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Things settled down a little bit these past few days. Not much, but a little. Saturday was busy as expected: two soccer games, a baseball game, and Lori and I on a date to celebrate the upcoming 20th anniversary when we met. We went to Middle Eastern restaurant for dinner, then got a couple beers and got home at a decent hour. I was exhausted and slept a long time Saturday night into Sunday. Michael woke up Sunday morning and threw up, and Ben's baseball practice was canceled, so we took it kind of easy until I had to go to work. The day was warm, and even Popcorn didn't feel like running as much as she usually does. Monday was also kind of mellow. Today was my all-day co-op at the boys' school, swim practice for them, then a baseball game for Michael. He went 2-for-2 with a walk and three RBIs to help his team to a 20-2 victory. I was proud of him -- he is such an aggressive hitter that I didn't think he'd draw a walk all year, but he was patient and finally go

(After 11 of these monthly reflections, I finally have arrived to the last one, and just in the nick of time before May. It's been a good year.) April is so confused. Gray, cold and rainy one day; blue, sunny and clear the next. But this schizophrenia isn't just the weather. Summer looms, but we can't stop thinking about the months previous. The year drags on, yet we can't stop thinking about the warmth that lies ahead. But April has a clear payoff -- get through this month, and you're rewarded with the best days of the year. The blooming is coming. April demands patience. April is baseball. And basketball. And hockey. And football (via the NFL Draft). And soccer. It's the one month we seem to get every sport. Playoffs are starting. The joyous slog through six months of baseball (less joyous for Cubs fans by August) begins with green grass and perfect spring days ... if it's not raining (or snowing).  April is "Let's Hear It for The Boy&qu

The the past three days have gotten sunnier and warmer each today. The leaves are ready to burst on our linden and are already starting to pop on the maple. I took the hoses out, figuring we won't get another freeze.Although we are bound to get at least one more miserable stretch of cool, wet weather, I think we're past the worst of it. These have been three busy days. Ben had two baseball games, Michael had a game tonight, soccer, swimming, and all the usual stuff we cram into every week. Michael's team won 11-5 tonight (4-0 this season!), and he went 1-for-2 with and RBI and a rite of passage for young baseball players: He got hit by a pitch for the first time. He started crying after the ball hit him in the right wrist, but only for a little bit before toughing it out and going to first base.Of course, we had to get frozen yogurt after the game. I went in to the newspaper for a few hours this morning and was perfectly positioned to meet Lori for lunch. We went to Toa

I co-op at the boys' school all day on Tuesdays. Usually, I enjoy it, but today, I was in a foul mood. My foot was numb from the herniated disc, kids weren't listening to me when I was helping in Literacy, the substitute teacher's surly mood was affecting me, Ben got really mad at a classmate picking on him, and Michael was annoying me during Math. We had a sports workshop today that I helped with, and that was fun and lessened my mood a little. We got home, and after venting to Lori about the rough day, I managed 10 minutes of nap before we were out the door again, to the boys' swim practice. (Oh, did I mention the dog chewed the handle off her doggie bed in her crate today?) I had to take Michael out early so he could get to his baseball game, but of course, we got stuck in traffic. I had done some exercises for my disc, and though they pulled the numbness out of my leg, they made my left glutes hurt bad. Needless to say, I was still cranky. Fortunately, watching

After working Sunday night, after a busy weekend, my Mondays are never that monumental. With the temperature dropping and the sun retreating for the beautiful Sunday, I didn't exactly have high hopes for this Monday. I'm happy to report, I wasn't that lazy today. I didn't mow the lawn as I had hoped, but I did get the dog out for two walks. I made a mostaccioli bake for dinner. Michael and I walked to the baseball diamond near our house so he could practice pitching (he's getting better, but still needs practice). I scanned pictures and wrote. I rested after the tiring weekend Having did something baseball-related with Michael, I offered to play a game of Strat-o-Matic baseball with Ben. (For those of you who have never heard of Strat-o-Matic, it's a dice-and-cards baseball game.) He's played before but mostly just rolled the dice. I was hoping he'd take an active interest in reading the results and understanding what happens when someone hits a doub

Almost all of Saturday was rainy. Almost all of Sunday was sunny. Thus is April. Michael played his soccer game in not quite a torrential but definitely a steady rain. His team actually didn't play too badly despite the conditions. The precipitation stopped for Ben's game, but the other team barely had any players show, so we borrowed it a couple and had a game underneath the gray skies. Ben's baseball game was then mercifully postponed. Saturday actually felt relaxing as a result. We went to The Habit for dinner, then settled in and watched "Godspell" in the evening. Yesterday was gorgeous. The boys had baseball practice, which is always nice on a sunny spring afternoon. I had to go in to work afterward, unfortunately. Today is cloudy and cool again. I need to mow the lawn soon, but not today.

Wow, it's a month into spring already. Summer will be here soon. This week has been sports, sports and more sports. Both boys had soccer practice yesterday and swim workout on Tuesday. Michael played two baseball games this week, Ben had one. Both boys have soccer games tomorrow and Ben has another baseball game in the afternoon. I love all the sports -- I really do -- but I always find some relief when our three-sport spring ends in June and we just have swim team (although both boys are asking to do camps, hoops for Michael and soccer for Ben). Maybe my herniated disc and Lori's absolutely exhausting couple weeks at work have us thinking about June a little sooner than we should. Oh, Michael's baseball team won 9-6 tonight. He went 1-for-2 but was a little bummed about striking out. This from a kid who struck out maybe three times all last season in machine pitch. He still is getting used to the fact that he doesn't have to swing at every pitch. I'd say he&#

I have two good reasons why I haven't blogged in two weeks. Actually, I just thought of a third. First, I've been getting a lot of contract work. Steady writing and editing, a couple hours every night I'm not otherwise at the newspaper. The work has been great, and we definitely can use the money, but I'm finding myself not in the mood to write for myself afterward. The freelancing isn't going away anytime soon, so I need to figure out my schedule -- not convoluted with baseball and soccer -- to blog more often. Second, I am suffering from a herniated disc in my lower back. That diagnosis was confirmed today at the physical therapist. I've had lower back pain/tightness before, but never has it shot down into my hip, glutes and hamstring. The pain at times has been unreal, particularly if I'm just rolling over or sitting up. I've been exercising less as a result and feel like the weight loss I achieved this year is evaporating. At least I have a diagn

Today was technically spring, but it felt so much more like summer. We are still in St. George, and as predicted, we spent much of the day by the pool. Some good friends also visiting St. George came over in the morning, and the four boys swam for a couple hours. After lunch and a trip to Kohl's, we returned to the hotel, and though I was kind of pushing to go for a hike, we ended up back by the pool for a couple more hours. The skies were clear and sunny, the temperature was near 80, and my deck chair was aimed squarely at the sun. The boys had a blast all day, and I was happy the pool wasn't cold. For lunch, we went to a Thai restaurant we discovered a couple years ago. St. George, unfortunately, is loaded with chain restaurants, and Lori and I wanted to go someplace different. The boys initially complained a little but otherwise settled in to the choice. I was proud of them today. Michael discovered he likes sushi -- avocado rolls, specifically. Ben tried sushi (

Maybe my heart isn't into the spring blogging. These five days have been busy. Soccer practice. Baseball practice. Work. Easter. Vacation. But at least it hasn't snowed. We are in St. George right now on a short vacation during the boys' spring break. We arrived yesterday, swam in the hotel pool last night, went mini-golfing and go-karting today, swam some more and ate at Olive Garden for dinner. I've managed two long walks after the family has gone to sleep, but it hasn't been easy: My hip has been killing me, and my left leg is unusually sore, probably from overcompensating. I don't even know what I did. The weather has been spring-like, at least. Easter was gorgeous. Another fun day looms ahead. I'm sure we'll go swimming.