The One About the One and Only T-Ball Game

   Because the Ewing team got into the league late, we didn't have any scheduled games.  We set up two scrimmages with O'Neill teams, but one was rained out.  So our kids only had one "game", which was on Monday night.  What we didn't know was that we were scrimmaging the older O'Neill T-ball team, a team made up of the 6-7 year old kids.  We have kids on our team who JUST turned 4 in the last month.  I don't believe we have any 7-year olds.  Not only that, but the O'Neill T-ball program doesn't actually use a tee.  The kids hit off a pitching machine, or their coach pitching to them.  Our kids had only practiced hitting off a machine one time; some of them never have.  Luckily, none of this phased our kids one bit.  They had a great time playing their first and only T-ball game.

The One About Knitting

Gavin:  When I get older, I want you to teach me how to knit.
Me:  Knit?  Do you know what knitting is?
Gavin:  Yeah, it's when you make something like a scarf.
Me:  Okay, when you get into high school, you and Mommy will take a knitting class together.  You'll be the most popular boy in high school.  :) 

The One About Gavin's Attitude: Part 1

   I decided to put "Part 1" because I am sure there will be many more of these installments to come over the years.  Gavin has been a handful the last week or so.  Usually it is Asher giving me headaches, but he has been pretty quiet as Gavin's attitude has taken center stage.  First, the word "whatever" is making its appearance several times a day.  I feel like I can't even get too upset, because I know he is learning this from me.  In fact, if I am completely honest, he is learning the whole attitude from me.  It's no secret that I am stubborn, difficult, and moody.  Luckily, Ernie knows me well enough to navigate around it.  Anyway, so sometimes lately when I tell Gavin to do something, he has been responding with "whatever."  Or worse, "You do it!"  That one really ticks me off.  The sighs have also become very audible and drawn out. 

Me:  Gavin, pick your cup up and put it in the sink. 
Gavin:  (LOUD SIGH...... )

   The worst thing is one that I am embarassed to admit.  I have heard him say this twice in the last few weeks, and each time stops me cold in my tracks.  The latest time was at Casey's.  I was opening a door to get a pop and accidently knocked it into his arm. 

Gavin:  Jesus, Mom.  You hit me with the door. 

    WHAT???  When he said it the first time, I thought I heard him wrong,  This time it was crystal clear.  So we had a discussion about why we do not say that unless we are talking about Jesus Christ.  Sadly, I have caught myself saying it several times since then, so I know exactly where he learned this.  I don't have a particularly bad mouth, but I know this is wrong to say.  Honestly, it's worse than if he were saying the f-bomb. 
    We did have a cute moment today.  After it happened, I ran into the house to write it down so I wouldn't forget.  I am reading this book now called The Happiest Mom.  Can you tell I am on a happiness quest lately?  In it, it says to ask your kids if you are a good Mom and why they think so?  So I asked Gavin.

Me:  Do you think I am a good mommy?
Gavin:  Yes.
Me:  Why am I a good mommy?
Gavin:  Because you cook me dinner.
Me:  But you don't usually eat what I cook you for dinner. 
Gavin:  But I like broccoli, and I like when you cook me broccoli. 
Me:  Why else am I a good mommy?
Gavin:  Because you get the ball for me when it goes across the road.  I love you because you're tall, and if my ball goes in a tree, you can reach it. 

    It really made me think about the little things and how important they are.  :) 
    I also have to share something else that made me laugh out loud.  Gavin has a rather large mole on the front of his right shoulder.  He was playing outside today without a shirt, and told Grandma, "This is my mole.  And these are my moles too."  (He was pointing at his nipples) 
 

The One About Sidewalk Chalk Town

   I recently got this book called 15 Minutes Outside:  365 ways to get out of the house and connect with your kids.  There are some awesome ideas in it, specific to each month of the year.  One of the June ideas was to create roads with sidewalk chalk, so the kids can drive their vehicles around.  We took it one step further today and created an entire town.  The boys loved it.  We had a church, houses, a gas station, a park, a flower garden, a railroad crossing, and a cul-de-sac.  It was quite the setup!

Gavin's apple tree

     We also were able to start swimming lessons tonight.  The last three nights have been cancelled because of the weather.  Gavin only has 2 other kids in the Level 2 class, and he is the youngest.  Last year in Level 1, he didn't want to put his head under the water.  Today, after testing it out several times, he went under.  He still struggles to keep his mouth closed before he goes under.  He also can't seem to figure out how to blow bubbles out through his nose.  He did a really good job puffing his tummy out for the back float. 



    The highlight of my day was Gavin walking over to me and very seriously saying, "Look at my, pee pee.  It is really, really big."  :)  Funny how size is important even at age 4. 

The One About the Journal

    As part of the Happiness Project (the book I am currently reading), Gretchen Rubin starts a 1-sentence journal.  She commits to write 1-2 sentences in her journal each day, picking out what she wants to most remember.  Little things...things that make her smile.  I think this is a great idea.  I am known to have these grand ideas of memory keeping, but then life gets in the way and things get thrown to the side.  If I leave my journal and a pen on my nightstand, I should be able to take a few minutes before I go to bed to write down something that I want to remember from the day  I don't have a journal, so I went on Amazon and found this awesome one with a Gustave Klimt design on the front.  That makes me happy just thinking about it.  Gustave Klimt is one of my favorite artists (along with Marc Chagall).  I have always loved art.  Not drawing or doing it myself because as my students know, I can barely draw a stick person.  But I very much appreciate the work of others, particularly those two artists.  Since I have been busy with babies, that passion has been pushed to the side along with many other things.  Lately, I feel like now that the boys are a bit older, I can slowly start to add those things back into my life and my time. 
    Since I don't have my journal, I thought I would blog something that I want to remember from today.  Last night, there was a tornado and severe storm south of Clearwater.  So this morning, Ernie wanted to take the boys out to look at the damage.  Both boys were mesmerized by the upside-down pivots and smashed grain bins.  We kept hearing, "Oh my gosh!  Oh my gosh!"  from both of them.  So cute.  Something else I want to remember from today is Asher's swollen forehead and nose.  This really should not be funny, but it appears that he got bit by a bug or spider of some sort, and his forehead and the bridge of his nose are really swollen.  I called the doctor to make sure I shouldn't rush him to the ER, but they advised me to use Benadryl cream and only panic if he starts acting different.  Anyway, he totally looks like he is a character on Avatar.  Or one of the vampires from the 90's TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.   Poor little guy.  Hopefully the swelling is down by the morning. 

The One About "Oh, nuts!"

  I don't know where he got this from.  I don't think I say it.  Whenever Asher drops something now or something goes wrong, he says, "Oh, nuts!" 

The One About the Happiness Project

   I was going to wait until I finished reading the book before I blogged on it, but I can't wait.  I am in love with this book.  I find it so interesting when people take on these personal challenges or journeys and then write about their experiences and reflections along the way. 
   I don't even know where I first saw this book. 

     We all say the only thing we want in life is to be happy.  What does that mean?  What is happiness?  What makes you happy?  Is happiness something you can control?  In this book, the author tackles a different area of her life each month.  She comes up with specific "goals" to focus on each month.  For example, in January she focuses on energy.  Her goals are:  go to sleep earlier; exercise better; toss, restore, organize; tackle a nagging task; act more energetic.  In February, she focuses on marriage.  Her goals are:  quit nagging;  don't expect praise or appreciation; fight right; no dumping; give proofs of love.  She tracks her progress every day and then reflects on what she learns.  So far, I am only at month 3.  I love how her project is making her slow down and focus on the little moments of life.  Also, she finds that these little things start to snowball and affect other things in her life.  I really think that I need to start my own happiness project.  I am so blessed in my life, but I constantly find myself getting upset or sad over stupid little things.  Is it sad to need to remind yourself how truly happy you really are?  I guess life sometimes gets in the way of living.

    Another book that I recommed is

     I read it a few years ago, but I have been thinking about it since I started reading the Happiness Project.  I would like to reread it.  The Year of Living Biblically is so funny and entertaining.  The author tries to fully obey the Ten Commandments and many other principles in the Bible.  He interprets the Bible very literally, and then applies it to society today.  I just think this man is brilliant.  What a creative and brilliant idea!  I wish I could come up with a clever idea and write a book about it. 

The One About No Training Wheels Part 2

     Well I think it was back in April when we first took the training wheels off Gavin's bike.  He did great.  That first day he was riding up to 4 blocks.  Then he fell.  It scared him enough that he no longer wanted to ride his bike.  This was a big problem, since we are constantly walking/riding around town.  So we put the training wheels back on his bike, but Ernie raised them slightly so they weren't always touching the ground.  He has continued raising them up little by little.  So on Sunday, Gavin finally announced that he was ready to try again.  So off they came.  He's had a few falls, and still falls when he tries to stop and get off, but he is doing awesome.  I estimate that we rode over 2.5 miles today...with no falls.  Gavin has a Bike A-Thon coming up in either July or August, and my goal was to have those training wheels off by then.  Check!  Gavin is so proud of himself. 
   T-ball is still going well.  Ernie is the head coach, even though there are many fathers out there helping out.  I don't think Ernie has quite as much patience as he used to.  :)  Gavin loves it, but like the rest of them still has trouble keeping his head in the game.  The other night he was running from 1st to 2nd base, and found a feather.  He picked it up and ran back to home plate to show his Daddy what he found.  It was hilarious! 
    Asher's language seems to have exploded yet again.  He is now talking in 3-5 word sentences.  Nothing seems to get by him.  He is always listening to us.  He has also started telling about past experiences.  The other day he fell and scraped his knee.  That night he showed Ernie, "Ouchy, I fell Grandma's house."    Today I told him he needed a haircut and he said, "I go Sue's house."  (Sue Burtwistle cuts his hair).  He is constantly asking "Where" questions.  He just seems so grown-up to me lately, which is probably because that 2nd birthday is now just weeks away.  That's going to be a rough one for me.  Unfortunately, I cannot yet report that he has moved beyond his Blues Clues obsession.  I think he would watch the Blues Clues Baby Brother DVD all day if I would let him.  Yet, when I ask if he wants a baby brother, he yells, "No!"  ha ha

The One About the Trout Farm

    Today was family day.  I made Ernie promise he would not head south to the farm.  We took the boys over to the trout farm by Royal.  Gavin had been there before, but it was Asher's first trip.  He loved it.  We had to keep stopping him from throwing rocks into the streams.  At one point, he was sitting down on the ground and before we could stop him, SPLASH!!! right on top of the school of trout.  Poor little fish! 

   I tried and tried to get a good picture of them both looking at the camera.  This was as close as I could get.
 
   Then we came home and dug out the beach ball sprinkler and baby pool.  The boys had so much fun.  I am so happy they have each other.  They were having so much fun together going down the slide, and the trying to climb up it one right after the other.

The One About the First T-Ball Practice

    Gavin had his first T-ball practice last night.  It was hilarious!  Gavin was so excited.  All day, he kept asking me, "Is it time for practice yet?"  I really didn't know if there were going to be enough kids for a team, and it just killed me that he might miss out on the baseball experience.  I grew up on the field.  My dad and his brothers had a slow-pitch softball team from the time I was born, and we grew up traveling the state watching them play games and in tournaments.  I played softball until I was 15 years old, and then sadly, the team just died off.  I have always loved the game, and I couldn't wait for Gavin to play.
   When we got to practice, Asher was instantly furious.  He did everything he could to get on the field, yelling "I play.  I hit!"  I had to break his heart and tell him that they don't allow 1-year olds to play T-ball.  I definitely got my exercise chasing him around last night and beating him to any open gate to the field.  He has his own glove, but can't seem to figure out how to wear it. 

   The first thing the kids did was practice hitting into the fence.  Daddy helped Gavin perfect his swing.

Then it was time to take the field and let the kids practice batting.  Gavin was up first, and swung away.  He hit a home run, but only because he didn't know when to stop running, and the other kids didn't know they had to run after the ball.  :)  He did run the bases the correct direction. 

     Gavin played first base.  It was funny, because he knew the baseball move of punching your first into your glove, because he kept doing that over and over.  He wasn't always paying attention to where the ball went (as most of the kids were not), but he had that classic baseball move down pat.  Some of the kids hit and ran to the pitchers mound;  others hit, ran to first, and then turned around and ran back home.  The team is co-ed, so at one point this little girl took her hat off and the coach had to walk out to the outfield to help her string her ponytail through the hole in the back of her hat. 

   Then the kids broke into two teams and scrimmaged.



   They have one more practice before their first game.  Gavin had so much fun, and it just hit me even harder how grown up he is getting.  I am so proud of him.  :) 

   

   Asher eventually found a new friend to keep him occupied for part of the game.  He also tried his first sunflower seed, that chewed and spit out like a pro!

The One About Asher's First Story Hour

   Yesterday, I attempted the unthinkable.  I took Asher to Clearwater's Story Hour at the library.  Would he sit there for 30 minutes?  Would we get kicked out?  Suprisingly, he did great.  He loved Story Hour.  Clearwater has a separate Story Hour for the birth-3 crew, so that was nice.  We went with my friend Kelly and her 18-month-old daughter Belle.  As we opened the door, Asher took off into the building and started exploring on his own.  He left me in the dust.  This is so funny, because when Gavin went later that morning to his Story Hour, he clung to me like glue.  He is always so leery about new situations, whereas Asher could care less.  Evidence that Gavin takes more after me and Asher is so much like Ernie. 
    The kids sat in our laps and listened to some high school girls read a few stories.  Kelly is also an Speech Pathologist, so it drove both of us crazy that the girls just read straight through the books.  In our careers, we know how important it is to stop and ask kids questions, talk about the pictures, etc...  So as the girls read, Kelly and I were constantly whispering to our kids and asking them questions.  Belle and Asher were both answering us a lot, and yelling out animal names or other objects they saw.  After the books, it was time to color a picture.  As soon as I asked Asher if he wanted to color, he was up at the table in a chair before I could get up off the floor.  He colored away, chattering nonstop to the other kids.  Snacktime was a cup of pretzels, Cheerios, and M & M's.  Of course, Asher picked out the M & M's.  When his were gone, he proceeded to steal other childrens' M & M's when they weren't looking.  At the end, the librarian wanted to get the kids in a picture.  Belle and Asher were the youngest, so we placed them in front of the other kids.  Here is how the picture looked:  a line of toddlers in the back, and Asher and Belle in the front, facing each other, Asher digging in Belle's cup for her M & M's, and Belle's mouth open as she yelled "No!  No!" at him.  Classic!  I hope that picture makes the newspaper.