Bye Bye Bunnies

After a goodnight's sleep and a strong cup of coffee, I slowly and respectfully approached my Mac and blogger.com in an attempt to put the bunnies to rest.  I don't know if it was the extra sleep or the recent surge of caffeine, but who cares, bye bye bunnies!  I'm not going to pretend that I love what is showing on the background of my blog, but I'll be happy with it for now.  It will be bright and fun for summer, you may not be seeing any changes for several months.  I wish I was more blog savvy, for many reasons.  I would like to know what the hell I'm doing, but that's just not real right now.  I would need hours of patients and brain power, and that's a rare find in my house.  Just finding quiet time is rare...but if you're reading this blog then I can only assume that your children run circles around you day and night, like mine do.

So here we are, the end of April....trying to redeem myself from what seemed like a full FAIL in my blog life.  I feel like the "bye bye bunny" will give me a sense of relief as I approach my blogger redemption.  This is official....I'M BACK!   

Right Back Where I Started.

I'm not sure what's wrong with me.  I'm a technotard.  Just when I had committed myself to a bloggerific lifestyle again they go and change the whole damn thing again.  I can't get the effing bunnies off the page. I want a baseball that I found...but damn those bunnies they won't go away.  I'm over it.  Every single time I sit down and just want to write something clever or make fun of myself for navigating my life as a mother in a less than stellar way, I end up wanting to take my mac and chuck it out the window.  So...I'm right back where I started.  Returning to a life of entertaining writing and a way to share my neurotic behaviors in a humorous way.....oh the bunnies.  I'm serious.  There is so much to share.  For example, the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie way that I came to clean my gutters yesterday.  That's a good one, but I refuse to tell the story while there are bunnies on the page.  So I dedicate my whole blogging time to getting the bunnies to go the eff away.  I guess I need a large, black top hat to put them in because magic and voodoo seem to be the only way I'm going to get something else on my screen.  Oh, and I got new running shoes.  I've been working hard in PT and got cleared for running again.....but NOOOOOO, the bunnies are preventing you from hearing about that too.  Ok. Well my blogging time has now expired and all you have gotten is a page full of complains, half starts to excellent blogs, and bunnies.  Effing bunnies. 

Have Fun, Love Baseball

Can you smell it?  I can.  It's spring (it tried to be sunny) and we were playing baseball.

Last night started Tucker's second season of T-ball.  He is fulfilling hopes and dreams that I had, literally, when I got pregnant.  I knew that it didn't matter whether I had a boy or a girl, this kid was going to be in LOVE with baseball.  He isn't letting me down...and neither is that little girl of mine.

I'm not going to lie, I felt like I was a kid again being out on the field.  I was happy, energetic, and in love...with baseball.  I am also ecstatic to hear that the 2 coaches who have taken the lead to get the team formed, have officially invited me to join them.  I get a hat and shirt this year!  It's official.  I'm a coach again.  The really great news is that I won't have to stage another coup this year to take control.  They have bowed down to my awesomeness much earlier this year and have succumbed to my mad skills, or good looks, you pick.  ...although I'm CERTAIN it's the mad skills, or maybe the goofy demeanor I use to teach the kids or to scare them out of running in the giant mud puddle on the field.  Either way...shirt and hat.  Official.

Addie was my shadow on the field.  She followed me everywhere, she yelled out everything I was yelling, she wore Tucker's cleats from last year that he outgrew.  She is perfect.  The only thing she is missing is a pink glove to protect herself from that kid on the field.  The one who randomly picks up a baseball and chucks it into the air without any regard for where it will land.  One of those random throws lands on my girl's head and that kid is gone.  (By the way, same kid who couldn't stay out of the mud puddle.  You see a pattern?  I do.  He might not like me much when he year is over.)

Tucker was much less timid this year.  He jumped right in and handled himself very well.  The team divided into two groups: new players and players with one year experience.  I was working with the rookies, so I didn't see much of Tucker.  I thought that was good for him to work on independence and confidence alone instead of leaning on Mommy to encourage and guide him.  He told me after practice that he didn't feel like he hit very well, but that he had fun.  "Mission accomplished", I thought to myself.  Who cares, at this level, if he ever hits anything...just have fun.  Fall in love with baseball.  You can learn skills and strategy, but not unless you love the game.  That's ALL I hope for this group of young boys, have fun and love baseball.   

Unintentional Sabbatical

After more than a year of being blog-free, I'd like to first start by thanking my two faithful "followers" (one who apparently is too shamed to show their face on my blog) for faithfully following my REAL, undocumented life.  Well I can claim that truth for one of you, the other mystery follower...I can't be so certain.

I'm trying to even think of all the ways my life has changed in the last year and the list is long and wonderful.  I will just start listing things that have happened.  The list will be horribly out of chronological order, but hey my life is a little out of order...very fitting.

*I really think this is fitting to be first, since it was such a struggle and game changer in our family.  Addie is potty trained.  It took her 3 years, 1 month, 26 days and 14 hours (or 1,659,727 minutes) to make that choice, but she did it.  I was under the impression that girls trained earlier and easier than boys.  She blew that theory out of the water.  Nothing to could convince this girl.  Not candy.  Not bribery.  Not threats.  Nothing.  Her choice, her terms, her time.  But Amen...she did it.  finally.  Oh yeah, and it all clicked like a week before preschool started.  Which brings me to #2.

*Addie started preschool.  She goes to the same preschool that Tucker attended.  Addie goes 2 days a week.  Those are glorious days.

*Tucker started kindergarten.  (please pass me a tissue).  As an educator, and his super biased mother, he is excelling in school.  He is a great reader, has a great phonics knowledge base and his social skill are what I would expect.  However, because my husband and myself are first children (you know those people) we over analyze his kindergarten report card to the point that I was on the Oregon State Standards website critiquing the teacher's evaluation of Tucker regarding every standard.  It's kindergarten.  I know.  I understand that fully.  Those are my issues, not his....moving on.

*I have become something I never thought was genetically possible for me.  I have become a baker.  I will admit that the perfect, fluffy, moist chocolate chip cookie still eludes me, but I have other confections that just might beat that old standby.  I have mastered the cakepop.  I still want to experiment with fondant and making them Bakerella cute, but I have the basics: excellent flavor and creative ideas.  I'm also going to claim to have a good handle on cupcakes, but I want to experiment with flavors and frostings.  This is a fun hobby that I wouldn't mind making some money doing, but until then it gives me a creative outlet and a reason to exercise.

*The man of the house has also been a very busy man.  He has recently taken on a new business venture, in addition to his regular job.  He is rare species in our home these days, but we are making the best of it as he works tirelessly to build his future empire.

*Both kids took swimming lessons.  They were both so timid in the water that they had to take level 1, twice.  They finally passed.

*I ran my first half marathon in June 2011 at the Seattle Rock N Roll Marathon.  You know that moment when you feel like a super hero, and you are pretty sure that if you could take just one more step you could take off in flight?  Yeah, that never happened to me.  When I got done I felt like a champ, but I didn't feel that great physically.  Here's my rookie advice.  If you think you are going to run anything beyond a 10K, get a running group.  Hang out with people who know what the hell is going on.  I trained under the advice a good friend, but ran nearly every mile alone.  I didn't know when to hold 'em, fold 'em, or when to walk away.... Now I'm dealing with persistent shin splints, a sports medicine doctor and a physical therapist, and of course, INSURANCE.  Dude, just get a running group.  That's what I'm doing next time.  Well, next, next time....this year I'm already signed up for two half marathons that I'll be walking, to my dismay.  (Jockin' Mike D to my dismay.....I can't say dismay without giving a little "WASSUP" to the Beastie Boys.  Holla if you feel me!)

I think I'm going to leave it at that for now.  We will have many upcoming adventures with the anticipation of spring actually acting like spring in the next few weeks, maybe.  Oregon: get it together.  Your bipolar weather disorder is really bringing me down.  I need vitamin D for my wellbeing.  Tball starts this week, please let it look, feel, and smell like baseball outside.  Please.

Thanks again to my 2 followers.  I feel so important!!  ha ha ha!