Basketball, Soccer, and Cheerleading

This has been one of the busiest weeks of our lives, I think. J2 has been staying after school for two hours Mon-Fri for basketball pre-try-outs. This past Friday and Saturday were his try-out dates. He was exhausted to say the least. And very hungry every night he came home! But it all worked in his favor...he made the freshman basketball team!!!!!!!!! Woohoo!!! Congrats J2! We are very proud of him. Looks like he's got a very caring but disciplined coach as well. This is going to be a long season but we're looking forward to seeing him play and grow in many areas. This is definitely going to keep him and the rest of us busy for the next few months. Last night, we went shopping for his away game traveling clothes: khacki pants, white colored button shirt, black/red tie, and brown dressy shoes. This is a public school! I have to admit...after seeing the movie "Miracle" I have a better understanding of the point in this. Plus, personally, I think it's good. We had to buy new shoes...his feet have really grown!!! I have to say, tennis shoes have changed so much since he was a little boy. They're the same but very different...if that makes sense. And cost lots more. He grows so fast his shoes usually only last for one season and then we have to buy new ones the next year. Clothes too! Now C and I are growing that fast as well and it's trippled in costs. Having children is not cheap!!!!! In the beginning, we could go out to eat, the three of us, buy two plates of food and share some of ours with J2...maybe costs $12 with a tip. Last night we took Joshua out to celebrate and our meal was $54 for the five of us...and that was just for hamburgers and fries. I wouldn't change it...they're totally worth it. Sometimes I just have to stop and look back at life and how far we've come together. It's been an interesting but awesome journey so far. I'm blessed to be a mommy!

On top of basketball, I has recently begun playing his first soccer league. He is such a tough little guy out there on that field. They play 3 against 3 and they only allow four children on each team. It's been different than what we're used to with J2 but we like it much better. The games are shorter and the boys have gotten much more playing time and have gotten to know one another better more quickly. He really looks forward to going! And he's extremely competitive. I guess growing up with an older brother can do that to ya...that's what "they" say. He's so cute...he is the sweetest boy but when he gets mad...he gets MAD! He and his big brother share a bedroom. This is their second time doing so among our many moves. Both of them...well they're messy when it comes to keeping their room clean. But then again, when I look at mine, my side is usually needing some work too. I do the bare minimum to just be able to find things easily. Gotta work on that. It's amazing how having children and seeing their flaws makes me see my own x10. I don't like that part. But I do. Anyhow, he and J2 were cleaning their room, which was a mess. Clothes were all over the floor...dirty and clean. Garbage can turned over with garbage spilling out. Both beds unmaid. I's toys were strung out here and there. J2's hats, shoes, and school stuff thrown whereever...Trying to paint the picture for ya. Anyhow, they got into an argument while cleaning their room. I was feeling cheated b/c he thought he was having to do most of the work. It could have been true. J2's been known to "take advantage" just b/c he can. Anyhow, I had, had enough! He came to me in my room, after five or six times of telling on his brother, and said, "Mom, do we have any colored tape?" I said, "Maybe in the garage. Why?" "Well I want to put a line of tape down the middle of our room so J2 knows his side and I know mine. He can only cross the line to get his stuff out of the closet and I can only cross the line the get out of the room." He was dead serious! It took all I had not to laugh. I was going to let him do it after we found the tape but somehow it didn't get accomplished. I guess he got over it.

C had her last football game to cheer for this week. She loves it! Her uniform is mostly red and they wear red bloomers underneath. She started at the end of the season and there weren't any red bloomers to be found so I bought her some little red shorts to wear under her skirt. I slept in that morning before her game and her daddy took her. It was an away game too. This means she ended up dressing herself. When I got to the game she looked so cute...they all put glitter on their faces, glossy lipstick, and draw team logos on their faces. I found out later she had done her own at home (explains why my eyeliner was broken). The only problem was she decided to wear turquoise blue shorts under her skirt b/c she couldn't find her red ones. She wore turquoise socks to match. I just laughed to myself and let it go! Didn't seem to bother her one bit out there while she was jumping around cheering. This is the first place I've lived where the opposing team comes over to the away teams side and does a cheer for them and gives them a little gift (usually candy). It's so sweet. Then they shake hands and say "bye". She's taking a tumbling class and is very determined to learn how to do a back-hand-spring. Two of her friends can and that motivates her greatly. Her coach is awesome and I'm so thankful she's able to go to a gym like ours.

LICE...that yukky word that I haven't thought of since elementary school. Well on top of all the games and practices, C got lice from her class. And guess what? I got it from her. We had to sanitize everything, pcik nits and eggs out of hair, spray couches and beds, and wash nearly everything in the house. But I looks like we've conquered them little critters! I'm glad that's over. As a mom, I've had to take a tick out of her head and now we've experienced lice. The tick was so groce to me. But I remembered watching my mom get one out of my brother's head when we were little and I just copied what she did and it worked. Then I did massive research on the computer to find out what kind of tick it was...making sure it wasn't the lime disease carrying kind. It wasn't. So we prayed over her and forgot about it.

Best of all...I got an email from J2's spanish teacher this week. She and he have had some friction so far this year. Anyhow, she's very willing to work through it with him and help him to pass the class. He has to go in early every morning. Anyhow, J2 apparently had been very disrespectful to her in class that day and she was at the end of her rope with him. She even threatened him with a referral. J2 has barely every gotten in trouble at school so far. I think they have some personality-clashing issues, but none-the-less he disrespected her and she was very upset about it. The week before we had a conference with her and thought we'd resolved the issue. Well we were disappointed, of course. I emailed her back and told her I was sorry and asked if we could have another conference but with J2 this time. She emailed me back the next day and told me that wouldn't be necessary b/c J2 had come up to her (on his own initiative) at the pep rally and told her he was sorry. We were all impressed! Not that we doubted him but that took a lot of courage and he was pretty upset with her too for pointing him out in class and such. But he chose the low road and I cried after reading it. It's just when I think I've failed as a parent that something like that happens and it's like God's saying, "Keep going. It's going to be okay." Making the basketball team, etc., is awesome, but being able to say sorry at his age is amazing! Very proud momma and dad!