Girl Time

This weekend I'm doing something I've never done in 19 years of marriage and 15 years of motherhood.  I'm leaving my husband and kids behind and going away for the weekend with friends.  No husbands, no kids.  Just six women enjoying a girls get away weekend.  These six women are all very dear friends to me.  They're all part of my online circle of friends that I  wrote about here: http://homerunmama.blogspot.com/2011/01/circle-of-friends.html.  This will be the first time I've had the pleasure of meeting two of them in person.  We're going to Jekyll Island, Georgia. Our plans include a lot of sitting on the beach or around the pool, talking and relaxing.  I'm sure we'll do a little exploring, shopping, and restaurant hopping as well.  But the main purpose of this trip is to just kick back, relax, and enjoy each other's company.  We leave Friday morning and I can hardly wait.   That's not to say I won't miss my family.  I will.  But I'm looking forward to some me time with a group of fantastic women whose friendship I treasure.  Two more days girls!

My Sassy Princess

Since my last several posts have been about J and N, I figured it was time for a post all about my sassy girl A.  Life with A is never dull.  She keeps me on my toes, alternating between making me want to tear my hair out and making me laugh until I cry.  She's adjusted to kindergarten very well.  She loves learning and her teacher recently told me she wishes she had a classroom full just like her.  Apparently, A keeps her devil horns hidden at school.  That's good to know.  At home she is full of sass, spirit, and mischief.  From the time she wakes up to the time she goes to sleep, she's on the go.  She loves being right in the middle of whatever her brothers are doing, especially J.  We're constantly laughing over some wacky thing she's said or done, and she delights in being as outrageous as possible in order to make us laugh.  There are days that I am both exhausted and exasperated by the time she goes to bed.  Yet I wouldn't change anything about her.  After having two boys I wished hard for a little girl.  I got my wish and then some with A.  She's headstrong, stubborn, and independent to a fault.  She is often times two hands full of trouble.  She is also sweet, and loving, with a heart of pure gold.  She may not be your typical quiet, ladylike princess, but she's our sassy princess and we wouldn't have her any other way. The two pictures below will give you a good idea of the many facets of A's personality.  

The Road To His Dream

J has completed four weeks of the training program that Coach C set up for him.  It has been four weeks of intense, hard work, both physically and mentally.  Five days a week he is swimming, working out, or running.  He is playing baseball for two teams and keeping up with his school work.  He's also following an eating program that requires him to eat a lot of food.  None of it is easy.  There are days when J is mentally and physically exhausted.  Days where just getting out of bed to start the whole routine over seems overwhelming. Days where the thought of eating one more bite of food makes him  want to throw up.  Yet one thing that has never wavered is J's commitment to following the program.  When  he complains about being tired or balks at eating all of his food I ask him if he's ready to throw in the towel. The answer is always, without hesitation, no.  You see, this is the road to J's dream of baseball.  It's a long road; J is only at the beginning of the journey.  It's a journey J is determined to complete.  He's realizing that there are many sacrifices he'll have to make along the way.  There isn't as much time as there used to be to hang out with friends, go to parties, or play video games.  Even weekends are often times filled with baseball games or practices.   J's life revolves around baseball, more so now than ever before.  He's determined to succeed and if that means giving up other stuff, he's willing to do it.  We're all very proud of his hard work and dedication.  I told him recently that someday, when he's reached his ultimate goal of playing big league baseball (we like to say when, not if) he's going to look back on this time of intense training and know it made him stronger.  All of the hard work, sweat, sacrifices, and tears will have been worth it.  The success will mean more because he'll know he earned it through hard work and dedication to his dreams.  He just grinned at me and went to do that day's workout.

A Day of Mixed Emotions

The post I write today is at the same time one of the most difficult and one of the most joyous I'll write all year.  The most difficult because it is the ten year anniversary of the terrorist attacks that forever changed America.  One of the most joyous because it's N's eleventh birthday.  For N, his birthday is a day of many emotions, happiness, sadness, confusion, and even a little guilt for celebrating what will always be remembered as one of the most tragic days in American history.   N was a year old on the day of the attacks and will never know a birthday without the shadow of 9/11 looming over it.  It's something he never forgets and that weighs heavy on his young mind.  Every year we say a special prayer for the victims, and talk about about how N's feeling.  This year especially he wanted to do something to honor all those lost that day.  A few nights ago he came to me with a piece of paper and told me this was how he wanted his birthday cake decorated.  The paper had a picture of the flag with the words, pentagon, twin towers, and sacred field under it.  He had also written "All those lost will be remembered on a special birthday."  So today my mom and I are working to make a special cake that will be N's tribute to the victims of 9/11.  

For us today will always be a day of many emotions.  We never forget the events of 9/11 and we pray for the victims.  We also celebrate N's birthday with gusto.  For the past eleven years he has filled our lives with happiness, laughter, and love.  Happy birthday N!  It's been an amazing eleven years!      

Fall Season Opener

Today J had his first fall Little League game.  I could say that Team Gray came out with bats blazing and blew the opposing team out of the water but I'd be lying.  And not just a little white lie, but a whopper of huge proportions.  This game was dismal.  Team Gray suffered a 10-2 loss primarily due to errors.  I won't go into specifics but suffice it to say we had no defense, no pitching, and only two players were hitting.  One of those players was J.  He is the oldest player on this mixed junior/senior level team.  I'm going to go ahead and say flat out he's also the best player on the team.  I don't usually make statements like that because I believe that being humble is a good trait.  But in this case, it must be said. For boys who have supposedly played ball for many years, this team really needs to pull it together and act like they give a damn about playing the game.  Laid back, easy going J was ready to knock heads together by the end of the game.  He tried to pump up the team and get them fired up.  It didn't work.  They didn't even seem to care that they got their butts handed to them.  All but J were just happy the game was over because it was hot out.  At this point, I don't know how much he is really going to get out of this fall team but he wants to stick it out.  Thank goodness he has TP, where he will actually get to play some real baseball and improve his game. We sure were  missing Coach C this morning!       

TP Update

I know I said previously that TP was going to have a fall season.  Then they weren't.  Well, I'm happy to report that they are in fact, going to have a fall season.  Hurray!  Here's the details.  Coach C is back at college and has an extremely full schedule this semester.  So he wasn't going to be able to do the fall season.  But then he called me last week to report that there might be a fall team after all for the 16 year olds.  As of yesterday, it's official.  There will be a 16 year old fall team.  Now, Coach C is unable to serve as head coach this season.  Coach T, the hitting instructor from TP, will fulfill the role of head coach.  But Coach C intends to be at as many weekend tournaments as his schedule will allow.  I was glad to hear that because TP just wouldn't be the same without Coach C.   This turn of events means new challenges for our already over packed schedule.  But there is no way J is passing on the opportunity to play for TP again.  We'll figure it out and make it work just like we always do!  Go TP!