Labor Day Weekend, First Day of School and More!

Joe and I headed to the national 16-inch softball tournament on Friday around noon. The tournament took place in Crystal Lake, Illinois - about a 6-hour drive. We decided to send the boys to my parents. They had the weekend available, and convinced us that the boys would be happier at their house, versus on a softball field or in a hotel room. I think they were right! Maddox was crabby the first night but after that, I think he got used to mom and dad's house and was right at home. He takes a little while to warm up to people, whereas Joey has always been happy to go with anyone! Maddox learned "How big are you? Sooooo big!" from Gma Sheila. Both Gma and Maddox were proud to show us his new trick. They went to a 'barn party' at my Grandma Bruggemans and sounds like everyone had a great time! They also got to go out to eat with Gma and Gpa Remsburg, see their cousins and more. Joey got to see the piggies, take ranger rides, and play outside. They fit a lot into a 3-day weekend!

The softball tournament was great- but long, as usual. We played great on Friday but came out flat on Saturday and got beat by another Iowa team, who we usually consistently beat in Iowa. So, that was disappointing. More disappointing to know that we had to face the toughest team in 16-inch softball because of that loss. We were down something like 9-0 to the Miller 45s and came back to win it in the bottom of the seventh. We've never beaten that team before - they are phenomenal and we knocked them out of the tournament. It was a highlight of the weekend for the fans and players. I have to admit, I got a little too excited on a controversial call, and I'm glad my boys weren't there to witness it....we played in the finals against Flash, another all-star Chicago team and beat them, but had to beat them twice and we just couldn't pull it off. But, knowing we beat two awesome Chicago teams and got 2nd place was enough to keep us happy! It was a great tournament and it's always fun watching Joe play.

I got some quality time with my nephews, Davis and Carter, which was another highlight of the weekend! You just don't get much of that once you have two kids....so, it was nice to sneak in a little one-on-one time with the boys at the tournament. Both Davis and Carter were rock star kids - they were so good and so happy.

We got back on Monday afternoon and were exhausted but were thrilled to see the kids! You just miss them so much! And, they seem to grow up overnight, I swear! Tuesday came quickly and it was Joey's first day of 3-year old preschool! Wow! He's going to go to school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9-11:30 a.m. He has 7 kids in his class, but they join with the other class of 8 kids for snacktime, music time and story time. Joey did great on his first day- he went into the classroom fine, and was SO happy to see me when I came to pick him up. He ran to me and said, "Mooooommmmmmy!!!!!" and hugged me. And, then said, "Where's daddy?" Joe had planned to pick him up but had a closing come up last minute. But, I loved how happy he was to see me! I tried talking to him about his day but he didn't tell me much. The only thing he said was, "I told the teacher I had to go potty and she said, 'Again, Joey?' and I said, 'Yep! Again!'" Apparently, he went the bathroom a lot! Today is "sharing" day. You had to pick 2-3 favorite things to bring to share. He brought two Power Rangers and a photo thing that has pictures of all of his cousins and his brother in it. He also gets to use scissors today- he'll love that (what is the obsession with scissors and kids?)

Here's a photo of Joey on his first day! He was so proud! And, here's a photo of his backpack (thank you Gma Sheila) and his new "school shoes"! With boys, I decided, the outfit is a lot less important on the first day of school!

I couldn't leave out my Maddox. The other night, we fed him pudding and he was dying to hold the spoon himself so we gave in. The kid went nuts. He fed himself the whole thing of pudding - and actually got most of it in his mouth - and well, a lot of it in his hair! I hear caramel pudding does wonders for your roots though....Lastly, although this is anything but a political blog. I have to say that I am totally energized by Sarah Palin. Politics aside, it's just very cool that a mother of 5, wife and daughter is going after the VP office. Last night, it actually made me think that I, too, could do the whole career/mom thing. I've been completely stressing lately- work is extremely busy and I have 4 big events coming up, along with my other normal list of work events, and the ever-growing 'mommy list' that contains 20 different things. So, seeing her last night made it seem not as stressful or overwhelming. And, seeing a husband who I hope is so proud he can't stand it, is very cool. With Obama and Sarah, times, they are a-changing. And, I'm proud to be an American with those two paving the way for others like them. No matter who is elected, history will be made on both sides of the aisle and I am so glad I'm here to witness it. And, even more happy that my kids will have examples before them that show that race and gender truly do not matter- in this country, opportunities are abound and dreams can be achieved!