Water Bottles

A funny thing happened at Phil Moore Park last night.  Isaac's team played in the semi-finals and had a game scheduled for 6 PM.  Two semi-final games were supposed to happen simultaneously on both Court 1 and Court at PMP.  However, once we arrived at the park,there were only one set of officials, meaning one group would have to wait to play until 7:15.  It was mayhem with four basketball teams warming up to play and not knowing who was playing first.  Boys and basketballs everywhere. 

When I walked in I noticed a water bottle that looked almost identical to Isaac's laying directly under the basketball ball just waiting to be knocked over or there for someone to trip on. 

It looked like this...

I scooped it up thinking it was his and proceeded to the stands.  After a few minutes I called him over and sternly asked "why did you leave your water bottle right under the goal while everyone was warming up (something he would totally do)?"  He said, "I didn't, mine is under our bench and pointed it out to me."  Embarrassed I jumped up and took the water bottle back to the area it was in (but off the court a little).  Minutes later I noticed it was gone - guess the rightful owner found it.  Around half-time, Matt comes over to me and asks if I've seen Isaac's water bottle.  He said, "it was right next to my jacket and now it's gone."  Are.you.kidding.me?  PMP is packed and the two teams that were supposed to be playing on the other court (along with their families) were all crowded on our side.  There were some boys playing around on the other court so I walked over there to take a peek and see if someone had picked Isaac's up by mistake (like I had).  There were TWO that looked almost like (the one above and the one below) his but both had names written on them - otherwise, I probably would've grabbed 'em. 

I don't see it anywhere and head back to the stands.  I figured it would show up after the game when the other two teams started warming up.  I'm sure another mom picked it up thinking it was her son's.  Our game ends and the next two teams start warming up.  I don't see it anywhere.  I decide to go look in the office and at the front desk to make sure no one left it one of those places - nope.

 I assume it's gone but decided to call PMP this morning to see if the had any water bottles in their lost and found this morning.  Lo and behold, the lady I spoke with said yes it's one of those insulated water bottles.  I told her I was certain it was mine and was on my way over there.  This is what his looks like (below)

I'm glad there are other mothers out there probably scolding their sons for being irresponsible with their water bottles (when in fact, they aren't).  Hah!  Thought it was too funny not to blog about. Okay, okay, so they don't look SUPER similar but have the same general color scheme.  I guess it need to get the next water bottle in some crazy, bright, unpopular color to set it apart from the others.

12 and Counting

I always have good intentions of doing a birthday post on my kids actual birthday, but who are we kidding, I'm not as spry as I once was.  In my defense, I do have three kids playing basketball but two seasons came to a close this week (see updates below - is "updates below" an oxymoron, I don't know?).  I have a feeling turning 40 in March is going to slow me down even more.  I'm thinking it might be time to join a gym, Jazzercise, or something to get my energy level back up.  This dark gray weather doesn't help either.  My sweet boy Isaac celebrated his 12th birthday Wednesday!  Like most kids his age, he always has big plans for his birthday.  He kicked around a lot of different ideas.  I simply told him that while I know he'd like to have a huge party with lots of friends, we probably wouldn't be doing that this time.  I invited family over to Azzip Pizza (his favorite place) for dinner complete with cookie cake on his birthday.  I told him once basketball is over or maybe even in the warmer months, he might be able to have some close friends over to hang out (not necessarily a birthday party) and spend the night.  I know, I know, I'm boring!  Can I get an amen that it's a little harder to plan a party during winter months (especially with boys) unless you have the space, a basement or can rent out a gym/church?  Our house is small!  Miles had boys over for his birthday, and there were only a few of them.  It sounded like there were 100 of them.  Fortunately it was warm and nice outside that I was able to "push the party" in that direction.  They were all really good, just crazy amounts of energy and very loud.

How have we survived without Azzip Pizza this long?  It's Isaac's favorite.  He always gets an 11 inch with extra cheese and bacon.  I have ordered the exact same pizza every time I've been there - Tater Head.  It's basically a loaded baked potato on a pizza.  I love it!  Matt has branched out and tried a lot of different things but was lucky enough to bite into Andrew's Evil Pig pizza and broke his back molar.  He had to make a quick run to the dentist Thursday morning.  Fortunately, Dr. Frye thinks a filling will solve the problem and not require a crown.

Who needs a big party when you have all your family?  We've got a pretty great one who spoil our kids rotten!

Cookie Store Cakes are Isaac's favorite, and I thought it would be fun to have one decorated like a pizza.  I had a different idea in mind for the design, but it sort of resembled a pizza.  Who cares, right?  We devoured it.

I mean REALLY how did I get this lucky?  My family of 5!

We took over Azzip with our crowd.  These times are special!  Happy 12th Isaac!  We can't wait to see where life takes you.

(Basketball Update - had to piggy back on this post because there's a good chance it won't ever happen at my rate of writing)
Basketball with three kids is non-stop - fortunately Karson's season is over.  SWMS finished 2nd in the district tournament.

We had to play Moss Middle in the first round.  Karson had 17 points but was pretty worn out when it was over.  The team only had an hour to rest.  She didn't have enough stamina for the Championship game but played her best.  We ended up losing by quite a bit.  I think all the girls played hard, but BG had our number and played awesome as usual.

I thought the trophy was pretty awesome this year.  And, to be honest, I kind of liked the silver one better than the gold (first place) one =).  It was an exciting season, and we are thankful for Coach Manion and Coach Graves for their hard work.  Matt is the high school golf coach, and I know the amount of time and energy he puts into coaching, planning, emailing, meeting(s) and trust me, the pay is minimal.  You have to be devoted and care about what you're doing and love the kids.  Our coaches (both volleyball and basketball) LOVE our girls and spend tons of time in the gym making sure they have a wonderful experience.  Be sure to let your coaches know they are appreciated (whether paid or not)!

Miles sweet little team, the Mavs, won enough games to make it into the gold bracket in their conference which also was sort of a "fate sealer."  You don't want to make the statement - wish we had lost more - but his team might still be playing if they had lost more games - hah!  He's a good little player and has grown a lot this season.  He missed playing with his buddy Brady - they've been on the same team the last few years.  But, he made some new friends and had a great experience.

Miles had a buddy over to play on Saturday (after Karson's tournament).  They literally shot hoops in his bedroom for about 5 straight hours.  I went in his room, and it felt like 1,000 degrees.  His little friend asked if we could turn off the heat =).  He had sweat pouring from his head.  I said, why don't we open the window?  That might help.

Isaac's team is still undefeated and won the first game of the tournament. Our next game is tonight!  Go THUNDER!

I have NO idea why Warren County Parks decided to have team pictures the same week the games started, but Isaac had already committed to Plano's Governor's Cup competition (that Saturday).  He not only had to miss his first game but also team pictures.  I asked his coach if we could get a team picture before one of the games.  I'm not a photographer, but it makes me happy to have a picture for my sports scrapbook.  Apparently a few other kids on the team missed the picture too because there were a few of us snapping pics.

Isaac looks like a fierce basketball player, right?  Hoping the Thunder will win it all!

Christmas Clearance

Well, here it is January 5, and I still haven't made a post about Christmas.  However, I did manage to score some super cute Christmas clearance at Dollar General Market in Scottsville for 70% off.  Why was I in Scottsville shopping at DG?  I had a meeting there yesterday and needed butter and cheese before coming home for the day.  $14 later, I scored my groceries and a nifty Christmas bundle.

Christmas, as usual, was a whirlwind of action.  I LOVE that the holiday fell on the weekend because that meant we got an extra day off work.  We also get two floating holidays at SKyPAC which I saved for the week after Christmas.  I got to take the entire week off.  It.was.HEAVEN!  I loved every single second of staying up wayyy passed (not past, that can only be used as a noun, adjective, adverb, or proposition, but never a verb - just looked that up to make sure my days of ENG 100, 200, 300 at WKU hadn't failed me - free lesson, you're welcome) my bedtime, sleeping in, eating 'til I popped, and enjoying every single, fleeting minute with my kids.  Where oh where has all the time gone?  Why oh why will they not stop growing?  I feel old.  Old enough to get my hair dyed.  Yep, did that for the very first time during the break.  I naturally have dark, really dark hair.  However, it's been riddled with gray lately and mostly hidden beneath the layers of hair.  I can see it, and it was driving me nuts.  I bit the bullet and had my trusty sister-in-law, who came to my rescue when I decided to cut my bangs (ugh) years back,  complete the dye task.  She's fantastic and makes it look natural.  I've not had one person notice or comment which is nice and means they never noticed the gray either.  Yay!  Cheers to hair maintenance from now on...

Christmas - we had "the talk" this year with the 4th grader.  I wanted didn't want to talk about Santa, but let's face it, the Santa stuff takes the whole present buying shenanigans to a different level.  I can't really give Miles a Santa gift without buying the other two Santa gifts.  And, I have abnormal kids who can't tell you one thing they want for Christmas.  That, or it's a strange request, like when Karson said she wanted a headboard?!?  For real?  Miles wanted gummy bears.  For real?!?  I can always count on Isaac to have a list though and find him incredibly simple to shop for.  Back to the Santa ordeal...me, Isaac and Miles are sitting in the family room one evening, pre-Christmas and Miles point-blank asks the Santa question - "Mom, is Santa real?"  I froze, not knowing what to say, so I responded with the proper parent answer when you don't know the right answer, "what do you think honey?"  He responds that he thinks Santa is real, and I say that's all that matters (he's not convinced).  He continues to waffle with his belief so I decide to bring Isaac into the conversation (great move by me).  Isaac matter-of-factly states "well NO ONE can actually live at the North Pole - its' too cold.  AND, no one has ever seen a flying reindeer.  I mean someone would have seen one by now, don't ya think?"  There you have it, band-aid ripped right off!  Miles, still not convinced continues to waffle.  Isaac shoots a glance at me and says "Mom, I'm telling him."  He spills the beans, and at first, Miles is a little shocked.  We proceed to have the conversation about the magic of Christmas and how Santa is part of that, not to share this NEW secret with others, etc., etc.  I admit, I felt a great sigh of relief it was all out on the table.  Karson knew in 2nd grade, Isaac in 3rd, Miles (now) in 4th - cats out of the bag! I didn't splurge on gifts (not that we normally do), but Christmas morning felt nice and special (minus the Red Suit).

We kicked off the month with the Pogue Family Christmas (Dec. 7 post).  We got to see our niece/cousin as a NewYorker in the BGJHS performance of Elf The Musical Jr.  What amazingly talented kids!  I took a vacation day on the 19th and spent the day with our tribe at Opry Mills ~ playing games at Dave and Buster's, lunch at Claim Jumper and watching Rouge One: A Star Wars Story at the IMAX 3-D.  I also managed to find Isaac a Titan's Sweatshirt which seemed like a major task.  Titan's fanwear is hard to come by these days, or I'm looking at the wrong places?

Claim Jumper was yum!

 Ugly Christmas Sweater Party at the Garcia's on Christmas Eve Eve!

Karson didn't have many days off from basketball during the break, but the team did manage to have a little holiday gathering after one of the practices.  We'd gotten an extra large Sour Patch tin at It's Sugar! at Opry Mills for the gift exchange.  Guess who came home with it and was thrilled?? 

 Christmas Eve at Pop's and Meme's house...

Deaton family gathering at The Warehouse on Christmas Eve afternoon!

 Christmas Morning at our house (sans Santa)

A Christmas Cutie holding a Christmas Cat at Pap and Nana's Christmas night.

 Annual girls trip with our besties to The Escape Game in Nashville ~ this year's quest MISSION MARS!  And, yes, we escaped!  #goingpro #cantlockusup  #gottheshirt
 Dinner at PF Changs to celebrate the victory.

 Karson and Aidan made their relationship official in December.  His family spent the holidays out of town so the lovebirds were anxious to see each other when he returned.  I told Karson if you all are going to "go out," don't go to a movie where you can't talk and hang out, do something fun together.  She agreed and settled on lunch and skating at the SOKY Ice Rink.  I took them to AZZIP for pizza and to the rink for skating.  They spent about two hours on the ice and seemed to enjoy it and each other (giggling, hand holding, hanging out).  We went over to his mom's work to say 'hi', and then I took him home. 

Karson spent NYE with all her school buddies!  #middleschool #parentsnotallowed

 

Matt and Isaac spent New Year's Day at the Titans game.  Thanks Uncle David!

  

 Tuesday, we hit the ground running.  6 AM was a rude awakening with a busy day ahead.  Karson got a new schedule at school which includes PE meaning she added another bag to her collection.  She had four bags to take to school on Tuesday.  The team had pictures after school and a game against Owensboro Catholic.  Isaac also had a game Tuesday night.  The whole day felt like a blurrr.  Welcome 2017 - a wonderful new year, making many new memories and loving life!