Being a soccer mom, literally... not sure that's a good thing!

How many jokes, cliches, stereotypes are there about soccer moms. Just hearing the phrase you get a picture in your head. It's really funny to me because I always had a certain picture of a soccer mom and I did not fit it. And the picture didn't always connotate a literal soccer mom just a type. Then I went to www.urbandictionary.com and looked up their definition of soccer mom and it is HORRIBLE. I, as we all do, know people EXACTLY like that.

But it's kind of scary because I do drive a SUV, my life does revolves around my kids, we are middle-class, I do like expensive coffee and my cell phone... The list goes on. But if you read some of the derogatory definitions I hope you will see which parts I don't agree with.

So you ask, what brought on all this talk of soccer? Well primarily because David played soccer for the first time this season on the 4 & 5 year-old team at his school. He had lots of fun and is looking forward to playing again in the spring. The sport is good for him because it's all about running around - non-stop!! Anyway, as I was scanning in his team picture this morning I started thinking about soccer moms, so here we are ;-)

Oh one little funny thing before I sign off. We are avid college football fans and I am often screaming at the TV say go baby go or something to that effect. I use the word baby loosely if I don't know the players name or can't see his number, etc. Well David always expresses mild interest in this and asks which one is your baby and I'll say all the boys in Blue or White (whether Auburn is home or away). So yesterday he and I were flipping channels after we came in from playing and I came across a U17 play-off game and asked him did he want to watch the big boys play soccer on TV. YES!!!! So we watch for a few minutes and then he starts yelling go baby go!! I am cracking up and trying to not let him see me laugh. Then he turns to me and said mom I'm just going to have 1 baby, not all of them. I said OK, which number is "your" baby and he said no number just the one in the yellow by himself, which was the ref LOL.

Well my scanner is being tempermental this morning so I'll add some pics later.

Halloween

We had a great Halloween here this year. The morning started out rainy and David's soccer game was cancelled, but the weather cleared and turned cool in time for all the festivities. We started our night at Flip's. My dad's GM Car Club always hosts a Halloween Cruise-In and we took pics, ate dinner and snagged some candy there. Dad has quite a collection of cars these days, but the Corvair was the one chosen for that night. Check out how cool Barbara decorated the car. Dan skipped Flip's this year and went on over to the Holliday's to help Bill get ready to scare the trick-or-treaters. Dan was a "monster" and Bill the TX chainsaw guy. They had tombstones, a coffin, dry ice, a fog machine, strobe lights, black lights and scary music. It was great. Me and the kids picked up the cousins at Flip's and brought them back to trick-or-treat with us. Kim & Jackie held down the fort, the men scared kids and me and Dianne followed the kids around the neighborhood. It was a really fun night. Oh - David was Batman, Emily a hippie, Hayden a gangster, Hope a go-go girl, Lauren a pumpkin, Heather a indian and Justin a doctor.

Pumpkin Carving

We had a really fun night a couple of weeks ago carving pumpkins. The Holliday's and Edward's came over and we ate homemade vegetable beef soup and mexican cornbread and pumpkin pie. The kids did a great job with their pumpkins. Hayden's is the fire scary face, Hope's the haunted house, Emily's the Boo, and David's (or rather Dan's LOL) is the scary pumpkin. We (I) also sorted out the the seeds and toasted them the next day while we watched football.

I feel like i'm fallin' for fall...

Do any of you mommies recognize that song? It's been stuck in my head the past few days and as I sit here with my coffee I realize that it is true. I am falling for fall all over again and in lots of new ways. Here are some of the things that make fall special.

• The 99% humidity and 90 degree temps are ending - the weather is crisp
• College football season starts
• The kids go back to school
• Kids respective sports start
• We get to start pulling out winter clothes
• Pumpkin carving
• Pumpkin pie
• Pumpkin seeds
• Soups & stews
• Decorations around the house
• Almost holiday season
• The fair
• Holiday Market
• Consignment sales
• Fall Festivals
• Trick or Treating
• Thanksgiving menu
• My brother visits
• School pictures
• Homework
• New friends for the kids and me (parents of their friends)
• Coffee from Starbucks after drop-off
• Halloween costumes
• The first fire in the fireplace
• S'mores
• Crock-pot meals
• Bible study

I'm sure there are tons more and once I hit "post" I will think of them all. To sum up I'll just say it is a silly song and it's stuck in my head, but it is so true and I am so happy!!! I've fallen for fall :)

**Pics of fall events to come in next post.

Pigs, Gators and Tigers

Well I had (have) the swine flu. I think I mentioned to some of you about the horrendous headache I had that would not go away. Along with other cold symptoms. I chalked it all up to a variety of things. But then mid-week last week I started feeling exhausted, achy, feverish and nauseous. So Friday morning I went to doc and tested positive. However, he and I both felt it had been over 48 hours since the symptoms had started, which made Tamiflu not helpful. So I had to deal with the it full force. I am feeling better today and have been fever free for 24 hours. It was by no means a "walk in the park", but it was also not a big deal as the media make it out to be. Obviously if you are immuno-compromised or have underlying conditions, etc. it could be a lot more serious, but if you are just a regular "jane" or "joe" - there are many worse things.

Dan was wonderful while I was sick and so was Emily. They cooked, cleaned, kept David away from me and took him to his soccer game, etc. My husband is a wonderful man, but you usually have to ask for his help - whatever you ask he'll do with a smile on his face, but you have to ask! This past several days he's taking the initiative and just done things - I love it and I love him :) One of the best things he did was letting me sleep 'till 11:15 on Sunday and then I woke to a clean kitchen and a homemade omelet, which was a little slice of heaven. Emily bless her heart is always a help to me around here - unloading the dishwasher, folding clothes, picking up all the David clutter and playing with him; she is great!

Dan went to his bi-annual gun-show in Kentucky weekend before last and had a great time. If you are a gun-enthusiast, especially a machine-gun one the show is the ULTIMATE. Here is a link if you are interested in that kind of things. www.machinegunshoot.com

David and I went to Birmingham last week for his ear-surgery follow-up. He received a great report, doc was thrilled. Pathology showed a benign osteoma - Praise God and thanks for the prayers. We assumed it was benign, but seeing it in black and white makes you feel great. The incision site looks good and doc said inside the ear you almost couldn't tell he'd even had surgery. We will go back in 6-weeks for the follow-up hearing test. The hearing should be totally back to normal in his left ear, but we need to make sure. Other than that he is just fine. Still loving school and loving soccer. He's asking to play basketball as well and our local Upward league starts at 4 so I think I'll register him for this winter.

Emily's football season dance-team obligations are over - now on to basketball. We are awaiting the schedule for that, should start anytime now. They were registered to compete in a local competition at the Fairgrounds this past Sunday, but the organization in charge cancelled it due to swine flu... I don't know if too many participating schools had cancelled or they were just nervous? Who knows, the girls are enjoying the break though. Report cards come out this week and I am anxious to see her grades. Her worst class she has really really struggled this 9-weeks, but is pretty sure she pulled it up to a B, a "by the skin of the teeth" B, but a B none-the-less. We'll take it - LOL!!!!

I started back into the grind of PT yesterday, main goal continual recovery from back surgery and treatment of the muscles that are inflamed and knotted from the trauma. Same place and therapist I've used before, which I love. The part about it that I don't love is the time it takes and the pain that goes with. I am usually there between 2 - 3 hours each session and I go 3 times a week. This will probably go on awhile - like months. UGH!! The therapist does acupuncture, massage, chiropractic manipulations, exercise, e-stem and heat. I love that new PT's are multi-trained.

So my poor Tigers, what happened to them this Saturday. Losing to the Razorbacks was depressing enough, but they are a great team and I'm sad they lost to Florida this past Saturday. But losing to Kentucky - seriously. And did you watch the game? Who took over Todd's body - he couldn't complete a pass to save his life. And the penalties - you can't win games that way. UGH - it was depressing to watch. A friend of mine had invited me to go with, but I had to decline because of the swine flu. I don't know if being in the stadium would have been better or worse. We were texting during the game and she said it was worse in person :-(... All I have to say is War Eagle and hopefully there will a better showing against LSU this weekend.

Ok - Florida Gators... If you've known me for any length of time, at least back into the '90's you'll know my intense dislike for FL. Games against them in the Bowden era were some of my most favorite football memories - especially the Nix to Sanders in the corner of the end zone... The "Touchdown Auburn" print that many of you die-hard fans also have in your offices. I'm looking at mine now, LOL. Anyway - I know a major part of my dislike was due to Steve Spurrier. I won't go into the details, but I just didn't like him. Still don't, actually. But this years FL Gators team is a joy to watch and Tim Tebow is a QB and young man that inspires. If our sons could be good men like that, they will be joys!!! So I guess I'll have to be pulling for them a smidgen for the rest of the season.

Wow - if you've made it this far I am impressed. This was pretty long and rambled quite a bit. Anyhoo - that's an update in our home. What's new with yours? I'm off now to a fresh cup of coffee and a HUGE pile of work.

"I dreamed about God..."

David had a restless night and didn't wake up this morning so we let him sleep in. He finally woke up at 9:30 - seems to have a cold. Anyway, the interesting part is what he told me when he came in here for our regular morning "pow-wow". He said he dreamed about God last night and that God wanted to take him to the far away home in heaven, but he told God he wanted to go to his regular home instead. Then he evidently decided he should let God take him somewhere so he told God he could take him to his cousin Luke's house (auburn).

I don't know if my little guy is talking to God yet or just imagining him, which I guess if you are 4 is about the same thing...

Fall Break is Here

I'm having a hard time getting motivated to write this morning. I have had this bad headache all week and now a cold to go with it and it just has me blah. So I'm going to do a list - that way I don't have to make coherent sentences and paragraphs LOL.

• If you haven't been on the blog in a few days, scroll down to the older posts because there are a couple entries with Em and dance team stuff.
• David is out of school today and Monday for Fall Break.
• Emily is out of school Monday and Tuesday for Fall Break.
• Dan is going on his bi-annual trip to Kentucky for the big machine gun shoot thing this weekend.
• David's soccer game for this Saturday was cancelled because over 1/2 our team is going out of town for fall break.
• Emily is getting her hair done this afternoon. I'm taking her and she wants a perm or rather a body wave... I didn't know they still did those LOL, but we'll see.
• Dad and Barbara are on their annual trip to Cruisin' the Coast in Biloxi this weekend. I forgot to ask them which car they were taking. I think prob. the '60 Impala.
• I went to the back doctor yesterday and I start PT next week. Stressed that for the rest of my life have to be super, super, super careful. Said if gets bad again next surgical step is fusion. UGH.
• David needs a day periodically to just play. I can hear him in his room on his train table talking to his trains and making up stories. He had it all apart for a while, but Emily and Hayden got it all set up for him last Saturday.
• Great college football this weekend and I'm looking forward to watching it ALL day and night.
• Had a scare last night. Had gotten David's prescription refilled and the pill was not the same as usual. Checked it out online and evidently our pharmacy changed suppliers or something. Thankfully same medicine.
• My brother's coming home for Thanksgiving and the Auburn v Alabama game!!! Woohoo - he'll be here almost a week.
• We didn't have Bible study this week because over 1/2 couldn't make it. :( we are planning to get back in the swing of things next week.