Hair Woes

I have come to the conclusion that I'm never going to get over it, so I might as well blog about it. Of course I'm talking about Cate's hair. It has been the cause of many sleepless nights for me and I'm not kidding. Best way to explain this is with pictures, so stay with me...

Day 1. Cate was born with very blond (shocking, right?!) fuzzy chicken hair. So cute! Dr. D immediately announced "She's blond, just like the rest of you!"

10 months-she may be walking, but she's definitely not growing any hair

18 months-it's almost growing :)

28 months-BOOM! Look at that thick, curly, luscious hair. To die for, right?

33 months-just five short months later and Cate's hair is falling out, breaking off, super straight and thin. This picture shows where her bangs broke off and no, her hair isn't in a ponytail...it's just no longer there!!! AAAGGHHH!!! We had come so far!! We took her to the doctor and they ran blood tests to make sure there was nothing medically wrong and thankfully everything checked out fine. So, we will probably never know what caused this hair drama. Here are my thoughts: 1-Cate had (and still has) terrible cradle cap. We put some medicated oil stuff (per dr. instructions) on her scalp and then used a comb to remove the crusty skin. This seems like the most logical culprit. 2-Cate's hair turned an awful shade of green during the summer due to the chlorine in the pools. We bought a special clarifying shampoo that could have been too harsh and ended up damaging her hair. 3-After spending the entire spring and summer outside in the sunshine, fall/winter brought her indoors and maybe her hair suffers from seasonal depression?? Or she missed baseball season so much that her hair fell out??

39 months-it's making a comeback!! Grow baby grow!! No it's not thick and there's zero curl (sniff sniff), but it's definitely getting longer and she has bangs again!

And it blows in the wind...woohoo!!!

I know that in the grand scheme of things, Cate's hair length and texture is a minor issue, but....*sigh* I really loved her thick curly hair. Why does Bennett get to be the only one with great hair (that he just had completely shaved off)? Why does she have to have Brady's hair (who has only had 6 haircuts in 6 years...and I'm not exaggerating)? I'm not asking for Taylor Swift crazy thick curls but is braiding length too much to ask for?? I guess on the bright side, Scott has been gifted with more time to learn how to do ponytails :) So, for now, we'll continue to lock her outside in the sun and hope her hair starts growing as fast as our grass! Stay tuned..I'm hoping that her hair will be amazing by the end of summer :)

Go Cards!

Bennett's chiropractor (don't ask) gave him four tickets to today's Cardinals game. Carter didn't want to go and Uncle Josh was working, so they let me go. Nothing like being No. 3 on the list (and I think if Cody weren't going to a concert, they would have asked him before me too). Because Dr E. drives a Ferrari..on days that he doesn't drive his Bentley.. I knew the seats were going to be good. And they did not disappoint. Section 131 Row 1 Seats 1,2,3,4. Not too shabby. Close enough to reach out and touch the right fielder...or heckle the opposing team, which is what the two drunk guys next to us did the entire game (Dear Jose Bautista-those two guys were idiots and you were justified when you cussed them out in Spanish and grabbed your crotch. It was also entertaining and makes for a great story).

3 hotdogs, 1 hamburger, 1 snow cone, 3 sodas, 2 waters, 1 pretzel, 2 ice creams, and nachos = $5821
It was very hot, I got very sunburned, and the Cards lost but we had a great time!

Potty Girl

I have only found one upside to Cate being potty trained...we haven't had to buy diapers in months. Not even pull-ups since Scott thinks they're the "stupidest things ever". (don't even go there...) The list of "why I hate Cate being potty trained" is a lot longer. Here's my biggest issue....public bathrooms. I'm not a fan. Example: five years ago, we drove straight through from Myrtle Beach...16 hours...and I held it the whole way. That's how much I hate public bathrooms. However, Miss Cate is obsessed with visiting every bathroom we pass and when ya gotta go, ya gotta go. I'm really trying to loosen up about it, but I'm definitely struggling. The most annoying is when she has to go while swimming. Apparently being in the water makes her bladder weak :)

Cate: "Mommy, I have to go potty"

Me: "Ok, with me or daddy?" (Again? Seriously? Would it kill you to pee in the pool? All these other kids are doing it!)

Cate: "You, in the girls bathroom"

Me: "Great" (shit, shit, shit....I hate this!)

Me: "Where are your shoes???"

Cate: "No time, gotta go bad" runs off

Me: (omg, my child is in a public bathroom with no shoes on. I will not puke, I will not puke. Please don't pick stall #3..it's high traffic. Damn, she's in #3. Oh no, the seat is wet. Is it from pee or a swim suit? Where are the Clorox wipes?) "Cate, let me wipe off the seat first."

Cate: "Too late, I'm going. Yay me I'm going! Hear it mom? Sounds like rain"

Me: "Good job. Don't touch the handle or the trash can!!!"

The next few minutes are spent washing hands and then she's off and jumping back into the pee-filled pool. Childhood is so gross.

Doing the "pee pee dance" on her way to the bathroom. No, that's not pee on the ground in front of her...Brady was blasting her with his water gun!

Maybe spending so much time underwater is causing these frequent sensations

. And once she was 100% everyday all day, we started working with her being independent to go on her own, wipe, flush, and wash hands. This is very important to me....I want her to be completely self sufficient at school. The thought of someone having to change her diaper or help wipe really freaks me out. And I really trust and love her teachers, but it still freaks me out. So now, she announces she has to go, puts her seat on the toilet, climbs up there, does her business, wipes front and back thoroughly (I check!) clothes back on, flush, wash hands and there ya have it....Potty Training 101**Passing with flying colors with still two full months before preschool. I think we got it :)

First Swim Meet

Last night was the first swim meet of the season. It was an away meet and it was a long one. Very long and very unorganized. Dear SSH parents...it takes a lot of people to run a swim meet. Everyone needs to help out. Yes, that includes you, Mrs. I -just -text- the -concession- stand -to- bring -me -my -second- pitcher -of -wine -so- I -can -finish -off -this- sushi. For real. I am so thankful for our teams swim parents and their willingness to help out whenever needed (especially since Scott and I are head timers again this year).

Carter, Ben, and Brady are all swimming again this year. Here is my morning practice schedule: Carter 8:30-10:00, Brady 9:45-10:45, Bennett 10:45-11:45. Do I even need to mention how long my mornings are? Moving on. Last nights meet was a great success for the boys. Both Carter and Bennett moved up an age group this year and each had a new event that they were really worried about. Carter dreaded the 100 backstroke(4 laps) and Bennett the I.M(fly, back, breaststroke, free...4 laps is alot for a 9 yr old!) However, they both did awesome...Carter finishing 1st and Bennett 2nd. They were so relieved after they finished. Brady finished first in both his fly and back and we haven't seen the final scores of their other races. In other words...besides the 40 minute delayed start, 70 degree breezy temperature, and not getting home til 10:45, it was a great night!!!

Brady swimming butterfly. I have no idea why this has always been my boys' favorite stroke

Bennett a.k.a. Mr. Smiley..smiling through his freestyle!

Carter in-between races. It was definitely cold enough for jackets and blankets...definitely not typical for late June in St Louis!

Cate-ism

On Saturday, Scott, Grammy, and Bennett spent the entire day (5:30am-1am) in Jacksonville for one baseball game that was delayed 13 hours. Seriously. You can only imagine how upset I was that we decided I would stay home and take Brady to a birthday party. Anyway, to ease the pain of Scott being gone all day, Cate thought Target would be the best place to make her feel better. In typical Cate fashion, she made the short trip an experience.

Cate: "Mooom, you are going the wrong way!"
Me: "No I'm not, this is the way to Target"
Cate: "No it's not. We are going the wrong way"
Me: "This is the highway that takes us there"
Cate: "Dammit!! Take me home right now! I'm calling my daddy and telling him you are going the wrong way to Target!"
Brady: "Ohhhhhh, Cate said the "d-word"

Catching fireflies at Brady's game tonight

Woohoo! Fist-full of bugs

"This one is my favowit"

More Bradyisms...

I overheard this yesterday on the way to go swimming at Scott's grandmas house...

Brady: "Cate, do you know why you don't have any shoes with you? It's because our parents are irresponsible".

This evening:

Me: "Boys! Your dad and Cate ran to the gas station to get gas for the lawn mower and I am going to the grocery store. Behave yourselves and no fighting!"

Brady: "Hey guys!! You know what that means...NO. ADULT. SUPERVISION. PAR-TEEEE!"

He's a punk. Scott and I always joke that if we survive his teenage years, we're going to be so worn down that Cate will be able to do whatever she wants. We'll hand her the car keys, $100 bucks, and tell her to come back home...sometime.

*Rolling My Eyes*

martyr- [mahr-ter]
-noun
a person who seeks sympathy or attention by feigning or exaggerating deprivation or torture.

Happy Father's Day to a man "forced" to sort laundry on "his day". You're the best :)

Tuesday

We woke up to thunderstorms and massive rainfalls this morning.....for some reason it seemed like the ideal conditions for a trip to the zoo. The rain had mostly stopped by the time we got there and lucky for us, there was hardly anyone else there. It took a lot of bribing to get Bennett to go and even more begging to get Carter to join us. The good meal afterwards (only if they were good little boys) sealed the deal. An entire family fun day....miracles do happen! Anything before noon is early for Cate

The kids love the stingrays/shark exhibit. Carter and Ben were afraid to touch the sharks, but Brady and Cate nearly fell into the water trying to pet everything that swam by :)

Listening to directions on how to feed the stingrays raw shrimp

The zookeeper lady kept talking to Scott about how fearless Cate was...he literally had to hold onto her legs to keep her from climbing into the water. I think fearless is a bad thing...wasn't the Crocodile Hunter killed by a stingray?!

These Somalia Wild Asses gave the kids a little sex ed lesson...it was like an orgy for a few minutes. (Carter of course snapped a few pics with his phone) When Brady was reading the sign to identify the animals he said (very slowly) So-mal-ee-uh... Wuh wuh w-eye-ld... Assholes. Still makes me laugh out loud when I think about it!!!!

This was a great trick Ben played on Carter. The ole "throw my brother into the grizzly bear pit".

After we left the zoo, we headed to Fitz's Rootbeer for lunch.
Our waitress thought it was funny that the "boys look exactly like their mom and the girl looks just like her dad". She must have commented on it a million times. The boys think it's because of our eye color.....boys/mom green...dad/Cate blue

Team Green Eyes

But Brady's eyes are more brown than green and we all know what creates brown eyes...it's no coincidence his initials are b.s. ;) And seriously, could he look any more like his father? That waitress was crazy!

No mistaking the color of these eyes! (love the ketchup smeared across her face)

Another adventure marked off the summer list!!

Writers Block = Random Post

I may regret buying Cate these butterfly wings....obviously she has my obsessive personality because she has yet to take them off. Isn't it great how our kids inherit our worst traits? (another example would be the boys having Scott's attitude issues, ahem).

Trying to vacuum up a bag of tootsie rolls...

who doesn't wear wings to a carnival?

We finally made our summer list. It looks a lot like last years but this year I will make it to IKEA (without the kids). On Friday, we made an impromptu trip to Raging Rivers so I can cross that off...it was fun! I would post pictures but my camera didn't have a memory card. Maybe my sister will send me a few that she took...hint, hint.


I should also make a list of home improvement projects that I'd love to have done by the end of summer. First up, painting the red living room. I was all excited to get started on it until Scott started on it...now I'm kinda over it and am trying to hide out til he's done. You can tell by this picture how thrilled he is about it. These fabric samples are my color inspiration....aren't they fabulous?!

No way this can end well. She thinks that wearing the hood makes her invisible.

One Million Questions

1,000,000 is quite possibly the number of questions I ignore answer each day. It is the worst part of motherhood for me. I know that asking questions is how kids learn, there are no stupid questions, blah blah blah, yeah whatever. But to me, there is a big difference between "good" questions and "useless, I just want to hear my own voice and drive you crazy" questions. Unfortunately around here, quantity is more important than quality. On most days I've reached my limit of ridiculous questions by noon....that leaves approximately ten hours for me to hold myself back from jumping off a bridge. It's not easy.

Here's what I'm talking about....

Ben (sitting in living room yelling)- "MOOOMMMM, what time is it???"
Me- Ignoring Ben
Ben "MOOOOMMMM, what time is it???" (voice getting closer)
Me-10...9...8...7
Ben-"MOOOMMMM, what time is it???" (closer still)
Me-6...5...4...3
Ben-"DEBORAH, I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!!!!"
Me-2....1 I love my kids, I love my kids, I love my kids.....
Asking the time doesn't seem like a crazy question, however...I was in the shower and he literally had to walk by FIVE clocks in order to get to my bathroom to ask me the time. My kids can not solve their own problems and it makes me crazy.

Another fun example........
One day we were headed to Red Lobster for a birthday lunch...I was asked 27 questions in 22 minutes. I know this because I was trying to read a magazine and made tally marks for each question. They went something like this... (I added my answers that I kept to myself in red )
"Mom, what time is it in China?" (who the hell cares?)
"Mom, what is your favorite color?" (green...it will always be green..just like the last nine times you've asked today....my favorite color is green!!!)
"Mom, where is your mother?" (I'm sure she's sitting at her kitchen table watching HGTV and thanking God that I didn't call to ask her to babysit today)
"Mom, is Aunt Kathy older or younger than you?" (wth, isn't it obvious? She's much older!!)
"Mom, let's say I scored the game winning goal in a World Cup game..what would you do?" (probably shit my pants)
"Mom, if you won $100,000 would you buy me new shoes?" (no way in hell...that would just mean more shoes for me to clean up around the house when you throw them wherever you want)
"Mom, let's just say I was black....." (Come on, are you for real? This is all you could think of to say???')
"Mom, how much longer til we're there?" (much too long)
*Everyone has their breaking point and I reached mine just as Brady asked this final question...*
"Mom, what would happen to us if there was a tsunami right now right here?"
Me (slightly screaming)-"Brady, if there is a tsunami right now, right here, on highway 64 in mid-friggin'-America, WE'RE SCREWED!!! Do you hear me? Scuh-rewd. Bigtime. I suggest you put those swim skills to use and roll with the tide!!! I'll see you on the flip side!!!"
Great answer, right? Yeah he's six and I'm pretty sure I solidified his fear of storms forever, but seriously, I could take no more. And they always start their questions with "Mom", which makes me hate hearing it, even though it should be the greatest feeling to hear your own children call you "Mom". Or whatever, something like that. Anyway, you get where I'm going with this....my kids constant badgering of questions and my husbands amazing ability to completely tune them out is making me insane.

Here is my latest solution on how to deal with this...I hope it lasts

Ben-"Mom.."
Me-"Whoa, Whoa, wait a second. From now on, everytime you ask me a question that is completely pointless or something you can find the answer to yourself, you owe me a dollar. And if you ask me a question that has already been asked and answered in the last hour, you owe me two dollars. I will keep tabs on the balance and then your dad and I will subtract that from what we usually spend on you at Christmas. So, let me make myself clear...is the answer to this next question worth being all you get for Christmas??"
Ben-Daaannnngggiiiitttt (in the most drawn-out sad voice ever)
Me- fist pump "VICTORY IS MINE" (for now)

Hmmmm.....

Downloaded pictures off my camera from Brady's baseball games and found these.....I particularly love the last picture...it's her "mean face". I think she's getting pretty good at self-portraits...looks like she even did some one-handed!! {fyi-the ones from the car are when we were cooling off between games...I don't let her walk around while I'm driving :) }