Madness, Miracles and Mayhem

Monday, August 8, 2011

It Tis the First Week of School!!

Oh Sh**!

I would be lying if I said, I wasn't ready for the peace and solitude of the days with just Penelope... but there is soooo much to be done!

With the beginning of school, also came the beginning of football season last week. I am delighted to say that Tabor did get drafted back onto the same team as last year! I couldn't be any happier!! We were able to keep a large portion of our team from last year and the new kids, in large part are really good!! So excited!! Tabor is in heaven!! I just love watching the new kids. We had a new player last year, so I can laugh this year. Little people do not come used to getting pancaked to the ground. Until they get used to it and see that the pads DO really take a lot of the impact, they cry. Some more then others. It is HI LARIOUS to watch the ones who are really babied by their parents. This one poor boy cried for the entire 2 hours of the 2nd practice. Sobbed. His mother was about to lose her mind. I think the rest of us scared her. Our kids would hurt their leg or arm and we were all yelling from the side line, "YOU HAVE ANOTHER ONE! GET BACK IN THERE!" "IF YOU MUST CRY... DO IT WHILE RUNNING!" She kept staring at us, obviously disturbed. Towards the end of practice, her son was rolling around on the ground screaming that he had broken his back. I thought she was going to die right there on the side line. Having the coach go up behind him on the field, lift him to his feet, pat him on the butt and tell him because he was standing it was not broken and to get back in there... didn't help. You truly can't pay to see comedy like that. Great fun. They will get there before long though. All the kids do. (Our coaches are amazing. They don't take injuries lightly... they know when it is just nerves and attention seeking)

After practice on Saturday, We had to go back to school shopping. DANGER!! Tabor was easy. He has to wear uniforms. Uniforms ROCK!! I log on to Lands End, type in the school number, put in my credit card information... and all clothing shows up on my door step a week later. AWESOME!!

Presley, on the other hand... that was more difficult. We took her to Target to look at clothes. "Uh... NO!" (she says with hands on hips and eyes rolled back in her head.) We tried Macy's. Presley refused to even respond to the dresses I held up. Dillards, "Thee are the saaaame!"

Now, keep in mind that Presley is 3 and she goes to PLAYSCHOOL, they have a big blow up bouncy they play on each day and a playground and they do arts and crafts and watch movies. They learn a little here and there... but this is about running, and jumping, and rolling around on the ground, and clothes do not last long in these kinds of situations. Presley refuses shorts and pants. We know this. She is already the prissiest girl in any group. We need to tone it down a little... and that didn't happen.

Last night, I was searching around for Disney things for our trip and Presley saw a fully appliqued princess dress. "THAT! I WEAR THAT!!"

Ruh roh. I quickly searched for several plain princess dresses. "Uh, I pincess... that not pincessceeeee!"
So, being the great and grand parents that we so obviously are... we loaded her school wardrobe with more fluff and tulle and frill then any person should ever look at. She is going to look like Madonna in church. We just laugh at her and shake our heads, I always said I wanted a priss. Be careful what you ask for!! God listens... and He is a funny funny God!!

I am also ordering her a princess apron to protect the fluff during art. Most people are probably rolling their eyes and questioning our sanity... but I would imagine her teacher would expect little less. To know Presley... is to embrace the crazy.

Not wanting to leave Penelope out... Sweet Penelope is not so sweet anymore. We have embraced our terrible two's and found that screaming while lying on our back in the middle of the grocery store... is WAAAAAY more fun then simply riding along in the cart. lol. She is thinning but still a BIG baby and all this hot weather we have to sit out in for football practice just wears her out. 2 hours and my cute red head is a wet red mess. She wants to see and be a part of everything and is not willing to stay still for a second. I am only a few practices away from tying a cow bell around her neck. Really.

Ahhh the joys of life with our children. We LOVE every second of it!!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Combo pack of trouble

This past week we went over to my mother's for dinner. There is a checklist of things that have to be moved/locked/shut/blocked when we get over there. We walk in and immediately go and lock the bathrooms, move the crystal, block the stairs, shut my mother's bedroom door, move all flowers and vases, and then go to the study and get the toys out and lock it too.

Apparently we should have started at the study because when we went in to get the toys and found this:

And this:

What? Isn't reading a good thing??

Look at all of these words!!

And then when WE went to putting the books back on the shelf... they ran off to find something else to do. Which is when we found them doing this:

And This:

And Finally This:

It really is a wonder that they are still alive!! They are a combo pack of micheviousness and danger. What ever will we do when they are teenagers?? Dare I ask??

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The 3rd Grade Draft

Before Tabor started playing football last year, I picture K-3 football being a bunch of little boys that were padded wider then they were tall... fumbling around. I mean they are just little boys!! Apparently, I was wrong. I learned this right after we signed Tabor up last year when we learned that he had been wait listed, because they had sooo many boys sign up the first day, they didn't have enough coaches for them all. Interesting. Thankfully, they did eventually find the coaches needed for the extra kids and Tabor was able to play. Then we got an email saying that "THE DRAFT" was the following week. The draft?? For 2nd graders?? Seriously??? They are making our uncoordinated weeble wobbles... try out??! Um. Okay.

And, honestly, it went about as well as I had expected it to. Poor Tabor. It was pitiful. I'm his mommy and I love him no matter what... but there were few words for that particular performance.

So let's fast forward to "The 3rd Grade Draft" (an email I was expecting and waiting for this year). It was held last night. 2 hours in 95 degree heat. 9 teams of 6 coaches had stations of obstacles they wanted each player to perform in order to adequately judge their abilities. Each team's station was a little bit different, but most had the kids tackle a dummy, run several drills and then *try* to tackle a coach. 3 coaches helped the kids and 3 coaches sat and took notes on every kid at each station.

The days leading up to the draft are nervous for us. Tabor loves football now and we want so much for him to be decent. Last year the coaches turned him into a good little player. Not the best, but definitely far from the worst. This year I expected much of the same... or I hoped for much of the same.

YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN MY BOY!!! He blew it out of the water!!! There were times where he tackled the dummy so hard that I could hear him hit it from 40 feet off the field. Several times Rusty and I looked at each other, admittedly shocked. "IS THIS OUR BOY?!!" "DID YOU JUST SEE THAT?!!!"

He looked so good!!! I was soooooo proud of him. I will even admit to tearing up a time or two. My baby... he has come a long long way.

Here are some *iPhone* pictures. I have no clue what team he will go to or what order he got drafted in, but he left it all on the field. I'm proud!!