Monday, May 31, 2010

The Former Greenskeeper

"...Now....about to win the Masters."

Well, it is a start anyway. I took Caz out today for his first ever golf outing. We played The Hill. North Hill. In Duxbury. A quaint little 9 hole course that is harder than it appears. A place that I learned to play on. A place that as kids, we would go sledding down the 3rd hole tee boxes, for the best sledding in town. Kids today, still go there every winter in droves. It is also the place were the guys I hang out with play one (or more) Friday afternoon each month.
Caz played well. He certainly looked that part. He had his brand new golf shorts. He sported his yellow, collared golf shirt. A green visor with the logo of a course in AZ sat on his crown. He first shot was a beauty. So much so, I misjudged his ability to come close to the group in the fairway. The shot ended up a lot closer than I would have liked. His scoring was dubious. But he really played well. He kept pace. He hit some really nice shots. It was a really great, Father/Son afternoon. 2 plus hours of great weather, great sport, and great company.

Friday, May 28, 2010

The Talk

We go the note home last night for Caz. 5th grade Boys Night Out. "Come play some games and stay for a short film on health." Dum da da da, dum dah, dum dah, stop....Puberty time. Yep, it's time for the elephantitus video. Caz got momentarily shy about it. He even proclaimed, despite years to the contrary, that he didn't want hair on this penis. No choice about that my man. I am actually looking forward to it. He's old enough to know definitively where babies come from. He's off to junior high next year. And Demi and I have been pretty upfront leading up to this. It's not like we filled in the whole picture or got graphic. But we tell the kids like it is. We answer their questions honestly and hopefully, age appropriately. So now it's time to find out for sure what he knows and make sure he understands the right things. No big deal.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The End

This might be the end of a TV age. Not to come again for some time. No more LOST. No more 24. I purposefully avoided posting about either this year. I knew I could not keep up and would not be able to do it justice. The two best shows on TV. Period. For a long time they were the gold standard. And now, they are gone.

I thought I was ready to write a recap. But alas, not yet. I am still in my mourning phase.

At least I can talk about the Sox now. And the Celtics. Although the C's last two games just pulled the scab off the Bruins band aid over our hearts.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

The Year of the 40

No. Not the 40 oz. No Edward 40-hands. My crew is starting to turn 40 this year.

Happy Birthday, Ringo! Glad you are going first............

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Travel Team

Demi and I got a hint yesterday by way of a vague heads up. A fellow parent and football coach asked if Coco got a call. All the kids that made the team were supposed to have been called yesterday. That was for the one team though. There are two summer teams. Coco got his call today. And.....drum roll.....he made it. He was very happy. Looks like coach wants to get started right away. Coco's first practice is this Sunday. Way to go kid.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Thank You Notes

We fell behind on thank you notes for the boys birthdays this year. Way behind for Coco. Coco didn't really have a party yet. But still, he's way late on the ones he owes.
There was a really nice surprise in Caz's stack. He wrote a thank you to Demi and me. That's not the norm. We don't insist that he right one to us. Hence the surprise. It was really heartfelt. There was no angle to it. Just genuine affection and gratitude. It's one of those times that you feel like you are doing a good job at this parent thing.
By the way, he got a set of golf clubs for his birthday. He was either fortunate. Or cursed. Time will tell. If he hits like the old man? Cursed.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Try Out Day 2010

Well, today was the day. Caz was still mulling over trying out for summer travel baseball up until the end. He's not sure he wants to keep playing for another season. At least this year, I don't think it's the nerves driving the bus. I think he may be legitimately feeling burnt out. I did tell him that he can try out and turn down the team, if he should make it, to give himself some options. However, when it came time, he put his foot down and I wasn't going to fight it. Fight it is the wrong way to put it probably. But you get the gist.
Coco was dead set on trying out. I was probably more nervous than he was. 29 kids ended up trying out. 24 would be picked. "Please don't let him be on the outside of that ratio." I thought to myself. The hitting part was joke. You got 5 pitches. Not swings or hits. Pitches. The guy took about 5 batters to "warm up" and then fired them in from close range. Noticeably, this was after his son went. Pitching was not a strong point for Coco, but he did get in a couple of strikes. His fielding went well though. He fielded everything clean and made good throws to first.
So now we wait. And I hope. And we will deal with whatever comes.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Pre Teenage Wasteland

I think I would actually prefer if the issue was just the Who being played really louding in Caz's room, with the door closed. I would even take it if it was Miley Cirus. But if this is a preview of what the teenage years are going to be like, it's going to be a long process. And if we are both still standing at the end, it will be a miracle. He's definitely testing the old man and starting the rebellion early. I am sure each side thinks the other is the the Galactic Empire and each might be right in certain ways. Sure military school is seeming like a better idea all the time but that's when I just need to step back, take a deep breath, and count to 10. Or 100. Or a million. Pool or pond.
The hot and cold analogy is certainly applicable. Although there are more days when it seems that Caz's is running cold. I wish I could blame it all on the early school start time. Although that certainly doesn't help. We do battle over bed time. He's a monster getting up early for school. And I admit, it seems wrong for 3rd-5th graders having to get up at 6:30-6:45 AM to catch the bus. Caz and are in the midst of an expirement. He was extended in his lights out time (until 9 PM). If he can get up with out giving Demi a problem in the AM, he can keep it. If not, it ratchets back 15 mins. And we will go for another 2 weeks. He's not tired most of the time at that time but he needs his sleep. And he needs to get up and ready for school.
Maybe he just needs a tall Starbucks first thing in the AM?

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Summer League

Tryouts for summer league are coming this weekend. It's that nerve racking time of year. For me. It is for the kids, but I always fret about how the kids will react. Coco wants to tryout for sure. Caz is on the fence. Nothing new there. Caz though legitimately questions if he wants to play baseball all summer. This will be the first try out for Coco. He missed last years. He has stated unequivocally that we wants to try out though. Quite a turnaround for the kid that didn't want to play baseball this season to begin with. Looks like my instincts were correct earlier. Good for me. I was bound to be right at some point.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Mother's Day - 2010

Happy Mom's Day to the mother's out there. Especially Demi. A great mom who is raising great kids. I hope you have a well deserved celebration. Restful day. Whatever you want it to be.

For first time Moms Stubbles and Bubbles, have a wonderful first Mother's Day. Stubbles has double trouble with twins. Bubbles has my niece, the Bee. And in this trio, I suspect that Demi may have to be rebranded, Troubles. Although she may argue that the other two deserve this distinction.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Cinquo di Mayo Cinquo

Today is not just a reason to have tacos, fajitas, and margaritas. Although that is exactly what what is on the dinner menu for tonight, sans margaritas. It is a school night after all.
Tonight, the Red Sox are honoring Nomar Garciaparra. #5 gets his moment before the Nation. Very fitting. #5 comes back to Fenway on 5/5. The boys will get a kick out of this. Caz is long over the hurt of The Trade. It was 6 years ago at this point. Being only 5 at the time, the memory has faded. I think the night will spark some memories though. He still has Nomar's picture up on his wall.
The boys did do some ethnic studies in school about the meaning of Cinquo di Mayo. Which is good. They can teach me about it. We didn't cover that in grade school that I can recall. And apparently, you won't be able to study it in AZ either. Not public school kids at any rate.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Sleeping Like Babies

We are trying a new sleep experiment with Caz. The new early start time for school is still wreaking havoc with his sleep patterns. The kid just does not want to get up in the AM for school. It's a battle for Demi, just about everyday. The list of AM tasks is not extensive: dress, brush, eat. Pretty basic. But the kid will just not get out of bed and get started. He does eventually get out, but it is not a pretty sight most mornings.
He keeps lobbying for a later bed time. And I can't say that I didn't go to bed at his early time, when I was his age. But I didn't have to get up as early either. So we start a two week trial period this week. He gets to stay up until 9 PM. Lights out, immediately at 9. If he gets up without argument and gets ready for school on time, he can keep the later bed time. But if he doesn't, then it ratchets back 15 minutes. If he's still a problem after another week, it goes back another 15 mins.
Let the clock start ticking......