What I've Learned as a Baseball Mom

I'm not a soccer mom these days
(although both my boys played when they were younger).

I'm now a football mom and a baseball mom.

And as a Baseball Mom, I've learned a few very important things.

1. Don't park your car too close to the field. Balls can travel quite a distance.
2. Don't try to catch a ball without a baseball glove. It hurts. Bad.
3. Bleachers are hard on the rear end after an hour and a half.
4. the dishwasher is a great place to wash sports cups.
5. I love watching my son play baseball.
6. New Terminology: balk, line drive, grounder

 What sports are your kids involved in?
What have you learned from your kids' sports.



 

Startled

You know that moment were you're just falling asleep, 
curled up in a cocoon of pillows and blankets, 
seconds from dreamland ... 

and then your 100 lb Labrador Retriever,
who is taking up half the bed, 
suddenly starts chasing rabbits in her sleep, 
thereby shaking your entire queen-sized bed?  

Add in some strange barky sound affects 
and a strong startle reaction and 
yep, suddenly you're wide awake again.

Yeah, that. 




 

A Brief Snapshot

Last night was baseball practice. I try to bring Annie, because it's a chance for her to get some exercise, run after her ball and enjoy nature.

My 10-year-old has 3 baseball games this week.  3! And my 15-year-old has a football game. It's going to be a loooong, busy week. But, I have to admit, watching my boys play sports is one of the biggest joys in my life, so I don't mind.

I'm relieved that they are both feeling healthy and able to play.
Not but a few months ago, Remy was having surgery and sick.
And Donny was still recovering from knee surgery.

I'm thankful they are feeling better.
We still have issues, but things are looking better.

Relieved.
Happy.
On ward.

 

Furry Work Conditions

I was sick this week and had to spend a couple of days at home.
Every time I set up a work station on my coffee table:





That face!

How do your pets make you aware of them?
Big puppy eyes?
Eating your shoes?
Barking?





 

BlogHer Book Club Book Review: Matched

Last week I read Matched by Ally Condle for BlogHer Book Club.

I was really looking forward to reading this
because it's another young adult novel set in a dystopian world.

 In this world, you future is controlled by The Society.

The Society decides where you can work,
who you can love
and when you can die.

It's horrifying ... and intriguing.

The main character, Cassia, suddenly finds herself questioning everything.
There's a love triangle.
There are mysterious actions.
And best yet, it's a series ... so there are two more books to read!

Here's a blurb from the back of the book:


Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.


This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.


 

BlogHer Book Club Book Review: Daring Greatly

In 1910, Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech in Paris, France. And from that speech came one of my all time favorite quotes, and is also used by the author Brene Brown in her new book, Daring Greatly.  

Theodore Roosevelt says:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

My dad has this quote framed on his wall for as long as I can remember.  I've always loved it. I think it's a wonderful message. And it's from the last line that Brene Brown titled her book. Daring Greatly.

You need to read this book, to save it and come back and read different parts of it at a time. But to try and sum it up for a book review, it all relates back to that quote. Being vulnerable is part of triumph. Being vulernable isn't bad...it's part of the process.

I'm so glad this was a book I was able to read for a book review. I'd been hearing buzz about it on TV and online ... and I recently listened to the author's TED talks, which are great.  (go listen to them!)

We're talking about Daring Greatly over at BlogHer.
Join our weekly discussions!!



 This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

My Hallmark Card

Today I attended a Hallmark PR event
at the Magnolia Hotel in downtown Dallas, Texas.


It was a great event, and I'll write more about it tomorrow,
but for now, I want to share with you an exercise they had us do:


We were each given a photo and told to make it into a birthday card.
Here was my photo:


 



So I captioned it,

"Happy Birthday a little late,
 from one hot mess to another."