Status: Updated

I feel the need to blog. I want to write. I want to tell you all about everything. But, in all honesty, I feel like a broken record. 


We've been busy. 


We are tired. 


I have run (a lot). 


The kids are growing like crazy and doing every activity imaginable.


My husband rocks. 


I love my friends. 


I love my family. 


I am healthy.


I am blessed.

The end. :) 


Just kidding. Although, it does kind of feel that way sometimes. I guess a lot of times when I sit down to write, I think about all that we are doing and I write from that perspective. So, sometimes, I feel like my posts end up feeling like status updates (really long ones) instead of emotional posts. There's not anything wrong with these status updates, but sometimes I even get bored writing them, so I feel like someone out there just HAS to be bored reading it. lol. 


However, I am going to keep posting. :)


In thinking about where we left off, Jake did better at preschool on Thursday. He didn't cry when I left him, because he was busy playing with a train set. However, he assured me later that he did cry to Mrs. M once I was gone. :) He wants me to feel like crap... I am certain. 


Friday was wonderful for him... he spent the entire day in his pajamas, playing with his toys. I cleaned the house and we picked up Bailey from school. Then, Joseph and Paul came over while Rebecca and I ran. And, I ran 5 miles (nothing in comparison to Rebecca's 10 miles). It was the farthest I have run, so I was pretty excited. And exhausted. 


Saturday, we had our first soccer practice for Jake and Joseph's team. They were great. Brad and Paul are the coaches, and in comparison to the spring, all four of the boys were much more prepared. :) The kids really did well (all of them). Jake whispered to me after it was over, "Can we please play again?" Apparently, he loves it. And, then it was off to tailgate for the day. The kids had a great time hanging out with some other kids where we tailgated. We grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and relaxed. It was a beautiful day and the kids really enjoyed it as much as we did. When the game was about to start, we packed everything up. Bailey and I headed home, and Brad and Jake headed to the ballgame. Now, I am going to do an emotional post about this one... :) It means so much to have that male bonding time. And, I can totally tell you what a sap I am when I see a dad with his little boy going to a football game. :) More about that in a bit. :) 


And, then there was Sunday. Late on Saturday night, I decided that I was going to get up and run the 10K with Rebecca, despite my aversion and nervousness. It's 6.2 miles. I ran 5 on Friday. Surely, I could run 6.2, even if I had to walk a little. Well... Sunday morning, I decided not to. My legs had hurt all night long and I wasn't feeling up to it. I did, however, go and run that morning and was able to run 4 miles. I was reassured that I made the right choice by not going. My legs were too tired and I totally would not have been able to push through and run 6.2. So, that was the early part of Sunday. 


We spent the day at home, relaxing, doing laundry, and playing in the yard, until that evening. Bailey and Jake had a t-ball game, so we were off to the ballpark, again. :) They did well. Bailey played first base. I don't really understand what the coach was thinking. She can't really catch that well. At all. She ducked twice when the ball was thrown to her. lol. Fortunately, it only lasted an inning. Brad really tried to help her and she really tried to listen. She's just not ready for first base. lol. Jake did well hitting and running, but the outfield was another story. For example, I have cleat mark bruises on my shins from picking him up off the ground a few times and him kicking me. Needless to say, he sat in the dugout in "timeout" a couple of times. It was a very long ballgame.I was ready to kill my son by the end of the game. We are on the countdown now. I know that sounds terrible, but we only have 4 more games. Fall ball has not been nearly as fun as spring. It has been great for Jake, in that he has had an opportunity to learn without being in a competitive environment. It has been good for Bailey, because she's had opportunities to play in the in-field a lot. By the same token though, had we practiced more, I think she would have learned more. And, I have to think that if they gave her one position to focus on instead of moving her to each position on the field, she would learn how to play that one position well. Oh well...  Brad and I are both ready to get back to the spring season, where we have regular practices and games that actually keep score. But before that, we are ready for a break from t-ball. :) 


And, that catches you up on our lives. :) 


Status: Updated. 

Labor Day Weekend

I normally like to plan things. Oh whatever... I know you guys know that. What? You couldn't tell that from the fact that I have a list to live my life by? Please. I know I don't have to explain my planning nature to you guys. You know how I am. I can't help it that I'm like this. I just am. 

Of course, my Labor Day weekend has been in the planning process for a couple of weeks. I had it all planned out. And it was packed with action. On Friday, we'd go to a t-ball game, get our boat out of the water, and then bring it to Lexington. We'd get up early on Saturday morning, take the boat to Louisa, go out on the lake there, camp out, and travel back to Lexington to go to a t-ball game on Sunday afternoon. Then, we'd have a cook out on Monday. 

Well, Brad isn't a planner. And sometimes his opinion actually does have some weight in our plans. You know, every now and then. Like, when he decides that I have planned way too much for a weekend. :) He said he was worried that he wouldn't have enough time to have a heart attack if he needed to in the weekend that I was planning. Whatever, Brad.

You already know where this is going, don't you? 

So... our weekend plans changed. The weather was too cool to be swimming/boating. And, my hubby took full advantage of that to get us out of camping out with the kids. Or get him out of it, because I was really interested in going. But, I wasn't dead set on it happening this weekend. Something about sleeping on the ground when it was actually going to be in the 40s on Saturday night just didn't sound that great.

But, I was NOT about to sit in the house all weekend and do nothing. Period. 

This is how our weekend actually happened. On Friday, we went to the kids' t-ball game (see this blog post for more on that). On Saturday, we got up, finished cleaning the house, and packed up the cooler. We hopped in the truck and made our way to Raven Run to spend the day hiking, picnicking, and enjoying the beautiful, cool day. It was wonderful. We hiked about 5 miles. The kids enjoyed it and did really well. Bailey walked all of it and Jake walked most of it. We saw butterflies and a snake (just a green one). It was the kids' first experience in hiking in the woods, which was funny for me. I never imagined that it would be a milestone for my kids to play in the woods. It is something we did almost every day growing up and it was definitely something that I loved. More than anything that I miss about the country, I miss being able to go and wander in the hills for hours enjoying nature. I love the peaceful quietness of the hills. Everything about it just relaxes me and makes me happy. I love to see all the little perfections of the world... all the things we forget about every day. So, needless to say, it was really nice to get out and enjoy this while being so close to home. Of course, once again, I think I enjoyed everything about this more than Brad and the kids. They seemed to have fun, but I always just feel like I am savoring it all a little more than them. :) I think it is just my personality or something. We finished the night with roasted marshmallows over the fire pit. A perfect end to the perfect day. 

On Sunday, we spent the day with family. My parents came down in the morning and hung out with us and went with us to see the kids play t-ball. Brad's mom, Kathy, and James came down to meet us at the field to watch the game, too. After the game, we hung out with them and went out for dinner. Then, they headed home and me, Brad, and the kids came home. We all had to get ready for our Labor Day celebration with our friends. (Really, we just wanted to lay on the couch and watch movies). 

And that brings us to today... we had a great time with wonderful friends. Cilla, Bret, Paul, Rebecca, Joseph, Dawn, Brandon, Jackson, and Carson all came over to have dinner, drinks, and dessert. The kids had a great time playing together (although I'm quite sure the boys will one day ambush Bailey for being such a tattle tale and a bossy big sister). The guys all seemed to enjoy hanging out in front of the TV, as they claimed it was too hot outside to eat out there (we know it was really all about the football game that was on). And I had a great time hanging out with the girls. It's so nice having friends to relax and be yourself with. I hope the girls loved it as much as I did... especially since we are planning a girls night next week! I can't wait. 

That's our weekend in a nutshell. Normally I would have been disappointed that my plans didn't come together, but I have to say, this weekend ended up being perfect. Maybe, just maybe, I'll listen to Brad a little more when he says I've tried to plan too much in a weekend. 

Errr.... nobody hold your breath on that one. lol. I also have control issues.

A Proud Mama...

We had a t-ball game tonight. Jake was all about it. Well, all about it for Jake. He was ready to play, which also meant that he wanted to run in circles in the outfield and wanted me to race him to the fence in the outfield and all  that. He did really well... he hit the ball really well, but forgot to run. He made it to first on all three at-bats (after some prodding to get to first), though, so we were really proud. And, he made it all the way around the bases to home two of the three times. So, we were definitely calling it a success. Our whole goal for fall ball has been to get him hitting the ball and understanding how to run the bases. Fielding will come as he gets a little older and more used to the concept... offense is what he needs the most right now. :) He did get the ball in the outfield once though! After attempting the throw with his left hand, he decided to pick it up where it fell and actually throw it in. He got it into the infield, which worked for us! 

Bailey also did great. She played 2nd and 3rd base and did well paying attention. Oh, no worries, there was no shortage of twirling, but she did really well. She is learning so much about fielding, which she loves. She is so funny about it, because she still loves to talk to the players on the other team and she still does her little dancing moves when she's out there. So, I asked her tonight if she liked playing infield and she said, "I love it... it's not as boring as the outfield." :) 

I was just proud of them both. They are having fun and figuring it all out, which makes it more fun for us. And, us bragging on them like crazy is just making them love playing more. lol. 

Fall Ball Game One...

I started writing one blog post and ended up not really wanting to, so I am now writing a totally different one. So, I'm tired. :) That's good news for those of you who get sick of my rambling. :) 


I feel like I'm far behind on my blogging. It happens quickly when you are busy! I haven't written because we have been going full force all weekend and now I have even more things to write about... a good thing, I think. :) 


Our first t-ball game for the fall season was on Sunday. I was really wondering how Jake and Bailey would both do. I was worried about Jake for obvious reasons... he's three... and a young three at that. He is stubborn and moody and you just never know what you are going to get with Jake. He's just Jake. There's no explanation and no way we will ever be able to force him to do anything... so we just have to let him be himself and hope for the best. :) You can imagine my concern when he declared on Saturday evening that he wasn't going to play in his t-ball game because he didn't want to get hot. He also has been known to hold the bat practically limp at the plate and barely swing at the ball, despite the fact that he's actually very capable of hitting the ball and hitting it well. It doesn't seem to matter what we do, he's going to do this on his terms. It's quite funny, except that it's not going to be funny when he gets older and won't change. But, what do you do? I don't know yet... but I'll let you know if and when I figure that out. 


I was also worried about how Bailey would do in the game, because they are putting her in the in-field some. She's never played the in-field in a game situation. I wasn't even sure if she would know what to do with the ball when she got it. 


So, Sunday was interesting, but very good. Brad had to physically restrain Jake in the outfield a few times (but no more than the other parents of three- and four-year olds). Jake complained, don't get me wrong. He acted like he was going to roast out there (and it was really hot). But, he stayed on the field, thanks to his daddy. He also hit the ball really well. He didn't run to first base at all, even with us all yelling for him to, so he got out twice. But, he hit the ball on the first try each time and hit it almost to third base on his second at-bat. We have to make him understand to run... so that's our new goal now that he's actually swinging. :) 


Bailey did great. She made her fair share of mistakes, like throwing the ball to home instead of first base. However, she had never played pitcher before, so I was pretty happy with how she did. She went after the ball when she was supposed to and really seemed to enjoy having a chance to actually get some action. Maybe she just needed to be on a team where she was forced to step up and play. She also got two really nice hits. 


I was really proud of them and so happy that they had fun with it. Bailey really seemed to enjoy it a lot. Jake enjoyed portions of it, but he's still not sure about it all. I think he's coming around though. It's tough for him to be in structured situations, so I'm really happy with how he's doing. And, of course, the reason I was wanting to write about this anyway... pictures. :) 

Overscheduled... No way. :)

Overscheduled. 


That's what we are going to be in about .5 days. :) 


That's what happens when you have a family full of joiners. People who love everything and want to try or do everything. People who refuse to say no when there is just the slightest chance that they can "make it work." That would be us. The family of joiners. I am now going to change the blog to reflect... This is now "Life with the Joiners." 


I refuse to complain about this whatsoever at all, because I am totally and utterly excited about most of the things we sign up for. I say most because I don't really get excited about Brad getting out of bed at 5:30 a.m. to go play basketball. I don't care that he does it, I just don't get excited about it. Most of the time, I don't even notice, unless (like this morning) he forgets to reset the alarm clock so that I'm up on time. 


Anyway... 


It is all beginning. My calendar is jam packed with schedules for school meetings, days off, pay days, Brad's softball schedule, Jake's soccer schedule, Bailey and Jake's fall t-ball schedule, Bailey's ballet schedule, and, of course, my favorite item of all... doctor's appointments. :) Add the UK Football schedule and the slew of birthdays that happen in our family in the fall, as well as a fall wedding we have to travel to... and we'll just plan to see you guys when we retire. :)


Yesterday was our first t-ball practice for Fall Ball. Jake's first t-ball practice ever. I can't even tell you how cute the kids on this team are. They are all young and primarily a team full of kids that haven't played before or much. The youngest is 3 (Jake and another little boy named Jake and another little one, too). The oldest is a girl who is 7 and has never played. Her name is Bailey, too. We have like 14 kids and like 6 names. :) Anyway... I honestly think that our Bailey is one of the most experienced kids on the team and she's never played the in-field. Correction. She's played the in-field. Once. And got hit by the ball because she was busy digging in the dirt. It's going to be a great fall season (insert sarcasm here?)! I actually have to say that I was quite impressed with Bailey. She paid complete attention the entire time and hit the ball remarkably well. She knew to hold the ball up when she got it to stop the forward progress. We just have to get her "trained" to go after the ball instead of just waiting for it to come to her. Progress... baby steps. Jake, on the other hand, was hilarious. When he batted, he acted like he could barely swing the bat (which is just not the case). Then, when he finally did hit the ball (barely), we told him to run. So, he ran and got the ball. :) The coaches actually had to run with him on the bases. After that, he wanted Gatorade and to sit down. He said his head was just too hot. I thought I'd crack up. He's going to do fine. He and the other 3-year olds were so adorable and did very well considering they are just so little. It's going to be a ton of fun.


And, then there was today. Bailey's first ballet class... a class that she will have every Monday for an hour for the next, oh, I don't know, year or so. She LOVED it. I mean totally LOVED it. I have never seen her so mesmerized and attentive. She listened the entire time and had so much fun. She was not bad, either. Not great, but considering that she'd never done it before, I thought she did remarkably well. She had a blast... and I felt a little guilty for holding off on putting her in ballet for so long. I really didn't expect her to love it so much. I was wrong. Sorry, kiddo... when and if you ever read this stuff later in life, know that I didn't hold off on ballet for selfish reasons... I really didn't expect this reaction. :) 


Because of ballet, today was, and I quote, "the very best day of her life." If only I had known that this would be the catalyst for the best day of her life... :) She actually was being so dramatic about it because, well she was a ballerina in a leotard with a bun and ballet slippers, and because she had come home with a sign-up sheet for Girl Scouts. Although I am quite certain that she has absolutely no idea what she will do with Girl Scouts, she was so excited to become a Girl Scout. She was so excited that she told our neighbor, who I think hates our kids and us completely because we don't love listening to their dogs bark and because they don't love listening to our kids squeal. :)  She made sure to tell him that his dog had been in our yard before and that they bark a lot. :) Good going, Bailey. If they didn't hate us, they do now. Brad made a good point though... we don't want to hear your dogs... so now you can avoid coming outside because you don't want to talk to our kids. lol. :) That's a horrible way to be, isn't it? They are probably perfectly good people.


Anyway... now, we are signing up for Girl Scouts. Just add another thing to the calendar, we'll squeeze it in. :) Yep... scheduling conflicts are already happening. Tomorrow is the first Girl Scout info meeting and a t-ball practice and church softball game all at the same time. :) What? You think I can't make this work? Shew... piece of cake. But, I probably should say goodbye for now. Who knows when I'll have time to breathe again, much less blog. Thank God I got my surgery over with LAST week. I couldn't have fit it in otherwise. :) 


I'm only kidding. You know I can't resist getting on here... this blogging stuff is totally addictive. 


And, yes, I know... you all want pictures... I am working on it. Tomorrow? :) I'll try to fit it in.

Speed bumps...

I go back to the doctor today. Apparently, the HIDA scan I had last week came back with some "issues." That's all they'd tell me. They said part of it looked good, but the other part had some "issues that they want to discuss with me." That's pretty much all they'd say. 


So, you know what I did? 


Freaked out... like totally and utterly freaked out. I thought about my mom and when she had breast cancer. We all thought it was nothing. The doctors had us convinced that it wasn't anything. We all just felt like it wouldn't be anything. Then, when I talked to my dad and he told me that the doctors had told Mom she had breast cancer, I thought the world had been kicked off its axis. There was no way that she had cancer. None of us could believe it. But then... after we knew what was going on, it all seemed so clear. The doctors had known, or so it seemed, from the time they did her ultrasound. They had needed confirmation, but they had known. We hashed out and probably over-analyzed every conversation that Mom had had with her doctors. Everything seemed to point to the fact that they knew long before they ever confirmed it. 


Last night... I analyzed my conversation with the surgeon. "If we just have to remove your gallbladder, I will just call you and we can set it all up over the phone. If it's something simple, there's no reason for you to have to wait and get another appointment in the office." That's what he said to me at our last visit. So, why is he having me come back in? Obviously, because it's not just  simple gallbladder surgery. So, what is it? 


Then, I thought about the two conversations I had with the doctor's offices yesterday. The one with the surgeon's assistant, who said, "There are other issues with your HIDA scan that he'd like to talk to you about." When I asked if he said anything else about it, she said, "He just said he wanted you to come in... can you come in tomorrow?" Of course, my translation is: "There is something wrong with your HIDA scan and we need to get you in here tomorrow to get this all taken care of... probably because you have a tumor or cancer and we know you're going to need to see an oncologist." :) 


Ok... so I then decide to call the diagnostic center to see if I can get a copy of the report so that I can figure this out on my own. I know... don't judge me, please. I know I sound crazy. It's OK... I don't mind being crazy most of the time. I call Brad and get his fax number to have it faxed to him. The lady at the diagnostic center says, "Sure, I can send you your results. What's the fax number?" I give it to her. She asks for my name and date of birth. Then, she says, "Have you already seen a doctor? I can't give you these results until you've seen your doctor." Really? Because two seconds before you saw that it was my scan, you were ready to fax them. Great... another reason for me to freak out and think that the results say something bad that they need to make sure I have a person sitting in front of me and discussing it all. 


So, last night, I freaked out. I freaked my parents out... so much that they called my aunt, who is a nurse practitioner to see what she thought. She told them that most likely, the doctor sees something that he's not sure about... probably some kind of blockage (not necessarily a tumor or anything cancerous - that's really rare at a young age and I'd be having some other issues that I'm not having). She said that basically, she is thinking that he's going to discuss what they saw and then recommend that I have a MRI  to see what's going on. 


We have no clue if that's the case. But, even if it was a tumor or something really bad, she said he couldn't possibly know it from looking at the HIDA scan. He'll have to have me do more tests... so... it sounds like the most likely outcome for today... a MRI or some kind of additional tests. 


I feel much better today... I'm NOT freaking out now. :) But, I'm annoyed. I am so annoyed. I am frustrated because I feel like my life is paused until this gets taken care of. Of course, I'm spending time with the kids, getting Bailey settled into school, working with Jake on his speech (at home until we get him squared away into a program), and spending lots of time with my husband, who has actually made it home every day this week before 7... that is quite possibly a miracle. 


But, what I'm not doing is frustrating me. I am not running. I am not focusing on any of the things on my list. I am not sewing like I need to be (Kristyn and Cheryl - you are not forgotten). I am just annoyed. But, this too shall pass... and all will be right in the world again. It's a speed bump. That's all... just a speed bump. 


On a brighter and much more fun note... 


Bailey is now enrolled in ballet! :) She starts on Monday. I have to go to new parent orientation tonight. I hope she loves it... she's been wanting to sign up for about a year and we've put it off, thinking that she'd change her mind. But... she hasn't. I'm pretty excited to see how she does. She'll get to perform in the Nutcracker in December. How adorable will that be? :) 


And, Jake is getting signed up for fall ball t-ball. It will be the most hilariously fun thing ever. It will be nothing short of a miracle if he will stay on the field for more than 5 minutes without one of us having to chase him down. But... he says he wants to do it. Bailey isn't as interested... I think she's tired after all stars lasted so long, so she's going to take a break. Five bucks says that she'll end up signed up to play after she sees that she has to go to practices for Jake. :) 


All will be fine... I'm sure. But, just in case, say a little prayer, OK?! :) 

Great Weekend!

Well, my laptop is dying. I guess I should say our laptop, but since I use it the most, it feels like mine. I shouldn't complain... we have another computer in the office that I can use, so it's not like I'm really deprived. However, it is so nice to sit on the couch with the laptop and blog, play on Facebook, you know, the important stuff. :)

Anyway... here's to hoping that my hubby can find the time to fix it soon (and here's to hoping that he can save everything on it, since it has all of our snapshots of the kids since they were born and I'm not all that great about getting them printed or uploading them to snapfish or some other online resource - yes, I might cry).


On to more important things...

First of all, we had a great weekend! Correction: Other than our t-ball team losing in the first round of the double-elimination tournament, it was a great weekend. Yes, the Braves lost in the first round, despite our number 2 seed (there are 22 teams in our league, so that's pretty good). Fortunately, we still have a shot because it IS double-elimination. Unfortunately, we are now in the loser bracket, which translates to a lot more ball games. So... we are all going to swelter at the ball field. Other than that... the weekend was nice. We spent all day on Sunday at the lake. We had a great time swimming, watching fish flop near our boat, and enjoying the sun. We even saw a turtle that Bailey is sure was either Ertle or Myrtle (our two pet turtles that we released into the lake last summer because they stank and were outgrowing the aquarium we had for them. Who knew they got huge and could live for so long? Obviously, not us...). It very well could have been, I suppose, considering that it was a red-eared slider and was about the size I would predict that it would be after a year's growth. Probably doubtful, but anyway... 

The kids are enjoying the lake this year, too. It's so nice that Jake will actually get in the water and swim without begging me to get in with him the whole time. They both beg me to get in, but not to the point that they won't get in without me. It is adorable to me how Jake refers to the boat as "his boat." He also calls my car "his car." Apparently we are raising a son who thinks that only men own things (typical, huh?). He refers to everything as Daddy's or his. Bailey and I just get to use their stuff. lol.

On a sidenote, he is doing much better at speaking clearly. He still has some issues with certain words and is too stubborn to try to say certain things, but he is getting better. And, he is doing better at making friends, too. Oh... he hasn't turned into our social child, but he is at least interested in other kids more now. So... progress.

Bailey, on the other hand, is driving me nuts with her social behavior. We can't go to the pool without making a circle around the entire thing to say hi to all of our friends. Everyone there knows us because she makes a point to make sure everyone knows her. I'm not complaining about it... she makes it easy for all of us to make friends. I just have to apologize to people because she latches on to people and follows them around, and sometimes people just want to be alone. lol. 

Photos from the weekend:

They love swimming with Daddy... he's much cooler than Mommy, because he doesn't just float the whole time... Mommy isn't into swimming with fish and other animals. :)

On our float. :) Too bad they kept pulling me off of it.

My tan babies... don't they look adorable? I love them so much.

The turtle... pretty sure he was looking for us. :)

About the kiddos...

In order to not focus on my frustrations about my ankle, I figure now would be a good time to give everyone an update on the kiddos.

They are, as always, great... busy, but great. T-ball is consuming our lives right now, as Bailey's team fights to bring back a great team from last year. We are young (we only have three 6-year olds, with one of those being a first-time ball player and another being a very young 6-year old). So, our season has been up and down. They have improved SO much since the beginning of the season, which is truly exciting. We are doing much better than many of the teams in our league, but hey, we were nearly undefeated all season last year. As competitive as we are, we like to win. Brad is helping coach and I help by keeping the stats for our team. That means, Jake and I are confined to a dugout full of kids that yell and scream, love to hit each other, and find ways to get on each other's nerves. lol. It's really fun... despite how it sounds. Bailey is doing decent. She's still not ready to play the in-field. I can't recall if I posted a blog about her being hit by the ball while she dug in the dirt instead of paying attention at the beginning of the season. That was when they were thinking she might be able to play the in-field. That isn't happening. :) She does really well with hitting and running the bases. It's slightly frustrating for us with Bailey. She can run so much faster, hit the ball so much harder, and actually throw so much better than she does when she's on the field. We can't really understand why it is that she just takes her good ole sweet time getting to the bag after she hits the ball, but she does. I guess she's just a little girl... lol. As competitive as she is with everything else, I just don't see how she hasn't figured out that she's racing the ball to first base. But, oh well... she'll figure it out or not and we'll move on with life. In any case, she enjoys going and likes the social aspects of the sport, so we continue. And, we love it, too, which helps. :)

Jake's soccer season is just about to end. His last practice will be on Saturday. The team is just now figuring it out and it's already time for it to end. lol. Brad is the coach and it's quite hilarious to see him and our friend, Paul, keeping the attention of ten 3-year olds, but they have managed pretty well. Jake is so proud of his daddy for being the coach, even if he only plays a portion of the time (the other portion is spent chasing Paul's son, Joseph, around and then tackling each other). Every time we mention soccer to Jake, he says, "Jake play soccer... and Daddy play soccer, too." It's so cute. He's so eager to be a part of all of these sports. T-ball practice proves to be difficult because he just can't understand why he can't get out there and play too.

Another thing Jake is saying that is so cute... "On Monday." Every time Jake asks me if we can do something, like go visit grandparents or Cilla, I'll say, "One day..." Jake has turned that into Monday. Now, every time he asks me if we are going to some specific place and I say no, he responds with, "Ok... we go on Monday." It's hilarious.

Well, I know there's so much more to write, but I'm tired and have to get Brad motivated to pack. Yep... he's out of town for a few days for work. So, I'm on my own with practices, kids, etc. Fun times. :) He will be missed, but thank God I'm not working. Life is so much easier now. :)

Play ball...

It is that time of year... spring. The time of year that my allergies kick in, so I am living in a semi-foggy state. All the same, one of my favorite times of the year. It is time to get out of the house and play some ball. And this year, we are not only fully-engrossed in t-ball with Bailey, we are playing three-year old kick start soccer with Jake. Talk about hectic... We are now parents of children involved in three sports... soccer, t-ball, and swimming. And, to beat it all, Brad is assistant coach in t-ball and head coach for soccer. Yes, you read that right, head coach for three-year old soccer. Yes, he has a wish to have a stroke before he's thirty. He'd have to, right? He and our friend Paul are managing (or attempting to manage) ten three-year olds while they teach them soccer skills. Funny that neither of them has ever played soccer. :)

Anyway... our schedule is filling up with all these things. And, we love it. Saturday morning, we were at the soccer field at a bright and early 9:45 for Jake's soccer practice (they don't really play games, just learn skills at this point). I was dreading to see how he was going to do. I had to miss the first practice the week before to take Bailey to her t-ball game that was at the same time. Apparently, Jake was horrible at his first practice. Brad had to run after him a couple of times, after he attempted to run to the parking lot. Yes... we have THAT child. :) Yet, this week was much different. He still came off the field a few times and had to be physically moved to line up a couple of times, but he did spend most of the time on the field, actually kicking his soccer ball. He and his friend, Joseph, are on the same team and also enjoyed a few moments of tackling each other and wrestling on the ground, while the rest of the team played freeze tag with the coaches (Jake and Joseph's dads). :) Funny how that works out sometimes!

Bailey is also enjoying t-ball this year. I was a little concerned at the beginning of the season that we were going to have to play her in the in-field because our team is pretty young, but after putting her in the second base position and allowing her to get hit by a ball because she was busy digging in the dirt, I think the coaches (and everyone else) realized it was a good idea for her to play outfield again. lol. She gets bored with the outfield, but understands that until she's really ready to watch the ball the ENTIRE game, she is going to have to stay out there. She asked me why she didn't get to play in the in-field and I explained to her that she had to work really hard to watch the ball and throw it to first if it came to her. She responded with, "Well... maybe I'll just stay in the outfield a little while longer." That's my girl. lol. She is hitting really well and has increased her speed this year, which is good. And, she knows how to run the bases, which helps. So, maybe a softball future is in the cards... we'll see. :) As long as she's having fun, right? And, she is. The whole team is. They have these chants that they yell in the dugout. I think I could hear them in my sleep because they really are that loud. But, that's what they love... being loud (and obnoxious). :)