We Love T-Ball...

We love our borough's T-Ball program. It has been such a wonderful experience for Huckleberry. Stretch has really enjoyed assistant coaching and it's hard to believe that The Tigers last game is on Saturday. Here are some great pics from the season:

Awaiting his turn at bat

Ready to field a ground ball

Huckleberry loves to tell people how he can hit a double!

Is there anything sexier than watching your husband coach your son?

The Tigers Cheering Section - Chicken Nugget & her dear friend wearing last year's jerseys

Bubble Fun

If your kids are like mine - we go through alot of bubble solution. Most of it ends up on my driveway. Here's a fun recipe you can make at home with the kids:

2 1/2 cups of water

1/4 cup of dish detergent

1/8 cup of corn syrup

Stir well and enjoy!

Happy Belated Mother's Day...

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all you mothers out there. Especially my own.

I had big plans to write a wonderful tribute to my mother and post it yesterday. I'll explain why it never happened.

My Mother's Day morning started out well. The kids came in at 6:30 because they were so excited to wish me a Happy Mother's Day... I thanked them graciously and then sweetly explained that a real treat for Mommy today would be that I get to sleep in. They surprisingly agreed. Great.

I awoke to presents from each of the kids and my husband and then a egg, cheese, and bacon bagel sandwich for breakfast. Still going great.

My husband took our Milton Hershey boys to chapel at 9 and the kids and I hung out until they came home a little after ten. Then I did a little laundry from our apartment at MHS and then I was heading out to Hersheypark for a few hours with some of our MHS boys. I met a few of my girlfriends there (RB scored free day passes to Hersheypark for moms) and we rode rides together for a few hours. Still a great day.

And then it happened. While standing in line for the front seats of the Great Bear (my alltime favorite ride) I started feeling one of my typical, weekly headaches coming on. But it was getting intense quickly. Then I noticed that the lower area of my right eye was getting blurry. At first I thought it was just a smudge on my glasses, but no. I was getting a full fledged migraine. We rode the Great Bear, twice. And after the second time, I was done. I excused myself from my friends and started towards the front gates when I realized I wasn't going to make it - I was going to either pass out on the trek, or throw up. I took a detour and headed to the First Aid station (which happened to NOT be as close as I would have liked), all the while holding my vomit back. I kept thinking - I do not want to throw up around all these people, I do not want to throw up in those bushes, I do not want to throw up in that garbage can.

Phew. I made it to the First Aid station. Laid down for about 15 minutes until I felt my stomache subside a bit. Then realized, I had to meet my MHS boys back at the van at 5:00 and it was pushing 4:30, and I knew I would need the entire half an hour to get there. So, off I left. By the time I made it to the van, I thought I was going to die. Literally. I stood hunched over next to the van just waiting for the vomit to hit - but I'll be darned, it just wouldn't come out.

The whole ride home I kept thinking, well if it hits me now, I'll pull over next to that restaurant. If it hits me on the next block, I'll pull of into that patch of grass. Ugh... what a miserable ride home. I made it back to our student home just in time, to puke my guts up for an hour and then lie in bed until 9 pm praying whatever was causing so much pain in my head wouldn't explode, while my sweet husband held down the fort - making dinner, packing our things, and taking 13 high school boys, and our own three young children to a mandatory softball game. He was awesome.

I'm feeling remarkably better this morning, but definitely feel like I spent yesterday in sheer agony. I'm calling the doctor, the chiropractor AND the massage therapist today.

So, I'm sorry mom that I never got to your tribute. It would have been beautiful, just like you.

Time to Pack Up Kids...

Well, it's time to pack up the family again. We're off to the Milton Hershey School this weekend. Stretch, myself, and our three kids pack up our things every other weekend and work as Relief Houseparents to 13 High School Boys. It's a tiring, and sometimes rewarding job.

By this time of the day, I'm usually packed. Today? Not so much. Instead, I'm blogging? Why, you ask? Because I don't feel like going to MHS this weekend! And when I don't "feel" like doing something, I procrastinate until the last possible moment. It's a wonderful character trait I possess. My husband "loves" it. ha

Since I never got my act together enough to do laundry it is piled high on the laundry room floor. Hoping I could get away with packing from what's left in our dressers was a lofty idea - and obviously now I realize will not work. So, what should I do? Of course, I'll just pack a bag of dirty clothes that I SHOULD HAVE WASHED days ago, and wash them tonight at Hershey. Brilliant.

That's what I'll do. My husband will be so proud of my resourcefulness, don't you think?

Coming out of it...

Well, ladies... I do think I'm coming out of my funk and feeling a little more like myself again. I'm getting things back in order and have been to the food store, bought diapers and am finally over losing my sunglasses.

For about 2 years now I have noticed that I feel great for like 3 weeks straight and then it hits me - I lose all motivation... I mean all. I don't get up before the kids, I don't want to wash the dishes, I neglect the laundry for an entire week, sometimes two. And then I start to come out of my fog and have quite a disaster on my hands because I've let EVERYTHING go.

If you know me, you know I'm a "feeling" kinda girl. God created me with all sorts of personality traits, but the two traits I tend to lean on most are emotion and feeling. I'm not a big thinker (surprise, I know) I run quite strictly on my emotions. So I decided to do something that is not part of my personality - I thought I would "track" my moods - not based on the circumstances of the day, but an overall feeling. And because I have it written down in black and white, it now makes perfect sense - it's my hormones!

Since having my third child, I definitely notice alot more hormonal issues that I will choose to not go into today (your welcome) but for sure, my hormones are in high gear in my thirties.

But what do they say, "knowledge is power"? I know now that my hormones are different than they used to be, so I know now how to pray. Everyday my prayer has been, "Lord whatever my hormones are doing today, whatever the circumstances of my day will be, help me build my house on the rock."

God created our hormones, for good reason, but certainly NOT to take over our moods, our day, our lives. Satan wants nothing more than to let something else control us. But the Lord is in control. And I claim it everyday.

If you want to know more about YOUR personality, check out my dear friends post at Mirror, Mirror.

We'll Call Him Stretch...

OK, none of you came up with a good blogger name for my husband, so I've been calling him "husband". And he's not thrilled. He shouldn't be. It's a terrible nickname.

And then I realize, why am I asking other people to name MY husband??? I know him better than any of you. So I thought of some of his endearing qualities; he's humble, funny, thoughtful, strong, giving, handsome, forgetful (oh wait, that's not endearing), artistic, supportive, smart and a great gardener. Then, I tried to come up with a name for him, and they were all corny. YOU try and come up with a name for a humble man that isn't corny.

So, I'm calling him Stretch.

Stretch is 6'4". With an entire foot difference between us, he towers over me. And I like that. It makes me feel safe. I appreciate his height. He can reach things I can't. Kids think he's enormous. Adults ask him how tall he is. And everyone assumes he's a really good basketball player.

It's hard to find clothes for his long arms and legs and even harder to find size 14 shoes on sale.

But nevertheless, I love that he's tall.

So, What's New?

I know I haven't been posting much. Thanks for checkin' in. Truly, nothing that's going on in my life seems worthy of the written word. Not that I'm not busy, it's just nothing exciting. In fact, I dread when the phone rings and someone asks, "so, what's new"?

What's new? Hmmm, let me see:

I lost my prescription sunglasses last week & had to replace them at the tune of $174.

Huckleberry's TBall is going well. He made his first out of the season on Saturday.

Chicken Nugget's gymnastics class is going well. She loves it.

We've been surviving on frozen waffles and canned peaches for days - I just can't seem to get it together enough to go to the food store.

I'm fat - and I just can't seem to get it together enough to go for a run. You would think with the lack of food in my house I'd at least been losing a few pounds. Nope.

There's a note in my file at the optometrist's office that reads "uncooperative patient" - I'd rather die than get those awful eye-numbing drops in my eyes.

I have two diapers left - I just can't seem to get it together enough to go to Wal-Mart.

On Saturday Pumpkin Pie passed out on Stretch. Yes, really, passed out. She's fine now.

We went to Friendly's for lunch this weekend and I let all three children have ice cream for lunch. No chicken fingers and french fries... just ice cream.

I hate laundry. My basement is a sea of clean unfolded laundry that will most likely be too wrinkled to wear. I just can't seem to get it together enough to fold it.

Anyone see the common thread in this post? I CAN'T SEEM TO GET IT TOGETHER! So, like I said - nothing exciting. So forgive me for not writing sooner, but this stuff is boring.

Suffocating at the Mall...

I was at the mall the other day. By myself. Let me say that again - BY MYSELF. Sounds nice, doesn't it? Any other time I'm at the mall, I'm carting along three kids. We don't stop at stores that interest me. We check out the sales at Children's Place, then head over to the Disney Store, then a brief check in Old Navy for kids clothes on sale, and then grab an Auntie Anne's Pretzel loaded with cinnamon and sugar to share on our way out.

When I'm by myself - it's a different story. I go to the shops that interest me. Bath & Body Works to see if the foaming soap I love for the bathroom is 4 for $10, head to the rack in the way back of the Gap to find a bargain, then over to Macy's to try on a bathing suit (who am I kidding), pass Auntie Anne's (because I just came out of Macy's), loop around to Old Navy and then I'm done.

I always think I'm going to thoroughly enjoy myself at the mall when I'm flyin' solo. But I don't.

As I walk into the Gap, I think to myself: I'm not really this preppy. Better leave.
As I walk into Lady Foot Locker, I think to myself: I'm not really athletic. Better leave.
As I walk into Old Navy, I think to myself: I'm not really this trendy. Better leave.
As I walk into Sears, I think to myself: I'm not really this old. Better leave.

See, when I'm with my kids, I'm taking care of their needs. I'm not thinking inwardly, and I'm certainly not paying attention to anyone else at the mall. I imagine that when people notice me and the kids, they see a confident mom with three kids. At least that's how I feel... I've got clean clothes on, a little lip gloss, and we're having a good time out at the mall.

When I'm not with my kids, I turn very inward. And I feel like just another woman... and out of style, frumpy, no make up woman. I lose all sense of confidence. I question who I am, what style I like, and I get horrendously indecisive.

I slowed up to peek into Abercrombie & Fitch today thinking I might go in when I noticed the "boy" who was working in the front of the store was looking at me while I was looking in, and I thought to myself, "who are you kidding", you aren't cool enough to step foot in that store. People would laugh.

Oh I hate that people would laugh. Not out loud I hope, but to themselves - which for me is far worse. See... I actually love to MAKE people laugh. I enjoy telling you my flaws in order to make you laugh and put you at ease that you aren't the only lunatic mom out there. It's an entirely different story when you see MY flaws and you're laughing at me.

So while I'm in the mall, walking the halls, now not confident enough to go into most of the stores around me, I think about what others must think about me: why is she in this store; she's certainly not shopping for herself; wow for a girl her age, she's really let herself go. And then in my head I start rebutting the ridiculous comments I have decided others must be saying: "they don't know I have three small kids, that I'm out for a brief moment without them, that I'm dressed like this because I just came from a TBall game, and that I rarely buy myself new clothes and it's not because I don't want to"!

And then I snap out of it - the people around me don't know me, they don't care how I'm dressed. And if they have noticed, who cares. I realize I'm going WAY too inward for my own good. And so I go home. No bags in hand.

I feel as though I've just been suffocating in the mall and actually look forward to the moment I'm back in my minivan, alone.

So why am I confident when I'm with my kids and considerably lack it when I'm alone?
(i think this is a rhetorical question, but if you feel a real desire to comment, please do)

What in the World?

What do an old cell phone, a used lollipop stick, a Transformer toy, a used Band-Aid, and 62 cents have in common???

Nothing. I just found them all in the bottom of my washer. My son's cargo pants OBVIOUSLY have too many pockets.