Welcome, Spring!

Today is Palm Sunday. Next week is Easter, and in preparation for this, my church had its opening outside church where a donkey was to meet us and escort us inside for the processional.

Except that it was so cold that half the parishioners refused to go outside. And the donkey never showed. But it was still a neat idea.

Today was also Mister Man's first t-ball practice.

What, you say he has a broken arm? You say he can't play because he's in a cast? Well, yeah... I know. But I sorta forgot that he had a broken arm when I signed him up. I blame too little sleep.

I've thought about it though. Technically, he can still throw the ball, and he can learn the rules and hang out with his teammates before he's fully cleared to play. He won't be able to bat, I don't think, but that's only for a few weeks. And with laid back t-ball, I can help him practice in the field by handing him the ball when it comes his way so he can throw it in.

I've also found out that they pretty much stack the infield so there's got to be another kid nearby who can help out during games. And come April 14, his cast comes off and he's allowed to play a week or two after that. No big deal.

Today was the big day though when he was to have his first practice. I was all set for it, including having my camera with me so that I can take pictures of him on that first day. We knew that one of his buddies from preschool last year was going to be on the team, as was a buddy from school this year. That makes it even more fun.

My husband decided that being the man in the house, he wanted to take Mister Man to the practice since his baseball game had been canceled due to concerns over sleet and snow in the forecast -- and the fact that the fields they play one were still wet from rain earlier in the week.

Nothing against my husband, but I'm definitely going. So we all packed up, including Little Miss who really needed a nap, and we headed out.

Did I mention the weather forecast? You know, the sleet and one to three inches of snow tonight, with an additional one to three inches tomorrow expected? And the gusty winds? And the 36 degrees?

Mister Man's practice was -- fortunately -- canceled. Instead, we were to meet at a local pizza parlor and get to know each other and let the coach know shirt sizes since apparently the shirts get names on the backs and hats get names embroidered in them. Fancy!

We arrived at the pizza place, and it was apparent that the restaurant was closed. Ugh. There was one car in the parking lot that looked like it was changing a tire. We pulled into the parking lot anyway, hoping that I could get ahold of the coach and find out plan B. Luckily, the car that was getting a tire changed was the coach, and they just had the bat case sitting out by the rear of the car and a batting helmet on the front hood so we'd recognize it as part of the t-ball team. Obviously that didn't work so well for me.

Plan B was heading to the local Pizza Hut where we ummm ate at the buffet (I can't really say enjoyed, can I?). Mister Man was thrilled to see his buddies and was almost too excited to eat anything. We got the rules, and we also found out some more good news -- for us anyway.

The coach is out of town for Easter next week. When we're supposed to have our next practice. We likely won't practice until the 16th or later, which means Mister Man will have his cast off. Rockin'!

You've really got to hate it when you try to put together a submission for Mother Of The Year and fate conspires against you so that your entry become almost meaningless, eh?