Let Them Be Little

Eliana put her shoes on this afternoon and then said to me,"Are my shoes on backwards, Mommy?"  I looked down at her feet and, indeed, something was not quite right.

She knew they weren't right and she told me,"My pinky toes are where my big toes go."

Sometimes I want them to grow up; I look forward to a time when I'm not wiping bottoms or constantly sweeping crumbs and cleaning up messes (because, you know, Mike and I will certainly not be making messes.  Ha.)...but sometimes?  I want to let them be little. 

I am entering this photo in I Heart Faces photo challenge.  Not because I think it's going to win, but because she just so happened to say this today and it was a sweet reminder to cherish these "little" moments.

The Night I Had a Little Bit of Fun

On a beautiful evening in Arlington, Texas last weekend I was able to experience a priceless event...

The Texas Rangers clinched the League Series in Game Six and for the second straight year this team is bound for the World Series. 

I watched the first five games at home, and they were nail-biters, each one.  There were tie games played into extra innings.  There were close (one and two-run) games.  And then there was Game Six.

Do I even have words to describe it?  Well, yes.  Yes, I do. 

I was able to go because Mike is amazing.  He told me I should go, and stayed home to watch the kids while I traipsed to the ballpark with a friend for an unforgettable night.  We arrived very early, and did not have a problem finding parking and entering the stadium.  Considering the 51,508 fellow attendees, that could have proven quite a feat. 

We grabbed a bite (Actually, sandwiches that were as big as our heads.  Yes, I ate all of mine.) and then had plenty of time to find our seats.  I can honestly say that I was about as excited and anxious as I ever have been while waiting for the first pitch.  To calm me down they decided to have the most wonderful rendition I have ever heard of the National Anthem played before the game.

Jack Ingram's beautiful performance was the perfect start to the game.

And once it was gametime, the stands were FULL and we were ready for Texas to finish the series off.  We had no idea what was in store.

Derek Holland, who has spent months trying hard to grow his mustache out as well as mine, gave up home runs in both the first and second innings.  They were solo homers, so only two runs were on the board, but they were both in Detroit's row.  This made me nervous.

Then there was the third inning.  Or the middle third of the entire game, however you want to say it.  Detroit pitcher after Detroit pitcher gave up hits and walked Rangers, pitcher after pitcher came in and then left the mound.  When it was all said and done the Rangers had done more than even the score...

They had pulled ahead a little bit.

Holland gave up a couple more hits, and the Rangers' bullpen took over.  These guys were lights out.  (Ha! I love talking baseball lingo!)  (To be accurate, I should say they gave up one more home run.  So, almost lights out.)

And the Texas offense wasn't done yet, either.  While 9-2 was pretty amazing, 15-4 was just plain wild. 

Miguel Cabrera, a formidable opponent, homered once more, making it 15-5, but the Rangers held off the Tigers for the remaining inning and a half, in order to win the series and stake their claim on a second trip to the Championship games.

There was jumping and screaming and waving and fist pumping.  The Rangers were acting crazy too.

By the end of the night I was as giddy as a little girl visiting F.A.O. Schwarz for the first time and I sounded like Kathleen Turner.  Somehow those two images seem strange together, but facts are facts.  I had cheered for my team so enthusiastically that my voice had taken on a deep and resonant tone.  This didn't stop me from screaming some more, though, so by the time I got home I had practically lost my voice.

Fireworks and confetti...

awards and trophies.

From the ALCS

to the World Series

we want to go all the way, baby!

Cicadas Singing

The light still lingers till it's late;
Summer breezes whisper through
Leafy branches as we play,
Then we hear the sweet debut.

Summer's singers
Raise their voices
Stopping swingers
With their chorus;

Hundreds chirping while we swing,
Blue eyes wondering at the noise
Of invisibles who sing,
Hiding all their grace and poise.

Clinging, swinging, flinging flight.
Ringing, winging, singing joy.
Catching final rays of light
Is their common ground and ploy.

A child will laugh, such music sweet,
At this deafening love song;
Shrill cicadas call to meet
Another before day is gone.

The symphony of tympani
Can prove to overwhelm the sky!
How many can their number be;
Will they swoop, or stay, or fly?

They quiet suddenly and then
When shoes are off and swings are high
Their courtship song begins again,
Filling ears and hearts and sky.

Cicadas' chorus rising, fading
Welcomes summer evenings still;
Yet their voices calling, aiding
Autumn's changes, autumn's chill.

To Clarify...

The other day someone left a comment that said something along the lines of how fun and creative I was. 

Well.

While that is a very kind thing to say, and sometimes I do fun things with my kids (not many moms would wear udders in public, I guess), when we are at the beach or in Florida with my in-laws all of the credit for fun and creative activities must go to my sister-in-law. 

I have spoken of Wendy before, many times.  Wendy has been such a great friend and I often wish we lived closer than we do, so that we could hang out all the time whenever we wanted to.  She has fed and bathed my kids, she has cared for me when I was going through a tough time, she has helped me beat my soda addiction (for a month anyway), she has made me laugh, she has cried with me, she has eaten brownies and watched movies with me, and even watched baseball with me (okay, she sat in the same room...I don't know if she watched or not).  She has helped Christian get out of a major funk, she has encouraged Michaela to face conflict rather than run away from it, she has managed to get Eliana to eat something other than the five things I can count on her to eat.  She also potty trained my youngest, and can get her to float in the pool.  She has secret powers that I do not possess.  (This sounds like a very one-sided relationship...why on earth does she even want me around?!)

She is calm where I am a maniac.  She is logical where I am irrational.  She gets in the pool while I sit on the side and take pictures.  And yet...we are two peas in a pod. 

She is the one who planned and executed the fiesta (last year it was a luau).  She also got my kids to do math while we at the beach.  See?  Secret powers.  Maybe it's in the tea.

Wendy, I miss you!  I miss the tea-making process.  I miss the commisserating.  I miss the laundry-cooking-eating brownies-togetherness.  I hope you know how much you mean to me.

You really are the sister that I never had. 

Clearly, There Was a Fiesta

Maybe you were wondering why my daughter had a mustache.  I think the answer would be obvious.

We had a Mexican fiesta!

Everyone knows that the party would not be complete without...

empanadas

margaritas (made with frozen lemonade, of course)

a piñata

a sombrero

and maybe most importantly, los bigotes maravillosos!

Never underestimate the power of a singularly fantastic mustache.

Never!

(Just like her mommy.)