How To Cope...

Over on eHow I ran across an article about Coping with Being a Coach's Wife. I thought it would serve as a great starting point for a regular series I will be starting called "the Ups and Downs". Check out the original article here. I have used the main points and added my thoughts and experiences.

1) Communicate with your spouse ~ We share a car so communication is key! I usually have to communicate that I am going crazy being in the house all day. He communicates only when and where he needs to be (mostly).

2) Get to know the game~ I know little about his main sport, football. I am competitive enough to enjoy the game in person, but please, do not make me watch film!

3) Acknowledge his commitment to the athletes~ I do acknowledge his commitment and am often annoyed that the parents don't! I love that he is a positive role model for those kids and that he is fulfilling one of his callings.

4) Be there~ Rain, sleet, snow, or heat (in Texas, sometimes all in the same night)we are there- smiling, cheering, and chatting with the other coaches' wives (my favorite part)!!!

5) Don't knock the traditions~ "Ya'll are doing WHAT pre-game? Uh, okay that is weird but whatever works!"

6) Talk beforehand about the "feelings" of wins and loses~ Getting my coach to talk about feelings is not going to happen. I know our plan... Get him in a "not happy but at least be polite mood" after a loss involves lots of bribery (food mostly) and never ever volunteer us for anything after the game, in case we lose. A win means an extra long kiss after the game, but right back to the field house to start up for next week.

7) Fulfill your needs~ I agree! I agree! I agree! Enjoy yourself! I am a stay-at-home mom, so getting involved in something "just for me" has been a necessity. I love having a coffee night with my girlfriends (i.e. other coaches' wives), being in a book club, and movie nights!

8) Develop tough skin~ Over the last two seasons, we have had to develop this tough skin everyone talks about. Between whispers, rude comments from passing strangers, and outright yelling, in both the stands and at grocery stores, you have to learn to leave it on the field, in hopes they will too.

9) Bite your tongue~ I learned this lesson when fans sitting next to me were cussing directly at my husband as he refereed a 7th grade B team basketball game. Yikes! I was out of there! Possessing a somewhat short temper, it took everything I had to pack my things up calmly. (Only to move to the opposing team side, which was even worse!)

Overall, I enjoy this lifestyle and I look forward to the "lessons." I think "coping" sounds a little more like an illness than a job. I do believe being a coach's wife is a blessing! I have the opportunity to support my coach in fulfilling his dreams, I get to be a positive influence on kids, and I love the tradition behind sports.

Menu Planning Monday July 21st

I love Menu Planning Monday, hosted by Org Junkie. I have been an off line participant for months now. It helps keep me organized in the kitchen and disciplined at the grocery store. I usually make the menu according to what is on sale that week. Then I search Allrecipes , my favorite recipe site, for new ideas.

This week we will be having: (drum roll please....)

Breakfasts: cereal, protein smoothies, egg burritos (w/ homemade salsa!), oatmeal and banana pancakes
Snacks: Yogurt drinkables, veggie stix, strawberries & creme, fruit jello, chips & salsa
Lunch: BLT sandwiches, poppyseed chicken casserole, spicy chicken roll ups, turkey melts, bacon and shrimp couscous
Dinner: Italian chicken w/ black eyed peas and salad, Soft beef tacos w/ black beans, Green salsa chicken, Spaghetti with homemade bread, Mama Kathy's Minestrone

We usually eat out a time or two each week so I leave the weekend for "make-up meals" or just through something on the grill.

Any recipe ideas?

Clearing the Clutter

I am on a mission!

Our home is cram-packed with furniture, clothes, and toys. We have been very blessed through family and friends over the years! I have decided that this week was the beginning of blessing others.

I had been saving lots of stuff for months in our small storage room, for a potential garage sale. Although my frugal side screams "have a garage sale!" to raise money to put towards debt and savings, I decided the best thing I could do is rid our home of these things, immediately. I feel so "stuffed" with things right now and do not want to feel this way for another moment.

I loaded up our car with 16 trash bags (yes! 16) full of our unneeded clothes and my husband took them to our local Goodwill. I then proceeded to give away an extra bed on Freecycle. I am in the process of sorting toys to give to family members that have smaller children, the local hospital, and our women's crisis center. (Most of the toy sorting must occur when the little one is sleeping because the toys have a way of sneaking themselves back into the main toy box.)

Next week, I will be reorganizing the furniture and getting rid of stuff too! I hope to find a new use for some of it, but most of it just has to go!

I feel so much better already! And what a feeling to know I have blessed someone else rather than filling up our home or landfills.

Join me in clearing your clutter and tell me about it!

Summer Slow Down

So the summer is here and we are getting back into a routine of some sort. We always have a few weeks (or months) of adjustment between sports and school breaks. I usually feel somewhat adjusted just in time to start all over again.

The coach is still at the field house two times a day for a couple of hours, keeping the summer workout going and working out himself. Quite frankly I think he goes just because I am driving him crazy with new chores and tasks! It is nice to have him home to help entertain our daughter. I feel like it is my break as well! I have a long to-do list for personal projects I would like to work on. I am taking advantage of his "free time" while I can!

To help keep me on task I will posting my want-to-do list here. Maybe this will help keep me on task.

• Baby girl's scrapbook! (I have only 4 or so months until the 2nd birthday is here and I have 0 pages finished!)
• Work on this blog by making at least 4 entries per week
• Exercise routine!
• Pay off 1 of the 2 credit card debits we have
• Master my bread machine
• Sew a jean blanket (I have been saving old jeans for this project since college, it's time!)
• Fully research and plan for a car purchase

I better get to work!