Bring It!

It is that time of year again.  The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the wind is mocking my hairdo, and the smell of sweaty shinguards is in the air.  Yes, soccer season is upon us again.  The van is loaded down with lawn chairs, stinky cleats, and empty Gatorade bottles.  Soccer balls are constantly rolling from the back of the van to the front every time I slam on the brakes.

Yep.  I am living the dream.  The Soccer Mom Dream.

Dimples has played on the same team with the same coach every year since he was 4 years old.  Each year the team looks a little different as we lose old players and gain new ones.  This year his age group has moved up to a new league and our beloved Coach Dave is following them.  The field is larger, as is the team.  Nurse Boy is thrilled to be assistant coaching this season.  I couldn't tell who was more excited to play the first game this fall: Nurse Boy or Dimples.

(I am pretty sure it was Nurse Boy.)

Dimples is a talented soccer player.  He loves to over analyse each play with Nurse Boy after the games.  He is fast and never afraid to hustle.  He is just as proud of each goal or assist he gets.  He is truly a team player.  It has been a pleasure to watch his love of soccer and team spirit blossom.

Bruiser has always been aggressive and quick.  His is our lefty, which throws off all of those inexperienced 7 years olds.  The boy has got game.  I love to watch him throw up his arms and celebrate his every goal.  He has a lot of promise.  Plus, he is always so sensitive when a player gets hurt on the field.  Aggressive and sensitive; that's our Bruiser.

This year Sweet Pea is thrilled to join in on all of the soccer fun.  But, in order to start the season off right, we had to get our Cinderella the perfect shoes.  (Duh!)

Of course, not just any cleats would do.

Unfortunately, the stomach bug attacked our princess the day of her very first soccer game.  Nurse Boy is also the assistant coach for her team.  I am pretty sure he couldn't have been more disappointed.  He thinks his little princess is going to show everyone of those 4 year old girls how it's done as soon as she and her pink cleats step onto the field.  I, however, think she is going to be fixing her ponytail and crying over chipped nail polish.  We shall see...

Nurse Boy and I both played soccer growing up.  It is so fun to watch our kids enjoy the very same sport.

Soccer, we are ready for you!  But, please, be kind to my hair.  It is not a fan of the wind and dirt.  Frankly, neither is my makeup.  I mean, a girl has to look good when her kids are scoring all of the goals.  ;0)

Monday's Random Musings

Mrs. Nurse Boy here.

Last week flew right by and it is, somehow, already Monday.  This weekend was busy, fun, and germ-filled.  I am on a mission to clean EVERYTHING since the stomach bug reared it's ugly head yesterday, so random thoughts are my gift to you:

**Murphy's law:  Last night, right before bed, Bruiser planted his forehead into a piece of furniture that was in his way.  Yes, he has a HUGE bump on his forehead.  Of course, today is picture day at school.

**At least he didn't try to cut his own hair the night before pictures.  I may or may not have done that once or twice during my childhood.  Never could pull off that uneven bang look.

**I don't think I am going to survive the boys' homework this year.  Some afternoons it feels like I am homeschooling.  Thankfully, they are excellent students and are pretty independent workers.  If it weren't for that, I am afraid I just might lose my sanity.

**I have been on a baking kick when I should have been on a CLEANING kick.  My freezer is full of goodies and my house is a mess.  Which makes me want to sit in front of my freezer and eat frozen cookies instead of cleaning.

**I am a bit of a procrastinator, if you couldn't already tell.

**Sweet Pea is obsessed with having her nails painted, only to peel off the polish a couple of hours later and demand a new color.  She is already showing signs of her Diva nature.  Pray for me. 

**Why is there always one kid in the house who just can't move faster than a snail in the mornings?  Bruiser, I love you, but only one of us can be a slow moving grump in the mornings.  I have already auditioned and accepted the role, thankyouverymuch.

**A free People Magazine showed up in my mailbox last week.  I am embarrassed by just how much joy it brought me.

**Yes, I can be a bit shallow.  I'll own it.

**Why is my kitchen full of pens that no longer work?  Why can't people actually THROW AWAY the pens that refuse to write?  Instead, they promptly return them to the drawer for the next fool (me!) who desires a writing utensil.  Next thing I know, I am writing with a crayon.

Happy Monday to you!  I am off to spend the day with one of my BFF's... Clorox Wipes!

Because You Asked So Nicely...

Here he is...

Pink cake and all.

Yes, he is indeed man enough to be a nurse AND have a pink cake.
The proof is in the pudding... er... cake.

Monday's Random Musings

Mrs. Nurse Boy here.

Since school is back in session, I have decided to bring back my Random Musings on Mondays.  Honestly, I am not normally a fan of Mondays.  The house is usually a mess, the laundry promises to be a mile high, and my list of errands is always scary long.  Thus the randomness.

So, here I go...

**Yesterday, the drummer at church had on a bright red t-shirt with a huge Elmo face on it.  Funny shirt, but horribly distracting.  His poor wife. ;0)

**Poor Nurse Boy needed to caulk our shower this weekend.  He rushed off to the hardware store Saturday evening and conquered the caulk isle.  Or, so he thought.  Around 11 PM he decided it was time to tackle the shower, only to discover he bought the wrong caulk.  Truth be told, EVERY SINGLE TIME he has had to purchase caulk in our 11 years of owning a home, he has returned home with the wrong caulk the first time.

**I couldn't understand what was so hard about picking out caulk until I entered that crazy isle.  Seriously?  Who knew there were that many caulk choices??

**Nurse Boy ran to Walmart around midnight on Saturday night to see if they had the right kind of caulk.  They didn't.

**Walmart, if you are going to be open 24 blasted hours a day, why don't you actually carry what we need?

**I love self-tanner!  Just thought you should know.  And, I don't mean the kind that turns you orange or makes you look scary.  But, when you are as white as I am, any little bit of color helps.

**We had Dimples' soccer team over to our house this weekend.  They had practice, watched some DVR'd World Cup Games, and ate pizza. 

**13 ten-year-old boys can be pretty noisy, silly, and smelly.

** Not too mention, they sure can pack away the pizza!  Scary!

**I am thinking about upgrading my cell phone and joining the texting world.  I am starting to feel left out.  Or old.  Which, I am not.

**This weekend we celebrated Nurse Boy's birthday with his favorite cake that his mom made for him during his childhood.  This year I made it, which is always risky.  For some reason, he claims that neither my mom or I can make it EXACTLY right.

**My favorite part about the cake?  It has PINK icing!  Ha!  I married a man who is man enough to be a nurse AND have a pink birthday cake.

**He is either a keeper or batting for the other team.  Here's hoping he is a keeper.  (Ha!)

**I am blessed to have married my best friend.  He knows me better than anyone else.  Sometimes he just needs to hear how much I appreciate and love him.  I bet your spouse needs to hear it, too!

Happy Monday!

Because Sometimes I Like to Pretend I am June Cleaver

Mrs. Nurse Boy here.

I remember when I sent Dimples off to first grade.  It was his first year in school for a full day.  I longed to sit down with him after school over a homemade snack and chat about his day.  I just knew he would share his excitement for learning, his hopes, and his fears with me.  I couldn't wait to bond with him about the hours he was away from me.  I was certain he was going to miss me and long to spend some time with me.

What?  Stop laughing.

So, he is a boy.  I forgot about that minor detail.

He came home, snarfed down his homemade snack while mumbling something about wishing he had Cheez-its instead, and begged to watch some mindless TV so he could "shut off" his brain.

Yeah, it was a really special warm-fuzzy moment. 

The next day I bought a box of Cheez-its and set a bowl in front of the TV.  He was happy and I had a clean kitchen.

I quickly learned that my boys need some down time when they arrive home after a long day at school.  They are usually ready to open up around dinner time.  They really do talk, share, and open up to us, it just doesn't look quite the way I thought it would in my "Leave It to Beaver" head.  (Minus the pearl wearing Mama, 'cuz I am lucky if my shirt matches my sweatpants.)

But, today (my boys' first full-day of school this year) I felt the need to dig out my dusty pearls, put on my diamond studs, and bake. 

Sort of.

Sweet Pea and I made the best no-bake cookies ever.  (And,  my shirt still didn't match my sweatpants, but whatever.)

No-Bake Chocolate Cookies

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup peanut butter

12 oz. chocolate chips

1 cup coconut

1 cup quick oats

1 cup crispy rice cereal

1.  Combine peanut butter, chocolate chips, and coconut in a large bowl and mix well.  Set aside.

2.  Heat corn syrup and sugar in a sauce pan on medium heat until it boils.  Boil for 1 minute.

3.  Pour over mixture.  Stir well.

4.  Add quick oats and rice cereal.  Stir.

5.  Spoon teaspoonfuls onto wax paper and criss-cross each cookie with a fork.  Let cool.

Sweet Pea and I bonded while we made a mess and spent the afternoon together.  After school we all sat down for a homemade snack.  Sweet Pea and I chatted.  And, because some things never change, Dimples and Bruiser snarfed their cookies and ran to watch 30 minutes of TV.

That's OK, we will chat over dinner.

We Survived...

our first day of the 2010-2011 school year!

Our Second Grader.

He is just a little excited!

Our fifth grader.

How in the world is he old enough to enter fifth grade?

Our sweet, handsome boys.

Brothers on the first day of school.

(And, I LOVE that they chose to match all on their own... pretty sure this will be the last year for that, but I will cherish it while I can.)

I will also cherish my last year with this little one at home. 

(She can't wait for kindergarten.  I, however, am feeling much more patient.)

Praying for another fabulous year!

Say It Ain't So...

Mrs. Nurse Boy here.

Summer is coming to an end.  While I am never ready for summer to begin, I am never ready for it to end either.  I just got my kids used to spending each and every day together.  I finally taught them to be kind, loving, and thoughtful to one another.  (Well, sort of.  But, they have improved.  A LOT.)  Next Monday morning, I am going to walk them to school, drop them off in their new classrooms, walk home with Sweet Pea, blow my nose, dry my tears, and realize that yet another year has begun.  HOW?!  It all goes by way too fast.  Everyone tells you that, but you don't really know until you experience it for yourself. 

In the meantime, we are enjoying the last of our summer.  A week ago we took the kids to one of my very favorite summer activities.  We took them to Theatre in the Park to see..

Intially, the boys weren't too exctied.  However, Sweet Pea was thrilled, especially when she got to meet this special someone:

She was in HEAVEN. 

Where are the boys?  They were throwing around a football with their dad.  Sadly, they are much too grown to have their picture taken with Cinderella.

Next, we set up our chairs and ate our dinner.  Miraculously, the weather was beautiful and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Once the show started, I noticed that everyone enjoyed themselves.  (Boys included, but they probably won't admit it.)

During intermission they were all smiles.

All in all, it was a fun night filled with some sweet memories!

Seeing Red

Mrs. Nurse Boy here.

What a week it has been.  This week Nurse Boy and I traded roles.  I worked and he stayed home with the kids.  I love switching it up every once and a while.  I think we both get to appreciate the other one more when we get to walk in their shoes for just a bit.  I spent most of the week substitute teaching at the preschool I work at during the school year.  Nurse Boy spent most of the week entertaining the kids.  He may or may not have sprinkled a little bit of housework in there.  He did keep up on the laundry though.  Thankfully, the man knows that I hate to get behind on the laundry. 

The boys also worked their dad for all he is worth.  They talked him into taking them to the Chiefs training camp on the hottest day of the year.  (OK, I don't know if it really was the hottest day of the year, but it sure felt like it.)  So, despite the extreme heat and Nurse Boy's hatred for the Chiefs, they got up early one day this week and headed out the fulfill the boys' dream.

I mean, how can you possibly say no to these handsome faces?!

After an exciting hour long drive, they discovered that the morning practice had been canceled. 

That's right:  CANCELLED. 

Without warning. 

Nurse Boy wanted to head home, but those disappointed faces had him rethink his plan.  Instead, they hung out until the afternoon practice would begin. 

A mere 5 and 1/2 hours later.

(Yes, I have nominated him for father of the year.)

By the looks of my future Chiefs players, it was worth every risk of a heat stroke.

They even came home with some autographs.  You couldn't wipe the smiles off of their faces.

But, I am afraid that Nurse Boy still swears that the only red he will be sporting this season will be a sunburn.  Ha!

Do You Ever Feel Old, or is it JUST ME?!

Mrs. Nurse Boy here.

The other day we found ourselves at a local used bookstore.  While the kids were digging around for bargains, I took notice of all of the VHS tapes that were for sale.  Dimples quickly asked why anyone would buy a VHS tape when they could buy a DVD.  (He doesn't even know about Blue Ray... shhh.)  My first thought was they were cheap.  My second thought was that they reminded me of my childhood.  As I walked around the stuffed bookstore I found myself digging through records (Yes, VINYL), 45's, and even... wait for it... 8 tracks!!  My dad still holds his 8 track collection dear.  I don't understand it but, as I find myself growing older, I am guessing it must have something to do with his childhood. 

All of this had me reflecting back to my childhood.  The days were much simpler.  We weren't distracted by handheld gadgets.  Heck, we didn't even have a (gasp!) computer.  When you left the house, you couldn't be reached.  It was rare to find waterproof sunscreen (which was very unfortunate for this fair skinned girl).  We had to HAND CRANK our car windows open.  (I know, can you imagine??)  We even cruised around town in a station wagon.  (Those things make a mini van look DREAMY.  Ha!)  Oh, and you were lucky if you could dig out the seat belts from the creases in the seats.  We never bothered to wear them.  After all, who needed to actually live after a minor fender-bender?  Certainly not my family!

Amazingly, I survived my sunburned-filled, non-seat-belt-wearing, lacking-any-kind-of-cool-gadgets childhood.  So, today I thought I would reflect back on those years... Ya know, way back before Al Gore had invented the Internet and all...

It was a time when...

*Publisher's Clearing House and Ed McMahon went hand in hand.

*Red plastic jackets with zippers were considered cool.  (Thank you, Thriller!)

*Blue eye shadow WAS all that and a bag of chips.

*You drank TAB out of a pink can and pretended it was refreshing.  (Or you stole sips of your mom's.)

*A cell phone was actually referred to as a "bag phone."  It was heavy, awkward, AND had an antennae.

*If you were female, your bangs most likely had a part.  The bottom half of your bangs were carefully curled under while the top half were strategically teased to wave at the heavens.  It was perfection once it was sprayed with an entire can of Aqua Net hairspray.

*"Jellies" weren't doughnuts, but only the most stylish, yet completely uncomfortable, shoes ever.

*You sat around for hours playing "PONG" on Atari.  (And, you thought it was fun!)  When Pac-Man came out, you thought you had died and gone to heaven.

*You may even remember renting not only a movie, but the entire VCR machine as well.  (It was a HUGE plastic case.)

*Carefully positioning the collar up on your polo shirt was a fashion statement.  So were the hot pink leggings you were sporting.

Yes, I am slowly growing older.  My kids gasp as I share about my childhood and all of the comforts we didn't have available to us "back then."  Kind of like I do when my dad starts to ramble on about not having air conditioning and sleeping with wet sheets... while listening to his 8 tracks.  Priceless?  I think not. 

Those precious 8 tracks were selling for a whooping 48cents a piece. 

As were my vinyl records.

Sigh, I really am old!

He is the Lover of My Soul

Ever since our children were little, we have ended each night with prayer and singing.  Nurse Boy and I can't hold a tune to save our lives but, thankfully, none of that matters to our children or God!  The most requested songs by our three munchkins?  Amazing Grace and Jesus, Lover of My Soul.  So, today I am sharing one of our favorite songs and pictures of some of my very favorite people...  all precious gifts from God!

Jesus, lover of my soul

Jesus, I will never let You go

You've taken me from the miry clay

You've set my feet upon the rock

And now I know

I love you, I need you

Though my world may fall

I'll never let You go

My Savior, my closest Friend

I will worship you until the very end.

God bless you!!!  Take some time to make a joyful noise unto the Lord... it may not sound beautiful to you, but it will to Him!!