Golden Goals

Soccer season has come to a close.  The season ending tournament for the U10 kids was played this weekend.  Juliet played 3 games on Saturday in beautiful weather.  We had nearly a 2 hour break in between two of the games and instead of going home, we just stayed at the field, picnicked and enjoyed the weather.  It was a great day!

The girls tied two games and won the last one.  It was intense on the sidelines and I loved every minute of the day!

Sunday was a different story.  Soccer in the RAIN.  Not just a little rain, but POURING rain with a cold wind!  We invested in an Easy Up just in time too! We were able to stay dry as spectators, but Jules....not so much!

She played like an animal non the less!

 One on five!

But they held the other team (which was undefeated throughout the season) to only a 2-1 win.  This game was supposed to be a full length game since it was the semi-finals, but the refs messed up and only had them play a 30 minute game.  I think we would have taken them down had it been a full length game! 

But Juliet was playing against her good friend, Emily and it was hard for Jules to compete against her without smiling!  

They lost that game, and we came back for the second game of the day.  The final game for 3rd place ended in a tie.  5 minutes of overtime only lead to nearly 4 missed goal attempts by Jules' team.  5 more minutes of overtime did not change the score.  So they went to Golden Goals (aka Sudden Death) This is when each team takes 5 goal shots alternating back and forth.  The team with the most goals wins.  The coach chose Juliet as their best goalie and stuck her with the pressure of trying to block all 5 goals.  Talk about a near nervous breakdown.....for ME not her!  

She was poised and ready to take on the other team with no hesitation.  

First kick - Goal.

Second kick - off the pole for a Goal.

  Third kick - BLOCKED!!!  

 Fourth kick - BLOCKED!!!

  Fifth kick - missed.  

Man, the pressure was intense!  The came away from a season of more losses than wins and ended up taking 4th place in the tourney.  4th out of 10 teams is still pretty darn good.  

Another successful year of soccer!  Wonder what U12 will be like?!

Trick or Treat!

We got together with our friends to carve pumpkins and have some fun times prepping for Fall.  This is the first year I can really remember that we've carved pumpkins with the kids.  While Jules and Cal didn't like touching the slimy insides, Mia didn't mind.  We had a great time creating memories and funny looking Jack O'Lanterns!

I'd say this was definitely the first of more of these kind of activities!

Report Cards

The girls brought theirs home on Friday and again, I'm beaming with pride!  They are doing so well in school, it just blows me away.  They love school and I'm so happy they do.  When we moved to this house 6 years ago, we did not look much into the neighborhood school.  I didn't think too much about it honestly.  I know now days people chose where they want to live based on the accountability report of their neighborhood school.  We didn't, but God blessed us anyway! 
We have had great teachers all the way through and the things the girls learn every day is awesome!  They have both received numerous "Otter Awards" for respect and responsibility, for caring and kindness and so on.  These things just show how much the school values good conduct.  We have been on the campus numerous times and been on countless field trips with the girls and never once have Mike nor I witnessed poor behavior from a student.  The administration and staff have set up a campus that displays respect everywhere and I'm so thankful!
I am just thankful the girls like school and are as successful as they are! 

Recruiting?

Yes, recruiting a 7 year old!  Can you believe that?!  After Mia's game last Saturday, the other team's coach came up to me and asked if she was my daughter!  He asked if she's played indoor and asked her to join his team!  I was shocked, and proud all at the same time.  So we will be experiencing our first indoor soccer season here soon.  She had her first practice tonight and did great!  The coach seems really good and I think she's going to love it!  Pics to come soon....

SOCCER!!

I just love watching my kids play soccer!  I never played as a kid, but when I married Mike, he still played and I loved watching him play too.  I remember taking Juliet when she was only a few weeks old, all wrapped up in blankets, to his games and loving every minute of it!  Juliet has improved so much in the last few years.  She is an animal out there!  Mia is a natural soccer player.  She is a serious runner and loves to be the first to the ball!  Now Cal, on the other hand!  LOL  He's only 4, right?!  Wonder if he'll enjoy it as much as his sisters do...
For now...here are a few pics of the season that ends tomorrow :(

Notice most of Cal's pictures are of him standing.....hee hee

Teaching Schmeaching

"Teaching is not what it used to be".  It's an incredibly true statement.  I went in to teaching cause I enjoyed working with kids.  I had fun making learning new things fun. 

Now, it seems to have nothing to do with the kids and is more about numbers.  I don't understand why teachers are the only ones left who know that all kids learn differently.  It's that simple, but we are not allowed to teach that simply.  We are instructed to teach one way, and one way only.  It's sad that the majority of kids do not learn their best by that one way of teaching.

I used to think that I was a better teacher because I'm a mom.  And I used to think I'm a better mom because I'm a teacher.  But I don't think either is true anymore.  As I'm entrenched in my 10th year teaching, I am NOT a better mom because I'm a teacher.  I exert so much patience throughout the school day, sadly there is little left for my family.  I feel terrible when I realize that I have not allowed my kids to make kid sized mistakes just because I have dealt with similar behaviors all day already.  It's not their fault.  What I have been through in my day should not effect them the way it does.  I wish it was as easy as taking off the teacher hat, and putting on the mom hat.  I wish I didn't have all the emotional baggage that comes in the door with me every day.  But I don't know how to do that yet.  Maybe it's because my heart gets attached to my students, which wouldn't be a bad thing if it didn't have a negative effect on my own children. 

Thus the reasoning to be a stay at home mom.  I know how hard it is.  I do it every summer.  And remember, in the summer, they are not in school so they are with me 24/7.  It's tough stuff, but I'm a better mom in the summer for sure!  I'm sure my kids enjoy me more then. 

Mike and I have managed not to pay for child care.  Juliet is 10 years old and one of us has been at home with the kids each and every day in the last 10 years.  It's a sacrifice we've decided to make.  We don't have lot of extra cash to do many of the things we'd like to, but we don't have tremendous debt either, and we've never let anyone else raise our kids.  Mike is a single parent during the day and I am a single parent at night.  I come home from 20 children not my own, to a husband on his way out the door to work, only to start homework, dinner, piano lessons, soccer practice and 3 kids who need me just as much as I need me!  I'm not sure how to keep going with it.  Prayer and knowing that I can do all things with Him who gives me strength.  That's how I keep going and ONLY that. 

My kids are my joy and it's a choice for me to see that on a daily basis.  I could not be more proud of their academic success, their kind hearts and loving nature, but I'm starting to rethink my career choice because my eyes are often clouded by the time I get to see my joy...my children.

Sometimes it's just LOVE

There are times when I love being a Mom.  And there are times when I don't.  The times of discipline are the ones that I detest.  Teaching them right from wrong, good from bad, nice and mean, yadda yadda yadda gets so monotonous and so hard.  We've been in a tough stage for a bit now.  Cal is trying to learn more of his independence, while Mia just wants to help him.  Jules wants to be the mother and tell everyone what do to, but can't remember to put her shoes on even when walking in the rain!  Crazy kids, I tell ya.

At the moment, I'm in the stage of loving it.  We've been focusing on James 1:19.  "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry."  We are all working on each part.  The kids on listening the first time, all of us slow to argue with one another, and each of us slow to become angry when we don't get what we want.  It has been working for the last 2 days.  Not a bad stretch when you have a 4, 7, and 10 year old.  And a Mom who's PMSing!   At least I don't think. 

I love listening and seeing them all playing in one room together.  They love to play in their little "Pretendville".  I love it at night when Cal wants to pray with the girls and when we're done he can't wait to give the girls kisses and hugs.  It makes me so incredibly happy when they show their love towards one another. The girls are definitely his best buds.  At least for now...

One of Mia's little friends on her soccer team has 3 sisters and 1 bother.  One day Mike said to Cal, "Geesh Cal, how'd you like that?!  Have THREE sisters!"  and Cal responded with, "YEAH Dad!  That'd be awesome!"  I don't think Mike was expecting that reply, and actually neither was I, but just shows, he loves his sisters.  I have a feeling as he gets older, one day, he'll love having his sisters because their friends will be around!  HA

Remember the box that we painted?

The Pink Note

I hate them.  We rarely see them, but when they come home....UGH.

Mia brought home TWO today! 

These Pink Notes are notes from the nurse.  One meant that someone in the class has pink eye!  OYE!  The other meant that someone in her class has Strep.  Two highly contagious "diseases"  Lovely!

Now to pray we all stay healthy and begin our overdosing of EmergenC.  ;)

The Whoopee Cushion

My kids find this tremendously funny!  And the laughter is extremely contagious!

Did you know there is a whoopee cushion app for the Droid?!  Yea, my kids found it.  And I must admit, I laugh pretty hard with them!