Weekly Preview and Review

Saturday - James' Gym & Swim party
Sunday - Nutcracker Ballet with Suzy (shopping with Suzy)
Monday - WORK 5 hrs, Christmas School, SOF Meeting & Soccer Meeting (at the same time!)
Tuesday - WORK, XMAS School
Wednesday - WORK, XMAS School
Thursday - WORK, XMAS School
Friday - WORK, Gingerbread House Day, Babysitting Fundraiser
Saturday - Christmas Ladies "thing" w/Em and Suzy, Book Club
Sunday - Visit a church?

Sleeping in on Sundays - I just love it! Two weeks in a row now, we've done that. Argh - kind of at odds with our desire to find a church, isn't it? Then I spoke to a friend whose church meets Saturday night. Maybe that's what we should look for?

James turned 11 this week. He's just growing up so fast! His actual birthday on Wednesday was celebrated with family gifts, his choice of meals (pizza, and Hamburger Helper - yes, really), and cake and ice cream. On Saturday I took James and 4 of his friends to the local community center to play basketball and swim. That was fun (and low stress for me!).

David was sick this week; he slept most of the day on Thursday. He's feeling better but still congested. He got to spend the night at a friend's house Friday to celebrate that friend's birthday.

Co-op is over for 2010 but will continue with 7 more session in 2011 (Jan-April). We keep the same classes all year, so nothing will change regarding the schedule. We are enjoying it; the kids love most of their classes.

Tried to take Suzy to the Nutcracker ballet today. I'd bought tickets through Seize the Deal, which is like Groupon (a website that secures a local 'deal of the day'). I got 2 tickets for the price of 1 several weeks ago. Printed out the voucher and took it to the theater today and was told (along with a large number of other folks) that the organization that runs the theater had sold the tickets but apparently did not communicate that to the theater itself, who then of course ALSO sold the tickets. Double-booked. And SOLD OUT. So, we were out of luck. We were shocked but then just sort of shrugged our shoulders, thinking we'll get our money back. They offered us Holiday Pops tickets - not quite a replacement to my thinking. One woman was standing there with a huge bouquet of flowers along with her voucher. Her daughter was in the performance. She was out of luck too, unless they found her a seat. She had her mom with her to see her granddaughter dance. Another woman was so angry that she was threatening to call the media. The people who worked there were rather nonplussed by the whole thing and started a list, taking our names. We'll see how this plays out.

But Suzy and I had a nice afternoon shopping for Christmas gifts and then eating out together. She was all dressed up and I curled her hair - she felt very special. I took a pic of her at dinner but had intended to take one at the theater with the Nutcracker background. Since that was all messed up, I never got a full length picture of her.

Last week I worked 3.3 extra hours. I can work up to 5 extra hours every week until the middle of January. That gives me a total of 25 hours each week. If I can squeeze the extra hour in, I do it. That extra 20 hours a month really helps when the paycheck comes. Did you know I get paid only once a month?

I just noticed that everything hanging on my wall above my desk is crooked. Lovely. lol

OK, I am way way past my bedtime. I don't know if I can get up at 6:30 if I go to bed at 1:30. Guess we'll see, eh?

James Turns TEN!

Sagas 1 & 2 and 5K Coming Up

James went to the doctor last week and was put on an antibiotic. Well, THIS week, he seems to have turned up with a non-allergic amoxicillin rash. He is covered in red spots. I was going to take him to the doctor, but it turned out to be a lot harder than I imagined.

I called our regular pediatrician. Waited on hold for about twelve minutes before speaking to a human and learning that the doctor is out of town for 2 weeks. Gone to India. The office referred us to the pediatrician on call - he was gone to jury duty. (They can't excuse him during H1N1 season??? Really?)

So, I called HIS replacement and left a message on their answering service, which told me they would call back within 48-72 hours. Reassuring, eh? I then called BACK to our office and asked if James could see one of the family practice doctors. Nope, they were all overloaded, and all call-ins were being referred to the walk-in clinic. Farther away? During flu season? Not really a good idea, in my opinion.

Finally that last office called back and told me THAT doctor had gone home sick. I was talking to the nurse though, and she agreed with me that it was probably the non-allergic amoxicillin rash and James was probably not contagious. Keep giving him the amoxicillin.

But I kept him home from co-op anyway because he just looks so awful. He feels great though! The other kids have gone to co-op but I am home with James.

That was saga #1. Saga #2 involved a hard drive failure which thankfully is covered under warranty. I spent a lot less time on the phone with tech support than I did trying to get ahold of a doctor. lol A new hard drive will be sent to us within a couple business days, and we can get back to business. But everything on that hard drive is toast. All of my stuff is backed up. David and Emily both lost some work, though. Emily was devastated, but David was matter-of-fact. He told me his philosophy is basically "Don't cry over spilled milk" and got back to work typing in his lost 2000 words.

I have finished teaching the first semester of one of my Spanish classes. It will resume again mid-January. Three weeks remain in the first semester of the other Spanish classes.

This coming week appears to be calm - most activities are not being held because of Thanksgiving. I am hopeful that I can catch up with my writing. I am several thousand words behind.

I've been counting calories this week. I've not been recording my food intake in a couple of months, but I've gotten lazy. Next year? I better count calories around Halloween. I am going to try hard to make my goal by mid-December.

I found a 5K race, the Santa Shuffle in Lapeer, that I think I'll run two weeks from tomorrow. There is a fun run for the kids that I may be able to persuade the kids to participate in. Anyone care to join me?


So, fin

Soccer Report

Here are some pix of my sweet soccer player Suzanne. And you can see David off to the right in the 3rd pic. He is wearing a grey shirt and shorts, "reffing" the game

James was supposed to have a soccer game Saturday morning, but it was postponed since the other team couldn't get enough players to show up. He should have a game Tuesday and Thursday this week and then he'll be done.

Suzy's last game of the season was at 2pm Saturday afternoon. Although thunderstorms had been initially predicted, the weather turned out hot and sunny, quite easily the warmest game of the season. They lost 0-1.

However, an otherwise uneventful and pleasant game was marred by an unpleasant incident. If you want the sordid details, email me since I don't really want to post them on the internet. Suffice it to say that the other team's coaches annoyed the parent (not me!) of one of my players to the point where she chose to pull her child from the game. In nine years of soccer, I have never seen anything like it. It was a sad way to end the season.

I was happier when I opened the card from my team and found a gift card to a local restaurant! What a lovely surprise!

Regain, Redress, Replay

Weighed in today at the same weight I was two weeks ago. Before Sister Weekend and scrapping weekend. lol So, the treats have been worked off. Hopefully next week, I'll have a loss to report.

Emily and I made a trip to the thrift store today to get her some spring clothes. She has been looking a bit like a hobo lately and I was afraid that once the weather warms up (if it EVER does) she'd have nothing to wear. Two trips to the fitting room netted us 7 short-sleeved shirts, a pair of jeans, a pair of capris, a pair of shorts, and a cute sleeveless dress. Oh yeah, and a very cute black spring jacket. I also grabbed a short-sleeved dress for Suzy and a nice pile of books.

Suzy climbed in bed with me this morning complaining of a headache. "Oh no," I thought, as this is how James first presented on Monday. He's still sick, too, by the way. He seems to be better and then worse again. He spent most of Wednesday laying on the couch. And he's had bad dreams three nights in a row. So, Suzy and James have spent the day so far laying around moaning. I stocked up on library & Netflix DVD's to occupy them.

So, Spring Break's been kind of a bust between the sickies, the cold and snow, and the fact that I'm working on test scoring online now. Also Bob has been volunteering every night at the homeless shelter from 3 - 8 AM. Makes me wish we could take another week off, but we won't.

Time to go to work!

Fifteen Years

Suppose I should post something! People tell me they get tired of looking at the same entry day after day. :-)

Last night I went to the grocery store and ran into someone that I hadn't seen in over 15 years - the mom of one of my students. Then she called him over. Of course, he's a grown man now! Ack! LOL I last saw him at about age 9, so he's in his mid-twenties. Works with his dad on their farm.

Emily broke her glasses this morning. Thankfully she has the extra pair and we know where they are. The ones that broke are the ones that were recently replaced. Junky frames!

James is sick today - complaining (moaning) of a headache and he did throw up once. Sounds to me like a migraine maybe. He's going to stay home and cuddle with Daddy.

We're heading out to our "Mock Twilight Mercilessly" party. :-)

Snow Play

Fall portraits of the kids

Well, these aren't "school pictures" but they are the equivalent. :-)

Soccer Report

Weather - Only about 45 or 50 when we left, but sunny and not bitingly cold. Warmed up into the 50's and stayed sunny. I took off my sweatshirt to coach, but I wore a long sleeved shirt underneath my uniform.

Suzy and James both had a 10:30 game. Suzy played hard - she had one moment where I thought she was going to score a goal, but it didn't happen. The other team scored just fine - 3 times - but we did block lots of goals.

James apparently played well too; Bob watched him play. His team won 2-1.

Fall Fun

James Sets It Up

Video is about a minute long. James is #9. He is on the white line at the beginning of the video and runs out of the frame briefly before the amateur videographer caught on. lol

Do note that one of the opponents James evades is the goalkeeper. He was SO FAR out of the net that if one of our players had shot, it should have been an easy goal!

Ah well. James was doing HIS job there!



Took this with the Flip camcorder and I was zooming, so the quality isn't great, but I think you can get the idea.

Soccer - James

James had a soccer game tonight - rescheduled from a game cancelled due to weather or something. Tonight's weather wasn't great either, though! LOL

Weather report - cool, overcast, rain in the second and third quarters, then very chilly

James was out the first quarter, played solid defense the 2nd/3rd quarters (yes, in the rain), and was forward the last quarter. We played the other team from our town, so the kids all know each other and they are very evenly matched! The score? 0-0! LOL No one scored!

James played well. As I said, very solid defensive player. In one spectacular play that even had David ooh-ing when he saw the video, James brought the ball up from the center of the field all the way to the left of the goal, evaded several opponents, retained possession of the ball, and then passed the ball RIGHT in front of the goal. It would have been a perfect assist if his teammate had been ready.

Ah well. I do have that video, but I don't want to take the time to edit it tonight. But here are some photos.

craziness

26 seconds that show how crazy it was here this evening. The video is very dark - took it with my Easy Share camera instead of my Flip, so I apologize for that. It's ok, though; if you dare to view it, you'll get the impact of the insanity whether or not the picture is light enough.



Did you notice David at the computer, totally oblivious to all the activity?

Now, you can see why I am glad they are in bed!

Soccer Report

Weather - 50's & sunny at first, with wet grass. About half time, some dark clouds rolled in and it got chillier feeling.

James's team lost like 5-0 or something. I watched his last quarter; he was goalkeeper. He blocked a few but they did score one on him. Ah well. He plays so hard! He is always rosy-cheeked and dripping with sweat after a practice or a game.

Suzy's team WON 2-0. One of the players made his first goal of the season! That's always exciting! Suzy had tons more energy than she had on Tuesday night.

I won't be coaching next Saturday - one of the moms is taking my place so I can go away for the weekend!

That's all I have time for - got tons to do today and only 4 hours to get it done!

BOYS!

James was just bathed so I was hugging him, enjoying his clean boy smell and his cuddly eight-year-old self.

I was loving on him, saying things like, "Oooh, I love you, you smell good, etc..."

He looked me tenderly, and I was all interested in what he might say back to me.

He said, "I found a piece of candy on the floor."

Then he looked at me again and added, "And I ate it."

BOYS! lol

Soccer Report

Weather - Light rain, 68 degrees, no wind

Lots of rain in the forecast for today made us all wonder if the games would go on as scheduled. Soccer pictures were supposed to happen today, but the photographers cancelled due to the rain. Don't blame them - they have expensive equipment!

A light rain started just before 9:00 - game time! We play in the rain unless there is thunder, lightning, or standing water. David tells me his favorite way to play soccer is in the rain, actually. He's not playing this year, though; rather, he's my assistant coach and is refereeing all my games. Refereeing in the rain doesn't hold the same appeal, though, apparently.

Both James and Suzy's games were scheduled at the same time again. James headed over to his field and Bob watched that game. All eight of Suzy's teammates showed up (one was late), so we had a full team for our rainy game.

Suzy's team played well - gave up one goal in the second quarter, I believe. One girl scored two goals in the fourth quarter. Final score was 2-1, our favor! YAY! Suzy played goalkeeper during the last quarter and blocked the one shot that came her way. GO Suzy! She runs and runs, but has not gotten comfortable enough to attempt a shot.

Because I have nine players and only six play at a time, I have 3 sitting out during every quarter. I try very hard to give everyone equal playing time in every position, but this is harder than it looks! lol

James says his team also won - 2-0. I didn't get to see him play. Suzy's games are shorter than his, but he was out during the last quarter and that's all I got to watch. James says he assisted on one of the goals. YAY James!

Saw two old friends at the soccer field today! One of them is coaching, and the other's husband is coaching.

Soccer Report - first games

Soccer Report -
Weather - sunny and dry, mid 60's. (PERFECT!)

Suzy's team - one player home sick, remaining players excited and energetic! New burgundy uniforms looking sharp. Played a royal blue team. They were short 2 players, so game began late and then was short-sided for part of the 1st quarter. No goals during 1st 3 quarters for either team. Opposing team scored 1 goal in 4th quarter, so final score was 0-1. Suzy played hard! David refereed the game and did a great job, despite not being able to attend the ref training.

James's team - I caught the end of the 3rd quarter (James was sitting out) and all of the 4th (he played defense). He still isn't feeling 100% so his energy level was low. They lost something like 7-4. They are in hunter green which I like, but James isn't as happy with.

Coming events:

• Suzy has a game Tuesday night and practice on Thursday. Game next Saturday is at 9.
• James has a practice Tuesday night and a scrimmage against another team on Thursday. Game next Saturday is at 9.
• Both of them have soccer pictures next Saturday before their games.

No photos, sorry. LOL Coaching means I can't focus on photos. Maybe I can get Bob to take some next time.

James Doing Better

James is feeling better today - no fever. The congestion is better, but we'll see how it goes at night. Last night was miserable for him. He did his lessons today - what a trooper!

Looks like rain! It's cooled off quite a bit in the last couple hours and the high tomorrow is only supposed to be in the low 70's. The radar shows a LOT of rain to the south and I bet it's coming!

Off to eat dinner!

Poor James

My poor baby has a full-fledged cold now - fever, congestion, sore throat. :-( I'll spare you the details, but he had a nosebleed earlier today too.

He is going to miss soccer practice today. He hasn't been to one yet, because the other two were during our camping week. Hopefully he can be at the scrimmage Thursday; otherwise he'll play the first game without ever having been to a practice with this team! Yikes!

He's whining right now about taking his meds, so I'm off to play nurse-mom.

Bunnies

Thought I'd share a pic of James, Suzy, and Emily with the bunnies. Zeus is on James' lap and Suzy is holding Patches. They get played with every day and seem very happy.