Over halfway there

For memory's sake, I am posting what baby and I are looking like at about 25 weeks. I was surprised at how "popped out" I looked. But, I guess I shouldn't be surprised-I tend to carry babies high and totally in the front anyway. Pregnancy has treated me fairly well, so far. Good reports from the doctor at each visit and enough energy every day to make it till naptime. Now, to work on a name for our little one....

The second-to-last basketball post of the season

This is the first Saturday in 3 months that we did not have to be somewhere for a basketball game or practice. Very refreshing. The boys finished their regular season play and tournament play this past week and weekend. Our final recap....

Ewan's last game turned out to be his "playoff" game. For kindergarten. Really. Anyway, his team was the "top seed" since they had beaten the other three teams each of the times they played them. Saturday, unfortunately, was their first loss. I guess the coach on the other team decided to triple-team the "best" shooter on Ewan's team. In the end, it didn't really matter. Ewan got his very own basketball trophy to display on the bookcase. He was so proud and excited to have a trophy like his big brothers.

On Saturday, Cale's team lost. I can't remember the score, but that made their record 1-10 for the season. His tourney game was Tuesday night. I have to say, that Cale played great. Aggressive defense, quick to rebound, ran the plays the coach wanted and scored 8 of his team's 13 points. And, Cale's team won! Their 2nd win of the year. That set them up for another game Wednesday night. This game was against the first seeded team. Cale's team played some great defense, but they were cold on the shot and the final score was 21-3, a loss. Cale played a good game and scored 2 points for his team. He made some good shots that circled the basket before falling out.i think he's already looking forward to next year.

Marcus's team also played their last regular season game Saturday. They also came away with a loss. Then, Tuesday, was their tourney game which they did not win. It sounded like they just for out shot by a bigger, slightly older team. Marcus's team was all 4th grade and 1 5th grader as opposed to teams that had maybe a more balanced 4th to 5th grade ratio. But, Andy's players did improved and had fun, and that is what matters at this age.

I have some pictures to post later. I am hoping to get a picture of Marcus's team tomorrow when they get their trophies. I wish I could have seen more of Marcus's games this year. We will see what next season brings.

And now the next question....spring sports anyone?

Scout Sunday

Scout Sunday was a couple weeks ago. It's a chance for the congregation to learn about the Cub Scout and Boy Scout groups that are sponsored by the church. For us, it means that the boys get to wear their scouting shirts and help hand out bulletins. Marcus and Cale like scouts. This is their second year for scouting. Marcus is a Webelo and Cale is a Wolf Cub. Next year, Ewan will join the ranks as a Tiger Cub. Even Liam has his own "class B" t shirt that he can wear to meetings if he wants to. I'm still the leader of Cale's den, but, I'm hopeful that this other boy's dad might be interested in being the leader next year. I'm also glad that we decided to join the scout pack at our church instead if one in Cicero. This helps with our schedule since scouts meets on Wednesdays before church. We were already coming to church anyway, now we are just there earlier. It's hectic, of course, especially since I have to bring dinner for the kids and get them fed in the 10 mins between scouts and class. But, I'm probably the one who stresses most about logistics. The kids are just enjoying the ride.

Marcus and Cale are on the close end in these photos taken with my phone.

2 weeks worth of basketball updates

One more week of "regular" season play left for the boys after this weekend. I thought I'd combine the past two weeks into one update, mostly because then I will be caught up with basketball news.

Last week, Marcus and Cale both had double headers. Grammy Pammy was visiting and got to see each of the boys play and help shuttle the kids around to the different games. A huge help for us.

Cale's team lost both of the games last week: 16-22, ?-28. I got there in time to see the end of the first game and then switched with Grammy so she could see the next game. Cale made at least 6 pts in each game, played hard defense and ran the plays his coached asked him to.

Ewan's team won 30-28 in a back and forth scoring game. Ewan got a basket, which is all he needs in each game to be happy.

Marcus's team lost both their games: 20-28, 21-28. As a team they are playing much, much better. They were just outshot by an mostly 5th grade basketball team. If their shots would have gone in.....

On to this week....

I missed Cale's game, but got text updates from Andy. Cale's team lost 6-23. Cale scored 4 points and guarded the other team's high scorer well. Guarded the player so well, in fact, that the player only took one shot while Cale was on the floor with him.

Ewan played next. His team won 14-8. Once again, Ewan scored a basket, which is all he needs per game to feel good. For reasons unknown, he went sliding on the floor a lot. Diving for the ball? Slippery shoes? Not quite sure. I also got to see his "defense face" as he was guarding another player. It looked ferocious.

Marcus played last. Once again, I did not see his game since I took the little ones home for a nap. And...they won! 41-33! Andy said they played great as a team, working together to move the ball around. The team they beat was the 3rd ranked team in their group, so the players, not to mention the parents, were pretty excited.

And, that's it. We are all caught up on basketball news. Thanks for sticking around for the whole post.

What a good big brother!

Marcus is such a great big brother! He is willing to help entertain the little ones. I think he likes that they look up to him. I'm not saying every day is perfect, but I love these moments when his tenderness shows through. Last night, I asked Marcus to read to Kella and she went running over to him with a book. Liam is on the couch, too, listening to the story.

Remnant of my past job

I knew the time would come.

I finally told the PICU that I could not stay on as PRN there.

Let's be honest, I had only signed ip for one shift and was cancelled from that anyway. It's just really hard to schedule that extra day of work when I'm trying really hard to work around basketball, karate, scouts and Andy's longer work days.

So I'm hanging up my PICU badge. And, just for memories took a photo of it because I'm pretty sure I have to turn the badge in to someone. You know, for security purposes, or whatever.

This was my first badge that I got when I started working at the hospital. In fact, I never did get it updated to read "RN". If you look, you can almost see the letters SNT (student nurse tech) under a sticker by my name. And the back has all those "important" numbers that I needed to remember.

I was scared to go to work there at first. Those kids were so sick, and we were the last line of defense for them. I got better though, and by the end of my time there, I could handle the sickest kiddos with no problem. I have some pride in knowing that I worked in as hard a field as peds critical care. I don't know what the future of my nursing career will hold, but I'm thankful for where I got my start.

This bb update is a tad late...

Here's the roundup from last week's basketball games. I did not go to any of the games, but kept the little ones and any of the others who wanted to stay, at home. My information is based on updates received from Andy. Also, Andy's parents got to come to the game and got to see all the boys play.

Cale played first. He scored 10 points, had 5 rebound and 2-3 steals. They play an aggressive team and lost 18-30. Cale's coach said he was excited to see improvement in all his players. They are getting more confident.

Ewan's team played next. Apparently there was a lot of dribbling. I guess that means the kindergartners are getting better at ball handling. Pretty sure Ewan's team won with a score of at least 14-4.

Marcus played the last game of the day for our boys. Guess what? They won! The score I think ended up being something like 32-14. Marcus's team led most of the game. What a great feeling for the boys. Of course the sore loser coach of the other team told Andy they lost because they were missing their best player. Classy. For funzies, I looked up some of that team's previous game scores. Pretty sure their "best" player couldn't have scored enough points to get his team a win against Marcus's team. Just saying.

Another week in the books!