Cora - Last day of Kindergarten!

And another one... another "I can't believe it!"
This year went fast... and was proven to be with her.  We had some major ups and downs with Kindergarten, but regardless - she learned and had fun. 

 

 

 

with her friend Charlotte

Kayson - Last day of 4th Grade!

I can't believe it... as of this afternoon, we will have a 5th grader.  Wow. 

He loved this year...  or at least, I feel he showed us that he did!  He's very interested in science and social studies, which is great... and loves math!

He looked and was tired this morning!

 

 
 

a few friends from BTB

Weeked - Baseball Tournament & Memorial Day

Wow, what a great, busy weekend... exhausted actually, but lucky to have that extra day to recover.
 
Friday:
Let's see...  Friday seems like forever ago, and I believe we ended up going out for supper, trying a new place.  It was fine... Cora didn't eat...  I wasn't that hungry...  eh, but it was fine.  I think we get so irritated with Cora and restaurants!!  ha.
 
Saturday:
Up early --- we had two games Saturday morning.  A win and a loss, but overall - played really well.  Kayson had his first "in park home run" due to errors from the other team.  And I just miraculously got it on video!!  Crazy!!  It was so cool... and he was so pumped!  We wrapped up those games, and then headed to one of the sponsors restaurants, sat on the patio and ate.  Pretty good.  Cora got tired, and I ended up forcing her to take a rest that afternoon... about 40 minutes.  The baseball boys wanted to go swimming at a nearby pool - so they did that, but I hear the water was freezing, so it was more of just hanging out again!  So glad those boys have become friends. 
 
Saturday night we just hung out at home... ordered pizza in, and then Jess, Lex and the kids stopped by.  We haven't really seen them in awhile... so we attempted to get some adult conversations in, but unfortunately the kids were a little off.  Even Kayson was a little owly and kind of a brat to the little kids.  It was just not the best couple hours...
 
Sunday:
Rain delay for the games, but eventually started our day at the fields about 9:00.  It was a beautiful day - sunny, hot!!  and we all got sunburnt!  Oops.  The boys played amazing...  going for 3 games on Sunday - ending in a loss by only one run, getting 2nd place in the gold bracket.  So fun, so good... and so exhausting!!!  The kids had fun, and were pooped!!  That's about 10 hours at the baseball fields!!!
 
Monday:
Memorial Day... and it was a day of relaxation.  We were all feeling wiped out... so we just took it easy.  We did a few errands, and lunch out, but that's it.  It was a nice quiet afternoon...  but we did get bored!! 
 
Now it's back to work...and school.  Only 3 days of school left!!!  It's crazy.  I'll have a 5th grader and 1st grader!!!!
 
Pics of our weekend!

 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

I love this picture...  and his blue eyes.

 

Buddy Carter (C Dubbs)

 

 

Runner Ups!!!  Great job boys!

 

 

 
 

A few minutes at Olivia's pool!

Weekend & Eden/Lindsay/Ryan HS Graduation

Friday:
We had a free night...  again, was great.  Berger's pool was put up, so Cora and Olivia demanded to get into it... and it was FREEZING cold!!!  But they had a blast for about 20 minutes.  We just hung out the rest of the night... pretty low key.

Saturday:
No baseball this weekend...  so we just hung out.  Ryan went to church to do stuff.  I worked around the house a little...  I'm having a garage sale soon, so I started prepping for that.  But honestly, I didn't get very far - as I was not motivated at all.

It was a pretty nice day, so we did some things outside, but really was pretty lazy most of the day. 

Saturday night we got together with our church friends...  we originally were going to go out to the church and grill and let the kids play outside, but with the rain, we decided to go out for supper.  It wasn't all that successful, just because of the kids.  It's tough keeping them happy/busy at a restaurant when the adults really just want to sit and talk.  Lots of spilled drinks, and hollering at kids.  Kind of frustrating.

Sunday:
Church...  then I headed up to Clarion for Eden, Lindsay and Ryan's HS graduation!!  I can't believe they've graduated and are moving on.  I'm so proud of them and love them so much.  It was a nice afternoon.

Ryan and the kids just stayed back home...  Ryan had a church meeting, and K had baseball practice, so it just didn't work out for them to all come.  They didn't do much from what I was told...  I'm sure Kayson was on his electronics way too much.  Gotta change that.

Otherwise, it was a fairly good weekend...  it was nice to be with my family a little bit. 

So proud of these kids.  Ryan, Linds & Ed

Olivia and Cora! 

Cleaning baby doll in the sink while watching YouTube. 

This & That - Parenting troubles

Ramblings on a Friday afternoon...  a gloomy, tiring Friday afternoon.

• Being a parent is hard.  Period.
• I constantly worry about my kids.  Who else does that?  I worry about how they are doing in school... how they will act in front of strangers, or other parents... if we are raising them happy...  if they are happy... if they are making good choices... if they believe in God, and pray... the list goes on.
• Cora is a challenge - a full blown rollercoaster she is.  No lie - she can be the sweetest thing.  She has a big heart, but man she can be a little mean girl.  I pray that she learns that being kind to everyone is the key to being successful.  She can be timid and strong at the same time, but being kind is what she needs to work on.
• Kayson is a different challenge - a 10 year old boy challenge.  Now I've never had a 10 year old boy before... but he's changing.  He was changing quite a bit last year.  He's quieter, he's more reserved... but he also aches for attention.  I pray that he is happy and strong... and grows into a respectful young man. 

Some amazing quotes that I've saved lately that really relate to me... and parenting... and just life right now.  We are busy, but we also have some down time.  I want that down time to be productive - whether it's getting stuff done around the house, or if it's sitting with my kids.  Life is way too short and I just want everyone around me to be happy. 

"My goal as a parent is to prepare you for the future, not to make you like me."  (I love this... but I pray they like me when they get older!)

"If parents want to give their children a gift, the best thing they can do is to teach their children to love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning. That way, their children don't have to be slaves of praise.  They will have a lifelong way to build and repair their own confidence."

"On my laziest day, I am still a teacher, a referee, a cook, a handyman, a maid, a counselor, and a jungle gym. So don't act as if I do nothing all day."

"Don't yell at your kids...  lean in and whisper, it's much scarier."  (hilarious)

"I hate the saying - 'Kids will be kids'.  I think it should be replaced with - 'Bad parenting results in assholes'".  (I pray my kids are not assholes!)

"I'm not a perfect parent. I'll let you down and I'll make mistakes.  I'll say one thing when I should have said another. But I love you... fiercely."

"You're not just raising your son... you are raising somebody's husband and somebody's father. Raise him well!"  (This is scary for me... I pray that we are doing something right with Kayson.  That he will be a strong, helpful and caring husband some day... and an amazing dad.)

"One day, all your children will have is pictures of you. Make sure you're in them. No matter what your hair looks like, your makeup, or your body, they won't care about any of that - they'll just want to see you."  (This is a big one to me... I'm trying to get more pics of myself and Ryan with the kids.)

Weekend - Baseball Tournament and Mother's Day 2019

Friday:
We had nothing... no games, practice, nothing.  We hadn't been home much, so Ryan needed to mow.  It was a beautiful night, so Kayson and I sat outside in the sun for awhile... Cora played with Olivia a little.  We grabbed supper later than normal... and then back home for bed.

Saturday:
The sun from Friday went away and never returned all weekend.  What crappy weather we had all weekend...  Saturday we got up and headed to Indianola for the baseball tournament.  Rainy, cold day...  but we fought through and got two great wins under our belt.  The kids did good... 

Our original plan was to then head up to Clarion to go to the graduation open houses for Lindsay, Ryan and Eden... but unfortunately, the games went longer than anticipated... and it would have been a 2 hour drive.  We decided it wasn't worth it... plus we were so pooped already.  It would not have been good for me, or our kids.  We grabbed a super late lunch out with a few of the baseball families...  and then again, Cora started acting weird... saying her tummy hurt.  (I don't know what to do with her!!!)  We got home, and she slept for a while...  once she woke, she said she was fine... but she still was super tired and just blah.  I talked to Tricia... she is thinking her body is just telling her she's 'done' and it makes her feel icky.  Understandable...  but we can't keep her away from baseball games, she's 6.  I can't keep her home.  So...  we are going to do a better job at a few things...  more water, less junk food... and have her sit for a bit...  I don't know.  (Sunday she was fine.)

Anyway, Saturday night we just relaxed... we were all tired and just chilled.

Sunday:
Early games - 8 am. Ryan and K left so early to get down to Indianola... again, a rainy cold day.  Mother's Day no less!  Mother's Day is always tough for me... but I got through it, and was glad to be 'busy' with the games and just be there with all those other families. 

We won the first game, keeping us alive in the tournament.  And it was a nail-biter.  Man, I was nervous!  I wanted so badly for the kids to win!!  Then we had a break... then second game.  Unfortunately that was a loss... we played a super great team, which was fine.  It was a good time.

Sunday afternoon we just chilled... I didn't sit much, but it was a nice afternoon and evening... 

Thankful for my little humans that I have... 

The boys gave their Moms roses.  I love this.

 
 

 
 

Cora & Eleanor...  too funny.

 

Boys with their Moms

Moms with all their babies

Cora - Kindergarten Music Concert

Cora's first music concert was last night...  a big one!  I can't believe we are practically done with her first year of school.
She was assigned a speaking part for the concert - not just a one liner, it was the OPENING speaking part - introducing the class and everything.  I was shocked, but the week and a half before it - she practiced and memorized and nailed it at home.  She was doing so awesome.

Unfortunately, when it was go-time, she froze.  She said the first two words, and then stopped and started to cry.  My heart sank.  Mrs. Tierney was with her, and helped her along, but she didn't really say anything after that...  I felt awful, and frustrated, and disappointed, and sad.  I just couldn't believe it.  :(

The concert went well... and she did great, seemed to enjoy herself and knew all the songs/moves, etc.   It was a quick 30 minutes... and then we were off.  A few pictures were taken, and we headed home. 

Once we were home, she cried some more and felt bad.  She then said she wouldn't do a speaking part again... which broke my heart even more.  I know she's only 6, but she can't have this ruin her.

 

 

 

Weekend - Baseball Tournament

Friday:
Starting the weekend off with baseball.  Imagine that!  ha.
We had a night game Friday...  great game, great win.  The weather was great too... so that was awesome.

Saturday:
We had to do some dividing Saturday.  I headed up to Clarion to attend Uncle Dean's visitation/funeral.  I stopped at the cemetery to see Mom too - left her some flowers, so that was nice.  It was a quick trip, but I needed to be there...   Back on the road about noon.

Meanwhile, Kayson, Ryan and Cora were in Carlisle for the start of the tournament weekend.  First game was a win.  I was able to get back by 2pm to get to the 2nd game... which was another win.  It was a good afternoon for the boys.

Saturday night we went to Colleen and Mike's... our friend Missy was in town for a little bit, so we gathered for a couple hours to see her and her new family...  kids played... we ate... and that was about it.  I hit a wall about 7:30.  Just wiped out.  So we headed home... and bed. 

Sunday:
With our wins on Saturday, we didn't have to play ball til the afternoon.  So we went to Sunday School and church... we hadn't been forever it seems.  So that was nice... then we scooted back out the door, changed, packed up... and back to the fields in Carlisle.  And it was another 2 wins - some great games we played... close, exciting and fun.  The boys did great...  Kayson did well too.  He caught a couple great pop flies...  hit the ball when it was necessary too.  He did well.  I'm so proud of him... 

We got home about 6:30... exhausted.  Cora fell asleep on the short ride home.  We ordered pizza quick...  The team was gathering at a local bar up the street, so Ryan and Kayson made their appearance there...  me and sis stayed home and relaxed.  It was a good day...

and that's our weekend... baseball.  Man, we live it hard these 3 months. 

 

 
 

 

Few boys hanging between games with Dad Dave Parker.

 

Champs!!

 

 

 

 

Maple Grove kids!

 

 

Few of us Mommas - Jen, Elizabeth, Hillary, Me