April Update

Clearly I have a s-l-a-c-k-e-r when it comes to posting thus far, so here’s a recap of life since April 4:

• Whole30: Has been, for the most part, going very very well.  We have had a few minor slip-ups, so it hasn’t been a perfect Whole30 — but that’s okay.  Nothing disastrous – no full-day anti-Paleo binges, for example – but just not 100% either.  I can tell you that Memphis and I both feel great.  Bubba has been the biggest challenge, but tonight we had a minor breakthrough with him.  He insisted this week on eating school lunches, and I let him.  Today, after eating pizza, he had a terribly upset stomach, and we talked about our food choices.  He decided that having a tummy that feels good is better than having food that tastes good.  On a good note, I’ve lost over 9 pounds in 2 weeks.  Totally didn’t expect to lose much (if at all)… so that has been a huge benefit.  Cravings are gone, and making good choices is so much easier.  When I have “fallen off the wagon” in a couple instances — involving coffee with half&half or milk, chocolate, and some jalapeno potato chips — I have honestly felt so horrible (upset stomach) very quickly.  Knowing the effects of certain foods in our  bodies is a huge part of the Whole30 process, so I definitely have learned a few things… and have a more to go.
• Exercise: I haven’t made it into CrossFit 3 times each week this month, but again, whatever.  When 5am is pretty much your only class option, it’s not going to be perfect when you’re not a morning person.  So, I’ve cut myself some slack and realize that some day maybe I’ll have more flexibility to get in even more than three days, but it’s certainly not going to happen this month.  However, when I do get in the box, I feel awesome.  The challenge makes it mentally and physically worthwhile; I feel stronger every time I’m in there… and that feels good.  It’s a great way to start the day, honestly.
• Kids: Moco and Bubba both started soccer, so our weeks and weekends are filled with soccer.  Two days of practice for M, one for Bubba.  Saturdays are Bubba’s  game days, although we missed his first because we were in Tulsa and the second was cancelled due to weather. Sundays are Moco’s game days, and they have done well thus far.  This next weekend she plays at “home” and the following weekend is their first tourney of the season in Peoria.  Keeps me super busy, and I don’t mind being outside watching them — but I wish I had more time on the weekends to relax.
• House: The house is still on the market here, and we’ve had plenty of foot traffic — but no offers.  I have to admit, I’m getting tired of showings (there was an especially frustrating situation tonight) and keeping the house super clean.  Not that our house was ever super messy (with the exception of the girls’ rooms), but I get stressed about keeping it super clean all the time in the event that we have showings on short notice.  We have been told twice that we’re on “short lists” for buyers, but nothing has come to fruition.  I’d almost rather NOT know that people are seriously considering our house because when you don’t hear anything for days and weeks… you just don’t want to get your hopes up.
• Life: Probably our biggest news is that R accepted a new job offer to work at The University of Memphis working only with football for strength & conditioning.  It was a very hard decision to make, but I am confident it was the right decision.  R was only in Tulsa for about 15 months, and we could have easily stayed there for much, much longer.  We really like it there, but this was an opportunity that was hard to pass up, honestly.  So… the stress of starting over again begins, even though we have yet to move during all of this… but it still feels like starting over with the research of schools, neighborhoods, jobs, etc.  I have done a little research, but nothing extensive.  Now that he’s down there, I’m hoping he’ll take the lead on some more of this since it’s awfully hard when you’re not in the city and not even familiar with it… which, yes, is funny because that’s our daughter’s name — but U of Memphis is R’s alma mater … and I’ve never even been there!!!

So… that’s the past two weeks for you in a nutshell.  I’ll try to get on and post more, but my brain is on overload… and blogging doesn’t always cross my mind each day, which makes it easy to forget.  *sigh*

 

Fall Soccer

Fall soccer season ended for both kids by the end of October.

It was fun to see them play, especially with this being Bubba’s first season in organized sports and Moco’s first season on a travel team.

Bubba had a great time with his buddies from school, including our next door neighbor Gabe.  They were a lethal combination on the field!  ;)

 

 

Moco’s team made huge improvements from the start to end of the season.

They went from losing a game 0-12 in their first tournament to winning by that margin in their last tournament.

It was so fun to watch them grow as a individuals and as a team.

Moco starts winter indoor training with her soccer team in a few weeks, and both kids will play basketball this year as well!

In the meantime, we’re taking a little rest from activities in November!

 

 

Let the Insanity Begin

For the past couple weeks, I feel like time just keeps speeding up and flying by, but I’m moving like molasses.  I’m getting plenty of things done, but my “to do” list feels forever long between work and home.

Tonight I sat down to try to really wrap my head around the next few weeks of my life — aka, the amount of stuff that fills my planner.

Between now and the end of November we have:

• 5 planned trips to Tulsa for 5 football games (and some Daddy time when he’s available)
• 1 gazillion soccer practices plus a few missed games for Bubba because of our chaotic scheduling (poor Bubs!)
• 4 late start Wednesdays
• 1 work trip (5 days) to Denver which requires Gamma to fly here to help out (10 days)
• 1 weekend soccer tournament in Madison, WI (Gamma will be joining us… and maybe Daddy if we are so very lucky!)
• 2 days of no school for Moco & Bubba in consecutive weeks, beginning the week after I’m in Denver (OF COURSE!) which means three straight short work weeks (I’d like to say I like this, but I don’t.)
• 2 parent-teacher conferences (2 teachers, 1 parent)
• 3 Sundays of double-header soccer games in October (2 of those 3 are out-of-town.  OF COURSE!)
• Halloween parties at school on a Monday after we traveled all weekend (I volunteered to assist with snacks because apparently I have nothing better to do in the month of October.  OF COURSE!)

I’m not sure when I’m going to eat, sleep or even breathe.  There is something going on EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. in October that requires that planning and coordination of schedules.  I like to be busy, but this is a little ridiculous… any bets on how long it will be before I get really super sick or lose my shiznit for realz?!?!

Tulsa Trip #1

This past weekend Moco, Bubba, and I drove to Tulsa.  This was my second trip there to see R, and their first time.  We left Friday afternoon and arrived at about 10:45pm (it’s about a 9 hour drive, which included construction, St. Louis traffic, and a couple of quick gas/potty stops).  R had already left with the football team for their hotel in Oklahoma City before we arrived, so we had his little house to ourselves.  (He lives there with two other coaches, and it’s totally a bachelor pad… which means it’s not really clean and definitely not kid-friendly.)

We went right to sleep, then got around in the morning — Panera for breakfast (we love Cinnamon Crunch bagels with hazelnut cream cheese!!!) and a couple quick errands before we met the family bus on-campus.  The athletics department arranged for the coaches’ wives and families to take a bus to Norman for the season opener against #1 Oklahoma — this was very, very generous of them to do.  Quite honestly, had this not been an option, we wouldn’t have gone to the game… we would have just watched it on TV from the comfort of the bachelor pad (I mean, of course they have a nice big couch and flat screen TV…)!

This was our first time meeting some of the families, although we know two other families already because they also coached at ISU with R.  Chik-Fil-A brought us lunch sacks for the ride, and we were off to OKC.  It was about a two hour bus ride, and the kids kept themselves occupied pretty well on the way there.  (Moco read an entire book, and Bubba had fun playing with the other boys.)  There were eleven kids total on the bus, ranging from under 1 year to about 15 years old.

We stopped at the hotel where the team stayed.  Players and coaches were hanging out, relaxing, talking… we didn’t see R right away, but the kids were thrilled to see him in the hotel lobby.  It had been a little over a month since they had last seen him.  We didn’t have a chance to visit for too long before we loaded back onto the buses.  I think there were four or five total buses, with the family bus bringing up the rear.  We knew it was time to go when the state troopers appeared in the hotel — a police escorted trip from the hotel to the stadium!

Pulling into Norman and onto campus was bonkers.  Police had intersections shut down to ensure the team arrived to the stadium on time.  It was a sea of red there, with people giving the finger and screaming profanities at the buses.  When we unloaded by the stadium, we were a little crew of blue amongst the red!  The team headed to the locker room for warm-ups and walk-throughs.  The families headed into the tailgating — there was a bar that was just for TU folks — but it was a torturous walk in the heat, with 11 kids, little to no water, and fighting the crowds.  It kinda felt like we were prisoners of war being marched through enemy territory with crazy fans yelling all around us, cars parked on lawns, bands playing, bumping into people on the sidewalk…

Once we got to the bar, we were able to cram 8 kids into a booth and asked the waitress for pitchers of ice water and plastic cups.  The kids were tired and complaining — no one was hungry, they were all sweaty and hot.  Once we got them re-hydrated, they started to eat — thank goodness, or it would have been a long night!  Before long, we made the trek back to the stadium, through the red sea and through security, only to have to stand in line to get to our seats!  That’s to be expected when you’re among the 85,620 fans in one stadium…

This picture doesn’t even come close to showing how large the stadium is!!!

The  best score all night…

TU on defense

If you follow college football, you know we didn’t win.  As many will tell you, there’s a reason why OU is #1.  Regardless, we were rooting for the underdogs!  We scored a couple touchdowns and overall, it wasn’t a bad game.  It was hot and crazy, yes, and it was a little overwhelming for our first TU football experience.  But the whole time — I kept reminding myself, this is why we do what we do.  This is what you aim for when you’re a college coach’s family — this experience, this level of competition.  I mean, family and friends across the country were watching our players on the field and our coaches on the sidelines on FX!  When it comes down to it, we make a lot of sacrifices for these moments, and they are absolutely worth it.  I am so proud of R and our guys, even though I can’t even tell you who most of them are!!

We managed to get everyone back to the buses, where we had to wait until the team showered and changed.  The kids saw R on the sidewalk and ran off the bus to jump into his arms to give him hugs and kisses.  The score didn’t matter anymore — it was just about seeing him and letting them rattle off what they had been doing and that they saw him on the sideline…

The police escorted the buses from the stadium all the way out to the turnpike, then it was a quiet two hour drive back to Tulsa.  Most everyone fell asleep during the drive back, exhausted yet ready for the rest of the season!!

On Sunday morning, we slept in as long as we could.  R had to be in the weight room for lifting groups, so the kids and I headed out for a quick breakfast, drove around the city, did a little shopping, and then walked around the TU campus.  We stopped in to see R’s weight room, and Bubba sat watching the football players lift, jotting down the numbers of some of the guys on the back of one of R’s business cards…

You might recognize those milk coolers in the background…

We hung out for a little while at the fountains in front of Collins Hall on the TU campus.

And we entertained ourselves while watching Daddy run the guys on the football field.

After practice, we had beef brisket, green beans and baked beans at Billy Sims BBQ in Brookside and then went to watch the TU men’s soccer team against Loyola Marymount.  We had a great time at the soccer game — I have feeling we’ll be watching a lot of football and fútbol when we finally move!

We hit the road by about 11am on Monday… another 9 hours back on the road.  Before we left, Bubba sighed and asked if we could just move right now.  Both kids have fallen love with Tulsa already, and they are so ready to make this transition.  I am so glad they are excited and looking forward to this move, but I hope that we can keep it reigned in for the next few months.  We’ll be making about four more trips there this semester, and then we’ll start to figure out our formal transition plan.  It’s going to be a long rest of the year with these “teaser” weekends!!!

August 1

It’s hard to believe that it’s already August!  Moco and Bubba will be home in 16 days.  Auntie Mariah will be home in 17 days — the same day that Moco and Bubba start school!   Mariah starts classes the following Monday (8/22).  This is peak time at work as well, so August will feel like it’s dragging but at the same time, it will be over before we know it!

Life hasn’t changed much for me… it’s mostly work and hanging out at home with Deacon.

The kids, however, have had a great time with Gamma and Papa.  They spent part of their first week in Durango, CO, visiting our friends Linda and Richard — better known as MeeMaw and HoHoHo.  They returned to NM just in time for Daddy’s arrival to spend this past weekend with them.  I wish I could have been there, too!!!  They did a lot of biking and put up a zip line in the backyard.  They ate at Rancho de Chimayo, which made me a wee bit jealous, but I’m glad they had the chance to experience one of my favorite places in NM.  I know that I can’t be in 100% of the memories that they will have in life… but I’m glad that there is a little piece of me in those particular memories from this weekend.

Also, in typical Gamma and Papa style, they are returning Bubba as a training-wheel-free-biking-riding-machine.  Well, okay, except for the fact that he doesn’t really know how to slow down or use his brakes, so he is a little prone to “wipeouts” right now.  First potty training, now two-wheel training… they make parenting so much easier for me and Daddy!  ;)

Daddy is now back in Tulsa, and the new football players report tomorrow.  We’re looking forward to traveling to Tulsa about once a month to see Daddy and to watch some Golden Hurricane football, but this is when reality starts to kick in with this whole long-distance thing!

It’s a good thing, then, that my new ErinCondren.com life planner arrived this weekend, so I can start to organize and plan our weekends between Moco’s travel soccer, Bubba’s rec soccer, trips to Tulsa, and everything else that we have going on!  I agonized over the cover design, but finally settled on the “favorite things” cover:

I haven’t used it much yet, so only time will tell how much I love it — but I have a good feeling about it.  I absolutely love how the cover looks, and I’m probably going to wear this thing out!   I also have to put in a plug for Zulily — which is where I discovered ErinCondren.com when I bought three $50 gift certificates for $20 each (but paid only $45 because I had $15 in referral credit).  This planner was quite a deal — but that shouldn’t surprise anyone since I’m always on the hunt for a good bargains!

Anyhow… I’m going to settle in for the evening with the iPad.  I downloaded my first real e-book, Catching Fire, which is the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy.  It has taken a bit to get used to swiping to turn the pages, but I have to admit, I’m enjoying the Kindle App for the iPad, so there will be plenty more e-books in my future!!

I know, I know…

I apologize, as it has been over a month since I last blogged!  Let me give you a brief rundown of life in the Land of Moco and Bubba this past month:

• Moco is playing in the 10 & under in-town softball league.  Her team is the Orange Strikers, and they play 2-3 evening games per week.  She also participated in ISU’s all day softball clinic and had a great time!
• Bubba is playing t-ball through the local parks & recreation program.  His team is the Blue Tigers, and he has practice MW mornings with games on Friday morning.  I’m really glad I changed from the evening to the morning times, although that I also means I miss out on much of this experience.
• Moco made the travel soccer team.  It’s going to be a busy year for us because her league participates in several out-of-town and even out-of-state tournaments!  She is relieved to have made the team… tryouts were agonizing for her!
• Moco chopped 9 inches of hair for donation to Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths program.
• Moco, Bubba, and I drove to Avon, North Carolina, to spend a week with my cousins and their families in the Outer Banks.  It was one of the best and most relaxing vacations I have ever taken!  Pictures to come, including one really cute video of Moco with her cousin Alexis.
• Daddy was home for the long 4th of July weekend, and we took a quick trip up to Iowa to visit friends and family.  It was a nice, fun visit during a beautiful weekend.  We have a few pictures from that trip, plus a video of Bubba riding a big tractor with Uncle Al!
• Bubba has two wiggly teeth, and it still blows my mind that he’ll be in kindergarten.  I remember when those little teeth were popping through his gums!  Where does the time go?

Other than that, we are battling things falling apart and breaking in our house, including my computer (the #1 excuse for not writing!) and the dryer (seriously, what is with me and dryers?!?!).  Needless to say, I have been preoccupied with everything else and haven’t had much creative juice in me to write.  I have several posts in my head and on paper, but it ain’t gonna happen until I get that computer fixed!!!

Bring It, Summer!

Another school year is coming to a close… seriously, where does the time go?!?!

Bubba’s last day of school is this coming Thursday, and Moco’s last day will be the Friday after Memorial Day.

Looking ahead to our summer, we’re going to be very, very busy!  Moco has already started softball practices, and her first game is June 1.  Bubba starts t-ball the first full week of June.  So far we have one softball clinic (maybe two, if we decide to try a hitting clinic at a facility here in town), one session of swimming lessons (maybe two, as we’re on a waiting list), and a soccer camp (maybe two, if we sign them up for one in NM) lined up for the summer.  We bought pool passes for the family and Jenny — who also has volleyball open gym several afternoons a week, so the kids get to tag along with her while she’s practicing.  Hopefully they’re not disruptive… I’ve already given them permission to take their Nintendo DSes with them on those days — it will be their “down time”. Honestly, there are days when Bubba has t-ball at 9am and Moco has softball at 8pm.  I have a feeling these kids will be tan, tired, and totally fit by the time school starts!

In addition to the activities, we have trips to Iowa, North Carolina, and New Mexico planned.  If we can squeeze in a trip to Tulsa, that will make for quite a bit of traveling.  We honestly have very few free Saturdays (um, like, none?), but our Sundays will be wonderful days of rest and relaxation!  (Ha!)

The kids will be in NM for about a month and later than the past few years.  My parents are very accommodating given our funky family situation right now.  Papa has a business trip in St. Louis in late July and will be able to take the kids to NM for me since he’ll be in the area.  If I can convince Gamma to bring them back and stay with us the week that school starts, we have our entire  childcare situation squared away!  I have to admit, I’m a little emotional about the kids going to NM this year.  It’ll be a lot more lonely this time around!!!

I have already heard that basically I’m nuts for the type of schedule that we have this summer… but the kids want to do the team sports and camps.  They love being active and outdoors, and I would rather them be doing these things than hanging out in the house bored and driving Jenny up the wall.  Both kids had input in their  activities, but R had to reign me in a little with a few of the camps.  And we’re looking forward to seeing family… to see the cousins and the cousins’ kids twice in three months is awesome — and on the beach, no less!!!

Honestly, the time will fly by… plus there will be plenty to write about weekly, if not daily!!!  I say, “Bring it, Summer!” because we’re ready for some fun!  :)

Soccer Mom

Moco currently plays on two soccer teams — recreational/instructional league and the training academy for the local club program.  We made a fairly late decision to have her join the academy team, so it has been interesting to watch her progress this season for many reasons:

1. Level of competition – Moco has always played on an all-girls recreational/instructional team, but now she plays co-ed on the academy team.  I’m not just saying this because I’m her mom, but Moco is (and always has been) one of the better players on her rec team.  Her learning curve on the co-ed team has been interesting (and, yes, difficult) to watch — and even she acknowledges that she is not “as good” as some of these other players.  When you add in the  boys, who are much faster and more aggressive in general, the differences are very obvious.  Some kids would be frustrated or intimidated, but not Moco — she likes that it’s more competitive and that the practices are very structured.  This is a great learning opportunity for her, not just for soccer but in terms of life skills!

2. Speed – For the past year, Moco has been going through a major growth spurt.  She’s grown quite a bit, and with it comes a new self-consciousness — she’s definitely in that “tween” stage!  This is perhaps the most frustrating for her because it’s like she just can’t keep up with her body or her body just can’t keep up with her, depending on what she’s doing.  This is true when it comes to speed and endurance — she gets tired a little sooner and just doesn’t have the same speed she did, even from last season.  She is on the soccer field three days a week in practice and at least one, sometimes two, weekend days (and sometimes for multiple games each day), so she’s getting plenty of exercise… but she hit that stage where it’s a little harder to get everything coordinated and moving at the same time/speed!  We’ll keep up the training and hope the rapid growing slows down sooner than later… (And thank goodness she has a strength & conditioning coach as a dad, eh?!)

3. Knowledge of the game – Compared to the boys on her team, Moco doesn’t move quite as quickly or as explosively (is that a word?!), but as I watched the team play today, I realized that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  A lot of these kids are out there making runs for themselves — they aren’t really passing or making plays as they dart all over the field.  However, almost every time that Moco touches the ball, she looks to make a pass and set up a teammate.  She knows she isn’t as fast or as skilled, but she is incredibly confident that she can set up her teammates to make a good play.  The speed of her brain and her knowledge of the team play move much, much faster than her teammates.  In her game yesterday with the rec team, the very last play of the game was absolutely indicative of this — she and her teammate Sydney broke away towards the goal, and Moco headed into the middle from an angle, with Sydney (who is very fast) coming up behind her.  Moco controlled the ball as she saw Sydney sprinting alongside her, and she yelled “keep going!” as she pointed forward to her left.  Sydney sprinted ahead as Moco made a perfect pass for her to head straight to goal.  It was brilliant team play, and I was so proud and excited to watch this — except that the ref blew the final whistle before Sydney could get a shot off!  (Seriously, who blows the whistle on a breakaway like that?!?!)  As I watched Moco today, I was a little frustrated for her with the whole speed thing — but then I realized that her slowing down the game is actually a good thing because she actually plays smart.  Many of these kids are  trying to score goals on breakaway runs and challenging entire defensive lines rather than looking for the pass or waiting for the rest of their own teammates to move forward to help out.  Moco will look for the open player when she’s in traffic because she knows she isn’t going to beat every one of those defenders.  It doesn’t always work, of course, because they are not all quite there yet in terms of understanding how to support each other.  Moco, however, gets it more and more each game, and she gets frustrated when the plays she sets up don’t work out.  And every time, I respond, “Keep setting up the plays because one of these days, they’ll figure it out.”  And they will — and I think she’ll be appreciated more on the field when others realize that it’s a skill she brings to the team compared to the quick, flashy style of many of her teammates.

4. Confidence – We have been very, very fortunate that Moco has had great, level-headed, calm, and truly instructional coaches in soccer, basketball, and softball.  They haven’t been yellers, and they haven’t played favorites.  They make sure the kids rotate through positions and that every gets a chance to play, even if they’re not that great.  I have appreciated that her coaches have focused on learning and not winning, on building skills and not just beating opponents.  (Of course, this is hard to say when you have a super competitive Division I college coach in the family, because he’ll be the first to tell you it’s all about winning championship rings!)  By allowing the kids to play and learn and getting excited about the great plays they make and continuing to cheer for them as they try harder, you can see the confidence  building.  They’re not out there correcting every mistake and getting frustrated with the kids.  For a kid like Moco, this is important, because she is harder on herself than anyone else could ever be (gee, I wonder who she gets that from?!?!), so I have appreciated watching her coaches these past few years.  When I can see how much she improves from beginning to end of the season, and how excited she is about playing and learning (and how disappointed she is when the season is over), I know that they’re doing a good job.  I am nervous that at some point, she’ll get that coach who destroys all these things, and that will be a hard lesson to learn — but we’ll cross that bridge if and when it comes.  Until then, I’m going to continue to enjoy watching her confidence build as her skills and game knowledge build, too.

5. Commitment – In some ways, I feel like we over-committed Moco this season between two soccer teams.  Between yesterday and next Sunday, Moco will have played seven games and had three practices.  This doesn’t include the one game she will miss because of a scheduling conflict between the two different leagues as well as two softball practices (of course that had to start this week, too)!!!  I grumble about the driving and the lack of downtime on the weekends with her schedule, but she doesn’t complain at all.  She loves being active and playing team sports.  She loves supporting her team and trying out the moves that she learned during the week in practice.  It has forced her to be prepared and responsible because her soccer bag must be packed and re-packed almost every night.  She has to make sure that she is geared up correctly — four different uniform options — and stays hydrated.  She is learning to honor her commitments; she is a rule follower and a perfectionist, so she will do what is asked of her by her coaches, but she’s always learning to lead her teammates on the field.  I wasn’t sure how she would do with the busy schedule, but she loves staying busy and having things to do.  (And I realize that my stress with the commitment is probably due to my own overcommitment rather than hers!!!)

I have to admit that as a former soccer player, I get frustrated watching this age group because they’re just not there yet putting everything together (individual skills, team play, even knowing the basic rules).  It also drives me crazy when coaches and referees don’t reinforce fundamentals (i.e., doing a throw-in with both hands behind the head and both feet on the ground) or when they let players get into bad habits (like “cherry-picking” or playing in a very obvious offside position, which will get called EVERY TIME when they’re older) at this age.  My blood pressure goes up very quickly during soccer games — more so this year than in years past!  I force myself to find the positive in each of the frustrations — and just like Moco’s coaches do, I have to let go of the competitive side and focus on the instructional, fun side because I certainly don’t want to experience soccer mom burn out when I know the best years are still ahead of us!!!

1:1

For the past month, we have not been following “our regular routine”.  Three back-to-back weeks of spring break (first Mariah’s, then Daddy’s, then Moco and Bubba’s) followed by my work trip to Denver and Gamma’s visit meant we canceled most of our before and after school care options because the kids could be at home more often.  This isn’t saying much, of course, as “our regular routine” started in February when Daddy went to Tulsa… and it will only be this way until school ends (mid-May for Auntie Mariah, end of May for the kids).

So… today was our first Monday back in “our regular routine”.  Auntie Mariah took the kids to school, I went to work, Moco had after school program, and Bubba would be picked up by his babysitter, Ali… I called her to ask a favor, and from our conversation — I quickly realized we still aren’t on a regular routine!  Bubba went home with Ms. Leslie (who is the director of his preschool, and Ali’s mom) because Ali had a summer job interview that she scheduled when she normally babysits — but she hasn’t been to our house for a month, so the time conflict slipped her mind.  Not a big deal, but she felt bad about shuffling Bubba around.  It worked out because he got to play with her younger brother Kyle for an hour!

I took my lunch break at 4:30 (yeah, I know!) to pick up Moco from the after school program, get her home to change into soccer gear, and head across town to drop her off at practice.  Seriously, it takes 15-20 minutes (sometimes longer, depending on traffic and stoplights) to get to the practice/game fields — not my idea of time efficiency!  We were 5 minutes late, but it was worth it because we had the chance to hold hands and talked about her day on the drive there — no interruptions by Bubba, who  tries to talk over us because he can be such a little attention hog!  It was really nice to have that 1:1 time with her and to hear from her about her day.  I usually get the abbreviated version because someone else has already had that conversation with her, so I get the “it was fine” version.  I definitely cherish the moments when I can have that type of conversation with her without other distractions, and I know she appreciates it, too.

I dropped Moco off at the practice fields and turned right back around to go home to meet Ali, who was bringing Bubba back to our house.  When I arrived home, they were playing with sidewalk chalk on the driveway — Ali forgot her keys to our house.  Seriously, it was just one of those days!

We let Deacon out the back door to stretch his legs and take a potty break; he has been kenneled a lot lately because he is so terribly naughty right now!  He has been affected by our modified routine as well — pulling stuff off the counters, scratching up the kitchen table looking for food, and scattering the kids’ things all over the main floor, and he even tore into and ate two boxes of Girl Scouts cookies (non-chocolate, thankfully)!  Because he has been so sneaky and naughty and destructive, we now kennel him while we’re out of the house when he normally has free reign.  When we got home tonight, he was bouncing off the walls, running and sliding across the floors, and just being his obnoxious self because he was so excited to see us (and because he had to pee).

Bubba and I ate supper (leftovers) together, and he and I had a great 1:1 time together too.  Bubba also has been very naughty (mouthy and mean) and sneaky lately, and I appreciated the uninterrupted time to just enjoy my happy little boy.  I think he appreciated it, too.  I love the way he looks right at me with his smiling eyes when we’re talking; I can’t help but melt into a little puddle of mommy love mush.  The best part was that he suggested that we have breakfast for supper tomorrow night — his face lit up, and he was so proud of his suggestion that I couldn’t turn him down!  (We made a breakfast casserole.)

Before long, we had to head back to pick up Moco from practice, and poor Deacon was looking rather pathetic knowing we were headed out the door yet again… but he was ecstatic when I let him out the front door and opened the truck for him to hop in and join us for the ride!  He spent half the ride in the back seat with Bubba, but then he moved to the front seat and put his face about 4 inches from mine and stared at me until I told him to knock it off.  He’s so weird sometimes!!

Moco was thrilled that Deacon was with us — riding in the truck makes him happy, and when he’s happy, she’s happy.  She also told me that she enjoys being busy, so I don’t feel guilty about three days of soccer practice, one day of air rifle practice, and up to two game days on the weekends.  She loves physical activity, and I can tell when she doesn’t get enough of it — she’s grumpy and bored and (like the boys) mischievous!

After Moco ate, the kids talked on Skype with Daddy, and they went to bed pretty easily compared to last night when they got out of bed every few minutes over about a two hour time span.  I about checked myself into a hotel because it was driving me nuts!!!  Auntie Mariah came home from class, and she and I got some 1:1 time doing her taxes while watching the NCAA Championship on TV after the kids fell asleep.  Deacon got some individual attention as well (lots of scratching behind the ears), and it’s quite possible that a few morsels of food conveniently fell in front of him while I was making lunch for the kids… ;)

I guess you can say all four of my kiddos got 1:1 time with me tonight, so we’re all pretty happy with our first Monday back to normal.  (Whatever that is!)

Getting Back to Normal…

After about 10 days of traveling, I finally got home on Wednesday night — the plane touched down at 11:55pm.  By the time I retrieved my suitcase, it was about 12:15am, then I found Gamma waiting for me outside of the baggage claim area, and it was about 12:25am  by the time we arrived home.  And, yes, I had to be at work at 8am that same morning!  I was definitely dragging on Thursday and Friday from almost 10 days of being out of our normal routine, between traveling, and having Gamma here.  Moco also started soccer practice with her new team on Thursday, and we had originally planned to go out to eat on Friday night for her birthday, but opted to stay in instead with chicken & shrimp lo mein and chantilly birthday cake.

On Saturday morning we dropped Gamma off at the train station, and pretty much went straight into our regular weekend routine: running errands.  Drive-thru teller, post office, Walgreens… and Chuck E. Cheese.  Okay, okay — Chuck E. Cheese is not part of our regular weekend routine, but we had a great time!  One large sausage pizza, four soft drinks, and over 200 tokens.  Bubba liked the action video games (fighter pilots, shoot ‘em up) but played a little Skee-ball.  Moco tried out most of the games, too, but really liked this haunted house game and had some pretty long strands of tickets before we knew it.  Auntie Mariah and I found the real-life Coin Dozer game (we both have the app on our iPod/iPad), and it didn’t take long before we were like addicts — cashing in $20 for more tokens and stealing requesting others from the kids to launch tokens into the machine to make the big piles of coins fall.  We earned over 300 tickets on that game alone, which pretty much “paid” for Moco’s prizes, so I suppose they can’t complain.  ;)  By the end of our two hours, we had well over 3000 tickets, which included about 1500 left over from Chuck E. Cheese trips in 2007 and 2008!  I think my favorite parts of the day were seeing Moco and Bubba’s “sketched” picture — two smiling kiddos squished together in the booth (note to self: scan and upload that pic) — and playing air hockey with Bubba (he won, 7-5) while Justin Bieber’s “Baby” played in the background.  And, yes, we were singing and dancing to it while whacking the puck at each other!

Today (Sunday) we spent half the day in Champaign for festival games for Moco’s new soccer team.  She only went to one practice with this team before this weekend.  Their team won the first game, but then lost the second game.  It was in the 70s, but incredibly windy, which made for less than ideal playing (and spectating, and driving) conditions!  Moco had one assist, at least one really sweet move in her footwork, and a couple good plays on the ball, shielding it and making some good turns.  She is a little rusty, as it has been a good five months since she has played (basketball season was in the middle of that break, too), so we’ve got some work to do to build her confidence, sharpen her skills, and create some momentum.  Moco is a good soccer player; on her rec team, she is one of the better players in terms of skills and knowledge of the game.  Having her with the competitive team — especially one that is co-ed — is a challenge for her.  She’s out of her comfort zone playing with boys and with players who are at the same level as her or better, but this gives her the opportunity to learn a lot about herself, soccer, and competition.  Additionally, she’ll be playing up to five days a week between practices and games!  It’s going to be busy around here, shuttling kids to and from activities!!!

In any event, we’re back to our regular schedule this week, with the addition of soccer practices.  April is going to be a busy month, and we’ll be doing a lot of our summer scheduling in the next few weeks… let’s hope we can get everything squared away sooner than later!!!