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A House Divided

3 Jul

Daddy vs. Son

Andrew has loved the Baltimore Orioles since he was a little boy. Rooting for them through the thick and thin. Cheering and respecting his favorite player, Cal Ripken, Jr. – all without even stepping foot into Camden Yards to see the team play and barely getting to watch them on tv due to distance and programming.

Finally, after more than two decades of true fan support from a distance, Andrew got to see the Orioles play the Atlanta Braves live at Turner Field. But, it didn’t come without a little drama. You see, Nate loves the Braves. He probably loves the Braves like that young Andrew loved the Orioles. He knows the players. He knows how they’ve been playing. Which ones hit the home runs, which ones can “crush” the ball, which ones are hurt – he wants them to win every time and he wanted his daddy to want them to win too.

Andrew sweetly told him that he would really like to see the Orioles win (even though he knew they wouldn’t after seeing who was starting as pitcher that night) but that he would be fine if the Braves won because it would mean Nate was happy. That seemed to satisfy Nate. Until we got ready to go that night.

He saw his daddy all ready in his Ripken shirt and his O’s hat that he’s had for years and our little fan started to cry. You see, Nia was rooting for daddy’s team and I was being my wishy-washy self and said I’d like to see either team win. Well, to Nate, that was, “Nobody wants the Braves to win with me.” Through teary eyes he told me he didn’t want to wear his Braves jersey anymore, he wanted his Orioles gear. I gave him the choice and told him that I would cheer with him. I asked him if he could name any of the Orioles’ players. He told me no. He made his choice and came out ready for his team to win.

Yes, they won that night, but Nate then cheered for the Orioles with his daddy from the couch until Andrew got to see an O’s win on tv and hear his son tell him, “Oh yeah!” Something he’ll take any day of the week.

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Excited for the Game

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Ecstatic for his Favorite Players

Batter Up!

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Fantastic Fireworks


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Dear Super 8,

12 Jun

One Arm Paparazzi

You made me laugh, you made me cry, you made me gasp, stop eating my nachos, point at the screen and whisper to my mom who was sitting next to me in the theater. But it wasn’t all just due to the writing, performing and action. It was because of the city you named Lillian, Ohio. The city where I grew up.

I wrote about my excitement for your creation before but now that I’ve seen it all completed on the big screen – you made me remember and appreciate so many parts of my history – places I don’t get to see anymore. Where I used to play softball, where I used to take walks, where I used to sit and wait for friends, where I would drive by on any given day, where family is laid to rest, and where I lived and still call “home.”

Our house gets a few minutes of your time. It doesn’t do much – just exists in the background – but it’s there. Holding its own in your summer blockbuster. My second story bedroom window hovers above the scene. A window I would’ve been peeking out to watch it all happen. I used to sit and look out over Weirton Heights, watching the cars drive by on Pennsylvania Avenue while the smell from the metal screen filled my senses. Now, that window is a super star.

Hearing the stories from my mom/neighbors/friends, it was quite a spectacle to see your production in our town. (Pictures that my mom took are in the slideshow below.) It was a town that used to thrive around the steel mill and have an energy about it that I’m sure I romanticize now but you made me feel it again. You ignited a renewed spirit around the city – with your movie magic and interest in a place that so many don’t even know about. (Although we were a Jeopardy question once.)

Thank you for your attention and for thinking that Weirton, West Virginia had something special to offer in your Hollywood cinematic masterpiece. Also, thank you for allowing me to leave the theater and excitedly (and obnoxiously) tell a stranger, “That was my hometown! Our house was in the movie!” I think you would agree, it’s a worthy brag.

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Dancing Bean 2011

10 Jun

Bean, having a blast during her dance recital dress rehearsal. Good luck on the big night!

Second year for ballet:

Second year for tap:

First year for jazz:

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Board Gamers

21 May

Wanna play checkers? How ’bout Apples to Apples? Monopoly? Life? Any trivia game? No?

That’s ok, when I was little, I would play them by myself because I loved them so much and wanted to play all the time. Now though, it seems I have produced spawns who love them as much as I do. There wasn’t even any DNA altering to ensure we would create a board game lovers. They just want to play (a lot) and as long as I’m around them, they will never have to be the only player for a multi-player game.

Even if they beat me like Nia did – over and over again – during a recent Connect Four challenge. Good games, Bean. Until we meet again…

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Out But Not Down

15 Apr

I know Nate’s attitude about getting out during his turn to bat  won’t always be this way (in fact, I’m somewhat surprised of this reaction), but I will always cherish it.

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Have Injury, Will Play

9 Apr

"I look like me again! Only three days and my face came back!" Nate, this morning.

Nate didn’t let his boo-boo face get in the way of this second ball game of the season. Just to capture a few memories:

  • He slid out at first but got a RBI on that. (Of course, I thought he was safe – or at least should have been given some “safe” points for the slide effort. I’m only half serious.)
  • He had to hit off the tee for his second at bat because Coach Daddy was pitching pretty wild in the 3rd inning. (Andrew was really beating himself up for that – two kiddos even got hit by his pitches. No one wants that pitching job, that’s for sure! Too much pressure!) Nate got to come home from that hit though – after a sweet slide into Second Base and then running around to home on the next few hits of his cutie teammates.
  • After a few missed catches at First, he caught two throws to him in the last inning and made those outs. (Sadly, I missed them because I was doing what mommy’s like to do sometimes – talk!)
  • He would look each runner on First up and down – kind of sizing the kid up. Pretty funny but then it also caused the other base runners to advance because he didn’t throw it to the pitcher quick enough for time to be called. Next practice topic.
  • He was chewing his gum all tough like a pro-player and when it fell out on the field and he took his glove off to figure out what to do with it, I actually shouted, “Put it back in your mouth!” I still don’t believe that came from my mouth. Thankfully, he really objected to that and Andrew was behind him to make it disappear.

Next game is Thursday!

In-field pop up on First Base Line

Ready

Fan of Her Little Brother

Daddy and Son

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A Bat, A CAT and A Nate Face

8 Apr

It hurts him. It makes it hard for him to breathe. It is swollen. It is NOT broken.

It happened at the batting cages last night. Nate and his team were practicing and (from what I understand) Nate was gathering the pitches and the batter brought the bat back to swing. That’s when Nate’s little nose took the blow.

Tears poured. TLC and ice flooded in. And he still wanted to take his turn batting.

After batting (with some great hits despite his injury), we realized we needed to do more than ice and hug. We couldn’t take the chance of a broken nose but we also couldn’t take the reality of a broken nose. They may have to re-break it or he may have to see a plastic surgeon. Those thoughts scared us for our little man. His tiny 5-year-old nose.

Thankfully, the CT Scan (which Nate said he was very still for) showed no breaks, just soft tissue damage that will swell worse and turn purple before it gets better. Nate first noticed that as he was brushing his teeth. He looked wide, teary eyed at himself in the mirror and reacted in heartbreak, “My face! My face looks funny! Kids are going to laugh.” I consoled him and told him that he did not look funny. That he was still Nate. That he looked tough, like a boxer. It would get better soon. I asked him what if mommy or Nia had it, would he say we looked funny? He said, “No, but you wouldn’t look this bad!”

Hugs and kisses, little man. For your sweet worries and your boo-boo.

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Right After It Happened

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One Hour and a Gatorade Moustache Later...

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Morning After

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Taking It All In

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Owie

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Right after this picture: "I play the Yankees tomorrow!"

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Science Experiment

4 Apr

That’s what Andrew calls his home brewing and now he’s teaching the kids. Not with hops and malt but with brown sugar and root beer flavor.

Andrew asked for a Mr. Root Beer kit for his birthday so he and the kids could brew together. They yummed at the smell of the packets and took turns helping pour, measure and stir their cola concoction. Once it was bottled, they had to wait a few days until it would be ready for sipping. Nia faithfully reminded Andrew to check on the bottles and was brimming with excitement when he announced it was time for floats.

To the kids, science is delicious.

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Opening Day 2011

2 Apr

Opening Day may be over but Nate continues to want to play ball. He and Andrew are outside right now batting and I’m surprised we finally were able to convince him to change out of his uniform. Nate is so proud and comfortable in that uniform. He woke us up at 5:50 this morning asking where it was and if he could put it on yet. (Big, bad mommy told him to try to get some more sleep and then fell back asleep before I heard a complaint from him.)

His game was great. His team of cuties didn’t win but you could tell they all had a blast despite the score. As far as stats go, I think Nate ran home twice and got one out at first. (I was so happy he caught the throw that tears crept out of my eyes.)  He executed a beautiful (but unnecessary) slide at home that made the team’s other coach chuckle with surprise and give Andrew a pat on the shoulder. Another stat that I can’t ignore would have to be that he played with the zipper on his new uniform pants – a lot.

I’m thankful we got to play a bunch of nice boys with considerate coaches for our first game. I didn’t hear a negative word – only praise and thoughtfulness for the little guys on both benches. It was a wonderful feeling and has me looking forward to the next game. In the meantime though, I’ll enjoy Nate’s reaction after seeing the Baltimore Orioles were on tv tonight. “Oh! I gotta go get my Orioles hat!”

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Blog Post of a Wimpy Kid Fan

23 Mar

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Nia is all about reading some kid’s diary and it’s so great. Actually, she would likely correct me and tell me that he really wants it to be called a journal. She has entered into the reader’s world of befriending book characters. This Wimpy Kid and his adventures have captured her heart and imagination and it’s wonderful to share in her excitement.

She finished the first book in two days. (She counted down to us as she turned the pages – asking us to subtract 152 from the total.) When she turned that final page, we knew we needed to continue her Wimpy Kid connection so we drove the 30 minutes to the nearest open bookstore and bought each book in the series, plus a special one about the movie.

She’s now nearing the end of the second book but she’s not happy with the interruptions of the school week. Like, the bus rides in the morning. She told us it was too dark for her to read and asked us if she could bring a small flashlight. She now has a book light to help expand her reading time. She’ll soon be finished with all the them and waiting for the author to write more. Good thing there are movies to tide her over…

 

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Happy to Have Them All!

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Nate is inspired too!

Book Light for the Bus

 

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