Fall and Football is Like Peanut Butter and Jelly

All that I know most surely about morality and obligations I owe to football.

-Albert Camus

Fall is great. It involves cooler weather, beautifully colored leaves, and pumpkin spice scented everything. However, if you ask me, the best part about this great season is a widely-known sport where men are men and smack talk is at its highest. What I'm talking about is FOOTBALL!! What better way to spend a Saturday night after work than to drive across the county to Lawrence, KS for a good old Sooner beat-down against the Kansas Jayhawks.

My love for football started at a very young age. On December 26, 1981, the Oklahoma Sooners played the Houston Cougars in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX. My grandparents lived in El Paso, so as a Christmas gift to my parents and me, we all attended the game. I was three days short of turning nine months old. I believe it was then, when I actually became a football fan and a Sooner fan.

(That's me in the middle- in the pink. Nice hat Dad!)

Last night's game wasn't Koko Bean's first college football game. It was actually her third. She was nestled in my tummy for the first two. That didn't stop her from dancing to the tune of  "Boomer Sooner" in utero. (I know you are singing it in your head now. It's quite catchy.)

(Korbin is that big bowling ball looking thing under my hoodie.)

Last night's game didn't disappoint. As we walked into the stadium from Uncle Polly Wog's house, Korbin was perched up on my shoulders taking in everything. From the smell of the popcorn, hot dogs and cotton candy, to the crowds chanting, "Boomer!" She would answer their "BOOMER" by yelling "SOONER!"

She did get super excited when she saw the big Jayhawk and said, "Look Mommy! Rock Chalk Jayhawk!" My poor baby girl is going to be so confused when we don the crimson and blue during basketball season. As for her college career, we're keeping her options open.

We were all starving and didn't have time to grab dinner on the way there, so we opted for some hot dogs, sodas, and a pretzel for a whopping $30!! She even sneaked a few sips of Daddy's soda. Uh oh!!

As if the expensvie junk food we called dinner wasn't enough, there was a man pacing the bleachers with a pole dressed in about about twenty bags of blue and pink cotton candy. When Koko Bean saw that, her eyes lit up and she exclaimed, "OOOOOOOH boy! It's a dress! I need one! I need THAT!" So, with the last five bucks in my pocket, I sent Uncle Polly Wog after the man carrying the dress of confection. Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly the texture Koko Bean was hoping for and she decided cotton candy wasn't her cup of tea. That meant Mommy, Daddy and Uncle Polly Wog had to eat some. (At the end of the night, the majority of it was left with Uncle Polly Wog for a study treat.)

As the game went on, and each team took turns putting points on the board, we thought KU was going to pull off the upset. I don't think Koko Bean noticed though. She was too busy dancing to every song the Jayhawk Band played. She even waved the wheat with them when they scored. Uncle Polly Wog enjoyed some banter with Daddy as the Jayhawks had more yards at one point during the game.

After halftime, a lady behind us came back to her seat with a container full of nachos, and what did Koko Bean do? Of course, she begged us to get her some. We figured that since she didn't actually eat much of anything we had gotten her, what was one more thing to top off our night of complete nutrtional deprivation? I think the nachos were her favorite of the night.

After eating the entire container of nachos (okay so maybe the adults had a few,) and licking the cheese out of it, the game was drawing near the end and the Sooners had a comfortable lead. We left the game eight minutes until the end to beat the crowd, but I actually think the crowd beat us. Either way, traffic out of Lawrence wasn't half as bad as it was coming into the town. As soon as we hit the highway, Koko Bean was fast asleep, and Mommy's fingers were swollen from all the sodium consumption. (Hooray for Dandelion Root.)

All in all, it was a great evening with the family. Koko Bean was very well-behaved compared to what could have been and the Oklahoma Sooners remained undefeated. The Kansas Jayhawks put up a valiant fight, but couldn't score. Polly Wog wasn't too disappointed and reverted to what all Kansas Jayhawk fans say without fail,, when any of their other sports teams lose.....

"Just wait until Basketball Season....."

Dog Days

Today was a great day to head to the dog park. Flex, our five-month-old Mini Bull, had never been and we were itching to get out of the house to enjoy the weather while it lasts. We threw on some play clothes, grabbed some drinks at Quick Trip, picked up a picnic lunch from Sonic, and headed to Shawnee Mission Park. When we got to the park, Koko Bean was way to occupied by the scenery to eat her chicken strips.

Flex was anxious to see what was in store for him.

After we finished eating, we drove to the other side of the lake where the dog park was. There was a long trek down a winding trail to get to the dog park and I wasn't sure we'd make it. Flex wasn't used to his leash and harness yet, and Koko Bean was complaining of a tummy ache. My tummy was turning too because I could smell dog urine as the wind picked up on the path. We finally made though and Flex was greeted by many dogs. Let the rear end sniffing commence.

Flex found a friend in the form of a five-month-old boxer, named Eva. Eva showed Flex how it feels to be Chloe by rolling Flex over several times and biting his neck.

Flex was having fun for a while, then started to get frustrated because Eva completely overpowered our little guy.

While Flex was busy making friends, Daddy was teaching Koko Bean how to skip rocks.

Koko Bean enjoyed sitting by the water, and throwing rocks as the waves came crashing in on the shore. She even got too close once and her tennis shoe got wet. She didn't mind though. She played peacefully while dogs ran around her, chasing tennis balls and splashing in the water.

The dog park was a lot of fun and surprisingly, there were no dog fights out of the ten or so dogs out there. All the dogs got along great. Flex was more interested in the people than the other dogs. I swear he approached each patron and received a complimentary petting at each stop. Everyone loved him and he loved EVERYONE. Koko Bean would tell people, "this is Flex," as she introduced her "brother."

On our way back up the trail to the car, Flex was exhausted. Koko Bean was too and caught a ride on Daddy's shoulders. I think it was a successful trip. No one got hurt, we made new friends, and got to spend time as a family. I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Friday afternoon.

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Autumn is here!

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

-Albert Camus

Today is the first day of Fall and boy, we are relieved. Bring on football, warm pots of chili, any flavor of soup, and hooded sweatshirts. It feels great to walk outside and not feel like you need to turn right back around and change your damp, sweaty clothes. We've opened the windows to allow the fresh clean air to waft through the house (only on our days off, due to the recent incident wtih the weird homelss man drinking out of our front water spicket.) And I have every room smelling of pumpkin spice from my plethora of plug-ins and my Scentsy warmer. This is my favorite season.

Koko Bean has been enjoying the cooler weather too. We have gone outside more than we have in the last two months. Thankfully neither of us suffer from allergies, so we can. Today, we put our "Sammy Scarecrow" on the front porch and made her a pumpkin friend to sit alongside her. Koko Bean loved poking the eyes, nose and mouth in our Mr. Potato Head Pumpkin. I was glad we didn't have to carve him, and clean up all his guts. It was a win-win situation.

Cousin K2 also joined us today. Mommy and Koko Bean kidnapped her from the babysitter (sorry Ashley,) and brought her to our house to entertain Koko Bean while we cleaned. We sure love having K2 over to play. She and Koko Bean have really become close.

Even though the sun goes down a little earlier than it does in the summer, it is comforting to know that when we wake up, the air will be crisp and it will be one day closer to Christmas! However, until the sun sets we have plenty of playing, jumping, riding, and even hopscotching to do.



Even the dogs have joined in on the fun.

By the way, speaking of football, last weekend, while Daddy was gone, Koko Bean and I enjoyed watching our Oklahoma Sooners. It turns out, this girl loves football just as much as her mommy. She hooted, hollered and boomer soonered all night with me. Well, she only lasted until about the middle of the second quarter. I think they must have heard her cheering because they ended up winning the game.

BOOMER!!

Surprise! I'm not a baby anymore.

While we try to teach our children all about life,

Our children teach us what life is all about.

~Angela Schwindt

All parents say it. When you have a baby, everyone says, "enjoy this now, because they grow up fast." Boy, they aren't kidding. It seemed like yesterday, I was anxiously awaiting the birth of my precious baby girl. Today she's two and a half going on twenty. In just two and a half short years, my little girl has gone from this tiny, dark-haired infant to a beautiful, blond toddler. I feel like life is passing me by so fast, that I need to write down everything she says or does so that I can reflect later. Even though I have this blog, I still forget some stuff and it drives me nuts when I go to type it here, that I forget. The reason would be most likely because she will top something uber cute or funny with another even cuter, even funnier episode.

My little Daddy's Girl has started to be Mommy's little buddy these days but not without some funny Dad episodes like wiping boogers on him. The other day, Daddy took her to the gas station with him and the attendant offered her a free Laffy Taffy. She took it but then demanded a sucker as well. Daddy told her no. She didn't need both. After throwing a fit, she looked up at Daddy, with her big blue eyes, fluttered her long eyelashes, and asked for a kiss. As he leaned down to give her a kiss, she quietly whispered, "Can I have a sucker now?" Talk about a sly little munchkin!!

Every night, Koko Bean ends up sleeping with us and at around 6am, she wakes up and asks Daddy for a drink. He gets her a drink, and she goes back to sleep. Thirty minutes later, she wakes up, rubs his whole face with her little hands, then leans down and gives him a kiss. He pretends to sleep, but he melts on the inside. He still says, "I love our little girl," in the midst of random conversations. I always agree.

I thought a few months ago, that this clingy stuff she'd been doing, was just a phase. However, it seems it is here to stay. The old me would have been impatient, thinking I needed to get a lot of things done around the house, but the new me stops everything just to sit with her and talk. I love how she knows the whole "ABC" song, including the ending. Today, in the car, she ad libbed the song a bit, like she was putting on a concert in front of thousands. When she got to "W, X, Y," she said, "c'mon everybody! And Z."

We took a wagon ride today at Deanna Rose Farmstead, and she had to hold my hand the entire time. I loved how she squeezed my hand when we had hit a bump and how she just sat solemnly, taking everything in. All the other kids were singing, talking and laughing. While Koko Bean loves to sing, talk and laugh, she's also a very observant little thinker. She often reminds me of her uncle Polly Wog when he was her age. I think she's just as smart and hopefully will take advantage of the genes she's inherited.

Every day like today, I love to think back on the day and reflect. To be a parent is a challenge and it's quite humbling, but it's also the most rewarding responsibility in life. I'm going to continue to make these memories with Koko Bean, and hold onto them as long as the good Lord will allow.

How one little girl can make a mole hill out of a mountain.

I had my day all planned out for today. I was going to take Koko Bean to the doctor with me for my check-up on my intestinal issue I was having last month. Then we were going to begrudgedly go to the DMV to renew car tags on Daddy's truck. We made it to the doctor. Thankfully, everything checked out great. Then off we went to the DMV. YUCK!

The line at the DMV was shorter than I expected. I signed up with my phone number to check in so we could keep track of our wait. The initial text said thirty-nine minutes, so I was pumped. This was going to be easy!! WRONG!

Fifteen minutes later, I checked my status and it said thirty-five minutes was the time remaining. WHAT??!! Koko Bean is as patient as her mommy, so with that being said, we took off to Sonic to get a coffee and some apple juice. On the way to Sonic, I spotted a Hobby Lobby. SCORE!! I love Hobby Lobby and I've been excited to peruse all their Fall decorations, so I quickly checked the status of my place in line. Twenty-seven minutes. PERFECT!

Needless to say, Hobby Lobby didn't have anything we couldn't live without so we started back to the DMV. We backed out out of the stall, and as I was shifting back into first, I heard a CRUNCH, followed by more crunching. What the heck??!! I had just totaled my car back in May, and we bought a brand new car. What were the chances? I won the lottery twice- the-little-old-lady-who-can't-drive-who-happens-to-"not-see-you" lottery- TWICE!

As I sat there for a minute to gather my composure, Koko Bean asked me, "Momma, are you going to cry?"

"No," I replied. "I'm not going to cry."

"Well, you can," she answered back.

As the other driver and I exchanged information, Koko Bean sat quietly in her car seat patiently. She asked me again if I was going to cry and told me that I should. This made me laugh despite the circumstances. I checked my DMV status and they sent back a text that said I had lost my place in line. GREAT!! I decided to give up on the DMV for today.

We came home to pick up Daddy and file the insurance claim. Instead of sulking in the sadness of my brand new car being dented, we decided to make the best of our day off work and go play anyway. We ventured out to the Legends to walk around, check for bargains, and eat at Dave and Busters.

Despite all the craziness and stress of the first half of the day, Koko Bean helped to turn our frowns upside down and focus on the good. She even made an impression on another young couple at Dave and Busters. You see, Daddy likes to win stuffed animals from the crane and he usually can. This time, though, it was a lot more difficult, so Mommy was playing a game that rewarded her with multiple tickets each time she played. We kept getting the tickets weighed to see how many points Mommy had won, but there weren't any prizes suitable for Koko Bean with the measly 700 points Mommy had. As we were searching for something for a souvenir for the munchkin, the D&B prize attendant handed us a card and said a couple had anonymously left it specifically for Koko Bean. I asked the guy who did it, and he pointed to a young couple walking away quickly. What a sweet gesture. What did Koko Bean pick with her 900 points??

You guessed it! Sponge Bob and three plastic bracelets. One of these days, I will tell her how her sweet and positive attitude attracted others and how it made Mommy's mountain turn into a mole hill. Wrecks happen everyday. In fact, a man from my hometown is fighting for his life right now from one. Another man lost his battle this week. I am thankful that even though this is my second accident this year, both Koko Bean and I were left unscathed. I am thankful for the blessings we have received in the rough times we've experienced.