Soccer Fun and Creole Festival

I must admit that I'm totally embracing this soccer mom thing.  I love watching my kids play soccer on Saturday morning and cheering on all the other players with proud parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles.  It's been fun spending our Saturday mornings playing indoor soccer.  Spring sport sign-ups are now, so B and I will have to decide if/what we will sign the kids up for.  We have enjoyed this winter soccer season and the kids have liked it too.

Last Saturday, February 7th, was a creole festival in Houston.  We wanted to check it out since it's the Mardi Gras season, and Lorenzo came with us.  I must say that we were disappointed with the 'Creole' part of it.  By the time we got there, we had missed the parade, but there also wasn't any food left.  I think there were only 3 food booths to start with and one was Chinese food.  We ended up eating at the cafe which wasn't creole, but it was still good.  We walked around for a bit, but left, feeling unsatisfied.  We look forward to eating our King Cake from granddad more than ever!

NASA

One good thing about living in a big city is all the cool stuff there is to do.  Marcus has been wanting to go to NASA for a while, and so we made plans to go while my parents would be in town.  Their 11th wedding anniversary, actually, and they wanted to spend it with us.  When they arrived, we went to dinner at the Empanada House

 to celebrate and then back home for king cake.  Saturday we were up early for our NASA trip.  The plan was to meet the cousins (and parents) there at 10:00 when it opened. I think we arrived at 10:15

and made our way to the tram tour.  I read the brochure and since the weather was questionable for late afternoon, we decided to do the tram tour while it was still dry.  The Marsh's and Hantla's were not far behind us, and caught up to us when we were finished with our tram tour.  The tram tour was very cool.  The building where it ended was my favorite because it had a display for each of the Apollo trips and a little blurb about each one.  I found it interesting to read about the astronauts and the different experiences that happened with each trip.  I would read their stories and stand in amazement at how God created humans to be so smart and invent machines that could fly into space and land on the moon etc...in AWE.  The boys were most impressed with how big the rockets were especially the one that was inside.  After the tram tour, we went through an exhibit that showed various parts of space adventures including moon rocks and a walk through of a shuttle where the men and women would eat, sleep, and shower. The kids' favorite part was the angry birds play area that had it's own space theme activities.

  We used the play area as a buffer when we needed a filler while we waited for shows to start.  We at lunch in their cafe with the family and then watched a few more informational videos.  I learned about Curiosity, the robot that is investigating Mars (I think).

 I was very impressed with how the tires used Morse code to leave an imprint of the creators.  We also watched a sad, but good, video about the space shuttles and the different ways those trips ended.  That's when W fell asleep and we knew it was about our time to leave NASA.  Rarely does W go without taking a nap and E always takes an afternoon nap, so when 3:00 came, our kids were on the verge of major meltdowns.  I think it actually happened if I remember correctly that W was on the floor, A was in the corner crying, and E was in her stroller screaming....yeah, it was time to bounce.  We drove about an hour home, and all was good.  We made grilled cheese for dinner and watched Carolina defeat the cardinals in the wild card game of the NFL playoffs.  Sunday we went to church like normal and watched football during the afternoon hours.  The kids went to their Awana club while B and I took my parents (and E) to Pappa's BBQ for dinner.  It's near College Park BC and we wanted some adult conversation without interruptions.  After picking the kids up from Awana, we headed home and put everyone to bed.  My mom and Chuck left early Monday morning (like 6) and B went to work like a normal day.  It was a fast visit, but a very fun one and a great way to end our Christmas Vacation!

Roller Skate Outing

I've finally made a friend.  Her name is Erica and she's a mom from my MOPs group.  We met the first meeting and since she was a familiar face, I sat next to her our second meeting and we just hit it off.  She's got 2 kids: Hannah is 4 (Abe's school age) and Aaron is 2 (between W and E).  Her kids are very well behaved and I believe we have common parenting goals.  I first noticed how she made her kids stay seated while eating a picnic lunch one day after MOPs in the courtyard.  There were 4 of us together and 2 moms let their kids get down and run around while eating, but Erica and I both made our kids eat first before getting down.  It wasn't a big deal and I'm not sure anyone else noticed, but I definitely did (since it's a pet peeve of ours).  After that, I told B that I think there was potential for us to be friends.  I asked him if I could host a play-date and he said 'go for it'.  This was in November and I invited Erica and her 2 kids, over to play and eat lunch with us after a storytime.  She accepted and it was a really nice time together.  Since then, we've eating at Chickfila together after MOPs, met at parks and playgrounds, and her entire family came over for the super bowl.  I'm so happy to finally have a friend!  But this post is supposed to be about roller skating, which has to do with Erica. 

So on Fridays, the Dairy Ashford Rollar Rink has toddler skate time, where kids can skate and/or push strollers and riding toys/scooters.  Since R was off from school, I decided to take my four on Friday, January 2nd.  B needed to do some school work, so he stayed home.  I met Erica there are our kids had a great time.  R stayed on her skates most of the time, but A and W took them off 5 minutes into it.  I wasn't surprised though.  W rode his tricycle around, and A mostly rode his scooter.  E had a blast just running around and pushing a little stroller.  Another mom from MOPs, Jenny, came, but she wasn't there for very long. 

Abe with Hannah

New Years 2014-2015

New Year's Eve was so much fun this year.  We usually have fun on NYE, but being with just the siblings was pretty awesome.  B's parents flew home NYE during the day so only the 4 sibs plus spouses were going to be together at the Marsh House.  We all gathered during the afternoon sometime and cooked dinner together, while the kids swam.  We had a taco bar for dinner that included both hard shells and tortillas with beef and chicken and all the sides you could imagine.  Mandy made delicious puppy chow and these other pretzel/rolo/M&M snacks that were addictive.  I know I was WAY over my calorie count!  The expectations were very laid back and just to have the kids in bed by about 9 pm so the adults could have the night together.  After dinner, the entire family played Just Dance on the Wii.

  The dad's went first and sang That's What Makes you Beautiful by One Direction and Livin' La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin as well as Eye of the Tiger and maybe some others.  The kids loved watching the daddies perform.  The mommies danced as well but only to 2 songs and then the boy and girl cousins took turns.  I laughed so hard and it was so much fun!  We put the littles to bed (E and Asher) and then let the older kids stay up and watch a Madagascar Countdown to the New Year. They all got a cup of Sparkling Grape Juice to toast and then we put them all to bed.

 

Once the children were in bed and pass out, we adults enjoyed cheese and chocolate fondue.  Jaime and Anna got it all set up with bread, apples, cauliflower, marshmallows, strawberries and I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting. I wasn't even hungry, but I kept eating and eating.  I definitely thought about the times I've been with B to the melting pot and I think I'd like to go again for our next anniversary.  I'm sure there are a dozen here in Houston and we've got a whole year to plan.  After fondue, 6 of got into the hot tub for a nice cozy ringing in of the year new.  We watched fireworks from a few streets over and talked/laughed together about anything and everything.  It was so nice to have uninterrupted (sort of) adult time. I think we finally went inside around 12:45 am and I know I was in bed asleep by 1:15.  So long 2014....you were exciting.

New Years Day started around 7:30 for my kids.  B had to leave to run home for Cooper since no one was dog sitting.  I fed my 4 breakfast and they were watching TV and playing Wii waiting for others to wake up.  After a little while, most of the family was awake and the children wanted to swim.  We let our 3 bigs get in the pool, but not E because it was just too cold.  E had some good adult interaction while inside with all of us.  The kids always have a blast swimming and I'm so grateful that they can swim without floaties.  I have a peace about them swimming without me watching every single minute, plus, I know the other cousins are fantastic swimmers as well.  We ate lunch and then headed back to our house after lunch time.  We had had a great time, but needed to get home to Cooper and back to our neck of the woods.  We had to do some cleaning because my parents were coming in the next day to celebrate their anniversary with us. 

As I reflect on 2014, I'd have to say the move to TX was by far the most challenging and memorable event.  I had such a tough time leaving my life in NC.  I was tempted so many times to resent B for this decision and uprooting me and the family for his job.  I try to give any of those feelings up to the Lord because I know they are deceiving emotions.  I also know B was sad to leave OUR life but he was excited about starting OUR new life in TX.  Six month after the move, I'm doing good.  The kids are great and enjoy it here.  I still get sad sometimes and I have my weak moments when I cry because I miss my friends, my church, and my school.  However, we are blessed.  I can't complain about anything because now I can stay home with my children and raise them.  I get to eat lunch with R at school and with B at work.  I can clean my house, do the dishes and laundry, and watch soap operas (if I wanted to).  There's so much flexibility with being a stay-at-home mommy!  I see the perks and benefits and understand why so many moms want and desire the opportunity.  This won't be the last time we move and now I know that God will provide and is in control.

Indoor Soccer Stars

Of course my dream is that one of my kids would love soccer and want to play soccer at a competitive level like I did growing up....but I'm realistic enough to know that it might not be the case.  Either way, we signed the 3 bigs up for indoor soccer through the YMCA.  The season runs from January to March and A/W are on the same team and B is their coach.  R is on a 1st-2nd grade team and her coach is Coach Reuben.  So far the kids are loving it and they've each won a game and lost a game.

R's team practices on Tuesdays at 6 at Hicks Elementary.  We've gotten the schedule down to where I feed the kids dinner at 5 and then we leave the house at 5:35 to get her to practice 10 minutes early.  B meets us at practice and we bring his dinner to him there.  R is a bit timid when there are a bunch of people trying to kick at the ball, but when she happens to have a chance to kick it, she doesn't shy away from it.  Goalie isn't her strength just because when it's coming at her fast, it startles her.  Her coach wants to practice her at forward and middle to see if he can get her to be a good passer.  We will see.

The boy's team practice on Wednesdays at 6 at Hearne Elementary.  We pretty much have the same schedule with dinner at 5:00, and ready to walk out the door at 5:35 except B comes home, changes, and eats his dinner in the car.  Since he's the coach, he wants to be at practice a few minutes early to talk to parents and greet the kids.  Lorenzo is his assistant coach and it's a huge help since B has usually 12 three to five year old players who require constant redirection.  The 5 year old kids aren't as needy since they are in kindergarten or pre-K, but we have a few 3 year olds that are all over the place.  Sometimes their parents have to hold their hand to keep them focused and even that doesn't help.  Coaching this team is really a 2-3 man job.  B has supportive parents and they have been very happy with him thus far. 

 All the games are on Saturdays at Youngblood Intermediate.  The boys play at either 8 or 9 and then R's team is a later game.  We've enjoyed having soccer fill up our Saturday mornings so far and we are hoping (I'm keeping my fingers crossed) that at least one of the 3 will want to continue and play spring outdoor soccer when the time comes.  For right now, they are all having a blast (which is most important) and learning some skills.  Being this is the first time for any organized team thing, I'm very proud of them.