Farewell to Basketball

Yesterday was the last game of Tavin's Pee-Wee Basketball season. (Only 4 games, keeps everyone interested apparently.) She actually did very well, scoring 12 points and rebounding and passing the ball in an unselfish and unbiased manner. Her dad did alright too.....I only had to remind him every 3 minutes or so that she already HAS a coach, this is only for FUN and that she is only 9. He was not inappropriate by any means, but very excited to have an apparently athletically gifted child. (He's already telling her what they can work on, how she can get college paid for, etc....I keep saying "She's 9!) Today though, he did tell her that "..If you don't like sports that's ok too...". Right after he told her that was the best 4rth quarter playing he'd ever seen from ANY third grader. (Just what does that mean, I ask you? Both of her parents played 2 sports at the college level and her dad was actually her mom's 8th grade basketball coach, so I guess he didn't step on my toes.) She asked if you could get college paid for by being "Nice and quiet." I said no, but it was a good way to get a husband! Ha! :) (Kevin just smirked at that one.) They offered signups for Little League (baseball/softball) next....we'll see if she's into that. I am ALL for any kind of physical exercise/outlet for the energy of my kids! And the free entertainment too. ;)

Poor Squirrel

Part of Tavin's writing class includes journaling. Sometimes her teacher gives them the freedom to write whatever they want and other times they are to copy a topic or question to elaborate on. It is very easy to tell which is Tavin's preference. "Free topics" are very sloppy and have quite a bit more content. The assigned topics are written very carefully (in cursive) and have a 1-2 line answer. She recently filled up her journal and brought it home for us to have. Always a good read to see what your 9 year old REALLY thinks. She had entries about how she misses her friends, how much she likes Lucy, and other comments about her brother, her frequent travels to the valley...my we go there more often than I realized. Anyway, she made an entry after our trip last week to Salem and then to the coast. (Kevin had a conference in Salem, which just happened to coincide with the state wresting tournament. Guess what highschool wrestlers do in their hotel rooms at night? Imagine what it sounds like!) Anyway, after a full day with all 3 kids, I was a little less-than-sane. Kevin offered to take them out for a few hours, drive around, get them dinner and go to the mall or something. (This even made a journal entry for Tavin.) When they returned, my children reported to me that they'd witnessed a gruesome, cruel (depending on whose aspect you take), life changing scene that will stay with them always. The rural roads of Salem are apparently crosswalks for various rodents and other wildlife. Let me just report it as it may have sounded to a fly in the van:

"Look dad! There's a big grey squirrel in the road!" Tavin says. (Actually probably a grey digger, a little lower in the rank of rodent cuteness.)
Thumpthump.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Cries Simon.
Kevin, aka "dad", checks the rearview mirror and sees a mortally wounded grey digger (aka, glorified possom) performing various hip-hop dance moves in the middle of the road. His conscience pricks at him, as does the various outcries of his children. He stops the car, and since there is no traffic within sight, turns the van around and sends the unfortunate squirrel to it's next step in the circle of life.
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"
"YOU KILLED IT!"
And other protestations could be heard emanating from the passenger seats of the van. Kevin, aka daddy, graciously gave our children a gentle lesson in the differences of suffering and death, only as it relates to ANIMALS of course. :)

To truly understand how funny this was, may I suggest getting a first hand account from one of the witnesses.

Weekend Recap

Last night we returned from our family weekend to a FRIGID house. Due to some unfortunate events, our heating system was shut completely off. This resulted in the inside of our house being colder than the outside! And it was 45 degrees outside. We all went to bed in sweats, etc. And it took hours for our home to feel hospitable. (I got up at 5 a.m. to turn the thermostat down.) As for the coast, it was a beautifully clear and sunny weekend but once again the frigidness prevented Lucy from actually experiencing the beach yet. It did not, however, stop the other females from experiencing the President's Day sales at the Outlet Mall! We didn't even require a motorized cart for the "post-op" member of our family. Actually, the pregnant one was probably in more need of it. I believe our cousin, the brave soul that volunteered to come along to help with the children as a service project for school, even survived. I don't know, do you think that keeping track of a 9-year old girl (who likes to "help"), a 5-year old boy (with apparent middle-child issues), a 4-year old boy, a 2-year old boy with a cold, and a 6-month old infant (who actually slept the entire evening they were home alone) qualifies for Christian service or martyrdom/sainthood? Next year should be even better with the addition of another wee one and one more mobile toddler! I'm afraid that word of our children will get around, though and it will be harder to find someone willing to undergo such an adventure for a free weekend away....Plus we didn't tell her that the probability of sleep after 7 a.m. was somewhere between "Right!" and "Ha!". (At least for me!)

Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink

Well, I'm still waiting to get the appearance of this blog fixed. Oh well, just know that if you want to read past posts, you have to scroll down to the bottom left of the page and the links are there. Simon can now write his name completely by himself. That is from writing it on 18 Valentine Cards for his classmates and teacher. Then he decided to finish the remaining 15 or so to hand out this weekend to our family. "I want the red one for T because he likes red." (Cousin T, that is.) I didn't bother to try to explain to him that because he has SPIDERMAN Valentines, they are ALL red. He was concerned that T liked his. :) Tavin selected Narnia Valentines, and did them all independently. She also has a big stack to pass out this weekend. Instead of candy, which they get loaded with at school, I get books for our kids. Tavin's was my favorite this time..."Roses are pink, your feet really stink." It's about a little possum kid that writes mean valentines and signs someone elses name to it. Although Tavin's feet have been known to cause watering of the eyes, that was not what I had in mind when I picked this one! It was just a funny, cute book. :) I guess I should mention that we are having our annual "Family Birthday Weekend" and will all be at a house on the coast, courtesy of my parents for a collective "birthday present" to all of us. It has been a tradition for several years. One in which there is (usually) equal trade of shopping and golfing. Last year we got even smarter and brought along an older cousin for child relief. (Kind of like Tylenol for pain relief, you know?) I think those plans are in the works as well, hallelujah! (Being the only one with more than 1 child, at least for 2 more months, I believe I benefit the most!) We are all very glad to finally confirm moms health yesterday....she will be recovering still this weekend, but we assured her we could get her a motorized cart for shopping. I know of several of her relatives that would likely pay a tidy sum for a photo of such....do I have any offers? (I am thinking mostly of brother-in-law types....)

Mother-Daughter Lunch and the Lady Question

I was reminded by a very attentive aunt that I haven't yet revealed the content of Tavin's "lady" question. I will fix that immediately! I think. When I first established my blog, there was a random question that I could have answered. (Being a "random-concrete" personality type, last I'd checked, I immediately decided that I was sure that I didn't want to answer that one and have skimmed a few others, no keepers.) The question was along the lines of "Boy lions know they are "men lions" when they have a mane....how do "girl" lions know they are grown?".

Tavin and I were at the "spontaneous lunch" a few months ago now, when out of the blue, she asked, "Mom, how do you know when you're a lady?". I was immediately struck with the thought "Don't blow this off." Then, my random-concrete brain said "Don't bore her to tears and say too much." Then I thought..."Where did this come from?" and "Oh help..." somewhere along those lines. I know that I told her that being a "lady" wasn't something that can be measured by how old you are or by a certain "stage", but that it was mine and daddy's job to teach her what and how a lady is and acts. A true Lady is someone who knows her value is not based on what people think of her, or who "likes" her, but she is royalty because she is a daughter of God Most High and is already above what the world would call a "lady". I also mentioned that it was character and how she acts (that kind of stuff). Also, that it was Daddy's role to be the example of how a lady is to be treated, and how she can expect any "future suitor" (not in those terms) to treat her. I think that pretty much sums it up....like I said it was a few months ago and I may have left something out. I know that after that, she seemed satisfied and I haven't heard anything more of it since. It is difficult not to be frightened of how she may let herself be treated or act, etc. if she is not sure of her identity when it counts. But, we will parent with boldness and faith, not out of fear and paranoia....hopefully! :) (There's that random-concrete again.)

Bring on the college sports scholarships!

Today was Tavin's first Pee-Wee League basketball game. She is in a 2nd-3rd grade league on a team of 3 boys and 4 girls. Kevin and I thoroughly enjoyed the show, and as many before us I'm sure, thought that if only we'd had a video camera we could've won $10,000 on America's Funniest Home Videos. Let me just say that another name for a rebounding drill for players in this league could be called "Duck and Cover". Tavin is the tallest girl amongst everyone (Yessssss) and is only slightly shorter than the tallest boy, aka "ball hog". I did think it was funny to see this side of Kevin. He couldn't help but "coach" from the stands and offered to help Tavin. As we are home tonight, he's teaching her to "rub off" her defender. They practice of course by running around the house bumping each other into corners, walls, furniture, etc. She shot 1 for 8, but she said she made 3. It is a great time, and there are games every Saturday this month. I think the player on Tavin's team that I enjoyed watching the most when Tavin wasn't in :) was a young man, also in the 3rd grade in Tavin's class that reminded us of her uncle and cousin. Kevin insists it's uncle, I saw more of my nephew. This young man is already a "diver"....any loose ball, errant pass, or other feasible reason to leave skin on the floor he did. (He reportedly also dives across the lines during practice to beat Tavin in sprints!) None of this is why he reminds us of our family, that is because of his looks. Kevin knows him from school as well and describes him as a "Hyper Macho" 3rd grader. I doubt that will last long, I hear he is part of the cheerleading camp they are doing for the elementary kids! :) HeeHee.

On Call!

You may have noticed that I changed templates. That was in an effort to correct the appearance of my blog (it's all out of whack), didn't work, so I have emailed for help. I like this picture better anyway. Well, the kids really haven't been all that entertaining unfortunately. It's more of a work or parenting issue lately. :) Simon did give a stranger directions to our house while we were in the valley last week. Something like this: "You go by Panda, then you turn left. Then you turn the other way and you kind of turn again. Our house is butterscotch." Panda is his favorite Chinese restaurant (or the name he calls it) and I could believe he knew "butterscotch"! He and Tavin played at our neighbors' this afternoon. They have girls that are their ages. Tavin said they "got rid" of some old Oreos. Must have been a rough day! This is my first "on call" night/weekend in about 4 years! Since 5 pm I've had one call, but nothing I had to leave home for, which is how I measure success. :) We'll see how it goes. We have a pretty high Hospice census with a few that are hovering, so it may get busy in the middle of the nights. On a plus, I think I may actually get to pick up my chairs that are being recovered (since last July) next week! Then I'll be able to (almost) compete with the W.L.E.N. site for furniture! :) By the way....LeAnn I did see some people actually consuming food on the new sofas. I would've understood if you'd have covered them in plastic before our brood got there! :)