I always promised myself I wouldn't be "one of those moms" that posts solely about her kids' sporting events. But since Liam's All Star tournament has pretty much taken over our calendar, I got nothin' else for ya'. Besides that, I am darn proud of my kid!
Instead of saying what an amazing hitter he is, or bragging about the best little short stop in town, how about I start with a little butt scratchin'?
I needed that butt-scratching comedic relief during this tournament, because I was completely taken aback by the tension among the parents and coaches. All of the parents commented on how nervous they were throughout each game. I felt like I might have a coronary a few times, but I thought I better settle down. I'd hate to embarrass myself with an ambulance ride.
The boys felt the pressure, too. But they were tough players.
And my little short stop...
he is the best in town.
And he's so ready to leave tee ball for coach pitch next year.
He's even got a good slide into home.
The umps had said at the beginning of the final game, that they would wrap up the game at 45 minutes. But at 49 minutes, they called for one more inning. That was unfortunate for us, because we had the lead before they called for the extra inning. But our boys lost the game by two points.
And my boy was so disappointed. I teared up for him, as I caught this shot.
That sad face made me want to go beat up those umps for that extra inning. Those jerks! But then I thought I better settle down before I embarrass myself over a ride with the police.
Instead, I put the camera down and went to love on my boy. I wonder if he'll let me do that next year?
As I loved on him, I reminded him of his 3 amazing hits, one of which almost left the park! I noted the 2 pop flies he caught. And I recalled what a good sport he's been all season. He quickly cheered up.
Besides, there was no time for mourning after he received a medal, trophy, and the game ball.
And his daddy is completely stoked over the fact that 2 coaches were recruiting Liam for next year.
MVP
Summer Tiiiiime
I woke up this morning with a headache and a "crick" in my neck.
Now, go back and read that sentence with the best Southern drawl you can muster.
I love that word...crick! One doesn't even need a true Southern drawl to have fun with that word, but that added accent is a bonus.
Because of that crick and headache, I was in what Rick would call a "foul mood". Liam would call it "fussy", except he somehow knows better than to say that to my face.
Yes, I was in a bad mood. It was bad enough that I needed a Diet Coke. Those that know me well would say, "Sheesh, it must have been really bad!"
I stopped drinking soft drinks on a regular basis about a year ago, so my morning beverage is typically just a cup of hot tea. I'd much rather have a Diet Coke or, better yet, Dr Pepper! But I drink tea as a healthier choice.
Anyway, tea just wasn't gonna cut it today. After the boys ate breakfast, I said, "Everybody get in the car. We're goin' to Sonic." All kinds of hoopin' an' hollerin' ensued. And my headache doubled in that instant.
Thankfully, Sonic and my headache cure were only about 5 minutes away. One sip and I knew I'd be okay.
And I won Mother of the Year Award for getting each boy an apple juice slush. MOTYA for $4.33?! Who knew?!
As we drove home slurpin' the goods, Liam asked, "Mommy, are we having school today?" And I heard a slight sound of dread in that question.
And in that instant, I decided that it's summer break. I don't want him to dread school.
"No, I think we all need a break, so it's summer break fur us starting right now."
It's a good thing the Diet Coke had already begun its work on my headache, because the yelling that followed that announcement was deafening.
By george, I think I hit the nail on the head. We all need a break. So, we are officially on summer break.
Woohoo!!!
Oh my goodness, I almost forgot to tell you! Liam's all-star team won last night, so he's playing in the semi-finals tonight. He was an AMAZING player last night, so we're excited to see what happens tonight.
In Memory of our Memorial Weekend
Rick re-injured his back just in time for the long weekend. Because he was feeling pretty awful Friday evening, this was the scene in my bedroom.
All 4 of my men were in my bed. Just after I took that photo, I joined them for some riveting show on Animal Planet. Even Winston was intrigued and joined us. There's nothing quite like family bonding in mama's bed with Animal Planet.
Contrary to my fears, we did not spend the rest of the long weekend in my bed. I'm not sure I could handle all that togetherness.
On Saturday, Rick took Liam to All-Star practice...(Did I not tell you that my eldest was chosen for the all-star team? Well, golly Miss Molly, I was trying to be humble and all, but guess what? My boy? He was chosen for the all-star team! Ahem.)
As I was saying, Rick was able to get out of bed to take Liam to practice Saturday, and I took the other two to the gym with me. Something told me that I would be consuming entirely too many calories this weekend to skip the gym until Tuesday.
And I was exactly right.
We reunited (and it felt so good) in time to go to my mother-in-law's house for some delicious lasagna and Blue Bell ice cream for dinner. Memorial weekend would not be complete without either of those delicacies.
After eating, we took Liam's rocket to a nearby field.
Liam has waited for nearly a month to shoot off this baby. Because it can soar to 600 feet, we couldn't launch it in our neighborhood. Every time we've planned to take it to some appropriate launch pad, storms have rolled in.
Anyway, the much-anticipated event was Saturday evening.
Daddy and Liam set it up. I believe Pop was providing moral support.
The Peanut Gallery was asked to move back. Something about our two 4 year olds near a live rocket made us a bit nervous to have them too close.
Houston, we have a problem. The much-anticipated rocket was not cooperating.
No ignition whatsoever. No snap, crackle, or pop. Nada.
Meanwhile, the clouds were rolling in. We were really going to have a problem if we couldn't get that rocket soaring before the storm.
The surgeon was called in for closer inspection of the instructions. (My father-in-law is a surgeon, for those that don't know.)
And the Peanut Gallery...
they were growing restless.
And Liam was/is a nut:
Finally, rewiring the blasted thing for the third time worked!
It reached about 400 feet.
The recovery crew was hot on its trail.
Liam was thrilled, and we were able to launch it two more times before the storm rolled in.
This is Rick's favorite photo:
I must agree it's a good photo, because my two eldest men are often working side by side on something.
Sunday was church. Today was more time at the gym in preparation for Memorial Day grilling.
And that bed where this post began...that is where I napped 3 times this holiday. And this couch where I am currently blogging...this is where I finished 2 books as well. I would say this was a successful weekend.
I'm Wondering...
Does the hour on the elliptical this afternoon counter the chocolate & peanut butter cups ice cream tonight?
I Can't Think of a Good Title Tonight, So Here's a Review of Our Weekend
Besides baseball, what does spring mean around here? The high-maintenance campers hit the road again! (For those of you who are fairly new to CupRunnethOver, you must stop to read this post to get the full effect.)
This past weekend found us near Corsicana, TX on Lake Navarro Mills with my parents and their fifth wheel that has life's necessities of running water and electricity. And it just might have 3 televisions, but who's counting?
These boys...
heart camping. The outdoors makes their hearts pump with all the dirt, bugs, sticks, rocks and whathaveyou. Add to that all the junk food that we pack, and they are set. See:
Did I mention bugs? Liam isn't at a campsite for 15 minutes before he's located his bug catcher and two or twenty bugs to nurture for the weekend.
Garrett just lavishes love on his Mama all weekend.
Actually, that is not quite true. He has time for me only when his little legs are worn out from all the hard play.
Around 6am Saturday morning, we woke up to the sound of rain and thunder. And it rained all. day. long. 
Thankfully, we had those 3 TVs. The boys watched more movies on Saturday than they typically watch in a week. But don't judge us! What else do you suggest we do with three high-energy boys in a trailer on a rainy day?
We did read books and play games with them between flicks, however. Does that win us any brownie points?
While the boys were preoccupied, the adults played games. A 1983 version of Trivial Pursuit ate my lunch, but I credit my loss to the fact that I was a mere eight years old when it was printed. To set the record straight, I wasn't in last place.
But when it came to Mexican Train Dominoes, I brought the trailer down, y'all.
In case you're wondering, this is what Winston did all day:
He's perfectly useless, but I still love his ugly face.
About the time I thought we might need Noah's ark, the rain stopped. We hit the outdoors again and enjoyed crisp air for the rest of the weekend. All in all, it was a nice weekend that caused us to slow down and relax.
Now, you be the judge...does a trailer with water, electricity, and three televisions make us high-maintenance?
Friday Funny
Liam and I were working on a math lesson one day last week, when he tried to stump me with some scientific trivia.
"Mommy, did you know that if you poot in the car, then the car will catch on fire," he asked.
After laughing my head off, I asked, "Who told you that?"
"Didi and Big Daddy." (my parents)
Because this was too good to keep to myself, I called my parents immediately. I relayed the story to my mom, and she proclaimed innocence. She turned to tell the story to my dad, and I heard a guilty giggle in the background. I knew it!
Science by Big Daddy. If I ever feel inadequate in teaching my boys, I know I can turn to my dad.
Retro Factory
Do you remember this shirt?
And how I asked where I can find another? Now that warm weather is here and summer is around the corner, that shirt has been retired. Garrett and I shed a few tears as I put it away.
But one of my readers has saved the day! (Hi, Pat!) She found the Retro Factory. If you love the Beatles and need t-shirts for you and your kids, then let me tell you, you are set!
Or if you prefer Billy Idol or The Cars or whatever classic band, then head on over to the Retro Factory. (Did I just call The Cars classic? Ahem.)
I'm betting this will be Garrett's favorite. And if we ever get a fourth child, he or she will need this.
My mother will protest a baby girl wearing a black Beatles onesie, but guess what? Black is very slimming, and a baby girl will need to learn that important fact early in life.
For all you classic TV lovers, Retro Factory also has shirts for many TV shows. I plan to order this for myself:
This post is not sponsored by Retro Factory, but if they want to sponsor us, we'll take 5 t-shirts. I'll get our sizes to you pronto.
For my Mom
Garrett is my puzzle boy. After he completed these puzzles one day last week, he asked me to take his picture for my mom.
Didi, this is for you.
HIJACKED...Happy Mother's Day
I've hijacked my wife's blog to tell her Happy Mother's Day.
Mommy, you are wonderful! We boys love you SOOOOO much.
Daddy, Liam, Jack, and Garrett.
Friday Funny
We stopped at our favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch recently. I went all out and ordered beef fajitas. There was so much scrumptious meat that I wasn't able to finish it, so I began doling it out to Rick and the boys. After they took care of it all, Liam said, "Mmm, that was good 'misteak'."
Yep, it was a good mistake. One that makes me smile every time I think about it.
Hapy Belated Birthday
I'm a terrible, no good mother. While I was on that blogging hiatus where hundreds of you flooded my email box with great concern, Liam turned 6, and I never wished him a happy birthday on my blog.
Maybe I'm still okay in his eyes, since he doesn't know what a blog is.
Just in case he finds me out, I better post some pics of his major life event.
Remembering that it's a non-friend-party year, we had grandparents over the night before for burgers and dessert. Liam asked for Derby Pie for his "cake". I'm pretty sure his daddy put him up to that request, since Liam had to ask me what Derby Pie really is. But since Liam loves anything with chocolate, Daddy was in luck.
The blowing out of candles was a huge to-do. Here he goes:
Taking in every ounce of oxygen he can find...
Throwing his head back for a little more drama...
Perfect mouth formation...
That was definitely an A+, bub.
What did he think of Derby Pie? How's this for an answer?
On his actual birthday, we headed to Aggieland for some baseball.
Although it was Liam's birthday, it was a family affair. And this little boys was one happy fan.
Garrett was so intense, watching the entire game. Not just watching but studying.
Jack would prefer to watch the fans behind us, so when I made him turn around, he sulked for a while.
Liam doesn't typically enjoy watching sports. He has too much energy to be a spectator, but he was a good sport that day.
It helps that we had some action, such as fighting between OSU's coach and the ump.
When Jack saw that raucous, he asked, "Mommy, are they fighting?"
"Yes, they are."
"They're not supposed to do that," he said.
"You are right about that."
We spent the night in a hotel, which thrills the boys to no end. They don't even ask for five stars.
This is probably my newest favorite picture of Jack.
Look at those eyes! I look forward to the day he can wear contacts so we can see those handsome eyes more clearly.
We had a second game to attend the next afternoon, so we had time to kill in the hotel that morning. This next photo might be staged.
And this one, too.
But this one was not. This was their idea.
We're raising them well, aren't we?
With still more time to kill, we went to a park for some catch.
Finally, we were able to go back to Olsen Field. I won't bore you with the 80 pictures Rick took of the game itself.
But I will show you a shot of the boys running the bases afterwards.
But the absolute highlight of the weekend was this:
A photo with our coach. Coach Childress recognized Rick and Garrett immediately from the correspondence he and Rick have shared over the past few months. He shook every one's hand and asked Garrett, "Lefty, are you still eating?" Garrett was speechless but was sure to nod his head in the affirmative.
Two wins, meeting their coach, running the bases, two-star hotel, and a big birthday...what more could a boy ask for?
After the Game
We're in the middle of the most important time of our year right now...baseball season. Well, if Rick were writing this, he would say that Aggie football season is the best time of the year, but it's my blog. I do love the Ags, but seeing my big boy play ball has been a ball.
After last night's game, we made a Sonic run. Because nothing says Mommy needs to gain another two pounds today better than drinking a cherry limeade two hours before bed. Hey, cut me some slack. At least I didn't drink a shake. That would have been another five pounds to my hips.
We brought the drinks home to enjoy in our backyard. We're trying to enjoy every waking moment of this spring weather, because we know Satan's heat wave is knocking on our door.
I've been wanting to share snapshots of my day, because I think it would be funny to catch odd photos throughout our day. But I've been lazy or busy or something, and lugging the camera with me all day just hasn't made it to #1 on my to-do list. But the sugar rush of last night's Sonic drink gave me the umph I needed to get the camera out.
Here's what happens after the game:
Liam sucks his drink dry. And then asks if he can finish his brother's slush. He's very helpful that way.
And then I take a photo of his bum to show you that he must sliiiiiide into home plate every time he makes it home. Now, last night's bum wasn't very dirty, because home plate was too muddy to allow a satisfactory slide. It was more like slide, kerplunk.
Meanwhile, Jackson has put his latest costume on. Get a load of this:
He has latex gloves on his hands, because every baseball player needs those.
Take a closer look at his head.
That's an old, ugly 1980s tie of my dad's that he has wrapped around his head and pushing his ears down. I asked him what it is, and he said, "It's hair." Duh, Mom!
What you can't see in the photo is that his pants are soaking wet from the time that he tried to sliiiide into his own home plate behind the bleachers. Only it was slide, KERPLUNK. Into a mud pond. He gets his grace from me.
Garrett donned his own costume.
Football was his game of choice last night. Aggies, he is your 12th man.
That's a wrap for the post game show. Have a good night.
