Tag Archives: AYSO

Faith, Family, Fitness

Busy Calendar

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Hello and Happy-day-after-St. Patrick’s Day!

Our day of {all things green} was just like any other Monday pretty much.

It started out with my favorite pair of gold Havaianas having a blowout in the same spot as all my other well-loved pairs. The little part between the toe gave way and forced me to switch to my gold flats. Havaianas are my absolute favorite and I did get 3-4 years out of these, but I imagine the chlorine from the pool and the trips to the beach eventually take their toll on the rubber…..sad face.

flops

Mama Leprechaun dropped the ball on the once-a-year-Lucky-Charms-for-breakfast deal so she popped them in the car for a donut with green icing and shamrock sprinkles at Albertson’s on the way to school instead! Not the best breakfast to start Health Week off with….

We had a leprechaun come and turn our toilet water green which seemed to freak the kids out a little more this year.

Last week I sampled a precooked corned beef brisket at Trader Joe’s and immediately knew I was going to serve it on a hectic, homework-filled St. Paddy’s Monday night. Fortunately Mondays are our “easy” days and we have nowhere to be, but it was nice to know all I had to do was heat the brisket for about 30 minutes in the oven and sauté up some cabbage and onions to make some sauerkraut! I also squeezed a couple drops of food coloring into a lone bottle of Mexican beer and hit it with a little lime juice for an adult after 5:00pm treat while I prepared our Irish feast.

cornedbeef

Holden brought home a friendly little leprechaun and I updated our “days until” sign {which hadn’t been updated since Christmas!!}. That was the extent of SPD at Chez Aspiras!

stpaddysday

*****

And as for our nice, quiet, after-the-holidays schedule……that is all coming to a screeching halt and the calendar is quickly filling up again.

Elliott is back in full swing with Spring soccer through AYSO and is on another great team. They’ve played two games and walked away with a shutout in game one and managed to tie game two up this past Saturday. The Spring season is a lot more relaxed as there are no playoffs and only 8 games, but it is a great way for the kids to keep up with their skills and build up their momentum for the Fall season. We are so proud of her as she ASKS to go and practice at the park above and beyond her normal practices. She was chosen to be a team captain this past week and Jay captured this sweet picture of her teammate and her after they won the coin toss…

soccer

She also has stepped up her dance game and has taken on another class aside from her Friday hip hop & jazz. Last week she went and tried a lyrical class with her friend, Tiffany, and came home so excited to show me what she had learned. In one hour she had mastered choreography for the Spring recital number and the teacher asked of she was doing the recital! I thought the deadline had passed to order costumes, but apparently it was extended so BOOM she’s enrolled in one more dance class during the week and I ordered her second costume for the recital.

lyrical

This warms my heart as lyrical is one of my most favorite styles of dance and I have been nudging her to take this class for a couple years now.

I feel so blessed that she can go from aggression and speed on the soccer field to beauty and grace in the dance studio. I pray that she will continue to grow in both of these activities and is always able to keep one foot in a soccer cleat and one foot in a dance shoe.

*****

Holden is about to start Spring baseball so we will throw in a practice during the week and a Saturday game into the calendar for the next couple months. He is very excited and received new baseball necessities from Gramma Kathy for his birthday last month ~ fancy cleats, official baseball pants with a big boy belt {no more drawstrings!}, a bat and some awesome batting gloves. I need to uncover his right-handed glove out in the garage and he’ll be good to go! He hasn’t played since being on the cutest little t-ball team 3 years ago, so this league will be a great way for him to be reintroduced to baseball.

He and I also enjoyed a little mother/son bonding time at a PTA sponsored bowling event last weekend. Our team made our own tie dyed shirts which was a first for me and so much fun. The afternoon of bowling was equally as fun and we can’t wait for next year!

holden

*****

The weeks are simply flying by. Aside from these activities, they are both doing after school activities and their weekly religious education classes. Spring Break is on the horizon and that just means one thing…..Summer is not too far behind!

As mentioned in my last post, our summer is going to be filled with events leading up to the marriage of my brother-in-law to his precious finace in late July so we have all that goodness waiting for us on the books, as well.

Feeling so grateful for our busy calendar.

Have a beautiful day, friends!

XOXO

Faith, Family, Friends, Fun

Counting

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Hi friends!

Can’t believe it’s been over a week since I posted….I was doing so well and then things got extra busy I guess.

Two weekends ago I took a little getaway down to Carlsbad and attended a ladies retreat that was hosted by Mission Hills Community Church. Some friends {Richelle, Julie, Stephanie & Amanda} were extremely involved in the planning and I was fortunate enough to partake and enjoy the fruits of ALL their labor. As I mentioned before, this weekend away was my Christmas gift from Jay and it couldn’t have been more perfect.

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The theme of the retreat was “Blessed” as quoted in Jeremiah 17:7.

The decor team transformed the meeting room at The Carlsbad Inn into a colorful place of worship with burlap, adorable buntings and banners, milk glass, hoop art and the retreat’s color scheme ~ aqua and yellow. Every eyesore in the room was covered with beautiful antique and vintage pieces for the most pulled together, cohesive atmosphere.

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Little handmade cupcake liner flowers peeked out of Mason jars and watering cans…

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We were spoiled with all sorts of treats…tote bags, beautiful handmade journals, logo’d insulated plastic cups, darling coffee cozies and the most lovingly made {blessed} signs as we wrapped up and said goodbye to a wonderful weekend!

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 We had the chance to make necklaces with hundreds of little graphics and designs to choose from. I chose a seashell to remind me of this special weekend meeting and visiting with women all with a breathtaking ocean view as the backdrop.

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It wasn’t too bad waking up to this view two mornings in a row…

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{Saturday}

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{Sunday}

We ate like queens with the most thoughtful continental breakfast spread each morning as well as Panera for lunch and a dessert table each night that was to-die-for.

For dinner we were on our own to explore the town of Carlsbad and pick from loads of little restaurants all within walking distance.

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It was truly a weekend that I will remember forever. I met SO many sweet, godly women, but one of them will always touch my heart ~ thank you, Maria, for our chat. So grateful that HE paired us up and I had the chance to get to know you and hear your testimonial. XO

*****

Upon returning home to my little family that I missed so, was the usual Sunday evening frenzy followed by a busy week ahead.

We missed soccer practice the previous week due to a day of illness, but were ready to get some practice in for our first games this past weekend…

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{One Ninja & one Pink Panther}

I also attended a first holy communion retreat with Elliott this past Saturday. She painted a glass, made a quilt square and kneaded her own unleavened bread to prepare for this sacrament in a couple months.We both thoroughly enjoyed it and I almost snuck a glass and painted one myself! So fun….

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*****

Today, and everyday, I am counting my blessings. They are most definitely abundant and I no doubt recognize them.

Today I am blessed with new friends, a stronger faith, a healthy family and so much more.

I hope you’ll take a little time out of all the craziness and chaos and remind yourself how blessed you are!

Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself, and know that everything in life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from ~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Fabric {My "Crafty" Side}, Family, Friends, Fun

The Goal

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Well, this weekend we finished off our first AYSO season….

It was bittersweet, of course.

I will not miss coaching, although it was not terrible at all. But I did my duty and stepped in so that 5 sweet little boys had a team to be on. A HUGE thank you to Coach Tim, who fortunately knows the game, for assisting me. And to Jay for filling in as the ref from time to time!

Elliott absolutely loved her team ~ again, the nicest group of girls….it absolutely broke my heart that she burst into tears and was SOBBING as she watched the little video she received from her coach at last night’s party. “I just want us all to be on the same team again”, she said through tears and catching her breath. I love that she is sentimental like her mama. I love that she enjoyed it so much that the thought of not having the same team again is heart-breaking to her. That means that she loved this season and that she has special memories attached to her first soccer experience. And that was the goal….to learn, to play your best and to have FUN.

The season seems like it started long ago in some aspects and in others it seems to have gone by in a flash. Just a mere 4 months ago we didn’t know we were going to be The Cotton Candy Girls or The Sharks. We didn’t know who would be on our teams. And we certainly didn’t know that we would enjoy it and be signing up again for Spring ’13. When Elliott and Holden both expressed a joyful “Yes!” when I asked them if they wanted to take a little break and play again in a few months, I without hesitation went to the first registration night and signed them up. Yes, two games dominate our Saturdays, but we are laying the athletic/fitness foundation for our kids and it is most definitely worth it.

{Friday night clinic before practices even started}

{Her first practice}

{His first practice}

{Picture Day}

{Oodles of snacks}

{Getting instructions from Coach}

{A muddy end to the season}

{Easiest most stress-free party ever}

{Receiving her trophy after pizza and video games}

*****

I didn’t want to have a banner sitting around in my garage so I cut out the boys’ names and made little plaques for them.

I used some 8X10 artist canvas panels that I found at Ross. I taped them off with 2″ painter’s tape and brushed on some acrylic paint in the team color and removed the tape to reveal almost perfect stripes. I just hot glued the soccer ball on and picked up some ABC’s & 123’s stencils, traced their numbers onto the canvas and colored them in with a thick black Sharpie. I found some little shark stickers, added those and then covered with a light coat of Mod Podge to help keep in place. Then I just got a thin Sharpie and added our team name and the year.

{Tape off and paint your canvases}

{Add the finishing touches}

{Shark bite gift tags}

{Wrap some twine and add a blue candy cane and you’re done}

And the Cotton Candy Girls certainly couldn’t go away empty handed. Found some Bonne Bell cotton candy lip smackers at Target and added some sweet treats to a little cello bag and voila!

*****

Yes, I’m glad the the season is over just in time to enjoy the holidays, but I will miss the friends we made and cheering {loudly} at the games.

Again, THE GOAL was to have fun and I can certainly say we achieved that.

Until the spring……

Family, Fun

From Zero To Crazy

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The lazy days of summer are over.

Here’s what the last several days have looked like…{hence, my lack of posts!}

It was a…

{kindergarten teacher meet-and-greet scootering}

{mug swapping and shipping}

{germy ride enjoying}

{ice cream social-ing and 2nd grade teacher discovering}

{ukelele practicing}

{lunch packing}

{first-day-of-school skipping}

{new school clothes modeling}

{sushi lunch celebrating}

{fancy dessert-ing}

{new morning routine making}

{horse race maiden voyaging}

{pony riding}

{hawaiian ice sharing}

{secret beach finding}

{new friend making}

{perfect 10 having}

{first soccer practicing}

week!

And the fun just keeps coming.

It’s only Tuesday, right?

Family, Fitness, Fun

AmYSOccer Mom

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Well, it’s official…I’m not only a soccer mom, but a soccer coach mom!

I’ll be channeling my {non-existent} inner Brandi Chastain and coaching Holden’s U6 team this fall.

Scary since the last time I “played” soccer was circa 1983 in PE class at Wangenheim Junior High. However, the nice people at AYSO assure me that I can coach these cute boys with no prior soccer experience and one training session. {there weren’t enough coaches for this age group, so they needed volunteers}

I’m up for the challenge!

I received my roster and a coach’s bag complete with brand-spankin’-new soccer balls and orange cones! I’ve contacted my team and we’re meeting next week.

Elliott is also playing for the first time this season and I just got the e-mail from her coach this morning. Practice starts for her this coming Monday.

*****

I’m excited and super nervous all at the same time.

I may drop to my knees at the end of the season, but I promise not to strip down to my sports bra! {wink. wink.}

Faith, Family, Fitness, Friends

Cartwheels

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Hi friends!

Again, so sorry I haven’t checked in for much of this week. Just taking care of business, I guess…sometimes the days can become monotonous, but then again the routine and structure is what I feel works best.

Always trying to find the {perfect} balance between homework, play dates, activities, chores, down time, etc.

Last night I went and signed up both kiddos for AYSO. This will be our first year and I am very excited about it. Holden was placed on a wait list because for his age group there aren’t enough coaches. I was a little bummed because he is the one that I most wanted to get signed up! Elliott does dance and has CCD so adding soccer is a little bit of a stretch, but we are more than willing to make it work. I was told that if I volunteered as a coach, Holden would automatically have a place on a team. I sort of laughed because I have not played a game of soccer in my life…maybe in PE back in the day, but soccer was not one of the sports I participated in as a kid. I think it is a fantastic sport and I am so thrilled that both Elliott and Holden are equally excited about it. After Elliott’s evaluation last night, the guy mentioned that all I would have to do to become a coach is read a book or something and become certified and run a 1 hour a week practice, blah, blah, blah. I was thinking my services would be more along the line of hair bow making or fancy post-game snack assembling, but I drove off with a little voice in the telling me, “Maybe you SHOULD be a coach”.

Am I crazy?

I will keep it on the back burner, but in the meantime I will pray that a more qualified soul will come forth and volunteer to coach another BU6 team.

*****

Speaking of cartwheels, this week has also be sprinkled with a little bit of summer agenda drawing up ~ scheduling weekly camps for Holden and coordinating gymnastic day camps for Elliott. For me, I try to have them be at an activity AT THE SAME TIME so that I can maintain my summer sanity and have a little alone time. Sometimes I feel guilty about this, but then I overhear a mama {raising her voice} at her kids in Target and I realize that {I am not the only one}…always a welcome feeling when it comes to parenting.

I also completed our 2012 Summer To-Do List that I will be sharing here real soon. We have done this the past two years and have really enjoyed it. You can read about that here and here.

*****

Anywhoo….just cartwheeling through our weeks making sure we don’t forget anything! Somedays I feel like there is so much to remember and I worry that something will slip by…anyone else feel like that?

This weekend I look forward to a 3-generation pedicure, a formal Mother’s Day tea that Jay so sweetly arranged and taking a wee break to sit back and enjoy the beauty of motherhood.

What about you? What are you up to?

XO