The start of swim season (in the midst of baseball season)

Swim clinic started yesterday.  Swim clinic is three weeks of swim classes to get the kids ready for swim team.  The have preschool, beginner, and intermediate levels.  I put Jack in the preschool clinic even though they specifically said it isn't swim lessons and all kids should be able to swim. Let's be honest, Jack can't swim.  He can dog paddle for a few feet until he needs to take a breath.  But I was optimistic and enrolled him anyway.  He loved it, of course.  I love Jack's age...they just love everything. So, Jack's swim clinic was from 4:00-4:45, Ellie's was from 5:15-6:00, and then Jack had a t-ball game at 6:30. Luckily for me, everything was at the same location and we had lots of friends also participating in the clinic so we just set up camp on a picnic blanket and enjoyed the evening.

Elmo on the iPad...my saving grace

I guess the sun was too bright for Sam

Tom finished up with track practice and met us at the pool just in time to take Jack to his t-ball game and I took Sam and Ellie home for baths and bed.  Tom gets a little frustrated watching Jack play t-ball because he kind of just stands around doing nothing and ignoring all instruction. I kept getting texts describing all the happenings (or nonhappenings) and the last text said, "I'm not going to any more games."  I was like, "Heck yeah, I'll do the games and you do baths/bedtimes!"  When they got home, I asked Jack how his game went and his enthusiastic reply was, "GREAT!"

In other news, Sam's 2nd birthday is tomorrow!  Tom has track meets for the next 4 days. Basically tonight is the last night the kids will see him until Sunday since he leaves for school before they wake up and track meets last until after they are in bed. So...we are having our little family party for Sam tonight. He doesn't know when his birthday is anyway. Actually, he doesn't even know what a birthday IS so we are all good.

Weekend recap with a million zoo pics

Here are the pictures my dad sent me of his campout with Jack.  They were delayed getting there because of an accident on the highway so they had to take their hike in the dark.  Jack normally is in bed by 7:00 and he stayed up until midnight.  Needless to say, he was in heaven. My dad? Probably not so much.

Hiking in the dark

He shared this tent with his grandpa, two uncles, and three cousins

My dad woke up early Saturday to get Jack back to me in time to go to the zoo.  I really wanted to get there in time for the animal encounter, but the encounter turned out to just be an armadillo, snake, and iguana.  Ellie and Jack still loved being able to touch them. I was too busy chasing Sam around, but my friend, Amanda, came with us and acted as photographer. Good thing, because these are the only pictures I took:

My little monkeys

It may not look like it, but Sam LOVED the Easter Bunny!

The kids really loved the zoo. Sam was a huge pain in the butt, though, because he didn't want to be in his stroller when Ellie and Jack were free. So, I would let him out and he would just take off--not caring about staying near us at all.  The kid is stressful.  I am so glad I decided not to take him on the cruise with us.  Oh, I haven't even blogged about that yet. OK, so my dad is paying for the entire family to go on a 7 day Caribbean cruise right when school gets out for our family reunion.  After doing some research, I realized that the ship isn't really that friendly for the under 3 crowd.  The toddlers can't even go in the pool or the kid-zone. And with Sam's resistance to strollers and his proclivity for escaping, I just felt like the cruise would be really stressful with him along.  Not to mention that he would really limit what shore excursions we could do. Ms. Donika said she would watch him for the week, but I have never left any of my kids for more than 3 nights.  I was seriously conflicted, but after polling (and annoying) everyone I know, I decided leaving him with his beloved "Geeka" was for the best.  I am now really looking forward to the cruise! And after Sam's 40+ minute tantrum yesterday, I am REALLY not regretting my decision.  I really love Sam, but the boy is STUBBORN...I have no idea where he gets it from. Probably Tom.

And now for a million zoo pictures, courtesy of Amanda.

I don't need to go to the zoo to see monkeys

Everyone helps wrangle Sam

Apparently, armadillos are carriers of leprosy. We used a lot of hand-sanitizer after this.

I love Jack's face in all of these pictures

And I love Ellie's face...trying not to show how much she is loving it.

Ewwww...sssssnake!

Softball and Harry Potter

Ellie's game last night went really well!  Sure, they lost 22-0 and Ellie struck out the only time she was at bat, but I was so impressed with how focused she was on the game.  It was fun watching her.  Especially since I didn't have to deal with the boys...best $20 I ever spent.  I am considering hiring a babysitter again for next Thursday's game.  I don't know if I will be able to get the same one because I think two hours chasing Jack and Sam around the playground/ball fields wore her out.

Ellie and Jack are both missing their games this weekend.  I am like the parents that Tom hates on his team...letting my kids miss so we can go have fun. But my dad is taking Jack on the father/son campout through my church.  He took Jack that year and Jack has not stopped talking about it since.  Then, on Saturday, we got passes to the zoo.  Not just any passes, these passes come with an animal encounter, free lunch, an pictures with the Easter Bunny.  I gave Ellie the choice between her game and the zoo. Of course my animal-lover picked the zoo.  I just wish Tom didn't have a meet and could join us!

This morning, Ellie came downstairs dressed like Harry Potter. After I stopped laughing, I asked her why she was dressed like that. She informed me that it is Dress Like a Movie Star today at school (their school is the All-Stars). She chose to dress like Harry Potter because "he is in movies so he is a star." I decided not to discuss the distinction between celebrities and characters because I love Harry Potter as much as she does.

Feeling old and cheap

Ellie has her first softball game tonight.  I am actually really excited to watch it because Ellie has been taking this whole softball thing very seriously. I know.  Nobody is more surprised than me.  Anyway, Tom has a meet and I know I will not get to watch with Sam and Jack in tow, so I am hiring a babysitter to come to the softball fields with us and play with the boys on the nearby playground.  This is a milestone moment, y'all, because I have never had anyone babysit my kids who is not related to them. Also, babysitting is dang expensive these days.  The going rate is $10/hour.  So tonight's little game is going to set me back a cool $20. Back when I used to babysit, in this exact same neighborhood, I only got paid $3/hour.  Talk about inflation.

Jack's Adventures in T-Ball

Jack finally had his first t-ball game yesterday.  He was so excited for it!  He really loves wearing his uniform. Jack started as the catcher. He walked out there and then turned around and told me he needed to use the bathroom.  Of course he did.  Because Jack is notorious for waiting until the very last minute to use the restroom, I made sure he went before we left for the field, but I think the excitement of it all activated his bladder.  Tom took him and Jack missed the team huddle and the first couple minutes of the game.  He didn't quite make it to the port-a-potty in time so he returned with a damp spot in front of his pants. The game was already in process so poor Jack had no instruction where to stand.  He just stood a ways behind the plate and kept looking to us for instruction. No matter how many times Tom told him to go to the plate after each hit, he just couldn't seem to grasp the concept. He was already out of sorts about the bathroom incident so this just further frustrated him and he was pulling all sorts of angry faces and his eyes were welling with tears.  Not a good start.

 When it was his turn at bat, he positioned himself directly BEHIND the tee. Like he was going to hit the ball into the dugout. I swear, it was like the boy had never been to a single practice. The coach had to physically reposition him.

Next they placed him in the outfield behind first base and no balls went his way.  I say luckily because he spent the whole time taking his hat on and off.  His next turn at bat went much smoother, but then he was placed at 3rd base.  The coaches kept telling him to "be ready" so he would hunch down with his glove on the ground and hold that position. But he wanted to make it very clear that it was hurting his back so he held his back with his other hand, all the while grunting and groaning like and old man.

Anyone watching would think he had a miserable experience, but when asked about the game, he enthusiastically said, "It was great!" I asked him what was his favorite part and he said, "All of it!"  So...there you go. If he's happy, I'm happy.

Weekend recap

Well, my weekend didn't end up as busy and hectic as I thought it would be, but it sure started out that way.
Thursday I took Jack and Levi to their lessons with Sam in tow.  I thought I could keep Sam contained in a stroller if I let him watch Elmo on my phone.
I thought wrong.
He did enjoy climbing up and down the bleachers and pushing his stroller around the pool area - screaming at me whenever I would stop him from pushing it into the pool. Or out the door.

This was Jack's last lesson.  His instructor was in the water with the kids for all of 10 minutes before getting them out of the pool and walking them over to the adjacent pool.  She then sat there on the side with them for a full 10 minutes without even talking to them.  I texted a picture of it to my sister as proof to justify my outrage.

Apparently, she was waiting for another instructor to come over. When he did, the kids still sat on the side, but he spent another 10 minutes explaining the rules of the pool.  These lessons are only 4 days, 35 minutes each.  During all the sitting, I walked over to complain to the guy in charge behind the desk. This is very unlike me. I never complain (I mean, I complain online and in text, but not to someone's face).  The guy in charge told me to wait til after the lesson and share my concern. Um, it was the last lesson and I certainly was not signing up for more. Plus, I had to rush to t-ball after the lesson so I had no time to tell them how to do their job.

After the pointless lesson ended, the boys changed clothes and I rushed them out the door to the baseball fields where we caught the tail-end of Ellie's practice.  And then I made her take Sam to the park so I could watch Jack practice.  By the time we got home, it was waaay past Sam's bedtime and even past Jack and Ellie's.

Tom had his varsity meet on Friday and I was supposed to take everyone to Ellie's teammate's house to decorate the float and eat pizza. Well, an email was sent out about the parade and opening day ceremonies being cancelled due to rain. I was thrilled. The kids, not so much.  Then, Ellie's team decides they are still getting together for pizza, candy, and team-building.  I made the executive decision that it was not worth two late nights in a row for Sam. Ellie was not happy with me. I tried to make it up to them by ordering pizza and putting on Jumanji.

Jack woke up bright and early the following morning and put on his new uniform even though I told him his 3 PM game would most likely be rained out.  It was. He was sad. I was not. Well, I was sad he was sad.

Sunday was church as usual and then Tom and I took turns taking naps.  I took the later shift which made me unable to fall asleep last night until 1 AM.  And then my alarm went off at 5.  I am hoping my students are as tired as I am today and thus be a little more mellow.

Why can't they just sit at home and watch TV all day?

I have already written about how enrolling my kids in t-ball/softball during track season is going to kill me.  Well, I decided to enroll Jack in swim lessons this week just to add to the fun.  Honestly, since games haven't started and swim is just Monday - Thursday, it hasn't been that bad. Today is the only day it gets tricky because Tom has a meet and Ellie has practice when Jack has swim. I am also taking my nephew to swim because my sister has to take her daughter to piano and volleyball.  And then Jack has t-ball practice right after swim.  Also, Tom is at a meet tonight so I will be trying to keep Jack contained and entertained at a pool and then at baseball fields.  Plus, Jack's practice is from 6:30-7:30. Sam goes to bed at 6:00 (and even then I STILL have to wake him up in the mornings)! So, Sam will be up way past his bed time and Sam doesn't do tired well.

Friday is also busy because Tom has another meet and Ellie's team is decorating their float for the Baseball Opening Day Parade.  They are meeting at 6:30 and so once again I will be keeping Sam out past bedtime. Then, Saturday morning, I have to drop Ellie off for the parade at 6:45 AM at one house and drop Jack off at another location at 7:00 AM.  Then we watch the parade and go watch opening day ceremonies.  And to top it off, Jack has his first game at 3:00.

All of these times and events are just bumping around in my brain, driving me crazy, and I keep going over my schedule and trying to figure out a way to be most efficient and sane.  Typing it all out actually helped because it doesn't seem as much on paper (screen) as it does it my head.

On a brighter note, Jack is LOVING swim lessons.  He isn't learning anything, but he really loves it. So, yay, I guess.  It is hard for me to watch his lessons because the instructor wastes so much time and doesn't get much accomplished during the lessons.  I taught swim lessons for years and I just want to jump in the water and give her some tips. Oh, this reminds me, swim team registration is now open and I need to go register Ellie.  Awesome.

Jack and his cousin, Levi

Ellie helping me keep Sam entertained and away from the pool. That lasted for 5 minutes.

On the verge of having it together

I was so proud of myself this morning for remembering that is was St. Patrick's Day.  If I was one of those Pinterest moms, I would have made my kids green eggs and ham and decorated the house in shamrocks, but I was patting myself on the back for remembering to dress them in green shirts.  I even snapped a picture of Ellie in her Ireland soccer jersey.

When I was dressing myself, I realized my pants were still in the dryer so I pulled on some old sweats to wear downstairs.  I then got caught up in the morning rush of dressing, feeding, and rushing kids out the door. Luckily (Irish luck), I remembered that I was still wearing my sweat pants and I was climbing in the car so I ran back into the house to change.  I pulled up at Ellie's school still feeling like I had it all together, when I noticed men pulling big suitcases out of their cars.  I asked Ellie what was going on and she said, "Oh, it is school picture day today!"  Well, I guess her jersey isn't as bad as the free HEB Reading Rocks t-shirt she was wearing for class pictures when I forgot two years ago.

What I Did Over My Spring Break

For journal-ling purposes, I am going to attempt to recap all that we did last week.  I can barely remember what I did yesterday, so I am going to be stealing a lot from my Facebook.

We started off the break by having family movie night that Friday.  We rented Big Hero 6, something the kids loved.  Even Sam was interested for a little while until we put him to bed.  

Saturday, Tom took the kids to their cousin's birthday party at Little Beakers...it is like a science lab for kids.  I stayed home with Sam because he is a tornado. The kids had a blast, though. Then, we all went over to Mark's house to eat dinner and play Pickleball.  My cousin and her family were in town and my oldest brother and his family drove in from Tennessee.

Sunday was church as usual. And of course my #sundaybest pic.

Monday, I made good on my promise to Ellie and we went to the pet store to buy her two rats. She named them Aviva and Koki after the two females on Wild Kratts. She said if we had purchased male rats she would have named them Chris and Martin.  I think I will do a whole separate post on those rats.

Monday night, the family got together at my parents' house for games, but I didn't stay long since I put my kids to bed freakishly early.

Tuesday was rodeo day!  I love the rodeo, but, dang, it gets expensive!  A lot of the family was staying for the Tim McGraw concert that night and Tom and I were going to take all the younger kids home.  However, I ran into a coworker and she gave me for club-level seats to the concert!  I still needed to get Sam home, but Ellie and a few of her cousins were able to stay with the olders.

Wednesday, Ellie had a friend over from a playdate.  I can't remember anything else from that day. Clearly it was exciting.

Thursday, Dianna and I continued our tradition from last year and took Ellie and Kinleigh to a concert at the rodeo!  Since they were already able to go to Tim McGraw on Tuesday, it wasn't quite the big event we expected, but it was still a lot of fun.  Ellie and I shared a bbq loaded baked potato that I am still thinking about. Soooo good.

Friday, I took Ellie and one of her friends to go see the new Cinderella movie.  It was cute and everyone liked it.  Then, Jack had a friend over to play because I felt guilty about Ellie getting all the fun. 

Saturday, Tom took Ellie and Jack to the SpongeBob movie in the morning.  I am not really a fan of SpongeBob and I don't usually let the kids watch it, but I figured it was something to do.  Tom said the movie was dumb, but Ellie and Jack thought it was really funny.  Of course they did. Then Ellie and I went shopping in the afternoon for accessories for her rats.  Those rats.

And, finally, it was Sunday and Spring Break was over.  Here are my #sundaybest pics.

You know how I love dressing the boys all matchy-matchy.  I plan to do it until they are old enough to protest.  Sam had a cold and I don't think he was feeling well, because this is the position he decided was most comfortable at church.

So, looking back, I could have just summed up my break by saying: family, church, family, rodeo, friends, rodeo, movies, movies, church.

My sweet, sweet boys

A morning

As the school year progresses, I feel more and more like I am losing my mind.  This morning is a perfect example.  I wake up at my normal time (5:15) and wake the kids up at their normal time (6:00), so everything is right on schedule.  Ellie makes her breakfast while I put two waffles in the toaster for the boys and start packing lunches. The whole time I am doing this, I am peppering Jack to get moving.  He is complaining about his ear hurting (very unusual for him), so I do the working-mom thing and give him Tylenol while crossing my fingers. He sits down to eat, but then decides he needs to wash his hands. Even though the clock is ticking, I am not going to argue with that impulse so off he goes to the bathroom.  Sam, in the meantime, is throwing fit after fit.  I assume he is mad about his sippy cup so I pour his milk into a different one.  Still mad. So I just give him a juice box even though they are strictly for packed lunches.  He throws it on the floor. I then think he is mad about his waffle which he has only taken one bite of and shoved away so I give him a fruit/veggie pouch which he squeezes all over his shirt in anger.  At this point, I finally figure out that his pants are too tight at the waist and hurting him (and they are also way too short, where were my eyes???). Normally, I don't negotiate with terrorists toddlers, but this morning I am willing to do anything to get out the door. In the meantime, Jack finally returns from his 5 minute hand washing session only to discover his waffle is now cold.  I put it back in the toaster and start pressuring Ellie to brush her hair and get her shoes and socks on.  I wipe Sam up and grab a different outfit that I determine Ms. Donika will have to put Sam in because I have NO time for that battle. Jack still has yet to take a bite and we are now past the 6:30 mark.  I tell him he is the slowest person I have ever met, which makes him cry.  I then tell him he has no more time to eat and to get his shoes and socks and take his waffle with him to go.  He moves in slow motion to do so while Ellie decides she needs to give the dog a treat.  She hums and sings and talks to the dog while my brain explodes. Then, I am frantically gathering backpacks and bags and extra clothes and herding everyone out the door.  I drop Ellie off at her school and then take the boys to Donika's where I then realize I forgot to write her a check yesterday and Jack needs to take a check to preschool today for his tuition. I also realize I forgot to give Ellie a check yesterday for her before-school program, so I try to make a mental note to actually remember tomorrow (not likely).  I frantically write checks and then drag the kids out of the car into the house.  I give Donika the extra clothes and apologize for Sam in advance.  Then, on the way to school, I realize that I don't remember Jack taking his waffle to the car. Since today is a preschool day, and preschool is at Tom's high school with his coworkers and several of his students/athleyes, I decide it would make us look bad if he tells them he is hungry because he didn't get breakfast.  So I text Donika to tell her that I forgot to feed him and to please give him a snack before taking him to preschool. She then tells me that she always feeds them breakfast when her daughter eats.  (Apparently, my boys have been eating two breakfasts a day...why do I even stress about feeding them?!)  Miracles upon miracles, I make it to school on time and class begins smoothly.  I am mid-instruction when the fire alarm goes off (not a scheduled drill) and once again I am herding kids out the door and into the gray, rainy day.

Weekend recap

Tom had a track meet on Saturday so he left before the kids woke up and didn't get home until after they were in bed. It was up to me to take them to their back-to-back practices (totaling 3 hours) and I was not looking forward to the cold weather and trying to corral Sam. The thing with Sam is that he is very, very heavy. And he can wriggle and fight with the best of them if you are taking him somewhere he doesn't want to be. In this case, it is the baseball fields because he wants to be at the adjoining park. For Ellie's practice, this isn't a big deal because, even though they want the parents there helping out, they don't REALLY need me to be there. Jack's practices are a different story. It is frowned upon to just leave them at that age. Plus, Jack is still a little squirrely at practices and often needs my redirection. Since it was so cold on Saturday, I had the genius idea to let Ellie and Sam play in the back of the (locked) SUV (don't worry, I didn't leave the keys) while I watched Jack's practice a few feet away. Jack was wiggling and dancing around in the outfield so I walked over to see if he needed to use the restroom. He assured me he didn't. I asked again. Again, he said he didn't. You see where this is headed? So, I decided to walk back to the car to check on the kids. Ellie told me she needed to use the restroom so the three of us walked over to the pool area to use their restrooms. I was gone maybe 5 minutes max. When I got back to the field, the coach told me they had been looking all over for me and that Jack had peed his pants. Yes. He peed his pants WHILE I was in the bathroom with both his siblings. It did get me out of the last 30 minutes of practice, though, because it was too cold to let him run around in wet pants. I didn't take any pictures. Some things don't need to be preserved for posterity.

That night, I decided to watch The Swiss Family Robinson with the kids since Netflix would be retiring it March 1. When I was 10, we went to Disneyland and my parents let each of us pick a souvenir. Being the nerd that I am, I picked a book...The Swiss Family Robinson. I proceeded to read it about 5 million times. I really wanted to live on a deserted island with exotic animals. And I REALLY wanted to ride an ostrich (until I went to an ostrich farm as an adult and realized how dangerous they actually are). Anyway, the kids LOVED the movie, but, once again, I was reminded the childhood faves are often pretty ridiculous when viewed as adults. Oh well. I did pull my 26 year old copy of Swiss Family Robinson off the bookshelf for Ellie to read. She did and has already finished it.

Sunday was church as usual. I always attempt to color-coordinate the kids and I for church. Not really make them all matchy-matchy (although you know I love that, too), but at least make their colors go together. Don't ask me why, my brain just likes it. Anyway, this time I actually jumped in the #sundaybest shot because I was so proud of my coordinating skills. And, yes, I do know that church is more than just a fashion show (as a friend so nicely pointed out on facebook awhile back). 

Oh yeah, and then Tom broke the Sabbath and took Ellie and Jack to go see McFarland, USA. He hadn't seen the kids all weekend and really wanted to spend time with them. The kids loved the movie and Tom LOVED the movie. He even admitting to getting teary-eyed at the end. Awww, my cute coach-husband...I kind of adore him.