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Tuesday, October 30, 2007

He Shoots...He Scores!

As one season ends, so another begins. No - the boys are done for a few months...
It's the big boy I'm talking about - John has started his hockey season.

Now, I do need to brag a little...my husband will be 51 years old in January! MORE than half the guys on his team are old enough to be his son. Yet, he is still able to play.

There are three factors that enable him to continue...

1. He is Canadian and hockey is in our DNA
2. He is a goalie
3. Americans stink at hockey

How do we know they stink? Because they need a 51 year old goalie! In Canada, John would have been playing in a "Senior" division ten years ago. Here - they don't have enough players to make up a regular division, let alone intermediate or senior.
Besides, the best players in John's league are --Canadian!

Being a goalie means John doesn't have to play "out", as they say. What it really means is that you don't have to skate. What he does have to do, however, is get up and down faster than a toilet seat in a busy bathroom (sorry - I had to use that saying from my Mother...but in Canada we call it a washroom!)

The by-product of all this activity comes home with him after every game - the smelly equipment. In order to make it less smelly (is that possible?!) he hangs it in our garage, far, far away from the door into the house.

Bottom line; I am really proud that he is still playing and he says he had a great game..."stood on his head" as they say in hockeyland! They only lost 9 to 6...:)))

Monday, October 29, 2007

The Season's Over

This past weekend was a blur of sporting activity. Beginning Thursday night with the Penguins and Leafs (that's old news...); continuing Friday night with our town's version of Friday Night Lights; onto Saturday with the flag football playoffs; and, of course, The World Series last night. Everyone's season is finally over...
As my camera bit the dust, the pictures are courtesy of John's brother and sister-in-law...

Friday Night
This town lives and breathes Spartans football and our team did not disappoint - in fact the Spartans 8-3 record may have single handedly secured the passage of the two renewal levys our school district has on the ballot next week - no joke! With a 25-0 win over the cross-town rivals, community pride was as explosive as the fireworks at the end of the game.
Canadian's have never seen football this way and frankly, it makes us proud to show it off! I brag more about the marching band (300 strong!) than the football.




Saturday

Caeden's team ended the flag football season with a perfect record....of losses! They put up a valiant fight in their playoff game though - losing in overtime. The best part of watching his game?...The smile never left his face, except when his tongue was sticking out;
a trait he shares with his Dad and brothers! There is nothing like watching your son play a sport and smile the entire time he's on the field - even when they never win.




Jackson's team ended their season with an almost perfect record - and the Championship! The first game (a resounding win) got them to the Championship game against the only team that beat them all season -- the pics show Jackson's Dick Butkus stare-down and his QB moment!
However, after that, Jackson's WONDERFUL coach became a WIN-AT-ALL-COSTS coach. That means, Jackson barely played in the second game...I'm not sure what upset me more, the fact that Jackson had played brilliantly all year and deserved to be in that final game, or the fact the John defended his coach for making the decision, reasoning that Jackson had had trouble keeping up with the other team's quarterback in their losing game. So...(and this is how women think...) play him in a different position! As long as he's on the field, bury him somewhere...!
I'm not sure if his coaches thought he wouldn't notice not playing because of his Asperger's or if they thought he could handle it because, for the most part, he doesn't "act" like he has Asperger's and he would deal with it like a typical kid! But he did notice and he was heartbroken...I had John ask his coach to say something to him after the game, which made things a little better.
I know for sure that the message got through to them though -- two hours later the coach called our house on the pretense of talking about a team party, when in fact, he called to make things right with me and explain how great Jackson is. Too little, too late buddy...I KNOW how great my son is - one day you will know too...

Thursday, October 25, 2007

The In-Laws Are Coming!

About six weeks ago, we received a very unexpected phone call from John's oldest brother. He and his wife were coming to visit, and bringing John's parents with them!

You have to understand why this was a huge shock to both of us...we moved to this area from California four years ago. With the move, we placed ourselves within a five hour DRIVE of both our families in Canada. Since that time, only two of John's seven siblings have visited us, and his parents have only been here twice - the last time 3 and a half years ago!

What would prompt this sudden desire to cross the border? Sidney Crosby.

For those of you not familiar with hockey - Sidney Crosby is the biggest export from
Canada since Wayne Gretzky. Tonight his team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, are playing the Toronto Maple Leafs - and the Canadians will see it live!

Now it all makes sense - Canadians and hockey. The one thing enticing enough to bring John's family over the border...Not all the Canadians will be attending however; at $90 per ticket and a sell-out the day they went on sale, only John, his brother and his Dad can go.

I will stay home and catch up on eight months of family news (the last time we were together) - seven siblings, nineteen grandchildren and a great-grandchild on the way. That last bit of news came to us last weekend from the expectant grandmother; John's oldest sister. She had actually called to tell us her other son was getting married and I made a joke about the news being a new baby - she said "oh that too". That news was already a month old in the family circle...

There's another bonus to this visit, at least for Cameron. When my parents visit, Cameron loses his bedroom to Grandma and Grandpa. However, John's family have chosen the Holiday Inn as their home away from home for the next three days and it has an indoor swimming pool...good for the boys... great for Mum! :)

BTW - The Maple Leafs won 5-2...Very happy Canadians...

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Have You Ever Had One Of Those Days...?

Once a month, being SportsMum and living and working in a world of men becomes a huge problem. Through most of the month I am relatively composed, professional, and sane. But then...exactly day 21 into the month, I become a neurotic, manic, mad-woman!
What sends me into this tailspin? Of course, PMS.

I know just thinking about its emergence sends shivers down the spine of the men in my home. Actually, the boys have no idea what causes Mummy to laugh and cry and scream and hug them (all at the same time!)...they just duck and cover.
It has caused me to make some irrational decisions (like quitting my job in September...) and briefly (I hope...) damage some friendships!

As I get older, the symptoms become more pronounced. But this month, compounded with the fact that neither my husband or I have ANY money coming into our lovely 3,700 square foot home with the lovely mortgage, I am completely over the top pyscho woman.

While I joke about the symptoms, the results really are no laughing matter. Years ago, my college boyfriend's mother committed suicide, directly related to the symptoms of PMS. This affected me profoundly, and I have always been on guard for similar symptoms in me, especially as I approach the menopause years (which is around the time Scott's mother took her life...) It's a pretty scary and real disorder!

What's the point I'm trying to make? This is a long-winded apology and quasi- explanation to the men in my life as to why I have been PMS "don't mess with me" woman the last few days. It's not rational, it's not intentional, but it's real...and I'm sorry...

Monday, October 22, 2007

One Down...Two To Go...


Cameron's football season ended on Saturday night. (He's Number 87) It was the premier middle school football event of the year - The Spartan Bowl! (something like the 35th annual) Cameron's school has won this prestigious contest 34 out of 35 times (or so I've been told...) so the outcome was pretty well predestined. In fact, the final score was 52-14...(Note the on-field celebration)
There are just two middle schools in our town and they are divided based on which side of the main street you happen to live on. The strange thing for us is that we have to drive right past the other middle school to get to ours!
What really perplexes me is how the athletic prowess of the teams can be so lopsided. Earlier in the year, one of the best football exports this town ever created (they are REALLY serious about their sports...) had been watching Cameron play baseball and asked if he was going to try out for quarterback because of the strength of his arm. Then he asked which school Cameron attended and when I told him he said, "that figures - all the good athletes go there"!
The worst part for the kids in all this is that they ALL go to the same high school. So they instill this ultra-competitive 'us and them' through middle school, then expect them to come together as a unified student body as freshman!
Oh - the wacky world of school sports...

Our football season is not over yet! Jackson and Caeden are now in the playoffs.

Caeden's team has LOST EVERY GAME and yet they are in the playoffs. John says they just lulled the other teams into thinking they were really bad and they are going to come through and win it all in the end. I say, they are just really bad!

Jackson's team lost their first game on Saturday so they will be a force to be reckoned with in their playoffs.

However, none of this really matters today. The only question that needs to be addressed...WHAT HAPPENED TO THE INDIANS?! I guess the answer is "Go Rockies!"

Friday, October 19, 2007

There Is A Reason For Everything!

Today something bad happened...then something okay...then something only God could have aligned...
John's contract was terminated today. Which means...he is without work. Which means...I am also without work. Which means...we are broke. That's the bad....

The okay...The company that has offered him a position, which was supposed to start in September and has been delayed to January...returned his call at 5:42p.m.(on aFriday no-less!) to say they will do what they can to bring him in earlier in order for them NOT to lose him on the really BIG project in January.

The God moment...today was the Pep Rally at school for the Spartan Bowl - the biggest middle school football event of the year! Over the last four years, John has been at about 2 BIG events in his kids lives...Today, because he lost his job...he came to the pep rally. He listened to them announce the seventh grade players...the eighth grade players...Then..."And Now - The Starting Team For The Spartans! - Number 87 - Cameron ..."

You get the picture - he was there as his oldest son was officially named a starter on his football team, for the biggest game of the year, in front of the entire student body! And he made starter with a cast on his arm...

God has a plan - it is MUCH bigger than us- and He works his magic in everything - even football pep rallys!

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Homework and Aspergers Part Deux

We had math homework again tonight - this time for Jackson and Caeden.
The new deal is - John will continue with the 5th grade version (God be with them both!), but I have to handle the 3rd grade!
I had to believe I could handle that - until...the word problems! The minute I see sentences with numbers in the middle I immediately go into seizures. Last week it took me 20 minutes to figure out if Johnny had 20 cards and he gave Joey 4 then Sam gave him eight, how many did he have?
Tonight's gem? Jill baked cookies in the morning. (I can bake cookies but from here on out, I was lost...) Her brother ate 4 of the cookies. In the afternoon, Jill baked 24 more cookies. She now has 44 cookies. How many cookies did Jill bake in the morning?
Feel free to amuse yourself with this little riddle...
I will go back to being SportsMum and writing about the things I know for sure...3 Boys + 3 football practices + 2 hour time frame = Dinner at McDonalds!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Homework and Aspergers

As I write this, my husband is attempting to do 5th grade math homework with Jackson. In fact, I came in this office to write this blog in order to get away from John and Jackson and 5th grade math homework.
I am a self-professed math moron. In every other subject I am somewhat gifted (or so they would have labeled me in this label crazed world), but math and I have never spoken the same language. So you can imagine my immense joy when John took a new job closer to home, simply so he could do math homework with the boys! (Well-not the only reason but I'm sticking to my story...)
Problem is - while John is very good at math (he's computer man, after all)- he's not very good at relating math concepts to a boy on the autism spectrum who doesn't want to learn math.
Jackson is an exceptionally intelligent boy. He came home from school yesterday and bragged to me that in social studies, the teacher gave the kids a blank map of the U.S. The class had a contest to see who could fill in the most blanks in the shortest amount of time. Jackson won by a full minute - and filled in every blank! But social studies is easy - he has studied this map every day since first grade when his reward for staying in his seat was the chance to sit by the map on the wall and read.
Math takes longer - you have to actually think. And then - try applying the concept to the real world! (that's where I gave up...)
So tonight - we are dealing with prisms and pyramids and determining the volume inside. But we don't have a prism or a pyramid to look at - and Jackson can't imagine what one would look like. He needs to SEE it. So John draws a prism (rectangle) on a piece of paper and writes the numbers for length, height and width beside it. But - Jackson says - the numbers are upside down! And, that rectangle on the piece of paper is definitely NOT eight inches long - it's more like an inch and a half.
I love my husband and I know he wants to understand Jackson but - he could not figure out why it mattered that the numbers were upside down...and that Jackson kept looking away...and that he was drumming his hands on the kitchen island...and that he was humming an incoherent tune. (well maybe I had trouble with that one...it was actually Pirates of the Caribbean)
They made it through to the end - the battle of the "why aren't you listening?" versus the "why do I have to do this?" titans!
And finally...my sports tie-in...Go TRIBE! And that's all I have to say about that...

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Touchdown!

I realized as I began to write this that touchdown can actually have several meanings...a football touchdown, a plane touching down as it lands, the launch of a new idea. My post today relates to all three definitions.
The most important of these is the SportsMum brag moment...Caeden had a BIG touchdown in his football game yesterday...
I have not written very often about King Caeden. He is the youngest of my boys; frankly, he is the one with the most personality. You will not find a single person, especially teachers, who do not think that Caeden is the sweetest boy (and hardest worker) they have ever encountered. He never gives up or becomes frustrated in any task he tries. That includes football.
John and I have noticed that our youngest has been gifted with incredible speed. We're not sure how this happened, especially with John acquiring the nickname "turtle" while still in his teens, and me with my 5'2" (and shrinking daily) frame. But Caeden is FAST.
Yesterday, with his team down by I don't know how much, the coach decided to go deep. Caeden was wide receiver. His friend Nicky threw a BOMB (no kidding...no eight year old should ever throw like that...) Incredibly, Caeden caught it at midfield and took off. No one was catching the King - the most beautiful (and deserving) touchdown I have seen all year.
The second touchdown is the safe landing (by bus) of the 8th grade Washington field trip. Cameron arrived home at 9pm last evening. I asked him what was the most exciting part of the trip...I expected it to be the Washington Monument or the White House. For Cameron, it was the fact that his cell phone battery had completely died at 2pm that afternoon and yet he was still able to send texts! He's just a dumb boy...
The final touchdown - the launch of my friend Nik's charity blog. I have been working with Nik on an incredibly cool web concept for several months now. Phase one of this concept was the creation of a blog that would help introduce him and his idea for finding ways to help children's charities -- the Blog For Charity.
I have guest blogged a couple of times on subjects close to my heart - for obvious reasons, autism; and on our family experiences with cancer and cancer research.
The culmination of this blog will be the launch of the Puzzle Of Hope - hopefully by the end of the year. If all goes as planned - this could be one of the most successful online charity websites ever!
So we scored three touchdowns this weekend. I hope we'll have at least one conversion -- with the launch of the Puzzle of Hope.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Mr. Rogers Goes To Washington

We have an incredibly sad family member today. Cameron left this morning for the 8th grade Washington D.C. trip. Bailey is devastated...
Bailey is our 8 or 9 year old Golden Retriever. I say 8 or 9 because she was a rescue of a rescue so we're not completely sure of her age.
Bailey is particularly attached to Cameron for two reasons - he feeds her every morning and she sleeps with him every night. Without him she is lost.

Bailey came into our family when we needed her the most, 4 1/2 years ago. John had lost his job in November and our dog of 15 years (Chloe the Cockapoo) died in February. It wasn't a happy house.
A friend, knowing that we were a dog family, suggested someone she knew might be wanting to give away their dog. I spoke to this woman and she was more than anxious to give us "Coco" - her explanation - "She needs too much love"...
Okay - there are two things you never say to a dog lover...that is one of them. The other is "I leave my dog tied outside all the time". When I went to pick up "Coco", she was tied outside in a postage stamp size yard (of course, all houses in California have postage stamp size yards). But she's a golden - BIG dog. You need a yard, she needs to run!
Turns out, this family had only obtained her from a Golden Retriever rescue organization three months earlier, as a Christmas present for their daughter. I noticed, they weren't in a hurry to get rid of their FIVE cats.
So she became ours. Poor thing...six months after she came to us we moved her across the country to the cold Northeast! (Imagine, three boys and a retriever in a mini van driving cross country...)
While she finally adapted to the knowledge that she was ours for good, she has never adapted to winter. Her business is either done on the back deck, or in a spot we clear for her so her bottom doesn't have to touch the snow!
So - the long and short of it - we love our dog and she is sad because Mr. Rogers went to Washington. I think a couple of extra walks might do the trick (exercise = sports = subject of my blog! Didn't think I could tie it all up, huh?!)
By the way - the family who gave us Bailey ended up getting a Shih Tzu about six months after Bailey. They went camping in Big Bear one weekend and the coyotes came and ate their dog. True story...

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

It's Not Over...

Cameron looked like he'd been kicked in the gut around 10:45 this morning. That's when the doctor told us that the new x-rays showed he had indeed fractured the growth plate in his wrist.
Good news(and I actually think the doctor was proud of himself for this decision...),he had been wearing a cast for the last two weeks so the fracture has already started to heal properly. Had he not done this, we would have been dealing with surgery in order to fix it!
Bad news - another three weeks in a much bigger (and waterproof!) cast.
Of course - he can still play football...
The waterproof cast has to be one of the greatest inventions ever! For an extra $25, he can shower and swim without fear. We didn't go this route two weeks ago because we thought he wasn't really injured!!! (Bad Mummy...)
I said that Cameron looked like he'd been kicked in the gut - I, on the other hand, wanted to go back to Parenting Class 101. I didn't believe he was really hurt, even after the cast. I thought they were just being overly cautious.
Had I been thinking about this blog at the time, I would have asked for a digital copy of the xrays to show the real deal. Plain as day - the section of bone on the front of his wrist; clearly weaker than the rest and in the process of healing.
I'm not sure if Cameron realized why I apologized to him for the next hour - but my mother guilt was overwhelming. I didn't believe my child was really hurt.
So - if I was I really guilty mother, I would be cooking a nice new york strip for him right now...
Not so guilty - he's getting tuna casserole...

Monday, October 8, 2007

Summer Part Two...


We have a very large and lovely swimming pool - one of the perks of moving from California and making oodles of money on our house! Problem is, having a pool is wonderful until you have to pay for it, maintain it,and close it for winter.
We chose this house with the large pool because we like to have people at our home and anticipated many parties throughout the year - not to mention all the boy's friends hanging out. What we also got with the deal was EVERY SINGLE TEAM POOL PARTY! I never hesitated to volunteer our home, again; it's the reason we bought this house; but it also became apparent through the years that it was costing us big bucks and lots of energy.
So, for various reasons, by this time of year I am very anxious to close things down, if only to save some bucks before the heating bills start. But the pool is still open...and it's the middle of October...and it's 90 degrees! Don't believe me?...take a look at my rusted thermometer!

Our pool expert (our church pastor who became a "pool expert" living in Texas and putting himself through seminary - I think it had something to do with water and baptisms!); told me this morning that it's good we haven't closed the pool in this heat...it's an algae thing...
It's a strange thing to want summer to end. But I guess I go against the grain of normal Americans...I came to hate living in California, where the weather is the same; Every...Single...Day!! The boys used to laugh at me when it would rain (once a year) and I would go outside and do the "Mommy Dance"!
I believe that seasons MUST change. It's God's way of moving us along in life - change is very, very good. But this year - it's still summer...in October!
I want rain...I want crisp nights...I want to turn my air-conditioner off!! But, above all else, I want to close my pool and start fall. It's time for a change...but do I have to give up the margaritas?!

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Having John Home...


Until June of this year, John very seldom watched his boys play sports.
We moved to this area four years ago this week - not by choice, but by necessity. John was one of the unlucky "victims" of the fall-out from 9/11...a senior consultant in the computer industry. Along with several of his fellow consultants, he lost his job late in 2002.
The complete story is too long and still too painful to give in full detail, but we ended up moving across the country, for a job offer that turned out to be a scam. Fortunately, we moved from the MOST expensive area of the U.S. (California) to the least expensive (Check out any survey in Forbes and our area will be listed at the bottom...).
While we are fortunate to live in our dream home, John was not able to find a dream job, or ANY job for that matter. As a result - he did contract work, out of state, for several years.
The worst was 18 months in Madison, Wisconsin. He was paid his expenses for his time there but he had to cover his travel home. So...he came home every two or three weeks...
I really tried to do it all while he was gone - school, work, house, sports...Bottom line - it was killing us all...I wanted help, he wanted to be here, and the boys just wanted their Dad!
So he came home...he took a job with a significant pay drop - an hour commute each way. In hindsight, not the greatest move financially but he made a knee jerk reaction. At the time - Cameron was playing on his final All-Star team for Little League. He just wanted to see his son play...

So today being Saturday, we watched our boys play...
And I watched him...I watched as he saw Jackson win his game 41 to 12. I watched as he saw Caeden score a touchdown (bobbling the hand-off the entire time but still making it in...) I watched as he saw Cameron practice with his new Pony baseball team - batting with one hand (still in a cast...) and hitting into the outfield.
I watched him watch his boys...and realized that he really is the best Dad in the world!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Love and Aspergers

Jackson had his heart broken today.
He is now in middle school (5th grade in our town). He loves to brag that he is considered a pre-teen, even though he just turned 11.
All his friends are "going with" girls (or so he tells me). It appears to be THE thing to do in 5th grade - ask a girl to go with you, exchange little notes and presents, and nothing more (Thank GOD!)
His other bestest friend (besides Donnie), is a blond football stud named Christian. He has been groomed for a career in football his whole life; the plan is for he and his brother to attend one of the most prestigious football high schools in the state, and be awarded a full scholarship to ANY college they choose. It is predestined...
Christian, as a football stud, can "go with" any girl he wants. He has chosen a girl named Jordan who completely dotes on him - including baking brownies for he and his friends to share at school during lunch.
Jackson wants and expects the same attention, (he is a defensive beast, after all..)and has chosen our neighbor, Betsy, as his object of affection. Therein lies the problem...
Betsy is THE girl in middle school. She is IT! He is one of many boys in line..
Today he asked her to go with him and today she said NO!
He came home and asked me if he had to go to his youth group tonight, explaining that he had been "rejected" today and wasn't up to socializing.
We let him stay home and deal with his rejection...
As I was telling his stud brother about this situation, who, as part of the middle school team, has 8th grade girls surrounding him at high school games on Friday nights; I realized that this too will pass...
Our defensive beast, our boy who has been diagnosed on the autism spectrum, will wear one of these jerseys in two years...and Betsy will notice...

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

4:30 to 6:00 (or later...)

It seems everyday, beginning around 4:30pm, life as we know it becomes the Ringling Brothers Circus. That is generally the time I begin running children to three different locations; practices, games, lessons etc., finishing up sometime after 6pm. The sometime after 6 is the variance in this scenario...
Last night, we thought we had everything under control. Cameron started his practice right after school (no worries about him until pick-up at 6), Jackson began at 4:30 at one school, Caeden began at 5:00 at another. John and I perfectly coordinated who would pick up each child, while still allowing me time to get to the grocery store and buy some sort of dessert for our new bible study class that began at 7pm.
I knew I was in trouble when no one was at the field for Caeden at 5pm.
As I sat in my kidmobile, waiting, my cell phone rang...it was a guy from church who works for some sort of lobbying group that I had agreed to join and he needed a check from me within the half hour so he could make his quota for the month. I needed to find a window of time to meet him...
Quick change of plans - John would pick up Jackson at 6, Caeden at 6:30, I will get Cameron at the middle school. In between, I will run home and write my lobbying check...why do I need lobbying again?! I'm Canadian!
When I get to the middle school, Cameron and his team are still on the field. At 6:10 John calls to say Jackson is ALSO still on the field. Time to call the bible study leader...
"Don't worry - show up late...", but I'm scheduled for dessert!...The panic rises in my throat...It's our first night with this new group!
When I get home with Cameron I need to put some sort of dinner together for the boys. John and I?...Guess we'll be starting our first Tuesday of the month prayer and fasting 12 hours early...
John gets home with the other two - runs up the stairs to change - some sort of fish and chicken nugget pasta thing gets put on the table for the boys - and we run out the door (I think it's 6:50 at this point)
Next stop - Giant Eagle for the dessert thing...as we look for something that tastes homemade, John wonders if I know where the Hawkins live? Down the street by the Lutheran church and it's the only house with a white picket fence...
Three streets and two picket fences later (7:20pm) - we land at our destination - completely calm and ready for an enlightening and wonderous evening of bible study!
Not sure about John, but I am completely glazed over by this point - I think I heard a story about Phillip and Spartans and Jews (no, wait a minute...the Spartans are Cameron's football team!)
Oh well - I got it half right. I think God gives bonus points...

Monday, October 1, 2007

The Weekend Without Mum

I left the boys (including John) alone all weekend, knowing they would survive, but also anticipating what the house would look like on my return late Sunday evening!
I wish I could say I went away on a spa weekend...but alas, this weekend was not about me (when is it EVER about me!)
I am a relatively new member of our local Rotary organization. Unlike many other service clubs around the country, ours is very active and thriving in the community. By far the biggest event of the year is the Oktoberfest arts and crafts festival that our club has hosted for 30 years! Held in our main community park, it raises close to $100,000 and has tens of thousands of visitors. This picture I took can attest to the size of the crowd!

As a new member, I decided I should participate in every aspect of the weekend, as a way of understanding the scope of the event, and as a way to get to know my fellow Rotarians better. That meant most of the day Friday, Saturday, beginning at 8am and finishing around 6, and Sunday, starting at 5AM and getting home at 8PM!
So - I was stinking tired and grumpy on my return Sunday night...
After barking something to them about whether they had cut the grass (they hadn't), whether Caeden had done his reading (he had), whether they had showers (yes to all); I scarfed down my only real food all day (a bowl of soup), grabbed a glass of wine, sat on the couch...and fell asleep (full glass still in my hand and believe me, I NEVER leave a glass of wine unfinished!).
This morning when I was back to the land of the living I discovered what my boys had actually done all day...played football with their Dad in the backyard.
The house WAS a mess and the grass HADN'T been cut - and they didn't miss me one bit!
So what should I do next weekend?! Play football in the uncut backyard with my boys...