All she wants for Christmas.....

is her two bottom teeth! The second one has come out, and at Aunt Maura's house again!

Accomplishments

Soccer season has started once again. Evan participated in his first soccer season this past Spring. Needless to say, it was parental sacrifice to watch. Not that we don't enjoy watching our children playing sports, but Evan did not start soccer out on the right, ummmm, foot! He spent the season totaling scores in his head (they do not keep an official score at this age), dodging the ball, and spending his time at the edge of the field (even when he was a part of the action). At the end of last season, however, I was finding the glimpses of what was really going on. Evan is very analytical (I don't know WHO he gets that from) so for him to learn the game, he needed to sit back and watch the action. I learned that was exactly what he was doing. After soccer season this summer, he found every opportunity to play pick-up soccer games (often with boys older than himself). We started getting comments from some of the boys that Evan was really good. I thought, "Awwww, they're being really nice, because they can't be talking about OUR Evan." Fast forward to Saturday, Evan's first soccer game of the Fall season. I secured my parent spot on the side of the soccer field and began dividing my attention between talking to Darrell, trying to keep Alec off of the field, and half-heartedly watching the game; when all of a sudden I see Evan's smiling face and other parents applauding HIM! He made his first goal, EVER (and I didn't see it!) I started really watching him and he was a completely different kid on the soccer field - he made three goals (actually one of the goals Darrell penned "the immaculate reception of U8 soccer" - another player kicked the ball REALLY HARD at Evan's lower body, to which Evan pulled a knee up in self-defense, ball connected with knee, ball went directly into the goal, SCORE!, and Evan could not stop laughing!) What a neat turn around for a parent to see!

Ann-Marie decided for the time being that soccer is not for her, so back to gymnastics we go. She really does love gymnastics and it's a lot of fun watching her try to do all the different moves and be on the beam and bars. She puts a blanket down on our floor at home ( we do have carpet but she feels better with the blanket) and puts on gymnastics shows for Alec and Jameson (the baby we watch during the week).

And finally, an update on myself. I passed my video assessment so I am now an officially certified Les Mills Body Pump Instructor. The gym I am supposed to teach at is still being renovated and is taking much longer than anticipated. So I'm not teaching yet, but will be once the gym in Chippewa is opened.

Fun Fair Pictures

On Saturday, after the 5k run, we met some of our family at the Canfield Fair in Ohio. I guess this fair boasts that it is the largest county fair in the nation...I haven't confirmed this, but it was pretty good. I was excited to see a real milking set-up so I could show my kids what I had to do growing up. Yes, it's true, I milked cows for several years with the equipment you see in the pictures above and below. And I really need to thank that experience and my dad for my strong work ethic and loyalty. My dad will probably fall out of his computer chair when he reads this, but here it is, "THANKS DAD!"
Don't you just love the fair? The biggest pumpkin display was a hit......
Can you spy Ann-Marie peeking out from the pumpkin below......
And of course, the pigs!
A good time had by all!

One for Ruth

There's a more recent loss in my life I don't discuss much for several reasons. One is that it's still too new (a little over 6 years....consider the fact that it took 15 plus years to really talk freely about my mom) and that it's more my husband's loss than mine. My mother-in-law, Ruth Jerome, died in June 2002 and we miss her very much. She was an amazing mother-in-law who loved me, didn't judge me, was a wonderful mother to her children and wife to her husband, and adored our little Evan until he was 15 months old. So even typing this brings tears to my eyes.

I found a way to honor her last year by running a 5K race that raised money for an organization she supported, The Women's Center of Beaver County. My sister-in-law, Karen, let me know last year that she would run with me this year.....so Saturday was the day. The picture above is Karen and I before the race. The day of the race was beautiful, Karen did a wonderful job running her very first 5k, and we crossed the finish line together. I can't even express all the emotions that I felt, but I can say it was a wonderful way to remember Ruth and we're looking forward to making this a tradition. I'm proud of you Karen!

Silent protesting before school

First day

Today, I sent two children off to public school; a kindergartner and a 2nd grader. How do I feel about this? Well, I hadn't really thought about it until Saturday, when I went to see "Mama Mia" at the movie theater. I will always remember sitting in our dining room as a little girl listening to the group, Abba....liking them because my mom liked them. So there I was, sitting in the movie theater when the emotional scene comes on where the mom is helping the daughter get ready for her wedding. I had never heard the song "Slipping through my fingers" before, but that is what did it for me. It's not that I feel like Ann-Marie is slipping through my fingers, entering kindergarten, but that the seasons I thought would never end while I was in them (infancy, toddler, preschool) slipped through my fingers. So sitting there in the movie theater with tears running down my face, I felt two things: the sadness of knowing that my mom would have really liked to be there for this and the loss of the preschool season in the second of my children. I think the following lyrics really got to me:

"Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see whats in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture
And save it from the funny tricks of time
Slipping through my fingers..."
And here's my big 2nd grader with his new shoes! Aren't they sharp?

And little Ann-Marie coming off the big school bus at noon.

To my MOPS friends who still have a few years until their children become school-agers: it does come fast and treasure these days (even in the midst of the mundane). To my Mom mentors who have older children: keep the advice, support and encouragement coming because I seem to need more and more the older my children get.

Time for Underwear!

I didn't think I would be posting again until the big first day of school on Tuesday, but here it is. Alec has decided it is time for underwear! I'm so proud of my big boy (but I am not naive enough to think that I won't be dealing with many accidents for months to come!) The deal was if he pooped on the potty I would buy him big boy underwear. Well, yesterday was the day. He requested Diego and Thomas the Tank Engine underwear (and got Cars underwear as a bonus.....toddlers go through a lot of underwear!) I am not sad to see diapers go away, but I am a little sad to see less baby in Alec.