Baseball and boys

Tom has started baseball and between soccer for Tom and Logan and baseball practices and games, we have started eating dinner any time after about 4 pm to get it done before we race out the door for one sporting event or another. Tom had another game last night and the kid makes me smile. It is so fun to watch them succeed at something that they enjoy. He started playing center field and then moved to catcher and ended the game, they only play three innings after all, as the star third baseman. I was feeding Dylan in the car by this point and could only see parts of the last inning but I saw enough to know he got several out in a row as the ball was hit down the third base line and he caught it and tagged his base in time. Boy is it fun to watch! Just don't tell Gary I think it is fun because I gave him quite a hard time about signing Tom up for another sport when he was already playing soccer.

Gary wrote about the first game on our family website and I thought I'd share it. Every time I read about it, it makes me smile. I'll add some pictures of Tom in his uniform soon.

"Tom had his first Baseball game on Tuesday. Man, he sure looked sharp. Cleats, long socks, pants, jersey, hat. He was a great looking third baseman. He hit really well. It was a blast to watch! The league has a rule that if the kid is going to play the catcher position, he has to wear a protective cup. Oh, did Tom want the cup. So, being the dutiful father that I am, I went to the sporting good store the night before the big game. I walked right over to the baseball stuff and was looking around. A cute salesperson approached me and asked if I needed some help. I said confidently "I am looking for a cup." She took me straight to them, what a great helper. This is where the story begins to unravel. I then said, " What is the smallest one you have?" Looking back on it now, I hope that she knew that I was a proud father, trying to protect my young son, and that I already have my own extra large protective cup! She was quite polite through the entire exchange......Anyway, Tom was way excited the next day when he saw that he now had a cup, and as equally as grand to him was that he could play catcher. So like I said, he started out in the hot corner, and then moved to catcher in the 2nd inning. I hustled in from the first base coaches box to help him get his gear on. The shin guards were up to his thighs, the chest protector was down to his knees, and then, being a bit naive, I helped him put his cup in place, and I just shoved it between his underwear and baseball pants. He caught a great inning. (They use a pitching machine and a bucket of balls, so the catcher just sits back there and lets the balls hit him and then gathers up a handful after a few batters and takes them back to the bucket. There may be a play at home, at which time the catcher may be involved, but don't hold your breath.) At the end of the inning Tom came back to the dugout and said to me "Dad, I don't know wear my cup is." Image my surprise to hear that. It's not like he had left for a while. There were 100 people playing and watching the game, How would something like that escape? Well, it wasn't an escape, more of a migration. In all of Toms "catching", the cup had slid down and to the left. I found it behind his knee, just floating in his baseball pants. I love little league!!"

My Learning Curve

So, Gary was on his way to work and I noticed that there were a few dandelions next to his truck. Logan was out working in his "garden" - actually a place Gary parks his boat that is covered in bark and routinely sprayed to keep the weeds down. I made a deal with Logan that if he would pick and throw away the dandelions, I would pay him a dime for each one. I had heard horror stories about this kind of deal before but I could see the small patch of grass and could count on one hand how many flowers were in it, or so I thought. He came in and we began counting. He picked those that had turned yellow and actually bloomed as well as those that were yet to bloom. You gotta give the kid credit for going the extra mile if you ask me. Well, 75 dandelions and one paper IOU later because I didn't have $7.50 in cash, Logan went on his way smiling. I guess that means they only need $42.50 for their Wii now and there goes my lunch out one day! Out smarted by a six-year-old again.

This face is made for pictures

Logan. What can I say about Logan? After going through our latest pictures we had developed (yes, we are still old school with the 35 mm) all I can say about him is, "WHERE DID HE COME FROM?" The kid makes me laugh. I don't think he can take a picture without some sort of pose going on. I thought I'd let you all see what I mean by putting a few of his poses out for the world to see. I have to sign him up for some acting classes! He also has quite the dance moves if you ever get him to show you. This kid is great!

BA BA BA BA BA

Dylan is getting so big so fast it seems. He is a speedy crawler these days and will switch between the classic crawl and army crawl to get him where he wants quickest. It's fun to watch. He is also pulling himself up to everything and anything. Once again we are baby proofing the house. I forget how many things they can get into in such a short time. His favorite place to be is the bathroom because the toilet is his own personal splash pool if we have forgotten to close the lid or bathroom door all together. I swear he has the radar system that alerts him any time the door is left open. He's also started to say some words. Every morning he says, "Ma ma ma ma ma" until I give him his milk and then as soon as he's done it's, "Da da da da da." He also chases his brothers around the house calling, "Ba ba ba ba ba" which we can only assume means brother. He loves those guys and just wants to be by them all the time. It's fun to see him grow every day.

The kids giveth and the kids taketh away

Sunday morning. There we were getting ready for church and Gary was talking to Logan about being a girl - their long standing joke. Logan told him that he wasn't a girl and that the only girl was me. When Gary asked him how he knew, Logan replied, "You know, can't you see the long hair and the sexy legs?" At that point we just lost it laughing. The kid cracks me up. Being a mom of four boys though, I'll take a complement where I can get it and went to church feeling pretty good about myself.

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon. Thomas, Logan and Ethan were jumping on the trampoline excited about the good weather while Gary was barbecuing and I was out holding Dylan so he wouldn't eat grass. They kept begging Gary to get on the trampoline to get them so finally I handed Dylan to Gary and jumped on. Just then Logan piped up, "AHHHHH! Run! It's the Swamp Monster!"

From sexy legs to Swamp Monster in less than 12 hours. That has to be a record.

Car Washes

So there I was, eating my breakfast in the car and waiting my turn for the car wash. After I had finished eating and cleaning out all the nooks and crannies in the front seat, I was STILL waiting my turn. It was then that I had one of my "brilliant" ideas. Gary will tell you that most of my brilliant ideas are anything but brilliant but I give into them almost every time they hit anyway.

I thought to myself, "Why am I waiting in line for the automatic car wash that will cost me more when I can move to the self-serve in the next stall over and get some exercise while saving some money?" OK, I know using the spraying wand thing hardly counts as exercise but......

So I popped the car in reverse and slid over all the while smirking and thinking that the poor guy in front of me will probably still be in the automatic wash as I drive off with my sparkling clean car.

I get out and try to put in my crisp new $5 bill about ten times before I realize that the machine must not be able to read the new format for the $5. By this time the guy in front of me has pulled into the automatic wash and I can hear the water spraying. I pull out the debit card and after a few attempts, I get it to work and the fun begins. It says it will only charge up to $5 at a swipe so I am thinking I will be getting off cheap. After all, the automatic wash is $7. I start washing away.

About half way through the cycle of choices, I hear the dryer go on in the automatic wash and a minute or so later, see my "competition" drive off. A few seconds after that, the wash stops because I have used all my $5 worth of time. MAN! I still need to rinse, clear coat, rinse, triple foam coat, rinse, and spot free rinse. By this time my fingers are frozen - did I mention it was only 40 degrees and I'm only in a sweater?

Well, $10 and a few frozen fingers later, my car is sparkling clean. It took twice as long as it would have to wait in line, $3 more to clean it, and it wasn't dry like it would have been but I guess I still did get the exercise I was looking for! You should have seen me when the high power spray started! I could barely stay on the ground. Note to self: wear good shoes if you want to wash your car and be prepared with time and quarters!

Dentists, dentists, and more dentists

Our family has two dentists; one for the kids and a different one for the adults. I should say that I have a different dentist than the kids because Gary doesn't go more than once every few years even with all my pushing and prodding. Well, this is the time of year that the appointments come around again. Every six months I start the dentist cycle. I will admit that the reason it is such a chore is because I am too chicken to take more than one child to the dentist at a time. So, first was Ethan this time around. It was his first cleaning and the kid did great. Loved every minute of it, especially picking a toy out of the belly of the toy robot on his way out the door. Next was Logan, still just as amazing. No cavities and a toy out of the robot. Finally, for the kids at least, was Tom. Great kid with no cavities and he even had his first complete head x-ray. I don't know if that is the exact name of the x-ray but it is the one where he stands up and the machine moves around his entire head. Technology is too cool.

So, thinking everything is great and we are done for another six months I was a bit surprised when the dentist recommended Tom go to the orthodontist as soon as we could get him in for a consultation. He has TONS of room between his teeth. They are PERFECTLY straight. Why the orthodontist? He seems to have an under bite that hasn't corrected itself. GRRRR......

Well, one free consultation later, we found out we will be into braces a small fortune and it will take quite some time - possibly having braces twice - to fix everything. The semi-good news is that it doesn't need to happen until our insurance kicks in after the start of the year although we do need to go see him again in three months. He can't do anything until he has at least four adult teeth to work with. Yes, Tom is about done with second grade and yes he has only lost four teeth and only has three adult ones in.

I got to go to the dentist today and guess what? NO CAVITIES! Where is my toy out of the robot's belly? They really should have a reward for the parents if we don't have cavities don't you think?