Example of how the chaos was controlled.
This was the boys' fourth tournament and they each did three events. We keep telling the boys that one day they will lose and they'll have to get used to that but each tournament they do better than the last one! :)
After taking 1st & 2nd in Escape Drill.
Travis in sparring gear after winning his first round.
Thomas took home a participation trophy in Sparring, a 2nd place in Strongest Punch and a 1st place in Escape Drill - he edged out Travis by about a quarter of a second! (15:03 vs 14:47). This is the 3rd time he's done escape drill and won a trophy for it!
Thomas ready to hit the bag during Strongest Punch.
At home with their collection of trophies from THIS tourney!
I'll post some vids of their sparring as soon as I fix them up... :)
chili 
cooler weather 
Both boys have had loose teeth for quite awhile and kept eating apples, carrots, etc. to get them to come out. Finally tonight Travis' came out! Then cuz we were then obsessed with teeth for the next hour, Thomas made his bleed trying to get them out and Travis' second one came out easily.
Red Ball was last Friday night and it was MUCH better the second time around. Better flow, better service (worse food), great entertainment and really cool live auction process - those guys were into it!
Several things actually. First, that I'm seriously out of shape in addition to being overweight. Ugh. The past smoking thing has really decreased my lung capacity and that's the hardest thing for me to overcome physically right now. But, I've also learned that I'm stronger than I thought and that I have the fortitude to push forward even when I really don't want to. And I've learned that I need to look towards internal acceptance and support cuz I'm not going to get a lot of external support from the people closest to me. This is a truth I need to apply to more areas of my life than just running, but running is where I learned it and will first apply it. (BTW - the picture is of my actual running shoes. I love them!)
I like to think of myself as a 'calculated-risk taker'. That usually gets me into trouble, but less than if I was an "all abandon risk taker". I've learned the worst thing that can happen is someone says no. Or I lose my job. Or I lose some material possession. Or I might break a body part or two. All of these are things that can be overcome or replaced or healed. However, when it comes to my family, I tend to be a little less of a risk-taker, cuz I can't replace them. I also don't like direct confrontation - too many experiences where verbal confrontation turned into a physical confrontation. If there's even a hint that something could switch from verbal to physical I avoid it. Except with my kids - I can still take them! 
wow...um. This is probably the hardest of the 5 questions for me. If the question had been more like "What does being a Christian mean to you?" I could spout off on that pretty easy. Spirituality is a lot harder to define for me. I guess it has to do with being at peace with oneself and with the world. Not necessarily a specific aspect of the world, but in general, just feeling in harmony with what's happening around one's self. For me, music, passion and praise are big parts of spirituality. All music is a passionate self-expression of something and that's the biggest defining piece of spirituality to me. And yeah, Amanda, I think I know where you were going with this one. That's assuming you had an "ulterior motive". But sometimes I think too much. :)
'Bitch' by Meredith Brooks. It's actually my PowerSong on my iPod so I can grab it anytime I need a burst of adrenaline on my runs. It encompasses so much about being a strong self-assured woman and all the various roles a woman can play. I can relate each of the characteristics listed to myself, either right now or at sometime in my life. And honestly, I think a strong self-assured woman is that most real men want and that belief puts a kick in my step. Plus, it's just got a decent beat - 94 bpm in regular time or 188 in 'double-time'. :-) (
That's actually pretty easy to answer this week. I LOVE when my kids make positive comments to encourage others and help out those in need. Specific example, when Travis was sick this week, Thomas didn't whine about Travis getting out of chores or that he was getting more cuddle time. Instead, Thomas went and got him a bottle of water, a towel to "puke up on", stuffed animals, his pillow and another blanket. All without being asked or hinted at. He just got the things he likes when he's sick. Then, to top it off, he rubbed Travis' feet! How cool a brother is that? But, beyond the family/twin things, they do it for other people as well. They tell people they look nice (even when they don't particularly), they help with directions and schoolwork, and just generally try to take care of other people. That's my boys!
I like sitting in my car, in the dark letting the machine clean my car. Even if it is with recycled water. And the new car wash near me has the old-style spinning brushes and long "octopus" flapper thingies. Very childhood-memory inducing. I literally laughed out loud while I was in the car wash today!
Part of my job schedule allows me to be off at noon on Fridays. Whoo hoo! Some days I go shopping or see movies, others I come home and sleep for a few hours. Today, I got the car washed, read some, watched movies above and just generally decompressed. These hours completely for myself to be used at my discretion allow me to drop off the workweek and gear up for the weekend. Which is nice.
Seems silly I know, but when Travis got up this morning he put on the Weekenders (before breakfast was ready). This is one of the few cartoons my kids watch that I can actually stand to watch. Actually, I like it so much that instead of my typical "Charmed" morning marathon, I put the weekenders on the bedroom TV as well. And laughed out loud while I got ready this morning. Fun! 
