There's No Crying in T-ball...

There is no crying in T-ball...that is unless you are a momma extremely proud of her little boy.

Saturday was Ryan's first game of the season. And to fully appreciate the day's events you must rewind to the beginning of last season. You see Ryan has Sensory Integration Dysfunction and we were not really sure how well he would do last year. His coordination left much to be desired, he was unable to run the bases without becoming extremely winded, and to top it off he has no peripheral vision in his right eye. But last year went well, he had trouble running, but he was having fun and was actually getting pretty good hitting the ball coach pitch.

This year it was no surprise that Ryan wanted to play T-ball again. And we were excited to find out that because of how their birthday's fell, Ryan and his cousin Braxton would be on the same team. The first practice went well on Thursday and we felt encouraged for Saturday's game. And Saturday, sitting in our folding chairs, Bobby and I watched our boy and were so proud of what we saw. Ryan was paying better attention to the coach's instructions, he was hitting the ball with some pretty good force, and he was running all of the bases with some speed... all without getting winded. Bobby held my hand and we talked about his improvements and I felt tears of pride start to well up... and all of this before we even get to the exciting part of the game.

Near the end of the second inning I decided to have a seat (I spent most of the first inning getting pictures of the boys and getting settled with the rest of our cheering section). I turned around to say something (very unimportant, I'm sure) to Maw Maw and Paw. And just that very second is when it happened. A batter from the other team hit a pop fly right towards Ryan. And by some miracle the ball fell right into his glove. Bobby leapt to his feet and started cheering so loudly that he actually strained his voice. Ryan stood there, slightly shocked at first and then beaming with pride himself.

Now I do not fool myself to think that this is some great sign of athletic prowess (Bobby may disagree). But to a skinny little boy who is always the slowest in a foot race and last to be picked on the playground, this type of moment means the world.

For his part in the game Ryan received the game ball. And be rest assured if he has not shown it to you already...he will. He is so proud of himself and so are Mom and Dad.

We love you man!!

And finally, there is a song that I have always loved. And despite the fact that Ryan was actually playing Short Stop and not Right Field, it reminds me so much of Ryan's great catch. So if you have an extra 3 minutes or so, listen to the words of this song...it always makes me smile. I also added a few pictures of Saturday's game to make it worth your while.

Memphis Tourists

Last weekend we had plans to go downtown and see Magic Tree House the musical. Ryan has been reading the MTH books for several months, so when we saw that the musical was coming to the Orpheum we knew we had to get tickets. We decided, since we were going downtown anyway, we might as well make a day out of it.

The fun day started with breakfast. I taught the kids how to make Monkey Bread. I have wonderful memories of making Monkey Bread with my mom and sisters when I was a little girl. The kids had just as much fun. Meg dipped the biscuit pieces in butter and then threw them in the bowl of cinnamon sugar, then Ryan covered them in sugar and put them in a greased bowl. They really had a little assembly line going. And complete Mommy bonus...they made breakfast for me:)

Our first stop downtown was Beale Street...and before you scold me for taking my kids to Beale, it was two o'clock in the afternoon and there were several police patrolling. The kids walked down the street wide-eyed. It was in this moment that I was a little worried about the fact that Ryan can and does read every word he sees. He was reading every sign on Beale as we walked and was full of questions.

We quickly steered the kids into A. Schwab's and showed them all of the cool things they have for sale and on display. The kids especially liked the second floor which had a sign stating " You MAY touch everything". Ryan operated an old cash register and Meg was amazed at how heavy irons used to be. They must have asked 1000 questions.

Next we headed over to the Peabody. The kids were really looking forward to seeing the ducks and had been asking to see them for months. When we got there the kids looked at the ducks, looked at Bobby and I, looked at the ducks, and back at us. Of course Meg was the first to speak up...

"Is this it?!?"

Then Ryan chimed in,"They are just swimming in a fountain."

We still are not exactly sure what they expected of the ducks (maybe a song and dance routine??), but unfortunately they were a great disappointment. Fortunately the player piano was a huge hit!! The kids had recently read about a player piano in a Magic Tree House book and they thought it was really cool to see one in person. We also took a trip up to the roof and saw the duck house and the view of downtown. Bobby thought it was ridiculous that I would not let the kids close to the edge, but the rails are WAY too low and my kids are WAY too unpredictable...plus their mommy is terrified of heights and was doing really good to even let them on the roof.

Next was a trolley ride which my kids found equally boring. "It's just old buildings and the river, what is so exciting about that???" They are a tough crowd, I tell ya'. And in the first picture you can see how cold it was. The wind was whipping so hard that it was hard to stay out in it for too long.

Then we walked around Peabody Place and then over to Kooky Canuck's for dinner. We arrived at the Orpheum just in time for the show. The kids LOVED it and sat mesmerized the whole time. They have grown to love and identify with the brother/sister team and it was really cool to see their friends Jack and Annie on stage before them.

Here are some scenes from the musical, just in case you want to see them.

http://www.mthmusical.com/showhighlights.html

We asked the kids about their favorite part of the day. The musical was tops, a close second was breakfast and third was seeing the pretty horse drawn carriages. It was too chilly and windy to ride but we promised that we would go back one day this summer for another tourist day.

Random March Pictures

I actually meant to post these pictures before I posted the Zoo pictures, but I'm sure you will forgive me for the slight discontinuity.

Mom was over at the house and bending over to talk to David on the floor. Jack decided to have a seat on her shoulders...crazy cat!


These pictures are from another trip to the Zoo a couple of weeks ago. We went with Bobby's cousin, his wife and Baby Mikey.

These are from St. Patrick's Day, when we were supposed to go to the Zoo (notice a theme here). We ended up in Audubon Park instead.

These are from Cole's bowling birthday party.

And of course we had to show our Tiger pride before the first game of the NCAA tournament. Goooooo Tigers!!!!

This is just one of the many reasons I love having a girl...bows and braids:)

Welcome Spring!

We celebrated the first day of Spring by going to the Zoo. We tried going on Tuesday, but our attempt was thwarted by record breaking crowds. Friday turned out beautiful so we met up with Aunt Tootsie and Baby David.

Here are some pictures of those three beautiful kiddos:)

And now for WAY too many pictures of the polar bears. But they are so cool!!! How can you not take pictures of your kids squealing with delight while they are coming nose to nose with a bear 10 times their size?!?

And finally, here is a picture of that happy boy and his momma.

Dressing up for Spring

I took the kids to the mall yesterday and, much to their dismay, started looking for spring clothes. I have completely fallen in love with these long cotton dresses for Meg. But I have not fallen in love with the price of said cotton dresses. They are sooo simple, they should be sooo cheap.....they are not.

So as any cheap, semi-crafty person would do, I stared at it, turned it inside-out, checked out the seams and decided to head to Hancocks. And there I saw the most beautiful sight in the world, pre-shirred fabric, right up front, ON SALE! If you don't know what pre-shirred fabric is don't feel bad, I only learned the name yesterday (thanks Kris). It is fabric that has been scrunched-up on one side, kind of like smocking....and yes that is the technical definition. So anyway Meg picked out a springy little plaid print and I picked out a long gorgeous red and black print (because every four-year-old little girl needs a floor length, dramatic red and black gown!!)

Of course I came home and washed my fabric immediately, pulled it straight out of the dryer and ironed it. Bobby would like to know how I am so proficient at ironing sewing projects but am baffled by ironing men's shirts...but I am perfectly comfortable with this dichotomy. I started "measuring" Meg (ie holding the fabric up to her and saying..."ehhh that looks good" ) and pinning the dresses. I was temporarily interrupted by having to feed my family, prepare for leprechaun visits and attend a class to become a substitute teacher. But in a total of about two hours, I had two adorable dresses at about 1/4 the price. And I'm telling ya', it is easy! Just a seam up the back of the dress and attach some ribbon straps. I have a feeling I will be making a few more of these.

Inspiration dress from The Children's Place.

Meg's two dresses :)

Poor Ryan, I don't make him clothes anymore. But he and his Daddy are OK with that. That and the fact that Mommy bought him khaki shorts with skulls and crossbones embroidered all over them and let him wear them for school pictures. Yep, Mom is pretty cool...this week.

They got us again!!!

Every year the kids set a leprechaun trap and every year the little fellas get the best of us. They make a mess of our house, turn everything green and sneak away before we can catch them.

This year was no exception......

They set the table with green plates and cups and much to Mommy's dismay they left a breakfast of Lucky Charms and donuts with green sprinkles. Don't those bad little dudes know I like for the kids to eat a nutritious breakfast?! Thankfully they also left some kiwi and pears.

A perennial favorite....the green toilet water.

Just before going to bed, the Mommy made the kids clean up the playroom and wouldn't you know the leprechauns got out all the green toys. Ryan was quite upset that he missed the lightsaber dual with his two green lightsabers and Meg noticed they had a tea party with all of her green dishes and food!

I have heard of crop circles before, but never Lego shamrocks!!

It's hard to tell, but even our milk was green!

The trap was sprung, but no leprechauns :( But they did leave a trail of gold coins in their hasty retreat.

Poor Rowdy always gets humiliated by the leprechauns. Last year he was covered in green hairbows and this year it was Ryan's frog towel.

And just to make sure our new addition didn't feel left out.....poor Biscuit got it too.

They even erased our Bible memory verse and left us a message in green chalk.


We'll get you next year!!!

The Power of a Good Book :)

Meg and I went to Barnes and Noble today. I was searching for a Travel book and Meg was perusing the children's section. Meg chose a book about Ballerinas and we headed to check out. Then, by the register, she spotted the book on shoe tying and she told me that she HAD to have it.

She has been wanting to learn how to tie her shoes for a while now, but I have been reluctant to teach her. You see Meg is a lefty and for the life of me I could not figure out how to teach her how to tie her shoes "backwards". Well the task was not too great for "Loose Laces". Ten minutes after opening the book and trying the "practice laces" this is what we had...

Oh yeah, she can double knot them too and was ticked that I didn't video that!