MacDaddy First "Official" Hockey Game of Season

MacDaddy played in his first "official" hockey game of the season. The team has had one practice and one practice game. MacDaddy is #8. The team won 7 - 5.

Autumn Apples

Due to the upcoming Canadian Thanksgiving holiday, the kids are off of school today and Monday. Needless to say, being an American in Canada, it is most odd to celebrate Thanksgiving before Halloween. A few moms from my American Woman's Club here in Oakville decided to take our kids to Chudliegh's Apple Orchard in Milton--a short 20minute drive in the Escarpment. It was a perfect autumn day. Sunny and about 68 degrees. The trees are beautiful... reds, yellows and oranges. A-mac , Lil' Lefty and MacDaddy played in and on hay bale mazes (you see a picture of MacDaddy on a hay bale with a sign near him that says no climbing on the hay bales.

I pointed the sign out to my kids. Lil' Lefty told me they couldn't read the sign because it wasn't in French!) We walked through the petting zoo, went on a hayride, and then went apple picking. Sampling many apples while picking, the kids decided that Jonagolds were their favorite. The apples were huge (about the size of a 11 inch softball) and only 99 cents a pound. MacDaddy picked his first apple off the tree, took a bite and came over to me with his tooth in hand. He had lost a tooth biting into the apple. We picked about 13 pounds of apples and bought a homemade apple crisp pie for Big D who had to work today.

I Wisj I had Taken Typing Class is High School

Big D here. When I attended high school I took several AP (Advanced Placement) classes in history, math and English. These classes were designed to get a fast start on college and often qualified for college credit. An argument could be made that these classes helped make me a well rounded individual. Unfortunately, and surprsingly, I feel I use very little of what I learned in these classes in my every day life.

I wisj I had taken typing. I spend more time during the day typing and often hit the "j" key when I want to hit the "h" key... pause... figure it out... I would be more productive at my job if I could type without looking at the keyboard and use more than five fingers...

Last night I took A-mac to the speed factory. The speed factory is an individual business where he works with kids in groups to improve their coordination, explosion and agility. As I have watched all my kids in their activities I have realized that no one has ever taught them how to run. You would think this comes naturally but I believe it can be improved with proper technique and dedication. Several parents have taken their kids and everyone I have talked with gives high marks. Speed, unfortunately, is not one of the genetic qualities I have handed down to my kids.

Movie Quote: If you have seen the Rocky movies you may recall this quote from Mickey when he is working with Rocky on his speed before his big rematch with Apollo CReed in Rocky II.

[During Rocky's retraining] Mickey: "Speed, greasey fast speed. You're gonna eat lightnin'; you're gonna crap thunder. "

12,891,800 People Live in Ontario

Ok, not all people in Ontario are age 10 years old and under as of December 31,2008. I will also concur that not every girl under the age of 10 plays fastpicth softball.

Today, the entire family drove an hour to St. Catharines, Ontario (close to Niagara Falls) to attend the annual Ontario Provincial Women's Softball Association (PWSA) awards banquet.

There were about 350 people in attendance. Lil' Lefty received her

Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. She was recognized individually and among a group of MVP's in each age bracket.

The banquet and dinner took four hours. Lil Lefty received an individual plaque and gets to keep the Mite (10u) MVP plaque for a year ,which has her name permanently engraved into it. The names of past winners to 1985 are on the back. In fact, Lil' Lefty's MVP was the very last award presented of the afternoon. Two members of the PWSA said they had to save the best for last.

Way to go Lil' Lefty!!!!

First Game with the New Team

A-mac played her first games with her new team... kind of a warm-up set of four games against 15 year olds (A-mac is 12). They played in Port Perry, Ontario which is about 90 minutes northeast of where we live. An email reading error by me, caused us to be late for the first game. A-mac likes the girls and the coaches. She played third base 3 of the 4 games and left field the other. She had three hits, scored three runs and made several plays from the hot corner.

A-mac is playing third base with the water behind the field. She is with her team between innings and batting in the late game (notice that artistic way the lights drape the softball field :-)

Hockey Saturday in Canada

This is what MacDaddy has been waiting for--Hockey Saturday in Canada. Today, MacDaddy played his first game of the 2008-09 Hockey Season. This year he is playing for the Penguins. He is #8. FYI...there was not a #87 jersey to choose. Could you imagine the scene in the locker room with twelve 8 year old boys fighting over who would get to wear Sidney Crosby's #87? It was a game of many firsts. MacDaddy had his first injury(knee), first goal and first loss of the season(4-3). He said he had fun, but thinks his knee is broken. Immediately upon our arrival home, he ran upstairs to change his clothes and rode his scooter over to a friends boot camp birthday party. Broken, eh?

S'MORE PLEASE!

Part of the enjoyment of S'MORES is the way in which they are made. A marshmallow is skewered on the end of a long stick and held just above a fire until (according to personal preference) its outer surface starts to brown, char, or even catch fire. The marshmallow is quickly pinched off its stick with the waiting graham crackers and a piece of chocolate. Ideally, the heat from the roasted marshmallow partially melts the chocolate into a gooey, delicious mess.

Now, imagine my surprise when 8 year old MacDaddy says he has never had a s'more. How can that be? A-mac and Lil' Lefty have had s'mores. Maybe he was too young to remember? No use having a "Yes, you have/No, I have not" argument with your child over s'mores! This week, I made a point of adding to my grocery list: graham crackers, marshmallows and a Hershey's chocolate bar. Tonight, after dinner, I fired up the the chimenia and MacDaddy, A-mac and Lil' Lefty made and ate s'mores. I even pulled out the camera so that years from now my kids can't say , "Mom, how come we never made s'mores?" The proof will be in the pictures. By the way, MacDaddy liked the s'mores and asked for S'MORE PLEASE!

The Puck Drops Now!!!

Hockey season has officially started for MacDaddy. Last night, I sat in an ice box and froze as MacDaddy circled the ice. Even though I never played hockey, I can understand why kids like the game. They wear lots of cool pads and equipment, circle the ice at "blazing speeds" and never get hurt when they fall.

The puck drops now!!!

MacDaddy's PAR-TEE!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

"A's" for MacDaddy

Congrats MacDaddy!!! MacDaddy made the Oakville A's Rep baseball team once again. Practice will start after the holidays. MacDaddy is happy to play with four returning teammates and friends who also secured spots on the team. He looks forward to meeting the newbies of the 2009 A's team soon.

When in Rome...

Aside from hockey, we broke down and did our most Canadian activity. No, we didn't go camping or ice fishing. We went on a walk. Who knew how beautiful it is and only minutes from our house. Macmom walks with a group here along Oakville's sixteen mile creek once a week. I suspect it was 4-5 miles through the woods and around the creek.

I Can See!!!!

I remember my thoughts when I first put on glasses. I couldn't believe and didn't understand that people could actually see that far. A-mac finally got her glasses. After three consecutive annual eye doctor visits being told you are on the border of needing glasses, A-mac finally crossed that border.

Eye like the way they look....

One Dog Year Equals Seven Human Years

We have all heard this statement. Last night at about 2am our two+ year old dog, COCO woke up and jumped off our bed. I heard her. In the back of my mind, I was hoping MacMom would get up and take her downstairs to let her out. The dog sat on the floor and whined...wimpered. I decided to get up and go let her out.

Got downstairs and all COCO wanted was a drink off water. She got her drink, turned around and walked back upstairs and jumped back into bed.

Did I really just walk a 14 year old downstairs to get a drink of water?

We're No Angels!!!

It became offcial last night. Lil Lefty traded in her angel wings for a tiger roar! Lil Lefty got a call from her new softball coach and she accepted a position on the Mississauga Tigers Squirt II Rep fastpitch team. A-mac has already started practicing with her new team, the Brampton Blazers Novice I Rep fastpitch team.

Funny... we live in Oakville. It is a shame that the Oakville Girls Softball Association (the Angels) has had so many bumps along the way. Now, in order for our kids to play in well run organizations with competitive teams, we end up driving to other towns.

Ruth, Boggs and Damon all did it

Babe Ruth, Wade Boggs and Johny Damon are just three of the many players who have played for rivals.

A-mac finished her softball season, had a couple weeks off and then had to start try-outs for next year's team. There was some "drama" in the softball organization within the town that we live, and we had generally assumed our kids would be better off playing in a neighboring town. The drama could fill an entire blog by itself. This creates a challenge for us busdrivers, but in the end, we do what we think is better for our kids. A-mac was mildly made aware of a team in a neighboring town that she should be able to play for.

I suggested that A-mac should go to the try-outs for the Brampton Blazers. Brampton is the "arch rival" to our home town and the organization that beat Lil Lefty in her championship game. Brampton has a long history and always fields good quality teams. Up until now, we believed that Darth Vader was from Brampton.

Because of the drama within our home organization, several girls from A-mac's last year team also attended the try-outs for Brampton. People generally want there kids to play on a good team. There were 30+ kids at tryouts on the first Tuesday night.

First Night Lesson. A-mac did not do well the first night. She was just one of many. On our ride home she asked me what I though about the try-out? I explained that I suspected the coach already knew 8 kids he wanted on his team. After tonight, I would think he decided, he did not want 1/2 a dozen girls that came out, which leaves about 15 kids in the mix for 5 - 6 spots. While, A-mac did not do her best, I also assumed she did not do bad enough to be eliminated. She, along with 30+ other girls, wore a white T-shirt. I suggested that she should wear something "softball" OK, but something that differentiated her from the pack. We talked about how this was like an interview or an important test and how she did not seem to be prepared of focused enough on making the team (or getting the job, or performing well on the test...). She did enjoy the company of the girls and seemed to fit in well with the new friends she had met.

Second Night Lesson. A-mac wore a green T-shirt from a softball tournament and sufficiently stood out in a positive manner. She played better! She fielded and threw better. She hit well off the T. Again on our ride home, we talked about how valuable tryouts are because later in life there will be more important events that can benefit from the experience of "tryouts". I suspect the coach had increased the number of kids that were not going to make the team and the number of kids that he wanted. I still believed A-mac was in a pack of undecided.

Third Night Lesson. A-mac was concerned that she was not going to make the team. We discussed that there will be times you tryout for something and do not make it. I have had dozens of unsuccessful job interviews, but always try to learn and improve from the experience. In the back of my mind, and believing I know how this works, I suspected that if I was not approached by the coach at this last night, that more than likely A-mac would not make the team. They were scheduled to play a pick-up game off a pitching machine. Teams were divided and based on what I saw A-mac was assigned to the "not interested" team. Another dad mentioned to me at the beginning of the tryout that he had been called by the coach that day and his daughter was offered a "soft spot" on the team. This confirmed my thought that I had to be contacted tonight if A-mac was to make the team. At, the beginning of the tryout A-mac was on the bench - another bad sign. I watched the first two innings and these girls were good. A-mac could play with these girls. They were good. Fun ball to watch. Later that inning, A-mac batted and hit a single between third and short. The next time up, she was given the bunt signal and bunted well (arg!!! not a way to demonstrate what should be your best attribute - hitting) I really wanted her to be able to play on this team. The whole time on the bench she "chattered". She was very positive and supportive of people playing. She was the only voice that could be heard at the diamond. She was into the game. "She was A-mac"!!! I thouht to myself that of all the girls there I would want someone on my team with the attitiude that A-mac was showing. I was very proud of her. The next at bat, she ripped a line drive between left and center field for a stand-up triple and probably could have scored. In between, she made two good plays at third, throwing out runners at first. I saw the coach call A-mac over and saw them talking. Then, I saw A-mac point to me. The coach came over and offered A-mac a spot o the team. Way to go A-mac!!!

The whole ride home she said she wants to play on Brampton. She liked the girls on Brampton. Two other girls from her team last year were also offered spots on the Brampton team. After a night of well earned exuberance, we discussed that she had made a committment to try-out for another team and that she should keep her committment. We went to the try-out on Saturday morning. A-mac did well and the team was good. She, however, had decided she wanted to play for Brampton.

First practice with her new team was last night.

Making Headlines

Lil' Lefty is in the Beaver again!

http://www.oakvillebeaver.com/sports/article/204254

Make A Wish!

Happy 8th Birthday MacDaddy!

Finally, A Jays Game...

We finally got to a Jays game this year. We went with the families from Lil Lefty's softball/fastpitch team.

A fun time was had by all.

Provincial MVP

The link below is to the Ontario Provincial Women's Softball Association (PWSA)website. Look at the mite (10U) MVP.

Way to go Lil Lefty!!!!

http://www.ontariopwsa.com/content/view/26/9/

First Day of School

We had a busy summer. Lot's of "ball". We went on trips to Cleveland, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, New York City, Toledo, Buffalo, Niagara Falls and several other Canadian cities. There were very few, I can only remember one (probably the activity was cancelled due to rain), days where the calendar was blank. It rained a lot. It was cooler (mostly in the 70's) than a Texas summer. There was constant activity in our house. I include A-mac banging away at the computer and Lil Lefty and Mac Daddy playing on the Wii or outside playing with neighborhood pals.

School started yesterday. Adorned in new clothing and backpacks full of school supplies and lunch boxes packed (oh, how I miss hot lunch!), all three kids excitedly headed off to thier first day of school in their new classrooms. Luckily, none of my kids were banished to a portable classroom in the parking lot. After one day, feedback was the expected "goods" and "bads" of who they got as their teacher, friends in or not in their classes, etc..