And they marched in "two by two"

In stark contrast to the drought of 2007, where we barely received any rain from May - December, this year is stacking up to be the year of the flood.

I'm pretty certain this morning that I saw some giraffes and elephants marching by the house - two by two - with their rain gear on.

It has rained so much that the ground is just saturated, making it tough for soccer games and baseball games, and anything outside. It has rained 2-3 days each week for quite a few weeks now.

But the grass is green and the trees are blooming and the bushes are large and bushy.

$200 closer

I have had a pretty good fundraising week - and so has Mike.

I received a couple of big donations this week, quite a few small ones and then today, I set up a table at the local grocery store to collect donations.

I was reminded how much I hate to fund raise. Ick. Just hate it. I can speak to congressmen and legislative aides and ask them to support legislation, but I'm really uncomfortable when it comes to asking everyday people to part with their money.

But I came away $200 closer to my goal. And much of that was at $1 and $2 increments, so it was a lot of people giving a little for JDRF.

If you want to see how my fundraising is going, check out my walk page at the link above.

Changes

After a long time with the same template, I'm going to upgrade. Blogger has added a lot of new features I haven't been taking advantage of because I had such a customized template.

So, if you come in and parts are missing or incomplete, its because its in process and hopefully will be completed soon.

Not broken!

I guess it was just a matter of time. We've made it all these years with no serious injuries from sports. We have quite a few years left to go, so I'm prepared for the injuries to come.

Michael hurt his big toe at Tae Kwon Do yesterday. He "stubbed" it on the mat while they were playing soccer at the end of class. Mike picked him up and took him to soccer, so I didn't see it until later.

When I looked at it this morning, I was convinced it was broken. It had all the teltale signs of a break - two dark purple lines across the toe that looked like break points, and swelling and bruising spreading into his foot from his toe.

But, the x-ray that was taken today showed no breaks. So, its just jammed, sprained, or dislocated. But he can't run, and he walks with a limp.

Luckily, he doesn't have a soccer game tomorrow, as that is a lot of running. He will probably have to sit and watch his baseball game tomorrow since he can't run.

But, it was just a matter of time before we started dealing with the injuries.

More pitching

Well, it appears that Michael is one of the strongest pitchers on his team. He pitched again earlier this week - in their 3rd game (so he has pitched in their 1st and 3rd games).

It was COLD that day - one of those days you wonder why you aren't sitting inside drinking hot chocolate, its so cold. Michael had forgotten to put his sleeves on under his jersey, so he was COLD! When I found out he was going to pitch, I made him put on a sweatshirt - but it was Samantha's. He didn't want to have anything to do with that! His coach came out to find out what was wrong and I told him he was mad a ME. When I told him why, his coach also told him that he has to have a warm arm so he doesn't get any injuries.

But, Michael went out there and did ok. He would have done better, I'm sure, if he weren't so cold. But, the father of the coach was there - he has coached for years in another little league that has been very successful with multiple trips to state finals - and he said that he had great control for a child his age.

So, I guess this is his destiny - and we'll do our best to nurture that and protect his arm so we aren't dealing with rotator cuff injuries by the time he is 10!

Practice pedaling

Emma had one thing she wanted to ask Santa Claus for Christmas - a Dora tricycle. So, that's what she got from Santa Claus, including a Dora helmet. She pedaled it around the house for the most of the winter time, getting stronger and stronger. By the time the weather warmed up, she was ready to "practice pedaling" outside. So, we walk the tricycle down the driveway for her and get her helmet on, and off she goes. She's a real pro now, although she still tips over from time-to-time if she tries to turn around too quickly.

She asks to "practice pedaling" a lot!

Soccer season has begun

This past weekend, we had our first soccer games of the season. It gets pretty crazy with both of them in soccer and Michael in baseball, but for this day, we were all able to see both games. Oma and Opa were even in town and able to see the games.

So, I thought I'd share a few photos of the kids at their best

I guess this was inevitable too

I guess if you have a relatively talented, left-handed boy who likes baseball, and is pretty good at it, that he'll end up being a pitcher.

Baseball season started Saturday with our first game. The Pirates vs. the Orioles. He's in the Single-A division, which plays 2 innings with a "pitching machine", 2 innings of "player pitch" and then 2 more innings with a "pitching machine".

At Michael's age, they don't really "focus" on one position; instead they rotate the kids around to a variety of positions throughout the season (and actually throughout the game). He played third base, left field, 1st base and pitcher in Saturday's game. He was pitcher during an inning where they actually PITCHED.

Mike had come home from practice a week or so ago and said Michael had thrown some at practice and had done pretty well. He can actually throw the ball pretty hard for a 7-year-old. And while it isn't exactly accurate yet, he still gets it near the plate.

So, we get into the 4th inning and the coach called his name to pitch. Michael goes on the mound and takes a few practice pitches. The coach helps him with his stride (he basically can't pitch a full windup yet, just from the stride) and then the batters come up. He faced 5-6 batters (I didn't keep exact count) and in the end, got all 3 outs of the inning with strike outs!! (See, I was building up the suspense to the great ending!)

So, I guess he'll be pitching some more this season!