It’s been a little while since I last posted on here. Since the kids started school back up it’s been a whirlwind of events! We had both schools (elementary and middle) open house/back to school night where I got to meet all the teachers. In the middle of all of that we had our good friends from NJ arrive on Friday, August 19th and stay for the weekend. They left that following Monday for St. Pete and then came back here the next Friday for one last “hoorah” before heading back to NJ that Saturday (this past Saturday actually).Had a blast yet again with them – as usual. Not liking the fact though that we don’t know when we’ll see them next. I do however know we will see them next year at some point!

In the middle of all of that we’ve had soccer! Four nights a week! I seriously had to write it all on the calendar because their training/practice schedules are so crazy this year! Caelie is now on 2 teams – her normal/regular U11 girls that she plays up on and is also playing up even more on the U12 girls (they don’t have enough players so some of the girls from our team will be playing up when they can to help). So she has 4 practices a week! Then there’s Kieran who is also playing up on U10 but only has 2 practices a week. And then there’s Tristan playing his age group on U13 with 2 team practices a week and 1 goal keeper practice a week. And the days aren’t easy ones like Tristan on Tuesday and Thursday (like it was last year). The days are all scattered all over the place – which is why I had to write it all down on a calendar to keep track!

Add in there birthday parties (which I finally booked Caelie’s birthday party – almost 2 months after the fact but better late then never right?), friends birthday lunches, a possible new business deal for me and a few other things and its just been hectic!

in our soccer club are the ones on Caelie’s soccer team – or so both Sean and I have been told by countless people. And if I really think about it – sadly I have to agree with them. Most of the parents on her team do not have any sense of unity whatsoever – they are constantly talking bad about other players on the team and are really only out there for their kids – not for the team as a whole.

Case in point – any time I’ve ever done fundraisers for any of my kids teams – the money we make goes to the ENTIRE team – regardless of who helped and who didn’t. I had a Cookie Lee party here once as a fundraiser for Tristan’s team and out of 12 families, 6 showed up. Yet, that $200 something we made from it was put towards the whole team!

During try outs this past June Caelie and her teammate went around and sold water and made $80. Which then we said would goes towards the team as a whole. FORGET IT NOW! It will now be split between her and her teammate so they each get $40. And why? Because, like I said the parents from her team suck! We (scratch the we and put them because I have decided to distance myself from her team this season) will be doing fundraisers throughout the year – but at the end of each they’ve decided (not all – a few) to split it up amongst the people who participated.

Sean is so disgusted already with these people and the season hasn’t even started. He made a statement during the registration meeting (he’s the coach) that any money made form fundraisers should go to the team – and gave the $80 I mentioned above as an example.

I’m so not looking forward to her season. The parents on that team are downright obnoxious and embarrassing! And Sean has already said if he hears ONE word from any parent where they talk badly about either a ref or a teammate they will be asked to NOT come back to the next game – send their kid with another family. And after listening to these people on the sidelines for the past 2 years – I agree with him 100%!

Today is a day for play dates for all 3 kids. Caelie actually had one yesterday where she ended up sleeping there – then came home around 11am only an hour later to go to yet another friends house for the day. Tristan is at a friends house and Kieran has a friend over here.

What’s funny is most of the kids they play with are from their soccer teams. Unless of course they are outside with the neighborhood kids. But for the most part – they always ask to play with kids from their teams. I wonder why that is. Maybe because they spend alot of time with the school mates? Although if you think about it – they spend alot of time with their soccer teammates too. Especially since it’s competitive and they practice twice a week, plus are up there when their siblings are practicing and then count in games and tournaments.

Maybe it’s because Sean’s and my friends tend to be people we’ve met through their soccer teams? I have very few friends that I haven’t met up at the fields. And the kids they play with most often happen to be the kids of the parents we hang out with too. Seems to be a pattern there. Plus, they are people I actually trust my kids with – being we hang out with them so much we know how they are with their kids – so that helps too. Granted there are some on their teams I’d never let my kid go to their house – just because we DO know what they are like. Sadly you do get those kinds of parents on your teams – unavoidable. But for the most part most are okay!

We were so disheartened this past Saturday when the USA lost to Ghana in the World Cup. Caelie, Tristan and I were all geared up and ready to watch: tattoos on our faces, shirts and scarves, even snacks. And the dog was even dressed up too (at times wearing Tristan’s USA soccer scarf).

The 1st half of the game they looked horrible. Then the 2nd half they came back and looked like they could do it. But once the 1st 15 minutes of overtime hit, I knew we were done for. (Yet I still hoped!) We got outplayed. Hate to say it but it seemed like Ghana wanted it more. Even despite the acting and the diving Ghana showed us those last 30 minutes of OT, we still would have lost. (Though the ref should have carded them for their horrible acting – thinking they’ve taken lessons from the Italians!)

Once the game ended it was mayhem in my house. Ceelie sobbed like a baby, Tristan and I cried and my phone rang off the hook. It sucked that we lost but they should be proud that they got that far!

USA USA USA!

until the USA soccer team “writes the future”! I am a nervous wreck. House is all clean,   kids are packed and I am almost done packing for myself – will probably finish while watching the game – I usually can’t sit still the last half. (Including my kids games too – especially if they’re close.) The last game during the last half I painted my toenails. LOL

Below is a cool video of reactions from around the world when Donovan scored the winning goal from the last game. You’ve gotta watch it if you haven’t already!

USA USA USA!

1. Only 3 more weeks until we’re with our extended family! Cannot wait!

2. USA winning last Wednesday and making it into the Round of 16 in the World Cup! USA USA USA! Hope they beat Ghana tomorrow to keep the dream alive!

3. Possible team sponsorship for Caelie’s team from a local bar! Fingers crossed!

4. Spending quality time with my older 2 kids yesterday at the beach. My brother was supposed to go with us but that didn’t happen. That’s a post in and of itself!

5. One of my good friends is finally done cleaning and decluttering her house and is rejoining the world of the living!!!

USA played England this past Saturday in the World Cup and TIED them 1-1! All this talk of us losing 4-1 or 3-1 was just that – talk. And the headlines in England before the games started read something to the effect that their group would be EASY – as in E for England (1st), A for Algeria, S for Slovenia and Y for Yanks go home! And guess who is top of the group right now – Slovenia!

Howard, the USA goalie ROCKS! Always has, always will. He was the definite man of the match. Now we just have to hope when USA plays Slovenia they don’t play all 11 back so that we can’t score – they are top of the group right now and want to stay that way! USA needs a win!!!!

USA USA USA!

The one week of the year that I dread is finally over!!! Competitive soccer tryouts were last week – the boys had theirs Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and Caelie had hers Wednesday, Friday and Saturday – so we were at the fields every night this past week and all day yesterday (and the heat index yesterday was 104 – I went through like 3 shirts because they were soaked with sweat). Sean was up there even more because he was an evaluator for all the age groups.

Wednesday while Caelie had her 1st tryout night, I took Tristan to another club to see how it would go. We’ve never tried out at another club and with all the crap that’s gone on at our club lately, I wanted to see how he would do somewhere else. And as it turns out, even though he went only the one night, I had that club call my cell phone yesterday offering him a spot on their team. I also got text messages from another club telling me to bring him over Sunday morning (today) because his age group had a goal keeper opening over there and they wanted him. Like Tristan said, yesterday felt like that one scene in The Blind Side where all those colleges kept coming to his house trying to get him to go to their college – only for us it was phone calls and text messages. It was a cool feeling though to know we had other options for him. He ended up making the U13 B team at our current club and Sean will be his coach. I had told him about the phone calls and text messages and his decision was instantaneous – he wanted to stay at our current club. When he knew he was making the B team he was happy – knowing Sean would be the coach and the fact that the coaches of the A team none of us can stand anyway. He was a bit mad though because like he said “I am better then the goalie they picked” and if you ask most people – they’ll say the same. So I told him he needed to prove that this year so that next year they clubs will be calling again and even our current club will be making us deals.

Deciding what to do with Kieran was tough too. A good friend of ours is the U9 coach at another club and every night last week we decided something new for Kieran. One night he was staying at our current club and the next we were bringing him over to the other club. In the end we decided to keep him at our current club because he actually will be playing up one year and be on the U10 team! (And keeping all 3 kids at one club makes life so much easier.) He’ll have a great learning experience with that and his coach not only has a B license, but also played professionally in Greece!

Caelie was easy to decide since we knew ahead of time Sean would be coaching. He did this to keep the team together. After the horrible experience both the girls and parents from her team had last season because of the coach, people were ready to leave the club. But once they knew Sean was coaching they all stayed. And what’s nice is all the girls from last season (who decided to stick with competitive soccer) made her team – the A team! Plus we added 3 new girls since they move up to the bigger field and 8v8 versus 6v6.

The one thing bothering me is the first year Sean coached Caelie’s team I didn’t know any of the parents – which was good for when any of them got annoyed with him over playing time, what position their kid played in, etc. Now, I’m good friends with some of the parents on both her and Tristan’s team. Could make for sticky situations.

It’s going to be a great year for all 3 kids – I can feel it! So psyched! And the nice thing – since Sean is coaching 2 teams – (and will get paid)so all 3 are practically paid for. (Otherwise it would cost us $2500.00 for the year – and that doesn’t include traveling, tournaments, hotel rooms for tournaments, food, cleats and any extras).

So if anyone would like to make a donation to our soccer habit/addiction, (or would like to sponsor one of our kids or our kids teams) let me know! SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!

1. Soccer tryouts almost over – 2 more nights. Been up there every night this week since Tuesday night!

2. A “last lunch” with friends today (kind of like a “last supper”) since school gets out next Wednesday.

3. My mom calling and saying she’s coming next week for a few days and then will be taking one of the kids back with her for their “week with Nana and Pop”.

4. Once soccer tryouts are done and we have the meetings next week we will be done with soccer (and even tennis) until the end of July!!!! Looking forward to a much needed break!

5. Being able to spend those days alone with each kid last week at Busch Gardens. It meant alot to each of them I know and it meant alot to me too.

This past Friday was SO much fun! It started out up at the fields – the kids and I watched Sean, our neighbor and some other of our soccer friends (coaches) play in a soccer game against an over 40 team. It was the 1st time I’ve watched some of these guys play and they were all good. After the game we all went to Applebee’s for some food and drink and had a blast. I felt weird at 1st because I was the only girl there with a bunch of about 8 guys and 7 kids. But we put all the kids at one table and us at another and it was alot of fun! Felt like old times for me. Being around guys is just different. None of that catty crap or backstabbing or girl shit to deal with. Granted, I now surround myself anyway with women that I like to be around and trust and have a genuine good time with anyway. But a night out with the guys was alot of fun as well!