9 years

My baby turned 9 yesterday.  She's spunky.  She's sweet.  She's mine.  

Li'l Slugger

One of the throwing aids my dad has given him to practice with.

E's baseball bag

His cleats

Notice the name?  Compliments of Pops.

His mitt

Another throwing aid-the whiffle ball

Ethan is playing baseball. He has been playing soccer for the last year and a half. Matt was helping to coach the team. He liked it a little bit, and Matt liked it alot. So this summer while watching the Little League World Series, Ethan told Matt that he wanted to play baseball. This got me a little excited/nervous because his pops LOVES baseball, plays, sleeps and eats baseball. Nervous because all of my horrible/embarassing nightmares memories of playing softball came rushing back to me at full speed. But he should try all kinds of things, including baseball. So we signed him up (at the last minute), and he tried out. The organizer of the league told Matt that it was fine that he didn't have any experience. Oh, by the way, he wouldn't be on a tee ball team. He would be on a coach pitch team. Yikes! (More softball memories...) Any who, we found out that he would be on the Bull Dawgs team and that he would be practicing 5 nights a week. Yep. That's 5. F.I.V.E. and sometimes until 8:30. What did we get ourselves into??

Ethan loves it! And so far, he's come a long way. His coach has the patience of a saint. I like her because she wants them to have fun, but she also wants to teach them all the skills they need. If they interrupt her, then they pay for it by running the field. I heart the discipline!

So all of that background leads us to the following story:

Ethan's team had a scrimmage against another, slightly older team yesterday. Matt went with him, and my dad joined him after the game had started. When it was Ethan's turn to go up to bat for the third time he went to the plate donning his batting gloves and giant batting helmet, and he hit the ball! It took him a second, and then he started running to first base with the prompting of the coaches and everyone in the stands. The infielder threw it to the first baseman, and the ball went over his head. So more yelling ensued to run, and he ran to second. More crazy throwing and he ran to third and then home. Everyone was cheering for him, and as he walked into the dugout, he told the coaches and his teammates, "I believe in myself!" True Ethan style.

Summer is over

Summer is over. I can't believe how quickly it went. I was thinking about our first day tomorrow and I thought about how fast the school year will go again. Of course, that is an exciting thought the night before a new school year begins. But then I got thinking about what that quick school year will bring. One more year under my kids' belts in elementary school. One more year to their ages. One more year to my age. One more year closer to the time when I will take my kids to college and they leave home for good. Ok. A little dramatic. But the night before the new school year gets me a little anxious. I definitely don't heart this part of summer.

For real?

Are you sure summer wasn't only 4 weeks? Because that's what it feels like! I had a summer to-do list that is only partially crossed off because I ran out of time. NO complaining here. I have had a dreamy summer...and really it's not over yet. I have 3 1/2 weeks left. But I have stuff going on during those 3 plus weeks. So my house isn't as organized as I had planned and my doors and trim aren't as white as I'd hoped, but my mind is in the right frame and I feel pretty relaxed. I think I might be ready to go back now. Maybe.

Summer

My mind is still in Peru. I am lying in a hammock listening to the wind chimes as the wind gently blows. The leaves rustle in the trees. The sound of the children's voices carry up from the lake where they are playing. I hear the occasional chirp of a bird or the buzz of a bee nearby. As the hammock sways I slowly drift off to sleep. That's where my mind is residing....

Home Sweet Home (for now)

Come to find out I'm not crazy. I can travel with two kids...by myself! I drove lots of miles through two states and I lived to tell the tale. Alright. It wasn't that big a deal, but I was worried. We had lots of fun with family and friends. If you know me at all, you know that I like to take LOTS of pictures. For some reason on this trip I wasn't into taking many at all. Crazy talk, I know! I met up with a childhood friend of mine who I haven't seen in years...and I didn't take any pictures of the two of us. Crazy. The kids had a blast with their cousins, whom they haven't seen in a year...and I only took one picture of them altogether. Crazy. I think I might have taken more pictures of my dog and the pelicans I saw at the beach. Crazy. Oh well. I will post what few pictures I do have when I can get around to uploading them onto my computer, which should be soon because I'm enjoying the school-free summer!

So why the "for now" in my title? Because just as soon as I unpack and clean up from this last trip I will turn around and pack for our next one...to Peru! We leave this Friday to see some friends of ours who live in the jungle. If I don't take at least a couple hundred pictures of my time down there I really will be Crazy!

On the Road

School's out for summer! I cleaned my classroom yesterday. Everything is locked up and waiting to be organized at a later time. (Procastination at its finest.) Today we spent the day doing laundry, cleaning the house and packing. Tomorrow the kids and I head north to Grandma and Grandpa's house! Matt will be heading south to Haiti where he is leading a mission team from our church to work with orphans. He will be gone for one week, and I will be gone for two weeks. Just me and the kids. Just me. No hubby. Just me. And the kids. What the frick??? Am I crazy? Just kidding (a little bit.) After being with the in-laws for a week, we'll be heading north again to visit with some friends. Then it's all down south from there. Back to the in-laws then home to Daddy. I'll be honest. The next two weeks feels a little like two months. Don't get me wrong! I am looking forward to visiting with family and friends, but driving long distances by myself makes me a little nervous. Not to mention I can't help but worry a little when Matt goes on trips like this. So Matt and I need your prayers! (And the people we're staying with might need them too, 'cause after two weeks of "just me and the kids" it might not be pretty. I'm just sayin'.)

Busy Bees

With the end of the school year quickly approaching, I don't think I have to say that we have been pretty busy. Unfortunately, the busy-ness gets in the way of certain necessary duties, like housekeeping. But I keep telling myself that soon, very soon, I will have all summer to organize and clean my little heart out. So,what has had the Cateseez so darn busy? Well, here's a little look-see...

Scrapbooks...
Not just one or two. Try 15. I wish I could say I was trying to catch up on the last 15 years of our lives, but that's not it. I am making a scrapbook for each of the lovies in my class. The good thing is that they're all pretty much the same, so I've got a system going that makes it easier. My goal is to have all of them D.O.N.E by the end of the long Memorial Day weekend. My fingers are crossed. (check this one off my list!)


Sticker books...
Ok. So our lives don't have to come to a screeching halt over a sticker book, but it has had the boys occupied. Yes. I said boys. That would be the little one and the big one. I bought Ethan the 2010 FIFA World Cup sticker book as a reward for having good days at school, but Matt has adopted it as his own. I don't think I've ever seen a grown man get as excited as he does over a pack of soccer stickers. It's pretty cute, actually. :)


Soccer...
Going along with the sticker book, I think we might have World Cup fever. Matt is an avid soccer fan. He loves to watch the games, and when the World Cup comes along...whoa! He is practically shaking with excitement! It happens to be contagious, and, I must admit, I am pretty excited too. Not to mention, my class is singing a world cup song in our End of the Year program so I definitely have soccer on the brain.

Scrumptious treats...
I have been blessed with fantastic parental help this past school year. I have been trying to think of something to give them to tell them how much I appreciate them. So I decided I would make it simple and share this scrumptious treat with them.
(don't let the name fool you...it's really a cake)

Blueberry Lemon Bread (10 slices)

•1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
•1 cup granulated sugar
•2 large eggs
•1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
•1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
•1 teaspoon salt
•1/2 cup milk
•2 tablespoons lemon rind, grated
•1/2 cup blueberries

Lemon Sauce for top of bread:
•Juice of one lemon
•1/3 cup granulated sugar

1.Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour loaf bread pan and set aside.
2.Cream sugar and butter, add eggs.
3.Mix flour with baking powder and salt.
4.Add to mixer alternately with the milk and mix until thoroughly blended.
5.Stir in lemon zest and blueberries.
6.Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes.
7.To prepare lemon sauce, in saucepan over medium heat, bring lemon juice and sugar to a boil and set aside.
8.Remove bread pan from oven and pierce top of bread several times with toothpick. Pour lemon sauce atop bread.
9.Allow to cool on wire rack until juice is absorbed, then turn out onto wire rack to allow to cool completely before slicing and serving, or wrapping for storage.

Singing...
Ethan's kindergarten class has been practicing a song for their mommies and daddies. They performed it for us today. She also made a DVD of the pictures from this year. It made me cry! My baby isn't a baby anymore. He received his awards and some cute parting gifts. It was a very sweet morning.





Shoes...
This one hasn't had us busy, but it started with a 's, it has to do with one who is 'busy', and I just had to post a picture. For those of you who know me and my family well, you know that my dad LOVES shoes, sneakers in particular. Not only does he enjoy buying shoes for himself, but he also loves to buy shoes for his family members. So while on their little getaway this weekend, my parents went shopping and I got a call from dad asking for Ethan's shoe size. Here's a pic of E's new wheels....



I can't think of a more appropriate shoe for him! He was so excited when he tried them on for the first time! He insisted that they made him run faster. I don't know about that, but I do know that now he has something that proves that he's on fire from all the energy he produces.

Just Stay Little

I found this little button you see to the right of this post, and it so matched my sentiments these days as I see my little ones grow to be not so little anymore. I feel like I'm the one with the growing pains. But on another note, aren't those red Mary Janes delicious?? Do they make those in my size?

My Apologies

I am so sorry you have had to endure that stupid rainbow and unicorn post for the past two months! (Of course, I am probably the only one reading this new post because of my bloggy absence.) I thought I'd make a reappearance to tell you that it's that time of year folks. You know, when I get to tell you how much I heart summer!!! The countdown is on....7 more days. I hope to post some pictures of our adventures. Stay tuned!

Sparkly Happiness

So how many of you thirty somethings out there had a fantabulous sticker album when you were in elementary school? I did! I did! Did yours have:
*glittery stickers?
*shiny stickers?
*rainbow stickers?
*unicorn stickers (with or without rainbows)?
*Michael Jackson's sparkly glove stickers?

If you had any or all of the above in your book of elementary awesomeness, then I have the website for you! www.cornify.com!

Cornify? Definition: make your photos sticker book worthy
You can cornify your photos like this...


Turn awkward pictures into photos a little more palatable....


Make cute pictures even cuter....


Or give pointless pictures more meaning...


I could be writing about things that mean something...

or I could post about stupid crap like this.

Love

Love is a ribeye steak shaped like a heart.
Happy Valentine's Day!

When Two Worlds Collide

Kim is a Clueless Geek

We went camping this weekend with two families in our neighborhood. We've made it a yearly thing, but normally we go in the fall. This year it got changed to the winter, and the weekend before we were to go it was C.O.L.D. Now all you non-South Floridians-I don't want to hear it! When the temperature during the day in South Florida doesn't get above 60 degrees-that's COLD! (for us) So you can imagine our apprehension about tent camping in 30 degree weather. We decided to split an RV with one of the other families (the third fam has a pop up camper). LOVED IT! The question on our minds as we drove back from camping was - How does one go camping again in a tent after camping in this rolling house??

Our destination was Camp Canaveral. It's about 45 minutes north of Vero Beach. We chose this area because we all wanted to go to Kennedy Space Center. (Listen closely because this is where the geek part comes in...) We went to KSC and I LOVED IT! The rockets, the moon rocks, the astronauts, the space suits, the shuttles, the launch pads... SO COOL!!! Some are in awe of the Grand Canyon. Others shed a tear when listening to a moving piece by Mozart. My jaw hit the ground when I saw the ginormous rocket boosters on the Saturn V. G.E.E.K. It's all coming together for me now.
*My neverending craving for new school supplies
*My intense desire to take notes wherever I go
*The fact that my OCD kicks into gear and I must match my shoes with my purse
*And now the Kennedy Space Center.
I am a clueless geek.

Nevertheless, here are some pictures of our fun family trip.


Bus driver Matt

We celebrated Ethan's and Ed's (one of the neighbors) birthdays.

Future astronaut Ethan and daddy walking towards the Explorer Space Shuttle.



The inside of the rented "house on wheels".


Matt's new look (just making sure you're paying attention...)

Saturn V

This is the Space Shuttle Endeavour on the launch pad. (All you can see of it is the orange tip of the solid rocket booster.) It will taking it's last night launch on Sunday, Feb. 7th at 4:39 a.m. We're planning on going up for this launch.

Manchas, Mia's boyfriend

Mia, our lovey pup

Four years 'til 40...

So today is my birthday...and what a great day I've had! To most, the things that made me happy today are pretty random, but they were some of my favorite things.

I got fun cards from my family (including the ass card from Matt-I might have to do a separate post just on that card). Then off to school I went...where I was greeted by little munchkins with handmade birthday cards. So cute!



I could really tell that they put lots of love and time into them (including the one with the flowers and the penny glued to it-adorable!). At the same time some of the munchkins came bearing gifts. I will be sipping Starbucks with a smile for the next couple of weeks. LOVE IT!


(And I'll be smelling like a rose while doing it.)


To top all of that off, my munchkins and their moms gave me a little party! With balloons and all. They really made my day at school a special one.




Then it was time to pick up the kiddies. Daddy came home a little early, and we went to Publix to find my favorite cake. (True, I probably shouldn't have been involved in the purchasing of the cake, but you do what you gotta do. Verdad?)


On to some DE-LISH pizza


and then home to enjoy the cake with the fam.


What a day! To top all of that off, the weather here is GORGEOUS!!! It's cold and clear and it just seemed perfect on a day like today. :)