Move Over Mia Hamm

So this happened last weekend…

IMG_7170-002

Caroline played in her first soccer game.

After watching her brothers play in roughly 692,000 games over the last five years, she is so excited to be on a team and play in her own games.

IMG_7201

To mark the occasion, Caroline and I went to buy a new pink mesh bag which holds her new pink soccer ball. We also dusted off her brother’s old cleats and shin guards which she couldn’t be more happy to get to wear – except for the fact that she hates the feeling of the shin guards so she puts her socks on first and then puts the shin guards on top of the socks.

IMG_7232

Now with Caroline, who we like to call “spirited,” there was no telling what the first game would bring – happiness? tears? refusal to play?

Well, I’m happy to report she was so happy (anyone else feel like this post should be sponsored by Pharrell Williams?)! She ran and ran around the field. At times, she was no where near the ball, just playing her own imaginary game, serpentining all around the field.

While the rest of us were sweating in the 101 degree heat, she was running around with such joy.

Apparently she runs better when sticking out her tongue because she did that the entire game – from here on out I’m calling her the Michael Jordan of soccer.

IMG_7212-001

Of course when she wasn’t sticking her tongue out while running she was squeezing her lips while she watched everyone else go for the ball. Everyone else is cheering ,”Run,” while my husband and I are cheering, “Get your hands out of your mouth.”

 

IMG_7222

And then the ball came her way!

And she ran with it!

Kicking it down the field!

 

IMG_7224

And she scored!

The smile that came from her was amazing.

(I would have loved to show you that smile but my 9 year old had the camera at the time and stopped taking pictures right before she scored. I think he was as excited as the rest of us for Caroline and was cheering).

IMG_7236

Goal or no goal, game 692,001 was a success!

Move over Mia, here comes Caroline!

Anyone for Tennis?

Anyone for tennis?

Wouldn’t it be nice?

IMG_2233

My 8 year old has played tennis on and off for the last year and really enjoyed it.

IMG_2243

My 4 year old decided she had been carted around to enough sports events and wanted in on the action. After giving her several sports to choose from she started tennis this month.

She just finished up week 4 and she is having tons of fun.

 IMG_2254

The day before her first lesson we were driving around when I said, “Are you excited for you tennis lesson tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

IMG_2246

“I wonder who your teacher is going to be at tennis?”

“Nooooooo! Noooooo! I don’t have a teacher!”

IMG_2239

What? “Um, Caroline, you will have a teacher for tennis so they can show you what to do.”

“Noooo! I can’t have a teacher.”

IMG_2255

“I’m going to have a coach for tennis. Just like the boys.”

“Ohh, okay. Yes, you are going to have a coach.”

IMG_2256

After finishing up her first lesson she came and sat by me while waiting for her brother to finish.

“How was your tennis lesson?”

“My coach is great.”

IMG_2249

Only 2 more weeks of tennis lessons.

After that she’s on to six weeks of swim lessons.

Which will be, of course, with her swim coach.

A New Fangled Contraption

We’ve been taking our dog Sophie for a walk every morning now that swim practice is over for the summer. If we don’t take her in the morning, it’s not happening since the morning temps have been in the 80’s and you can only imagine how good the air feels in the afternoon.

So there we were the other day: My 11 year old on his bike, my 8 year old on his scooter, my 4 year old on her bike, and me running with the dog. OK, it was more like me being dragged by the dog in order to keep up.

We were on a long straight stretch when my son on the scooter asked if he could try and have Sophie pull him.

I handed him the leash and a ton of laughter ensued.

(We’ve recreated the scene in order to get pictures but at a much slower pace)

IMG_0865

They would get going quickly but after about 20 seconds they would be going so fast that the leash would have to be dropped.

IMG_0866

Then there was chasing after the dog and then starting the whole process again.

IMG_0872

So each morning now the boys get one straight away to have Sophie pull them and then we give her a break for the rest of the walk. It works out great except that my 4 year old is now begging to have Sophie pull her on her bike. No way is that ever happening!

IMG_0878

A Sleepover Party for My 11 Year Old

I have to confess something.

I hate sleepover parties. Really hate them.

I know I should love them as a mom and love that my friends have kids who want to come to their house but alas, I hate them.

My son turned 11 over the weekend and wanted a sleepover party with his friends.

He requested a 24 hour party which I quickly shot down. No way Jose.

We compromised on a 4 pm to 10 am party.

At about 4:30 pm on party day, after the 5 guests had arrived,  my husband and I looked at each other and said, “Only 17 1/2 hours to go!”

In all actuality I think it is the stress of hosting 5, 11 year old boys who want nothing else then to knock each other over for the entire length of the party. Oh, and maybe the kids who only speak at one volume, LOUD, that tends to drive me up the wall too.

For the beginning of the party we took the boys to the park near our house where they played soccer, tag, basketball, and grounders (chase on the playground set, no one touching the ground, with the person who is “it” closing there eyes while they were chasing the others – basically a recipe for disaster.)

IMG_7875

IMG_8044

IMG_8145

IMG_7891

Once it hit 6:30 and no one had broken a bone my husband and I called the party a success.

After pizza and a rousing , “Only 15 hours to go,” it was time for a video game tournament, ping pong, and cake.

IMG_8213

IMG_8226

IMG_8231

After coercing them into taking showers the boys settled on the couches to watch Goonies.

I remember loving this movie when I was younger.

What I didn’t remember were the drug jokes and curse words throughout the movie. Good chance I could receive a few calls from moms today.

After the movie we tucked the boys in at 11 pm and …wait for it……they feel asleep immediately.

For those of you who have never hosted a sleepover you will not understand what a gift this is. No one had to utter 45 times, “Boy, it’s time to go to bed now.” Derek and I kept saying to each other, “Do you really think they are asleep? Can’t be. Are they planning something?”

At 7 AM my husband and I were awakened by what sounded like a herd of cattle coming downstairs.

We uttered, “Only 3 more hours.”

After a breakfast of pancakes, more video games, and ping pong we heard that wonderful sound we had been waiting for – ding dong! A child pick up 20 minutes early! At 10:05 when the last boy had been picked up Derek and I held are hands up in victory. Although only morning we climbed back into bed and vowed never to host a sleepover again.

We were feeling good and proud of ourselves until Andrew announced, “For my 8th birthday I’m going to have a sleep over too because that was so much fun.”

So now I’m standing firm on our vow.  We are not going to have another sleep over for at least 2 weeks. And for those of you counting, that’s only 236 hours till the next sleep over. Lord help us.

The Dallas Color Run 2013

My friend Melissa, my 10 year old, and I ran the Color Run this past Saturday in Dallas.

P1120335

It was tons of fun and would have been even more fun if I had properly trained for the 5K.

I know many of you can run a 5K no problem but let’s remember I’m a swimmer. I’m really not good at exercising on land.

Our team name was The Footloose and Fancy 4 but ended up being The Footloose and Fancy 3 when my sister couldn’t participate at the last minute.

Here’s the before:

 P1120334

The after:

P1120370

P1120371

During the run there are several chutes to run through. Volunteers line up at the chute and throw colored powder at the runners. The colored powder is dyed cornstarch. Here we are giving you the idea with our powder packets.

P1120362

Alex was generous enough to stay with us the first half mile. I could tell he was itching to go faster so I sent him on praying that he would be at the finish line like we had arranged. Alex had a great time and was a tad disappointment that there wasn’t a clock at the end.

 P1120372

Melissa was kind enough to stay with me as I took walking breaks through the run. I’m pretty sure she was itching to go ahead too 🙂

 IMG_7243

There were plenty of jogging strollers, lots of kooky socks on display, countless tutus worn, an Elvis runner,  and even a runner in a wedding dress.

Color Run of Dallas = 2 Thumbs Up!

Next Dallas run is November 16th.

Click here to check when the Color Run is coming to a city near you.

 

Thanks to Ryan for taking the pictures!

Happy Valentine’s Day

My husband and I were watching a taped Katie Couric show the other day.

In the beginning he fained interest but was disappointed when I turned it off.

The show was about plastic surgery mishaps.

The stories, pictures, and agony these guests went thru truly made my stomach turn.

Anyway, after viewing the stories I said, “Well, you’ll just have to except that I will be old, saggy, and gray.”

There are many replies he could have had but he chose this one.

“It’s okay that you are going to be old, saggy, and gray.”

I was thinking more along the lines of, “You will be beautiful to me no matter what,” or even, “You will always be beautiful to me.”

 But that’s not what I got.

I teased him and we laughed.

He made it up to me by buying a few boxes of girl scout cookies which I thought was perfect.

Now he will have to love me old, saggy, gray, and fat 🙂

Love you always Derek!

GMcGlinn_love_heart

Goggles

Tonight I officially became my parents.

Yes, I’ve seen bits and pieces of them come out before but tonight was the turning point.

I have become my parents.

They went to countless swim practices, swim meets, and bought us endless amounts of swim caps, swim shampoo, and suits.

And tonight, I was reminded that they bought tons of goggles.

Driving home from swim practice with Andrew I said, “I noticed you kept pushing on your goggles right before you would dive in”

“Yeah, those goggles get loose when I dive in.”

“You should wear your new pair.”

“Well, I can’t find those.”

“The blue pair?”

“Yep.”

“You only wore those one time.”

“Maybe I left them at the pool last time.”

“Those goggles cost SEVENTEEN DOLLARS.”

——-  silence from the back seat ———-

“You wore those one time and already lost them. They cost SEVENTEEN DOLLARS.”

Note: My husband and I have been swimmers our whole lives. Our goggles cost $5.00 a pair.  Seems to me that our eyes adjusted just fine to the five dollar goggles. Guess who else is going to be forced to wear the five dollar goggles no matter how they feel on his eyes.

Once home I went into another room and let my husband oversee the tooth brushing.

A few minutes later my husband walks into the room I’m in and announces, “I’m going to the pool.”

“Why?”

“To go look in the locker room.”

“He lost those goggles days ago. They’re not going to be there.”

“He left his swim suit at the pool.”

—– silence from me ——

And now my parents are laughing.

Adam Greenberg – A Marlin Tonight

Tonight Adam Greenberg is getting a second chance.

A second chance at playing in the major leagues.

Seven years ago, Adam was up at is first bat in his first major league game when the unthinkable happened.

He was struck in the head with a ball going 92 miles per hour.

His Major League bio reads:

First Game: 7 – 9 – 2005

Last Game: 7 – 9 – 2005

He is the only player to ever have his career end on the very first pitch.

Since that point he has suffered with dizzy spells and nausea but has managed to play on several minor league teams though never returning to the major leagues.

In 2012, a Chicago Cubs fan and filmmaker, Matt Liston, started an online petition to get Greenberg his first official Major League at bat.

The campaign succeeded when the Miami Marlins offered him a 1 day contract to play in their October 2, 2012, game against the New York Mets.

I’m hoping Adam Greenberg makes the most of this opportunity and enjoys every minute of it tonight.

I was watching the Today show when Adam Greenberg found out he would get his second shot. And on Wednesday, I’ll be watching when they have him on in a post game interview.

Good Luck Tonight Adam!

Gymnastics through the Years

Caroline has just started a little 6 week community gymnastics class which she loves.

(Caroline at three and a half)

 Funny thing is, it’s not my first time in this room or this class.

Here’s Andrew in 2008 in the class at two and a half.

And here’s Alex in 2005 taking the exact same class when he was almost three.

Bela Karolyi better watch out…

I’m pretty sure I could teach this class now.