Let the Ulcers Begin

I asked Eric to title this post, and that is what he chose...let the ulcers begin. No, football has not begun and soccer season ended on Tuesday with a 1-3 loss in the playoffs. But another soccer season has started...Mali's. Eric is coaching Mali's little girls soccer team, and he said his blood pressure feels really high after their first practice. I laughed the whole time during practice because I could just tell he was frustrated with Mali. The 3 other girls that are on her team played in the fall so they could dribble pretty well. To top off the wonderful practice, the moms all decided to name the team "The Divas". Poor Eric! However, this is the guy that bought her pink soccer shoes, pink socks and pink shin guards. Mali didn't do bad in my estimation...she's 4! But I did think her kicks were very dainty and she did fall on her rear several times when she was trying to kick. In the car, Eric asked her if she had fun and she said that she did, so that is all that matters to me, and the lessons she will learn about playing through the pain and then perseverance and not quitting.
Little bitty princess kicks is what Eric said of Mali's soccer skills. He was very concerned about her lack of soccer skills today. Thankfully, a senior Amarillo High soccer player is going to help Eric, and I think that will help Mali. The other girls listened so well because Eric isn't their dad and Mali didn't want Dad to tell her what to do.
Some of our favorite Mali sayings from practice today:
"My legs hurt" (after about 1 minute of kicking.
Eric looked over when she was supposed to be dribbling the ball, and she was eating a cracker while dribbling.
"I want my bag".
"Dad, I can't do it."
"I'm going to get my bag" and Eric responded by kicking her ball and said, "then just stay there". I was just laughing and laughing.
Mali's sum of what happened was that when we got to the car Daddy had a talk with me and that my legs weren't strong enough because I sit and watch cartoons. Now, to clarify, Mali does not spend most of the day watching TV. We spend a lot of time playing outside and recently she has been playing all by herself in the backyard with the dogs. But, she has not had the same level of activity outside as some other kids do. A lot of that is because I'm inside with Eleri.
This is a pretty scattered post, sorry, I just had to blog about this before I forgot and before the blizzard hits!:) Here are some pictures