League Of Their Own

I am always gently reminded that each of my children are different and unique in their own ways. Some parents start their kids out as early as 3 to play sports and claim they are wonderful athletes because of it. I disagree. For us, 5 years has been that magical number. (although with baseball 7 may be that number--t-ball is just too painful!) With each child that age seems to creep up faster than I remember. Personally, since I have watched both Taylor and Jared grow they don't really catch on to a sport or even the cognitive thinking of it until about the age of eight. Jared has definitely changed in just a few years. His games are FINALLY quite enjoyable to watch. He really thrives on trying to be a team player defensively and offensively. Just look at his concentration! And yes, he actually guards the other man.

Jared in action

I remember starting Jared when he was 5 and both Doug and I would be yelling, "Come on Jared, get the ball!!" I know Doug and I are guilty letting our competitive nature get the best of us. It's frustrating to see our children not use the aggressiveness we KNOW they have (at least horseplaying with their siblings not to mention all of that boy energy!) I have come to the conclusion that on most occasions it's the age and the readiness your child is before that "light bulb" kicks on. It's obvious Luke hasn't quite made that bulb switch on just yet, which makes good entertainment. I know I have been guilty of expressing my opinions about playing so young. You can often here me saying, THIS IS SO NOT WORTH IT! But, on the other hand my cute boy enjoys it, even if he stands there looking clueless watching his friend place his hands up (which he too should be doing) to defend the ball. This week Luke exclaimed "I only have two more games before it's over THEN I get my trophy right??" Whatever makes you happy honey. Just two more seasons and it will be worth it.

This face captures pretty much what we go through each week.
Luke are you paying attention??

New Motto

Doug started his fellowship off with a bang Wednesday (5 cases) to be exact. Two phones in tow with green scrubs on. Despite his busy schedule, I haven't seen him this excited about work in a while. Maybe because he is no longer having to rotate on different services, but doing the specific thing he loves, Sports Medicine. I hope this is the case forever because he will be doing it for the rest of his life! A little added perk is, since the Dallas Cowboys are doing their training here in San Antonio they let the (2) fellows go down and hang out on the field. They are there to assist any injuries, which is a rare occurrence. Unfortunately, the players aren't allowed to sign autographs (due to some sort of media thing) I was secretly hoping he could have something signed for the kids, but no luck.

Kids relaxing watching "The Son of the Mask"
after a crazy morning.

With Doug keeping pretty busy I decided to do the same thing and get my kids involved in several things. It makes life a bit crazy, but the crazier life and running around I do the faster time travels. Doug says our new motto is staying busy. So we are doing just that. Football practice is going well and we ended up moving Jared down to the "midget" team (The Cowboys) which is purely 7 year olds. Him and his friend were playing up to be with another buddy. They were initially bummed leaving a friend, but I think it will be better and they will get much more playing time. Plus the coaches are 10X nicer and I haven't heard any yelling!!

My van that gets us from point a-b
Luckily I love driving it!

Taylor has decided to "try" basketball this year. Yet another thing to keep us entertained. The downside to all of these extra things is the mean price at the pump. Ouch! I just filled up my 2nd tank of gas in a week. Normally I go a tad longer. In the midst of all of our running around my two little boys have been champs, seriously. I have had to do some bribery (mainly for Taylor). Luke pretty much goes with the flow and Weston has been doing great potty training on the road.......bushes and all!

Weston in his new cars pants
How cute is that???

He did have a "first" time moment this morning and actually told me he had to use the restroom. Hurray! He also managed to do a #2 (sorry graphic) on the potty today as well. Yay! I praised for about 30 minutes of clapping, etc. You do what you have to do. But, as I type we had a little relapse. I guess it just goes with the training. (sigh) I keep telling myself positive reinforcement will get me further, which is testing my patience to extreme measures. I am sure by the end of the month I will be complaining with all of the games and sports. I guess I better get used to it, because I have a LOT more years ahead. :)

good deed: sat at Jared's practice for 2.5 hours.