We have started a new session of judo. October 15-16, there is a big tournament at the Cohen brothers, which Nico is pretty excited about. It's funny, but when he cut his leg earlier in the summer, he was considering all the different judo throws that he might or might not be able to do, given the stitches that he was going to have in his leg. It ended up not mattering- the ER doctor said he didn't have any limitations on physical activity. But, it was funny to me, because it shows how much the kid is learning about the sport.
We also started soccer earlier this month. It is pretty fantastic- because his best good friends from our old neighborhood are on the team. Their dad (Dave G) is an assistant coach with Dave R. So, it is pretty fun. I am helping out by refereeing. Like I get it, I understand that it is AYSO- so its volunteer run. Which means that the referees are volunteers. Its great because there is a lot less pressure than when you're refereeing games that you are getting paid for. But still- it seems like the majority of the work done in AYSO is done by a minority of people who are involved.
We had a pretty fun July 4th. Dave was covering a Cubs game and Nico and I had been invited to a party at my friend Kevin's house, on the south side. Kevin is from Chicago and grew up on the south side of Chicago (a few minutes from the Indiana state line). His family's thing is July 4th.
So I put together my mom's key lime pie (that I was totally afraid would be too sour- based on my tasting of the filling). But it mellowed out with some time in the fridge. Also, beer helps.
We got down there and they had a lamb on a spit roasting over a fire. Have you ever had roasted lamb on a spit? It is amazing. In fact, I gotta figure out a way to make that part of my life more regularly. I met a lot of Kevin's friends that he grew up with, and got to hang out with his girlfriend Jen, who I adore. There people are a lot like mine: fun-loving and trash-talking.
Nico had a group of kids to run around with. Soon after, he was leading this little rabble around, attacking grownups and playing Volleyball. It was so much fun. So much so that I didn't get a pic of my own kid. Oh, well. But this pie doe.
Then, on Sunday, we watched the Womens World Cup final. Which was awesome.
An interesting development has been in the way Nico announces his sports games. He often uses women's players names... so he might be playing by himself narrating, "Nico squares it off to Henderson. Henderson sends it on to Rapinoe, who has a shot, but it is deflected by Neymar. Morgan with the cross and Wambach with the goal!!!!" Which is pretty cool.
Also, this weekend, he watched the entire USA v. France Group G game from the London 2012 Olympics. During it, he said to me, "This game doesn't have the current coach coaching." And when I asked who was coaching he said, "Pia." As in Pia Sundhage. And he is, apparently, on a first name basis with her. It was pretty funny.
Today is the penultimate day of school left in the year (Thank you Ms. Gulley for teaching me proper use of that word!). I can't decide who is more excited: Nico because we have him signed up for a pretty sweet summer camp program with the park district or me because I can start riding my bike to work again- and I dont have to wake up at 545, snooze till 555 and then pull myself together to get Nico to school while Dave handles showering+dressing+and feeding The Nico. Side note: My game is weak in the morning.
There is a kindergarten festival planned tomorrow- which should be lots of fun. But I am not sure I am ready for my kid to be done with kindergarten. Maybe I will write more about that tomorrow or this weekend... because I am kind of a mess thinking about it.
Nico's last AYSO game of the season was this past weekend. This season was really fun. It was awesome watching Nico start to come into his own playing. He loves goalkeeper so much, but he's already kind of advanced playing in the field. He does tricks, and doesn't get caught watching the play.
He routinely scores three and four goals a game- but also plays defense (since goalkeepers aren't allowed at this age). It has been a lot of fun watching him play.
One of the things we are going to start working on this summer is punts and juggling. He already tries to punt the ball- but is terrible at it. Terrible. My thought is, if the kid is going to do it, he should do it.
In other news, we are filling out our summer to-do list. There are some fun things on it (strawberry picking with Em and Nicole) and fishing in Michigan as well as some less fun things (I gotta clean up the girl cave and we need to get Nico's toys under control). Definitely looking forward to it.
As part of AYSO-we got a special deal on Chicago Fire tickets. I got them for
Dave for an early Happy Father's Day gift. The stadium is pretty sweet- although far. In the future- we'd probably want to take the "pub to the pitch" bus.
Nico was a gem for most of the night. I thought he was going to lose it over some candy he wanted, but the massive meltdown was *narrowly* avoided.
So, fall is definitely kicking up. Nico's soccer season is in full swing, and he is really getting to be pretty good. Most of the teams are pretty similar- a couple of kids that are in it to win it, and four kids who would rather be playing on the play ground. I subbed for another coach a couple of weeks ago. Following a water break, we couldn't find 6 of the 8 kids who were supposed to be on the field. Well, they were off the field. Using a huge branch to stab a tree next to the soccer field. Because of course.
There is another kid on Nico's team who is pretty good. They play well together. Nico has been focusing a lot more on defense lately. And sometimes he just does things that are so right, so above what a 5 year old should be able to do. It's pretty remarkable.
But even if he is a big tough soccer player, sometimes I can get him to snuggle with me.
Nico got his first school progress report last week. It was interesting- he is off the charts with the numbers and the reading and the writing. But less so with the staying focused and finished tasks. The teacher says he does the least possible. I'm not really surprised, in fact, I kind of expected it coming from a montessori school. He's also super excited about stuff at his new school... like apparently, after lunch kids are allowed to play outside whenever they are done eating. So naturally, Nico takes three bites of his lunch and rushes outside. Guess who is a bottomless pit of hunger when he gets home from school? You guessed it. My guess is that it will sort itself out during the winter, when kids won't be rushing to play outside.
I got a bit sick last week. It come on quick, but I was out of commission for Thursday night and Friday and Saturday. I'm not all the way better yet- I've acquired quite the cought. I thought my end was near on Monday- I had a couple of coughing fits and I couldn't catch my breath. My throat goes from being incredibly sore to not, to sore, to not. I might have strep, but other than that, I feel fine.... tired and run down, but not really that bad. I haven't done a crossfit workout in nearly a week- I feel like the website that posts our workouts is mocking me- I havent taken this long off since, I don't remember when.
My aunt Sandy died last week, so I went to Michigan on Sunday, to be there for Dad and Aunt Judy. And to help in anyway. I saw Cousin Ben and Uncle Danny, who I hadn't seen in a while. Which was nice. But, this past week has just kicked my tail. The work and the responsibility is at about the right place where I can feel motivated and move quickly on things. Much more stacks up and I'm going to have to hit the reset button- which is the equivalent of pushing everything off my plate and starting over. :)
We had a really lovely weekend! On Saturday, I went to a CrossFit "competition" after Nico's soccer game. It was only a friendly competition, but my partner and I "won" the scaled division....we only won because he should have been competing in the tougher competition. Also, it's not that big of a deal, since winning the scaled division is a bit like being the fifth grader that wins the kindergarten field day. But it was fun. Nico is averaging a hat trick, plus in soccer games lately. Even better, he actually completed a pass to a teammate. Somehow, we have to figure out a way to make that happen more. Because this dribbling the ball down the field and having a go at the goal isn't as much fun for everyone else, I suspect.
Saturday afternoon, we went up to the Richardson Adventure Farm, which is on the border with Wisconsin. There is a corn maze, jump pillows, a big slide, and pumpkins.
The slide was really cool. Nico could have done it all day... which is hilarious, because getting to the top required this long walk up this hill. He had a blast.
He still comes and gets in bed with us during the night. He's still very snuggly. I'm sad for when he gets to be too big for it. I realized that he's going to be getting too big for stuff now. When I take him to school, usually, I walk him into the gate... most parents just drop their kids at the Kiss and Go lane. But I walk Nico in. Usually, I will sit on the bench and watch his bags while he plays. He plays on the playground until the bell rings and then comes sprinting over to me to get his bags and give me a hug. Otherwise, there is no real reason for me to stay. Today he said he would keep his bags with him so that he wouldn't need to come back for them. That didn't take long at all.
Nico's first week was awesome. It may be early for this, but Dave and I are kind of doing a victory lap with how well it went. In the course of a week, we completely changed the home/night/morning routine and Nico loves school. LOVES IT. He's excited to go- and he's starting to make friends. His teacher is amazing. She's African-American (squeeeee!!) and just loves on her kids. She had no problem telling me on the first day that Nico had a little bit of a hard time listening, but it was okay, since he was going to get a chance to listen tomorrow. Awesome.
Nico didn't cry and didn't fuss. He was curious about what was happening, but was not in any way anxious for us to hang around. He's excited that he will get to do PE, drama, art, and the library once a week.
At home, we have dramatically changed everything... since he has to wake up so early, we're getting to bed and doing dinner a lot earlier. This means, we've cut down his TV watching and playing. But he seems to be doing fine.
This weekend he also started soccer up again. What a difference a couple of months makes!! Nico was a completely different kid this go round. Part of it had to do with the fact that he has been playing a lot more soccer lately.
But also, he was playing against a bunch of kids who'd never played soccer before. And at least he played a couple of games in the spring.
He scored three goals and had an assist!
Isn't that crazy?
One of the goals happened when a teammate was dribbling around in our defensive third and he just took the ball from her, dribbled down the field and scored! It was very funny! Still no goalkeepers yet, but I think he had a good time!!
So, it is that time of the year. The weather is starting to get nice. Not today, (it is a bit cool), but generally. There is no snow, so I guess I shouldn't complain all that much.
I have three more class meetings before I am done with this quarter. While this is the second time I have taught this course, it feels hard because I overhauled the course. So, I feel like I am constantly on the grind. Will be very glad when the quarter is over. I, will have to start prep for a new course that I have been asked to teach in the fall. It's on the edge of my area of interest, but I never let not knowing much about something keep me from acting like an expert.
When I went to sign Nico up for soccer two weeks ago, they asked if we might want to finish out the rest of the spring season (3-4 games left). We said yes and got Nico signed up, so he had his first game last weekend.
Let's just say this: there were three goals scored: and Nico had a hand in two of them, and his team lost. By three. One of the goals, he scored, straightaway. The other he took a goal kick and kicked it to the other team. Who then scored a goal.
In all, it was pretty fun. They started with like 30 minutes of "practice" where they warmed up and then just did fun little games. For some reason, this kid was OBSESSED with his jersey and with sticking his tongue out. It is very Michael Jordan, which is cool.
What is completely crazy is how completely unprepared Dave and I were for this day. No water coolers, no water, no chairs! It was almost like it was amatuer hour. ALMOST!!
I think Nico might not have really understood what was happening with the game. And he definitely lost focus for a bit. On throw-ins, he'd zone out along with all the other kids on the field. So, we will have to work on that- but overall, it was a pretty fun game. I think he is going to like playing!
Oh, where do you start with such an awesome weekend?
Well, JJ and Scott got to town late Friday morning. And pretty much as soon as they arrived, we took off for Wrigley. Nico was at school, so he didnt come with us to the game (A fact that he reminded me of later when he was looking at pictures on my phone. He said, "Oh, I don't think I remember that day at the Cubs game..." Yeah, because we didn't take him!! Yikes! How is it that he is four and is already mastering the guilt trip??)
When the game was almost over, Dave split to go get Nico from school and get our pizza and I was in charge of navigating us back to the house. In doing so, I accidentally navigated us onto the purple line train to Linden. It was express, so we had to ride all the way out to Howard before we could get off. Yikes!!
Friday night, we hung out at the house, which was fun. Nico and I showed JJ our new game called Two Square (hint: its just like four square). JJ played lots of games with Nico and is generally well-liked by Le Beast. So much so that when he came down stairs on Friday morning, Nico took a flying leap off the 4th step at JJ (who caught him). No big deal.
Saturday morning, Dave and Nico headed to swimming lessons at the YMCA and Uncle Scott, JJ, and I hung out at the house watching football and soccer. I made us some delicious burgers for lunch and when Nico and Dave got back, I put Nico down for a nap. After, JJ and Dave headed to a birthday party at an indoor waterpark/splash place. While there, Dave networked with grownups and may have even got a lead on a adjuncting job at NEIU, which, coincidentally enough, is one of TWO universities in our back yard. Not like, Gary, IN is in Chicago's back yard. But like in the Albany Park/North Park/Peterson Park neighborhood of Chicago. Isn't that sweet?
When they got back from the party, Nico helped me make some egg fondue.
Normally, this is a Christmas only kind of dish, but thought it would be great to have for breakfast on Sunday, since it didnt require anyone standing over a stove on Sunday morning. This was really important for me because of the Manchester Derby. A day when the two teams in Manchester play each other. It was made even better this year, because it's early in the season and they were tied for 5th place. A win for either team would help that team immensely in the standings.
My team (Manchester City) is sometimes sketchy in the back. I love them, but seriously, they lost to Cardiff a couple of weeks ago. Losing to Cardiff is like Wakulla losing to Godby (no offense). But seriously, they have one-two strong players... there is no reason Wakulla should lose such a game. United (JJ's team), on the other hand, is usually so class. So imagine my surprise when this happened:
Yeah, it was pretty awesome. That said, there is still plenty of time in the season for City to screw this up. :)
Check out new Nico video!! Nico heading the ball!!
Before any of the grandmas wig out... trust me... I am a professional coach! I got this!
Nico really hates going to practice... he is usually good for about one hour. Then, he has to go. :( Hopefully, he will grow out of this phase.
In other news, there was a Tallahassee Groupon for the Georgia Veterans Park, which is apparently the location of a train line, that does short trip day trips in the middle georgia area. So I bought three tickets. As soon as BBUSC is over this summer, we are going to head up there and take Nico. HE IS GOING TO FLIP OUT!!
Also, our excursion to pick blackberries is go for launch on Saturday!! Apparently there are exactly two days in which we can pick blackberries (today (Wednesday) and Saturday). So apparently, we also have to get our act together early and do it! Looking forward to getting a couple of gallons of blackberries!! Try not to be jealous!!
In the words of Nico, "So we had a great time this weekend!"
Dave went to Anna Maria for a Bachelor Party for Dave T. who is getting married next month. Coincidentally, his fiance is named Jessica. Weird, right? They started dating shortly after we started dating... so that is cool. Saturday morning Nico and I got up and went to Bagelheads for breakfast. The FSU Miami baseball game got pushed up to noon (due to threat of crap weather), so we snuck to the library to grab some library books for the trip.
Then we headed to the game. Apparently, FSU baseball has a bit of a rabid following in Tallahassee. When I bought the tickets, I wasn't really sure how things were. They were apparently sold out of tickets for the good seats, which are higher up and right behind homeplate. So we sat in "general admission" seats, which are bleachers on the first and third baselines. I saw a big area where no one was sitting and was like, "S-WHEET!! And made a beeline for it." Turns out that area was crap because you couldn't see the hitter. Booo!! So we moved and got a seat were we could barely see the hitter. If the idiot family in front of us didnt move their big giant idiot heads around too much.
Nico was really really really good. He lasted for about an hour (three innings), wherein we saw FSU score a handful of runs. Nico had a pretty good time. He wasn't too interested in the snacks, which is half the reason to go to a ball game, but whatev.
In any case, Nico was asleep before we left campus. So we headed home for nap and some lunch. After nap we were supposed to go up to Thomasville to watch the Wakulla girls play in a tournament, but they got rained out. So we just hung out at the house and went to the park to play baseball.
We facetimed with Nicole, Cody, Maddox and Emme (it's a video call you can do on the iphone 4s where there is a camera on the business side of the phone). That was pretty cool. Decided that we needed to do that again. They were sitting down to watch the Lion King.
Saturday night I ended up getting us in bed relatively early. I watched the rest of the first season of Walking Dead on my ipad (so amazing... love it). Sunday Nico and I got up and ran through a quick breakfast at Golden Corral, which seems to be his favorite place to eat (BARF), because they have star-shaped donuts (they are actually flower shaped, but he calls them star shaped). We then ran up to Thomasville for the tournament. The Wakulla TUFC girls ended up losing 2-0, but our girls did well.
After the game, we played a little baseball. The main point of playing is you hit the ball, then run the bases. But who ever didnt hit has to chase the one who did. This is hilarious. And its a good way to wear Nico out. Who fell asleep in the car on the way home. When we got home someone (whose name rhymes with Rico) wasn't too interested in sleeping anymore. So we did some cleans. Then Dave came home and we went to play soccer on Sunday night. Aren't you just exhausted from reading all that? Me too.
Monday Nico and I worked in the garden after school. So far, we have watermellons, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, spinach, mint, rosemary and basil.
This week the weather has been absolutely glorious. So that has been nice. This works well for us because we just got after our leasing company to fix the windows in the house. The main problem with the windows in the house is that we only had one functional window in each room of the house. Some worked, but didnt have screens. Some just flatout didnt work. It's taken like 6 months for this to happen, during which the owner of the leasing company stopped efforts to repair the windows because she thought that we said it was "OK to have only one functional window in each room of the house." Seriously? There was almost a throw down.
Last night it got so cold in the house I actually had to go around closing windows before bed. Isn't that awesome?
It started a 5K that I ran on Saturday. In case you were wondering, no, I still don't love running. But signing up for the race got me running it on Saturday. The race was the Palace Saloon 5K. It ends at a bar. But alas, the line for beer was too long. I had a sad. But then Nico requested to have breakfast at Golden Corral for their star-shaped donuts. Oh yes, really. Star shaped donuts. I was glad because I was really hungry. I also remembered why America is so fat. There is something either seriously wrong or seriously right about a country where you can get a full desert bar at 9 in the morning, complete with a chocolate fountain. In any case, I shared a cupcake with Nico. At breakfast. That is how we roll.
After breakfast we went to Lake Ella to feed the geese... part of a cupcake. I know, we are terrible.
Then Dave and Nico went to the gym and swimming. Weirdly, Nico was asleep when they got home. This ended in a nap for me. When Nico woke up, he came and hopped into bed with me and we snuggled until we fell asleep again. When we woke up at 7pm. 7pm!! 7pm!! We had to hurry to get to the Circus. For those who don't know, but FSU has one of only 2 collegiate circus programs in the country. One of Nico's teachers at preschool is in the circus program, so we really wanted to see it.
Unfortunately, we didnt get there in time for tickets. It was the last show, so they were booked solid. Nico was a bit disappointed, so I suggested we go to the Fun Station, so he could do the car-racing arcade games. Let me just say this, it was like we were in the Arena in the Capitol (in the Hunger Games). The only thing that didnt happen is that there was no actual killing... but it was pretty crazy. In any case, Nico wasnt so much a fan and Dave and I tired quickly of restraining ourselves from kicking some teenage a$$, so we left. YIKES.
Sunday we hung around the house for most of the morning, doing chores. Nico and I popped out for a bit to the park where we made a new friend named Charlie, who was helping him learn some tricks. It was pretty funny!
After nap on Sunday, we headed to the soccer field, where Dave and I had a coed game. It was a pretty great time. This coming weekend, Dave is going to a bachelor weekend party down in Tampa. So far, Nico and I are planning on going to a FSU baseball game. I think it will be lots of fun.
So, we had a fun weekend around here. I tried unsuccessfully for much of Friday night to find a hard copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. I just finished reading the series and have been trying to watch the last two movies. Turns out there is some sort of dustup over the digital rights to it, so it is unavailable online. Anywhere. Not for rent or for purchase. :(
I have been doing some cleaning... only the most annoying kind though- the little at a time- tear up this part of the house and take two weeks to put it back together kind. :( Dave doesnt know it, so maybe dont mention it, but we have this massive built in bookcase in our living room that is about to get MADEOVER. Seriously. On this shelf sits a box of VHS tapes. In this box is prolly about 50-60 VHS tapes that are what is left of my "younger days" soccer career. In any case, I have been meaning to transfer such tapes to DVD for years... so finally I put an ad up on Craigs List and found a stay at home mom who is willing to do for 5 bucks a tape. Can you believe that? Yeah, pretty good. I am pretty excited about that. Friday, I dropped some tapes off and went for a run. Nico and Dave got pizza at Mellow Mushroom and had it waiting for me when I got home.
Saturday, Dave let me sleep in and got Nico up. They went to the fair grounds to check out the dog show- especially the agility trials. Nico was kinda annoyed because he wanted to do the obstacle course :( I ran some errands. Just before nap, I took Nico to the park so that he could run the bases and play ball... which he loves. After Nico woke up from nap, we went to get some groceries including ingredients for a "special treat" for Aunt Nicole and Uncle JJ. Why? Its their birthday. And also because I wanted to try making homemade snickers bars. Which brings me to- the problem with healthy food is that it doesnt taste good. Seriously. I am eating a salad for lunch. But I still would rather have a bacon cheeseburger. Meh.
Sunday, I woke up early with Nico. We made some breakfast and went to run some more errands. Then we went to Chapman Pond at Myers Park and fed the geese.
Then last night Dave and I went to play soccer. Nico was not terribly pleased. I played in goal and gave up five goals. Seriously. Five goals? BARF. On the upside, I did make a bunch of good saves, including one off my face, and one where I think I pulled my armpit muscle (dont ask how I managed to do that). In preparation for the baby sitter coming over, we managed to put the house back in order, so that is great. But its still dusty as ever.
So the tournament this weekend was pretty fun. I left Dave and Nico at home. When we originally started planning the tournament, I thought they would come with, but the session started early, and so I went alone. It was a good time. Our team played well and there was no drama. As per usual, I didnt get much sleep, as I stayed out late. The first night we were there, I met up with Phil (from Malawi) and his girlfriend. Phil is a professor at Tulane and they gave me the "swanky" tour of New Orleans. This included a delicious dinner and a cocktail tour of New Orleans. Side bar: if any of my players are reading this, keep in mind that I am 32 years old and that it is perfectly legal to drink. Also, I wasn't driving. And I wasnt drinking to get drunk. I was tasting new things. And again... I am a grown a$$ woman.
So dinner was ACROSS THE STREET from the Quarter Stitch. A cross stitch/knitting shop that I had given up hope of seeing because I wasnt doing NOLA as a soloist. So imagine my glee when I came around the corner and saw it on the way to dinner. OMG. As per usual, I needed to buy a bit of expensive, pretty yarn that probably isnt enough to make anything out of, but that is okay, because I suck at knitting and crocheting. But it's cool. Also, I know there is something wrong with me.
At dinner I tried absinthe. It is usually green but here it is mixed with sugar and whiskey. It tastes mostly like I was being punched in the throat with a rusty metal fist.
We went to several places, including Annauds (which is a bonafide NOLA institution). Phil's gf and I had a drink that was basically an homage to the king cake (because we are in pre-Mardi Gras NOLA). It had a gold baby in it. For those of you who dont know, the gold baby is something that you're supposed to find in the king cakes (which are basically round breads with frosting on top).
We also went to the Carosel Bar (but had to leave since it was packed). And the Roosevelt, which is like the capital of swank town. I had a drink called "The Honey Badger", which I thought was from the youtube sensation. Turns out I am a dumbass because there is some LSU athlete who the drink is REALLY named after.
Turns out we were having a great time and by the time I was ready to meet up with soccer girls in the Quarter, they were on their way back to the hotel. Bummer.
So the next morning was SOCCER TIME and we ruled the school. We won all three of our games easily. The weather was cold and windy. It would have been really nice but for the wind... but we played well, there was no drama, and I felt like a million bucks. Here is a team picture.
What is the green thing that Julia is holding on the end, you ask? It is a dinosaur tail. It is at least the second tournament that the tail has appeared at. Yes. She owns a dinosaur tail. No, she does not have children.
We played in the third division. For those of you who have never attended a soccer tournament with drunkards, it can be the most frustrating thing: when you travel several hundred miles to play in a tournament and half the team shows up drunk and you get your a$$es handed to you. For me particularly because I lost a long time ago that ability to be nice to my defenders. In the course of my post-college soccer career, I have dropped f-bombs on my defenders, I have asked them to remove their heads from their a$$es, I have screeched at unsuspecting drunkards "stop f-ing around with the ball in the back and get rid of it!!" and I have even gone so far as to tell friends playing in front of me that if their mark was too fast for them, they should switch with someone who could keep up. Side bar: sometimes I am not a nice person.
It was part of the reason I stopped going to tournaments. I got frustrated with taking it seriously, by not getting snockered and showing up to play only to find that some teammates were either still drunk or hungover or they couldnt play because they were throwing up or they just didnt show up. And nothing is worse than spending good money to go to a tournament to get your ass kicked because your team is a bunch of drunkards. And its tough because you dont want to be the Debbie Downer... like closing down parties and stuff.... like, "Yall get back to your rooms, we got an 8am game!" Everyone hates that guy.
So rather than doing that, we were registered in the third division, thinking that if anyone lost it and couldnt handle NOLA, we'd still be okay. We also didnt know how good the 1st division was compared to us. Turns out, we may have sand bagged ourselves a bit. We played in the third division against women who were in the twilight of their soccer careers and who at the pinacle of their game might not have made the varsity squad at WHS. Isnt that terrible? In any case, we ruled the school and made enemies left and right. Haters mostly.
After we were done being the mayors of Awesometown, we did the shower/change/nap thing at the hotel and headed back to the Quarter. We had a groupof 20+ that wanted dinner, but we were forced to split up to accommodate such a large crowd. Several went to Acme Oyster House (which is where I really wanted to go). But I was REALLY hungry, so I decided to go to Felix's, where I thought I could get in quicker. After standing in the cold for 45 minutes, we finally got in and were settled into a table back in the back that was warm and toasty and cozy.
I had chargrilled oysters (which are kind of my thing):
And while the oysters were awesome- soaking up that oil with the bread was the best part. After dinner some of us were to meet at Pat O'Briens for hanging out and such. Some didnt make it (Kelly, etc.) largely because they were wiped out and tired. I think the fact that I only had to make like 5 saves in three games contributed to me having the energy to hit Bourbon street... I didnt run my a$$ off for 3 games... like some people (Ashley and Kelly).
Here is a picture of some of us on Bourbon street. I didnt realize that my eye shadow was so light on my sun-burned face. So excuse the weird raccoon eyes. Yes, I am wearing a glow stick... that was our symbol... none of the group was to go with anyone who did not have a glow stick. Of course, it is New Orleans... and there is all manner of shiny objects to entertain the meth-heads... but it worked okay for us. Mostly.
Sunday dawned cold and windy (again). We played in the semifinals and were up several goals at halftime at which time we decided that I could play in the field a bit. In my second touch of the game, Erin (from Houston) drove down the right side to the goal line and squared off a pass to me at the top of the six. Side bar: I dont usually screw these up. One touch later and we are up a goal. This experiment of me playing in the field continued till the game ended and we played in the finals, at which time, I stayed happily back in goal.
Nico and Dave made this video to send to me before the game:
I know, right?
Henceforth, we won the Finals easily. Yay!! We won. And we made friends!! Which was fun!!
The drive back was easy. Kelly, Ashley and I listened to Bossypants (by Tina Fey) which only confirmed that I would love to know her in real life. I think we're best friends, only she doesnt know me.
This morning I am back at it. The College of Medicine is having its 8th Annual Research Fair. Here is one of our posters. Yes... I just said ONE of our POSTERS. I will have to tell you more about that $hit show tomorrow (by the way "$hit show") is my new favorite thing to say. Yes, I will be wearing that out, per usual.
Really looking forward to the weekend. Nico is looking forward to going swimming in the ocean. He claims to remember the last time were at the beach... I am not sure I believe him :)
Hi all... sorry to be so lame of late. I have a sort of biggish project that I am working on at work which is consuming much of my break times at work (which is when I usually blog). The tournament went well this weekend. In fact this is how well it went:
This is Kelly the Baller celebrating a goal. We lost on Saturday 3-1 and I did not appear to be the one jacking up anyone's flow. So that is good. Plus the win on Sunday wherein Kelly went on a tear and we won 4-1.
Dave and Nico had all sorts of fun while I was gone. They found a Bluegrass Festival to go to and basically just had a good time going to parks and hanging around the house, without Mom making them do chores and take baths!!
Not much else to report. Hoping the week goes quickly, as we are headed to Mexico Beach for a Wedding! Woo hoo!!
So we played in a touranment this weekend... the big Florida State Invitational. It's kind of a big deal- lots of teams there. We played in a combined U15/U16 bracket. And proceeded to have our a$$es handed to us. We lost 5-0, 5-0 on Saturday. And won 1-0 on Sunday against a team that wasn't all that strong. We had girls bail on the second day (awesome). Actually it was kind of annoying. So that sucked.
I caught some heat with some of my parents for releasing one of our players to play with ASG. For those of you who don't know, ASG is the club that Andy Warner when he left TUFC. He basically took a bunch of players from TUFC with him. And essentially hobbled the club. So a town that wasn't big enough to support two clubs now had three (ASG, TUFC, and TOF). Well, since TOF has basically folded and now just ASG and TUFC remain. With a lot of bad blood between them. In any case, our little big gun (LBG) guested with an ASG team over Christmas break (went to the Orange classic)... so when the time came for this tournament, I suggested she play with ASG if she got the chance.
Some of our parents questioned this... because she is arguably one of the best players in the area- why wouldn't we want to keep her? My answer? Because its not about wins or losses... its about what is best for each player. My point was proven yesterday. Mark Krikorian (the head coach of FSU) "just happened" by the field where she was playing yesterday. For ASG. He may have happened by during our game, I wouldn't know. But the fact remains, she looks better if she is playing with better players. She gets more opportunities, more chances in front of goal. Just the sort of thing you need if you're that player.
So it sort of made our team artificially weaker than if we had had her. But it is what it is. I dont think we lost this weekend because we didnt have her. I think we lost this weekend because we aren't very good yet.
So that is all... that is what I spent the weekend doing. The tournament and sleeping. Nico and I came home from the tourney yesterday and took a nap. He had fallen asleep five minutes after being in the car, so I got him to sleep on his own for about an hour. We he woke up, he was a crank, so I cuddled with him a bit longer, during which he fell asleep (for about another hour). I finally took him into our room and fell asleep with him on the bed. For another hour. It was wonderful!!
We woke up and went to get some groceries and some frozen yogurt. Let me tell you, that boy does not play when it comes time for frozen yogurt!
Trainer Nico will get you patched up and back on the field!!
Nico has been COMPLETELY BUCK WILD at night, the last two nights. OFF> THE> CHAIN.
Grandma Royse came to town on Sunday night, which I think is unrelated. But Monday night- little homey woke up at 330 and took two hours to go back to sleep. Which is okay, if I had gotten to bed before 12:30 and if I wasn't planning on going to the gym in the morning. After our scrimmage last night, I came home and Nico was still awake. I put him down and snuck to bed with the intention of having a quick nap then getting up and working on a paper through the night. Well, 30 minutes into my nap, he woke up SHRIEKING and PISSED. Like, didnt want me at all, which is strange, since he is a mama's boy. Totally inconsolable. For maybe an hour and a half... till Dave finally got him to go to sleep. So not only did I have to get up to write last night, I didnt even get a decent nap. Sadface. So consequently, I am dragging today. I scrounged the last 1.50 in my office to get a soda from the vending. BTW- if anyone is ever looking for gifts for me, rolls of quarters work nicely. Seems like I never have change for a soda. Now I am going to have to drive up to the store for a soda at lunch (because I am not going to make it through the rest of the day on this measely bottle) and attempt to shield my eyes from the Cadbury eggs that garnish the cashier's stand. You know what I am talking about, its Cadbury Season. Fo sho!
In any case, Dave and I have decided that we need a stay at home wife. Listen, if it means that there is an extra person to take point with Nico and to help cook and clean, I am totally all for polygamous marriages. I dont see why people have a problem with them. I mean, its all like Big Love, right?? No? Damn it!!
I have come to the conclusion that Nico is probably going end up like Will from Good Will Hunting (played by Matt Damon). Why, you ask? Because there are two things that he can do ALL DAY, regardless of how many times he has done it already. Sweep and read. Henceforth, he is probably going to be a brilliant janitor who solves math problems anonymously in the classrooms of Harvard or Yale. Seems likely, don't you think?
How do you like them apples?
One of his favorite books is, "I like it when..." It is in Spanish and English and includes phrases like, "I like it when you dance with me/Me gusta cuando bailas conmigo" or "I like it when you hug me tight/Me gusta cuando me das un abrazo muy fuerte." Whenever I read it to him, I act out the actions. So I hold his hand, dance a little, hug him tight. Dave's mom said last night that when they read the book he did the same thing with her. Isn't that awesome?
He is also OBSESSED with trucks. The garbage truck dudes are pretty cool- because often they will honk if they see Nico in the window waving. He stopped us in Publix the other day as we were leaving- to point at a vintage photo of a Publix Big Rig. He also has this book, "Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things that Go" whcih he LOVES. He remains scared of the yellow CAT dumptruck that he got as a birthday gift back in August. It makes a lot of nose and "rumbles". He is pretty much NOT a fan.
Really looking forward to Easter. If you remember, someone was kind of terrible at finding eggs last year... his name rhymes with Rico. Hoping that he steps up his game a little. He has to know, that is not how we roll in the Bishop family. Easter egg hunting is serious bi'ness. I'm just sayin. I am also just saying that I had an ephiphany yesterday.
Okay- so Nico is pretty much adorable. Dude, he is adorable when he is just wearing a diaper and socks running around the house trying to get away from me putting clothes on him. He is adorable in the knockoff Euro league jersey LT got him in Europe last year. He is adorable in navy blue and black (that his father dresses him in). You know what would be Nico Cutes to the tenth power? Nico in a tie! Picture it! Nico with some blue jeans and a button up shirt and a tie. That would be some seriously cuteness!! Like, put my baby in a gap commercial cute. The advertising people at Gap would be like, "So, we dont really do ties- its not part of our line. But no joke, that Royse kid, he could sell some ties. Look at the cheeky little bugger. We need to start ordering ties made, because guess what? We are selling ties now! And we can't keep them on the shelf- because everyone will be clamoring for ties- like that little blond haired, blue eyed Nico Royse."
Ha! You think I am joking. No seriously, I think during Easter I might get a little Nico tie and shoot some pics- maybe at Maclay gardens? Or Lake Ella... although Lake Ella makes me a little nervous. The ducks and geese there are pretty bold. They're all like, "What's up? You got some bread? No? How about your wallet? Yeah, me and Frank here, we'll just take your wallet and head across the street to Sonic. That is what's up!" Combined with the surley squirels, it is a rough world out there!!
We are on Spring Break this week... which is sort of nice, in the sense that I dont have to go to class tomorrow. Its also sorta "Big Whoop!" because I am not planning to lay on a beach and be a bum for a week... so that is kind of sad. I have to write a term paper for this class- it has to be a discussion of some topic, utilizing a handful of research articles. I thought briefly about writing it about changes in cause-specific infant mortality over the latter part of the twentieth century, just to be a smart ass. Naturally I would have to site someone's dissertation. That someone being me, clearly. Plus, I have brought up a specific theory about why black women have worse infant health outcomes across the board in class and my instructor doesn't seem convinced. So there is that.
Other than that, not much going on. We scrimmaged the TUFC U16s last night- AND WON? Milka-what? I dont understand? The team that we put into the scrimmage is *mostly* girls who will be playing this weekend. With the exception of Norma, Kristine, and Maddie, who some might argue are three of the best players from our high school team. But even without them, it was very promising. The tournament should be fun... its been a while since I have done one. I had originally wanted to use this tournament as the inaugural event for my photography practice, but its just not in the cards right now. I will likely take my gear though, to practice getting some decent shots. We'll see.
Oh, and some great news: last weekend, I took two of our seniors to Middle Georgia College (a JUCO) for tryouts. They loved the school and the team. The team loves them and wants to marry them. Very strong possibillity that both will end up playing there- which is SUPER exciting. This would take our college team count to: 6 (I AM counting our GK who opted out of playing at TU last year). Of course, if you count the girls that have gone on to play OTHER sports, like softball, the number is 8. So that is pretty sweet.
Sorry for the random nature of today's blog. I blame the lack of sleep.
So, Nico is alergic to Amoxacillian. Yeah, for real. The rash that he had all over his body was worse when I picked him from school- and his face was a little swollen. So Dave took him to urgent care last night and they determined that little homey is alergic. Its not really suprirsing, given my Mom and JJ's VERY highly alergic reactions to Penacillian. They put him on a steroid and ixnayed the Amox. Really glad we took him to the doctor... you know so often, you take a kid to the doctor when they are sick and the doctor is like, "Yeah, we cant really do anything to help...sorry...call us if her has diarhea for 2 weeks straight."
Looking forward to the weekend. I have a revise and resubmit that has been taking up most of my non-existent free time. Trying to finish it up so I can then get my poster for PAA poppin. No rest for the weary, I suppose.
Tomorrow, I am driving some of the seniors to Middle Georgia College for a tryout. Am pretty excited about it- should give some of our players a chance to look around. I wont have much time with Nico tomorrow (sadface). But I am thinking we might sneak some time in to go get some frozen yogurt on Sunday. Dave is talking about taking Nico to the Chilli Cookoff on St. George Island, which I am going to be very mad about- they always wait till I cant go when they decide to have some funs!!
Good morning all!! Hope everyone had a good weekend.
Ours was pretty good. It started on Friday when I took this video of Nico reading "Go, Dog, Go!" in the car on the way home from school.
Adorable!!
Go dog go! Is one of Nico's favorite books. Its great because its conceptually easy to understand. And he loves dogs... so its a huge hit!!
Saturday morning I got Nico and my bike (with his own special Nico seat), plus helmets with the intention of going to the St. Marks Bike Trail and riding. Turns out that from Tallahassee south, the trail is under construction and closed. I guess we could have driven all the way down to St. Marks and rode north, but I didn't have the time (maybe next week?)
Dave and I went to see the King's Speech on Saturday night. It was great- Colin Firth is brilliant. It made me physically anxious to listen to him- really glad that he won for Best Actor last night.
Sunday was a day of soccer. After working for a few hours in the morning, I met Dave and Nico at RMS where I played in goal during our scrimmage with the U16 team. It was pretty good. I made several good saves, including several one v ones. After, Dave had a game at the meadows, so we went up to Tallahassee to see him play against the Rowdies- which was pretty stacked. Dave's team did surprising well, losing only 4-2. This is all for us. Hope you have a wonderful week!!
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
