I Confess

I have been a band mom, a Scout mom, a swim mom, a "stage" mom, and a soccer mom.  Most recently I have added wrestling mom to that list.

And I have to admit that I am nervous about it.  Wrestling seems to be such a aggressive sport and I am surprised that Tristan is so drawn to it.

He has already sported a busted lip, a scraped chin, and a sore sternum, not to mention the incredibly sore muscles that he has dealt with the past few days as he began practicing.  The sore muscles were expected since he was working out in a way that is new to him, but it is the other injuries and the possibility of more serious ones that make me nervous.  And I don't want him to hurt his shoulder or back and have it affect his ability to swim next season.

But Tristan is loving it and I am glad that he is.  I do believe that the muscles and endurance he is building will help him become stronger, which will help his performance in the pool.  I told him though that I might not be seen in the stands very often at matches, but that I would send his father to cheer for both of us.  He said that was okay.  I'm glad he is so understanding.

He was telling us that the coaches want him to lose two pounds because they think he will be more competitive in the lower weight class.  I know that this is probably true, but I am not sure how possible that is, especially with him putting on more muscle.  I also do not know how I feel about him purposefully trying to lose weight.

We will see how it all pans out, but for now, it seems to be good and Tristan is enjoying himself.  Ethan and I watched a bit of practice the other night.  We did not see Tristan wrestle, but we watched some of the bigger guys.  Ethan looked at me with wide eyes and said, "I do not want to wrestle!"

At least that's one I will not have to worry about!  Holden now, that's another story!  I'm sure he will be very much drawn to the sport.

Braggin' On My Baby

In filling out Savannah's form for Student of the Year, I discovered that she has scored three perfect scores on her iLEAP testing over the past three years.  

In 7th grade she scored a perfect 500 on the Reading and Math sections of the test.  She said that her teacher had told her she had scored a perfect score in Math, but I was unaware of the score in Reading, and probably so is she.  Her ELA teacher is not the biggest Savannah fan so it does not surprise me that she neglected to provide that information to us.  She probably was more annoyed than anything that Savannah was "perfect" and hated to have to admit it out loud.

Savannah also scored a 500 on the reading portion of the iLEAP test in 5th grade. 

Oh, The Irony

This morning when I went into Tristan's room at 5:04 to wake him for seminary, the lyrics to the song on the radio playing softly on his bed side table were "don't wake me up, up, up, up, up, up!"

I Saw The Sign

On a church marquis in Lake Charles:

Choose the bread of life or you'll be toast.  


On a t-shirt in the mall:

Guns don't kill people.  Dads with beautiful daughters do.

Where's The Beef?

Yesterday, Holden had the hiccups.  He was holding his throat and when I asked him if he was okay, he answered, "I have a frog in my beef!"

Easy Does It

We finally left the Toyota dealership at 9:00 pm.  Knowing we had a long drive home after an incredibly long day of car shopping and haggling, I needed something to help me pass those miles and stay awake.  I had gotten some sunflower seeds before the trip over and had drank all my soda so we stopped at Carl's Jr for a very large Dr. Pepper.  

I was telling Holden and Ethan how much I appreciated their cooperation during the day.  I said, "I know how boring and frustrating car shopping and test driving can be.  Dad and I are both so happy and thankful that you two were so patient and helpful.  It was a very hard day but you were perfect."  

To which Ethan said, "Yeah, we made it look easy!"
  

Cajun Happy Thanksgiving

Forever is a Long Time

We were gone to Houston all day today looking for a new car.  Poor Jackson is sick, has been throwing up for two days.  We left him at home for Savannah and Tristan to care for while Allen and I took Ethan and Holden with us.  

Jackson was wrapped up on the couch with a bowl by his head.  He was keeping nothing down and it was taking its toll on the little guy!  Savannah wrote about this exchange on Facebook.  

a conversation between me and my four year old brother jackson, who has been sick for the past couple of days:

Jackson: savannah?

Me: yeah?

Jackson: i think i'll be sick FOREVER!! (starts crying)

Me: oh, sweetie, its ok, you'll feel better.

Jackson (in between sobs): no i won't! i'm never ever gonna feel better.

I Saw The Sign

At Atomic Towing:

Prices are subject to change depending on the attitude of the customer. 

______________________________________________________________


At Enterprise Car Rental, on a sign with several big trucks and moving vans:

Do we rent trucks?  Haul, yeah!  

State Swim Meet

Friday and Saturday were spent at SPAR with Tristan at the State Swim Meet.

He was listed as an alternate for the 200 Medley Relay and the 200 Free Relay, 

but the only time he got wet was during the warm-ups.

He was told he would swim in place of a boy who was not coming to practices, but that never happened.

He also was told that the coaches wanted him to challenge for a spot in the 200 Free Relay because he was faster than the kid they chose in his spot.  They never set the challenge up.  I think they knew Tristan would beat him and did not want to have a confrontation with that kid or his parents.  

They would have pitched a royal fit.

Tristan had swam this relay all year, both relays in fact, but when it came time to choose the relays for state, they purposefully over looked him.  I know it was because they knew I would not push the issue.  It was really upsetting to me to see Tristan go through all of this, being promised one thing at one moment, told something else another moment.  They really drug him along and it kind of ticked me off.  Not even kind of.

It really ticked me off.  But I stayed quiet about it and Tristan sat the bench.  There were so many disappointing and angering things that went on this season.  I am glad it is finished.  

With the team, getting ready for the cheer.

In the warm up pool with Gabby and Zac, both alternates too.

Tristan is such a great swimmer.  I can't wait to see what he does next year!

Holden's Birthday

We finally got around to celebrating Holden's birthday.

We were only a week or so late, but he was very sweet in allowing us to pretend as though every day the entire week was his actual birthday.

We went to dinner at the Chinese Buffet and came home to cake, ice cream, and presents.

This is us singing Happy Birthday to our favorite three year-old.  http://youtu.be/x21Lgz7WYYQ

A few things about Holden:

* He loves Caillou, Daniel Tiger, and Thomas the Train.

* He regularly sneaks string cheese from the fridge.

* He likes to throw all the pillows and blankets off my bed and pretend it's a trampoline.

* His favorite color is yellow.

* He loves elephants.

* When he is nervous or sad, he hides under the nearest table.

* He thinks there are monsters in his room.

* Every day before we leave the house, he has to tell Sassy where we are going, and when we get back, he has to tell her we are home. 

* He likes to drive his little red car around.

Turkey Bowling

Last night was the Jennings Branch's yearly Turkey Bowl.  Allen and I took Savannah and Ethan and left Tristan at home with the little ones, who were sleeping when it was time to leave.

I got no pictures of my own kids, except this cute one of Savannah, but I did get some of Austin, 

the Branch President's son, in action.

Shannon was the official pin picker-upper.

Apparently they usually use turkeys, but this year settled for Cornish Game Hens.

They seemed much easier for the little kids to bowl with than a huge turkey would have been.

Here is video of Ethan bowling.  Somehow no pictures, just the video.  http://youtu.be/hBGDRxgg0DY

I love how the second hen was not needed at all, but it came flying down the lane anyhow!

What a fun tradition.  The kids sure loved the bowling.  Ethan stayed at it until they kicked us out!

Cajun Thanksgiving

Last month, Ethan's teacher sent home a note telling that the third grade is going to celebrate Thanksgiving Cajun style.  We were asked to sign up for three things we would be willing to make and they would pick one thing they needed and ask for that to be sent on the Friday before Thanksgiving holiday.

The list above does not seem specific to Thanksgiving.  The left column reads like a weekly menu for any household in town.  I told Ethan that I would love to send the Alligator or Rabbit, but he insisted I send Red Beans and Rice instead.  We were chosen to make Blackberry Cobbler for thirty kids, so yesterday I made three of them.  They turned out yummy.  Ethan said everyone loved it and ate all of it.

I asked him if anyone brought alligator or rabbit stew.  He said no.  Ethan said he ate Jambalaya, Gumbo and Rice, Boudin, Cornbread, Blackberry and Peach Cobbler, and Banana Pudding.  Yum.  I am not planning on making any Cajun food for our Thanksgiving celebration, except maybe the desserts.  They sound super yummy and I do have a few blackberries left over! 

End of Soccer Season

And soccer season is officially over.

It ended for Ethan on Tuesday night with their last game against the Steelers.

Ethan did not score, but his team won.  Ethan said he never scored when their team wore purple, 

only when they wore yellow, so it must have been his lucky jersey.

I have some video from his game that he wants me to post after I load them to YouTube.

Jackson's season ended on Thursday night after their game against the Broncos.

They lost in spectacular fashion!  Watching four year-olds play soccer is oddly amusing and I love it!

They held the closing ceremonies right after Jackson's game.  The boys's bookshelf is now the new home 

to two bright and shiny, amazingly awesome soccer trophies!

These are my favorite pictures from the season.

Friday Night Lights

Friday night was the last football game of the season.

Yesterday was their last marching competition.  Two in fact.

Tristan has had a great time!  Here are some pictures from the season,

mostly not taken by me, but copied from the boosters page on Facebook.

During a Monday night practice.  Second from the left.

With Gavin and Gabriel, working at a McNeese game. 

Tristan raised enough money by hawking pizzas to pay for his spring band trip.

 In the stands at a game.

 Behind and to the left of the guard.

 On the right side, between the girls.

Flirting with the girls while on the road. Hannah and Courtney. 

 

 Playing their Alma Mater with the football team after the game.

 Performing at the Dutchtown Marching Festival on October 20th.

The band and the color guard earned Superiors and the drum line earned a II. 

They also earned Best in Class Drum Major, Best in Class Auxiliary, 

and Best Over All Auxiliary. 

At the Sulphur Marching Festival on November 3rd.
Ethan and I were able to go see them and all the other bands perform.
It was a long day, but we had a great time!

Tristan is in the above picture, front row, third from the right, helping the kid fix his pants.

Marching into the stadium, third from the front.

In his first set, ready to go.  Tristan is in the middle.

At the Sulphur competition yesterday, they earned Sweepstakes, which is straight Superiors.

They also earned Best in Class Drum Major, Best in Class Auxiliary, and Best Over All Auxiliary.  They also earned an award for being the highest scoring band in District V, 

which is the band district that our parish is in. 

Right after the awards at the Sulphur competition, they left to compete in the McNeese Showdown at Sundown marching competition. They earned Sweepstakes, Best in Class Drum Major, 

Best in Class Auxiliary, and Best Over Auxiliary.

They've had a great fun season.  Their show was called "Songs of the Southland,"
and it included Tara's Theme from Gone with the Wind, Old Man River,
Tennessee Waltz, and St. Louis Blues.

If you'd like to see their show, it's posted on YouTube at the link below.
http://youtu.be/u5sz7B6sqNQ.
(The man you can hear speaking throughout
the performance is their band director, Mr. Gould.)

Family Archives

Found Holden asleep on the couch

with the toilet paper he was supposed to put away.

~ From August 2012 ~

All Hallow's Eve

For Halloween this year, the boys all wanted to be the same exact thing as last year.  Ethan insisted on being Harry Potter again and it worked out good because they get to dress up for school, as long as it is as a character from a book.  If he does not mind being the same guy every year, I do not either.  

Jackson and Holden though, did not fit into their costumes from last year, so we needed a new idea, but I was fresh out of them and running out of time.  On the Sunday before Halloween, we were watching PBS Kids and a new show that they love to watch is Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, when I had the great idea to make them Daniel Tiger and Prince Wednesday.  I had most everything I needed for the costumes and they loved the idea, so it was perfect!

In case you've never heard of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, it's a spin off of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. Daniel Tiger is the main character and wears a red sweater, just like Mr. Rodgers used too, and Prince Wednesday is King Friday's younger son and brother to Prince Tuesday.

Monday was a Teacher In-service, so the kids were off school.  Tristan helped me run errands and get the last minute touches for their costumes, like the tiger ears and the glasses and crown.  That night, they had been invited to a party so the kids dressed up and Allen took them.

They had lots of fun playing games and winning prizes.  

The party is thrown by some of our friends who are in Girl Scouts.  Their troop always throws the party and some kids in Student Council and BETA always help for service hours.  Savannah had been asked to help with some of the games, and she happily agreed even though she did not need any service hours.  The only picture I got of her in her costume is the one below of her helping with the balloon pop.  She was dressed in a cute poodle skirt that we borrowed from a friend.  

On Tuesday, Holden and Jackson had their Trunk-or-Treat at Mother's Day Out.  They loved getting treats and seeing all their friends dressed up.  Afterwards, we went inside for snacks before going home.

This little girl was so funny dressed up as Marie Antoinette.  

I loved her costume, especially her hair.

On Wednesday, we went to the DeFelice's house for pizza and apple dunking before heading out to Trick-or-Treat.  We usually go to their neighborhood and when they found out we were coming, they invited us to hang out with them.  We had fun and got lots of candy!  Too much in fact.  I'm sure our dentist will thank us!