It's not all rosy

So in my last post I may have given the impression that my new role as soccer mom is all fun and sunshine, but as you mom's reading know, there is definitely a price to pay.  With the fuller activity schedule, we have seen some noticably cranky kids (Austin & Avery).  Not only is their after lunch nap being stripped away thanks to a full day of Kindergarten (they do still get a short rest time until Christmas), but now they are more active with after school activities.  Avery is especially having a tough time.  We have had a few nights where she has crashed on the couch at 6:30pm only to wake at 7:00am the next morning.  Truth is her crashing is much more favorable opposed to the whining and uncontrollable tears we see when she is tired and things don't go exactly her way.  There are times she cries and cries and when asked what is wrong, she doesn't even know.  When comforting doesn't work, I just walk into the other room and wonder how we will ever survive the teenage years.
Our other challenge is definitely supper.  I am so not a preplanner, especially when it comes to suppers.  I envy those moms out there that cook on Sundays to prepare for meals for the week ahead.  Wes is usually the one to take something out of the freezer for the next night, but when we get home later in the evening, cooking a full meal isn't always an option.  Though we will eat fast food, we aren't ones to just go pick it up on a week night because we are busy.  It helps that we are in a small town and the fast food locations are "on the other side of town."  Instead we do a lot of "easy" foods - sandwiches, omelets, hot dogs and even "long noodles" - Ramen.  I am going to have to put a little more effort into planning for healthy, well rounded meals so that the kids don't think peanut butter and jelly are a major food groups.

I AM A SOCCER MOM....

So I admit I have been excited for this day to come, the day of running to and fro from activity to activity, trying to keep up with who is going where and figuring out how we are going to get them there.  Growing up, my parents kept my brother and I very involved, mostly in sports, but involved none the less and that is something I have always seen myself repeating as a parent.  Fortunately, Wes is on board with that for the most part.  Though I love my home, I am not a home body and don't feel I need to stay home to take care of chores I will only repeat three days later.  Besides, if we are away from home it should be less dirty, right? 
Well, we are getting a true taste of being "involved" this week.  Monday started with Avery's soccer game.  Tuesday Austin had soccer pictures and Wes had a church council meeting.  Wednesday Avery had gymnastics (it was my week to car pool 3 giggly Kindergarteners), soccer pictures and I had an after work meeting.  Thursday Austin had a soccer game and we are gearing up for 4 birthday parties on Saturday and cheer camp for Avery on Sunday.  Truth is, next week looks pretty much the same if not worse, but we can handle it.  I hope I can say the same when Caleb gets "involved".
I hope to never be one of those moms that drives my kids to do things they don't want to do.  What I do want to do is expose our kids to a variety of activities to help them find things they are good at and teach them life skills such as team work, determination and courage.  I want them to have the chance to make new friends outside of a school setting, set personal goals, and look back at their childhood and feel they were given every opportunity they could possibly be given to learn new things.  I'm sure there will be many trials and tribulations along the way, but I know there will also be lots of laughter and memories to share.
So, yes, for now I will be enjoying my roll as a soccer mom.  We'll see if I am saying the same thing by the time tball season rolls around. 

Go Titans!!!

 Our Titan!

 Austin going down the field, 3 on 1!

 Being aggressive.  Much to our surprise he was always right in the action.

 Look at that serious face!  Pretty sure this was after one of his goals.  He's saying "yeah, I know I'm good."

A proud coach, and daddy, giving a high five after one  of Austin's goals.

Go Lady Bugs!!!

 2011 Lady Bugs - Avery, Brianna, Sienna, Kennedy, Selena, and Emma Kate

Our Lady Bug strutting off the field.

 Avery in action

 Team huddle with Coach Tilley & Coach McIntyre

Hay Hauling

A&A&C particpated in the hay hauling contest again this year.  A&A were a brother/sister duo on Caleb met his partner at the event.  They fell short of a trophy, but provided us plenty of entertainment.

Washington County Fair

After a full Wednesday night, Friday night and Saturday morning, we are faired out.  The rides, the rodeo, the animals, the exhibits, and the fried fair food proved once again to be a huge hit for our crew.  Now that the kids are getting older they are a bit more demanding in what they want to do and where they want to go.  The petting zoo proved to be a hit for Avery this year.  She was in tears last year and hung onto Wes and I for dear life when we took her in.  I think she kept on insisting we go back this year to prove to herself she wasn't scared anymore.  Austin would have spent every night in the carnival if we had let him.  We chose Wednesday for wrist band unlimited ride night but Austin kept hoping he could talk us into just one more ride.  It didn't work.  One night with the carnys is enough!  Caleb was our rodeo man.  We were entertained Friday night with calf roping, calf scrambling and bull riding.  That little boy ate it up and was all smiles.  The mechanical bull highlighted the fair for all of them.  They stayed on the full time, hand up and a huge smile on their face.

My fair picture taking efforts get an epic fail.  Here are a few random shote I was able to capture.

Adios Altima

So I admit that blogging about a car may not win me any new followers, but the Altima deserves it's own post.  After totaling my car in a fender bender on a trip from Brenham to Austin in Nov 2001, the Altima became the first brand new car I owned and it was one of Wes and I's first big purchases together.  We decided to buy something a little bigger when A&A arrived, but decided to keep the Altima in our fleet for Wes to drive back and forth to LaGrange for work.  I wasn't crazy about having 3 vehicles on the payroll, but it wound up being one of the best decisions we ever made since driving his "big green truck" would have killed our pocket books with the cost of diesel these last few years.  Well, now it's been 5 years of commuting and the Altima was getting up in years, maintenace and mileage... 202,000 miles to be exact!!  We decided it was time to trade her in and after realizing we wouldn't get much for her on a dealership trade in, Wes listed her on Craig's List and we got triple the trade in estimate.  Go Craig's List!!  Now Wes is the owner of a midsize truck that he will use to commute to work and for now we will keep the big truck.  So Adios Altima.... thanks for all your years of service to our crew!

More beach fun

Football on the beach

Beach bums

Hello from Galveston, TX!!  We are enjoying a late summer weekend at the beach with Toppe & Grandpa and Steven & Candice.  I will say it was a bit odd packing beach neccesities when we are in school mode, but once we got down here it was not hard to settle into beach bum mode.  The house is a hop, skip and a jump from the edge of the waves and we practically have the stretch of the beach to ourselves.  It's made for the perfect end of summer get away.

The power of prayer!

Please continue to pray for all those being affected by the horrific wildfires in our great state of Texas.  The destruction is devastating.  Pray for the firefighters who are putting their lives on the line and pray for the families who have been stripped of their homes and cherished belongings.  Pray for rain, we need it so badly!

Kindergarten Royalty

A few posts ago, I mentioned that at St. Paul's CDS, Avery & Austin would be in Kindergarten Kingdom.  Well, it's not just a thing you say, it is an actual process.  These past two weeks Mimi & I have been creating Austin's mantle and Avery's train for their special "knighting" ceremony to officially induct them into Kindergaten Kingdom.  The special attire was to be a complete surprise and the only specific instructions given were that the mantle/trains were to include the students last initial and it should be made out of a towel.  We were shown a few samples and after asking past royalty mothers about their creations I was told that there are usually some that are very basic and others that are Maifest worthy.  I decided it was best I try and stay middle of the road and with the help of my retired seamstress mother-in-law, we were able to create attire fit for a Kindergarten king and queen.

Today was the big "knighting" ceremony.  Parents arrived early to see the kids walk into the church parlor and be surprised with their royal attire.  The eyes on the kids (and parents) faces lit up as they walked into the room and saw the royal attire draped over the chairs.  Avery & Austin quickly found us and were super excited to show off their mantle and train to their friends.   The parents then found seats in the church sanctuary and waited for the ceremony to begin.

Kindergarten Kings

King Buls reigned over the knighting ceremony.  The kids came forward in groups of four and each one was introduced individually.  King Austin and Queen Avery accepted the responsibilities of being in Kindergarten Kingdom which included learing their numbers and ABC's, being good friends to their classmates, and learning more about Jesus.  With a nod of agreement, the kids were knighted and sent on their way to live happily ever after in Kindergarten Kingdom.

 A&A with King Buhls

 A&A with Ms Chovanec

 Queen Avery

 King Austin

I will note that there is no way I would have survived this project without Mimi.  She made these exactly the way I imagined with a tight deadline.  This is something A&A will keep and remember forever.  I love the way St. Paul's makes them feel so special and makes learing about reading and Jesus such an important part of their lives.  I left the knighting ceremony feeling very blessed and thankful!

Dove season 2011

There is WAY too much camo in this picture, would you agree?

 It is Sept 1st, first day of dove season and you better know that there would be Maurer's and Rau's hunting out on HWY 105.  Wes picked up the kids and headed over to the Rau's for a little dove action this afternoon.  We had arranged for Avery to go to Mimi's since I had a Boys & Girls Club Board Meeting, but much to my surpise she chose to hang with the boys for the night AND wear camo. 

 The bird chasers!

So, I admit, the whole hunting thing and shooting animals just doesn't do it for me.  Not sure that I will ever quite understand it or get into the excitement, but I do know that I have some guys in this house that really enjoy it.  I think it is pretty cool that Wes takes the time to take the kids sometimes when he goes to share the experience with them.  They will always remember that and if nothing else, we always have meat in the freezer.