A day at the POOL!

Our Saturdays are so random now that we don't have baseball games.

So, this morning I went to the Ladies' Brew Group...we met for breakfast since we'd just finished the study we were doing.

Then I came home and finished up some work.

Then we went to the first of the post-season parties...yeah, I know. Baseball again.

We're almost done.

Really.

One of the families has a pool, so we were all invited for some fun in the pool.

(Remember us...those people who moved back to civilization after 4 years of exile in the Great Frozen North?!? My children don't know how to swim....because it's too cold to go to the pool in the Great Frozen North.)

So, we got all suited up and sun-screened-up, and headed out to the party.

And it was exciting!!

Until Justin jumped right in...to the deep end.

And he doesn't know how to swim.

And I think my heart stopped.

Yeah, we were all a little scared.

And the other mom just jumped right in and got him up and handed him to me.

And he coughed and gagged and cried.

And I hugged my 8-year-old baby, and talked him through his being scared, and he got back in and sat on the stairs for a while.

And then he got back in and played and REALLY had a good time!!

And we all had FUN.

With water guns.

And masks and snorkles.

And noodles...the swimmy ones.

And lots of other kids.

And sun.

And bugs.

And there was pizza.

And sodas.

And cake and candy.

And more trophies. and other fun stuff!!

And then we came home and I worried about my son...because I'd read this article, so now I need to go up and check on my son....

And the words everyone has been waiting to hear...

BASEBALL IS OVER...at least for our house! YIPPEE!!

Today has been a busy day...Actually, the whole week's been crazy...as if it's not crazy on a regular basis....

Monday was the 4th grade D.A.R.E. graduation.

And more baseball...Jon's team lost and was out of the tournament (can I just have my moment now, to jump up and down and cheer?...okay, done now)

Tuesday was Softball practice and rain.

This morning was my 12-year-old's 5th grade promotion and awards ceremony. (with LOTS of pictures).

Tonight, more baseball.

Heather's team lost (again, need my moment...).

Justin's team won...and got trophies...

The undefeated team

The awesome coach (I just have to add here...we've had alot of experience with coaches over the years...and this is one of the absolute best coaches I have ever seen. He motivated these 12 kids, and worked them hard, and they loved every minute of it! Thanks, Coach!)

The trophies.

The triumphant boy...

Yes, baseball is over. The husband's 3 softball teams are still playing, and the 14-year-old's team has yet to start their season. We still have a busy week or so of post-season parties (pizza and ice cream and swimming!), and then we'll be done until next spring. (I am VERY grateful that none of my children were picked for All Stars. I think my sanity would have deserted me at that point...).

Oh, and 2 more 1/2 days of school...and then I am officially insane...because I will officially have 1 child still at home, 3 in elementary school, 1 in middle school, and 1 in high school. Reserve a bed and cozy coat for me right now...I KNOW I'll need it soon!

Baseball is (hopefully?!?) drawing to a close

This is the last week of baseball games....well, until they start tournament this weekend. It's a double-elimination tournament, which means that each team plays until they have lost two games. Since two of the kids' teams are ranked as #1 in their age bracket, I'm afraid we're in for another REALLY long week next week. Last night we had two games...one of which started at 7:30 pm and the second started at 8:00 pm....ending at 9:00 and 10:00 pm, respectively. My kids' bedtimes are 8:00 and 9:00 pm...so getting them up this morning was fun.....

In the mean time, we have at least one more game this week, plus doctor's appointments for myself and the 6-year-old, a WIC appointment today, an 8th grade dance on Friday, and Field Day at two different schools on Friday. I'd like to catch up on the house (yeah, right), the laundry(who am I kidding?!?), and keep up with my work. The vacuum cleaner decided not to work, the kids are too anxious to be outside to be much help and Hubby is now coaching TWO softball teams (as of yesterday) and playing on a third, plus working full-time, and in school full-time. If it is going to get done, **I** have to do it...ALL of it.

So, if I disappear for a while, it will be because I fell asleep and slept through all the alarms....because work always goes faster after midnight, right?

Busy Day, AGAIN

Baseball games, batting cages, movies, womens' group, house cleaning, showers, cooking for tomorrow.

I went walking this morning...and for a change it was warmer outside than in my house at 7:00 am. The breeze was nice, and I had a great walk.

I came back to the house, and took off again to go get cat food.

Came back, took a shower, fed kids breakfast, and left for my womens' group, leaving hubby to take care of getting kids to baseball (at 10:00 am) and the batting cages (at 10:00 am), more baseball games (at 1:00 am), pick up from batting cages (at 11:00 am), pick up her friend and take the two of them to see Prince Caspian with the youth group (at 12:35 pm).

I finished up with my (awesome) meeting, and headed back to get in some time by myself. When hubby got home, I headed over to see the remaining baseball games. #4's team won, again. #3's team is still in first place, though they lost today.

After the games were finished, we all headed home. I worked all afternoon, and the kids cleaned their rooms while hubby napped and we waited for #1 to call from her movie.

After getting #1 home, we went out for supper at CiCi's, and I stopped at Walmart on the way home to pick up cookie mix and cereal (spent less than $20!--successful trip to Wally!).

Now, hubby's sleeping, kids are in bed or the shower, and #1 child is baking cookies for the church picnic tomorrow....and I'm blog-hopping!!

Hope you are having a great weekend!!

My Week, in pictures

First there was a holiday, with no pictures.

Then, there were a million baseball and softball practices.

Next came baseball GAMES...

And HIS team is STILL undefeated!!

AND, her team is in first for their age bracket.

His team is dead last...but they're having fun!

And THEN art projects started coming home from school...

AND THEN I got this BEAUTIFUL necklace in the mail! How sweet is THIS?!?This was a prize from Heart of the Matter Online Magezine,

beautifully created by Kristen of Kristen's Custom Creations

THANKS, GUYS!!! It's BEAUTIFUL!!!!

And now, for some more beautiful little girls, 'cause you can never have too many cute kid pictures!!!Hope you all have a GREAT weekend!!

First there was a break...

...and then life got crazy again.

This morning:
Hubby went back to work.
I started walking again.
Kids headed back to school.
I went back to work (like I ever left...I worked all weekend)

This evening:
#4 had baseball practice at 5:00
#2 had baseball practice at 5:30
#3 and #1 had practice at 6:00
#4 was done at 6:30
#2 was done at 7:00
#3 was done at 7:30
#1 was done at 8:00
Hubby was gone until almost 10:00 (men's Bible study)
and we had to fit homework and supper in there somewhere....

I'm tired.

Goodnight.

Happy Monday

Today started off pretty well...and kept going that way. The kids all had a good day at school. This is testing week for the 5th grader....next week for the 4th grader. Tonight, we had one baseball game and one practice. The oldest heard from the mission board again, and got a call from a friend in Montana. I worked, hubby worked, and the cats aren't fighting as much. Oh, and I got some cleaning done. All in all, a good day.

Thanks for coming by!!

Progress Is A Beautiful Thing

But, when progress involves one cat peeing on my brand-new bed, progress is interupted.

So, the first cat, the lovely Nibbles
is banished...to the garage.

The second cat, the beautiful Pheobe
spent much of the day in the garage, as well.

It was NOT pretty. But, there IS progress.

Pheobe is back in the house.
Nibbles is still in the garage.
But she is happier with me.
She lets me hold her.
She even purrs.

THAT is progress.

The other piece of news...is BASEBALL.

All three children in baseball played this morning at 11:00 a.m.
All three children who played WON.
That means that one child's team is still undefeated...
and the second child's team still has a pretty decent record...
and the third child's team has finally won a game...
but he was not chosen for the All Stars...
which is JUST FINE with me (though he was a little disappointed).

THAT is also progress.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

We're Back from the ER

This picture does NOT do Jon's face justice...though it DOES look better than last night...at the moment it is looking very colorful.


The doctor look AT his eye, and she looked IN his eye, and she had them get a CT scan.....






AND, nothing looks like it is WRONG with his eye. Except that he IS having intermittent, wandering double vision.

So, the plan is to wait some more, and hopefully when the swelling goes down the double vision will go away. In any case, we're supposed to follow up with an ophthamologist to make sure nothing else is wrong.


AND, I still have to get over to Wal*Mart to get Jon's glasses bent back into shape.

What that post *should* have been titled...

A DAY ON THE *BATTLE*FIELD

Yeah, it was THAT bad.

Well, Justin's team won...again. Still undefeated. *Not* undefeatable...no, Justin kept saying they were undefeatable...no, little guy. NO ONE is *that*!

Jon had practice....which was uneventful. THEN, he was throwing the ball around with a couple of guys afterwards, and got hit in the temple with a ball...he wouldn't let me take a picture...(party pooper) But he left his glasses home with me today to try to get them fixed...so, of course I had to take a picture of THEM....

Frances also had her first softball practice. I think she's going to love playing softball...as long as she doesn't get hit in the STOMACH with any more balls! Yeah, she got beat up, too...again, after practice was over.

While we were sitting there watching Justin's game, hopeing they'd hurry up and be done because Frances was waiting for us....I sent the rest of the little people to the car, and on the way, Leah got run over...by some boys who were wrestling and running away from each other.

Tonight, we have another night out at the ballpark...hopefully no one else gets hurt! Two practices tonight, two games and two practices tomorrow night....

....please, no trips to the ER!!

A day at the ballfield

Maybe I should call this a week at the ball field.
This week we have umpteen-dozen games and practices....
Justin has a game tonight....
Heather had a game last night...
and they WON! (despite the attempted cheating by the coaches of the other team).

Frances has her first practice tonight for the softball team...there WILL be pictures of her, as soon as they actually have uniforms....

So, now we're looking at kids' games on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, plus practices on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and hubby's games on Thursday night and Friday night.

The taxi driver has to go now...because I have to be there to actually WATCH Justin's game....and there are other people who would like to eat before we leave!

The weekend begins...

Hubby is done with bowling for now...but he started softball games last night...a double-header last night and another double-header tonight.

Eldest daughter's softball team has not even started practices yet. I need to contact that coach again. At least I got her paperwork done this week...she's applied for the World Languages Academy through the public schools here...now we just wait to see whether she has been accepted, and whether we will be driving her to school daily next year, or she will be riding the bus that picks the kids up at 6:30 am. We're also waiting for a call back from the kid with Global Expeditions...she's applying to go on a missions trip to Tiajuana in July...but he was suppopsed to call back yesterday, and never did...

#2 child has a baseball game tomorrow, as does #4. Baseball practice tonight was for #2 and #3. Somehow we missed 2 practices on Wednesday night. Argh.

I have Brew Group in the morning, and then get to come home and play taxi driver, and sit out in the sun and add to the sunburn I got last weekend.

Between all of the rest of life, I have work. And house cleaning. and blogging. And keeping up with the rest of the family. And Laundry. And shoe shopping... because we all know boys' shoes can't possibly last longer than 2 months. And I would sure love to sleep in for a year or two.... oh, and there is a case lot sale at the commissary, because, of course, it is payday weekend...so there will be 90 million people at the commissary....debating...should I go? Should I *not* go?

Hope everyone else has a bit more relaxing weekend than mine promises to be. Have I ever mentioned that I can't wait for baseball to be finished?!?

Weekend Plans

I love weekends. I love having everyone home and doing things together. It seems like we don't get to do that very often, and this weekend will be no exception.

Tonight, two kids have baseball practice and hubby has (hopefully) has his last bowling night for this league. Then, the kids get to have their Friday night movie night...tonight they're watching Enchanted. Friday night is also date night for hubby and I...hopefully we can fit that in this week!

Tomorrow hubby has drill...he'll be training some people to take over so he doesn't have to go back on Saturdays anymore!! YIPPEE!! Three kids also have baseball games, plus we have laundry, house cleaning, showers....and homework for the oldest.

Sunday is church...we meet in a school, so we go early and help set up, and then stay for both services and help with the break down afterwards. THEN hubby has softball practice, and I'll bring all the kids home. The kids all take afternoon naps on Sunday... family tradition that means that we all have a nice quiet afternoon.

Somewhere in the middle of all of this, I need to get to the store for birthday presents for the 12 year old birthday boy.

Okay, must get to work....hope you all have a great weekend!!

And now...

...back your regularly scheduled programming.

In other words, life goes on, whether or not I am busy. Kids still have baseball (well, except that it's been raining again), and school (except for the one that got suspended for the day yesterday), and laundry has to be done, and dishes keep piling up in the kitchen sink.

Hopefully the two practices and one game scheduled for tonight go on as previously scheduled. At this moment there is no rain falling, though the ground is still completely saturated, and there are puddles all around. I anticipate very muddy children coming home this evening!

Which means more laundry. YIPPEE.

The eldest was in a flute trio competing yesterday at another middle school. Which meant another drive across town. I think they did very well...still waiting to hear results, though.

Some of the neighbors are moving....the dad is headed to Iraq, so the family is moving closer to family. Their little girl is in kindergarten with my 6 year old. We've had her over in the afternoons yesterday and today to play while the packers have taken over their house. Last night, after she left, I had to deal with tears over losing a friend. What can I say? This WILL be the story of their lives as long as their dad is in the military. Thankfully, cheap telephone minutes and internet access help shorten the distance between friends.

And now, we are preparing for a 5th grade graduation, softball season, and summer vacation. And more work. And more friends moving....

....yes, life does go on.

Baseball Marathons

Today, we spent a HUGE amount of time at the ball park, watching 3 separate games. It was BEAUTIFUL out there, but a little warm.

The little girls had a lot of fun running around, chasing their brothers and seeing some of their friends.

Justin (sitting here eating his snack) and his team won their game.

Heather (here on the field) and her team all won their game!

I wasn't able to get any pictures of Jon still in his uniform....they came back to lose, 14 to 17.

I got to play taxi driver, and got a little bit of sun!!

More Craziness

After the fiasco that has been the first week of baseball season here in baseball central, there will finally be games tomorrow. And, as is our tradition, we have attempted to stuff as much into one day as is humanly possible.

To that end, we have extra children spending the night tonight...*three* extra children. Two of those extra children are teenagers, and one is an eight year old. Yeah, we're crazy here. So, if you're keeping count, we have in the house at present:

one 4 year old
one 6 year old
TWO 8 year olds
one 10 year old
one (almost) 12 year old
TWO 13 year olds
one 14 year old
two adults**
and one cat.

Tomorrow night, just for fun, we're having another extra child come spend the night...just so the crazies can last a little longer....

Then there's baseball...three games tomorrow, two of them at the same time.
And I have my Brew Group meeting.
And my wonderful husband has to work.
And the usual Saturday fare...showers and house cleaning.

And, on top of that, I have work that needs to be finished. And blog entries to write, and blogs to visit....oh, yeah, the fun never ends.

So, if I survive the weekend again, I will be back with an update...and if I'm not back, you'll know I'm somewhere wearing one of those cozy jackets, bouncing off the padded walls of my new domecile....

**What? You thought I'd give away my age? Not on your life. At least my kids can't run up to you and blurt it out the minute they meet you....it is enough to tell you that I'm in my 30's!

I am EXHAUSTED

I never realized how tiring it is to sit at my desk all day long, doing nothing more than typing, editing and emailing, and taking breaks to take care of the four year old, do laundry, run the dishwasher, meet the school bus to get the 6 year old, feed the cat, pick up the house, fix lunch....

I.am. wiped.OUT.

Thankfully, it is raining outside, and has been rainging since Friday night. The baseball fields are big mud puddles. All of the Opening Day activities were cancelled on Saturday. Today's practices were cancelled. I know the games will be rescheduled, but for now, I'm grateful. I needed the relatively slow day!

It's almost midnight, and I still have a TON of work to do....headed back to work...miss you guys!!

***And in other, terribly important news, Kansas accomplished an upset in the final game of the NCAA Championship. The husband changed it from my movie so he could watch it, and promptly fell asleep again. The most unfair part? He WILL KNOW who won, and what the final score was...and he was SNORING! How does he do that?!?!***

Monday, Monday....

...and all I really want to do is to go back to bed.

The kids are back to school today, and hubby's home from work for the day. I have not had much in the way of work today, but have mostly had a really lazy day, playing games, running the dishwasher, laundry, and drinking coffee. I can tell it's going to take some doing to get back into our regular schedule.

Tonight, we have 2 kids with baseball practice...hopefully it will dry out enough by then, so no one comes home muddy.

Maintenance was just out here. Hopefully they will be replacing the glass on the front screen door. The frame of one of the glass pieces broke, so the whole thing fell on my son's foot on Saturday...fortunately the glass did NOT break, nor did his foot, though he was convinced that he was permanently disabled...for the next 10 minutes or so, anyway.

We survived the weekend, and my daughter came back from Acquire The Fire, determined to go on a missions trip this summer...to Tiajuana, Mexico. Torture me. Please. Make me go. So, now we get to help her raise the money she needs, plus getting her visa taken care of. Ack. I'm excited for her, but dreading the work involved!

Now, to do battle with the state of Virginia...for a fine of $200+, and fees of $85 to get the drivers' license reinstated....

Lame Post....

I have really worn myself out over the last two days. I'm more emotional than usual, and have been CRAZY busy with work, and the kids are home (Spring Break is almost over...YEAH!!) bugging the heck outa me. Yes, I used to homeschool...but, dangit, it's amazing how fast you adapt to NOT having them under foot every minute of the day!!

So, everyone is back safely from the Grandparents', and my sister is safely back home. My house is quickly becoming that old familiar wreck (too bad hubby's cleaning job lasted such a short time!!).

The weather has been BEAUTIFUL...the windows are all open, and we're enjoying the evening breezes, and the girls are playing out on the back patio during the day. Spring fever has really gotten me...I REALLY don't want to be sitting at my desk all day working!

We're getting back into the baseball practice schedule again...one practice tonight, one tomorrow, and back to normal on Monday.

Hubby's got drill this weekend...looks like I'm going to have to drive him over there. It seems that the state of Virginia (bless their little pea-pickin' hearts) can withhold any information they want...including the fact that they have fined you and suspended your license for failing to pay said fine. So, we wait for payday (Monday night) to find out HOW MUCH he has to pay so he can get his license reinstated. GRRR...did I ever mention how backwards they do things in this state?!? Jus' sayin'.....

Oldest daughter is attending an event this weekend...Aquire The Fire...gotta be over at the church offices EARLY to catch her ride....

Hubby's drill, daughter's event, son's baseball practice....somehow we'll get it all done...somehow...somehow....

Getting Better

You know these kind of days....the ones where you have LOTS to do, and you don't feel like doing any of it, and you realize that it doesn't really matter, because there is no way you will finish it all any way.

The sick child is back to school.

The elementary kids have picture day today...at $9.00 per class picture, we just dished out $36.00 this morning. Is it really worth it? Just for the class picture?

I have a TON of work this morning...must get back to typing...

I have a WIC appointment at 1:00 pm....

Child #2 has baseball practice this evening, at 5:30.

We have Brew Group at the house tonight...which means...

I MUST clean house. (Clean) Laundry is piled on the sofa, and there are (dirty) dishes all over the counters and table.

Hubby is home, and keeps interupting....going to try to put him to work!

Going back to work, now!