It’s been a very busy weekend with Thanksgiving then a hockey tournament (replete with days’ long bake sale fundraiser). And just for fun, on Friday night Sam and I were horsing around (you know where this is going) with whipped cream and pumpkin pie. This is a family holiday tradition going back several generations. My mom’s dad apparently had a mischievous streak: “honey, I think the whipped cream has gone off a bit? Could you check?” My grandmother took a little sniff, then BAM! a swift bop and her nose was full of the fluff! This continued on with the children…each older child in turn would stifle a laugh as the next in line would be inducted into the whipped cream hall of fame. I didn’t really remember this when I went for it on Friday night…the moment just seemed to be there. Sam was swiping whipped cream with his fingers and stuffing it into his mouth, so I grabbed a handful and helped him stuff his mouth a bit – it got messy quick! He grabbed the can, tried to spray me, I escaped with a little in my hair. Then I asked Sam: “Hey, Sam! Can you still SMELL the pumpkin under all that whipped cream?” He bent over to smell…and yes, I plunged his nose right into the white fluff. (Buttercream frosting leaves better nostril marks.) He took off chasing me around the house with a handful in retribution and when I got cornered I turned around helplessly and saw him smiling in pursuit! That’s when I noticed…a THIRD OF HIS TOOTH WAS MISSING!!! He’d chipped a front tooth on the plate! OMG!!! OMG! This is reeeaaallly BAD! So, my hockey player had a badly chipped tooth, but not from hockey, or any LEGIT sport as the teenagers at the rink were quick to point out. It was from HIS MOTHER shoving his FACE into PIE! Freak accident, yes, funny now, yes, but I felt (and still do) horribly about it. We have the most incredible dentist, though, who was willing to come in yesterday to assess him and fix him up today. Here’s a shot of the progress. You can’t tell now. Today I got bucked off for the first time in two years of resuming riding. So – an epic day for me as well. I should have known better than to grit through a sense of Emmy not being in a cooperative mindset. Riders call it “behind the leg” – not accepting direction. It’s a decidedly unsettling feeling when a horse isn’t moving forward under you. The etiology of all bad things horse-related is riding a mount who is not in front of the leg. I should have jumped off and lunged to reassert my proper place in her horse hierarchy, but I’ve worked through such rides before. Today I was really relaxed – maybe because I have a lot on my mind (work, sick kids, school stuff, visiting family, etc.) and had survived hockey, so I wasn’t really ON mentally myself. You have to actually be a bit edgy to ride well – very much in tune to your environment and the beast. A bit wired. I wasn’t today. I was relaxed, which, oddly, enabled me to fall well. I saw it coming – a buck on the canter depart which threw me forward, then I couldn’t recover fast enough for the next one and saw myself sailing toward a wall. Hit my head (that’s what helmets are for) and landed on my back. Within a few minutes I was back on after my instructor, Janet, had a conversation with Emmy. In describing this to Dave tonight, he said that could be courageous or stupid. I replied that Roosevelt (my current historical interest) would have gotten right back on. Dave replied “Yes, because that was his mode of transportation and he still had 1,500 miles to cover.” 😉

Emmy plotting my demise.

Back to the post title. I was packing up kids into the truck yesterday after the tournament was over and the younger sister of our goalie was asking her mom this question. She’d just heard Sam call me that 🙂 I’m sorry for the influence of my crazy children! Oh – wait – I should apologize for MY influence on THEM I guess! Hope you had a sane holiday!!!!

Trying to get a Thanksgiving hug from Sam – it’s a full contact sport!

All of the November pictures have now been annotated and uploaded to the ALBUM. Videos of hockey games, hockey practice, stick and puck, Emmy (the awesome Irish Sport Horse I borrow to ride), and…is there anything else? Soccer games…oh yeah, that. The wet, cold, soccer games! Oh, and me cooking a few actual meals that start with raw ingredients. That were edible. And people ate them. I think even liked them. A shopping trip to beat all…just days in the life. I got rear-ended for the second time in my life (I’ve never caused an accident or gotten a ticket but after starting the hockey commute last year, I’ve been rear-ended twice!). The bike rack on the back of the truck really puts in an extra layer of defense, but is not well liked by the Lexus which met it up close. Poor car. Enjoy the photos and drop me a line to let me know how you are. Tamara… 🙂 Liisa? How the heck are ya?

Shopping for all the fixin’s with Sam and Ben the day before Thanksgiving, after giving them frozen yogurt for lunch, AND allowing them to each have a cart. Maybe not a good idea, but they were model boys! No one got hurt, no one got admonished, and they found the things they were sent after, even in a crowded store. The parking lot was packed, the store was packed, but I honestly have not had a more pleasant time with them! We DID come home with enough to make FOUR pies, but that’s ok. We’ll get to that. I make a decent crust and it’s fun to do over the weekend. (Between hockey games? Huh…) On the way out of the store we raced shopping carts down the parking lot. There’s a nice slope for coasting. Yes, I was safe. 🙂 Turns out you can steer with your feet!

Mom and Richard arrive to find the mess left behind by the storm the night before (which knocked out power).

All cleaned up and burning away! Cheaper than hauling it 😉 Plus, you know I like fire. It was hard to get me to come in for turkey…

How long has it been since my last update? I think a couple weeks since we went up Mt. Zion…the boys and I… So, it’s time to post a few updates!

An impromptu Wed fire, hockey shootout, s’mores before dinner, and pizza supplied by the fabulous Larry, Eli’s stepdad. Thank you, Larry!

The weather has been really really cold, windy and wet this fall. Soccer has never been this much fun since I played in NJ! Still, the kids are all smiles and Ben continues to enjoy his time with the team. They are playing well together and winning some games, to boot.

Sam is leading dry land (warm-up before the game). Earlier in the day he was doing dry land in the bleachers while Ben was playing in a wet soccer game. This prompted me to see if the coaches wanted him to run dry land while they put together lines for the game. It seemed to work out well. Sam enjoyed it.

Wheat continues to learn how to integrate into this flock. She is very timid, still, requiring feeding by hand and constant vigilance to be sure she weathers the stormy weather ok. She finds hiding places where she can hunker down and stay out of the general chicken milieu. She’s learning to tolerate Calvin’s amorous advances. She’s an intelligent and sensitive little bird. I’m happy to see this through as long as it takes.

Ben leaving after a game. His bag is as big as he is!

Taking 4 hockey boys to stick and puck, then open skate, on Veteran’s Day. My bag is in there as well. 5 hockey bags…that’s as much as this truck can hold without putting the roof carrier on! What a funny time that was at the rink. Look for a link to “figure skating.”

Here is the FIGURE SKATING VIDEO!

This was pizza time between skating sessions. I think there were 9 boys. That is Dee in the back (purple jacket) taking pictures as well.

Sam has wanted a snake for a long time. I find myself in a spot where I need to consider: Xbox? Or Snake? Apparently the name “Bob” would be bestowed upon the 4′-5′ boa he hopes to bring home. Santa??? Thoughts? It’s only $60. Ha! And LIVE feeder rats! I can see it now – stopping on the way home from the rink for a feeder rat, then to Taco Del Mar, for feeder burritos. Geez…just when I thought my life couldn’t get more interesting.

I’ve learned Morse Code! Every morning the boys give me a word to spell out in code, then I check my accuracy. This has been a dream for some time – 5-10 years. And at last, I’ve learned!

A “happy Ben” picture after a great hockey game! This is his buddy Sam (not brother Sam).

We stopped at the commissary on the way home. $397 worth in the truck. Ben was in charge of the $5 tip you give to the ladies who help you out. But where is it? Apparently he’d put it UNDER a bag thinking it would be fun if the little lady found it as she loaded the truck and wondered if it was for her. Sweet little treasure hunt…NOT! Sam and I shared this look of disbelief. It’s one in a long string of looks we’ve given each other with Ben lately. Just earlier that day he was missing both hockey gloves AND a left elbow pad. Thankfully I was able to find old backup pairs for the game, and then Humpty Dumpty was put back together at the rink from the lost and found, and another boy’s bag. Still…the missing items list has grown distressingly long in the last week or so. Time to turn the noggin on.