Tired Mama.com

Yeah, it's like that...

On Sunday afternoon, my husband came downstairs from his office where he'd been all morning working on income tax stuff. 

'I need a break,' he told me while rubbing his neck.

'Okay,' I acknowledged from behind my laptop.

Moments later he reappeared in front of me.

'I want to check the score on the football game,' he announced.

I waited.

'Youngest daughter and her friends are watching a movie in the family room and our son and his friends are playing a video game downstairs,' he said.

I looked up at him and tried to be helpful.

'Costco was clearing out TVs when I was there yesterday.' I said.

He just huffed away.

It's hard to be the king when the kids take control of the remotes - and just about everything else.

Sigh.

 

What's the difference?

I have a daughter who loves theater and a son who loves hockey.

I do everything I can to support both my children as they pursue their activity of choice.

As I was watching my son play in his hockey play-offs today all the parents were yelling directions at their kids from the stands telling their offspring what to do and how to play better.

They were uh, lunatics.

As I was listening to my fellow hockey parents 'coach' their off-spring  I started wondering what would happen if I was to yell directions at my daughter when she was on stage performing in her school musical.

Could you imagine me acting like a hockey Mom at the theater while she was on stage? I could have directed her from my seat, telling her where to stand and how to sing. I could have helped her!

Ah, no.

And no, of course I didn't do it.

If I had several people would have wanted to kill me. Actually had I yelled at any of the young thespians I would have been escorted from the building.

And you know what?

I think we should start considering doing this to those helpful parents at the hockey rinks too. 

Just sayin'.

A gold medal performance

I'm an Olympic junkie.

I love cheering for my country and I am thrilled when the athletes representing it do well.

I am very patriotic and I truly believe that I live in the best country in the world.

I do.

I also have huge amounts of appreciation for the skill, dedication and perseverance of everyone who is at the Olympics competing.

We are only two days into the competitions but I have already explained to my children how winning a bronze medal is a great accomplishment. 

I have explained to my kids how you don't lose gold when you win silver.

I've explained how just making it onto an Olympic team is a lot of work and is a privilege that few people achieve. 

I think all my talking is falling on deaf ears however.

Oh well, I will keep talking because I think telling them this stuff is important.

And you know what? If lecturing my kids was an Olympic event?

I'd win the gold every time. 

Just sayin'.

Hockey Nights in Canada

Over the Christmas holidays Tired Papa and our son built themselves a hockey rink in our backyard.

It's nice. They built boards and put a heater in the pool house to work as a little warm change room and they even put up nets to stop all the pucks from breaking my kitchen windows.

My hubby and our boy go out there when it's dark and cold and they shovel, sweep and flood their rink.

The kids of the neighborhood and my younger children have been using the rink a lot. It's great exercise for everyone and they all have a great time outside.

Me? I've been making a lot of hot chocolate and popcorn this winter.

Do you know what I like most about the ice rink though?

I like looking out my kitchen window and watching my two boys working on the rink and then playing hockey together.

They're not just making an ice rink, they are creating memories. Memories of a father and son working together, creating something together. 

It's good.

Really, really good.

And all the dead grass I'm gonna have back there in the spring?

Totally worth it.

I don't like this feeling

It's that time of the year.

Summer is winding down which means I need to attend the end of the year baseball and soccer finals as well as buy new shoes and supplies for school.

The family is coming over for a BBQ tomorrow because we haven't seen some of them all summer (guilt) and we've got a birthday party to go to tonight for a good friend.

It seems busy right now and school and all the fall activities haven't even yet begun yet.

I've started thinking about Christmas too. I even went to the local electronics store and pre-ordered one of the new video electronic thingys that's being released in October. My kids have already mentioned it and I'm not standing in line in December EVER again to find out I can't get one of these stupid must have teen things.

I've started making lists again. I haven't had to do that for a while - okay, I haven't done it for a few weeks.

I'm starting to feel it - that panicy busy feeling is starting to return.

Sigh. Where did the lazy summer days go?

Good Grief

I have a public service announcement.

Children everywhere, listen up!

It is NOT appropriate to EVER leave the house in your pajamas unless it is pajama day at school or the house is on fire.

Honest.

And it doesn't matter if your PJ's look like shorts and a t-shirt and it's warm outside.

And it doesn't matter that no one will care, you should care and your mother cares.

And it doesn't matter that you're wearing them under sports equipment and no one will know. Put a t-shirt and shorts on under the darn stuff.

Rolling out of bed and heading out to play in pajamas is just not cool.

There, my beloved offspring, you've now been told.

Sesh.

I'm wearing mittens in July.

I made a mistake.

I asked my son what he wanted to do this summer. I suggested camps, volunteer work, baseball, soccer and all sorts of things.

But all my son wants to do is play hockey.

Ice hockey.

And where I live there is a lot of hockey available to be played in the summer months.

Which means that now that it is sunny and warm out I am spending my time freezing in cold, smelly dark hockey rinks.

This is sort of how I spend much of the winter months too.

I really have to learn to say 'No' better.

Sigh.

I was a better Mom before I had kids.

I used to look at Moms doing certain things or saying certain things with their kids and think to myself, I'll never do that.

Yeah, right.

Today another one of those things I said I would never do with my kids got done.

I always thought I would never have my kids so over-scheduled that they would have to eat in the car as they went from one activity to another. Today my son had a swimming lesson from 5 to 6 and a baseball game that started at 6:30. Yep, he ate his dinner in the car as I drove him from the pool to the field.

I want him to play baseball this summer. So far he's having a great time too. I also want my son to learn to swim though. Why everything had to happen at the same time today was just a schedule glitch. Next week his baseball game is on a different night. So I'm hoping this eating in the car is only a one time thing.

The good thing about it was my son did tell me that Subway sandwiches taste better in the car than they do at the plastic tables in the restaurant.

Who knew?

Soccer in the rain

It is pouring rain here today so we went and sat out in it to watch my son play soccer in his team's division finals.

We were wet and cold but the boys won so I suppose it was all good. 

Now, because he won, my son's team gets to play in the 'final' finals next week.

Once again it is supposed to be wet and cold.

Sigh.

I'm happy for him but I must admit all this wet cold weather is making hockey rinks look kinda inviting.

And that my friends is something I NEVER thought I would say.

Love it. Hate it.

If there is one thing that Canadians are known for around the world it's got to be hockey.

It's brutal, it's exciting. It's as Canadian as baseball is American (to my USA friends) and we love it as equally as they (and us Canuks actually) love apple pie.

I personally have a love/hate thing going with the sport. I grew up watching "Hockey Night in Canada" as I had two older brothers and a father who loved the sport. I married a man who will happily lie on our family room couch every Saturday night and  watch it. And, it would seem I gave birth to a little boy who has inherited the gene.

This week is hockey camp - time to put the soccer ball away, strap on the skates and try and figure out how to get around on the ice again before you head off for team try-outs.

Now my son has a distinct disadvantage against your average Canadian hockey-mad child as we dragged him off to live in the USA and then the UK for his formative years. He didn't get the weekly skating lessons that most of his buddies had as soon as they could toddle, so he's a little behind on his hockey skills.

But that doesn't stop him from trying. And actually the difference from last year to this year is staggering. Last year he could barely stand on his skates while this year he's skating forward, backwards and spinning around in between. He chugs down the ice and stands on one foot with his stick held above his head. He can now do one of those very cool two foot spray of snow hockey stops. He is awesome. When I see this, and see how happy he is it's the best game inthe world.

I do however have issues with all the 'stuff' you need to play the sport. Robbie starts getting ready a full half hour before we have to leave to even get to the arena and I need to help him get the rest of his equipment on when we get there.

My fingers are bleeding, possibly scared for life, from trying to get his skate laces tight enough. On Monday I made an hour long round trip home and back again because a glove had been left at home. There are just too many bits and pieces to this game. Give me the soccer ball, cleats, and shin pads any day.

Today we need to get his skates sharpened, new laces put in them and buy a bigger water bottle. I need a new list just to keep on top of the hockey stuff, not to mention a new Visa card.

I'm going to a chiropractor tomorrow to see if he can do anything about the pain in my neck from lugging around a full seven hundred pound hockey bag. The thing is bigger then my son, and weighs more too.

The only saving grace in all this is that once hockey camp is over my part is well, not done but diminished. The games, practices and try-outs will move to Saturdays and before and after school times once school starts. Darling husband gets to take over then and I will let out a huge sigh of relief

....and then I'll head out the door with my ballerina.