The blazing heat

The heat lately is unbelievable. I had soccer camp this mroning and it was so hot. I can't believe I used to be able to play high level soccer in 100 degree weather. I remember doing it,and it never being too much a bother. Coaching in this heat is just too much, nowadays. I guess this is what happens when one gets older. Funny... last week we had a relay race against the campers and LOST!!! It was depressing and embarrassing. Hey, even ay 36, I feel as though I am still 26 and in top soccer-like shape, able to out run anyone in my path. I guess 1 decade and 3 babies makes a difference, I will not hear any of it... I have to start training even harder so i can out run those 18 year olds!! I guess this moment happens to everyone. You feel as if you are still in your 20's, you think you look like your still in your 20's( but I know-- we dont, but it is fun to pretend that we do), but you are not. Your body lets you know that all of the time. I guess as we age the heat becomes tougher to deal with. So besides watching out for the pets and the elderly... watch out for all of those that forget how old they really are.

What a difference a nap makes

Today I had a nice 90 minute nap. Actually the entire house was sleeping between 1-3pm today. it was so nice. I have soccer camp tonight, so I will get there very refreshed and ready to go. Dylan and Kenzie are still sleeping and it is already 3:45! They love going to soccer camp and can't wait to go tonight. They can just run around outside in the heat for 3 1/2 hours and it does not even phase them. they keep begging to stay. I was telling them last night.... look everyone has left so it is time to go now. Must be nice to be young and playing is the most important thing ever! Well I got to go get ready to head back to camp tonight. 3 hours of entertainment for Dylan and Kenz!

another day at the beach

We have been going to the beach quite a bit this summer. Dylan gets braver and braver each day. he wants to go out where the big waves are and since there is no way I will let him brave the waves solo, I go out there with him. Boy was it rough today. He loved getting knocked down and then got right back up. It is funny, as a kid I can remember swimming out as far as the life guard would allow us to go( were there even lifeguards??), but here I am, a mom, and made dylan brave the waves with me or his dad in front of the life guard stand. Mackenzie does not like to go in , she just runs in a little and then runs out to beat the waves. Alex likes the beach as well, we had a very nice day! Today we all took a nap from 245-5pm. The whole house shut down! i think the beach knocked us all out. We had steak for dinner tonight which is my daughters new favorite food. I think tomorrow we will go to my mothers house to go in the pool for the day, hopefully it will be nice out. It is now a little after eight and even with a long nap. Mackenzie and Alex are catching Z's and Dylan is about to go to bed in about 5 minutes. He keeps checking the scores with his father. I think John loves having a little co pilot. I can't believe we have been out of school for over a month already! Boy does time fly when you're having fun!

Dancing with the stars... just wait!

Well Dylan and Kenzie went to the Leonardo beach party on Thursday night and I learned alot from them. First and foremost, they do not get their dancing skills from me. I have absolutely zero rythm, I mean none at all. The two of them were dancing fiends. they even went on stage at the end of the night. Everone was looking at the little 3 year old in a polka dot bikini, thinking she was Brittany Spears. I kid you not, my little daughter was shaking her bootie. I was a riot. Dylan mastered the chicken dance and was so upset when the party was over. I thought we would stay about 90 minutes... Nope, we were there right through the last dance and clean up. Dylan was so upset when it ended that he was crying. It was 9 o'clock and my kids normally go to sleep by 730. They had a blast. Great job Middletown Parks and Rec!! I guess shyness will not exist in the Haar household. So far I have two big Ham's on stage, and I am sure Alex will be right along with them. If Kenzie is still dancing like that at 13, I am in trouble, well her father is!! It was a great night. On another note.. My kids did awesome on the advanced placement exam. 31 out of 33 passed. 15 received 5( highest score), 13 received a 4( like a B), and 3 received a 3( c), the other 2 received a grade of 2 unforunately( that is the equivalant to a D, and they will not recieve college credit). I am disappointed that 2 students did not pass, but 31 out of 33 is quite an accomplishment so I am proud of it. I was hoping for 90%, and did better than that! There are very few times as a teacher where you can really see how you are doing, and this is one of them! I am thrilled! Next year though the goal is 100%. It can be done!

Poor Baby

I am sitting here listening to Alex scream at the top of his lungs. Now one may ask, why am I letting it happen.... Well the speech therapist who charges 175.00 an hour is here working with him, and she like all of the other therapists likes it best when mommy is not around. So I guess I am used to the crying by now! So today is the first day of the private speech lesson, EI evaluated him in April and indicated that speech/feeding was necessary yet we are still waiting on a therapist. So now I am doing it once a week private. I am sure my insurance will reimburse me all of 62.00 for each session, oh well what are you going to do. Well the screaming has stopped and Alex is working on a nice big grape lollipop. I would not be screaming with a lollipop in my mouth, but he does not want to learn to chew and eat so he is fighting it! John took Dylan and Mackenzie to the beach, so I am just hanging here trying not to watch what is going on. I just hope I did not just pay 175 for him to eat a lollipop!!

My Mom MVP hands down!

Well this weekend my husband and I went to Ocean City, Maryland. For those of you that live in jersey and have never been, I highly recommend it. When a weekend is all one has they want to make the most of it. Ocean City is the perfect escape. We dropped the kids off at 830am on friday and were having a beer aboard the ferry at 11am. We had an awesome weekend. We layed on the beach, had numerous cocktails, walked the boardwalk, and just really slowed down and enjoyed each others company. We celebrated our 6th anniversary on this trip and it was splendid. We would not have been able to enjoy this weekend if it was not for my mom. She took the kids the entire weekend and allowed us to get away from it all. It is no small task for someone to take care of 3 children who range in age from 1-5. She knew my youngest still woke up in the middle of the night f0r a bottle and still signed on to take them. It was the ultimate win-win for my family. The kids had so much fun that the two oldest did not even want to come home, and we had a blast. My mom also served as an inspiration to me as I got my belly button peirced. I know I am 36, but what the hell, if she could get a tattoo a few months back, why can't I get my navel pierced. So I went for it and am very happy with my new jewelry! My daughter loves it, so if anyone who reads this( mom, dawn, elana) knows of where I can get a stick on for the belly button to appease my daughter, please let me know! So mom, we toasted our mimosa to you Saturday morning, as the weekends MVP!!

A weekend alone

My husband and I are leaving first thing tomorrow morning to Ocean city Maryland. We are dropping the kids off at my moms and then heading down the parkway. We are hoping to catch the 11am ferry and have a drink in hand by 11:15. WE have not been away alone since 2003( thanks mom again for that trip!). We plan on making the most of the glorious 48hours that awaits us. I hurt my back and neck on Monday. I do not know how I did it, but it hurts like hell. It was not helped last night when I had to try an excercise class. I thought I would be okay since the class did not involve any weights, but I think it made it worse. So due to my crazy addiction to the gym, I now have to suffer an extra day. Hey there are worse things a girl can be addicted to! I love going twice a day though. The time to myself to just sweat is kind of nice. So until my neck heals, it will be strictly cardio. Running does not seem to bother it, it actually loosens it up. I heard from two of my former students and they did well on the AP test. I was happy. so far we are 2 for 2. the 2 I found about about both passed. One with a 4 and one with a 5. Students can pass with a 3, 4 or 5. 5 is the best though. My goal for the class is all 4's and 5's. I really hope they remember to email me when they get their scores, BUT WOULD I REALLY REMEMBER MY TEACHERS HOME EMAIL ADDRESS OVER THE SUMMER-- PROBABLY NOT! So thats it. Off to Ocean City tomorrow to hand on the beach and sip Margaritas!

Food Glorious Food

One may think that I am obsessed with food, and they would probably be right. I mean, I have always loved to eat for as long as I can remember, I even joke around that I workout so much to support my love of eating. It turn out my third child has a problem with swallowing. This would explain his poor weight gain and lack of eating. My husband, Alex and I went to Children's Specialized Hospital in toms River for Alex to get evaulated again. This time by their feeding team. The poor little thing is getting evaluated every other day, but he has not complained, he is a trooper. It was nice to travel with just my husband and little one, Dylan and kenz were happily swimming at momma's so it was just the three of us. We get to this hospital and it is a great child friendly facility. The waiting time was minimal and the doctors were attentive. We met a developmental pediatrician first, who spent a full hour with us then it was off to the feeding team. We met with a Speech Pathologist, Nutritionist, Occupational therapist, and a Psychologist. Alex got to try and eat all sorts of foods, and behaved in the typical fashipn that he does at home. he eagerly wants the food, yet can't really figure out how to eat it. It must be frustrating for him. Right now he is holding an Oreo, desparately trying to eat it and most of it ends up on his face. So the feeding team told me to stregthen his formula( Yes he is 14 months and is still on formula, but instinct was correct here, thank goodness for the cosco brand) and to keep giving him small soft foods and get him speech/feeding therapy 1-2 times per week. So there you have it. More therapy. I mean I am not complaing because it is summer time and we have the time to take him to thrapy 6 times per week!, Come September this will be hard. I wish i could trade places with the little guy. I could give him my ability to swallow and eat the most fattening foods out there and he could eat whatever he wants. Dieting would be a breeze that way, until then though, I must keep trying to fatten him up!