Football Practice for 4 year olds.

Step 1: Show all the kids what the flags are and how to wear them.

Or not.

Step 2: Start teaching basic fundamentals. How to hike the ball and let each child take turns being the center and the quarterback.


CJ did really great helping the kids. I'm sure he would have liked to have been helping Tanner, but for now he's still sitting on the ground.

Step 3: See if they can catch. Then practice catching and throwing, and catching and running.

Yes, that's Tanner standing behind one of the team Dad's. We're getting closer, but 1 hour into practice he's still refusing to participate.

LOOK! He's playing with the other kids!

Did I mention that practice is officially over?

Mass Chaos.

Confusion. Lack of communication. Lack of leadership ability. Lack of organization. All the things I despise and all the reasons why one day I will be the one in charge!
We went to what was supposed to be Tanner's first football practice last night. No one called us, but the day we got fitted for his uniform they told us that yesterday was the day so we went. Well, no one called us because our team didn't have a coach yet. All the other kids and parents running around seemed to know what they were doing and where they were supposed to go because their coach had called them. Not us. Now wouldn't you think that in this instance that one of the board memebers should have called all the parents on our team (there's only 10) and said, "hey, you don't have a coach yet, but you need to show up at the field at this time and meet in this area, so we can get it worked out and get you the information you need." Oh, but they didn't. Instead us and one other guy with his son were the only two that showed up - at least that we could find. Maybe the other parents came and wandered around for 30 minutes like we did looking for their team, couldn't find us, couldn't find anybody with any helpful information, then got frustrated and left. I wouldn't blame them. Anyway, the good news is the other guy wants to be the head coach - YAH! CJ gladly volunteered to help him. We got a list of the other players, the rules for flag football, and we're on our way.
Very frustrating for me, but a good first night experience for Tanner I think. He played with the other kid, Ethan, and they had a blast. They splashed in the water puddles, threw the football and had a great time. A nice break in for him. We go back tonight - hopefully to meet the other parents and have an official practice.

Doing a Little Dance.

It's raining, it's pouring, I wish I was snoring - but unfortunately both the children are wide awake. Don't they know grey, overcast, and raining is the perfect recipe for sleeping all day? And, yes, you heard it right - It's raining at my house!! It's been raining over parts of the metroplex sporadically for a while now and never a drop at my house. Honestly I can't even remember when was the last time a drop of rain fell over my house - like May or something - seriously. But it's raining now and has been all night so I'm doing a little dance and I hope it does it ALL DAY!

In other news, Tanner caught his first fish ALL BY HIMSELF on saturday. He casted it, he hooked it, and he reeled it in! YAH! Of course I wasn't there so no pictures were taken, but still a glorious moment!
There will be more news to come this week - Tanner starts football practice tonight. Say a little prayer that he actually participates. We talked about it over dinner last night and he says, "mommy can I watch the other kids play football?". Of course, I said yes. Then CJ asked him why he wanted to watch instead of play and his response, "Well, I want to watch for a little bit and then I'll play." YAH! I hope that's the truth.

Have a GREAT rain-filled day!!!!

Emotions run amuck.

Worry. Anxiety. Fear. Anger. Guilt. Apprehension. You name it I've felt it this last week. None of you knew because I couldn't bear to speak the words, but we had quite a scare this last week. Last monday I went in for my first official doctor appointment, they did an ultrasound and found something abnormal. A thickened nucal fold (whick is the skin on the back of the neck). This can be in indication of either 1) a chromosomal abnormality (Downs Syndrome at best, Trisomy 18 -which is lethal- at worst); or 2) a possible heart defect (like maybe a valve not forming properly or something).
They sent me to a specialist on Thursday. He did another ultrasound, agreed that there was a potential problem and recommended additional testing. We had a CVS (chorionic villis sampling) done, which by the way, is not enjoyable. It is an invasive test. They stuck a needle through my abdomen, into the placenta and extracted some cells to culture so they could do a complete chromosome workup. (The only way to rule out Option #1 above.) The specialist told me that our odds were 50% that what they were seeing was a normal deviation and the baby was fine, 25% that it is a chromosomal problem, and 25% that it is a heart problem.
Well, we got a call from the doctor's office yesterday and the preliminary results of the chromosome workup look good - nothing abnormal. Yah!!! Relief! A chromosome problem, especially a lethal one, was my biggest fear.
The nurse did remind me that it is still possible that a heart defect could be what's causing the thickened nucal fold, so they will do a very in depth ultrasound at 18 weeks to look closely at the heart and cardiovascular system, but at this point I feel like we've dodged a very big bullet.
I cannot tell you how many hours of sleep I've lost, how many tears I've cried, and how many nightmares I've had this last week waiting to know if there's something potentially wrong with my baby. And, I must admit, I think CJ will win the battle over the number of kids. This may very well be our last one, because I don't think I can take this kind of uncertainty and emotional rollercoaster again.
For now, a sigh of relief. We still must wait and make sure there is nothing wrong with the heart, but I feel confident that our baby is healthy (thoughts and prayers always appreciated though!).

Right Brain, Left Brain

I totally stole this from my girl Jen....

You Are 40% Left Brained, 60% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

Typical.

In true Tanner fashion we took him to get fitted for his football uniform and he cried and refused and said he didn't want to play football. This is the same boy who asks me nearly every day when he gets to play football with the kids. It took me 30 minutes to wrestle a shirt on him and the photo is him trying to get it off!

It's simply amazing to me that this boy will talk to anyone within hollering distance in the store, but won't talk to his pre-school teacher, a firefighter (on a little field trip), or anyone else you WANT him to talk to.

On the way home Tanner says, "I don't want to play football, I just want to watch the other kids." CJ says, "don't worry, you're gonna get to!" LOL!!!

Kids Say the Darndest Things.

Two funny things recently muttered by Tanner....

Wednesday - We were sitting in the living room talking about my friend Becky who just had a baby last week. CJ says to Tanner, "would you like to have a baby brother?" Tanner replies, "Yeah! And a baby sister for Grace too!!" I immediately jumped on his band wagon and reiterated why we need 4 and not just 3. CJ says, "Well, mommy's got a baby in her tummy." "Right now?! (immediately starts poking on my stomach) What about your food? Is it on top of the baby?" LMAO! I assured him that there was room for both.

Thursday - We were having a challenging day, just trying to coexist peacefully as parent and child. At lunch Tanner was playing in his yogurt and leaving his spoon in positions that were sure to spell disaster and leave yogurt everywhere so I said to him, "Tanner, you better grab a hold of that spoon, eat your yogurt, and lay the spoon on the table like it's supposed to because if it flips off your yogurt and makes a mess you're gonna hear me yell." His reply, "No I won't. My ears will be closed." LMAO again! Out Loud. I know you're not supposed to do that but it was so funny I couldn't hold it in.

He's growing up.

It's official - Tanner is signed up for a Pre-K class. I can't believe it. I have been contemplating it for a long time now. Lately I had decided that I was unwilling to pay that much money (the one's most of my friends are in are $100-$150/mo). Not that it's a ton of money, but we are trying to sell our house, build a new one and get ready for a new baby. Tanner is doing really well with things like writing his numbers and letters. He doesn't know how to write them all yet but he's learning. Anyway, one of the mom's in our group suggested the pre-K at Ash Creek Church. It's from 8:30am-Noon Monday's and Wednesday's and it's only $55/mo! It's 2 hours shorter than the other pre-k's but most people I talked to said that last two hours is usually just lunch and quiet time anyway - Tanner can do that at home. I AM SO EXCITED! There's sure to be pictures to follow. We start September 6th.

The Latest Happenings.

Well, the memorial service for my friends mother-in-law went really well friday. I'm glad that I went. It was good to be there for her. Generosity is truly pouring in from many places for their home. While that's good, people want to give them "stuff" and they don't have any where to PUT it. So, we're all in kind of a holding pattern right now until they have a more permanent place to live and a place to put things. Thank you for your prayers and support they are greatly appreciated and will continue to be needed through the coming months as they put their lives back together and work through the grief.

I had my first doctor appointment on Thursday. Things have really changed since the last time I was pregnant. This visit was only with the nurse. We did medical history, lab work, etc, and I have my first appointment with the doctor on Monday the 14th. That day he'll do a full exam (joy!) and I'll also have a sonogram. They said it was something new. They always do 2 sonograms now - 1 on the first visit and one more at 20 weeks. Whatever. As long as the insurance is covering it I'm not going to complain. No, we'll not be finding out what the sex of the baby is. I know that is killing most of you but you're just going to have to be patient for another 29 weeks!
On a different but similar note, the nurse said the doctor does his c-sections on Mondays and Fridays, 7-10 days before my due date. I need to have mine on a monday to be able to maximize the visit from my mom. My due date acutally falls on a monday so 7 days before would be the 26th of February - CJ's brother's birthday!!!!! Aaaaaahhhh! I'm going to lobby for him to do it 2 weeks before on the 19th so my baby can have it's own birthday. I mean really, if he would do it 10 days before and the baby is grown enough what's another 4 days, right? I used to totally despise this kind of scheming and planning of mothers to manipulate the birth of their baby around something else and here I'm doing it. But I REALLY don't want my baby to have to share a day with anyone else in our immediate family. Is that wrong of me?

Prayers Needed.

I have a good friend in desperate need of some prayers and positive energy. Yesterday morning she lost her mother-in-law to cancer. She was diagnosed only a short time ago and had just started her chemotherapy. This was very sudden and unexpected. Her mother-in-law leaves behind a grown daughter with Downs, whom my friend has been named her primary care giver. This is going to be a lot of added responsibility as my friend also has a 1 year old son of her own with Downs.
In addition to that my friends house burned down last night. She and her family (husband and two sons) made it out OK but their house is a total loss. I'll be going over today to find out how I can help and what needs to be done, but PLEASE keep her and her family in your prayers.

Movin' right along.

Not a whole lot of exciting things going on around here. We're trying to get things done so we can put our house up for sale. I've been washing windows and scrubbing baseboards - yippee. We should have the brick on the garage in about 4 or 5 weeks (I hope). We'll see how it goes from there. Know anyone who's looking to buy a great house in the country?

We moved Grace to a toddler bed last week. She does really well at night, but it's still hard for me to get her to stay in it at naptime. She loves it though!