Sporty Simciks

It was a busy ball weekend.  On Friday, Aunt Laura, Ellie and Charlie came to visit from The Woodlands while Frank and Uncle David went to Pittsburgh to celebrate the life of sweet, loving Aunt Mary Beth.

The Woodlands Simciks were able to score tickets to Leo’s soccer game on Saturday. Later that day we went to feed the ducks (which is sort of a sport especially when someone goes for a swim!) and on Sunday (after the gang left and daddy returned) we went to a Frisco RoughRiders Baseball Game with our friends, The Blakes. 

Here are the pictures, out of order (since that's how they posted!) 

 

Gus was so excited about the baseball game, until he realized he would not be playing in it. "I hit baseball. Gus baseball." When he left he kept saying "More Baseball." He even said it in his crib after we put him to bed.

I like how he puts one leg up, like such a big boy baseball player.

 

 Rowan, Liam, Rick, Frank, Gus, Leo.

 The Gators looked great, playing against the mostly female purple team. Leo even scored one of the goals! Ellie was the best cheerleader!

And then our adventure at the duck pond:

 

 

 Gus tumbled into the water and landed face up. He was covered in yucky pond water but other than that, he was fine. He just cried for a little bit but was over it by the time we got his clothes off:

All in all, we had a ball! 

Belated Tag Poppin'

I'm about eight weeks behind writing about this! Pardon my tardiness and read on:

Frank was actually the first person to tell me about the song, "Thrift Shop" (better known as "I'm gonna pop some tags...") by Macklemore. When I said I hadn't heard it he came back with something about living under a rock to which I complained about being forced to listen to Miss Gail and the Jumping Jam Band while in the car.

But I eventually heard it and was disgusted. Here was another rap song about violence and what not. I changed the station. I had to change it a lot because it seemed like it was always on. "Ugh, there's that 'Pop Some Tags' song again," I'd think.

I'm gonna pop some tags
Only got twenty dollars in my pocket 
I-I-I'm hunting, looking for a come-up
This is...awesome (in the real version they say "f@c#ing awesome.") 

So he's poppin' tags, hunting, looking for a "come-up?" Clearly they're talking about guns, right?

But then Frank told me what it was about. I'm way not up to speed on my gun slang! It was about going to thrift stores. They pop the tags off when they get home! Oh, and "come-up" is having an advantage over someone else. In this case, Macklemore has the advantage because he has better clothes at bargain prices.

So I started to not change the station every time I heard it. And then I started to kinda like it. I especially liked this part:

They be like oh! That Gucci, that’s hella tight.
I’m like Yo! That’s 50 dollars for a t-shirt.
Limited edition, let’s do some simple addition, 
50 dollars for a t-shirt, that’s just some ignorant bitch.
I call that getting swindled and pimped
I call that getting tricked by a business.
That shirt’s hella dough
And having the same one as six other people in this club is a hella don't
Peep game, come take a look through my telescope
Trying to get girls from a brand? Man, you hella won’t.
Man, you hella won’t.

I mean, besides the minor explicit lyrics in that section, there's a really good message there. It's good for the kids! They SHOULD think it's uncool to pay $50 for a t-shirt. They SHOULD think they're getting tricked by a business. Maybe some of them will actually start shopping at thrift shops. They'll start dressing like someone's grandpa, my second favorite part: 

I'm a take your grandpa's style, I'm a take your grandpa's style

No for real, ask your grandpa, can I have his hand-me-downs? Thank you  

And besides the almost-clean, healthy message lyrics, it's grown on me to the point where I think it's catchy. The kids and I have traded in Miss Gail for Macklemore. Leo likes the chorus best ("only got twenty dollars in my pocket") because he says the rest sounds like another language. 

Oh, but he also likes the very end, where the little girl says, "Is that your grandma's coat?" 

We might even be inspired to go pop some tags and get our own come-up at preschool and the playground and soccer practice. 

The Start of Soccer

This Saturday was our introduction into the world of Saturday morning sports. Leo had his first soccer game. His team is called the Gators. It's for ages three and four so we barely squeezed Leo in. We're not going to mention that he'll be five in a few weeks. We're hoping he can be some sort of ringer. 

 I told both boys on Friday that we were going to go to Leo's soccer game the next day. Gus said, "No Le-lo soccer ball. Gus soccer ball." And then he continued to remind me about "Gus soccer ball" the rest of the day. "Yes, Gus," I told him. "I will remember to bring a soccer ball for you too!" But now I've figured out that Gus calls the actual game "soccer ball" like baseball, basketball, football. So he meant he was going to play in the game! 

So here is Gus on the way to the soccer ball field. He ended up crying most of the time because he was so upset that he couldn't play. 

We had no idea a soccer game for 3-4 year olds would be like watching a Tom Hanks movie--we laughed; we cried. Well, the parents laughed and the kids cried. 

The other team was clearly made up of nine year olds who were just small for their age. I mean, they actually knew which way to go! And when they scored within one minute of playing, Leo was pissed. He put on his angry face: 

Here he is explaining his plot to his teammates: it involved some paper that he was going to set out as booby traps. I'm not kidding. "We need paper!" he kept insisting.

Luckily, other kids from both teams had emotional outbursts.

I like this one. It looks like this kid Dante (who was pretty good) is talking strategy with his Gator teammates. 

Here's a video of Leo almost making a goal. There was a better play (not caught on video) where Leo assisted in an actual goal!

But alas, it was not enough for the Gators to prevail over the Tigers. 

But the important thing is not whether you win or lose; it's if you think you won. And that's what Leo thinks. He also thinks he scored two goals. I'm not going to tell him the truth. He might set a booby trap for me. 

The Pirates of Playa del Carmen

Frank and I took a trip with our friends, the Robinsons, to Playa del Carmen to celebrate both couples' ten year wedding anniversaries. I won't bore you (or make you green with envy!) with pics of our trip. Instead, here are a couple of shots of the boys wearing their shirts we got them in Mexico. 

Leo's says "Pirate for Hire, Playa del Carmen" and Gus' says "Blackbeard's Sunset Cruises, Playa del Carmen." Gus' also says "We get the booty" which makes me giggle. 

And yes, Gus is almost as big as Leo. Just five pounds to go! 

This is where I found Gus after breakfast. Who does he think he is, Tyler Robinson?

Okay, fine. Here are a few pics of our trip :)

Jolly Rogers

As you know, I'm not a hoarder. But I do love getting new things for the house. Right now it's okay because we need a lot of things.  But one day I'll have to stop. (Or perhaps just replace?)

Every time we get a new little something for the house, it's like new eye candy for a couple of weeks. Frank says it's how I get my jollies. And when he says that, that makes me think of the Jolly Roger since Leo is into pirate stuff.

When I got my lamp in the living room, every time I would walk by it I'd get a little giddy. It's like a little surprise for your eyes. Eventually I get used to it and my eyes just run over it like they do the toys. Here's one that gave me jolly rogers for at least a month:


This cute little table for the entry to our bedroom.

I'm also pleasantly surprised every time I walk in our kitchen and I see the new yellow paint that Frank's dad put on the walls last week. I love the color, but to tell you the truth, I think I really get my jolly rogers from the smell. Nothing like a paint fume high.

So here's my latest: We just took down the baby gate between the living room and the stairs. Part of me is a little sad because it means Gus is growing up. But that's just a little part. A bigger part of me gets my jolly rogers every time I see the unobstructed view of our foyer.

The bad news is this too will wear off. The good news is it doesn't have to be a big thing or an expensive thing--a new picture on the wall, fresh seat cushions on the kitchen chairs or this goofy sign I got from Hobby Lobby: "The Laundry Room: Loads and Loads of Fun."

Frank says he thinks we need a thicker comforter for our bed. I said, "I'll get right on it! That's how I get my jolly rogers!"

Dove Hunting

Leo's preschool class is called "The Doves" (or "Lovey Doveys" as his teachers say). Today they had their class Easter Egg hunt. Frank had a rare vacation day and since Granny Jo was in town, we made it a family affair. (Popsy stayed home with a sleeping Gus.) 

Here are all the Lovey Doveys. They are screaming "Happy Easter!" 

This egg hunt was very clever: The teachers asked each kid to bring in 14 eggs, numbered 1-14. Then each kid was assigned a number and he/she could only pick up the eggs with their number! Leo was number 10. It was also written on his hand so every time he would pick up an egg, he would compare the number on the egg to the number on his hand.

Each kid got 14 eggs which makes for some happy doves!

Shoo Shoo

Behold, Gus has bestowed a name upon his blanket and thy name is Shoo Shoo.

We do not know where this came from; it's not like it's a variation on another word for blanket. We just started noticing that when he said "shoo shoo," he was pointing to one of his three blankets. 

I usually wash two blankets at a time but today I tried to see if I could get away with washing all three. So right before nap I offered him a different blanket. It's SO similar. It's blue, soft and has bindings on the edge AND the entire back. It's a superior shoo shoo IMO.  It does not have stars all over it like his though. He wouldn't even sample it. He pulled it off the chair, threw it and said, "No, shoo shoo!" (As in "That is NOT my shoo shoo!") Fine. Sleep with your stinky shoo shoo. 

Later we were about to have a picnic. I said to Leo and Gus, "I just need to get the blanket. That is the first step to a successful picnic, the blanket." When I returned from the garage with the picnic blanket, I found Gus waiting by the back door, his shoo shoo in hand. Of course, he heard what I said and brought the blanket to the picnic! 

Here are a few shots of Gus with his precious shoo shoo: 

Greedy boy, bringing two shoo shoos in the car when we already have one in there! 

"Look, we're a package deal. If I go, the shoo shoo goes." 

Clinging to his shoo shoo and sleeping like an angel.

A Perfect 10 for Leo

Leo took a trial gymnastics class this week. I thought it was a big success, not because he was an amazing gymnast but because he listened, cooperated and had fun. If you think gymnastics is just for girls, well, it mostly is. But there were a few boys in his class and in another part of the gym, the high school boys gymnasts were practicing and made me think Leo could be like them one day. Or maybe even an Olympian! And speaking of Olympians, this gym in Frisco is where Olympians Carly Patterson and Nastia Liukin train(ed)! 

Here are a few videos from the class. Let me preface this by saying 1). I took these through the window in the waiting room so you can't hear anything (except my narration) and please excuse the glare. 2). Leo is in the white long-sleeve shirt and workout pants and is also one of the only boys. 3). They're kinda boring. 

Okay, now watch if you are still interested! 

Night night, Le-lo

Gus is into night night books. He calls Goodnight Moon  "Night night, Moon" and he calls Goodnight Train "Night night, choo choo." When he says night night to the rest of us it's so cute. He doesn't have the intonation down right so it comes out sounding funny but adorable. He loves to say night night to Leo ("Le-lo.") Leo is usually too busy to respond though. Here, I captured a cute bedtime pic (thanks for the pirate pjs, grandmother!) and a video. 

Media Culpa

We saw this house that we are currently living in a year ago this week. I liked everything about it except two things--there was no window over the kitchen sink and there was a media room. See, I had actually written down on a list of "wants/don't wants" that I did not want a media room. Every one we saw looked like a dark storage closet (not that there are bright storage closets).

I had this theory (which I still think is pretty solid) that media rooms were something popular way back in the early to mid 2000s. It was an inexpensive way to make houses bigger since media rooms don't have closets or windows. Since they're expensive to outfit (with projectors or giant TVs and recliners with cup holders), most people just use them as extended playrooms or junk areas.

So anyway, we got the house with the media room and Frank made it his priority to do that room first. He got the giant television and started hanging out in there almost every night, watching Lost. I figured a man cave was better than a storage room. I still didn't have any use for it though.

But then we got a sectional! It has one of those double lounging chairs on the end and I love it. In fact, I'm sitting on it right now after just finishing an episode of Homeland. Yes, I am hanging out in the media room! And we come up here almost every night, mainly because we're obsessed with Homeland.  But we also watch movies up here and other quality programming like Nashville. Oh, and our neighbors gave us their old Play Station 2 so we sing karaoke after a couple of glasses of wine. Frank and Leo get up on Saturday mornings to watch a movie while I sleep in. What fun we all have in the media room!

Next to the laundry room, I'd say it's my favorite room in the house.

So I owe this media room and media rooms everywhere an apology. I misjudged you. If used correctly, you can be an asset to a home. And just think of all the money we're saving never going to the movie theater (not that we went a whole lot anyway).

We have room for two to three more people on the sectional (plus two more spot on the boys' bean bags) if you want to come over for movie night. Unless you think that is "so 2004."

"Hah Cut"

Gus had his first haircut at 20 months, 3 weeks. That is almost exactly when Leo had his first haircut! Just like Leo, Gus did great. He fussed a little when she touched his ears but other than that, he had a good time, sitting in the car, watching Toy Story, getting a balloon and a "pop pop." Gus kept saying "Hah cut." So cute. 

Here is Gus before. (Notice the Alfafa sprout as Frank calls it) 

Ready to go! 

 Ooh, a car!

Hairdresser talking to him about how she had to move his ear.

Mowhawk!

Finished product! 

Ta dah!

And the obligatory picture by the shark that Leo insists that we take after each "hah cut."