Hockey Game

The other night we went to a hockey game.  It was my first Amerks' game since the two games we went to in October.  In between we went to one college game (the boys went to a second) and one Sabres game, but going all those months between Amerks games was a personal record for me.  In comparison to when I was at an average of two games per week, at least, and usually at least a game every few weeks the past few years, this winter was definitely a change.

On one hand, I didn't really miss it.  I mean, I wasn't craving going to games and we had plenty to fill our time instead.  I am grateful that I don't have to spend half my life at the arena anymore, and I'm even more grateful that Craig doesn't have to spend his whole life there, either. 

But on the other hand, hockey has been a huge part of the last 20 years of my life (!).  Hockey is what led me to the life I have now.  It was my main interest throughout high school, the focus of most of my wall decor in college, and the target of my job search upon graduation.  I spent the first 5-1/2 years of my working life employed by a hockey team (among other sports), and met my husband there.  And now, six years after leaving that life, my son is a sports nut. 

After spending so much time away this winter, I walked into Tuesday's game with a bit of a fresh perspective.  It probably helped that it's nearly playoff time, which was always a special time of year when I worked for the team.  We never won a championship, and in fact the closest we got was losing in game six of the finals when I was still an intern.  But some of our playoff runs, no matter how short, held some of my favorite memories from my time with the Amerks.  It was a dream come true working there (even if in reality it wasn't exactly a dream job), and the spring always held such promise and potential.  Walking back into the arena with a hint of warmth in the outside air brought back those memories, and seeing a familiar face on the ice (albeit with the other team) triggered fond remembrances of the players that passed through town during my tenure with the team.  We ran into the widow of our old friend and co-worker, former Amerk Craig Charron, who passed away a year and a half ago from stomach cancer.  It was good to see her and three of their four kids, but it definitely brought my mind back to the days when we worked with Sharky, and all the fun we had as a staff back in the day.  We worked hard and played hard (some more than others), and we had a blast despite the constant stress that bogged us down in the office much of the time. 

Perhaps what stood out to me most was what wasn't there--the players, our co-workers, and so much around the arena that's different than it was back then--and the absence of those things made me just a little wistful for that period of my life that I willingly left behind.  Don't get me wrong, I needed to leave when I did and I could never go back.  It was not the kind of life I could live now, and had I not given it up, Jacob would not have come along when he did.  I don't regret any of it, but perhaps now that I'm a parent and live a pretty tame life, I have come to a greater appreciation of the special, unique time that it was.  There are so many stories and so many memories, and those of us that lived through them could rehash those stories for hours.  Though we all had our beefs with each other at times, there was a certain dysfunctional family vibe to it all, and I think we'd all settle back in pretty easily if given the opportunity to reunite.  It was quite an experience, and while part of me is sad that it's over and past, I can't help but be grateful for the gift that its ending gave me:

Does it get any better than this?



Is this the life, or what?  Watching a game from a suite with my little boy (and Craig, too!)

Yep, I've got it pretty good.

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far...

There are times when Jacob is acting up and I get frustrated, unable to figure out why he's acting a certain way.  And then, later, when I think about it, I realize that I do the same things as he does, though maybe in a slightly different way.  Hard to blame him when I do the same things myself!

Getting Up - We do tend to differ a bit on this one because he's often an early riser (though, admittedly, not nearly as bad as he could be) and I am not.  And once he's up, boy is he chipper!  He will have a full-on production going on in his room--singing, conversations with his animals, and animal lacrosse games, all before 7:30am.  But on those days when I do have to wake him up in the morning, he takes after both Craig and me and is very slow to rise.  I could make noise, rub his back, tickle him, or talk to him, and he will completely ignore me and attempt to continue sleeping for as long as possible.  I pretty much do the same thing to him when he tries to break into my blissful slumber.

Picking Clothes - Every morning is a bit of a battle in the clothing department. Jacob has his favorite outfits, and when all of those are dirty or he starts outgrowing them, just picking a simple shirt turns into World War 3. The war is followed by a full-blown wrestling match just to get the shirt on him. There's a fine line between picking your battles and letting your kid run the show, and this seems to be one of the major situations where that line is straddled on a daily basis. There are perfectly good shirts sitting in his closet that he's hardly worn because he puts up a fuss (for no apparent reason) every time I suggest them. I refuse to let him look like a ragamuffin every day in too-small clothes (at least, once I get enough clothes to replace them), nor do I want to send him off each week in the same five outfits. I do tend to reserve some of his cooler stuff for weekends, as well, since I'd hate for him to paint on something special or not have something presentable when we actually go somewhere where we'd like it to appear that we care how he looks. He gets a bit of a free pass on that one since he's a boy, but still--is a nice pair of jeans and a cute shirt too much to ask? So once I deal with his clothing issues, it's off to my closet where I tend to ignore a good portion of the stuff in my closet in favor of a handful of clothes that I tend to fixate on. Granted, some of the stuff I'm ignoring doesn't look as good on my post-baby body, and styles have changed in the 10 years since I bought some of it. I'm more about mixing and matching staples these days--sweaters with a cami, plain long-sleeved tees, jeans or black dress pants, or simple tops and skirts (though that's more in the summer). But I play favorites just like Jacob does, and probably ignore perfectly good clothes day after day. Oops.

Going to Work/Daycare - We all agree that getting up to go to work and daycare is a drag.  It's not how any of us want to spend our morning, that's for sure.  Once in a while he says he wants to go to work with one of us, but I try to explain to him that work is boring and he'll have far more fun at daycare.  It may not be where he'd most like to spend his day, but it would appear he has a decent time there most days so I'd imagine that he's far better off there than any time he'd spend with us at boring old work.  But I think there's a general consensus that we'd all like to just hang out at home most days.  Some days more than others, like the Monday after Easter when we were all exhausted and really needed another day to recover.  I felt downright guilty for sending Jacob off that morning, on top of my own dread of going to work.  We all needed another day, and I knew it.

Going to the Bathroom - Jacob will wait until the very last minute to admit to having to use the potty.  He'll be doing the dance, crossing his legs, and acting like a total freak, and even when we call him on it, he will put off the visit to the bathroom as long as possible.  When we finally convince him (or downright force him) he's usually squirming so much that he can barely get his pants down to go!  Surprisingly, despite all that he has very few daytime accidents these days (nights are another story, if you can consider accidents in the form of him leaking out of his diaper...again).  I obviously have even greater mastery of my bladder (well, aside from some lasting effects of childbearing now and then...stupid Kegels.), but I too find myself putting off bathroom visits just to keep getting stuff done.  I keep working, hoping to find a good stopping point, and never seem to find one...that is, until I realize that I am totally distracted by how bad I have to go and need to go just to continue to do functional work.

Going to Bed - As a whole, once we get Jacob upstairs he's not too much of a bedtime problem.  Once he's in his pajamas, picks out his bedtime stories, and starts to snuggle in, most of the time he's out like a light very quickly.  But he puts up a major fuss when he's pulled away from his toys when bedtime arrives.  Oftentimes I find myself literally scooping him up and carrying him upstairs because I refuse to repeat myself for the umpteenth time or wrestle him up the stairs. The tantrums and excuses could go on forever.  It's even a struggle to get him to focus long enough to get his pajamas on, because he can always find something else to grab or do.  I often wonder why he'd fight sleep even though he obviously needs it. And then I think about myself every single night, determined to get off my chair at 11pm to go to bed, only to find myself sitting there until well after 11:30 and going to bed at 11:45 every night, cursing the fact that my alarm will be going off all too soon. He may fight sleep because he's afraid he'll miss something, but maybe he's just like me, convinced he's got too much to do and can't be bothered to put it down and get that much needed sleep instead.

In doing this little analysis, I've realized that the one area in which we seem to have very little in common is eating.  I could probably eat all day, every day.  Jacob could take it or leave it.  I live for mealtimes and tend to snack a lot if given the opportunity.  He's a bit of a snacker at times, but he is totally uninterested in mealtime most of the time.  He rarely complains about being hungry--unless, of course, dinner is running extra late--though he does like to drink water a lot and will eat pretty well if the conditions are right.  But we pretty much couldn't be more different on that front!

Oh, and I'll choose to blame Jacob's current insistence to sleep on the floor on Craig's affection for floors.  He doesn't really do it much anymore, but back in the day he'd go back to his house after a game and a few beverages and fall asleep on the floor watching a movie.  At least Jacob has the comfort of his pile of stuffed animals, but I'll blame that one on Craig! 

So, perhaps when Jacob's behavior perplexes me, I need to step back and think about how I'd react in a similar circumstance.  And hopefully by doing that, I can be a better parent to him when the same situation arises again. 

Easter!

If our level of exhaustion on Monday morning was any indication, we had a pretty fantastic Easter.  Sunday was a long, busy day, but we had a blast and in the process completely wiped ourselves out for Monday.  We ate a ton, Jacob got some great gifts, and we had some good quality family time.  Of course, somehow my camera never made it out of my purse for most of our time with Craig's family, but I'll give you the rundown nonetheless...

Sunday morning we were up bright and early to go to church with my parents.  Craig had returned from Calgary Saturday afternoon and we spent the evening watching a basketball movie called "The Mighty Macs".  Nice feel-good story.

Jacob was ready for church in time for a little Easter basket hunting--he had two to find!  He found grandma's first, and was very excited by its contents--a Lego base, a little Lego set, a solid chocolate hockey puck (Platters--yum!), and some jelly beans.  Here he is getting excited about the Lego base--more grass for his "lacrosse arena" that he and Craig have been building...

Then the hunt was on for his basket from the Easter Bunny (aka the one I put together).  It took a lot of directing (we were short on time, after all), but he got it.  Here he is bringing it out from its hiding spot...

He's very excited about the baseball egg that's in his hand.  The stuff on the chair is what we had to move so he could "double check" behind the chair (per our suggestions).

Checking out his loot--two superhero books, a Spider-man cup, Mr. Freeze and his freeze chamber (for his Batcave), a chocolate bunny, and a bunch of eggs filled with candy

We headed off to church and Jacob was actually very well-behaved.  We ate a delicious breakfast in the gym (pancakes, egg casserole, ham, assorted pastries, and juice) before heading off to the annual highlight of Easter morning, the Easter egg hunt.  Or, as I like to call it, the candy free-for-all.  Two years ago Jacob won a giant bunny because he happened to pick up one of the prize-bearing eggs.  But mostly it's just a room full of candy and every kid picks it up until it's gone.  It's quite the sight.

Picking up candy and looking oh-so-handsome in his Easter attire...

Happily eating his Nerds!  He pretty much left a trail of them through the church building, though we did manage to clean them up as we went.

Back at my parents' house to pack up, I snapped a picture of him with his Lego creation (from MY old Legos, this time!)...

And we got a decent family picture, which is a rarity...

We packed up and headed off to Craig's side of the family, stopping first at his Aunt Marie's house to visit with some extended family.  Jacob got a new baseball guy while we were there, which he loved, and I snapped this glorious picture of Aunt Marie's egg collection.  One of these years I'm going to start a collection like this.  They are so gorgeous.

We headed to Craig's brother's house for the main gathering, and we had a wonderful time.  We ate a ton--the food was fantastic!  We had ham, kielbasa, lazy pierogi (a pasta dish), cheesy potatoes, tons of fresh fruit and veggies, my favorite bread, and tons of desserts--Oreo pie, cherry pie, krispie treats, and more.  Jacob got a little remote controlled car (which he's enjoying a lot), some additions to his summer wardrobe, a Color Wonder coloring book, and a new Batman.  He spent part of the day in a Spider-man costume, and the other part in a Power Rangers costume.  I should have snapped pictures, but for some reason I never got out the camera.  Kicking myself now, of course.  He had fun as usual playing with his cousins, and did it all on a 20-minute long nap.  He just loves exploring his cousins' toys and being one of the boys.  He was still a handful at times, but overall it was a good day.  He fell asleep just a bit into our ride home and slept through our arrival.  He had some potty incidents in the middle of the night (he's still in diapers at night and tends to pee out of them all too frequently), but I'm guessing his extra tired state might have contributed to that as well.

Overall, it was a great weekend but these first couple days back have been a bear.  Now we're just left with some Easter treats to enjoy, and Jacob got that started with his hockey puck last night.  He bit right into it!  Don't worry, we didn't let him eat the whole thing...

But don't you think that smile indicates he *would* eat the whole thing if he could?

Boy of Many Sports

Jacob wanted to spend all of Holy Saturday outside.  It was sunny and just warm enough to be outside without a real coat.  A hoodie was sufficient and the sun was glorious!  He was excited to get outside and play with his golf clubs, which live at Grandma and Grandpa's.  Here he is in the kitchen, ready to go out...

Excited!

It took a little reminding, but Jacob got back into the "swing" of things...

He was back in some bad habits, but he still got off some great shots.  And then it was off to baseball...

Perfecting his stance...

 Baseball was short-lived and then it was time for lacrosse!

Where did this big boy come from?!

Jacob absolutely cracked us up when he later insisted on playing referee while we played lacrosse.  Let's just say his referee skills aren't too great, as he called timeouts immediately after faceoffs and called "no goal" on perfectly legit goals!  Such a silly boy sometimes.

Jacob is much more likely to pose for pictures when he's doing something he enjoys.  He was full of smiles today so I got a few good ones, but this one was a lucky catch since I had my camera handy.

He was destroying a daffodil in this picture, but isn't he looking adorable while doing it?  We failed at getting a picture of him looking cute holding it nicely, so this will have to do!

He absolutely loved being outside, and did not want to go back in!  Thank goodness for spring...it's the best thing the Easter bunny could bring!

"Great" Friday

It seems a little sacrilegious to say that one of my favorite days of the year is Good Friday, but over the past few years, it appears that it is indeed the truth.  For a while back in high school and college, Easter was my favorite holiday.  Christmas is great, but it's busy and stressful and in the middle of winter.  Easter heralds the coming of spring, and there has always been a certain simplicity about it that I absolutely cherish.  Pretty dresses, lots of chocolate, spring flowers, and the absolute best Bible story ever.  Sold.

When I was younger, I loved coloring eggs and helping set up for our church's Easter breakfast.  I appreciated the solemnity of the Good Friday children's service at our church, complete with a vivid illustration of the pounding of nails into the cross.  Easter morning meant waking up at the crack of dawn (seemingly every year the morning after the time change!), but I was rewarded with a gorgeous church service and fantastic breakfast (be it the one I helped set up or one out with my grandma).  Usually we had a pretty low key family gathering after that and hoped to have a day nice enough to enjoy some outside time. 

My love affair with Good Friday didn't really start until six years ago, when I had my first Good Friday off as a working adult.  We almost always had games on Good Friday and Holy Saturday when I worked in sports, and in fact, Craig is on his way back from Calgary as I type.  Once I changed jobs, I was ecstatic to discover that I got Good Friday off each year, and I have truly enjoyed that time.  That first one, I made a mix CD of Easter-ish songs, then went to church and participated in a "prayer labyrinth", a series of go-at-your-own-pace stations to pray and ponder the events leading up to Christ's death.  It was very moving.  I believe I also got to participate in our family tradition of prunes and noodles (German thing) for the first time in ages.  Ever since, prunes and noodles has been a staple and I love finding other ways to fill the weekend. 

Two years ago we had just moved into our house and the weather all weekend was in the 80s.  It was like some sort of heavenly utopia.  We played outside, took a walk by the river and geocached with my parents, and had the most unsuccessful Easter egg hunt ever.  But it was a fantastic weekend.  Last year was a good time, too.  Easter weekend just has all sorts of fun wrapped up in it, and I was definitely excited to do it again.

We headed up to NT on Thursday night to give ourselves a full day Friday.  We went to the outlet to shop for sneakers for both of us, had a little playtime, and he took a good nap while my mom and I headed out for a walk that included a stop at the library, where I was able to find some books I've been hoping to get at our library but never could.  We had a very good time at prunes and noodles.  Jacob had a blast driving a giant remote control truck off of a ramp with his second cousins.  No pictures, unfortunately, but the smile on his face while driving it recklessly was priceless.  In the meantime, I was having fun of my own eating fantastic food and spending quality time with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. 

After that we headed off to church.  Jacob has been nervous about it for weeks, because he remembered that my parents' church gets dark on Good Friday.  They do a tenebrae service, which involves the church getting progressively darker until all the lights are off.  He ended up doing fine, thankfully, though the service definitely got me thinking.  See, there's also a tradition in this service where everyone gets a strip of red cloth.  At one point in the service everyone brings their strip up front and lays it on the cross.  When the cross is lifted up afterward, the strips look like blood dripping down, though it's less graphic than that sounds.  Very moving, though.  This year I felt like Jacob was old enough to do his own, though I ended up having to take advantage of a potty stop during church to explain a bit about sin, hoping that it might give him some concept of what we were doing (and hopefully curtail the constant stream of disobedience we've been dealing with lately in the process).  I don't know if he really got it, but he did dutifully walk up and put his strip on the cross and was pretty quiet and captivated for most of the rest of the service.  It struck me as we walked up to the altar and back, and particularly as I helped him put his cloth up there, that it was quite the metaphor for being a Christian parent--leading my child to the cross and helping him lay his sin (and whatever else) on it.  Deep stuff.  I wrote last year about my difficulty explaining Good Friday to Jacob, and here's another take on the same topic, from someone who goes to my parents' church.  It's definitely complicated, but I think it's obviously he's already taking it all in, so it's just a matter of time before he starts to get it.

Today has been fun, as well.  I took a glorious run outside, and Jacob had a blast playing various sports.  It's not a particularly warm day, but the sun has made it perfectly lovely.  Now we're just awaiting Craig's arrival from his roadtrip and looking forward to a lovely day tomorrow with his family.  Now if only there wasn't a horrific work week waiting for me on Monday...

New Shoes

Jacob beats up his shoes.  Badly.  Two pairs ago, he somehow turned part of them pink and ripped out one of the fake elastic laces, both within a few weeks of getting them.  Despite taking an overall beating on the exterior, the interior structure of the shoes survived pretty well, and in fact Jacob still wears them around the house as his "sports sneakers", even though it seems like they should be quite small on him now. 

The next pair he got--sometime last fall, I think--were doing pretty well until a couple weeks ago when the stitching ripped out of both the toes.  As with most of the other damage, those scars didn't happen in my presence.  Most of it happens at daycare doing God-knows-what, though for all I know Jacob's games outside with Daddy may contribute as well.  All I know is that the kid beats up his sneakers.

I'm a little picky about his sneakers.  I decided that I don't like predominantly dark colored sneakers.  They look funny with white socks, and I have concerns about how they'd look with shorts all summer.  Maybe I just have visions of the dorky kids that used to wear the generic black sneakers with white socks all summer.  Ugh.  Also, I'm still wanting him to have Velcro sneakers.  I don't mind having to tie them when he puts them on, but I do think it's nice that he can be independent.  I'm actually more concerned about him tripping over laces or having to stop playing and find a grown-up to tie his shoes all the time.  I did make a little practice thing (a 2-D shoe laced up with a ribbon) to see if he could pick up shoe tying now, but I think we're a little early.  So, Velcro it is, though I prefer the type that have pretend laces, too.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to shoe buying: buy cheap so it's less painful when you have to replace them, or buy better and you might not have to replace them as often.  I don't really think my three year old needs to be super stylish.  I mean, it's fun once in a while, but the reality of spending a ton of money on something he's going to beat up or outgrow quickly is easier said than done.  All things being equal I'd rather go cheap and feel less guilty about replacing it when the time comes.

Of course, this may all change as Jacob gets older and his classmates become more aware of brand names.  Right now, no one cares if his shoes came from a certain store, or if his jeans have a certain label on them.  So, he's got cheap shoes and some of his jeans are the cheapie, elastic-waist Circo brand from Target.  Normally we like Old Navy jeans, but Circo ones are great as fillers just because they're cheap, easy for potty training, and they tend to fit him well considering his waist-to-length ratio isn't always conducive to standard elastic-waist pants.  He does have some better jeans, but he's either outgrown those (and I refuse to buy more right now with summer on the horizon, because he will outgrow them by September) or I like to save them for weekends when I care more about how he looks.  I'd feel much less annoyed if he came home with a hole in the knees of a $5 pair of pants than a $12 pair.  Just sayin'.  But once his classmates are more aware of that sort of thing, I'll be more tempted to buy name brands just to make sure he's less of a target for teasing.  I remember how merciless kids can be with that stuff, and I'd hate to put Jacob through that.  Maybe I should just hope for uniforms by the time he gets into school.

But for now it doesn't seem like a bad plan to buy cheap while we can.  Of course, the issue is complicated a bit because we have the pleasure of having a Nike employee in the family.  I'd love to support her employer more often (and I'm desperately looking for a pair of Nikes that fit me well!), but we don't always have access to the employee store for great deals, and both of our outlet stores are over an hour away.  I actually wanted to get Jacob Nikes this time, just to see if they would hold up better, but his sneaks were so bad we couldn't wait.  I may try to go to an outlet store this weekend and try to buy a size up, just so we have them.  It'll still have to be the right deal, though.

In the meantime, I got him a new pair of sneakers at Kohl's.  I actually originally scored a great deal there--Skechers for $17--but I decided that the sneakers were too bulky and dark, and I didn't like how they looked with his normal attire.  So...I took them back, reconsidered our options, and looked at online reviews.  Most of the cheap sneakers at various stores didn't have great reviews, but one pair did--Jumping Beans sneakers at Kohl's.  Yes, it's Kohl's brand.  I didn't even see them the first time we were there because they were on a separate display.  On sale they only cost about $10.50, and they look pretty cool considering.  And you know what?  Jacob LOVES them.  He was so excited to show them off yesterday and it's almost like a treat that he gets to wear them all the time.  All that for $10.50?  Yes please. 

So while I'd love to get him sneakers that he can really be proud of, maybe for now it's more fun to see that same thrill on his face more often.  That excitement is worth far more than the coolest pair of name brand sneakers...but I'll still keep an eye out for those, too.

Weekend Fun

Aside from a handful of really horrific defiant moments, we had a nice weekend.  Jacob doesn't seem to get that listening to us helps avoid yelling and punishments.  But when he's not being defiant, he can be a pretty cool kid.

Craig had to run out to practice on Friday night, and I spent some time stringing up more Easter eggs for our front tree.  I did some last weekend and decided we needed more.  Gotta love the dollar store.  Jacob took a liking to the eggs, and ended up like this: 

Saturday we eagerly awaited the arrival of my parents for the day's afternoon Knighthawks' game.  Yes, another missed nap.  Ugh.  The game was pretty good--a loss, but a good effort--and Jacob took his usual 20-minute nap during the second quarter.  After the game we headed out for a quick geocache with my parents in the nearby park.  We took a little stroll back into the woods, and with a little guidance, Jacob found it! 

He got to pick out a toy, and then we headed out to the playground nearby.  The clouds began to clear right about then, and the sun came out to give us a really pleasant late afternoon.  Jacob had a blast on the playground.  He's definitely more confident than last year, probably thanks to being old enough for the big equipment at daycare now.  He did the big slide by himself and "rock climbed" no problem...

He also had fun underneath the equipment pretending...

I don't remember what exactly he was doing, but he did like talking to people through the wall!

Back at the house he showed off the "Knighthawks arena" that he and Craig had built out of Legos.  Here's the press box...

Craig is on the right.  He and his color guy both have beverages and Craig is holding a newspaper.  On the left is a camera.  Up top there's a PA announcement speaker. 

Here's the rear view...

The guys are on their little seats and the girl is the camera operator.  You can just see the arched window architectural details on each side.

And here's the overview.  The press box is at the top of the picture.  I didn't get the best angle, because there was a net on the turf and glass all along the back wall.  A lot of what's along the edges is Jacob's doing.  He's more into just adding pieces than understanding aesthetic value.  He'll learn, I have no doubt!

Sunday ended up being a super lazy day, as Jacob wasn't feeling well early on, I was exhausted, and it was rainy out.  Craig went out to watch a lacrosse game with a friend, and I even managed a short nap.  Jacob and I ventured out to the grocery store, and other than that, it was a pretty low key day. 

Mondays are always hard, but this one was made a little better by a good workout tonight and the knowledge that I only have to survive four days of work this week before some quality time with my parents and the rest of my family for a couple days, and time with Craig's family on Sunday.  I'm really looking forward to it.  Easter weekend is one of my favorite times of year, so I can't help but be excited.  The week should go very quickly as I have a lot to do and very few evenings to do it (and tons of work at work, and not enough hours in the day there either).  Should be fun...