Easy Football Brownies

Yep. I'm that mama that doesn't need a special occasion to surprise the team with goodies. Today's reason...simply because it was Thursday! I wanted to venture away from the usual donuts and cupcakes, so I went with brownies. And not just any brownies, FOOTBALL BROWNIES!


Were they hard to make you ask? Nope. I don't do hard. At least not during the work/school week. I started by baking my favorite boxed brownies. I suggest using a dark chocolate version as opposed to milk chocolate for that true football brown color. Once they cooled, I cut them into squares. If you really wanted to go all out, you could cut them into footballs using a football shaped cookie cutter. Again, it was a weeknight, so I went for quick and easy.


For the laces, I used white decorating cookie icing. The great thing about cookie icing, is that it sets, making them stackable. It even came with a decorating tip attached! I drew a straight white line across the middle, and four smaller lines across that one.


And voila, (easy-peasy) football brownies!

They were a HUGE hit with the team. Super cute. And super yummy!






Sports Mama Tip: Not a baker? No worries! Store bought brownies work just the same!

Here's another fun, easy idea. 

Football rice krispie treats!!! One of my sweet (all the pun intended!) neighbors made them for us. So cute and yummy!

*** Click HERE for my basketball brownies! ***

Football Season: A Look Through My Camera Lens

During football season, I am known as the registrar, coach's wife, team mom, and resident photographer. I average about 150-200 shots a game. While I would much rather be sitting amongst my favorite mamas and ringing my cowbell, you can usually find me pacing up and down the sidelines, following each play with my camera in hand. I may occasionally miss a live play, but my lens captures them all. Here are some of my favorite shots thus far:

They say a photograph is the pause button of life. If being behind the camera for every play is what it takes to capture these moments, there is not a place I'd rather be.

Team Mama Idea: Birthday Party on the Football Field

What do you do when your hubby aka Coach Hubby has practice on his birthday? You bring the party to the field, that's what!


I surprised him with red velvet cupcakes (his favorite!), balloons, and a gift. I didn't bring them out until a few minutes before practice ended, so he had no clue. Before handing the cupcakes out, his entire team sang Happy Birthday to him... right on the field!

He loved it! Of course, you could do the same for players.


What better way to celebrate than with their teammates. After all, football is family!






10/9/17 Update: This year Coach Hubby's birthday fell on a game day! So once again, I was sure to bring the party to the field. This time we celebrated with cake pops... and a 40-13 victory!

Victory is sweet! Literally.


GO SPARTANS!!!

Team Mama Idea: Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Sadly, one in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. It is the second leading cause of cancer death among women. On average, every 2 minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and 1 woman will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes.


Two of my very close family members are survivors, my Nana and my Aunt Tia. This is a cause that is very near and dear to my heart. So, I am always sure that our team shows their support all October long. Here are some of the ways that we do it:


Every single player on our team has a pink ribbon on the back of their helmet.

They also wear pink socks. There are a ton to choose from online. My favorite place to order them from is Amazon. So many choices, all in one place. Just be sure to order about a month in advance, as they sell out... quick.

All football players love eye black, right? We were stoked to find some in pink at our local sporting goods store.

You know we just couldn't pass up the chance to sport some as well. HA!

Finally, I ordered these blingy "tattoos" for us mamas to wear. How cute are we, I mean they?!

What does your team do to raise awareness? I'm always looking for new ideas!

Team Mama Idea: Prepping for Home Games

Yesterday was our home opener! And we WON!!! I love home games. More fans, no long drives across town, and all of the fun preparation that goes into it. Here's what I'm sure to do for our team before all home games:

• Make a banner. The boys absolutely love running through them. They're super easy and fun to make... especially when you have the extra hands. I always send out an email asking for volunteers, siblings are great help as well! All you need is banner paper (any light color will do) and art supplies. I usually print the slogan out. Some of my favorites are "One Team, One Dream" and "Teamwork Makes The Dream Work". Once the slogan is glued on, I like to handwrite each players name and jersey number around it. That's it! Oh yeah, I do perforate it in the middle a little bit...these are 80 and 90 pounders after all. We don't want them bouncing off the banner, ha!

• Host a post-practice tailgate. We like to "tailgate" following the final practice before our home games. It's a great way to bring the team together in a non-football setting. It also helps parents not have to worry about making/picking up dinner. We set up in whatever space we can find off of the field. Some of my favorite tailgate foods are pizza, hot dogs (did you know they could be cooked in the crockpot??), and chili. Of course these are simply the main dishes- I also send out a sign up sheet via SignUp Genius asking for volunteers for fruit, dessert, chips, drinks, and paper products. The players have a blast and so do the parents...especially when *mama drinks* are included. Click HERE for more tailgate tips!

• Prearrange for volunteers. Football is not a one man sport. It takes a village. Three people need to work the chains, someone needs to record the game, someone needs to bring halftime fruit, and someone needs to bring post-game snacks and drinks. This never changes. The more hands involved, the better. I send out an email at the beginning of the week, and have never not had enough volunteers.

• Send out a reminder email. If you use a type of team management site such as TeamSnap or Shutterfly, it will automatically be sent for you. They should include the date, location, time to arrive, uniform to be worn, and a  list of volunteers (fulfilled/needed). If you are using a touchdown jar, include a line reminding them to bring bills and loose change. Not sure what a touchdown jar is, read my blog post on it: Touchdown Jar! Who, What, Where, When, Why?

• Get a good night's rest. This one is critical. My hubby and I are always sure to get our boys to bed at a decent hour. Just like milk, rest does a body good.

What do you do to prep for home games? I'd love to hear about it!

Team Mama Idea: Jersey Number Cheat Sheet

Ever seen a kid make a heck of a tackle, only to figure out that you have absolutely no idea what kid it was?!? Never fear, the Jersey Number Cheat Sheet is here! I guess that's what it's called. I could be totally wrong. Oh well! Basically, it is a sheet listing all players and their corresponding jersey numbers. These are super helpful, especially when the players have different numbers for practices and games.


You can make them as basic or as fancy as you'd like. I print mine on card stock and then laminate them to make them as sturdy as possible. It's a long season!

Obviously, the emojis are not really a part of the cheat sheet. But I'm sure you already knew that! ;-)

Team Mama Idea: Donuts for Shutouts!

What feels even better than winning? How about shutting a team out AKA skunking them AKA not letting them score AKA giving them a DONUT! It's totally a big deal. So when our boys do just that, we reward them with donuts! And let me tell you, it definitely makes them play harder. I mean, what kid doesn't like donuts?


It doesn't all have to fall on the you or the coach, especially if you're doing it often. You can (and should!) ask for volunteers. We bring donuts to the first practice following the big game. To make it easier, I try and get the same type (either all sprinkles, all glazed, etc.)- that way "Little Bobby" isn't comparing his donut to "Little Tommy's".  Ain't nobody got time for that!

Don't forget extras for the coaches and little siblings! After all, they're a part of the team as well, right?




*** UPDATE: Our team was featured on a local donut shop's Instagram page! Go Admirals!!! ***