Going to Bed

It's way too late and I should be in bed. Sleeping. Instead, I'm here because, well, baseball season has begun, which means Kelly is gone and I don't sleep well when he's not here. I really am tired, but I wait until I'm exhausted beyond the ability to keep my eyes open so I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. Weird, I know.

So, as I said, baseball season has begun! Saturday was the season opener with a double header at home, and an afternoon game on Sunday. The Demons took the series 2-1, although the coaching staff would have preferred a sweep. The team left this afternoon via charter bus to Ole Miss, about a 7 hour drive, where they'll play tomorrow and Wednesday.

It always takes a few games for us to get back into the swing of baseball (pun intended!). We spend nearly an entire day outside, every weekend and several weeknights, too, which is great, but everything happens later: lunch, dinner, bedtime, etc. And the availability of candy and junk food is far too rampant. It's my goal to remain as close to our routine as possible, as the kids are both in school and we have early mornings every day. We'll see about that...

Tonight Claire had tryouts for tee ball. Yes, tryouts. The coaches watched & evaluated and will have a draft. Yes, a draft. This is youth sports, southern-style. Claire plays in "Sweetees" & Nolan is in "Weetee" (no tryouts for him - it's "fun only at that age"). Many of Claire's fellow 1st graders are up against a pitching machine in the 7-8 year old group, but she's still 6. She's the tallest on the team, so we'll call it a redshirt year. (All this baseball talk, I know - but it is why we moved here, afterall!)

Life is moving at full-speed here in the Spann Fam. I honestly cannot remember being so busy. Ever. I've resolved not to over-commit, and I'm pleased to say that I really haven't. In fact, I personally haven't committed to anything. School, work and sports are all we do. I do feel like I'm missing out on some things, but I just can't. Keeping up with work and family is enough for now.

Okay, so I'm sounding as tired as I feel, so I'll check back in when I have a bit more energy (and something more exciting to say!). Good night, sleep tight...

Blogworthy?

Nearly every day something happens in the Spann Fam and I think to myself "Oh! I have to blog about this..." But then I sit at the 'puter and log into Blogger and totally forget what I was going to say, leaving me with nothing.

So it may not be witty or insightful, but here goes:

Claire made the first basket of the game this past Saturday. How lame is it that tears came to my eyes? She really is a good player. She actually passes the ball, which is more than I can say for the boys on her team. Her favorite part is that they enter the gym through an inflatable tunnel, music plays and an announcer says "Claire-THE-BEAR-Spann!". If only I could control my emotions. Nope, not gonna happen.

We signed up for Dixie Youth Baseball and will start sometime in March. Nolan is excited that he's finally able to play on a team like he's watched his sister do. I'm not exactly how it's going to work, since Claire & Nolan will be on different teams, both playing on Saturday mornings and I'll be a lone parent, being baseball season and all. This is just the beginning of many more spring seasons to come, I have a feeling.

I'm still in awe of the fact that Season Opener is in 10 days! It's even harder to believe when I check the weather forecast for Minnesota! (We did have a glorious weekend of weather. We wore shorts & t-shirts in 78 degrees on Saturday. We enjoyed it, but did think "If it's this warm in February, what is July gonna be like? Ugh.)

Looks like things are going to be a bit crazy this spring. Just the month of March sees 21 game days, not including travel days, which are often the day before. Spring Break will be tough as I'm working full-time, too. We'll work it out, just not sure how quite yet. We're having a hard time just scheduling a family photo for the media guide (which I think is pretty cool, anyhow!).

Friday night I attended a beauty pageant. Technically, it's called a scholarship program, but let's face it, if girls wear bathing suits, evening gowns and perform a talent, it's a beauty pageant. NSU holds the Miss Northwestern Lady of the Bracelet Pageant every year and I was (very) minorly involved this year. I helped out here and there in preparation for the event, as the Student Activities Board is the sponsor of the pageant and I work in Student Activities (are you seeing the connection?). Miss Louisana was there - she even said my name during the pageant. In the "Thanks, we couldn't have done it without you" part. My name was in the program, too. It's the little things, you know.

So, like I said, nothing witty or insightful, or even exciting. But next time something truly blogworthy happens, I'll post it right away. Hopefully you'll find it as interesting (or funny, most likely) as I do!

Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!

Let The Good Times Roll!

It's Mardi Gras here in Louisiana, which in case you didn't know, is a very big deal. We see a lot of french influence here, even here in Natchitoches. Not so much Parisian-style french, but more cajun-french! It's something that you really need to experience in order to have any idea what I'm talking about. There's a fleur-de-lis just about everywhere you look, and Mardi Gras is a holiday. In fact, I have work off today (Monday) and the public school and NSU have the today & tomorrow off.

The kids keep asking what Mardi Gras is, and honestly, it's hard to explain to a kid. "Mardi Gras" means "Fat Tuesday" in French. It's the last day before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and the 40 days before Easter. So, in essence, it's a time to party before the sacrifice of Lent!

We skipped the ball and the parades this year. We're not too invested in this holiday. We'll probably make it next year, and for now, we're just happy to have a long weekend!

We enjoyed watching the Superbowl at the home of a prominent NSU baseball booster. The party was held in the poolhouse, if that tells you anything. We'd been there before and Nolan asked if we could live at their house upon leaving. We'd fit, that's for certain! We enjoyed the game, Creole cooking - Crawfish Etouffee, anyone? - and are still in awe that the Giants won. (Claire was heartbroken, but very proud of herself for not crying).

Good times, good food... and the chance to sleep in until 8am! What a great weekend!! (And did I mention that it's 77 degrees today?)

CLAIRE'S BLOG

HI! IT'S CLAIRE. I WANTED TO TELL YOU ABOT MY LIFE. I PLAY BASKETBALL I AM NUMBER 6. I LOVE TO SHOOT BASKETS. WE DONT KEEP SCORE. BUT IT IS FUN. I LIKE TO RIDE MY BIKE . I ALSO LIKE TO RIDE MY SCOOTER. I LIKE TO READ AND COLOR. SCHOOL IS GOOD. I AM THE SPELLING BEE CHAMPION IN MY CLASS 2 WEEKS IN A ROW! I GO TO TEAM KID ON WEDNESDAYS AT CHURCH. IT IS FUN. IT IS NOT COLD HERE IN NATCHITOCHES. BUT IT RAINS A LOT.

NOLAN WANTS ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT HIM. HE LIKES TRANSFORMERS AND BIONICLES. AND THOMAS. AND GARBAGE TRUCKS. WE BOTH LIKE TO PLAY ON WEBKINZ.COM. WE GO TO THE SAME SCHOOL.

BYE FOR NOW!