baseball buddy

so it was soccer night at the loons game the other night...and as we have four soccer players, we were afforded some great opportunities to participate in special events at the game...

first, molly's team played a little game on the front lawn of Dow Diamond...

does the girl know how to strike a pose, or what?!

while she was playing out front, i ventured inside with Porter, who was selected as a Baseball Buddy for the night....



we checked in at guest services and he got his special 'baseball buddy' tshirt...he had a little bit of time to relax (so we watched some of Molly's game out front) before he had to report back and get his 'instructions'...

he ventured down through the grounds crew entrance to the field, and i was directed to the best picture taking spot...and i didn't know how perfect it would be until later...

he had a bit of time to wait in the tunnel, but apparently there was plenty for him to watch...

and then they moved out in front of the dugout...where he had a much better view of...well...the dugout!

and the bullpen!

and at one point, the catcher missed one of the balls...and it rolled RIGHT TO PORTER. and he picked it up. and he threw it back to the catcher. and i swear i thought he was going to wet his pants. he threw a ball to a professional baseball player.
and then another pitcher from the bullpen made a little walk to the dugout...and he high-fived the baseball buddies on the way.

and then it was time....the starting line ups!!

i had no idea who Porter's buddy would be...but they had the kids all lined up in order...and then suddenly the announcer says
"PORTER BAKER AND FIRST BASEMAN, #36, JAMIE ORTIZ!"

first base! the closed position to picture-taking zone...the shortest run (that poor left-field baseball buddy....)

(and being soccer night, all the players were 'superimposed' in Manchester United uniforms, etc...which just so happens to be our fav professional soccer team)

porter chatted jamie up (though i'm not sure how much english he speaks...) porter was swinging his arms like he was up to bat and had lots to show his buddy...i asked him later what he talked about and he said "i told him how hard i could hit the ball"...

porter stood relatively patiently during the star spangled banner...but he is 6...and a boy...AND WAS STANDING NEXT TO A PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PLAYER ON THE FIELD...so, there's that. the camera man did include him in a bit of the 'big screen montage'...however, one camera-happy mom can only focus her lens in one place at a time...

and the moment the national anthem was over, you could tell that he followed directions to immediately exit the field. unlike some of the other kids who shook hand, or high-fived their buddies before taking off, i think porter just wanted to show jamie his speed.

as luck would have it...jamie hit a home run at his first at bat...we later discovered that he was drafted by the dodgers in 2006 and played for the Loons in 2008. this was his return to this team and his first game with them this season.

porter's soccer team was next up for soccer night duties as they were 'assigned' to lead the singing of the famed 7th-inning stretch along the 3rd baseline...well, a small group of 6 year old boys is not necessarily fit for that, so Jason (and our head coach, Doug) recruited all of our kids (and a friend or two!) to join along...

and some new, strange twist this year is that the 7th inning stretch ends with a 7th inning dance party...which the girls thoroughly enjoyed...and the video of Jason and Doug dancing will provide me years of enjoyment.

another great night at the ball park!

pluggin the business

i'm a direct sales junkie...can't help it...love meeting people...love making money. so there you have it...

there's a couple of great promos coming up, that i can't help but share (probably why Tastefully Simple is my fav direct sales company so far!)

so here they are:

MAY - this is for those of you on the fence about direct sales - GREAT promo to join my team!

basically - sign up now and you can get over $50 in FREE product - eat it yourself, use in your display, or sell, sell, sell! AND, if you place that first order by June 15th, you get another $50 to spend on business supplies! You can start your business for as little as $89, and then earn more than that back right away - can't pass up this deal!

and JUNE promos for hostesses!! SO much going on this summer - it's the perfect time to host a tasting party!

Host a June party and earn products for your OWN backyard bash! !

Host rewards:

• Have a $500 party: Get our Backyard Basics Collection!
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You’ll also be entered in our Birthday Call Sweepstakes to win $115 in Tastefully Simple products!*

Parties must be held June 1 – 30, 2010.

Not only THAT - but ALL SUMMER - ANY guest who spends $50 or more can purchase one of our 'famous' drink buckets for 1/2 price!


AND, starting June 1st, we have a new Returning Favorites Collection that comes with a special offer, too!

i have plenty of summer dates available...and June is a great month to schedule your tasting party! Or better yet, become a consultant and offer your own hostesses these great deals!

just shoot me a note if any of this piques your interest...and you'll see a link to my TS website on the right!

opening day

the moment porter has seemingly been waiting for his entire life - opening day...

as we drive to the opening day ceremonies Saturday morning, just he and i (after all, it's spring sports season and both maya and molly had soccer commitments at the same time!)...porter quietly says to me

"am i dreaming?"

um, no, i say. why?

"it just feels like i'm dreaming...i'm so excited."

yes, i got verklempt.

so i tote him out to the field where the other 400 players in our little league are. he gathers with his team, and i camp out to watch the 'player's parade'. (i had arrived very early, knowing how busy it would be...so i had quite a wait before the parade began...)

and, of course, they make the littlest kids wait the longest...sort of...at least they do their waiting behind the fence...so they start parading in the major teams...then minors....AAA, AA (or whichever order those are!), coach pitch...and finally, the t-ballers....

he strikes a pose, just like the older kids did...smile and wave to the crowd, little ball player.

fortunately for me, having never attended an opening day ceremony before, i picked a good spot to camp out...and all these shots were taken through the chain link fence directly in front of me.

so here they all are...the last t-ballers on the field...and then they progress into some ego-boosting (how many of their teams won city championships - there are 4 little leagues in the city...) and blah, blah, blah...

then comes the national anthem...

then they talk about the history of little league in midland for a bit...and that the field the kids are standing on was one of the first little league fields in the state of michigan, and it's the oldest field still being used for little league games today (okay, some interesting facts...) clearly, i'm a little biased about the little league...

#1 - the president of the league offended me a bit when we first registered porter. mostly by slamming soccer. there is a big difference in the soccer club and little league. and i walked out of the little league registration shaking my head at the adult 'baseball jocks' running it.

#2 - the emails announcing and giving details about opening day were all prefaced with a basic statement of - we know last year sucked and was boring and way too long - we'll try to be better this year. so, um....needless to say, i didn't have high expectations.

so - back to opening ceremonies....they trot out some old guys from town that were on some of the leagues earliest teams in the 50s - okay, that was cool. they passed the microphone around to all of them...cute, but not necessary. they even let one of them throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the little league season.

then they renamed the field we were on after a guy (who took my registration money) who has been with the league 17 years, coached several championship teams, and held every position on the board - all without ever having a son pass through the league - he has one child, a daughter, who apparently has no interest in baseball or softball. so, i cut that jock a bit of slack. he was verklempt.


then he led all the little leaguers in the little league pledge. something i'd never heard before. i hope the players actually take it to heart.

PLAY BALL!

except now we had what seemed like an eternity to wait until it was HIS game time...after all, it was only 11:30 in the morning...porter was fully outfitted, with THREE hours to wait....

of course, we squeezed a sister's soccer game in there...and some food...and a quick nap...

and then it was time....much to porter's luck, he was assigned the coveted position of pitcher for the first game...aka, tball fielder extraordinaire! i hope he rotates to outfield for the next game, or he's going to think that all of tball is that exciting! it did give me a chance to take some great shots of him fielding...


he could frequently be seen diving for the ball (totally unnecessary) to be more dramatic.


to his luck, one time he dove there was a small gust of wind that blew his hat off...he thought that was awesome.

and then the batting....the helmets fit perfectly - um, NOT!

porter managed to get on base each time (and no, that's not automatic with tball...lots of kids did get out at 1st...) though if you made it to first, you were pretty much guaranteed to score...which porter did, in great fashion, every time. i believe he even slid into home once (totally unnecessarily, of course). the kid relishes everything baseball. here he is running from second to third...

and what a great swing...

and that grin....that's what it's all about...

and that's why

and you curse, every time this cup - hand-wash only - is next to the sink to be washed. she had the choice of any cup or mug. and she chose this one.

it's always by the sink. which means she uses it nearly every day.

and that's why you bought it.