If Linus’ Had a Twin…

 

If Linus had a twin, I’m certain it would be Andrew.  He has a blue blanket….just like the one Linus carries.  And he too drags it on the ground.  I’m sure if one could smell Linus’ blanket, it would smell just like Andrew’s. 

Andrew has a name for his blue blanket.  Bluemines.  Bluemines- a loyal companion, a shoulder to cry on and protection from the monsters hiding under ones bed.  A pillow, when there are none to be had and a tent to hide under when you’ve stolen something from your sister.  Sometimes a hat, a cape,  a belt or even a scarf on cold, rainy days.  A bandage for bruised legs  and broken collar bones.  But never, no never, a blanket for which one uses to keep warm.  There are others for that purpose.

Ya, if Linus had a twin….I’m certain it would be Andrew.

First Time Golfers.

Their dad golfs. So do their Grandpas, some Aunts, Uncles and even one Great Grandmother. Their mother? Not so much.

Today was a first. On a whim we, as a family, decided to try the majority of our hands (and much of Eric's patience) at golfing.

Sydney and Andrew were both eager to swing some clubs and drive the carts. And it was great! Sydney only managed to run Andrew over with the golf cart once!

Starting with the basics, he showed them both how to tee the ball:

Then he gave some lessons on swinging:

"I did what you said Dad so why is the ball still sitting here?" She eventually got the hang of it and before we knew it, was driving the ball about as far as I could.


Andrew, on the other hand, proved to be a much bigger challenge. He is apparently left handed when it comes to golf as well (who knew). That fact coupled with right handed golf clubs meant that he had a cold chance in hell at hitting a ball. I see a set of left handed little man golf clubs in our near future. His version of the story is that he already knows how to golf and does not need anyone to show him. He just did not want to show us at that time. So he busied himself with washing our golf balls at the beginning of every hole


and steering Eric's golf cart in every direction except the direction he needed to go.

Who knew spending two and a half hours chasing little white balls all over God's creation was going to be sooo much fun.

"The Look".

"The look". We have all pulled "the look" out of our bags at one time or another to use on our husbands, our children or even an annoying salesperson trying to pull the wool over our eyes. I personally have spent a lot of time perfecting "the look" and it was not until I had children that "the look" became an everyday part of my life. An extension of my mind, my hands and my ability to parent from across a crowded room. I was safe in the knowledge that, for at least a few more years, I would be the only one under our roof with the power of "the look". I was mistaken.

During a recent manicure with her Aunt, Sydney was asked if there were any boys in her class that she had a crush on. Her immediate reaction was "NO!" Simple. Straight forward. Instead of using "the look" I simply mentioned the name of a certain someone of the male persuasion that she seems to well, have a crush on. And this is what happened:

First she snorted and laughed that "Oh no you just didn't!" laugh. But then...

She pulled "the look" out of her bag and used it on me! Can we just skip the teenage years?

Softball....from a different view.

Man how time flies. I swear I blinked and suddenly this softball season is over. And I have not written about it once! Shameful I tell you.

So far, the season can be summed up in one sentence. What a difference a year makes!

Remember? This was Sydney last year:

Timid, unsure of herself, afraid to swing the bat and barely able to catch a ball. And look at her now:

A lean, mean, Lexington catching machine with plenty of attitude.

But wait! Something else is different this year to. Sometimes....when the catchers gear comes off....she does this:

and I can hardly watch. A mother's nervous system can only take so much. I really have no idea where this child came from.

These girls....my girl...all of them together. Formidable opponents to say the least. With 5 out of the 11 being first timers, they finished the season 13 and 4 with a 3rd place finish out of 12 teams.

Congratulations Lexington Minor girls on a job very well done!

The Coach Pitch Cronicles.

It has been a long time since I have seen anything as amusing as Andrew's first coach pitch game. I constantly have to keep reminding myself that he is only 5 and that, although his attention span runs in spurts of 2.3 seconds, he may someday possess the ability to play like his sister. Behold the play-by-play:

He hit this ball, did a good job I might add, and ran to first base. (Oh, and yes he bats lefty, no he is not left handed and yes he is strange)

The next batter hit the ball and so he ran to second base...

Well, he started too but see then he noticed his friend from preschool standing there in the outfield and decided to stop for a chat. It took a moment for it to sink in that everyone was yelling for him to run to second base. Well, maybe not everyone. Maybe just his picture snapping, psychotic mother. Man that woman is crazy!

Somehow he made it to second but left his friend hanging mid-sentence.

Not really. But he sure looks distraught. Probably because he was cold. We had a strange weather phenomenon late yesterday. It was windy! Who would have thought!

Here is that 2.3 seconds I was talking about. The majority of the time he looked like this:

This is my personal favorite:

And all a mother can say is, at least he is having fun!

The Boy Has Talent.

After five years of sitting on the sidelines impatiently watching his sister kick, score, dribble, slide and swing, no one was looking forward to having their chance in the athletic spotlight more than Andrew. So when the time recently came to sign him up for baseball, Eric and I decided that his talent was soo great that we would skip right over T-ball and go right to Coach Pitch. After watching a couple of their practices, I'm sure the coaches are just waiting to thank me:

I mean, attempting to catch the ball with your butt cheeks is a lost craft.

His unmatched talent is infectious, luring his own teammates close so they can learn his secrets.

I'm all but certain the MLB scouts will be knocking on our door soon.

The Frog Whisperers.

It's no secret. I loath frogs. Any and all frogs. I am an equal opportunity frog hater. So I am certain the powers-at-be knew exactly what they were doing when they sent me this frog loving boy.

Ugh. My skin is crawling just looking at this picture. He was soo proud of himself. And to that I say good for him. As long as he stayed on the other side of the picnic table and I had my zoom lens I could be happy for him.

Along came this whippersnapper with the "not so innocent smile" on her face.

She is Sydney's all creature loving friend, Lauren. She also got way to close to me with one of those frogs. She was the only one who thought she was funny.

She and Andrew were in cahoots together.

Lauren discovered that one of the frogs she and Andrew had caught had been stepped on

**snicker, snicker**

and could not move. She was not laughing anymore. "Melanie, we have to help it." she says. To which I responded, "Ok, go lay it under the tire of my car and I will put it out of it's misery." I was the only one laughing at that. **snicker, snicker**

Lauren sat in the grass for about 15 minutes petting and talking to the injured frog.

Then Sydney came along.

She was mildly concerned but only concerned enough to watch. I taught her right.

Andrew brought sticks to make casts for its legs. Whata guy!

But then it was time to play with the horses and thankfully, the injured frog was put in the bushes and forgotten about.

And no one was happier about that than me! And probably the frog too.