I’m an optimistic sports fan. I believe my team will win, right up until the final whistle blows or horn sounds. And I believe it hard. The Bruins could be down 5-1 in the last minute of the third period and I still believe they’ll win. Maybe the other team’s goalie will twist his ankle and have to leave the game and his back-up will trip on the ice coming in and get a concussion and the back-up back-up guy will suck and then bam bam bam bam, it’s all tied up and anybody’s game.

Hell, in the 1990 season, I believed my Patriots would win the Super Bowl. I believed it with all my heart right up until they said it was mathematically impossible for them to even make the play-offs. (This came embarrassingly early in the season since we only won one game that year and it was early in the season.) But I believed. (And that only team we beat the year we were officially, statistically the worst team in the NFL? The Colts. HA!)

I believe in miracles, Al.

My husband is what I call Angry Jerkface sports fan. (I bet you thought I was going to say pessimistic). It can be only half-way through the first period and the other team can score one goal and I have to listen to “The Bruins are playing like shit. They don’t deserve to win. This game’s as good as over.”

I hate watching games of any sport with Angry Jerkface sports fans. And even worse? When an Angry Jerkface sports fan has given up so totally he wants to change the channel. And miss the greatest comeback in the history of the sport? NO. Because I just know that’s what will happen if we change it. (Yes, I’m often disappointed…but not always.)

2004. Red Sox dropped the first three games of the ALCS to the Yankees. I still believed. Between Game 3 and Game 4, I was at our local house of pizza and told them I still believed the Red Sox would win. There were snorts of derision and pitying looks. But they won four games in a row. And took Game 7 at Yankee Stadium. And yes, I said I TOLD YOU SO to every Angry Jerkface sports fan I saw because I told them so.

Unfortunately, while he swings back and forth in a most annoying manner, the Short Kid leans toward Angry Jerkface sports fan. (And the Tall Kid thought wide receivers were called catching backs, so we won’t even talk about him. He’s clueless non-sports fan.) I’m trying to teach my youngest to believe in sports miracles, but I have a feeling being Angry Jerkface sports fan is a genetic flaw he inherited from his father.

So, I’m gearing up to watch my Bruins win the Stanley Cup. Because I believe they will and I’ll keep believing until the final horn, even if Angry Jerkface gives up.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, this happened last weekend:

I love this picture. The five and a half year age difference has often been a big gap between them but, as the Short Kid transitions toward teenager-hood (*sobs*), they’ve started growing closer as brothers and appreciating each other’s company. I hope they enjoy this summer before everything changes and my greatest wish is that, as men, they find the kind of friendship with each other that my husband and I have with our siblings.

That’s the teen sis, who graduated a week before the teen, not getting a moment in the spotlight.

On to the Kowalski kid! I apologize for the delay, but managing to stab myself in the fingertip really slowed me down and there’s a lot of family stuff going on. But Sean and Emma’s baby boy now has a name.

A couple of the comments really cracked me up:

Alec because any member of the family will be a smart alec

That’s very true!

Arthur after the guy from 3M who invented Post It notes. Spencer could also work since he was the guy who invented the sticky part.

Love them! You guys also managed to list both of my sons’ names, half my family’s names and quite possibly every ex-boyfriend I’ve had. And there are so very many awesome names listed. I put more than a few of them into a notebook for future hero use and I had an author friend or two taking notes, as well. You guys are good at this!

So, the baby’s name? John Leonard Kowalski, and they’ll call him Johnny. I really went back and forth about whether Leonard or Francis was right for the middle name but, in the end, Sean’s relationship with his Uncle Leo is pretty special. And not only was John Emma’s beloved grandfather’s name, but it was also her dad’s. He died when she was young, but she knows her grandparents called him Johnny.

Since those could be defined by name or by relationship, I ended up picking three winners! I’ve made a note of the email addresses and as soon as I have ARCS (late summer) of Love A Little Sideways, I’ll send them out.

Vanessa May 22, 2013 at 11:48 am
My favorite part about being pregnant , besides the baby of course, was getting to pick names! How about Leo?

Judy Latham May 22, 2013 at 12:03 pm
Or maybe after Emma’s and Sean’s late fathers….can’t recall what they were right now.

Sam May 25, 2013 at 9:21 pm
John(after Emma’s dad)
Leo(After sean’s uncle)

Thank you, everybody, for the great suggestions! Some of those will definitely be popping up in future books!

I think right now it’s time for a second iced coffee trip.

But I’m running out of time to give the poor boy a name. Any suggestions for me?

If I end up using a suggested name for Baby Boy Kowalski, I’ll give the first person to suggest the name I use a digital ARC of Love A Little Sideways when they’re ready later this summer.

I’ll pick a name Tuesday!

Mmmm…bacon. Also, Man Candles?

Later that day, I received the new Yankee Candle catalog in the mail and it also featured the new Man Candles lineup. From what I can tell, two of them are new which means I’ve been unaware of previous Man Candles.

So from left to right, we have First Down, Riding Mower, Mmm Bacon, Movie Night and Man Town. It was pretty easy to guess what Riding Mower, Mmm Bacon and Movie Night would smell like, but I had to do further investigation on First Down and Man Town. Luckily, the catalog had handy dandy descriptions.

Man Town – Escape to the man cave with this masculine blend of spices, woods and musk.

I’ll wait while you finish laughing at the idea a man cave would smell good. Done? Then on to FOOTBALL!

First Down – Game on! This combination of orange, patchouli, vetiver and leather is as exciting as game day.

(“Chrysopogon zizanioides, commonly known as vetiver is a perennial grass of the Poaceae family, native to India.” Yeah, I didn’t know either.)

But there’s more! This Yankee Candle catalog is scratch & sniff! And I love football and you can buy cute football-related accessories for the First Down candle, so I rubbed the spot and buried my nose in it.

When I was done coughing, sneezing, drying my eyes, and rubbing my face, I told my husband to smell it. He declined.

Trust me, that is not what football smells like. Fortunately, since they’re MAN candles, I can toss the catalog and move on with my life.

That said, I do have mad love for Yankee Candles and don’t have enough room to display them all.

That’s just one shelf on my baker’s rack. I’m scent-sensitive and can’t have the perfumed candles with the exotic flowers and storms and all those buzz words that mean insta-headache. Light fruits, warm apple Christmas scents and such, though, I love. Honeydew being my favorite. But they do have an awesome new scent called Waikiki Melon that I adore. And I bought the fun accessories to match!

So, would you buy a bacon-scented candle? And, if you’re a candle person, what’s your favorite scent?

My sister helping me get dressed. Now we have six kids between us and my oldest graduates from high school next month.

I’m quite sure I was telling him how to cut a cake.

Of course he did it wrong.

Whispering sweet nothings in my new husband’s ear. (Actually, I’m pretty sure I was telling him I had to pee, but my dress wouldn’t fit in the “water closet” of the beautifully restored freight house we were married in.)

The laughter that gets you through twenty years together.

I could probably fill a notebook with things I might do differently in my life, but saying yes when this guy handed me a ring and said “Well, do you want it?” isn’t one of them.

Speaking of audiobooks, I have Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts cued up on my Audible app, but I haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet. (Which, of course, means I haven’t had a chance to clean my house. Bummer.)

Have you read (or listened to) it? I’m hoping it’s really, really good.

Throw in the fact I’m still playing catch up from losing a week in Kansas City and I feel like I’m on a treadmill, running and running and not getting anywhere.

BUT…the ATV trails open Saturday! I feel like at some point I went from wanting to ride my four-wheeler to needing to ride. I hope there’s mud. And the short kid’s looking forward to it because he’s got a new ride this year.

2012 Kawasaki Brute Force 300

We pick it up Wednesday, which I belated realized is my 20th wedding anniversary, so my husband and I will be celebrating by hanging out at the powersports shop. Neither of us have a problem with that.

But first I have to get through today…