The EbbTide

The other night my younger son and I were cleaning the kitchen…he asks, may have this water bottle?  I said sure….and open it for him….a few minutes later he asks me, is it “Spring?”….to which I responded, no, it is fall… his response is sadness and a dissappointed awwwwwwwwwwwww….  to which I now ask, what is wrong?  His response – it is not spring so I can’t have this water as he puts it down and it fighting tears…see it says “Spring Water” and it is not Spring, it is Fall so I can’t drink it………………  it was all I could do to contain my laughter….as I proceeded to explain the many meanings of the word spring….  ahhh, the challenges of a young reader who reads a  lot more words than he should……

It has been a busy and wonderful weekend.

We spent all day yesterday at soccer games.   The first game was in a drizzle after some major rain.  it was sloshy and messy.  We tied that game.  The next game was a tough one – boys played well but we lost 3 – 0.  The last game was the best game – most evenly matched – fun to watch….but we lost it 3-2.  It was a fun day at the field anyway – we were able to come home between games so that was nice.

Today we went to First Baptist for baptism for our son’s best friend.  It was very special.  We joined his family and friends for a wonderful lunch at his grandparents house.  During lunch, I was reminded yet again – it is indeed a small world.  I noticed one of the ladies was very familiar, but just could not place her.  Then introductions all around…it started coming back.  As we were eating, I was able to confirm that it was a former teacher of mine from NWR.  Very neat. The incredible part is that she is great friends with my son’s friend’s mom.  It IS a small, small world after all………………………….

or so I thought.  Earlier this week I took my older ds for his well kid check up.  It was actually his first time to see his new dr.  Our original pediatrician retired last summer and we are now seeing the new dr.  Last summer the new dr. was on maternity leave so we did our well kid visit with a substitute dr.  He has only been to the dr once since last summer……….so as they get older they do better!  A far cry from the numberous visits we made in the first 4 years.

Overall  he is doing well.  She was especially pleased to hear that he is learning to play Tennis.  She really emphasized that tennis is a sport that can be played for a lifetime.   So if he remains interested we will likely pursue tennis after we complete the program at the Y.

She did notice a lump on his lymph node.  A little scary, but we are taking a round of antibiotics and will check back in 10 days.  So far, it has been two days and it appears to be getting smaller.  We are praying that this trend will continue.

For now we are gearing up for school to begin in  a few weeks.

My nephew is sleeping over tonight with my boys.  They have had the best time.  We did not do anything fancy – just ordered some Papa John’s pizza and let the kids play.  They have play with trains, cars, games and my nephew’s favorite – hide and seek.  I had to stop that one – way too stressful for me.  I have my two trained to respond when I call.  Called for my nephew… no response….looked everywhere.  EEK.  Where IS he??  I was not amused.  Turns out he was just in the sunroom – hiding.  KIDS will be kids…..they had so much fun.  We let them watch a movie and stay up until 10:30…..shhh, don’t tell my brother or my SIL – they would not be happy to hear that their 3 year old was up that late.  But hey, it is Friday night and that is what you are supposed to do on a Friday night.

I have been cleaning and working on my scraproom.  One day I will get it to where I want it to be.  I am pretty stoked tonight, though.  Found some cube storage at M’s today – on clearance then got an additional 20% because that is what the coupon did.  Woo HOO!  I was there to get the supplies to make stepping stones this weekend with the three boys.  We did this back in July 2005, so it seems appropriate to do some new ones to update their growth.  We will be doing that on Sunday.

Tomorrow the kids will be playing their first Tennis matches.  This should be very interesting.  The best part is that they have been practicing all week.  Real practice at the Y on Monday and in the back yard every night since.  My elder ds definitely seems to be getting the hang of it.

It is my understanding  that my nephew is an early riser – even if he stays up late so I best be heading to bed!

Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend.

I learned something new this past weekend.  We were celebrating my friend’s daughter’s birthday.   My dh and I had 5 kids in tow last Saturday.  Our two kids, one nephew and my friend’s two children.  We ventured into Wacky Bear to make a critter for the girl’s birthday and for my nephew since neither had indulged in the “experience” before.  SOO, my plan was – two critters………………..how many do you think we left with?  AHEM….yeah, you are correct, one, two, three, four, five…. courtesy of allowances and graduation money….(hangs head in shame…..it sounded so good ahead of time….only the two are making critters…one is for birthday and the other’s first time…..sigh) the big kids got new Webkinz and the three younger ones made critters – a ballerina cat, a kung fu panda and a Spider Man bear….of course these critters need new clothes…..

Our reward for surviving Wacky Bear is sending the nephew home with Oma for his nap – at 3 – naps are a must – must have and must stay on schedule.  The rest of us – dh and I and four kids venture over to Chick Fil A and received the BESTcustomer service I have EVER recieved in a fast food restuarant.  The kids and dh got a table for 6 while I ordered food – 4 kids meals, blah, blah.  After we eat, my friend’s sons says – with authority – my mom says if you turn in the kids meal toys – Chick Fil A will give kids a free ice cream cone.   Yeah, yeah, sure… I kind of blew it off.  He says it again – so I say – you can go ask if you want….he gets shy and won’t.  Then one of the workers came by our table (for about the 3rd time – already has refilled drinks and taken some trash).  So we put it to the test – “I heard that if we turn in these toys we can get ice cream cones.”  Her response – an immediate, “yes, i will get them for you” as she is taking the toys from me.  Incredible…………….to which – the little boy starts “showboating” I was right…nah, nah, nah….so I looked at him and kissed him right on the cheek.  He got real quiet after that!

A few minutes later – sure enough – 4 ice cream cones – delivered to our table.  Amazing SERVICE, we were very impressed.

So there you have it that is what Chick Fil A will do with kids meals – I never knew that.

It is so hard for me to believe it is July 17 already.  Where in the world has this summer gone?  We have done a little of this and a bit of that.  We took a much needed family vacation to Orange Beach right after Memorial Day.   Since then the kids have been involved in daycamp, soccer camp, basketball camp, swimming lessons and tennis.  They both especially enjoy soccer.   My older ds learned a lot at basketball camp and my younger one has just completed a two stint of swimming lessons with my nephew.  A real treat since my nephew lives out of state.

We have also picked berries – blackberries and blueberries.  We are so blessed to be able to drive over to “Pop’s Place” in AL to pick blueberries – we have a plenty!!  Good thing we all enjoy them.

I enjoy reading other’s blogs and hearing what is going in their lives, so I am going to try to keep up with mine better, too.   Look for separate posts detailing more about the summer activities.

What are the odds? Third game in the tournament, third opponent wearing red jerseys with a small white line sleeve to sleeve.

D is tired, ready to be done for the day.

We grabbed some snacks. Eli and A destroyed a bag of “popcorn indiana movie theater popcorn”. Good stuff, if I can get a handfull.

Our game started 25 minutes late. Referee shortage.

D is playing like he’s wearing a 50 lb backpack.

They had two good shots on goal, one missed. We’re down 1-0.

Make that 3-0. All in the space of a couple of minutes.

Talking with A, kickoff? Score must be 4-0.

D had a good stop, followed by a whiff. 5-0.

Finally! got behind the other team, easy goal. 5-1.

Ow! D kicked the ball out of bounds, took down an opposing player. He’s ok.

D is kicking the ball well, but out. Gotta move it to the other end. Don’t need to keep it on this end.

Halftime! Maybe we can find the team that played earlier.

There is a reason we don’t bring the DS to games.

Survived a corner kick. D is out, teammate got ball, open field. made a shot from the center circle, “just a bit outside”.

Opponent just slid one in..score? Too much / not enough. 6-1.

Big kick over everyone, Goal! 6-2. Still have 4th Q.

It is obvious our ref does not want to be here. Very poor calling. Didn’t know you could swat the ball in the goal.

Our game was cut short to keep the schedule, apparently. just when we started to play.

Back to the grindstone!

We’re gearing up for the 2nd game. so far, we have 4 players. I hope somebody else arrives!

Goooooooal! D cleared the ball, the rest of the team worked it in. 1-0 us!

Celebration is short-lived, D was caught too far out and they squeaked one in. Game is tied, 1-1.

We managed to get behind their defenses, Goal! 2-1.

Fast break! Squeezed it in, 3-1. Their goalie got out of position, score from half-court! 4-1.

Looks like we got lazy, they popped one in. 4-2.

D had a great pass! We missed though. Several good shots later, end of quarter. I’ll let Eli talk about stoping one errant shot….(ask her about it!)

Start of the fourth, we slid one by two players, into the goal! 5-2.

D set up another breakaway, 6-2.

Narrowly missed another, end of game!

8n this tourney, D’s team is 1-1.

Its soccer day in our world.

Left D’s game, arrived for A’s halftime. This is A’s second game, he is looking tired.

Ran by home. then headed the crew to D’s second game.

9AM. Soccer, playing some team in red. we have a full team, plus two. In the second period, D tackled another player, penalty kick, goal. rats. down 1-0.

D “forgot” his water, so I ran back to the car. looks like the whole team got tired in my absence.

Ooh! Good series. Unfortunately, we missed. game over, 2-0.