Kicking Karate Party

Interesting fact: 1 out of 900 people that start martial arts actually reach their black belt.

My son passed his test on May 12th, 2012 at the age of 8.  I thought that was a good reason to throw a party!  I love finding the perfect decorations and creating cool treats.  Of course I am an amateur when it comes to baking.   I certainly don’t have all the latest kitchen utensils and gadgets. I just sort of wing it.  Below are a few pictures of what I what I put together.

I found all the paper products(plates, napkins, cups, and tablecloth) online at Party City.  They were on sale for $1 per pack.  I could not have done better at the dollar store with plain solid colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With shipping a karate gi cookie cutter cost $20.  I couldn’t bring myself to pay that price so I did them free hand instead.  My cookie decorating skills need some work.  I figured out I don’t have much patience for it, nor do I have any decorating tools.  But they are still cute and the kids said they tasted good which is all that  matters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used the lollipops as a party favor for everyone to take home with them.  This was my first attempt with chocolate molds.  It was pretty easy but more time consuming than I imagined.  I did the black belt first and let that set.  Then I did the rest of it in white.  I wasn’t brave enough to do different colors for the hands, face, or hair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The road to black belt took 4 years.  It was fun to look back and see how much my son had grown with this collage my Mom and I put together.  After the party my son asked if we could frame it.  The collage now hangs on the wall in his room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am so proud of my son for reaching his goal.  It was an amazing day!  This is him trying to steal some of the treats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Determination

Four years ago my oldest son started tae kwon do.  He joined the Little Dragon program and loved every minute of it.  After about a year he decided to join the black belt club.   Enrolling in the black belt club meant that he was making a  3 year committment to tae kwon do.  If he kept up with classes and worked hard he would be eligible to test for his black belt.  When he signed up he was only 5 years old.  Part of me was unsure if he really understand the committment he was making.  He attend class 3-4 times a week.  Once a month he participated in seminars.  He attended karate camps during the summer to help master skills in order to advance to the next belt.  He never seemed to get tired of karate.

Over the  years I noticed how much karate helped him grow.  It was amazing to me how focused he became.  He started setting goals and working hard.  He gained so much confidence.  He began assisting in the lower ranking belt classes.  He tried out for the school talent show.  He scored high on this oral book report at school. I truly believe that he was able to do all of these things because of the discipline he learned in karate.

At the end of March we found out that he was in fact eligible to test for black belt.  This is where the hard part really begins.  All black belt candidates are required to spend 6 weeks conditioning.  This is where they weed out the people who are not serious.  In addition to the black belt curriculum they are required to do running , sit-ups, and push-ups.  Each week the instructors are expecting to see improvements.  The first conditioning session my son actually threw up he worked so hard.   But my son politely asked to be excused, then got sick in the restroom.  He  came right back out and told the instructors he was good to go.  He picked up right where he left off.  Quitting was not an option for him.  At the end of class several parents came up to me and mentioned how impressed they were with my son.  He wasn’t the faster runner that day and he made a few mistakes on the forms but they were impressed with his determination.  I have to admit I was inspired by him too.  He earned my respect that morning and in the following weeks as we have found out that he passed his conditioning training and is invited to test this Saturday.

My son just turned 8.  He will be one of the youngest from our studio to test for black belt.  He is already encouraging his younger brothers.  I can only hope that they will be determined to follow in his footsteps.

Spring Cleaning

This weekend my husband and I decided to do some major spring cleaning. With four kids we have a tendency to collect a lot of stuff.  Okay I must also admit I am a pack rat.  I like to keep everything.  I get very sentimental and have a hard time letting go of things.

The kids are getting older and collecting more of their own stuff.   Our house is just not big enough to keep everything.   It was time to purge some items from the playroom.   My husband of course would be happy if all the toys disappeared.    I do believe I get more attached than the kids.  Today we determined it was time to get rid of the train table.  My heart dropped. I started to freak out. I realize that  may sound silly to some people.  My oldest son was obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine as a toddler.  He got the train table when was 2 years old.  Of course he has collected many trains over the years.  We have moved that train table so many times to make it fit in their bedroom and recently the playroom.  The last few years my oldest has outgrown his love of trains and moved on to Legos.  I kept trying to push my younger sons towards the trains and although they played with them a few times they never had much interest.

Before I could change my mind the boys put together a fun track so that I could take a picture and place the train table on Craigslist.  Within minutes I had several calls on the table.  Obviously Thomas is still really popular.  The first person that responded asked me to hold the table until she got off work.  Secretly I was hoping that she wouldn’t show up.  But early this evening she arrived ready to take the table to her children.  I am not going to lie, I got a little teary eyed.  It was bittersweet. It was the end of our Thomas Era and a sign that my boys are growing up.  But at the same time two other children will be happy when their Mommy brings home this table with trains and tracks.

As I was putting the kids to bed tonight we found Engine No. 1.  Somehow Thomas had fallen out of the drawer and was left behind.  Now I have a reminder of the train days to put in my son’s memory box.  That has brought a smile to my face.

So I am curious does anybody else have a hard time letting go of their children’s toys?

A little family competition makes you stronger

A few days ago a friend posted on facebook,  ”I don’t have time to work out” is the adult version of “The dog ate my homework”.  This made me laugh but hit home at the same time.  With 4 kids I could try to use that excuse every day.  In order to fit exercise into our busy schedule I just have to get creative.

I usually workout in the mornings but lately extra curricular activities with the kids have interrupted my schedule.  I found it so easy to just skip my exercise instead of making it up.  If I try to work out in the evenings then the kids are upset because we don’t have a family game night or watch a family movie.  I have come up with a solution that was  inspired by Ms. Marvel Project.

The Frank family is now participating in the 100 push up challenge.  At the end of 7 weeks we all should be able to do 100 consecutive push ups.  Right now that seems impossible but I am determined!  The program requires you to do push ups 3 days a week and it gives details for 6 different fitness levels.  During the initial test I could only completed 12 push ups.  Each workout consists of 5 sets, with the last set being as many consecutive push ups as you can manage.

Of course since we are doing this as a family there is some serious competition going on.  My 5 year old and 8 year old are always trying to one up each other which I totally expected.  My husband is determined to do more than both of them combined.  It is very funny to watch my 2 year old and 16 month old attempt push ups and they just smile when you cheer them on.

The challenge is great for several reasons.  The two oldest boys participate in karate.  They are required to do push ups in class so this is good practice for them.  My oldest actually begins conditioning for his black belt next month so this is motivation to work harder. Spring break is right around the corner and we are planning a family vacation.  I was wondering how I would fit in some workouts while traveling.  Looks  like that won’t be a problem since we can do the push up challenge wherever we go.

In case you were wondering we are not tracking the number of push ups for the two youngest family members.  Below is the number of consecutive push ups completed at the end of week 1 day 2.  Please don’t laugh when you see that my boys can do more push ups than me.

Hubby- 50

8 yr old-42

5 yr old-22

Me-19

We interrupt this blog

I have attempted many times this month to write a new post. Somehow here it is the last day of January and 3 weeks since my last post. At the beginning of the month I made a list of goals for the year. The good news is I have been working hard on those goals all month. However, that is also the reason I haven’t posted in 3 weeks. Some of you might remember that a big goal for my son, Owen, was to be potty trained. I am happy to announce that he is very close to reaching that milestone. But you can also imagine that about every ten minutes I must stop whatever I am doing to take him to the bathroom. I am definitely not complaining as it will be nice to only have one child in diapers.

Before I would do a lot of catching up on cleaning, laundry, or blogging on the weekends. But another goal I set for myself was to catch up on scrapbooking. My husband has been kind enough to let me have at least two hours every Saturday to lock myself in a room with my glue, scissors, paper, stickers, and hundreds of pictures. Since I am about 2 1/2 years behind this is going to be a long process. I have really enjoyed the two hours of quiet time. I find it so relaxing to organize the pictures and relive the memories. This weekend not only did I get quite a few pages completed but I also found some motivation for my fitness goals. Nothing like seeing a picture of yourself 30 lbs heavier to encourage you to work out. I have never been a fan of the scale since there are so many variables. But after scrapbooking the picture below I knew I wouldn’t have a problem completing my work outs this week! The first picture was taken the summer of 2009 a few months after my 3 child was born. I was heavier than I had even been and was just starting P90X. The second picture was taken last fall almost a year after my 4th child.  Now that I am on the right track towards my goals I just need to figure out how to add another 4 more hours to the day so I have time for everything.

 

Wordless Wednesday-Angry Birds

Goals for 2012

I know I am a few days late with my New Year’s resolution.  My husband is off on Mondays and with the kids still on winter break it was nice to get some extra family time.  My days were spent playing new board games, watching the kids ride their scooters, and family movies.  Last night before I fell asleep I came up with a few things that I would like to accomplish this year.  I am writing them down and sharing here to keep me accountable.

 Fitness

It is not by accident that I list my fitness goals first.  Exercise changes my whole mood for the day.  I feel so much better and accomplish so much more when I take care of myself.

Workout at least 5 days a week.  I am having so much fun with the Rockin Body program I have decided to continue for the month of January.  Then I will do another round of P90X, followed up by the new P90X2.  I will record all my workouts in the Wowy supergym so I can track my progress.

Participate in a marathon.  I haven’t decided which one I want to do yet, but I am long over due.  It has been 4 years since my last race.

 Finanical

Pay off the home equity loan.  Then the only debt  that will remain is our mortgage payment.

 Fun

Complete my daughter’s baby book.  Since she is the 4th child I haven’t had as much time to work on it.  Okay, I will be honest…I haven’t even started it yet.  Normally I finish it by their 1st birthday and she is now 13 months old.

Scrapbook!  I would like to set aside just 2 hours every weekend for me to sit at the table and catch up on all my family books.  I am now 2 years behind with my scrapbooking.

Keep working on my blog.  I have so much more to learn and I have really enjoyed making new friends.                                                

 Family

A few goals for the kids:

Ethan(age 7)- test for his black belt, 20 AR points each quarter at school

Hudson(age 4)- enroll in the black belt club which is a three year commitment resulting in his black belt, learn to ride a bike without training wheels

Owen(age 2)- potty train and learn colors, numbers, and alphabet

Megan(age 1)- not to get trampled by her big brothers. 

It is easy to be motivated at the beginning of a new year.  Eventually the novelty wears off and many times these goals are forgotten.  I am not going to let that happen this time.  I have printed out my list so I can look at it regularly.  I am also going to re-evaluate this list on March 31st, June 30th, and Sept 30th. That way each quarter is a fresh start and I keep the momentum going all year long.