A fun Sunday surprise!

It has been a string of crazy weeks back to back. I am glad to be staying so busy, but boy, I am exhausted. I used to think that kids kept me busy when they were little--now I know just how busy things get when they're older.

Noah went to church camp, and Eli had baseball literally every single day (including tournaments last Saturday and Sunday as well as this past Saturday and Sunday). Yesterday, their first game was at 11:45, and their second game wasn't until 3:00. We had to get there at 10:00, and didn't get home until 5:30--it's a long day! And I think we have to do it all over again next weekend.

It was about 85 degrees and sunny, which made for a very long day of baseball! It was so exciting, though--the kids (Eli's team) played the most nail-biting game I've ever seen.

We played against a VERY tough team that pretty much everyone in the league wants to beat. They are very cocky and do a lot of trash-talking. They're stacked with players from travel teams (we only have ONE kid who plays on a travel team). I was fully expecting our team to get crushed.

My friend Dave, who was the third base coach, could hear their kids in the dugout trash talking our team, especially after they were beating us 3-0 in the first inning. But then we tied the score, and the other team got really quiet. In the fifth inning, we were WINNING at 9-6! The time limit on the game had nearly expired, but since we only had one inning left, we played it. And that's where everything fell apart. It was actually down to the point where we only need ONE MORE STRIKE to win the game. I was a nervous wreck.

Even if they hit the ball, we only needed one out, and then the game would be over, 9-6. But the kid who was pitching tends to be very inconsistent, and without getting into all the details, the other team ended up coming back hard and scoring five runs, making the score 14-9. We didn't get in any more runs on our last at-bat, so that was the final score. It would have been SO great to wipe the smirks off those kids faces.

However, our kids put up a fantastic fight, and if it weren't for that last inning, we'd have won against the notorious team. Eli was catcher the entire game, and I am so impressed that he managed to stick through it in that heat while wearing all that catcher's equipment. He looked great! He also got a few hits, including a triple.

Anyway, about the big surprise... before the game started, I was sitting under Renee's tent for shade, and then I started walking back to where I'd set up my chair by the backstop. I saw my parents, and then I saw someone who looked like my sister. I was a little startled by the resemblance, and then I realized it was my sister! And Shawn (my brother-in-law) was with her. They'd come all the way from Illinois for Eli's tournament! We were also going to be having dinner and cake at my parents' house later for Noah's birthday, so they figured it would be the perfect surprise. And it was.

My parents and brothers all knew about their surprise, but Jerry, the kids, and I were clueless. So it was super exciting to see them. They couldn't have chosen a greater game to go to--it was SO CLOSE until that last inning.

Anyway, we lost both games yesterday (you could tell the kids were totally whipped after the first game in the sun/heat, and then to play another tough team (who were fresh and hadn't already played a game that day) was too much. I'm so glad Eli joined this team--it's only for 11-12 year olds, and it's for a short time each year. He'll be able to play next year as well. But he's loved it!

Eli is super disappointed that the season is over, because he LOVES to play. But his summer rec ball coach decided to have pick-up games at his house (he has a baseball diamond in his backyard) on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so my kids can still keep playing, if only for fun.

I looked back in my computer to the first year they played t-ball, and I can't believe just how cute they were! And look how much they've grown...

The first photo is from 2009 when they played 3-4 year old t-ball. And the second photo is from this year. They've grown so much!

After their game, we came home and took a quick shower before heading to my mom's for dinner. Noah had requested ribs for his birthday dinner, so that's what my mom made. Since I'm not a fan of ribs, I just loaded up on sweet potato casserole (my favorite). And, of course, cake. I made a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting, and it was delicious.

I was short by two candles, so we nixed the candle idea and just found some other cake decor. One of them was so funny, just a little happy birthday frame. So we put a photo of Noah in it and stuck it on the cake.

After cake, someone had the idea to throw knives, hahaha. Last year, when the water bottle flipping was popular, and I felt like my head would explode from hearing that water bottle noise, my dad had the idea to teach the kids to throw knives instead. Because that makes more sense--hahaha! But they actually really enjoyed learning about it, and my dad built a target for the garage wall.

So, instead of playing corn hole or something that typical people would do, my family threw knives and hatches at a target last night. I had never tried before, and I was terrible at it, but it was pretty fun. Eli is actually really good. His record is 14 in a row! I threw about 12 hatchets and 12 knives, and I only stuck 2.

Anyway, I have lots more to write about, and hopefully this week will be the week it happens. I have Wednesday Weigh-in to catch up on, and I've been wanting to write about the budget Jerry and I have been using to pay down our debt. It's been going really well, and I'm excited about it! Also mental health stuff and weight maintenance stuff, and the rest of the usual.

Since it's just after midnight as I post this, I guess it's Tuesday... so I'll write tomorrow with Wednesday Weigh-in!

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The "Little" Moments (13 years of motherhood)

Today, Noah turned 13 years old--a teenager. I simply cannot believe that I am old enough to have a teenager! I remember very clearly my last moments before heading to the hospital to be induced into labor. Jerry and I stopped at the store to buy a few last-minute things we'd need for the new baby. We were as ready as two newly expecting parents could be (i.e. not at all ready).

My induction went well, and I was in labor for 36 hours (from the moment they induced me until Noah was born). Thankfully, he was born very healthy--he was two weeks early, because I had intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), but he was 8 pounds, 8 ounces and ready to take on the world.

Jerry and I were young (22 and 23 years old) and had no clue what we were doing, but apparently we were doing it right, because Noah was growing and thriving.

As a new mom, all of the experienced parents tell you over and over, "Make sure you enjoy every moment! It goes by so fast!" and it kind of goes in one ear and out the other. Of course I was enjoying the moment... what does that even mean, anyway? But now I understand it, and I desperately want to convey the same message to other new moms.

When I watch old home movies of the boys, I am just amazed that they went from babies to pre-teens in the blink of an eye. When did their voices stop sounding so squeaky and cute? When did they stop running into the bedroom to pounce on Jerry to wake him up for work? When did they stop yelling across the house, "Come wipe my butt!" when they were finished on the toilet? When did they stop needing me to cut up their food, give them drinks in "real" glasses instead of sippy cups, and help them get dressed?

Looking back, I wish I'd truly lived in the moment. I'm so thankful I was never one to get mad when they got dirty or made messes (with baby powder, Desitin, Sharpies, or anything else). Instead, I grabbed my camera and took some pictures. Then I cleaned the mess. And now I laugh about it and share those stories with others.

Noah helped Eli get ready for his first day of pre-preschool

What happens when I take a 10-minute shower

(When I asked Noah about the following picture, "What did you guys do?" he replied, "Don't worry, we didn't use all of it!" Hahaha, because clearly, that's what I was worried about ;) )

Desitin is SO fun trying to remove from furniture ;)

But it was all the other in-between moments that I miss, that I didn't take note of, or stop time for and truly just appreciate. Feeding them. Cuddling when they were sick or scared. Listening to their chatter in the car. Watching them crawl around the house on their bellies, and eventually walking. When they started tying their own shoelaces. Even watching an episode of Dora, or, worse, Thomas the Tank, with them.

I didn't realize those were the moments I'd miss until a decade later. Noah is 13 years old today. That's 4,748 days of memories. I wish I could recall every single one! I'm just grateful that he is growing into such a fantastic young man--he is so much like Jerry in so many ways, and I love that about him. Jerry has always been the classic "good guy" that goes above and beyond, especially for me, and it makes me so proud that Noah is learning from him. He wants to get married and have kids of his own one day, and I know that he will make someone special feel very happy.

This advice to new moms will likely go in one ear and out the other, but if there is one thing I'd do differently, it would be to pause whatever I was doing and truly appreciate ALL the moments. They are growing every single second of every single day; and one day, you'll be missing these days and telling other new moms that they should appreciate when the kids are young.

I always feel so sad when I see young kids talking to their parents, but their parents are staring at the screens of their cell phones and not really listening to what their kids are saying to them. I'm grateful that the temptation of smart phones wasn't "a thing" back when my kids were very young. But even now, I'm very conscious of when I use my phone--when I'm with my kids, I rarely use it for anything other than taking photos. I don't want to look back on these days a decade from now and wish I'd been paying attention to the little moments instead of staring at something on a screen that I will have no memory of in a month, week, or even day.

When I was diagnosed recently with bipolar disorder, I started to worry that the memories my kids would have of me would be "Crazy Mom". But as I've been going through and sorting/organizing my photos, I realize that "Crazy Mom" was actually pretty fun through the years. Maybe they'll think back to some of those memories and laugh.

Like when the weather was too cold, but they wanted to play with their inflatable bouncer, so I just moved the furniture and brought it into the house to let them jump.

And the time they kept taking off their shirts, so I drew shirts on them with a marker. They thought it was hilarious and couldn't stop giggling.

Or when I was putting Eli to bed the night before his first 5K, and he said he wished he had a shirt that said, "Runs for Cookies is my mom" so I stayed up half the night making him one as a surprise.

And when I told the kids it was okay to color on their walls, because hey, walls can always be painted over. No harm done. They thought it was AWESOME.

I hope my kids will have as many good memories of me as I do of them. My kids are fantastic.

Noah turned 13 years old today. A teenager. Cheers to 13 years!

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Baseball, Old Style, and creepy crawlies

I feel like my entire life revolves around baseball right now! Last week was packed with it once we got home from vacation. Eli is on his regular summer league as well as an All-Star team. His All-Star team had a tournament Saturday and Sunday, which ended up being an all day event. I love watching the games, but it's hard to plan anything else because you don't know the schedule ahead of time. It all depends on if they win or lose each game.

Eli was SO excited to be on this team. He had to try out for it, so I'm really happy for him that he made it. I think the most exciting part for him was the uniform ;) He couldn't wait to wear it, so he finally got to wear it on Saturday. As the team was warming up for their first game, Eli hit the ball and actually broke his wooden bat!

I told him that was pretty cool, and it was too bad it didn't happen during the game ;)

I was a little worried about his thumb, because he hurt it pretty badly when we were up north. Noah was using a slingshot, and Eli ended up getting hit with a small rock. His thumb swelled up and bruised, and I just hoped it wasn't broken. We put a splint on it, and when it was wrapped up, I remembered a certain Fourth of July where I got a fish hook in my finger, and then was a little dramatic with dressing it. I knew I had a picture of me somewhere from that day, so I dug it out (virtually) when I got home. I thought it was pretty funny!

Anyway, Eli ended up doing great at his tournament. We only won one of three games, but he had fun, so that's all I care about anyway. Watching the games is so nerve-wracking for me! 

After the games on Saturday, Jerry, the kids, and I went to Dave and Renee's for some yard games and a bonfire. Dave surprised us with some Old Style beer! 

Dave is actually much happier than he looks in photos, hahaha

Anyway, if you don't recognize the beer, it's seen on just about every episode of Shameless (my very favorite TV show). Jerry and I got Renee and Dave hooked on Shameless, so it was pretty fun to get a hold of the Old Style beer (which you can't get around here--it's from Illinois). 

I hadn't had a single drink since I was in Portland over a month ago, but I couldn't pass up the Old Style! And it was actually really good, even for a non-beer drinker like me. I'm sure it's just your average cheap beer in Chicago, but it was a fun novelty for us to try.

Yesterday, Noah had to leave for church camp, where he'll spend this week. He was very excited to go, but I'm a little bummed he won't be here for his birthday on Thursday. We're going to celebrate it next weekend. 

I took this picture just before he left. It's hard to believe that the next time I see him, he'll be a teenager!

A couple of months ago, I was looking through a brochure of different summer camp events for kids, and there was a cooking class for kids ages 9-11. Eli was interested in signing up, but when I thought about it, I figured he probably wouldn't learn much with kids two years younger than him and several kids in a class. I knew I could teach him everything (and more) than he would learn in a $100 class, so I asked him if he would want to do something similar on our own when Noah was at camp. He loved the idea.

He told me several times how excited he was to choose, shop for, prepare, and cook dinners every day this week. We wrote down a list of ideas, and I wanted to choose different cooking techniques each day. The meal he was most excited about was steak. We never eat steak, mainly because it's so expensive and Jerry and I don't really like beef very much. But, Eli had watched a show where Gordon Ramsey cooked steak for steak sandwiches, and Eli told me all about how he cooked it. That's what he wanted to make. So, we chose steak with sautéed zucchini and summer squash. 

Eli picked out the ingredients at the store, and then I showed him how to prep everything (even how to preheat the oven, the difference between a skillet and sauce pan, soup pot, etc.). He did all the work himself--searing the steak, adding garlic, thyme, and butter, then putting it the oven to finish cooking. Meanwhile, he sliced the zucchini and summer squash, and sautéed them in olive oil. 

When he was done, everything was actually really DELICIOUS. Like I said, I don't really like beef, but even I ate a few slices of this. He was very proud of himself.

Tonight, we are going to make a chicken stir-fry so he can learn how to chop and slice all sorts of different vegetables, and to make a sauce for it, as well as cook perfect rice (I am the master of cooking rice!). 

This is random, but I found a beast of a spider in my laundry room. It was midnight, and I went in there to move clothes from the washer to the dryer. I could've done it in the dark, and I started to, but then I decided to flip on the light. When I did, I noticed it... literally the largest spider I'd ever seen. After I stopped gawking and gasping out some very foul language, I grabbed my phone to take a picture--I had to get a picture of this thing--then I called Jerry and Noah in to see it. None of us could believe it.

Here it is next to a 40-pound box of cat litter, so you can see the relative size of the thing. 

It wasn't moving, but I was terrified to do anything about it, considering the last spider fiasco we had. This spider actually dwarfed that last spider in size. I thought trapping it under a plastic cup or something would be better than spraying it with Raid only to have it run and crawl somewhere that I couldn't get to it. We eventually got it into a mason jar, and I was still marveling at the size of it. 

Jerry said it was probably a fishing spider, and after reading about them, I am pretty sure that's what it was. They like to be in wooded areas and near bodies of water (we live right across from woods/marsh). They are actually big enough that they float on the water and catch small fish and large insects! I have no idea how it got into the house, but the very next day, Jerry used some sort of foam sealant to seal around the drain holes under the sinks and any spot that leads under the house. I don't ever want to find one of those things again!

Anyway, things have been crazy busy around here all week, so I am hoping to get a chance to write more frequently soon (probably after next weekend's baseball tournament). Hopefully everyone had a great weekend!

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Camp Fireside (family vacation)

It feels so good to be home!

On Friday, Jerry and I drove (with the kids and Joey) up to Ewen, Michigan. My entire family--my parents, siblings and their spouses/kids, and dogs were all meeting there at my sister's property for several days over the fourth of July. Ewen is in the far northwestern part of the upper peninsula.

The route we chose (the fastest route) was over nine hours! That may not sound so bad, but considering we had two adults, two kids, all our luggage, and a 60-pound dog in a midsize car (a Nissan Altima--we rented it for the trip), it was going to be a very long drive. That was the thing I was most dreading about this trip. Since we are working on saving money right now, we didn't want to stop along the way--so it was a straight-through drive.

The ride ended up not being so bad after all. It went by pretty quickly. Once we got into the U.P., we realized we were going to be driving right past the Air Force base where Jerry used to live when he was younger (until he was 12, except for a couple of years when they lived in California). I had never seen it, and I thought it would be fun to see where he spent his childhood years. So, we took an extra hour to stop there and look around. It is no longer a military base, and unfortunately, it's very run down looking. Jerry was disappointed to see his childhood home like that. We did get some pictures, though.

After that, it was about three more hours to get to Jeanie's camp. Jeanie (my sister) and her husband (Shawn) own a 109-acre piece of property in Ewen (they live in Rockford, Illinois, but go to their camp on weekends), and they named it Camp Fireside. They recently built a beautiful cabin (Shawn and his friend literally built this amazing cabin from scratch--including the wood furniture):

When Jeanie first started going up there (it's a five hour drive for them), she wanted a "dog park" so that she could bring her dogs and not worry about them running off. Shawn fenced in a decent-sized area around the fire pit for the dogs. Later, he fenced in five and a half acres! Now the dogs have a ton of room to play. Jeanie invited Joey, as well as Nathan's dog Bailey, to join us up north. She also invited a few of her friends and their dogs to come as well.

Pole barn and one of the campers

Jeanie has a few campers on the property for guests to stay when they come, so Jerry, the kids, Joey, and I stayed in one of the campers. I am SO not an outdoorsy person, but staying in a camper was much more comfortable than staying in a tent! Jeanie got us all matching hoodies for the weekend--a different color for each family, and ours was green. It made for a cool family photo!

I had bought a hammock on Amazon a few months ago, for the sole purpose of using it at Jeanie's, but it sat in my closet until we packed our bags for this trip. I was worried I'd never be able to figure it out by myself, so I just wanted to wait until my older brother, Brian, could show me how to set it up. Turns out it was extremely easy! It literally takes less than three minutes to set up, and anyone with half a brain could do it. I couldn't believe it.

I bought the two-person one, because it can be used by either one or two people, and I thought Jerry and I might have fun lying in there together (the weight capacity is 500 pounds). The entire hammock folds up small enough to fit inside of that little pouch you see on the side. And it wasn't even hard to get it all back in there! At Brian's suggestion, I did spend an extra $15 to get a better set of straps. The hammock comes with straps, but the ones I bought separately make the set up even easier and they are sturdier.

Anyway, since I'm sure someone will ask, I got it on Amazon. Here are the links to the hammock (the brand is called Winner Outfitters) and the straps (these are affiliate links, so if you buy through these, I get a small commission; but I paid for the hammock myself, so this isn't a sponsored ad or anything):

   

Relaxing in the hammock ended up being one of my favorite ways to pass time camping. It was SO comfy! And even Luke loved it :)

Speaking of Luke, it was so fantastic to spend so much time with him. Whenever Becky wanted a break, I was happy to walk around or just sit by the fire with him.

Luke even rolled over for the first time while all of us were crowded around him--and I got it on video!

The first evening we were there, I went on a four-wheeler ride with Jerry and the kids. Jerry said I look like I belong on Chips with this helmet on. Hahaha.

The kids had a blast the whole time we were there. They went four-wheeling a lot, swam in the lake, fished at a dam, played Corn Hole, caught frogs in Jeanie's pond, shot Nathan's guns, and watched Brian's fireworks display.

Noah and Eli with their friend (Jeanie's friend's son) playing in the lake

Eli and I playing Corn Hole. He beat me. 

Luke's first time swimming in the lake. Clearly, he loved it!

Eli catching (and releasing) frogs in Jeanie's pond

The boys on four-wheelers

Nathan brought a couple of his guns for target shooting. I had never shot anything other than a BB gun in my life, and I thought it would be fun to try! When I saw him shooting his rifle, he looked like the snipers you see in the movies, and I wanted to give it a try. It took a while for me to understand how to use the scope (I am right handed, but my left eye is dominant, which took some getting used to). I actually hit the bulls-eye! Shooting the gun was super fun, and it makes me want to do it more often (just target practice--no hunting for me). 

In the evenings, we all sat down around the fire to chat and joke around. We made s'mores, and I love that my kids enjoy making them for me--so they do the work, and I get to eat yummy s'mores ;)

Joey had a BLAST playing with the other dogs. There were six dogs total at one point! Joey especially liked playing with Jeanie's basset hound, Bentley. Joey was so tired after the first day, that he pretty much slept the rest of the weekend, haha.

Jerry and I took the kids to Lake Superior for a couple of hours so that they could touch the water. Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area, and it contains more water than all of the other Great Lakes combined. It's known for being SUPER cold because it is so deep.  People don't even swim in it because of the cold temps (unless they do it just to say they did!). We walked along the beach looking for cool rocks (the beaches have so many rocks, and some of them are really unique).

Brian has done a very elaborate fireworks display for the last couple of years, and they just keep getting better. I hadn't seen one yet, because this was my first time to Jeanie's property, so I was looking forward to it. Check out this trailer full of the equipment to launch the fireworks! He had a whole computerized program set up to automatically launch everything in the timing and display that he wanted.

The fireworks were going to be on July 3rd, and Jeanie let some neighbors know about it. The display has been so great that people who live around there all come over to watch the show. It's actually better than the city's display! I'm not exaggerating. After seeing it, I was stunned. I'm normally not a big fireworks person, but this was AMAZING. If the drive wasn't so long, I'd go up there every year to watch the display. (In in the video at the end of this post, I have a few clips of the fireworks.)

Anyway, we drove home yesterday, only stopping in Mackinaw for some fudge (Mackinaw and Mackinac Island are known for the most amazing fudge!). Side note: Mackinac is pronounced "Mackinaw", and both spellings are used--but Mackinac refers to the island and the bridge, while Mackinaw refers to the city.

It feels great to be home! But obviously, we had a lot of fun. I put together a series of one-second video clips with my 1-Second Everyday app, and turned the entire vacation into a very fun video! I posted the video below...


I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend!

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