Tears at Bedtime

Sung to the tune of Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton
Dedicated to DD #2 who makes bedtime oh so extra special every single night.

Will you scream all night?
If I told you its bedtime
Will you put up a fight?
If I told you its bedtime
I must be strong and carry on
Cause the battle will be long
Its your bedtime

Would you take a stand
If I told you its bedtime
Would you make demands
If I told you its bedtime
The hurts and sores, you cannot ignore
But I know they weren't there before
Its your bedtime

You can bug your sis
You can fake a pee
You can walk around
And beg us please
Beg us please

(instrumental)

After your four
There's peace I'm sure
And I hope there'll be no more
Tears at bedtime

Will you scream all night?
If I told you its bedtime
Will you put up a fight?
If I told you its bedtime
I must be strong and carry on
Cause the battle will be long
Its your bedtime

Cause the battle will be long
Its your bedtime 

It's all in the family... *updated*

Life in a Nutshell

...sports, that is.

Lest you think I am certifiably crazy all on my own, this post will help to explain the pull I feel when viewing an empty field, a lone soccer ball, and a goal.

My Dad was an All-American soccer player for Hofstra University back in the day. In fact, he still holds two records...most goals in a season, and most points in a season. When he and my mom went back for a visit to prepare for his induction into their "Wall of Fame" the athletic staff kept saying, "this is THE (nutmeg's dad)????" Well, not exactly "nutmeg's dad"" but, well, he likes his privacy... :)

Oh, and he was also All-American in baseball, and for academics too. Oh, and he tried out for the US olympic soccer team. No, I am not making this up!

Isn't this all just so very cool?

My Dad was also an awesome coach. He pushed his players, but not overboard. He made them laugh when they needed to, and inspired them when they needed it, and kicked them in the behinds when they needed it. He was a father figure to many besides just us kids. I think he misses that sometimes.

This weekend, he and my brother will travel to Hofstra for this induction into the "Wall of Fame" and my Dad will hate all the praise, but love all the reunions that will go with it. And my brother will glow with pride at his amazing Dad.

And I will be jealous, and want to be there too.

Yes, sports runs deep in our family. To me, a game is an event, something to be shared. Whether it is my brother's game, my kids' games, or my own...or a hockey game on TV! It is something to share and experience as a family.

I am very grateful for many things my parents' gave me, (my Faith, most especially!) but one aspect of my upbringing that I am also grateful for that may easily get overlooked, is my love and appreciation of sports. It helps me bond with my boys, it gives me an outlet for stress, it brings back warm memories of my childhood. Many afternoons were spent with my Dad outside as we played baseball, soccer, or football. Many more stories were told at the dinner table from his games as coach or mine as player.....

To me, sports is yet another way to connect as a family.

*My mom just informed me that my love of sports goes back farther than just my Dad. (and NY uncles, and therefore cousins....but that's a longer story!) Turns out, my maternal Grandfather is in the Providence College Hall of Fame for basketball (from the 1940's!) and is also in the Springfield College Hall of Fame for coaching.

Very cool.*

Inspiration:

Life in a Nutshell

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise think about these things. Phil. 4:8


I so love this quote that I am tempted to stencil it along the top of the walls where we homeschool. It so perfectly captures what I am trying to accomplish with the kids this year. And maybe that is why I get so overwhelmed....there is so much that is good and true and beautiful in this world, and it so important to take this opportunity to instill a love of these things while they are still able to appreciate it all.

Any favorite quotes out there that inspire you?

Home safe

Life in a Nutshell
Despite the cold front "officially" moving through today, which guaranteed to set off humongous storms, DH landed safely and with hardly any turbulence. YAY

We already saw the video footage of the guy's hike, complete with lots of "wild" animals feeding out of the guys' hands and a real glacier-fed lake! Very cool. Although only I alone get to see the "hanging out at the condo" footage.

Lucky me. ;)

Unfortunately, we got no shots of the relatives or my new nephew or his baptism. Priorities, ya know?

We are just thrilled to have our Papa home, and the kids are now playing hide-n-seek with him.....

And you know when someone's been to Canada when you start finding Smarties all over the floor!

Sunday game

Life in a Nutshell
Had my first game today. And I survived.

Barely.

Lemme just say this.

There is a BIG difference between running on a tread-mill in 78 degree air conditioning, and running on bumpy grass in 103 degree sultry-right-before-a-storm-hits Texas heat.

I could literally feel my cleats melting onto my foot.

I could feel the steam rising up from the grass as the sun beat down on my head and face.

But. I scored a goal, so that must be good for something, right?

And the storm?

Well, the lightning siren on the field went off exactly 30 seconds after the game ended, and the rain didn't hit until I was on the highway, forcing me to use the tail lights of the car ahead of me as a guide for exactly where the road disappeared to.

But, all the cool(?!) breezes on the field made it bearable.

Barely.

I really really need to be running outside in the elements if I'm going to survive the season with any dignity intact. Oh, and have fun too.

:P

It's all Mrs. Bear's fault...

Life in a Nutshell
Really, it is.

After looking at what she pointed me to, a light went on in my head, and I thought:

"Why not show Chilihead2 (see "I'm excited" combox)what it's like to see BNL live?"

And so I did a quick search and found this.

Now, this song is from their "Barenaked for the Holidays" CD (I know, Mom, great title, eh?) It's called "Elf's Lament". So, try to get in the Christmas spirit before you watch it, 'K? Unfortunately, the crowd isn't really into it and so the guys (yes, they are a bit nerdy-looking, but give them a break, they're my age!)aren't in true form....why aren't they dancing?? I would be. I guess it's a good thing I wasn't there, I'd just embarass DH. :)

Just humor me, and notice how awesome and clever the rhyme scheme is, how funny it is that Santa plays the bongo drums, how cute talented the lead singer on your right is, uh....

I think DH needs to come home quick, since I am just loving all things Canadian a little too much right now. (honest, DH I didn't know our front row seats were on the right-hand side of the stage!)

Anyhoo. (ahem)

Enjoy.

:)

Constantly learning...

Life in a Nutshell
...why I married my dearest DH. This latest edition of my education is brought to you courtesy of DH's "guy's weekend out".


1. I will never ever know as much about Star Wars and my boys soon tire of my only answer: "I don't know"

2. Making dinner and then doing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen, serving dessert, and cleaning up the kitchen, then cleaning up the kids and getting them to bed requires as much energy as climbing Mt. Everest .... three times.

3. A king size bed feels as big as a small continent.

4. Even with all of these people in the house, 10pm is way too quiet for my liking.

5. A pint of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Mint Cookie ice cream is a great comfort, but not as nice as an understanding smile, kiss or hug during a hectic day...

6. Going to mass this evening will guarantee me a double dose of graces....right?


I really don't know how other Moms do it. You kow, the ones whose husbands are deployed overseas, or who travel for work, or just aren't there. There are real heroines. I don't have to worry about the grass, or small house repairs, b/c my DH is coming home soon. And he hasn't been gone for very long. But long term? I am in awe with admiration.....

I'm excited....

Life in a Nutshell
... (and rather sheepishly) about an upcoming event in November.

It is very un-stereotypical of a Catholic homeschooling mother of 5 to be part of a fan club of a rock band, in order to have access to the early ticket sales, in order to get front row (yes, ma'am) tickets during their next tour......

But that's what I'm so excited about!!

You guessed it.

BNL is coming back to Texas, but not to our town. So DH and I are going away for an overnight...

together...

alone...

We have never done this before.

Ever.

I am excited, and a bit nervous about leaving the kids with our oh-so-reliable, comes-from-an-awesome-family, already-in-college, babysitter.

But, I cannot wait.

:)

Oh yes...

Life in a Nutshell
...and that soccer game that wasn't. I'm sure y'all would love to hear about that.

No. It wasn't cancelled.

Yup. Found my team, the field, paid my whopping fee, wore my black shorts, white socks, cleats, shin guards, and I even hand-lettered my white shirt with the number "33".....and that was the problem. The league doesn't allow hand written numbers (even ones done as artistically as mine were).

And so I had to sit on my duff and watch my new teammates sweat off about 50 lbs apiece in the hot Texas morning. I got a sunburn on my face and arms sitting there, and my team won (what a change from my last team!) and I got a great idea of who everyone is and what skill level we're talking about here. But field time? Nada.

It was good for me, though. I was very nervous about playing, and to have to sit there while everyone else did all the work and had all the fun, was brutal. DH will be out of town for our next game, and I had told our captain that I wouldn't make it. But I think I'll get a sitter and go play.

Game, on!

Harried Homeschooler

Life in a Nutshell
And so today we started our school year. I wasn't really planning to. But this weekend I decided that I needed a "dry run" to see what needs to be re-worked, added or chucked out completely. I needed to see if I absolutely need to move the TV into our bedroom to occupy the youngest two during the 30 minutes no-one else can. I needed to see if DS #2 can do the Writing Road to Reading with DS #1, and how DD #1 will do with her handwriting....etc. You get the idea.

So. Today we started. At 10:30 am. (Stop laughing CMW!) DS #1 didn't wake up until 9am, doesn't like to eat, converse or otherwise breathe until 30 min after he gets out of bed. We needed to go to the bank for DH, (yes, that one, so you know the whole deal...hair combed, outfits clean, shoes on, etc) And we didn't get out until 10:15 am, home at 10:30 am, and then nazi-mama kicked into high gear.

We got through most of it before lunch. We did a bit more after lunch, and with shaking hands (low blood sugar level on my part) I sit here, scarfing my lunch and living to type about it.

It really wasn't too bad. The kids were really co-operative. I think the key was the clipboards. I wrote out their schedule for the day, complete with date, page #'s of workbook pages to be done, Math fact pages attached, handwriting page attached, etc, and put it all on their very own personal clipboard. I even wrote in when snack time would be, so there was no fussing about when when when can they eat?!? And when I explained to DS #1 that he would have to finish his handwriting after lunch if he didn't get it done while I was getting it ready, he opted to finish......quickly and neatly! (be still, my heart!)

I had the older kids take turns with the two younger kids, playing with them, and keeping them happy. That was a bit harder than I had expected. It was written in their schedule (on their handy-dandy clipboards), so there was no fussing about doing it, but just about exactly how to do it. So, I need to tweak that a bit. Maybe have a set schedule for who reads to them, who plays hide-n-seek with them, who plays toys with them, etc..... Have to think on that a bit.

Right after we finished up with our first Writing Road to Reading lesson, the boys grabbed their new Stratego game that Dh had bought for them this weekend. I didn't hear from them for a good 30 minutes. The girls got out the dinosaur counters and played with them until DD #3 had to go down for her nap. Then they cleaned up the two living areas of the house (done in a snap since they've been doing schoolwork) and are now watching Noggin.....a well-deserved rest for all!

:)