Take Me (and 4 Little Girls) Out to the Ball Game!

Last week, Matt coached his big game at AT&T Park against Sacred Heart Cathedral. The two schools have an annual tradition of competing for the Bruce Mahoney trophy. The school that comes out ahead after the three major games of the year (football, basketball and baseball) takes home the trophy. SI won in football, but lost the basketball game, so the pressure was on for Matt to deliver a win for the baseball game. An added twist? The baseball game is played at the Giants stadium, which is an absolute dream come true for the players and coaches alike!

So, like any good coach's wife, I went to support Matt and brought along his good luck charms (all four of them!). I did it last year with 2-week old babies, a 20-month old and a barely-three- year old, so I knew I was in for another adventure. Suffice to say, 2-week-olds are much easier than squirmy one-year-olds!!

What follows is my list of Do's and Dont's for taking four little kids to the "big city" to see their Daddy coach his big game:

Do plan backwards from the game start time of 3:45pm, even though you are absolutely sure you will be late anyway.

Do allow for the 1.5 hours it will take to change diapers, feed babies, dress all four kids and place them in the car.

Do put said children down for a nap before lunch, and convince them of the perks to this plan all morning long to ensure they will go right to sleep, even if it is only 11am. Main perk: Eating lunch at the game - woohoo!! (These kids are easy to please, obviously.)

Do realize that this requires keeping two babies awake until 11am to ensure a window of time when all four are asleep in order to prepare and pack essentials for the game. Since the babies usually take their first nap at 9am, do plan on cranky babies!

Do, as a fun mornimg activity, an inventory of all (insert appropriate school colors here) clothing appropriate for each child and steer said children in the direction of what you want them to wear, all the while letting them think it was their idea.

Do run around like a crazy lady while all four are napping and pack any (but not too many) essentials for the game, including aforementioned exciting lunch! Deposit diaper bag in car to make the exit from the house that much quicker.

Once the kids wake up from their nap (insert the sigh that always comes with the first sound of a little person arising), start getting them dressed in their school colors, and Do be sure to get a group shot of said children (even if some look like they are taking mug shots), mostly because you will not remember any part of this day otherwise.

Upon arrival, Do take pictures of your cute kids outside the stadium.


Once inside, do be sure to pass around those squirmy babies and break out that lunch! (I had a lot of helpers once inside!!)

Do take plenty of pictures of your superstar husband out on the field. (He's the speck coaching third base in this picture.)

Do take more cute pictures of your kids once inside the park, especially when they're out of their seats dancing!

And, upon a WIN!!, be sure to capture the scoreboard showing the 3-2 score.

Do get shots of your kids with their daddy, too!

Lastly, Don't look quite this old and disheveled...and especially...Don't allow someone to photograph you looking this way!

Go Cats!!