Author: Rick Garcia

not so Social Rick! Going a little crazy, can you tell?!

Posted on by Rick Garcia

What’s up everybody?! How’s everyone doing? I hope you are doing well and helping slow down this vicious virus. It’s been 35 days since the Garcia’s have practiced social distancing and in quarantine. It’s also 35 days with no sports! It’s been hard, strange, bizarre, surreal, crazy, you get the point. Meg has only been out twice and I have been out maybe 4-5 times getting groceries and picking up sanitizer. I hope this will all pass in time and we can get back to normal in about a year and back to some sense of normalcy in a few months. It sucks! All of it sucks but I try to think of all the positives and taking it day by day. Today is my favorite day mentality.

Those who know me, know I am an extrovert and love to get together and have a good time and make memories. Nothing is better than watching/coaching your kid and his buddies and team compete and then go out after to a restaurant with a patio enjoying the amazing Austin climate. Even the heat, I like the heat! Bring the heat…especially now! Adults order cold pops while the kids play and run around for hours. We laugh, we dance, we recap the game, we talk about the next game, we plan vacations, we shoot the shit! We don’t stop there, we then take it back to the hood for an after party usually at our house or a buddies house to keep the good times rolling. Man, I miss that a lot, not going to lie. I also take the kiddos pictures and party pictures and take them to the gram and the Book. Between that and facilitating and enjoying being a party starter, a lot of my friends here in Austin call me social Rick. Boomerang y’all!

A big reason why we moved down to Austin is to have the kiddos be outside make a ton of friends and make great memories. The weather is so nice here that I hate being inside, so I always want to be outside hanging out with friends and letting the kids run wild. Well, we can’t do that anymore and who knows when we will be able to do that. It might not be the same for a long time and I have to get used to that. I have to adapt to this lifestyle for now. We ALL know people that loss their jobs, businesses on pause, people who have gotten sick…etc…You are in my daily prayers! Olivia is a high risk target. I’m also a bit of a worry wart. You combine the two and my anxiety has been through the roof. I hate feeling like this, the last time my anxiety was close to this when when the girls were born extreme preemies and it brings back horrible feelings and anxiety that I buried deep inside my core. Anxiety is no joke and it peaked everyday for approximately 9 months.

So how have I been dealing with being not so social Rick?! Great question. Meh just okay and knowing it can always be worse helps, making today my favorite day helps, nice weather helps and a company that has been super understanding and supportive helps a lot. I recently took a 4 day weekend to have a mental health long weekend over Easter as I needed a break from checking slack and being on zoom non stop since we transitioned to working from home. That, plus Meg’s busy work schedule and also trying to homeschool and watch Olivia who has special needs has been extremely difficult. It can get as bad where my son and I are just arguing with each other, out of character for both of us. I’ve been getting mad at him for little things and I realized its just the anxiety and stress that’s taking over. Have you recently noticed your kiddos acting out a bit? Is it just us?! I hope not lol.

I have been doing the following which has helped me deal with the stress and getting closer to my kiddos.

  • Teaching Spanish! Ricky can now count to 60! This video shows him counting to 50. I love exposing him to my first language and discussing Diversity and Inclusion! They might not look like it but they have 50% Mexican blood in those veins! Professor Garcia con mis estudiantes!
  • Practicing Baseball and Basketball with little man! Quick and effective practices. Quality over quantity.
  • Reading! Just finished this book. Loved it! Great tips to be a better Dad and Coach.
  • Having team zoom calls and virtual practices. I miss my kiddos. I am hoping we can get out there at some point and lead these boys this summer. Great kids, talented!
  • Social Distancing drinks with neighbors.
  • Playing in Backyarda Vallarta, Mexico 🙂
  • Watching Ozark, Netflix, Sonic, Trolls, Trolls, Trolls, Sonic, Trolls and playing COD with internet buddies 🙂
  • Jogging while listening to hip hop, rap and EDM! Gotta get it right, get it tight. At least offset the snacks. Am I rite?
  • Taking funny pictures of our Bulldog, the many faces of Ryno!
  • Emailing the local paper and getting Ricky and his team in the local paper! Came at a time, I think we all needed a feel good story.
  • Learning sign language and teaching our kids what we learn.
  • Ordering Lou Malnatis and Portillos! Some of our favorite food from Chicago!
  • Not going to lie, having a few cold pops, good whiskey has helped take the edge off. It’s 5 o’clock… JK if I hear one more person say that… Haha!
  • Making you tube videos, please like and subscribe to ricky bear tv haha.

What are you doing to keep your sanity?! Stay safe, stay healthy and let’s be kind and think of others. I hope to see you all sooner rather than later.

P.S. Meg gave me a haircut today, it was ok until I saw this…smdh!

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Happy Easter!

Posted on by Rick Garcia

Good morning all! Buenos Dias! What a glorious day, the Lord is Risen! Even if you are not into that sort of thing, Happy Easter from my family to yours! We hope you have a joyous and blessed day with your family wherever you may be! A buddy of mine had a great quote this morning in regards to even if you don’t celebrate Easter and the Lord’s resurrection. He said “but everyday is a day to celebrate these days”! Facts, big facts! Everyday is a good day.

I am currently sitting in my patio, its 75 degrees with a breeze and I’m having a cup of coffee with a mimosa on the side :)Don’t believe me? Check out my gram, haha. Meg and I have a great brunch spread in the works, pics to come on our instagram page. We are finding the good in today and it is not that hard on a day like today. Albeit, I wish I was able to attend mass in person followed by going to one of our favorite places for brunch with friends and family, I know that isn’t possible right now so I choose not to dwell over it. Instead, I find the silver lining and we will make the best of today. We are in this together, we are all making sacrifices especially the essential workers and our amazing health care professionals on the front lines of this battle. God Bless our essential workers and our healthcare staff, you are in my daily prayers! These sacrifices are not easy, so it is ok to not always be ok. I’m not always ok, trust me! However, these sacrifices are for the greater good, they are for my girls and for one another. Jesus also made a sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice, giving his life so that we can all have eternal life, pretty powerful.

Our easter Sunday started with the Easter bunny bringing some gifts and goodies to our kiddos. They then had an easter egg hunt which you can see on our instagram page below. Gracie cracks me up, as they were opening their easter baskets, I can see her looking around getting a head start mentally on where the eggs were, lol. That’s my Gracie Girl!

After some Easter Bunny fun, we got ready for the real reason of Easter and that is to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection! We streamed the live feed from our Catholic Church. It was a little odd but we got in our Sunday best and prayed and participated in today’s Holy mass. It was actually beautiful, the songs were great, readings were on point, we could hear our backyard birds singing as rays on sunshine illuminated our family room. Together, from our homes, we celebrated. My take away from the homily is that we will ALL RISE like our Lord did today and most of us will come out better Catholics, better Christians and better People on the other side. Amen! God Bless you and your families and once again we hope you have a great day, Happy Easter!

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How Are You Doing? Me, I’m a Hot Mess.

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I didn’t get to post as much as I would’ve liked to for the month of March in honor of CP Awareness and I feel pretty bummed about that. However, I am sure things will come up through out the rest of the year that I can still share awareness about CP and living with disabilities in general. So I won’t beat myself up too much about it. Instead today I figured I would catch y’all up on what the Garcia Family has been up to while under quarantine. Going on day 21 today!

First before I get into my update I would like to start by saying that today I got some very sad news, one of my mentors and bosses while growing up passed away from Covid19. He was the head veterinarian and owner of an animal hospital, back in a Chicagoland suburb, that I worked at all through high school and college. He is the first person I knew personally to have passed from this awful virus and I am heartbroken for his family and the Niles Animal Hospital community. From what I understand is that he got ill and passed all within one week, that is terrifying to me. I truly do hope that more people start taking this more seriously and just stay home, peoples lives depend on it.

Actually that brings up something that I witnessed today. As I mentioned earlier today marks day 21 of being quarantined and in that time neither the kids or myself have been in a car ride out of the neighborhood. Rick has been out to pick up groceries but that’s about it. This afternoon we had an curbside grocery order to pick up in a neighboring town so we decided to pack the kids up and take them for a ride to get out of the house and hood, if even for about 30 min and only to stay in the car. I envisioned that since Austin is under strict lockdown orders that the roads would basically be clear. Nope! They were just as busy as any other day, where were all these people going? I don’t understand, not all these people were going to an ‘essential store’ or going to work. Maybe they too were just getting out for a ride, I hope that was the case.

Moving on! Let’s see what else have we been up to. Oh yah, homeschooling and working from home (both Rick and I). It’s been so much fun and I love every second of it… just kidding! I think the hardest part is seeing how kids are handling everything, because Ricky Bear has been much more emotional and whiny than usual. It took Rick and I a while to realize that this is how he is handling the stress and all the changes in our lives at the moment. It’s not easy, but I have been overly understanding of the kids behavior lately and am trying to be here to comfort them rather than reprimand them. I do loose my cool every so often as I am not perfect, but then once I regain my cool I try and explain to the kids that mommy is stressed and sad and that I am sorry for yelling. I hope they understand one day and at least they know mommy isn’t perfect.

With that said, I was also planning on being very strict about school time and having a particular schedule to follow from 8-3 each day. Well that plan is out the window and I am ok with it! I am not a teacher, and there is a reason I never became a teacher. Instead what is working better for everyone in our house is that I typically set the kids up with a few things to work on throughout the day. If they start to fight it or argue or cry, we move on to something else. There is no need for them to be stressed and upset, because then that just adds more friction to the house that we don’t need. Rick and I have also added new items to their curriculum like Spanish lessons with dad and Sign Language classes with mom. Other ways the kids are staying busy and still learning (without knowing it) is that I have Ricky Bear read to Grace. This week he has been reading Matilda and White Fang to Grace, this has been keeping the two of them busy for a couple hours a day. HUGE win for mom {high five}! It’s certainly not easy, but we are starting to find a new groove that is working ok for our family. I hope everyone else has fallen into their new groove too, if not yet then soon.

Oh and can we just touch base on the fact of how much food these kids have been eating the past 21 days! Seriously it’s like snacks on snacks on snacks. Don’t get me wrong, I am also doing my part of gaining the (Covid)19lbs for sure, but shoot these kids and their food. However, the kids just found the stash of Halloween candy I had hidden yesterday and today I didn’t get as many snack requests 🤔I’m actually just gonna pretend like I don’t know, the lack of requests today was pretty nice.

Olivia update: She has been enjoying getting to sleep in, playing more with brother and sister, and absolutely loving the swing time she is getting in our backyard. I believe that Olivia has been signing Mommy and Good Night to me each night, I will need to get this on video to prove it! Knowing how much she loves car rides, we may need to take more family car rides just to get out for a bit.

Gracie update: She thinks school (aka homeschool) is boring! She can now sing her ABCs but is still learning letter recognition at her own pace. She loves when Ricky Bear reads to her and she is now sleeping in her own bed (for the most part). Gracie is also super creative. For example yesterday she told me I was a french fry, daddy was a hamburger 😂, she was a chicken nugget, Olivia was sweet n sour sauce and Ricky Bear was the toy. I think she is missing McDonalds, a lot!

Ricky Bear update: He has been uber emotional and I feel so bad for him as I know his little heart just doesn’t understand what is going on. I am very proud of him for his reading skills and writing skills he has been working on. He is also practicing one of one with dad each day and it is great quality time for the both of them.

My update: I am trying to focus my energy on work as I feel like I am pretty good under pressure and with coming up with good ideas. I also think it has been a good outlet for me to be able to focus my time on and escape the reality of my ‘new’ life, which more resembles Groundhog Day. I may look like I have my sh*t together, but on the inside I am hot a mess. I know I am on the brink of breaking though because the other day I watched that video from John Krasinski and his new series ‘Some Good News’ (if you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it) and I started to get teary eyed. I knew then that I am an emotional ticking time bomb and it will be coming soon. Sorry Rick! On a positive note, I think Rick finally understands why I always have a glass a wine in my hand when he gets home from work! For now though I will continue to be strong for my family, keep them healthy and safe, keep the house clean and continue to focus on work as it helps keep me grounded.

Hope everyone stays safe, healthy and distant! Also, please keep the Sakas Family in your thoughts and prayers.

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StayCation Day 2: Daddy is a Luchador!

Posted on by Rick Garcia

Hola, hello friends and fam! Happy…Thursday, I almost forgot what day it was. As most Americans around the nation, we cancelled Spring Break plans but I decided to keep my time off and recharge, reflect and spend some quality time with my kiddos while Meghan gets work done. Because this is Ricky’s planned spring break, we are actually not doing many academic activities outside of 30 min of daily reading. We want him to be a kid and tap into his creativity and imagination during this time of social distancing. We had a great day yesterday, here is everything I did to keep a sense of normalcy.

The day started with sleeping in…it is my staycation! Shout out to Meggy who let me sleep in! I think I got up at 9:30 and it was glorious. To be honest the kids also slept in, otherwise, Meg would have gotten my butt up, book it! Upon waking up, I went into the living room and said good morning to my kiddos and gave them a kiss as they were chowing down on some breakfast. I went over to Olivia’s chair and signed good morning, more to come on this as we are going to take this time to accelerate learning sign. I had my morning fuel (coffee) watched a little Get Up! and then went upstairs to my home office area to check in on work. After ~30 minutes of work and checking in, I set up my new Turtle Beach Wireless headphones and played a quick session of Call of Duty. Yes, I am a gamer and love playing games. Like everything else, I find the balance to not over play in lieu of family time. Quick story on my headphones, I finally spent some extra money and got wireless as my last pair (not wireless) were destroyed. About 2 months ago, I had a brand new nice pair or TB headphones but after 3 days, I noticed they were not working. After a closer examination, I noticed one of my cats, probably Rizzo, chewed them up! $60 down the toilet thanks to Rizzo chewing it up like its cat nip. We have 4 cats by the way, 3 too many if you ask me but don’t tell Meg or Gracie that :). Anyways, Meg blamed me for not getting wireless to begin with so I went ahead and splurged a bit on brand new wireless headphones…they are money by the way.

After a quick gaming session, Ricky Bear like many kids loves watching “YouTubers” and he said he wanted to create a video for his Ricky Bear Tv station and I said perfect but you need to help come up with a script! He was confused by what that entailed. I then talked to the kiddos today about the importance of content and processes! As a producer in game development, nothing is more critical than fresh content and a process to get to the final content! I said the script and brainstorming phase is part of the process. I told them, in this world more than ever, content is king! It’s king in my world and in their world. People want instant satisfaction and they want fresh, brand new content and experiences. Yesterday, Ricky and Gracie fresh off watching Nacho Libre and with my screen writing skills came up with a script and we made some creative content! We created something together!

Here is the video! Enjoy! We are coming for that short film Oscar! More content to come. Ricky said show your kiddos and like and subscribe 🤷🏻‍♂️ More #CreativeContent to come! 🎥 

I present; Daddy is a Luchador! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cxUlUbOTXE

After feeling like Ron Howard, we had a late lunch as a family. After lunch, Coach Rick time and we went outside and played some sports! Ricky got 50 shots up as he continues to practice with a heavier ball and 10 foot rims. Super proud of his work ethic and ability to make shots. His form is great. As I told him, I’d rather see airballs and misses BUT shooting properly and not jeopardizing his shooting form. His strength will come and mixed with his shooting mechanics, he’ll be a great shooter like his pops, ok, yes a better shooter than me. Then, we went to the backyard to work on some baseball drills. Yesterday was fielding day, so we worked on his throwing and fielding mechanics. We did some pop ups and worked on his footwork to track the balls. Then, we transitioned to middle infield drills with an emphasis on 2 bagger or second base. We talked about the importance of getting the lead runner, turning two is a bonus, footwork around the bag, becoming a first baseman in case of bad throws, and then glove to hand transfer for a quick turn. We even went over SS and how to swipe second base with his right foot, he thought that was a cool move and I was really impressed with him actually being able to do it after just seeing it for the first time. I used to totally whiff on the bag but most umps can’t see your foot and they assume you touch it and call the runner out, little trick of the trade;) I also found some time to practice with Gracie girl! We went over the defense ready position and worked on some grounders and throws! As a coach, I miss being out there with my team and coaches. Our season is currently delayed but I may start some virtual practices. If you need help with drills, hit me up!

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Later gram! Always working and getting better! 🐻⚾️

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After practice, I went on a run with Cubby our 100lb dog. Right before my run, I noticed a guy waiting on the corner. Turns out he’s my neighbor but we never met. He introduced himself and he went to shake hands and I was like ughh no sorry and he understood but I was surprised he even went for it. Anyways, I went on a run to blow some stress and enjoy the nice spring weather. I then took a shower, definitely later than usual but I did my daily prayer. Yes, my go to praying spot is the shower, which makes sense if you think about it. It’s private and a great place to reflect. After a quick shower, we had a nice dinner with the fam. Meg made my favorite, chicken parm! After dinner, we started watching Despicable Me 3. Once the movie was over, I played COD with the Sheriff of Noyes, not the real sherriff, inside joke here ha and some neighborhood dudes as the kids were getting ready for bed. I told my buddies, I only have an hour as Meg and I were planning on a night cap and a movie. The Sheriff was also watching a movie with his wife.

Around 9:15 we sat down, we both grabbed some bourbon and we watched Knives Out! We both really enjoyed it, great cast, great twist at the end, and an entertaining thriller/comedy. Finally, after a full day, a great day we went night night around midnight. We hope you are having a great spring break so far given the circumstances. Let’s keep praying, helping and looking out for each other. Don’t just use social distancing as a buzz word but actually do it. I hope this blogs provides some knowledge on CP, deafness and also entertainment during these weird times. Stay safe, stay healthy and May God Bless our healthcare workers!

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Gracie’s Coming Home, Tell The World I’m Coming Home! 3/17/2015!

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Happy Tuesday everybody! I hope you are all doing well and doing your best to keep your social distancing. The quicker we all do our part the quicker we all rage. I’ll leave it at that as I’m not going to let what’s going on in the world impact today!

Today and every 3/17 we celebrate Gracie girl coming home after ~4 months in the NICU. She came home 1 day before her original due date of 3/18. Think about that, she was supposed to be born on 3/18/2015 but was almost 4 months old when she came home, crazy, a miracle baby. It was a bitter sweet day back in 2015! After 107 days in the NICU, one of our prayers were answered and we were able to bring home one of our baby girls, Gracie. She has some Irish in her so may the luck of the Irish be with her on St.Patricks day and forever. However, it was a bitter sweet day, since we didn’t get to leave with Olivia and the girls were separated for the first time in their life. Talk about mixed emotions, I get teary eyed just thinking about it. On one hand we got to take home Gracie but on the other hand we were leaving Olivia behind. That was tough, we were almost complete. When we got home, we made sure Gracie was situated and introduced her to Bossman our family pitty. After a few hours of loving on Gracie, Meggy went back to the NICU that night to spend time with Olivia, tough!

I still remember that morning of pickup like it was yesterday. We didn’t believe it until we actually got her in the car as we were told a handful of times leading up to that day that today is the day, only to be told sorry she had a bad day or something came up and she can’t go home with us. Talk about gut punches and pure disappointment. I remember we were cautiously optimistic she would come home that day. It was a chilly, overcast day but it was such a beautiful day as one of our girls was coming HOME! We even laid out her outfit the night before, which I’m sure Meg went back and forth to make sure her girl looked good!

We had Gracie girls outfit ready to go! We had it all covered as we dreamed of this day and it was finally happening!

You can imagine the pure joy we felt when they said it is really happening, let’s get ready to discharge her! We didn’t taker her home right away as we wanted to spend some time with Olivia as well and then we went over all the paper work and what she was coming home with. She came home with some medicine, a feeding tube and she needed to see the audiologist again soon but we are blessed and grateful to have one of our nuggets home as we patiently waited for our family and household to be complete. These are some pics of the pickup.

That’s why Meghan and I love St Patrick’s Day, it’s a day we celebrate Gracie. Here are some pics of my Gracie girl! She is full of life! She is like daddy and is always looking for the party and planning the next one even during the current fiesta! Gracie, I fell in love with you at first sight, you were the cutest lil peanut I have ever seen. I was soooo scared for you but look at you now, you are going to pre-k, you are playing soccer, playing t-ball, making new friends, running, laughing, smiling, and just living! You bring so much joy, love and your personality fits just right in with all of us and our crazy and goofy home. Gracie you are so smart, so funny, so silly, so athletic, so beautiful, so perfect! Every day is a great day and I love how you wake up every day with a huge smile and I then thank God for that moment I have with you every morning. We love you more than you’ll ever know and we are so proud of how far you have come. Love you Gracie girl!

I challenge whoever reads this to never give up hope, we can all do our part to get through what is going on in the world. It will get better, keep the faith, be a good person and good things will happen. This helped us 5 years ago and I hope it helps you today. Be a good neighbor, I had a buddy yesterday text me and he said hey I’m going to the store do you need anything? I said, actually I do. He got me some stuff I needed and I really appreciated it. He knows about Olivia and how concerned we are and how serious we are taking social distancing, it was such a nice gesture. Even better, I sent him money and he said “I’m not taking your money, bro!” How about that? I won’t forget that and that is a good example of helping each other out during these weird times. Check on your friends and family, grab your kids, give them a hug, laugh, cry and enjoy today! May God Bless you and your family.

Cheers,

Rick

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All About Olivia

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by Ricky Bear

She is a one of a-kind sister. She is the specialist sister and she’s only 5 years old. Her smile is the best. She is so special she cant walk or talk or hear🥺. Her walker helps her walk. And her magic ears help her hear. She can climb stuff like her crib and the stair stuff railings. Olivia doesn’t use her walker that much any more she use’s a wheelchair. She comes to all of my sport games and I enjoy having her there. I wish she could hear or talk or walk.

I wish other people could understand Olivia. My friends treat Olivia very nice and I wish everyone would. I am her big brother and I would protect her if she is in danger or if somebody’s very mean to her. I love playing with her and I love that she’s my sister.

Photo Credit by Ricky Bear Garcia – Smile Explosion
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Ash Wednesday

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As I mentioned in a previous post, faith is a big part of me and my family. Both Meghan and I are Catholic and are raising our children to be Catholic as well. Being Catholic in Austin is pretty uncommon, we only have a few friends that are Catholic, which is very different for us. In a few months, Ricky will have his First Communion, which we are all excited for him. That will be a big day.

Today is Ash Wednesday. For those who don’t know, Ash Wednesday is the start of the lenten season in the Catholic Church. Lent lasts 40 days up until Easter Sunday which is the day Jesus rises from the dead. It is a time to reflect, acknowledge our mortality, repent, and help others in need. We all just got home from receiving our Ashes just like millions of Catholics around the world. I am very proud of my children for not going kicking and screaming and for behaving themselves at Mass. Why Ashes? Like many symbols that represent lent (fish fry, color purple, reconciliation) ashes represents repentance. Getting ashes on Ash Wednesday is just a part of being Catholic. Many go to the actual masses but many just pop in to their local Church and get ashes on their lunch break, coffee break etc.. I remember getting Ashes during my workday in a random downtown Church in Chicago because I knew I wouldn’t be able to get home in time and make the evening service. I have vivid memories of getting ashes twice as a kid! Once during school and at night with my parents and now I go get them with my family which is pretty special.

On Ash Wednesday and every Friday during Lent we don’t eat meat. Most think that is weird and ask why no meat? Well, it’s just a small sacrifice to symbolize the ultimate sacrifice of when Jesus died on the cross for our salvation. You are also supposed to give up something you enjoy for 40 days. This year Meg will be giving up pop and I will be giving up cereal which I love. On top of that we plan on giving back to our community and help others in need throughout Lenten season.

I challenge all of our followers whether you are Catholic or not to take this time to reflect and over the next 40 days to pay it forward, be kind, and perform some random acts of kindness.

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Baseball Family!

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I hope you all had a great weekend wherever you may be and also enjoyed Meg’s Valentines Day post, I sure did 🙂 However, I did have to ask her what a lobster meant? Lol. We had a great Valentines Day and long weekend with the crew. We started the weekend with a family dinner. On the way to a Japanese Hibachi style restaurant, which Olivia and the kids loved, she showed me the Lobster Friends episode and we both started cracking up. After dinner, we surprised the kids with their “Nonny” aka grandma flying in from Chicago for a weekend visit. It was short but sweet, Ricky mentioned he couldn’t wait to get home from practice Saturday to play with her Nonny all day. We picked her up at the airport an hour later as her flight was delayed, we then hustled home because Meg and I had reservations for a movie date night. We saw The Gentleman and we both loved it, warning there were a lot of curse words but it was action packed, great actors and story. We were entertained from the start.

Now back to the main topic, baseball! This weekend was a first for Gracie as she had her first two t-ball practices ever (well 3 if you count our session haha) and she loved it! I swear I didn’t force her to play, haha. Meg and I both asked her if she wanted to play baseball or soccer this spring and she said both! I was definitely excited to see she wanted to play and be like big brother. So, we are going to try to do 3 kiddo sports this spring, it was almost 4 smh but we came to our senses as I have to coach one of these teams and it is very time consuming which I will touch on in this post. This spring she will be on the 6U Lake Travis Ice Queens and her colors will be “Cubby” colors as she put it. However, she told me “dadda, I want pink cleats.” She will get pink cleats! That’s my Gracie girl!

I was off Presidents Day and it was a beautiful day here in Austin! It got up to 80 degrees on 2/17! As a kid from Chicago where it’s usually ~10 degrees with the wind chill if we are lucky in February, I enjoyed it even more than most here. Meg’s feedback from her first practice is she needs to work on t-work and I said perfect, I love t-work. I took Ricky and Gracie in the back and we started with the basics. I had to take a step back a few times and recognize Gracie has never played and she is my baby girl so I have to be extra patient. She is a quick learner! We set up her feet, hands, batting stance and swing. We got a lot of work to do but the foundation is being set, Rome wasn’t built overnight. At one point, she said “Coach said hit like this with elbow up”, but that is not what I recommended. This will come up at her second practice which I will get to. After our practice in the yard, I took little man to his training/practice session to keep working on his game. Little man is really taking some big strides. I am so proud of the work ethic he is developing and he is starting to see the fruit of his labor in all his sports but especially baseball. Kid is a natural middle infielder/second baseman. My job now is to not screw up his love for the game. I was talking to my assistant coach who was also there and we just said these boys are better than us when we were 10/11 and they are 7. After a great training session, we went over to Hat Creek (burger place with playscape) for a small break before we all had to go to the fields. As a coach, I had to assess the kids that day, Ricky had to asses and Gracie had practice as well. Trifecta!

Ricky did great at assessments and I was just so proud of him. I wish I could have seen Gracie’s practice but I had to stay and assess the rest of the kids trying out. Meg said she did great and listens very well. It was also very cool to see our friends and Ricky’s friends see Gracie in her baseball uniform and so happy and excited that lil Gracie is playing the sport they love. I know for a fact Ricky is excited to see her play and cheer her on as Gracie is Ricky’s biggest fan. During our practice in the yard, half the time, Ricky was the one instructing and I loved it. Meg mentioned that during hitting drills, Gracie told the coach that my dad said to hit like this and not like how you told me, haha. That’s my Gracie girl, the get it get it get it girl! After practices, our little party animals invited a few friends to pizza and we had a nice meal to cap off the long weekend. I can’t wait to see Gracie play baseball/softball. I hope she falls in love with it, most importantly has fun playing it and making new friends. I will be there to support you, cheer you on and help coach you if you want me to, Gracie.

On a side note, as an 8U National League LTYA coach, which you need to be voted into, I am so glad assessments are over! Time consuming and dedication. Yesterday was the last day of assessments, that caps 211 kids that came out. It was a big commitment and a glimpse into the sacrifice us good coaches put in for the love of teaching the game. However, I am ready to pick my team and get to work! At least I can relax tonight…..nope I have basketball practice at 6:30, ha, Love it! We have to finish hoops season on a high note. We have two games on Sunday and hoping to go 5-1 before the playoffs! Go Thunder!

Enjoy your day!

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My Forever Valentine

Posted on by Rick Garcia

I would like to dedicate today’s post to my husband. He is the hopeless romantic, mushy-gushy type and I am so not. Hopefully I can surprise him a little bit with a nice post;) All our friends back in Chicago and all our family knows how Rick and I met, but for those who do not know I would like to share a little bit about our history. Rick is my High School sweetheart, we met at a spring break party circa 1999 and started dating back when we were merely 15 years old. People either think that’s super weird or super cute, maybe it’s kinda both!?

We grew up together, we changed and grew as individuals but always together. He is my sole mate and we were just lucky enough to have met at a young age. I mean trust me we have had our ups and downs (several million times) but we always come out stronger because of it. I know personally that everything that happened to us with the girls gave me a completely different view of Rick. I knew he has always loved me and would show me or tell me often. However, I specifically remember something he said while the doctor asked if they should do everything to save the babies, even if it meant putting their lives before mine. That was because I had a greater chance if dying than they did living. I immediately said, “yes, absolutely, you do whatever you need to do to save my babies!” But then Rick jumped in, crying uncontrollably, and said, “NO, you will save my wife. We need her, Ricky Bear and I, need her with us!” I remember turning and seeing the fear of him loosing me in his eyes, and thought OK he really does love me. I think too, the situation with us and the girls, could have easily been something that a lot of couples might not be able to get through together. It took a toll on us, but thankfully we were able to pull through and continue to move forward.

Rick knows me inside and out and has always known that I am an animal loving, neat freak, crazy Gemini. So the good thing is that nothing I do ever truly surprises him – like when I bring home a couple kittens or waking him up in the middle of the night to fix the sheets. He gets my quirks, just as I get his. I may be forever doomed, because I know he will never put his shoes away and will always leave that pile of clothes on the floor. Or his love and obsession with sports, it is who he is and I accept all of it. He is my Lobster, my one and only, I love you hun!

This is the very first gift Rick ever bought for me, on our first Valentine’s Day together!
(It is 20 years old!)
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My Sweet Boy: Ricky Bear

Posted on by Rick Garcia

To date I would say majority of Rick and mine’s posts have been about either Olivia or Grace, with a sprinkle of Ricky Bear here and there. However, Ricky Bear is probably one of the most important pieces of the puzzle in Our (Crazy) Special Kind of Life. And I would like to explain why. Here goes!

Since Rick and I have started writing down our past stories and experiences here in this Blog, I have started a new nightly routine that I hope to always continue and will always hold near and dear to my heart. Every night before bed, I read and share one of our posts with Ricky Bear and Grace. They love it! They beg me to read more and ask me questions about everything I read. For example when I read them the story about Gracie Girl, Ricky Bear was extremely concerned about her time in the NICU and how she had stopped breathing. These are obviously things I typically do not share with the kids. However, I am glad that they are starting to learn more and more about their past and that they feel a kind of way about them. Ricky Bear said to me, “I don’t like that she stopped breathing, that is really scary. I don’t want Grace to ever be sick like that again.” While this was definitely a tough topic to explain, I think he grasped the severity of it and liked learning about it.

One thing that stuck out and actually made me somewhat sad, was the other night Ricky Bear asked me where his story is. So, I did show him the ones about Reconciliation and how daddy mentions being his coach and that did make him happy. While he seemed content by those stories, I was not since they were not written by me. I know that recently my main focus has been on Olivia or Grace, but what Ricky doesn’t remember is that for two and half whole years before the girls entered this world he was my #1 and only. I want him to know that and understand that I would never have been able to survive getting through all of the things with girls, without him.

What makes Ricky Bear so special? A lot of things, and not just because he made me a mommy. That is most certainly a special bond that me and him will always share, that no one can take away. He will forever be my baby boy! But something that is beyond special is that he was only 2 and half when the girls were born and the way he held himself together allowed Rick and I to focus on getting the girls healthy. I really do not know how things would have been had Ricky Bear been too needy or was attached at my hip. He went with the flow, never complained and was always a ‘good boy’. (I also need to give a shout out to my family, especially my parents and sister, who stepped up and took Ricky Bear with them so I could visit the girls. – I will touch more on support another time!)

Seriously, though! Ricky Bear had to have been the easiest, most kind-hearted, sweet boy I could’ve ever been blessed with. I always joke that he was a trick baby, and made it so easy to be a mom so that I would want to have more kids soon after. HA! While I talk about how he was when the girls were born, it still holds true to today. Anyone who knows him, knows that he is a gentle and sweet big brother. He gives 110% in anything that he does. Thankfully he has my artistic abilities, lol. He truly has a secret skill that many people probably don’t know about him, his art skills are way above mine at his age. He also started his 2nd grade year reading at a 3rd grade level, he is now somewhere in the 4th grade level. Needless to say, while you typically see Rick post a lot about his sports accomplishments, he is excelling academically and it makes me one #proudmomma.

I thank God every day that he blessed me with a son like Ricky Bear, as He knew that I would need a special boy to help me get through some tough times ahead. Rick will forever be Ricky Bear’s coach and mentor but I will always be his biggest fan, cheerleader and support system. He knows he can come to me with anything and I will always do what I can to guide him in the right direction. But one thing I do know for certain is that I will never have to worry about Ricky Bear, he will always do good and go far in life! (But if he ever does fall off track, I will be there to help guide him back.) I truly think that Ricky Bear is the sticky glue that holds us all together. I think he may like when he reads this post later tonight;)

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