Here we are, on the eve of the 2011/2012 school year. For N and A anyway. J has til Wednesday before he starts classes. All the supplies are bought and packed in the appropriate backpacks. Uniforms are washed and ready. And as usual at the start of a new school year, I'm reflecting on what the year holds for my three babies.
J will be a sophomore in high school. He has a challenging course load this year, and is really starting to think about college. On the athletic front, he will again be swimming for the school team. His coach fully expects he will hit his varsity times and letter this year. And of course, he'll be playing baseball. If the school has a fall team, he'll definitely play. He'll also be doing the fall tournament season with TP. Coach C is in the process of mapping out a running, lifting, core conditioning, and eating program for him. That's all part of the three year plan to get him ready for college baseball. He's going to be a busy kid. I also want to make sure he has time to just enjoy being a kid.
N will be a fifth grader this year. School will present new challenges as he changes classes for the first time, and deals with an increase in homework. He's a good student, so I don't foresee any problems there. He'll be continuing with boys gymnastics and Cub Scouts, both of which he loves. This will be his final year as a Cub Scout. He'll cross over to Boy Scouts in the spring. He also plans to join the school choir and continue to participate in student council as a peer mediator. His 11th birthday is coming up in just a little over a month and he's trying to decide how he wants to celebrate.
A starts kindergarten this year. My last baby is leaving the nest and going to school all day. She's excited and a little nervous. She wants to join the junior baton team and continue with her dance class. She also wants to be a Girl Scout and has talked me into being the leader for her Daisy troop. I'm a little nervous that all of that will be too much for her. But we'll try it and see how it goes. We can always make changes later if need be.
As for me, I'll continue my duties as head homeroom mom at the school. I've also taken on team mom duty for TP, and I'll be figuring out this Girl Scout troop leader thing. And of course, the usual shuttling of kids, managing everyone's schedules, and making sure our lives run relatively smooth. My plate will be full, but I like it that way. I love being a part of what the kids are doing and sharing the journey with them. I do have a little time for myself planned at the end of September. I'm going away for a girls weekend with a group of friends.
What does the school year hold for you and your family?
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
New Blog Background and the Origin of this Blog's Name
It occurred to me that the title of this blog demanded a more appropriate design, so I started messing around with different options. And found this one. I think it fits the title of the blog well. I hope you like it!
I also decided it was time to share how the title of this blog came about. When J was in 5th or 6th grade(I can't remember for certain), he brought home an art project wrapped in newspaper. "I made this for you mom," he said as he handed it to me. I tore off the newspaper to find a little ceramic plate decorated with a hand drawn picture of a flaming baseball. Above the baseball are the words home run mom. I admit I cried when I saw it. The fact that he tied his love for baseball to me just melted my heart. That little plate still hangs on my living room wall. Every time I look at it I remind myself to always strive to be the best mom I can. I may not always hit a home run, but I try. And my little team of three loves me even on the days I strike out.
I also decided it was time to share how the title of this blog came about. When J was in 5th or 6th grade(I can't remember for certain), he brought home an art project wrapped in newspaper. "I made this for you mom," he said as he handed it to me. I tore off the newspaper to find a little ceramic plate decorated with a hand drawn picture of a flaming baseball. Above the baseball are the words home run mom. I admit I cried when I saw it. The fact that he tied his love for baseball to me just melted my heart. That little plate still hangs on my living room wall. Every time I look at it I remind myself to always strive to be the best mom I can. I may not always hit a home run, but I try. And my little team of three loves me even on the days I strike out.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Summer Highlights
Even though summer officially doesn't end for several more weeks, our summer vacation is sadly, drawing to a close. So I figured I'd share some of the highlights of our jam packed summer days.
TP: Without a doubt, TP ranks right up there as one of the best highlights of our summer. Our first experience with travel ball couldn't have been any better. J grew so much as a player, made great new friends, and had fun, too. We enjoyed making friends with all of the parents while we spent so much time cheering on the boys. TP is truly a family and we're looking forward to the fall season.
Coach C: We've known a lot of coaches in J's years playing baseball. Some great, like my dad, and some not so great. Coach C definitely falls into the great category. He may be young, (he turns 19 tomorrow!) but he has a true gift for coaching. I think one of the TP dads said it best when he said that Coach C coaches well beyond his years. J is so lucky to have such a great friend, mentor, and coach.
A's Crush: There's nothing quite like a girl's first crush, and A's crush on Coach C is a doozy. We've laughed ourselves silly over her shameless and innocent pursuit of him. It became even funnier once hubby spilled the beans to Coach C, who was pretty surprised to find himself the object of her affections! He's been a terrific sport about the whole thing, being sweet as can be to A and tolerating all of hubby's jokes about being our son in law with good humor. A's going to miss him when he goes back to college in a few weeks.
TP's Championship: TP had a terrific summer season, but nothing beats the Apopka tournament where they swept the whole thing and took home the trophy.
Family: Aunt S and Cousins M and B's visit was another great highlight of the summer. The kids always enjoy being with their cousins and this was no exception.
As we get ready to head back to school and a daily routine that doesn't revolve solely around baseball I'm going to miss this summer. My kids are growing up fast, making these carefree summer when we're all together all the more precious.
TP: Without a doubt, TP ranks right up there as one of the best highlights of our summer. Our first experience with travel ball couldn't have been any better. J grew so much as a player, made great new friends, and had fun, too. We enjoyed making friends with all of the parents while we spent so much time cheering on the boys. TP is truly a family and we're looking forward to the fall season.
Coach C: We've known a lot of coaches in J's years playing baseball. Some great, like my dad, and some not so great. Coach C definitely falls into the great category. He may be young, (he turns 19 tomorrow!) but he has a true gift for coaching. I think one of the TP dads said it best when he said that Coach C coaches well beyond his years. J is so lucky to have such a great friend, mentor, and coach.
A's Crush: There's nothing quite like a girl's first crush, and A's crush on Coach C is a doozy. We've laughed ourselves silly over her shameless and innocent pursuit of him. It became even funnier once hubby spilled the beans to Coach C, who was pretty surprised to find himself the object of her affections! He's been a terrific sport about the whole thing, being sweet as can be to A and tolerating all of hubby's jokes about being our son in law with good humor. A's going to miss him when he goes back to college in a few weeks.
TP's Championship: TP had a terrific summer season, but nothing beats the Apopka tournament where they swept the whole thing and took home the trophy.
Family: Aunt S and Cousins M and B's visit was another great highlight of the summer. The kids always enjoy being with their cousins and this was no exception.
As we get ready to head back to school and a daily routine that doesn't revolve solely around baseball I'm going to miss this summer. My kids are growing up fast, making these carefree summer when we're all together all the more precious.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
UF Camp and Looking Towards the Future
J attended University of Florida baseball camp during the first part of the week. I blogged about my thoughts and feelings on the day I dropped him off. Now I'll share something about his camp experiences. He said the camp was very intense and they did a lot of hard work. It was pretty much baseball from morning til night, including speed and agility, field work, position specific work, hitting and games. The camp was run by the head coach of UF baseball, who in the words of Coach C is a baseball genius. Assisting him were the UF assistant coaches, along with coaches from several other colleges and some current UF players. J felt like he learned some valuable skills at camp to improve his game, had fun, and made some new friends along the way. Being on the UF campus playing baseball also reinforced in him the dream of college baseball. Which brings me to the second part of this post.
J has three years til college. That's it. Three short years before my baby leaves home for college and the pursuit of his greatest dream. As a mother, my role is to support that dream, however out of reach it may seem at times. I never want him to look back one day and regret not going for his dreams. Even if all of his dreams don't come true, I want him to always have the certainty that he did everything possible to make them a reality. That being said, I want to be able to provide him with all the tools he needs to help him achieve his dreams. I've spoken all summer of what a terrific coach Coach C is. Not only has J learned a lot from him, he looks up to him as a friend and role model. The two of them clicked right from the start. Coach C says he sees a lot of himself in J. All of this led hubby and I to the realization that perhaps Coach C was the perfect person to mentor J along the road to college baseball. We decided to ask him how he felt about doing something like that and happily, he said he was both honored and flattered that we had such faith in him. I also asked him flat out if he truly thought J has a shot at college baseball. The answer was yes, without hesitation. J has a lot of hard work to do to get there, but Coach C definitely sees college baseball in his future. He's working out a pretty rigorous training program for J, along with helping him with a list of possible colleges, coordinating future trips to showcases to get him scouted, and most of all continuing to be the friend and role model J has come to know and admire this summer. Hubby and I offered to pay him for his time but he refused, saying that he was truly happy to be able to mentor J through this exciting time in his life. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have such an upstanding young man to mentor and guide our son. Hopefully, in the next few years, I'll be able to report that the team of J and Coach C have achieved the pinnacle of baseball success, both as player and coach. Along the way, hubby and I will continue to offer unconditional support as J reaches for his dreams.
J has three years til college. That's it. Three short years before my baby leaves home for college and the pursuit of his greatest dream. As a mother, my role is to support that dream, however out of reach it may seem at times. I never want him to look back one day and regret not going for his dreams. Even if all of his dreams don't come true, I want him to always have the certainty that he did everything possible to make them a reality. That being said, I want to be able to provide him with all the tools he needs to help him achieve his dreams. I've spoken all summer of what a terrific coach Coach C is. Not only has J learned a lot from him, he looks up to him as a friend and role model. The two of them clicked right from the start. Coach C says he sees a lot of himself in J. All of this led hubby and I to the realization that perhaps Coach C was the perfect person to mentor J along the road to college baseball. We decided to ask him how he felt about doing something like that and happily, he said he was both honored and flattered that we had such faith in him. I also asked him flat out if he truly thought J has a shot at college baseball. The answer was yes, without hesitation. J has a lot of hard work to do to get there, but Coach C definitely sees college baseball in his future. He's working out a pretty rigorous training program for J, along with helping him with a list of possible colleges, coordinating future trips to showcases to get him scouted, and most of all continuing to be the friend and role model J has come to know and admire this summer. Hubby and I offered to pay him for his time but he refused, saying that he was truly happy to be able to mentor J through this exciting time in his life. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have such an upstanding young man to mentor and guide our son. Hopefully, in the next few years, I'll be able to report that the team of J and Coach C have achieved the pinnacle of baseball success, both as player and coach. Along the way, hubby and I will continue to offer unconditional support as J reaches for his dreams.
USSSA World Series
TP competed in their final tournament of the summer this week, the USSSA World Series. They had hoped to finish off their summer season with a big win, but it was not to be. They lost their first playoff game this morning, ending their run for the championship.
The tournament began on Tuesday. J missed Tuesday and Wednesday due to being away at camp at UF. But Coach C kept hubby and I in the loop, so we knew TP won their first game, 3-2, and lost their second game, 3-2. Thursday we headed over for the third game, which ended in a 6-6 tie. Friday morning they played hard and won that game, 5-2. They were in 10th place in their pool of thirty teams going into today's single elimination rounds. Today's game started off with a bang and they had 3-0 lead for the first half of the game. Unfortunately, the opposing team was playing as hard as TP and managed to tie it up by the 4th inning. A well placed hit in the bottom of the 6th gave the other team a three run lead. As the visiting team, TP failed to score any runs in their last at bat and they lost 6-3.
It has been a great summer season. This team has the best 16U record in Top Prospects history. Coach C has been a phenomenal coach and the boys have learned so much this summer. He told them today how proud he is of them and that he's looking forward to continuing to coach them this fall and next summer. We'll have about an eight week break til our first fall tournament. The fall season will be a bit different since Coach C will be away at college. He's planning on doing five weekend tournaments between September and November. he'll either come home if the tournaments are local or meet us at whatever part of the state we're traveling to. I'll of course be posting about our experiences this fall. I'm sure it will be just as much fun as this summer has been. In the meantime, here's a team pic taken after today's game.
The tournament began on Tuesday. J missed Tuesday and Wednesday due to being away at camp at UF. But Coach C kept hubby and I in the loop, so we knew TP won their first game, 3-2, and lost their second game, 3-2. Thursday we headed over for the third game, which ended in a 6-6 tie. Friday morning they played hard and won that game, 5-2. They were in 10th place in their pool of thirty teams going into today's single elimination rounds. Today's game started off with a bang and they had 3-0 lead for the first half of the game. Unfortunately, the opposing team was playing as hard as TP and managed to tie it up by the 4th inning. A well placed hit in the bottom of the 6th gave the other team a three run lead. As the visiting team, TP failed to score any runs in their last at bat and they lost 6-3.
It has been a great summer season. This team has the best 16U record in Top Prospects history. Coach C has been a phenomenal coach and the boys have learned so much this summer. He told them today how proud he is of them and that he's looking forward to continuing to coach them this fall and next summer. We'll have about an eight week break til our first fall tournament. The fall season will be a bit different since Coach C will be away at college. He's planning on doing five weekend tournaments between September and November. he'll either come home if the tournaments are local or meet us at whatever part of the state we're traveling to. I'll of course be posting about our experiences this fall. I'm sure it will be just as much fun as this summer has been. In the meantime, here's a team pic taken after today's game.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
One More Step Down the Path
Today my mom and I drove J to the University of Florida for a four day baseball camp. And I'm having a major mommy moment over it. Now, to some it might seem like going to a camp is just another summer activity. And maybe for some boys it is. But for J, it goes a bit deeper than that. UF is currently his top college pick. He wants to play baseball at UF. He wants to play baseball for the New York Yankees. In short, he wants to live every boys MLB fantasy. And today he took another step towards achieving his dreams. When we got to the stadium and checked him in, it was like a light switch had been flipped inside him. He couldn't wait to take the field. As we dealt with all the practicalities of getting his key, getting him settled in his dorm room, eating lunch, he just kept wanting to get back to the field. When it was finally time he listened with rapt attention to the orientation given by the coaches. Every so often he'd shoot a glance at me and nod as if to say, "See mom, I know I can do this. This is where I'm meant to be." As I watched, it hit me that in three short years, J's dream of college baseball may very well become a reality. He believes it can happen, Coach C believes it can happen, and oh yeah. I believe it can happen. Something happens to J when he steps onto a baseball field. He walks a little taller, carries himself with just a tad more confidence, and his face radiates pure happiness. Baseball is his heart, and there are few with a bigger heart than my J. So, I've been a little misty eyed today, picturing my tiny boy who first told me he wanted to be a ball player, and envisioning my soon to be grown son who is rapidly becoming a ball player. Whether it ends up being UF or some other school, J is determined to make his dream a reality. And today I had a glimpse of just how hard he's willing to work to make it happen.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
TP Picnic
Today TP held a team picnic to celebrate their successful summer season and to get geared up for their final summer tourney. I was the organizer and I think it went off rather well. We rented a pavilion right on the river at a local park. The weather was beautiful, but scorching hot. We were thankful for the river breezes! We ate, played games, and enjoyed the company. One of the most enjoyable aspects of being part of TP is the friendship of the players, parents, and coaches. It truly feels like a family. I really hope every player is able to participate in the fall season.
No TP get together would be complete without a game of wiffle ball, and it didn't take long for Coach C to get everyone playing. You have to understand that wiffle ball is serious business in TP land, taken very seriously by Coach C and the boys. Coach K's team snuck by Coach C's team for the win. Following lunch, a parent/player water balloon toss took place. As you can imagine, it turned into a free for all, with Coach C and Coach K as the most common targets. After dessert, a touch football game rounded out the day's activities. I've included a few pics below.
A playing catch with Coach C.
J fishing a wiffle ball out of the river.
Team huddle.
The other team's huddle.
A taking her turn at bat while N, J, & Coach C look on.
No TP get together would be complete without a game of wiffle ball, and it didn't take long for Coach C to get everyone playing. You have to understand that wiffle ball is serious business in TP land, taken very seriously by Coach C and the boys. Coach K's team snuck by Coach C's team for the win. Following lunch, a parent/player water balloon toss took place. As you can imagine, it turned into a free for all, with Coach C and Coach K as the most common targets. After dessert, a touch football game rounded out the day's activities. I've included a few pics below.
A playing catch with Coach C.
J fishing a wiffle ball out of the river.
Team huddle.
The other team's huddle.
A taking her turn at bat while N, J, & Coach C look on.
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