House of Estrogen

Elise's First Jump Rope Competition

Elise had her first jump rope competition this weekend. She was participating just for the experience to see what competition is like. She is in a competitive age bracket with lots of girls who have been jumping much longer than she has, so she wasn't in a position to medal. That kept some of the pressure off, but we both had nerves wound as tight as the braids on her head that morning at 7:00 when we left the house.

The first events of the day were speed - male and female single rope speed (60 seconds), male and female endurance speed (3 minutes), male and female triple unders, single rope speed relay, double dutch speed relay, and double dutch pairs speed. Who knew there were so many different ways to do speed? The floor looks like this during the speed events with up to 12 athletes jumping at the same time. In each section, three judges count each time the jumper's right foot hits the floor.

Elise was only entered in the female single rope speed event. She started out smooth, consistent, and fast. You can hardly see the ropes during the speed events. They jump with coated steel wire ropes which are nearly invisible once they get moving.

Unfortunately, about 40 seconds into it, she landed on the side of her foot, twisting her ankle. It hurt me just watching it. I knew it must have hurt her. Somehow, she managed to compose herself and finish out the minute, but she came limping off the court crying at the end.  We treated the ankle with ice and ibuprofen and treated the disappointment over a lousy speed score with hugs. Fortunately, she had a couple hours to relax, ice her ankle, and get a snack before she needed to jump again.

Freestyle went much better. She flubbed a rope release trick and accidentally omitted one section of the routine, but overall, she was happy with her performance. The day definitely had its ups and downs, but she says she definitely wants to compete again, so I would call it a success.

Here is the video of her day:

Since her double dutch partners did not enter this competition, Elise was done after single rope freestyle and could relax the rest of the day anxiety-free and enjoy watching her teammates compete.

In the afternoon, spirits sank as one of our team members was seriously injured. One of the most talented athletes on the team (the only one on our team who qualified for the FISAC World Championships in a singles event) was in the practice gym doing a move he has probably done thousands of times, a mule kick. It involves basically diving into this position:

I'm still not clear on exactly what happened, but something went horribly wrong. Imagine that move without the hands in place. He came crashing down on his head and face and was knocked unconscious. When we came to, he was dazed and had amnesia. His double dutch teammates were crying and felt responsible. Our coaches were shell-shocked and trying to hold back tears. He is a sweet, popular kid on the team and one of the team mentors. Elise has taken private lessons from him, and everyone on the team, both parents and athletes were upset and in shock. When the ambulance arrived, the EMTs initially said they were going to take him to the local hospital but after examining him, decided to take him to the big hospital with a trauma center. As much as we all tried to keep our smiling competition faces on, he was the main focus in everyone's minds.

I credit the coaches and kids though with finding a way to bounce back. The top 5 teams in each division advance to nationals. In the double dutch division that this team would have competed in, there were six teams competing, so without A, they couldn't have qualified for nationals. USA Jump Rope gave the team permission to substitute another jumper for A and jump in the last double dutch heat. That gave them about 15 minutes to teach another jumper A's part in the double dutch routine. They only had to beat one team to advance. The two athletes who had been turning for A when he fell had to wipe away their tears and focus back on jump rope. The three of them went out on the floor laughing, having no idea if they could pull it off. They did. It was amazing. I think adrenaline kicked in, and they jumped their hearts out for A. They finished 3rd or 4th and qualified to move on to nationals. A ended up being released from the hospital late that night with a concussion and mild hernia in the neck. I'm not sure how long his recovery will take, but we were all glad to hear he was back home.

It was a long, draining, emotional day but a lot of fun too. Elise is excited to do more competitions, and I think it will be less stressful now that we know what to expect. I loved watching all the amazing talent in the room, and look forward to going to another one. This is the best team picture I got. It was one of those, "Fifteen different cameras are taking pictures and every kid is looking at a different one" sort of photos. It is a great group of kids.

Twelve Hours...

Of jump rope competition, and I'm exhausted. (No, I didn't jump, but I'm still entitled to my own exhaustion after being there for 12 hours.)  More pictures and video will be coming tomorrow, I promise. I hoped to get them up tonight, but that just isn't going to happen. Mama needs some rest!

An Energized Crowd

Elise's jump rope team performed for an elementary school Friday afternoon. They did three performances in a row, one for kindergarten/first, one for second/third, and one for fourth/fifth. These kids were the perfect audience. They were so pumped up and enthusiastic, so it made the performance really fun for the team kids. Also, with three shows, if anyone messed up a routine, they had two more shots at getting it right!

Last time I posted a video of a jump rope performance, I lamented that I needed a new video camera as my point and shoot wasn't up to the task. Then, it dawned on me.... my big fat dSLR takes video! Problem solved!  I'm still a lousy videographer and video editor, but at least the quality is decent now!

Elise performed her freestyle routine (which I omitted from the video below since I took it with the camera turned vertically. I figured I would spare you having to turn your head to the side to watch it), cotton eye joe and double dutch. For the cotton eye joe, she is in the back left corner. The last video clip is of one of the kids who really got the crowd going wild.

If you are getting tired of jump rope photos and videos, just let me know. Or better yet, just roll your eyes, mutter, "jump rope AGAIN?", and click away. I just love watching these kids - and not just my own, so I may over-share a bit.

 

Jumpin' For the Hokies

Today, I travelled with Elise's jump rope team to Virginia Tech to watch them perform during half-time of a basketball game. We both had fun, and I learned so much on this trip. I learned...

1. I love traveling by bus. Do you think I could just charter a bus next time we want to go on a family vacation?  I was on that thing for 8 hours today and don't feel nearly as worn out as I feel after a three hour car ride. The seats were comfy. There was a movie playing. I could get up and walk around. I could even read without feeling carsick. Charter buses are my friend.

2. Next time Elise has a performance, I won't involve myself in the hair battle to get her hair braided. I'll just send her with brush and elastics in hand and let the moms and team captains take care of her. It looked like one big braiding party in gym before the bus arrived.

3. Basketball coliseums have a whole big practice court down on the same level as the main court, under the stands. Who knew? It makes sense now that I think about it though.

4. The Virginia Tech mascot is a male turkey. I would say that a turkey doesn't sound very tough or menacing, but I come from a high school where the mascot was a Scot (a dude in a kilt) and a college where the mascot was a deacon (dude at a Baptist church who helps out the minister), so I'm really not one to judge mascots... at least not whether or not they are menacing.

5. Last but certainly not least, I learned that I need a better video camera for these sorts of events. Clearly, my little point and shoot is not up to the task. I took some video anyway though, so humor me and watch it. Just try not to make too much fun of my videographer and video editing skills (or lack thereof).

 

6. Elise had a great time on this trip. Although she made some mistakes in her freestyle routine, she came off the court smiling and was happy with her performance. Her traveller routine got cut when they ran out of time, but she took that in stride too. Despite the many hours of travel, that girl was smiling and happy all day long. That makes her mamma smile too.

Channeling my Inner Tiger Mother

Before I read Amy Chua's book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, I had preconceived ideas about her from reading her Wall Street Journal article and hearing clips about her on the news. I was convinced I was going to think that she was a harsh, demanding, overbearing, abusive mother. I was sure that I would not agree with any of her parenting tactics. Then, I read the book. As I read, I immediately recognized myself as fairly typical of the "Western parents" that she criticizes. I praise my children if they try hard, regardless of the grades or outcome. I let my children choose their own activities and quit when they tire of them. I encourage my children to work hard in school, but I do not demand it. Conversely, the tiger mother chooses activities, forces hours of practice, and demands nothing less than A's in school. While I can never picture myself following in Amy Chua's footsteps, I did begin to realize there could be a happy medium between the two parenting styles. I agreed with her that perhaps some of my Western parenting ways let my children "off the hook" too easily. I could think of times when I could have pushed them harder or given more of a critique rather than praising the effort.

I made the decision that I would channel my inner Tiger Mother. I wasn't going to ban sleepovers and playdates. I wasn't going to make them practice a musical instrument for hours every night. I wasn't going to call my children "garbage" or "fatty" like Amy Chua has done. That said, I knew I could bring a little Tiger into our home, and I thought it was worth a try.

A couple months ago, Nina told me that she wanted to go to ice skating camp for all three weeks of track-out camp. I love that she enjoys skating. The rink is a bit out of the way for us though, so it isn't the most convenient place for camp. I knew there was a holiday ice show coming up, and that campers had the opportunity to do a group number in the show. Nina had said very vehemently that she had NO intentions of doing the show. As much of a ham as Nina is at home, she is very uncomfortable performing or being in the spotlight. I had asked her about the show several times, and she had always refused. I thought the show would be a good experience for her though. So, WWTMD?  (What Would Tiger Mother Do?)  Well, Tiger Mother would already have her skating six hours a day with the toughest coach at the rink, so I'm already behind on that one. Tiger Mother would definitely force her to do the show though. In my not quite so forceful way, I said, "Nina, I will only sign you up for two weeks of camp if you do the holiday show." She thought about it for a minute, and then said, "OK. I'll do it."  She later told her dad, "Mom is forcing me to do the show."  I gave myself a little Tiger Mother pat on the back for making her to do something she really didn't want to do because I thought it was best. Tiger Mother would be proud. Maybe.

As Nina started preparing for the show, she was just a bundle of excitement - the costumes, the jackets, the rehearsals, the spotlights, the routine - she was loving it. She came home from camp every day with a big smile on her face. I thought to myself, "This Tiger Mother thing is the way to go. If I hadn't made her do the show, she wouldn't know what a great experience it could be."

Nina skated in the show last Friday, and she was beaming through the whole performance.

She was the youngest in her group, and the most beginner of the four, but she skated her heart out. Of course, the real Tiger Mother's child would have been doing triple lutzes. I'm still a Western mom at heart though, so I was quite proud of her bunny hops.

When the show was over, I said, "Nina, aren't you glad I made you do the show?" She agreed, and the next morning, she even said it was sad that it was all over.

Imagine my surprise when a couple days ago Nina said, "Mom, I want to stop skating. I want to do
gymnastics instead." What? What happened to that smiling child who wanted to go to skating camp every day and was sad when the ice show was over? What happened to that child who wanted skating pants more than anything else for Christmas?

More importantly, WWTMD? Well, Tiger Mother would simply tell her "no", lace up her skates, and push her out on to the rink. Hmmm.. this Tiger Mother thing is hard. J.C. and I both talked to Nina for a while to find out exactly what was going on. (Tiger Mother would not approve.) Basically, she just wanted a little break to do something different for a while. She doesn't want to stop skating completely, but we only let her do one sport at a time, and she was ready for a change. It sounded reasonable to us. So, as a stereotypical Western parent, I cancelled the next session of skating and called a gym about gymnastics lessons. 

My poor inner Tiger... she didn't last long. At least I know I can call on her when I need her.

 

Sickened

Sickened: disgusted, nauseated, repelled, repulsed, revolted, shocked, enraged, incensed, infuriated, irate, livid, mad, outraged, rankled

~ Merriam-Webster Thesaurus

I can't get the Penn State situation out of my mind. I am so horrified by the chain of events that I can hardly find words. The thesaurus is my friend. Nauseated, shocked, outraged... I am all of those.

How does any adult walk in on a boy about 10 years old "with his hands up against the wall, being subjected to anal intercourse by a naked Sandusky" and NOT step in to save the boy and NOT call the police? What kind of person does that? That's what Mike McQueary did. How does he live with himself? McQueary was not an immature, just-out-of-high-school, 18 year old college student at the time. He was a 28 year old graduate assistant and aspiring coach. It wasn't like he walked in on Sandusky giving a player keys to a car or a new laptop. I would expect him to go up the chain of coaches and the NCAA for that. No, he was witnessing one of the most heinous crimes against a child. He didn't stop the act. He didn't rescue the child. He didn't call the police. I can't wrap my brain around that. Instead, he told Paterno who also failed this child by not calling police.

How does an adult walk in and see Sandusky performing oral sex on a young boy and NOT stop it and NOT call the police? That's what Jim Calhoun, a janitor, did. He told his boss who failed another child by not calling police.

These were eye witnesses. They couldn't fool themselves into denying what they saw. They KNOW what they saw and yet they did nothing to stop it.

It makes me sick. I know we live in a screwed up world. I know there are selfish people who won't give up 4-top tables in coffee shops. I know there are sickos like Sandusky who prey on innocent children. What I didn't know until now was how much football is valued over the lives of children.... and I come from Texas. Texans value their football. I get football, but I don't get this.

This abuse of young boys went on for 15 years. It didn't have to be that way. Calhoun, McQueary, Paterno, Spanier, Curley and Schultz should be ashamed of themselves... or more accurately... disgusted, nauseated, and repulsed with themselves. There is no excuse for not stopping this pedophile. Coach Paterno and Penn State President Spanier have been fired. Athletic Directory Curley and senior vice president Schultz have been arraigned on charges of perjury and failing to report the allegations. Calhoun has alzheimer's and is in a nursing home. McQueary, however, is simply on administrative leave right now. He needs to be fired as well. He witnessed one of these horrific crimes. He should have been fired the same time Paterno was.

Sandusky is the obvious villian here. He was the one assaulting these boys. In my eyes though, the coaching staff and administration at Penn State are his equals. They had the power to stop him, and they didn't. It is incomprehensible.

My faith in the goodness of humanity drops a little more each day. Since when did "witness rape of child and call police" fall behind "protect reputation of a coach and school" in priority? How did those priorities get so screwed up?

My heart goes out to the victims and their families. They have been wronged in so many ways and so many of these families could have been spared the pain if any of the men involved had relied on their conscience, common sense, and compassion rather than hiding under the ego of the Penn State football team. It is vile and sick.

Fun? Insane? Exhilarating? A Death Wish?

I'll let you decide.This is a video J.C. posted last night of himself at Summer Gravity Camp this week. 

The Stubborn, Competitive Child

We decided to go on a little family outing today.

 

The destination... bowling! How flippin' cute are toddler bowling shoes?

 

Size 14 bowling shoes aren't quite so cute, but JC wore his lucky socks and skunked us all.

 

We smiled and laughed, gave high-fives and cheered.

 

We tried out different bowling techniques. Some strategies worked well.

 

Others didn't.

 

Some of us used the ramp.

 

Some of us didn't.

 

The littlest one yelled "GO BALL!!" every time as her ball slowly made its way down the alley.

 

A good time was had by all. Or, uh... almost all.

Our stubborn, competitive middle child refused to play. She had lost a game of Super Mario Party 8 to her dad earlier in the day, so she pouted all the way to the bowling alley. She was not about to enter another competition where she could possibly lose again in the same day. No amount of begging or pleading would convince her to play, so we gave up. Little Miss Headstrong sat by herself in the bowling alley while the rest of us played. 

 

I keep trying to remind myself that tenacity and a desire to succeed are characteristics that should take her far in the business world, but as a seven year old... she is just plain STUBBORN!

Priorities

J.C. bikes a lot... like, a whole lot. When people walk into our garage, they ask if he is running a bike shop on the side. No, no bike shop... just gotta have a bike for each use - a dirt jump bike, a kid-trailer-hauling bike, a downhill bike, a tandem bike, a cross-country bike, a road bike, and I'm sure I'm forgetting others. No, I'm not exaggerating. He's just a wee bit obsessive when it comes to bikes.

He goes downhill biking in Snowshoe, WV, several times per year with a  bunch of buddies. They haul all the bikes on a trailer. JC decided they needed a box fitted to the trailer to hold all their muddy, sweaty gear, so he built one.

 

Then he said, I think I'll let the girls paint it. They would have fun doing that.

And they did.

 

 

they planned,

 

made handprints,

 

blew paint dry,

 

painted with a steady hand,

 

and got a bit messy in the process.

 

When they were done, their masterpiece went to Snowshoe.

 

When I saw the finished result, I said, "Aren't the guys going to give you crap for hauling a trailer with a rainbow and flowers painted on the back?"  He said, "Oh yeah... I'll get endless grief over this. I'm a dad of three girls above everything else though."

 

And that, folks, is priorities in order... "I'm a dad of three girls above everything else."  The trips to Snowshoe may challenge my every ounce of patience and energy while single parenting, but I'll always know his heart is at home with us as the rainbow trailer is pulled along the winding roads of West Virginia.

Happy (belated) Birthday, J.C.  I love you.

Happy 7th Birthday Nina!

Nina has had half a week of birthday festivities in her honor. She certainly can't claim that we forgot her birthday! Her actual birthday was Thursday. That morning, J.C. made chocolate chip pancakes, and at Nina's request, we went to Outback Steakhouse for her birthday dinner because it is "fancy."  Friday, she had her "January birthdays" party at school with the other three girls who also had birthdays this month. Friday night, we celebrated four birthdays in the family at a second birthday dinner. Then Saturday was the big event - her ice skating party. I wasn't sure how it would go since several of her friends had never skated before. I think it was a huge success though.

I scheduled a skating lesson for them for the first 30 minutes. That proved to be very helpful! I highly recommend it for first grade ice skating parties. I'm pretty sure the lesson saved us from several concussions, broken arms, and sliced fingers.

 

After the lesson, they were all a bit braver about getting out on the ice and not hugging the wall the whole time.

 

 

Look at those cutie-patootie twins in the white vests. Sadly, the only way I can tell them apart is by knowing what color they are wearing. One of these days I'll figure it out! They have very different personalities, but that doesn't help much when you're just looking at a photograph!

 

One of the parents asked me, "Is Nina always this much of a ham?"  Yep... pretty much.

 

How fun is this watermelon helmet? I need one of these for myself.

 

This was one of the first-time skaters, and she had so much fun that she decided her next birthday party would be an ice skating party too!

 

After skating, it was time for cake and presents. We actually ended up with one of the cuter birthday cakes we've had in recent birthday history! It may not look like anything special, but you'd have to understand how awful the other ones have been to realize that this looks like a masterpiece in comparison.

  

 

I would say skating turned out to be the perfect way for Nina to ring in her seventh! Here is a little video of the skating diva herself. (If anybody owns a Canon point & shoot camera and knows how to get the video out of black & white mode, would you please leave a comment and let me know? These videos are killing me.)

 

(If you are reading this in an RSS reader and can't see the video, click here.)