Our Town, Our Team....

Last night was the Portland Pirates home opener and for the first time since McKenzie was 3 months old, the Keeneys were not there. Since the Pirates ownership and the Cumberland County Civic Center Board of Trustees couldnt behave like adults and make decisions that were best for the communities they claim to support instead of doing what would give them more power over the other or would best line their pockets, we made the choice not to continue to be  season ticket holders this year. It was a sad decision to come to, and I have heard many in the die hard fan community spout off things like "if you really supported the team, you would still travel to Lewiston..." or "real fans love the team no matter what city they are in..." etc. Our decision not to renew our season tickets had nothing to do with our support of the team. The players themselves have always been kind and gracious to their fans and we were very lucky to have had several opportunities to spend time with a few of the players each season. It always made me laugh to watch the really young guys that werent so sure what to do with kids, as all 4 of mine chatted away at them as though they had known them for years. One of my favorite memories of the team is when we were lucky enough to get invited to a dinner with the team. Natalie and Leah were pretty young then (5 and 7 I believe) and Leah was already my little chatterbox. They each had favorite players that they really got excited about and with the help, of some really great friends, we managed to find ourselves seated at a table with exactly those 2 (Jason King, the only hockey player Natalie has ever cared about, and Geoff Platt, Leahs favorite wearing number 18). The look on their faces as these 2 guys came walking over to our table was priceless. It was really, for those 2 young girls, who spent so much time at the rink watching the team play, like meeting superstars to them. They were star struck. So much so that miss Leah could barely talk that whole night! The guys were great to them- talking, playing games, they even gave them a couple of awards they received that night. That was the night that Leah decided she would play hockey (and what a life changing decision that was! But thats a story for another post). Then there was the moment when, after learning that the Pirates NHL affiliation would be changing the following season and we wouldnt see most of the players again, Natalie sat in the stands and cried for almost an entire game because that meant that Jason King wouldnt be back. There have been playoff games that ended in victories so exciting we wouldnt be able to fall asleep for hours afterwards, and games that ended in defeats that stung so badly we couldn't bring ourselves to even get out of our seats at the end of the game. Each season there were new dresses made for the little ones, Pirate prints of course. We have countless buckets of popcorn, pizza, and frozen lemonade. We painted cowbells in team colors, cheered louder than most of those around us, and made so many memories. We have loved every minute of being season ticket holders! We loved coming in and saying hi to Bill the Security Guy and Camera Man Dan and Talky Guy (the girls named everyone they met). Every game held the promise of new memories and great fun. But with each new season, the ownership of the team would show more and more of what was really driving them. Before this current seasons location debacle, they threatened to move the team twice in just the 6 years we have been season ticket holders. They always wanted more, never showing concern for the fans that made their "business" a success. Then, with major support from the Portland Pirates organization,  the Board of Trustees convinced the residents of Cumberland County to pass a 33 MILLION dollar bond to upgrade the civic center. The Pirates were going to have a new place to play, the fans were excited. The Pirates launched a new campaign "Our Town, Our Team", complete with the Portland skyline in the background. It was going to be a great season. But instead, the Pirates ownership and the Cumberland County Civic Center Board of Trustees decided to behave like small children arguing over a toy. The finger pointing began and the Pirates quickly went from "Our Town" to "We didnt need you anyway". Watching something we have loved for years turn into something so disgusting made the decision easy- as much as our family loves hockey and loves the Pirates team itself, we can no longer give large chunks of our money to line the pockets of a few greedy individuals. I have no doubt that we will go to a couple of games this season. I know we will follow the team online and via the press, but we just will not support the current ownership group and the decisions being made by the cccc board of trustees. I wish the team the best of luck this season and hope that someday soon the ownership and board of trustees can learn to  see beyond their own wallets.

You're going to make me eat what?!

I am a junk food addict and worlds biggest chocoholic, just ask anyone that knows me. But after months of being tired and cranky all the time and having no real reason for it, I started looking into what I could do to  make myself, and my family, feel better. Turns out that to be a healthy individual you need to eat something besides french fries, nutella (sorry Natalie) and cheese burgers (god, I love me a good cheese burger!). So I read and researched, then switched some things up when I went grocery shopping a couple of weeks ago. I started sneaking more veggies and fruits into the meals and I even introduced an entirely new food, quinoa, to the family (apparently its some kind of super food that gives you xray vision and sonic speed and the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound...or at least it pumps you full of much needed good stuff). I personally cut back my soda intake (another shocker- soda is not a valid water substitute. WHAT?!?!) and worked on getting the kids to go from drinking 243 glasses of milk a day to drinking 242 glasses of water, and just one or 2 of milk. Everyone has been handling the changes like champs, with very minimal complaining. Justin even ate a salad!! (though I do suspect he is sneaking bad snacks at work) This morning I got up and made up some smoothies for my kids to have before school and as I was putting the ingredients in the blender my wonderful LeahBeah came walking into the kitchen, came over to me and said "i dont want this to sound mean, but since you stopped drinking so much soda and started drinking more water and eating better, you seem a lot happier". So if ever there was motivation to keep going, Leah provided it for me right there!! Now excuse me while I got get some more salad.

Night time thoughts

So many days (like today, for example) I find myself lying in bed at the end of the day going over my todo list for the next day and mentally going over the day that is just ending, and I find myself feeling like I let so much of it slip away to wasted. I look back and can pinpoint moments when I should have offered an extra hug to one of my little ones, or offered some words of encouragement to one of them instead of raising my voice. I worry that i have sent them to bed with out them knowing how much i love them, or how proud i am of each one of them for being the unique and wonderful individuals that they are. I get so worried about every moment I am missing that sometimes I think that is the reason I am missing out! I have a tendancy to over-analyze every situation and often find it hard to remember the good moments of the day. Like how it started to me waking up to Alyvia snuggled up with her arms wrapped around my neck, all warm, and tiny, and sweet. Or how Natalie comes up to me, even after we have an argument, and hugs me right around the middle and some how that brings my blood pressure back to normal and for just a moment I imagine I am hugging my tiny little girl with the piggy tails all over again. Or the wonderful way miss Leah tells a story that makes no sense to me, but she does it with such energy and such a big smile that i cant help but smile and laugh along with her. And how McKenzie walks up beside me still when we are out and slips her beautiful little hand in mine and we walk along like that for a little bit. Sometimes after a very long and very tiring day of being a Mommy to 4 and a daycare provide to more, I quite easily forget all those little wonderful things and get caught up in the negatives.

But not tonight...

A good day

Today was a good day.

More often than not I find myself stressed out and unable to enjoy all that is going on around me. Between daycare (which starts around 6am), all the kids activities, and the general chaos that comes from being a family of 6, I feel like I quite often get lost in the every day madness and forget to enjoy our family life.

But today was a good day. We all slept in til after 8. It was a beautiful, sunny day  when we woke up. Alyvia and I took care of the chickens and cleaned the deck off before anyone else was awake. We had some good friends visit. We watched Natalie play in 2 soccer games (a sport she has recently discovered she LOVES) and then we came home and relaxed and had a nice dinner together. It wasnt that there was really anything special going on, its just that we were together, not rushed, and enjoying each other.

Today was a good day.

Updates

Wow, it has been a long time since I have written! We moved into our new house, hockey season started, and in the blink of an eye  its march and i dont know where the last 5 months have gone.

Our first Christmas in our new house was amazing. The girls all got new bikes because for the first time ever they live somewhere where they can actually use them. Getting the tree itself was an adventure. We always cut our own tree and there are several places close by to go. Last year we had to search all over the place because we wanted a 13ft tall tree. This year we knew we had to be slightly more conservative since we had regular sized ceilings. So our solution was to have me stand next to each potential tree with my arm raised to see if it was the right height.  Even with this extraordinary precaution,  we still ended up with a tree that was over a foot to  tall. We trimmed it and trimmed it, then settled for leaning the star against a high branch because it wouldnt fit on top.

Leahs hockey season has come and gone. It really is one of my favorite times of the year. We are lucky enough to be part of a really great organization and it is really fun to get to visit with such great people so often. Her team didnt do as well as they may have liked but the truth for me is that it really doesnt matter, because  you should see my Leah skate! She really comes alive out on that ice and it is amazing to see. The best part is watching her do it with the signature Leah grin.

Another big thing this hockey season was getting to learn to play a little myself. I have been looking for a group to skate and learn with for several years, and this year the girls team let me skate with them once a week during practice. I have never had so much fun before! Oh my gosh, they all must have thought I was insane as I geared up in all my hockey equipment and bumbled my way out onto the ice. I was almost twice as old as the skater behind me, and easily twice as goofy as any one of them. But they were all so patient and nice. AND the bigger bonus was I actually got to skate with my Leah. I cant begin to describe how monumentally awesome it was to have her there cheering me on, to really see her skate from a point of view I have never had before, to have her be the one to show me how to do things, to feel her grab my arm when everyone was pairing up for drills and hear her say "come on mom, your with me". And i have to admit I have a new appreciation for her coaches now too because as extremely awesome as she is, man can that girl talk...even on the ice, in full gear, 45 minutes into practice! Its unbelievable!

Natalie has just recently started taking voice lessons. She is so funny to watch when we are there, because she turns into this super-quiet, shy little wisp of a thing in the room with her teacher. But the truth is that tiny little wisp of a thing has a beautiful voice and I am very anxiously awaiting the day I get to hear her let down her guard and sing. She is going take the world by storm, and she's going to do it with a song.

McKenzie and Alyvia are busy being...well, McKenzie and Alyvia. McKenzie has a divas attitude and a flair for the dramatic that has me seriously worried about my ability to survive through what appears at this point to be a 5 year olds version of angst filled teenage years. And Alyvia still likes to run around naked and pee in odd placed.

Over all, life is good and the Keeneys have found themselves in a pretty happy place.