9:15 a.m.: The kids and I pulled out of the yard and headed to town.

10:00 a.m.: I left a nervous Andie and carefree boys at the Boys & Girls Club, equipped with all the cash I had left in my purse.

10:15 a.m.: Rachel and I arrived at the SPURS Therapeutic Riding Center, where we soaked up the gorgeous spring weather and beautiful surroundings as we waited for the staff to get there. The place was exactly her bag.

10:35 a.m.: After signing some papers and meeting Julie, the Volunteer Coordinator, I left SPURS feeling all kinds of excited for Rachel’s new venture.

10:45 a.m.: I arrived at the nutrition club and began work.

2:00 p.m.: Andie called to inform me that Logan was having a horrendous, embarrassing meltdown in the middle of The Boys & Girls Club, all due to the fact that the three of them had used all their money and had nothing left with which to purchase a snack. Logan, sleep deprivation and hunger are a lethal, ugly combination.

2:15 p.m.: I drove hurriedly to The Boys & Girls Club, digging for loose quarters in my van’s ashtray. All I could think was, Must. Get. Food. In. Logan.

2:25 p.m.: I walked into The B & G Club where Andie waited for me right by the counter. “That guy at the counter gave him 75 cents,” she muttered, pointing an inconspicuous thumb at a staff member.

2:30 p.m.: After reimbursing the guy at the counter, I gave Logan a mini-lecture as he shamefacedly offered me two half-melted Yogo-bites and a flock of kids leaned over the dividing wall to listen.

5:30 p.m.: Talking seriously with a customer at the nutrition club, I looked at the clock, only to see that I was supposed to be picking up all 4 kids at their various destinations at that moment. I excused myself and locked up quickly.

5:40 p.m.: I pulled into the B & G Club, where the kids were waiting with a staff member on the swings. Andie, nearly in tears at my tardiness (I had told her I’d be there around 5:00), got into the front seat and told me about how she didn’t make any friends. Logan’s face and hands sported mud and food, smeared all over his clothes and cheeks.

5:45 p.m.: We got to SPURS, where Rachel was waiting on the bench, looking sunburned and exhausted.

6:00 p.m.: We stopped at Subway to get some supper.

6:05 p.m.: Logan stood in the middle of Subway and began to wail, “But I don’t WANT water!”

6:06 p.m.: I had Rachel remove Logan from the premises as I paid for our meal.

6:10 p.m.: Arriving at the nutrition club, we got our food in and the kids ate their supper as I cleaned up.

7:01 p.m: We left the nutrition club, Logan dragging his feet the entire way.

7:06 p.m.: Rachel and Logan fell asleep in their seats and didn’t stir until we got home.

7:37 p.m.: Cody’s eyelids finally won the battle and he fell asleep too.

8:02 p.m.: Bathed and still exhausted, I kissed the boys good night and tucked them in.

9:34 p.m.: Andie and I finished tonight’s episode of American Idol, the season finale, and were thrilled when our favorite contestant won.

Needless to say, it was a very, very long day and I’m now at the tail end of it, trying to keep my eyelids open and my brain semi-functional as I write today’s blog post.

What’s your summer schedule like? Let’s hear a rundown of a typical day.

So I’m doing a giveaway, and of course, like all my giveaways, it’s very cool.

I was pleasantly surprised to receive a box full of Wikki Stix samples shortly before Christmas. If you haven’t heard of Wikki Stix, they’re these clever sticks of yarn covered with wax that you can bend and twist all over the place, no glue required. They’re totally reusable and non-toxic. The best part? There’s no mess to clean up!

Logan has been coveting Wikki Stix for ages as they suit his creative interests very well, so he received the samples for Christmas. All the kids have been enjoying making various creations with them and even their dad got in on it the other day. I have nothing but good to say about Wikki Stix. They’re a great addition to every kid’s activity repertoire. They’re fun, easy to use and encourage imaginative play.

THE PRIZE:

Wikki Stix Alphabet kit, for ages 3 and up. Includes 36 Wikki Stix with six large alphabet cards for learning. I will also be including a bonus surprise in the package, just because I feel like it. I don’t know what it’ll be yet, but I promise, it’ll be good. Or at least interesting. You never know with me. =)

TO ENTER:

♣ Leave a comment on my blog. That’s it! Limit one comment per person, per day.

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PLEASE READ: Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time, Friday, January 15, 2010. Any comments left after this time will be deleted. Open to residents of the U.S. only. The winner will be chosen by using random.org. Winner will have 24 hours to respond to notification with shipping info. If no response, another winner will be chosen.

GOOD LUCK!

This sort of anxiousness was new to me, and completely unexpected. After all, I didn’t get too nervous at their first piano or dance recitals. I simply felt calm and excited to see what they could do. So why was I feeling sick to my stomach over a grade-school basketball game?

Maybe it was because sports are such a big part of life where we live. In a rural area, athletics are often the only things that keep kids out of trouble. Sporting events rank more highly than church or weekend free time to many. Because of all the small schools, most kids play sports of one kind or another, whether or not they actually have talent.

As I slid into the gym with my two sons, I mumbled something of my anxiety to my friend, a seasoned pro in school sports. “Oh, it’ll be fine. Basically, watching fourth grade basketball is like watching a bunch of clowns play,” she told me. The refs are easier on them at this age too, she said, so the kids would have room to learn.

To my surprise, once the girls were out there, I wasn’t nearly as uneasy. All the players were uncoordinated, timid, unsure of themselves. Andie was the first of my two to play and she reminded me of myself on the court – she seemed more prone to making sure her hair was in place than in rebounding the ball, let alone actually guarding her girl. Her dad kept yelling, “Andie, where’s your man?” to which she would stop and look up at him, confused, as a herd of girls ran past her.

In normal life, Andie is quite aggressive and bossy. She loves to be in charge and to take on as much responsibility as I’ll let her. To see her on the basketball court was a lot like watching another person, or at least someone with a different personality. When she first went out, she looked absolutely petrified, a reincarnation of my feelings the few times I was sent into the last minutes of a game. She hung back, clearly afraid and not sure what to do. When she was open for a pass, she’d reluctantly yell to the girl with the ball, but I could tell she was hoping the ball wouldn’t be passed to her.

I was shocked to see that her easygoing, gentle twin sister, Rachel, was a dynamic player. She guarded her girl fiercely, not letting her get anywhere near the ball, even though Rachel herself was a few inches shorter. A tiny little thing, Rachel was the only girl among her teammates on the floor who tried to rebound the ball. Unfortunately, she just couldn’t quite reach it. “She needs to grow about four inches,” her dad muttered to me. Even more to my astonishment, as point guard, Rachel dribbled the ball down the court masterfully, rarely looking down at it, as most of the girls did. Since she has inherited my coordination, or more appropriately, the lack thereof, I couldn’t believe how effortlessly she handled the ball.

Rachel played aggressively, toothpick legs pounding down the court, sticking to her girl like a bad wedgie, and pushing herself into the midst of the chaos in a desperate attempt to get the ball. I shook my head in wonder. “I can’t believe it,” I whispered, hopefully not loud enough for the video camera their dad had been using to pick up.

I wonder why different personality traits manifest themselves in sports or other activities. What is it about basketball that brings out Rachel’s fierceness and tenacity, her drive to work hard? Why does being out on the court make Andie nervous and timid?

Both girls used to take piano lessons, but Rachel never liked it much. Getting her to practice was like trying to ice skate on your heels. She finally gave it up because it was “too hard.” On the opposite side of the spectrum is Andie, who often has to be asked to stop practicing because it’s driving us crazy. She works hard at piano and is eager to learn new concepts.

The drive could be purely interest. Or perhaps it’s talent. Or maybe it’s just a mixture of both. Whatever it is, it’s sure fun to gather new insight into their personalities through their activities.