Another Wrestling Saturday!

Eaton Rapids returned with 2nd place in their Division from the Michigan Duals on Saturday night, missing 1st place by 6 points. 16 schools attended and it was hard, tough stuff from 8am till about 8pm. I am still telling Andy that I hurt worse than he does after slipping in a puddle of water on the gym floor and ending up on my back in front of about 500 people.

Andy did well, as usual and the team continued to power through the day ending up in the finals against Goodrich (from the Flint area and ranked #1 in the state). Goodrich had 2 female wrestlers that none of my readers would want to challenge, which made it an interesting match.

We left for Bay City on Friday night at 5:30 with 5 boys that had to weigh in by 8pm. The boys were exhausted and hungry as they had just finished practice and were not to eat until after weigh in. We made it just in time and then raced to Subway to fill them up before bed.

Morning came all too early after the parents stayed in the hotel bar until after midnight. We assembled for breakfast at 6:30am! I really hate morning scheduled events!

The first match was exciting and the day was stacking up pretty good until I hit the floor. The boys had been throwing their "empty" water bottles off the mats and the water was spilled on the floor.....of course, I slipped and fell as I was on my way to take photos.

I then lay in the van and rested between matches, hoping I didn't have a concussion, after hitting my head on the gym floor or wall...who knows what I hit? However, I am a true wrestling Mom and returned for the finals. Eaton Rapids didn't have to warm up the bus until the end as they fought for 1st place, missing it by ever so little.

After eating junk food and Subway on Friday, "wrestler food" from the cafeteria tables all day Saturday, we rounded off our evening with.........Wendys! UGH! I was starving for good food, craving my own coffee and of course a cigarette. I was oh so glad to see my own coffee pot, bed and puppies at about midnight last night.

So today, we are arguing about who is hurt the worst....me or wrestlers! I am not moving today.

South Beach Diet

It is the New Year and time for all the resolutions. Yeah, I am going to do a lot of things differently.....sure, I am. Let's start with the diet....the Atkins nearly turned me into a raving maniac last year in search of carbs, so this time it will be the South Beach Diet. THEY allow some carbs.

It began on Sunday with stir fry of some kind. I say, some kind, because I kept adding vegetables to make enough food to eat! By the end, I failed. I realized that we had 2 extra guests for dinner (not a surprise on Sundays) and I couldn't serve this without rice! Ok.....I only ate a small spoonful of rice.

Monday will be a new day. I had shopped for this, right? I bought $260 worth of damned vegetables. There MUST be a meal in here somewhere. Due to my very own European heritage (French/English/IRISH) there MUST be a potato to make a meal! How to do it without? I began with ground round burgers (no bun, of course), Onions sauteed in just a bit of olive oil....now to the veggies.

Portabello mushrooms stuffed and baked seemed to make a good sidedish. They were stuffed with mushroom bits, onion, cheese and tomatoes. NOT A HIT! Everyone tasted them and said, "No thanks". They WERE however, left on the table and SPIKE finished them off, or so I thought.....the dog actually ate the stuffing and left behind HUGE mushroom parts all over the house. Not a repeat recipe!

Slices of zucchini and yellow squash, tomatoes,onions and mushrooms seasoned with olive oil and spices and baked....Joe ate it. Catie ate the green squash only. Mike and Andy just looked at it. Brussel sprouts steamed in soy sauce....bowl empty!

Ok, by this time I was dying for a Pop Tart or a bowl of Cheerios. I had eaten a can of tuna with lemon for breakfast/lunch and now this culinary feast of dinner was not satisfying me. The Sugar Free Jello didn't get it either. I began to search in a frantic mode....BEEF JERKY!!! It is MEAT! IT IS OK!!!

Does anybody want to start placing bets on how long this lasts?

A True Vacation Day...Sort of

When you stay in your PJs for 24 hours, it is a TRUE vacation day. Ok, I admit to cleaning up and changing PJs, but no trips out into the sub-zero temperatures yesterday for me. It didn't even matter that I went into high gear on organizational and cleaning projects, it was a choice, not a "must". Joe hooked up his "Surround Sound" gear in the living room....(I wasn't consulted on that project) and enjoyed puttering around all day.

He accused me of going from one project to another...who me? However, I am in the midst of packing up all heirlooms, china, etc. I also wanted to clean up my bedroom, which led to making piles....bills and filing, tax records, stuff to shred, stuff to throw away...you get it, right?

Then I continued to try to put away things that had made their way into my room. Hmmmm, where to put them? The first hall closet is stuffed....better straighten it up...what are the tableclothes doing up here? I'll make a pile to take down to the OTHER closet. I will clean that one too....maybe tomorrow?

Have to run downstairs to check on some laundry...hmmm....I have an idea! I will take the HUGE TV that Joe doesn't want to get rid of (even though it is broken) and move it into the utility room so I can clean the family room! I just found my scrapbook scissors that I have been hunting for! (Mikey had them)Then I will go out to the back porch to put them away and let the dogs out....I think I will just sweep up while I am here! Oh yeah...I forgot....I was cleaning the bedroom, I think.

Hey Catie! It is time for Dr. Phil! Let's just lay on my bed and watch.

Yeah, there is a pile of tablecloths in the hall, a bin half filled with china in the living room, a half cleaned family room, half swept porch and it is time for a nap. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh.........

Happy New Year!

I was happy to say goodbye to 2007 for obvious reasons, but the final week was a pretty good one. There is nothing more fun than grandchildren and I had a great time on Saturday night with Alexis, Catie, Nick and Cam. They all spent the night and we did nothing but PLAY! (Except eating pizza and homemade chocolate chip cookies....they wiped out 2 dozen in about 2 minutes!)



As soon as I heard they were coming I went to Target in search of fun things to play with that would work for the entire age group of 6-53....and I found it. UNO ATTACK was a so much fun that we could not stop laughing. For once, it wasn't a night of video games or TV or movies...just family fun and laughter. Every time someone had to push the button on the game and the cards came flying out...the kids could NOT stop laughing...which just made me laugh harder!


PlayDough was next....yeah, I got into it too. I hadn't played with it in years and I think it just might be good therapy. It still smells wonderful, the colors are better than when I was a kid and I made Alexis laugh at my creations!






Even the big boys got into the party when Mike, Andy and friends Justin and Kyle showed up and got the video games going just about the time this Grandma was getting tired. The kids headed upstairs in new PJs from Aunt Cat, invaded Andy's room where multiple games were being played. Cam, Catie and Alexis were singing their hearts out with a sing-along game on the Play Station in her room and laughter could be heard from every room.

Since I had to get up and have Joey to the train station by 7:30 am, Papa felt sorry for me and cooked a big breakfast for all the kids while I got a bit of a nap in the morning after my return. You KNOW it was a fun visit when all the kids are whining when it was time to go home....as for me, I had a wonderful time!