It's a good thing...

It's a good thing I'm not one of those mothers who gets her kids so involved in extra-curricular activities that they are just plain run ragged. It's a good thing I decided early on to only let my kids participate in one sport or activity at a time. If I were one of those mothers, we could have had a day that started with a basketball game, from which we had to hurry to get straight to a karate test. Oh, wait. That is exactly how our day started.

I decided a while back that since karate happens at school only one day a week, that Evan could do that plus one other thing. Right now, that other thing is basketball. And this weekend is one of the few times that the two shall nearly conflict.

Today, Evan had his first karate test for rank. You may recall he had a karate test last fall, but that one was an animal patch test. This test was for one yellow stripe on his belt. (Once he gets two yellow stripes, he'll get a yellow belt.) He did great. We could really see a whole lot of improvement in his skill level from November's test. We also saw a whole lot of improvement in his ability to stay focused and listen to the sensai for over an hour. The kids were all very cute.

Since I had to get up at a relatively ungodly hour (for a Saturday) to make a 9 a.m. basketball game and went straight from there to the dojo, guess what I forgot? Yep. The camera. The iPhone would have to suffice again. Thank goodness for that little wonder, because otherwise, I'd be missing my kids' entire childhoods.

Here are a few pictures of the warm-up and the test, followed by a few more of the promotion when Evan received his yellow stripe.

Mama's got some more difficult sewing to do. (Yes, I realize that difficult sewing in my house is defined a bit differently than in some other houses. Any sewing that makes me fear a semi-permanent injury to the skin underneath my thumbnail is difficult here. In my friend Lisa's house, difficult sewing is pleating a dress to prepare it for smocking. I have other talents, people. Sewing is simply not one of them.)

As an aside (as if that last paragraph were not an aside, too), I LOST the crane patch that Evan earned in November because I was procrastinating sewing it on. A couple of weeks ago, we got an e-mail reminding us that patches and stripes should not be attached to uniforms using safety pins or staples (apparently, I am not the only mama lacking the sewing gene) and stating that patches should be affixed (read: sewn) to the gi no later than the practice that follows the promotion ceremony. This e-mail, having pointed out that I am three months tardy with the task, inspired me to dig the patch out of my purse and sew it onto the gi. Oooops. I looked and looked for that darn thing - cleaned out my purse and my car in the process - but could not find it. So, I purchased a replacement patch today. I think that Evan is none the wiser - at least until he shows some interest in reading my blog someday and finds out here. I shall make this promise here and now: I will have both the patch and the stripe sewn on before Friday's class. Take me to the Grady if you find me bleeding profusely from underneath my thumb nail between now and then.

OK, now here are the pictures: (Hey, look! I found the verbosity again...)

(Just look at that cutie patootie doing his little karate roll. He is the little ball on the left.)