His hair has taken on a life of it's own

Hoss wants to grow his hair out. And I've been letting him so far. But it is really starting to take on a life of it's own. And in the process the personality of Hoss is starting to shine through even more than usual. He has gone from this...


to this.. All in a blink of a sweaty hot day. No hair gel added. Only sweat and Hubs fingers running through it to make it stand up.

I actually like the longer hair on him, I think it looks good. And the personality he is showing in these pictures. Well it's classic Hoss and I love that too!

Flu and thank you's

My son came into my room yesterday about 5am. He said he didn't feel well at all. Poor guy was burning up so we got him some medicine and put him back to bed. Once I got the other kids off to school I was able to get him into the doctors office where we got a positive test for the flu. So I stopped off at the store to stock up on Gatorade, fever medicine and Tamiflu. Then we headed back home to rest and be sick. Not a fun day for my little guy.

Finally, later that evening he felt well enough to draw. So he went to his room and came out with a card for me. On it, he wrote "Thank you for taking care of me when I was sick. I love you!"



I'm telling you now, that sweet boy put a lump in my throat with that card. He's always been my gentle, sensitive one. But as he has gotten older, he doesn't show it as much as he used to. But he still is that same sweet soul he's always been. It's just currently hiding under a rough and tough little boy exterior that he only shows to mom when he isn't feeling well.

But I love that sweet nature of my son. The one that stops to thank you for taking care of him when he is sick. Now we just have to get him healthy again because as much as I love seeing this glimpse into his sweet soul. I would much rather have a little boy in constant perpetual motion to try and keep up with.

St. Louis Boys Trip

Baseball is a huge part of our family life. It wasn't always that way though. It started about the time Z. started playing t-ball. From there he learned the game and we learned the game and we all loved it. Z. and Hubs are of course much bigger fans than me and out of those two it is of course Z. who has the passion. His dreams are to grow up and be a professional baseball player. When asked what happens after that he says I'll be a paid select boys baseball coach. Yeah, we'll need to revisit that one as he gets older. But out of all the teams out there, Z.'s favorite is the St. Louis Cardinals although he does love the Texas Rangers also. And his personal MVP is Albert Pujols. For as long as I can remember he can tell you more than I ever want to hear about Pujols stats. He has always begged to go to Bush Stadium someday to watch Albert Pujols play in his home stadium as a Cardinal. He was very specific about this.

Anyway, with all the travel that Hubs has done overseas we had lots of air miles about to expire. Not enough for all six of us to go to Hawaii like I wanted but enough for five of us to go. So instead I told Hubs what he need to do was take his boys to St. Louis to Bush stadium and see Albert Pujols. After a bit of planning the boys trip was on. The girls and I would stay home and do "girl stuff". So they packed themselves off over Labor Day weekend and hopped on the plane.

They stayed a half mile from the stadium and the arch. So since I gave Z. the camera to take pictures with I wasn't sure what I would end up with on the small camera. He didn't do to bad, well except that it looks like dad never made it into any of the shots and I have more landscapes and landmarks than people.


They woke up early on Saturday and hit the arch first thing. They had no line and got to ride all the way to the top. By the time they got down the line was super long so Hubs and his earliness OCDness worked for the greater good this time.
From there they could get a birds eye view of all that they really cared to see (i.e. Bush Stadium)


Then they went around the area and did some sight seeing. Since I wasn't there I couldn't tell you what one thing is from another.


Finally they headed to the game and got there early. The special promotion was for them to go on the field that day but I think it was very crowded so they didn't enjoy it as much as they thought. The boys were very excited and anxiously waited for the game to start. Did you notice Z. wearing his Pujols jersey...and it's tucked into his shorts. Seriously, I can't get the boy to tuck anything into his jeans and he tucks his jersey into his shorts.


Z.'s favorite player ever on the big screen.

Sadly, they lost the game that day. But honestly they all had so much fun that I don't think they were really upset about it.

Then it was back to the hotel and an early flight home the next day. With souvenir Cardinals shirts for everyone.

Sharks Soccer Season Synopsis

OK, now that you've read the title of my post, time to uncurl your tongue and wipe off your face. Hoss played fall soccer again this year, along with fall baseball. Whew was it hard to accommodate everything this season. It was the first time we have ever had a lot of games conflict with each other. But we made the best of it and did lots of running around. There were some games that conflicted where we had to take turns seeing which game we would have to miss.

Then there were those Saturdays that Hoss and I loved most of all (can you detect just a hint of sarcasm). We would go to K's. entire soccer game, then head over for the Sharks game. Hoss would have to play the entire first half then before he had a chance to catch his breath I was dragging him to the parking lot. Once we reached the car, I proceeded to try and strip down one very sweaty little boy and get him into his baseball uniform. Not an easy feat even when you take away the stinky sweaty boy part. Hoss always wanted privacy to change and it didn't always happen in the busy parking lot. So he would be struggling to get his shin guards off then his slide pants on. All while ducking as low as he could between the seats. (I swear I had flashbacks of doing the same thing in the front seat of my mom's car while I struggled to get into my gymnastics leotard. But that was many hours of therapy ago so there's no need to revisit that now) Then he would get the rest of his baseball uniform on and we would be off. I never got any pictures of these Saturday struggles since I was usually to busy swearing I'd never do this again to take any.

But occasionally the stars would line up just right and we would have no overlapping games. The core group of boys have gotten so much better and the new boys picked up alot along the way. Hoss is still the slowest runner out there and although I know nothing about soccer I'm told he is a decent player. I'll take their words for it. It's still just nothing but fun for the boys and a chance to be with their friends to hang out. But their skill level is noticeably improving so you have to cheer them on.

The favorite part of soccer for Hoss (besides the free coke at the end)is still being able to see his friend E. But we did finally decide that he needs to pick one sport come spring. So we will see what he picks baseball or soccer, until then I am just going to enjoy the off season.

Soccer Saturday Happenings

It's soccer season right now. And I realized that I do not have any pictures of Michael playing soccer. I pulled out the telephoto zoom lens and went to the game. Now can I just say that my mom went with me and that it was beyond windy. I love my mom but I hate the wind. There now you know how I really feel. Anyways, I got some great pictures of Michael looking like he knows what he's doing.


He played extra hard on Saturday and did a really good job. And when I told him so he commented to me "Yeah, I wanted you to get some really good pictures of me so I tried really hard." Have to love that and yes I did get some really great pictures also.

Now Dad and Z. were off at a baseball tournament on a different windy hill so it was just me, mom and the girls watching the game. Well okay, the girls didn't watch a bit of it. Instead they played with their friends and found some interesting ways to keep themselves entertained.

And once they got tired of passing the ball between the tunnel of legs well they moved on but I'm not sure exactly what it was they were doing.

A play write conversation overheard

I'm always surprised at what my kids come up with. This one still has me laughing days later so I thought I'd share.

Main Characters: Mom, Hoss and Pappy who was visiting us.

Scene: The staircase, lots of noise and activity especially around the staircase with younger sisters running up and down.

Script:
Mom- You kids quit running up and down the stairs and screaming your going to hurt yourselves or someone else. (This is said as Pappy is trying to make his way up the stairs)

Girls- ignoring mom, continue to run up the stairs making as much noise as possible.

Hoss- (squeezing himself as flat as he can against the wall of the stairs as Pappy tries to go up the stairs) Looks at his Pappy and says "Go Ahead, Old Man"

Mom and Pappy start laughing and scene fades.

Disclaimer- I know where he gets it from and it's me. It's what I tell the old people who are driving to slow in front of me or who are just annoying me. I haven't figured out yet if Hoss was annoyed with Pappy yet for being so slow on the stairs or not.

More alike than I realized

Out of all my kids Hoss and A. are more alike than I realized. They both love being outside regardless of the weather. They both play with the dog more than any of the others. They both can't seem to stay away from water or puddles no matter how much they are told. They both have very selective hearing when they want to. They both have a stubborn streak you would never guess was there. They both challenge me more than the others did. They both have a hard time staying in their beds at night. And they both surprise me on a daily basis with what they can come up with. Yes, these two are more alike than I ever realized. It's not a bad thing, it's just funny how two little people so different in so many ways can be so alike in so many others.

The Mother of All Days

Wow today was hard. Hubs had to be on a plane to Finland for a business trip by noon. Hoss had his last football game in one town at 11:45 where the girls would be with me. And Z. had a baseball tournament in a town about 45 minutes away that started at 11 and didn't end until 8:30. I was lucky enough that one of his team mates was able to get him to that tournament so that I only missed 1 and 1/2 of his 3 games he played.

But I made it through and so did the kids. Hoss kept his football record as a perfect score of 0 wins but had fun anyways. K. had one scrapped knee to show for this game and was quite upset about it. A. survived football okay.

Now for baseball, well that's another story. At some point before I got there Z. lost a tooth of his while he was at bat. And he was pretty upset that it never was found. He was so upset he hit a heck of a triple and brought in quite a few runs. By the time we got there to watch him he was on a roll. He had some great hits, some amazing slides where he was safe (and a scraped up arm also). But he was definitely on fire when he was the last pitcher of the game. He finished out the inning getting us 3 quick outs with his speed that they just couldn't hit. He plays on a 10U select team and they have been playing all fall in a league against 12U boys. They've lost a bunch but won a few here and there. But it was obvious today when they were playing against kids their own age that they have improved a lot.

So K, Hoss and A. got completely filthy at the baseball fields playing in the woods, dirt and with all those nasty horse apple thingies. (I wish I knew what they were really called) And Z. left alot of sweat, blood and body parts (teeth) on the field for all eternity. But he still made out pretty good. His coach gave him 3 bucks for his tooth which is more than the tooth fairy ever left him before. And on top of that they came in 1st place in their first ever tournament.

Now I am exhausted and ready to go to bed. And tomorrow for the first time in weeks we don't have a game on a Sunday afternoon. Can I tell you how excited I am for that?

The Routine Begins

It is the official first day of school today. Which means that our routine begins again. It's been chaotic here the last week to say the least so I'm very ready for some routine. Hoss started kindergarten this morning and Z. started fifth grade. Both boys were very excited although Hoss was obviously nervous about his first day. But I'm sure all will be fine.

Our morning started with me actually getting up and dressed before the sun actually came up. Something I haven't done in a LONG time and in case your wondering, yes it still stinks. Now Z. had discovered that they were serving one of his favorite breakfasts at school (I don't think they actually serve something he doesn't like) and was begging for me to let him eat breakfast pizza at school. Now normally I'm fine with this and send him on his way to school a bit early so he can eat. But since Hoss was starting his first day I needed (well okay wanted) to walk him to his class. But I couldn't take him that early to his class. So good mom that I am, I decide to feed Hoss at home and just drop Z off in carpool early enough to eat at school. Then I went off in search of the most coveted thing on earth on the first day of school, a parking space actually in the parking lot. But since I was only a half hour early for school there wasn't any to be found. So I had to park on the street.

So we park and are walking inside the school. And since I'm such a nurturing mom, I wave at Z. eating his cafeteria made breakfast and get Hoss to his class. Once we get Hoss settled I do go in search of Z. But he had already scarfed his food down and was long gone to his class where his friends were waiting.

So I decided to stop in at the Yahoo BooHoo breakfast being offered for kindergarten moms. (I'm definitely a yahoo mom) It's at this time we can write our kids a short note and eat some of the snacks they have. So we write our note for Hoss and my two girls consume no less than twenty donut holes between the two of them. Like I said I'm a first class mom who cares about the nutrition needs of all my children. And since up to this point I hadn't realized that I'd forgotten to feed my girls, there was no way I could have kept them away from the food.

All I can say is that tomorrow will be better. I will remember to feed all my children breakfast (and at this point I count the cafeteria ladies meals as my own) and I will drink my coffee before it gets cold. We will eventually get back into a routine.

Important Decisions

Hoss has been trying to make a few important decisions lately. We were talking in the car about what he wanted to do when he grows up. He has decided as of today that his chosen field lays in Nascar. He originally told me that he wants to be a race car driver like Jeff Gordan or Dale Jr. But after careful consideration he now claims to want to be in the pit crew. I couldn't figure out why he would change from a driver to the pit crew so asked him why he made his decision. His response showed he has put a lot of thought into this one.

"Mom, I decided to be in the pit crew because then I could go to the bathroom any time I wanted to. If your a driver than you have to hold it until after the race is over."

How could I possibly argue with logic like that?

The Toothless Wonder

Hoss has a new nickname here lately. I'm sure you've figured out why. It started with one but before long they were both gone.

Spring Season Results

All in all, I think my boys had a great spring baseball season. Hoss got second place in his tournament and Z. won first place in the city All Stars tournament. And mom and dad, well we enjoyed cheering them on the entire time.

Messy messy messy

How is it that one little boy can make such a difference in how messy things can get? My children are not neat freaks by any means what so ever. But...and this is a big but...my son's friend is messy. I've noticed it before when we've been at his house before but since it wasn't my house I really didn't notice it that much. But today Hoss has his friend over here playing for the afternoon. Things that my son knows better to do are being done.

Clothes that should stay on hangers are coming out and being dropped on the closet floor...winter clothes. This means they have to push all the summer clothes to the side to get to them in order to take them down. Why? Because they were being newsbroadcasters in a very big winter blizzard and wanted to look the part. I must admit that it was a very reasonable answer to my question and I did see the humor in it. But dadgumit, I just cleaned that closet out two weeks ago.

I thought I was giving his mom a break for watching my two middle children while I went birthday present shopping for Z. Now I'm really not so sure. Maybe it would have been easier to take the three youngest to the stores then it will be to get his room back in order before the grandparents arrive. I'm really not so sure. But I can definetely appreciate my kids messiness which isn't nearly as bad as I thought before. Now if some of that cool air from that blizzard would come down this way then everything would be perfect.

Never To Big

Just when I think things are settling down a bit with the kids, we enter a new phase. Right now, Z. is the one that is going through his phase. He has a bit of a sassy mouth. Add to the sass a bit of tone and you are guaranteed to sound like my oldest. We have talked until we are blue in the face to him about his sass but it just doesn't seem to be making much of an impression. He is nine, almost ten and I know he is testing his limits. But this mom is ready for him to be done with this phase. Now we have Hoss, who thinks his big brother walks on water, doing the same thing just so he can be like his big brother. The other day, when I had heard enough out of the both of them, I layed down the law. Talk nicely or else I would start treating them to soap in the mouth. (I'm a mean mean mom, I know) For whatever reason, they didn't seem to believe me.

And sure enough in less than ten minutes time Z. had opened his sassy mouth again. He really tried to argue his way out of punishment. But when I told him he had a choice of opening up and taking it like the sailor man he sounds like or else having a double treatment, he for once clammed up and took his punishment. And boy was he ever mad. I mean, I was laughing so hard my sides hurt he was that mad. Naturally, Hoss soon had to follow his brother's lead and ended up in the same predicament. Only he didn't argue like his brother.

Once both boys were allowed out of their rooms Z. came storming down the stairs. (He does hold a grudge...hmmm I wonder where he got that from...) He came over and found the label for the soap and began to read. He obviously found what he was looking for since he brought it over to me and said here mom read this warning label it said, "Keep out of reach of children". And then began to tell me how dangerous it is for me to do this, I might cause permanent damage. I then told him to keep on reading where it says "if swallowed drink a glass of water" and pointed out that if he swallowed it then he could just have some water and not to worry about permanent damage since it leaves a nice fresh scent. The only thing I could think of was the movie "A Christmas Story" where Ralphie had gone blind after having his mouth washed out with soap. So I warned him that if he keeps it up I will just have to get the lye soap that may cause blindness next time he sasses me. (I still don't know if he believes me or not) But he stopped his arguing and I have seen a huge improvement the last few days. And for whatever reason both boys are getting along much better now that they have both suffered the soap treatment. They just look at each other and say, you don't want the soap it's the worst thing ever. As for me, I also have this terrible urge to watch "A Christmas Story" now, and I still can't help but laugh at the image of Ralphie (or Z.) becoming blind at what their mean moms did to them.

The First Tooth Fairy Visit

Hoss lost his first tooth on Monday. He was eating an apple and it pretty much came out then. He was torn between laughing with excitement and eagerness at the idea of the tooth fairy along with fear that it would hurt to actually get the tooth all the way out. So I just had him open his mouth and told him that I didn't think it would hurt at all for it to come out. And during that time I was able to pull the last little bit to get it, Hoss didn't even realize I had it until I showed it to him in my hand.

He was even more excited the next morning when he found some money under his pillow. Now if I can just come up with a good reason for the tooth fairy to keep his tooth maybe he'll stop asking me why she kept it. Here he is in all his toothless glory.