tidbit about the game....

The guys lost again today, 17 to 7, but they had a fantastic rally back in the last innings. Two really stunning plays and a couple great runs. Taylor made it to third (balls again), but the inning ended. The babies left the game with Trent's mom and dad and sister, so I got a break. What did I do with the break? I mowed the yard! Whew, glad that's done, it's really hard to do with the babies home. No pics, but that's that.

just some stuff...

I thought I'd just post some of the pics from the ball game last night and whatever else was on the camera. We lost, 10 to 11 (strange coincidence) to the Orioles, but we did have some exciting and smart plays. Taylor didn't seem too upset, just a little disappointed that he didn't hit the ball on his only turn at bat. He did make a run, he made it on base because of balls. This morning, I had to laugh at Trevor. He found the little ab wheel device and asked what it was for (obviously, it hasn't been used much). I told him that it is to work out your stomach muscles. So, he sat down on the floor and rolled it on his stomach. He he he, I finally showed him the proper way to use it when he tried to roll it on his arms to "make his pipes bigger".

a tidbit on motherhood...

If motherhood is an art, mine is the kind that you would buy at the flea market for 3 dollars and use to cover the crayon marks on the wall behind the bed, in the spare room. I am making every effort to be an awesome mom. I try to consider many sides of every decision before deciding "how" to do something. I try to listen to advice from the "experts", I read articles on related sciences, and I watch and learn from other's experiences. Sometimes, however, what I really need is, a break. Yesterday, I took the kids to MOSI, a trying adventure on a good day. Eight minutes before the IMAX movie ended (as usual) the babies were done, so we went for a walk. By walk I mean that I followed them, as they wandered in two different directions through crowds of teens (a middle school was there). I'll admit that I was frazzled by the time the movie ended and Taylor could help me again. As we were driving home, Trent called to ask if I could bring his spare key to the farm. He'd locked his keys in his truck accidentally. I was 20 minutes from the house and his truck was running, not an emergency, but enough to make me feel rushed and add to the "frazzled" feeling. That's when I realized that it's lunch time and Trevor (realizing it, too) starts to cry about it. So, I was slightly irritated by the time I got home, located the key (that was not where it was supposed to be), and made it to farm. Luckily, Trent was calm (having not been where I was for the last few hours) and a few kisses and gentle words restored my usual jovial spirit. Then, I made it back home.... The laptop had crashed again, the power had flicked off and on resetting everything, and (no surprise) we were out of the lunch that Trevor thought he was going to have. Taylor has learned (after 11 years with me as a mother) to go along with disappointment, and Jewel doesn't care what she eats, as long as she eats. Trevor, however, is sure that, once you say, "We will eat Y, when we get home.", Y is all he can eat. So, after a fun little fight over the lunch I fixed, I sat down to fix our laptop. Five hours later, and 15 interruptions later, I was spent. I didn't even clean up the kitchen after I threw together "dinner" for everyone. Needless to say, I went to sleep without the much desired "Daddy and Mommy" time. That combined with the fact that I slept next to Princess Toss and Turn all night, would have made for a grumpy morning. But, Trent, in his infinite wisdom, moved Jellybean back to her own bed before getting ready for work. I woke like a Queen, and have managed to capture control of my mood once again. Here's to another day of trying to be a great mom but, just "not a bad mom" will do.

fun day.....

We finally got to go to the great, new park in our hometown today. We always drive over on Mondays for music lessons, and we've been watching them build it for months. Last week, the schools were closed, so the park was packed and we just drove right by. But, this week we allowed for an hour before the lessons, so Taylor could check out the park, too. It was amazing, I've never seen such an elaborate park. There are slides and tunnels through the ground, musical toys, all types of spinning things to sit on, and webby things to climb. To really top it off, my old soccer pal and her three children were there. And, because we went before lessons, I got to jog the lake after lessons. I am finally fit enough to make it around and load the van (with babies) before Taylor's lesson ends. I actually wasn't completely spent at the end of the run, which is a relief, that means I am getting back in shape. I've been running a little with Taylor, but, have yet to make it routine. I am finding that as the babies get bigger, I am able to get more and more "things" back to "normal". I know I would like to have more children one day, but I don't know if I will be able to convince myself to disrupt the routine all over again. Well, here are some pics from the park today!

a little more about what's up...

Morlynn stayed with us Friday night, and when my sister came over to pic her up she smuggled Jewel out. So, aside from not having to chase her around the ball park last night, I got a nice little break this morning from new messes being generated. Now, both the babies are heading to Trent's parents, which will allow me to take Taylor to the extra Sunday practice that one of his coaches provides for anyone who wants to go. Perfect timing! Also, I finally (because Trent had a short day at work) got to go to the college and talk to an advisor about my previous credits. I was relieved to learn that I don't have to retake those classes, and not just because it will save us a chunk of money. So, I am 15 credits closer to an associates degree. I have already chosen the first classes I will take, and am back to waiting mode. I'm really relieved that I don't have to take the more boring classes again, and I will soon be past the general ed classes. I have considered other fields that don't involve the harder math and science classes, but they are the classes I enjoy the most, and physics is the field that sparked a love of science for me. Also, I chose this path because I wanted to be able to work after getting my bachelor's, so I can help pay for further schooling. The only other field I have considered (and it is really a newer interest, the last 5 years) is anthropology, and you have to get a doctorate to even work in the field. Perhaps I can study it later, you never know. Anyway, that's what's up with school. Oh yes, Trevor, he is still so funny, he want's to choose his clothes and activities, and he says the funniest things. Even his defiance is funny. I told him that he was going to Big Daddy's and Mimi's and he said, "Mom, i think you mean Mimi's house, and a little bit Big Daddy's." He wanted to eat M&M's for breakfast and I said, "No", obviously. He said, "But I'm hungry." I said, "M&M's will not help you feel full." He said, "Well, let's just try and see." ha ha ha ha Anywho, here are some pics I took over the last two weeks. Some of them are "waking up" pics. One shows Jewel's pig tails after she slept on them all night. And, some show Trevor in his, I refuse to get out of bed pose. The others are from the season opener, where a Tampa Bay Rays player threw the opening pitch. Morlynn blew up balloons and brought them to the field for the babies to play with. But, some other kids ended up grabbing some and be the end of the event Trevor was left with one green balloon, because I refused to let the others steal it. Luckily, Taylor and Morlynn didn't get too upset, and understood that the other kids didn't know that we had brought the balloons, they thought they were part of the festivities. Although, Taylor did tell one kid, "That is my baby brother's balloon, and you need to give it back, please." It was cold, but fun and Taylor got to hear his name over the loudspeaker.

We're number one!!

The Diamondbacks won their first game last night!! The end of the game was quite a nail-biter, too. It was 11 to 10 with 2 balls, 2 strikes, and 2 outs. There was a runner on second and it was all up to Pete, one of the team's fantastic pitchers, and he managed to get the strike we needed! He got the game ball naturally. As for Taylor, he played his part as well as he could. He struck out his first at bat, but I was still proud, because he didn't swing when he shouldn't (an improvement from the first practice) and he wasn't disappointed (a feat for any 11 yo boy). Later, in the outfield (right field) he was there when the ball finally came his way, he caught the grounder and threw it in as if he's been playing for years. Later, he made it to first base from 3 balls and eventually scored a run. While he is still learning, he is doing so in his usual breakneck pace, and with some more batting practice will become even better at the game. I'm just glad that when the opportunity was there, he was ready and paying attention, and played his part. He was just glad he didn't let the team down. We've been allowing time for extra batting cage practice, and he improves each time. The next game is Thursday, so we'll see how much cage time I can squeeze in between now and then. This is Trent's busy time at work, and I can't pitch, so it's been tricky. I may just have to learn to pitch (ha ha). Here are some pics from the big game. (Why aren't there any great HD videos? Because, very typically, the Flip camera has failed and has to be mailed to CA to be repaired or replaced. Am I irritated, you bet, does that help, nope! I am used to hang ups like this, the more electronics you rely on, the more you learn to fix. Sometimes I feel like I work in an IT department, luckily in a previous job, I got lots of experience with that.) This blurry pic is the coach celebrating the run with Taylor!