Third Grade and Play-Doh

Dropped our Poodle off for the first day of third grade this morning. My mommy heart hurts a little bit every time I walk away from the school and leave him there. As we were walking, Boochie took my hand with her tiny little hand and asked me if I was sad. Love that girl.

Here he is walking in....happy for him, sad for me.

At his desk :)

So, instead of moping around the house all day we've decided to play Play-Doh (And watch the clock...it's only 9:19. What time can we get in line to pick him up?)

Anxiety

There have been lots of things on my mind as of late and I’m having a hard time controlling my tendencies towards anxiety…lots of decisions to be made and possibly some big changes for our little family. Anyways, thanks to Kathleen I had the biggest laugh I’ve had in ages yesterday. I cried off all of my mascara and every time I think of our situation, I laugh again. I won’t disclose the details of the “incident” but will share that it produced this kind of picture.

Bluebonnets and Baseball....

Just two of the many reasons Spring is my favorite time of the year.

Every spring I get little butterflies in my stomach when the Bluebonnets start to pop up on the side of the road. The anticipation…how will the pictures turn out? What should the kids wear? Will Boochie cooperate? Poodle has been raised from day one knowing that he will be out in a field and I will take as many pictures as necessary. He understands that if he smiles willingly the whole process is quick. Booch doesn’t get it yet, which makes Poodle a little cranky with her. Brad and I learned a lot this year about dealing with a spirited 2 year old in a field full of flowers. A full tummy and some M&Ms make everyone more cooperative.

P&B share a sweet moment.

For these two, this is as good as it gets.

Poodle’s baseball season started a few weeks ago and the Angel’s are sporting a 2-2 record so far. Boochie and I are enjoying cheering on our boyfriends (Daddy is the pitcher) but really missing them since they spend most Saturdays at practice. Poodle explains the sacrifices with “baseball is the game that I love". Me too.

My foxy husband pitching.

My sweet boy "pitching".

The boys that make my heart go pitter-patter. Check out the dimples on that Poodle!!!

The Rangers have started the season out with an awesome record and have been so much fun to watch. Brad tried his hardest to get Poodle opening day tickets, but with no success. He had to wait until game #3 (and that’s a LONG wait for a little guy) to see some baseball action in person. The three of us had a blast at the game and P even got to run the bases afterwards.

Poodle shows off his guns at the game.

Running the bases :)

Happy Anniversary to Me!

Really to Brad too….but whatever. Today is the anniversary of the day I became a mommy. I wish I could say it started out fantastic, but that just wouldn’t be true. I didn’t get to hold my poodle for several hours after he was born. And I can honestly say those were the longest hours of my life. I was scared to death we wouldn’t be able to bond, that he wouldn’t know I was his mommy, and that he’d never nurse. The situation went from bad to worse as he was later admitted to the NICU for being (wait for it)….too BIG! I remember feeling guilty as I’d sit with him. Guilty for being sad when my biggest problem in life was a baby that couldn’t control his blood sugar or temperature. All around us there were tiny babies who had been hospitalized for months. Our stay was short, only a few days, but it left me feeling anxious about motherhood. Luckily, I overcame all of my fears and poured my heart and soul into raising my wee one. And it all turned out exactly as it should. He loves me more than anyone else in the world and always has. We’re attached at the hip and I dread the day he outgrows me. So, Happy Anniversary to me and Happy 8th Birthday to the sweet little boy that made me who I am today, the only thing I ever really wanted to be….a mommy!

Here he is fresh from the oven!

It's Baseball Season

Growing up, I always felt like my dad was secretly disappointed not to have a son, but two girls instead. He dragged us to countless Rangers games, made us watch it on tv, and if we were in the car we had to listen to it on the radio (I despised this!). But somewhere along the way I learned to love the sport and the Rangers and now I’m glad I do. If I hadn’t, I don’t know how I’d survive my super obsessed Poodle, or even carry on a conversation with him. This is a small thing I know, but I believe God was preparing me to be Poodle’s mom and probably Brad’s wife too. That being said, I was just as excited as my boys were to head out to Rangers Fanfest last weekend. There were games and activities for poodles, present and former Rangers to meet, and a chance to see the ALCS trophy up close and in person.

I felt like a giddy little school girl as I watched Poodle participate in a fielding clinic with Steve Buechele. Steve Buechele!!! I loved him as a child mostly because of the way the crowd booed when ever his name was announced. Steve Booooooooooochelle!!! OMG! Poodle is learning from Steve Booooooooooooooochelle! I got even more out of control when they posed for a picture together. But wait! Then he autographed a ball for us!

Brad had a similar moment of silliness when we met Chuck Greenburg, the Rangers new owner, who is changing the course of Rangers history. Alright, he wasn’t quite as bad as I was, but he got about as excited as he gets (that one’s a cool guy).

We ate some hot dogs, stalked Josh Hamilton (to no avail), took lots of pictures, played, and enjoyed some time just the three of us. All in all it was a fabulous day that ended in a quick visit with my dad. We had to show him all of our pictures and tell him all about everything we had just seen and done. And now we’re all geared up to see what this season will hold for our Texas Rangers. Even Booch is getting ready…I just ordered her new Rangers bows for her pigtails!!!


Poodle with Steve Buechele


My boys with Chuck Greenburg


Poodle with the trophy


Giving us the antlers

My Worries

So it’s different being the mom of a girl. To be really honest, when we found out Boochie was a girl, I cried for a few minutes. I had my heart set on another boy that would love me just the way Poodle does (and that’s a lot). I wasn’t sure I knew how to mother a girl. I’m good at watching baseball and playing pirates and Star Wars. To be honest, I had to learn how to do those things so I’m not sure why I thought it would be harder with a girl. After all, I am a girlie girl. I know how to play girl games. After I got over the initial shock, I was really excited to start buying girlie things for what I was sure was going to be my girlie girl (the jury’s still out on that one—she’s surrounded by 7 year old boys all of the time). That excitement hasn’t worn off yet. Every time I leave the house I can find hundreds of things she “has” to have. I’m learning to manage my expectations for her and who she will really turn out to be.

The things that worry me now are so much more serious than tea parties and dresses. It’s hard to grow up in the world as a girl. The pressure is so much greater than that of a boy. Little girls now aren’t little girls for long. I’m stunned when I go to Poodle’s elementary school at the way some of them are dressed. Where are their mothers? More importantly, where are their fathers? My parents wouldn’t have let us out of the house looking the way these little girls look in a million years. We wouldn’t have had the guts to try. So now I worry about how we’re going to handle it when Boochie comes home from school and is devastated because we won’t let her dress like a teenager when she’s 7. I don’t want her to be the nerdy kid in school, but I do want her to remain true to her beliefs and values. There’s nothing wrong with being a nice girl. But it seems to me that increasingly it’s getting harder and harder to be the nice girl in school and not be an outcast. Carrie and I were always the nice girls…our mom wouldn’t let us treat anyone ugly. EVER. I’m sure we both had some questionable moments, but for the most part, we were both kind and polite while managing to not fall down into the abyss of un-coolness.

And while we’re on the topic of nice girls, true friends are hard to find. Even as an adult girl, jealousy and ugliness still rear their ugly little heads. I pray that I’ll be able to convey to Boochie how valuable true girl friends are. The kind that you love unconditionally and that love you back. The ones you can cry and laugh with. The ones that are with you when you get married, have a baby, lose a family member. The ones that know the best moment of your life and the ones that know your worst. Several of my true friends, I never would have seen coming. I thought we didn’t have enough in common or that our personalities were too different to form a lasting bond. I’m glad I was wrong. I long for Boochie to have a sister someday (imagine what that child’s nickname might be) because I believe with my whole heart that having a sister changes the way you relate to other girls. And I want that for her. Really, I want that for every little girl in the world.
So, I’ll work diligently to raise a kind, polite, lovely little girl who knows how to treat others and how to stand up for what she believes in, no matter the cost. And hopefully she’ll enjoy a good tea party now and then too!

Here's our tomboy in training. Picture taken by the always fabulous Alyssa Maisano. You can find her work here.

Basketball Superstar!!

Last night Poodle had the opportunity to perform a basketball routine at what will some day be his high school. He loved every second of it and we all thought he was the best one on the court. His sissy chanted his name the whole time :)Brad and I thought it reminded us quite a bit of High School Musical, what with all of the dancing with a basketball and all! I've been trying to upload the video with no success, so a picture will just have to do.