Watching my children play sports makes me happy. They are all enthusiastic players and try their hardest. We have become a soccer family (for 8 years now), but they are trying to branch out to new sports.
Miss M has tried outdoor soccer, indoor soccer, basketball and swimming. She loves outdoor soccer the most. Next fall she will be adding Cross Country to her resume of sports.
Mr C has tried outdoor soccer, basketball, swimming and baseball. He's my all around sports guy. He leans towards basketball and now baseball. We will try outdoor soccer again in the fall with his favorite coach and make a final decision on whether or not to continue pursuing a soccer path.
Miss R is my finicky sports player. She is all about trying different things. Where Miss M is happy to play soccer year round, Miss R says "I already played soccer, what's next". So, we have done a few seasons of spring soccer and then she's ready to go back to swimming.
Mr N is getting his feet wet and learning to focus. He's played spring soccer several times and this year we have another natural goalie. I'm bragging here - but all my kids have been fantastic defenders and goalies. It surprises me on how different and how the same they each are.
As long as sports are making them happy, I'm happy (and will continue to coach them as it's needed).
This photo a day challenge is very inspirational. I think about something besides my daily "to do" list of getting from here to there to there to there. Thank You fat mum slim.
Something you do everyday - there are so many choices. My morning coffee. My run at the gym. My Starbucks coffee (I'm an addict). Facebook. Working on my computer. Cleaning house.
My favorite thing to do everyday though - is helping my kids. I'm growing humans here. They need to grow up well rounded, thoughtful and respectful. They need to learn about teamwork, sacrifice and doing nice things just because. We are a big "karma" family. If you do something bad, something bad will happen. And it happens quick in this family. Every time I'm naughty I turn around and stub my toe or walk into a wall. It's a running joke around here.
My "Something you do everyday" photo is my car. I am in this Honda Minivan so often that it's home. I was dragged - kicking and screaming while pregnant with kid #4 to buy a minivan. I didn't want to be a minivan mom, now I can't imagine life in a car or SUV. We have too much stuff and the van has so much room. I am currently coaching girls soccer and I was sitting in my car, making up my practice list of exercises and drills when I was inspired to take this photo. We are in the van 6 days a week going from one sport or another.
It's crazy and hectic. But I'm loving it
Do you ever have one of those weeks where the thought of it will send you crawling under the covers, shaking and crying? That's my next week.
We find out Saturday night (at midnight) if Marc will be flying to Los Angeles to cover a company strike for anywhere from 1 day to 2 months. It might not happen. They might work without a contract and wait until August. It's a complete unknown and I can't think about that until it happens.
Meanwhile, I've decided I want to host Easter because they are my kids and I want to stay home. And now, the grandparents might not come and the husbands might not be here. Is this a "What if..." worry?
Now for my week. Luckily I work from home on Friday and Saturdays and I work for my friend just up the hill an hour or two a day so I can get the laundry, groceries and time at the gym done. Including any school PTA events that I need to get completed this week.
I'll need to make copies of a flier for our school gear sale and then get the school dance fliers ready, copies and sent out. I need to finish up our school's reading plan and start the planning for the canned food drive that starts in 2 weeks as well as the (I just remembered) Pennies for Patients drive that we will do at school. I'm overwhelmed just thinking about this part.
Now to throw in the clincher. I've scheduled all 4 of my kids to play Spring Sports (I didn't know the husband might be done).
So this week we have:
Monday - soccer game at 4:45 for Miss R that I'm coaching (no one else would step up)
Tuesday - soccer game at 6:45 for Miss M, baseball game for Mr C at 7:30. Now they both have to be to their games early and I'm scorekeeper for Mr C's team. His game will go until 10pm. What the hell am I to do with a 6 and 7 year old until 10pm while keeping them quiet so I can pay attention to the game.
Wednesday - soccer practice at 6pm for Miss R.
Thursday - soccer game at 4:45 for Miss M, PTSA meeting (My last year as President) at 7pm and a baseball game for Mr C at 6:45. So, I'm skipping PTSA (that's why I have a vice president) and I'll get a sitter for the other 3 so that they are not out until 10pm again.
Friday - work most of the day from home and then batting practice at 6.
IT'S NOT OVER YET!!
Saturday - baseball game at 11:30 for Mr C, soccer practice at 1 for Mr N and indoor soccer game at 3:40 for Miss M.
Then it's time for some heavy drinking. I know I did this to myself and I am very careful to not let my kids see my stress over getting everywhere and doing everything for the week. I can only hope that Marc doesn't have to leave on strike and count on the kindness of my kids teammates parents to help. I'll have to be leaning on the baseball coaches wife to help with score keeping because I can not split myself in two and be everywhere.
My stomach hurts thinking about this schedule and getting through this week. If Marc is gone, everything repeats with some variations for the next 8 weeks. I have plenty of down time to recover during the day, but I can't drink then to forget the hell of a position I've volunteered myself into.
Does anyone else volunteer too much? I know I should say no, but I couldn't have my daughter not have a soccer coach. And I didn't realize baseball was so insane. I will survive.
Have you been watching the World Cup? I have never watched so much soccer (futbol) in my life. I love the game. I started my kids playing when they were 3 years old. That's 7 years as a soccer Mom (recently we have played Fall and Spring Soccer).
Sunday, we watched the Germany vs. Australia game. I gotta admit, I was rooting for Australia. Especially after the terrible calls and finally the red card. I wanted them to come back and win. In the end, Germany blew them out of the water, but it has been the game I've enjoyed the most.
So, the games are being held in South Africa. There are a few shots of the local area, but mostly it's just the stadiums. The host country is looking very enticing to me though. I have fantasies of buying an around the world ticket and doing some traveling with the kids in a few years. I've been doing my research and reading blogs about families that are currently traveling or planning to travel around the world. I have never considered Africa to be a place I wanted to stop. It's mostly fear of the unknown, the unfamiliar. I don't want to do the typical tourist stop of Africa and take a safari. I'm terrified of the snakes and they climb the trees. I am interested in the villages and the local life. I am educated enough that there are differences with each country and they are all changing constantly. I know that there is more to the continent and the people than the bad things to media portrays.
That being said, the World Cup and this blog post by Life is what you make it has enticed me to consider adding Africa to my list of must sees. I want to see Victoria Falls, I want to see South Africa, I want to visit Egypt (I often forget it's part of Africa) and I really want to spend a weekend here in the Castle in Clarens. I'll have to wait 7 more years to take the kids, but maybe it will just be the husband and I and our own little adventure out in the world.
