too much to do

Way to much to do.....
After two soccer games today, we came home, and got busy. Unfortunately, most of the stuff was regular Fall clean-up stuff, not so much towards the end of moving. Matt and Ben worked in the yard--lawn mowing, pulling large dead summer plants, cutting down tree like weeds that seemed to sprout up over night.....Jake picked up a backyard full of sticks, and Nate was on dog poop patrol. I was outside too, for some of the time. I was trying to take advantage of the beautiful warm Fall weather...it was almost 60 degrees and sunny today. I repotted some mums I got a few weeks ago, into bigger matching pots--trying to keep our front stoop looking cheery. That job took much longer than I expected! I also did some work inside, basic long overdue cleaning, and also tackled a pile of mail, and got some Goodwill stuff bagged up. Not sure what I'll take on next---the list is just too gigantic!
I am wishing I had a week off from work to just put my head down and get busy! But alas-no such luck! Instead, I will have to try this house preparing whenever I can squeeze it in--I can't imagine there will be enough time to accomplish it all! Sometimes I pray for the minutes to last longer, or that God will help me work faster.....it is a goofy prayer, but I think He understands! :0)

Another matter for parayer--sadly, Matt's car is not doing well. The last few days it was kind of choking while starting. Today, it decided not to start at all. At first we thought it was a battery problem, but when we jumped it--nothing. So, Matt went out and bought a brand new battery.....nothing after it was installed, either. Now--I am not sure what we are going to do. Matt thinks it might be the car's computer. Not good. Big huge expensive thing. Of course, with the goal of moving sometime soon....extra expenses are just not good. Matt is NOT a happy camper, let me tell you.

action mode

This what we are in right now.....action mode! We really liked the house..... so now we have to figure out to sell ours! Anyone want to buy a house??? :0)

big things

We are going to take a look at a house today. We weren't necessarily wanting to deal with this right now.....even though we have been talking about moving for a while. We were planning on preparing our house more to sell, and thought for sure it wouldn't be 'til spring until we'd be looking seriously. So-I guess you can never completely plan these things out. We have targeted a neighborhood, that we have been carefully watching. It is right next our home soccer fields, has all the same schools we are currently in, and is filled with many of our family's friends. Anyway, the house we are going to look at has everything on our list (except a front porch) and more. It was a model home--so it was all decked out from the start--and then the owners even put an extension onto the Master to include an additional sitting room and walk-in closets. It is completely dog ready (fenced in yard).....and has a bedroom for everyone, plus an office for Matt, a guestroom for visitors, and a finshed basement to entertain the kids and their friends. The best part is, while it was out of our price range when it first came on the market...it is now priced well under the appraisal value for a quick sale. The owners are very motivated, and the realtor says the price is negotiable. Of course, that also means we might be moving a whole lot sooner than we expected! Not sure how I am going to fit a move in to my already way too busy life!

We have been praying a lot about this whole thing......and I know that if it is meant to be, God will work out the details. And if it is not---than He will close doors.

proud mom

We have been anxiously awaiting for an interview with Luis Mojica to be posted on the Campton United Website. Luis is our neighbor and family friend. He has been a wonderful role model for our kids, and has always had a special relationship with Jacob, as they both have always had a love for soccer. It didn't seem to matter that there is an almost 10 year difference between their ages. Luis and Jacob have always hit it off, and would spend hours kickin gthe ball around on our front lawns. Luis is a sweet kid, and I am glad he is gettin gthe props he deserves! He is now a freshman at Northern Illinois University and has recieved a full scholarship there for soccer. He starts for their Huskies Men's Soccer Team, and has also been selected to play with the Chicago Fire PDL team (preprofessional). Needless to say, he is Campton United's pride and joy, as he has played with them since he was ten and not only has been successful--but has always displayed good sportsmanship
.
Anyway--we were given a heads up by the webmaster that the interview with him would be posted soon, and that he mentioned Jacob. Tonight the interview was posted. Once on the homepage of the site, there appears a very nice "note" from Mark MacKinnon the club's director. It is worth the read. Then under "club news" there is a link to a "Q&A with club alum Luis Mojica". Please click on that to read the interview. To our surprise, Luis speaks of Jacob Sterling as his favorite Campton Player. (WOW! He knows ALOT of Campton players!) Then there is a picture of Jacob playing on the field, and a sentence or two from Luis. Can I tell you how thrilled Jacob is?

Also on the homepage--under "snapshot" at the bottom of the page, is a picture of Nathan kicking a ball at one of his tournaments. And scrolling right next to that is "Team News" where Nathan's team (Roteiro) is mentioned. Also, under "club news" is a link to "tournament results and pictures". If you click on that, there is a nice picture of Jacob's team, and a write up by his coach about how they played in the Nike Cup- and under that, a team photo of Nathan's team with write up for their performance at the Glen Ellyn Classic Tournament.

PLEASE humor me, and go to the website... www.camptonunited.com and read about Luis Mojica and my boys. I am a proud mom! Can you tell??

who trained who?

My dog definately has me well trained. I know this is not a surprise for most of you......I just don't like admitting it! I am a sucker for puppy eyes. Emmy is really a sweet dog. She is a lovey, she is obedient, she is just a great dog. She also has completely figured out how to get exactly what she wants and how to get me out of my seat, or up from the laundry room, in split seconds. What started out as a way for us to know when she had to go out, has turned into a way she can manipulate me!
We have put jingle bells on our back door, and left them there while she was a puppy and being trained. Everytime she needed to go outside to pee, and we opened the door, and the bells would ring. Soon she was ringing the bells with her nose to tell us when she wanted to go outside. Worked great.
NOW--the stinker just rings the bells on the back door to get me to notice her. She'll ring the bells, sit there looking pathetic, and when I come near her to let her out, she gets up, and walks to her other designated areas to let me know what she wants. It really is quite smart. I have to give her props. BUT, it is also annoying! There is no way of distinguishing whether she is really desperate to pee, or if she is just bored and feels like having a bone. At least she is clear about those things, too---and she doesn't just stare at me expecting me to figure her out. She is very purposeful. Ring the bells, mom comes in, go walk to the bone cabinet and sit. Or go to the kitchen sink and sit for water. Or go to the food dishes and sit for food. Or go to the refridgerator, and HOPE it is time for her medicine (which gets put into hotdog pieces, thus the fridge clue). Sometimes I get so annoyed with her....especially if I was in the middle of something and she keeps ringing the bells over and over again (like it is really urgent).....and then she just saunters over to the bones. Then I just walk away and say NO! But most times, I just end up getting her what she wants. No wonder she keeps it up! It is working for her!

YES-I admit it. I am well trained. How embarrassing.

unexpected blessings

My life is so crazy these days with running around nonstop, that being able to carpool with someone willing to take my boys to soccer for the 4:30 start time was a huge blessing! NOW-I just have to take Ben to his Bass Lesson at 5pm, drive him home at 5:30pm, and then pick up Nathan at his soccer practice at 6pm. Usually, i'd also have to wait around for Jake to finish at 6:30pm before I could drive home.....but today-whew!-Jacob is being driven home, too. I only have Nathan and Ben driving duty today! It's the little things like this that I truly can appreciate!

I also had a good day at school--as I felt useful in helping my 3rd grade teacher develop her guided reading group plan. The district has taken on a new Language Arts program and everyone is scrambling trying to figure out how to fit it all in. Unfortunately, the plan she iniated just wasn't working. It is a matter of trial and error for everyone right now, and sharing knowledge, and ideas, etc is huge and invaluable. Anyway-I am thankful for those opportunities when I am asked for my opinion in how to carry out lesson plans. Who, me? I sat with Mrs. S today and between the two of us, tried to determine what assignments really fit into the objectives, what questions were purposeful, and what "fluff" could be weeded out. Then we discussed what plans could be done on what days--what the other students would be working on while the reading groups were meeting with the teacher or myself, etc. All in all- it is good practice for me to get my brain working through some of those things.

I spent a half hour in Mrs. C's class also, observing. (she's the prego one, and the class I may find myself teaching in this spring) It is nice to have the option of observing occasionally--just to see how the class flows. I am learning her expectations, her procedures, her record keeping practices, etc. Now I just hope it pays off come interview time. I am only able to get a half hour here, 15 minutes there, and trying to make every visit worthwhile. It is really amazing how every class has it's own personality. i am praying our "personalities" are a fit.

final results

So- the Nike Cup is over, and we are drained, but feeling okay. Both Jacob's and Nathan's teams came in second place. Jacob's team had a very tough time in the Championship game, and they just couldn't pull off a win. It was a difficult game to watch, as they just weren't playing their best. Jake personally had a fairly good game....he did some pretty footwork, megged a guy, (which always makes him happy) made some dependable crosses to our strikers, and even got a shot off himself, but unfortunately hit the post.

Nathan's team played okay, but won their last game, 5-1. It was almost a shutout, but the opposing team scored their first and only goal in the last minute of play. They came in second, because their overall points earned in the tournament were a little short of the team they lost to.

All in all, it was a good weekend.



This is a shot of Nathan in goal. He plays in goal pretty consistantly for at least half of each game. The other half, he is usually playing defense.

update on games

jacob tied his 8am game yesterday, 1-1....they should have won--they totally dominated the whole game, they just had trouble finishing (lots of near misses, or outstanding saves). Then they won their second game yesterday 5-0, a shutout. This morning, they won their third game, 3-1, which was a well-fought and well deserved win. Now they are off to the final championship game at 1pm this afternnon.

Nathan won their game yesterday afternoon, 5-0 also. They have their third and last game today at 2:15pm. Unfortunately, with their loss on Friday night, and how well the team they lost to is doing.....I don't think they have a shot at 1st place, unless the team currently in the 1st position totally messes up today. Even with a shutout at 2:25, we would not have the enough points to beat the three wins of the 1st place team. Oh well....they have been playing well, and we are proud of them!

Gotta go...more later.

bummer

We are back from nathan's first game of the tourney. As you can probally tell from my title, they didn't win. :0( Oh well....maybe next game?
We leave the house at 6:30am tomorrow for Jacob's first game. He plays at 8am. I'll report again tomorrow.

Nike Cup

Another tournament this weekend, if you can believe it. Both Jake and Nate are in this one....they play in the Nike Cup, located in Schaumburg, IL. The competition should be fierce, but the boys are ready to give it their all. After last weekend hitting 90 degrees....it is crazy to think that we will be lucky if we hit 50 degrees this weekend. Brrrr!
Here is our basic schedule:
Friday-Nathan game at 7:15pm under the lights
Saturday-Jacob game at 8am, Jacob again at 1pm, Nathan game at 2:15pm
Sunday-Jacob early game again at 8am, Jacob's U12 championship game (that they will hopefully be playing in) and finally Nathan playing once more at 2:15pm

If interested in keeping up with how they do, you can check the website: www.chicagoclassiccup.com

Go U9 Campton United Roteiro and U12 Campton United Navy!! :0)

Tournament pics

These photos were taken at Nathan's tournament. Hope you enjoy seeing them!! Nathan is the one on the bottom right in the team photo. The "action shot" was taken by another mom--and I was told it might appear on the Campton United website this week. We'll see!

www.camptonunited.com

Tournament weekend

I decided to post a part of an email that I sent my mom, talking about nathan's tournament weekend in Glen Ellyn. It was his first tourney, with his first traveling team. Here is the message.....sorry about the format!

Nathan had a soccer
tournament this weekend....and between the hecticness
of that and the heat/sun we were in, we were
completely wiped out by the time we got home everyday.
Yesterday it reached 90 degrees! I think we broke a
temperature record for October in Chicago. There was
also the marathon in Chicago yesterday-matt told me
that they had 300 marathon runners have to go to the
hospital (NWM)...3 are in critical condition...one
actually died! They eventually cancelled the race for
the first time in history. How terrible.

Nathan's team won their tournament. It was fun to
watch. Nathan plays defense most of the time when he
is on the field. He is quite good back there! He
plays "sweeper", which is the last guy to get past
before the goalie. He was doing a great job--not
letting anything by him. It is fun to hear people you
don't know say "that #7 is quick--watch him, he is
good."

He also plays goalie for a half of each game. He is
pretty good in there, too....although that position
always gets me nervous. It is the worst place to see
your kid as a mom. Lots of pressure! :0) During the
championship game....Nathan got hurt in goal. It was
a exciting, but very wild game. The parents were out
of control yelling--mainly due to the ref not
contoling what was happening on the field. Too many
kids were making dangerous plays, taking each other
out in illegal ways (basically going after the guy,
instead of the ball, etc.) We think, sometimes on
purpose, and sometimes by accident. Nevertheless,
the ref is supposed to talk to the kids when this
happens--in Jake's games the kids would have gotten
yellow cards for sure. BUT-the ref would either let
play continue, or just blow the whistle and make a
call, without telling the kid in fault that you can't
play like that. The parents, of course, were getting
more and more riled up....as kids were getting hurt on
the field. It was just not good....one of our parents
and one of the other parents were having a yelling
match by half time....and another one of our parents
and to step in and pull "ours" away. (Our parent is
hispanic, and I don't want to be stereotypical, but he
takes soccer VERY seriously, and is sometimes
embarrassing the way he is always yelling from the
sidelines....yesterday it was too much!) These kids
are just 8-9 years old! ANYWAY-the ref was not
contolling any of this.....which she should have done,
because it just kept escalating. Our first goalie got
laid out by this big tall kid on the other team.
Basically, knocking our goalie off his feet after he
had control over the ball. (This is illegal....once
the goalie has the ball, the field palyers are
supposed to back off). When that goalie was removed
from the field, hurt--our coach put Nathan in. Nathan
played the rest of the first half in goal, then
started the second half in goal, too. The same kid,
came at Nathan when he was saving a shot. The kid slid
into nathan cleats up (also normally getting a yellow
card) when Nathan was crouched down low. Matt was on
his feet yelling that the kid had his cleats up, and I
had to restrain myself from running onto the field.
Nathan was in a little ball on the field (in a
position like he was playing leap frog) and he wasn't
getting up. The ref called our coach onto the
field.....and by that time I could see that nate
wasn't seriously injured (so I relaxed) but the
parents were going wild. Nathan was pulled off, and
it took a while finding another kid willing to get in
goal after the whole display, and history of what had
been happening to the goalies! Nathan's right hand is
still hurting today, as I think his hand wrapped
around the ball got most of the kid's cleated foot.
(He did save that goal by the way, even though
initially the ball bobbled with the impact--Nathan
still was able to dive onto it after he was hurt.)

The game ended in a tie....which meant they had to
play two more 5 minute halves to determine the winner.
We scored two goals during overtime, and they didn't
score any....so we won. WHEW! The boys were pretty
excited. :0) Nathan's hand is still hurting today,
but there is no obvious bruising, and it isn't
swollen.....so, we will just wait and see.

Matt's wrist is still a mess......he did find out that
he had torn cartilidge. And he needs to continue
wearing the brace.....and limit movement for it to
heal. He has another appointment at the end of the
month to monitor progress....but so far, it still is
really hurting him. They did mention the possibility
of surgery if it doesn't heal on its own....but, we
are praying that it won't come to that.

Scarecrow Festival

I am hoping that our family will take advantage of this festival in our town this year......we should. We don't always make it, but I know the kids would like to go. We are lucky to have such nice family opportunities right here.....we really need to make a point of doing them.

Take a look at what I am talking about and browse around the site...there is a link to what else our town offers....maybe some time you'd like to visit St. Charles yourself, and hang with the Sterlings! :0)

www.scarecrowfest.com

floating holiday (???)

Today I am taking my "floating holiday". I get to pick one day of the year that I don't need to go to work when scheduled, and it doesn't count for a sick day. I chose today, because I now have a 4 day weekend, and because the boys were gong to be home from school, too. It will not be a rest day, though. (No-never!) I have soooo much to do always, I can't afford it. Honestly, it has been one commitment after another around here.....I don't usually get to sit down until about 9pm at night, unless I am eating or going to the bathroom....or quick checking my messages on email in between driving or picking up my children.
Today, my list consists of this:
-go down to the District Office to get my sub paperwork started/completed
-take Nathan to his friend's house (in which the mom, and my friend, wants me to hang around for a while for a cup of tea....I would really love to sit and drink a cup of tea and chat like a real person.....but I am honestly trying to figure out if I can afford to take the time to do this!)
-vacuum, dust, straighten, do laundry.......you get the idea, my house is a disaster--and Matt has been getting frustrated with me about it. (I am getting frustrated, too, believe me. I can't stand how messy things are around here, but honestly, I haven't been in my own house for more than an hour at a time.....and when I finally do get here, I run around trying to get the kids stuff together for the next practice or I flitter about going through mail, picking up random piles of whatever, wherever, that have accumulated while I wasn't looking, etc.....I haven't gotten down to the business of heavy duty cleaning in a while!)
-Find all the paperwork, and fill it out for nathan's tournament this weekend....I already did the paperwork for next weekend's tourney, but that is because I could send that in....I can't with this one.
-Gather all the uniform stuff together for both jacob and Nate....I am sure some of it needs to be washed.
-Start going through the University of Phoenix papers about Education Classes---and start deciding which classes I want to take. I need to take two before my maybe long term sub position starts.....and that is not a lot of time away, if you figure I have to fit in two classes by then!)
-Try to remember to eat something other than junk I grab on the run--and drinking water would be good, too!
-Take jacob to his game.....which starts at 7pm, but since it is in Highland Park, and we will be driving in the midst of rush hour.....we will have to leave by like 4:30 at the latest.
-deal with whiney children (Jacob) about how mean and ridiculously overprotective I am because I don't want him going into downtown St. Charles with a friend to see the Scarecrow Festival. (I admit, that in and of itself, the festival would probally be fine for him to be at....but there are going to be like a gazillion people there, the traffic is really crazy, and it just doesn't seem safe.) Jacob is right at that stage that he thinks he should be able to do all this stuff that older kids do, because technically he is in middle school now....but he is still very much a little boy! (It doesn't help that he has a friend that has WAY too much freedom.....and I am always the mom that has to say no to things.)

I am sure there will be more things to do that I am not thinking of....there always is. Like, a pack of kids coming over and all deciding they need drinks and snacks....and then leaving the kitchen with spills and crumbs and junk everywhere.....or something. As it is, we already have an extra kid in the house, because Jake's "very free" friend slept over last night. I am sure that is why first thing this morning I have already been dealing with questions about the Scarecrow Festival, and possibly going to the new park (that is too far, also, without an adult), or going to a movie, etc. etc. I haven't even spoken to Ben yet--I am sure he has grand plans for the day, too, in which I am in the dark about right now. I am sure it will involve me driving him somewhere.....or something. He is at his other home right now (his friend Aaron's). That is why I don't know what he'll come up with yet. Actually, if he was home he'd most likely be still sleeping. He is a teenager, you know, so he'll sleep until noon if I let him.

It is scary when going to work everyday seems like the break you so needed! But, I have been feeling like that lately!

ugh, my rug

ODE TO MY POOR CARPET

Ugh, my rug,
it needs to be cleaned.
It needs to be scrubbed,
it needs to be steamed!

Between the dog and the kids,
with dirty feet, and butt skids (okay, gross)
I am about to go mad
seeing my new carpet go bad....

Maybe its time to just call "the guy"
to come clean it now, before I cry.
I can't let it continue like this anymore-
there is just too much dirt for even a floor!



(Can you tell I am feeling a bit of guilt for slacking on my house cleaning duties since I started working?) And I feel I should mention that it is my dog doing the occasional butt rub on the carpet (not my boys!)......AND it doesn't leave any noticable marks....it just fit nicely (?) into my short diddy. :0)

lemon jello

Ben was just telling me about a friend of his friend's mother (did you get that?) that has a funny name. Her name is pronounced Lay-moan-zhello, but is spelled Lemonjello. That cracks me up. And yes, if you were wondering, she is african american. I am not saying that as any kind of statement......more like I have noticed over the years that african americans have the most creative names. I think this one takes the cake for me though. :0)

Creeped out

I am pretty creeped out right now, because I don't remember doing things I apparently did this afternoon. I had a very busy day today....well, not really, but I had a typical busy day. I got up, got the kids out the door for school, and then took myself to work. The third grade teachers were at a learning conference for the day, so I did some things I normally do, and some things I don't normally do. I corrected a lot of papers, monitored a particualr student, hung a new bulletin board, made some copies, filed papers, helped some students with group work, etc. Then I picked up Nathan, came home and answered a few emails (that I don't remember doing), and visited a couple of friends websites. Then I set out on the task of preparing the paperwork needed for nathan's soccer tournament. I am the team coordinator, so it is my job to make sure all things official are in order. I took care of some team business--inputting the weekend's game scores into the NISL website, and then set out to finish off paperwork needed for the upcoming tournament. I couldn't find specific forms needed to complete the process, and got a little panicked about that.....since it was supposed to be postmarked by today. (Long story....but I will not take complete credit for waiting so long to get going on this......I only found out about it as we were leaving out the door to our first game of the weekend on Friday night.....and we had games everyday of the weekend, and somewhere in the process, I forgot about it until today--when apparently it was supposed to be mailed.) Okay-so the paperwork I needed was not easy to find online, and long story short....I had to wait to talk with other paperwork submitters (other team coordinators) I would see when picking up jacob at soccer practice.
ANYWAY-it was while I was waiting for Jacob that I noticed something was maybe not right with me. I was not able to complete sentences properly....and my mind seemed a bit jumbled. By the time i got home, I was feeling rather fuzzy. Matt ordered pizza while I was getting Jake....and we basically ate as soon as I walked in the door. Unfortunately, the fuzziness just got worse, and I found it quite difficult to connect two thoughts. I knew I needed to finish the paperwork, but I couldn't seem to think in any organized way to get it done. Matt had to take over. My friend Kerri called, and all through the phone call, i was inately aware that I didn't think I was making too much sense. My thoughts were just not connecting. The worst of the fuzziness was about an hour ago. I felt very spacey--like I was on some sort of drug or something. My kids were even teasing me about it. I couldn't connect any of my thoughts, and it wasn't until then that I realized I didn't remember sending any of the emails I sent this afternoon. I reread my "sent" messages of my email....and it was sureal. I honestly didn't remember writing them. BUT-they made sense. I didn't sound spacey......but I also didn't remember writing any of it. And YES that is very creepy.
Anyway--I am not sure what happened, but I don't like it. Matt told me to start drinking water---and I think that helped some, as I am feeling much more clearheaded right now. I really got a bit scared though.....like maybe I was having some sort of medical thing happening. BUT-now I feel much better, and unless i experience that whole creepy thing again, I will consider it maybe lack of hydration. I think I did drink hardly anything today......and since Matt kind of forced me to drink a water bottle quickly---I have been feeling a lot better, and less fuzzy headed. I suppose I have a lot going on, and I did have a "stress" thing happen a few years ago, where I thought I might be going crazy because I kept forgetting things. As soon as I lightened my load, and cleared my schedule, it was like a miracle happened---i suddenly felt like myself again.
I hope that was not what was going on here.....because my load is not going to get any lighter in the near future. If anything it will get more busy---especially if I get the long term sub position in March.
Something to pray about---for sure.