We have had a very busy spring with both boys in soccer (different leagues, different parks) and Edward playing baseball for the first time. Three afternoons a week one or both boys have practice or game in the 5 o'clock hour. Because Edward's baseball games usually don't get done until close to 7 p.m., I try to give the boys an early dinner around 4:30 so they'll be fueled for their activity and also so we don't have to stay up too late eating right before bed.

I haven't succumbed to the drive-thru culture yet, but I definitely understand it better than ever before. If it didn't require driving completely out of the way from home to park, I'd be more tempted. But we've been managing pretty well with the crock pot and with left-overs from the few nights we're home to cook an actual meal.

I do feel like I'm always rushing them though. Precision timing is not their forte. They have no understanding that staring at their shoes for 5 minutes before actually putting them on throws off the delicate balance we're trying to achieve.

Daniel for one, is finding it all a bit exhausting.

On Friday he fell asleep in the 15 minutes it took to drive from our house downtown to pick up John and then on to Edward's baseball game. We executed a stealth drop off of John and Edward, and then I just kept driving for another 20 minutes while he slept. I'm not a big fan of driving, but let me tell you I relished those 20 minutes of total silence! Once he woke up we headed back to the park where he flew up and down the path on his scooter while Edward's team got clobbered despite Edward's consistent hitting. He's not alone among his teammates in short-attention-span fielding. In fact he almost got brained by a line drive while he was playing second earlier in the week. Totally wasn't paying attention to the hitter and only noticed the ball just in time to duck out of the way.

Edward at soccer:

Daniel at Edward's soccer:


(P.S. He dressed himself this morning. He thought the brown stripe socks went well with the brown stripe shirt. I had to check myself and admit that I was wrong to suggest he change to white socks. Who does it hurt?)

The boys were so excited about the Mother's Day gifts they made at school they couldn't wait from Friday afternoon to Sunday to give them to me. Edward made a photo holder and two nice "I love my mom because" fill in the blanks. Daniel made a pot holder with his hand print on it. He's seen the box in which I've stashed various keepsakes, most of which are hand prints, and is a bit conflicted about whether he wants me to use it for hot pots or put it in the box. For now it's hanging on the fridge by a magnet.

Maybe next year for Mother's Day they'll get a bigger chair!

Well, I got my rhododendron picture after all. I guess it's survived an Iowa "spring" before and will do so again.

May 1, 2013

It was so bright Daniel had trouble keeping his eyes open

May 2, 2013

Extreme grandparenting

I took the first picture because I knew that something like the second would happen. I've gotten the boys' picture with our front-door rhododendron most of the years we've lived in this house, but this year, there's a good chance it will freeze before it's in full bloom. So I snapped this picture on the way out the door before school. Before school, first thing in the morning, it was warm enough for shorts.

 But later in the day, as we were watching Edward's baseball game (two hits, woo!) the cold front started moving through and by this morning it was back to winter coats. At Daniel's soccer game time it was about 45 degrees. Thankfully, his game ended before the rain started. I had left by then to take Edward to soccer practice, which extended into the rainy evening. Thankfully (again) it is possible, acceptable even, to observe practice from one's warm, dry car.