A new adventure ahead

The cat is finally out of the bag. We are leaving California this summer and heading to the great state of Washington! After a lot prayer, tears, discussion and research, we have come to a place where we feel like this is the right thing for our family.

When we found out that Adrian might be recruited out-of-state, I immediately started praying. Not really to stay in San Diego, or to go to Seattle or Colorado or anywhere else for that matter. I prayed for discernment. That our path would be very clearly revealed to us and we would feel at peace with our decision.

One by one, doors that we thought were opening kept shutting. Jobs that we thought would be perfect weren't. And very clearly, the path for us to Seattle was laid out. Throughout the process, we were scared. We didn't want to go and we kept saying over and over again, let's just take the easy way. Let's just take that crappy job.

Let's not do it.

Let's not follow the plan.

But something would change and then we would remember that this really isn't in our hands anyway. When we told the kids, they were excited; particularly, Gabriel was ecstatic. He, of course, is thinking of all the fun things in Seattle (the Space Needle and orca watching are one of his current obsessions), but we have still been very frank with him.

Mimi and Tata won't be a 45 minute drive away.

Grandma and Grandpa won't be a 3-hour car ride away.

It rains a lot.

You might not be going to Catholic school anymore.

You'll have to make new friends.

But still, even after hearing all of that, he is game for the challenge. He sees it as an adventure, as do we.

Five years ago, we applied for jobs in Seattle. Adrian's business had failed and we wanted to start fresh somewhere and we didn't really know what to do. We didn't get any leads and so we begrudgingly made the trek down to San Diego and lived with family until we could get back on our feet.

Three years ago, when we live in the Imperial Valley we started applying again in Seattle. Just a handful of jobs to see if anything would happen. Nothing. Then we were back in San Diego and comfortable and we didn't want to leave.

You just never know where life will take you. I feel comforted and at peace. I feel excited and happy and scared and nervous!

One of the exciting things about this new adventure is that we are going to take a week-long trip up the coast to get to our new home. Adrian's company is going to pay for the trip and we get to explore the entire West Coast.

So, when Adrian leaves next week, I will be keeping myself busy by finding the best places to go along the way, delicious restaurants and cool sights, all the while counting down the days until we can make our way to our new home!

A child's prayer

The other day, we were driving to Santee to celebrate Gabriel's birthday and had one of his friends from school in the back seat. They both go to Catholic school, so are required to go to mass weekly, say several daily prayers, and are overall used to learning about God on an everyday basis.

On that day it was rainy and as all locals know, San Diegans can't drive in the rain. There was an accident on the side of the road and the people who had been in the car were outside, crying and calling on the phone. Nobody looked hurt, but you could tell that they were upset.

Gabriel looked at his friend and said, "X, let's say the prayer that we say at school for those people." His friend agreed and they said to us, "In the name of the Father..." and so on proceeded to do the sign of the cross.

"Lord, please be with those who need them."

"In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

Their sweet concern and thoughtfulness actually brought me to tears. Their compassion was so beautiful!

From the trenches: Responsibilities of a t-ball team mom

This is our second year playing t-ball and I guess you could say we are seasoned. Last year, we decided to jump with both feet in, guns blazing, head first, right into being coach and team mom. We had told them that we would coach if nobody else stepped up, aka, they signed us up right away. Adrian really didn't have the desire to coach but I convinced him that it would be a great experience for Gabriel, so he decided to give it a shot.

We have just begun our second season as coach and team mom (which we swore we wouldn't do, but you get sucked in!) and I would like to believe that we know what we are doing now...

There is a LOT to do when you are coach and team mom, much more than I could have imagined. Before the first month of practice, there are at least 3-4 meetings that the coach and team mom need to attend, along with several coaching seminars. In our league, the seminars are free and provide a great resource, especially for new coaches.

As the team mom, your real job starts as soon as the team has been assembled. I like to kick-off the season with an introductory email that talks a little about us and our background, as well as highlights key dates such as uniform pick-up night, our carnival fundraiser, practice dates and location, contact information, request for assistant coaches and volunteer forms, equipment needed for the season, etc. One of the best resources I have found for communicating to and coordinating our team has been Shutterfly's team sites. They are amazing!

At the first practice, I focus on learning the kids' and parents' names, and making sure to introduce myself to each person. They hear a lot from me all season and I want them to feel comfortable coming to me whenever they have questions or concerns. I also bring extra volunteer forms, because for Little League, anyone who plans to interact with the kids is required to have one on file.

During the first month, and definitely before Opening Day, I get my banner company on the phone and have them design a banner, and take our jerseys and hats to the custom screen printer to get names on the jerseys and numbers on the hats. Teams are not required to do either, but we do both. It's a nice way to customize their things, makes it much easier for dugout volunteers to figure out which hat belongs to which child, and becomes a keepsake after the season.

I also work out how we will organize our dugout during the season. This is critical. Our first game last year was an absolute disaster, and that was because I had put zero thought into the matter. My husband was about to fire me from my team mom duties and find another mom to help him. So, I went to the dollar store and bought 12 buckets and backpacking clips, then designed 12 baseballs on the computer with each child's name and number, printed them out and laminated, bought a clipboard and boom.

At the next game, the kids were sitting down in their seats. The batting order was easier to decipher because they were already in order on the bench. Cups and gloves and hats were all placed in the buckets below their names. Whoa. Amazing what a couple bucks at the dollar store and some printed names can do!

One of the most important responsibilities of the team mom is to stay on top of communication. Each week, I try to send out practice and game time and location, snack duty assignments, as well as any other need-to-know information.

The biggest recommendation I have for team parents is to enlist other parents to help. I have made great friends by getting other moms on board and having them help with assigned duties. You'll be shocked at how willing they are to help, they only need to be asked!

A sixth birthday

When I found out I was pregnant with Gabriel, I hyperventilated on the toilet. I wasn't ready to be a mom and didn't think 9 months would make a difference. And then he arrived, and like almost every parent when they meet their firstborn, my breath was taken away.

Every day since then, he has taken my breath away. Sometimes it's from laughing my tush off at his funny jokes.

Other days it's because he is driving me crazy and I am yelling and begging and pleading with him to listen/focus/pickupthetoys/pleasestophittingyourbrother!!!

This child is sensitive and sweet. Fiery and energetic. Fair and honest and thinks that people should do the right thing. He's polite and a little bit crazy.

He is my boy.

He is six today and has taught me so much since that Sunday in 2009 when he made me a mom. He has taught me to overcome shyness. To speak up and speak out and to make friends because what is a world without people to share it with?

He is a fantastic and smart kid and I can't imagine a world with him.