Random Monday Musings

I am so not a fan of Mondays ... not sure who is, unless you have the day off ... good thing it is more than half way over.

This weekend I skipped Chatty's soccer game to work out or should I say get my a** kicked during a workout.  I felt a little guilty but Chatty assured me it was fine if I miss the next 4 games since we just had a tournament a few weekends ago and we sat through 4 games.  Speaking of Chatty, I ate all of her Skittles and threw the bag away so she won't notice! 

Bia's bestie's Mom (got that?) texted me last week about throwing a shared birthday party for the girls.  Bia's bestie's birthday is the day after Bia's.  The best part - her Mom already booked the place.  I love having friends who are as Type A as me!

There were 15 kids in Chatty's Sunday school class yesterday.  They had to recite the 12 Disciples in front the of the congregation.  They did great but when they got back to class it was chaotic.  I kept praying the sermon would be short ... I am switching to Bia's class next year, they are easier and calmer.

I made homeade salsa yesterday and my hands are still burning from the jalapeno peppers.  I was too lazy to put on plastic gloves ... lesson learned again!

Bia is wearing a navy and white gingham checked dress and navy and white striped leggings ... I told her to tell everyone she dressed herself. 

Only a couple hours left of work then soccer practice, exercise class, homework and all of the other things I am forgetting that have to get done tonight.

A Night of Notes

I woke up yesterday not feeling too hot but shook it off and came to work.  Got progressively worse and headed home - 24 hour stomach bug.  This morning when I woke up I found the following note on my vanity in the bathroom ....

Needless to say she (Lacey - aka Chatty) is my favorite today!! BTW - she had to do an oral presentation yesterday on a famous person and she chose Mia Hamm.  I got her a USA soccer shirt and she wore her bright green cleats for her presentation!  Her teacher took pictures of everyone in costume and thought Chatty's cleats were so wild she had to get them in the picture too! 

Since I wasn't feeling too well I went to bed early (very early) and was woken up by a ringing phone at 8:30 pm.  Mr. ESPN answered and I could hear him talking (although not anything clearly) but figured out who was on the other line.  So when Mr. ESPN came to bed I asked him and he told me about the conversation - well as many details as guys give you.  Since he thought I was asleep he left the following note next to the coffee maker ....

In case you can't read his handwriting (i.e. he should have been a Dr.) it says due date Sept 1, 6 weeks 4 days along, Gina is pregnant.  I have to give him props because details are not his sort of thing and he really put a lot of effort into this one. 

And on a completely unrelated note (no pun intended) ... a picture of my soccer player champ ... her team took first place in their division last weekend. 

Sorry for the odd size - I cropped her friend out of the picture since i didn't check with the mom about posting it on the blog.

Since the competition wasn't too stiff the coach was able to rotate players quite a bit (making Mr. ESPN and the other parents very happy).  Chatty took advantage of it and scored 5 goals in one game ... I think she was trying to send a message!  LOL!  We had a great time with the other families and the girls had a blast ... so much so I have been in recovery mode all week! 

Why I am HAPPY

Since my last post was a rant I thought I would do the opposite here.  I am going to tell you why I am happy today .....

• It's Friday ... enough said!  Plus I have a half day and am working from home (shhh .. don't tell anyone).
• Soccer resolution - Mr. ESPN spoke with the Director of Coaching and then there was a big team meeting with parents and coach and Director.  Lucky for me I have a 4 year old so I couldn't attend.  But the results were good and other parents stood up and a consensus was achieved.  Thank goodness in small miracles!!
• We are heading to Tucson today for a soccer tournament ... girls are excited (Bia told Mr. ESPN she loves Tucson more than Disneyland because last time we went with our good friends the Cottrells) ... wish Mr. ESPN and I could sneak off and see our Alma mater play tomorrow but of course the scheduling people scheduled the ZONA game the same time as Chatty's soccer game.  What were they thinking ... do you think Chatty would notice if we missed 1 game????
• Bia climbed into bed with me to cuddle this morning ... love that kid!
• Words with Friends ... I am addicted!  Plus I love beating Mr. ESPN at it!  So funny I have a game with my aunt, my Mam-ma, a couple with Mr. ESPN and some friends. 
• I nagged Mr. ESPN enough about running a full marathon that he had a stress test done in November and they found something.  They are going to rescan in 6 months but for now he can't run at all per doctor's orders.  Needless to say I am so HAPPY I nagged him enough mention it to our family doctor and that our family doctor was proactive enough to order the stress test (see nagging can be good!!).  I am truly blessed.

  Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Soccer Mom

This is my rant - I have contemplated posting this for a couple weeks and decided I just need to vent.  It probably won't interest most of you but it's my blog and I need to post it.

Chatty plays club soccer (yes I know plenty of people out there think she is too young to start in a club league - but she loves it and would play everyday if we let her and she has learned so much).  Chatty adores her team and coach, we love the other families on the team - we have a great group of parents.  I am the team accountant for her team.  Needless to say I put in my fair share of time doing stuff for the team and making sure coaches get paid, etc. 

Our league says we are developmental at this age group, however players have been slotted into positions and don't rotate much, if at all.  In addition the substitution during games is not very fluid.  Mr. ESPN and I vowed we would never be those parents who complained about the coaching.  Well something happened and Mr. ESPN got so frustrated (which is a fairly rare occurrence) he sent an e-mail to the coach asking about her coaching philosophy and why positions and players aren't rotated.  He also discussed it with her over the telephone.  The coach had several reasons none of which Mr. ESPN or I agreed with (i.e. some parents only want their kids playing certain positions).  I want my child to develop and learn all aspects of the game as I firmly believe this will help her (as well as the other players on the team).  Yes I am competitive and yes I want to win and so does my child.  But I want my child to learn all aspects of the game and positions, develop her skills and have fun.  Is that too much to ask?  How do I accomplish this - anyone, anyone, Bueller??? 

Being a parent is hard work and this is piddly stuff compared to what some of you are dealing with.   

Back in the Routine

This week has been a little tough on all of us ... Mr. ESPN went back to work Monday, I went back to work Tuesday and the girls went back to school yesterday.  Needless to say the early morning alarm clock ringing is not music to my ears after two weeks off.  The only one who had no issues adjusting back to the routine is Chatty, who bounced in my bathroom yesterday morning at 6 am dressed and excited for school.  Well I guess 1 for 4 isn't horrible.  Oh how I wish Bia and I had her enthusiasm in the mornings!

Anyway - back to soccer practice and games and tournaments and dance and homework and all the other stuff that seems to occupy so much of our time.  Add to that a little congestion and cough to 3 out of 4 of our family members and there it is - our normal routine!  Now if I could just nail down some healthy meals my kids will actually eat, time to exercise, more sleep, etc. my routine would be even better!  Maybe it will happen this year ... I can always hope right?

Year End Catch Up

Even though I am a terrible blogger these days, I figured I would try and recap all the Christmas festivities before the year ends.  We had a busy month and while it was enjoyable, I have to admit I am kind of glad it is over.  My in-laws left yesterday morning (Chatty cried ... a lot) ... Mr. ESPN went to work ... I think he strategically plans it that way so he doesn't have to help get the house back in order.  All of the Christmas decorations are down and back in the attic ... courtesy of me.  My arms look like I got in a fight with my tree and the tree won.  But it is snugly in it's box in the garage cabinet so I am happy.  So back to the festivities ... warning - picture overload - I am too lazy to separate into more than one post.

• The girls saw Santa at Boys and Girls Club - with Bia acting her normal shy self.

• We decorated sugar cookies with Nana

• We decorated our reusable Gingerbread (plastic) house.

• The Godfather stopped by for a visit with his mom and sister. 

• We attended Christmas Eve services and our kids were better behaved than most in attendance (that's what I call a Christmas miracle)

•  Santa and Grandparents brought lots of great gifts to the family including an iPAD, soccer goal, camera, soccer clothes, Just Dance 3, puzzles, movies, etc.

That's wrap ... time to go play Just Dance 3 with the girls ... I hope you all had a great holiday!!

How Do You Do IT??

Seriously I don't know how you all do it ... have a life ... blog .... jobs ..... family .... kids!  Ugh I just can't find the time or motivation to blog these days.  Maybe it is because I sit on a computer all day at work and don't feel like getting on when I get home or that by the time I get home I am just too tired or have too many other things to do.

OK - so what have we been up to???  Birthday parties, soccer, Thanksgiving, soccer, dance, soccer, decorating, soccer ... do you see a theme here?

Birthday Party with Face Painting

Soccer Ball and #11

Of course she wanted a Puppy - her favorite

 

 Falling asleep in the car on the way to the

USA vs Sweden Women's Soccer Game.  Drool much?

Lunch at Oregano's ... mmmm good!

Tonight it Bia's dance performance. Hopefully she doesn't have stage fright! Nana and Poppa are joining us for her tap debut! Can't wait. This weekend Chatty has a soccer tournament half way to LA - seriously it is on the other freakin side of town. Oh well the things we do for our kids!

We decorated the house for Christmas, although I must admit I am not really in the spirit and Christmas songs are kind of annoying me, not sure why.  Maybe because I have done very little (almost none) Christmas shopping, no baking (my new oven is being delivered next week - Merry Christmas/Happy Anniversary/Happy Birthday to me!) and we haven't even put the ornaments on the tree yet. Hopefully the spirit will give me a swift kick in the rear this weekend!

My still undecorated tree - it has lights and pinecones and an angel 

The kids tacky sweet little tree

Have a great weekend!