Not to be outdone...

...by his mother and his brother, Mini#2 won a medal himself this past weekend. His soccer team played in a local tournament and ended up losing 5-4 (after being down 5-0!) in the final championship game.  It was a weekend of fantastic soccer by all of the 8 yr old teams that we played. Those little guys really work well together. I love it! And this final tournament game was the only game his team lost all season. Mini#2 is 3rd from the left in the top photo. Can you tell that we barely missed the thunderstorms?

Photo#2 was after their 1st game early Sunday morning. We later lost the soccer ball he was sitting on so there were some tears about that. Every other kid has that same ball and some kid now has ours. Ugh.

Photo#3 Was taken still freshly sweaty from soccer Saturday afternoon. We had to race to the lake campground where Mr. Pink had been all day with his cub scout den he leads. They moved up to their next rank. He officially became a bear scout and then we all went home. No camping because of soccer.

And, on a completely different subject, I HATE NIKE ELITE SOCKS! If you have boys my age you know why. Your kids drive you absolutely crazy until they have them. And they're $14/pair. What is wrong with the $6.99/6 pairs I bought from Target? Ha! I know. I know. They're not Nike Elites. This is so payback for all the fads I put my mom through....

Who would have thunk it?

 

We ran in our 5K on Saturday night. We had the best time all glowed out in glow sticks for our night race. It was held at a former mental institution campus here in town of all places. But it was very pretty and, if I ever go completely crazy, I hope I am sent somewhere as serene as that with all of the beautiful trees and fields. We saw lights on in a couple of buildings so I kept kidding mini#1 that they left a few patients behind.

Anyway, Mr. Pink got a picture of me running with mini#1, just turned 12, and it's a good thing because we ran together for probably 15 seconds at the start before he left me behind! They closed the race at 1000 runners and somehow mini#1 got the running number 1000 and I got 999. I am happy and proud to announce that mini#1, who hardly trained and is more of a sprinter, came in 37th place overall and got a 3rd place medal for his age group 14 and under! His time was 24:50. He was so happy and said a lot of people were cheering for him along the way. I cannot wait to see what he can do in track next year when he can officially try out for the middle school team.

Now for the biggest shock of the night. Somehow, I placed 3rd place in my age group (40-49 cough cough). Who would have thunk it? We were celebrating and taking pics of mini#1 after he received his medal and I had put my shirt on and was gathering our "stuff" when my age group was announced. The winner did it in 26 minutes, 2nd place did it in 27 something and then they called my name! I finished in 28:18 (better than training the last couple months, but 9 minutes slower than my high school record!). I was in shock when I went to get that medal. Mr. Pink and the boys were yelling and cheering. It was funny. Other than a one mile fun run last summer I have not been a runner or been in a race in decades. I swear all of the 40-49 women decided not to show up Sat and I got the medal by default. Running is so much harder this time in my life. I really thought I left a lung at the only water station. But I am thankful to do this with my son like I used to run races and train with my dad. However, one of us is going to have to speed up (me) or one of us is going to need to slow down (he will never do this!).

He's ready for another race. I'm nursing sore hamstrings. And the best comment of the night came from my 8 yr old. "Mom, I expected (mini#1) to win a medal, but I NEVER thought you would win ANYTHING." Out of the mouth of babes... He's lucky he's so loving and made my Mother's Day so sweet!

I hope all of you mothers were spoiled yesterday! Here's to another year keeping our sanity and loving these kids who somehow love us back.

A wise person once said...

"Always keep a bottle of champagne in the fridge for special occasions. Sometimes the special occasion is that you've got a bottle of champagne in the fridge."

Life is busy, busy, busy. Mixed with some fun times with friends. A good balance. Meeting two friends for lunch tomorrow. My parents celebrated their 45th anniversary last weekend. Taking kids to various practices, commitments all the time! Watching all of these crazy news stories (Jodie Arias/ Kidnapped Cleveland girls) and of course The Real Housewives of Orange County. I feel really sorry for Vicki's daughter. Vicki is just wacko. Been going to the gym, but my glutes are KILLING me right now from walking lunges yesterday. Ugh! Running that 5K with mini#1 on Saturday night. And that's a quick update on life. Cheers! (I need to go buy a bottle of champagne.)

Happy 1st Birthday to my nephew!!

We Skyped him this morning since he lives in Stockholm. He was all smiles when we sang Happy Birthday to him. My brother stayed home from work and looks like they had a fun family birthday party. My sister-in-law said she couldn't sleep last night because she was so excited for him to wake up and open presents. I miss him. SO THANKFUL for Skype!

(And I am a bad mom because mini#1 turned 12 on Sunday and he didn't even get a post! Happy Birthday to my firstborn, too! We had a great day and I took him to see the Titanic exhibit in downtown Raleigh. Then friends met us for dinner. He racked up in giftcards, cash, clothes and shoes! He loves shoes almost as much as I do.)

About Me

I took this from Up North Preppy. She said we could!

1. The Basics
Who are you? Pink
Where do you blog? Pink in a Sea of Blue
How did you pick your blog's name? I was having a clever moment thinking about me being surrounded by three males (a husband and two sons) day after day.

2. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.
Where did you grow up? Charlotte, NC in a great neighborhood full of kids. Ironically all of my friends had younger brothers who also played together.
Where do you live now? A suburb of Raleigh, NC in another great neighborhood full of kids.
Where would you live anywhere in the world? I would live overseas, in France somewhere. South of France where I could get back into using the college degree I received.

3. Let's talk beauty- what is your favorite or signature
Lipstick- Stila lip gloss, but I also have a cheapo standby NYC- Honey on the Hudson.
Mascara- L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara
Perfume- Light Blue by Dolce and Gabbana

4. Yummies. What is your favorite?
Cocktail: I'm more of a wine kind of girl.
Dessert: Key Lime Pie, Carrot Cake, Chocolate anything...
Pizza Toppings: Black olives, mushrooms, green pepper

5. I always have these 3 things in the refrigerator.
Plain Greek yogurt
Milk- Skim and 2%
Wine

6. Get artsy. What is your favorite? (I cannot pick one on any of these!)
Movie- Terms of Endearment, Shawshank Redemption, Hugo, Amelie
Book- Tough! I love to read. Eat, Pray, Love. A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Paris Wife, The Space Between Us (all books by Thrity Umrigar)
TV Show- Downton Abbey, Mad Men, Real Housewives of NY, BH, OC. Modern Family

7. Kid Stuff- 3 questions about your youth.
What did you want to be when you grew up? I really did not know, but always pretended to be a teacher when I played "house" with my friends.
Who was your favorite teacher and why? My 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Rosenbaum, because she had the prettiest blond hair and always wore wrap around skirts, colorful preppy polos and espadrilles. And she was super sweet!
What was your worst sickness/surgery/hospital visit as a kid? It's a toss up. In 6th grade, after tennis lessons one day, a girl hit a ball into my eye from mid-court and blinded me in one eye. Was in the hospital a week, but all was ok when I left except my eye would not dilate for about 6 months.  In 9th grade I had the flu. It turned into pneumonia a few weeks later and then I caught chicken pox from my younger brother. Rough year!

8. The Pretty Things. What is your favorite.
Favorite color- green
Favorite flower- peonies
Favorite artist- Edgar Degas (ballerina portraits and bronze sculptures)

9. Shop Til You Drop
What's one thing you buy the most often? SHOES.
Do you prefer to shop on-line or in-store? I just prefer to shop. Any way possible.
Imagine you open your own store. A cafe with homemade soups (my favorite thing to make), sandwiches and salads.

10. Be a Hater. What are 3 things you would like to go away?
1. Political ads and telephone calls. I'm still getting over those from last year!
2. Cancer. I and so many others have lost loved ones and friends to this horrible disease.
3. This pollen caking cars, driveways and outdoor furniture and killing mini#2 right now.

11. The Final Three (X Three)
I hand you a genie- what are your 3 wishes?
1. A fabulous vacation.
2. A winning lottery ticket.
3. Three more wishes. Ha!

List 3 things you can see out your window right now.
1. Pollen
2. Pansies
3. Green grass

Who are 3 people, living or dead, you would invite over for dinner.
1. Princess Diana
2. My grandmother. She died when my mom was only 12. I would really have liked to have known her.
3. David Beckham- to give my son soccer tips of course!

Have a great week!

Easter

We had a soggy, rainy Easter morning so no nice outdoorsy pictures this year. Luckily it cleared up and the kids had a good time playing outside after church. We had a big lunch at home after church instead of fighting the lunch crowds. I rolled out of bed at 6:00 a.m. and put a pork roast in the crock pot. It turned out so yummy!!! Loved it. We also had fresh green beans, devilled eggs, mashed potatoes and creamed corn. And a homemade chocolate chess pie for dessert. Thankfully, we all played a little basketball afterwards (and after I had a nap!).

Today, it's April 1st, my mom's Birthday! Hard to believe it's April. My dad's birthday is in a couple of weeks so I'm going back to Charlotte then to celebrate these April birthdays. And Mini#1 turns 12 on the 21st.  And my nephew turns 1 on the 23rd! Lots of April births!

Have a great week!

Easter with Boys

I just hid eggs in the backyard for the boys. What I thought would be a fun thing to do started out well. But it ended with my oldest taking an egg my youngest had spotted. Yelling ensued and youngest kicked oldest and then oldest kicked youngest's basket sending eggs flying everywhere. Youngest dropped his basket and stormed off crying calling oldest a cheater. The best part? Mr. Pink filmed it all from our deck so we can relive the tranquil Easter Egg Hunt of '13 for years to come. Fun times!! Hmmmm. Maybe I'll leave a note for the Easter Bunny to just skip the candy-filled hidden eggs in the house tonight.

I am so excited to wrangle them into navy sports coats and ties in the morning for church!