Field of Dreams...

I love baseball....there is just no other way to put it...I love it! Any baseball...all baseball... I grew up around the game. My dad played baseball & later softball in leagues throughout my childhood...Spring & summer nights meant sitting at a ballpark watching the guys play, listening to the Phillies on my Grandpop's radio...Already in his 70's then, my Pop never missed my dad's games. In Pop's eyes, my dad was the best catcher in the game, best hitter (mostly grand slams...so he really was), just the best... Pop yelled at the umps, yelled at the radio and always gave me a running commentary about the "Game". There was no talk but Phillies talk in my grandparent's house from the time pitcher & catchers reported to Spring training until October...and even then, in the "off-season", he was getting ready for Spring Training. Pure love of the game kind of stuff. When I think of my Pop now I see him in a Phillies T-shirt, Phillies hat on the bleachers watching my dad at Finnegan Park in the city cheering & yelling & loving the game...When my Pop finally passed away in his 90th year...my heart ached for him...it still does...but every spring he's closer. My son is a baseball player...at 11 he doesn't just play the game...he has it inside him. The rules, the stats, the pure love and understanding of the game..
My Pop had it, my Dad still has it...I can't remember a stat (unless it's my son's)...but my heart is true and this time of year it's filled with baseball... We spend this time of year on the ball fields. We just went to a Phillies game a few weeks ago... I love it there...but my favorite place to be is on a little ballpark in the middle of our town, watching my son from the bleachers... In my eyes, he's the best catcher, the best hitter, just the best...

But can we still make coffee???

Our hot water heater died yesterday. It was (apparently) a quick death...and it happened while I was in the shower...so I'd like to say that I was "there" when it happened. Of course I was trying to rush a shower in with the 50 million other things that I had to do before my Little Guy's baseball game last night...although the ice cold water really did help to hurry me along;) So now I've been thinking (whilst waiting for the new hot water heater & install person to arrive) that I really take things like hot water for granted... In my panicked, cold shower induced frenzy of shrieking at my husband, the kids, the dog & the local home improvement store customer service rep, I realized just how dependent I am on all of my gadgets, big & small, "working" properly. I expect the coffee (timer) to be ready when I wake up (alarm clock) in the morning, need the stove (electric) to cook the oatmeal, heat or air-conditioner (gas) making the room "room temperature"....you see where I'm going with this? Think about all the thing that you do during the day and how many times you just push a button, hit a switch, turn a key...and something starts... And my computer is probably the most important of all...I rely on my computer for the never ending email that keeps me connected to everyone, everywhere... The baseball coach, soccer coach, dancing school teacher all contact me via email... My friends, family, insurance company and doctor's office, the vet, the school and even my church!! Not to mention...I can find out which Dancing with the Stars star went home last night with a click of the mouse... Ok...so I guess I really should have some perspective here. Yes, we have no hot water... so...until the repairman comes...no shower, no cleaning, no running the dishwasher... but hey, I've got hot coffee and email... I'll be fine...

20 things to do before I turn (wow) 40...

Wow, I'm going to be 40.......in four year. I'm actually almost speechless...& I'm a writer.... I finished a really sweet book today called "The Next Thing on My List" by Jill Smolinski. In a nutshell it's the story of a thirty-something woman who decides to complete a "20 things to do before my next birthday" type list that she finds after the sudden death of an acquaintance... The heroine decides to complete the dead woman's list...and ends up changing her entire life in the process... It's the kind of story that makes you want to compile a list, literally, and then go about completing it... So, in the spirit of the story I looked ahead to my next milestone birthday, so as to pen a 20 things to do before my....and that's when it hit me...my next milestone birthday is going to be my 40th. Wow (again). How did I get here? I still remember my (achingly) Sweet 16, 21 was a blur...but momentous none the less... 25... I'd just had my first child & I forgot about my birthday all together until 26 rolled around. 30 I ignored, pointedly. It seems that I turned 35 last may...although again it was riddled with denial...But 40...that's a big one. Wow. It's not so much the age that's getting me here...my husband is 42...my mother is still gorgeous at almost 60... A lot of my good friends are 40 and fabulous... It's just, wow. What have I been doing with all my time? When will I finish the novel that his been dancing around in my head all these years? Am I to old to jump on the trampoline with the kids (NO)...I'm just old enough to be sore the next day...I still feel so young...ok, not early twenties...party like a rock star young...but young enough... I went to a bar with my youngest sister a month ago... and I am pleased to report that although I was probably the oldest person there with the exception of the management (yeah...one of those young, trendy, who can dance in heels this high bars), I did manage to attract a bit of attention...ok it was really dark & everyone was pretty much drunk by the time I got there because I had to wait for my husband to get home from work before I could leave...but I got hit on a few times...which doesn't happen much in my soccer mom world... And it's funny because I couldn't really enjoy it because I was so worried about how all these "young kids" were getting home...and who they were going home with... I had to stop myself from
frowing & asking for ID a few times... Sometimes I'm such an old lady & such a momma that I just can't help myself. Yes, I like to "mommy" everyone & make sure they get home ok & hanging out with my kids is still my favorite way to spend the day...I'd just like to look about 25 while doing it & maybe be mistaken for the (hot) nanny occasionally... (Maybe I'll put that one on my list)...............

You gotta love April Fools Day...

My darling kids love April Fools Day. It's right up there with Halloween & Christmas for sheer entertainment value. They've been practicing their "gags" for the last few days. "Mom, there's a spider on your shoulder, April Fools!" seems to be a big one. I don't feign surprise well. I try...the first twenty or thirty times they "fool" me on Tuesday (before I have my coffee no doubt), I'll shriek & startle, scream & jump...by dinner-time, I'll have had enough, but if last year is any indication they won't give up the "foolin" until bedtime... It's funny how happy it makes them to think they're getting one over on me. I have children that believe that their darlin' momma really does know everything. My daughter (sweet at 7) talks pretty much non-stop from the moment she wakes up until the moment she lays her pretty head down to go to sleep at night. The only time she's not talking is when she's reading (and half the time she's reading out loud to me) and when she's eating (and let's not even talk about how often she's talking while eating...). Half of what she's saying is in the form of a question and she remembers everything... I have to really watch how I answer her because there is no room for lazy, half-thought-out answers when you have a talker... She immediately files everything I say to her away for future use... It's the sweet, innocent way that they truly believe in me to tell them the truth, to be smarter, wiser, stronger & all knowing...that can really make me appreciate how they look at me... So for one day a year I play the "April fool" for them...shrieking at invisible spiders & worrying over stains on my shirt that aren't there & all of the other silly things that they'll say and do on Tuesday to feel smarter than their momma... And I'll hold on to these last few years when they really do believe everything I say...I hear it doesn't last... By the way, there's a fly in your coffee..April Fools!!!

Happy New Year - What day is it?

Wow, I can't believe it's a new year already (again). It seems like the older I get, the quicker the new year comes. December was a blur of shopping, wrapping, baking, cooking and sleep deprivation... Now that the new year is in full swing I feel like I should be prepared and organized (I love organized) and ready to face the first month of this grand new year...Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to "do" my calendar for January yet. I am a person who lives by her calendar. My particular calendar is huge and hangs on the side of my refrigerator, giving me a life-sized version of the month-at-a-glance. I put everything on there...the darlings' schedules, my schedule, the hot lunch at school schedule, all bills to be paid for the month, all sports practices and games and dance class and even the one day each month that posh puppy gets her heart worm pill...all color coded and highlighted. My calendar is my lifeline (you thought I was going to say obsession) and I dutifully sit down on the last day of each month and prepare the next month's calendar. It's an ordeal and takes over an hour and usually at least one glass of wine...Well the last day of December was New Year's Eve and after spending a very busy day...the Big Guy & I sat down to cocktails and watched the ball drop...needless to say...I did not get my calendar finished (started)...now here it is January 4th...and still no calendar...I don't know where to go or what to do...thankfully my Little Guy's basketball coach sent an email this morning or we would have missed the game tonight...the schedule is sitting on my desk on top of the calendar... I'm not sure when I became so dependent on my calendar, but I know that I spend more time standing on the side of the fridge trying to figure out how to fit it all in than ever before. Somewhere between the first day of preschool & elementary school my life became a schedule & my schedule became my life...so these last few days with no calendar have been a blessing. I have "nothing" to do..."nowhere" to go...it's nice, it's peaceful...it won't last. Tomorrow morning I plan to sit down with a pot of coffee, five highlighters, two different colored pens and the twenty or so papers, schedules, etc. that help make up my monthly calendar...but I will think fondly of these few days in January where I did next to nothing because I couldn't figure out where to go (or when or with whom)...

It's Christmastime...in November???

I was at the mall today buying a birthday gift for the Big Guy's mom and happened upon Santa's workshop...I know that Thanksgiving is just weeks away and that Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the Christmas season, blah, blah, blah... But seriously, the Halloween decorations are barely tucked away and we are still eating candy corn around here... I'm just asking for a little time to ease into the hustle & bustle. The day after Halloween Target had their Christmas aisles ready to go...Don't get me wrong...I love Christmas...I love the visiting, the family time, the tradition and the true beauty of the season...and if you want to throw a diamond bracelet in my Christmas stocking ("hint, hint Big Guy")...I'm ok with that, too. I just don't want to be tired of Christmas by December 1st. My favorite radio station has already begun to prepare me for their annual switchover to "All Christmas all the time". It seems to me that the switch to Christmas happens earlier & earlier every year...This year I'm taking my time... I plan to enjoy the beauty of autumn...the falling leaves, the crisp mornings & the cold nights...I'm already building fires in my hearth & wearing my wool sweaters... I'm ready to bake my pumpkin pies & give thanks... And I'm sure by the Sunday after Thanksgiving I'll be knee deep in shopping lists and wrapping paper and humming Jingle Bells in my sleep.

Hi ho, hi ho..it's off to school they go...

Contrary to the title of this blog, I am not a morning person. I have never been a morning person & it's looking like I never will be... When my kids were babies and I had to get up early (before 7am is early for me - before 6am is still nighttime) for feedings and diaper changes I would sleep-walk through those pre-dawn hours and then put my darlings (& myself) back to sleep for a few more hours. When they started school it was a whole new ballgame. My kids attend a K-8 Catholic School, so they are both heading to the same place in the mornings. They have to be at school by 7:40 which means that they have to leave home by 7:15 which means that my alarm clock starts trying to wake me up at 6:20am. I am one of those people who needs to hit the snooze button for twenty minutes or I just can't get myself out of bed. My husband (The Big Guy) is not one of those people. He hops out of bed on the weekends pre-5am for golf and moves right along. Since he works nights, he sleeps in most mornings and my "perpetual alarm" as he calls it, is one of those little things that I'm sure he will list on the divorce papers someday... anyway, as the Momma (some might say "control freak", I say Type "A "gal) I have taken on the total responsibility for getting the kids off to school in the mornings...with as nutritious a lunch as I can manage... So with coffee mug in hand and a fake smile on my face I begin the job of waking up the darlings. My darling son (Big boy) hates mornings like his Momma. It takes several return trips to his bedroom, threats (that he doesn't hear because he's still asleep) and finally, the stripping of his covers off his bed to get him moving. Once he's moving he's slow & quiet. He doesn't even speak to us until he's eaten his oatmeal & finished half of his cuppa Sunny D'. My darling daughter (Little girl) on the other hand is just like The Big Guy. She wakes up happy & smiling and ready to talk & talk & talk... It was after the darlings had left for school one rainy fall morning when I had an epiphany. I realized that contrary to all of the complaining, rushing & grumblings of the morning (mostly by me), I really love getting up early with the darlings. I love to watch the dark house come to life as lamps are lit, I love watching the sleepy, pj clad darlings greet a new day. As I reflected on my new found zen-like love for all things morning, I realized that being the darlings' "mom in the morning" wasn't as bad as I thought... I just wish it could start at around 9am....