I thought it would be very hard watching my kids play sports. I lived in fear of becoming one of those crazed, screaming sideline parents. I had this fear because I am incredibly competitive. Lucky for me, this competition seems to be all self-directed and doesn't seem to be exercised on my kids. Too much.

Emma is not competitive. She wants everyone to be happy and friendly. She wants to hug everyone after a game/race/etc. She wants to stop and smell the roses while everyone else is trampling them to be line leader. Then she started swim team. It is her first direct competition with another person. And she has been finishing last--not so last as to be pitiful or out of her league. She just misses it a little each time. But tonight she finally beat someone--from her own team--and she feels good. Maybe a little too good...

This is about cars and babies.

These things might not seem to really go together. But they are two things that have been on my mind lately and continue to come up--sometimes in the same context: we have been looking for a new car. For those of you who have been around us, you know that this can not happen too soon as our car is slowly dying (and in fact did yesterday though Shaun is working right now to resurrect it). This week we test drove and looked over the car that we will be getting. As Shaun is looking it over and seeing the various features, he says "And it has the latches for a car seat." My response: "For the baby we will be having?". "No," he says quickly, "in case we have to take Benjamin anywhere." Benjamin is our friends' third child. Why we would be taking him around in our car and not his two sisters who are friends of Esther's, I do not know. Shaun is sending me mixed messages. He knows I want another baby and he says things like this to me!

Does anyone sympathize with my plight!?!

It is summer break. And even though ours is short, or maybe because it is, we are taking it easy. The absolute best thing about being a stay at home mom is summer vacation. I'm like a kid again when I think about going to the pool and eating ice cream bought from a truck! The house is a mess, we always have towels draped over the front railings, we lay around half naked because of the heat. I wouldn't have it any other way!

We are back from vacation in Williamsburg, VA. If Virginia is for lovers, than Williamsburg is designed to entertain the children they produce.

Sometimes you need a vacation from your vacation!