Snotty teenager problems?

Some of you know that I recently taught a parenting class for the school district. Well here's an example, not from the approved text but, from the book of Rita on how to handle back-talk...

Todd asked me in his I'm-smarter/cooler/better-than-my-mother voice, "What did I ever do to you?"

I shot him a PG glimpse of the stretch marks that adorn my once taut and pristine stomach skin. He apologized.

Todd's First Chess Tournament

Today Todd competed in the Stewart Elementary Chess Tournament. I (Brent) had intended to practice with him beforehand, but if you know anything about me it won't surprise you that I procrastinated it until the last day...and he had a party with friends until 10:30 that night. He had played a game and a half the week before and hadn't played any other chess in over a year.

So, rather than spend a few minutes last night going over chess strategies, I tried to prepare him emotionally for the possibility that he wouldn't win any matches. He said as long as he won one game he would be OK. I crossed my fingers.

We set three goals for the tournament: Have fun; learn to play disciplined; and win at least one game. I am happy to say that Todd achieved all three goals.

The five-round tournament was well-organized, with strict rules. Parents were not allowed near the kids during the rounds, and all the matches began simultaneously with opponents shaking hands. There were over 100 entrants and they gave out about 70 trophies and medals. All the kids seemed to enjoy themselves.

In the first round, Todd was matched up against the boy who would eventually take third in the tournament. It became immediately apparent to me that Todd has a lot of natural ability. I couldn't see the exact moves he was making from across the gym, but I could see that Todd was up a queen early in the game. (I couldn't see the board well, but I could see the pieces that were taken and set in a row to the side.) I probably got more excited than I should have been, as the other boy got serious and began to, piece-by-piece, get back into the game, eventually advanced a pawn to get a queen, and then won. The epic match ended up lasting about twenty minutes longer than any of the others. Below is a picture of the match, taken with my phone. (The two boys are in the very back.)
Todd rebounded from the loss and won his second match. That broke the ice in a way, and he seemed to really enjoy the tournament after that. The third match was against a boy that also eventually placed in the tournament. Todd was again ahead early, but struggled with strategy in the middle and end game and eventually lost.

After another loss in his fourth match, Todd's final game was against Nate, a boy that just happened to be in Todd's 11-year-old-scouts troop. Like Todd's first-round game, this was also the longest match of the round. It ended with a dramatic and semi-controversial finish.

In this match, the two boys were even for a while, then Todd lost his queen. Nate used this advantage to take most of Todd's pieces. Eventually, Todd was left with only his two rooks against a queen, two rooks, a knight and several pawns. He managed to avoid checkmate for quite a while and then, in what I consider a last-ditch effort, Todd moved one of his rooks to the second-to-last row, setting up his other rook for a potential move to the last row, which would pin Nate's king in checkmate. Or, at least that is what Todd thought.
By chance, this match was on the table that was closest to where the parents were allowed to stand and I could see the board fairly well. I could see what Todd was trying to do, and I could also see that it wouldn't result in checkmate because Nate's queen was diagonally defending the position on the back row where Todd wanted to move his second rook. As it turns out, the other boy didn't notice the attack and advanced a pawn. Thinking he had the victory, Todd very excitedly stood up, moved his rook across the board and declared checkmate. Nate was stunned. He also thought it was checkmate! He shook hands and congratulated Todd on the win and then very sadly went to report the loss.

I couldn't believe it. I had the urge to immediately point out the boys' oversight, but I also knew that the rules are clear that I shouldn't say anything to them. Instead, I found the official and explained to her what had happened. She confirmed that I shouldn't say anything. After the boys recorded the results, I congratulated Todd on the win, but pointed out that it wasn't actually mate. Todd, wanting to do the right thing, hurredly found Nate and told him what happened and that they should keep playing. After a bit of discussion with the scorekeeper, then verification with the official, the game was ruled a victory for Todd. Hopefully it was a learning experience for both boys.

Todd's final record was 2-and-3...pretty good for his first tournament. Most importantly, he showed a lot of discipline that is often hard for kids to have in the pressure and excitement of the competition. You will notice in the picture above that he is sitting on his hands, a strategy that forces you to consider your options carefully before you make a move. It is something my dad taught me and that I taught him.

I'm happy that Todd had a lot of fun, and am looking forward to taking him to the state tournament in May.

Later, tangles.

Kenna was inspired by Kennedy G.'s decision to donate her flowing mane to Locks of Love and decided to make her own contribution to the cause. It wasn't something she had considered long term and worked toward but I was proud of her to take such a big step for a charitable purpose. Sweet Kennedy, I hope that you feel proud of yourself for doing something so compassionate but also for inspiring others with your tender act.

Personally, I think that making the decision to cut 10+ inches off your hair would be a lot easier if you looked so cute with it long or short!!

Todd's Got Game

Todd just finished his Jr. Jazz and church basketball seasons. He really enjoyed playing this year evidenced by the fact that he CHEERFULLY(!!) agreed to let me post some pictures of him in action. He's ancy for the weather to return to decent so he can keep up his mad skills at our neighborhood park. Way to go, Todd. Chicks dig nerds who can shoot some hoops!

I'm trying to be like...

"Jesus wants me to do this to bad guys."

-Alec, while swinging a sock full of quarters.

Wondering what to do?

What should you do if you wake up 1.5 hours earlier than you have to...
and your toes are freezing cold,
and your total hours of sleep is 1/2 of what your doctor chided you to get in before he'll listen to your "I'm tired all the time" complaint,
and it's snowing outside,
and it's BLOWING outside?

Here's a tip/suggestion/opinion. If even one of these conditions exist, and most especially, if they all coincide, DO NOT go running!

At least I shared this morning's misery with an equally crazy friend. You're a good sport, Kellie. Kyri was the brain today and sent me a warning text which I received too late. I should have taken her "Go back to bed," advice!

My new boyfriend, Dyson.

He's handsome.
He's easy to figure out.
He's low-maintenance.
He's upright.
He's hard-working.
And, he CLEANS!

I am so in love.

Lingo of Late

Alec's mouth has been a phrase flood lately. Here are some of his most recent utterings:

"Good one, Mom." Used most commonly after I ask him to do something..."Alec, please get your pajamas on so we can get ready for bed." "Good one, Mom."

"I know how to solve this problem." Announced to Kenna when the computer game hung.

"This will do the trick." Upon his recommendation to Brent for how to make a toy work.

"No prob-blay-mo." Thanks to Widget of Wow Wow Wubzy for this one. Very cute.

"I knew I could count on you." Uttered to thank Brent for helping him find his shoes.

" This will be classic." Said to me when he was going to tickle Todd.

My "plan" update.

The correct way to weigh oneself.

You would think that I could enjoy not being mentally battered two or three times a day by a digital readout but it was crazy hard not to weigh myself for an entire week.When I finally stepped on the scale, I was on the borderline of my number nemesis which is 1.5 lbs down from last week but 0.1 higher than my psyche needed. My 1 day of mourning turned into 2.5 days but I'm back on the road to trying again. Thank you again for your kind words, co-misery, and encouragement.

Living in the now.

We're online again!! Normally I would be annoyed that a service person was in my house before Brent could take care of his bedhead but this morning I almost proposed to the guy who fixed our internet problem. Prepare for a blog deluge of catharsis and family updates.

ARRRRRGH!

Seriously!! Our new service was up for a week before it went down on FRIDAY and in which wrecked state it remains. Brent has been his calm, patient self while trying to work through the problem with various High School dropout Customer Service Techs. to no avail. Yesterday I could not take it any longer (tirade triggered by a 1.5 hour session at the public library with 3 little, bored, loud kids while I returned work emails and sent an overdue report to my "side" job!) but I called yesterday even warned the UNhelpful individual on the other end that I had red hair as an indication of the escalating seriousness of the issue. No change. Don't quit checking my blog or sending me email just because we've reverted to the dark ages at home. I hope, hope, hope to be back in the swing of things very soon. (And now, back to work...Pretty naughty to waste time doing this, huh?! I won't go to lunch to make up for it.)

The plan.

Thank you for your supportive comments. Self-acceptance should be at the top of my pile of options but I think my thighs are covering it up.

My latest rant wasn't intended to be a poorly-masked plea for compliments, although the kind words were a very nice by-product ;), and while running this morning I came up with a simple plan.

Usually I weigh myself several times a day in order to remember that weight fluctuates. This seems to be my undoing of late as I tend to give up or give in when I get below a certain weight and I'm especially bad if I hit that number on Friday or Saturday. So, the plan for this week is to keep up with my current efforts--running a little more, eating a little less--but not to weigh for an entire week.

Radical the plan is not but maybe it will keep me from slipping backwards, especially over the weekend. Other parts of this week's efforts include:
* take Kristen's advice to brush right after dinner,
* drink equal parts of water to DDP (sad that it has to be such an overt effort),
* stock up on salad and veggies for wEAkend snacking.

I'll let you know how it goes.

I neeeed a plan.

A goal without a plan is just a wish.
- Antoine de Saint Exupery

Way to go, Antoine. You nailed it. Oh yeah, I loved La Petit Prince too. Okay, okay, my goal, er, WISH for too long now has been to ditch some weight. I neeeeeed a plan. I've dropped 8 pounds since January...3 times!!! When I arrive at a certain number which number I will not mention in order to spare you cardiac arrest, I sabotage my own efforts and fall back to indulging in "bad" foods in "VERY BAD" amounts.

What is wrong with me???

I need a plan.

I am up and down in a 3 lb range but can't crawl out of the hole. Don't confuse my problem with the set point theory in which a body is comfortable at a certain weight and resists efforts to drop below that. Nope. This is not physical. This is a serious mental problem...Any suggestions to beat the beast within? I'm running about as much as my schedule and knees can handle but I'm going to try to up my mileage on my short runs. I do pretty well at counting calories during the week but have yet to successfully navigate a weekend without gaining weight. {:*( I'm also very susceptible to evening snacking. Help me, RHONDA...or anyone else.

Satisfied - minus 11 lbs (former Weight Watchers goal that I stayed at for 2 years)
Happy - minus 14 lbs (weight at first St. George Marathon)
Thrilled - minus 17 lbs (probably not since my freshman year at BYU and I was still F-A-T!)