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Playing to WIN! / $ Give-Away! $

August 29, 2011 By Laura 124 Comments

Yes. Here I am talking about Basketball and such already and the new season has not even begun yet! But honestly, you DO want to bear with me. Today there’s a whole new spin to the perspectives and purpose of this post. I’d love for you all to give it a read, and then join in with your thoughts & experiences, regarding your kid’s sports. In the end, you and I can both win. ; )

Growing up as a kid, I was never really involved in any kind of organized sports. Neither was my husband, in his childhood. Sometimes as a kid, in my free time, I played tennis against the school wall down the street, or my brothers and I played basketball in the drive way. It was more of the ‘Around the World’ type of basketball, rather than any real 1-on-1. The only ones who took a beating, were the Hosta plants that lined the single lane driveway! I have memories of my Dad pitching a wiffle ball to me too, because I really loved to hit, and I wasn’t half bad! He’d even go get the ball, only to pitch it to me again, over and over. But that was the extent of my sports. I was really more of the artist type. I spent most of my time drawing, painting, and (closet) singing, right through high school. Going to art school was my plan right from Kindergarten, and when I graduated from high school, that’s just what I did.

So no one was more surprised than I was, to find I was going to be ‘one of those sports moms’. You know the kind. The ones who are always on the sidelines, really into the game, screaming her head off the whole time? That would be me.

I remember the day I realized it too. Things had just begun in that little school gym, where I had brought my daughter {A}, and I immediately found myself out of my seat, hootin’, hollarin’, cheering, and shouting out instructional tips. I was all hyped up with excitement and adrenaline, and apparently making a little scene, because the coaches and all of the kids, kept looking at me with an amused expression. Maybe, because it was just the first practice of this basketball season, for my first child’s, first practice, and first sport, ever. I was the one and only spectator there, as all of the other parents had dropped their kids off.

(2006)

That was six years ago, when {A} was just 8 years old. It was the beginning of a whole new experience, for all of us, as a family. The first reward we found in sports, was that it was another activity we enjoyed together. She really loved playing, and you could always find the other 5 of the 6 of us in the bleachers, cheering her and her team on. Her little siblings were a cheer section of their own! Her Dad commentated quietly, often explaining to me what he thought just happened. And then there was me; the loudest of us all.

(2007)

We never doubted {A} would have a good time playing on a team. She was always that kind of kid, who had fun no matter what she was doing. She was a ‘people person’, who approached and befriended others easily. You know, very SOCIAL, even though she was a home schooled kid. 😉 To this day, people ask us if she is ever not smiling. But I’d always taught her, it was important to do her best, no matter what. I never followed the line of thinking with sports, that ‘as long as we have fun, that’s what matters.’ No!! We’re here to WIN!! Aren’t we? It’s great to enjoy it, but her team was counting on her to give it all she had, and so was I. She was probably an average player to start, being new not only to the game, but a year late into it, as opposed to her other girls who played the year prior. But, she was well-liked, and committed to her team. Her biggest downfall was her heart on the court; she felt bad taking the ball away from even a player on the opposing team. ; ) We had a few chats about that, but otherwise, it was a great first and second season for her, as she learned the rules, in and outs of the game, through weekly practices and games. We all learned along with her, listening to instruction, and those ear-piercing whistle blows.

She was still working on refining all of her skills. Especially with her new physical self; she had grown 5 inches in the past year!

(2009)

As she got a little older, we saw things start to change in her a little bit. She was getting on the other side of that awkward growth spurt. She was all knees and elbows, for a bit there. She had learned a lot more about the game, and so did we. Basketball had become a regular part of our lives, every cold season, as we got her to her practices, and watched more intently than ever, at her games. She was practicing off the court more, her focus was better, her determination was stronger, and all of the skills she had acquired were starting to come together. I was enjoying seeing her thrive, and had become more maniacal than ever, at her games. For perspective, I often leave a game with a throat that is torn up, and a new hair-do. ; )

She was still her happy-go-lucky self. But she was more serious about every game. We started having post-game talks on the way home, about the great plays, or ones she could have done better or differently.

(2010)

Then we hit a real milestone. One might call it a ‘game changer’. As more serious as she was about the game, she was still used to being on friendly terms with every coach she had had. One they all could joke with, and have fun. But this new coach this one year, was alllll business. He wasn’t there to make friends, or waste his time. She didn’t like how he didn’t have a light-humored side. She didn’t like how he demanded the girls do things a very certain and different way. His way, as she saw it. She didn’t like that he was yelling angrily out onto the court at the girls, by name. (including his own daughter.) She didn’t like a lot of things about this year. He drove the girls, hard. And he rubbed her sunny-disposition, the wrong way.

But I thought this coach this particular year, was a great thing, and I told her why: Because it was a perfect lesson on LIFE. She was going to get a job someday, and not necessarily like how her boss does things. Or even her BOSS, for that matter. But she’d still need to do her job, follow instructions, be a team player, and respect the authority. Yes, when the time was right, she could re-evaluate things, and choose to seek a new job, more to her liking. But she had to complete the project she was committed to, just as she had to stay on this team and play the year out, just as she had committed to. It was going to be good for her, to work with someone she found very difficult. It would help develop her character; teaching her the skills of tolerance, patience, obedience, and strength. She’d need to adjust. It would be a rough road for her, and I had every intention of being there for her, with some tough love. But she had to push herself through it.

She stuck the year out. Not always happily, especially in the beginning. But she learned to deal with it all quickly. She learned to relate to the coach, on his terms. And I was right. By year’s end, she was a new player. She had grown so much, as a person, had new found skills, and had developed in so many ways, more than she ever had, more a than any other year. Through the difficult year, both physically and mentally, she had changed a lot. By leaps and bounds. She had gained stamina, and a more mature perspective. She found her drive. She had found her aggression, in a big way, on the court! She was going for that ball, no matter who on the opposing team had it, and she would fight to hold onto it to the floor. She wasn’t one to mess with, anymore.

She had become a real athlete.

And when the last game that year had just been played, she was the only girl who went up to her coach, and said, “Thank you, for coaching me all year. I learned a lot from you.”

As a sports mom, I had become concerned about more than just getting her here and there, or where ever she needed to be. I had learned how to give her all she needed, as an athlete. I wanted to be sure she always had the energy and hydration, come practice or game time. That meant making sure she always ate right, and ate the right things, at the right times. And to keep the fluids going down. I wanted to make sure I kept her strong, and healthy! An injury was the last thing I wanted for her.

Basketball was the sport she’d always been involved with. But she’d learned to throw a mean football, at 5 years old. It was something she and her Daddy did a lot in the yard. Of course the older and bigger she got, the better she became. On the court, old basketball coaches could not even believe how tall she had gotten. There was a 2 year span where she had grown a total of 8 1/2 inches! That was really helping her game. But she was also growing more and more interested in football. She loved watching the games on tv, and was intent on playing Flag Football. One clinic with Coach Greg, and she was hooked.

(2011)

Her last year on the town’s team, was an incredible one for her.

(2011)

She was so sad to have outgrown the league, but she went out with a bang!

She had come a long, long way, in the 6 years she had played. She worked hard with the basketball, even off the court, developing skills you don’t often see in a player that age. Never mind a girl. She had learned to dribble with her knees! She was passionate about basketball, and it showed. Especially to those who noticed these things.

She was encouraged by current and former coaches, to go for the public South High School team. She wanted to play for them, badly. And so I had every intention of being sure she had that chance to play for them, even though she was home schooled. I understood she’d have to pass try-outs. But I had heard making the team, or actually playing, could be…challenging, for home schoolers. I’d cross that bridge when I got to it, if it ever proved to be a problem.

But that time was not here yet. She had her heart set on making it onto the town’s spring Flag Football league, before she grew out of the age range.

Of course, she had to make the team, first. And that she did. Her former coach (Greg) knew her the second she walked into the try-outs, and her place on a team was practically automatic. ALL of the coaches were there to observe, taking notes for drafting the players they wanted. The most unlikeliest of coaches drafted her first, based on observing the reaction of Coach Greg when she walked in, and then watching her tryout.

She played, and was the only girl in the whole league! She wasn’t treated any differently than the boys. And she didn’t play any differently, either. She was an unexpected force to be reckoned with. She was passionate about Flag Football now, too. She just loved playing the game. And it showed.

(2011)

Just as with Basketball, we were on the sidenlines, making some noise, for her and her team! As if my big long camera lens didn’t draw enough attention to myself, screaming my head off half the time did! I just couldn’t help myself. Michael and I had a game, to see how long I could be quiet. The excitement and anticipation at times, was more than I could contain. We found sports to be a rush like no other. I had felt my own competitive streak come alive that very first practice she had, at 8 years old, and it was clearly in her blood too. She helped take her Flag Football team all the way to the Superbowl, where they lost by 1-single-point! It was a hard pill to swallow. It was a fluke, actually! But we were busy digging up the grace we needed, to be good sports about it. ; )

(2011)

After all, she had to be a good example, to her biggest little triplet fans, who were so very inspired by their big sister.

She was a STAR, in their eyes, and about to try making a mark of their own, in sports.

(2011)

High School Basketball is a few months away yet, but I had started making contact with the powers that be, real early, and she found herself at a Volleyball clinic twice a week, at the public South High School. She quickly fell in love with this sport too, and they quickly took notice of her. It was nothing short of boot camp. But she kept going back, and they were impressed she did, and were happy to see her. Her potential coach said to us, “The biggest sign of a true athlete, is not just skills, but being tough. And she IS. She’s got that.”

Try-outs for the public South High School Volleyball team are coming up, and she’ll be there ready to show her stuff. She’s been training on her own. I can say it’s looking promising, and a very busy year, with 3 kids in sports anyway. Maybe 4.

(2011)

{A} has her dreams and goals, short & long term, and she’ll always work hard to reach them. She has high standards for herself, anyway.

But even if she didn’t, she always has me to push her. ; )

To me, being so involved in sports, and having such passions for it, has proved to be full of benefits, skills, and gifts, and a truly effective way to pave the way, to play the game of life! If sports doesn’t literally take {A} where she wants to go, it will certainly have given her all she needs on the inside, to get there on her own.

She’s the picture of young athletes all over the world, just like her. If you’re a parent of an athlete-in-the-making, or one who is already, this is your lucky day. I’m giving away a:

$100.00 Dick’s Sporting Goods Gift Card!!
(We’re sorry -This Giveaway has now ended.)

One way you can have a chance to win, is to tell me:

In what ways do you see your kids playing sports, as preparing them for the game of life?

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methods:

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an alternate form of entry.

And if that’s not enough, there are additional ways to win a gift card to Dick’s Sporting Good here: Promotions & Prizes section

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

(I will also announce the winner via our Facebook Page and our Twitter.)

The Sweepstakes Dates are: 8/29 – 9/30 (Now ended.)

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here: Visit the Official Rules.

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!

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Striped Cucumber Salad | Recipe

August 26, 2011 By Laura 4 Comments

It’s a wonder, that our children have not turned into cucumbers, this summer. They love them, and our gardens have been so generous with them, that the kids have happily eaten them many days for lunch, dinner, and sometimes even as a snack. They’ve had them as spears, sliced the long way and added to their tomato sandwiches, chopped up in a garden salad, and as this Cucumber Salad, which we are sharing with you today.

We know. It’s not the most inventive recipe, if we can even call it that. The ‘recipe’ is actually more about the dressing it’s in. It’s one that I imagine has been around a long time, as my mother used to make it while I was growing up. Recently we were at our friend’s house, getting our families together, and they made us the most de-li-cious dinner. Part of that meal was a simple romaine salad with sliced fresh strawberries, and a dressing very similar to this one. So as you take note of this dressing, keep in mind the various or creative ways you can use it for, too. This dressing, and this salad, is a perfect summer-side, to a light meal.

Striped Cucumber Salad

cucumber-salad-recipe Our Cucumber Salad begins with a fresh organic cucumber, from our own gardens.

I have always, peeled cucumbers in stripes. But there have been 2 separate reasons I have done so.

In the off-season, I have peeled the grocery-store bought cucumbers this way because, as we all know, the majority of the vitamins & minerals are in the skin, and I want to get all I can into my kids/family. But also, before we ate organic, the cucumbers from the store were usually waxed. Man I hated that! I couldn’t stand the feel of it trying to wash them, (the wax never came off), and the funny feeling it left on my hands too. Also, we just weren’t partial to eating wax. You? 😕 So, peeling the skin in stripes, was a compromise, of sorts.

But even when the cucumbers are organically right from our gardens, I think the stripes just make them fancy & pretty. So I chop off the ends, and stripe peel them.

And then I slice it.

And maybe I’ll have fun taking photos of it. It’s a cucumber caterpillar!!

So much for not playing with my food.

Now I know this is silly, but, I didn’t take photos of making the dressing. It would have been boring, and unnecessary. It’s so simple though, and there isn’t actually ‘correct’ amounts of any one ingredient. It just matters more of how thick you want the dressing, and how much you like this or that ingredient. All to your preferred taste. But this is generally my winged recipe, I mix in a bowl well, with a fork.

Cucumber/(Salad) Dressing

1/2 c. mayonnaise (Hellman’s Real, for us)
1/4 c. white sugar
4 tsp. distilled vinegar

dashes of:

dill weed
seasoned salt
black pepper

Of course….all of these amounts will vary with how many cucumbers you cut up. I like it to just coat the cucumbers. My mother made enough, that it was more of a soup, that the cucumbers sat in. She made a lot! LOL

In my antique blue Pyrex dish (missing the handle), that was once my grandmothers, I arrange all of the cucumber slices, and drizzle the dressing right over it. Then I throw another dash of dillweed on top. This dish is light, tangy, sweet, with a tad of salty. All at once. More importantly, it’s FRESH, light, delicious, easy, and well……COOL! It’s a perfect side for summer grilled dinners, etc.

I’ll warn you, with the same wise words my mother-in-law once warned me with, and of which I shared with my kids recently, and they have found absolutely hysterical, and love to say it now every time they have cucumbers:

“Be careful now. Cucumbers tend to repeat on you, later.”

From what I can tell, no one minds repeating around here, except me. ; )

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Frozen Banana Bites – Such a treat! | Recipe

August 22, 2011 By Laura 2 Comments

I don’t remember exactly the last time I had a frozen chocolate covered banana, but I do know that I had one or 2 when I was a kid, and I loved them. I thought of making them many times since I’ve had kids of my own, but never quite got to that. So when a reader linked us up with this simple recipe for ‘Frozen Banana Bites’, I knew we had to try them. Not exactly the same as frozen chocolate covered bananas, but close enough. They were absolutely delectable!

*The actual recipe called for peanut butter, but with one of our kids having a severe peanut allergy, we substitute everything that calls for peanut butter, with Sunbutter.

Participating Ingredients: Bananas, Hershey’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, & Peanut Butter or *Sunbutter

Naturally, you can make as many Frozen Banana Bites as you would like. But for the sake of giving you a recipe to follow, just use the following measurements per 2 bananas, and then make as many batches as you would like. We made 2 batches, 1 at a time, considering not wanting the slices bananas to brown, or the sauce to cool too much as we worked.

2 bananas
1/4 Hershey’s Chocolate Chips
1/4 Peanut Butter or Sunbutter

Cover a cookie sheet with some waxed or parchment paper.

Slice the bananas into bite sized pieces.

We have big mouths. 😀

Put the measured chocolate chips and Sunbutter in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave for 20 seconds or so, mix, and keep putting back in for 10-15 second interval until it’s all melted, combined & smooth.

Tip: I stir with a wooden spoon handle, and I stir rapidly, just as you would tempering chocolate.

With your sauce all warmed and ready, take each chunk of banana, and dip the top of it into the sauce. Let it drip off as much as possible.

Place on the cookie sheet, sauce side up.

Optional: If desired, you also can roll the chocolatey side in chopped nuts as well, and then place on sheet.

Repeat until they are all done.

~ It’s a bit of a messy process, and there isn’t much way around it. ~

Place the sheet of Banana Bites into the freezer, and let freeze completely.

Note: Freezing time varies, depending on how many times ~~you~~ your kids open the freezer door, to see if they are frozen enough to eat, yet. : )

Once our first sheet was frozen, the kids and I just took them out, and had at them right away. 😛

These guys’ expressions and sound effects are always so animated, when it comes to food.

Especially treats.

Any frozen leftovers, can be thrown in a ziplock-style freezer bag, for later enjoyment.

Hope you find them worth the small mess. ; ) We did!

***

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A T-Shirt Craft / Wicked Cool, Fun, Easy, & Not Messy!

August 17, 2011 By Laura 35 Comments

This just may be the coolest and most fun craft, I have ever done with our kiddos. If that wasn’t awesome enough, it is super easy, and it doesn’t make a mess either!! I know, right? It’s perfect for kid’s birthday parties, scouts, camps, etc. Our kids didn’t want to stop. They even made a couple of shirts for their friends. But all of you mothers, as we show you how simple this project is,….think outside the box, for yourselves, or other projects, too. I am!

awesome fun t-shirt craft All you need is:

some white t-shirts (in your sizes)
sturdy plastic cups
rubber bands
bottled rubbing alcohol
a (liquid) dropper
and Sharpie Permanent Markers in colors!

Easy supplies to gather, right? Here’s how you get creative with them.

awesome fun t-shirt craft Lay your t-shirt on the flat surface you are working on, front side up. Take the cups, and arrange them upright in different places inside the t-shirt, one at a time. As you do this, consider that where ever you have a cup, that’s where a design will be put on your shirt. Secure each cup as you go, with a rubber band. (You can do more later, on the sleeves or backside of the shirt.)

awesome fun t-shirt craft Using your colored Sharpie Permanent Markers, get creative and make some designs or simple line drawings on t-shirt fabric that is over the opening of the cups. My kids even played a game of Tic-Tac-Toe on one. In a moment or 2, I’ll get to what colors or techniques you may want to avoid, and which ones worked best. We learned from little mistakes so you don’t have to, and figured out some tips and tricks that I’ll share with you too.

You’ll be able to see them for yourself, too. ; )

awesome fun t-shirt craft Each designer can personalize them in their own style, symbols, colors, or simple line drawings that they like, or mean something to them. Or if it’s a gift, think of the recipient. Simple words may be able to be used as well.

Here’s where it gets even more fun.

awesome fun t-shirt craft

Working on one design at a time, slowly drop drops of alcohol in the *center of the circle/design. As you do, you will see the marker ink start to spread. You don’t want to drop too much alcohol though…..you need to do this slowly, and watch what is happening. The spreading will slow down, but if you watch carefully, it is often still spreading. If it does seem that it stopped, add more drops, one at a time, and keep watching.

*TIP: It’s important, to only drop the alcohol drops in the center. Reason being, it pushes the ink from the center, outward, spreading it evenly and nicely, for the right effect. Also, if the fabric becomes too saturated with alcohol, the drops drip into the cup beneath, which pretty much evaporate. But that is why it’s important to keep the cups pretty upright, as to not spill any colored alcohol that may be sitting in the bottom of the cup.

awesome fun t-shirt craft Once you get the feel for it, you can do more at once. As one design is spreading, you can start another (and another) beside it.

Do you see the multi-color burst? That one is still spreading very slowly. Do you see the little purple swirly one? That’s a little shot glass, instead of a bigger plastic cup. Perfect for the side of a sleeve too.

awesome fun t-shirt craft

Here, {O} had finished drawing out her designs, and she’s now dropping alcohol on them. It’s really so exciting, to watch them and see how they are going to turn out.

awesome fun t-shirt craft

As you can see, black can get pretty messy. In the case of the smiley face, I like how it turned out. It reminds me of a record. Remember those? ; ) But if the black were in the center of the design, it really would have blotted out the rest of the colors.

Now look at the rainbow and clouds. Because she was dropping alcohol under the last color of the rainbow, where the center is, all of the color above that pushed up. Because again, it spreads from the center. So that’s a good thing to keep in mind with your designs. Blue reeeeaaallly spreads, so be mindful with that color, too. It may seem like it’s a lot to remember, but really, once you are working with the colors you, you get it quickly.

*TIP: We actually did a test t-shirt before we began our own t-shirts, and played a bit, just to see how it was going to work. But the colors’ chemistry is something we learned on the real ones. So you may want to consider 1 practice t-shirt for everyone to do a practice design on collectively. Or, you all can just live on the edge, and go for it!

Here, the boys draw out their designs…..

Sometimes, the ink will spread so much, that you can’t hardly tell what it was anymore, such as with the blue and yellow one above. It was a thunder cloud, with lightening coming out. But that’s ok! The designer knows what it was, which makes it fun! Other times, you can vaguely still see the deign, like a subliminal message. ; ) In the photo above, the very top two designs in the photo are not alcoholed yet. So let’s take a look at how those came out….

awesome fun t-shirt craft See, I was concerned that that “J”, so colored in and outlined so darkly like that, might turn into a hot mess. Using dark colors and solidly coloring in something, is going to turn out much like that J. But the flag turned out pretty cool! Again….see how it spread from the center? It creates it’s own design.

awesome fun t-shirt craft

Drop…..drop…………….drop…..we don’t really want to stop!

Here are some of my favorite designs…..

awesome fun t-shirt craft
Antony…..get it? ; )

awesome fun t-shirt craft Have a nice day.

awesome fun t-shirt craft Love this one. It’s {S}’s design.

awesome fun t-shirt craft Dragonfly.

Here’s how the kid’s own t-shirts turned out. WHICH, they are loving wearing. We have not washed them yet. I think I will just hit them with an iron before throwing them in the wash, to kind of ‘heat-set’ them first. Even though, it IS permanent marker, and shouldn’t come out.

Also…the shirts dry very fast, because it’s just alcohol, which evaporates.

Next time……because there will be a next time, very soon……we’re going to try not securing the rubber bands so tightly, and try to make a less defined circle. Because it’s the fabric pulled tight over the edge of the cup, that really keeps the ink from spreading much more. I bet it would look cool to let it go, too.

awesome fun t-shirt craft Our kids ‘signed’ the shirts to their friends, on the back side, bottom left, of the shirt. Here, the shirt is secured over a square vase container.

Check out how cool it spread…..

awesome fun t-shirt craft I have more designs in mind, that will be fun trying.

Other Ideas: This technique can be used in the more traditional way that tie-dyed shirts are done, by twisting and rubber banding the shirt, coloring it with markers, and applying the alcohol.

I’m going to try making my own shirt, with a design just in the center, on a women’s t-shirt. Maybe a little something cool on the sleeve cuff too.

Another idea: white bandanas!!

Hope you loved this easy, fun crafts, that’s (not just) for kids!!

You may also be interested in another t-shirt craft we did years ago: T-Shirts with Sole!

* SPREAD the craft idea with others! Facebook it, Twitter it, or Pinterest it for yourself.*

Have fun with it!

If you and your kids do this craft, take photos, and blog it….come back and leave the link in the comments of this post, so we can see how yours came out!

******

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Our Daughter’s Handmade Rosary

August 15, 2011 By Laura 7 Comments

We just wanted to share with you this beautiful rosary our daughter {A} > Alexis Grace made. She is 14.

as-first-rosary_web
She made it as a gift for her friend, Fr. Bob Reed. The Rosary center is a metal of St. Therese of Lisieux, who is Fr. Reed’s favorite saint, also known as ‘St. Therese – The Little Flower’, thus the roses for the Our Father Beads. Yellow roses, as many of us know, are symbolic of friendship. But yellow is also one of Fr. Reed’s favorite colors, as well as blue, in the Swarovski crystals, which serve as the Hail Mary prayer beads. So suffice it to say, being a Catholic priest, who loves saying the Rosary, Fr. Reed was very happy to receive this gift from {A}, that consisted of so many of his favorite things.

From a creative standpoint, I am sure many of you can also appreciate the tedious work that went into this project, as well. {A} selected all of the beads, and special pieces of the Rosary in an eclectic manner, through Etsy searches as well as the craft stores, until she had all she needed to begin her project. Then using eye pins and crimping pliers, she created the Rosary. We were really impressed with her handiwork, and are grateful for her giving heart as well.

Thanks for coming to see.

Update: Fr. Reed was very touched by the gift. He frequently leads praying the daily rosary on CatholicTV, and {A} has noticed a time or 2 that he was using her rosary she made him. He likely has many, many sets, and many as special gifts, too. He continues to be such a powerful witness of faith in countless ways to our children, and us as well, through his life and vocation, and his beautiful and authentic commitment to the power of daily prayer to our Lord, and Blessed Mother Mary. We are grateful to God for his friendship and example, all of which has blessed our lives.

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