Type A Personality

I have found that bronchitis is not as bad as it sounds. I mean I feel pretty good, pretty normal. The only time I feel sick is when I cough. Then I don't feel sick really. I just feel pain and it ain't good. So I try not to cough.

Easier said than done.

It was another terrible night's sleep. It's like my body knows it's night time and I start coughing. Then I lay down and I might as well forget about sleep! It's actually not too bad when I'm sitting up, though, so I went to work today.

It's not that I am a total type A personality. (OK, I am!) I know the place can survive without me. But I did have lots to do and, frankly, I wasn't feeling too bad. I pretty much stayed close to my desk and kept interactions with other humans to a minimum. (I guess if I was contagious I would have already passed it on Monday or Tuesday anyway.)

I also tried to follow the doctor's orders and drink plenty of liquids. That extended to an after-work stop at The Harbor -- a nice bar & grill on the Waupaca Chain of Lakes. I kept my liquids to soda but Carter and Daddy both had beer (Carter's was of the root variety). Had a nice visit with some friends we used to work with, ate some good food, survived a quick rain storm and then got ice cream to go. Can you top that?

Yes, we can.

Good thing we took Carter out to eat because we had something to celebrate. Of course, we didn't know 'til we got home. But report cards came today and we now officially have a 7th-grader in the house. Whoo-hoo! (or boo hoo?) We also have a straight-A student, too! Nice way to finish up grade school, Carter!

I guess we're both type A personalities in our own way.

End of an Era (of Sorts)

With graduation behind him, the only thing Carter had to do this week was, basically, show up. Not much learning was going on but he enjoyed his last few days at Grant Elementary School before all of his classmates move onto Middle School ... and none will be moving onto Assumption with him. So it was a bittersweet day for him.

And for Mom, too. But then, when am I not emotional when it comes to my baby?! (Never mind that he is almost as tall as me now. See below, I think he's on his tippy toes, though.... Please...)


For the past 2 years, Carter has been getting himself up and ready for school on his own. Without fail (except those 2 times he overslept), he has called me at work at 7:45 a.m to touch base, tell me all the sports highlights from ESPN and tell me he loves me. I know we don't talk much substance, but I have enjoyed these calls. A lot.

Today when we hung up, I realized, wow, that's the last call. Next year he'll be getting on the bus for 7th grade about the same time we head out to work -- 6:45 ish. No more morning calls. And no, I will not use my loneliness as a reason to get him a cell phone. Don't even bring that up!

This also means Carter is officially "too old" for a babysitter. Today we had to say goodbye to Audrey and her husband Jon, who both have been like second parents to our boy since first grade! They are "good people," as we say, and it has been a joy getting to know them and their family. They have put up with Carter's silly sense of humor and even taught him that physical labor won't kill you! We're all going to miss them.

Good thing they're not too far away. (Plus, we'll always have our garage sale together!)

To cap off Carter's big day, we played the Orioles tonight. I have to take this opportunity to let you know that I was partially right in my math equation. The Reds still are > Orioles. We beat them 6-3. Carter got walked (with a full count) and then had another hit (see above right after he hit). So he didn't have to walk home from Mead -- way on the other side of town. And we officially have won 3 games this season -- all against the Orioles.

We still have 2 regular league games left on Monday and Wednesday. Carter may get to try his hand at pitching. I would hope he knows by now, from catching, that it's a pretty good idea to throw the ball right across the plate ... into the catcher's mitt when possible.

But let's not cross that chalked line until we come to it.

Today we celebrate the end of being a little kid! Yay!

(sob, sob, boo, hoo...)

Goodbye, Grade School

If you ever question how quickly kids grow up, just look at pictures of Carter in kindergarten versus sixth grade. An amazing transformation!

Today was a special day for Carter and the other sixth-graders at Grant Elementary. It was graduation day! The day they mark the passing of grade-schoolers to middle school (aka junior high). Due to some restructuring plans for next school year, Carter's class also was the last 6th-grade class ever to "graduate" from Grant. (Next year, all the 6th-graders will be part of a middle school.) So they made a big deal out of it.

Daddy and Mommy worked a half day to get home, meet up with my parents and sister and head over to the school for the 1:30 p.m. ceremony. I knew as soon as they started playing Pomp and Circumstance that I would get choked up. Then, when they had a DVD presentation later -- which included "before" and "after" shots of the kids (like the ones above) -- I pretty much lost it.

Other features of the ceremony were two numbers by the 6th-grade band and a commencement address by state Rep. Marlin Schneider. Then all 64 students also got a certificate and memory book. So yes, it was more than an hour on hard chairs. I felt bad for my elders but was so glad both sets of grandparents, an aunt and an older brother got to share Carter's day with him.

Afterwards, we gathered here for some cake and ice cream and pats on the back.

We didn't have long to just sit around and relax, though, because the ball tournament is still going on. Carter's team played their second-round game at 5:30 tonight. This one went better than round one. Tonight the Reds soundly beat the Orioles 7-2. Carter did not get a hit but did get walked on and did some good base running (and stealing) to add to our total. So Grandpa and Grandma Hedberg and Aunt Romey got to share in the glory.

When we got home, we played cards (Dirty Rummy) until after 10. While this was sort of Carter's day, I just couldn't let him win at everything. So I took the honors... for tonight anyway. Now we're just tucking everyone in so we can do some of this all over tomorrow.

Well, the baseball part anyway. Unless we have cake for breakfast (which I will not oppose).

Definitely TGIF

This week feels like it was a month long -- not even counting today, which must have been 2 weeks on its own. Ah well, that's called getting back to work and trying to swim back to the surface! So, so glad it's Friday!

After work we picked Carter up from the sitter's, where he was enjoying scooting around on their go-cart. No, we are not breaking down and buying him one. He may be spoiled, but not that spoiled. Yet.

He had soccer practice tonight. So Daddy volunteered to mow the front lawn if I took him. Fair trade to me. I had to go to the bookstore anyway to find a New York Times. There was a full-page ad in there today for the Amazon Kindle. The book featured on the Kindle was written by a longtime friend of mine --we're talking back in the '80s when we were Bible camp counselors together. I'm very excited for her and this great exposure she'll be getting for the book, which is just one in her series of 4 books. So cool for a girl from Luck to make it BIG.

Got home in time for Carter to finish mowing while Daddy disappeared. Seriously, I have no idea where he is. I figure if there was an emergency somewhere, I'd have heard by now. So it must be something to do with Friday night and Bud Light. Just a hunch.

I spent my evening going through old picture CDs to email some photos of Carter at school functions over the years. They are putting together some memory DVDs and a book, I believe, for 6th-grade graduation. I just look at that cute little boy and wonder where the time has gone!


Here Carter is with a different redhead -- his classmate Alec -- in first grade. He's so embarrassed I was even looking at these pictures. Doesn't he realize he was adorable? I mean, he still is.

But then, aren't we all?

Home Sleep Home

I'm ba-a-ack! I had an unexpected break from blogging this week. My trip out of town was expected, yes, but I also had expected some free time to get to a computer and write. Didn't work out that way.

Land of Lincoln: From Monday through Wednesday, I was in Schaumburg, Ill., on the outskirts of Chicago for a work conference. I shouldn't call it a conference. We referred to it as an Innovation Summit... time away from the various company offices (around the U.S. and beyond) to think hard, think collectively and think big. It was very worthwhile.

Of course, when you're in Chicago, things are already "big" -- at least somewhat grand or on the expensive side. The hotel we stayed at was very, very, very nice. Did I mention is was nice? I just had to take a picture of the TV built into the bathroom mirror -- for the businessman who doesn't want to miss the financial news while he's shaving in the morning... or for Robyn who doesn't want to miss Sports Center on ESPN while she's curling her hair. Pretty cool, eh?

Wii big different: After Tuesday's day full of meetings and thinking, we had dinner reservations at a place called Pinstripes, which boasted Bowling, Bocce & Bistro. Not your typical bowling alley from Wisconsin, that's for sure! Even had leather couches to sit on while waiting your turn. Very upscale, but the lanes were still the same width and same length -- just a bit more difficult to see with the mood lighting. Not that I'm making excuses. Thanks to my recent Wii training, I did better than my usual struggle to break a hundred. In fact, my first frame was a strike! Beginner's luck. I did pull out a 135 which is very good for me.

Home Sleep Home: That was it for the fun. Headed back Wednesday evening and I got home by midnight. I am dead tired after a few sleep-reduced nights and a very busy work day today catching up. I anticipate I'll be in bed before Carter tonight -- mainly since he'll be up watching the Celtics hopefully win and move on in the playoffs.

Runs, Hits, Errors: Speaking of Carter, I missed out on some of his activities this week. In the Runs category, he had his once-a-year 6th-grade track meet with all the elementary schools. Daddy had to wear long underwear to spectate that Wednesday morning! Carter did triple jump, shot put and 100m dash. He will not be taking home any gold medals.

The Hits category reflects the first 2 baseball games. Oh, I don't necessarily mean Carter had the hits. The Reds lost 3-zip on Monday night and tied 6-6 Wednesday evening in a game called for the time limit. I guess it was a bit chilly both nights. Maybe it's not so bad missing a game or 2. The other "hit" is just a little positive side note. Carter tried out for and made the baseball tournament team! So we'll have to adjust our summer weekend schedules (which I previously noted were already full to some extent). Should be fun though.

The Error category is a bit unfair. Hubby was assigned the task of capturing some of this with pictures this week. Of course he couldn't shoot while coaching baseball but the track meet didn't quite go as well as I hoped. He was there but missed Carter's shot put and triple jump -- which were both somehow done in the first 10 minutes. In his defense, he had a 2-minute tutorial (over the phone) on how to use my/our new camera, so the 100m dash pictures sure look like Carter must have been running fast! At least too fast to stay in the frame. Ah well, you live and learn. I was just glad Jim was able to go.

I'm also just glad to be home. End of story. (er, blog.)

Sweet Music

Stop me if you've heard this before... We got the car back from the garage today...

Knock on wood, this better be it! The problem was easily fixed and yes, just a little bit their fault. But it's all good now. They replaced the faulty part and we are back in business with even temperatures under the hood! Yay.

To celebrate, hubby and I went out to eat tonight. Well, it worked out that way. We had to drop Carter off at the junior high and had 90 minutes to kill. So we went to Culver's since it was a fund-raiser night there for my church. It all worked out. They even had Mint Explosion for the flavor of the day. God loves me.

The concert was awesome. It was a Combined Band Concert for the entire Rapids school district, with band members in 6th-12th grades. (I did not bring my camera. I decided to just listen.)

First, all the 6th-grader from the 9 elementary schools played 3 songs together. Carter was among 20 trumpeters. Very cool. Then the 7th, 8th and 9th grade bands played a song each. We were then entertained by the high school drum line -- that rocked -- and the high school band, who played selections from Mamma Mia! I'm telling you, this was my day.

The finale was a song played by all the bands combined. For that, Carter must have been among 100 trumpeters at least. That was loud but awesome!

As a music geek, I am looking forward to many years of concerts like this. It was sweet music to cap off a pretty sweet day!

Music to our Ears

This evening we enjoyed the spring Fine Arts Night at Grant Elementary School. It featured a band and orchestra program, followed by general music programs presented by each grade.

It was nice to hear Carter as part of a group -- and practice some more with my camera. I was much more satisfied with the results than the last time I tried to take program pictures inside a school gym! Here is the program at a glance:

Carter blows the trumpet while the 6th-grade band performed 3 songs.

Carter and Jacob find something funny.

Our trumpeters: Carter, Jacob and Mason.

A view of some of the band visible from our seat anyway.

During the general music part, the 6th-graders played Ode to Joy on recorders. It sounded nice.

They also did a number that combined singing and some other instruments. Couldn't get a decent view here!

They wrapped up the program with some song I was convinced I'd never get out of my head... But now I forgot it. It was a fun one, though, that the kids seemed to enjoy -- as much as 6th-graders will admit anyway!

(Psst... There may or may not be a redhead 2 people to Carter's left. Just saying.)

What Boys Think

No offense to men and boys, but it seems to me there are a lot more women/girls who really get into reading. Who would list it as a hobby or favorite pastime. Who would say: "Reading relaxes me."

Carter was one of those boys who only read when he had to for school. But then a few years ago, he had to read books beyond school books for an Accelerated Reader program. This opened his eyes to the world of books. Sort of.

What he learned is what all of us readers have learned. Not every book tells a good story. Some are poorly written and others just don't hold subject matter of interest (to that particular reader).

It has been fun to see him connect with certain authors. And I'm serious about that. If likes a book by one, then the next 3 AR books he reads are by the same author. (I guess I do that, too, to some extent!) I give much credit to the children's authors who find a way to really connect to the mind of a pre-teen boy. Enough to know what boys think. Enough that boys are interested, entertained and known to say, "This book is the best ever! You have to read it, Mom!"

This school year has been quite the turn-around that way. Now my kid is recommending books to me! I skipped over the Diary of a Wimpy Kid selection. Entertaining, I'm sure, but not much meat. Over Spring Break, I read one called Zach's Lie, which was a story of a boy and his family in the witness protection program. Pretty interesting even for an adult to read.

Now I am reading Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Carter was first turned onto this when his class took a field trip and saw the movie version this spring. Then he read the book over Spring Break and we ordered the whole series. I am not into mythical gods and monsters, but I'm a team player so I will read it through. I can see why he likes it. The main character is a 12-year-old boy, after all. He insists that even if he doesn't get them all read by the end of the school year, he'll keep reading them this summer. I believe that. I just think it's interesting how his storyline "interests" are all over the board. That's good. He won't get bored.

Now, just to show you how those lucky authors can connect to an almost 12-year-old boy but parents can't...

Carter needs to find a news story that illustrates cause and effect and resolution. I said the volcano in Iceland is a perfect example. It caused air traffic hangups and they are using warships and other methods of transportation to resolve it. Sounds like a perfect example doesn't it?

Nope. Not as good as the Celtics' Kevin Garnett getting in a fight the other night which caused his suspension from tonight's NBA playoff game!

Duh, Mom. Of course that's what boys think about!

Swinging into Spring

You know Spring is here and the end of school is near when it's Portfolio Night. In the old days, back when we were kids, they were just called Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences. Now they jazz it up with a new name so parents can't wait to go!

It actually is pretty nice. Each student basically gives their parents a tour of their "portfolio" -- samples of their school work to date. We also saw his recent science project and participated in some brain-buster activities. You know those "obvious" puzzles that are only obvious once you hear the answer. Parents were allowed to help their children but even I was stumped on one of them. (Trust me, I will lose sleep on that one but I am determined to figure it out myself!)

On a side note, this is our last grade-school teacher conference. I just can't believe it. The end is near...

After the Portfolio Extravaganza (now that sounds even more exciting yet!), we stopped home for a quick bite to eat and some homework, then headed to the first baseball practice of the year.

There is no way we are going to call this team the Bad News Bears. Remember how every year they are aligned with some MLB team? Carter's been the Tigers twice and I think the Phillies. This year, though, Coach Buttermaker, er Austin, a lifelong Cincy fan, gets his dream team. He's got the Reds! That's a sure sign this is going to be a great year, right? I hope so.

He will be aided by his trusty assistant Coach Buttermaker II, aka Mike, and lovely wife Christine (the other half of the esteemed Coaches' Wives Club). Carter now has moved up to the next age bracket. I recognized a few of the kids on the team.

In all fairness, it is unfair to judge the potential of a team by the first practice. If they are like Carter, they haven't swung a bat since last summer or played much catch. He was definitely rusty. Even Coach had to work out some rust, throwing pitches. I think both of them will be feeling it a bit tomorrow.

Eventually, we'll get into the swing of our spring schedule, too!

Much Ado About Much To Do

As much as anal-retentive me loves the concept of the "To Do" list, I have this small problem with it... I just can't stop adding to it!

I was thinking we were quite organized getting most of Carter packed up last night. We just left a few things "To Do" for tonight. But that was a few too many when we did not have a wide open schedule.

After we picked Carter up at the sitter's, I ran to town to get the last few things while Daddy drove Carter over to Grant Elementary for his last Spring Carnival. (Sob, sob...) Then Daddy had to take off by 6:10 to get to a coaches' meeting for baseball. I dropped off those few items at home and headed over to the school to make sure the sixth-grader was staying in line. Thankfully, most of our neighborhood was there so they kept an eye on him for those 15-20 minutes he was on his own, so to speak. We had to book it out of there by 7:30 because had a few things to do yetj.

Got laundry done and the last items in Carter's suitcase. Got the camera cleared off and gave him a quick tutorial. Got his movies and games in a small "back seat" bag. Got the second batch of cookies made for his "snack" bag. Got his hair cut -- just a trim (that of course we had planned all week to do!). Got to blog, too!

Is it any wonder I got my 10,000 steps today. Well, close. I'm just a few shy -- but I will deal with that. I'm making a B-line to bed. I hear someone may spoil me with a back rub for a few minutes... And that wasn't even on my list!

Blessings in Disguise

With hubby gone, I had no one to gently nudge me out of bed this morning. So I just kept hitting that snooze and, when I did wake up for real, I promptly let out quite the energetic expletive, jumped out of bed and hit the shower, thinking "Great. This is going to be one of those days."

But then, as usual, God put some people, places and things in my path and I realize I am having a wonderful day. A fabulous day. An "I wouldn't want to be in anyone else's shoes" kind of day. Why?

Here are some sure "Signs I am Blessed" (subtitle: Reasons I have no right to complain today):

• My nephew Tony, who is serving in Iraq, had to deal with their first dust storm of the "season" yesterday. He said visibility was something like 30 feet. I will not complain about my commute with "flurries" today. ( I am thankful, too, for my safety as an American -- thanks to men and women like Tony!)
  
• Carter has been dumped by yet another fickle 6th-grade girl. They were together just long enough to celebrate Valentine's Day. Now, just like the last one, she didn't tell Carter directly but had a friend do it. "I wish they would just tell 'Hey, I don't like you anymore' instead of playing Telephone." Someday, Carter, you'll be blessed with a soul mate for life. I'm so grateful I am!
• One of my sisters is dealing with some health concerns. Apparently, we hit a certain age and our bodies start to go to Hell, much like the elastic in our underwear. I pray that she finds the answers she needs. And, despite my routine griping about exercise and trying to get those darn 10,000 steps per day, I am so blessed that (for today at least) I can!
• There is visitation tonight and a funeral tomorrow for the 43-year-old father of one of Carter's classmates. He had leukemia. Carter and I had a good talk about this and how fortunate he is that he still has healthy parents and relatively healthy grandparents. Carter said he could not imagine life without Dad and listed several reasons why, including, "he buys me treats and introduces me to all these people he knows!" Then said, "Mom, I just don't know what you'd do without him." I don't either.

Yup. I am so very, very blessed.

Pride and Joy

My husband is sooooo lucky. Not only does he have a trophy wife, he's got a trophy son now, too! (Stop laughing. Part of that sentence is true, honest!)

Today Carter participated in a Knights of Columbus math, spelling and free-throw competition for Wisconsin Rapids students. It was something he thought a few weeks ago that maybe he'd do and then decided last night before he went to bed that, yes, he'd do it.

I think he was a little nervous. He actually woke up at 5:15 this morning and then, so he wouldn't wake us up, he finished reading a book he has to test on on Monday. I know. Some days I wonder, too. Whose kid is this?!

Both the math and spelling competitions ended up being written tests. So there was no spelling bee, per se, just 50 groups of words where Carter had to identify which word (if any) was misspelled, then spell it correctly.

When they announced the winners, they started with math. "In second place for 6th-graders is Austin Carter!" OK, we knew who he meant! Carter got a medallion for that (pictured above).

When they announced spelling and someone else got second, I figured Carter was out of it. Math, after all, is his best subject. He says anyway. But then they said, "And first place in spelling goes to Austin Carter!" Whoo-hoo. Then one of the Knights (who knows Jim, 'cause everyone does) said to the announcer, "That should be Carter Austin. Austin is his last name." No biggie. Not like they were engraving the trophy or anything! We did find out that by placing first, he'll have to compete at the district level in March. Thankfully, that's being held in Plover, a town only 15 minutes or so away.


The free-throw competition was happening after lunch so we took a lunch break at Taco John's and headed back to the school. Unlike the first two parts, we actually got to watch the hoops action. Each contestant had to shoot 15 free throws -- 3 rounds of 5 attempts. When Carter started out 4 out of 5, we thought, are you kidding me? Is he going to win this, too???

Silly parents. You gotta wait until it all plays out. He got cocky in the second round and then choked in the third. But managed somehow to finish second among 11-year-old boys. So he got another medallion for that, too.

It was quite a day for our pride and joy! We hadn't even gotten out of the parking lot yet and Daddy says, "Now Momma's got something to blog about Carter!" Seriously, it's not all about the blog. Well, sort of. This is how I can send a message to my whole family without having Carter make 10 separate phone calls.

He did call all the grandparents, though. He says to my mom, who always excelled in language arts, "Well, my mom thought you'd be especially proud of me, Grandma, since you like spelling so much!" Of course, she was proud. They all were.

We are, too. Nice work, son!

Groundhog Daze

Despite the white-knuckle ride to work this morning, I was kind of glad it was snowing. That meant no sunshine and, especially important today, no shadows.

That's right. Jimmy the Groundhog (Wisconsin's version of Punxsutawney Phil) did not see his shadow! So, if you believe the accuracy of our furry friend as much as our 50-50 forecasters, we are in store for an early spring! After days of doing the "grandma shuffle" across icy parking lots, I for one am looking forward to it.

I have a feeling most people don't care about Groundhog Day. I don't buy into it much myself, but I look forward to when they air Bill Murray's Groundhog movie -- one of my old favorites. In the movie, the main character keeps waking up in Punxsutawney to find that it is Groundhog Day. Again. He is frustrated at first, but then takes advantage of re-living the same day to learn some new skills (mainly to impress a woman) and fix some mistakes (again, mainly to impress a woman).

If you could re-live one day of your life over (and over) again, what would it be? Does one quickly come to mind?

I have a feeling my hubby would re-live a ball tournament weekend from "way back when" when his bat was hot and his glove was golden. I'd probably pick something sentimental like our wedding day but I can't overlook my 35th birthday when we had an awesome time at Mall of America and the Twins game (where I got my picture taken with the mascot!). It was a great weekend and one of the increasingly rare ones where we had all 5 of us together.

I suspect Carter would want to re-live yesterday. Oh sure the pizza party was good and the report card was great, but something even better happened after I blogged...

The doorbell rings at 8 p.m. There stands two of the neighbor girls who are in Carter's class. "We've got to see Carter!" Since one of them was wearing shorts (and a basketball jersey), I urged them to come inside to wait. Suddenly, they are looking towards a car in the driveway and signaling for some other girls to join them.

I go get Carter in the basement and say, "There are 4 6th-grade girls upstairs who want to see you!" I get the old, "Yeah, right." But when he gets upstairs, he is stunned. "Oh my gosh, this is not good," he says, while smiling of course. I swear his face turned as red as his Badgers sweatshirt, but he just kept smiling.

It didn't take them long to state their business. "We want to take you on!" they said. As in they are all on the 6th-grade girls basketball team at Grant and they want to play against the boys team. They were laying down the gauntlet and they're ready to fight!

At first I thought perhaps the girls got wind of the boys' reputation (re: losing record). But then the coach comes in the house (he's the dad of one of the girls) and says, "I just had to meet this Carter kid they're talking about."

As Carter's face turns redder, I suspect perhaps our boy has been talking a little smack at school. I explained to him that if he accepts the challenge, he is accepting on behalf of the team. That -- and the fact that all of these girls are taller than him -- did not deter him. There will be a game in the near future. I am sure of it.

Before the girls left, I offered to take a picture of them in our dining room to prove they were all there. I was half joking but one of the girls said, "I've got a camera on my phone!" Nope, Carter wanted none of that. Though I bet he's kicking himself now. He called one of his teammates later and he didn't believe Carter!

I don't think Carter believed it either. He had a hard time falling asleep last night. He'd alter between, "Man, I can't believe there were 4 girls here to see me" and "We're going to have to kick some butt!"

Perhaps it's just the girl in me, but I don't think those boys stand a chance. Unless, like the movie, they get to keep playing the game over ... and over... and over ... until they win!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Highlights and Low-lights

Just got back from a nail-biter of a sixth-grade basketball game. In the scheme of things, it was much more low-key than a certain playoff game I pledged I would not mention again. However, in Carter's world, it was exciting stuff.

First the low lights. I mean, seriously, the low lights. The lighting in this church gymnasium was awful. So my pictures leave much to be desired but at least I captured a few highlights of the action.

Carter gets set on defense.

The Rapids team scored first and we were up 6-0 after the first quarter. The Rudolph team got hot, though, and shut us down in the second quarter so at the half, they were leading 7-6. I know you can feel the excitement...

Above, Carter (#55 for no special reason) attempts to block a shot. Surprisingly, I have seen a few players who are shorter than him.

With Rudolph expanding their lead in the third quarter, Carter and the rest of the team step up their defense. Carter had a few steals and good defensive plays. He only had one foul and was fouled twice. However, he failed to capitalize on those free throws. Dang. From the field, he missed his first 3 (or was it 4 or 5?) shots. Then...

Here he is making the first of two lay-ups. Yay, Carter! It was so nice to see him score!

Unfortunately, it wasn't quite enough. They ended up losing 19-14. But I must say, it was their best-played game to date. Good thing we still have at least 3 more games left. If they get hot, they could finish at .500. If not, who cares? He's having a blast whether they win or lose.

Something I suppose we all could learn.

(But there are always exceptions, right?)

Hoop Dreams

I'm beginning to suspect the person who created the basketball game schedule has an old-fashioned notion that only one parent works out of the home and the other is available for school functions any time of the day.

Of Carter's 8 basketball games, 5 of them will start at 4:15 p.m.

For the average person, this still means getting out of work an hour early. For us commuters 50 minutes away, it means getting out of work waaay early. We had to hit the road by 3 so we were at the bus stop to get Carter at 3:50. He had to change into his basketball clothes in the car on the way to the game.

Today's game was not at the YMCA like last time. Most of his games will be played at a church near the Y that, unfortunately, is set up for a sort of half-court size of court because another game is being played on the other "court." Anyway, the kids probably liked it because it was a shorter court and they wouldn't tire out as easily.

And they had reason to tire out. I swear these 6th-grade boys give a new meaning to the phrase "fast break." Everything was quick-paced action. No time to set any plays up -- or those "picks" they just learned last week. Just bing-bang-boom back and forth.

I guess it worked. (Either that or Carter's new red-and-white wristbands were lucky.) The Rapids team pulled out a win this time -- 18-16!!

Carter did not score a basket yet, but had a few more chances than last week and, to his credit, tried. I will not be an official statistician but he did have 2 fouls and a few steals again. And, most importantly, he had fun.

Of course, the hoop dreams came to an end when we got home and it was time for homework and work-work. See, if we had a later game, that stuff could get done beforehand, and we could ride this high to bedtime...

Tooting His Own Horn

Carter informed us today that he is going to tackle the tuba as well as the trumpet for the sixth-grade band.

As he tells it, the band teacher brought in a "three-fourths tuba" and let the students give it a try. After being declared the "best in the class," the teacher said Carter could take the instrument home to practice it. "Honest, Mom, even Joey was impressed and he plays the baritone, which is the closest thing to a tuba!"

So after he tells me his plan to bring home the three-fourths' sized tuba on Friday and carry it -- along with his trumpet -- to school on Monday, he says I can "spread the word." I'm not sure who cares about his band adventures except for Daddy and me (and that may be a stretch some days), but what better place to "spread the word" than in my blog?

Yes, you lucky readers now have access to exclusive, breaking band news!

And here you thought your day was going down hill! You can always count on me and/or the other idget (I better specify, the young one) living under our roof to provide some entertainment :)

We've Got Spirit

Shhhh... Can you hear that? It's the sound of Christmas spirit sneaking into the house. I've been waiting for it. But I'm not sure everyone's ready for it!

Jim took Carter to basketball practice tonight so I got 90 minutes to myself! Just enough time to call up my twin to talk about weekend Christmas Cookie Bake plans and make myself comfy on the couch to get into a new Christmas book. Yep, the excitement is quietly starting to bubble under the surface.

Of course, the guys came home and they have their own excitement building. Carter got his basketball schedule tonight. Starting next week, he'll play on Mondays through the beginning of February -- with time off during Christmas break, of course. They'll be playing area communities and two teams from the catholic school system in Rapids.

It's interesting that Carter's team is comprised of kids from several elementary schools and, actually, is the only Wisconsin Rapids public schools team. Really? It takes 8 elementary schools to have enough 6th-graders for one team? That just seems unreal. No one cares about hoops any more? Hopefully, the 11 kids on his team are as excited as Carter is to play.

This will be an entertaining winter, that's for sure. And I think it will be good to have something fun that sort of extends the spirit of the holidays. But let's not talk about that just yet. I haven't even mailed my cards yet (though they're ready for a change) and only half my presents are wrapped. We've still got a lot of spirit to enjoy this season!

Girl Trouble

I heard some disturbing news the other night. The kind a mother hopes she doesn't hear until like, say, maybe the night before her child's wedding. It's taken me 48 hours to process it and accept it, but I think I may just have processed it...

Apparently last week (and we have this good authority), on a day Carter came home on the bus instead of going to the sitter's, that redhead was in our neighborhood. Her mother apparently dropped her off next door, but when the parents of the girl next door got home, they saw their daughter in the road near our homes. They asked what she was doing and she apparently tattled that she was waiting for Carter and her redheaded friend. They were in the woods!

OK, nothing against redheads, I swear. But what kind of woman invites herself over and then sneaks over to take her man out to the woods? And why is this happening in 6th grade? And what exactly is happening in the woods? And do I really want to know?

Of course, in a firing squad of 4 parents around the campfire Saturday night, Carter completely, completely denied this. "What woods?" he asked. Oh really, we're playing that dumb?! Uff da. I needed to go lay down then and, as I type this, I don't think I've gotten over this yet. I am living in Denial Land thinking maybe, just maybe, I wasn't going to have to deal with this until junior high as least.

Deal with what, you ask?

Well here's the thing. Now Carter will be coming home for the next 3 weeks instead of going to the sitter's. They have a Christmas tree business that keeps them busy in December and, since Carter just completed that babysitting course, we thought we could have some peace of mind that he'd be OK by himself for 90 minutes after school.

But now. NOW. We have to worry less about whether he's going to burn the house down and more about trusting him not to let anything else heat up!

Seriously, I need to go lie down...

For the Sake of Comparison...

You can't really judge something effectively unless you have something to compare it to. Sometimes it works in your favor. But not always.

Hubby had an excellent day today. Sure, he had to do some laundry and put dishes away. But while he was off, he also got to meet up with friends at the saloon for an entertaining lunch hour.

I had a great day at work. Sure, it was productive and interesting. But before I got there, I had my annual visit/exam with Dr. Fun, so considering how my day started, work sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

This evening we had parent-teacher conferences for Carter. Sure, he's a good kid with a few self-control issues. But compared to a "high energy" class of 20 other energized folks, he's a pretty good kid. (He got lucky on that one.)

Seriously, his teacher had nothing but good to say about him and pointed out, like we often do to him, that if he didn't rush through things -- or at least went back and checked his work -- he could be a straight-A student. He's got that potential.

And, in this case, we say, "Who cares what other kids are doing or not doing? We're not comparing you to them. This all about you and what you can do. And we know you can do it."

Former school-loving honor-student Mommy has to keep saying that so she doesn't start comparing either!

Keep Yer Distance

Tonight was the Fall Festival -- what we used to just call a Halloween party -- at Grant Elementary School. Carter's last one!

This morning, in our daily call, we talked about whether or not he was planning to dress up. No, not really, he said. He has a costume in mind for Saturday but hasn't gotten anything together yet. He told me he wants to be a gangster. In my mind, I am seeing Al Capone in a pin-stripe suit or, better yet, Johnny Depp as John Dillinger.

No, Mom, not a gangster, a gangsta! A rapper dude. He needs a flat-billed baseball cap and low-riding sweats. Whatever. I'm not buying anything toward that cause. He'll have to use what he's got! And, trust me, it will take until Saturday to get that together!

So he said he'd just go as Carter and then said, "OK, I don't want to sound mean or anything, but when we go, can you just stand by the neighbors like last year and talk to them?"

I knew where he was going with this. "Carter, don't worry, I'm not gonna embarrass you and hold your hand while you're waiting in line," I said.

"Mom, it's not that I'd be embarrassed. I just want you in one place so I can find you... So I don't get lost."

Really? I wonder how many 6th-graders are getting lost at that little Fall Festival?

At least he was trying to politely dismiss me. In the end, I got out of it anyway. Daddy volunteered to go so he could stand around B.S.ing with the neighbor dads -- and I could stay home, lay on the couch and catch up on Mad Men. That was nice. I'm all caught up now. And I guess the only thing I really missed at the party was some cute girl picking on Carter.

I wonder if she'll still like him when she finds out he's a gangsta...