LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!

Football officially started with two weekends of scrimmages and you all know I took pictures!! Have to share b/c that's how I roll!!

We are so proud of our boys! Not only do they love the game but they are GOOD!! Wait let me change "good" to awesome! They are the defending conference champions looking for yet another winning season! Go Gold!!

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

Time for Friday High Five!


Come join in the fun....please!Make a list of 5 things ~ ANY five things you want! 5 favorite things, Top 5 Vacation spots, 5 most embarrassing moments, 5 favorite pics, 5 reasons to not pick your nose......A LIST OF ANYTHING YOU WANT IT TO BE....funny, serious, sentimental, to dos, pictures, no pictures ~ anything!


To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!


Post about it, linking back to me (now you can copy and paste the HTML at the bottom of this post for a button!) then sign Mr. Linky!Please use the Friday High Five URL post in Mr. Linky's URL section instead of your blog URL and here is how: write the post, publish the post, go to edit posts, VIEW the High Five post, copy the URL in the address portion at the top of the screen then paste it in the URL section of Mr.Linky!!


Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!If you need help, let me know in the comment section!

Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

5 THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS WEEKEND


5. My nephew Nehemiah's first football game.


4. A swim birthday party on Sunday



3. My nephew Logan's first football game



2. Spending time with my sister between two of the games


#1

Elijah's first football game!!!

Our Championship boys are back and hopefully they will have another successful football season but we all like to see them play the game they love no matter what.

<center><a href="http://angeleyesadventures.blogspot.com/search/label/Friday%20High%20Five"><img alt="Angela's Adventures" src="http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r134/gigibryan/HighFive-1.jpg" /></a></center>

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

Time for Friday High Five!

Come join in the fun....please!Make a list of 5 things ~ ANY five things you want! 5 favorite things, Top 5 Vacation spots, 5 most embarrassing moments, 5 favorite pics, 5 reasons to not pick your nose......A LIST OF ANYTHING YOU WANT IT TO BE....funny, serious, sentimental, to dos, pictures, no pictures ~ anything!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Post about it, linking back to me (now you can copy and paste the HTML at the bottom of this post for a button!) then sign Mr. Linky!Please use the Friday High Five URL post in Mr. Linky's URL section instead of your blog URL and here is how: write the post, publish the post, go to edit posts, VIEW the High Five post, copy the URL in the address portion at the top of the screen then paste it in the URL section of Mr.Linky!!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!If you need help, let me know in the comment section!Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

5 REASONS I AM SOOOO EXCITED FOOTBALL SEASON HAS STARTED

5. Pictures, pictures and more pictures!!

4. I get to get OUT of the house for about 2 hrs on 3 nights a week for practices!! Generally, last year I didn't enjoy practice but after 4.5months of unemployment and 3 months of summer home with the children MY OUTLOOK HAS SERIOUSLY CHANGED!! SERIOUSLY folks if I am willing to sit in 100 degree heat to watch kids practice football!

3. I missed all my football friends. We got really lucky last year and had a drama free football family. We all get along so well and LIKE to spend time together!!

2. I love watching Elijah do something that he both enjoys and excels at......I love that kid!! It amazes me how dedicated he is at such a young age but he really LOVES playing. He has been talking about football season all summer. I can't even begin to count how many times this boy has watched his DVDs of last season in anticipation!!

1.

ADULT CONVERSATION!

Most of my day consists of me saying, "don't hit, stop running in the house, quit teasing the dog, stop fighting, Isaiah quit whining, I'll get you a drink in a minute, Isaiah quit crying, take a shower, stop running in the house, Isaiah quit whining, stop fighting, I am fixing dinner, stop fighting, you are not going to starve, Elijah for the final time GET IN the shower, quit running, quit fighting, quit yelling, don't touch each other, look at each other in fact let's just all go in different rooms for a little while" in between being a referee, doing the dishes, cooking the next meal or starting the next load of laundry. ALL DAY, EVERYDAY I HEAR: boys fighting, boys jumping on beds, boys running through the house along with "MOM, Isaiah did ......(insert one of the many things he does in a fit of rage)......OR Mommy, E-why-jah did.......(insert one of the many things Elijah does to torture Isaiah)......Mom I am hungry, Mom I am thirsty, I am bored, can I go outside, can I ride my bike, why don't you work anymore........" Oh the misery!!

SOOOOOOO......was I excited to start football to spend 2 hrs. with my girls?

YES!!

Beyond yes!!

I ♥ my group of football moms. We all get along. We laugh and talk and

I. LOVE. IT!!

<center><a href="http://angeleyesadventures.blogspot.com/search/label/Friday%20High%20Five"><img alt="Angela's Adventures" src="http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r134/gigibryan/HighFive-1.jpg" /></a></center>

GOOD NEWS: HIS FEET WILL NOT FALL OFF!!

Today we went to The Orthopaedic Center at Hillcrest and saw Dr. Holderness. He was amazing, sweet and informative. The office was super nice and the staff was highly knowledgable. Our appt was fast which was great since I had to meet Hubs at his three month diabetes appt an hour later. I was in and out in less than one hour.

Yes, Elijah has STUFF in both feet!

The STUFF is a bone that stopped forming!!

The doctor had a really good laugh at that one and wondered how an orthopedist could not know about Kohler's disease. Elijah has Bilateral Kohler's Disease basically Kohler's Disease in both feet. Not half as bad as it sounds with the word disease at the end!! I think it should be called Kohler's Syndrome!! Not as bad, right!! I am not going to lie when I first heard it ~ I WAS SCARED! Until he said, "It is no where near as bad as it sounds and they should just change the name! It is a self-limiting and self-healing disease." Basically, the navicular bones in both of his feet stopped forming and just looked like "stuff". The left foot is already healing on its own explaining why he has no pain in this foot but instead some mild tenderness. The right foot has not started the healing process yet. At this point, he said it is ok for him to resume all activities including football. Elijah was very relieved to hear this little tidbit. He said, "Basically if it hurts him then he needs to rest and take ibuprofen for any swelling."

First, he said he would send him to get longitudes and arch supports (?) for his shoes. He would have put him in a cast for a few weeks but since his pain is not constant he thinks the inserts would be the best option. THEN he changed his mind since Elijah's bones are growing inward he decided to send us to get prescription shoes! I think right now this is more of a setback for me rather than him. I don't want him to get made fun of and hope that these orthotics are fashionable. If not, maybe we'll opt for the inserts! I know, I know!! I'll do whatever he needs but I don't want him emotional scarred for life because he got made fun of for his "special" shoes and then he turns into freakin' Forrest Gump with Avani as his "Jenna"!! I deal with all of that Thursady of next week at the orthotics/prosthetics appt. He also said later on this could also affect his heels but we would deal with that when and if it occurred! For those of you who are more detailed oriented here is what I learned on the internet............

Kohler's Disease

Kohler's disease is a rare bone disorder of the foot in children that may be the result of stress-related compression at a critical time during the period of growth. Kohler's disease is a condition, where the navicular bone in the foot undergoes avascular necrosis. Avascular necrosis is a disease resulting from the temporary or permanent loss of the blood supply to the bones. Without blood, the bone tissue dies and causes the bone to collapse. For some unknown reason, typically in a child, the navicular bone in the foot loses its blood supply for a while. It is characterized by limping caused by pain and swelling in the foot. It most often occurs in children between the ages of three and seven, and it affects males five times more often than it does females. Typically, just one foot is affected. Children appear to grow out of the disorder, and the affected bones regain their size, density and structure within a year. For some, however, symptoms may last as long as two years.

Symptoms
Kohler disease is a rare bone disorder characterized by a painful swollen foot. The foot is especially tender along the length of the arch. Putting weight on the foot or walking is difficult, causing further discomfort and a limp. For reasons that are not understood, the flow of blood to one of the bones in the foot (navicular bone) is interrupted, resulting in progressive degeneration of that bone. In a relative short time, however, the bone heals itself.Usually, symptoms will be mild, and patients may not seek treatment until the pain and swelling have persisted for a while (you know like almost a year in this Mother of the Year's case!).

Causes
The exact cause of Kohler disease is unknown. It does not appear to be hereditary and, until recently, was not thought to be linked to an injury. Some orthopedic specialists now believe that Kohler disease may be linked to an injury in the area around a bone (navicular bone) in the foot and may be the result of delayed bone formation (ossification). Structural weakness might result from an increase in the ratio of cartilage to bone. Since the navicular bone is part of the mechanism by which the foot moves (articulation), it is subject to weight-bearing pressures and stresses from twisting and turning. Under normal circumstances, the navicular bone is served by a blood vessel from which smaller arteries supply blood to the regions of bone growth. At around the ages of four to six, the blood supply to these regions of bone growth increases as other blood vessels reach them. If ossification is delayed, and the child gains weight, the effect is to compress the blood vessels, thus causing tissue destruction (ischemia). The navicula is the last tarsal bone to ossify in children. This bone might be compressed between the already ossified talus and the cuneiforms when the child becomes heavier. Compression involves the vessels in central spongy bone leading to ischemia. Ischemia causes clinical symptoms. Thereafter, the perichondral ring of vessels sends the blood supply, allowing rapid revascularization and formation of new bone.

Affected Populations
Kohler disease is a rare bone disorder of the foot that affects males more often than females. The disorder strikes children between the ages of 1 and 10 years with a peak occurring at ages 3 to 7 years. The center of bone growth that is affected in Kohler disease develops in young girls about one year before it appears in young boys. Nevertheless, the disorder is five times more prevalent in boys than girls. It is thought that the incidence of the disorder in the population is about 2%.


Standard Therapies
DiagnosisKohler disease is diagnosed with an X-ray of the foot and the presence of weight-bearing pain in the middle of the foot. Treatment ranges from weight-bearing short-leg plaster casts at one extreme to "watchful waiting" at the other. Special supportive shoes may also be considered. Staying off the foot as much as possible helps in recovery. Symptoms can last for a few days or persist for up to two years. However, symptoms usually resolve within a year.

SO ANNOYED

Do you know what today is?

Monday

Do you know what time it is?

9:23pm HERE

Do you know what time the orthopedist was supposed to call me for Elijah's foot?

first thing Monday morning

Did the ortho call yet?

BIG FAT NO!

Do I know the name of the ortho so I can call and make the appt?

NO

Did the pediatrician's office call me with a name in response to my voicemail?

NO

Am I a little peeved right now?

YES!!

Well I guessed I should not have waited 9 mos so my kid freaks out about maybe not being able to play football!!

MOTHER OF THE YEAR IS DEFINITELY OUT!!

Man do I feel like total crap!

I feel horrible but I can't help but laugh at myself!

I am THAT Mom!!

Here's the story:

Since Sept or Oct back in football season Elijah kept complaining about his foot hurting. Nothing too bad since it didn't seem to stop him from playing hard enough on the championship team! I wanted to take him to the doctor but every time I would get ready to take him it would no longer be bothering him.

Fast forward a couple of months to basketball season. Mostly his foot would bother him while playing a game but never during practice or any other time. It would hurt then not hurt so again I passed on the doctor. After one game he was in tears at the mere thought of taking his shoe off. I said that is IT you are going to the doctor. I took him home gave him ibuprofen and an ice pack which helped and planned on taking him in Monday morning. He was fine by then so again we passed.

After sports were all over, he didn't complain much about his foot at all. Occasionally he will complain but just wants ibuprofen then he is fine. The plan was once summer started to take him in to get it checked out. Plan averted when Hubs switched jobs and the insurance was gone for awhile plus me losing my job made us pinch our pennies BUT he hadn't complained in awhile.

This week he complained a few times. I made a Sat appt for both of the boys. Isaiah had to get 4 shots and Elijah needed his football physical. SO yesterday I took both the boys to the doctor where I spent 2 hours and 20 minutes. She applied pressure to the area he always says hurts and well it hurt him but movement of the foot did not. She made him walk around then turned his foot in all different directions and NOTHING! She says, "Well I am not too worried about it but I'll go ahead and take Xrays to be on the safe side."

While Elijah went to get xrays, Isaiah got his four shots. He sat up on the table being his strong self saying, "Shots don't hurt. My Daddy takes a shot everyday and he doesn't even cry (Insulin needles are a LOT smaller!) so I am not going to cry either. I wike shots!" At this point the nurse placed FOUR needles on the bed and I thought, "Lord, help me now!" Needless to say he was SCREAMING and saying, "Otay it hurts! It hurts!! IT HURTS! STOPPPPPP!" He continued to cry or scream for 20 minutes!"

At this point the doctor and her scrub dressed skeleton friend come in the room to tell me he BROKE A BONE IN HIS FOOT!! I felt like a heel....pun entirely intended!! I just kept say, "You are kidding, right? Surely he hasn't had a broke bone in his foot for NINE MONTHS! He rides his bike for HOURS EVERYday, climbs trees and never stops being active until it is time to go to bed!!" She did say that the bone that was broke is on the the top and mainly an impact bone meaning he would only feel pain upon impact such as running or jumping on a trampoline. Funny how he never had pain jumping on my brother's trampoline! She said it has healed but there is still a crack and then a bump. She also said the ibuprofen and ice packs probably took the pain away enough for him to continue to be SO ACTIVE and the constant running involved with sports made it more painful versus the movement required for bike riding would not hurt it at all! She referred him to an orthopedist who should call Monday morning. She wants to see if it just healed wrong or if he has a cyst on his bone. SERIOUSLY! She said they might have him wear a cast for a few weeks but she was unsure. This being said she then cleared him for football and just wants him to see the orthopedist! What? Okay!?!?

SO ALL Mother of the year nods should now be forwarded to someone who puts off a doctor appt for their child's hurt foot FOR NINE MONTHS!!!!! Who knew ibuprofen and ice could cure BROKEN BONE PAIN!! NOT ME OBVIOUSLY!

SUPER KIDS DAY

Remember the Super Kids Day event at Elijah's school that was giving me a bad case of volunteering remorse due to my aching feet?

Well I survived!

It was hot but a fun "track and field" day event for the kids last week!

He did really well in all events and I am still claiming that he gets all athletic ability and success from none other than MOI!!

Oh how that makes me laugh!!

His attempt at the sack race was nothing short of hilarious!!

His teacher joined in on the sack races!!

Not me!

She looks great she has lost something like 40 some pounds!

I asked her how and she was trying to explain how it was from some infomercial until I was clueless then she claimed to have a tapeworm!

I have got to get me one of those!!

A PARTY & A GOODBYE ALL IN ONE AFTERNOON

About a month ago we finally did our end of season Basketball party. Our team did awesome this year and ended the season in third place. I tried for over a month to plan the end of season party but every time I planned it the forecast would be rain and I would have to reschedule. Finally our other coach Bryan who also helped coach our football team found out last minute he would be moving to California b/c of a job offer and it was do or die planning. We planned the party in a day and ended up inviting our entire football team also so he could say goodbye to his boys. We consider our basketball team and football team (made mostly of the same boys) to be family and we all stick together. We got really lucky to have such a great team of kids and parents who all got along. We were all very sad to say goodbye to Bryan. He is an amazing coach and great with the boys who all love him and look up to him. Often when asked which boy on the field was his he would say, "They ALL are!" Bryan loves them all. He is an amazing motivator and he will truly be missed. Any team would be lucky to have him as a Coach. His Mom should be very proud of the man she raised. Secretly we are all hoping he hates California and moves back before football season starts again since it will be weird without him.....keep your fingers crossed. They kicked off the party by playing a game of football. They were all glad to see each other again and had a ball!

That's my boy!
Isaiah was less than enthused to be left out plus he was sick!

BA Storm with their 3rd place trophies

Elijah is so cute!

The football team and coaches

BA Gold 2008 CHAMPIONS

It was nice to see them all and only 3 couldn't make it!

I know if you have been a reader from the beginning then you won't believe I am saying this but....

I CAN'T WAIT FOR FOOTBALL SEASON TO START!!!

WRITER'S WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY

A bit late but I intended to do it so I am GOING. TO. DO. IT.

What is normal?

This prompt caught my eye as I was questioned by a Mother about our hectic life due to "letting" our kids play sports and our schedule not being "normal"! Here's my rant!

According to Webster's, normal is conforming with a standard, pattern, level or type - typical - functioning or occurring in a natural way.

Typical ~ let's go with that one!

Raising a step-son with special needs, I really don't like the word "normal". I have come to realize that "normal" is different for everyone. Yes, he has special needs but that is HIS normal. Yes, some of the things he reacts different to are not considered normal but they are typical reactions for him thereby making them his "normal" reactions. People often say after finding out he is Intellectually Disabled (the new PC term for Mentally Retarded) ~ "WOW I never would've guessed since he looks so normal!" OK! Well it is true he does not have any of the outward appearance features that most people associate with mental retardation. I think most people think you have to either have Downs Syndrome, be in a wheelchair unable to control your own body with drool hanging down or completely unable to form a sentence to be labeled ID. NOT TRUE! To look at Tez you would not know he has anything wrong with him. He looks "normal"! His gross motor skills are great and he is very active in sports. His fine motor skills are horrid at best. He is a 9th grader with elementary writing, reading and math skills. He is right on level with a 4th grader when it comes to his education but you would only know that if you were told or asked him to complete some on level 9th grade material. No this may not be "normal" if you include the standards of education they use to evaluate him or if you compare him to other children his age BUT this is HIS normal! I think people focus to much on labeling people or their responses to their own normal.

"Normal" is different for everyone and everyone sets different standards for their life.

What is acceptable for one may not be acceptable for another.

What one child can do may be impossible for the next but who are we to say they are not normal?

Who are we to judge because someone doesn't fit our personal definition of normal??

What I consider not the norm is another's norm.

Yes I have been known to say, "Now that's just not normal!" and I guess I was wrong because it could be normal for them!

Some people do not consider our hectic life normal but for us it is all we know. Are we supposed to sit around and let our children pass up on sports or other activities to become lazy bumps on a log to avoid the hustle and bustle of the "soccer mom" life?

NO!

I want my kids to be involved and active. I will support them in their chosen activities whether football, basketball, soccer, band, dance or choir. I must admit baseball and golf would pretty much bore me to death and I would rather rip all of the hair out of my head than to watch either one BUT I would be there sitting in the stands ripping each and every hair out between cheers! YES, it is exhausting and tough but I will not be an uninvolved parent. SO for now this is our norm. Football practices, scrimmages and games ~ our norm. Basketball practices and games ~ our norm. Drive to three different schools each day, volunteer at this school, chaperoning at this activity, coaching this team, working, taking kids to this appointment, going to countless birthday parties, taking snacks to this class or that, reading to them when all I want to do is sit or sleep, helping with homework, attending this meeting, I could go on and on ~ our norm. Some people are home bodies and that is their norm. Our norm these days is hectic at best but we love OUR normal.

We are parents and that is what we signed up for ~ to be involved in our kids lives by supporting them in what they choose not pushing them to be what they don't desire and helping them learn along the way about life while showering them with love.

THAT my friends is OUR normal!!

For more Writer's Workshop Wednesday, go visit MamaKat!

WORDFUL WEDNESDAY

October 2008 ~ I love this picture! Elijah played his first season of tackle football last year and I love this picture because although he is running for a touchdown somehow he looked RIGHT at the camera ~ woo hoo Carolee! I can not believe I am about to say this but I can't wait for football season to start again! Yep you read that right! The self-proclaimed "not footbally" Mom who still does not understand the game, hated the practice schedule and was really sick of driving to far away games is missing football. Please hold back on the "I told you so" comments because I can always edit the post to delete the admission! I don't miss the game! I miss seeing my son play the game! I understand our boys first "fairytale" season isn't promised to repeat but wouldn't it be awesome if it did. I miss seeing him run his little heart out juking along the way and the joy on his face each time he got a touchdown. I miss seeing him use his amazing defense skills to plow down the other players. I miss watching him play from start to finish without complaining and never giving up when the score was down. I miss photographing him and his team from up and down the sidelines. I miss downloading all the pics to see if I got any good action shots. I miss the other parents ~ we got very lucky and we all got along. I miss cheering on our boys and getting them pumped up if they were down. I can't believe it and I never ever thought I would utter these words ~ I. MISS. FOOTBALL. (well at least watching my kid since I hate watching it on TV) I was the Mom that did not want her child to start tackle football yet. I was the Mom about to puke on the sidelines watching them in the playoffs and the championship game because I was just that excited and nervous for them. I was the Mom in shock when an opposing coach offered us money not to let our son play in a playoff game against his team. I was also the Mom who thought "you are kidding, right? This is 1st grade tackle football not the NFL but then wondered how much he would have been willing to pay since he was serious!" NO I would NOT have accepted just a little curious! I was the Mom who ran out after they won a very tough playoff game to scoop up my baby in my arms and spin him around telling him how proud I was. I was the Mom crying when they WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP!! I was the Mom who did NOT have a "footbally" bone in her body and hated the mere idea of her son playing but now I am the Mom who can't wait for it to start all over again! How crazy is that? I wish I could be the Mom who didn't worry though ~ good luck with that one! I have a feeling that instant "stomach drop" feeling when Elijah hits so hard that the helmets crash and my first thought is bones breaking might last his whole life or at least until he gets up safely ready for the next hit! BOYS!

THAT'S MY BOY!

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PECULIAR PEOPLE DAY

After learning about National Bubble Bath Day at my friend's blog, I decided to go look for other unique, quirky holidays. I found a list at http://www.holidayinsights.com/. I learned that Jan. 10th is Peculiar People Day. In honor of this I have a post!! Imagine that right ~ like I really NEED an excuse to be on blogger!! Totally bummed I missed Festival of Sleep Day last Saturday because that definitely been better than everything I did around my house AND Male Watchers Day....hmmm...not sure what that is but it sounds like some fun...again I missed that too!

Our basketball team had another WIN today but it was a fight to the finish. Our referee was well in honor of Peculiar People Day I will just say he was peculiar. Our parents and coaches were upset to say the LEAST! To say it was unfair and ridiculous is putting it lightly. The ref had the nerve to come over and say WE were out of line (seriously we never act like that!) and they were just kindergartners. Well first of all they are kindergartners AND 1st graders and that is exactly why we were SO upset. He made the game completely unfair and never once called a foul on the other team. Our boys were getting clobbered as if they were playing football again and he never once called a foul on our opposing team; however, if our boys even looked at the other team wrong he would call a foul. They really don't even call many fouls at this age and just stop the game to show them what they did wrong. WELL NOT TODAY! The point is to teach them not punish them. I think when our boys end up with slap marks and scratches on their arms and faces that surely someone fouled them especially when everyone sees it BUT the ref. If I remember right, when I played basketball we weren't allowed to touch arms and faces! Elbows in my day were out of the game except in street ball with my brothers. He would call defense in the back field (not allowed at their age) but not call it on them. Countless times he blew his whistle then SAID it was one team's ball then give it to the other ~ as if he didn't remember what he had just said. He never called out of bounds, double dribbling or traveling on them but he sure felt free to call all of the above on our little boys. He said he has been reffing for 30yrs and buddy I think it is time to retire because you are going senile and should not be reffing young children. I will be calling the office on Monday to report his conduct especially when he got in the face yelling at one of the Mom's. I am trying my hardest to be nice and not get too angry so I will just finish this post by saying today's ref and his conduct was PECULIAR at best! Don't take the fun out of the game when they are just 6 and 7 yrs old! Come on!

MY DEC 6TH PHOTO

Elijah's first basketball game of the season ate up my Saturday afternoon. Look he has some major ups!! My Dec 6th photo for the December *08 Photo Project

MY DEC 2ND PHOTO

Here are my Dec 2nd photos for the December 2008 Photo Project

Great ball control or great camera operator??

BOTH!!

"Able to leap buildings in a single bound!!"

He gets it from his Momma!!

WOW....WAY BEHIND!

Oh blogger.....how I have missed you but life has been crazy the last couple of weeks and unfortunately I haven't been able to blog even at work...hehe....shhhh!
Really life has just been crazy! The boys won the INFC Championship so football is over for now; however, with the end of football came the beginning of basketball. We are coaching this year and I am not quite sure how much that excites me. Actually I should say Martez is coaching since I was able to eeekkkk my way out when Bryan, one of asst. football coaches, volunteered to help with basketball. Woohoo!! So now I guess I am team Mom and been emailing team info, changing around practice days, ordering uniforms, coming up with team shirts.............aaaahhhhh the list could go on and on. I love basketball though so I can't wait!! Luckily we were able to get 6 of the football players onto our team of 8 so the boys can be together and have fun with their friends. This is also GREAT for me since I know the other Moms and they are helpful, funny and sarcastic just like moi!! But now I am so behind on blogging and oh how I have missed it. Make NO mistake about it I have not missed a day of actually reading all my favorite blogs only writing and I feel like I haven't written in months. Here I am folks expect many blogs in the next few days cause YA'LL (okie term) have a lot of catching up to do!!! Enjoy or rip your own hair out trying to keep up!

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!

Wow if I thought I was nervous wreck before Thursday's game then that was an understatement because the real nerves took hold after I knew we were playing in the championship game Nov 8th!! Let's see Friday morning was donut day for the kids then I proceeded to go "potty" about 5 times in between taking kids to school and the 90 minutes I had before my haircut. I then had multiple errands to run before picking up all three boys at different schools. It is amazing how my Fridays off are taking up by taking kids to school, donut day, errands and appts then picking the kids up from school. I might as well work b/c I think it would be a lot less hectic. Anyhow I was nervous all day and the only thing I ate between Thursday's playoff game and Saturday's morning championship game was a glazed twist, a glazed donut and plenty of TUMS!!! Why was I like this? Got me!!?? I was a wreck. I really wanted the boys to win and have a wonderful time but I didn't want too much disappointment if they lost because they are still a remarkable group of boys. I didn't want anyone to get injured. I didn't want to oversleep and miss the game. I didn't want it to be too cold (no such luck on that one). Friday night, sleep was pretty much impossible and Saturday morning my stomach was a mess but with the constant feeling I could vomit at any second I could NOT eat. I then went to the bathroom at the field about four times in the hour before the game until I went to my car and ate the remaining TUMS I had brought to the game. After the TUMS I was pretty good until the END of the fourth quarter, when I had to sit on the medical case on the sidelines because for the FIRST time in the game we were no longer in the lead. They gave us a little over a minute but that is all we needed to score and WIN THE INFC CHAMPIONSHIP!!! I cried with excitement, relief and overwhelming pride I felt for this team!! You would think they had won the superbowl or something. Some people look at us like we are idiots and make too much out of this team but I say, "just wait until it is your child!!" Then when asked what we are going to be like by high school my answer is "heavily sedated" but excited for scholarships and NFL so we can get a HUGE house!! Just kidding I do not care if the boys even play sports but I will support them in the fullest with anything they want to venture into with the exceptions of golf and baseball which I find so boring that I would sleep on the bleachers!! Here are the pics - I took so many that I just made a slideshow!!

NERVOUS WRECK FOOTBALL MOM

Thursday the boys had the final game of the playoffs before the championship. We played Pryor who has a jerk for a coach. He is rude, demeaning, selfish and down right awful to his kids. Some of the things he said to his boys during the game: "I don't care how you win this game just break their legs if you have to b/c they can't run w/o them!, You guys are playing like a bunch of girls!, and I shouldn't have even come to this game b/c you guys aren't playing football you are just embarrassing ME!" HELLO you are coaching 6 YEAR OLD BOYS!!! I think if he was my son's coach we would've had more than a few words WAY before the playoffs!! Anyway I was a nervous wreck ALL day thursday. I would get butterflies at the mere thought of the game. I wanted the boys to win so bad b/c they are just amazing and they have worked so hard to get to this point. Well needless to say after many moments of me nearly vomiting on the sidelines....WE WON AND WE ARE ON OUR WAY TO THE INFC CHAMPIONSHIP!!! Wow the last 7 seconds of the game were really INTENSE!! Everyone ran onto the field again and it was mayheim trying to catch the pics but you know I did!!! Championship game Saturday...WOOHOO!!

TOO CRAZY TO BELIEVE, BUT TRUE!!

Presenting the competition with a united front!!

Last night the boys had their second playoff game against Skiatook Red. Before the game, the Skiatook coaches were waiting outside the gate. The Skiatook coach actually offered my hubby money NOT to play Elijah in the game. I was in disbelief and thought for sure this was a joke; however, when my hubby said, "Are you kidding me?" the coach replied with, "Well NOT if you take the money!" You can't be serious!! These are 6 yr old boys and this is not the Superbowl. There is no money involved in winning the championship just the right to be called champions! I still think we should turn him in b/c it is obviously illegal but I still wonder how much he would have actually paid! Too funny and sad at the same time! This was THE game of ALL games!! An awesome football game! True nail biter and my stomach was in absolute knots! It was rather funny how people migrated over to cheer for our boys. Parents who could no longer sit in anticipation were standing along the fence line with perfect strangers who were cheering for OUR boys. Teams waiting to play were watching because it was just an AWESOME GAME!! At half time a lot of the parents and onlookers were worried and I was not about to give up telling them to look at our history. Our boys always come back stronger in the second half. Always! Even when we are way ahead at halftime they still come back to hit HARDER, run faster and further and THEY NEVER GIVE UP!! Wow this game was so good I felt like I could get sick at any moment. Our boys FOUGHT for this win that they so deserved! Fought right up to the last second! I almost cried when they won just b/c I knew how bad they wanted it and how hard they had worked. Don't say anything b/c you just can't understand the game unless you were there. Many of the Moms were a nervous wreck. We all stormed the field when they won to go get OUR BOYS!!! I have goosebumps just thinking of that moment!!

Good tackle Carson!

Halfway through the fourth quarter we scored then held them back!!

I thought it was over but they added some time. This was the final score!!

Our Coaches were so happy!

Tez was really proud of his little brother and it was so cute!

I know this picture is blurry but I love it anyway!

IT'S TIME FOR THE PLAYOFFS!

The boys played their first football playoff game this morning. They played Sand Springs and won 32 - 0! I think Elijah may be "juicin'" b/c he was hitting too hard to be 6!! Just kidding about the "juicin'"!! He made a couple of kids cry and one refused to run the ball anymore. It is so odd b/c on one hand I am sad for that little boy but on the other hand I am proud of mine. Is that wrong? Torn.

Touchdown Elijah!!

Don't let them get you down baby! Go baby go! That's my boy! Check out Carson's mom in the background!

This was one of the refs at the game. He wanted me to take his pic and give it to all my single friends. I said, "Ok better yet I will put you online!" Here he is!
End of game rally ~ Zay always has to be involved too and he can't keep his hands off of Parker
You guys are #1 in my book!
Isaiah and his obsession Parker

Carson scored again in the LAST second of the game to make the score 32 - 0!
After the game I was supposed to go paint Avani's room, this did not happen today and I must say I was not too upset about it!! We planned on staying to watch the game right after ours HOWEVER that lead to them FORCING ME to then go out to eat then HELD ME AT GUN POINT to return to watch two more games. To see what I said to the cheating coach who we recently found out is a preacher, click here! It felt so nice! I pretended to enjoy the games and I think my cheering made the act more believable!! Just kidding we ended up watching several games and I enjoyed it ~ shhhhhhh....please don't tell anyone...I don't want to blow my cover!!! Then off to Chai's house. She was having a REALLY bad morning and in a lot of pain so I felt like crap for not having my phone when she called needing me to come over. Wow I felt really bad so I stayed for about 8 hours! Her mom came and took the girls for the evening so Chai could rest but we ended up just talking and laughing for hours!! Good times! I had a really good day today! By the way Thanks to the Harveys for coming to yet another game today!

Tammi and her granddaughters

THAT'S MY BOY! THAT'S MY BOY!

Are you ready for some football? I love my kids in hats!!

Saturday was the boys' last football game well at least regular season but playoffs start next Saturday. They beat the Catoosa Indians today 25 - 12! Go Tigers!! They ended the regular season with only one loss. I never could have even imagined they would have done this well for their first year in tackle football. As I always mention we are really proud. Coach keeps saying how amazing Elijah is getting and in his words "he has just become a machine and changed so much through the season so much that HE actually understands the game". It is nice to have a coach that doesn't pick at each flaw and instead praises the kids and teaches them HOW to correct their mistakes. Only parents with kids in sports can understand how key that truly is to success ~ a bad coach can break a good player! I am not saying he is a martyr and never gets angry but that is only human. However, he ususally just talks about it to the other coaches or yells at the refs. The boys love all their coaches! Anyway Coach Travis was talking that night about how well Elijah played on Saturday and he said he was really proud of something that he had said at halftime. By halftime we were winning but only by one point, Coach pointed out that yes they were winning but they still had half of the game left. Then Coach Travis asked them if they wanted to play a tough game or an easy game. Elijah responded with, "a TOUGH game Coach!" When Coach asked him why, Elijah responded with, "because it makes us better!" Coach was impressed with his answer as am I as his parent that he doesn't just want the easy way out! It surprised me that Elijah answered with this since he was having a tougher game than normal b/c the opposing coach tried his hardest to hold him down! The Coach kept screaming at the kids, "GET NUMBER 10 DOUBLE TEAM HIM!" I was screaming in my head, "NO DON'T GET NUMBER 10!" They definitely knew his number and tried to hold him back but he still managed to evade many tackles to make his longest touchdown yet ~ 80 yds! I thought he would run out of "gas" at the 30 yd line but he kept on and scored!!! All the while I was in shock and my brother Curt kept saying, "Angie camera camera" at which time I fumbled with the camera and gave up! I just kept screaming, "GO BABY GO! KEEP GOING! THAT'S MY BOY! THAT'S MY BOY!!" Then I quickly asked my sister-in-law Carolee if she caught that run! She did ~ thank goodness she came with her mega awesome camera to take pics of Elijah for me!! She got some REALLY GOOD PICTURES OF MY BOY ~ actually 62 of them and he is in almost every single one! Woohoo Carolee! It was nice to have both my brothers and my sister plus their families at the game! We always like having visitors!

Sergian lost his loose tooth during the game!

Here is the slideshow of Carolee's awesome game pics:

Elijah is #10

Even if you hate football you have to admit she took great pics!!