Someone Started Porch Night Without Me

I just stepped onto the porch to look over the railing at the progress that my rosebushes are making (it is raining and I didn't want to leave the cover of the porch. What? Sugar melts!).

The rose bushes are coming along, nicely, but that's not the point of this post.

You see, while I was out there, I was nearly decapitated by a very angry sparrow.

A very angry momma-to-be sparrow.

Now, that nest was not there last week.

And, I could be cruel and say that it will not be there next week, either, but, I'm too kind-hearted to destroy a nest that contains sweet little bird eggs, so; I guess we will await the birth (hatching?) and then watch as the babies fly the nest before cleaning up the mess.

In the meantime, I really hope that the bulb on the light strand directly underneath the nest merely warms the eggs and doesn't cook them.

That would make for a really long wait.

Was that insensitive?

I meant to say, that would be less than hospitable of us.

Mother's Day Weekend 2016: Bullet Point Style

• The boys split the final two regular season games, winning the first 17-10 and losing the second 3-7. The games took much longer than anticipated due to a hail delay, which, I believe, affected the boys' mojo (they had been ahead in the second game prior to the delay).

• The weather was completely wack during the game. In addition to the hail, we had periods of rain, wind, sunshine, and cloud cover. It was often chilly, with brief moments of warmth. I watched the games from the car for the most part, braving the elements just long enough to snap a few pictures and to deliver sandwiches when needed.

 

• The boys were pretty bummed by the loss, they even refused cupcakes. That's right; they turned down mini chocolate cakes smothered in buttercream frosting. So, I stuck them in the freezer (the cupcakes, not the boys); maybe they will have an opportunity to eat them next weekend, as there is still a chance that they will get a seed in the district tournament (we will know Wednesday).

• After the games, Hugh, the Man-Cub, and I went to see the new Avenger's movie. It was really good. Afterwards, we went to a late dinner at Denny's before returning home for bed. It was a long and eventful day.

• Sunday morning, I got up and sent messages to all my favorite mothers, including my own, who was in Oklahoma for the college graduation of my niece, the Rodeo Princess. Then, I went to the hardware store to catch up on my paperwork before heading back home, where I was met by QB, who had made the trip from Neighboring City to spend Mother's Day with me.

• QB, the Man-Cub, and I went shopping for clothes for a wedding that we will be attending in June, then we met Hugh, Oscar, and Emily at a nice restaurant for dinner. It was a nice way to spend the day.

• My Mother's Day gift from Hugh and the kids was a super-awesome stand-up paddle board, which I can hardly wait to try out. I've been wanting one for forever, so it was a nice non-surprise (I picked it out with Hugh a couple of weeks ago while we were in the sporting goods section of the Hellmouth, looking for something totally unrelated).

• The Man-Cub's gift to me was manual labor, in the form of clearing the weeds from my garden so that Hugh can roto-till it for planting next weekend (weather and baseball permitting, of course). He was surprised to find lettuce in the garden during his weeding, but, I had noticed it earlier in the week. I even pulled some for salads. This gives me higher hopes for this year's garden than last year's, for sure.

• My gift to myself this Mother's Day was a set of Alex and Ani birthstone bangles; sapphire for the Man-Cub, amethyst for QB, and a dragonfly charm to represent the circle of life. I love them.

• And, that's about it for our weekend. Today, I am getting a later start at Dayjob, thanks to the extra hours that I banked with last week's trip to Denver. The weather is completely foul again today, but, it is supposed to clear up and be gorgeous by midweek. Fingers crossed.

To All Things There is a Season

I just made a two-foot hoagie sandwich. I cut two batches of Gatorblox into squares and stored them in the cooler. I checked my supply of Cracker Jacks (one bag left, whew!), and I put the last bottles of Gatorade in the cooler next to the Jello that bears its' name. I think it's safe to say that I am fully prepared for the last regular season baseball game for the boys.

Of course, there is still a chance that they will go into post-season play, but, that's different.

I'm a little sad to see the seniors go, but, not nearly as sad as I'll be this time next year, so, I intend to live it up while I can.

Once baseball is over, I'm not sure what I'll do to fill my time; it's been ball, ball, ball since August and I'll miss the action, the chaos, and my sports-mom friends over the summer.

Guess it's time for a new hobby.

I'm Just Going to Throw More Pictures at You

Because I just spent five hours on the road, following two days of meetings and speaking on panels and other such businessy nonsense.

Yes, I know businessy isn't a word; now do you see why I have to throw pictures at you?

The pictures are of the senior sports banquet, from which my feet are still recovering. I was in charge of the decorations, which included my first ever attempt at constructing a balloon arch. It went well, I think.

I may have slightly over-estimated the number of balloons that I would need, however. Which, ended up working out in my favor because I was able to use them to camouflage the ugliness of the stage that is part of the old gymnasium.

Also, I just spent three whole minutes of my life arguing with SpellCheck about the correct spelling of the word camouflage.

SpellCheck was correct. Again, you see the need for the pictures.

Ahem.

So, the banquet was a huge success. The seniors and their parents were duly recognized, the Booster Club scholarships were awarded to deserving recipients, and I got to see the Man-Cub all dressed up like a waiter. Or, a Mormon missionary; the two uniforms are really quite similar.

It was a lot of hard work to pull the banquet together, and, I can only take the credit for, like, three things. The rest of the evening was the cumulative effort of all of my fellow Booster moms and a few diligent student volunteers (including the Man-Cub, as previously mentioned). It seemed only right that we allow the kids to have some fun, so, I gifted them with all of the surviving balloons, which, they immediately snuck into the Principal's office.

Kids-and sports banquets-are fun!

More Baseball Pictures

Because I just spent seven hours on my feet, setting up for, working at, and cleaning up after, the annual Booster Club Senior Sports Banquet and my feet are very, very angry with me, as is my back. And, my shins, hamstrings, arms, and head.

It was a very long day, is my point.

And, tomorrow, I get to wake up early to make the five hour drive to Denver for a work function. I think I've earned a pass on an actual post, don't you?

Be sure to tune in tomorrow, though, when I regale you with a play-by-play of the Sports Banquet, including my usual rant about parents who don't participate. Good times!

M is For Monday

And, for misery.

Coincidence? I think not. 

A Day in the Life: Baseball Edition

Yesterday was our second-to-last home double-header, so, it seems like an appropriate occasion on which to document just what our baseball season has looked like this year.

On weekends when we have away games, we are usually up before the sun, packing the car for the trip, eyeing the weather report to determine just how many extra blankets to pack (the weather this spring has not been exactly baseball-friendly), and conferring with the other parents about travel time and the best restaurants to eat in after the games.

On the rare weekends that we have gotten to stay at home, the days have been a lot more relaxed; we rise after the sun and move at a more leisurely pace. Some things, however, stay the same: there are still lunches to be packed, for instance.

And, I always make sure to have a large container of Gatorblox ready for the cooler, as well as packing Gatorades, water bottles, sunflower seeds (Dill pickle flavor, the Man-Cub's favorite), and squeezable applesauce pouches, because, they may all stand damn near six feet tall, but the boys still love their applesauce pouches.

Once we get to the ball field, we stake out the best location for viewing purposes. This spring, that has meant securing a parking space on the hill overlooking the field, where we can watch the action without suffering the elements. Granted, this puts us in a prime location to catch an errant pop fly, which means that our windshield is at constant risk of damage, but, we have gladly taken our chances.

 Happily, this week, the weather was basically mild; the wind blew relentlessly, but, it was sunny and almost warm. Almost.

In between games, we feed the boys the lunch that we have packed and then retreat back to the warmth of the car. Yesterday, however, I ventured onto the field and into the dugout to take some pictures of the boys. They had won the first game, quite handily (13-1), and were in a great mood, collectively, so; they were more than willing to ham it up for the camera.

Then, it's time for the boys to head back out onto the field for game two. This week, the Man-Cub was pressed into service as pitcher, thanks to the regular second-game pitcher being out of commission due to a suspension for plagiarizing a paper (Note to kids: Cite your sources! Paraphrase, don't blatantly copy! End of lecture).

The Cub doesn't really love pitching-the pressure to be more perfect than he perceives himself to be is crushing-but, even he had to admit that, yesterday, he threw one hell of a game. He pitched all but one of seven innings, and the team managed another big win (11-3).

 

The team had some great offensive plays, as well, everybody hit well, including a bunt that actually resulted in Mikey ending up on first, rather than simply taking the sacrifice and advancing the runner. The runner, at the time, was the Man-Cub, and, before he made it to second, he had a couple of near misses at being tagged out at first, when the pitches to Mikey weren't close enough to bunt. As an aside, I give mad props to the makers of OxiClean, because soaking the Cub's uniform in that stuff has managed to keep his pants sparkling white, despite the massive amounts of dirt that he manages to grind into them every game.

 

While this was happening, I was working in the concession stand. Thankfully, my co-concession stand worker is always more than willing to handle the hot-dog seeking masses while I venture down to the field to photograph our sons. She trusts me to come back in time to slop neon-orange "cheese" onto the nacho chips, which, I do. And, not just because the concession stand offers the second-best seats in the house.

 

 

After the second game was done, I caught the boys' celebration in the outfield before closing up the concessions stand and packing up the coolers.

 

 

 

Ordinarily, we would have headed home at that point, to get a start on weekend chores, but, yesterday we broke with routine and traveled to Neighboring City, where Hugh and the Man-Cub built a firepit for QB. Then we took the kids out for dinner before heading home.

 

The Man-Cub fell asleep in the truck before we were a block from QB's house, and, once we got home, I followed suit. It might not have been an early-rising day, but it was a full one.

 

Next weekend, we host our final home games, and I suspect it will look similar to this weekend's itinerary, hopefully, including the wins. Because that was awesome!