Confessions of a Soccer Mom: Tournaments

I have a love/hate relationship with soccer tournaments.  Tournaments are great fun...hotel stays, lots of soccer, swimming, friends, new places!  But, let's be honest, tournaments are also a LOT of work!

Sitting in the freezing, wet weather while watching your child play in the miserable conditions is not always fun.

Me and my fellow soccer moms enduring low 40 degree temps and rain to cheer on our girls!

What is even less fun is the laundry that must be done after the wet, nasty conditions.  Unfortunately, the hotel we stayed in this weekend did not have guest laundry facilities.  So, this soccer mom (along with my fellow soccer moms) washed uniforms, slider shorts, and socks by hand in the sink in the hotel room.  I so wish I had taken pictures of the mess!!

Abby's keeper gloves were so wet and heavy, we decided to lay them over the heating unit in the room to speed up the drying out process.  Sounds great right?  Have you ever smelled keeper gloves?  This is how I would describe the smell...take the worst smelling shoes you have every smelled, put them in a plastic bag and set them out in the sun for a day or so, open the bag and take a big sniff...that is what a keeper glove smells like.  NASTY!  Needless to say when we returned that evening, the smell knocked us down when we opened the door.  It was BAD!

The mess just doesn't stop at the laundry...my house is now a WRECK!  Unloading the van of all of the gear, late on Sunday night, after traveling means that nothing makes it past the living room.  UGH!

Monday mornings are always a bit rough too...everyone is tired and grumpy.  It is a minor victory to get everyone dressed, fed and out the door without major breakdowns.

However, it is worth it.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend!

Getting pumped up!

Snuggling with Anna trying to stay warm!

Love this pic!

More details about the tourney to come...stay tuned!

It's the little things....

I am not a "girly-girl."  I have never been one to wear a lot of make-up and am always a low-maintenance hair type of girl.  (Pony-tails RULE!)  My getting-ready-routine is quick and easy.  I have never been one to take forever to leave the house and have never, ever been a fan of all of that smell-good stuff.

However, a few years ago, I fell in love with a scent from Bath and Body Works.  It was just perfect for me!  It was light and fresh (no super flowery scents for me!) and it came in a shower gel and lotion.  A multi-tasking product:  I could get clean and smell yummy!!  So, out of character, I bought the whole set!!

I was in heaven.  I actually thought that I was turning the corner and heading a little ways down the girly-girl path.  When I used the last of my shower gel, I rushed back to Bath and Body Works only to find that they had discontinued my favorite scent!!  I think the lady behind the counter felt sorry for me as I just stared at her in disbelief.  I am pretty sure she thought I was going to melt down and fall to the floor screaming and crying, but I didn't.  I gathered myself together and calmly walked out of the store only to frantically call my sister in Arizona to moan and groan and whine and cry about how unfair this world was.  Being the loving sister she is, she checked the Bath and Body Works Outlet (isn't she lucky!) and found a few more bottles, bought them and shipped them across the country to me.

Unfortunately, they eventually ran out too and this time no wonderful package arrived from Arizona with refills.  They really weren't going to make them anymore.  It was a sad, sad day.  I have continued to think about that lovely scent and although I have tried several other products and scents, nothing has come close to my lovely Lemon-Vanilla Bath and Body Works shower gel.

You can only imagine my joy when I saw an e-mail from BB&W with the header  "For a limited time:  Lemon-Vanilla products are back!"  I did not pass go.  I did not collect $200.  I clicked on the link, order FIVE bottles and jumped for joy!

The package arrived today!!  I am a happy (and yummy smelling) woman!!  It's the little things....

Spring Soccer Season Has Begun

The spring soccer season  has begun!  The CSC Gold 2001 Girls opened up the spring season in Birmingham, Alabama at the prestigious Vulcan Cup.  It was a BEAUTIFUL weekend!  The girls played well  and fun was had by all!  Here are just a few pictures from the weekend:

Anna and Abby playing before the tournament started.

Abby warming up

Love this picture!

Anna showing off a move

It's always a good thing to bring home some hardware!

Vulcan Cup 2012 Finalists

Eating, Breathing, Sleeping, and DREAMING Soccer

Abby eats, breathes and sleeps soccer.  Here's a little more about that

Eating, breathing and sleeping SOCCER

But last night, she took it a bit farther.   After a particularly intense soccer game, I went in to check on Abby before I went to bed as I always do.  She was covered up and all seemed great.  I bent down and kissed her forehead and she grunted at me.

"Abby is everything okay?" I asked her.  She replied with more grunts.

"Abby, are you alright?" I asked again.

"GET TO THE BACK POST" was her yelled reply.

I guess all that coaching is paying off :-).  She was definitely protecting that goal!!

Confessions of a Soccer Mom--I love my gear!

I love my soccer gear.  I will admit that I am just a bit compulsive about having everything that MIGHT be needed.  Not only that, but I like everything to be ORGANIZED!  I will leave that for another blog sometime.  I wanted to share with you my newest piece of equipment.  I saw another soccer family with this awesome little wagon and knew that I just had to have one.

Here is the wagon all nice and folded flat.

It easily fold out to carry all of the other stuff!

It is very large and sturdy!! (Translation:  I can take more stuff to the field.)

Here it is loaded up.  It is carrying three soccer chairs, a full cooler, a large bag full of food and snacks and a backpack.

This is so much easier than actually carrying all of this gear to a field!!

It's not just good on the pavement.  This little baby has four wheel drive capability!!

Makes my Aaron's job so much easier!!

The Adventures of a Soccer Tournament--Part 2

The tournament ended on an exciting note!  The girls played great in spite of the very hot weather and some issues with the tournaments organization.  

Thought I would share with you some things that every soccer mom should know about soccer tournament weekends.

• Take laundry detergent with you.  After returning to a hotel room with stinky soccer clothes, you will feel the need to hand wash all items.  
• You can never, ever have enough ice or water at the field.
• Make sure that your player removes all cleats, shin guards and socks BEFORE entering the vehicle.  This will help avoid gagging as the smell wafts up to the front.
• Fruit is always better when purchased at Kroger instead of Wal-mart. (right Becky C?)
• Your drinking glass, keys, hairbrush, silverware, etc. will all end up being used to diagram the next and greatest play.
• Trust and love the girls and their parents.  You will spend a lot of time with them.  Love them like your own family.

There is nothing as exhilarating as well played tournament.  Great girls, parents and especially coaches make it happen!!  Thanks CSC Gold girls, parents and coaches for a great weekend!!

The Adventures of a Soccer Tournament--Part I

We are finishing up the first day of a two day 3V3 soccer tournament.  This type of soccer is fast paced with lots of scoring.    Preparation for the tournament started yesterday.  We packed bags, tents, coolers, blankets and pillows on Friday night so that we could pull out at 5:00 AM on Saturday morning and drive to Cincinnati, OH.

Here's a glimpse of what Abby packed in her soccer bag

We arrived at the field about 8:00 ready for a full day of soccer. 

These tournaments are great for the on-the-field advancement but one of the great benefits is the team bonding that takes place. 

I feel blessed to be part of a great group of girls, parents, and coaches. 

More tomorrow!