96 hotdogs later......

Man, today was a long day.

It was the first day of soccer.  Since I believe in getting ALL the snacks out of the way at once, for all the teams, I volunteered to do the drinks, fruit and snacks today for all the teams.  Yes, I'm crazy that way, but then I know it's all done and I don't have that last minute freak out of "Is it our day for fruit?  What about drinks?"

Last season, my very best girlfriend ever, who moved away this year (boo-hoo!), made hot dogs as the after game snack.  What a great idea, I said to myself.  That is *awesome*.  I hate buying cookies or chips to give out as a snack after a hard soccer match, and I'm pretty much limited in stuff like granola bars and trail mix due to allergies.  Not that hotdogs are any great shakes in the nutrition department, but they all eat them anyway.  When I saw what a success the hotdogs were, I decided to copy it.  And so, last night found me at 8:30, after soccer and scouts, trolling the grocery and counting the team members, dividing the number of buns in a pack by the number of hotdogs in a pack - why don't they ever match up? - and pulling overly tired children away from the chocolate bars and the free samples of cheese that have been sitting out for 12 hours.

I put them in the crock pot and went to bed.  This morning, I woke up to a yummy smell - and I don't even EAT hotdogs.  I inserted 60 of the dogs into the buns, wrapped them each in foil, and dropped them into a hot bag. I also tossed in a bottle of ketchup.

(I had to stop at one point to verify that The Hubster was having an allergic reaction to his new thyroid medicine.  He left to go to the doctor, who agreed and took him off his meds.  He's got to go to an endocrinologist this week to get everything straight.)

I grabbed the 30 bananas, the four boxes of drinks, and the hot bag of dogs and loaded into the van, along with 2 kids in uniforms and 3 not - Nik is out of town and Allegra's game was later. I grabbed garbage bags, wipes, water bottles, sunscreen, hats, books and chairs. 

The first game went well.  Gabe's assistant coach told me that he's improved vastly over the summer, and he played aggressively.  It was HOT, and we were cranky. The jerseys are polyester and don't breathe.  Since I've done so for a few of the other teams,  I offered to tie dye shirts for the team, and said that, if each parent provided a shirt, I'd only charge them $5 to cover the cost of the dyes.  A mother, who I thought was a friend, took me to task for this.  She thought it was too much and that I was wrong for trying to make a buck off of friends.  I'm thinking I'll charge her $20, just because.  She didn't seem to think of the cost of the materials - I'm not using RIT dye, but good stuff, and that costs money.

I handed out the hotdogs, and one child opened a hotdog, touched it with his fingers, and pronounced it gross.  He wrapped it up and went on to another one, as I was busy coating everyone else's in ketchup.  I realized what he was doing on the third hotdog, and snatched it away from him.  "Hands off!"  I barked.  "No one wants to eat a hot dog you've had your dirty hands on.  Whichever one you take is the one you get."  His mother was less than pleased with me as well; "He's just trying to find a good one,"  she said.  He claimed that they were "mushy"; I countered with the fact that ALL hotdogs are mushy.  They left, without hotdogs.  <Sigh>  How to win friends and influence people, huh?

Mackenzie's game went great.  Last year she goofed around and wasn't challenged in her age bracket, so I moved her up a level.  Now she plays with bigger kids on a bigger field.  She definitely was challenged, and it was an awesome game.  More hot dogs were passed out, with my kids eating more than their fair share.  We also went through a dozen juices, and made 5 trips to the portapotty, my least favorite place to visit. 

Allegra's game was later in the afternoon, which necessitated our leaving the field and returning three hours later.  With a FRESH set of hotdogs, bananas and juice.  I'm hating all of those things about now.  She played really well - her coach claimed that she showed him more in the game than she has in practice, and he was delighted with what he saw.  She told me that she loved the game, loved her teammates, and couldn't wait for next week. 

So, giving up my day to cook hotdogs and sit out in the sun, downwind from the portapotty, was worth it.  Everyone is playing in a team that they love, we've got the snacks and drinks out of the way, and I've found that I fit in with the other parents on the team.  Now if I could just figure out how to get a blender to the game and pass out some margaritas, we'd be set.

Comments

[Heather Cook]

Lordy, your day tired ME out... I coached soccer for the first time this year. While about six months pregnant. It was just oodles of ... fun.

[Sadie]

http://www.blenderblaster.com/

[bella]

Wow! I have ideas like that all the time, but my execution leaves a lot to be desired compared to yours!

(And I try to get all my 'obligatory' snacks and stuff out of the way right away, as well! The less I have to remember until 'next month', the more likely it is that I will manage to remember it!)

You are truly inspirational! (I gave up extracurricular sports for my kids some time ago!)

[Shawn C]

PHEW! Now I'm exhausted! LOL

[Blaine]

"sit out in the sun, downwind from the portapotty"

You are a better woman than I!!!

Glad you got the obligations out of the way so you can spend the rest of the season enjoying your kiddos. 8^)

[Mary P]

Oh, TWO princess mommies on ONE team! Lucky you!

Yeah, charge her $20, or you might just give her one bottle of dye (she wants more colour, she can buy her own) and she can do her own shirt, for free. Nyah.

And the mother who supported her child in his poking of the hot dogs? So it would be okay if you sent one of your kids over to poke his hot dog? (Suddenly that sounds much worse than I intended - but you know what I mean!)

People! sheesh.

[Julie]

I can help you on the blender for margaritas! Black and Decker makes a cordless blender, I think it's called a "Partymate" or something like that, which is not only perfect for tailgates and Jimmy Buffett concerts, but evidently for marathon soccer days, as well. For non-alcoholic drinks only, of course.

[rachel]

soccer doesn't start for us for another week. and this is my first year with 2 in soccer. eek.

Thank goodness we do cut up oranges instead of hot dogs. all those buns would have freaked me out allergy-wise!

I'm amazed at how well organized you are and ho much fun you had. I would have been sorely tempted to smack the other parents upside the head.

[Karen]

Wait a second. The $5 wasn't JUST to cover your dye costs. Doesn't some of it go for your TIME!!! It's no easy feat to tie dye that many shirts. Surely your time is worth SOMETHING. I'd gladly give you $5 to tie dye a shirt for one of my kids!!!

[Hayes]

Someone makes a blender that plugs into your car's outlet. 12V blender for margaritas on game days!

[Stephanie C.]

Oooh, I'm gonna steal your hot dog idea. My 3 all play soccer, but only the youngest's team still does snack. The other two moved out of that age bracket long ago.
What's a hot bag, anyway?

[Paige]

We spend our lives at the soccer field, too. I love the hot dog idea. Especially later in the season, when it might actually be colder. Thanks for the great tip!

[Kari]

Wow, I am in awe. Great idea. And soooo much effort. Way to go!

[1945 89 europe polish]

More or less nothing seems important. It's not important. Shrug. Whatever. I've just been hanging out doing nothing, but eh. I can't be bothered with anything lately.

[my-bass]

Sexism is, is not a problem in society

[Jeniffer]

animals don't belong in zoos