Today I confess……

I fell way short of my goal to eat better and move more.  I’m sure I nagged at my children more than I told them how much I care about them, and I know I griped about homework way more than a parent ever should. 

I confess that I was so tired that I could barely stay up past 9, and when I did manage to, I’m sure I hit my snooze button no less than four times…..therefore making me exactly 36 minutes later than usual.

I confess that I’m sure I had a meltdown on Saturday evening after being alone with the kids all day while Coach B was at baseball….he came home to find me completely frazzled with all three of my kids and an extra I agreed to let spend the night with Sydney.  His only offer?  Chocolate…..which helped…..but certainly not with my eat better mantra.

I missed a day of blogging….therefore totally screwing up my NaBloPoMo commitment.  But, I promise to catch up.

And last but not least…..I confess that this weekend was too busy….because it just feels like I left work Friday afternoon.

THIS WEEK HAS TO BE BETTER!  I WILL BE BETTER! 

G’night all.

I must get the question a million times in the couple of weeks heading up to baseball season. 

You know the one…..

“So, Mrs. Coach B.  Are YOU ready for baseball season?”

In an instant, my mind is like a rolodex spinning with memories from baseball seasons past, and I’m instantly transported….

To long evenings spent at home alone with the kids somehow managing to get everyone fed, bathed, homework done, and in bed all before 9pm. 

I can feel the cold, hard bleachers beneath me while the kids and I huddle under our large blue and white blanket watching the game before us in temperatures not meant for swinging a metal stick or catching a 90 mile an hour fastball. 

 I can feel my chest swell with pride as I watch my husband coach his team to their first district championship in over 50 years…and in the same breath the gut-wrenching heartbreak as we watched that season draw to a much to early close. 

I am reminded that in no uncertain terms my husband’s, and therefore my, entire livelihood is dependent upon a group of 16 – 18 year old boys.  Boys, who I pray, understand the sacrifices that I and my children make for them each and every day.

Brought back to reality by this thought, my reaction to “the question” is always the same. 

“Why yes!  I am SO ready for baseball season!” I say through a forced smile.

And that’s what coach’s wives do.  We sacrifice.  Everything.  Every single day.  Sometimes we even lie.  Just little white ones…..

And that’s ok.

Because, really…..are we ever really ready?

Good evening all!  This post will be quick, but I just wanted to take the time to share that you should head on over to Disney Dream Depot at 9pm EST/8pm CST tonight and catch a LIVE audio chat with myself and fellow Dreamer Maria!  Maria is an Orlando local, and I’m willing to bet she logs as many hours at WDW as the head Mouse himself!  If you are planning a trip and need some questions answered or if you just LOVE Walt Disney World and want to chat, head on over, sign up, and click on Dream Depot Live!

See ya there real soon!!!

Last week my oldest daughter Sydney competed in our school district’s version of a UIL academic competition.  To be able to compete, you have to try out, and only four students were selected.  Over a period of a month or so these four students gave up their recess once a week to work on writing prompts like those used in the actual Ready Writing competition.  Out of those four students, three were selected to complete and one was selected as an alternate.  Our school district has five elementaries so only fifteen third grade students throughout our district competed in the event…..Sydney being one of them.

I was nervous for her on the day of the competition because I knew how badly she wanted to finish in the top three, but we spent the morning going over what makes a good essay…..planning, good organization, lots of details, and an eye for grammar and spelling.  She said she knew to make an outline first, write as much as she could think of during the two hour time limit, and to check her grammar/spelling with the available dictionaries.  I hugged her, told her she’d be great, and sent her on her little way.

That afternoon she came bouncing into the house full of excitement and told me the writing prompt had been “What is your favorite sport?  Describe a favorite memory you have that involves that sport.”  Of course she decided to write about her love of competitive gymnastics, and her favorite memory was the night the finally landed her back handspring.  She was sure she had nailed it!

The next night our district held a huge award ceremony to honor those students participating.  I was in my room getting ready when Sydney came in, all dressed up in her cute little outfit.  I told her how proud I was that she had worked so hard and that regardless of who won the award tonight, she should be proud of herself as well.  I smiled to myself when she put her hands on her hips, cocked her head sideways, and with a sneaky little grin said…..”Um, okay Mommy.  But you know I’m going to win, right?” 

Later that night we all sat together awaiting the announcement, and I was surprised at the butterflies I felt when they began announcing her category.  They called the names of two little girls for 2nd and 3rd place, and in that moment, I panicked, hoping she wouldn’t be too disappointed if she didn’t win.  And then they said it……1st place…..Sydney B!!!! 

And I cried.

I mean cried like a baby. 

What a fantastic feeling….to see your baby work so hard at something and have all of that hard work pay off.  Like all the times you’ve told her, you’ve got to work hard because of this reason and that reason.  But to actually have them see that sometimes the little things really do matter.  I feel so blessed that she got to see this at such a young age.

The next morning everyone was still flying high, and I just knew Sydney was going to have the best day ever.  She brought her medal….not to wear but to show her friends and her teachers. 

Much to my surprise when she walked in the door that afternoon, she looked completely beaten down…..worn out. 

And heartbroken.

It seems one of her friends…..a girl who was in the same event as her had turned on her.  She went as far as to tell Sydney that her mother had said she should have won and Sydney shouldn’t have.  She had another girl join in on it, and they ridiculed Sydney for bringing her medal to school….saying she was just “bragging” and “showing off.”  Sydney later confessed to me that she didn’t even pull her medal out again…..for fear she would be made fun of.  She also told her friend that she would gladly give her medal back if it meant they could still be friends. 

My heart broke for her…..I’m so appalled that at age 9 my poor baby had to endure something like this. 

I would say this was her proudest moment to date…..and now, I’ve had to spend the last few days making her remember it as a positive and not a negative thing. 

Why can’t we just put our babies in little bubbles and never let anything or anyone hurt them?

Until tomorrow……

Don’tcha kinda think it sounds like one though? 

I’m sure most of you know what NaBloPoMo is, but for those of you that don’t, it basically is a challenge to blog every day for one entire month.  That month being February. 

How convenient! 

Today is the first day of February!

My fellow Disney fanatics Traci and Zanna have taken the challenge, and I have decided it’s just what I need to figure out a way to incorporate blogging into my daily life.  I’m not going to blog about anything in particular but rather whatever strikes my fancy that day.  I am committing, however, to weekly installments of my “Magical Memory Monday” posts.  Also, considering I AM a coach’s wife and baseball season has officially started, I’m going to go out on a limb and say there will be lots of posts about that as well.

So, here goes….28 days of ramblings from an overtired, overworked, sometimes crazy, always late mom of three whose husband is never home before 9pm. 

Let’s see how many readers I have left by March 1.

To say that this week is shaping up to be an eventful one is quite an understatement.  It seems like more and more happenings are popping up everyday. 

Is it ok to be tired already? 

Because I am.

I’ll start with the new website because that is something happening right now as I type this.  If you read how this blog came to be, then you know I long to be a part of the Disney World Moms Panel.  After three years of trying and falling short, I have to admit I was pretty down about it all.  I know, I know….the odds are greatly against me, but I just know in my heart that helping people plan their Disney World trips is something I’m meant to do.  But the thing is that there are thousands, I mean thousands, of other moms, and dads for that matter, that feel the same way.  I’m not sure how it happened but a handful of us not chosen for the 2010 panel found each other through the Dis Boards, Twitter, and Facebook, and what happened next was just amazing.  We decided that to utilize that old make lemonade out of lemons saying and start our very own Disney World trip planning panel.  Now, please understand, we are not trying to compete with the official Moms Panel in any way, but it’s our way of sharing our knowledge and love of Disney with the general public.   I hope you’ll come check me and my fellow Dream Team members out at the all-new Disney Dream Depot!!!  

Now onto helmets.  I know, random, correct?  Well, to be honest, one of the main reasons I didn’t write as much during the fall was because my son was diagnosed with plagiocephaly and brachycephaly.  Basically, it means his head was a little flat in the back as well as having one spot that was flatter than the other side.  I was so down when I was told of his condition because I felt that it was all my fault.  I was devastated, but through lots of research and a really supportive Yahoo group, I was able to accept the situation and deal with it.  We took little Beaux to Cranial Technologies back in November and by December 7, my little guy was all set to go with his helmet.  I’m proud to say that after 6 weeks, weekly adjustment trips to Dallas, and three sets of super cute vinyl decals my little guy’s last day to wear his helmet is today!  He officially “graduates” on Thursday so I’ll have a post committed just to this event later in the week.  Geaux Beaux!!

Finally, as an exclamation point to this week, I’ll be accompanying 5 of our Student Council kids to the Texas Tobacco-Free Teen Leadership summit in Stanton this Friday.  It’s a four  and a half hour drive, which I’m dreading, but I’m looking forward to seeing the information we can garner from the trip and utilize in our high school. 

So, there you have it…..pretty exciting stuff….

in the life of little, old me.  

Hope you have a great week everyone!!

So tomorrow is Coach B’s birthday. 

33 years old. 

And to think we met when we were 16……awwwww. 

But he won’t be here tomorrow because he’s at coaching school.

On his birthday.  Ugh.

This is his fourth year as a head coach so you may be wondering why he has to go to a “school” to learn to coach.  At least, that’s what my incredibly witty 9 year old pointed out to me when she heard he would be gone on his birthday.  I believe the conversation went something like this…..

Sydney:  “Daddy’s going to be gone on his birthday?”

Me:  “Yep.”

Sydney:  “Where is he going to be?”

Me:  “Coaching school.”

Sydney:  “Um, Mommy?  Doesn’t Daddy already know how to coach?”

Me:  “Yep.”

Sydney:  “So, why does he have to go to coaching school?”

Me:  “Um……to spend a couple days BSing with a bunch of other coaches to attend the many lectures that they have on different aspects of the game of baseball.”

Happy Birthday Coach B.  Hope you are enjoying those “lectures.”  I LOVE YOU!

Okay, since this is a Confessional…..I’ll confess. 

I haven’t written in a long time. 

A.

Really.

Long.

Time.

There.  I said it.  No need to linger on it.  So, what’s new?

It’s a New Year!  Two thousand ten….or twenty ten….or…whatever you choose to call it. 

I’ve decided not to make resolutions, but, rather, I’d like to make….improvements.  I’m going to list them here so that I’ll have it in black blue and white and can revisit it next year.  Oy.

1.  I want to eat healthier.  Not a diet.  Or a special soup.  Just healthier.

2.  I want to move more.  Walking, crawling, slithering…..whatever works.

3.  I want to write more…..which should certainly help out this fledgling little blog.

4.  I want to make the time with my kiddos really count.

5.  I want to have a better attitude about the amount of time my husband is gone during baseball season.

Okay, nothing groundbreaking….just important stuff in the life of little old me.

Until next time!

Today my dad and I will take part in what’s become an annual Christmas tradition I look forward to every year.  We will brave the crowds, the sales, the hoopla, and try to find my mother exactly what she wants for Christmas. 

Nevermind that this year even she doesn’t know exactly what she wants…..ahem.

I guess to explain the importance of this annual foray into Christmas madness I should start at the beginning.

WAY back at the beginning, to a Christmas long, long ago……

See, this was back when money was tight, and my mom and dad only got each other one gift each Christmas.  My mom, knowing my dad really wanted a new shotgun for Christmas, had been saving money here and there in order to surprise him on Christmas morning.  On that Christmas Eve, Mom was going about her normal activities, proud that his brand new shotgun was well hidden, awaiting the surprise that was to come.

That afternoon my dad announced he was going into town.  He didn’t say where, in particular, he was going, but my mom suddenly got the feeling that this trip to town was to purchase her one Christmas present.  She tried not to think about the shopping choices available in our town, which were few and far between, and went about her business for the day.  When Dad triumphantly returned later that afternoon with a bag from Eckerd’s, our local pharmacy, my mom sarcastically quipped, “That better not be an electric razor!”

In that instant, all of the color drained from my dad’s face.  He was busted.  Busted.  He had gone to Eckerd’s to find my mother the perfect Christmas gift and returned with an electric razor.  The same mother who had scrimped and saved and gone through the trouble of hiding that perfect, shiny, new shotgun. 

My mom, understandably furious, stormed out of the room, dug through the closet, pulled the new shotgun out, and marched right back to where Dad was standing.  And in a moment that will live through in our family’s Christmas lore forever, she threw it at him and said……

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!  (I have a feeling this didn’t exactly sound like your typical Christmas greeting!)

Fast forward to when I was a teenager and old enough to have a clue.  My dad started inviting me along on his shopping trips for mom because he figured I at least had a little clue about what she might like.  The evolution of these trips has amazed me throughout the years.  In the beginning it was a lot like a tactical maneuver.  No deviation from the intended route, and it felt like a mad sprint from store to store throughout the mall.  There were no stops for coffee or snacks, no bathroom breaks, and they never lasted more than an hour.  Over the years, Dad and I both began to see this as “our” Christmas tradition….a chance to not only save him from flying shotguns but a chance to spend some quality time together.  Now we leave early and hit up IHOP for breakfast.  We visit as many stores as it takes, and gasp!  We may even sometimes leave the mall and go to a free standing retail establishment!  Who knew!  I always smile as my dad tells the sales clerks in every store we visit about how we’ve been doing this for years, and my mom definitely doesn’t get electric razors in her stocking anymore. 

So here in just a few hours, we’ll leave on this year’s shopping trip, make our usual stop at IHOP on the way in, and start on our quest for the perfect gift for my mom. 

But I know it’s about so much more than that…..I know that years from now, when my dad is no longer with me anymore, I’ll look back on these trips as some of the most wonderful Christmas memories a little girl could have of her dad.

Do you have any special Christmas traditions?  Please email me or comment below.  I’d love to hear your story.