It has been quite the week us. Tim has been very sick for about a week. Friday, Saturday and Sunday he ended up flat on his back. Then on Sunday, Abby came down with a fever, followed hours later by Michaela with the same symptoms. Michaela woke up at 2:30 vomiting, and I only got 4 hours of sleep that night.
I decided, in my sleep deprived delirium, that it would be a good time to ween her. I never EVER intended to nurse my kids this long. Abby and Nick were both weened at 6 months. Michaela has been the difficult one. Refusing the bottle, refusing to eat, she has been much later in all things. Walking, talking, eating... everything has been delayed. Well within normal, but never-the-less simply not as quick as my first two, and not as easy. It has been a humbling experience really, as I did always slightly scorn those who nursed as long as I have. It was one of those wonderful phrases "Well if it works for HER, but I will NEVER do that." Funny really how much meaning (and how much pride) are in those words. But I certainly learned! I figured if I told Michaela- "you can't you'll barf" it would work and so far she has at least tolerated this. Cold turkey is not recommended, but what else was I going to do? With Michaela it is kind of like a smoker, cutting back wasn't going to work! The downside is that she is not napping. I figured that this would happen, but will now have to adjust my work time.
She is doing well with the toilet training. So with the end of the nursing, we have firmly moved out of the baby stage. Neat really, as in six days Abby will be in school full time and we will be on our own. In the morning we are heading out to pick up Abby's dance uniform, she is so excited!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Sportsmanlike
Nick's last baseball game was last night. (rejoice, rejoice!!!!) I have to say, their games have been getting more enjoyable to watch as the season has progressed.
Nick has struggled this year. Defensively he has become quite good. He made three outs last night, and should have had a fourth, but the first baseman dropped the ball. He always plays hard in the field. Offensively it has been a different story. Nick cannot hit the ball. We believe in part, it is not simply an inability, (if he had no hand eye coordination he wouldn't be able to catch or throw as well as he does) but it is due to the fact he is terrified of the ball at the plate. Last night, he was swinging a little better, making contact three times, (all foul) but still struck out four times. The last time at bat, just before he went up, one kid made a comment, and while he was at bat another called him chicken little ( or something like that). (oddly enough it was that child that was bawling after getting hit with a ball while playing catcher not three innings earlier and had to be hauled off... ) Nick came off his last at bat so upset, my heart was breaking. It is so difficult watching your child struggling with a skill. Every at bat, I'm standing there just praying, "Please Lord, let him just hit it once!"
For the most part, the kids on the team have been pretty good, last night was an exception. I hated the fact that his last game, and last at bat was going to be a negative experience for him. He wouldn't remember the four great plays he made, instead he would remember the at bat,and what the kids said, true to human nature I suppose.
The end of the game the coach gathered the kids around, and told them it was time for the team rewards. He was going to give out three rewards, one for MVP, one for Most Improved, and one for Most Sportsmanlike. He told the kids that these rewards really meant something, as it wasn't the coaches who choose the kids, but rather he asked everyone on the team to vote. Coaches didn't vote, didn't choose, didn't give any stipulations.
My Nick was voted most Sportsmanlike by his teammates. He was so proud. (and he got in his estimation a very cool trophy with his name on it,) Tim told me later , he was standing beside some other parents when he was coaching the first baseline, they were talking amongst themselves about Nick who had just played first base. They said that he was so nice, that every time one of their players got on base, Nick would walk up to them and tell them "Nice hit." Not something Tim or I had instructed him to do.
As we were walking off the field last night, Tim and I told him how proud we were of him, that we would rather him never hit the ball and be an encouraging, nice person, then hit the ball all over the field and be, well, a jerk. (now hitting the ball all over the field and being a nice person is also an option, but maybe next year! :) )
So the season ended on a very good note. Frankly, it was a tough one. He loves the game, he loves to play, but sooner or later his performance at bat is going to make it so he doesn't want to play anymore. As a parent, you want to shield and protect your kids from hurt and disappointment. But, you can't. That isn't life, and they need to learn how to cope with it early if they are going to thrive.
I guess though, that Nick is learning a skill, and that is being encouraging teammate with a good attitude. And really, that will get him further in life than hitting a baseball out of the park.
Nick has struggled this year. Defensively he has become quite good. He made three outs last night, and should have had a fourth, but the first baseman dropped the ball. He always plays hard in the field. Offensively it has been a different story. Nick cannot hit the ball. We believe in part, it is not simply an inability, (if he had no hand eye coordination he wouldn't be able to catch or throw as well as he does) but it is due to the fact he is terrified of the ball at the plate. Last night, he was swinging a little better, making contact three times, (all foul) but still struck out four times. The last time at bat, just before he went up, one kid made a comment, and while he was at bat another called him chicken little ( or something like that). (oddly enough it was that child that was bawling after getting hit with a ball while playing catcher not three innings earlier and had to be hauled off... ) Nick came off his last at bat so upset, my heart was breaking. It is so difficult watching your child struggling with a skill. Every at bat, I'm standing there just praying, "Please Lord, let him just hit it once!"
For the most part, the kids on the team have been pretty good, last night was an exception. I hated the fact that his last game, and last at bat was going to be a negative experience for him. He wouldn't remember the four great plays he made, instead he would remember the at bat,and what the kids said, true to human nature I suppose.
The end of the game the coach gathered the kids around, and told them it was time for the team rewards. He was going to give out three rewards, one for MVP, one for Most Improved, and one for Most Sportsmanlike. He told the kids that these rewards really meant something, as it wasn't the coaches who choose the kids, but rather he asked everyone on the team to vote. Coaches didn't vote, didn't choose, didn't give any stipulations.
My Nick was voted most Sportsmanlike by his teammates. He was so proud. (and he got in his estimation a very cool trophy with his name on it,) Tim told me later , he was standing beside some other parents when he was coaching the first baseline, they were talking amongst themselves about Nick who had just played first base. They said that he was so nice, that every time one of their players got on base, Nick would walk up to them and tell them "Nice hit." Not something Tim or I had instructed him to do.
As we were walking off the field last night, Tim and I told him how proud we were of him, that we would rather him never hit the ball and be an encouraging, nice person, then hit the ball all over the field and be, well, a jerk. (now hitting the ball all over the field and being a nice person is also an option, but maybe next year! :) )
So the season ended on a very good note. Frankly, it was a tough one. He loves the game, he loves to play, but sooner or later his performance at bat is going to make it so he doesn't want to play anymore. As a parent, you want to shield and protect your kids from hurt and disappointment. But, you can't. That isn't life, and they need to learn how to cope with it early if they are going to thrive.
I guess though, that Nick is learning a skill, and that is being encouraging teammate with a good attitude. And really, that will get him further in life than hitting a baseball out of the park.
Friday, August 8, 2008
10 years
10 years ago today, I married the love of my life. Simple as that. It is hard to believe that we have been married for 10 years, which I think is a good thing. The wedding was beautiful, full of memories. My mom did almost everything, from the decorations, to growing the flowers and making the bouquets, to making and decorating the cake, and of course making my dress. You should have seen our house the day before the wedding! (and my poor mom's flower beds for the rest of August!) I love the fact that everything was done with such love! The day was hot, way too hot. Hot enough that by the end I'm pretty sure I had heat stroke. Not the best beginning to a marriage (me being sick as a dog), but one we can now laugh about. The funniest memory I have of our honeymoon was being chased across a field by a group of friendly, but overly large cows. We stayed at a friends cottage, and they rented out the field nearby to a farmer. We decided to go for a walk and ran into a herd of cows. They were curious, I was less than impressed. Having never been around a group of cows before, but knowing horses, I was convinced we were going to get trampled. We flew across the field and hopped the fence just in time, but they stopped and simply looked. Yeah, we were and are city kids at heart!
10 years, three kids, 4 moves. I could not ask for a better mate in life. Tim puts up with me, completes me and continues to love and support me. God has blessed me so.
10 years, three kids, 4 moves. I could not ask for a better mate in life. Tim puts up with me, completes me and continues to love and support me. God has blessed me so.
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