Just real fast...

It's my birthday. Yay me. We went for a hike, which was awesome. We have practice. Laundry, dishes, meals to make... same ol' same ol', except now I am officially older. But, I'll write more on that later.

Will isn't really enjoying Allstars. Neither are we. I still think it's great practice for him. Found out the only reason there are four 9 year olds on the 9/10 team is to make the team legal for the tournament. In larger areas, their is the 6-8 year olds, 9-10, and 11-12's or something like that. Not here, because there aren't enough boys. So basically, he is a filler spot. There has been a bit of politics, too. Not that big of a deal, but it's still painful. I keep reminding Will (and myself) that he only started in the middle of March. Three months ago we bought him a glove and some balls. We were not a baseball family (who had the time?), so he is still doing well considering. But, he is definitely not the best on the team by any means. I was talking to the first baseman's mom and asked how long he had been playing...7 years. Yikes. The great thing that has come out of this? Our whole family is a little more active because of it. We play "Pickle" together. Ryan and Will spend time together. Ed is determined to master a skill and play next year. He will be SO FUNNY. I have a hard time picturing him playing right now. He'll be a great daisy picker...

I just took a quiz to find out which "Golden Girl" I am. I'm Sophia. The old one. Hahaha! I love her.

My guitar skills are...well, let's just say I'm working on building up my callouses. And, I tried "La Cucaracha" for Will. I'm teaching my "Peace in the Valley" by Elvis. It's been 6 days since I started, and this is where I need to be patient with myself. I get frustrated trying to change chords and having to take forever to do that. Slow and steady wins the race, right?

I am training for a 10k and need to lose a little weight. Slow and steady wins the race, right?

Life Lessons

One, Kacy and I are going to a free guitar workshop at the library today to begin to learn how to play. I also asked FIL (father-in-law) David (dad#2) to teach me. I will learn how to play this summer. I don't aspire to anything great...I just want to be able to strum chords and do little sing-a-longs with the kids at school. Plus, the school has some guitars, and I would like to pass whatever I learn along to the kids.

Two, Will's Allstar experience is great. He is one of four minor league players brought up with the younger 10 year old "big boys." He is not going to get to play catcher. They already have three boys who are pretty good. He was playing first yesterday, and he wasn't horrible! Lol. Hey, lets be honest here, the boy just started playing in the middle of March of this year. No catching or batting practice or anything, so the mere fact that he is playing on the Allstars is great for him. We have no great aspirations (delusions) for him playing MLB or even college ball. My goal for Will is to learn how to practice something, train, be disciplined, work as a team, and have fun. He is going to learn a lot in the next two weeks. He has some good coaches right now, and I like how they teach him. Part of me wants to say, "Hey, this is his first year, just so you know." Then the other part says, "What difference does it make? He made it this far..." The coaches know we won't be playing on Sundays, which probably won't be a big deal anyways because we play Tehachapi first, and they have a reputation for being awesome. They have a large pool of boys from which to choose, lol. So, if we lose the first game, we don't play again until Monday.

Three, Operation Do Your Chores is starting to pay off. We rotate a chore every week, and the kids are getting used to the idea, and they are getting better at it. So nice. I refuse to do the dishes this summer. I still have to help Jessie with her chores, and Ryan banished Ed from using the vacuum due to some wacky and dangerous maneuvers he performed once, but all in all, it is going well. Always room for improvement though!

Four, apparently I made the newspaper again with my picture in it. Again, I look mean. I will have to buy a copy and post it. My thinking face is also my mean face. Better than a silly grin though, I guess. I don't know if I would trust a board member who had a fake, empty smile stuck on her face. That's what I'm telling myself. I'm garnering my reputation for being "serious."

I took this picture...

Because I think this is funny. That is my brother Steven's arm and goatee hair in the background.

Steven's girlfriend is expecting identical twins this fall. She finds out soon whether they are boys or girls. Steven in the last "Sorensen" in the line, so my mom would like them to be boys. Me? I don't care one way or the other. At this point in my life, I have come to view all births a miracle, so I just hope they are healthy. And, that Steven and Ashley stay together and are happy together. I tell you what, I'm about depressed with divorces and separations and broken families. It hurts. Anyways, it'll be fun (and confusing) to have two little identical kids around. If they are boys, they are thinking of the names Zander and Zane. If they are girls, they are thinking Kendall and Kelsey (Kelsi?). Having more K names would be hilarious! 

This dog cracks me up. It is so clingy with Steven. My dad has Henry the brown weenie dog that follows him everywhere. Steven has MooCow. I have big ol' dirty Pearl, who wishes she could follow me around in the house, lol. I don't love dog dirt in the house, though. We need grass, that way she (and the kids) can stay cleaner when they do go outside. Then maybe she can come in more. 

Although, she LOVES to come in in the afternoons to nap. Lazy dog.

Wait. I like to nap sometimes, too. Nah- she's still lazy. 

The Epitome of Random Blogging: Kids, Smoothies, Trains, and Cold Rooms

This week we acquired an old railroad water tender car thing a ma do. This is a shot of the kids on top of it. I just love these kids, and this candid picture Ryan took just cracks me up. Their personalities show through this shot. Jessie is trying to find her place in the family. She can finally read (she has been waiting forever), and she alternates between feeling like she's big and grown up, and wanting to be my baby girl. In Home Depot we made a trip to the bathroom together, and we held hands as we walked down the aisles. As we got closer to the bathroom, she said, "This is like the good old days when it was just me and you. The kids would go to school, and we would hang out and make cookies and stuff. We should do something together, just me and you."

We need to make cookies, and SOON. My baby girl needs some mom time!

 Can I just say it was smoking hot the day we got it? Ryan worked out in the heat all day, and then the next day while we were putting in the just the right spot, we all got a little sun in just an hour! For some reason the boys want to climb into it and clean it out so badly. I keep talking to them about "priorities," and how their priorities involve cleaning their bedroom, and the family goal of getting some refrigeration for our food.

I have been without a fridge since April 30. This has happened before. Two years ago it happened, and I can honestly say I'm not as patient as I was before. Buying ice is expensive. Using two liter bottles of ice I can freeze in the big freezer is "okay" but doesn't really work that well. Finding leftovers all soaked in water stinks. Gratefully, we went to the Home Depot and got some supplies for our cold room. The door is installed already, but it leads to the outside porch right now. 

I want refrigeration. 

In other news...I planted some more baby trees that didn't look so good in their pots and within the week I can see new growth. Those babies just needed some room to grow! I think I will plant some more tomorrow. 

I exercised yesterday. Nobody panic! The world is not coming to an end, nor did Hell freeze. I have made a great discovery, and it is this: if I do not get some physical exercise in my day, I do not sleep well. This can lead to a vicious cycle of no sleep- no exercise.

Oh- and I make the BEST smoothie protein shake in the world according to my tastes. I look forward to getting my PB2 so it cuts back on the calories. For now I mix some milk, ice, a Carnation Instant Breakfast packet (vanilla), 2 TBSP whey protein powder, and a scoop of peanut butter in the blender. I also add some Fiber One cereal and ice. Tasty. I went for a dessert shake today and added Nutella and PB chips. 

Happiness is sucking up a piece of PB chip through your straw.

Jessie

This GIRL. I'm pretty sure she is partially deaf right now.  We have an appointment next week with the ENT. We were hoping to avoid another set of tubes in her ears, as she has had three already. At the last visit, Dr. saw slight improvement with fluid going away, and she is right on that age bubble where if a kid is going to outgrow tubes, the time is now.

But I think she will need another pair. Hopefully, her last.

She is a firecracker. That is the polite way to say that she can be a pain in the butt. She is spirited, and that spirit can be awesome to watch from a distance, but annoying if you are on the receiving end of it. 

She is VERY social. She talks to random kids in the park and makes friends easily. She hated 90% of her kindergarten classmates, but loved her first grade classmates. She had been attending the first grade class for 75% of her day (along with four other Kindergartners) since after Christmas vacation. In May, her two teachers and I decided to try her out in first grade full day. She passed all the end of year first grade benchmarks with a 90-100% average. So, with her desire to be all scholastically inclined, plus her social issues with the kids in Kindergarten (this was a huge motivating factor for me...much more so than the academics), this girl is going to second grade next year. This allows her to keep on keeping on with her school work, AND she will be with her friends and peer group all day. 

And, it allows her to be a Freshman in high school while Ed is a Sophomore and Will is a Senior. At first I was like, "Oh. good. The boys can watch out for her and protect her." Now I'm like, "Oh, good. The boys can spy on her and make sure she behaves!" 

Ed is 8!

This kid is now 8. 

Oh, how I love him.

Sure, he still eats like a caveman, and is the most aloof person I know. Sure, I sometimes wonder if he is a total weirdo because he is forever talking to himself, muttering things to inanimate objects.

"Hey, Ed! Were you just talking to that tree?"

Truly.

Some things about Ed: He is VERY loving. He does very well in school, and according to his teachers, it is without effort. But, he doesn't do anything "extra." He's good with what is required. He wants to be a mad scientist when he grows up. He is fascinated with dead animals and their parts. In just the last few months he has had a bird heart in his pocket, followed by a dead lizard, and a dead mouse he was saving for later in his hygiene bag. He is begging me for a pet. He doesn't care which kind, but he needs an animal to take care of. His favorite food is chicken legs with a side of macaroni and cheese. He hates pot roast. He loves to read silly books, and LOVES to watch the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. (He loves Star Wars, too. Those take second place.) His favorite color is orange, and he owns three orange tee shirts that he rotates through the week. He loves his bow tie he got a few years ago for his birthday. He still wears it and prefers a bow tie to a regular tie. He loves his mom. He has a hard time being hungry. He must be fed at all times. He has a great singing voice, and he considers whistling to be his best talent. His favorite sibling to hang out with is Kacy, because they "talk together a lot." (Let's face it: Will is great to play with, Jessie is Jessie, so if a guy needs to talk, Kacy is your girl.) Ed loves bacon. He wants to play baseball next year. He has a kind heart. I no longer worry about losing Ed (so much). 

All in all, he is a great kid, and he can't wait to be baptized with his cousin Sara-Jane.

Online Images

I started thinking today. Not like, "I have never had a thought before, and today I began!" But rather, I started thinking about online images. Online perceptions. Online personas.

Facebook and Instagram. No one ever posts a selfie where they look like crap. I guess we save that for our friends to do? No one ever posts about the horrible, rotten, no good, very bad day they are having. Occasionally I catch a glimpse of realness. I can think of one person I am friends with on the ol' Facebook who keeps it real.

Do I keep it real? Do I only post those things and photos that make me seem awesome-ish?

I'm not sure. I know I do about 10 weird things a day, and since school is out, that will go up to 15 because the kids are around me more.

I know I can also be incredibly boring. Hello, laptop and typing stuff. How do you do? I know I am a mediocre cook. I really prefer Ryan to cook for me, but I never post pictures of the meals he creates for me. (Too busy enjoying them?)

It is interesting that sometimes people perceive others based on what they post online. Always smiling in your daily selfies? You must be super happy. (And confident with your face.) Only post pictures when you are out and about in fun places like the beach or Hawaii? You must have the time and money to travel, and enjoy it. (And your home life is so boring or your house is messier than you like so no photos there.) Post pictures of all the beers you drink? You must like beers...and maybe you are a lush.

See how that works? So, now that I'm thinking of this, it makes me want to go through my Instagram photos and see if there is a theme, and if it accurately depicts who I am. Or at least, who I think I want to be.

For example, while I shot a rattle snake and chopped off its head with a stupid blunt shovel, AND cut off its rattler with a hatchet, I STILL NEVER TOUCHED THE SNAKE. So some people think it was kind of "tough" of me to do that, and part of me what like, "Look what I did! Who would have thought I could do THAT?" another part of me was remembering my tough grandmas, and thinking women do this thing all the time in one of my circle of friends, and really...what am I trying to say by posting this picture?

I took a picture of my boys engrossed in observing this easy science experiment they did. I posted it, with the idea that 1) both my boys were it in, and I love teamwork, and 2) if anyone else I know was interested in doing it, I would share the recipe. (I get lots of ideas from social media, and I appreciate it.)

But then, I MAYBE over-analyzed it. I thought maybe my picture gave off an aura of "Look what a great mom I am, making my kids be smart and do homework over the summer." That 20 minutes might make some think I have it all together and that I am THAT MOM. When I am not.

I am that same mom who makes her kids wear dirty socks when they can't find clean ones. I feed them boxed mac n cheese sometimes, and call that a meal. (No veggies. No protein. Maybe soda as a drink!) I let my kids watch a movie or two every day during summer. I yell at them to clean their rooms. Sometimes I wish I had a cattle prod to give them that little "poke" when they ignore me.

Anyway, what I think I am trying to say, is that I hope my pictures and posts don't paint an image of me that isn't accurate. Since I don't post my running times and distance, I'm pretty sure my online image is spot on. Because I don't run, so...

But I do get excited about certain foods, laugh at some things my kids say and do, and I do have random semi-entertaining stuff happen almost every day!

Up next today: baseball game and a crock pot chicken dinner. Except for the fact Cousin Jimmy let me borrow his super fancy long lens (EEEKKK! I am SO EXCITED about that!), it's just another normal day.

I'll post any good pics later. (Q: But will people think I think I'm a photographer?!? A: I'm not sure I care!)