BMX clinic

Week 2

Some may say: cool, supportive mom

Some may say poser

But, He made BMX class look so easy

and although it might sound cheesy, I gave it a try too!

No, I wasn't any good at it, but just like Owen practicing his football form

If we keep it up, we might get to race

Down the steep hill at the start of the track

Pumping our arms and legs, learning to do a bike dance

round the curves, through the rhythm, up the hills, to the finish .

We were tired, thirsty, sweaty, and sore, but we enjoyed the thrill together and most of all, Survived.

p.s. we passed out homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies at the end to all the parents and kids from the cl!ss (made with gluten free flour, which i did not mention to anyone) they were scrumptious !

10 things i am eating & loving right now

1., 2. 3. Almonds, Almond Milk, and Almond Flour

Everything almonds, they are rich in Vit. E and gluten free and so verstatile.

4. Agave Nectar

the nectar of the agave cactus plant -

a lot like honey and used in replacement of sugar

5. Pure Maple Syrup

Why did i ever buy any other but pure?

6. Xocai Chocolate

have only had it in free samples, but it is the "healthy chocolate" so they say

a "super food"

eat it 3 times a day

OK

7. Smart Water

Not only because i want to look like Jennifer Aniston, but i like the water and i usually seem to find it for $1 a bottle and they are big bottles.

8. Shallots

I have used them a lot lately in cooking and it makes for a really great ingredient in salad dressing.

9. flax seeds

I have put them in salads, smoothies, and cereal.

10. Rice Based Protein Power

this isn't necessarily the brand i use but i have been using it in my breakfast smoothies.

maybe i should have included smoothies in this list too. i love them that is for sure.

BMX clinic

Week One:

Rental helmet: $2

long sleeve shirt: vintage hand-me-down by Dad

pants: old jeans

bike: His birthday gift

Feeling Nostalgic while our super excited 4 year old boy races around a track: priceless

See the boy racing on his tee? It is Mike when he was 4 years old

That tee is about 30 years old and still in good condition

It is time!

Time for Mike to pass the baton and and hand down his love for BMX down to the next generation. It is time for C to experience the thrill of being a boy who can race as fast as his legs will take him.

On Tues. nights at 6 pm the Naples BMX track has a clinic for beginners. The instructor is a patient and skilled man named Ray. The class consisted of two 4 yr. old boys and two 8 yr. old boys of varying skill levels.

We watched and cheered from outside the fence, while keeping this crazy kid entertained.

The started with the fundamentals:

1)Pedal as hard as you can down hill, on the curves, and on the straightaway

2)Do NOT pedal uphill.

3)Stand up on the bike at all times

4)Learn how to stand and coast without pedaling

Note to self: purchase some exercise pants for my son. Each time he tried to mount his bike, his jeans would get stuck on his seat and he needed help getting his leg over. So cute to watch!

Next they attempted the Ramp

and got some one-on-one training

Finally:

time to tackle the Track

By this time, they had been practicing for over an hour and the sun had gone down. These last two pictures are a little too dark. He raced the entire track twice without falling and without stopping. It was amazing to watch. I should have taken a picture of the elated face and the sweat drenched head after coming off the track. "Can we do that every week?" he asked.

I am thinking about creating a New Blog all about the BMX experience as a family getting started in the sport. A place for parents to find out tips, information and how to get involved. There is nothing out there like this now.

Anyone have a great idea for the Name of this new BLog?

Please leave a comment

Happy Birthday

A song for the lovely birthday Girl

for Hope

by Us

Happy Birthday to you

when we spend time with you

you really make us laugh

thanks for being a goof

Happy Birthday to you

when you stay at our Zoo

there are snakes in your bed

and we pick makeup for you

(caeden's verse)

Happy Birthday to you

we'll get presents for you

let's go to the museum

i wanna meet you there soon

Happy Birthday to you

i guess Todd is your boo

you look like our mom

and she loves you too

Happy Birthday to you

you love pointy shoes

but we love Aunt Hopey

from your favorite nephews

(sorry Dylan)

Meet my new little nephew

I am so proud of my sister Amber who gave birth last night to

Dylan Jude Spatola

7 lbs. and 7 ozs of pure cuteness

he is absolutely precious.

Amber was a major trooper with only 1.5 hours of labor.

It was very intense and very fast and all are healthy.

See you Soon little one.

True Story

It never fails that when Mike is out of town, all heck breaks loose. I somehow fall apart. This weekend, he was gone and i already was suffering from a stiff and painful neck. But of course, I also got Sick.!

Then last night happened:

It started out to be so promising, a night out with the Dattilo's to see Noah's Ark Live at First Assembly of God. The kids loved it. I was hoping for a good nights rest since we got home so late. (After the showsome I had to stop and buy some Tyelonol Cold and Flu).

then

At about 2:30 am Sammie (my dog) decided to get sick and vomit

not just once, but repeatedly all night long.

REALLY? tonight of all nights?

doesn't she know that:

I have a head cold and

a stiff neck and

no paper towles in the house and

that Mike is away on a trip

Despite the obvious obstacles, it didn't stop her. All night long she would pace and vomit, i would get up to let her out, but each time i stood up i was so dizzy and had such a headache that i was afraid i would fall and break my stiff neck. I was getting so upset and frustrated. I don't do well on little sleep. By 5:30 I thought, "ok maybe i can get 2 solid hours of sleep in before the kids awake."

Owen woke up crying at 5:45

AND

if that weren't enough my toilet overflowed from all the toilet paper i had to use between blowing my nose and cleaning up the vomit in my bedroom. (remember no paper towels in the house)

The kids woke up around 7:20

from 7:30 to 9:30:

i plunged and cleaned our toilet

sammie has threw up 3 more times (thank God we are carpetless in this house)

and, had to plunge and clean the kids toilet (yes that toilet clogged too )

By 9:30 we left for the Zoo

we met some friends there and it turned out to be a much better day. Arrived home by 2pm. Sammie only had one more lovely gift for me to clean up.

We all took naps and awoke at 5:30pm

Gluten-free Pancakes and Omelettes for dinner

Chick-fil-A ice cream for dessert (tried for Ben and Jerrys but is closed down)

Mike comes home tomorrow

just in time to clean the house for me because we have it listed and are supposed

to have a showing at 2pm. And you know after a day like to day, it is NOT clean.

by the way it is 9:47 right now and the kids are lying in their bed, wide awake and restless.

The verse that kept coming to my head today is from 2Samuel

it says something like "Blessed is he who is not offended with me"

it kept me in check each time i would find myself getting mad at God for all the things that went wrong in the past 24 hours

and kept me in check for not blaming my husband for the fact that he is having fun with friends while I am clearly struggling. :)

My circumstances do not determine my joy and

My GOD is bigger than my circumstances.

Good night

p.s. sammie seems to be doing fine now

A Christian Documentary

On the radio recently, I heard about a documentary called Lord Save us from your followers

a movie about why Christians are so divisive in this world.

so i went to The Search to read his review about the movie. Pretty interesting, See for yourself.

Namaste

Tonight, I had the pleasure of joining in on a Yoga/meditation session with my Aunt and Uncle at the local Unity Church. It has been someting that has peaked my interest for sometime. They lead the sessions every Tues. night. The meditation lasted for about 30 minutes and I used that time to pray, earnestly, sincerely; to call out God's name and claim His presence; to recite the truth found in Scripture; to pray for each person in that room that the Name of Jesus and the truch that He is alive and his redemptive power be so overwhelming that each person not be able dismiss it. There was an emptiness in the room and I prayed for God's presence to penetrate that room. The feeling of oppression is uncomfortable but God is victorious and his peace passes all understanding. Namaste is the term used in yoga for "the light within me honors the light within you." But if they only knew that Jesus is the Light, the Truth, and the Way. A Oneness blessing was given at the end of the session in which the giver (leader) allows the "divine" to pass through him onto the receiver (me). I hope that my openess to being a part this with my relatives allows a more open conversation to flow between us about Christ and his Redemptive truth.

A Taste of the Big Apple

times square

9/16 & 9/17

We are here in New York City celebrating our 9 year anniversary. The place we are renting is a cute 1 bedroom apartment in the Upper West Side of Manhattan -which is more beautiful and more large than i pictured it in my head. It is located about 1 block from Central Park. The area is beautiful and the weather has been gorgeous. We are 1 block away from ABC studios so i went down there around 9:45 to see a few hundred people throw custard pies at each other outside. It was for Regis and Kelly and maybe some Guiness World Record thing. The street was a mess, but the air smelled like Custard. Mike didn't go with me because the handyman had to stop by and fix the toilet. After the first morning flush, it wouldn't stop swirling, so it took him about an hour to put a new part on it. At least it didn't overflow. The rest of the day we walked and walked and walked taking in all the sights, sounds, and smells of NYC until we were so tired we decided to use the subway. Our tourist stops were Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, of course a slice of pizza for lunch from La Beleca and dessert later that night at the famed Magnolia Bakery.

view from boat heading toward statue of liberty and looking back at the city

Luggage from 1500's inside building at Ellis Island

9/18

A morning walk through central park, It is only 2 blocks from our apartment, led us to the Museum of Biblical Art. It was 2 rooms filled with sketches from Biblical stories and old Bibles from the 1500's. We walked to the Museum of Modern Art and found out that on Fridays from 4-8 it is free, and since we like free we decided to come back. Next, we took the tour to Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center and it was such an amazing view to see the whole city skyline. Unfortunately we never made it back to MOMA because we met an old highschool friend of Mike's at Bryant park. She works at HBO. By this time, I had a growing headache. After chatting in the park for an hour or so, we rode the subway, grabbed a bite to eat at a local Chinese/Japanese restaurant on the Upper West Side. I felt so sick i couldn't finish the meal. We left early and by 8:30 I was asleep in bed. I still feel bad about it, but i slept for 12 hours, so i guess i needed the rest.

view from Top of the Rock

9/19

Today was the trip to the World Trade Center. First we visited St. Paul's Chapel which is the church directly across the street from where the Twin Towers came down. It was a haven for many rescue workers at that time and apparently the oldest public building in Manhattan and the place that George Washington worshipped after his inauguration. Inside they have dedicated it as a memorial to the 9/11 victims and rescue workers. There is a beautiful yet tattered quilt that was handmade about the story of a mom telling her son that his father wouldn't come home after the bombings that day and she told her son that God reached down with his hands and picked up Daddy and took him to Heaven, to which the son responded, "Does God enough hands?" I could not hold back the tears.

St. Paul's Chapel

The memorial that the city is planning is amazing.

we ate lunch outside by the water and it was such a beautiful day taking in the view of the statue of liberty. Came back to the apartment to rest and pack. Took the subway down to the West Village to walk around and eat dinner. There was a really large outside market with a lot of vintage jewelry, clothing, shoes, as well as food, and scarves, and you name it. Almost bought 2 pair of cowboy boots but the man didn't know what size they were, so no cowboys in our house yet. Dinner was at the best gluten free restaurant (and only so far) that i have been to. I had risotto with asparagus and saffron and mike had pizza (what else and not gluten free). It was FANTASTIC! I am pretty sure that besides this meal and one lunch we shared every other meal that we ate. The food here is so expensive, and so delicious! It is also a good thing that we walked EVERYWHERE, we didn't take a taxi once, just the subway a few times. Our feet are tired but we saved money and burned calories. I also think that i enjoyed the city more by walking, i felt like a local in my own small town community even though we were surrounded by such huge buildings and a gazillion people. I cannot leave out our dessert tonight is was gelato from GROM and it reminded me just like the gelato in Italy that i get to put in my mouth in less than a month from now !!!

Took a final stroll through Central Park this evening and I must say it is so Pretty! Our stoll took us past Tavern on the Green which is absolutely beautiful with all the lanterns hanging from the trees.

us on Bleecker street

Overall we fell in love with the city, more with each other, and now we are ready to return to our two little ones who we miss so dearly.

Bright and early tomorrow.

9/20

up early at 3:15 am to catch our flight at 6am

it is so good to be home!

Our Restaurant choices while here in NYC and how we rated them:

1. Best Bruchetta: Cafe Fiorello (upper west side)

2. Great Asian Fusion: Spice Market (meat packing district)

3. Greatest Risotto and incredible gluten free food: Risotteria (west village)

4. Best American Gelato: GROM (west village)

5. Best NY pizza by the slice: La Beleca (near Bryant Park)

6. Best dessert: Magnolia Bakery (upper west side)

A conversation

At dinner time tonight:

O: " Mom, can we make some angels?"

C: "I want to be an angel for Halloween"

Me: " Did you know that God's angels are super strong and have spears and swords to fight against the evil forces?"

C: " no, wow, and they ride horses"

somehow story changes to

C: " like the people who hid inside the horse and told the other people it was a present and then they came out of the horse."

Me: dumbfounded that he was talking about the Trojan War:
"wait, where did you hear that story?

C: "in my horse book, why did the king want to give them a present?"

Me: explained that the horse was a trick so the Greeks could surprise them and occupy their land

C: " what does occupy mean?"

Me: "take over someone's land, and did you know that we need God's angels to fight for us because the Devil tries all kinds of tricks to occupy our heart, and we need to make sure that only Jesus occupies our heart." explanation a little more involved but that is the short version

C: " like David wanted to occupy Goliaths land?"

Me: "it was the other was around, Goliath and the Philistines wanted to occupy Israels land"


5 minutes later:
C: " mom, i want to occupy your land"

story ending with C lying on the floor pretending to be Goliath hit by David's stone




i love these conversations

a few minutes later however there were major meltdowns of both boys over having to wear jeans to church tonight. I lost my patience and lashed out at them. which has been happening too much lately. I need to remember myself to not let pride, selfish, impatience, and discontent occupy my heart, but the KING of Kings who can wash me white as snow and make me pure again.