseberries? Maybe. Who knows, I'm the last person to recognize flora and fauna.

Asked a gentleman whose lived on this road for 20+ years and he said they are wild mustang grapes and they make wonderful jelly, he had his mother's recipe he'd be happy to share.

I still don't really know what possessed me. Maybe it's the whole idea of locavorism. This is as "local" as it gets. So, why not give it a try. Who cares that I know nothing about canning and preserving.

We got lucky. The night I'd designated as "grape picking night" featured a thunderstorm that knocked the temperature down a good 20 degrees. All four of us went and my friend Lori came along too, just for giggles.

We picked several pounds of grapes and didn't put a dent in the supply at all. Left plenty for the birds. Lori and I drank some wine while Bridget and I pulled all the grapes off their stems.



Next day, I put them all in a pot of water and boiled them. They produce a crisp, sour juice of the most amazing clear magenta. Lovely!













I wound up with a couple of gallons of juice. Didn't think I'd get that much, had to go buy more mason jars and several more pounds of sugar.


It was a bit of trial and error. Don't ever let anyone tell you canning is an "exact" science because there is no accurate way of measuring any particular fruit's levels of sugar or natural pectin at any point during their ripening process.


I canned in waves and it took a couple of days, given the amount of juice I had. You need one big pot for sterilizing jars, one big pot for boiling the juice, sugar and pectin, and another big pot w/ a rack of some sort to "process" the jars once the product is sealed inside. This is what makes them bacteria-free and able to be stored without refrigeration for long periods of time.

That is a good thing, as I've now got twenty one pints of grape jelly. Sandwiches, anyone?


I did hold back some grape syrup from one of my experiemental batches. It was delicious on pancakes and even better added to a gin and tonic!

Bridget's Rock and Roll Kitchen

As I've said before, Bridget is a real foodie.



Bridget and her friend Ashleigh made brownies the other day and recorded it.

It was TOO CUTE. They planned every take, scripted it, wrote their lines on a white board set next to the camera, etc. She may have a future as the Next Food Network Star!



There is a "blooper reel" at the end that is pretty funny. Enjoy!

What'd ya think? Leave comments for Bridget to read!

All is Right with the World

My universe is back in alignment. Aidan returned from Boy Scout Camp yesterday. Feels good to have him back under my roof.

He's got quite a few bumps and bruises, poison oak and chigger bites, complaints about the food. All in all, he had a great time!

He and Ray are working on building a fold out table for the clubhouse - the photo is Aidan learning to use the drill press.

Pride

Subtitle: More braggin' on my kids

I know my daughter isn't the first kid on the planet to win a blue ribbon at a horse show. And Aidan isn't the first kid to improve his times at a swim meet.

But, to me, it feels as if they are.

I guess all parents feel that way. They are the first kids on MY planet to do so!

Bridget had her final show of the Summer Nights series at Hidden Lake on Friday. It's a four-show series, and we skipped the first show due to the tough times she'd had with horses and lessons. Shows #2 and #3 were huge successes with 3 and 4 first-place wins, respectively.

Last night? Not so much, but I don't mind a few "life lessons" on the road to victory. It was just proof to Bridget that not every day can be YOUR day. Especially in a sport where the outcome is subjective. There are several little girls from a barn in Oklahoma that have competed against Bridget throughout the series and for example, last week NONE of them placed well at all. Didn't even get the 2nd place ribbons. THIS week, they ALL did well, and Bridget got 2nds and 4ths. Different judge, different results.

She was a little mopey about it, but knew she'd done her best, so not too depressed. She even told me that I wasn't allowed to take any photographs. Guess if it isn't a BLUE ribbon, it's not worth documenting?

But, in the end, she had her victory. Her two good weeks garnered her enough points to be named the "Series Champion" at her level, and came with a choice of pretty nice prizes. She wisely chose a new pair of boots.


Took her to the local tack shop today to get the boots. Ray and I had spent considerable time teasing Bridget that we would enter and loudly proclaim "We're here to collect the SERIES CHAMPION prize for BRIDGET GLYNN!" She almost didn't want to go for fear of embarrassment. The tack shop was hosting a fundraiser for paralympic dressage rider, Lynn Seidemann while we were there. What a neat and gracious lady! She let Bridget try on her silver medal from the Athens games, talked to her about fear and how to overcome it, and autographed one of her show ribbons.

This is Bridget wearing Lynn's
silver medal from the Athens
games
















Bridget and her "barn buddies" (hi! Kirsten & Jillian!) pose with Lynn Seideman who signed their show ribbons







So, all in all, with the tough times, the wins and losses, it's been a pretty good month for Bridget.



On to The Boy.

Man, oh man, that boy-child of mine makes my heart sing sometimes. Today was one of those days.

Let me back up a bit an explain the swimming calendar. There are two "seasons." Short course season (25 yard pools) is in the winter and finishes in March. This is GOOD for Aidan because his birthday is right after short-course ends. Add to that, the fact that there are 2-year age groups in swimming. 9-10, 11-12, etc. This spring, he finished his short course season as an "old" 10 yr old (the eve of his 10th birthday), and so finished champs with a whole slew of top place medals.


Then he turns 11. And long course (50 meter) season begins, competing against 12 yr olds.


We talked a LOT about what a demoralizing season this would be, and how he needed to use this training time to build, and expand. Do distances he never did before, swim strokes he didn't like. All because he was pretty much going to be at the back of the pack anyway, so why not.


Like Bridget with her riding, there were a lot of tears. Threats to quit. Negotiations about skipping practices. Loss of confidence.


Today was one of those days I can draw on and say, "Remember that meet in Mansfield? How you made all your goals and picked up some new BB times, even in events you hadn't swam ever? Remember how it made you feel?"

Gawd, I hope he remembers how he felt. I sure remember it.

He swam 4 events, and dearly needed to pick up 2 BB times to qualify for champs. It's his last opportunity, he'll miss the next due to being at Boy Scout Camp.


I could take you through it, race by race, but suffice it to say, he picked up three BB times, and even one in a distance event which he'd never done before. He improved his times in every event, which is a rare thing for any swimmer.


The final race of the day, 50 meter free, I was almost willing to let him scratch, just to get home early. He already had a BB time in this event, had 3 successful swims under his belt, was killed by the 200 back, and I'd been there for 4 hours, sweating in the stands.


Then the seeding sheet was posted. Two kids he's been chasing all season, Cole and Aaron, were coincidentally placed in the lanes on either side of him. Out of 85 kids from a dozen teams, his buddies are seeded next to him. These are nice kids. We carpool with them. I love their mommies. But I wanted my kid to beat their kids in the worst way. Me? Competitive? Ha!


Aidan's best time in this event is 35:47. His goal for the meet was 35. That boy of mine beat both those kids by pretty much a body length and turned in a 34:18. It was a thing of beauty. Sorry, Cole, sorry Aaron - you both swam so hard! I promise not to gloat, and so does Aidan. It was fun to see the three of you racing together (how often does that happen?), and somebody had to win.





Yes, I'm proud. Yes, I'm bragging. I know they're not extraordinary (well, maybe a little, sometimes?), but they're mine, and I see how hard they work and the fears and obstacles they overcome, their perseverance, their heart.

THAT's what makes me proud.

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Triple Sweat

A Day in the Life of a Stay At Home Mom

No wimps need apply!



Dave Eggers said in You Shall Know our Velocity, "It's not the first sweat that stinks, but the second."


Awake at 6:30. Make some tea, check email. Rouse The Boy, inquire of the breakfast request (Pancakes? Eggs? French Toast? ANYthing to get some meat on his bones).


Make breakfast. Call upstairs for Aidan. Once more. Again. Go upstairs. Shake him awake again. Hug the sweet kid as he sleepily stumbles his way downstairs. He may be hard to wake, but he doesn't complain about getting up to train.


Pick up 3 other boys and head to Carrollton where the kids actually get to swim in an outdoor pool. They like to arrive early so they can play in the park. So nice to see them playing in the sunshine, acting like KIDS, this group of young swimmers who seem to only train and train and train.


I've got 2 hours to kill while they swim a few miles. Fortunately, the park is lovely, with a nature area, a rookery (bird sanctuary), and lots of trails. I do about 3 miles. It's at least 90 degrees. First sweat. And I mean sweat. I sweat for at least an hour.


Pile the boys back into the car and hit a bagel shop on the way home. They all share a table and trade stories of exploits while I sit nearby, eavesdrop and pretend not to know them.



At home, and endless list of projects awaits. I decide to tackle erecting the new gazebo on the back patio, we lost the old one in a storm. In March. Yeah, I'm behind on my chores.



The instructions call for "4 adults and a step ladder." I figure I can manage it with a little help from Aidan now and then.



It's nearly 100 degrees. Frequent visits inside the house enable me to cool off, feed hungry kids, check in w/ Ray, who's working at home and trying to tune out all of us. Not an easy job.



Thus begins the 2nd sweat. I think it's the worst. It's prolonged. It requires perseverence. I am soaking, dripping.



Finally, I get the gazebo up, with Ray's help towards the end. I string the fairy lights, run the power, set up all the citronella candles, throw away all the trash, put away all the tools. All jobs I wanted to leave until tomorrow, but it is SO NICE to reclaim the patio. We will dine out here tonight.



Back inside to cool off and get ready for the Next Event: more swim practice. Aidan has an "abreviated" 75-minute practice, right before Bridget's. (yes, he has "two-a-days") We live too far from the pool for me to run back home and get anything done while they swim.



Alas, the kids want to PLAY TENNIS while they're waiting for each other to finish. First, I have to play with Bridget while Aidan swims. Then, I have to play with Aidan while Bridget swims. Then, I have to play with them BOTH when neither swims. All in all, I play tennis for over 2 hours.



This is the third sweat.



So far, nobody complains in the car on the way home. Could it be my Secret deoderant?







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Sweep!

Not just ONE blue ribbon.....




Or even two or three......

Little Miss swept her class this week! She gets to finish the series next week and then she's being booted up to the next division! Go Bridgie!

Locavorism

Anyone heard of the term "locavore" ?

It basically means eating what is grown locally and (by default) in season.

I think one could say that the movement was pioneered by Alice Waters (Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA) who initiated the idea of restaurants serving foodstuff that was produced by local farmers. Her ideas gave new life to small growers in northern California, reintroduced the ideas of farmer's markets and brought the absolute freshest, healthiest foods to the table.

It's caught on at the most "local" level possible. Many people are realizing that most fresh produce has travelled farther than they ever go on a vacation just to reach their table. Do you realize what kind of a "carbon footprint" this creates? Think about what it does to small American farmers!

Ray and I recently read "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver in which she chronicles her family's efforts to eat only items that came from within 100 miles of their home. On an extreme and basic level, this is probably more than most of us are up for. Especially me! It involves primarily shopping at farmer's markets and ferreting out local farmers who keep livestock, etc. In some geographies, this is probably more possible than others. On top of all that, one would need to learn preservation techniques such as canning, smoking, freezing, etc. to have a wide variety of nutrients through the lean winter months.

I'm not up for that. While I do enjoy the kitchen arts, I don't know that I want it to be my full time job. I HAVE, however, gotten in the habit of visiting the weekend farmer's market while Aidan is churning laps. Texas isn't all that bountiful, but I can sure incorporate a LOT of fresh local tomatoes, onions (many varieties!), potatoes, peas, beans, and beets into our diet. I found fresh lima beans at the farmer's market last weekend. Bridget LOVES lima beans, and until now, had only ever had them from a freezer. They were GOOD! I often get my eggs from a lady down the road who keeps chickens, and I am looking for local milk. We're getting the supplies to make our own soft cheeses. I even think I know of a neighbor who occasionally has freshly slaughtered beef to sell.

I know it sounds weird and tree-huggerish. But there is something that speaks to me about synchronizing with nature's rhythms and my local environment. The native Americans seemed to get along just fine without bananas (which come from South America). OK, so I'm not willing to give up proscuitto. Or olive oil. Or mayonaise. A whole host of things. But I CAN try to help the economy, enviornment, farmers, etc. by now and then stepping off the Convenience Foods Carousel and making more of an effort.

So far, it's been worth it. I roast, then puree tomatoes, garlic and onions from the farmers market and have the tastiest sauce that I use as dip, sauce, marinade, etc throughout the week. Ray recently recycled a ham hock into a pea soup and used something he found at a local market called CREAM PEAS. Never heard of 'em. I tell you, this pea soup tastes like it is FULL OF CREAM. Not a drop. Hooray for experimentation!

We are considering, considering, mind you, growing some of our own stuff. My idea was a small bed near our driveway. Ray's idea was the back acre. We'll see. My track record as a green thumb is pretty dismal. But I'd like to try to manage tomatoes, beans, lettuces, root veggies, more herbs than I currently grow, squash, and maybe even some cutting flowers. The beauty is hard to resist.

I like the idea, the idea, mind you, of getting more in touch (literally!) with my food, and helping my children to understand where their food actually comes from. So few people understand the origin and cycle of soft spring greens, the sweet summer fruits, the harder vegetables of fall, the roots of winter. There is something primal in me that longs for this, and wants to instill it in my children.

Meanwhile, I will continue to visit the farmer's market, ask the produce guy at the grocery store "what's local?", and even go knock on the door of the house down the road that has the terriffic garden and ask to buy their surplus.



Nature can't be wrong. I think it'll be worth it to listen to her music and dance her dance.





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Bragging on my kids

I'm so proud of my kids.

Aidan is off this weekend competing in a swim meet 8 hours away from home. It's up to him to be where he needs to be, eat well, rest enough, etc. and so far he's doing well. Improved his times in all events today. Gotta love text messaging! I miss being there to see him pour his heart into each and every race and be rewarded by making his goals, but he's growing up and this is a good opportunity for him.

Last week, he graduated from elementary school. Boo hoo, my baby! It was a nice ceremony, and made the kids feel special.

Yesterday, Bridget had a horse show. She's had a rough time of it lately. A couple of hard falls and her confidence has been shaken. She has 3 trainers and they all bring something different to Bridget and have allowed her the fear, but have kept her facing forward and trying to overcome it. There have been LOTS of tears in riding lessons these last few months. I've backed off and remind myself daily that she needs to do this at HER pace, not mine.

The last couple of lessons, there's been no crying. Maybe some nervousness and attempted negotiation in the car on the way over but by the end of the lessons she is smiling and asking to have one more turn.

Whatever her trainers are doing, it's working. She was nearly flawless. Took 3 firsts and a 2nd. Got "Grand Champion" (first overall) in her division for the first time ever.

We've got 2 more horse shows and swim meets this summer, I hope it keeps going so well!