Mmm...Yeah, Henry's mom is a Mahomie.

This was a big week for Henry. 

He is now 10 years old.

Double digits.

And so some pretty cool things happened for Henry this week. 

For his birthday, our little H-bomb wanted to see Austin Mahone in concert who happened to be coming to town just 2 days after the big birthday.

For those who might not familiar with his body of work, Austin Mahone is an 18 year old singer dancer dude…and is quite awesome. 

At the concert I learned that fans of Austin Mahone call themselves MAHOMIES.

And so I became a mahomie.

And when handsome and polite young Austin came on stage and asked… 

"Hey yo, mahomies, wassup?" 

Henry and I both threw our hands up and yahooed along with all of the other mahomies in the house. 

This is Henry in eager anticipation for Austin to sing his hit single Mmm…Yeah. 

Usually he performs this song with Pitbull… sadly, Pitbull was not in the house but Austin was still able to rock it solo.

I agreed with Henry...Mmm…yeah was fairly epic.  

After the show, we waited in front of the electronic signage for the Austin banner to come up…"take it quick, mom" So here is Henry, double thumbs up in front of the Austin Mahone sign. 

For my friends who might not yet be mahomies, Austin is a mom approved kind of guy with really quite amazing Michael Jacksony dance moves. 

And while I personally don't think that dance inspired crotch grabs add much to the show, Austin didn't ask me for my opinion and so grabbed his very own man parts a few too many times…which was the only not so pre teen friendly part of the show. 

But, well…whatever.

So I forgave him for those indiscreet grabs, especially since I think they were likely inspired by Michael Jackson, king of pop and inventor of moonwalk/ man parts grab.

And really I was just really very happy to be out rocking a Wednesday night with my still sweet ten year old Henry who was happy to be out with his newly mahomied mom.    

For Those on the Verge of Going Julianne on a Zucchini…BEWARE!

For all who right now might be thinking how awesome it might be to julianne up some delicious zucchini for dinner tonight, this is my public service announcement to you.

Stop! 

And step slowly away from the evil julianne-er device pictured here.

It will hurt you and forever rob you of your zucchini innocence.

And there is a decent chance you might end up lying of the kitchen floor giving it your all to not faint while your sweet little 8 year old neighbor friend advises you to "breathe into your center." 

Which was really the best advice ever…and most helpful at the time.

And so as I am now in full thumb recovery, I am ordering anyone related to me (this means you Anna and Mary!) not to partake in this dangerous activity. 

Your thumb is no match for this device and will most definitely lose. 

AND it will totally hurt A LOT and definitely give you the Heebiest of Jeebies. 

Happy Friday Friends- stay safe!

Being 46, but feeling 13…Back in the Saddle.

About a year ago, I got back in the saddle and got serious about riding again after being away for a really long time… maybe 15 years.

Mostly it been a whole lot of fun…I love to ride and really enjoyed it when I was much younger and I still do… but it's a lot different riding as a grown up mom than it was in years gone past. 

And by different, I mean very, very, humbling to body and brain..  

This weekend the girls and I went to a show, and the boys were not exactly thrilled to spend the day watching their mom and sisters ride around in circles, but I made them come anyway and Jamie took these photos. 

There aren't many things that you can do when you are 46 that make you feel exactly like you did when you were a 13 years old, but for me riding is one of them. 

Jamie took this photo of me as I was on course and I look just how I felt… really nervous and also kind of barfy.

I had just made a whole slew of mistakes and was really mad at myself for making bad decisions and messing up. 

This is the not so fun part of feeling like your 13 again. 

Lyle looks pretty annoyed too and cranky with his ears back.

I have relearned that riding, like most good things in life, is all about balance and rhythm… keeping the same consistent pace and having enough momentum to get the job done, but not so much speed that you are out of control. 

A little luck and some happy zen are helpful also… this is the cool part of feeling 13ish.  

I am really impressed that Jamie got an over the jump photo of us, and I am most proud of being square in the middle of the fence, that doesn't come easy to either one of us.    

Here, Lyle and I are having an argument. 

He wanted to go super fast and I thought that was a pretty lousy idea but couldn't do much about it. 

Lyle thought that was HILARIOUS that would even try. 

I like that Jamie shot it going downhill fast, because that's exactly what was going on.  

Jess Jurkowitz is a extremely talented rider and by far the most patient and understanding trainer in the world. 

There is something really terrific about having a teacher that you 100% trust and is able to lend you enough confidence to reach your goals. Even if I'm a little (or a lot) nervous of doing a particular exercise, I know she wouldn't ask me to do anything beyond my capability. And again, I often find myself feeling middle school-ish… a little scared but happy to have a good teacher on my side. 

Jamie thought this was a cool photo of Lyle and I cantering through the smoke from the lunch tent grill while warming up.
Cheeseburger smoke makes watching your mom canter in circles far more dramatic and exciting.     

I like that he captured the essence of Lyle's butt and his cute little toes, while leaving mine out of the picture.
My son has great photographic skills. 

And then he took a selfie which is an expression of how he felt at that moment.

And also one of his brother… Henry was pretty bored by the experience as well. 

And this is me when I really was 13 years old.
And I find that the grown up me is still trying to do the same… looking for a steady balance, counting out the rhythm and then holding on tight. 

Hello, Big Yellow Bus… Goodbye Summertime.

This first day of school photo is a little bit of a miracle.

The kids are dressed and ready, several minutes before the bus arrived…the girls are wearing skirts and jumpers with all their buttons and both boys have belts and glasses on their noses. 

All shoes are tied and most miraculous of all… they are standing kinda close-ish to each other and smiling.

It was a happy first day for both kids and their parents.

Lilly began life as an eighth grader… oldest grade and so one of the big cheeses of middle school. 

Henry started his fourth grade year… the oldest biggest cheese grade of the lower school. 

Jamie was excited to begin the sixth grade but spent the last few weeks of summer consumed with fear over losing his long summer hair to a back to school haircut.

His fears were indeed realized, but we compromised and let him keep it in a longish over the ears style, which he is certain looks less cool then his flowing, swoopy summer hair.

I think he looks like a cute 80's kid but he was unconvinced.

But I do think our family spent more time than anyone really should dealing with 12 yr old guy hair anxiety. 

And Rosie jumped into the first grade with much happiness and a school uniform for the first time…bonus points to whoever came up with uniform blouses with Peter Pan collars….she looks ready to learn something awesome.

 Thank you Cincinnati Enquirer for putting color comics in the daily newspaper… today Henry was first read them.

Not long after I took this final before school photo Karl and I were alone in our kitchen….

It was eerily quiet.

And weird without our noisy, rowdy kids.

And then I had a little mom panic wave…

I realized that I was so worried about the logistics of getting them to school that I forgot to consider about what their first day would bring each of them.

More concerned about socks and buttons and shoes that fit rather than anything more important… too busy with the details to worry about the big stuff. 

But somehow, even without my needless mom worry,  they did just fine, and each kid reported a drama free and a happy first day.