When I picked Jesse up from school today, on his LAST day of school, I patted him on the shoulder and said, “You did it. You survived second grade.” That praise was pretty much important to him, because he’s had quite a lot going on this year at school. There were even times the possibility of transferring him to another school came up. But, my son comes from a long line of survivors. He’s got survivor blood in him! In the end, he didn’t back down and he didn’t give up. Despite the challenges, bullies and misunderstandings he endured in second grade, he made it til the very end.
Later in the day, it was my daughter, Jennifer’s, turn to get a pat on the shoulder. To her I said: “You did it! You survived Junior High!”
That’s right. Today was her 8th grade graduation. Her very last day as a middle school student!
Unfortunately, earlier this week, there was a scheduling conflict. Jesse’s baseball team had their team pictures today, around the time of the graduation ceremony! I tried to see if a change could be made but it could not. What they could do is schedule the pictures of Jesse for another day, but he wouldn’t be in the team picture. I thought he’d feel bad if he was left out of the team picture, so my husband and I discussed options. In the end, he took Jennifer to her graduation and I took Jesse to his team pictures.
We ended up getting to the ceremony about 40 minutes late. Jennifer was one of three students giving a speech and try as I might to get there quickly, we missed her speech. Jesse was so upset about missing this that he cried. But my husband had recorded it so at least we have that.
So Jennifer graduated from Junior High tonight. I am so proud of her! She has certainly had a lot of ups and downs during her middle school years. So many milestones and major events. So many changes and memories. I am sure it will last her a lifetime. I hope she’ll be able to keep in touch with her middle school friends as she moves on into high school.
Congratulations, Jennifer! We are very proud of you and wish you the best in high school. Keep on being the awesome you that you are!
Showing posts with label baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baseball. Show all posts
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
I'm a baseball mom again!
I loved being a baseball mom in the past. It was so exciting to watch Jennifer first take up T-ball at age 5 then move through the groups as she repeated one year after another of baseball. She had a lot of fun and she enjoyed the sport. Even though some bad things happened, she still liked playing baseball.
That love of baseball never left her even after she stopped playing. She still had her heart in the game and her face would light up when watching movies like The Sandlot and Rookie of the Year. (One of these days, I’ll get her to watch A League of Their Own.)
Unfortunately for me, however, I stopped being a baseball mom after Jennifer stopped playing. I could no longer identify myself as a “baseball mom” but I also still loved the game. I often grew wistful seeing pins about Little League baseball that I pinned to my Baseball love board.
For some time, Jesse was not interested in playing baseball. Soccer was his sport. I was fine with that. Fine with being a soccer mom. Then he lost interest in soccer and went into gymnastics.
Recently, however, he told me he wanted to play baseball. That just came to me right out of the blue! And, unfortunately, it came at a bad time too: A couple of days after the deadline to sign him up for baseball. Still, I told him I would look into it and see if he could still play.
So I contacted Kidsports to see if there was any extra room for him on the team. There was! Yay! (They actually ended up adding two kids to the team in all.) I was so glad there was room for him and started the process of signing him up. I had to pay a late fee, but that was okay. At least he’ll get to play baseball!
So I told Jesse the good news and he got excited. We both went to the Kidsports office to complete the registration process.
Today was his first day of baseball practice. He loved it! He told me “baseball is awesome” and that he had a good time. He is pretty sore from practice but his father said he’ll get used to that in time.
The thing that happened at practice, though, is that the ball hit Jesse in the face a few times. It was NOT a hard hit. It was just when the ball rolled right up out of his mitt and bonked him in the face.
Later, while I was cooking dinner, Jesse told me he couldn’t believe that he got hit in the face with a baseball. (That actually happened to me too when I was a kid!) He went on and on about it. Finally, I told him, “You want to talk about getting hit in the face with a baseball, you go talk to your sister. She got the double whammy.” I told him about how Jen once got hit in the face with a baseball so hard, she had blood on her shirt. Later, I showed him the blog post I wrote about it, as well as the pictures of the bloody shirt. After he saw all that, he said, “I’m glad that didn’t happen to me.”
Well, we still love baseball. And so far, that particular horror story has not scared him off from playing on a baseball team. He’ll be heading off to baseball practice again next week and hopefully by then he can figure out a way to catch the ball without it hitting him anywhere.
Here are some pictures I took of Jesse at practice:
That love of baseball never left her even after she stopped playing. She still had her heart in the game and her face would light up when watching movies like The Sandlot and Rookie of the Year. (One of these days, I’ll get her to watch A League of Their Own.)
Unfortunately for me, however, I stopped being a baseball mom after Jennifer stopped playing. I could no longer identify myself as a “baseball mom” but I also still loved the game. I often grew wistful seeing pins about Little League baseball that I pinned to my Baseball love board.
For some time, Jesse was not interested in playing baseball. Soccer was his sport. I was fine with that. Fine with being a soccer mom. Then he lost interest in soccer and went into gymnastics.
Recently, however, he told me he wanted to play baseball. That just came to me right out of the blue! And, unfortunately, it came at a bad time too: A couple of days after the deadline to sign him up for baseball. Still, I told him I would look into it and see if he could still play.
So I contacted Kidsports to see if there was any extra room for him on the team. There was! Yay! (They actually ended up adding two kids to the team in all.) I was so glad there was room for him and started the process of signing him up. I had to pay a late fee, but that was okay. At least he’ll get to play baseball!
So I told Jesse the good news and he got excited. We both went to the Kidsports office to complete the registration process.
Today was his first day of baseball practice. He loved it! He told me “baseball is awesome” and that he had a good time. He is pretty sore from practice but his father said he’ll get used to that in time.
The thing that happened at practice, though, is that the ball hit Jesse in the face a few times. It was NOT a hard hit. It was just when the ball rolled right up out of his mitt and bonked him in the face.
Later, while I was cooking dinner, Jesse told me he couldn’t believe that he got hit in the face with a baseball. (That actually happened to me too when I was a kid!) He went on and on about it. Finally, I told him, “You want to talk about getting hit in the face with a baseball, you go talk to your sister. She got the double whammy.” I told him about how Jen once got hit in the face with a baseball so hard, she had blood on her shirt. Later, I showed him the blog post I wrote about it, as well as the pictures of the bloody shirt. After he saw all that, he said, “I’m glad that didn’t happen to me.”
Well, we still love baseball. And so far, that particular horror story has not scared him off from playing on a baseball team. He’ll be heading off to baseball practice again next week and hopefully by then he can figure out a way to catch the ball without it hitting him anywhere.
Here are some pictures I took of Jesse at practice:
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Bloody baseball
Today was Jennifer’s last baseball game. Unfortunately for her, it was not a pleasant one.
During the early part of the game, Jennifer was upset because she hadn’t been able to hit the ball. She kept grumbling, “I suck.” I kept encouraging her to try her best and have confidence in herself. Eventually, her spirits lifted, and we both felt good about her hitting that ball.
Except that it never happened. The second time, she was at bat, I sat with my fingers crossed, hoping she will get just one hit. But then something else happened that made me forget all about her hitting the ball. The ball hit HER – right in the face!
When I saw that happen, I was stunned at first. I was sitting there thinking, Did that just really happen? Did the ball just hit her in the face? IN THE FACE!!!!????!!!!
I blinked, squinting to get a better look and trying to see past the umpire and coach who ran over to her. She was crying and taking off her glasses. And there was BLOOD! Blood came out of her nose. Blood dripped onto her shirt. (I later saw it was even on her glasses.)
I jumped off the bleacher and ran to the fence to get a better look. I was thinking, Oh my God! Oh my God! My heart was pounding. Parents were crowding around me at the fence, too.
The umpire and coach comforted and talked to Jennifer. She was crying pretty bad. The coach walked her off the field and over to the dugout.
I grabbed my purse and nearly knocked another mom over as I ran to the outside entrance to the dugout.
The assistant coach brought Jennifer out. Her nose was bleeding pretty bad. He sat her on the ground and examined her. A lady appeared next to Jennifer and started to talk to her, too, as well as examining the damage.
I stood there in shock, watching the whole thing. My heart was still pounding in my chest. Other parents came over to check on her, too.
I watched the lady help Jennifer. She sure seemed to know what she was doing! I kept asking “is her nose broke?” and they finally told me it wasn’t. (Thank God!)
I couldn’t believe there was all that blood. The whole thing was surreal. I couldn’t believe this had just happened.
Finally, the lady stood, turned around and started talking to me. I had to tell her I am deaf and to please speak slower. She explained that the ball hit Jennifer’s nose and upper lip at the same time. Her upper lip and cheekbones had swelling and Jennifer was in pain. She said I needed to give Jennifer Ibuprofen and it would help the swelling go down. She also told me to use hydrogen peroxide on her clothes to get the blood out.
I asked her if she was a nurse. She smiled and nodded. “Thank goodness!” I said. What a relief there was a nurse here to look at an injured child!!
She went between comforting and helping Jennifer to talking to me. Jennifer was obviously in shock and the nurse checked her to make sure she was coherent. One of the moms I know from last season let Jennifer sit in her chair and we kept giving her tissues to try to stop the bleeding. (The blood was on her hands, too.) Eventually, we took Jennifer to the bathroom so she could wash the blood off. The nurse was so helpful to Jennifer and she really was concerned about her. This woman was missing her son’s baseball game to care for another child. I could only thank my lucky stars for such a caring, helpful and kind person to be there when something like this happened.
We sat out the rest of the game. Even though Jennifer wanted to go home, we had to stay longer for the “award ceremony.” Each player got a medal (no trophies this year), and some kids got two. Jennifer was one of them. The coach had her up first and he congratulated her on playing so well. He was really nice to her and made her feel special. I thought that was nice of him to do that.
Before we left, the nurse, whose name is Kristen, wrote out several kinds of instructions for me for caring for Jennifer. She said to call Jen’s doctor if the bleeding didn’t stop. (It did, thankfully.) I thanked her for her help and she hugged us before we left. What a wonderful person!
At home, I gave Jennifer Ibuprofen and instructed her to take it easy on the couch. I also gave her an ice pack and we worked on using it on either side of her face to avoid swelling. Or even further swelling.
After we got home, I was still in shock over the whole thing. But then I got really angry. It was no fair this happened! Why couldn’t she have a great time? A nice game? No fair!
And Jennifer was mad, too. She said the boy who pitched the ball wasn’t even looking at where he was throwing it. I was mad because he didn’t apologize. I know it was an accident, but he still should’ve said he was sorry! He was the one who pitched the ball! He didn’t even check on her after the game. Grr.
Well, I got over my stewing. It’s like I told Jennifer, “At least your team kicked their butt."
And we did find one thing funny about this whole thing. Jennifer told me the catcher picked up the bloody baseball, looked at it with disgust and said, "Ew." We had a good laugh over that. She also told me that she wondered if her blood was still on home plate.
What a way to end her baseball season.
During the early part of the game, Jennifer was upset because she hadn’t been able to hit the ball. She kept grumbling, “I suck.” I kept encouraging her to try her best and have confidence in herself. Eventually, her spirits lifted, and we both felt good about her hitting that ball.
Except that it never happened. The second time, she was at bat, I sat with my fingers crossed, hoping she will get just one hit. But then something else happened that made me forget all about her hitting the ball. The ball hit HER – right in the face!
When I saw that happen, I was stunned at first. I was sitting there thinking, Did that just really happen? Did the ball just hit her in the face? IN THE FACE!!!!????!!!!
I blinked, squinting to get a better look and trying to see past the umpire and coach who ran over to her. She was crying and taking off her glasses. And there was BLOOD! Blood came out of her nose. Blood dripped onto her shirt. (I later saw it was even on her glasses.)
I jumped off the bleacher and ran to the fence to get a better look. I was thinking, Oh my God! Oh my God! My heart was pounding. Parents were crowding around me at the fence, too.
The umpire and coach comforted and talked to Jennifer. She was crying pretty bad. The coach walked her off the field and over to the dugout.
I grabbed my purse and nearly knocked another mom over as I ran to the outside entrance to the dugout.
The assistant coach brought Jennifer out. Her nose was bleeding pretty bad. He sat her on the ground and examined her. A lady appeared next to Jennifer and started to talk to her, too, as well as examining the damage.
I stood there in shock, watching the whole thing. My heart was still pounding in my chest. Other parents came over to check on her, too.
I watched the lady help Jennifer. She sure seemed to know what she was doing! I kept asking “is her nose broke?” and they finally told me it wasn’t. (Thank God!)
I couldn’t believe there was all that blood. The whole thing was surreal. I couldn’t believe this had just happened.
Finally, the lady stood, turned around and started talking to me. I had to tell her I am deaf and to please speak slower. She explained that the ball hit Jennifer’s nose and upper lip at the same time. Her upper lip and cheekbones had swelling and Jennifer was in pain. She said I needed to give Jennifer Ibuprofen and it would help the swelling go down. She also told me to use hydrogen peroxide on her clothes to get the blood out.
I asked her if she was a nurse. She smiled and nodded. “Thank goodness!” I said. What a relief there was a nurse here to look at an injured child!!
She went between comforting and helping Jennifer to talking to me. Jennifer was obviously in shock and the nurse checked her to make sure she was coherent. One of the moms I know from last season let Jennifer sit in her chair and we kept giving her tissues to try to stop the bleeding. (The blood was on her hands, too.) Eventually, we took Jennifer to the bathroom so she could wash the blood off. The nurse was so helpful to Jennifer and she really was concerned about her. This woman was missing her son’s baseball game to care for another child. I could only thank my lucky stars for such a caring, helpful and kind person to be there when something like this happened.
We sat out the rest of the game. Even though Jennifer wanted to go home, we had to stay longer for the “award ceremony.” Each player got a medal (no trophies this year), and some kids got two. Jennifer was one of them. The coach had her up first and he congratulated her on playing so well. He was really nice to her and made her feel special. I thought that was nice of him to do that.
Before we left, the nurse, whose name is Kristen, wrote out several kinds of instructions for me for caring for Jennifer. She said to call Jen’s doctor if the bleeding didn’t stop. (It did, thankfully.) I thanked her for her help and she hugged us before we left. What a wonderful person!
At home, I gave Jennifer Ibuprofen and instructed her to take it easy on the couch. I also gave her an ice pack and we worked on using it on either side of her face to avoid swelling. Or even further swelling.
After we got home, I was still in shock over the whole thing. But then I got really angry. It was no fair this happened! Why couldn’t she have a great time? A nice game? No fair!
And Jennifer was mad, too. She said the boy who pitched the ball wasn’t even looking at where he was throwing it. I was mad because he didn’t apologize. I know it was an accident, but he still should’ve said he was sorry! He was the one who pitched the ball! He didn’t even check on her after the game. Grr.
Well, I got over my stewing. It’s like I told Jennifer, “At least your team kicked their butt."
And we did find one thing funny about this whole thing. Jennifer told me the catcher picked up the bloody baseball, looked at it with disgust and said, "Ew." We had a good laugh over that. She also told me that she wondered if her blood was still on home plate.
What a way to end her baseball season.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Girls can play baseball
One of my all-time favorite movies is A League of Their Own. Sure, I like other baseball movies, but League stands out because it’s strictly a girls-baseball movie. We see so many boy-baseball movies, despite some kid movies having girls playing baseball (The Sandlot, for example). But League is definitely The Real Thing when it comes to girls baseball. In League, the women are asked to play baseball because there is a NEED for ballplayers while the men are away at war. However, in real life, this inclusion of girls in baseball has its problems.
Mainly, getting girls INTO baseball teams.
Even though baseball is dominated by boys/men, I have always felt that girls can play this sport, too. Coming from a large family, we often got together to play ball. And none of us girls were EVER told we couldn’t play because it’s a “boy sport.” Girls can play baseball, too!
This is a message I try to pass on to my daughter, Jennifer. She has been playing ball ever since she was old enough to start T-ball. Like me, she loves baseball, and we even play catch or hit the ball around in our yard.
However, sometimes, I have run into problems trying to get Jennifer onto a baseball team. At Kidsports, where I sign Jen up to play, many staff have seen her gender as “girl” and, instead of placing her into the baseball team, as I requested, they moved her to softball instead. (I never learned of this until after I was notified by email of just how she was registered.) Of course, I’ve had to remedy this myself. Call them, email them, and explain to them that we prefer BASEBALL. Not softball. (Many thanks to Matt Brown for continuously helping me fix this problem when it has come up!)
Every year that Jennifer has played baseball, we’ve enjoyed the excitement, challenges and mystery of each game. She’d attend practices at the fields and we’d practice at home, too. Baseball was the sport we often talked about at home, and there has been a time or two Jennifer has come home from a game shivering or limping. But there’d be a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes when she’d inform me, “We won!”
Time and again she has proven that she can play baseball just fine. Of course, being in an all-boy team means she’s had to get used to all the “boy talk” and the ways boys behave – especially around girls. (Surprisingly, though, she and her teammates have gotten along well, and no one has accused the other of having cooties.) I’m proud of the progress she has made in this sport. If she chooses to pursue it again next year, that’s fine. If she chooses not to pursue it again next year, that’s fine, too.
We’ve had some good years playing baseball, as well as some pictures and happy memories to remember those years by.
I am grateful to all the coaches and team players for welcoming Jennifer into a sport that is mostly played by boys.
It’s good to know that other people out there agree that, yes, girls can play baseball, too.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Summer vacation starters
Yesterday was the last day of school. Yay! It was also a day we had a baseball game. Unfortunately, we couldn't get to the game. I could not find Jennifer's baseball stuff! It's so weird; her baseball stuff keeps disappearing. I felt stupid not taking her to the game just because we couldn't find her stuff, but I didn't want her to show up without it, either. Believe me, I turned the house upside down trying to find it. I even kept asking Jen where she had her stuff last but she couldn't remember. (Oh, that helps!) What was even more frustrating is that she would not help me look for it after she got home from school. So I just pretty much gave up the search. I guess it wasn't that important to her! Wasn't happy she missed a game, but...there it was.
Also yesterday, I had a bit of a scare. I had the baby with me while running errands and managed to get to the bus stop in time to pick Jennifer up. We sat there for a while and I kept myself occupied with reading the EW. Jesse kept himself occupied by keeping himself occupied. Haha. Anyway, we just sat there waiting for the bus to get there, and it ended up being about 5 minutes late. I watched the doors of that school bus open and children file out, keeping my eyes peeled for Jennifer. One child after another came off that bus and I kept expecting Jennifer to appear. But, she didn't. And the bus doors closed and the bus drove away! My heart froze. I scanned the children again, thinking maybe I missed her. But, she wasn't there! I asked a little girl who knew Jennifer if she had been on the bus and she told me no. ACK! I raced home, my heart pounding in my chest and feeling very scared. Remnants of the story of the disappearance of the Portland boy, Kyron Horman, ran through my mind, mainly because it wasn't discovered he was missing until the stepmother was at the bus stop to pick him up and he never appeared. So I got home, logged on to the computer and emailed hubby, asking him if he'd picked Jennifer up while he was out meeting with his friend. I was barely able to breathe at this point, my hands practically shaking. Finally, he replied that, yes, he did have Jennifer with him. THANK GOD! I was so scared something had happened to her. I politely thanked him for telling me (NOW!), though I was tempted to scream at him, "Don't DO that!" Sheesh. I'm just glad she was okay. I hugged her extra hard when he later brought her home. Now I DEFINITELY need to get a new phone, just so we can text each other faster and know where everybody is at!
Since it's now officially summer vacation, I have been pondering just how to plan it all out. We're DEFINITELY going to have some mornings of sleeping in -- though, in order for me to have time to work on my books, I'll still be getting up early. Except for today. I slept in today. Maybe it was until 6:30, but, hey! That still counts as "sleeping in" for me! It's later than 5 or 5:30, anyway. The kids slept in this morning, too. But we won't be sleeping in ALL summer! No, sir! Just the first week. I'm planning to have Jennifer back on her "summer schedule" just so she won't veg out in front of the computer or TV all summer. I know it's important for children to have structure.
I was reading the papers sent home from Jen's school and comments her teacher made. Her teacher had, in fact, expressed her hope that Jennifer will continue to read books this summer. Well, that's not going to be hard; she DOES love to read! But, I thought, it would be nice if her teacher would be able to see just what kind of progress Jennifer makes with her reading during summer vacation. Eventually, I came up with an idea: Create a reading chart! This way, we could keep track of all the books she reads over the summer and we can show it to her teacher when school starts again. Also, I think maybe a reward system would be a nifty feature for that reading chart. Say, after she reads 20 books, she gets a reward. We have decided that her first reward will be a visit to the Splash! water park. Other rewards could be an ice cream outing, a new book, a new toy, a picnic, etc.
I think this "reading challenge" will be good for her because I have growing concerns about her addiction to computer games and TV. Yes, yes, I know I am partly to blame for that. It is just so hard for me to curb that addiction. I certainly DO NOT want her to end up like her father, spending hours on the computer every day. So I know I need to step in and DO SOMETHING about that. The reading challenge is just one thing I can do. Another is to set a time limit on how much computer time and TV time she can have. I'll need to put my thinking cap on about that one and see what I can do. Really, if it was educational stuff, I wouldn't be bothered by it so much. But it's...computer games (like the one with plant zombies) and kid-friendly sitcoms (though she'll try to watch OTHER, teen-related shows if she could get away with it!). It's something I'll have to work on.
My plans for the summer are not all worked out just yet, but at least we can start it off with some ideas.
Also yesterday, I had a bit of a scare. I had the baby with me while running errands and managed to get to the bus stop in time to pick Jennifer up. We sat there for a while and I kept myself occupied with reading the EW. Jesse kept himself occupied by keeping himself occupied. Haha. Anyway, we just sat there waiting for the bus to get there, and it ended up being about 5 minutes late. I watched the doors of that school bus open and children file out, keeping my eyes peeled for Jennifer. One child after another came off that bus and I kept expecting Jennifer to appear. But, she didn't. And the bus doors closed and the bus drove away! My heart froze. I scanned the children again, thinking maybe I missed her. But, she wasn't there! I asked a little girl who knew Jennifer if she had been on the bus and she told me no. ACK! I raced home, my heart pounding in my chest and feeling very scared. Remnants of the story of the disappearance of the Portland boy, Kyron Horman, ran through my mind, mainly because it wasn't discovered he was missing until the stepmother was at the bus stop to pick him up and he never appeared. So I got home, logged on to the computer and emailed hubby, asking him if he'd picked Jennifer up while he was out meeting with his friend. I was barely able to breathe at this point, my hands practically shaking. Finally, he replied that, yes, he did have Jennifer with him. THANK GOD! I was so scared something had happened to her. I politely thanked him for telling me (NOW!), though I was tempted to scream at him, "Don't DO that!" Sheesh. I'm just glad she was okay. I hugged her extra hard when he later brought her home. Now I DEFINITELY need to get a new phone, just so we can text each other faster and know where everybody is at!
Since it's now officially summer vacation, I have been pondering just how to plan it all out. We're DEFINITELY going to have some mornings of sleeping in -- though, in order for me to have time to work on my books, I'll still be getting up early. Except for today. I slept in today. Maybe it was until 6:30, but, hey! That still counts as "sleeping in" for me! It's later than 5 or 5:30, anyway. The kids slept in this morning, too. But we won't be sleeping in ALL summer! No, sir! Just the first week. I'm planning to have Jennifer back on her "summer schedule" just so she won't veg out in front of the computer or TV all summer. I know it's important for children to have structure.
I was reading the papers sent home from Jen's school and comments her teacher made. Her teacher had, in fact, expressed her hope that Jennifer will continue to read books this summer. Well, that's not going to be hard; she DOES love to read! But, I thought, it would be nice if her teacher would be able to see just what kind of progress Jennifer makes with her reading during summer vacation. Eventually, I came up with an idea: Create a reading chart! This way, we could keep track of all the books she reads over the summer and we can show it to her teacher when school starts again. Also, I think maybe a reward system would be a nifty feature for that reading chart. Say, after she reads 20 books, she gets a reward. We have decided that her first reward will be a visit to the Splash! water park. Other rewards could be an ice cream outing, a new book, a new toy, a picnic, etc.
I think this "reading challenge" will be good for her because I have growing concerns about her addiction to computer games and TV. Yes, yes, I know I am partly to blame for that. It is just so hard for me to curb that addiction. I certainly DO NOT want her to end up like her father, spending hours on the computer every day. So I know I need to step in and DO SOMETHING about that. The reading challenge is just one thing I can do. Another is to set a time limit on how much computer time and TV time she can have. I'll need to put my thinking cap on about that one and see what I can do. Really, if it was educational stuff, I wouldn't be bothered by it so much. But it's...computer games (like the one with plant zombies) and kid-friendly sitcoms (though she'll try to watch OTHER, teen-related shows if she could get away with it!). It's something I'll have to work on.
My plans for the summer are not all worked out just yet, but at least we can start it off with some ideas.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Barbecue and baseball
Yesterday, Jennifer had a barbecue at her school AND a baseball game. The two events were scheduled right next to each other!
Actually, the game started at about 40 minutes after the barbecue.
I spent all day trying to figure out just HOW we were going to get to both events on time without looking rude for leaving one event early. I couldn't skip the barbecue; I had already told Jennifer's teacher we would be there. And, in fact, I learned about the game being on the same day only AFTER I made the commitment to show up at the barbecue. (Jen has THREE games this week! With no practice in between. I may not be a sports coach or an expert on physical fitness, but that just seems wrong.)
Finally, I decided we would just wing it and see what happened. I hated the idea of leaving early, though. That is just rude. But, hopefully, they would understand.
Before we could head out to the barbecue, however, I had to stop at a neighbor's house to offer an apology about something that happened the day before. Apparently, the neighbor's boys were up to no good while Jennifer was playing there, and Jennifer ended up being a partner in crime. Somehow, I was relieved to learn that this mother also had this particular kind of rule her children must obey, maybe because I didn't want to feel bad about how I don't allow Jennifer to do that kind of thing. Anyway, I apologized to her about that and explained that I had reminded Jennifer NOT to do that and that she also had been disciplined. I also apologized for Jennifer accidentally breaking something and offered to replace it. She was very understanding and thankfully there were no hard feelings. Thank goodness for that! The last thing I want to do is cause hard feelings among my neighbors.
We got to the barbecue okay and it was nice to see Jen's teacher there, along with her baby. We talked briefly. I apologized for having to leave early but she understood. Unfortunately, Jennifer didn't behave very well at the barbecue. She kept whining about how she wanted to run off and play with her friends, and when I took her by the arm, to try to get her attention, she tried to pull away from me. I held onto her arm, which probably made it look to everybody watching like I was shaking her, or something, because she kept pulling away. As we ate, I told her I was NOT happy with her behavior and she should not pull away from me like that when I am holding her arm. She couldn't hear me over the people in the cafeteria so I had to keep repeating things in a loud voice. Maybe some of that came out as yelling, I don't know, because one woman looked at me funny and moved away. (Sigh. I can't hear how loud my voice is! Yet so many people judge me for that and think that I am intentionally yelling at everybody. I can't even know how loud I am supposed to talk when there is too much noise, because I have no way of hearing how loud the freaking noise is!)
After we ate, we had to go. As it was, we got to the baseball game a half our late. I am just glad I had told the coach by email earlier in the day about our other engagement. He wasn't mad we got there late. So Jen played baseball. She hit the ball on the first pitch! I excitedly cheered about that. While we were at the game, I started to talk with one of the moms and somehow or another I let it out how I've been coping with my mother being so ill from cancer and that sometimes I just need to be alone to deal with it. It's very depressing and sometimes it's too hard for me to focus on the writing work or even feel up to getting out of the house or socializing with people. It's gotten to where I cry every day about it. I miss my mother terribly and I just pray to God I get to see her one last time before it's her time to go. She is not doing very well. I saw a recent photo of her and she looked almost like a skeleton. My cousin said she's very emaciated. I have no idea why I opened up to that woman about it. I barely know that woman! But I guess I just needed to talk to someone about it. I just can't talk to my husband about it; he doesn't understand why she's faring so poorly. But, anyway, that's what happened. I don't know. Maybe I needed to explain why I hadn't been at the last game or maybe why I tend to be standoffish or absent sometimes. It's just really hard to cope with this. I try to stay positive and enjoy my children, but the sadness lingers.
Jen's team didn't win yesterday but everybody had a great time. Jesse sure did have fun making me chase him all over the field. He wasn't happy when I had to put him back into the stroller after one particularly long run around said field. After the game, I got the kids ice cream then took them home, read them a story, and got them into bed.
This morning I read in Dear Abby about how this woman complained about her co-worker's daughter showing up at the office every day to join her for lunch. She said she was "tired of it." That really made me angry. I wish I could join my mother for lunch every day. Hell, I wish I could even SEE her every day. Once upon a time, I had been able to, even though my dad got tired of my daily visits. But Mom never did. She always looked forward to me coming over every day. I wish we could go back to doing that. I wish I could see her every day like I used to be able to before.
Actually, the game started at about 40 minutes after the barbecue.
I spent all day trying to figure out just HOW we were going to get to both events on time without looking rude for leaving one event early. I couldn't skip the barbecue; I had already told Jennifer's teacher we would be there. And, in fact, I learned about the game being on the same day only AFTER I made the commitment to show up at the barbecue. (Jen has THREE games this week! With no practice in between. I may not be a sports coach or an expert on physical fitness, but that just seems wrong.)
Finally, I decided we would just wing it and see what happened. I hated the idea of leaving early, though. That is just rude. But, hopefully, they would understand.
Before we could head out to the barbecue, however, I had to stop at a neighbor's house to offer an apology about something that happened the day before. Apparently, the neighbor's boys were up to no good while Jennifer was playing there, and Jennifer ended up being a partner in crime. Somehow, I was relieved to learn that this mother also had this particular kind of rule her children must obey, maybe because I didn't want to feel bad about how I don't allow Jennifer to do that kind of thing. Anyway, I apologized to her about that and explained that I had reminded Jennifer NOT to do that and that she also had been disciplined. I also apologized for Jennifer accidentally breaking something and offered to replace it. She was very understanding and thankfully there were no hard feelings. Thank goodness for that! The last thing I want to do is cause hard feelings among my neighbors.
We got to the barbecue okay and it was nice to see Jen's teacher there, along with her baby. We talked briefly. I apologized for having to leave early but she understood. Unfortunately, Jennifer didn't behave very well at the barbecue. She kept whining about how she wanted to run off and play with her friends, and when I took her by the arm, to try to get her attention, she tried to pull away from me. I held onto her arm, which probably made it look to everybody watching like I was shaking her, or something, because she kept pulling away. As we ate, I told her I was NOT happy with her behavior and she should not pull away from me like that when I am holding her arm. She couldn't hear me over the people in the cafeteria so I had to keep repeating things in a loud voice. Maybe some of that came out as yelling, I don't know, because one woman looked at me funny and moved away. (Sigh. I can't hear how loud my voice is! Yet so many people judge me for that and think that I am intentionally yelling at everybody. I can't even know how loud I am supposed to talk when there is too much noise, because I have no way of hearing how loud the freaking noise is!)
After we ate, we had to go. As it was, we got to the baseball game a half our late. I am just glad I had told the coach by email earlier in the day about our other engagement. He wasn't mad we got there late. So Jen played baseball. She hit the ball on the first pitch! I excitedly cheered about that. While we were at the game, I started to talk with one of the moms and somehow or another I let it out how I've been coping with my mother being so ill from cancer and that sometimes I just need to be alone to deal with it. It's very depressing and sometimes it's too hard for me to focus on the writing work or even feel up to getting out of the house or socializing with people. It's gotten to where I cry every day about it. I miss my mother terribly and I just pray to God I get to see her one last time before it's her time to go. She is not doing very well. I saw a recent photo of her and she looked almost like a skeleton. My cousin said she's very emaciated. I have no idea why I opened up to that woman about it. I barely know that woman! But I guess I just needed to talk to someone about it. I just can't talk to my husband about it; he doesn't understand why she's faring so poorly. But, anyway, that's what happened. I don't know. Maybe I needed to explain why I hadn't been at the last game or maybe why I tend to be standoffish or absent sometimes. It's just really hard to cope with this. I try to stay positive and enjoy my children, but the sadness lingers.
Jen's team didn't win yesterday but everybody had a great time. Jesse sure did have fun making me chase him all over the field. He wasn't happy when I had to put him back into the stroller after one particularly long run around said field. After the game, I got the kids ice cream then took them home, read them a story, and got them into bed.
This morning I read in Dear Abby about how this woman complained about her co-worker's daughter showing up at the office every day to join her for lunch. She said she was "tired of it." That really made me angry. I wish I could join my mother for lunch every day. Hell, I wish I could even SEE her every day. Once upon a time, I had been able to, even though my dad got tired of my daily visits. But Mom never did. She always looked forward to me coming over every day. I wish we could go back to doing that. I wish I could see her every day like I used to be able to before.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
The only girl on the team
Today was Jennifer's first day playing baseball again. Last year, when I registered her to play, they put her into softball. I had to request that she be placed into baseball, as I had requested when I signed her up. This year, they did the same thing! Oy. Jennifer and I both think baseball is better than softball. As she said, "Softball is for sissies." (haha) Not to put down anyone playing softball (she actually has a couple of friends playing on softball teams), but we loves us some good ol' fashioned baseball. Put me in, coach!
But before she could even get to her first practice, there was a bit of a hurdle I had to get over. The practices were scheduled late in the day. I was worried the kids would be playing baseball in the dark! The practices actually end right around the time I put my children to bed. I was sending emails back and forth and making a phone call about this. I was just concerned about this being so late on a school night. Finally, today, I just decided, you know what? We will give it a shot. Let's see what happens. If it is indeed too dark at that time, if it is indeed late when I get the kids into bed after baseball practice, and see if we can just wing it. School will be out soon enough, after all. Let's just wait and see.
So, that's what we did. We loaded up into the car and went to baseball practice. I was nervous about going since, after all, I hadn't been feeling well today (I had a horrible episode of bad chest pain that nearly made me pass out last night and then again early this morning -- Jennifer was even crying and scared that I was dying!). I was also nervous about yet another round of meeting hearing parents, trying to communicate with them, and explaining that I am deaf, etc. But, we went. We still went. When we got there, the field was so dang soggy. I kept sinking into the ground. It had been raining so much during the day, I wasn't surprised the ground was so entrenched. (This had been another concern of mine. I was worried it might rain AGAIN and the practice might be canceled. The coach said that, unless there was a hurricane, the practice was still on! Now, see, this is what separates a true Oregonian from some wuss running away and screaming like a girl every time it rains.) I noted some of the moms wearing rain boots and made a mental note to A: Get rain boots and B: Wear them to baseball practices and baseball games after it's been raining all day.
I met one of the parents there, a dad with two sons on the team. I was nervous about talking with one of the parents but after I explained I am deaf and must read lips, he surprised me by saying he knew a little sign language. Enough to fingerspell things, anyway. HOORAY! This made me feel a little more comfortable in trying to communicate with one of the parents. It's so nice to meet somebody who knows sign language or who, at least, can fingerspell words.
I was watching the team and tried to see if there were other girls there. I couldn't see any so I asked the dad if there were any other girls. He looked through the team and shook his head. Nope. Jennifer was the only girl on the team. But he said there were no girls there "today." I guess maybe there will be a girl added to the team later on. Or maybe not. Really, we're ok with it. I was just curious. Jennifer is used to playing with boys (she IS a tomboy!) and the point is to just play baseball. Not have some kind of "gender war" going on in the team, or anything. I started to think if there are any movies or books Jen can read about baseball teams where there is just one girl on the team and issues to deal with, etc. I guess I was just too caught up remembering the movie I'd watched earlier in the day, where there was a military operation with just ONE girl in the unit and a lot of the guys treated her like crap and gave her a lot of crap to deal with. (And, no, it was not G.I. Jane. I haven't even seen that movie!) Hopefully, her being the odd girl out won't be an issue.
Well, this dad took pictures of the team members and said he could email me the pics. I gave him my email addy. (My digi cam is still packed. UGH! Can you believe we're still unpacking?? But we are getting close to FINALLY getting 100% settled into our new house. I would really, really like to find my camera, though. Oh, and my extra spatula!) The dad I spoke with also mentioned that he and his wife run a preschool, probably because of Jesse being with us, in his stroller. I had plans to enroll Jesse into Kim's school, actually, around the spring, but I wanted to check out their school all the same. I don't even know if Kim is still doing the preschool thing! (It's the one Jennifer went to.)
Even though it got VERY COLD (I was standing there, freezing my butt off!) and my allergies started up (oh, yay), we got through the practice. It was still daylight when we arrived and starting to get dark when it was over. It was not TOO dark, though. I was okay with it. The whole thing means Jennifer's bedtime gets compromised on a school night, but it is only for two days out of the week and maybe we will get used to it.
At least she'll get to play baseball. Batter up!
But before she could even get to her first practice, there was a bit of a hurdle I had to get over. The practices were scheduled late in the day. I was worried the kids would be playing baseball in the dark! The practices actually end right around the time I put my children to bed. I was sending emails back and forth and making a phone call about this. I was just concerned about this being so late on a school night. Finally, today, I just decided, you know what? We will give it a shot. Let's see what happens. If it is indeed too dark at that time, if it is indeed late when I get the kids into bed after baseball practice, and see if we can just wing it. School will be out soon enough, after all. Let's just wait and see.
So, that's what we did. We loaded up into the car and went to baseball practice. I was nervous about going since, after all, I hadn't been feeling well today (I had a horrible episode of bad chest pain that nearly made me pass out last night and then again early this morning -- Jennifer was even crying and scared that I was dying!). I was also nervous about yet another round of meeting hearing parents, trying to communicate with them, and explaining that I am deaf, etc. But, we went. We still went. When we got there, the field was so dang soggy. I kept sinking into the ground. It had been raining so much during the day, I wasn't surprised the ground was so entrenched. (This had been another concern of mine. I was worried it might rain AGAIN and the practice might be canceled. The coach said that, unless there was a hurricane, the practice was still on! Now, see, this is what separates a true Oregonian from some wuss running away and screaming like a girl every time it rains.) I noted some of the moms wearing rain boots and made a mental note to A: Get rain boots and B: Wear them to baseball practices and baseball games after it's been raining all day.
I met one of the parents there, a dad with two sons on the team. I was nervous about talking with one of the parents but after I explained I am deaf and must read lips, he surprised me by saying he knew a little sign language. Enough to fingerspell things, anyway. HOORAY! This made me feel a little more comfortable in trying to communicate with one of the parents. It's so nice to meet somebody who knows sign language or who, at least, can fingerspell words.
I was watching the team and tried to see if there were other girls there. I couldn't see any so I asked the dad if there were any other girls. He looked through the team and shook his head. Nope. Jennifer was the only girl on the team. But he said there were no girls there "today." I guess maybe there will be a girl added to the team later on. Or maybe not. Really, we're ok with it. I was just curious. Jennifer is used to playing with boys (she IS a tomboy!) and the point is to just play baseball. Not have some kind of "gender war" going on in the team, or anything. I started to think if there are any movies or books Jen can read about baseball teams where there is just one girl on the team and issues to deal with, etc. I guess I was just too caught up remembering the movie I'd watched earlier in the day, where there was a military operation with just ONE girl in the unit and a lot of the guys treated her like crap and gave her a lot of crap to deal with. (And, no, it was not G.I. Jane. I haven't even seen that movie!) Hopefully, her being the odd girl out won't be an issue.
Well, this dad took pictures of the team members and said he could email me the pics. I gave him my email addy. (My digi cam is still packed. UGH! Can you believe we're still unpacking?? But we are getting close to FINALLY getting 100% settled into our new house. I would really, really like to find my camera, though. Oh, and my extra spatula!) The dad I spoke with also mentioned that he and his wife run a preschool, probably because of Jesse being with us, in his stroller. I had plans to enroll Jesse into Kim's school, actually, around the spring, but I wanted to check out their school all the same. I don't even know if Kim is still doing the preschool thing! (It's the one Jennifer went to.)
Even though it got VERY COLD (I was standing there, freezing my butt off!) and my allergies started up (oh, yay), we got through the practice. It was still daylight when we arrived and starting to get dark when it was over. It was not TOO dark, though. I was okay with it. The whole thing means Jennifer's bedtime gets compromised on a school night, but it is only for two days out of the week and maybe we will get used to it.
At least she'll get to play baseball. Batter up!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Take me out to the (last) ballgame
Yesterday, Jennifer had her very last baseball game. The night before, Jennifer got glue glitter on her team shirt. I soaked it in water overnight, washed it in the morning, and, thankfully, it came out. Yeah!
Both of us were upset the season was ending (at least, as far as her being on a team went), but we both decided to go to the game and give it our best. I was sure to bring the camera along so that I could take pictures. My husband and I both took a lot of pictures!
After the game, I was talking with the coach. I asked about next season and she said she won't be coaching. Because, fanfare please, she's having a baby! When she first told me she is pregnant, I did a double take and said, "What did you say!" I was surprised and so very happy for her. Yay! I gave her a hug and offered congratulations. Lots of the kids on the team were giving her hugs, too. She told me this would be her third child and indicated that things were probably going to get a little crazy. I told her, "If you can manage a team, three will be fine."
(I myself am feeling that clock ticking. I would also like to have another child. But as it is right now, we're still paying off the medical bills from the last baby! I am still feeling that "time" to have another, though. I just KNOW that it's time.)
Anyway, it was a great game. Jen hit a home run and everybody had fun. Thankfully, the weather was great for a baseball game, and there was no drama among the team members. It was a great last game and I'm sad to see it all come to an end. Here are some of the pictures I took. I'll load as many as Blogger will allow me! Jen is #17.
Both of us were upset the season was ending (at least, as far as her being on a team went), but we both decided to go to the game and give it our best. I was sure to bring the camera along so that I could take pictures. My husband and I both took a lot of pictures!
After the game, I was talking with the coach. I asked about next season and she said she won't be coaching. Because, fanfare please, she's having a baby! When she first told me she is pregnant, I did a double take and said, "What did you say!" I was surprised and so very happy for her. Yay! I gave her a hug and offered congratulations. Lots of the kids on the team were giving her hugs, too. She told me this would be her third child and indicated that things were probably going to get a little crazy. I told her, "If you can manage a team, three will be fine."
(I myself am feeling that clock ticking. I would also like to have another child. But as it is right now, we're still paying off the medical bills from the last baby! I am still feeling that "time" to have another, though. I just KNOW that it's time.)
Anyway, it was a great game. Jen hit a home run and everybody had fun. Thankfully, the weather was great for a baseball game, and there was no drama among the team members. It was a great last game and I'm sad to see it all come to an end. Here are some of the pictures I took. I'll load as many as Blogger will allow me! Jen is #17.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Giving myself permission to breathe
Last night, I didn't get to bed until 1 a.m. I finished my writing for the day at around midnight and went into the kitchen to do the dishes. (I wasn't tired so I figured I might as well get them done.) So at 1 a.m., I finally crawled into bed. The problem was, though, I couldn't sleep. I ended up tossing and turning. I just couldn't get comfortable. (You would THINK after several months of falling asleep all alone in that big bed, I'd figure out how to get comfortable by now!) I knew I could probably just turn on the lamp and read or go sit on the couch and watch TV, but I was determined to try to get some sleep. I had to get up at 5:15ish in the morning, since it was a school day. (When summer vacation starts next week, I'll still be getting up early in the morning, just so I can have uninterrupted time to write. It just will be a little later than it is now.) I was worried about waking up on time AND being a zombie all day since I was getting to sleep so late, but I figured the alarm clock would wake me up, so didn't dwell on that concern.
And, actually, the alarm clock didn't wake me up. GAH! It was 7:30 when I woke up! The first thing I noticed was the daylight in the windows and I was thinking , 'Wait a minute, there isn't supposed to be daylight yet.' That's when I looked at the time. And I couldn't remember if I had woken up and, in a haze, turned off the alarm then went back to sleep, or even if the alarm woke me up at all. I didn't remember it happening.
So I got out of bed and got Jennifer up. Jesse was already awake (he usually wakes up at this time). I explained the situation and she kinda freaked at first. Then I told her she was not VERY late for school and she relaxed. (Her school starts at 7:55. I usually get her up to get ready at 7.) So I got her dressed and had her eat a little breakfast, since by the time she got to school, it would be past breakfast. (The kids at her school get free breakfast. Yay!) Her dad got up to drive her to school and I took care of the baby while he got ready. After she was on her way, I tried to think of what could be wrong with the clock. Later, my husband was looking at it and testing it at different times. He thinks one of us accidentally hit the "off" button, or something.
I spent a lot of time working on the Revisions book today. But, mostly, I was fixing up the chapter I wrote yesterday, as well as another chapter. I also logged in at Facebook, but after it got to be too much of a distraction from the writing, I stayed off of that account and decided to log back in there tomorrow. But the good news is that a writer friend of mine, who is on there, has invited me to guest blog on her blog. Yay! We talked about the post I made at the DC blog today and also about other things related to it as well as to the book, and she told me exactly what she'd like to see for a guest blog post. How interesting people are getting "sneak peeks" of this book on blogs before it comes out! I'll have to spiffy up the excerpt she would like to use. I told her I'd be available for that in 2 weeks.
Also for the Revisions book: I MIGHT have a new title. Yay! I have been really having a hard time coming up with a good title for this book. I've been brainstorming over it for months. And, today, one title popped into my head: WIP It Good: Tips and Techniques for the Revising Writer. The whole "WIP it" part is kinda funny, though. I couldn't stop laughing about it.
Of course, "WIP" stands for "Work-In-Progress." The first part of the title is a play on the popular song "Whip It." (Hey! I have another novel planned called Sometimes Love, and those two words come from a John Cougar Mellencamp song. I don't just look to songs for book title ideas, though.) Anyway! Yes, the title made me laugh and even blush a little. Even though I am NOT into that stuff. But, it was catchy. And very appropriate since the book's audience is for writers with a first draft of something or something that they need to "whip into shape."
Still, I had to get some input on that. So I asked my publisher what she thought of it. Her response? "Sounds good to me." Yay! I also asked my friends on Facebook. You can never get too much feedback on something!
Anyway, enough about the writing stuff. This isn't the writing blog, after all!
We have a water heater problem. Apparently, we no longer have a lot of hot water. I discovered this the hard way: While I was showering. The hot water went out about 5 minutes after I stepped in! And there I was, all soaped up and shampooed. GAH! It was NOT pleasant trying to rinse off with cold water. I think I shrieked a couple of times and worried I was going to go into shock because the water was so cold. You can bet I moved VERY fast! And started to ponder cutting my hair since it takes FOREVER to wash and rinse long hair. So at first my husband thought a fuse was blown. He tried the reset button on the water heater and we waited to see if that did the trick. Tonight, as I ran the water for the children's bath, I saw that it did not. (In order to ensure that the children don't freeze to death with what little hot water they CAN get for a bath, I run the hot water until it's gone then let the cold water bring the temp down. I have resorted to taking baths, too, because of this, and that's how I draw my baths. Even if it means I only have enough water to cover my legs. At least it's not freezing!)
So now we think we just need a new water heater. We'll have to call the landlord and hopefully it will get put in very soon. This situation is very aggravating.
I recently ordered two books from Amazon and they arrived today. One is called The Wisdom of the Native Americans edited by Kent Nerburn and the other one is Circle Of Life: Traditional Teachings Of Native American Elders by James David Audlin. I got these books purely for research but Native American studies is a subject I have long been fascinated with (which explains why I have an MG book with Native American characters. Or maybe it will be a YA. I haven't decided yet). I'll probably post my thoughts and comments here after I read them. Or write up a review to send into Associated Content.
I took Jen to her baseball game today. She hit a homerun! Woot! I didn't care if the parents looked at me weird while I was clapping and cheering, "Go, Jen, go!" as she ran those bases. I was proud of her and wanted her to know it! After her game, she and Jesse got to snack on some Goldfish crackers. Jesse loves the Goldfish crackers so I was happy to give them to him. Not so happy when he later threw them all up on the dining room chair. Ugh! That's the first time he ever threw up after eating Goldfish crackers. (Not the first time he's ever thrown up, though. He's done plenty of that since the day he was born!) When I told my husband about it, he shared my confusion as to what made him throw up. I mean, he hasn't been sick. He eats Goldfish all the time. He seemed to be cheerful and active before it happened. Well, maybe he was just being too active and got too excited, or something. Jennifer got upset and thought he might be sick but I assured her he's probably not sick.
Well, I hope not. All the same, we all kept a close eye on him. He seemed better for the rest of the evening.
I am beginning to think that it's okay if I don't spend all day working on the writing. Or writing in every free minute I have. Gotta make room for other things in life, too. Like...reading a book. seeing a movie. Going out for coffee. Taking a walk, reading friends' blogs and just doing something else BESIDES writing. I don't want the writing to be an obsession. As it has been known to be in the past. I really think that if you get a lot of the writing work done in the day and accomplish something, it's okay to just relax for a while and put it all away until next time. Just take a break from it and enjoy the other things until a new day arrives tomorrow.
And, actually, the alarm clock didn't wake me up. GAH! It was 7:30 when I woke up! The first thing I noticed was the daylight in the windows and I was thinking , 'Wait a minute, there isn't supposed to be daylight yet.' That's when I looked at the time. And I couldn't remember if I had woken up and, in a haze, turned off the alarm then went back to sleep, or even if the alarm woke me up at all. I didn't remember it happening.
So I got out of bed and got Jennifer up. Jesse was already awake (he usually wakes up at this time). I explained the situation and she kinda freaked at first. Then I told her she was not VERY late for school and she relaxed. (Her school starts at 7:55. I usually get her up to get ready at 7.) So I got her dressed and had her eat a little breakfast, since by the time she got to school, it would be past breakfast. (The kids at her school get free breakfast. Yay!) Her dad got up to drive her to school and I took care of the baby while he got ready. After she was on her way, I tried to think of what could be wrong with the clock. Later, my husband was looking at it and testing it at different times. He thinks one of us accidentally hit the "off" button, or something.
I spent a lot of time working on the Revisions book today. But, mostly, I was fixing up the chapter I wrote yesterday, as well as another chapter. I also logged in at Facebook, but after it got to be too much of a distraction from the writing, I stayed off of that account and decided to log back in there tomorrow. But the good news is that a writer friend of mine, who is on there, has invited me to guest blog on her blog. Yay! We talked about the post I made at the DC blog today and also about other things related to it as well as to the book, and she told me exactly what she'd like to see for a guest blog post. How interesting people are getting "sneak peeks" of this book on blogs before it comes out! I'll have to spiffy up the excerpt she would like to use. I told her I'd be available for that in 2 weeks.
Also for the Revisions book: I MIGHT have a new title. Yay! I have been really having a hard time coming up with a good title for this book. I've been brainstorming over it for months. And, today, one title popped into my head: WIP It Good: Tips and Techniques for the Revising Writer. The whole "WIP it" part is kinda funny, though. I couldn't stop laughing about it.
Of course, "WIP" stands for "Work-In-Progress." The first part of the title is a play on the popular song "Whip It." (Hey! I have another novel planned called Sometimes Love, and those two words come from a John Cougar Mellencamp song. I don't just look to songs for book title ideas, though.) Anyway! Yes, the title made me laugh and even blush a little. Even though I am NOT into that stuff. But, it was catchy. And very appropriate since the book's audience is for writers with a first draft of something or something that they need to "whip into shape."
Still, I had to get some input on that. So I asked my publisher what she thought of it. Her response? "Sounds good to me." Yay! I also asked my friends on Facebook. You can never get too much feedback on something!
Anyway, enough about the writing stuff. This isn't the writing blog, after all!
We have a water heater problem. Apparently, we no longer have a lot of hot water. I discovered this the hard way: While I was showering. The hot water went out about 5 minutes after I stepped in! And there I was, all soaped up and shampooed. GAH! It was NOT pleasant trying to rinse off with cold water. I think I shrieked a couple of times and worried I was going to go into shock because the water was so cold. You can bet I moved VERY fast! And started to ponder cutting my hair since it takes FOREVER to wash and rinse long hair. So at first my husband thought a fuse was blown. He tried the reset button on the water heater and we waited to see if that did the trick. Tonight, as I ran the water for the children's bath, I saw that it did not. (In order to ensure that the children don't freeze to death with what little hot water they CAN get for a bath, I run the hot water until it's gone then let the cold water bring the temp down. I have resorted to taking baths, too, because of this, and that's how I draw my baths. Even if it means I only have enough water to cover my legs. At least it's not freezing!)
So now we think we just need a new water heater. We'll have to call the landlord and hopefully it will get put in very soon. This situation is very aggravating.
I recently ordered two books from Amazon and they arrived today. One is called The Wisdom of the Native Americans edited by Kent Nerburn and the other one is Circle Of Life: Traditional Teachings Of Native American Elders by James David Audlin. I got these books purely for research but Native American studies is a subject I have long been fascinated with (which explains why I have an MG book with Native American characters. Or maybe it will be a YA. I haven't decided yet). I'll probably post my thoughts and comments here after I read them. Or write up a review to send into Associated Content.
I took Jen to her baseball game today. She hit a homerun! Woot! I didn't care if the parents looked at me weird while I was clapping and cheering, "Go, Jen, go!" as she ran those bases. I was proud of her and wanted her to know it! After her game, she and Jesse got to snack on some Goldfish crackers. Jesse loves the Goldfish crackers so I was happy to give them to him. Not so happy when he later threw them all up on the dining room chair. Ugh! That's the first time he ever threw up after eating Goldfish crackers. (Not the first time he's ever thrown up, though. He's done plenty of that since the day he was born!) When I told my husband about it, he shared my confusion as to what made him throw up. I mean, he hasn't been sick. He eats Goldfish all the time. He seemed to be cheerful and active before it happened. Well, maybe he was just being too active and got too excited, or something. Jennifer got upset and thought he might be sick but I assured her he's probably not sick.
Well, I hope not. All the same, we all kept a close eye on him. He seemed better for the rest of the evening.
I am beginning to think that it's okay if I don't spend all day working on the writing. Or writing in every free minute I have. Gotta make room for other things in life, too. Like...reading a book. seeing a movie. Going out for coffee. Taking a walk, reading friends' blogs and just doing something else BESIDES writing. I don't want the writing to be an obsession. As it has been known to be in the past. I really think that if you get a lot of the writing work done in the day and accomplish something, it's okay to just relax for a while and put it all away until next time. Just take a break from it and enjoy the other things until a new day arrives tomorrow.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Baseball and birthdays
This weekend was insanely busy. And I mean BUS-AY!
On Saturday, Jennifer had her first baseball game. (Ahem. T-ball. But I call it baseball because starting a sentence with "T-ball" and even having that letter-dashed word representing a sport just irks me. Hey, at least it's like baseball! Just so you know, for future reference.) Anyway, we got to the game, and I didn't realize that the looong schedule written out on the roster meant it was going to be a long game. What happened was, the teams played on different fields, so we were all rotating around the entire field at certain intervals. We ended up being there for over 3 1/2 hours! Yikes! Fortunately, we had a 45-minute break. I used that time to go buy an outdoor lounge chair to sit in (was getting tired of sitting on the grass, especially with all the bugs and beetles crawling about) and Jen got a kid-sized chair, too. Then we got lunch, but we had to eat it fast to get back to the game. (Thankfully, I wasn't that hungry, anyway, and I brought some snacks along for Jennifer.)
At one point during the game, Jen got upset because she couldn't be pitcher. I told her it was the first game, so don't worry about it. They have lots of other games scheduled and she'll get to be pitcher at some point. (I did, however, get irritated that one girl in particular got to be the pitcher so many times. Now I don't exactly know how that whole "choosing a pitcher" thing works. But I still thought it was unfair. This particular girl should not receive favoritism or special treatment just because she's in a certain position on the team.) And let me tell you, I was sooo glad I got that chair. It was a lot more comfortable, especially since the game went into overtime. By the end, I could tell a lot of the girls (Jen included) were tired and worn out.
After the game, we had a birthday party to go to. My friend, Jimmy, has a daughter who celebrated her birthday yesterday, and we were rushing to get the gift wrapped, me get directions to the place where the party was at, and get out there. I'd never been to the place we had to go to, so I didn't realize that it was ALLLL the way out in Springfield and that it took nearly 40 minutes to get there. (Believe it or not, I didn't get lost!) I kept wondering why the heck would someone have a party so far away. But when I got there, I found out why! The party was at Splash! and I thought it was a very cool place. It's a huge indoor water park and they have EVERYTHING, for the people who can't swim to the expert swimmers. They have a huge waterslide and even a tiny pool for babies. Very cool. Jimmy was surprised to learn that I couldn't swim. Well, Jennifer can't swim, either. So imagine my irritation when she kept going into the deep end. I kept warning her to stay out of there. Wearing a life jacket, she assumed that she was safe to go into the deep end. I wasn't prepared to take that chance.
Today, we had ANOTHER baseball game. I was not looking forward to it. Yesterday, I was so sore and worn out from all the moving around and coming and going all the time. I was literally walking hunched over because my back hurt so much by day's end! I had asked my hubby to take Jennifer to her game today, because I needed the rest. And I wanted to spend time with the baby because I barely got to see him yesterday. But hubby's allergies were bad today so I had to chaperone again. I was thankful that at least today's game would be short.
Before we could go to her game, though, we had YET ANOTHER birthday party to attend. (Jennifer is sooo popular. She gets invited to a lot of parties!) So we ran to Fred Meyer to get the gift, picked up lunch, came home to (hurriedly) eat, then wrapped the gift and were out the door again. We could only stay at the party for a few minutes, though, because the party was too close to the time the game starts. So Jen just had the time to give her friend the gift and wish him a happy birthday. I briefly spoke with the birthday boy's father, apologizing that we couldn't stay. They were very understanding and supportive of Jennifer's game, wishing her well. Her friends were excited to see her wearing her team shirt and cap. The parents were generous enough to give Jennifer a goodie bag even though she could not stay, and I really appreciated that.
Getting to the game was another matter, though. It didn't go well. It was located at a park that I had trouble finding last season. In fact, first I ended up at the wrong park, then in a dead end, cursing Google Maps. This time, hubby wrote out the directions, and even showed me a satellite photo of where the park was. And I still got lost! I spent half an hour driving in circles and trying to remember how I managed to find the park last time. What's worse is that I kept asking people where the street was and where the park was, and they said they didn't know! I started driving around grumbling, "We're trying to get to a park that nobody knows about!" At one point, I texted Jimmy, because he and I talked about him going to her game yesterday. And I was all, "I hope you didn't go to the game, because I'm lost!" (This after we were over 30 minutes late for the game.) The first thing in his message when he texted back? "Lol." I rolled my eyes and mumbled, "Well, I'm glad I made him laugh."
Finally, FINALLY!!!, we found someone who knew where the park was. And the street, too. It's a miracle! (Cue a chorus of angels singing, "Hallelujah!") She gave us directions and I used that along with my memory when things became familiar to FINALLY find the park. I told Jennifer to go on to her game while I park the car and I'll catch up to her.
While they played, the assistant coach noticed how Jennifer was wearing the same cap from last season. This season, the caps are blue, not black. The coach had told me it hadn't been a problem when I asked her about it on Saturday, but now the assistant coach said something about it. She told Jennifer to give me her cap and they tried to find an extra one for her to wear, but there weren't any. So they sent her out to be pitcher. Yay for finally being pitcher! But, boo for no cap! I was sitting there, mentally freaking out and thinking, 'Gah! She can't play with the sun in her eyes! She needs a cap!' It took A LOT of effort to restrain myself from launching an Obsessive Mom protest of how they were "making" her play without a cap and she had the sun in her eyes. But the assistant coach and coach started a conversation and I just watched and waited. They wouldn't just let that happen. They had more common sense than that! Then the assistant coach came up to me and said they'll bring a new cap for Jennifer at the next game (on Tuesday) and for now she could wear the old one. I was grateful for this. When Jen came back after that inning was over, we talked about the cap situation. I told her she can keep the old one as a souvenir. She laughed then went back to her team. I suddenly visualized a row of her team baseball caps all put together on display, representing Season 1, Season 2, Season 3... (LOL)
Miraculously, I got home okay. Despite ONE bad turn, at least I knew the area and knew I had to turn around and go the other way. (I have been living in Eugene for how many YEARS now???) I can't believe I get lost so much. Even with the directions. I can be so brainless sometimes! I mean, not too long ago, I was trying to get to this business located in Springfield and somehow or another ended up in Goshen! But somehow, I figure out how to get home.
And if I don't, at least I can text hubby or Jimmy to tell me how to get there. Even if it means they'll end up pointing and laughing at me about it.
On Saturday, Jennifer had her first baseball game. (Ahem. T-ball. But I call it baseball because starting a sentence with "T-ball" and even having that letter-dashed word representing a sport just irks me. Hey, at least it's like baseball! Just so you know, for future reference.) Anyway, we got to the game, and I didn't realize that the looong schedule written out on the roster meant it was going to be a long game. What happened was, the teams played on different fields, so we were all rotating around the entire field at certain intervals. We ended up being there for over 3 1/2 hours! Yikes! Fortunately, we had a 45-minute break. I used that time to go buy an outdoor lounge chair to sit in (was getting tired of sitting on the grass, especially with all the bugs and beetles crawling about) and Jen got a kid-sized chair, too. Then we got lunch, but we had to eat it fast to get back to the game. (Thankfully, I wasn't that hungry, anyway, and I brought some snacks along for Jennifer.)
At one point during the game, Jen got upset because she couldn't be pitcher. I told her it was the first game, so don't worry about it. They have lots of other games scheduled and she'll get to be pitcher at some point. (I did, however, get irritated that one girl in particular got to be the pitcher so many times. Now I don't exactly know how that whole "choosing a pitcher" thing works. But I still thought it was unfair. This particular girl should not receive favoritism or special treatment just because she's in a certain position on the team.) And let me tell you, I was sooo glad I got that chair. It was a lot more comfortable, especially since the game went into overtime. By the end, I could tell a lot of the girls (Jen included) were tired and worn out.
After the game, we had a birthday party to go to. My friend, Jimmy, has a daughter who celebrated her birthday yesterday, and we were rushing to get the gift wrapped, me get directions to the place where the party was at, and get out there. I'd never been to the place we had to go to, so I didn't realize that it was ALLLL the way out in Springfield and that it took nearly 40 minutes to get there. (Believe it or not, I didn't get lost!) I kept wondering why the heck would someone have a party so far away. But when I got there, I found out why! The party was at Splash! and I thought it was a very cool place. It's a huge indoor water park and they have EVERYTHING, for the people who can't swim to the expert swimmers. They have a huge waterslide and even a tiny pool for babies. Very cool. Jimmy was surprised to learn that I couldn't swim. Well, Jennifer can't swim, either. So imagine my irritation when she kept going into the deep end. I kept warning her to stay out of there. Wearing a life jacket, she assumed that she was safe to go into the deep end. I wasn't prepared to take that chance.
Today, we had ANOTHER baseball game. I was not looking forward to it. Yesterday, I was so sore and worn out from all the moving around and coming and going all the time. I was literally walking hunched over because my back hurt so much by day's end! I had asked my hubby to take Jennifer to her game today, because I needed the rest. And I wanted to spend time with the baby because I barely got to see him yesterday. But hubby's allergies were bad today so I had to chaperone again. I was thankful that at least today's game would be short.
Before we could go to her game, though, we had YET ANOTHER birthday party to attend. (Jennifer is sooo popular. She gets invited to a lot of parties!) So we ran to Fred Meyer to get the gift, picked up lunch, came home to (hurriedly) eat, then wrapped the gift and were out the door again. We could only stay at the party for a few minutes, though, because the party was too close to the time the game starts. So Jen just had the time to give her friend the gift and wish him a happy birthday. I briefly spoke with the birthday boy's father, apologizing that we couldn't stay. They were very understanding and supportive of Jennifer's game, wishing her well. Her friends were excited to see her wearing her team shirt and cap. The parents were generous enough to give Jennifer a goodie bag even though she could not stay, and I really appreciated that.
Getting to the game was another matter, though. It didn't go well. It was located at a park that I had trouble finding last season. In fact, first I ended up at the wrong park, then in a dead end, cursing Google Maps. This time, hubby wrote out the directions, and even showed me a satellite photo of where the park was. And I still got lost! I spent half an hour driving in circles and trying to remember how I managed to find the park last time. What's worse is that I kept asking people where the street was and where the park was, and they said they didn't know! I started driving around grumbling, "We're trying to get to a park that nobody knows about!" At one point, I texted Jimmy, because he and I talked about him going to her game yesterday. And I was all, "I hope you didn't go to the game, because I'm lost!" (This after we were over 30 minutes late for the game.) The first thing in his message when he texted back? "Lol." I rolled my eyes and mumbled, "Well, I'm glad I made him laugh."
Finally, FINALLY!!!, we found someone who knew where the park was. And the street, too. It's a miracle! (Cue a chorus of angels singing, "Hallelujah!") She gave us directions and I used that along with my memory when things became familiar to FINALLY find the park. I told Jennifer to go on to her game while I park the car and I'll catch up to her.
While they played, the assistant coach noticed how Jennifer was wearing the same cap from last season. This season, the caps are blue, not black. The coach had told me it hadn't been a problem when I asked her about it on Saturday, but now the assistant coach said something about it. She told Jennifer to give me her cap and they tried to find an extra one for her to wear, but there weren't any. So they sent her out to be pitcher. Yay for finally being pitcher! But, boo for no cap! I was sitting there, mentally freaking out and thinking, 'Gah! She can't play with the sun in her eyes! She needs a cap!' It took A LOT of effort to restrain myself from launching an Obsessive Mom protest of how they were "making" her play without a cap and she had the sun in her eyes. But the assistant coach and coach started a conversation and I just watched and waited. They wouldn't just let that happen. They had more common sense than that! Then the assistant coach came up to me and said they'll bring a new cap for Jennifer at the next game (on Tuesday) and for now she could wear the old one. I was grateful for this. When Jen came back after that inning was over, we talked about the cap situation. I told her she can keep the old one as a souvenir. She laughed then went back to her team. I suddenly visualized a row of her team baseball caps all put together on display, representing Season 1, Season 2, Season 3... (LOL)
Miraculously, I got home okay. Despite ONE bad turn, at least I knew the area and knew I had to turn around and go the other way. (I have been living in Eugene for how many YEARS now???) I can't believe I get lost so much. Even with the directions. I can be so brainless sometimes! I mean, not too long ago, I was trying to get to this business located in Springfield and somehow or another ended up in Goshen! But somehow, I figure out how to get home.
And if I don't, at least I can text hubby or Jimmy to tell me how to get there. Even if it means they'll end up pointing and laughing at me about it.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Swingin' in the rain
This morning's weather report said there'd be rain. Actually, lightning and rain. Upon learning of this news as she was getting ready for school, Jennifer was not happy. She doesn't like the rain, and the thunder/lightning scares her. I assured her that she'd probably be inside of school when it was raining. I don't think they'd let the children have their recess outside when it's raining. (If it's really pouring when school is out, the children who get picked up by their parents usually wait by the door.)
Well, I kept an eye out all day. No rain. Hm, I thought. Maybe the weatherman was wrong. (That HAS been known to happen. On days he'd said "no rain," we had rain! Saying there'd be no rain in the Northwest is like saying there won't be any snow in the North Pole!)
But, guess what? Right when I got Jennifer to baseball practice today, it started to rain! Yep, right then and there. Heck of a time for it to start up!
I waited and watched, wondering if the coach was going to cancel practice because of the rain. Thankfully, she did not. So us parents (and our younger progeny) sat on the bench in the rain while our kids played baseball. In the rain. And there I clapped and cheered. In the rain!
I thought the whole situation was kind of funny. Hey, it's no longer the postal carriers who can proudly recite that "neither rain nor sleet nor ice" motto! Baseball players get to say they'll play baseball rain or shine, too!
Jennifer managed to hit a homerun during practice. Yay! Another girl hit a homerun and I thought hers was really something because, first, two girls kept fumbling with the ball (which was kind of funny to watch as they kept scrambling for it) then another outfielder tried chasing the girl with the ball (instead of throwing it to home) and she was not fast enough.
It wasn't long before the girls got dirty and muddy. The coach cut practice short. The girls started using their water bottles to get the dirt and mud off of them. Well, everybody got a little dirty (especially the girls who kept falling in the dirt and even especially everybody's shoes!) but it was still a good game and everyone had fun.
Well, I kept an eye out all day. No rain. Hm, I thought. Maybe the weatherman was wrong. (That HAS been known to happen. On days he'd said "no rain," we had rain! Saying there'd be no rain in the Northwest is like saying there won't be any snow in the North Pole!)
But, guess what? Right when I got Jennifer to baseball practice today, it started to rain! Yep, right then and there. Heck of a time for it to start up!
I waited and watched, wondering if the coach was going to cancel practice because of the rain. Thankfully, she did not. So us parents (and our younger progeny) sat on the bench in the rain while our kids played baseball. In the rain. And there I clapped and cheered. In the rain!
I thought the whole situation was kind of funny. Hey, it's no longer the postal carriers who can proudly recite that "neither rain nor sleet nor ice" motto! Baseball players get to say they'll play baseball rain or shine, too!
Jennifer managed to hit a homerun during practice. Yay! Another girl hit a homerun and I thought hers was really something because, first, two girls kept fumbling with the ball (which was kind of funny to watch as they kept scrambling for it) then another outfielder tried chasing the girl with the ball (instead of throwing it to home) and she was not fast enough.
It wasn't long before the girls got dirty and muddy. The coach cut practice short. The girls started using their water bottles to get the dirt and mud off of them. Well, everybody got a little dirty (especially the girls who kept falling in the dirt and even especially everybody's shoes!) but it was still a good game and everyone had fun.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Play ball!
Today Jen started T-ball. Now I know it's T-ball but I call it baseball instead. Not sure if she's understanding that T-ball is the sport for her age group for now and she'll be playing baseball (the REAL THING!) soon enough.
We got to practice late because Jesse was eating before we left and he takes a loooong time to eat. I don't rush him. Not good to cause a baby that kind of stress and he needs to be able to eat at his own pace. I didn't want to just give him a sippy cup of milk and get him into the car, either. Get him something on the way or give him a snack instead. I wanted him to eat his meal first (he'd get hungry!) and that's what he did.
So we got to practice about a half hour late. MIRACULOUSLY, I didn't get lost on the way. Woot! While Jen practiced, I stayed with Jesse (he was in his stroller) and it wasn't long before he started throwing Jen's baseball that she left with us (the team was playing with the coach's supply of balls). Almost every single time he threw it against the fence, I clapped and cheered "Yay!" as I went to pick it up and hand it back to him. He had fun doing that and I was starting to think, 'Do we have another ball player in the family??' I wouldn't be surprised if he starts catching on to the great sport that is baseball just like his big sister. One of these days, maybe they'll end up practicing together! And when he's old enough for T-ball, then maybe she can give him some pointers, too.
Jen did pretty well at practice. She threw well, caught well and didn't do so bad at bat. Here is a picture of her practicing her hitting:
After practice, I chatted with the coach. She asked about Jesse and kept saying how cute he looked. Soon Jen joined us and her coach started giving her some pointers on catching and hitting the ball. Her coach is super awesome! The same coach she had last season. She's very cool and, thankfully, I don't have a hard time lip-reading her. I just think she's great.
I'm really excited about baseball season finally going on. Yay! Baseball is one of my favorite sports (basketball is another one) and I'm thrilled that we get to be involved in the sport in this way. Even if my kids don't grow up to be ballplayers or even athletes, I'm grateful that sports can be a part of their lives now.
And here is one of my favorite baseball songs: Centerfield by John Fogerty. Couldn't find one with a ball game that had the song playing, too, but this one is the next best one! I was able to lip-read him for most of the song. I can't hear it, of course, but I heard it before I lost my hearing and it was in my head a lot today:
Read the lyrics here.
We got to practice late because Jesse was eating before we left and he takes a loooong time to eat. I don't rush him. Not good to cause a baby that kind of stress and he needs to be able to eat at his own pace. I didn't want to just give him a sippy cup of milk and get him into the car, either. Get him something on the way or give him a snack instead. I wanted him to eat his meal first (he'd get hungry!) and that's what he did.
So we got to practice about a half hour late. MIRACULOUSLY, I didn't get lost on the way. Woot! While Jen practiced, I stayed with Jesse (he was in his stroller) and it wasn't long before he started throwing Jen's baseball that she left with us (the team was playing with the coach's supply of balls). Almost every single time he threw it against the fence, I clapped and cheered "Yay!" as I went to pick it up and hand it back to him. He had fun doing that and I was starting to think, 'Do we have another ball player in the family??' I wouldn't be surprised if he starts catching on to the great sport that is baseball just like his big sister. One of these days, maybe they'll end up practicing together! And when he's old enough for T-ball, then maybe she can give him some pointers, too.
Jen did pretty well at practice. She threw well, caught well and didn't do so bad at bat. Here is a picture of her practicing her hitting:
After practice, I chatted with the coach. She asked about Jesse and kept saying how cute he looked. Soon Jen joined us and her coach started giving her some pointers on catching and hitting the ball. Her coach is super awesome! The same coach she had last season. She's very cool and, thankfully, I don't have a hard time lip-reading her. I just think she's great.
I'm really excited about baseball season finally going on. Yay! Baseball is one of my favorite sports (basketball is another one) and I'm thrilled that we get to be involved in the sport in this way. Even if my kids don't grow up to be ballplayers or even athletes, I'm grateful that sports can be a part of their lives now.
And here is one of my favorite baseball songs: Centerfield by John Fogerty. Couldn't find one with a ball game that had the song playing, too, but this one is the next best one! I was able to lip-read him for most of the song. I can't hear it, of course, but I heard it before I lost my hearing and it was in my head a lot today:
Read the lyrics here.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Baseball fever
Last night, I told Jennifer she couldn't stay up late because she had a game today and needed her rest. This morning when I forced myself out of bed at 8, I sure wish I had taken that advice. I didn't get to bed until 3 a.m.! (I just couldn't sleep.) But force myself out of bed I did and stumble to the shower I also did. The kids were still asleep and if I wanted to get a shower before noon, it was either now or never!
Fortunately, Jennifer wasn't too sick to play today. She missed the last game because she'd had a high fever that had her temperature going up and down for 3 days and I was hoping she'd make it to today's game. This morning she woke up complaining of a tummyache. I tensed. Her temperature was normal and her appetite was normal. But she said her stomach was just bothering her. I told her to lie down for a while and maybe she'd feel better later. Sure enough, she was feeling just fine after a while and ready to play ball!
We all loaded up into the car and drove out to the park. This park is the same one I got horribly lost trying to find last time. I was supposed to get to Kincaid Park and ended up at Tugman, scratching my head staring at the map and trying to figure out WHERE the heck I should go! Fortunately, my husband was driving this time. Map in hand, he went along the same route I did when I'd got lost. (The problem was, the map told me to make a left turn where there was no left turn, but I soon learned WHY: I was on the EAST street and not WEST. D'OH!) I just sat back and watched how exactly he would get us there. Last time, I got us there completely by accident. I was driving all over the place and just found it, an hour after the game had started. (Gah!) So I watched him get onto the WEST street via Fox Hollow and, sure enough, the turn the map said to make was RIGHT THERE! So I guess there are TWO 39th streets?? Anyway, I figured out how to get there now and so NOW I won't get lost next time.
We camped out on the grass and watched the game, with Jesse sitting up in his stroller. I noticed how Jesse kept leaning forward and watching the game as closely as he could. It was so cute how he was REALLY getting into the game. (We even had him dressed up in a baseball outfit that said "shortstop" on the back and, just like his big sister, he, too, wore a baseball cap.) I bet if he was able to talk, he'd be saying something like, "Hit a homer!" Here's a picture of him in one of his "paying close attention" looks:
Fortunately, Jennifer wasn't too sick to play today. She missed the last game because she'd had a high fever that had her temperature going up and down for 3 days and I was hoping she'd make it to today's game. This morning she woke up complaining of a tummyache. I tensed. Her temperature was normal and her appetite was normal. But she said her stomach was just bothering her. I told her to lie down for a while and maybe she'd feel better later. Sure enough, she was feeling just fine after a while and ready to play ball!
We all loaded up into the car and drove out to the park. This park is the same one I got horribly lost trying to find last time. I was supposed to get to Kincaid Park and ended up at Tugman, scratching my head staring at the map and trying to figure out WHERE the heck I should go! Fortunately, my husband was driving this time. Map in hand, he went along the same route I did when I'd got lost. (The problem was, the map told me to make a left turn where there was no left turn, but I soon learned WHY: I was on the EAST street and not WEST. D'OH!) I just sat back and watched how exactly he would get us there. Last time, I got us there completely by accident. I was driving all over the place and just found it, an hour after the game had started. (Gah!) So I watched him get onto the WEST street via Fox Hollow and, sure enough, the turn the map said to make was RIGHT THERE! So I guess there are TWO 39th streets?? Anyway, I figured out how to get there now and so NOW I won't get lost next time.
We camped out on the grass and watched the game, with Jesse sitting up in his stroller. I noticed how Jesse kept leaning forward and watching the game as closely as he could. It was so cute how he was REALLY getting into the game. (We even had him dressed up in a baseball outfit that said "shortstop" on the back and, just like his big sister, he, too, wore a baseball cap.) I bet if he was able to talk, he'd be saying something like, "Hit a homer!" Here's a picture of him in one of his "paying close attention" looks:
I was really impressed with how well Jennifer was hitting the ball. She REALLY smacked that ball right out there! We were kinda bummed how she got tagged out on her way to home base, but I still think she played really well. She is definitely improving!
After the game, I was talking with the coach while she held a baby in her arms. The baby was 15 months old. Sooo cute!! I told her about how Jesse got interested in watching the game and she laughed and said the baby she was holding is the same way. He really gets into watching baseball and football games on TV. One thought struck my mind when she said that: "It's a guy thing." LOL Apparently, men have it wired into them to get all crazy about sports! It's just a part of their nature.
Anyway, we went to the Valley River Center Mall. On the way there, I took a small catnap in the car. (I was sooo tired and had started dozing off while watching the game.) First we went to Sports Authority and my husband spent time with Jennifer looking at baseball stuff. Jen wandered off to check out some basketball stuff then went back to looking at bats and baseball gloves with her father. I tried to check out the baseball mitts, too, but was disheartened that almost every single one of the gloves I saw were for left-handed people. My husband said that if you're left-handed, you have to wear a right-handed glove, and vice versa. I am right-handed but there's no way I can fit my left hand into a baseball mitt. (Here's why: http://greenwolf103.deviantart.com/art/My-Left-Hand-37406164 ) I'd need a custom-made mitt! That just stinks. Once when I was practicing catch with Jennifer, I hurt my hand trying to catch the ball without wearing a mitt. I noticed how her coach was catching the ball thrown to her with her bare hand and wondered if it hurt at all. (Maybe she is used to it??)
Later, after we got home, Jen and I went outside to practice throwing and catching. It went pretty well until I threw the ball wrong and it hit her in the eye. RIGHT SMACK IN THE EYE! OUCH!! I ran up to her, my heart pounding and I was all freaking out, trying to calm her down as she stood there clutching her eye and crying. OH, MAN!!! Why did I have to throw the ball wrong?? I swear it was an accident! I wasn't even aiming for her face; I was aiming for her lower chest. It just rolled right up to her eye. Thank God it didn't break her glasses.
I felt so terribly, terribly guilty. :(
I took her into the house, telling her that sometimes this happens in baseball (I should know; I once got hit right in the face when playing baseball as a kid) and had her sit on the couch with an ice pack on her eye. Thankfully, the only visible owie was where her glasses were hit against her cheek. Her eye seemed okay. I still felt rotten about that, though. What a way to end her game day. Sigh. Somebody kick me. Hard.
Friday, June 13, 2008
First ball game
On Saturday, June 8th, Jennifer had her first ball game. She played pretty well, except she wasn't too quick on her feet after catching the ball. She kinda did a happy dance in outfield after catching the ball before she went to first base with it. (Heh, yay!) She batted pretty well (better than before) and I was concerned the game lasted longer than her usual practices but she hung in there. They took a break for snack time and I had to choose a future date to bring the snacks to the game. (I am currently freaking out over one or more of the kids on the team having a food allergy and how I should pick out the best healthiest snacks that ALL of them would be able to eat. Besides fruit.)
Here are pictures my husband took. The first is of Jennifer before the game.
During the game, she took every free chance she could to run back to where we were to drink from her water bottle or to say hi to her brother. Fortunately, we had nice weather and AMAZINGLY, it didn't rain. I'm still planning on bringing an umbrella to future games. You never know with weather in the Northwest!
At one point during the game, I saw a man walking his dog around the diamond. I almost laughed when the dog lifted his leg and peed on the batting stick! I guess you could say he "blessed" it. :D
Here are pictures my husband took. The first is of Jennifer before the game.
During the game, she took every free chance she could to run back to where we were to drink from her water bottle or to say hi to her brother. Fortunately, we had nice weather and AMAZINGLY, it didn't rain. I'm still planning on bringing an umbrella to future games. You never know with weather in the Northwest!
At one point during the game, I saw a man walking his dog around the diamond. I almost laughed when the dog lifted his leg and peed on the batting stick! I guess you could say he "blessed" it. :D
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Batter up!
On Thursday, May 29, Jennifer started K-4 T-Ball. I decided now was as good a time as any to get her involved in sports. Her involvement will be good for her. Not only will she have more children to socialize with and have some physical fitness in her life, but being a part of a team will teach her teamwork, responsibility, compassion and how to think on her feet.
I felt bad she was the only player to show up without a hat and mitt, but they had extras and told us where to go to get the hats and mitts for the team. I watched Jen play in between keeping an eye on Jesse, who I bundled up extra warm for the one-hour stay outside:
I felt bad she was the only player to show up without a hat and mitt, but they had extras and told us where to go to get the hats and mitts for the team. I watched Jen play in between keeping an eye on Jesse, who I bundled up extra warm for the one-hour stay outside:
The coach was really nice and the team seemed to get along really well together. Jennifer didn't do so well catching and throwing the ball but, hey! It WAS her first time ever playing the game (though we HAVE taken her out to the park to hit the ball around a time or two). Throwing and catching didn't seem to be her strength. I made a note to remind her dad about this. Maybe they could spend some time together practicing throwing and catching a ball in the backyard sometime. (I saw one of the dads helping his daughter out on how to stand when waiting to catch the ball and I thought that was so cute to see a father involved.)
Here's Jen at her first at-bat, getting some pointers from the coach:
After she hit the ball, she ran to first. After the next player hit the ball, instead of running to second, she ran to catch the ball! (Whoops.) I made a mental point to explain to her later on that she's either hitting the ball and running the bases or catching the ball and tagging a player out. This reminder was reinforced later when she was aty third base and she thought it was her turn to hit after a player hit the ball. (Apparently, her mommy and daddy have not fully explained to her how baseball works!)
Here she is at third base:
And here she is waving from outfield:
She felt a little down that she didn't do so well and made some mistakes. I reminded her that this was the very first time she's played the game and she needs to practice to get better. I told her everybody makes mistakes and she's here to learn how to be a good ballplayer. So don't get discouraged after the first practice. Practice makes perfect!
After practice, I got some Carl's Jr. for dinner on the way home. Her dad joined us for dinner and we talked about what happened. We made plans to get her cap and mitt over the weekend. After that, she'll be on her way to being better at catching and throwing the ball, because one of us will definitely be taking the time to help her out with that!
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