Take me out to the ballgame....

Am I seriously about to post this? Really? Admitting that I can't get enough of watching the Mini 7's play baseball? Wow. Who am I?

So, around February, some of you may have read my posts complaining about all of the baseball practices and how I hate baseball anyway, and Darius isn't going to like it, blah, blah, blah... Well, I take it all back.

The Hammers have been working so hard and have been pulling out wins all season. It has been so much fun to watch them work together and get excited to keep winning. They have been told that they can't assume they will win, and I think they all realize that, and that is very important, since they are currently undefeated. I don't even like to say that out loud. They seem too little to be keeping score and standings. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or bad thing. I haven't decided yet.

Win or lose, I will be proud of those Hammers and how well they have done this season. We've got three days straight of baseball coming up, and I actually don't mind. (And, I'm sorta tan from being forced to sit in the sun for two hours at a time, days in a row.)

Go Hammers!

CBN Memories

According to Darius, Caribbean Night has been one of the best things ever invented since moving. This is supposed to be an exclusive event and I could get in trouble for sharing so many of the details, but I just can't help it. There are so many memorable quotes, photo ops, candid kids and grown adults, just having a great time.

Darius woke up this morning and said...

"Could you please just play the Ragga Ragga song?" Darius had a great time dancing around the entire house and this was one of his favorites, although he has already complained about not letting him hear Justin Beiber. Hmmm....

Then, he walked into the kitchen and shook his head and said, "Man, this Caribbean Night, all we had was meat and grains and cheese. That would be a milk product." I guess he forgot about the cheese balls, cupcakes, cake, spinach and artichoke dip, Twizzlers, hershey kisses, some secret food that the Committee wouldn't share and cheesecake that never even made it out.

Now, the girls just float around the house. You don't hear much out of them, but they have their baby dolls and push their strollers. (Since there is so much space) And, baby Sean is up and walking. I can't wait for him to start talking!

This Caribbean night was particularly special due to the graduation of three of the committee members. The 4 members of the Caribbean Committee are now all proud alumni of Washburn University. Congratulations to 4 SMART BODS!

Darius walked up to one of our newest Caribbean Night regular, Janel, and said, "Ya know what?" Janel acknowledged him and Darius said..."My Dad's a Master." Now we're all just trying to figure out what he is the Master of.

The 4th of June

So, yes, I may be a little early for the Fourth of July, but in the world of blogs, changing your template is kind of a pain. Who has time to search for a new template when there are so many random things to be blogged about.

I labeled this the Fourth of June, because, that is just around the corner, and then, one short month from then, will be...the Fourth of July.

I don't have anything really exciting to post about, except that I am preparing for a special day tomorrow. It will be a Caribbean Committee graduation celebration extravaganza. Also, good luck to the Hammers! We will miss the game due to Ewan's graduation, but it was easy to choose which was more important. I love watching those Hammer's, but I will love watching my husband even more. Hey, I'm lucky he is even going to graduation!

The Tornado Saga

Well, anyone who has ever read my blog probably knows that this isn't the first tornado dream and certainly won't be the last. If I had the power to block out these terrifying dreams, I certainly would do so.

Last night's episode occured out in an open area similar to the cul-de-sac we live on, but Ewan and the kids and I were actually together, which is a rare occurence. I don't know why it is so much more comforting to have Ewan there in terrifying situations, especially when he thinks tornadoes aren't a huge deal, but, he was there, and I was glad.

This wasn't as long as some previous tornado dreams, but we were all outside playing. Darius was riding his bike when we spotted one tornado. I was motioning for Darius to find this little hole that we would take shelter in. The ground was white, the hole was round and about the size of a frisbee. Darius was able to get in feet first, and I was halfway in when Ewan pointed out another tornado on the other side. He was reaching for Sofia's hand and then I woke up, so Darius was the only one in this strange shelter.

We live outside these days, and the surroundings were familiar, but we are usually surrounded by our neighbors and neighbor kids. In the dream, no one was around. It was quiet and still and then the wind picked up and the tornado appeared.

Since I was awake and couldn't sleep after the dream, I made the mistake of googling tornado dreams, which surprisingly, I have never done before. Of course, there were lots of different interpretations...chaos in your life, the possibility of being uprooted to a new place, etc... but I still attribute these dreams to 1) my fear of tornadoes since I was little and 2) my kids. I started having these recurring tornado dreams when I was pregnant with Darius and for awhile, everytime I had a tornado dream, I thought I was pregnant. I always had such detailed dreams while I was pregnant with both kids, so, naturally, I put the two together. I now know that if I really was pregnant everytime I dreamed about a tornado, we would have outgrown this house long ago!

The "Glee" way

I watched previews for this show, for what felt like an eternity. The commercial with the Don't Stop Believing song got me so excited. I know this is just a show, but I love when I come across a heartwarming, funny, entertaining, not reality show, that just makes me smile. Many of my friends know that I love/loved... to sing. I don't do it much anymore, since I don't have a fabulous group of people to do it with. Of course, the things I miss most about high school are cheerleading and Singers. That shouldn't come as a shock to anyone.

Glee takes me back to the days of getting out of class to go perform at a nursing home, quick changes into our lovely gowns with strapless bra's (or lack of bra's in some cases) and hose and jewelry...the whole nine yards. And who didn't love going in someone's room and waking them up in the middle of the night/super early in the morning and dragging them to Denny's in their pajamas? It does seem strange to me that I don't remember being initiated into Singers. Maybe initiaion came after my first year. I honestly can't remember. It was like 13 years ago!

The music of Glee just makes me happy. I pretty much love every song, whether I loved or hated the original version by the original artist. I usually prefer "the Glee way."

Of course, I am already anxiously awaiting the next episode. There is such a wide variety of personalities. It's easy to get sucked in, even if you aren't into music/singing/glee clubish types of shows. Glee is great entertainment!

Master of the House

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am getting anxious for the school year to be over, and I am not even the one in school! What's with that? Well, I am really looking forward to getting my happy-go-lucky, carefree husband back. He has worked so hard, and spent countless hours on projects, homework, studying for tests and preparing presentations. This chapter in his life will soon closed in a few short weeks. There has definitely not been a lot of complaining on his end, probably more on mine.

I am so proud of his hard work and dedication, and finding a way to balance work, family, coaching soccer and school. I tell him continually how much I appreciate him for everything he does, but I don't think he will ever realize how grateful I am. We have gone through so many obstacles and experienced so much joy together. I know that the best is still yet to come! I'll be ready for this MBA graduate to take back his favorite position...Master of the house. (Or, I will let him think it's his title anyway.) :)

Kindergarten Roundup

Well, the time has finally come. My Sofia will begin kindergarten this fall. I can't believe that both Darius and Sofia will get on the bus together and disappear for the day. What am I going to do?

Kindergarten Roundup was held on Thursday, April 1st, and Sofia really had a great time. They arrived and picked up a Sheriff badge with their name on it. Sheriff Sofia and I headed into the library to begin the process.

They took the kids to do some informal assessments, play and get familiar with the idea of going to school. We took a bus ride around the area and they each received a cowboy hat when they returned. Roundup ended with a visit to the kindergarten classrooms.

I know that Sofia is ready for Kindergarten, but I am not so sure that I am ready for her to go to kindergarten!

How well do you know your husband?

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? ESPN Sportszone or something on the Discovery channel.

2.You're out to eat, what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Thousand Isles (Island) if they have it. If not, usually ranch.

3. What is one food he doesn't like? Popcorn. Who doesn't like popcorn?

4. You go out to eat and have a drink, what does he order? Lemonade

5. Where did he go to high school? St. Mary's College Prepatory

6. What size shoe does he wear? 13 or 14 depending on the type of shoe

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Naruto episodes

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Subway: Tuna with lettuce tomatoes, green peppers, onions and a little mayo. At home: Roast beef

9. What would this person eat every day if he could? Curried chicken would be at the top of the list.

10. What is his favorite cereal? Raisin Bran.

11. What would he never wear? A sweater vest.

12. What is his favorite sports team? I honestly don't know. There are so many teams. He's never been a real die hard fan for any one of them.

13. Who did he vote for? He can't vote.

14. Who is his best friend? There are a few.

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? Drink Diet Coke. I am still working on this, but not for him. For me!

16. What is his heritage? He is from the island of St. Lucia.

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday, what kind would it be? No cake. It would be either Passion Fruit Cheesecake or warm apple pie!

18. Did he play sports in high school? He played futbal (soccer) when he was younger, but didn't take on basketball until he was older. Played lots of basketball in college. That's how we met. The rest is history.

19. What could he spend hours doing? Currently, he could spend hours building his kingdom on my facebook account. No wait, I think dominoes with Sheldon, Mo and Troy could even top that. Dominos are endless.

20. What is one unique talent that he has? Letting the sunshine in. This was recently brought to my attention and has lots of different meanings. Good, bad, interesting and inspiring.

FaRmViLlE FaNaTiC

So, I see their point. Yes, Farmville does cut down on productivity, but you have to be smart about it. If you've seen Dr. Phil, you know that there are people out there that their lives truly revolve around planting and harvesting crops. I do not in any way plan my life around whether or not my crops will wither. I think it is funny that it all started out last year, when Ewan wanted to start a garden. He wanted to get the kids up every morning in the summer to go out and water it. I was not thrilled about this, because I wanted the kids to sleep in and not be grumpy. We are total night owls, so summertime usually means semi-late nights for the kids.

So, Farm Town came about and I told Ewan he should just play that. I was joking, but he used my account and started playing. It was actually looking sort of interesting and I didn't want to "mess up" his farm, so when Farmville came out, I jumped on it and started my farm. Of course, in the beginning, all my crops died, and I was like, "What am I doing?" But, time went on, and slowly, but surely, my farm grew bigger and bigger and the coins kept rolling in.

For fellow Farmer friends.... here are my thoughts about Zynga's addictive game:

1. Why am I so disappointed when I click on GET FUEL and I get a small can. EVERY time, I wish it was a Large can! Well, almost! It just seems that way!
2. The Hot Rod Seeder/Harvester/Plow is AWESOME, but when is Farmville going to let me get more fuel without paying real money for it, 'cause that's not gonna happen.
3. Getting fuel from friends farms is pretty much a joke. I want the 75 cans I got for Christmas.
4. I always used to adopt every animal that roamed on my farm, and I sometimes ignore them now. Poor little lost animals.
5. I actually listen to some of the podcasts. I do think that's sad, but I can't wait til I get my puppy!
6. I want to make the farm look good, but it's never big enough and I want to maximize my crop space....thanks to my husband.
7. I wish I could say that I gift everyday, but it's hard because I have so many friends that are listed as Farmville friends, that don't actually play farmville, and they get annoyed when they get presents and they don't play.
8. If you don't play farmville, please remove the application so you don't show up as a farmville friend! Please and thank you! ;)
9. The Valentine and Gold collecting is a little out of control. I am sure FV got exactly what they wanted...a little friendly competition, but that's not really my nature. But, I just collect Valentine's and Gold and go on my merry way. How much you wanna bet it'll be Easter Eggs next?
10. I have $4 million farmville dollars and of course, secretly wish that it was real $. But, who am I kidding?
11. I quit hatching people's eggs until I realized that there are sometimes collectibles in there.
12. I swear, every time I hatch a golden egg, it's a golden chicken, and that annoys me. Especially because some people get cottages and other large items.
13. I want storage to store things that I don't even want on my farm. I don't like selling things. I guess you could say I am a farmville hoarder.
14. Did I really just spend 20 minutes blogging about FV? You bet! I LUV FarmVille!

Snow

SNOW

Which one do you prefer?


You may be beautiful when you fall so gently and light,
but if you visit Google again, you may stir up a fight.



You took over Christmas and church pajama day.
You even made it so cold that no one goes out to play.


Snow usually doesn't bother me, but we've spent too much time together.
I have had enough and am ready for some Caribbean weather!



I'll have to settle for the upcoming Caribbean Night.
We'll crank up the music and pretend we see sunlight.


My husband is from an island, so what is he doing here?
I suppose he couldn't resist me and my Ichabod cheers.


Let's get back to the point, of this very important poem.
The fact that you, Snow, needs to pack up and find a new home!!!