What Do Orange Juice and Chocolate Have In Common?

When I'm at the grocery store, plowing along with my heaping overflowing cart, following my carefully detailed list, OJ and chocolate never seem important.

And then morning comes. I search for chocolate to eat while I drink my coffee. Just one tiny piece of something sweet...a cookie or perhaps a fun size Snickers...but certainly NOT a Tootsie Roll. The used to be considered "emergency chocolate" for me but now **blech** I'd go without before eating one, especially with my coffee! The kids don't even eat them. I think we still have some sitting on top of the fridge from Halloween.

Saturday, I baked Praline Bars with graham crackers, butter, brown sugar and pecans to satisfy my sweet tooth. Yesterday, I considered just spooning in some brown sugar into the kisser, but found a single, solitary, Hershey Kiss in a Christmas tin in the cupboard.

That's all it takes, just a tiny bit of sweetness to make my day.

I felt like kicking someone for not buying chocolate, but that would have been me, and I'm not quite fond of pain.

And then there's orange juice. Never, when I'm in the store do I consider buying OJ. It would take a special trip down an aisle I usually forgo. After I stack the 5 frozen Orv's pizza's in my cart, I skip right on over to the health food section completely skipping the ice cream, popcicle, frozen juice, and eventually soda aisles.

I shouldn't say "never". Sometimes I weigh the importance of getting out the the store as quickly as possible and my craving for juice. At this point in my escapade, I've just about had it. Already, visions of the total on the receipt are slapping me in the face, not to mention I've probably got a squeaky wheel on my cart, or worse yet, the one that sticks causing the whole contraption to veer left into oncoming traffic.

Getting outa there usually wins.

But then I make eggs for breakfast and agonize over not having purchased orange juice at the store. Then, breakfast would have been complete.

So, yesterday after church, home make egg mc muffins were on the menu. With no orange juice. I lamented about the situation...

and went to Wal-Mart to buy chocolate and orange juice.

In the candy aisle, I was frozen by the choices. Do I want Dove or Ghirardelli, Reece's or M&M's?

"Just close your eyes and grab" I told myself. " You won't care in the morning...as long as it's sweet, you'll be happy."

I know the chocolate will be there until I finish it off, the kids know they're not allowed to eat it without asking. The OJ, I'm not sure...I think it should be saved for breakfasts containing eggs, but some people in the house think it can be made whenever.

No one's up yet...I'm going to have breakfast!

We're About A Week In...

Our summer soccer league has started. We've got a week under our belt and it feels just right.

The 4 boys all play 2 nights a week. Hailey hasn't played since 5th grade and that's okay with me, there is a lot of screaming at girl's games.

I love that it's what we do on summer evenings. The hardest part for me to get used to is getting everyone fed before we leave. Inevitably, no matter how much I plan, someone ends up needing/wanting to eat after we arrive home. I try, at all cost, to avoid that many meals in one day... so this year, I'm packing snacks, or will pack snacks once I get that organized. Healthy, cheap snacks like trail mix, popcorn, and carrots. I'd rather have them eat those at the park than dirty dishes at home and make me feel like I've got to plan for 4 meals a day, I don't meal plan well.

As it is, Matt joins us after work by calling my cell phone and asking "Where do I need to be?" Or like last night "I'm done, come and get me." He's hungry and needs nourishment as well.

But this post is not supposed to be about food, it's about soccer.

So anyway, the second hardest aspect about 8 soccer games in 4 days (not evenly distributed at 2 per night) is transportation. The 3 younger boys play on set nights, 2 on Monday/Wednesday and the other on Tuesday/Thursday this year, but in Hayden's age bracket their games are not scheduled for specific or consistent nights of the week. While the younger 2 play at the same parks each week (not both of them at the same park, but each separate boy at separate parks) the older 2 travel. Granted, the Green Bay area is not huge, but it can be a haul across town when there are time constraints. And high gas prices. It should help that Hailey can drive, but with only 2 of 4 of our vehicles working at the moment, having a 3rd driver isn't all it's cracked up to be.

I live love to plan, but even this gets tough. Like last night. Although we only had 2 games, one at 5:30 and one at 7, they were across town from each other and the 5:30 team had pictures scheduled for after, Matt was working late and my parents were out of town.

I ran several scenarios, and plan E (with visual) seemed to be perfect.

F-B 4:55-Me and the boys leave home (fed) to pick up Hailey from work in vehicle 1 (to be further noted as V1 for simplicity)

B-C Arrive for 5:30 game (G1 for simplicity) 15 minutes early (per coaches request) in V1.

C-D At 6:15 (or half-time) pile all (but player-duh) in V1, drive to Matt's work parking lot.

D-C Me, Sam and Isaac take Matt's van (to be further noted as V2 for simplicity) back to G1.
:::simultaneously:::
D-E Hailey and Hayden drive V1 to G2 (can you guess). On the way, stop at Mc D's for Hailey's supper.

C-E After G1 and pictures, me and 3 youngest head across town in V2 to G2.

E-D/D-E (round trip) Matt calls after work and someone picks him up from work to enjoy the last moments of G2. (V1 or V2. At this point it doesn't matter)

D-A Drive V1 and V2 home from G2.

Hard to believe that's easier than meal planning for me isn't it?

Anyway, this is post is not supposed to be about transportation, but about soccer.

While I still had Hailey (our newly appointed family photographer) at the G1 I had her document the scene.

It's been a very wet/cold season so far, but it does keep things fun and exciting. I mean, what boy doesn't love to play center forward AND play in the water at the same time!?!?!?!

Here's Griffin with the opening kick off.

Another nice size puddle on the sideline.

Fishing in the sandbox.
I love it!

Even when in the middle of V1/D-C Hailey calls me to tell me they have completed V2/D-E and upon arrival have been told by the Ground's Keeper that G2 (and all G's at that loation) have been canceled due to poor field conditions. (Wow, worse than G!?)

Plan F commences immediately:
V2- E-F
V1- C-F, F-D/D-F (round trip)

and everyone wanted to eat again when they got home.

*UHLK^%&KDJK(%^!!!!!!!!!!!!!