I am one of THOSE parents

**Gasp**

I am a sideline screamer.

I stand at the sidelines of Ben's soccer games and yell.

NEVER at the referee (I mutter my disdain for the ref quietly under my breath).

I just yell.....at the game, at the players, at my son, at whatever is going on out on the field.

Never critically.

I just offer my very loud (and unsolicited) advice on how to play the game.

From the sidelines.

But here's the kicker (get it? soccer......kicker)

I am only like that with soccer.

Ben also plays basketball and baseball and I am perfectly capable of quietly watching those games from the sidelines and cheering when appropriate.

Not with soccer. I just get so into the game.

I LOVE the game.

I just recently gave up playing on a team myself.

And this year his team has really advanced the level of play. They are playing in the top division in their age bracket and are doing so well!

Besides I LOVE the game.

So that brings me to the carrots and tootsie pops.

I take little bags of carrots and tootsie pops to the games to help keep my mouth busy so that I don't embarrass or make a spectacle of myself.

Yes, I spend the whole game munching and crunching and licking and sucking in order to keep myself kind of quiet. And I pace. Alot.

That makes Lisa the winner. Except she already knew the answer to the question because she paces and munches on my carrots right along side me while we watch our boys play together.

I just never thought she would EVER leave me a comment on my blog. EVER. (Actually I didn't even know she reads my blog without my prompting.)

So Lisa, want to know your prize?

It's a season supply of baby carrots and tootsie pops!

I have a little riddle for you!

What does four single serve bags of baby carrots and two tootsie roll suckers have to do with boys u-9 soccer?

The first one to come up with the correct answer may just get a sweet little prize. Maybe.

Or maybe not.

At any rate, I'll be back to fill you in on the answer Tuesday night.

And Nicci, you can't play along since you know the answer.

The rest of you, leave me your guess and then click over to Nicci's blog and check out her great photography skills!!

A little weekend narcicism

35 Things about ME

I pulled this from Meredith from life at 7000 feet.

1. Do you like blue cheese salad dressing? with hot wings only

2. Do you own a gun? Yep, we have 3. We keep them in the garage and they squirt water really far!

3. What's your favorite drink at Starbucks? Tall, non-fat pumpkin spice chai (no coffee)

4. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? milk

5. Do you do pushups? whats that?

6. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding ring.

7. Favorite hobby? blogging. oh and I love to play soccer!

8. Do you have A.D.D? Probably, but I've never been diagnosed

9. What's one trait that you hate about yourself? I'm insecure, even though I can put up a good front.

10. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: I should go eat my sandwich, What are my kids watching and why do people feel it necessary to take advantage of others giving nature.

11. Name 4 drinks you regularly drink. Water, Dr. Pepper, OJ and one glass of milk a day.

12. Current worry right now? My lack of income.

13. Current hate right now? the coming rainy months

14. Favorite place to be? Home with my family

15. Do you like to travel? Yes

16. What color shirt are you wearing? White

17. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No, flannel is my favorite, even in the summer

18. Can you whistle? Kind of

19. Favorite color? Red

20. If you could would you be a pirate? Yes!! For a day that would be fun. I would be a nice pirate though!

21. What song do you sing in the shower? I don't sing in the shower, I usually spend that time praying.

22. Favorite girl's name? Avery, Brooke, Mallory

23. Favorite boy's name? Well, I'm kind of partial to Benjamin and Cooper, but I also like the names Sawyer and Tucker.

24. What's in your pocket right now? $7.04

25. Favorite bedsheets as a child? Seriously? I can't remember.

26. Worst injury? Whiplash from falling in a soccer game and hitting my head, hard.

27. Do you love where you live? Yes, but I am also willing to move, if God opens the doors!

28. How many TVs do you have in your house? One

29. Who is your loudest friend? Ummm, let's see.........me. My friends are the quiet types.

30. How many pets do you have? None, Ben has a fish, but unless the tank gets cleaned sometime in the very near future, she is probably going to die soon. And I'm NOT cleaning the tank.

31. Does someone have a crush on you? Hopefully my husband does.

32. What is your Favorite Book? Besides the Bible? Well, I d0 love the Twilight series, but my favorite of all time has got to be Bridge to Terabithia.

33. What's your favorite candy? Hot tamales.

34. Favorite Sports Team? Salmon Creek soccer boys U-6 Avalanche and boys U-9 Fighting Hornets!! They are so much fun to watch.

35. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Yay, It's Saturday. I can go back to sleep!

In case you were watching......

Greys Anatomy.

I've lived in Washington State for 26 years and the Seattle area for half of that time and I've never seen icicles form like that on a building...........

I lived in Anchorage for the first 9 years of my life and I used to see them form like that all winter long there.

Not in Seattle though.

Just sayin.

Entertainment News that SHOULD be on the front page

I don't really care who came out of the closet yesterday.

This on the other hand is worthy of the cover of every magazine at the registers.

But you'll never see it there.

And since it was on the last hour of the Today show it was probably missed by many.

However, I believe this is newsworthy.



Since I know that some of you will not (or cannot) watch the video I'll tell you about it.

It's my heartthrob Kirk Cameron.

Declaring that he will never kiss anyone other than his wife.

Not even in the name of acting.

I guess I'm okay with that.

He's also promoting his new movie Fireproof.

Which I believe every couple in America should buy tickets to and go see.

Our nation would be changed.

I **heart** Mama Kat

It's true.

She's givin away a Hoover (the vacuum, not the dam.)

Guess what I need?

Yep, a vacuum. Mine broke last week.

I went a week without vacuuming, then my friend Lisa asked me to watch her 14 month old. I said "sure, but bring your vacuum so she is safe to be on my floor."

Since she has central vac in her house she so kindly left her vacuum in my care until I could get mine fixed.

Dave took our vacuum to the repair today. The guy said "it's not worth fixin. It'll cost more to repair it than to buy a new one." hmmpppfff.

So then tonight I'm out blog lurking and I stumble across Mama Kat's Great Hoover Giveaway.

Guess what?

I need that vacuum.

Oh and by the way Mama Kat, your blog totally rocks.
You are pretty.
Your kids are super adorable.

Yep, I'm totally sucking up.

Kind of like that Hoover.

I might need therapy for my failings

By now you've all met her, right?

She's my mother.

She sews. Great things.

She knits. Beautifully.

Oh, and she cooks. Impressively.

I'm sure she learned all that out of necessity.
She was one of 12 children and grew up very poor.
So if she wanted it, she learned to make it.

Apparently I didn't have the need to learn all those things.

Oh, I tried to learn to sew.
I made a windsock in 6th grade Home Ec.
It was hideous.
She proudly displayed it out for all to see.

I wanted to learn to knit a few years back.
She tried to teach me.
I am right handed, she is left.
Yeah, that didn't work.

But alas.
I AM a good cook.
I can follow a recipe very well.
I have rarely ruined anything.
I often take liberties and experiment with recipes to make them my own.

However, there is one thing that after all these years has elluded me.

It's the pie crust.

I've tried.
Many times.
I can make the dough.
I follow the recipe.
I just cannot get that dough rolled out.
It sticks.
It cracks.
It breaks.
It gets tough.
It doesn't ever fit my pan.

I have never successfully fitted a pie pan with my own homemade pie crust.
I've tried and failed.
Then I go to the store and buy my old favorite.
They're pretty.
And yummy.
And expensive.

So, mother, please come.
Teach me to make pie crust.

You gas money could save me from a lifelong, expensive relationship with the dough boy.

An Update on 'J'

Remember this post? I told you about a little boys named 'J' whose mother had died recently.

I have more info to share with you all:

J's mom died very suddenly. While she was not a real healthy person, she was not terminally ill. One afternoon in late August she told her older son that she was going to take a nap and went and laid down. J was not home at the time. Around dinner time the older son went in to wake her up and she did not respond. He called his grandmother, who instructed him to call 911. The paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene. She had a blood clot in her leg that travelled to her heart.

J and his older brother have been mostly living at their grandparents house just around the corner from us, although I know that there is an aunt who is in the picture also. J has spent quite a few afternoons playing at our house in the past couple of weeks. He is a great little boy. Very respectful and nice. The handful of times he has eaten dinner with us he has been super polite and NEVER complains about having to eat salad or veggies!

One evening I walked him home and spent some time talking to his grandmother, who is a very sweet lady. She and her husband were just getting ready to retire and do some traveling before their daughter died suddenly, so she is a bit overwhelmed by the reality of having to raise children again. She did tell me that J's dad is in Minnesota but is no longer in jail there, so they fear that he may try to get custody of him. One would hope and pray that doesn't happen, knowing what little I know about his history.

Please continue to pray for this little boy. He is dealing with a lot of pain and although he tries to mask it, I can see that it is there. I want him to feel safe and loved at our house and know that it is a place that he can come to anytime. J doesn't have much in the way of clothes or other worldly possessions and we are in one of the more affluent school's in our district. I have seen first hand some of the kids flaunting what they have or snubbing others for what they don't have, and while I know that not all kids are that way, it can be rough for those who do not have.

Please also pray for Ben. He knows a lot of the details of J's rough life and has really stepped up to the plate to be a good friend to him. Please pray that this continues.

Coming up for air

I'm okay. Tired, but okay.

I don't know what happened to the week, all I know is that it is over.

It's been a rough one.

I had a lot going on.

I was being pulled in a few different directions and I dropped a few balls.

Uggghhh. I hate it when that happens.

I had to make an admission to myself yesterday.

I can no longer manage my schedule and my families schedule without writing it all down.

In the past I have always kept our schedule in a very trusty place.

My head.

This week I missed an appointment because I forgot about it.

And I forgot to mail a very important bill payment.

That is so not like me. Usually.

By Thursday afternoon I was feeling overwhelmed and exhausted and somewhat in a panic because I thought for sure I was going to forget something else I needed to do.

Someone recommended I take a Valium.

Another someone recommended I buy a planner.

I skipped the Valium and bought this:

Ain't that a cutie?

I don't usually go for "cute" but it was cheaper than "not cute" and has some great features.

Now I just need to remember to use it.

Oh yeah, my sister Kris and I had a great time last weekend. We successfully did nothing productive and we had fun along the way. We ended up not picking each others toes. She did pick her own though. And she cut my hair (and Dave's and Coop's). I'm sure she had fun waxing my eyebrows, but I think she had more fun sending my family to church while we played hookie to go to Ikea and the Container Store. Nah, I'm sure waxing my eyebrows was the highlight of her weekend. Her train was late getting into Vancouver on Sunday, which means I got to keep her for a bonus 3 hours. Thanks Kris!

Auto reply: Out of Office

Hey friends, thanks for stopping by. I'm not home at the moment, but if you leave a comment at the bottom, I'll be sure to get back to you as soon as I return.

Where am I?

Why, thanks for asking.

My good bloggy friend Debbie invited me to guest blog over at

So head on over and check out how I've decided to try out a new method of parenting and am now letting my children run amuck.

Now I'm taking the weekend off.

You see my sister Kris came to visit me, so we are going to spend the weekend doing whatever it is that we do when we're together.

Okay, not really.

Normally when she comes to visit I put her to work painting or something like that, but this time she told me that she was not bringing any work clothes because she was riding the train and she wanted to pack light.

Whatever.

So, instead of doing anything productive we are going to sit around and twiddle our thumbs and pick each other's toes.

I'll take pictures.

See you all soon and thanks for stopping by!

Should I have cried?

Cooper started preschool yesterday.

He was so excited.

So was I!

I didn't cry when I dropped him off.

Neither did he.

He told me I could leave.

I celebrated a little bit.

Yes, it is bittersweet. He's my baby.

However, he is ready to have his OWN thing.

MOMS who cook

Are you in a quandry?

A pickle?

Wondering what to cook for dinner?

Or maybe your just looking for a Carmel Corn recipe.

Well have no fear, MOMs who Cook is here.

After many months of lurking and secretly trying out their recipes, I have joined in the fun at MOMs who Cook.

So head on over to check it out for yourselves............you might just find a new family favorite!!

So long summer, we'll miss you..........

a confession and a true story

I feel like I'm a little shriveled, dried up blogger right now and I'm certainly not feeling very funny.

Actually, I have felt like crying all day long...............hhhmmmmm, I think I'll quote my lovely sister Kris right now "Trish, your period will be starting in 3 days." (she says that to me every month on the day I call her bawling about something. And guess what? She is always right!). In an attempt to keep it real here we go anyhow:

First my confession: My lovely friend Mara is making me do this. Yeah, she totally called me on it this afternoon while we were standing in the parking lot of our chiropractor chatting about the first day of school. So (just for you Mara) here is my confession:

Remember this post? Yep, my Blog Around the World feature post.

WEEEELLLLLLLL,

I was one of those PTA ladies standing there with my hand opened flat, ready and willing to accept the money.

It is all about the kids you know.

And besides, that post wasn't so much about the PTA as much as the process.

Oh yeah, and there really is not a band-aid usage fee...........yet.

Since I'm at it, Ben didn't get the IT teacher. He did however get the teacher he wanted and I am very happy with his teacher assignment also, so I guess that means we got our IT teacher.

Ben declared the first day of third grade 'AWESOME'.

What more could a mom ask for?

Now the true story: there is a little boy, we'll call him J. He and Ben went to Kindergarten together and the summer after kindergarten we discovered that J lived just around the corner from us. This discovery came because J would show up at our house at 9 am in the morning to play and would often times not leave until well past dinner. If we had to run errands or do anything away from home J would just head out to another neighbor kids house until we got back. This little boy was SIX years old. After a few days of this I started asking J questions. I was trying to figure out how a six year old boy could leave home in the morning, not return until evening and never be missed. Well it turns out that J, his teenage brother and his mom lived with his grandma and grandpa. Both grandparents worked full time and his mom was working a full time job AND a part-time job in attempts to get on her feet. J also told me that his dad "was in jail in Minnesota because my mom caught him doing bad things to me and my brother." So this left J in the daily care of his 15 year old brother who had much better things (read: play HALO all day) to do than take care of his little brother. So J wandered the neighborhood. He was a great kid and really was not a bother to have around. The few times I spoke to a grown-up in his household, no one seemed to care who I was. At one point that summer I even called the boys' kindergarten teacher to see if she thought this was a situation that needed reported to DSHS. I decided it wasn't because J was not "neglected" just left in the care of a couldn't care less teenager, and besides what good would it do to have the rest of his family torn apart?

The boys ended up in the same first grade class and one day J told me he wasn't going to be at our school anymore because he and his mom and brother were moving to their own apartment. I was happy to hear that his mom had been able to do that, but sad to think that he could possibly fall through the cracks elsewhere. We didn't see or hear from J again.

Until today.

I was at Ben's school when I saw him standing in line to go into his class. He instantly recognized me (good thing, seeings as I had fed him for three month!) and smiled a shy smile. I said "J you're back! Are you living at your grandparents again?" He replied, "yeah, my mom died."

And that's all I got from him before his line headed into the classroom.

Seriously.

Please pray for this little boys whose eight short years have been marked with more turmoil and strife than he deserves.

Please also pray for us as we figure out how to minister and serve him.