Noah's birthday party

Noah had a great time playing laser tag to celebrate his birthday. The group was pretty rambunctious and I was happy to have the help of Alex, the "party liason." He took the group under his wing and they had a blast! They had fun hiding, ducking, and avoiding each other in the laser tag arena. Each friend and Noah had to create an alias to use while they were playing. Noah's was Shadow Knight. Some other's were 21 (later found out this was for Sean Taylor's number), Under Armour, Viper, NikkiDJ, The Punisher, The Pink Bunny (not a girl), and Rambo. Noah wanted to invite Annie Kate, a friend from church and school. She is, right now, "one of the guys," and every mom has laid claim on her for the future. I didn't want Annie to be the only girl, so I had Noah invite two others. One other girl showed up and they were the loan representers of girl power! They had a fun time and were the nicest, gentlest ones of the bunch. Thank goodness for those girls! It was only later after the party that Noah decided to tell us that he liked one of them and she liked him. :)

Football update

Tobin knocked them dead! The final score was 21-0 with Tobin as quaterback. Tobin's coach from last year is currently serving the United States abroad on the African coast near the Middle East and was able to come back for tonight's game. Before the game, he told the Wolverine coaches to give the pins from his hand grenades to the players of the night. Tobin is now in possession of both pins!! Tobin was named both the offensive and defensive player of the night!! I don't think he could have played a better game.

And me? my anxiety? Nil....I was at Noah's birthday party having all the children being tended to by teenage boys who were just as ADD and high energy as the group of friends Noah had at the party.


Coach is the one kneeling with the sunglasses and the blue shirt.

Let's get ready to rumble

The Wolverines


Last week was a pivotal game. Tobin's team, the Wolverines, beat a team that had collectively scored 60 points over two games against their opponents. They had had no points scored against them. They thought they could take the Wolverines, no problem. They were wrong.

The other team, the Panthers, hit a little harder and ran a little faster than our Wolverines were used to. But the Wolverines played with all heart. We scored first-7 points. And then the Panthers grew fierce. They hit a little harder and tried to run a little faster. There was a collision of our quarterback against one of their linebackers, head on. The players stayed down for a little while, while the rest of the team took a knee to see how their teammates fared.

They stood up and continued to play. The Panthers scored on us but missed the extra point. We won 7-6. We became a force to be reckoned with. And then we got the phone call on Sunday night, that even though our quarterback had played the rest of the game, he couldn't remember any of it, not the passes nor the runs. So, what does all this mean? Why am I telling you all this?

Because....that means.....Tobin is now starting quarterback for this week's game! And this makes me entirely too anxious. Seriously, I will be stomach knotted, weak-kneed, knuckle gripping, and pale skinned for the entire game. Go Wolveriines.

Light the Night Walk

On Saturday, October 11th, I will be walking with for a cure for Leukemia and Lymphoma. It is so interesting to me that the more I talk with people about it, the more I find out people's experiences with these cancers. So, I will walk for everyone in hopes that they may never have a loved one experience leukemia and lymphoma.

Personally, I will walk, thinking of 3 very special people:

1. My uncle. In his memory. He died of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. For everything I miss about him.

2. For Faith, my daughter, Brenna's friend: She was almost two when she was diagnosed with leukemia. She went through chemo and treatments and seems to be in remission. I walk for her courage and for the hope that she will never be back there again. That we find a cure.

3. For Austin: My twin sister knows Austin (around 2 yrs. old) and asked for prayers for him on her blog. I will do better and walk for him too. So that he will go through his chemo and come out on top, climbing walls and able to use his spiderman blankie for his "cure all" which he loves. He was just diagnosed this past August 28, 2008 with leukemia. I can remember how normal that day had seemed to me and yet, how it changed their world forever.

I am walking with the group Leap of Faith-- our goal together is to raise $25,000 dollars!! I know we can do this. If you can, please donate to finding a cure for leukemia and lymphoma. Listening to Faith's mom share her story makes me realize that faith, science and research are at the heart of finding a cure. To continue the research please do what you can! Even $5.00 helps. Remember, all donations are tax deductible. Thanks for your support.

To donate please go to my Light the Night Walk page at http://www.active.com/donate/ltnAlexan/2288_PaigeP If for some reason the link isn't working. The words Light the Night are a link to take you there as well.

What does my typical week look like?

Mondays:
Brenna gymnastics 4:00- 5:30pm
Brenna soccer 6:00 - 7:00pm
Tobin football 5:30 -7:30pm
Paige late meetings at school every week

Tuesdays
Tobin soccer 6:00 - 7:30pm
Tobin YM's(church)7:00 - 8:30pm
Noah football 6:45 -8:00pm
Noah scouts 4:00-5:00pm
Paige late meetings at school every other week (same with Andy)


Wednesdays:
Tobin soccer 6:00 -7:30pm
Tobin football 5:30-7:00pm (which one do I take him to?)
Playdates for Brenna and Noah


Thursdays
Noah soccer 5:30 - 6:30pm
Brenna Brownies 3:30 - 4:45pm
Andy and Paige Dance Lessons!! 7:00 - 8:00pm


Friday
Tobin's football games 7 or 9 pm at night
Noah's soccer 5:30 - 7:30pm

Saturday
3-4 games to plan for and get the children to!!

Sunday
Church (where Andy and I have had to plan lessons for the youth
throughout the week)

It's a good thing work is in the morning!!

Nanny McPhee's Look Alike

For those of you who don't know Nanny McPhee, she is a nanny with magical properties. She came to a family who had a history of having worn out 17 different nannies. When Nanny McPhee arrived the children start to magically behave! I looked into hiring her, but all I found was a look alike knock off that does the misbehaving instead of correcting it. Oh well, she has some cute moments.





Nanny McPhee is played by Emma Thompson (one of my favorite Shakepearian actresses). I heard her once say in an interview that during the filming of Nanny McPhee she sat in the make-up chair for about an hour each day and, yet, when she sat in the make-up chair for movies where she was more natural (more like herself than a fictional character) that she needed to stay seated for up to two hours at a time! She was able to laugh at herself after she divulged this little secret. And while she can certainly laugh at this, I am ready for Brenna to have her new teeth come in. One tooth she lost four dayts ago and the other, she lost10 months ago! when it was pulled out by the dentist. It still has not come in.

And to top it all off---the final tooth--the one still there is lose as well and will fall out soon! I can only imagine that she will look like someone's West Virgina cousin then!

O Captain, My Captain

Tobin, Ryan, Drew and Teddy, playing soccer together since 2nd grade.



Noah looks behind him as an opposing team member is felled by his own two feet.

Sweltering heat. Sun beating down. Sweat dripping down your back in rivulets. The smell of damp earth steamed by the heat of day. The swoosh of the net being hit by the soccer ball. The roar of the crowd--mostly moms and dads and siblings dragged along for support, cheering "Go team.". The sound of exuberance--soccer players saying, "Yes, I knew I could do it!" One time. Two times....six times...nine times! The taste of victory. These were the sensations of my day.

Noah's team won by nine goals today! He made one of them, but the best news of all was that he was designated the captain of his team today. Each game, the coach decides who will be captain for the day, kind of as a reward for last week's efforts. And he chose Noah! Noah was thrilled and decided to cheerfully lead the team through the hot, sweaty, sunny game. He did great!

Brenna's team also won by like 8 or 9 goals. It was sweet, but we cheered when the other team finally scored a goal near the end of the game. Brenna's game was the second of the day and allowed us to continue the wonderful sweaty experiences today would be: a hot August-like day full of humidity and heat. I am amazed at what troopers these six year olds were as they chased the ball down. They grew red cheeked to match their jerseys and ponytails wilted, but their smiles grew.

Tobin's game was fun to watch. After Tobin's late football game last night (they won)we were a little worried about how he would do with such an early game. But I was amazed at his hustle. And as the mother's and father's edged farther away from the boundary of the game to find shade, the boys jumped, bounced, and kicked the ball all over the field. His was the first game of the day and really let us know what we were in for with all of the heat and humidity.

Noah's poetry

I came home today to find this assignment sitting out--no explanation. I read it and discovered it is a poem by Noah. I loved it. The picture isn't that great, so here is what the poem said.

I don't like this heat.
I can feel my heart beat.

I can't wait to score a goal.
I hope the ball doesn't hit a pole.

With all the dirt in my cleat.
I hope we don't get a defeat!

The assignment focused on couplets. I can see Noah thinking this so clearly. I hope he has to do this every month. What a great exercise!

Why?

Do you remember when you were in grade school and your teacher gave you a "following directions test" and your teacher told you to read all the way through the test before you did any of the directions? So, directions 1-9 were silly things, like stand up and pat your head, cluck like a chicken, etc. and direction number 10 was "Do nothing and wait for everyone else to finish." I totally remember this test and I read everything through and waited for all of my silly classmates to do the silly acts because they weren't following directions. Well, I felt like that tonight at my back to school night. I was helping parents activate school accounts. I had a set of silly-proof directions all made up and each step broken down. And some of them still needed my help. I could tell one lady didn't even read her directions. She wanted me to walk her through every step! And I am drained.

But then there were the parents who smiled as they walked up. There were the parents who were polite when asking for the directions. There were the parents who were tech savvy and knew what they were doing! And there was the parent who had funny quips, entertaining stories and a British accent. And there was the corsage my principal gave out to all staff tonight to give us something beautiful. And tomorrow is Friday! :)

Where are my readers?

Create your own visitor map!

Brenna's birthday List

She's not even going to be 7 until the end of November and she showed me her birthday list today!! Just in case you don't speak Brenna, let me translate.

1. ipod
2. camera
3 and 4. Camp Rock the movie
5. a dresser
6. a lip gloss that's real
7. my frame
8. a stuff animal dog
9. clothes
10 a unicycle (my personal favorite)

for Brenna 7th Birthday!! How can I not want to go buy everything on her list!

And then...we were invited to do this...

Read prior two post entries for total story




Tobin is using Elizabeth's "high risers" for the first time. Don't know how he managed to get the girls watching him so closely!!




Brenna with her friends, Natalie and Lindsay

Tobin and Drew learning how to unicycle

A friend, Elizabeth, working an advanced unicycle


Brenna doing the hula hoop!



A friend called and told us they were going to the church to play in the gym and wanted us to come. And so we did...I jumped at the chance to go knowing it was what I had been looking for all day.

So, they decided to do this...

Brenna's turn

Rain, Rain Go Away!!

What do you do when your day, which had been entirely planned, is now canceled due to rain and winds from hurricane hannah?

My conversations have gone like this:

Me: Why don't you read?
Kids: Don't want to

Me: Why don't you play Connect 4?
Kids: Because I never win

Me: Why don't you make cookies?
Kids: B-O-R-I-N-G

Me: Why don't you watch a movie?
Kids: At the movie theater?!
Me: Here, at home
Kids: SUPER BORING

Me: Why don't you go back to sleep since you got up so early?
Kids: Impossible

Me: Why don't you do a puzzle together?
Kids: Can I (all of them say this) put the last piece in?
Me: You can't all put the last piece in (Sigh...)

What do I tell my kids when nothing grabs my attention either?

My ideas are finished
My day is just beginning

Going Back in Time if only a weekend or two

A couple of weekends ago we went to my sister's house for a party to celebrate all of the cousin's birthdays. We had a great time catching up, riding the jet skis, and eating a tasty dinner! Tobin learned how to operate a stand up jet ski and Noah learned how to do it sitting down. At 8 I wasn't sure Noah should be going out into the open seas without one of us. Andy thought differently and before I knew it, I was looking out to see my son a speck in the distance! I must admit that everything worked out fine and maybe it was, just possible, that Noah was capable of doing this on his own. Brenna looked like the water got the best of her: drowned rat comes to mind! Here are some pics of the action.

Happy Birthday Noah!

I tried to change the date to the right date, but it isn't working. Noah's birthday is on the 3rd not the 4th.

Let's see if I can remember. To spark conversation we asked Noah to think of nine things (since he was turning nine) that he was happy to have done or develop as a trait in his nine years.

1. That there is candy in the world
2. That there is a pool for swimming
3. That I am good at all sports
4. That there is Harry Potter
5. That I was able to swim this summer
6. That he went to Turks and Caicos (which is essentially in the United States, isn't it)
7, ?
8.??
9.????
I hate when I don't write things down right away! Here are some pics. from our evening.

Happy Birthday to cousin Kyle, too! Today is his day, too.