#20 Krisy and the Walking Disaster

Honestly, I found this book a little ho-hum.  But, here we go!

So, we see Karen and Andrew arriving for the weekend and joining DM in the backyard to play baseball.  To put it nicely, they aren’t very good.  But then, they’re 4, 6 and 7. No one expects you to be Babe Ruth and if they do, they need a good swift kick in the pants.  Kristy helps them out a bit before leaving for her club meeting.  We get the chapter 2 rundown and Kristy is scheduled for a job with Jackie Rodowsky….after Dawn runs screaming down the street.  The way these girls are about this poor kid…you’d think he was a carrier of the bubonic plague rather than a klutzy kid.

All through the weekend, Kristy plays softball with her sibs and some neighbor kids and she sees a need for them to have a team to learn on rather than Little League.  Someone throws that Bart Taylor has a team of kids who aren’t in LL so she decides to go talk to him about it.  Well, hubba hubba!  He’s a hottie and after their conversation, Kristy comes away with a serious case of puppy love and an idea to start her own team.

So Kristy has charged all the sitters with identifying kids who would like to play on Kristy’s team.  MA recommends both Perkins girls, Jamie Newton and Nina Marshall.  Jessi says Matt Braddock is interested and Mal calls with Claire, Margo, and Nicky to sign up.  Dawn recommends the Barrett kids and some of their friends.  Kristy’s got a pretty good list going.  But where would we be without the poor kid this book is named for?  Of course, Kristy recruits Jackie to play after sitting for him and his brothers. 

So now she has this list of kids and a bunch of questions about how to get started.  She talks with Watson, who is an avid baseball fan, and he helps her get started.

So Kristy has 20 kids, so she divides them into two teams for the first practice, just to see what they know.  Well, most of the girls can make clover and dandelion chains in left field, Gabbie Perkins can only hit a wiffle ball and the walking disaster hits foul balls.  Since they can’t find the ball, practice adjourns early.  But they do come away with a team name:  Kristy’s Krushers.

A sitting chapter.  Mallory and Claud are sitting for the Pikes and don’t really have to sit.  They just watch the kids play softball.

Kristy is more prepared for the next practice and divides the kids up to work on the different areas they struggle with.  They play another game and Kristy points out that the kids try really hard, even though they’re not really good.

Kristy volunteers to walk Shannon for DM that night and cruises nonchalantly past Bart Taylor’s place.  Well, what do you know?  Mr. Bart is out walking his Rottweiler.  They have a conversation that ends with them scheduling a match up between the Krushers and Bashers.

The next chapter, Jessi is sitting for the Barretts, who have Krusher’s practice.  So she’s sitting at practice with Marnie, who is also two, feeding her cheerios.  Then there’s a list of things you need to bring with you when you have a two year old.  Might I remind you that there is a two year old currently attending said Krusher’s practice? 

Dawn is sitting for the Perkins girls and Jamie Newton.  She escorts them to practice, the kids are heckled by some of the Basher’s players.  These kids got really mean and nasty and it really upset the Krushers (especially since the average age is 5.8).

They have one last practice before their big game with the Bashers and the kids play their hearts out.  Bart shows up at the end of practice and walks Kristy home.  IS IT LUV???

The morning of the big day, Karen rousts Kristy out of bed “early” (Dude, anything past 7 is sleeping in in my life these days) and they get a move on. There are lots of calls from Kristy’s players and she’s starting to flip out a bit herself.

The game gets going and everyone can see that the it’s a little lopsided, but the Krushers work hard.  It’s 6-3 Bashers in the second and Jackie is up to bat.  Well, one thrown bat knocks out the refreshment stand (that had to be one heck of a thrown bat to knock down a table!), another almost takes out the pitcher.  Embarrased, Jackie fakes and injured ankle.  Kristy figures it out and boosts his ego a bit before sending him back into the game.

Overall, it is a good game, ending 16-11 in favor of the Bashers.  After some good sportsmanship, Kristy sends her kids home and Bart comes over to walk her home.  He asks her if she wants to go out sometime.  She says yes and heads inside.  She makes some phone calls to friends and to the walking disaster, telling him she’s proud of his effort.  Then he breaks a lamp.  The end.

Mommy Moments:

-          if Mrs. Rodowsky ever got wind of the way these girls talked, they would not be sitting for them again, I’m sure.  Well, if I were in her place, that’s how I’d feel.  Eesh!

-          I don’t know if I would let my 2 year old play softball.  I just don’t feel that it’s a good idea.  What do you guys think?

-          One of the Bashers called one of Kristy’s players “fatso” at practice.  Later in the book, she also references him as such.  NOT COOL, Ann!!!