5 or 15?

So on Tuesday we headed down to the fields for Game 2 of what may or may not be Grayson's illustrious soccer career. Now don't get me wrong, he LOVES it, but...well...let's just say that he is not currently the team stand-out. Although he did stand out wearing the ever so cool rainbow sherbet goalie shirt!

He must not be too much like his mother. I mean, he asked to be goalie. He asked to have all eyes on him and have to actually make contact with the ball. Me? Never. You know those daisy pickers on the field? Well I think that's a fine, upstanding position to play. I mean, really, someone has to pick the daisies! But enough about me. As for Grayson, I love that he's giving the sport all he's got. And I love that he's really taking the concept of "team" to heart. Those are his boys!

And speaking of his boys, here they all are after the game. Their own table, no less! Just like a bunch of 15 year-olds, these 5 year-olds were whooping it up (in a 5 year-old appropriate kind of way). No talk of girls...yet...just all the things that would make a 5 year-old laugh hysterically. And if you know a 5 year-old, then you know that doesn't take much! :)

Here are a couple more of my favorite pics from the day:

G and his boys (minus Isaac)

Next game is on Saturday. Pray for sun!!!

Application Accepted

For 5 years now, my resume has been on file. And just this past week I finally got to start my new position--SOCCER MOM!!! I think I've got a little to learn though because mostly I just stood on the sidelines of today's game and had to push back the tears that were welling up in my eyes the ENTIRE time!!! I'm sorry, but it was just too cute (ahem, I mean 'cool'), and I still can't believe that my son is old enough to be on his first team and out there playing!

The whole 'event' of today's game was a sight to see. From the little boys learning how to tuck in their t-shirts, to learning what the heck the word "defense" means, to learning how to give a high-five during a substitution, and of course one of the most important lessons--which way to kick the ball! They did great. And while I don't *think* they came out on the winning end as far as number of goals scored, the nice thing about kindergarten soccer is for the most part, none of the boys even know that scoring more goals than the opposing team even matters. So as long as just having fun is the name of the game, I will go ahead and confide that the sport of soccer probably isn't going to get me to the olympics as the next Debbie Phelps (mom of superstar olympic athlete Michael Phelps)!!! If Grayson just makes contact with the ball this season, we will call it a success! :)

Isaac: "Look Grayson, we have the same shorts!"

Grayson: "Whoa, and look! We even have the same shirts!"

Brilliant observation. Everyone on the TEAM had the same TEAM shirt on.

Some last minute coaching tips offered by Coach Mason.

The coaches probably weren't totally prepared for the literal minds of 5-year-olds. When they said, "Defenders, stay on the white line," boy did they ever STAY on the white line!

Still STAYING on that white line! :)

Darn, where's a tissue when you need one!

Judging by this picture, you'd think that our #19 was right in the middle of the action the entire time! Um, not so much. In this picture, play had been stopped, and the coach asked Grayson to be the one to kick the ball and get the game going again. Perhaps I should appreciate the picture and not mention that he kicked it out of bounds... (But don't worry, I/we could still get to the olympics in another sport!)

Team Purple had an awesome cheering section...

...especially this cute cheerleader!

High-fives from the coach! We are thankful for our 2 coaches, Sarri and Jeff! I teach this age, but I can't imagine coaching them!!!

After the game, players from both teams get to run thru the "tunnel" and celebrate a game well played!

So that was another one of my "firsts" from this past week. I'm a soccer mom now--and a proud one at that! Can't wait 'til Tuesday! (As long as it doesn't rain. I'm not sure that I'll be a good rainy day soccer mom.)

Royal Subjects

It's Saturday. All I can say is, "Whew!" What a busy week it was. A fun week though with some "firsts". Like Molly's first princess party last night. Oooh-la-la! The royal occasion was Princess Abby's 3rd birthday.

I must say, the guests were stunning in their royal finest!

Princess Abby--the royal guest of honor.

The making of the royal crowns...

...for princes and princesses alike!

Oooh-la-la!

Decorating the royal treats...

Even princesses have their cake and eat it, too! Etiquette? What etiquette?!

And what royal celebration would be complete without royal party games--like stick the tiara on the princess! So fun!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Abby!

Somehow I have a feeling that more princess parties are in our future. Can't wait!

In the Midst of Craziness

I know that my life isn't that different from other people's. Other people have exhausting, jam-packed schedules, too. And a family. But different from others or not, I am busy. Crazy busy. And scarily, it has only just begun. Seems like a lifetime ago that we were enjoying the lazy days of August--sleeping in 'til 7 a.m. instead of 6 (!!!), playing in the backyard, riding bikes and scooters, and going to the park. Now our days start at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m. By 7:15 I'm out the door on my way to work. Dave is left to finish up dressing, toothbrushing, breakfast, and the final push out the door all by himself. At 10:55 I hand off the last of my kindergarteners to their moms, dads, or babysitters. At 11:00 my own kindergartener is delivered to me. I have 15 minutes to clean my classroom, tackle the enormous pile on my desk, read the bazillion emails that I've had to ignore earlier in the day, and put together the stack of everything I don't get to that has to go home with me. Then Grayson and I meet my friend Kim in the school parking lot at 11:15. We trade cars, and I head home with her 2 boys and my own 2 kids. Then it's lunchtime. If you read my earlier post, then you already know that the 3 big kids rarely agree on 1 meal. So I become a short-order cook, and at some point in the midst of the madness, I also manage to feed Baby Aiden his rice cereal, fruit, and vegetable. Next I have to clean up the disaster that is my kitchen. Then tackle diapers. Then herd everybody upstairs to his/her respective room. Then pat the baby 'til he falls asleep. Then I tackle more of the bazillion school emails. Before I know it, rest time is over, and everyone is hungry again. Go figure. So I dole out snacks. Sometime after 4 Kim comes to pick up her boys. After we see them out the door, many days Grayson, Molly, and I head back to Newby so that I can tie up loose ends. Usually Molly poops, and I don't have the diaper bag. Ugh. When we get home, it's time to start on dinner. Thank goodness for Dora, Diego, and Mickey Mouse! At 6:30 we welcome Dave home, dinner goes on the table, and for the first time I sit in peace (I use the word "peace" loosely) and eat my dinner. Then it's off we go again! At least by this time Dave is home to help. So in the next 2 hours we clean up dinner, play, do baths, read books, and tuck our tuckered out kids into bed. Too bad at that point I can't go to bed, too! Nope, it's usually more school stuff for me. Did I mention that I am only paid for half-time employment?!?! Ah, the life of a teacher. Which, that reminds me, I almost forgot why I started writing this post...

This morning after the initial rush to try to get ready, my whole family got to sit down to eat breakfast together. We enjoyed our cereal and oatmeal and talked about our days. My kids were happy. Grayson likes school so much and each day is excited to go. Phew. Molly is happy as long as she knows that she at least gets to "visit" Grayson's school every day to drop off her brother. And it donned on me that this year, so far, I'm really excited to go to school each day, too. Even though it is crazy busy. I've got good kids this year. Sure, they're wild. It is September after all. Some cry daily. A lot. Some even scream, push over chairs, and run out of the classroom. But it's my little class. And I get to make a difference in the lives 0f 20 kids. Thank God that excites me again because I definitely forgot that last year. And even though I'm EXHAUSTED at the end of each day, I'm happy. And it's not even that hard to find the will to want to do it all again tomorrow.

Career Aspirations

Recently Dave was tucking Grayson into bed one night. They got into a conversation about schooling. Grayson was able to rattle off every grade in order, kindergarten thru grade 12. Then his excitement started to build.

Grayson: "I know what's last, Dad. Last is college. That's where you pick a job (imagine fists pumping at this point and a voice at volume 20)...and I'm picking Spiderman!"

You go, boy!

Back-Up Plan

Just in case someday teaching doesn't work out for me any longer, I think that I could have a fabulous future with Denny's, Shari's, or the like!



4 kids and 4 different lunches. Calzone for Molly, nachos for Grayson, pb and j for Elliot, and rice cereal for Baby Aiden. Guess who still hasn't had lunch yet?! :)

New Kid on the Block

For the last 3 years, Columbus Elementary has been termed "Maddy's school" or "Sissy's school" in our house (referring to our sweet friend Maddy who *holy moly!* is in 3rd grade this year). But friends, let me tell you, there is a new Columbus Cougar on the block this year, and he couldn't be more excited about it!


I really don't think you could capture a cuter 'first day' photo. Can't you tell in his face EXACTLY how he's feeling? Our little guy was so ready for this day. My-oh-my how things have changed. The first day of preschool brought MANY tears and a death grip around Daddy's leg. First day of kindergarten? No problemo. Bring it on!


And here is the woman who has replaced me as being the 'all-knowledgeable knower of everything, couldn't possibly EVER be wrong' gal in Grayson's life. His teacher. Enough said. Seems they always know more than mom and dad, right? That's okay, we couldn't be more thrilled about her!

Now right about here is where I would post the ADDITIONAL pictures from Grayson's ever so important FIRST day of school--the FIRST day that he will NEVER have again! Ever.

Uh huh. You guessed it. No more pictures. Did I mention that Daddy took him to school?

But alas, we can kind of cheat because really Friday was the first day of school with ALL of the kindergarteners present, so we can kind of call it the first day, right? Right? So here are a few more to help me remember this big momentous occasion (even if they were taken on the second day of school)...




Neighbors, play group friends, preschool buddies, and now kindergarten classmates. Grayson and Isaac will have so much fun this year!!!

Gearing Up

Oh my goodness, I'm falling behind in the blogosphere! I promise to update soon! For now I'll just give you a quick run-down of what we've been up to. I figure that since my last post was titled "Winding Down" (as I wrote about the last days of summer), then this post should reflect the first few days of the new school-year.

It's hard to believe that I've been back at it for a week now. And back at it full-time! For a half-timer, let me just tell you that 7 or 8 full days in a row is brutal! But all is well. Grandma and Papa were here last week, and the kids had a ton of fun. 4 parks in 3 days--Dave and I don't even have THAT much stamina! So thank you, Mom and Dad. It means so much to us to have you here each August. You are amazing grandparents. Grayson and Molly are so lucky!

Speaking of Grayson, this is BIG! Our boy, in the course of 15 minutes last night, figured out how to ride his bike without training wheels!!! He is one excited and proud 5-year-old. I guess I can't deny any longer that he is definitely ready for kindergarten. Tomorrow is the big day. For 5 years now I've been trying to come to terms with the fact that as a teacher, I will not be able to hand deliver my son on his first day of school. But I know he'll be fine. And Daddy will do a great job. And take pictures. And remember ALL of the important information discussed at the parent orientation session. Oh crap. I really should be there, huh?!!!! :)

Just kidding, Daddy!