Sports, Kids and Advice

The other day I was standing in line at the grocery store.  As I lifted the giant bag of dog food out of my cart the guy behind me in line started asking me about my dog.  I told him we have a Labrador Retriever and a Golden Doodle. He told me he had a Labrador. We told a couple stories about our dogs. Then we told a couple stories about our kids. His kids were older and his "baby" was in college. The man talked proudly about his kids' success in college and beyond.

I asked him if he had any advice for me since I was a few years behind him.

"Well," he said. "Wear them out just like you would your Lab."

We laughed and I told him the only one that seemed exhausted lately was me.

As I was pushing my cart away and wishing him well he added "oh yeah, have fun. It's hard and tiring, but it's fun too."

This past weekend was both tiring and fun, for all of us.  There were football games, bonfires, bike rides, friends' houses, more football games, a baseball game, a basketball game and family meals and movie nights.  

It wasn't all Kumbaya and happiness however. Our oven broke, Tim and I got in a pretty big fight in between football games because of a miscommunication about who was driving who where and what time and how are we going to cook dinner and waaaaa, I cried and sent pretty mean text messages to Tim because I am a tiny bit dramatic and emotional, the kids fought because they are kids and that's what kids do, one of the dogs chewed up a book, the laundry just kept piling and piling higher and higher, I had a little social anxiety issue and we got the time wrong for Wade's flag football game. 

I mean that's normal, right? Well it's normal for us. We are all over the place, we mess times up, we will never catch up on laundry, ever. BUT that is just part of the story. The other parts are the wearing out of children and the cheering and the having fun as a family.

Tim coaches almost every team of every one of our kids. No joke, the guy is everywhere. He is supportive and patient and kind. He knows sports and knows the power of sports. Yes the wearing out aspect, but also the teaching kids to work as part of a team aspect, the working hard and believing in your ability aspect, the wanting something and going for it aspect; the pride, the love, the respect, the community, the support that sports can bring to kids and families.  And Tim really has fun.

I love that all the boys are on the sidelines for each other. Tim is JT's head coach. Peyton helps out and Wade is one of the water boys. 

Peyton's team came back from being behind in the last two minutes of the game to win it. So fun to watch and so fun to see him so happy. But when did he start looking so grown up? 

I am a believer in all the good aspects of sports and being busy. But I am also a believer in knowing what's right for your kid and your family. More than once lately I've heard a mom exclaim proudly "we don't let our child do more than one sport or activity, nope, more than one is too much."  Some of the moms have added the "at least in my book" just for clarity I guess.

Well, in my book I've found that it depends on the kid. Some of my kids seriously need to be involved in as much as possible. They thrive on the active-ness of being busy and moving. Their brains work better. They sleep better. They are nicer. They get better grades. But some of my kids need more downtime. They need more time to read and daydream and not be moving. Too much of everything makes them lose sleep, their grades go down and they get meaner.

It's a balancing act. It's listening to the guys in the grocery line, the moms on the side line, all the voices on line and THEN making the best choices for your kids and your family. What works for us may totally not work for you. It's about caring and loving and being there and trying things and messing up and then making up and a hell of a lot of driving and oh yeah, it's about having fun too.

Wade was late but went all out in every play during his flag football game, once we finally got there.

Oh my god, these freckles make my heart burst with love. Ahhhhhh!

Lucy's team was short a player so JT filled in. Lucy loved it. I love how she stopped to tell me something before passing him the ball. 

I love watching Tim coach the kids. He's pretty amazing.

Lucy was getting so mad during the game I thought she might get in a fight. I loved her passion and that she was finally mad at someone other than me. Sports are kind of magic that way.

Squeezing in a family meal before a day of a million games. 

One Cool Kindergartner and What I Know For Sure This Week

Wade is six years old. He started kindergarten a couple weeks ago.  He loves school, he was so ready for it.  This kid has watched his older siblings go to school and practice and play their games and do their homework and learn and grow and ride the bus and have their own friends and their own lives, since the day he was born. He was ready to start doing some of those things.

Everyday he gets off the bus and tells us all the things that happened in kindergarten.  He talks about who he played with, who he sat by, what the teacher read, what songs they sang, words he learned, what sound the letter T makes, how he got in trouble at recess but he didn't mean to do it. He talks and talks and talks.  I've never had a kid who told me so much about his day. It's awesome.

"The second graders were kicking some of the kindergartners at recess," he told me one day.

"Honey, did you tell the teacher?," I asked like he was a normal kindergartner that wasn't so ready for these things.

"I handled it," he said.  

"How?," I asked.

"I kicked the second graders and they stopped," he said. "I handled it," he repeated like a little mobster's child.

Wade's not the typical kindergartner. He's the baby of a big family. We aren't a mob family but we are a busy family. He's been dragged along to every event and game and practice.  He's seen a lot.  He's different than a lot of the other kids that are the oldest in their family or even the second oldest or my god, even the third child. He has watched things and said things that I never would have let my older kids see and say.  For example, he has seen all the Lord of the Rings movies. Yup. Before he went to preschool I had to warn him that the other kids might be afraid of his killer Gollum impression.  

While it may be horrible for some families, it's not horrible for ours. It's just the way it is and Wade is funny and tough and not afraid of a lot and ususally pretty chill.  

"The kids were calling me Wayne," he told me one day.

"Did you tell them your real name?," I asked.

"No, I just went with it," he told me confidently.

Wade's favorite team is Seatle Seahawks
and his favorite player is Marshon Lynch. 

All this tough I-can-handle-it stuff sometimes makes me forget that he's still a little kiddo. A tough, funny kid that gets sad and tired and gets his feelings hurts sometimes and gets embarrassed when he messes up.  

The other day I went to see him at lunch time and when he saw me he started crying and sort of crumpled in my arms. He told me he didn't know what to do in the lunch line and he was "never going to buy lunch ever again" and that he got in trouble at recess and he was "really, really sorry."  

"Don't worry about it honey, we can handle it, I got you," I told him and hugged him.  Two of his new kindergarten friends came over and hugged him too.  

Wade is six years old and the coolest kindergartner around and I know for sure that I love him more than anything in the world.

Here's what else I know for sure right now:

• Wade isn't just a cool kindergartner, he is also a lover of hip hop.  Clean versions of course.  Here he is singing a little Big Sean and dancing to Hit the Quan.

Wade's favorite song....I love this kid! 😊😂🙌🎤🎶

A video posted by Angela Youngblood (@jumpingwithmyfingerscrossed) on Sep 7, 2015 at 11:09am PDT

This kid loves hip hop. He loves dancing to Hit The Quan to get ready for football Sunday. ❤️😊🙌😂

A video posted by Angela Youngblood (@jumpingwithmyfingerscrossed) on Oct 4, 2015 at 6:50am PDT

• This is the best dishtowel ever! A friend gave it to me and I LOVE it.

• Daniel Day Lewis deserved the Oscar. Yeah, it was a few years ago but I finally watched Lincoln, the Spielberg movie, and can't stop thinking about it. You know I'm obsessed with Abraham Lincoln and the movie did not disappoint.

• The PitBull channel on my Satellite radio in my minivan makes my week better. 

• My family wants this for Christmas. Harry Potter with pictures!!!http://www.harrypotter.bloomsbury.com/uk/harry-potter-and-the-philosophers-stone-9781408845646/

• I love this song. Long live Janet and Missy Elliot. 

(click here to watch the video and daaaaaaance your way into the weekend.)

What do YOU know for sure this week? Share it here in a comment or over on my Facebook page.

Balance & National Poetry Day

Today I took one of the dog's for a walk in the woods while the kids were in school. I picked a few of the wildflowers that are still hanging around. I stood on a bridge and watched the leaves fall into the water. I looked for acorns. I took deep breaths. I noticed more good than bad in everything and everywhere. I realized (again) that I need a slower pace sometimes and fresh air and solitude to get back a feeling of balance in my life.

I am grateful for balance and wildflowers and finding joy and wonder in the small and ordinary moments.

Today is National Poetry Day.  Here is a poem I love from Mary Oliver to celebrate the day and the wonder and joy of the ordinary.

Mindful

Every day
I see or I hear
something 
that more or less

kills me
with delight, 
that leaves me
like a needle

in the haystack
of light.
It is what I was born for--
to look, to listen,

to lose myself
inside this soft world--
to instruct myself
over and over

in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,

the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant--
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,

the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help

but grow wise
with such teachings as these--
the untrimmable light

of the world, 
the ocean's shine, 
the prayers that are made
out of grass?

Meatloaf and Kale--A Pinterest Poser Challenge

I haven't been super crafty lately because of all the back-to-school stuff and starting a new job and new routines, and then of course being so damn sick last week. BUT I am still searching Pinterest for all the pretty things I want to create and even inspiration for healthy recipes and possible germ-busting smoothies.  

This week's Pinterest Poser Challenge* is making a healthy smoothie that will keep the flu away.  I found the recipe from this pin (click here) from SuperHealthyKids.com.

*In an attempt at not being a Pinterest Poser,** every week-ish I detail a new project/idea/recipe inspired by Pinterest.
**My definition of a Pinterest Poser is someone who is all pins and no substance.


It seemed simple and totally doable to make this super healthy smoothie, and it was.

Here are the ingredients- 1 teaspoon of Flax Seed, 1 cup of pomegranate juice, 1 cup of frozen mixed berries, 1 cup of kale. 

Blend.

Pour into glass and get ready to drink.

As a bonus it's supposed to taste good.  That shouldn't be too hard right? Except this week is when I found out, I don't like kale unless it's hidden in a soup with bacon and sausage. Uh-oh. This week's challenge is a total fail...well not the smoothie, me. I'm the fail because it seems like I will do anything to stay healthy EXCEPT drink a smoothie with kale in it.  

You guys, it tasted really, really bad. I almost cried.

Basically, this week I'm having a total Meatloaf moment---you know, an "I would do anything for love, but I won't do that" moment (replace love with my health and you get the idea). Inspired by this very dramatic live version of Meatloaf's song posted below. Seriously watch this and dance around your kitchen and then picture me dancing around my kitchen to it dramatically throwing out all of my kale. Because dude, I will do anything for my health, but I won't do that!



(Click here to watch the awesome video.)

Wade isn't sure what the hell is going on with all the early morning picture taking and my dramatic dancing to Meatloaf, he's just glad I'm not going to make him drink kale.

Have you made anything inspired by Pinterest lately? Do you like kale? Let me know in the comments or over on my Facebook page.

Come follow me on Pinterest (click here).

Here are some of the Pinterest projects I've done/made/attempted:

Power Tools- click here

Painting Sticks- click here

Homemade Pesto- click here

DIY Map Craft- click here

Homemade Chalk Paint- click here

A Flower Crown- click here

The Rainbow Challenge- click here

DIY Trundle Bed- Click here

DIY Artemis Costume- click here

Taking Pictures of Your Kids- click here

Gluten Free Pretzels- click here

Cinnamon Sugar Doughballs- click here

Painted Lockers- click here

Melted Beads- DIY Suncatcher- click here

Tissue Paper Pom Pom Garland-- click here

A Delightfully Simple Birthday Party--click here
Make An Awesome Omelet--click here
Outdoor Lights Inspired by the show Parenthood- click here
Herb Garden with Chalkboard Pots- click here
Backyard Graffiti Art with kids- click here

Happiness Notecards- click here

Gluten Free Rainbow Cake- click here

Fruit Roll-Up Fortune Cookies- click here

Make Your Own Magnets- click here

DIY Painted Clay Necklace- click here

Dixie Cup Lights- click here

DIY Ornaments-click here

Gluten Free Clay- click here

Make Your Own Stamps- click here
Birthday Shirt- click here

Gluten Free Pop Tarts- click here
Front Porch Kid Art Display- click here
Door turned into Table- click here

Summer Wish List Chalkboard-click here

Peanut Butter Nutella Cookie Sandwiches-click here

Painted Mason Jar Vases-click here

Cinco de Mayo Paper Flowers- click here

Earth Day Cupcakes- Click here
Nail Art-click here

Homemade Photo Booth Fun- click here

Fake Bangs- click here

DIY Subway Art- click here

Furniture Painting and Bench/Chest Makeover- click here

Thanksgiving-y Project/Gratitude/Holiday Countdown- click here
The Smoothie-click here

The Free Printable Turned Artwork in a Boring Hallway- click here

The chalk board-click here
Seven Layer Dip in Individual Cups (my favorite so far!)-click here
The pumpkin address-click hereThe Kitchen Dancing Sign--click here

Sunday Miracle

Being sick sucks. It sucks so bad.  

This past week, I hated everything and everyone, not because I really hate everything and everyone but because I felt so terrible.  It was just a cold. A horrible chest cold that makes it hard to breathe and makes you hate everything and everyone.  I felt like I was trudging through mud covered with thick fog and it was hot and then cold and then hot again. 

I was mean to my family.  I snapped at Tim all week and then cried because I said he wasn't being nice to me. I wasn't making sense.  When the kids turned up the music I didn't care, I didn't dance. Nothing made sense anymore.

I was a mess.

Yesterday morning after a long, cough-filled, sweaty night, I cracked opened my eyes and groaned at the dogs for waking me up and to my surprise my voice wasn't as deep as Bea Arthur's. I sat up in bed and rolled my neck around and it didn't hurt. I was scared to think that maybe, just maybe I felt better.  But it was true, I did feel better.  

Not only was my sore throat and the feeling like someone was sitting on my chest gone, my anger and hatred of everything and everyone was gone too.  I felt like a somewhat normal person again. Then I realized that the weekend wasnt' over and I was well enough to enjoy the last day before the work week started.  I was elated.  I felt like Scrooge when he woke up from his terrible dream and realized that he hadn't missed Christmas. I felt like running to the window and throwing open the shutters and asking a street urchin what day it was.  And when he replied "Sunday ma'am" I planned on throwing out a penny and telling him to go buy a turkey or something to celebrate that it was still the weekend. Then I would scream joyfully "I didn't miss it! Happy weekend to all!" 

After breakfast I apologized to Tim for everything I had said the week before, he looked confused but grateful that I wasn't yelling at him and then crying.  The kids turned on music and I danced. The world made sense again.

I quickly proceeded to get totally exhausted from our normal Sunday that is jam packed with too many activities for any normal family and collapsed into bed after watching an ultra-violent episode of Sons of Anarchy.  

This was actually pre-miraculous sick free wake up. I got out of my sick bed on Saturday to resume my job as family paparazzi. I loved cheering on Peyton but I hated everything and everyone else. Waaaaa.

I smiled for this picture that someone offered to take with me in it but it was fake because even ice cream couldn't make me happy that day. I was annoyed with Tim for buying the family ice cream on a cold day. Whaaaat? It was the sickness because usually any day is a good day for ice cream.

The boys' football games were on Sunday this weekend...the day I finally felt better. Phew.

It was parents' day at Peyton's game but it might as well have been little brothers' day. The little boys' greeted him on the parent line and cheered the loudest. They look up to Peyton and just love him so much.

It was a busy day, but it was such a good day. I liked stuff, I smiled at people, I danced, I took the dog for a walk, I cheered my kids on and felt like myself.

Bring it on Monday. This week has to be better than last week, I mean because last week sucked. So yeah, bring it week.