Play Ball

 

We've got two of them playing ball this year.

 

And a third who can't wait for his turn.

 

Bug has moved up from t-ball/coach pitch to machine pitch.  It was a little bit of an adjustment, but he's turned into one of the most consistent hitters on his team.

He's also gotten to try out some new gear. . .

I think seeing these little guys in all the catcher gear has got to be one of the cutest things ever.

This season hasn't been quite as fun as t-ball was, but Bug has been learning a lot.  After each game that they win, the coach selects one of the kids to get the game ball.  Last weekend, they had a double header and Bug got the game ball after the second game for being the only player to hit the ball at every at-bat.  He is definitely not as experienced a player, or strong as a lot of the kids on the team, so he was pretty happy to be acknowledged for his efforts.

And I do think he likes being on a winning team--they are currently 7-1, with only a couple more games to go before the championships start.

 

Bean had so much fun watching Bug's games last year that she wanted to try playing herself this year.  She's playing 9-10's softball and it's been a good learning experience. 

 

Most of her team is new to the sport, so they've been working on the fundamentals.  Figuring out how to hit and catch and throw, and a few simple plays in the field.  Like how you can actually tag the runner who is going right past you, not just throw it to a base across the field. They're slowly getting the idea.

And at this first age group that the kids pitch, it's a whole different game.  Not a lot of hitting going on, which means not a lot of opportunities for defensive plays, but a whole lot of runs because of all the walks.  Bean hasn't had a hit yet, but she does tend to hit a couple foul balls each game, so she's getting better at keeping her eye on the ball and learning which pitches to try to swing at.  We're still hoping she'll get to connect once this season.

 

Because of Daddy-o's crazy schedules and a few days out of town, I've gone to a lot of these games on my own and with all 3 kids.  At Bean's first game, these two lost interest in actually watching pretty quickly, but Peanut was happy to follow his big brother around while they found things to play.  Watching them walk, hand in hand, down the road was so sweet.  These are the moments that make having more than one kid worth it.

Parenting Juggling Act

I feel that the juggling metaphor for parenting is pretty accurate these days.  3 kids, school, baseball, softball, swim team, church, yard work, house work, end of year activities, field trips, food to make and laundry to keep clean, never mind the things I do for myself to stay sane--running and pilates, reading, and occasionally chatting with friends.  There's a lot going on and it can be hard to keep all the balls in the air.  But the frantic nature of life tends to ebb and flow, and I know that we're only 2 weeks away from school and everything that goes with it dropping out of the mix which makes me insanely happy.

School being out will create a whole new form of craziness, but for the most part, I actually like having the kids home all day.  I love our mornings being a little slower, and the bedtime routine being a little more relaxed.  I love going to the pool and museums and exploring Charlotte together.  Love reading in the afternoons while Peanut naps, baking treats with the kids, and cookouts and picnics.  And I just like spending time with them.  They like to do their own thing so much of the time that when they are in school, I don't always have a lot of time with them, but in the summer, there is time for alone time and family time.

Along the lines of this thinking, I keep getting questions about whether Peanut is going to preschool this fall or not.  We'd decided that we weren't quite ready for the 3 day program that Bug did at age 3 (but he was almost 4, which I think made a big difference), so I found another option that is flexible on days and is play-based with lots of outdoor time, which were the things we loved about our preschool.  So my short answer to everyone is that I decided to just do one day a week for now because I'll miss having my little side-kick with me and am not ready to let him go more than that.

Most people accept that answer and agree that "this time goes so fast," "it's hard to let go of that last one," or "enjoy him while he's young."  But yesterday, a friend replied, speaking to Peanut, "Mama needs to get a job."  I laughed and the conversation went into talking about juggling work and family and how crazy life is, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about this comment.  I'm a little hurt by it.  And I'm sure the friend didn't mean anything by it--actually, considering the source (an attachment parenting friend), I am a little surprised--and I'm not even quite sure what about it hurt.  Maybe the implication that I'm keeping him from "natural progression" because of my own neediness (don't even get me started on how optional I think preschool is), or that I need something more worthwhile to do with my time than hang out with a 3 year old.  Or maybe just the general idea that I need to be doing more than what I'm doing.

The thing is, I'm pretty happy with my life right now.  I like subbing occasionally at the school, love being able to volunteer in the classrooms for a few hours on the weeks that I don't sub, and enjoy spending the other 4 days a week with my Peanut.  I completely support anyone who wants to do something different with their life, but for now, this is my life and it's good.  Sure, there are days that I wish I could drop all 3 kids off at my mom's and run away for a week, and Peanut has hit the 3 year old whininess and demands hard, but there are still more times that he makes me want to laugh than want to cry.  And I still feel like only getting 4 or 5 years of daytimes with him is still so little compared to all the years he'll be in school.  (Should I even bring up the fact that none of my kids have gone to kindergarten, so I'm even open to stretching that time out for another year?)

What it really comes down to is that I don't believe there is one right way to live life, or be a parent.   As long as we love our kids and are thoughtful about the way we chose to live, it's all good in my book.  I'm just going to keep juggling the things I feel are important, and opt out of the rest.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

After diminishing returns from our garden each year, we decided to give it another solid try.  There are just so many bugs, so little sun, and we tend to kind of forget about everything by mid-summer, but there is something so satisfying about growing things you can eat.  And garden tomatoes always taste better than everything else.

So this year, we built a new raised bed near the house, where we're hoping there will be enough sun to give these plants a chance.  We mapped out the space and tried to combine things that grow well near each other.  I also went to the farmer's market for most of our plants and got some advice from a couple of the organic growers (and will continue to go back to chat with them about our bug issues as they come up.)

And we planted a few things from seed--our green onions are coming up strong, we've already lost our celery, spinach and carrots to the rabbits in our yard.  That's a new pest for us to have to deal with and we're currently negotiating exactly how we will get them to leave the garden alone.  I'm pushing for ferret feces or fox urine, and I'm sure you can guess what Daddy-o is planning.

 

But here's to hoping that we're only a couple months away from eating the fruits of our labors!

3 Year Old Peanut

Hard to believe this little guy isn't a toddler anymore.  I think he will always be our baby, but in so many ways, he is seeming so grown up.  Doing things for himself, talking about everything, understanding more than we think he does.

 

We started  his celebrating with a little Mama-Peanut hiking out at Latta Plantation and Mountain Island Lake.  It was a perfect morning with my little guy.  (Other than the possible run-in with poison ivy thanks to the dog dragging her leash through a suspicious patch--still waiting to see what will come of that.)  There weren't too many other people out there, and the lake was absolutely beautiful.

Peanut was pretty happy with the hiking, throwing sticks and rocks in the lake, listening for birds and airplanes.  And with a stop at the plantation house to visit the animals, it was a perfect morning for this 3 year old.

Follow that up with a kind of crazy afternoon--a failed attempt at naptime, pick the kids up from school, a quick snack and a little backyard water fun while I packed up dinner, and then we rushed to Bean's softball game.  By the time we made it back home, it was past bedtime (oh, the hazards of being a third child), but we tried to squeeze in a little birthday fun for Peanut.  First, a few presents,

some singing and candles on a cupcake,

and some very proficient blowing.  I think this may be the summer we get some bubble blowing at the pool since he's mastered the candle technique.  I think that Peanut was pretty happy with the evening.  He was hilarious and sang loudly to himself when we sang Happy Birthday.

 

But, that wasn't the end of it.  After Peanut split open his head a couple weeks ago, some friends who were there that night gave him some books as a get well gift.  One of them was about Mickey Mouse and a surprise birthday party.  Mickey's friends surprised him with balloons, cake, and lemonade, and of course, the loud, "Surprise!" as they jumped out when he comes home.  Peanut has LOVED this book and had us read it a couple times a day ever since and he gets more and more excited as the book goes on until he leaps from our laps and yells, "Surprise!" with Mickey's friends.

 

So, when this started, we decided that Peanut needed his own surprise party.  We had just planned to have his friends who we swap babysitting with come over, so we stuck with that, but the kids helped me decorate during naptime and we had our friends come while I took Peanut to run an errand, so when we came home, he got the surprise of everyone jumping out from the decorated kitchen (complete with the balloons and lemonade.) 

He did smile, and then got clingy and shy (and tired--he was still waking up from the nap I'd had to drag him from to get out of the house before the guests arrived.)  But eventually he woke up and joined in the games that Bean had planned for the kids, had a little snack, opened his presents,

 

and then it was time for cake and ice cream.  He'd picked that he wanted a Curious George cake a few weeks ago.  I was actually surprised he didn't ask last night why he had cupcakes instead of his monkey cake. Guess he's three and doesn't always have the longest memory.

 

And that wraps up two days of birthday for our favorite three year old.  I think that is enough celebrating, and enough getting older.  Other than the tantrums and still waking too many nights, he can just stop with the getting older right about now.

It's All or Nothing With This Kid

After a very disagreeable morning, where everything I said or did was met with a loud, "NO!", Peanut finally mellowed out this afternoon, just in time for naptime.

Me:  Good night, Peanut

P:  Good night, Mommy

Me:  I love you so much.

P:  I love you so much, too.

Me:  Have a good nap

P:  You have a good nap, too.

Me:  I'll see you when you wake up.

P:  I'll see you when you wake up, too, Mommy.

And those sweet conversations are why I haven't shipped him off to Grandma's house yet.  That, and maybe because we get to find funny things like this around the house:

Molly had puppies.