Back to Back Baseball Nights

We have had back to back nights of baseball this week. Last night was our first game in league play. We had the late game which didn't start until 8:00 so it was after 10:00 before we got home. Unfortunately we lost 7-2. It wasn't much of a game. Our boys just didn't seem to have their heads in the game. Luckily tonight was a different story. We won 8-5. Grant got to pitch and struggled in the beginning and walked a few players but then he settled down and ended up not giving up any runs.

Next week we have games again on Tuesday and Thursday followed by the annual Mother's Day tournament all weekend so I should have lots of opportunities to get some good pictures.

Stayin' Awake

So it's almost 11:00 pm and I'm sitting in front of the computer trying to keep myself awake. We were invited over to our neighbors for dinner tomorrow night and I said I would bring dessert. I asked my family for suggestions and they requested Strawberry Shortcake. Luckily, I had an angel food cake mix in the pantry so I whipped it up and put it in the oven. I thought it would be a good idea to make it tonight because I was afraid I would be too rushed in the morning. I guess I should have looked at the clock first because 40 minutes at this hour seems like FOREVER. I'm so ready to close my eyes.

I would also like to wish my grandma a Happy 84th Birthday before the day is over!!! Tonight we went over to her house and had cake and ice cream. She and my grandpa got a new puppy named Tiger a few months ago so I took a several pictures of him a few weeks ago when we were at my parents for Easter and had one enlarged and framed it for her. She was thrilled!!!

I think I here the timer going off upstairs . . . bedtime!!!

Bedding Challenge

This week:: What's on YOUR bed
Duvet? Comforter? Quilt

Don't worry I didn't forget this week's challenge. Right now my bedding is a combination of a duvet cover and shams that I bought at Target along with the bedskirt and pillow shams to a comforter set that I got dirt cheap at Gordman's a few years ago during one of their sidewalk sales. I think the whole king size set was like $30. I love to switch things up alot so with this solid duvet cover I can change out the accessories for a whole new look. I love how soft and comfy it is to lounge on and best of all, it's easy to wash.

Weekend Wrap-Up

On Friday after work I headed to Emporia to pick Miles up. It's been a few weeks since we have seen him so we were all excited to spend some time with him this weekend and celebrate his birthday. We timed our trip perfectly because we got back to Wichita just in time to pick Jeff up at the airport. He had been in St. Louis all week.

Miles used his Christmas money to buy a laptop and suddenly last week the laptop locked up on him. He tried several times to restart the computer and do a hard reset (??? I think that's what it is called) but nothing worked. So we called Sam's Club Friday on the way back home and they said as long as he had the receipt and it was within 6 months of the purchase date they would take it back. Of course Gateway is no longer making that same model so he used some of his birthday money and upgraded to a really nice HP desktop. I think this will probably be better for him in the long run because kids can be pretty rough on laptops. So Friday night was kind of like Christmas all over again. He and Jeff spent hours getting it all set up.

On Saturday we worked in the yard all morning. While Jeff mowed the yard I taught Miles how to edge. It wasn't perfect when he finished up but I had to remind myself that it was his first time and most importantly I didn't have to do it. When he came inside he said "That job sucks! It's so hard." I told him not to worry about it because by the end of the summer he would be a pro at it. He definetely didn't like the sound of that.

Saturday evening all of our family came over for dinner and to celebrate Miles birthday. We let the birthday boy chose the meal and he wanted steak, baked potatoes and salad. He also requested Boston Cream Pie. I hadn't made one in a long time but it turned out pretty yummy. I'm not a huge fan of Boston Cream Pie so I also made a Cherry Chocolate cake!!!

Here's a few pictures of the birthday boy!!! It's so hard for me to believe that he is 15 years old.

Miles being silly as usual. He always has to try and pose like a model just for laughs when someone gets out the camera.

Grant and Miles

We even had some special visitors during the party. Last night was Nick (Jeff's stepbrother) prom so he and his date along with another couple stopped by after dinner so we could take a few pictures. It of course started to rain right after they got here so we didn't really get the shots in the yard with all the flowers in the background like we had planned.

Megan looked absolutely gorgeous in her dress. I loved the bright green accents.
















Nick and Megan

Here's Grant with the girls. He was so embarrased about taking this picture.

Grant with Uncle Nick

Invention Convention

Today Grant took part in the annual 2nd grade "Invention Convention". They have been studying about famous inventors for the past few months in his class and then to finish up the unit they were each assigned the task of creating their own invention. Their invention was supposed to be something to make their everyday life easier. So with a little help from Jeff and his dad Grant invented . . .

The Spinning Fork . . . which of course is to make eating spaghetti easier.

This afternoon they had an open house for parents to come in and see all of the great inventions. I was a little worried about the fork breaking so we didn't officially try it out until today. This morning before work I made the thinnest pasta I had in the pantry and added alot of olive oil so the noodles wouldn't be too sticky. I think I may have added a bit too much though because they were so slimy that they kept slipping off the fork.

Tomorrow is an inservice day for me so Grant went to Winfield to stay with my parents. He was already begging my mom as soon as he got out of the car to make spaghetti for dinner so he could eat it with his fork. I'm a little nervous about how it will work with the sauce!!!

A Great Day

You know it's going to be a great day when . . . you have a big 99 cent Diet Limeade (with a splash of diet cherry) from Sonic sitting on your desk. I thought I deserved a little treat this morning so I stopped by Sonic and used a coupon I got in the mail that was about to expire. I couldn't let that happen!!!

Last night after an hour long parent teacher conference with one of my kiddos parents, Grant and I raced home to have a quick dinner, do his homework and get ready for a make-up baseball game. I was little dissappointed to find out that the game was acutally just a "scrimmage" with no umpires. It didn't start until 8:00 which means it was almost 10:00 before we got home. For a school night that seems so late. I know this is going to sound terrible, but I ended up just putting Grant to bed dirty since it was already so late and then this morning I got him up a few minutes early for a quick bath before school. Sorry no pictures from the "scrimmage". I had snack duty so my hands were full with the cooler, my chair, a sweatshirt, etc. . .

Now today we get to practically do it all over again. Jeff's out of town this week so we aren't able to split up any of the duties around the house or with practice. Grant and I will race home from school and have another quick dinner, get ready for baseball practice at 6:00 and then it will be around 8:15 before we finally get back home.

Thank heavens for my DVR because with this crazy schedule I am missing so many of my favorite shows. Last night after I finally got Grant in bed I fast forwarded through Dancing With the Stars so I can see who got voted off. I'll probably have to do the same thing tonight with American Idol. Of course I'll probably be trying to fold laundry, unload the dishwasher, make lunches and grade papers at the same time.

But . . . even with all the running around and work I know it's going to be a great day because I have my Sonic drink to enjoy and the temperature is supposed to be in the mid 70's.

Happy Birthday Miles

It's so hard to believe that Miles is celebrating his 15th birthday today. It seems like just yesterday he was that shy little 4 year old boy I was meeting for the first time. Now look at him . . . 5 ft 10 inches tall and ready to drive. We are planning a big birthday celebration this weekend with all of our family. I'm sure he'll want to give everyone a spin around the block in one of our cars. He is so excited about being able to drive.

Miles is a freshman in Blue Springs, MO. Last year we made the difficult decision to let him move to the Kansas City area to live with his mom. Even though the situation isn't perfect he seems to be happy and I guess that is the most important thing. We miss him dearly here so it's always nice when he can come down for the weekend to visit. Hopefully with summer right around the corner we will get to see him more.

Happy Easter

Yesterday afternoon after baseball practice and a birthday party we packed up the car and headed to Winfield for the weekend.

Last night with the help of Mommy, Grandma, Aunt Karen & Nana, Grant decorated Easter eggs. It was kind of a team effort. Grant didn't think a dozen was enough when we first started so grandma boiled another dozen eggs and by the time they were ready he was tired.

Jeff and Spiro stayed out of the way.

This morning Grant woke up to an Easter basket filled with goodies and candy hidden all over the house. He got a new t-shirt, markers, sidewalk chalk, a Mario DS game, a book with baseball facts and stats, bubbles and an endless amount of candy!

My mom fixed a yummy Easter lunch and Jeff's grandma and my grandparents who live in Wichita all drove down to join us. We also celebrated my birthday with the traditional 3 layer Neopolitan cake topped off with Neopolitan ice cream.

I think Grant enjoyed it. By the end of the afternoon he had 2 pieces.

It was so great being able to spend time with my family. Here I am with my grandma and nana.

Thanks for a great weekend mom and dad.

Analogies

Tonight Grant got a phone call from his buddy Deriq asking if he would like to come home with him after school tomorrow night and spend the night. Jeff and I could only hear Grant's end of the conversation and in the beginning it sounded like he was telling Deriq "maybe" because his other friend Nick might be calling to have him over. This was the first we had heard of anything about Nick or Deriq so Jeff and I both started whispering to Grant that he should tell Deriq "yes" he would like to come over. After talking with Deriq's mom we got everything planned and now Jeff and I have an entire Friday night to ourselves.

After the phone call I began to explain to Grant why it wasn't polite to say "maybe" to someone and I was interrupted by Jeff who somehow thought it would be better to use an analogy. He told Grant "a bird in the hand is better than 2 in the bush". Grant got kind of a puzzled look on his face. Jeff did his best to explain the analogy and then asked Grant if he understood. Grant's response was "the bird in the hand must be the victim". Obviously, he didn't get it!!!

Jeff then spent the next 20 minutes giving Grant more analogies and seeing if he could figure any of them out. I don't think he got a single one but boy did we all laugh.

So, (hopefully) Jeff learned that analogies probably don't work well on an 8 year old and Grant never really did understand why it wasn't polite to say "maybe" to a friend. I guess I'll have to give my little speech tomorrow on the way to school when I know he's listening and Jeff's not around.

A Day of Celebrations

Today I celebrated my 31st birthday. I guess that means I'm officially not just 30 anymore . . . I'm actually in my 30's now. Most of my celebrating today involved food. Which means tomorrow I will really have to start the after birthday dieting.

This morning it all began with a batch of chocolate chip cookies that my para Mary made for me and the class. Then at lunch time the girls in hallway all ordered lunch for us from Pei Wei. This is a huge treat because we only get 50 minutes for lunch and that's not usually enough time for anyplace fun to eat. My friend Lori (aka Mrs. Spear's daughter) baked me this adorable cake. It was as yummy as it was cute!!!

The girls also got me a fun sterling silver cross necklace, a gift certificate to my favorite restraunt Bella Luna, some Bath & Body Works lotions and bath gels and then my friend Becky bought me these unique little butterfly clips that she saw when she was in Aspen over spring break. I'm not exactly for sure what I'm going to do with them yet. I think they might look cute clipped onto a bow on top of a package or even clipped to a flowerpot on my front porch.

Then at the end of the day after I dropped my kids off at music I had a real suprise. They snuck back to the room with the help of the music teacher and the parent of one of my kiddos and hid under their desk to suprise me with a birthday celebration. We had the biggest chocolate chip cookie cake ever and they all chipped in to give me a gift certicate to Beau Monde for a massage. What a super class!!!

Don't think the eating is over yet . . . tonight me, Grant and my sister all drove down to Derby to meet my parents at Applebee's for dinner. Unfotunately Jeff is out of town so he missed out on all the fun.
I did get to unwrap a gift from the boys today. They went out on Saturday and did some secret shopping. They got me this fun "K" necklace I had mentioned a few months ago. I also suprised Jeff when I thanked him for the sweater he got me. He acted a little confused at first and then finally figured out that I bought it for myself yesterday and just called it a birthday present from him. Am I the only one who does things like that?!?!

On Sunday Jeff's grandma brought over a gift all wrapped up in a Dillard's bag. It was this Kate Landry bag that I picked out a few months ago on one of our shopping trips. It is lined with the neatest black and white zebra print fabric. I absolutely love it!!!

It's been such a great day. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. Thanks to everyone for such a special day and all of the wonderful gifts.

Hardball Classic - Game 2 & 3

Today we spent an extremely windy day at the ballpark. Grant's team won both games today so we are headed back tomorrow morning to play at 11:00 and hopefully for the championship at 3:00.

Grant got to start off the first game pitching. He was so excited. He ended up pitching the 1st and 2nd inning and struck every batter out.

Then he spent the rest of the time on the other side of the plate catching.

Can you tell where Grant hit the ball in this shot??? I love the way EVERYONE is looking up.
























I thought this was a great photo opportunity. Grant was getting a little advice at 3rd base from Coach Dreifort.

Hardball Classic - Game 1

We are still trying to thaw out tonight after Grant's first baseball game in the pre-season tournament. This morning it was spitting snow and sleeting off and on but that didn't shut down the ball fields. Tonight be bundled up and braved the 40 degree weather (with wind) and watched the first of many baseball games of the season.

I made Grant pose for a quick picture when we first got to the field tonight. I knew these pants would never be quite as white again.




















He hit a double his first time up to bat.




















Here is he on 3rd base.



















Luckily my fingers weren't too frozen to snap this shot of him running into home to score the 2nd run of the night.



















We had a 6-2 victory over the Heaters. We play again on Saturday at 2:30 and then the real tournament action starts later than day and all day on Sunday. I'm just crossing my fingers for warmer weather.