NFL Draft

Last week Peter Pan and I watched part of the NFL draft.  Peter Pan watched a lot of it actually, and to be truthful I watched more than I should have.  I had a project due in my class and the draft was a great way to procrastinate!  I was interested in parts of it.  I would try to work and then hear something interesting and run back over to watch.  After a long evening I finally got my project done and watched some more of the draft.

Like any good insane sports mom it really got me thinking.  As they discussed each player and his abilities/stats/etc. I thought about my own football player.  My brain started turning and scheming.  Moose can almost do that, he is just milliseconds away from that time in his 40.  He is that tall, he weighs that much.  I started to voice my thoughts to Peter Pan and then I caught myself.  Sure, he is close but not close enough.  He knows it, and to be honest so do I.  He has set his sights on other things after college.  Smart kid that he is, he knows that the stats may look close but they really are so, so far apart.

I think this is the root of sports mom insanity- this inability to be honest about your child's abilities and potential.  Instead of just enjoying and appreciating there athletic pursuits we struggle to push them further and find a better place for them.  Sure Moose may be milliseconds off those NFL players 40 times, but the reality is that seemingly tiny gap is a huge chasm.  There are so many good collegiate athletes, but only a tiny percentage move beyond college sports into professional sports.  Even those who make it aren't always able to stay.

I find this to be true in every aspect of sports.  In skating it is the difference of 1 rotation on a jump that makes all the difference.  Not so much really, but ask any skater and they will tell you how difficult that one rotation is. 

 

So, I am trying to appreciate my wonderful children for who they are right now, not what they may be.  I am blessed to have athletic, intelligent and amazing children.  I am proud to be there slightly insane and annoying Mom!

My Dad

My Dad would have had his 85th birthday this week if he were still with us.  It is still hard for me to really grasp that he isn't sometimes even though it has been 6 years since he died.  It really seems like just yesterday.  I still remember what I was doing when I found out he was gone, I was actually at work and the principal called me to her office.  I didn't even make it in the door because I knew what was wrong and I just sort of broke down.  Then I tried to stay at work and fortunately for me the principal had more sense and made me go home.  

Anyway, for whatever reason, this year I have been thinking a lot about Dad.  This week I was thinking of all he would be proud of.

He would be so proud of all 4 of his grandchildren.  They are all wonderful and amazing people who are fun to be around.  He would be proud of their perserverance and dedication.  I think he would really enjoy sitting and chatting with the wonderful adults they have all grown to be.

He would be proud of Peter Pan for going back to school.  When my Dad retired from the Army he went back to school so he would appreciate what Peter Pan is doing and truly be proud of his hard work.

He would love that Moose chose VMI for his college experience.  I still get tears in my eyes whenever the corps of Cadets parades in at a home game and stands at attention for the National Anthem.  Every single game I wish Dad were there to see it.  I know he would love to see Moose in his uniform and he would have been thrilled beyond measure at Ring Figure.

He would love that Belle has gotten a job in order to pay for skating so she can continue to pursue that dream.  He would have truly appreciated her dedication to her dream and willingness to do whatever it takes to make it a reality.

Of course there are many things he wouldn't be so proud of.  He would be ashamed of the inside of my car and the mess it continually is in.  He took great pride in his car and it was always perfectly clean and shiny.  If you were really lucky he would let you clean the tires.  That was a huge thrill growing up.  I actually blame him on my lack of car cleaning ability- he never let me practice.

If he saw the pile of mail, bills, receipts, etc. in my kitchen he would be mortified.  Dad had a place for everything.  He would come home, eat a snack and make sure that he took care of any mail, bills, receipts, etc.  It was all perfectly organized.  I guess that just isn't genetic (I think it skipped my sister too!)

 

I am pretty certain he wouldn't love that I am the owner of a hedgehog.  I saved the hedgehog from an untimely trip to the SPCA and it seemed like a great class pet idea.  It is not a great pet idea and now I am stuck with it!!!

He would laugh about that though, and also that Bella is the world's second naughtiest dachshund.  The first would be the one we got when I was in 6th grade.  His name was Bismarck, but we just called him Bizy and he was busy and BAD!  He wet everything in the house, bit, growled, and even ate the seatbelts in Dad's prized Porsche (that is a whole different day's story, but just understand that Dad had saved for years to own this car.)  I bet Dad is laughing at Bella and me from heaven even as I type because I am pretty certain God has that sort  of a sense of humor and they are all laughing at my struggles with Bella.  I sort of hope that they are.  Happy birthday Dad!

The One About Moose

Moose turned 21 this week which is a little hard for me to believe.  He isn't going to like being the subject of a blog, but too bad Moose!  Part of enduring labor and delivery means I get to be nostalgic and share it on the internet with all 15 of the people that read this!  Anyway, 21 is most definitely a mile stone birthday for many reasons.  It doesn't seem right that my baby is now legally an adult in every way and can make a beer run for me if I so need it.  This is the kid whose diapers I changed and whose nose I wiped.  When did he grow up?

Moose was almost a Valentine's Day baby and I believe he would have been except my obstetrician was going skiing for the long President's Day holiday weekend so he induced me early.  This caused my sweet boy to arrive on Friday the 13th.  Looking back I am surprised I didn't object to that, but I was so ready to not be pregnant and have my baby in my arms I didn't care.  I don't recall the delivery being to difficult, but then again it has been 21 years.  Peter Pan tells me I was sort of uncooperative and cranky.  I have a lot of responses to that, but I will keep them to myself.  Moose was an easy baby from the moment he arrived and if he was fussy or cranky we knew he needed something.  He was quite content to sit near us in his swing.  He was a decent sleeper and good eater and he had the most precious smile.

By the time he started talking he had already developed a sense of humor.  He called me "Dada" for several months and would laugh every time he said it.  He called Peter Pan by his first name.  From the time he could focus he loved to watch the Celtics.  He would stop playing and crawl to the TV to see them.  To be fair, he loved all basketball on TV.  He also loved driving toy cars.  As he got older he loved superheroes, Spiderman and the Ninja Turtles were his favorites.  He also liked the Power Rangers.  I actually sat through the Power Ranger movie in the theater so Moose could see it.  We also sat through the Pokemon movie for him.  The things parents do for love.

He joined his first team at the age of 4.  It was a basketball team at the YMCA.  He, like all the players, had fun but I don't think they did much playing.  He also played soccer and T-ball that year.  By the time he was old enough he joined a football team and has been playing football ever since.  He also played basketball, baseball and some soccer as he grew up.  His senior year of high school he tried out shot putting and was decent at it.  With some training he might have done all right in that area as well.

He has always loved electronics.  When he was really little he would climb up on my parents bed when we visited and push all the buttons on their alarm clock/radio.  My dad thought it was hilarious.  He was continually reprogramming VCR's and cable boxes and would push any buttons he could.  When he was 3 or 4 we won a Sega Game Gear in a contest and he fell in love.  It traveled all over with us and he played it for hours.  It was the cutest thing!  He could be entertained for a long time with it and it made long car trips much easier.

He was always fun to be around and the kids in the neighborhood enjoyed playing with him, but he was also a good friend.  He often was the peace keeper and he didn't like the games to be interrupted by fighting.  Sometimes he would just come in and complain they were all fighting too much to make it any fun. 

He was a typical big brother and Belle will tell you that he tortured her.  She will also tell you that he had her back, he could pick on her but no one else could.  When he was a junior in high school and she was a freshman he didn't tell most of his friends she was his sister.  He sort of ignored her at school, but it wasn't really a big deal.  Now that they are both in college they seem to get along better.  I love that!

All of this is really just the tip of the iceberg.  There are so many good and funny stories I have stored up.  I won't embarrass him by sharing them.  I just wanted to take a minute and remember my sweet little boy who has grown into a pretty wonderful man.  I got a fantastic Valentine 21 years ago, one I knew I wanted, but not how much.  I am proud of you Moose!!!  Happy Birthday, now will you go pick up a bottle of wine for me? 

Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh

I am not watching the Superbowl.  I am not really a big fan of either team and I have other things I need to do tonight.  I am however completely intrigued with the saga of the Harbaugh brothers.  I can't even begin to imagine what their parents are going through.  Peter Pan and I discussed this earlier today (we went out to eat, more on that in a minute) and we aren't really sure how you would respond.  Do you "divide and conquer" with one parent cheering for one team and the other cheering for the opposite team?  Do you cheer for every play?  It is of course exciting to have your sons coaching both teams at the biggest football event of the year, but the flip side is you know one is going to lose.  I just can't wrap my head around it.  That is the intersting part of the night for me.  I would love to be at their next family gathering, I bet there will be some trash talk.  Jackie Harbaugh you have my sympathy tonight.

Just as a quick update, Peter Pan took me out on a "real date" to a seafood buffet.  He is also not so excited about the Superbowl since the Pats will not be playing.  We had a really good time, but at the end he said, "I don't think this was a real date because all we did was eat!"  Go figure. 

Peter Pan and his Wacky Date Ideas

Peter Pan and I both get paid once a month, right around the first.  So by the end of a month we are always sort of nutso and strapped for cash.  January is even worse because I get paid in December before Christmas and we never plan well enough for the long haul till the end of January.  So by the end of the month we are eating ramen, mac and cheese, and hot dogs.  Well, it isn't really that bad, but you get the idea.  Typically by the beginning of the next month we are so excited to have money we are ready to grocery shop!

Today was that day.  We had decided to go to Sam's Club and stock up for the month.  This may not have been the best idea since we live a very military area and everyone else who got paid yesterday was also at Sam's, plus it is Superbowl weekend so people were loading up on party supplies.  In any case, we headed off to Sam's club with our list and a plan to get Sam's Club hot dogs for a late lunch.

As we were driving there Peter Pan says, "This is like a date."  Really, a what?  I think that may have been my exact response.  If you remember last year he tried to convince me 2 trips to the dump to get rid of our old sofa was a date.  Nope, Sam's Club doesn't qualify as a date!  "Yes," he insisted, "we are together and we are going to eat food, so it is a date."  Ummmm, no, not so much in my mind.

We did our shopping, got our hot dogs, and headed home.  It was sort of fun and we did have some good conversation.  Peter Pan is still convinced it was a date.  I am convinced he needs retraining...

Does God Care Who Wins the Superbowl?

This was on the cover of our most recent Sports Illustrated and it prompted a semi-theological discussion between Peter Pan and me.  Of course at 8:45 on Friday night, after a week of work and school neither of us was particularly erudite (notice how I threw that collegiate sounding word in there for effect!)  Seriously though, our discussion was sort of lame on the whole and ended when Peter Pan proclaimed I was getting "too personal."  We didn't actually answer the question either as we diverged immediately from that topic down a whole different road.  Still, it got me thinking, does God care who wins the Superbowl?

It is quite a provocative question.  If I am honest I have to admit that I have prayed before football games, basketball games, track meets, cross country races, skating competitions, and other events.  I have asked for victory for my children's teams.  So that must mean I believe God has some part in sporting events.  Then again, my prayers haven't always been answered so does that mean he doesn't care?  I don't know.

I do know that God loves my children, my husband, and me.  I know he loves all of us here on Earth.  I know he wants the best for us.  These are truths that I hold dear.  There are plenty of times in my life when I can attest to the hand of God holding and supporting me, comforting me, and caring for me.  Does this care extend to sports?  I just don't know.

This is Not Sports Related (or is it...)

Tuesday was the 90th day of Kindergarten at school.  This was sort of a big deal, although the really big deal is the 100th day.  We count days of school and track them in our classroom.  This serves a very practical purpose, it helps the students practice counting and number skills.  Every 10th day we make a really big deal about "Zero the Hero" as we make a new bundle of straws and move them from the ones pocket on our chart to the tens pocket.  Then we count by tens and have a special math day that focuses on "Zero the Hero."  We have done all sorts of really fun stuff this year to celebrate these 10th days. 

Why is the 90th day so important and special?  Well, as I pointed out to my class, there are 90 straws in the chart that shows how many days we have been in Kindergarten and 90 days in the chart that shows how many days we have left in Kindergarten.  That means that we are HALFWAY through kindergarten.  One of my students actually figured that out himself.  I was pretty impressed with him!!!!!

That means Tuesday was "halftime" for Kindergarten!  It made me realize that even when I am not involved in sports I still think with a "sportsmom" brain.  I divide things into quarters and halves, measurable units, keeping track of movement through them and keeping score.  I compare things.  I have a little log in my brain keeping track of things.  Not important things, just things.

I am not sure this scorekeeping is good.  Well, for Kindergarten it is a fun way to learn to count by 10's.  If you look at the rest of my life maybe I need to let some scorekeeping go.  I don't need to track every detail, every time frame, and remember them for ever.  I am starting to see that some of this made me the insane sportsmom that I am.  A little less scorekeeping and a little more enjoyment is in order.  I need to appreciate the moment, not try to assimilate into the context of some bizarre score keeping system that makes no sense to anyone but me.  That is my new goal, to give up the scorekeeping and enjoy life.  Call me next week and see how I am doing with it.

Dog Shaming

I have found this wonderfully amazing way to occupy myself- Dog Shaming.  If you aren't familiar it is a hilarious web site where people submit photos of their dogs after they have caused some sort of trouble.  It cracks me up almost every time and reminds me that I am not alone in owning incorrigible dogs.  In fact some of these dogs are waaaaay worse than mine!!!   Check it out:  http://www.dogshaming.com/

In the meantime here are some shameful things that Bella and Fenway are constantly doing:

• Bella poops and pees all over this house.  She will walk to the back door  (if the weather is okay that is), glance at you, and if you don't notice immediately she will go somewhere to poop or pee.  Her favorite spots are in the powder room, computer room and right in front of the TV.  She is never limited by those spots however.  If she does make it outside she will pee and poop on the deck, sometimes RIGHT in front of the door.
• Fenway insists on sleeping in Bella's teeny, tiny pink bed.  She has 2 large beds of her own, but won't stay out of the tiny bed.  Then she lets Bella get in on top of her.
• Bella is a bully.  She takes whatever she wants from Fenway.  Fenway lets her do it.  Last night I heard all this growling and I looked.  Bella wanted the toy Fenway had.  Fenway dropped it so Bella ran off with it.  I followed Bella and she had all the toys in her bed. 
• Fenway eats trash from the powder room.  Her favorites are toilet paper tubes and magazine inserts.  She makes a huge mess.  Bella follows behind and pees on the mess.
• Fenway is eating her crate, literally.  She has chewed holes in the sides of it.  Nothing stops her, not even bitter apple spray.
• Bella keeps going under the deck and getting tangled.  Then someone has to go and "fish" her out.  The two of them have totally trashed the lattice around the deck so they can get under there.  I am not sure what is so fascinating, I think they are eating rabbit poop.
• Bella barks at everything, but mostly us.  If you bump the blinds, touch the front door knob, or ice falls in the freezer she will bark incessantly.  Her bark is loud and shrill. 

These are just a few of the silly things that the dogs do on  a regular basis.  It sort of makes you wonder why we keep them, but then I look into their sweet eyes and all is forgiven.  Who else on earth loves me that unconditionally?  I do love my naughty dogs.

To Play or Not to Play

I was watching Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN while I was getting ready for work this morning and they were talking about the ongoing debate about the safety of football.  In a recent interview with The New Republic magazine President Obama said, "I'm a big football fan, but I have to tell you if I had a son, I'd have to think long and hard before I let him play football."  This has prompted more debate about the safety of football in general and youth football in particular.  Are parents neglectful or even abusive for allowing their young sons (and sometimes daughters) to play football?  One of my recent posts was critical of parents for allowing their young children to participate in MMA, so I can certainly understand why people are concerned.  The difference I guess is that I am more comfortable with football.  Before you ask, I do feel slightly hypocritical right now as well, football, MMA, figure skating, cheerleading, baseball, track, all sports have the  potential danger of injury.  I guess before I criticized MMA I should have rethought my own sports parenting choices.

Moose has been playing football since he was 6 years old.  He was so little when he started that his team didn't have game pants small enough for him, they had to duct tape his game pants on so they would stay up.  He wasn't the only one in that position, there were several duct taped football players on that team.  He has played every year since then.  He played in middle school, high school, and now college.  Has he been hurt?  Yes he has, but never very seriously until the collegiate level.  As a young player he had some bumps and bruises; nothing significant.  His senior year of high school he missed a couple of weeks with a dislocated kneecap.  It killed him to sit out, and it was preseason games at that point.  The worst injury he has sustained playing football was a torn rotator cuff at the beginning of his sophomore year.  It happened at the beginning of the season, before games had started, and took him out for the year. 

Peter Pan played high school football too.  He had a broken arm, broken collar bone and a concussion that I know of.  So he most definitely knew the risks of playing football.  He shared those with me.  We have held our breath through 15 seasons of football, knowing the potential risks, knowing our son loves what he is doing.  Most of all I know that if Moose were offered the opportunity to play professionally he would jump at it, knowing the risks, accepting them.  I think most football players and their parents would agree.  Is it a dangerous sport?  It can be.  Have there been some really devastating injuries to players?  Absolutely!

Here is the real truth.  If you play sports, any sport, injuries aren't an "if" but a "when".  All sports have injuries.  Moose has been hurt as seriously playing basketball as he has been playing football, including his only concussion.  He also broke some bones in his back and hand playing basketball and I am sure his high school trainer will attest that she saw him more during basketball than football.  Belle has had at least 3 stress fractures (foot, back and tibia) from skating and running.  She has also had a concussion from skating- and no she wasn't doing pairs at the time.  We allowed her to pursue that seemingly dangerous pursuit and she had a couple of bumps and bruises, but nothing serious.  She has had some terrible falls while skating all by herself, and usually while doing some sort of footwork not jumping.  Cheerleading, soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, golf just to mention a few.  They all have injuries associated with them.  Parents still choose them.  So if the question is to play or not to play football because your child might get hurt, then maybe no sport is right for your child.

My New Obsession

Well, I shouldn't really call it an obsession, but I have become completely convinced that my Kindergarten students need to paint their hands or feet to create art on a regular basis.  It all started with handprint turkeys in November.  Then we did reindeer in December and we also did a precious ornament with 5 little snowmen.  Before leaving for winter break I repeated the 5 little snowmen and put it on paper, then we wrote about the snowmen.  Actually, we filled in the blanks to create our own little rhyme.  Last week I decided to try footprint penguins and footprint snowmen.  This week it was skin colored paint in different shades for "I Have a Dream" stories.  They were adorable.  I am already planning to repeat last year's really cute Thing One and Thing Two when we get closer to Dr. Seuss and Read Across America.  I also have some great ideas for February, March and April.  The one thing I need to do is find parents to come and assist with this process so that I can actually teach reading groups instead of paint little hands. 

Sports At It's Best and Worst

If you pay any attention to the world of sports, well to the world in general last week, you know that Lance Armstrong finally admitted to using PED's (Performance Enhancing Drugs) during his tenure as the world's greatest cyclist and that Manti Teo has been involved in some really bizarre online relationship.  These two stories hit ESPN and all the other networks with a vengance last week.  Lance went on OWN and sat down to tell Oprah everything, Notre Dame spent the week defending their star player, and most of us shook our heads in disbelief.  One story illustrates all that is wrong with sports, the other was just baffling.  This was not sports at its best. 

Then I found an amazing video on Facebook about Sports Illustrated Sports Kids of the Year and my faith in sports was redeemed.  Watch it for a few minutes and you will be in tears.  It is inspirational, uplifting and shows what sports should be about!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J5UqYRxY48

So, after last week when so many things were wrong with sports it was amazing and uplifting to see what is right! 

I Thought Skate Moms Were Crazy

I discovered something that disturbs me in ESPN the Magazine this week.  MMA (Mixed Martial Arts for those of you like me who need it defined) has established youth leagues/tournaments.  Children as young as 6 are participating in these events and while they are structured to eliminate some of the more severe aspects of the sport it is still seemingly brutal to me.  There are participants who are homeschooled in order to have more training time (reminds me of another sport I know...) and weekends are spent traveling and competing (sound familiar fellow skate moms?)

The homeschooling and training isn't what bothered me.  I think it is the battle to the death mentality of this sport, like a modern gladiator fight without the actual death, that really bothers me.  The few things I have seen indicate that MMA is just all out street fighting.  Someone is of course going to call me on that, and to be fair I don't know anything about MMA.  It just seems like in an era when we know more than ever the dangers of head injuries and the long term prognosis for people with repeated head injuries that this is recklessly abusive to those children. 

This is of course just my opinion.  As I write this I feel like I should be more understanding, you know one insane sports mom to another...

I'm Baaaaack, Well I Am Trying!

So obviously sometime last spring I stopped posting.  I just got so busy and it was really easy to ignore my blog. First it was Belle's graduation, then we all went to the beach, then it was my summer vacation, then we had to get Moose and Belle off to school and deal with conflicting sports schedules during the fall, then ...  Well, there really isn't any excuse, I just didn't keep up with it.  So, now that it is January, time for resolutions and goals, I am going to try and start this up again. 

In order to play catch up this post will be everything that happened since the last post, well everything I found interesting, fun, amazing, or important anyway!  Beware, this is sort of a long post but I am covering several months.  I am sure that sooner or later I will remember something else that I didn't share so I will add a later blog.

Belle went to her senior prom in the dress we got on our Spring Break trip to Boston.  She had a blast and looked absolutely beautiful.  I LOVED her dress. I was sort of sad to see my little baby all grown up.

 

 

Just ignore the boxes in the driveway- Moose and Peter Pan were doing some project while Belle was preparing to go!  I know I am biased, but I think that Belle's dress was one of the most beautiful prom dresses I have ever seen.  It was not at all what she set out to get, but I think she looked amazing.

 

Moose had a sack in the spring scrimmage.  Being an insane sports mom, this was enough to keep my brain twisting around possiblilities well into the summer. 

 

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Belle ran in the "Color Me Rad" 5K with a bunch of friends.  It was not a race, in fact the object was to spend as much time as possible on the course and get covered with color.  They had a blast.  She was a mess!

 

Belle had her final track meet and Senior day.  Track has been tough the last couple of years since Belle has fought injury after injury, but she did persevere and keep training.

 

Belle graduated from high school with honors and we had a blast at the beach with the whole family. 

 

 

 
Belle decided to go to Marymount University and run Cross Country there. Since she decided on the less expensive college option she joined the family tradition and got her first car, a black mustang.   Everyone in our family has gotten a mustang for their first car.  This was not planned, it just sort of happened.
 

Moose got his VMI ring and enjoyed a fun weekend at Ring Figure.  I finally got to see him in his dress uniform and he looked really good.  He is now 3 semesters from real life.

 

 

Belle started college, leaving Peter Pan and I with a very quiet empty nest.  She loves her choice in school and has enjoyed running Cross Country.  Highlights of her season were running her first ever 6K races, improving her time and earning a PR, and earning a spot on the regionals team. Unfortunately injury made an appearance and continued to plague her.  Still she has made some wonderful friends on the team and it has already become a huge part of college for her.
 

 
Moose seemed to make some progress toward his football goals, even though he spent last spring recovering from his shoulder surgery.  He has an amazing attitude and never gives up.  He makes me so, so proud.







 
 
I completed more college courses online and then made the decision to transfer to Old Dominion to finish my MEd.  I really want to be in a classroom and have that give and take.  I start this week.  We will see how long this takes. 
 
Peter Pan is going to start taking classes toward a certificate in Physical Therapy Assisting starting in February.  He wants to see if that will lead to a new career path. 
 
If you put all that together you will realize that starting in February every one of us will be a college student.  Yep, the family that studies together goes broke together, haha.
 
 
 
So, that is what has happened since my last post in sort of a nutshell.  Now I feel like I can continue on with my blog and know that everyone is caught up.  It may not matter to anyone else, but I had this OCD need to finish last year before moving on.  Now if I can just keep up with this.  I tell my students all the time that you have to practice reading and writing, this is my way of doing just that.  Happy New Year!