the big show is almost here!

This afternoon, SweetPea had her first taste of being in the limelight... and she LOVED it! I honestly wasn't sure how she would do being on stage and having an audience and now, I am looking back and wondering why I was worried about it at all. Not only did she remember her dance steps (and proved it by "running through her steps" back stage) but she smiled, had fun and totally ate up the applause and adoration.

I was a little surprised that she was so "willing" to go through everything on her own since I can still remember that moment of fear racing through me before I would get on stage to perform. I loved to dance and loved my classes but getting up in front of a group of people for any reason has always left me anxiety-ridden. Thankfully, SweetPea didn't inherit that from me since she wanted all eyes on her the entire time... even when she wasn't supposed to have them.

My very own little Cinderella, reaching for the prince

It did shock me though how much she didn't enjoy the make-up. After looking forward to that for weeks now, she couldn't wait to take it back off again. Ah yes, there's my girl! I knew that my genes must have entered into her development somewhere.

But the costume? She kept calling today "costume night" and couldn't wait to put her ballet dress on. When tap was over, she refused to allow us to change her back into street clothes. The shoes? She would live in her tap shoes if we let her. Tiaras and bows? Oh yes, the more the better. But make-up? Yeah, she can definitely leave that one alone.

Biggest thrill for today though was receiving her first bouquet from daddy. I am not sure who was closer to tears... daddy handing his little girl her flowers or SweetPea accepting them from him. It was one of those moments that you just know that you will cherish the rest of your life. The look on both their faces at that very moment in time.

Happy Father's Day!

trip to the lake

water was a little cold for Pork

sand fights

relaxing with daddy

and wondering why he is so sweaty :)

Baywatch recreation lol

no age or height restriction? game on!

Yep, that's our little speck

proud daddy moment

Our very own little hurricane

our 27th annual fishing derby

Over and done with for another year. I can't believe that Pork has now competed in his first ever fishing derby. Or that Peanut and SweetPea got to enjoy another year. I would like to say that Pickle enjoyed himself but I think that he spent more time walking around with a buddy than he did fishing (and this was his last year being able to compete). Punk... well, he decided, once again, to remain at his dad's than come and join us. So it was his loss.

No big winners in our house hold this year. Didn't see anyone break Peanut's record from three years ago but they had some nice sized fish on the board. I was a little disappointed to find out AFTER the derby that any fish turned in got an angler certificate. Had I known that, I would have let the girls turn in their small fish.

SweetPea with her hand-caught fish

That's right, both my girls caught a fish! Peanut caught hers with her pole and some bait while SweetPea caught an injured fish with her bare hands lol. Pork tried fishing a bit but found it better to just beat the water with his rod and hope for the best. The best turning out to be hooking his sister (we took off his hook after that and just let him continue to attempt to beat the fish into submission).

Our little friend that came fishing with us, C, didn't managed to hook a fish either but he DID end up winning one of the door prizes. I think that that brightened his day since he was a bit bummed over his streak of luck.

We missed last year's derby due to SweetPea's soccer pictures and boy had things changed! For one, there wasn't a casting challenge anymore. For two, the pond wasn't packed to the gills the way that it normally always was. Our group caught less this year than any other year as well, even though there were less people there. Maybe it was the liverwurst we attempted to use as bait... Going to have to remember to stick with the hot dogs next year.

Buttercup and Wesley

Ever since we went on vacation and SweetPea watched the movie "The Princess Bride", we have been inundated with requests to legally change the names of our two youngest children to Buttercup and Wesley. SweetPea goes through many days where she will only answer to her self-appointed nickname and requests that you call Pork by Wesley. She has gone as far as introducing herself by this new name, attempting to write it on her lessons and scolding me for calling PorkChop by the "wrong" name. To be honest, I find it insufferably cute that she has developed such a liking for a character. At the same time, I get enough weird looks without people wondering why I chose to name my daughter Buttercup.

Dueling to a "draw"

Tonight, while forcing Wesley to carry her baby for her (since Buttercup is a princess and Wesley just says "As you wish" which really means "I love you"), I made him a little cardboard sword so he could be happier. Didn't last long before Buttercup insisted that she needed a sword too but that hers needed to be longer and thinner and not so black in the handle.

The two then raced outside and proceeded to duel. Didn't last too long before Wesley's sword was quite a bit crumpled and Buttercup noticed that her sword was better for drawing pictures in the sand.

I am pretty certain that I am going to have to resign myself to a future of grandkids with names like Indigo, Humperdink, and Wesley. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

My little cold-blooded lover

And my warm-blooded creature snuggler

The hippo was happy to see us :)

A rare shot with mama's favorite flowers (not his favorite scent)

Sloth kisses <3

Pork's favorite exhibit of the zoo

my very special presents :)

change of plans (and scenery)

I am adult enough to understand that sometimes, things change without a moment's notice. Like today for example... Hubby got sent out on the road. With his hours being so short lately, we all need to be grateful for the extra time. Unfortunately, that extra time means that he wasn't here for lunch (or dinner), something that really upsets SweetPea and PorkChop. It also means that Punk's appointment had to be rescheduled until the end of this month. Right after track ends, in fact. Punk is insisting that while he is upset that he has another eleven days in his cast, that he is ok with missing all but the last two soccer games. He is not so cool with not getting to compete in any more track meets though. I wish that I could do something more for him.

New favorite activity... feeding the geese

To make up daddy being gone for lunch with the littles, I organized a trip to the park to feed the wildlife. Pork was REALLY excited and even managed to say "ducks" and "geek" (geese). I am totally enamored with his growing vocabulary. And while its still very lacking, each and every new word is like a song to my soul. It makes my heart grow bigger and a smile just as wide to cross my face. SweetPea enjoyed getting to bring a picnic lunch with us and shared more of her sandwich with the ants than she did with her own stomach.

Another treat since daddy was gone... I hooked up and ran the sprinkler for the first time this year. Last year, Pork was ok with looking at it but this year, he had fun filling his little water can and proceeding to dump it on his unsuspecting siblings. SweetPea and Peanut still lack the finesse of truly playing in the water.... preferring to run along the very edges and barely get their legs wet. Punk even joined in for a bit, complete with a plastic bag over his cast to keep it protected.

Dinner was our third treat. Knowing that meal times are always eaten around the family table, I decided to host a dinner a la fresco style in the backyard. Punk ate at the picnic table, Pickle decided to use the clubhouse and the three youngest ones took to various spots in the yard, moving whenever their "wolf pack" became threatened by a mom with a camera.

It might not have been the way the day had been planned to go, but it was sure a great bit nicer than all of us moping around the house for different reasons.

one more for the road

One last picture, we hope. Tomorrow, Punk goes back to the orthopedic surgeon to see if his wrist is healed enough to take the cast off. I know that he is more than ready and so am I. With soccer and track seasons approaching the midway mark, I know that he is itching to resume play on the fields. Not that I can blame him one bit either. Its been a LONG year of injuries for him and I don't even have to imagine that he is ready for a break (and a chance to see his arm again).

one last picture

If all goes well, tomorrow afternoon, he will be cast free and heading off to his track meet. I really hope that we don't have a repeat of last time. I seriously don't see how we could since this break was an "easier" one than the first and since it took us a week to cast it (and it should only need to be cast two to three weeks).

I miss watching Punk play soccer. I miss watching him participate in track (even if I only got to see the one meet). I know that the warm weather is coming and with that, swimming and beach time. I know that he is ready for that.

I will breathe easier tomorrow after this is over. 

Our first visit from the Tooth Fairy

Literally, our first visit from the tooth fairy. As a young toddler, Peanut was terrified of the idea of people/creatures entering her house while she was sleeping. There was nothing magical about Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny, etc. Those induced panic that I have never seen her such a young child. So we nixed them. I figured that telling a lie, even in good spirits and then having to deal with them coming to the truth wasn't something that I wanted to do anyway. I try to always be as honest as possible with my children, so why should I create magical beings when I try my hardest to incorporate magic into our every day life?
Easy... because this little face chose to believe in the tooth fairy all on her own. No one had to tell her that she exists, she just does. And while I could have sat SweetPea down and told her the truth and crushed her imaginative spirit, instead I took the time to explain things that we see with our eyes and those that we see with our hearts. The tooth fairy is one that we see with our hearts. As long as we believe, the magic is there. Once we stop believing, the magic ends. Amazingly enough, SweetPea agreed. And not just a "If I nod my head, my mama will stop talking" agreed but an honest "Like Santa Claus and the North Pole?" Yes, baby girl, just like that.

Someone got a very special visit during the night!

SweetPea was very impressed by her five dollars in bills and change awaiting for her under her pillow when she woke this morning. Even more impressed when mama said yes to paying for her own brownie from the local bakery. Daddy and mama didn't want the tooth fairy to get all the credit (because yes, we are selfish people and want some of that adoration as well) so we kept the tradition that I started and allowed SweetPea to "pick a prize" for losing her first tooth. Her choice? A mermaid Loopsie. Wonderful. So now I am on a mission to find Coral Sea Shells in the "big size".

Now that the magic of losing that first tooth has wore off, SweetPea has already started wiggling her second. Yikes! Thankfully, its not quite ready to pop out yet which is good for me. I am not ready for my baby girl to be toothless yet.

My baby girl is growing up!

I was really excited to share today about SweetPea's dance pictures. I even debated sharing some pictures of her in her costumes, all dolled up in her dance finery with her hair curled and that sweet smile of her's adorning her face.

Instead, I forgot to grab a single picture of her in costume. Totally unlike me. But I called it! While sitting in the parking lot of the dance studio, waiting for our time to go in and get SweetPea ready for her pictures, this happened....

Notice anything different?

Ahhhh!!! Wasn't she just born yesterday? Didn't those sweet baby teeth just make their appearance!? I knew it though. Once she showed me her wiggly tooth about a week ago, I just KNEW that she would lose it during her dance pictures. Actually, I had some very bad dreams about her literally losing it during her pictures, the gum bleeding and staining her costume and SweetPea losing her head. Instead, though, it popped out while she was having a snack while waiting for her pictures. No bleeding, no tears, just *pop* and her little tooth laid there in her hand.

She is beyond words excited for this momentous event. I really wasn't sure how we would proceed but she informed us that the tooth fairy was going to be paying her a visit tonight. Ok then, that solved if we were going to go down that route or not.

I am still in shock though. Punk lost his first tooth about a week before his seventh birthday. Peanut was about 6.5 years old when she lost her first. SweetPea blew them both out of the water by losing her first at just shy of 4 years and 3 months! Wow!

Cinco de huh?!

Today was definitely a first. And hopefully a last. I am not sure that my feelings have ever been so hurt by one of my children before in my life. I am aware that that is saying a lot and not much at all in the grand scheme of things. Honestly, if my children only stab at my heart the one time in their childhoods, its really not that much. But being my first born son and knowing how much effort I put into today.... yeah, it stung.

You see, this beautiful little boy pictured below? He was not the birthday boy. But I felt it a bit inappropriate to take a picture of an empty yard and share that. But I should have. That's pretty much how it felt when Punk stood everyone up today and failed to show at his own birthday party.

not the birthday boy

After biking yesterday and then an impromptu bbq with our friends, which was followed up by s'mores around the bonfire, we got home late late! And I knew that I still had a ton of prep work for today to get done. Cupcakes to get baked (two different kinds... chocolate cupcakes with cookie dough frosting especially picked by the celebrated child and vanilla bean cupcakes with a chai  frosting for those of us unable to have dairy at the party), potato salad to prepare, a house to clean, a yard to get in order, etc. So the hubby and I stayed up WAY too late getting what we could done and then I got up WAY too early to finish. But we worked together and we got it done. Every single thing that we had on our to-do list, we accomplished.

So we got a few minutes to sit back and relax before people started arriving. Family arrived, friends arrived... my good friend drove across the state to come and celebrate with us. And yet, birthday boy himself didn't show. I called his dad's house, no answer. I left voice messages.... no response. Hubby fired up the bbq and we began feeding our guests. Still waiting.

Finally, three hours after the party began, Punk returned my call. And cried because he had to leave his dad's house to come to his own birthday party. So I hung up. Hung up and had to tell everyone that the birthday boy wouldn't be in attendance. Do you know how low it is to be stood up by your own son? People came to help honor his thirteen years on the planet and he couldn't be bothered to leave his video games and come home.

People left cards on the table for him. Family took their cards home with the message that when he has time to fit them in his life again, they will give him their wishes. Dishes were done, food put away. We settled down with those remaining and enjoyed the last bit of cool breezes and late afternoon sunshine.

Punk did finally come home... two hours before bedtime. With a sheepish grin, expecting us to be happy to see him. I will say, he went to bed disappointed.

and away we go!

Our first big ride of the year with friends.... Our last big ride of the year with said friends. lol The joys of expanding your family during the summer months. Take it from someone who has birthed twice (technically) in the summer, once in the spring and once in the winter... Spring and winter babies are the best if you love outdoor activities. And depending on what those activities are, winter babies might be the best. Ok, winter babies are the best for me since one of my favorite things to do is our family bike rides. And bike riding while pretty pregnant just isn't always the most fun thing to do.

Riding around for almost 20 miles with your pregnant buddy, both your husbands and both your toddler boys makes for some fun times. And some really stressful, annoying ones too. But I tend to try to focus on the good times. Who cares how fast someone went when its all said and done? Who cares how many times you had to stop and try to find a decent bathroom (and might I add that they don't really exist at huge state parks!) because really? Asking for a clean bathroom with doors might be asking for too much.

What makes it worth it is accomplishing your goals and spending the time outdoors with friends....

Biker Buddies (the young edition)

I can only imagine that those two little faces really didn't care about much other than the fact that they got to play at the park. They had a blast going up and down hills that left all the adults panting, sweating and sometimes, stopping and throwing their hands up in momentary defeat. Watching these two little boys go up and down the slides, attempt to "walk" across the plank bridge, make music on the giant organ... those things are what is worth remembering.

I know that not all our rides this spring/summer will end up like today. I know that some will be much more physically challenging while the majority will be a cakewalk of a ride. I know that we won't get to go out with our riding buddies again until next year when both them and ourselves will have a matching set of littles (just differing ages), stowing behind in the trailers. But for a first (and last) ride of the season, today was perfect!

its a dirty job, but someone has to do it

Having a large family, I try my hardest to teach my children the importance of being kind to the Earth. I know that large families leave a large carbon foot print so I feel extra responsible for raising green-conscientious children. I try to buy more "real" food than processed food (although I am far from perfect), I look for the least packaging that I can get with our produce. We recycle everything and anything that our city will take back (which is actually a fair-ish number of items). We use our yard waste, instead of disposing of it through the yard waste removal program. Most years, we garden (sadly, it looks like its just not going to happen this year due to money issues). And now, we are getting more serious about composting.

Start them young and make it a habit

For some reason, composting is one thing that kind of worried me. I have had no problem making my own laundry soap for the past three years. I love our cloth in the bathroom and for diapering needs. We don't buy paper plates, cups, napkins, etc even when bbq'ing.... we just make sure that we are prepared for the onslaught of dirty dishes. But for some reason, the thought of using every piece of fruit core, every single egg shell, every scrap of peeled veggies just made me.... I don't know? Feel like I was leaving a mess instead of cleaning it up? Turning our backyard into a dumping ground? Giving the dogs something else to dig up and eat?

But in actuality, its easy. Most of the kids don't even mind helping with the turning, digging, raking, watering.... They volunteer to take the scraps out and are actually pretty impressed by the subtle color changes in the dirt that we have already seen this past year. I am pretty impressed that after the first few times, the dogs have learned that the compost area doesn't contain meat, hence there is not a single thing of interest to them. And most importantly, it hasn't seemed to attract the local wildlife that I was worried would be invading our yard for an easy meal.

I won't say that I am an expert on this, because I am far from it. I won't even say that I am really a novice since I am totally learning as I go. But I will say that I am proud to be the parent of child that asks if waste can go in the compost, recycling or if its ready for the garbage. And I am VERY proud that for a family of seven people, four pets and a wild life, that we only throw out maybe three garbage bags a week (and that's mainly because when the rabbits' cage gets changed/cleaned out, the garbage bag goes out too, full or not).

back to The Rink, we go

Out of the blue, SweetPea reminded me last night about preschool skate. I honestly thought after it fizzling out last year (unless we had friends attending with us) that she wouldn't think about going back this year. Well, then, someone in her dance class mentioned skating and she was hooked yet again. So of course, that's where we spent our morning... skating (and running) around the rink.

Look at her go!

I cannot believe that next year at this time, I will be chasing TWO around in skates. I may be doing that before the end of summer as it is. Pork is just so coordinated that I think that if I bought him some toddler skates, that I could have him join in the fun. And I know that it would definitely become more fun for SweetPea since she was pretty bummed again today that there were only five little ones there, two of them being her and her brother.

I am half tempted to hold off and wait until the summer break to try again. But our Wednesdays are so busy during those months since we do the library reading club. And I KNOW that she adores those trips. *sigh*

Part of me wishes that Peanut and/or Punk were younger so they could join this with her. Or that Porker was just a tad bit older so he could join in (not that I want him to grow up any faster than he is!!) Maybe once we get those toddler skates, I will strap on a pair and join them. Of course, I may need to invent some butt protector pillows first. 

here we go again.... hmm hmm... catch us if you can

Miracle of all miracles.... the orthopedic surgeon had a cancellation today and could fit Punk in. Which was not a moment too soon, from my stand point. Even sending  note to school from hubby and I stating that Punk was NOT to participate in gym because of the injury, sending Punk to school wearing a brace to keep his wrist in place.... the gym teacher decided that since it wasn't an official doctor's note, that he not could but WOULD participate in gym class. We picked him up for his appointment and he showed us the lovely new raw patch on his knee from where he fell and proceeded to slide in gym to keep off his hands. Apparently, only a doctor can keep a student out of a class. Not a parent with the knowledge to know that a radiologist told you NO activity until the bone is set, not the student with the broken bone... only a doctor. So frustrated with schools right now.

Trying to make the most of things

X-rays done today showed the buckle fracture much clearer than the initial scans did. I am not sure if that's normal for them to show up stronger after a few weeks or if it was just because Punk had been (still was?) using the wrist. Good news though is that this bright orange cast (meaning caution... hazard boy coming through) should only have to be on until May 9. Then he might go into a fracture brace again or if enough healing is done, which it should be, he will be cast free.

Seventh grade and soccer just hasn't been a banner year for Punk. Three casts, two quarters of soccer played and one track meet. I am thinking that its pretty safe to say that he will not be returning to soccer next year. I think that we need a year break from, well, breaks.

Stay calm.... We got this

Eight days ago, Punk broke his wrist for the second time. Eight days. Do you know WHEN we can get him in to have it checked/casted? Another eight days. Ugh! I understand that the ortho/surgeon that we took him to the last time is busy but seriously?! Sixteen days of waiting for something that should take 2-3 weeks in a cast to heal? I am so beyond frustrated with this. I did call around and found somewhere that can fit him in on Friday. That's better... only two more days of waiting. I think that I can handle that better. Ok, so I HAVE to handle that better since I don't have a choice in the matter.

Pretty much sums up my mood.

Right now, I feel like life is a huge cycle of hurrying up to wait. Waiting for the ortho appointment so I can stop worrying that Punk is going to do more damage. Hurrying up and waiting for us to get underway on our next "project", which will be building the littles a set of bunk beds for their room. Hurrying up and waiting for hubby's hours at work to return to normal so we can get underway on our home projects. Hurrying up and waiting for spring.... Yes, an early spring was predicted this year and what did the littles and I find today when we went outside? Snow!

I am starting to think that this year is yanking my chain just a bit. I am not quite sure which cosmic power is having a good laugh at my expense but I am really hoping that I am giving them a good chuckle at the very least.

leap of.......

When you get a phone call from the doctor's office, its never a good thing. Just once I would like a doctor to call and say "Hello, I have good news. Nothing is wrong. Just wanted to tell you to have a blessed day." But nope, offices don't do that. Instead they call to tell you that they are sorry, but new appointments need to be made. Things get overlooked. Specialists need to be called.

walking on air

I really thought the call was about Pork. After all, two stool samples have been taken to the hospital and yet, no call has ever been given to us to let us know what the heck happened with his stomach/digestive tract over vacation. Best guess that I have now is that he must have picked up something from the petting zoo in St Louis. But it could have been norovirus or rotovirus as well. Not knowing why he had severe diarrhea for two straight weeks doesn't thrill me. But knowing that his body is healed on its own (apparently) makes me happy.

Speaking of happy, Punk is the exact opposite. After a wonderful track practice tonight, coming home with the expectation that he would be preparing for soccer, I had to break (ha ha) the news to him that we got a call from radiology today letting us know that he, in fact, DID break his wrist again. We need to now put a call into the orthopedic surgeon and have him re-x-rayed, cast, and pulled out of sports/gym until it heals. Wonderful.

The only good news that I could offer him is that they said that he most likely has a buckle type fracture this time. Which is a much quicker heal than his last break. We are only looking at 2-3 weeks instead of 4-6 weeks in a cast. Basically though, just long enough to take him almost to the end of his track season and about halfway through this season of soccer.

I am just concerned at this point that he has been walking around (running, stumbling, throwing, catching, etc) with a broken wrist for a week. I am really hoping that no further damage was done and that when he get in to the ortho, that it really is a quick heal. 

I hate making Punk unhappy. I hate hearing him cry because he is now missing out on everything that he loves once again because of a broken wrist. I really wish that there was some way that I could make this up to him but I know that having a mom hanging all over you, trying to cheer you up is just not the "cool" thing when you are 13. Instead, I have to just put on a brave face and allow him to work through the grief on his own. Hopefully, he will find his silver lining soon.

one proud mama today

Anyone who knows Punk knows that he loves sports. Loves them! And it makes us all laugh because he hates running. Detests it. He will run for short distances but he just doesn't enjoy the feel of a good, long distance run (and neither does his mom ha ha!) So imagine our shock when first, he comes home and tells us that he wants to join track and our even bigger shock when he sticks with it.

Yes, my soccer star now runs track! 

I think that a major part of it was his coach saying how track helps you build endurance for other sports. Which is true. And that its a great complimentary sport for those that are interested in athletics. Which is true too. Doesn't hurt that one of the coaches is one of Punk's favorite teachers. Having someone you admire tell you something that your parents have been trying to tell you for years definitely goes a long way to cementing that idea in your head.

Punk at his first ever track meet

Since Punk's school has an extra abundance of track members (well over 100), he wasn't selected to "represent" his school in the meets but performs for "personal best". Today, he did the running long jump, 50 meter dash and 75 meter dash. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't out of my seat proud! Just to see him stick with this and really work made me so happy. That he went to his first meet after not being able to practice with the team for most of last week made me even prouder. I wanted to just tell everyone that my boy isn't a quitter but a fighter!

Today's goals were logged and he will compete against those scores on Thursday. I am not sure if he competes in the same activities week after week or if they will end up switching it up a bit. I know that he has no interest in ever running the hurdles or doing the high jump but I do know that he wouldn't mind doing shot put at least once or twice.

art imitates life

First things first.... a trip to the doctor ended up in the cards today for Punk. X-rays were taken and the doctor is pretty confident (99%) that he just sprained his wrist. HUGE sigh of relief! He is off gym for the rest of the week and was told not to attend Saturday's soccer game. He can still attend his first track meet on Monday and can go back to soccer on Tuesday. I feel SO much better knowing that everything is going to be ok and that he just needs to keep the wrist wrapped for a few days. Totally feeling like we dodged a major bullet this time.

Someone is going to be an amazing daddy someday.

The littles, totally unaware of any bullet  dodging, enjoyed a very pleasant morning outside with their paints. Pork, who probably was fondly reminiscing about our vacation this morning, just couldn't seem to leave little Yoshi behind. He found his sister's mei tai carrier and brought me the stuffed toy asking "Pack? Pack?" How can you say no to that?

I think that we ended up spending almost an hour in the sun painting beautiful masterpieces. Our art gallery hung on the garage all afternoon, waiting to dry. SweetPea had a blast painting her new favorite animal "black tip reef sharks" while Pork's art was a wonderful hodge podge of color on the paper, trees, grass, garage door, etc.

Days like today have me yearning even more for a consistent rise in temperatures. So hard to believe that this time last year, our weather had already had enough days hot enough to allow the kids plenty of water time. This year? Nothing yet. I know that its coming and that I need to be patient but spring sport season puts me in the mood for, well, spring weather. And I am not sure that the groundhog and I see eye to this year on what constitutes "spring".

and so it begins again

Its that time again. Sports season begins to reign supreme in our house. Tonight, Punk had his first soccer game of the spring season and SweetPea had her dance class, at the same time. *sigh* It really stinks trying to be the parent sometimes when you need to be in two places at the same time.

day one and he is already worn out!

Punk did fine last year attending some of his soccer games without one of us being there. Pickle would ride to the field with him and then they would ride home together. This year is proving that that cannot be the case. I arrived after SweetPea's dance class, in the middle of the second quarter, to find Punk sitting on the sidelines because of an injury. Flashbacks to the fall season, first game, where Punk broke his wrist flashed through my head. I checked and it looked ok... a bit puffy but no where near odd like when the entire field sat for him last season. I asked how bad it hurt and he said bad enough that he just wanted to go home. *double sigh*

Hubby thinks that he just is done with soccer. That playing with kids that are all way taller than him has him quitting. I know that he doesn't want to miss going to his dad's house on the weekends and having a weekend game does cut into how much time he can stay there (since bio-dad refuses to transport for game time, lame!) I guess that only time will tell. 

We decided against urgent care tonight since he can move his hand and fingers, something that he couldn't initially do in September. If the wrist still feels sore tomorrow, I will go ahead and make an appointment. Gut instinct is telling me that he probably just sprained it. Hubby's gut is telling him that its all just a way to get out of playing. I think that I need to just breathe and remember that just because he got hurt last season doesn't mean that he is seriously hurt now. 

happy (belated) 13th birthday

Yes, its a bit late... a day late, actually. But since we finished our grand vacation on Punk's birthday, I had to celebrate with a cake tonight. And its not ALL bad considering that he has spent three of his last four birthdays on a grand vacation. I think that its becoming a bit of a trend for us. 

celebrating becoming a teenager

We arrived back home from Kentucky at about 2am. Late enough to send the kids to bed and not worry too much about unpacking/cleaning/organizing. I see many, many, many days of all those in my immediate future. Hubby got a bonus day off so we used today wisely on grocery shopping, meal planning, SLEEPING....

Punk got to select his favorite dinner for his birthday, a tradition that I adore. He picked quiche... something that I have not attempted since Pork's birth. I will say though, I am really glad that he suggested it. I found out that I could make a passable dairy-free quiche. I am not a huge fan of the veggie cheese in it but eh, I can learn to deal. The rest of the family loved every last piece of all three "pies".

As for the cake.... Punk picked chocolate on chocolate. Boring! So I had the grand idea to spice it up a bit and create my own chocolate cherry cake. I made a chocolate cake, a cherry/almond frosting and then added maraschino cherries all over it. It turned out heavenly! My only fault was that I should have waited longer to frost the cake because by the time that the candles were blown out, the poor cake was melting everywhere!

Tonight was too short of notice for the family to attend but we plan on hosting a party for Punk as soon as my sister comes back from her honeymoon and things settle back down for us all. After ten days of vacation, I think that we are all ready for a little routine in our lives again.

our grand vacation day 10....

second trip to Mammoth

Happy 13th birthday to my Punk

this is what family really is

cave writing from the late 1900s

gypsum... specialty of the snowball tour

cave opening that discovered this passage

dining in the snowball room of the Mammoth Caves 267ft below ground

the men in my life

all the girls took turns wearing my sweatshirt

Pork's first time on a bus

apparently, its bad to accept calls from bats

second family trip here... definitely not the last

first time meeting friends and fellow blogger

downtown Louisville

our grand vacation day 9

visiting the home of county music... Grand Ole Opry House

best Davey Jones out there

eating at Aquarium.. an underwater dining experience

Lost River Cave in Bowling Green, Kentucky

our future Appalachian Trail gang

first time having a real frozen treat

daddy's littlest water bug

flipping over what an awesome time we had