I'm a Soccer Mum

I never thought I would say it, but I'm a soccer mum. I'm a born and bred rugby league supporter and have never found soccer (yes, I know some of you call it "football") interesting or exciting. About the only games I watch are World Cup games if Australia is involved - and even those I have to struggle to stay awake through. So the fact that I am now a soccer mum is a pretty big deal.

I must admit that I am enjoying it. Under 7's soccer is quite exciting compared to adult soccer...no goal keepers and still lots of near misses :) The boys have only played a trial match and one formal game and both times they have been thrashed. Fortunately, no scores are recorded for this age group. Even more fortunately, we have a coach and manager who are all about fun. They rotate the players on the field every 5 minutes, giving everyone a turn and we all get excited when a goal is actually scored! Hopefully, the boys will improve as the season progresses.

Standing on the sideline, we all tend to call out instructions (it's impossible not to do). However, I'm happy to say that we don't have any psycho parents. There's no negativity. Last week, when Thomas scored, a big cheer went up from the sideline - anyone would think we had won the grand final. Even the rival spectators had a good-natured laugh.

Daniel is playing up a division so he can be with Thomas (and make our life easier in terms of getting to games), making him look even tinier than usual. Thomas, the less sporty of the two, was not keen on soccer but we kind of made him give it a go, thinking a team sport would be good for his self-esteem. He has surprised us by not only loving it, but playing really well!

Whilst I love watching rugby league, I don't want my little men smashed in tackles by boys twice their size so for now I'm happy to remain a soccer mum. We'll see what the future holds...



Their jerseys sit almost past their shorts. So cute.

 

Half-time oranges are a big hit.



Daniel



Thomas

 

The team, after playing their first trial match in pouring rain. Daniel in
particular thought that was super cool - just like a real sportsman!



40th Wedding Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to my Mum and Dad who celebrate 40 years of marriage today!

They are currently in Hawaii celebrating. We had a little get together before they left...

My favourite part of our gift to them was a DVD my sister compiled of photos, that also contained four very cute messages from their grandchildren. Amongst the messages were requests for sea shells, instructions for them to go surfing "with dudes" and advice not to drink too much wine :) LOL

Camden Show

A huge thank you to my brother Frank and sister in-law Carmelina for volunteering to take Thomas and Daniel to the Camden Show! We weren't going to go because we had a lot of work on after being out half the day for soccer and having a christening tomorrow, so the boys were super excited about the surprise trip. They had an absolute blast and I'm so glad they got to experience it. The last time we went I think Daniel was a baby, so they wouldn't really remember anything. Thomas got to go last year with the school (for a walk around) but Daniel didn't get that opportunity this year, so he was particularly happy to have attended.

Thank you Uncle Frank and Aunty Carmelina!!

Daniel rides McQueen

Uncle Frank & Thomas on the dodgem cars

Alessia, Daniel & Thomas getting into the junk food.

Thomas in front of the water bubble ride thingy. Daniel went on it which
apparently caused Thomas great concern. He didn't think it was such a
great idea! The little video I was sent of Daniel in the bubble was
hilarious!

The boys had a blast and had heaps of stories to share
(as they tipped the contents of their show bags out all over the floor).

Everyone loves fireworks :)

15 Minutes of Fame

                               

In 1968, artist Andy Warhol uttered the phrase, "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." It was an almost flippant comment on the difference between media, and it has endured. Today, it is applied equally to fleeting moments of "celebrity" as well as infamy.

Well, my boys can now tick "15 minutes of fame" off their to-do list. Hope they read this and know there is no need whatsoever to do anything silly in the future...a mum can only pray.

One day in the Summer that just went past, Sam was outside cleaning up and admiring his plush, green lawn when he was approached by a man carrying a camera who asked if he could photograph a car out the front for a well-known national motoring magazine. He also asked about kids and said he wanted to include them. We were a bit suspicious and made some calls to people we knew in the industry, even though Sam was quite chuffed that the man made reference to the house and in particular the green lawn.

As it turned out, the man in question was respected photographer Thomas Wielecki and the project was legitimate. They were photographing a number of cars around the neighbourhood that weekend. Coincidentally, one of Thomas' school friends had her Dad appear in the magazine too.

After much coming and going while we tried to sort out available times, the shoot finally took place. It was certainly an experience and something a little different for a Sunday afternoon. Why anyone would work photographing children for advertisements on a regular basis is beyond me...it wasn't an easy task. Thomas and Daniel were difficult enough to direct, Samuel as you can imagine was virtually impossible. I did remind the photographer of the old adage, "Never work with children or animals", and he had a bit of a chuckle.

The following behind the scenes photographs were taken with permission to be used on this blog.

Thomas Wieleckie prepares to shoot

Thomas' trusty assistant adjusts lighting

Mr Wielecki soon discovered that it wasn't as simple as saying,
"Stand over there".

Pick them up and place them exactly where you want...hmmm...that didn't
really work either...

...especially when they all wanted to be the one holding the hose!

But in the end, Thomas Wielecki got his perfect shot!

The photo was a little photo shopped and the grass didn't emerge as green as reality would paint it, but it was a great photo and a fun afternoon. The kids were drenched from their "water fight" and Sam didn't make the final cut - they chose a shot with Thomas and Daniel in the foreground and Samuel in the background near the car, playing with a sponge and water bucket. Sam didn't mind - he was just focused on the all-important lawn!

So there's 15 minutes of fame x 3 done and dusted and achieved in about half an hour of shooting! Oh, and in case you are wondering, magazine sales did go up. The publication sent us a complimentary copy but I also went out and bought extras so they could each have one to keep :)  You will also be pleased to hear that fame did not go to their heads...the magazine wasn't even exciting enough to trump a Cars book for news day at school!

Have you or someone close to you lived your 15 minutes of fame?

Please share! I would love to hear some great stories :)

Happy Birthday Sam!

I've been out of blogging action for a little while due to a hectic schedule and my computer going down (again). Luckily, it seems to have some life left in it and it was revived by my tech guy! So now I have a back log of blogs...

However, before I do all that, I thought I would post a couple of belated pics from Sam's birthday. I made the cake from scratch (it tasted yummy, even though it doesn't look like a masterpiece) and the boys decorated it in Parramatta Eels colours. Speaking of the Eels, they've had a shocker of a start to the season with 3 out of 3 losses, the last quite severe but we are blue and gold tragics through and through and stick by them no matter what. Let's hope they can turn their season around soon.

Happy Birthday Sam!