The Mac and Cheese Chronicles

I got this in an email and I thought I’d share…

Gonna Be A BearIn this life, I’m a woman. In my next life, I’d like to come back as a bear. When you’re a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months. I could deal with that.Before you hibernate, you’re supposed to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that, too.

When you’re a girl bear, you birth your children (who are the size of walnuts) while you’re sleeping and wake to partially grown, cute, cuddly cubs. I could definitely deal with that.

If you’re a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them, too. I could deal with that.

If you’re a bear, your mate expects you to wake up growling. He expects that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat.

Yup, gonna be a bear!

This is what happens when your little brother gets into your toys too many times:

Pumpkin Girl made this “No Babees” sign and taped it to the door when she was playing with my mom. She said, “No matter how much I love him (Bip), he always messes up things.” I don’t know what made me laugh more, the way she spelled “babees”, the cute little picture with the line through it, or her thought that the sign would keep Bip out. She sure is resourceful and creative for a 5 year old.

 

 

We are well into our soccer season. Boo plays for the pure enjoyment of running and kicking the ball. He tries hard and he has fun.

Last Saturday was the perfect day for soccer. It was just a tad chilly and the sky was threatening rain. We set up our camp chairs on the side of the field and settled in for a good game. Boo sat out the first quarter. When the ref blew the whistle for the second quarter, Coach Carl looked to Boo and told him he would be goalie. My heart sunk. Goalie? Boo? He is the tiniest player on his team and he had never, not once, not even in practice, played goalie. I wasn’t even sure he knew what to do. I looked at Phil and I could see by his face that he was sharing my thoughts. I voiced my concerns to the other parents there. “It’s ok, don’t worry,” they said. “Even if the other team scores, it’s ok.” Oh sure. Easy for them to say. They didn’t have to go home with a seriously downcast little boy who let the opposing team score 23 goals against him! I wondered to myself if I should say anything to the coach. “Excuse me. Coach Carl? ARE YOU INSANE?” No, I thought, I’m not going to meddle. It’s just kiddie soccer. We’re not even supposed to be keeping score (we all do anyway). Anyway, it was too late. Another dad was helping Boo don the goalie shirt, though on Boo it was a goalie dress. They even had gloves for him, which to be honest, were probably more of a hindrance.

The ref blew his whistle and so began the longest soccer quarter of my life. Poor Boo looked even smaller in a goalie shirt down to his knees, standing in this gi-normous goal. We tried to cheer him on, but his face betrayed his nerves. As the opposing team approached our goal, Boo managed to make himself look even smaller and he seemed to retreat into the goal. Kind of reminded me of our pet hermit crabs. Fortunately, the coach ran over there and gave Boo some pointers. He stepped out from the goal and seemed a little more confident. Our team was actually doing really well at keeping the ball on the other side of the field. It seemed like maybe Boo would just have to stand there during this quarter.

Then it happened, some girl from the other team broke free from our defenders and dared kick the ball at my boy! In his own words, he thought he was a “goner.” He stepped forward, then knelt down and stopped the ball! My boy! Little Boo! Stopped the other team from scoring! The sidelines erupted, “Booooooo! Boooooo!” He grew 5 inches in that moment.

He played forward for the rest of the game, and it don’t know if it was a coincedence, but he played the best game of his life. It was as if in that one stopped goal, all his confidence in his soccer abilities came to the surface. He became aggressive where he used to hang back. He kept control of the ball. He started a passing sequence that led directly to our team scoring. His fellow older, bigger team mates told him “good game.” Even the dad of the best player on our team was saying good things about Boo “just putting his head down and sticking with the ball.”

It was the best kind of day. We let Boo tell the story of his blocked goal as many times, with as many details as he wanted. He’s hoping to play goalie again. So here’s to Boo, goalie and power foward! (and a hat tip to Coach Carl, who clearly knows way more about coaching soccer than I do.)

Today was our scouting day. Pumpkin Girl had her first Daisy Girl Scout meeting in the afternoon. I wasn’t really sure how this was going to work out. At first she wanted to be a girl scout because Boo was so excited about being a Cub Scout. So we found a Daisy troop on base and signed her up. Then we found out that parents are not allowed to stay for the meetings and she started getting anxious. I took her to the sign up day so she could meet her leader and see the room and become familiar with the set up. That seemed to help. So we went out and bought her the uniform. Well, when we got home, she decided that she didn’t like the way it looks. Ack! That girl just kills me with her clothing issues. I told her that she didn’t have to wear it, but that all the other girls would be wearing their uniforms and that she would have nothing to put her petals on when she earns them. Finally she agreed.

So off we go to Daisy Scouts today. There was a craft set out for them when we got there. Pumpkin Girl is so into crafting these days, but that’s a blog for another day. When she saw the craft, she just sat right down and barely even waved goodbye to me and the boys. When we returned to pick her up, she was all smiles and happiness. She told me she had “the best time in the whole world.”

Then this evening we had our first Pack meeting for Boo. Of course, the big storm that had been predicted, with it’s torrential downpours, strong winds and lightening chose the exact moment when I said “ok, go get your shoes on” to unleash. I think we would have stayed home if we hadn’t lived only 3 minutes away. The kids were a little scared in the car, but I kept saying, “we’ll be ok.” The rain was so strong that they couldn’t even hear me. We pulled up to the chapel and I told them I was going to drop them off at the curb, they were to run into the building and I would park the car and join them with Nicholas. They did a wonderful job of following directions. While I was parking the car, the rain started coming down even harder. I didn’t even know that was possible. I sat in the car for moment, trying to figure out how I was going to get the baby out of the car without getting soaked. I opted for jumping out of my seat and into the backseat. I loaded him up in my sling, grabbed my purse and an umbrella and made a break for it. In the seconds it took to get the umbrella up, my hair got soaked and so did Bip. The umbrella could only do so much against the deluge and my pants and sandals were soaked when I reached the building. I took Bip to the bathroom and dried his hair and face, plus my face and shoes with paper towels. There was nothing I could do about my hair. Fortunately it’s short.

The rest of the evening went better. Boo earned his Bobcat badge. I got to pin it on him. Boo then pinned on a Bobcat parent pin on me!
I’m so proud of him. He’s working hard on his badges and he takes a lot of pride in his uniform. Sadly, Phil wasn’t there, so I didn’t have anyone to take pictures. The meeting was fun, but a little long, especially when one is sitting in wet pants, with a fidgety 5 yo and a baby who keeps insisting on low crawling across the floor and pulling off his socks.

It wasn’t raining as hard when we left. It looks like the storm will bring in much colder weather. Good thing our order of Land’s End winter clothes arrived yesterday. We need the long sleeves for soccer practice tomorrow!

 

 

I love Fall! I love everything about it: football, the colors, the crunch of leaves, the wind, the crisp, cool air, pumpkins. Being outside in the Fall invigorates me. I can breathe in deeply (not too deeply, there’s a sewage plant nearby) and feel alive. Summer on the other hand, oppresses me. It’s hot and sticky and full of bugs that bite. After taking a walk in the summer, I need a shower. After a walk in the Fall, I can have hot chocolate! Now that’s living! So I am not sad to see summer go, not at all!

I am looking forward to resuming our daily walks along the Potomac, this time with an eye towards bringing home some nature for our nature journals. Pumpkin Girl has been bringing me all sorts of things to draw. My favorite has been the tiny yellow flower from clover. I never even noticed them in the grass before. She also likes to bring me acorns from various trees. She has learned to take our field journal and correctly identify the trees in our neighborhood from their leaves.

Cooking and baking is more fun in the Fall, too. The oven warms the house nicely and fills it with delicious smells. We’ve started a home economics book recently. Boo and Pumpkin Girl have learned to peel, cut and garnish carrots and have both made the family a carrot tray for lunch. Today they took on cinnamon toast. In the next couple of weeks will be scrambled eggs and French toast. Without a book to guide me, I don’t think it would have occurred to me to teach them these skills at this age. But they are both doing well. They like learning to do things for themselves. We were reviewing the book and saw that in the sewing section was an assignment to create a family flag. They both were excited at the possibility. In fact, we’ve already designed it. I won’t spoil the surprise, but let me just say that it involves happy faces.

But I digress. I am so happy that summer is over. The first frost is not far off and it will kill off all those nasty mosquitoes. It will also kill my basil, but I had such a good crop this year that I have a ton in the freezer for the winter. Bip has been barefoot all summer, so I suppose it’s time for his first shoes. I’d better finish up the poncho I’m knitting Pumpkin Girl.

And soccer! I played soccer as a kid, so I spent a lot of time outdoors in the Fall. Now I’m on the sidelines as my oldest boy is in his third season of soccer. Hey, I’m a soccer mom! In a minivan! Looking harried as I drag camp chairs and a stroller across the grassy field! I love watching Boo play soccer. He is such a goofball! He loves soccer so much, but he’s not the most coordinated kid in the world. After watching his hysterical attempt at jumping jacks the other day, we had some remedial training at home. I coached from the couch, of course. No sense in both of us looking ridiculous. Boo was attempting make his feet go out and in while in mid-air. I managed to keep a straight face while instructing him, “Jump out, jump in, jump out, jump in.” Once we got that down, we attempted to coordinated his arm movements to his legs. Not entirely successful, but at least he looked better at the next practice. His first game is Tuesday.

Ah, Fall. I can almost taste the hot apple cider.

Well, Philip left for Germany today. In a rare turn of events, the disasters that normally occur on the homefront during a deployment or TDY (temporary duty) assignment actually occurred before he left. The toilet got stopped up and two of our new hermit crabs died. I’m hoping that’s it for the week and not a sign of things to come.

I had to haul all the children down to Boo’s soccer practice today. It was COLD! Pumpkin Girl complained the whole time of course. Other than that, I really enjoyed watching practice. Boo’s coach is not only an experienced youth soccer coach, but he’s a really funny guy. You can tell that he is truly enjoying himself out there on the field. He had all the parents practically in tears during one game called “ouch.” The object of the game was for the children to attempt to kick the ball at the coach and his assistants and if they hit them, the coaches yelled “ouch.” Of course, the coaches were running. Coach Carl was so funny, over-acting the whole time, looking like he was running through water, “falling” down, pretending to tie his shoes, then yelling “ouch” like he’d been shot. I really appreciate a dedicated, fun coach like that.

Pumpkin Girl has been to dance class twice now. She’s taking the whole thing very seriously. This is actually her third attempt at taking dance classes, but the times before were just too much for her. She’s definitely ready now. In her black leotard, pink tights and ballet bun, she says she is an “official ballerina.” Somehow she manages to look all grown up and so tiny all at once. I’m so proud of her for getting out there. Normally she has Boo with her to help her be brave. For a moment there at her first class, I didn’t think she was going to be able to do it. Those big brown eyes of hers were just filling with tears. I reminded her that Rebecca is always with her, which made her smile, and then she was fine. Pumpkin Girl has a natural flexibility that should serve her well as a dancer. She is the only one in her class who can lie down on her belly, put the bottoms of her feet together, and bring her knees up like a frog, all while keeping her legs touching the floor.

As for Bip, he isn’t walking or talking much. He’s babbling a lot, though, and is communicating more and more with signs. I’m hoping that Philip’s absence doesn’t upset his already touchy sleep schedule. How well our week goes depends a lot on how well the baby sleeps. If things go south, I do have a game plan. We’ll make adjustments to our school schedule, breaking things up as needed, to accommodate the baby. As a last resort, I am willing to just take a break from school and concentrate on getting Bip well rested, every one fed and the trash emptied.