Update on the sickness!

Did I mention that the game Tuesday night was against the team that beat us last season in the state tournament? In overtime? On a bad call? Ummm…yeah, a big game.

And the bad call complaint? That's not just me griping because we lost…one of the officials actually made the same comment to my husband. It was that ugly.

Apparently Tuesday night wasn't a whole lot better, but dragging himself to practice must have paid off, because after being down by, well, a lot, (in the 4^th quarter, no less), we came back to win by 3. Whew.

I was home getting updates by text, thinking they'd better pull it together and win, or I was going to be really irritated that I'd put myself in that van to breathe those germs to drive him up to practice. (I was sick – I'm sure I can be excused for being slightly unkind in my thoughts! Right? Hmmm.)

Well, so anyway, I now have a happy husband…and he's got a team that's 4-0 (started a tournament today, they won the first game). It's a great start to the season! And not a half-bad way to get ready for Christmas!

(Now if my concert next week can go half as well, I will be oh-so-grateful!)

This is how we do “sick” around here…

One of those lovely bugs floating around out there has hit this house. My husband usually gets something at some point during the basketball season, but it's usually much later in the season. I'm always harping on him to get more rest, so he doesn't get hit with these things. I don't think I can blame this one on him over-doing it - it's too early in the season. Although don't imagine that he let it slow him down much!

My much-too-stubborn husband woke up sick yesterday morning, but refuses to let "sick" mean "rest." He did rest – some – he didn't have a whole lot of choice. But one of the biggest games of the season is tonight, and yesterday's practice was too important to miss. So I somehow let him talk me into driving him to the school so he could run part of practice. Are you wondering how in the world he could run a practice when he's too sick to even drive? Yeah, I thought the same, but he managed. Even managed to find some energy and temper when they weren't getting the point he was making. And then he came home and crashed, of course.

As a side note, it was really interesting to watch practice. I would enjoy it more if I weren't worried about him racing out and puking! I'll have to go back sometime, I think.

Today was all about resting up so he'd be able to go coach the game tonight. Can't let a little virus keep him away from basketball.

I'd be tempted to give him a hard time except for the fact that I got hit with the same bug last night. I've spent the whole day in bed, until T1 got off the bus (Grandma took the girls to her house today so we wouldn't have to worry about them…thank you thank you!!). All I really want to do right now is crawl back into bed…this is one miserable, achy feeling. But unless I get sick overnight again, I'll be at school tomorrow. We have a concert next Tuesday, and I can't afford to miss another day.

Hmmm….don't guess I sound too different from him, do I?

Busy?

I'm discovering that in the midst of the holiday rush (and I'm including Thanksgiving in that) it's a lot harder to stay in routines. It's harder to get anything done. And it's a lot harder to find time for writing and blogging. It's not that I don't have stories to tell…boy do I have stories to tell…but I keep finding other things to steal my attention. And that's not always a bad thing. It sometimes means that I've decided to sit and snuggle my girls while we watch the boys play Xbox. (Or it means that they've decided that I'm going to snuggle them…either way!) Sometimes it means that I'm cooking or shopping or decorating (we spent a full week with a tree up but only half covered in lights!). Sometimes it means that I've decided that all I need in the world is an extra hour of sleep. Sometimes it just means that I can't find it in me to concentrate on telling a story, even if it's funny.

I am determined this year to find time to enjoy the holidays. To appreciate the together-ness and the meaning of Christmas. It's easy with little kids to get the joy of Christmas – it's a lot harder to remember the why of Christmas. Throw in a few (hundred) basketball games and practices, and a choir concert or two, and it's more like a mad-dash into The Day, without any moments to just BE.

The past several years, at least in my memory, have been sheer chaos. Gifts bought at the last minute, because we put things off and couldn't make up our minds. Advent calendars opened once or twice a week, several days at a time because we didn't remember to do them every night. Marathon wrapping sessions on Christmas Eve, which seems like a complete waste of time (I mean, really, they're going to open them in a couple hours, can't I just cover them with a sheet?!?) All leading up to a general collapse the day after Christmas because we're all worn out from the running around. Oh, but there's no time for a collapse, because there's still family in town to spend time with and games to be played, and basketball to be practiced…maybe next year we'll do better.

So this is "next year," and I'm trying to do better. I've got my chart of who to buy for, and what we've bought. I've wrapped a few presents. I've decorated a little at a time (and I'm not done yet). We're still missing nights on the advent calendar, and doing double chocolates to make up on other nights, but the kids aren't exactly complaining about that! I've found an Advent devotional I'm enjoying that I'm trying to do at breakfast each day. (Maybe next year I'll add it to the Advent time with my kids.)

It's my hope that we will hit the first day of Christmas break (9 days of school left!!) with next-to-nothing left to do besides enjoy each other. Maybe we'll have time to drive around and look at Christmas lights. Maybe we'll have time to be together without needing to spend it shopping! Maybe I'll manage to communicate to my kids the deeper meaning of Christmas.

And maybe – every once in a while – I'll be able to blog about it.

First Game of the Season!

Today is the first basketball game of the season.  It’s a big day for my husband, and most years I’ve tried to have something special for him on this day.  I usually go with food…cookies or something if it’s a home game, snacks if it’s away.  I know he rarely eats on a game day before the game, so I figure it’s good to have something ready for when the game (and the stress) is over.

This year, though, I dropped the ball.  I got nothing.  I even went grocery shopping yesterday and not once did it cross my mind to pick up a few extra snacks for him for this evening.  I can’t even come up with a decent excuse.  I had all of Thanksgiving Break to think about it.

If it were a home game, I’d grab some stuff this afternoon and get it to him this evening…he wouldn’t even want it until after the game anyway, so I’d be okay.  But of course – it’s an away game, so that won’t work.  I can’t even get a card up to him before he leaves for the game!  What a terrible wife.

So forget the food and card!  I hope he eats sometime today, because he’s on his own.

So how about this…

To the love of my life:

I am so blessed to be in this life with you.  I am constantly in awe of the way that God brought us together, and the way He continues to bless us.  I love that you have a job that you love.  I love that you are good at the job you love!  And I’m glad that even in the chaos of the season I still know that we are most important to you.  

I pray that this will be the best season you’ve had yet.  I pray that your players will work and think as a team.  I pray that all the parents will be behind you and none against you.  I pray that you have fun in what you do.

If I were a superstitious person, I would be concerned that the insanity of this particular day might be a bad sign for the season, but I choose to believe that is not the case.  May the game tonight go well.  May your players stay healthy and uninjured.  And may you get home before midnight!  (Okay, that last one might just be wishful thinking, but thought I’d throw it in there!)

Thank you for choosing me to share this life with you.  

Thank you for loving me and our kids, even when it’s difficult.

Thank you for being just who you are.  You truly are the love of my life.

Love,

Your Courtside Wife

Tuesday, Tuesday

Okay, so that's not a song, but I couldn't call it "Monday, Monday" again, and we're stuck in the same story.

Maybe I should have just called this blog the Chronicles of Courtside Chaos.

Want an update of last night? It wasn't pretty.

The marbles worked wonders…the kids kindly shared the Nintendo DS (see, mommy, we're sharing!!), and were very helpful…right up until bedtime. At that point, things with C went straight downhill. After strict orders to stay in bed or she would lose "Belle" and a marble, I caught her (not 5 minutes later) sneaking up to the door of T2's room, where I was currently putting the child to bed. Umm...how do you teach common sense to a 4-year-old? So, into her room I go. She knew exactly what was going on, because she was hiding the "Belle" doll behind her back and holding on for dear life. There was screaming. There was crying. There might have been, ummm, some yelling. I know, it doesn't do any good. I don't even feel better after I've let it out. But, good grief, it's hard to not.

Five minutes later? Repeat entire sequence with "Baby," the second doll she sleeps with.

My husband later pointed out that taking away both her sleeping comforts might not have been the best strategy for assisting her in falling asleep. Well, thanks, Mr. Brainy…where was that advice after last night's fiasco? Ha!

So we're two marbles down for C, and still going. I finally closed her door because she was still yelling. She hates the door being closed, so she "snuck" over and opened it. At that point she at least had the smarts to stop screaming so I wouldn't know the door was open. And I had the smarts to ignore her and the door, in the hopes that if she were quiet long enough, she would fall asleep, and I could sneak back in and return "baby," which was the deal we made when I left the last time.

An hour passes. Daddy comes home from the scrimmage and wonders why there is a light on in the kid's hallway. Well, I don't know, I sure wasn't going back there again to fight another battle after things finally got quiet. I was certain that she had turned on her lamp or closet light, and then had fallen asleep. I mean really, it's almost 10:00.

Yeah, if that had been the ending, this wouldn't be much of a story, huh?

So from somewhere, she had found a big fat black crayon, and – as a way to make Mommy feel better? – had drawn a giant picture of Mommy on her yellow wall with black crayon.

How sweet.

I'm sorry that in my absolute frustration I neglected to take a picture of the lovely drawing of "Mommy." It looked just like me, you know.

She's still alive this morning, in case you were wondering. And magic eraser took care of the crayon. And sleep took care of me, mostly.

Gotta go now – I'm going to go read a book to C while we're waiting for Daddy to come home. Maybe if she gets more attention before bedtime she won't demand as much after.

But you might pray for her tonight. I threatened to make her sleep in T2's crib. Probably won't do it….probably.

Monday, Monday

This week started off with a bang. And not a good one. Yesterday was chaos from beginning to end.

It shouldn't have been, because I had A Plan. Grocery shopping for the week on the way home from school, supper fixed when my husband came home from practice, a simple meal planned for the one night this week that he wouldn't be home at all until late…it was all a great plan.

And then a couple things changed, and suddenly the plan was falling apart. Now he's got coaches' meetings after practice on Wednesday, so who knows when he'll be home. Top that with the sudden need to go watch a few middle school games. Yes, he's a high school coach. Yes, he goes to most of his freshman games, on top of his own game nights. Yes, there are multiple middle schools that feed into multiple high schools in this district, and no, of course he's not allowed to "recruit" players from the middle schools. But a couple of years ago, a very strong message was sent that the high school coaches needed to be going and visiting at middle school games. Sigh. So last night he hit one middle school for their 7^th grade games at 5:30, ran home to eat with us, then up to another middle school to watch their 8^th grade game. And he'll do it again on Thursday. And is talking about doing it again next Monday after his own scrimmage. And that's on top of the scrimmage tonight and another on Friday night. Are ya still with me? Because I'm tired just thinking about it all. I've said this before, and it's still true – I really do love what he does. But to not have a single night home or together in a week? That's just crazy!

The underlying stress to all this is that we have guests coming to stay overnight on Friday, and I went into this week thinking that I would have help – with the kids and the cleaning – on three of these nights. Hmmmm…not so much.

Those overnight guests are reading this now and trying not to be offended/concerned…don't worry, the house will be fine, just not as good as I had hoped…and even if it were a pit we'd still want you staying with us. We're totally excited you're coming!

Okay, back to the point. What was it? Oh, yeah, the bang of a day yesterday. I apparently wasn't the only one not handling life well yesterday. Or maybe the kids fed off my tension. Because by the time I went to bed, I was just grateful that all three were still in one piece. Particularly the middle one, who, after a couple meltdowns, was given an early bedtime. Which in fact led to another meltdown. (Saw that one coming, didn't you!?!) A full 40 minutes after she "went to bed," she was still up and down, and I was holding on to sanity by a thread. And trying not to wake the others up by screaming at her. Because that would have just made all things beautiful, and besides which, she doesn't care. Really. She just sort of bounces through life unfazed by my anger or disappointment. (Boy, are we going to have issues when she's a teenager.) She finally gave up or conked out, and I took a long hot shower and tried to calm down. Do you see a problem here? The one causing chaos is sleeping soundly, while I'm up past my bedtime just trying to breathe. Ha!

Tonight has gone a little differently. I'm not above bribery. I've got glittery marbles in a jar on the mantle – different colors for each kid. Marbles go in the jar for positives, marbles come out for making me nuts bad attitudes. So far today, all marble moving has been into the jar. Kid with the most marbles in there when the jar is full gets to pick the family treat. It's a win, all the way around.

I hope.

We'll see how bedtime goes.

Tune in later for the next installment of the "courtside chaos."

God Bless The USA

I have always been hugely patriotic.

I love the Fourth of July, love the patriotic music, love the flag and the bunting and everything that goes along with it.
Growing up, it seemed like our family was often traveling on the Fourth of July, and we would switch from one classical station to another as we drove across the country, trying to catch all the great music. These days, we could just load up an iPod and not have to worry about finding the best stations, huh?

When my husband and I started thinking about having children, one of the first decisions I made was that the nursery would be decorated with Americana items. And the first purchase for that room (well before I got pregnant, actually) was a little bear cut from an Air Force blanket and decorated with an Air Force patch, in honor of my Granddad who was in the Air Force for most of his military career. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I don't know exactly what that patch is. But I still remember finding that bear and knowing I had to have it…and the weepiness that hit me when I did actually get it.  (Whether that was over the item itself or the thought of the baby I wanted so much, I'm not sure…probably both. Doesn't take much, you know!)
 
I've also been known to get teary-eyed over the Pledge of Allegiance. And invariably I cry over those medleys of the military anthems.

And in spite of all that, I can NOT imagine the sacrifice it takes to put yourself on the line for our country, our freedom. Nor can I comprehend the sacrifice of being the one left behind to hold your home together while your spouse goes to fight those battles. In an old photo album of my Grandmother's, I found a piece of paper with addresses for each of her brothers…all fighting in different areas. Granddad and each of his brothers also served during WWII. Against all odds, every one of those boys in both families came home. I know that isn't the case for many families – then or now. I am incredibly proud of my Granddad, his brothers, and his brothers-in-law. I am incredibly thankful for the sacrifices made – by each of them, and by every person who chooses that path. Words fail.

Thank you.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things, Part 2

As the holiday season draws closer – or begins, depending on your perspective – favorite foods start to call me and tempt me. One of the true favorites in my family isn't one that has been handed down from generation to generation. It's a much more recent development. As in, in the last 10 years. And we can now no longer have holidays without it.

Actually, if I'm being honest, this food pops up all year long for special occasions. Like the Fourth of July. Or Easter. Or Saturdays. We're not picky. It's really good food.

Curious yet?

Ranch pretzels.

Plain old pretzels soaked in butter flavored oil mixed with ranch dressing powder and then baked for a while. Oh, yum.

I'm fairly certain I've become addicted to these things. I've been known to make a big batch for a party or church fellowship and then just put the giant bowl of pretzels out on the table without labeling it, so that most people just assume they're regular pretzels and pass them up. That way I get to take more home with me to eat later.

Probably shouldn't have admitted that, huh?

Oops.

Anyway, if you're feeling the need to try these out and see if they're as good as I say, I'm including the recipe here. I've tasted (and attempted) other variations of this…some people like to add some heat to it, so feel free to experiment. I went for a chili-lime version that had some possibilities, but I'm still working on it. If you come up with a great new variation of this, let me know! We're always up for new snack foods!

Ranch Pretzels

2 bags of regular twist pretzels

1 bottle of Orville Redenbacher butter flavored popcorn oil

1 envelope of ranch dressing mix

1 giant ziplock bag (2 gallon size or larger)

Pour the oil and seasonings into the ziplock and mix well. Dump both bags of pretzels into the bag and turn until the pretzels are all coated with the oil mix. If you have the time and patience, let them soak for a while, turning occasionally. (I've left them for an hour or more sometimes when I've forgotten about it, and they've never been soggy, so there's no need to worry about that.) Pour these out onto two cookie/baking sheets. They will be piled up – there's no need to try to get them flat or evened out. The original recipe called for baking it for an hour at 200 degrees. I've since decided that I can raise the temp a little and shorten the baking time, but you can do whatever. Just don't burn them! I also load both trays in at the same time, and just set a timer for halfway through so I can swap the top one to the bottom and bottom to top. Don't know that it matters, but it makes me feel better.

Enjoy! But beware – these are highly addictive!

Hey Daddy, There's a Dragon in the Driveway

This past week has been unbelievably busy, with evening activities (ie work) on more nights than we were home.  So I'm pathetically late with telling my Halloween story!  But better late than never...especially in this case!

Once upon a time, I bought an incredible child's Halloween costume.  It was during one of those after-Halloween sales, and I was just betting on the fact that T1 would eventually be able to fit into it.  It was just too cute to pass up!

When T1 was old enough to wear it, he loved it.  He wore it one year before it really fit right.  He wore it the next year when it fit just right.  (starts to sound like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, doesn't it?)

He even wore it the next year when the pants only went to his knees, and he could not be talked into being anything else.  It was still cute.

So I couldn't wait for C to get big enough to wear it...I just knew she would love it as much as T1 did.

Ummmm....

....yeah....

 .....not so much.

She was terrified...maybe...and she was mad...definitely....and promising her everyone would think she was adorable and would give her candy did NOT make anything better in her mind.  Taking these lovely pictures to show her how "cute" she was...well, that didn't work either.

She was not convinced.  And was not happy.

And aren't I a great mom??

Such a great mom, in fact, that 2 years later, I decided to put my youngest in that costume.  

  

I was sure she’d do better than C.  Well, sort of sure.  But just in case, I made sure my husband had the video camera out.   And sure enough….

….let the weeping and wailing commence.  She was of the same opinion as C.  And she kept trying to pull the hairy sleeves off of her arm.  (I wonder if they both felt like the dragon was eating them?)  Whatever the problem was, it went on and on….

(Check out the little bare toes!  Love it!)

And the oh-so-patient siblings with her...."is she ever going to stop?"

(Ummm, C, you didn't do any better!)

T1 was headed next door to a Halloween/birthday slumber party.  That’s one brave mom over there.  Five 2^nd grade boys all night after trick-or-treating?  Whew.

After he left, the wailing increased, so I went with the best “comfort” out there.

Hey, a Sonic drink always makes me feel better!

That and the chance – finally! – to get to run around outside cheered her right up, 

and all was well in the world again.

Oh, yeah, that and the candy.

 Isn't Halloween great?

Wonder what we're going to do with that costume now?

Not sure I can give it up.

It was just so much fun.  

And gave us such great memories.....

 

Right?

Peek-a-Boo!

 Hello!  

Ready for

a quick game

of Peek-a-Boo?

Here I am!

*insert hysterical laughter here*

 

Happy Weekend!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

What, not the post you were expecting to see on the day-after-Halloween? Not to worry, a Halloween post is coming…the costume trauma is too funny not to share…but it will have to wait until I have time to deal with the pictures accompanying the trauma. (And yes, the word is “trauma,” not “drama.”)

Nope, today is about Christmas. I went grocery shopping on the way home from school today. Walked into the store and was blindsided by CHRISTMAS DISPLAYS!! Christmas? What? Already?

Oh, wait, we did just do Halloween, didn’t we. Which makes this…………ACK!!

So, after processing the realization that it truly is already November (HOW DID THAT HAPPEN??), I decided to jump in wholeheartedly. The Christmas season really isn’t long enough anyway, and goes by so stinkin’ fast. Although lately, everything seems to go by so stinkin’ fast. (Except for my 2^nd period class. Molasses.)

Once upon a time, my college roommate and I were the first on our floor (maybe in our dorm?) to start playing Christmas music. And we didn’t usually wait until November, to be honest! And we were very generous to share our taste in music with anyone who might walk past our door. Truthfully, in college, we HAD to start Christmas early. We were required to pack up all Christmas decorations before we left for Christmas break, which was usually the second week of December, so if you were going to put stuff out, you had to get it out plenty early so you’d have time to enjoy. We typically decorated around Homecoming weekend. Ummm, don’t get too excited…we didn’t have football, so Homecoming was the second weekend or so of November!

So going by that theory, it’s almost time to get the Christmas decorations out, right? I mean, college wasn’t TOO far in the past. (Oh, hush and let me have my little fantasy…it wasn’t that long ago in my memory.)

So, on this cold cool gray day, I have Christmas music playing on my computer and a giant pot of chili going on the stove. I seem to be incapable of making small batches of chili. Anyone want to come join me in my pre-Thanksgiving Christmas celebration?? You’re only required to enjoy my music and my chili. I’ll decorate the tree later.

Someone's in the Kitchen....

Well, so tonight I had HELP in the kitchen. Remember last night when I said tv was my friend during dinner prep? Yeah, it didn’t work tonight. The girls (ages 2 and 4, remember) decided they wanted to help. And blame it on temporary insanity, I didn’t chase them out. Or bribe them with snacks. I let them stay in there. And “help.” I was making quiche (bacon and swiss…can’t wait to see how it turns out!), and I figured it was probably something I could handle their kind of help with.

We survived. I’m fairly certain supper survived, too, but we’ll have to see. It smells good, at least! I do think that I said “no, don’t do that!” and “no, put that down!” about a million times. And I have no idea how I ended up needing to wash 6 different measuring cups and three measuring spoons when I think I only used a couple! Well, other than the fact that that particular drawer is directly in front of where they were standing, so spoons and cups kept coming out to be dipped in the bowl. Grrrr. If and when I do this again, we’ll have to rethink the standing areas!

I’m fairly certain they enjoyed it, though. And with any luck, having helped fix it will make it more appealing to eat. My kids are not terribly picky eaters…they’re just random. Things they loved at one meal might easily take 2 hours to eat at another. Since I’m on my own for supper tonight, without the mean voice of Daddy to back me up, I’m truly hoping for easy!

Especially since getting supper ready was so decidedly NOT easy!