Saturday Sweetheart

My very favorite player on the Wyomissing High School Boys' JV Soccer Team!!

Using His Head

Life has been extremely busy with school and activities and...soccer.

Edward has soccer everyday after school, and Ethan has soccer on Tuesday evenings and Sunday afternoons.

Sometimes life feels consumed by soccer. We finished watching the 2014 World Cup just in time for Edward to begin the high school soccer season.

Not that I'm complaining.

It's my favorite sport. I love the speed and skill the players display. It never slows down; only pauses for kicks and throw-ins.

Stuart and I are having fun coaching our U8 team, the Blue Cheetahs. The kids have plenty of silliness and energy to make it very enjoyable.

And then this happens.

Edward's team played Oley, and for the second year in a row, he got headbutted.

Ironic?

Hmm...

Oh, Happy Day!

What a difference six years makes, right?

From little to "big" in the blink of an eye. Today is Ethan's "Star Birthday," meaning his birthday actually landed on his actual day of birth.

We are so proud of this little guy! He woke up, and Edward asked him if he felt different. He said he felt taller...so we, of course, measured him, and he is actually an inch and a quarter taller.

Happiest 6th Birthday to our special "caboose," Ethan Samuel! We love you more than you'll ever know!

A couple of pics from today:

Whoosh!

So life is speeding by at an incredible rate! (Not like I haven't said that before...)

We've only just started school, but we're already hitting the ground with our sprinting shoes on. We're immersed in the middle of the high school soccer season and drama club just started and Emi is getting the school newspaper up and running again...and...and...and...

Remind me again: I am a STAY-AT-HOME mom, right?

Thankfully, we gave Ethan time off from school this week. He is between first and second grade, and since he schools year 'round, we thought a much-needed break was in order. He'll start again the day after his 6th birthday.

Sigh.................

SIXTH birthday!! Wasn't this kid just born? How on earth did we get here so fast?

From this:

To this:

See what I mean about hanging on tight during this awesome and crazy ride called parenthood?

Here are some photos from this week:

Edward at a home JV soccer game.

Still smiling even though they lost. "I think we played really well," he said. 

So proud of him!

We've hit the two-sandwich stage of Edward's life.

Emi helped out as an assistant coach at tonight's U8 soccer practice.

Think someone liked his U8 soccer practice? 

Guess who his coaches are?

Another writer joined Voices last Saturday!!

Proud sister with her "little" brother before their first Voices meeting of the year.

I sure do love these kids!! 

The best thing about being in the blog world is seeing all the fantastic moms and dads out there who love their kids with their whole hearts, too. It gives one reason to hope!

Update: Saturday Sweetheart

So we drove 35 minutes to see Edward's first-ever away game as a boys' high school JV soccer player, and all we saw was this:

In fairness, we were told the JV team played after the Varsity team. But due to the rainy weather, we think they played them early. Edward did mention afterwards that he thought about calling us to let us know...but he forgot.

Sigh. Oh, well.

We were there. See? *wink-grin*

Saturday Sweetheart

What a difference seven years makes, right? The little guy on the left was 6 1/2 when he first started playing soccer. Now, at 13 1/2, Edward had his first high school game today. He's on the JV team and, while they didn't win, he seemed to have fun.

Here's a little trip down Memory Lane with the blog post I wrote on his first-ever day of soccer back in 2007.

I'll repeat it: What a difference seven years makes.

Having a Ball

Mondays and Musings and Musings and Mondays

Our 11.5-year-old

Happy Monday! It's the second to last Monday in August. Nearly the end of another month.

You can tell the summer is waning. We've had a few evenings that were decidedly cooler than usual. And this morning the air felt even a little crisp.

Amazing.

It feels like Summer just started...though with the new school year looming, we know that's not true.

So our middle child had his "half-birthday" last Tuesday. 11.5 It seems so strange to think of him being only a half-a-year away from 12. Wow! One year later, and we'll have two teenagers.

Okay. Mentally filing that in the "Do Not Disturb" folder of my brain.

Edward had a quiet half-birthday. We did summery things, which means that we hung out, got bored, did some playing, ate some donuts. We gave him an inexpensive digital watch and a remote-controlled car, both of which have been enjoyed immensely already. Love when that happens!

Speaking of time, Edward started soccer practice tonight. They had to move his team up to the U13 since they didn't have enough players in the league. It should be an interesting -- and challenging -- season for them.  Ethan starts his U6 practices sometime in September. He's really really excited.

Speaking of soccer, we finally got a call for the ball bags we bought the boys. I special-ordered one in July for Edward because it was supposed to go with his uniform, which is navy-blue and white. We picked it up today. It was black. Hmm... When I went back into the store to inquire about it, they told me that was the only ones they had left in stock. When I pointed out that I "special-ordered" it in JULY, they shrugged and said that they don't even carry it in navy blue...just royal blue, red, or black. Sigh.  Both boys liked them better in black, so we kept what we "special-ordered."

Speaking of ball bags, we got Ethan an early 4th-birthday present: a Size 3 "football." He was so excited with it that he hugged it all around the store. We even got a chance to play with it last night. Emily took a bunch of photos as we played. I'll post some of those tomorrow.

Stuart took last Thursday and Friday off from work. He needed to have his computer serviced before he heads out on any other trips. It was taking about a eternity decade month hour to start up. Okay, so maybe not quite that long, but it was definitely longer than normal. (It brought back to mind the days when we had Commodore 64/Vic 20s...and you could start a program loading, go to the bathroom, get a snack, and return to the computer before it even finished loading. It always made me think of mice running on a wheel inside the computer's 5 1/4-inch diskette drive.) He called me from work this morning and said it was definitely running better...and even started up in about a minute or two.

So my Monday "chores" are calling. Hope you have a GREAT start to your week.

End of the Line

Tonight marked the end of the season for the Wyomissing U9 boys' soccer team, as they took on (and creamed) the Wyomissing U9 girls' soccer teamS.

Their last official game was Saturday and they won, giving them a season ranking of 2nd place. (They only lost ONE game...the #1 team didn't lose any.)

Let me pause and reflect on that.

This is the same team that played last Autumn (minus/plus a few boys)...that ended up the very bottom of the division. They lost EVERY game, except for the one against the moms which they only won because, well, we don't need to go there.....

SECOND place!

To say that we were pleased for them doesn't even touch the emotions. They did an awesome job and really grew together as a team.

Most of them are returning in the Autumn...so here's hoping.

A season parting shot with a new "recruit."

Moms-Versus-Sons Game - Part Deux

So they wanted a rematch.

The U9 boys from the the Wyomissing Soccer Club.

No problem, right?

Well, maybe a small-ish problem...

They've improved.

A LOT.

We (the moms) gave it all we had...and even a bit more. But the odds (and the coach/ref) were against us.

And they won. 3-1!

GREAT job, boys!!

I'll call to congratulate you in a few days...after I stop hurting. *wink-grin*

A Victorious Day All-Around

Lots of happenings today.

We went to the borough's annual egghunt -- Ethan's first time participating -- and then to another victorious game for Edward's soccer team.

Ethan wasn't really sure what to do with the eggs, but with a little help from Daddy, he got the hang of it quickly.







Daddy even gave Edward a bit of coaching. *wink-grin*

Kicking into Spring

First day of Spring...and Edward's first Spring soccer game.

Stretching before the game

Ethan watches from up on high

His team won 3 to 2! Woo-hooooo!!

We followed our victorious game by helping out at our 4-H club's booth at the Pet Expo.



A beautiful -- and fun -- start to a new season of life...and soccer!

Having a Ball

Well, the soccer season ended yesterday...after two final games...and so our little "star" will hang his cleats (preferably outside) until the next season.

His team didn't win any games...but they definitely grew and improved as a team.

So next Spring... Bring it on!

Game of the Century

Our son's U9 soccer coach -- deciding the team needed a morale-boosting win -- set up a competition between the moms and boys.

Hmm...

We aren't sure if he thought we'd be pushovers and let them win...

But after some fierce competition and some even fiercer "trash talking," the boys prevailed 3 to 2. It was an awesome victory for them.

And I'm not sure about the other moms, but I'm still hurting.

*grin*

* * *

As a few asides:

I was our team's top scorer -- scoring both goals when Edward was goalie...oops. And I also was our team's top "fouler." (It's been a long time since I played soccer in gym class.) Bigger oops.

And I've never seeen a professional game where if a team member from one side knocks down a team member from the other side, they pick them up and brush them off and give them a hug to make sure they're okay.

Saturday Sweetheart