Bear - Practice

Speaking of Bear's football practice, here are a few pictures of what we were up to while he was at it!
















We also got to see him score his very first touchdown, catch a nice pass and do some great blocking while we were there. Granted, he still spends a lot of time kicking dirt, spinning in circles and staring at the sky, but I think we're making progress! : )

Autumn = Attitude

The weather absolutely could not have been more beautiful yesterday. 75 degrees, partly cloudy, perfect breeze, just really a dream of a fall day, so Jason and I decided that it would be fun for all of us to accompany Bear to his football practice to enjoy some time in the park! We thought it was a great idea, but Autumn... Not so much. As soon as she discovered this plan, she was furious. She stomped her feet from the car to the house, shouting mean things to me all the way, and then slammed the door to her room. Well, I was more amused than anything else, because it was just such a hysterical thing to be mad about, but I still wanted her to know that behaving like that is unacceptable. We have been working on more constructive ways to vent feelings, so I brought her a notebook and asked her to please write me a letter explaining the problem, and that I would take it into advisement.





Here is the text of her first letter. Spelling has been corrected, but everything else is straight from her pencil to this blog!

First of all, I'm old enough to be able to stay by myself after school and do whatever I want to do instead of having to just do work after school all the time. Because every time you make me work or make me go places I don't want to go that are BORING after school when I don't want to, it makes me really mad. And it's unfair that Barrett always gets to play and do whatever he wants while I'm at cheerleading, because I am old enough to stay in my room and play while you take Barrett to football, and I'm almost 8 and Barrett's only 6, and I can do a scorpion, see (there was a drawing demonstrating this cheerleading move), so I don't need to go to the park and do homework and practice all the time!!! (Next page)

I really want to have a good day, but it always ends up bad, and of course that's because it's so boring to work and go places instead of doing whatever I want to do, and usually I never have time to play with my friends because I just have to work work work all day until bedtime. You don't ever let me do whatever I want to do. This is horrible. I really really really want it to be a good day and have some fun and stay home and watch TV and play with my friends. OK? Got it? Write back, OK? GOT IT!

So I wrote her back:
Dear Autumn,
Thank you for your letter. It is always better to write a letter expressing your feelings than it is to shout hateful things at people. I love you very much, and I want you to be happy. That is why it is important for you to have a variety of experiences, friends, and responsibilities. You made a commitment to be on the cheerleading team, so we are going to work very hard to do our best at it. You are also expected to have good behavior and do your chores if you want to get your allowance. You have plenty of time at school, after school and on weekends to play with your friends as well. I would say you have a pretty good life, and that you should be thankful and have a happy attitude.

Again, I appreciate your letter. You are a very sweet, smart girl, and I love you very much. Love, Mommy

Well, she read my letter, and stomped her feet and grunted at me, then stormed downstairs. Unfazed, I continued my Photoshopping. After she cooled off a little, she came upstairs crying with another letter.

This is what I feel like. I am kind of mad and kind of sad but I still love you even though I'm really really really really mad at you. Will you forgive me and let me have dessert tonight if it is a healthy dessert? I love you so much Mommy. Will you forgive me about my behavior today? I am sorry about everything. I love you a lot more than everybody else does. You're the best Mom I could ever have. Love, Autumn

I read it out loud, and by the end she was crying and hugging me. It was so cute! She had recovered enough to still have a little attitude left over when we got to the park, but overall it was a much better day than it could have been. I love that little girl!

Happy birthday, Bear!

Let me just preface this post with one comment: I LOVE party planning! So every time one of our kiddos has a birthday, it gives me a fantastic opportunity to flex my event-coordinating muscles. Before you think I've got a big head about it or something, please note that I never said I was "good" at party planning, merely that I enjoy it! : )

So the plan for Bear's birthday this year was to have a football party at Gulley Park, with his class at school and his football teammates invited to join in the fun. Here is the invitation we sent out:






Also, after talking it over with Bear, we invited guests to bring donations to Stock the Shelter 2009 in lieu of birthday gifts. Once he realized that he would still be getting "real" presents from the family, he was an easy convert.





So, I manage to get the invitations out despite a few delays thanks to Labor Day weekend and a rained-out football practice. You would think that having the football practice being cancelled due to rain, or the several parents/family members who inquired as to what my backup plan was in case of inclement weather would have caused me to pause, consider the situation, and form a Plan B. Did it? No. So guess what happened. It poured!

Here I thought I had done so well by working ahead, making sure that all of the party favors were completed, the outfits were laid out and the helium tank was safely stowed in the Pilot. It wasn't until I woke up on Sunday morning to gray skies and a steady downpour that we realized we were in trouble.

So no problem, I figure, I'll just find a new location... For a birthday party full of 6-year-old boys in football cleats on a Sunday morning with about 2 hours notice. Yikes!

Well, after a lot of frantic calling and googling, I ran across an ad for All-Star Sports Arena in Springdale. Lo and behold, they actually answer the phone when I call, they have an indoor soccer field with top-of-the-line turf available, as well as a concession area full of picnic tables, and their rates were very reasonable. We had a winner!

After a mad dash to start a phone chain informing all of the partygoers of the new plan, followed by several hastily authored emails and a visit to Gulley Park to hang up signs, we managed to somehow pull this party off! This is thanks, in no small part, to all of the help I got from my crackerjack event staff, also known as Dad the balloon-inflator, Mom the balloon arranger, Jason the kid entertainer, Joe the dog-food hauler and Jamie the everything-elser!





Somehow the plenty of kids got the change-of-venue message, and we were reveling in 6-year-old birthday party chaos in no time! I might have possibly lost my mind trying to keep them all from injuring each other or burning the building down, but luckily Bear's awesome football coach had stepped up and volunteered to lead the kids in a flag football scrimmage. Matt and his wife, Sarah, are remarkably patient souls, and there is no way I could have done this without them either!







So after the scrimmage, we did cake and presents, followed by a little bit more football action to run off some of the sugar overload, courtesy of the always-fabulous Rick's Bakery. Then we drew for door prizes, handed out trophies and favor cups (plastic Razorback cups filled with treats and tied up with cellophane and ribbon), and sent the children on their merry way.


















The best part about the whole thing was that because the party was not at our house, when cleanup time came, we got to just roll up the tablecloths, chunk them in the garbage and drive home to a house that had not just been ravaged by thirty cake-charged 6-year-olds!




So happy birthday to Bear and a big THANK YOU to everyone who came out to celebrate, and especially to all of those who brought donations to Stock the Shelter. Thanks to your generosity, it's already off to a great start for 2009! For more information about Stock the Shelter, you can contact Jamie by clicking here.

Sleepover!

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of having our precious little friend Elle over for a sleepover! Jamie and Joe hung out with us to share in the fun. A few notes:

1. This sleepover happened to coincide with Bear's most recent unfortunate haircut experience (long story), so his poor little he looks vaguely... well, you can look at the pictures and judge for yourself! ; )

2. Yes, the girls were decorating their cakes in full makeup.

3. Jason and I were brave enough to actually sample this masterpiece when they were done with it. I think we deserve some kind of award! Ha!

Here are a few pictures from our adventures!

Norah has a new friend.