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this afternoon i’m heading up to duluth with my brother peter, since we’re bothing running the bjorklund 1/2 marathon tomorrow. it will be the first night i’ve ever spent away from fiona, the first time i’ve been away from both girls at the same time, and the first night in about 7+ years that i have slept by myself (’cept for the rare nap). part of me is looking forward to it, part of me has wanted to run away for a night alone, and part of me is already missing them. being a mama is so bitter sweet sometimes. sigh. fiona nursed at 5am, for what might be the last time, and i cried. we’ve been slowly working on weaning, going from still nursing on demand 4 months ago, to down to twice a day, and finally down to just that early morning cuddle up nursing. ella weaned on her own, with maybe just a gentle nudge in that direction once we found out that i was pregnant with fi. it was a peaceful and easy process. she was more ready than i was. with fiona, it has been much harder. each step towards complete weaning has been much tougher than i expected, for both of us. she’s almost 3, so i could talk to her about it and explain that the milk is going away…but in the early hours of the morning, cuddled up together, she is still my little baby and it is hard taking this away from her. that’s how it feels, like i am taking something from her, something that i know she loves. its very hard to do, especially when it is also something i have loved so much in my relationship with both my babies…and as something so essential to my life as a mother up to now. i have been a nursing mama for almost 5 years. it is a day of mixed emotions for me, but i know this time had to come eventually. here’s ella nursing one of her groovy girl dolls just after fiona was born (fiona is nursing too, that little red head next to me).

The Chicago Rush won ArenaBowl XX, the Superbowl of arena football, thanks in part to my little brother John. He’s the head trainer for the team, and has worked for them the past 5 years. We don’t watch much tv, and hadn’t seen more than a few minutes of other arena football games, but we watched this one start to finish. John works the sidelines and goes on the field whenever there’s an injury, so he was on screen several times during the game; to break up a fight, 2 on-field knee injuries, and lots of shots in passing.
Neither my brother Mike nor i could fly down to Vegas for the game (though lots of family did go), so we watched together as our little brother worked for the winning team in the biggest game of the season. He’s partying down in Las Vegas tonight, a well-deserved win for everyone and a very proud moment for two big brothers here in Minnesota. Congratulations, John! (and the rest of the team too!)

ps. (from autumn) bill and i were typing up our posts at the same time.

if anything deserves two posts, its this!

i am beside myself with pride right now. i don’t follow team sports, or any sport really. i compete in triathlons, but i’ve never even watched an ironman on tv. today was this first time i ever watched one of the arena football league games. it was the playoffs, the arenabowl, and the chicago rush was playing. my brother in law john has been a trainer with the chicago rush for 5 years, and the head trainer for the last 3 years (its great to have a bil to call when i hurt myself training!). they have made it to the quarter finals the last 3 years, but this is the first time they made it to the arenabowl…and they WON!!!! THEY WON THEY WON THEY WON!!!!

the game was broadcast this afternoon on nbc. the chicago rush were the underdogs…and they WON!!!!!!! did i mention they WON?!?!? WOO HOO!!!! it was so fantastic. my mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, and a whole slew of my husband’s other relatives flew down to vegas for the game. we wish we could have been there. instead, we went over to my other brother-in-law’s place to watch the game on their huge tv and tail gate from afar. i was so into the game, especially catching glimpses of john, and by the end, i couldn’t leave my spot on the couch…even though i REALLY had to pee. i didn’t want to miss anything! the girls thought seeing their uncle on tv was pretty neat - he even came out on the field and broke up a fight early in the game (he’s as big as most of the guys on the team). i haven’t had so much fun watching a sport, well, EVER! i was nearly in tears when they won. i am so proud of john and his guys!!!!

http://www.arenabowl.com

http://www.chicagorush.com/news.asp?ID=655

they funny thing is, the connell men (bill, john, mike, and big bill) are leaving for a fishing trip in alaska in 2 weeks. they almost scheduled the trip earlier in june. john said that the arenabowl was in early june, but that he was unsure if they’d be in the playoffs. just to be safe, the scheduled the trip later in the month. good thing, because they went, they played, and they kicked orlando’s butt!!!!!