Well, when we picked up Christian on Friday he brought his soccer uniform and we were informed that he had a game the next morning. Short notice but whatever! We took him to his game and had a nice time. We met his coach who seemed like a good guy. He was very supportive of the kids, even when they weren't doing too well. The other parents were friendly too. Christian seems to have a lot of potential, just not a lot of hustle. He is good when he has the ball, he just doesn't stay w/ the ball. After the game we were all talking and one of us said another little boy had done well, Christian emphatically said, Oh, he's good! We told Christian w/ a little more hustle people would say that when they heard his name too. He blushed at the idea that he could be the star of the game, it was very cute. I posted some pictures from the game, take a look. His next game is next Saturday at 10am. I'll probably be posting more pictures next Saturday evening. The best part for me was watching James, watching his son in sports. He was walking tall and proud.

Well, school is in full force, complete with open houses, fundraisers, homework, show and tell, parent teacher conferences and stinkin' little boys and teachers who are testing my patience. Last year, Jessica was good friends with a little boy name Jonathan. I was happy to see on the first day of class that she'd be sitting right next to him, a friendly face. I think the first day of school was much more difficult for me than for the kiddos. I found it to be a relief that she'd have someone familiar close by while she explored 2nd grade. Well, now this little boy is proving to be much more of a distraction and irritant than a help. He can't keep his hands to himself, always touching and tickling her. And when he isn't touching, is always talking to his other little friend Victor which causes a distraction from school work for the kids sitting around him. I spoke to the teacher who seemed surprised to hear any of this even though they sit right next to her, said she'd talk to him about the touching but doesn't want to move him away from his chatty friend because of the language barrier he has with the other students. Well, he spoke english just fine in 1st grade!! And, why are we worry about putting him near kids he can chat with, aren't they there to work? Ugh! That isn't even our biggest boy issue right now. Today, a new boy, named David didn't like where Jordan was putting the pans when it was time to clean up the house area so he bit her, hard!! She still has a clear out line of this childs teeth in her shoulder. It definately broke the skin. No call home to let us know she'd been hurt, no incident report, just an ice pack. On Monday, Jordan came home with a giant goose egg on her forehead, the teacher told James when he picked her up that she was standing still and fell over. Jordan said she was tripped by another student but she doens't know their name. Either way, no phone call about the fall when it happened, just an ice pack. She still has a small bump and a big bruise days later!! Is this the way it's supposed to be? Am I not supposed to let the teacher know when my child is having problems getting her work done because of another student simply because he speaks spanish? Are we not supposed to be informed when our children are hurt at school? Maybe I'm being over protective? I know that accidents happen. I know that mean kids happen. But I always thought that teachers would be on the right side of an issue, protecting the kids and communicating with the parents when they aren't able to protect them. I worry saying too much to the teacher could cause additional problems for the kids but am I contributing to or condoning the problem if I don't say anything? This mom stuff is hard. I want to do it all right and I have a really bad feeling I messing it all up.

My favorite of the day....

Exodus 15:2 (New International Version)

2 The LORD is my strength and my song;
       he has become my salvation.
       He is my God, and I will praise him,
       my father's God, and I will exalt him.

I want to make a proud and bold statement; I married a geek! What kind of geek did I marry? A computer geek? A comic geek? A video game geek? Yes! He's all that and so much more. Mine is not a pocket protector geek. In fact, to look at him, you may not know at first sight that he is a geek, but make no mistake, he is a geek, and he's proud of it. When something interests him, he makes it his personal quest to acquire a large amount of knowledge about the topic at hand. He knows a lot about a lot of things. This makes being married to him interesting.

Other men, the non-geeks, become rapidly boring in my opinion. When they say that we don't need to ask what's on their mind because it's always one of three things (sex, food or sleep) they are being brutally honest. I personally, don't take much interest in a man with such a limited range of awareness.

My geek is educated in a wide variety of things, not just the run of the mill typical geek things you'd expect. Yes, he is an information analyst- I know, typical geek job. Yes, he loves to make charts and spreadsheets for even the simplest of things like a small family wager for weight-loss. He puts just as much effort into everything he does from trying to be a good husband and father to trying to beat that latest version of his favorite video game. He stays informed about everything from football to politics and can carry an intelligible dinner conversation. (Unlike most non-geeks I've known over the years.) Great conversation, that is, if you've actually made it to the list of people who he is comfortable speaking to.

His intense interest in everything can be quite the advantage if you choose to look at it in the right light. On days when I am the object of his interest I have his full attention and all of the benefits that come with that. Because he is a man who makes it his job to know a great deal about everything of interest to him, he knows how to make me very happy when he chooses. On days when his interest is focused elsewhere there can be advantages as well. He is otherwise engaged so I have the freedom to do as I please without feeling obligated to keep another person entertained. I can be my own person; I can watch or do what ever I want without worrying about him feeling needy or abandoned.

I love my geek! I am lucky to have married him. However, I will caution any women who may be currently contemplating a relationship with a geek, it is not something to enter into lightly. A geeks heart is precious - handle it with care. Also, make certain that you find yourself at least as interesting as you find your geek because on days when you are not his project of choice you will have time to fill.

Not long ago, we felt like things couldn't get any worse. Well, they did. A year ago a bump into a curb was a terrible thing that caused weeks or more worth of anguish. Now, we have a little perspective. Yesterday, we were rear-ended while parked and it was no big deal at all. In the end, the only thing that matters is that we have each other.

 My youngest daughter, although not the next Leanne Rhymes, loves to sing. Most often she sings her random musings to a tune known only in her precious little head. For sometime now, she has been singing over and over "Dreams can come true, dreams can come true."

Now it would be easy to shush her or send her outside or into another room to sing. But this time, I've decided to embrace her innocence and almost feel as though I should encourage her to sing out loud, sing out proud. She has a message, at least a message for me. I realized while listening to this little song repeatedly, that over the years of our life we not only forget to dream, we forget how. I am sad to see that so many of us forget to hope.

My 3 yr old daughter may be the wisest person I know at this moment, she is the only one I know who knows the secret to happiness is to dream and to have faith that your dreams can come true. Now, her dreams vary from wanting to be a princess, to wanting to be a mommy, to wanting to be a mermaid, to wanting to be a cheerleader, but the point is that even though her dreams change, sometimes even by the minute, she never stops dreaming.