Why I Buy Sidewalk Chalk

Lacrosse

 I met with each of the kids at the beginning of the year to help them write their goals. Emily said for one of her physical goals she wanted to play lacrosse and I was a bit surprised. Lacrosse is big on the East Coast but I'd never seen it played, or knew anyone who played or even the rules - but who am I to discourage one of my kids goals? We wrote it down.

One very cold & snowy night in January I headed out to the town hall to sign her up. They couldn't tell me what the game or practice schedule would be and I was worried it would conflict with her 4 times per week of swim team practice (it has) but figured we'd worry about that when we got to it ...

We bought all her equipment and sent in the form for her uniform size and on March 2nd they started practicing. It was still very, very cold - especially up on some of the high fields. They played with leggings under their skirts, under armour & sweatshirts under their shirts!

Their first game was April 16th. My teeth chattered as I sat huddled in a blanket watching. Seriously
(Emily is #10)

They played hard and learned a lot from that game.

But they lost.

During half time Emily had told me that her coach had told her to "mark" number 3 from the other team. He had said "If she gets a drink of water, you get a drink of water. If she goes to the bathroom, you go to the bathroom!" On our way home in the car she told me that he had been to watch the opposing teams game the night before to scout their players & see how they played. He knew Emily was fast and put her against their fastest player.

'Man" I though to myself " this coach is going to be a little too intense for me! Really, these girls are 10 years old - they are 3rd & 4th graders, many of whom have never played before."

Boy was I ever WRONG!

Coach Joe has been out of this world fantastic! He is serious. He works them hard. He expects 110% every practice and every game and Emily HAS EATEN IT UP! If you've ever seen her play soccer or swim you know she is an amazing athlete. She is sooo super sweet & gentle and actually pretty shy in her "regular" life but she is very competitive when she gets into sports! I LOVE IT!

I think it is so good for her to have that arena to express that side of herself. I see her get that look of focus and concentration on her face. I see the determination. She is physically in great shape and has great stamina but it's her dedication to the team and game and her desire to win that really makes her do well. Her whole team has been like that - they never give up. It has been wonderful to see.

They haven't lost a game since that first one!

 

I really am so appreciative of her coach. Aside from the sheer time commitment - practice 3 times per week in March then twice a week in April, plus games (often 2 of those per week)) he sends them video clips to watch and always sends a game recap e-mail full of praise and individually naming each girl and what she did well during the game.

He plans strategy with them and really teaches them to play well - not just learn the fundamentals. He calls out to them during the game and uses their code words to instruct them which plays to use.

They listen to him and follow his direction. It's really great to see.

So the last game is on Thursday and I will be sad to see it end. I have become quite the lacrosse junkie (despite still not understanding the rules). It is such a fun and fast paced game to watch. I have to admit, watching my little Emily makes it a million times better.

Watch this sequence and you'll see what I mean -

She scoops the ball (as the goalie tosses it back out).

She's got it in her cradle, and has to prevent it from falling out (not easy to do.)

Two opposing team members bring their defense up against her.

Seriously, check out their sticks. They are crossed in front of her - pretty intimidating!

She just charges through them.

Look how close that other stick is to her head! But she still has the ball!

She makes the break and runs for it.

Still dodging the opposition.

She's fast. Once she gets out ahead they can't catch her.

The ball has to be passed 3 times before they can shoot - so she gets it down the field and passes on to a team mate, who passes it again & they score. LOVE IT! Seriously, it's really an exciting game.

One of my favorites things was at the end of each game when they lined up & passed the other team & tapped their sticks together and said "good game."

Then they would loop around & make a tunnel for them to all go through.

Playing lacrosse has been really fun for both Em & I this spring and she'll definitely play next season. Over the summer she's going to 3 days of lacrosse camp and we also gave her a challenge for her summer goals; throwing and catching without dropping the ball into the re-bounder. She has different levels (5 times without dropping, 10 times without dropping, 25 times without dropping. 10 times using your left hand, etc) and can earn money for each level. She loves earning money & is a good saver AND she loves lacrosse so I'd better get my wallet ready!

Emily's Shopping Trip

Emily loves all things American Girl. We've gone to the store, cafe & theater a lot for birthdays, special outings, cousin visits and earned prizes. Last year Em decided it would be great to have $100 whole dollars to spend there (I guess $100 is the largest amount she could ever fathom having.)  She set herself a goal to save $100 and asked if I would take her there for a shopping trip when she had it. Then she started saving.

For every dollar our kids earn they pay 10% tithing, save 40% and then can choose what to do with the remaining 50%. Emily didn't spend a single penny of her "spending" money for an entire year. (Confession; she probably could have got there faster except I am terrible about remembering to pay them. Really, it's awful. I am great about remembering their job charts and making sure they do the work ... just not the follow through of paying them for them!) Anyway, she saved $104 which means she really had earned $208 to get it. Pretty impressive. Several times I saw her walk into a store with her money in her hand, contemplate buying something and decide against parting with her hard earned cash & leave! She definitely gets that kind of discipline from her Dad!!

So on our first free Saturday we headed into the city. I told her we'd go for lunch at a place of her choosing. She chose Lombardi's Pizza & Rice to Riches. It's where we had her "Age 8 Big Talk" and it was kind of special to be there with her again. We figured there wouldn't be as much of a line at lunchtime but there was and we were starving, so we went over to Rice to Riches first and got a tide-me-over snack.

Emily LOVES Rice to Riches.

Weird angle & bad lighting - the pizza isn't really bigger than her head!

I love Lombardi's sauce, I could eat it with a spoon!

Then we went back to Rice to Riches for real dessert. We are serious about rice pudding!

We took the Subway back up to Grand Central. Whenever we are walking through & have time we love to go to the 4 corners in the tunnel in front of the Oyster Bar. If one person stands in one corner facing the wall and the other stands on the opposite one you can whisper to each other and hear it well. It's always fun. One of our dear friends proposed to his wife that way!

Then we got to American Girl! It was so sweet to see her in action. She had already poured over their website and knew exactly what she wanted and how much it would be (why was I surprised?) She had a little money left over after the things she had planned and took some time deciding between a pair of shoes or a personalized doll T-shirt (she chose the shirt). Then she also enjoyed browsing and seeing all the new things they have and decided this baking table was going on her Christmas list.

Then we went to the checkout. As we approached I realized that she had a Ziploc bag FULL of pennies, nickles, dimes, quarters and bunches of small bills. I asked her if she would like me to just put it on my credit card for speed and convenience and she could just give me the money. She quickly said "no" and I realized that she wanted to pay with her own money - the money she had worked so hard to save, that had been adding up in her spending jar for all those months, that she had counted a million times until she got to $100.

I did feel momentarily self conscious that we were holding up the line - you know how vocal in their opinions New Yorkers can be, then my mother bear instinct kicked in and I thought I didn't really care how long it took her to count it all out and I would pounce on anyone who said anything. My little girl saved up her money for an entire year darn it, and she was going to pay herself! No one actually said anything, in fact the cashier was delightful and Emily was pleased as punch.

I couldn't resist buying her this purple messenger bag as a reward for her efforts - which only made her happier.

As we walked back to Grand Central they were filming a movie. Clearly something big - it was taking up several city blocks and there were extras everywhere. I asked what they were filming and we were told it was "Men in Black 3." I've never seen the movies but it was cool to see all the old cars everywhere & we walked a little closer so Em could see better. We didn't see anyone famous (no Will Smith) but did have a great conversation about how they make movies & keeping things consistent with the time period they are set in. It was also fun to point out the brief cases that some of the male extras on the street were carrying and tell her they were just like the one's I remembered Grandpa using when I was a little girl.

On the train on the way home she changed Emily (the doll) into one of the new outfits.

And we had a little "game" of tennis.

So proud of you Em - well done!