Thursday, May 17, 2012

More Ketchup

If you want to know why I have been calling my catch-up posts ketchup, please refer to the joke Uma Thurman tells in Pulp Fiction.

So I still need to fill in the blanks from the end of our fun-filled spring break up until this last weekend when Joe returned and we celebrated Mother's Day. In a word, it was BUSY.

We hit the ground running returning to school and heading into a stretch where the kids played 8 games in a two week period between the two of them. And both of them are really enjoying baseball.

Jadyn has become more confident in hitting, fielding and throwing the ball, hustles when she runs the bases and generally stays interested and focused throughout the game. I think she is really going to enjoy moving from t-ball to softball next year. This last Friday she had her special under the lights game. Up until this point, almost all of the 9 boys on her team regularly slide into home plate but Jadyn and the only other girl on her team have yet to attempt it. So Friday night (call me a bad mommy for this if you want), I bribed her $5 if she would slide into home and she finally DID IT! I wish I would have gotten a picture of it but I was too busy cheering her on. It was awesome. I did take this shot of her while up to bat. However, because it was from the stands at night, it came out blurry:


Jake is having a great season. He has really come into his own when it comes to both hitting and learning to make wise choices on the field. In fact, don't tell him but he has the best batting average on his team.


Unfortunately, even though this is a noncompetitive league, his team is not doing too great when it comes to wins. On the up side, most of the players on the team don't seem to mind and are just enjoying the sport. We have had some issues with the league not being very organized and fair-handed this season, which led to a moment of weakness where I kind of, sort of, might have gotten in the umpire's face and yelled a little. Even though it was frustrating and maybe even justified, I am still embarrassed that I lost my cool like that because it sets a bad example for the kids. Thankfully the umpire gave me a warning instead of kicking me out of the game immediately.

Activities at school have also kept us busy. I made a salad for Staff Appreciation Day in which our parent group provided a potato and salad bar to the kids' school staff in appreciation for all they do. I also attended the 2nd trimester awards in which Jake received two awards for academic achievement - the Star Reading award and the Spelling 100 Award. He is now reading at a beginning 4th grade level and I could not be prouder of the all the progress he has made in the last two school years, especially after a rough start this year with his comprehension skills.


Last Thursday Jadyn went on her kindergarten field trip. It is technically her first field trip since I don't personally count visiting the elementary school as a preschooler. I went as well as a chaperon and we were able to tour our local Hi-Desert Nature Museum, the public library and participate in some fun activities at the park.



It was exhausting not to mention the fact that I had scheduled the kids dental checkups for later that same afternoon. With all the cavities we have been getting the last few checkups, we walked away with a scolding for Jake to brush better and a cracked filling that Jadyn will need repaired. I guess that isn't too bad right?

And finally, both kids recently had friends sleepover. When did they get old enough for sleepovers??? For Jadyn it was the first time having a friend sleep over and she and her BFF Riley were having so much fun I didn't get them to bed until nearly midnight.

(find me on Instagram at Jenfen2331)

Jake had his new friend Dominic (who he knows from both school and baseball) over the following night and between baseball and pretend but important military missions, they were so tuckered out I had little trouble getting them to sleep at a decent hour. 


Kuma has been earning more and more freedom outside of the kennel, partly because he is at the age where we can begin to trust him and partly because he broke the door of his kennel one day. I love how whenever I drive away I can see him up on his hind legs watching me go and giving me sad puppy dog eyes like he isn't the most spoiled dog in the universe:



And me? Well in addition to the kids activities and the things mentioned in yesterday's post, I have finally succumbed to living in the desert and become one of those "crazy dirt people" spending an insane amount of time hula-hoeing, watering and creating rake lines in our dirt and then giving anyone who dares to walk on it the evil eye. We haven't quite decided how we want to landscape the front, not to mention the fact that it is not a cheap endeavor. So until a decision is made, I guess I will be one of those "crazy dirt people". And mind you, this is only half of one side of the front yard. It is a lot of dirt!



I think I am now officially "caught up". Or am I?



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