DD's First Soccer Practice

DD has played soccer before, but this is her first foray into club soccer, or more competitive soccer. In this picture, DD is the one with the blue shirt and red socks. I'm not sure if you can appreciate this in this small photo, but she has her tongue out, she looks very intense, and her left hand is on the other girl, like she is shoving her out of her way to get to the ball. Now, I may sound a little too competitive when I say this, especially since we're talking about seven-year-old girls, but I was glad to see her doing this. DD can be a bit passive sometimes, and it was nice to see a little bit of aggression on the playing field from her. DH says that she seemed more aggressive at times than her brothers, perhaps because she's used to them "beating up" on her. Believe me--they don't cut her any slack!

I love this photo too. Once again, she looks intense and she's running after that ball, despite the fact that it was 99 degrees outside (even at almost 7:30PM)!

DH and I aren't sure what other teams DD's team will play. They're the only seven-year-old girls' team at this soccer club and there aren't many around town. They may have to play boys' teams and older girls' teams. Somehow I think that will only get that competitive spirit out of my DD even more!

So now with this first soccer practice, three of my children will have soccer practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which is good. The bad part is that the younger two are practicing at 6PM - 7:30PM but DH will stay at the field with DS#1 until 9PM while I take the others home. It also means a rushed bedtime routine. The other part is that we will have lots and lots of soccer games on the weekends again. *SIGH* The boys have six games between them with five games on this coming Saturday alone (they're in a tournament) and I'll be at work all day Saturday.

In other news, our local Little League team, the one that our neighbor plays on) just won their bracket at the Little League World Series tonight. They're playing in a semifinal game tomorrow night. Go Southwest!

First Day of School 2009

I got up at 5:30AM on my day off so I could make chocolate chip pancakes and turkey bacon for my beautiful children. I gave them the choice of a special breakfast on the first day of school and since I'm going to be at work on Saturday by the time they get up and Saturday is usually our pancake day, I agreed to make pancakes today instead. Even DS#3 who doesn't usually really eat breakfast ate one pancake and one piece of turkey bacon, so I was happy. DH said he would have given them cereal for breakfast. :)

Is it sad that I didn't really pay attention to what the boys had to wear for their first day of school, but I went shopping with DD a month ago to pick out a first day outfit for her? When she saw this outfit, she immediately said that she wanted to wear it on her first day. You can't see it in this picture, but the shirt says "big sister". She's all over that role and likes to make sure everyone else knows she's a big sister.

She was all bubbly with excitement this morning before school and this afternoon after getting home. She has a homework packet for the week that we need to start working on. *SIGH* My summer "vacation" is over, too.

The boys didn't really get any "new clothes" for school, so this shirt that DS#2 is wearing is two years old. It says, "Football It's the beautiful game", a quote by Pele. Notice the athletic shorts? DS#2 is all about comfort and being sporty. Notice the smile? That took a bit of coaxing...and threatening.

When DS#2 got home, he talked a bit about how he liked his teachers and how he had to be more "organized" to move from classroom to classroom this year instead of being able to only stay in one classroom like last year. One of the other parents at the bus stop this morning said that the school needed five more fifth grade students in order to be able to get one more fifth grade teacher, so apparently the classes are very full. I just hope DS#2's teachers are as good this year as they were last year. He needs extra attention so he doesn't get bored.

Is it sad that I barely even took a picture of DS#1 about to be on his way to his first day of high school? The younger kids' bus left a little after 7AM and DS#1 didn't even get up until about 8AM. By that time I was busy doing other things while he quietly got ready for school. Before I realized it, DH and DS#1 were on their way out the door, so I made DS#1 get out of the car briefly so I could get a picture of him. When I picked him up this afternoon I didn't want to embarrass him by taking a picture of him there, although I had my big camera with me. I have to admit that I felt the most apprehensive about this one going to school. He is at another "new" school for the second year in a row. I shouldn't have worried, of course.

He had two homework assignments to complete this evening along with some beginning of school paperwork. The assignments didn't take too long, but we didn't get home until about 4:30PM. On Tuesdays and Thursdays he'll have to leave the house by 5:30PM for soccer practice, which doesn't give him much time for homework or eating dinner. Tonight even with the homework and going out to eat for dinner and then ice cream to celebrate the first day of school, he had time to play some video games, so we'll see what the coming weeks will hold.

This is DS#3 waiting for his siblings' school bus. He missed them today. He didn't have slaves to order around and to play with, only Mama and Papa. I don't know how stay-at-home parents do it. I couldn't get anything done today. Either I was getting DS#3 snacks or reading to him, or trying to get him to take a nap. I did really enjoy spending time with my little guy, though. He is growing up so fast and changing almost daily. It won't be long before he'll be riding on that bus, too. I know I'll be a basket case on that day.

Last Day of Freedom

This morning after church we asked the kids what they wanted to do before school starts tomorrow. DD wanted to go to the pool. DS#2 wanted to go to Target (for some reason, he always seems to want to go to Target!) and play with his friends. DS#1 said he just wanted to relax. Relaxation won out for the most part.



We did go to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch after church. That's where the above picture was taken. DS#3 is going through this phase where he doesn't want to sit in his high chair. He wants to sit next to me. Of course that means that sometime during the meal, he'll go visit DH or just roam around. He was doing just that when I took this picture.

After lunch I painted DD's toenails and fingernails, at her request, and all the kids got their clothes ready for tomorrow. DH wanted them to do this early so if they decided that they needed something washed, he could do this earlier rather than later. DD and DS#2 then had some friends over to play while I got to nap with DS#3.

This evening we had leftovers and DD went to a soccer clinic at the kids' soccer club. I'll let DH explain about Micros vs. U8 more in detail on his blog. Basically, DD missed the age cutoff on soccer teams, because the cutoff date is August 1st and her birthday is after that. If she joins a team with her age group, she will be the oldest on the team. If she joins a team with kids in her grade level, then she has to "play up". The other advantage is that "playing up" for her would allow her to play on a girls' team vs. a mixed team. I thought that DD might benefit from being around girls. Tonight DH asked the coaches at the soccer clinic which team DD should join and they decided that she should do well by "playing up". DH said that DD did pretty well out there despite the 104 degree weather. I've never considered myself "athletic" so I'm always excited by the possibility of DD being part of a sports team.

Well, I did say it was a relaxing day for the most part. Now that I've listed it out, that looks like a lot of stuff!

Good Friends

DH already recapped some of today's events on his blog, so I'm not going to repeat all the information. I'm going to summarize it to fit my theme, however. Good friends are good to have around. Today DS#2 was invited to his friend A's birthday party at Laser Quest. DD was also invited to keep A's little sister M occupied during the party. DD and M have been friends since they were six weeks old and in the same daycare "class" together. Their parents took our kids back to their house with them after the party so we could go to DS#1's convocation at his high school. What great friends!

As a brief aside, at the convocation, the Director of DS#1's school announced that they would allow limited cell phone use during school hours. She sounded very excited about texting and even using web-enabled phones to research quick topics. Apparently they might use the kids' cell phones during class but when the teacher tells them to put them away, they have to put them away. Since they're trying to teach the kids about technology and how to use it, I thought this was an interesting tie-in.

After the convocation, we picked up DD and DS#2 and headed out to another birthday party. At the party, we met many friends that we haven't seen since we switched schools. DH and I have to agree that these are good friends that we have a connection with that we don't have in the public school system. At the private school, the parents WERE the school. We saw each other when we volunteered at school events. We saw each other when we were at sporting events. We saw each other when we picked up our kids, since the kids didn't take buses. Maybe it's partly because we haven't really gotten into the volunteering at the public school yet, but the closeness is just not there. We had a really, really fun time and we were thankful that AV and her family put on such an awesome party and invited us! Thanks, AV!

Speaking of good friends, DS#1 and DS#2 often bicker about things, but ultimately they have very similar interests and they manage to get along because of that. I needed a picture for today so I sat in front of our TV and just started playing with the camera. This is one of the first pictures I took, and it just cracks me up because they both look so focused on the TV and so totally disinterested in what I was doing. Even DS#2 didn't try to hide his face, at least not yet.

This is the last picture I took. DS#1 was obviously the one playing the game and still focused. DS#2 wanted to have a little fun. He said he was going to count to three and then put the pillow on his brother's head so I could take a picture. I don't know if you can appreciate how DS#2 is a blur in this photo, but that's because as soon as he dumped the pillow on his brother's head (who barely noticed the pillow on his head), he wanted to get out of the picture, but I caught him in the act!

Meet the Teachers Night

I took the day off today to spend some time with the kids and to take care of a few things before school starts on Monday. We ended up going out for breakfast at IHOP, getting the older boys haircuts, and then getting a few groceries. For lunch we went to a local pizza place because we'd heard that they were giving 20% off their proceeds to one of our local Little League teams that are one of only sixteen teams in the world to make it to the Little League World Series. Our neighbor across the street is on the team and I still remember when DH said about four years ago that he had an amazing arm for a kid his age. They won 10-1 tonight with our neighbor being the winning pitcher AND getting three hits with four at-bats. Amazing! Almost equally amazing was that DS#3 ate 2 1/2 pieces of pizza at lunch and then took a three hour nap!

After a long nap (because I took a nap with DS#3) we went to DD and DS#2's elementary school for their Meet the Teachers Night. DD's teacher looked very young and because I didn't see her in last year's school directory, I'm assuming that this might be her first year teaching. She could also just be teaching at this school for the first time, but like I said, she looked really young. DD was really, really excited to be there. We bought a package of school supplies from the PTA for their fundraiser so we saw the box at DD's assigned seat. She opened it immediately even though they're supposed to do all of that on their first day of school. I think all of the kids are poised for another very good school year!

DS#2 was a bit less energetic but probably no less excited (on the inside). We met his two homeroom teachers, and both have been teaching a while. DS#3 will actually be moving from class to class this year with different teachers, like in middle school. This is to help with the transition to middle school next year. The teacher in this picture, Mrs. B will also be his Math teacher. She seemed very friendly and when he balked a little at having his picture taken with her, she said that he should get a picture on the first day and the last day. I think I'll be quite happy with this teacher! Look at DS#2's smile--totally different from the picture I took in front of the classroom just a few minutes before.

This is Mrs. W, DS#2's other homeroom teacher. I'll have to reserve judgement on her. She seemed preoccupied with meeting people other than us. We were waiting to meet her. When the people she was talking to left, she also left to another part of the classroom. When we went over there to try to meet her, she saw someone else that she knew and I felt like I was forcing myself on her. When I asked for a picture with DS#2, she said that we should get a picture with Mrs. B. Only when I replied that we had already gotten a picture with Mrs. B did she consent to the picture.

This is a picture of DD and DS#2 with their GT (Gifted and Talented) teacher, and as you can see they really enjoy her as a teacher. She still remembers DS#1 when he was in her class when he was in second grade. When we told her where he was going to high school next year, she said that one of her very best friends was a teacher there and she was going to ask her to keep an eye out for him.

Stinkin' Cute Part 2

I've been battling my contracting company for two weeks now, ever since they decided that I only have one vacation day left in the fiscal year instead of the four I thought I had. They've decided in my last year of this five year contract that they would change the rules. When I pointed this out to them, they made up some other reason where they compared my hours to the other contractors for the month of December 2008 only. I fell short of what the others worked so they decided somewhat arbitrarily to charge me three days of vacation for the shortfall. They didn't take into account that my contract doesn't say they can do that and that I'm well within my required hours worked for the year. Apparently now they've decided to bump it up to the higher ups. I am absolutely livid about this but I feel so helpless to do anything about it that I've been really stressed out.

Retail therapy always makes me feel better when I'm stressed, so I've been buying lots of things like books, camera bags, and clothes for the kids. I've been buying clothes for DD especially, and Gymboree clothes in particular. I love Gymboree clothes and I'm going to be very sad when she doesn't fit into Gymboree clothes any longer. DH actually encourages retail therapy sometimes when he knows I need it. He's so good to me. :)

Tonight DS#3, DD and I went to the mall to exchange one of her pants that I bought online and to shop their new line. We saw these Glow-in-the-Dark Skeleton Pajamas. DD begged for me to get her the pink ones. Last year they had this same set of pajamas and she asked for them then. I wanted to wait for a coupon or sale, but by that time, they didn't have anymore. Tonight they didn't have any more size 7's, but they did have this size 8. When she saw that, DD told me, "I'll be able to wear them longer!" That just made me smile because she sounds just like me. :)

DD also insisted that I buy the boy set for DS#3. I wasn't sure he was going to wear them because he usually only wears clothes with pictures of vehicles on them. When I showed it to him and asked if he would wear it, he said, "Ya!" He sounded convincing and I thought they would look so "stinkin' cute" especially with both of them wearing the pajamas, that I had to get them--plus I had a 30% off coupon AND I could get Gymbucks. Retail therapy was definitely lifting my mood. :)

Something that wasn't so cute was DS#1 popping a blister on the bottom of his foot during soccer practice on Tuesday. He couldn't continue to practice because it was so uncomfortable that DH brought him home early. We've been trying to get him to stay off of that foot for a while, but today was soccer practice again and DS#1 really wanted to play. DH said he seemed to be doing fine although he did limp a little sometimes. This is a picture of DH dressing the area last night. DH always likes to point out that he does these things for the kids instead of "the doctor" but I really have this queasy feeling when it comes to soft tissue injuries and especially when those injuries involve my children. The kids and I are lucky that we have DH around. :)

Stinkin' Cute

DH and I have a running joke about how the kids being cute and how that is a means for their survival until they reach the point where they lose "that cuteness that has kept them alive all those years". I know DH is looking forward to school starting next Monday, but then he's going to miss them all after a few days. :)

DS#3 likes to play on the piano. Yesterday he turned on the piano and then when DS#2 tried to sit down and play something, DS#3 wouldn't let him. I asked DS#3 if he wanted DD to sit and play for him. He said his usual "Ya" but then when she did sit and play he started doing his screaming bit like he just wanted to play by himself. DD still had her Hannah Montana wig on while she was at the piano so I had to take the opportunity to take a picture. DS#3 did his cheesy smile, but I missed the first part of it and you can see that he's starting to look down again. They both looked so "stinkin' cute" sitting at the piano. That's usually DH's phrase, but I'm going to borrow it because it's so appropriate.

I got DD and DS#3 some costumes from Gymboree. I thought for sure DD would choose one of the costume dresses, but instead, she wanted to be a "doctor". A couple of weeks ago she was talking to me about how I was a doctor. In the very next sentence she said that she wanted to be a scientist or a nurse. Slam! I guess she doesn't want to do what I do, but I had to laugh at the way she put it. She must still be fascinated with being a doctor because she says that's what she wants to be for Halloween. This outfit is a little big. That's what happens when they only have "size 7-8" and not just a "size 7" or a "size 8".

Speaking of "a little big", DS#3's costume was a "Size 2T-3T" so it looks humongous on him. Gymboree had this "stinkin' cute" train conductor outfit that I thought would be perfect for my train-crazy little man. I was a little worried at first that he wouldn't wear it, but when he saw it, he had to wear it right then and there. He even wore the hat and didn't want to take any of it off. He did eventually take it off to put his swimsuit on and he "forgot" about it after that. It's so hot here that I wasn't in a hurry to put it back on.

I went to the gym this morning to exercise and DH met me there so we could go to the gym pool. DS#3 got it in his head to wear this floppy hat instead of his conductor hat. He was SO "stinkin' cute" that I had to "break the rules" a little and take this picture at the gym. You see, you're not supposed to take pictures there, but I figured this was a private dressing room so there wasn't anyone else there but DS#3 and me. Unfortunately, this led to my accidently leaving my camera in the dressing room and DH had to go back for it later, but that's another story...

My Own Hannah

I'm getting ready to go off to work, so I just wanted to quickly post this. DD got a Hannah Montana "Learn to Be a Pop Star" DVD and Dance Mat from my parents. It comes with a wig and pretend microphone plus a DVD to "learn dance moves". She of course loves the dress-up element of it. We haven't tried the DVD yet. DH's comment was that DD should never die her hair blond. :)

Young Birthday Chef

Today was DD's birthday party at the Young Chef's Academy. There were two women that ran the whole show. I'm tempted to say "girls" because they looked so young, but however old they are, they did a great job. They entertained the kids while guiding them step-by-step on how to make their own pizza dough and pizza. They also took care of everything without asking, unlike some other experiences I've had with holding birthday parties at other places. This was a good thing because DH was with DS#2 at two soccer games today, and DS#1 was "babysitting" my nephew at home. My nephew N doesn't like pizza, so this party was not something he wanted to participate in.

While they waited for the pizza to bake in the oven, they got to eat cake and ice cream. This is DD blowing out her candles. She really put out some effort in doing this and I was more than a little worried that some spit started flying with the fervent candle-blowing she was doing. All the adults there remarked on how they had dessert before lunch, but none of the kids complained, of course. All of the adults ended up having cake and ice cream too.

When the pizzas were done, the kids all got to cut their own pizzas with these cool little gadgets. I've been coveting these ever since I saw them when DD had a Daisy Girl Scouts outing at the Young Chef's Academy over a year ago. It's basically a more kid-friendly pizza cutter.

After the party, my sisters and I hadn't eaten yet, so we stopped off at a Chinese food restaurant to pick some food up for ourselves and the boys back home. (My sister had to take DS#3 home before the party started because he was tired and in a new place and he would not let me put him down.)

DD and her cousins own matching "monkey" dresses, named as much because of the print on dresses. They planned on matching today and everyone who saw them agreed that they made a very cute trio. This is also a great picture for seeing their size differences. E on the left is the oldest, then A in the middle who is five months younger. DD is of course on the right and is the youngest being ten months younger than E and five months younger than A. I'm so happy that my sisters and I had girls all around the same time. It really makes for lots of fun times.

Reading to DS#3

My sisters and their kids got here this afternoon so they could come to DD's birthday party tomorrow. As soon as they arrived, the girls went off to play in DD's room. They sang and danced and played school. DS#2 and my nephew went off to play video games. DS#3 had no one extra to play with, but he had lots of people ready and willing to read books to him. His favorite books are the ones about Thomas the Tank Engine, of course, and here the girls are reading his "Thomas's ABC Book" to him. He tends to want the same books read over and over, so it was a good thing there were extra readers around.

I can't even tell you how adorable this was to see in person. DS#3 was copying his cousins putting their hands under their chins, but of course as usual, he had a cute toddler twist. I'm disappointed that this picture is blurry but I had to at least post his adorable facial expression on my blog. Isn't that dimple too cute?

Ice Cream Again!

We're signed up to get free ice cream coupons from Coldstone Creamery on our birthdays, so we went there to get ice cream again tonight. Last night we went to Brindles and both times DD got chocolate ice cream with gummi bears mixed in. DH and I both think "Yuck!" when we hear that, but she IS the Birthday Girl after all.

I chose this for my picture of the day out of the handful that I took because I caught DD just after she had put ice cream in her mouth. She looks a bit amused by her Mama taking so many pictures of her. I also chose this picture because DS#3 doesn't have his cheesy smile. He did that AFTER I took this photo.

Because Coldstone Creamery is so close to Michael's, I used this as an excuse to stop at Michael's first to get party favors for DD's birthday party on Saturday. A few months ago I was there with DS#3 and he did this very same thing--line up the toy trains in a row. He also lined them up on the floor, but DS#1 had the camera at the time and didn't take a picture. I really have to train him better. Thankfully, when it was time to go, DS#3 didn't fuss about putting away the trains.

Lastly, I had to share this picture from yesterday. You can't see the rain actually falling, but look how wet the ground is. You can also see how fried our grass is. I think it's sad that it rains so little here that I'm taking pictures of it raining!

Post-Birthday

This is a picture of DD opening one of her birthday gifts with DS#3 looking very interested. He was so interested, in fact, that he asked if HE could open some gifts too. Luckily, we were able to distract him by offering to give him a bath.

Last night when I posted on my blog I had forgotten that DS#1's soccer practice was cancelled because his coach and his wife were having their first baby. For us that meant that DH and DS#2 got home around 8PM and we ended up having time to open some of DD's birthday gifts. She got to open her gifts from us, her paternal grandparents, and her godfather. The rest of the gifts she will open on Saturday, when her party is scheduled and when her aunts and cousins will be in town.

I'm posting this picture for Grandma since she doesn't have high-speed internet for me to send her photos through email. DD loved this very cute outfit that Grandma sent her. It's a little big now but she'll easily grow into it before the weather turns colder here. She was so funny because she insisted that she had to wear shoes for the picture. She didn't want to tuck her shirt in but she wanted the belt to show from underneath her shirt. Oh, and I told her to show some "attitude" for the photo and she put her hand on her hip. Yup, that's my girl!

DH took the kids to a local park today. It was very hot outside and some of the playground equipment was in the sun and burning hot to the touch. Still, the kids seemed to have fun. I was just happy that DH got a couple of really good photos. I just love this one because DS#3 looks like he's deep in thought and it's focused just right-- the background is nicely blurred so the focus is right on DS#3.


Look! It's actually raining here! We saw the dark skies when we were out to eat and we were really hoping that it would rain back at our house too. DS#3 looked a bit surprised by the rain, almost like he didn't know what it was since it's been so long. I really hope we get some more good rain. Our grass looks SO sad!

Sufficiently Spoiled

Today is DD's 7th birthday. She's been so excited that she's been announcing her upcoming birthday to everyone who will listen for the past couple of weeks. Last night DS#2 actually said a something nice to her (usually they are constantly fighting). He told her that when DS#3 woke up, she should get DS#2 up and he would play with DS#3 so she could go downstairs and watch TV if she wanted to. Wasn't that sweet of him?

This morning she had two donuts for breakfast. DD wanted to go to the pool, so DH took the kids there along with a couple of neighborhood friends. In the afternoon. those same neighbors took her to Chuck E. Cheese to play for a little while. Apparently when she was with them they offered her a donut as a snack and she took it, so she had THREE donuts today!

When I got home from work I took her to get her haircut at the salon where I get my haircut. I had to take this picture because she needed a booster so her head could reach the sink but then she was too long to reach it without scooting down on it. Her legs were hanging off but she was all grins. She got her hair cut very short but I think she still looks adorable.

After her haircut I took her to a nearby nail salon to get her nails done. I've never ever had a manicure before and here she is having one at age 7! Here she is sucking on the lollipop that she got at the hair salon. I even removed it from her mouth when she finished with it since her hands were occupied. Talk about service!

Next she had her toenails done. Just look at that big smile on her face! Actually, she may be smiling because her toes are being tickled a little. She wore those disposable slippers that they gave her until her toenails dried since she had worn socks and sneakers. I pulled up in my car so she wouldn't have to walk across the parking lot in those flat little slippers that were way too big for her feet.

I took this final picture at home. Doesn't she look absolutely thrilled?

I was trying to make her feel extra special because we couldn't do a big celebration tonight with her brothers having soccer practice and then me having a lecture to prepare for tomorrow. I was also trying to make it easier for her that we aren't opening her gifts tonight since DH and DS#2 aren't home right now. She had plain PB&J for lunch and dinner today but tomorrow she has chosen McDonald's for lunch and DH's favorite, El Mirasol, for dinner.

I think she is sufficiently spoiled for now, don't you agree? :)

I Am Yo Butt!

As if DS#3 didn't have enough attention on a daily basis, he has an extra admirer today. DS#3's friend A came over to spend the day and then night. They've known each other since third grade, and have really become good friends in the last three years or so. DS#3 seems to enjoy A also, and the feeling is mutual. After spending the night at our house a couple of years ago, A went home to his parents and asked if he could have a baby brother. Since he was the youngest, that wasn't likely, although his parents have adopted a couple of children since then.

As you can see from this picture, DS#3 is welcome with the "big boys" in DS#1's room. He was really hamming it up for them and they were attentive. Speaking of attention, the phrase for today was "I am yo butt!" uttered by DS#3 on multiple occasions. It's really not as bad as it sounds. This morning, DD and DS#3 were playing "robots" and DD kept saying "I am a robot!" The aforementioned phrase was the two-year-old's interpretation. Of course, this phrase would send the other kids giggling uncontrollably.

Recently, DS#3 has been able to play on our train table that we got when DS#3 was two years old. For many months now the train table was used as a storage area for toys and its surface has been hidden. He prefers to either hang over the arm of the sofa to play on the table or he sits on top so he can be in the middle of the action. On this occasion, he was watching Thomas videos at the same time as playing with trains. He is definitely a spoiled little boy, isn't he? :)

Last but not least, I had to take a picture of DS#3 sitting on this old chair. This chair used to be DH's chair when he was about this age. I'm going to have to dig up some photos of the other kids sitting in this chair for a scrapbook page. It's wonderful that it has held up under the abuse of multiple children.

First Sleepover

DS#2 slept over at a friend's house for the first time yesterday. He's slept over at his cousin's house before, but that's family. His friend J was having a birthday sleepover and boy was he excited! He was pacing all over the house yesterday morning. The invitation said to come over (his friend J lives a couple of blocks away) at about 2PM but DS#2 insisted that J had told him to come over early--at 1PM. DH managed to convince DS#2 to wait at least until 1:30PM.

The first activity on the agenda was going to Laser Quest. DS#2 was proud to say that he came in second place over all the people playing at that time. That's what's on the paper he is holding up in the picture above. He bragged to his big brother, who was just at Laser Quest last week and who got first place over all, but with a lower score.

After Laser Quest, they ate out at a local place called Bigz Burger Joint then they headed to the neighborhood pool and then J's house. DH and I aren't sure how many boys were there, but DS#2 mentioned at least six names. We were feeling sorry for J's mom not only because of all of those boys spending the night, but also because DS#2 told us that she was surprised at how hungry the boys all were for breakfast. We also didn't ask how late they stayed up, but we sent DS#2 to bed a little earlier tonight.

I missed DS#2 when he was gone, of course, and as usual I don't look forward to the day he leaves for college.

Late Practice

I had a hair appointment right after work yesterday, so I didn't get to meet up with the family until they were already at DS#2's soccer practice. It was still about 100 degrees, but they were in the shade and there was a breeze that made the heat tolerable. I had a really frustrating day dealing with the company that I subcontract with and that just made me miss my family even more. Of course watching DS#3 playing with his vehicles and lining them up brought me some comfort as did watching DS#2 playing soccer.

DH was able to take some photos for me of DS#1 at his soccer practice. The 7:30-9PM time slot is just too late for me to be out and about. Some of the parents have complained but the practice time will not change. At least DS#1 will be in high school next year with a later start time in the morning.

He has several new players on his team this year as well as a new coach. His previous coach got a job as the coach for the girls' soccer team at a local high school so the rules prohibit him from coaching a club soccer team with kids that are 7th grade and up. DS#2's team is primarily made up of eighth graders. So far he seems to like his new coach. We're hopeful that he will enjoy his high school soccer team and coach as well.

I had to include this photo of DS#1 walking away from DS#2's soccer practice to his own soccer practice. I'm just amazed at how big and grown up he looks. Today when I got home, I went upstairs to change into workout clothes. He went out of his way to run upstairs in order to give me a hug and say "hi" to me. The youngest two ran up to me only when they saw me already. DS#2 didn't greet me at all. DS#1 has always been such a sweetie to me, and I love how he's still that way even though he is so big and grown up. :)

Mommy Guilt

This is a picture that DH took of DS#3 and I this evening. The lighting is so bad in my house, but I love this picture anyway. I can't sit near my little cutie without kissing him or hugging him or even tickling him. The whole family was watching "Wipeout" on TV and DS#3 picks my lap to sit in. In fact, he often decides he wants to sit near me as opposed to DH. Whenever he doesn't see me or know where I am at home, he often says, "Mama Work Day" roughly translated to "Mama is at work today." Talk about "Mommy Guilt"!

I've had 'Mommy Guilt" for as long as I've been a mother. When DS#1 wouldn't nurse, I felt enough 'Mommy Guilt" that I expressed milk for six months without being able to nurse him. I nursed the other three just because I felt like at least I could give them a little part of me every day even if I wasn't there. When I was there, I could feel that closeness. When DS#1 was a little older and I had to go to work and he wouldn't say "goodbye" to me, I felt that 'Mommy Guilt" again. In fact, the kids have always known how to make me feel 'Mommy Guilt" without even trying. When we go out to eat at a restaurant, they all want to sit by me. To me that translates into the fact that they don't see me as much as their father. When DD asked me to volunteer at her school, I tried to do it as much as my schedule would allow. I couldn't do it much, but I felt pretty good about how excited she was whenever I did volunteer.

Of course, when I come home from work and they all give me hugs, that makes me feel much better. DS#3 is the one that most reliably does this as sometimes the other kids are with friends or in the middle of a video game. I guess that's one reason why I can't help but hug/kiss/tickle him. I miss him so much when I'm gone!

Soccer Start

Tonight was the start of soccer practice for both older boys. This is a photo of DS#2 with his team and coach. It was still close to 100 degrees outside when I went to go pick him up around 7:30PM. I had the other kids with me running errands, but I had to get there by 7:30PM for DS#1's practice. Yes, that's right--the older boys both have soccer practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays but DS#2 has practice from 6-7:30PM and DS#1 has practice from 7:30-9PM. Ugh!

This week DS#2 also has practice on Saturday morning, and next week he has at least three "Club Friendly" games for Saturday. "Club Friendly" games are basically games set up by the coach with other teams for "practice", sort of like a scrimmage where the results don't really count but your team gets a chance to play together against another team. Next Saturday is also DD's birthday party. The busy school/fall season has begun for us!

I had to take this picture of DS#3 tonight because he looked so cute, almost like he was stretching. He was very interested in watching his big brother playing during practice. He even started pointing and saying his name. I half expected him to yell out his brother's name and distract him.

I also had to take this picture because I loved how DS#3 went to DS#1's chair and was casually leaning against him. I love the connection between those two! I could go on and on about how well DS#1 cares for DS#3 and how well DS#3 responds back.

I "had to" get a new pocket camera last week because the other one broke. This is the first time I've taken a bunch of photos with this new camera and especially using the zoom feature to it's potential. One of the reasons why I picked this one was the 10x zoom lens. It's so much easier than carrying that huge zoom lens on my big camera. Although I love the pictures from my big camera more, I enjoyed the photos from this new camera better than the old broken one.

Unplanned Thaw

*SIGH*This is a picture of our garage chest freezer before DH threw away most of the food in it. DS#2 didn't close the freezer door last night when he got out some frozen pizzas, and so everything in it thawed out. He was doing something very independent and the freezer was very full, so he didn't think to make sure the door was closed all the way. DH and I did a good job of not yelling at DS#2. He heated up his own frozen pizza after all, and he didn't mean to do it.

I'm trying not to think too hard about it or I might cry because it was SO much food. There was meat, ice cream, frozen dinners, etc. in there. Luckily, we were able to salvage some of it that can be cooked and refrozen, but most of it is gone. *SIGH*