15 posts tagged “soccer”

Sorry.  We've had a busy and stressed October.  Charles has had a major bout of depression, and while we've turned the corner on that, he's about to head to his mom's for a week of destressing, so I'm coming up on a single parent week.  A little stressful for me, since he's the kid wrangler normally in our arrangement.  But we'll survive.  The only outstanding issue is me to find someone to watch the kids Wednesday so I don't have to miss my Disciple 1 class. 

I had extra bread that was getting stale this morning (I overshopped on a deal) so I channeled Martha this morning and made homemade french toast.  I could use a little more practice but it was tasty.  I've put dinner in the crockpot (homemade vegetable soup that I froze), emptied the dishwasher, reloaded it with breakfast dishes, and now I'm getting in some well deserved computer time.  Still on the list this morning is to pick up the newspaper(s) for coupons, shower, hit church, and a little grocery shopping.

Great deal alert -- $20 in free gas money.  Go here, and read all about it!  I'm trying hard to ramp up my refunding again.  With all the Wachovia/Wells Fargo stuff, medical bills, and growing boys (especially the smaller one who has holes in the knees of all his jeans!), money is at a premium right now.

Connor's soccer team won their game yesterday 7-1.  Woot!  His season finishes up this week, but due to rain outs, we have THREE more games... Thursday at 5pm, Saturday at 11:30 am, and Sunday at 4:00 pm.  All by myself.  Youch!

A shout out or two... Drama Mama, remember in your christmas letter a few years ago, when you talked about how you were simplifying your life?  I think I get it now... this disciple class has really been a gift so far.  Perhaps we'll have time to talk at the Thanksgiving gathering about it... to all of you who have added me as your friend on Facebook, thank you for making me feel loved... and please keep my extended family in your prayers on Monday.  A beloved family member is having surgery on Monday, and we are very hopeful it will be positively life changing.

Sorry to leave you hanging almost a month.  Maybe November will be better?

Connor continues to enjoy soccer camp, although he came home early today due to a bit of dehydration – he forgot his water bottle and didn’t drink enough from the coolers they have.  He only missed an hour of camp but I feel bad. 

Our “kittens” celebrated their first birthday this past weekend.  Morgan has had a remarkable change of heart recently and has become something of a lap cat.  He even lets me pet his belly, which is amazing for him.  I’ve woken up several nights with one large purry lump on my side, and the other large purry lump on my feet. 

Compassion has added a picture of Birri to my account online – it was so nice to see her face, although she looks sad.  I was sharing with my mother about Birri and my dilemma about what to write.  Mom immediately starts rattling off what would have been the PERFECT first letter… talking about what an exciting time it is in her life to be about to be a grown woman and all the possibilities… and I sat there open mouthed at the discovery of how much I still have to learn about parenting mentoring.   Of course I don’t have teenagers of my own either.  Yet.  Even though my involvement with Compassion is supposed to about Upendo and Birri, I am still amazed at how much *I* am getting from it.  Now to remember the first lesson when I started writing to Upendo… these are not pen pals, and my letters matter whether I get one back from them or not.  But I must say I’m just about to BUST to hear from Birri.  Those are my favorite stories that Compassion posts, the ones about the kids and their letters.  I hope getting a sponsor letter will put a small smile on that pretty-but-sad face.  If she’s like Upendo, it will be early September before I hear from her at the earliest.  And it could be November/December. 

My kids have six weeks of summer left before school starts.  Where has it gone?  After his strep, Connor rebounded quickly and thoroughly enjoyed the remainder of his week of Cub Scout Day Camp.  We attended the closing ceremonies Friday and enjoyed our ice cream, the Indian dancing, and the skits the kids did.  This week he’s attending soccer camp thru the league he plays in.  Charles says he was very excited to get his new soccer ball (he goes up in size of the ball this year), and I suppose we’ll hear more (much!) tonite.  Before he started playing two years ago I didn’t even know there were different sizes to the balls.

Duncan and I had a scout meeting last night to prepare for resident camp next week.  This included his swim test.  There are nine boys going from Troop 749.  I’m really excited for him as I know they will have a marvelous time.  I just have to get him packed this week so he’s ready to be dropped off on Sunday at 11am. 

On the things-to-waste-your-time-on category, I have been back to visiting Where’s George again since I got a marked bill in March.  It’s a currency tracking project that is quite fun.  It costs nothing except your time in recording all the US currency (bills) that pass through your hands on their website.  I got a hit in Oregon today, my farthest hit so far.  I also got a hit in Gastonia, which is just right down the road.  My other semi-time-waster is the Gas Buddy website.  It helps you find the cheapest gas wherever you are.  I do my part by recording prices for the stations I pass near work every morning.

I discovered a new opportunity through Compassion this week by reading their blog… for kids whose sponsors don’t write to them, they take volunteers to write.  You run the risk that their sponsor will exit the program, and then you’d have to pick it up or let them transition to their new sponsor, but still… have I mentioned how much Compassion stresses the value of the letters, that they are as important as your financial contributions?  I saw this as an opportunity for me to continue to grow in the mentor role, and to let some child reap the return benefits, without taking on something else I can’t afford now.  So I emailed Compassion, and they put me on the waiting list, stating it was as much as three months waiting for a child needing a correspondent.  Imagine my surprise then when I logged onto the site to get their address (I’ve got a math workbook I’m mailing to Upendo) and saw I had been assigned a child to write to!   Her name is Birri, and she’s in Ethiopia.  She’s older (almost 18) and in the 7^th grade.  My first reaction was “Oh, wow, what do you say to a young adult?!”  But then it hit me that I didn’t know what to say to Upendo in the first letter either.  I would never have picked an older child, but I trust that God handed me what I needed.  I also saw in her profile how she likes singing & music – the last letter I wrote to Upendo I spoke about how much I enjoyed music and how often I see God reaching out to me through music.  I called this morning and spoke to a sponsor/donor representative with a few questions about her; she’s been in the program for 11 years.  I wonder if she has ever gotten a letter from the generous people who have sponsored her all this time.  It breaks my heart a bit, but hopefully my time and letters will help.  I mailed my first letter to her this morning.

Upendo wrote again!  It is taking just over a month for her letters to reach me.  If the reverse is true for my letters, she should have four to five letters from me now.  I am writing about every two weeks.  Last time I sent her stickers, so that one may take longer to reach her.  I really REALLY need to find a good family picture and send it to her.  I have been quite amazed at how much her letters have touched me.  It is soul warming to have a six year old child tell you your letters are full of love.  I think we get so busy on the “treadmill of life” that we forget our own positive qualities.  We get so down on ourselves because of inconsequential missteps on that treadmill, and forget that a kind heart is worth so much more.

I have been so very busy thus far in May.  We had a family wedding (Charles’ cousin Sara) to attend the first weekend.   As I expected, she made a beautiful bride.  It was neat that she married in the same church her mother and grandmother married in, and that it was the same church she was baptized in.  Sara has been dating Dave for a while, and we like him, so I hope this is a great match for her.  I stayed at Charles’ sister’s house Saturday, and got a bit of gadget envy while I was there.  She whipped out her GPS to get us directions to the church; now I think I may have to have one! 

Connor has one final soccer game for this season on Saturday.  The team they are playing includes one of his cub scout den mates.  We missed the game this past Saturday due to the spring camping trip for cub scouts.  He had a great time.  They made s’mores Friday night, then hiked up to the “knob” Saturday morning, and then played in the little creek behind our campsite all afternoon.  Creek time included racing boats the boys made out of water bottles.  Our scout master made five different cobblers for dessert Saturday night – YUM.  Duncan went camping with the Boy Scouts to the Virginia International Raceway.  Another heartwarming moment for me – the dad who took him told us they enjoyed him immensely as he was a lot of fun to be with.  Isn’t that just the best compliment on your parenting that your child is fun to be around? 

I’ve really slacked off on my couponing lately – there just haven’t been any deals that were “almost free” on stuff I actually needed.  With gas prices going up I need to get back to rebating to get my cash flow up.

Cold Soccer Fan

Duncan forgot his jacket, and ended up in mine...

DSCF9299

I'll post more tonite on other subjects, but thought my loyal morning readers might like something new!

Whew, what a busy one!  I'm getting too old for this kind of pace!!

Friday, we had our October pack meeting for Cub Scouts.  Duncan got his outdoorsman pin, his outdoor activity award, his compass emblem, and a compass point.  Connor got his very first award(s), his tiger totem, an orange & black bead, and his soccer belt loop.  They were both pretty excited to get their awards.  It was a short "business" meeting as we adjourned to head across the street to Lowe's Foods to go to a nutrition presentation.  The kids seemed really into it.  They got to touch a lobster, taste some foods, and visit the freezer among other things.  We didn't get home until almost 10 pm that night. 

My Cub Scouts

Saturday we were out of bed at 7am to make it to Connor's 8:30 am soccer game.  I'm glad we were early for a few reasons.  One, we got a great parking place, and parking is at a premium at our fields.  Two, we had a surprise visitor.  There is a new Chick Fil A restaurant in town, and they brought the cow to come visit us, and handed out free chicken biscuits.  YUM!!  It was quite chilly that morning, so it was both yummy and warm!  Duncan was quite tickled by the appearance of the cow.  The boys played really well and they won 4-1.  Hard to believe we only have three soccer games left for the fall.  I am looking forward to a little more free time though.

Immediately following the game we headed to the T.'s house to caravan to the nearby Renaissance Festival.   The kids were all excited.  We got there and sat down to eat our lunch since it was very close to lunchtime.  Then we watched a sword swallower's show, which was quite hilarious.  Connor T actually got to go up on stage and help him with his act!  It was quite sunny so I enjoyed being in the shade as well.  Then we walked down further into the festival, until my kids saw a magician and got mesmerized by him.  We lost the T.'s at that point, but met back up with them at the jousting field and got great seats for the 2:30 joust.  We were cheering for the bad guy, Sir Mauldrin.  It was again, quite entertaining.

Then we headed down to the petting zoo, where the kids had a chance to "pet" critters.  After that we started back up the festival grounds, looking in various shops.  The kids convinced me to spend $$ to let them go in the "Dungeon" and look at medieval torture devices.  Our big splurge was getting our family picture made in medieval costume.  When I have more time tonite I'll post it; I really liked how it turned out.  Last, Connor got a wooden sword and Duncan got a jester's hat.   Then we headed back to Winston-Salem.  We ended up eating dinner at the mall, getting our rings cleaned and inspected, and doing a little pre-Christmas shopping.  We got home at 7:40 pm.  LONG day!

Sunday I headed to my monthly Stampin' Up Forget-Me-Not card making class.  Susy always has cool designs.  She's having a 3D Christmas project class in November that I can't wait for.  After that it was off to the grocery store to refill my bare cupboards.  You wouldn't think two little boys could eat so much!!  They are going to be huge eaters as teenagers if this is any indication!   Little bottomless pits.  After that, I took a long nap -- I was exhausted.  We had a pretty lazy afternoon otherwise.

Oops, I'm out of time, I'll write more later!

Am I the only one who thought we'd never get to today?!  Man, I'm tired and we still have two busy days to go!  Tonite is our cub scout pack meeting for both boys.  Connor gets his first award tonite, so that should be entertaining.  Duncan is getting another pin, his compass emblem, and his outdoor activities award patch.  I'm proud of him for that one.  Tomorrow we have an 8:30 am soccer game for Connor.  This should be interesting -- it's been much cooler lately so it will be a nippy game I'm sure. 

I will have more pictures to share from Walking with Dinosaurs when I get time to sort through them.  The kids had a really good time.  Duncan was quite determined prior to the show that it was a 'movie'.  We laughed at him, once the show started he hardly moved and didn't make a sound.  It was really amazing to see how big some of the dinosaurs were.  There was one person in the show, the "paleontologist", and it was amazing to see how small he was compared to the dinosaurs.   I was impressed at how much history and science was included in the show.  Their website has souvenirs on-line for sale; the kids may find the DVD under the Christmas tree.

I really am liking the Vox blog so far.  Jill said it well when she said she could finally understand the teens/20s obsession with MySpace.  I too find it a bit addictive to come here and tweak it a bit.  For example, in the books link I'm starting to link any books I've read recently.  It will be an incentive to me to read more so I can see it add up, and so my friends can see what I'm reading.  I also find that if my friends are on Vox, it is SOOO much easier to see if they have a recent update! 

Duncan's blister is healing really nicely.  It has almost deflated entirely.  He has been so very good about not messing with it.  The knot on my leg still feels warm to the touch and hard, but it doesn't bother me unless I put pressure on it.

I think that's it for now.  Sorry it isn't a long update, but I have to snatch writing time when I can find it these days.  Have a great weekend!

Sorry -- we've just been REALLY busy. The trip to Las Vegas kicked our butts, and we are still recovering. I've got to travel for work today, so I'm leaving early, and getting home late.

Connor has a mild case of croup, but the steroids kicked it immediately. Duncan continues to demonstrate tween obnoxiousness. Scouts and soccer are in full swing, so our evenings are busy. Connor's team lost 0-3 to the Pirates this past Saturday. He had a field trip to Vulcan materials quarry on Monday. Yesterday they mailed their "Flat Stanley" letters out. Hopefully today his class will get a postcard from Flat Stanley's visit to Las Vegas!

The kittens continue to grow. Charles introduced Morgan to her first pedicure last night, and those little raptor claws are much shorter now. He said he'll need help getting Brigit to hold still for hers.

More this weekend -- I don't have another free evening until Friday!!!