Videos Mom

Ending the Day with a Bang

The day started out nice, despite the calls for rain.  It was so nice I doubted the rain would come. 

We rushed out of the house for the first set of team pictures.  I'm having mixed feelings about these youth sports pictures.  It's such a hassle to organize sometimes.  People are rushing to the pictures, some without their forms, many requesting pictures that will just get lost around the house. 

After that we went to see the Bowie Baysox play.  We had a great time.  A real family environment, great seats and non-stop entertainment.  An opposing team coach gave the kids a ball after batting practice.  The Baysox won the game and there was the fireworks show at the stadium shortly after the game.

The kids were enjoying the fireworks display for a couple of minutes.  Then we heard a loud bang, but it took awhile before seeing the fireworks effect on that last rocket.  Thunder!  Seconds later, we were rushing for cover.  The kids were laughing.  The smell of the ground cooling with the rain and the sound of the drops pelting the seats was refreshing.  Excitement from start to finish.

Music Insomnia

I went to bed early last night.  If I go to bed early I can't sleep past 4AM.  The lightest noise will get me out of bed.  So around 4AM, I went to the bathroom and heard some music.  It was coming from the closet.  As I looked around I found an iPod playing.  The alarm for the iPod was set to 2:30AM.  Don't know how that happened.  But, I finally found out why the batter recharges didn't last too long.

Feel Like The Little Red Train

After pathetically hauling an extra backpack with sneakers and workout clothes to and from work for a week, I finally went for a run. I've put every lame excuse for not running.  Now I feel hyper.  I'm nowhere close to being the active, six-pack guy I was.  Previously, I'd run 6 miles on a nasty hot day.  I barely did 3 miles today.  The other day I ran with my eldest.  I gave him techniques during the 1st mile.  During the last mile, I was begging him to wait for me.  It's a combination of getting old, excuses, finding the time between all the kids' activities or I'm transferring all my energy to the younger generation.

A Long Season

Barely a month has gone by and this baseball season seems so long.  So many things have taken place during this short period.  This season started no where close to pleasant, between the weather and behavior of adults.  At a point it was so bad that I wondered why continue to deal with it.  I decided to cool off and go through some books, including:

• The Art of Innovation - Tom Kelley
• The Creative Habit - Twyla Tharp
• The Power of Nice - Ron Shapiro

Afterwards I thought, it's all about building a foundation and growing an organization that creates a safe haven for children to grow and mature.  Anything or anyone steering me away from that is a mere distraction, a roadblock.  I refuse to drive into roadblocks.  I recently watched a comedian, Ty Barnett, who joked about pro basketball players.  He joked how with the money he would make, nothing would bother him, not even fans talking about his mother.  Wisdom from a comedian.  Look at the big picture and ignore an adult's petty behavior.

Band Competition

Wow, time flies.  Our last post discussed a snowman.  Now it's in the 70s, although it was cold until no too long ago.  We were recently down at Myrtle Beach and we wore jackets everyday.  Myrtle Beach, May, jackets.  Insane.

Despite the weather we had a great time at the kids' band competition.  I left now knowing what to expect concerning what to do during our free time or the interaction with the kids and parents.

I thought it was odd that the band director stated that the kids should be in bed by 11PM the night before the competition.  I thought 11PM was late.  I swore that my kids would be asleep by 10AM.  Reality?  They were in the pools at 10:45PM, while Mr. Kestler and I were freezing as we watched them.  Later back in the room I woke up around 12AM because I felt uncomfortable since I fell asleep with my contacts and the jacket on.  When I awoke, there were the kids watching TV.  Other than that, they were well behaved during the weekend.

They received several awards for their excellent performance.  To top it off, I had a great time with the parents and kids.  We laughed, we chatted, we bonded.  That's something special about the school that I never expected when we applied.  More than a school, it's a community.  I expected a good school.  I ended up finding an excellent community of caring and loving educators, parents and kids.  One of the kids told me I had to come next year to the band competition.  I'm already looking forward to it.

*Video will be posted soon*

I Broke a Snowman's Arm

Bad things pile up. So our new garage door broke down (Thanks Home Depot) on Saturday, so we left our minivan outside.  Then Sunday we got some unexpected snow.  How nice...

So more adventures on Monday getting to work and school. The kids got a two hour delay. This means that they can get in late and leave at their normal time. I get in late  to work and leave late.

The extra two hours are never enough.  I'm running around the house searching for our old broom to get the snow off the minivan (Thanks again Home Depot). When I was finally desperate, I called Janet and asked her about the broom.  She said, "Go ask the snowman." I swear the snowman was smirking at me.

I Like Ice...

in my drinks.  But, I'm tired of this.  This is why power lines come down.  There are still some homes without any eletrical power.  We're lucky we weren't affected this time, but it's happened to us before.  In the summer I can deal with the heat and a blackout.  You can get in a car and get a nice cold  drink, with some ice of course.  But, imagine no power and you can't venture in the ice/snow.  Add to that you depend on these poor guys who have to work outside to fix the lines in the freezing weather.  I heard next week it's going up to 40s/50s, time to get my shorts.  By the way, to all our friends and family in warmer places (GA, FL, TX, PR), I don't want to hear about it anymore.

Shame, Shame

So many awful incidents I've read and seen concerning parents and youth sports.  Check out this video of a wrestling match.  I've read some articles on this incident.  What I find troubling is that it seems the parent was not arrested for what he did.

Mission Impossible

A small clip of the kids playing the Mission Impossible theme song.

Friday - Time to Chill Out

It's Friday and it's cold. So, it's time to chill out a bit, the old school way. Just click "Play Game", Wacawaca...