Life of a cheer mom

For all the parents out there who have All Star cheerleaders, you know that it is competition season.  So that means almost every weekend we are dealing with moody teenagers getting ready, getting gas in the car, travelling and heading out somewhere for a competition.

This weekend, we were in Providence, RI for the two day Athletics Championships.  So you either have to be there at the crack of dawn for a 7am meet time or stay until the wee hours of the evening.  Luckily this weekend we were able to drive back and forth and was able to leave by 7pm.

Lexi is on two teams this year, Bellas which is a Junior Level 3 team and Royals which is a Senior Level 4 team.  Here is a pic of Royals winning 1st Place!

This weekend we are off to Cheersport in Atlanta GA.  We are hoping to get a Summit Bid for Bella's and an upgrade to a Paid Summit Bid for Royals. 

Back after many years....

So I have decided to start blogging again as we have far too many memories happening not to keep documenting.

Let's see where to begin now that is 5 years later.

January 2020

So far 2020 has been good to us.

Olivia applied to 5 colleges (Salem State, Colby Sawyer, Wheaton, Merrimack and Endicott) and ended up sending in her acceptance to Wheaton College for the class of 2024!  She worked so hard in high school with her AP classes and job at Winchester Hospital, hard work definitely paid off.

Lexi works just as hard keeping her grades up and is also on 2 all star cheer teams at Bravo.  Jr Level 3 and Sr Level 4.  Her Royals Team (Sr Level 4), received a WildCard Bid to Disney Summit on their first competition.  This team really is the team to watch at the Summit.  We will be heading down in May!

Some of my favorite pics from vacation

We had the best April vacation!  I decided to bring the girls on a cruise this year.  We spent a few days in San Juan, PR before boarding the cruise ship.  Here are a few of my favorite pics and why!

Cake!  Who doesn't love a huge cake.  Since Jewel of the Seas was celebrating their 500th cruise, the bakery chefs made this gigantic cake while we were out at sea.  Lexi was in her glory.

I love just seeing my girls relaxing and enjoying the sun and the pool.  This hotel supplied the guests with floats at the pool area.  What a great idea!  We loved floating around the pool.

The girls couldn't wait to go rock climbing on this towering wall of terror.  Lexi went first this day and showed all the older kids how it's done.  Way to go Lexi!  Olivia is an old pro, she climbed right up rang the bell and was down in a matter of minutes.

We loved exploring the old forts of San Juan, here we are at the very top of the fort.

Did someone say snake!!!!  This guy just went into the woods grabbed a Boa and decided to make it his pet and get tips on the side of the road for getting a pic taken!  Here are my brave kids, mommy not so brave.

What a great experience having your kids snorkel for the first time in the beautiful warm waters of the carribbean. This is a picture of SandCastles Beach, where Lexi snorkeled and took pictures of fish and was able to collect sea glass along the beach.  We weren't allowed to collect seashells and bring them back on the ship - but someone we know smuggled a few on - sshh.

My favorite island was St Lucia - it reminded me a lot of Hawaii. Here is a picture with the pitons in the background.

Well not my standard stateroom but it worked.  The girls loved sleeping on the pullout bunk beds, Lexi only fell off once.  Each night we were back in bed by 8:30pm - don't tell them but do you think the Dramamine I gave them had anything to do with it.  We all had a great sleep and was ready to explore the next morning.

My Cheerleader

Physical strength, flexibility, power, agility, coordination, grace, balance and control again is something I don't have.  But Lexi is all that plus!

Last August, Lexi came to me and said "Mom, I want to sign up for cheerleading".  After drilling her many times, I finally looked into Reading Pop Warner.  We were about two weeks late for signups, but they let us join anyways.  Lexi was now part of a fantastic team, led by an unbelievable coach, Lori Haverty.  At the time, we had no idea just how great this team of 28 girls was.  The bad part was that these girls were just E team and so all their efforts didn't count towards competition, they were just exhbition cheerleaders.  Who would have known at the time, that this group of girls were even more skilled than some of their older counterparts.

Twice a week Lexi was committed to cheerleading, as well as getting up early on Sundays to cheer at the football games.  The season went by fast and I felt I needed to keep her going.  So, we signed her up for All Star cheerleading at Bravo.  Now, Mondays she practices her skills and Tuesdays and Thursdays she cheers with her team.

Just a few short weeks later, Lexi is unbelievable flexible performing front and back handsprings and bouncing around the living room showing us what she learned this week at cheerleading.  Cheerleading is a commitment and I am very proud that Lexi has found something that keeps her happy.

Yesterday, was the RPW cheer and football banquet, where she received a trophy for her participation in Pop Warner.  You can see how excited she and her friend Sara is showing their trophy off.

My Musician

To have a natural intuitive-feeling-perceptiveness of music is something I just don't have.  In my own mind, sure I dream about being a rock star or secretly playing the air guitar or drums when no one is looking.  But, what my daughter Olivia has is a true talent.  She feels the music, she feels the beats, the harmony, and more. She can hear a tune and within a few short minutes repeats it on the piano.  She walks around with her flute or guitar in her hand as casually as chewing a piece of gum and blowing a bubble.  Her enjoyment of making musical sounds through her instruments is incredible.   What a talent Olivia has and I couldn't be prouder. To see her comfortable on stage, laughing and smiling truly meant the world to me. Here is a snapshot of the 6th grade Winter Concert.  The kids were amazing, for only having a short four months with their instruments, they all performed flawlessly.  BRAVO to Olivia and her 110 band counterparts!

Happy 2014!

Happy 2014!

The kids are finally getting to go back to school tomorrow....I think they are ready after having an extra 2 snow days off.

We had a great time with our friends Ellen and Anna, ringing in the New Year at the Purity Springs Resort in E. Madison, NH.  Due to Lexi's cheering schedule we headed up around 2pm and met up for a dinner buffet. Our room overlooked the ski slopes of King Pine Ski Area where we were able to watch the torch lit parade and the fireworks show.  At 10pm we headed to the pub for a family friendly New Years party, which included pizza and a dj.  It took until 11:40pm for the girls to get up enough courage to sing karaoke to Hey, Sister, Sister by Train.  They did a fantastic job!!!  Ellen and I on the other hand are closest karaoke singers....we had a few good laughs about it on facebook and back in the hotel room.

After a hearty country breakfast the next morning, we headed home.  Unfortunately it was too cold to snow tube or ice skate.  Lexi got to ice skate in the backyard when we got home.

I am very thankful to have great friends, they make every experience a fun one!  Here's to our next adventure.

43 Things I Can Do at 43 That I Couldn't Do When I Was 20

So, I saw this posted on facebook and thought I would put my list together to share....credit given to the author Wendy Fontaine of the Huffington Post.

She wrote....20 was lovely, I was effortessly svelte, with naturally blonde hair, long eyelashes and smooth skin.....I didn't worry about sun spots or kidney stones, cholestrol levels or mammograms.  My biggest concern was getting my bangs to lie flat (or in my case curly).

Two decades later...I have a job that requires commitment, I spend my weekends catering to the kids or my family.  I have a lot to juggle and a lot to think about, some days I actually manage to get through it all.

Despite all that has changed, I would never want to be 20 again.  Sure, I was thinner, with loads of energy and free time.  Here at 43, I have more responsibilities, more wrinkles and more drooping body parts, but I also have three things I didn't have back then:  self-awareness, confidence and two really awesome daughters!

Here's a list of 43 things I can do now that I couldn't do then....and a few I still do :)

1.  Cook the best ever meals
2.  Tell the truth
3.  Look past my own flaws
4.  Stay home on New Years Eve or go away with some friends and spend a low key night out
5. Pay my bills on time
6. Go out in my pajama bottoms
7. Don't wash my hair everyday
8.  Go the gynecologist without being embarassed
9.  Talk in front of a group of strangers
10.  Handle rejection.
11. Ignore the trends, just wear what is comfortable....don't care what I look like
12.  Don't care about what other people think, just do what makes me feel good
13.  Ignore people's nasty comments
14.  Stand up for myself
15.  Stand up for others
16.  Be a role model for my girls
17.  Sit at a concert.....find it hard to stay out that late...but still enjoyed BonJovi!!
18.  Drive my car fast (not with the kids in it) and listen to loud music!
19. Be an independent woman
20. Realized that real beauty isn't just looks
21.  Swear when I want to
22. Make my own rules, don't need to follow anyone elses
23.  Avoid the drama
24.  Still use tanning oil at the beach....but I now know that it isn't good for me
25.  Stop trying to be perfect
26.  Use the bathroom and leave the door open
27.  Be proud of my naked body
28.  Create goals and actually meet them
29.  Save money
30.  Adjust to changes
31. Don't get upset over things you can't control
32. Plan my own vacation and pay for it myself
33.Stay up late if I want to or sleep in
34. Social chat on the internet...knowing that the person may be a creep
35. Take as long of a shower as I want
36. When I leave the lights on, don't care, because I am the one paying the bill anyway
37. Have as many pets as I want to
38.  Be my kids hero
39.  Be my kids support system
40. Eat ice cream for breakfast...or have two breakfasts on the weekends
41. Date someone only if I want to - on my terms
42. Teach my girls how to be the best "girl" they can be

Know that the best is yet to come.

Happy 2014!