Thanksgiving 2010

This Thanksgiving I was thankful that we didn't have the biggest house in our family to host the feasts!

Cate and Brady starting our their holiday just as I used to when I was little...watching the Macy's Day Parade! Cate loved the balloons and all of the floats with her favorite characters (Dora was her favorite)

Lunch at Aunt Fran's. It was delish! I would have taken a picture of the beautiful snowfall outside the window, but I was too busy stuffing my face :)

Uncle Josh and Brady. Fran had these huge suckers for the kids. Brady licked on his for four hours straight!
Cate loves looking out this window...it's just her height!

Turkey-drunk!

That's all of the pictures I have...my camera died before we made it to my parents :( Their feast was just as fabulous and Turkey Day 2010 was perfect! Bring on Christmas!

O.C.S.

Operation Cate Smallie is underway. I could also call it Cate vs. Mom because we're pretty much the only two players in this game. The boys give her whatever she wants and Scott has already thrown the white surrender flag. But not me. Nope, I'm going to tame this wild beast if it's the last thing I do.

1st goal: *potty training* I'm kinda unsure about this one because I know she's ready but I'm hesitant to be done with diapers before our January Disney trip. On the other hand, I'd never have to buy diapers again! She hasn't had a wet diaper overnight since February and loves wearing her undies so progress is being made. But tonight she yelled that she needed a towel and then ran to the living room and picked up poop balls with it. Two steps forward, one step back :)

Issue #2-*spoiled brat* Cate plays the role of spoiled princess very well. But, she has three older brothers, and I was mostly prepared for this. Mostly. But, damn...these boys will give her everything she asks for. Two days ago, I walked into the dining room to find all three boys sitting at the table watching the tiny tv while Cate was laying on the couch watching the big tv. No one even tries to watch their shows in the living room. This drives me crazy. And she calls them "my boys". At first I thought it was cute, but now I'm convinced that every time she says it, a spell is cast upon them. "My Bennett, get up, that's my spot" and he does!!! immediately!!! But what's really ticking me off is when Scott and I tell her 'no' and she then runs to her brothers who she knows will say 'yes'. Example: Monday night she wanted a Lunchable. We told her no because it was for Brady's lunch the next day. Wasn't five minutes later that I was sitting on my bed and I look up to find her quietly leaning against the door eating the friggin' lunchable. Me: "Who gave that to you??!!!!!" Cate: "My Carter and it's goooood". Just standing there rubbing it in my face that she can get whatever she wants whenever she wants. This is going to be my biggest battle because she plays them so well, but miracles do happen. Please pray for me.

Problem #3-*too much tv* I will take the blame for this one. About four weeks ago I said that I wished Cate would actually sit down to watch tv. I longed for just thirty minutes of her being calm so I could get some stuff done. Well, my wish was granted. Had I known, I would have wished for her to crap money rather than wasting it on stupid tv Now all she wants to do is watch tv. "Dora the Splorer" is her favorite. She doesn't want to leave the house, or eat, or sleep....nothing. Just lay on the back of the couch (often naked) and watch tv. It's driving me crazy.

Those are my top three priorities for this round of O.C.S.. Yes, my mission seems impossible, but there is one person in this house that is more stubborn than Cate and that is her mama. May the best woman win :)
And even though Ms. Trouble is often, well, trouble, there are plenty of things that she does that amaze me and make my life a little easier. My current top five: 1-she can open the sliding car door by herself (not using the automatic button), climb into her carseat and buckle herself in 2-open the front door to let Murphy in when he's ready 3-refill her sippy cup using the fridge front water/ice dispenser (LOVE THIS) 4-"read" through the dvd's, find the one she wants, put it in the dvd player, fast forward through the credits, and start her show before bed each night. It's really a beautiful thing. 5-fully dress herself...shirt, pants, socks and shoes. And she's completely finished with pacifiers. DONE. I never realized how much better life is without "dinkys". (That may seem like overkill, but I've been dealing with them for the last 13 years!!)

So, here goes nothing. I'll update often....

Another Wild Weekend

Let's see....seven soccer games, baseball practice, holiday parade, 5k race, and Mouse Races. Busy, yes. But, it's also the last weekend for outdoor soccer....YAY!! Things should calm down around here for awhile...well, except for the whole Christmas holiday thing.

7:30am Saturday morning. I'm never up this early...never! We took this before my 5k race. It was a very cold run, but I survived!

Holiday Parade

Cate loved all of the characters that walked by and gave them high-5's. Dora was her favorite!

The arrival of Santa marked the end of the parade and the beginning of the season!

Uncle Josh, Scott, and Craig at the mouse races. It was a fundraiser for Ben and Brady's baseball teams. First time we've ever been and it was really a lot of fun.

Scott had too many beers AND stayed up past 10pm. I told you it was a wild weekend!!!

Don't adjust your screen, yes Carter's new soccer shoes are bright pink. And the most expensive shoes he's ever owned. Did I mention they're pink?? Yeah, I find it weird too.

Bennett has decided he wants to be a goalie. We assumed it's because it requires very little running, but he surprised us all when he played great! Really great! And he loves it :)

Tomorrow is Monday and with that starts Operation Cate Smallie...big changes are coming (wish me luck)! Stay tuned.....

Joy!

Getting a head start on my holiday decorating. Hopefully I'll finish before December 1st, so I can enjoy it the entire month (then rip it all down as soon as Christmas is over). I saw this cute craft in Parents magazine and made it while I was sitting in the car waiting for the boys to get out of school yesterday. It looks very festive in my dining room :)

Diorama Drama

3rd grade may kill me.

This months book report project was to create a diorama. Bennett had to read a 100+ page book, write a book report, and then recreate a scene in the story using a shoe box and other misc. items. Ben chose a Phineas and Ferb book to read. Once he was finished, I read it to get an idea of what items he needed for the box. This may surprise you, but turns out, Phineas and Ferb books are stupid. And this book had two different stories in it....two different very stupid stories. Not book report material and definitely not diorama material. So I told him I would find a different book and we would read it together. I decided to look for a Christmas book because it would be easy to find items to use. Cate and I took our weekly trip to Borders and I found what I thought to be the perfect book. Only 108 pages (!) and the title was The Worst Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Sounds great, right? Right. Except that it was written in the 1970's and things were written alittle differently then ;) This story is about an ill-behaved group of brothers and sisters who take over a church Christmas play. It's actually a really great story about the true meaning of Christmas....it's just a little colorful, that's all!

As Ben was reading the book aloud to me, I couldn't help but wince at some of the scenes..."you mean they tied him {Jesus} up in swaddled clothes and put him in a feedbox? Where was Child Welfare?"......"behold there came the Wise Men from the East"..."well, it's about time. Maybe they'll tell the innkeeper where to get off, and get the baby out of the barn"...."Oil! What kind of a cheap king hands out oil for a present?"

After Ben was finished, I asked him which scene he thought we should choose. His choices:

1-when the Herdmann kids burned down a toolhouse while trying to make bombs

2-when Imogene Herdmann was caught smoking cigars in the church bathroom

3-the church Christmas pageant

Um, let's go with #3.

So there ya have it...Bennett's diorama book report. So glad it's done and the next one isn't due until January!

Run Like A Girl

Well, for me, it's more 'run like a dying woman'....cause that's mostly how I feel when I run. Today, I ran my second Girl.s on the Run 5k. My first, this past May, was the first "race" I've ever participated in. I started running in March basically to get the hell out of the house at night. Homework and bath time is often ridiculous around here....seriously, if I choose to run rather than help with homework, you know it has to be bad. Anyhoo, one of the soccer moms on Carter's team had started running races and I asked her how she got started...she recommended the Cou.ch to 5k program and I decided to give it a shot. I mentioned it to Brady's preschool teacher(an avid runner) and she peer-pressured me into signing up for the GOTR race. I then peer pressured a few other ladies into it and there was no turning back :) A handful of 5k's and one 10k later (where, btw, Candi and I kicked butt), and I think I'm on the verge of becoming a "real" runner. I average 20 miles a week and am hoping to run a half marathon next year (which, once again, I'm peer pressuring Candi into doing with me).

"are my kids still chasing me?"....true motivation :) Brady finds this shirt hilarious!

This fall, I was the asst. coach for Worthen schools Gi.rls on the Run. It's a program for third to fifth grade girls that helps promote healthy habits, self-esteem, and positive behavior. This is a picture from todays race at Forest Park. It was brutally cold and windy but the girls did fantastic!!!

I keep all of my race bibs on the door of my desk. I write my official time on the back so I can see progress being made :) I'm down eight minutes from my first race!

Can't wait for Catie Bug to start running with me. The race bibs will look so cute pinned onto her Minnie Mouse jammies!!

Student Of The Week

Two weeks ago, Bennett was chosen for "Student of the Week". He got to decorate a bulletin board with pictures and his favorite things. Each day, he chose two different things to take to school to "show off". At the end of the week, his teacher asked each student to write down something about Bennett that makes him a "star". 3rd graders are very funny. Here are some of the responses....

They all start with "I think you are a STAR because....."
-you have nice shoes
-you are awesome and you are the best baseball player ever
-you let me be third place to kick in kickball
-you're very smart
-I think you're cool because you play with me
-you're nice, fun to play with , and you're very attractive (this one cracks me up!)
-you brought in cool stuff
-you are really good at kickball.

He told me that when they were getting ready to announce who the SOTW was, he "crossed everything...my fingers, legs, arms, and even my eyes" in hopes that he would be chosen! Good job Bennett...we think you're pretty cool too :)

Pictures...

Took these yahoos to get their pictures taken today. We haven't had them done since Brady was about nine months old! Can't wait to see how they turned out

Enjoying The Weather

It's been so warm lately. I don't know if I love it or hate it. On one hand, we're still able to play outside every day and my nightly runs are almost enjoyable (almost), but the downside is that I can't seem to get in the holiday mood. I mean, there are only 14 days til Thanksgiving and I haven't even started thinking about Christmas lists.! Oh well, I'm trying to enjoy the weather while it's here...soon I'll be complaining about the cold..eh. Gabby and Grace were over today and we definitely took advantage of the warmth...we played outside for almost four hours :)

Swim Party

Tonight we celebrated Harrison's 3rd birthday with a splash! The kids were so excited to finally get to go swimming again...especially since it was 40 degrees outside!

Boo hiss. Maybe next year

Cate was really breakin' out her dance moves tonight!

The boys love swimming in the vortex, but the current is too strong for Brady to get out of, so when he's ready, Scott has to stand at the entrance and hold out his arm for Brady to grab ahold of when he spins by!

How many days til Paddler's opens?!