Seriously..

Oh my goodness, I am seriously exhausted. We had union negotiations Monday and Tuesday and all I am (able and going to) say is I am still exhausted.
Matthew, the SAINT, took over (with a little help from family and friends). He made sure baseball pictures for T were made, baseball pics for J were picked up and paid for, games went to, etc.
J ended up having 3 games on Tuesday night. By the time I arrived from the meeting it was a little after nine and J had began his 3rd straight game.. on a school night!! Luckily, the power went off, so my Mom and I got a little reprieve. Matthew was already home with T, and I was glad when we got there and had lights!
This week I have felt like a zombie.
Next week we go M-Fr straight in negotiations and Matthew will have the brunt of all of the responsibilities around here. Heck, I was gone for two days and I am just now caught up on laundry, and almost there on dishes.. but he made sure the kids were perfectly cared for, loved on, fed, and bussed around, so I am still rallying for his canonization.. haha.

Busy Bees

J had baseball games Friday night, Saturday and two games today! Whew!
He finishes the tournament tomorrow, and I will miss him getting his very first trophy!
Poor Matthew gets both kids and countless baseball practices and games for pretty much the next two weeks because of union negations. I am not certain when I will get home, but he is being the saint that I know he is.
J did so well in his games! The team tonight was winning so much they put J (normally catcher and outfield) onto third. He stopped two balls and got an out on third! We are so proud, and he is doing really well!
T has had a lot of frustration over getting dragged to the ballfields and having to sit, but she has her 'my little ponies' and coloring books packed so she can distract herself.
I am a very proud Momma.

Taking our chances

This week has started off really well. T fell asleep in between us at church and we blanketed her over with her jacket and she nestled up to Matthew, and he sat there and gently stroked her hair back. She, of course, is always the best at finding the person best suited for giving out attention - to her - in any given situation. It was really endearing though.
I promised the kids a cake, and when (at their bedtime) I realized I had no eggs, I improvised. I found a Betty Crocker Blueberry muffin mix, and a Betty Crocker Strawberry muffin mix. I mixed them both up with the needed milk portions and baked one very scrumptious 'muffin cake' in the cake pan. The kids thought they were really doing something special getting to eat 'cake' for breakfast the next morning! God Bless Betty Crocker and easy-mixes!
Monday we had the caseworker visit and recap the previous week's court proceedings. I really hope we are on track for wrapping this up soon!
J had his baseball photos made that evening, and boy was he so cute in his little uniform. Thank goodness for modern technology, because I was able to go ahead and see the pics on his computer screen, instead of waiting on proofs to come in.
Today I stayed home from work and ran around shopping with my Sister. We are falling into an every-other-Tuesday routine, it seems. :-)
The kids had their Dr. appointment, and then a quick dinner out and then off to baseball practices.
T did really well, although she still has a tendency to find more enjoyment in the grass, but she is improving. She finally got her ball cap and shirt tonight and was thrilled to have her own, since she had been really jealous when J was given his.
Then J had his own practice, and my-oh-my he has definitely improved! His confidence, attention, effort, and his abilities are all growing. I am really thankful for that, because I was really worried he would find something to be discouraged about.. but it is still early. Right now he just needs to get to know his teammates, I think that is a big thing in getting over the 'jitters'.

One more week..

For the third time I had the honor of giving back my lay-off letter. Yippee! Although working half days is really turning me into a zombie, and quite counterintuitive because now I have all of the free time to scavenge clearance racks at stores I wouldn't normally have time to visit. Ugh. So is life, blessed, cursed, yet forced to deal with it.
The kiddos are a handful of energy, they had last week when the weather was excellent and they were able to play outside anytime. Now this week is cold, dreary, and a reminder that it isn't exactly springtime yet. Just a few more days until it is Spring on paper, though!
They both have games scheduled in a tournament tomorrow, but I am pretty much aware (and have been letting them understand) that it will surely be rained out, bummer! They are really getting into the 'part of a team' mentality now. I went in at noon today so they had some play time before daycare and they were playing around and J says, "I am with the Cardinals" and T says "Oh yeah? I am on the Royals!" Haha. They crack me up. They are still excited about it, so I hope their enthusiasm doesn't fizzle out.
I went to McKays and picked them up some DVDs to watch since the rain will keep us inside this weekend. They were so appreciative. :-)

heehee

It is supposed to begin raining today. Which means baseball practices and games tonight and this weekend will most likely be cancelled, such a disappointment!
I was able to spend time with my friend Kim yesterday and that was great. Matthew met us for dinner and the kids were visiting their sister's family.
I came home and caught up on chores, and read a few books with the kids.
School is out today so I am ready to leave work early and go home with them and finish up the stack of library books.
Nothing new and exciting going on here, just a lot of prayers as today is another court date on their behalf.

The weekend

We had a great weekend of sunny days and lots of energy.
Saturday my mom kept the kids while Matthew and I attended the day's events at St. Jude. We really enjoyed Scott and Kimberly Hahn! We each got a book we were interested in and I had mine signed, woohoo! It was so great to get to listen to them both, because they are phenomenal. Matthew was very impressed too, and had already started a bible study on his own yesterday.

J had his first 'practice game' and he was the catcher. We missed it, but my Mom got to take him and I know she shouted and cheered louder than we would have.. haha.
Sunday T had her first T-Ball practice! She was more focused than I had imagined she would be, and seemed to like it. Before bed she had to play pretend and I had to pretend to throw a ball to her and she had to pretend to snatch it up in her pretend glove from the ground and throw it to another pretend player. She has the 'stance' down pat. So cute!

... but it is our life

Work is going well. Everyone seems to be working together and I have yet another week to relax and get a paycheck.
I am working half days next week, so it will be interesting. I have enjoyed this week having so much time to get things done.
The kids are fabulous. We have been so proud of them, and good things are happening! Wednesday my sister and nephew came down for a "play in the yard" visit. It was great, except for the baseball in my nephew's face, and then a rushed trip to repair eyeglasses. Ahh.. our life.
Matthew and I are going to St. Jude's church tomorrow to see Scott and Kimberly Hahn! I am super-excited, and will be taking some serious notes during their lectures!
Mom is watching the kids, and taking J to baseball practice. I am really glad they are getting some time to get to know each other. Living in Georgia is excellent, and growing our own family here is what God intended, but we do miss the daily contact and quality time we were used to having when we lived so close to everyone.

Finally.. to some current events...
Remember the lady who had her face ripped off by the chimp? Maybe that's what happened to Michael Jackson.. remember.. he had a chimp, too! Yeah, I know.. I'm being rude. I wouldn't go and see him if he was doing a free show in the parking lot. He will never be as good as my "Bad" cassette way back when.
I am over the whole Chris Brown thing, he needs to go to jail.
Poor Obama, the stocks have tanked, highest unemployment in 25 yrs, and he wants to spend, spend, spend.. money that doesn't exist. Well, I want to spend money that doesn't exist, too.. how would I go about doing that?!
Ugh..

Whatta Tuesday

My first full day off in our reduced schedule.. I am liberated! I slept in, woke T up later than we had imagined she would sleep, and got going!
I was able to finish a lot of housework, while Matthew headed off to take J to the bus and take himself to work. T had breakfast and watched a little TV while I was buzzing around and getting myself ready. She made it to "her school" at a respectable time, and I headed off towards Hixson. I met Stefanie and browsed the mall, ate a pretty awesome lunch, and then looked around ToysRUs.
Then it was off to check J out of school early, pick up T from pre-K and then off to their Dr. appointment.
I came home to leftover chicken pasta salad dinner (simply THE BEST) thanks to Matthew, the kids had a new fave: mini-corn dogs (I tried one, not too bad!). I ran out and grocery-shopped while the kids (Matthew included) watched some TV.
All in all it was a pretty productive day.
The kids were a little rambunctious after their appointment, but by the end of the night it was all reading and hugs and kisses.. just they way it ought to be!

Sunday!

Well, everything worked out OK at work.. for the time being. I was able to hand back my lay off notification, and we will be going a week at a time. One good thing is with reduced hours I should have plenty of time to blog.. since I seem to be vague recently. I will have conversations with the kids, and I will think.. I should write this down, and then it flows right out of my mind.
Today was cold! We got all prettied-up and made it to church, and then straight home and into a chicken-noodle soup lunch, it seemed appropriate.