Happy Mothers Day!

Of course even this egotistical dad needs to step back once in a while and recognize the women who make it possible for schmucks like me to even become a dad.  If you are a first time dad or even expecting your third child (or more) it is a wonderous thing to have your lovely wife pregnant.  If you are like me, you feel bad for all that she has to go through.  Not only getting larger and putting up with the hormones and wierd cravings or getting sick of things that normally doesn't get you sick, but you have to push a bowling ball out your butt to top it all off.  I know I sure wouldn't want to do that. 

I remember my wife suddenly getting sick when onions would be cooking on the stove or in the oven.  She loves onions in recipies but when she got pregnant, it mader her want to gag.  She wanted to eat more but knew she had to also make sure not to over do it either.  I've known some women that got "morning sickness" so bad that they were literally out of work for a couple of weeks of their pregnancy because they could not keep their food down.  After a while they had no choice but to tough it out and that has to suck. 

With pregnancy there are the miracles as well. Seeing the baby on the ultrasound for the first time or feeling the little feet and hands bump against the moms stomach.  For all of my wife's pregnancies, but especially the first two, I would often come home late after work and she would be sleeping.  I would curl up with her in bed and put my hand on her stomach and it would seem that is when the little girls were the most active.  I love it, love it, love it!  I would push back to see if there was a response.  Sometimes it would seem like I would get one.  Nothing better as your wife is laying so still and you play with the little miracle inside her.  That's something special. 

So I guess I managed to turn mothers day about me.  So in order to redeem myself....first thank you mom for the gift of life and taking care of me all those years.  I look back at the love I try to show my girls and I know that is what you felt and I thank you for that.  I can never repay you for what you have done for me.  Second, thank you to my wife for my three beautiful daughters.  They can be a handful at times.  In fact, today was one of those days as our middle child had a sip of coffee this morning and the hyperness seemed to last her from church right on through supper time tonight.  But I know I will look back on all the times with hearfelt love.

Show your mom and your wife you love them in any way possible. Be it a simple card, calling them, picking a single flower, take the kids for the day, or even clean the house for them, show them what they mean to you, after all they deserve it and they made me the dad I am today. 

And of course, Pioneer Woman, happy mothers day to you as well.  My wife made chili and some damn good brownies, even on mothers day.  Wonder what the Pioneer Woman had? :)

Daughters in Sports

Saturdays are normally spent doing some other extra curricular activity for the girls.  Most of year it involves dance, but now that I am done being a dance dad it is time for me to be the sports dad.  Something I enjoy doing but the competitiveness in me comes out and wants to see them do their best. 

Today Ella (our 6 year old) had T-ball this morning.  She does rather well compared to most of the rest of the kids there but she is at the top of the age group that is out on the field at the time so it figures she would do a little better.  She does OK batting but she needs a better stance and needs to remember to keep that back elbow up. It's always pointing at the ground.  This week she did better hitting than in the past.  It seemed her form was better.  Where I am most impressed is her fielding.  She is still a little afraid of the ball when she tries to catch it out of the air but when it is a ground ball she knows to get down in front of if and get rid of it as quick as she can.  When she is in too big of a hurry she will not throw it as far but when she slows down just a bit shes got a good arm on her.  I was surprised.  She also runs well but just a little lazy.  It's funny but I can see a better running form from Ella than I do from our flat-footed 9 year old, Kaitlyn.  I wonder if Ella could beat Kaitlyn in a foot race?

Kaitlyn had volleyball afterwards.  Again, we always thought she might not be quite the sporty one but more the dramatic one.  She did OK in volleyball but she flailed around a little bit trying to go after the ball.  There is definitely a disconnect from her and the other players who seem to have a little more athletice ability to them.  One girl unfortunately kept running all over the place and jumping in front of Kaitlyn.  She comes from a family of know-it-alls that we have to deal with in dance already.  I wasn't positive of it at first if it was this lady's child but then sure enough after volleyball was done, in she went into the same vehicle and I'm thinking, go frickin figure.  Have some courtesy or teach your kids some cause I know the mom doesn't have any.  But I digress, I am getting off topic.  Kaitlyn does need to have more rigid arms when she plays volleyball.  It seems the ball dominates her hand instead of the other way around.  Afterwards practice she shot a basketball and made it....Hmmmmmm, dad is thinking.  I just wonder.....

In the end I know it is not all about how good they are, as long as they enjoy the game.  So I encourage them the best I can. Give them tips after the game/practice is over on what to do differently.  Above it all I tell them good job no matter what they did out there because a little girls psychy is fragile.  I don't agree on everyone getting a ribbon or that everyone is a winner.  In my book there will be winners and there will be losers but I will always praise my kids for trying, especially if I know they tried their hardest.  For that, you win the mental game.  You win the self esteem game and when you have daughters, that is the most important game to win in the end.  You want a daughter who is sure of herself and knows that sometimes you will fail in things and other times you won't and that through it all, remain gracious, humble and remain confident and hopefully satisfied that they did something they enjoy doing. 
Oh, Pioneer Woman, last night I made frozen pizza and this afternoon it was ham sandwiches.  Beat that!  Sign me up for my own show!