Labor Day

GC holds a Labor Day parade each year...it's basically a very long parade of union workers walking behind trucks and on an election year, lots of politicians.  Throw in a few firetrucks, the school band, lots of candy and we've got a party!  We met up with Jen, Harper, Delaney, Grammy, Aunt Kathy, Jon, and baby Trevor...good times!! :)

Harper, Cate, and Delaney...ready for some candy!



One of my sisters friends dumped his entire bucket of candy out for the kids.  Good thing Cate and Harper have older siblings willing to do the work while they enjoy the goods!

 Labor Day also marks the end of summer and the closing of our pool :(  The temperature wasn't exactly swim-worthy, but no way were they going to miss the last day!  Warning: lots of pictures below

Making her tread water in 11ft deep water is probably bad parenting, but I wanted to get a good picture!



Pick it girl!

 

 

Good bye lazy days of summer and kick-butt tans.  Hello jeans and sweatshirts, football, chili, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  Guess that's not such a bad trade off.

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!

 

The Help

This may be as close to doing laundry as she ever gets......

letters home...

Received this letter in the mail from Scott's boss to add to his professional file.  "Excellent" ratings for his teacher evaluations. Of course.

 

 Received this letter in the mail for our star student Bennett.  Of course.

 

 Teachers note in Brady's agenda.  Of course.

 

two outta three ain't bad.

survived!

Well, people, I made it through.  No bright lights calling me home, just an amazing IV pump offering all the morphine I needed to bring me back.  Oh, and a great team of doctors and nurses offering one of the best surgery/hospital stays I've yet to experience.  And I've experienced plenty of surgery/hospital stays...plenty.  I'm feeling pretty good and said goodbye to my pain meds a few days ago (sniff sniff, I mean how awesome is it that you can take a little pill and wake up 12 hours later?!).  I have four wounds from the robotic surgery and my Dr. nicked a vein behind one of them that has left me pretty swollen and very bruised.  Let me show you.... (disclosure..belly pics below)

Morning of surgery.....

 

Four short hours later...

Discouraging, I know. And I'm just as shocked as you that I lost my tan on the operating table, but I guess crazier things have happened ;)  Not to worry though, I should be released to exercise next week and before we know it the swelling will be gone and after I finish this Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream, I'll be back to my morning runs and cut-off tanks with low-cut jeans.

 

But in all seriousness, a HUGE thank-you to everyone who texted, called, emailed, and stopped by the hospital...to my running girls Candi and Jaime for the gift cards and snacks, Bau Bau for bringing dinner over twice, Fran for treating us to dinner several times (even though I'm still bitter that she was in Bermuda living it up while I was in the hospital!), my parents and in-laws for all of the help with our kids, and to Scott for taking three VERY long days off work to keep everything under control. Hoping this surgery is the answer to all of my issues (at least my female issues.  I don't think there's any surgery in the world that could answer all of my issues).  So a final buh-by to my uterus. It's been real, it's been fun, but it hasn't been real fun.

Smallie Out

(get it? like when Ryan Seacrest ends each American Idol w/'Seacrest Out'? Yeah, I rocked it, I know)

 

 

breaking up with my uterus

Tomorrow is the day.  I can unfortunately put it off no longer.  At approx. 9am, I will be parting ways with my uterus.  It has provided the perfect "home" for my babies to grow, but it couldn't leave well enough alone and it's more than time for it to move on. 

I'm not very nervous about the actual surgery, just more anxious about being away from home overnight.  And today's "cleanse" is probably the worst part of all of it.  YUCK.  I'm just ready for it all to be over with.

A giant "thank you" to my girlfriends who gave my mind a much needed rest by helping me plan my funeral should something happen to me.  What started out as a "if I happen to die, please talk me up in my obituary and no carpooling to my funeral, I want a long processional to the grave service" ended with a six hour texting conversation and funeral plans complete.

Let me share the highlights/rules...

• if, during my funeral, the minister (Angela!) asks if people would like to get up and say a word about me...EACH OF THEM ARE REQUIRED TO GET UP AND SAY LOTS OF GREAT THINGS ABOUT ME
• definitely will be a televised event, hosted by Matt Lauer, and held at The Edwards Jones Dome due to size restraints elsewhere. Big, this is going to be a very big event.
• Jen will be singing Joshua Kaddison's "Jesse" (takes me back to '94) and Adriane called dibs on Mariah Carey's "Hero"  Then the Parkview girls will be bringing "That's What Friends Are For" back 80's style, complete with hand/arm movement routine.
• Jerry's will cater and Hit N Run will supply the drinks.
• I suggested an all white attire like P.Diddy's 'White Ball' he throws every year but did get some resistance from the girls about appearing on tv in white and looking like blimps.  I had to remind them that they're not supposed to look better than the star of the show (me) and the washed out, white look will look appropriate with the theme...death.
• Jen will make sure I have fresh highlights and am wearing my half marathon race shirt and finisher medal
• Shelley will be wearing her highschool wool pom uniform and will lead the way for the GCHS marching band to play the school fight song.
• Hopefully the Straight Curves will be willing to reunite for this one special event to sing "End of the Road"...naturally. 
• A final wardrobe was finally decided upon and it looks like the girls will be wearing white airbrushed shirts fashioned into strapless shirts complete with fringing and beads at the bottom.

Thanks, Jen, Ang, Adie, Jill, & Shelley..you girls are the best :) Does this sound like the party of the year or what???  Of course I'm hoping it's postponed for 60+ years! 

Good luck to my wonderful husband who has taken the week off to hold down the fort!  Prayers for a speedy recovery...this woman doesn't like to be down long!

Peace...

fifteen.

He used to steal my keys and run to the car....

And now...well, he still does that, but now he's legit!  

Fifteen.  Who woulda thought?! And after the last four weeks with him, I wasn't positive he was going to live that long.  But, let's focus on the good.  Carter got his driving permit!!!  His birthday is 8/5, making him one of the youngest in his class (cut-off is 9/1), so we signed him up for a driving school outside of his highschool.  Otherwise, he wouldn't have had the class until January and who knows when he would have gotten his permit.  And nowadays, you have to have your permit for nine months before you can get your license which means he would have had to wait until after his 16th birthday which is completely out of the question.  I can't wait for him to drive!!!  So, I pulled him out of lunch on Thursday and took him to the DMV for the big test.  30 minutes later, he was legal.  I didn't let him drive back to school because I had Cate and Hadley with me but he and Scott have racked up about 3 hours of driving time in the last 3 days.  Scott even woke him up this morning to see if he wanted to go cruising.  I had to run to the bank this afternoon and Carter was more than eager to take me.  He is actually a really great driver...very calm, cautious, and confident which is going to make this a lot easier for me and Scott.  However, he is now the worst passenger!  He comments on everything I do wrong and it makes me wish I had an eject button. Did you know that you're supposed to drive 9 & 3 now instead of 10 & 2?  What the heck??! 

 

Fifteen also means Carter has started his sophomore year.  Yesterday was the big Welcome Back Rally at school and his class color is blue.  He got all dressed up and had a great time.  Such a great way to start the school year off....SOPHOMORES! SOPHOMORES! OOOH! AHHH!

I love the shirts this year.  Took me an entire day to realize the GC was the apple logo :)

 

The following pictures were stolen from his facebook page.  I love that I can count on his girls to take pictures at school so I can see what's going on! 

 

Here's hoping Carter has another fabulous school year!!! 

Somedays.....

Somedays I send Scott a text that looks like this:

If you really love me, you will grab me a fountain soda on your way home from work.

And somedays the text looks more like this:

Fountain Soda.  NOW.  Your children's lives depend on it.

Today was the latter.  Eh.

Found this sign at Michael's yesterday for $6.  I put it on the wall above my computer-so I'm always looking at it :) Makes me happy!

Mizz Cate

4 is such a fun age.  Our little Catie Bug is getting to be such a big girl.  Sad yes, but I do enjoy watching her personality blossom and each day with her is more fun than the last. 

 

She says the funniest things and always makes me laugh.  A few recent examples...

 

Hadley is a hitter and she's got Cate's number...she gets just close enough to Cate that when she swings her arms, she barely grazes her.  After the first day of Hadley being here, Cate yelled "This is ridiculous!  Where is she learning this behavior?!" 

 

Killing time during Brady's soccer practice, we headed to the bookstore to browse.  I grabbed a magazine and sat on a bench in the children's section and she ran up to me all excited and said "I'm having the most incredible time, but I just don't know which book to choose"  :)

Her first week of her last year of preschool was a great success.  She is still adamant that she is not going to kindergarten next year nor will she be growing up, but has agreed to turn 5 in February, just "never 6".  After the first day of class she told me that she had a good time but she wishes she was the only kid in class so she could play with Mrs. Biewald the whole time by herself because "all of those other kids take some of my attention".  She has lots of new kids in her class this year and the tables have turned with a whopping 14 boys and only 6 girls.  Should make it an interesting year for all four of her teachers :) 

 

 Cate has graduated from watching cartoon-like tv shows and has really gotten in to a couple of new shows lately.  Goodluck Charlie (my fave, Sandy Duncan makes me laugh out loud), Jessie, and Turtleman/Call of the Wildman (don't ask) are her favorites.  She's also obsessed with Highschool Musical.  The Olympics may be over, but thanks to dvr, she is able to replay the gymnastics and practices her own routines often.  Last Friday night during halftime of Brady's soccer game, Cate took the field and performed a very long routine complete with spins, twirls, handstands, cartwheels, and the splits.  Of course she earned herself a standing ovation from the stands to which she answered by bowing and blowing kisses to her fans.  Oh my.

 

But for all of the laughs Cate provides me, the sassiness may just be the death of me.  On the second day of school, Cate had a major meltdown as soon as we pulled into the driveway after class.  She rarely cries but on this day something really set her off.  I got Hadley out of the car and the three of us made our way into the house when Cate fell to the ground screaming hysterically.  I had "done it all wrong" and was "ruining her day".  She wanted to "go back outside and start all over".  Ok, people, here's the deal.  This is not my first rodeo and I know that sometimes it's necessary to pick my battles.  Yes, giving in is never the ideal option, but sometimes it's the best option.  I could have a) let her continue to scream and give up a good hour of my day or b) walk back out to the car, let her open the door to the house, close the door behind us, and be done with it.  I don't always take the easy way out, but with lunch and naptime looming, I just didn't have it in me to fight the good fight.  So, the three of us walked out to the car, turned around, Cate led the way back into the house, and 30 quick seconds later, the meltdown was completely over never to be heard from again.  End of story (or so I thought). 

 

The next day after school we pulled into the driveway and Cate said "Now Mommy, do you remember what you learned from yesterday?  I am all-time leader and you are not to open the door before me"  This could get ugly....

 

 

Unfortunately, still relevant...

This is a re-run of a post I wrote two years ago when Brady was five years old.  Mr. Mouth has really been testing my patience lately and I figure I'm better off re-posting this than putting into words how I'm feeling about him these days :)

Dearest Brady-
I'm going to get straight to the point. I'm not stupid. I realize that you don't give me enough credit because I'm a "girl", but I'm on to you. Totally. Let me start by saying that your father and I have been very lenient with you. For a few reasons but mostly because you have two older brothers (one who is basically a juvenile delinquent) so you've seen and heard more things than a five year old should. However, lately, your antics are pushing me to the edge. Most things you do are normal five year old boys stuff, but your language...oh Brady, your language is so bad. When I sat you down last fall to talk to you about this, you asked me to list of all the words you can't say. And I obliged...hoping you would avoid these words all together. I'll give you credit. You're very creative in what you say, but you're not fooling me. No...I know what you meant when you told Bennett you were going to "kick his ace", but I often feel the same, so I let it slide :) And when you sat down at dinner, flipped up your middle finger and said "hello everyone, I'm the f-word"..well, that was just really funny. But the other day when you yelled "I have to siss" as you were running to the bathroom...that was taking things too far. Off to your room you went. And tonight, you were already in time-out for calling your brother "a friggin' idiot" (granted he was acting like one) when your other brother walked into the room and you called him a "loser". Breaking point..everyone has one, and I've reached mine. Gold star effort for claiming you were actually calling him a "luger, like in the Olympics. Because one time Ben slid down the stairs on his back and he reminded me of a luger and besides the word luger isn't on the list". Nice try, but no dice. I'm done. No more Mrs. Nice Mommy. And the ultimate punishment was enforced...no XBOX...gasp! The tears fell and an Oscar-worthy "Most Dramatic Performance by a 5-Year Old" ensued, but I'm holding my ground and your daddy is backing me. He told you a bar of soap in your mouth would be next...

So, please Brady....please think before you speak and no more bad words. Yes, it will be hard, but you can do it. Just yesterday, your teacher told me that you are a very "mature 5 year old". Prove it!!!

Love,

Mom

Back At It....

School is back in session around here which means things are a little bit calmer in the House of Smallie.  At least between the hours of 8:00-3:00 :)  Carter started his sophomore year (Holy Moly!), Bennett his final year of elementary school (say what??), Brady 2nd grade (nbd), and Cate her last year of preschool (shut the front door!!!).  Obviously next year we are going to have a few major milestones that I'm not yet ready to talk about :) 

Carter started his school year off on the right foot...grounded.  I'm talking total lockdown. Poor guy had to spend his first Friday night of the school year at Brady's soccer game with his entire family!  And missed one of his bff's 16th bday party Saturday! After this past week, Scott declared "All I can say is, teenagers suck".  Don't we all agree?  Yeah, I thought so.  Anyway, I'm hoping we've gotten things under control and he's back on track...otherwise it's going to be a very long year.  Oh, but look at him below...grew a whole 4 inches this summer.  Maybe he won't be the shortest in the school again this year :)

Brady, Bennett, and Carter...ready for a great year!

Back to school time means Mr. Smallie gets to break free from this house for a few hours every day too.  Holla-friggin-lou-ya.  I love having him home three months a year, I REALLY do, but he is a man who needs structure..a schedule..a daily itinerary, and he is often the one who is complaining "I'm borrrreeeddd, what are we going to do today??" (in a whiny voice that drives me crazy!)  A social-director I am not, and let's be honest...there are a million things to do around this house that could keep all six of us busy for years, so having "nothing to do" is just a load of crap.  Ahem.

Mr. Smallie is all smiles on his first day :) (and very patient with me for making him pose for an obligatory first day of school photo or OFDOSP)

Today was the first official day of class for Cate.  I received a text from her teacher with this picture attached..."Cate's first day of pre-k and she hasn't missed a beat!"  She loves that dress-up corner and has been waiting all summer to get her hands back on all of that cool stuff!!  Hard to believe that this time last year we were both crying when I dropped her off and I was seriously contemplating pulling her out of the program.  Fast forward a year and I had her up, bathed, blow-dried, and ready to go 60 MINUTES EARLY.  Guess we both need those 2.5 hours away from each other!

As for me, I'm back to watching Hadley (1.5 years old) every day, and her brother Tyler (9yrs) before and after school.  And hopefully Baby Trevor will be visiting often too. Annie's college soccer season starts this week (yes, she only gave birth 3 weeks ago, but hey, she's 20.  So annoying, right??!) so I'm planning on getting my fair share of T-Rev time :)  Right Annie??!!!!!

Here's to a fabulous 2012-2013 school year!! 

The Difference One Year Makes....

First day of preschool 2011 vs. First day of preschool 2012. 

Wowzers.

I'm Back.....

The phone lines have been removed from our backyard!  New lines have been hung!  Internet and home phone services are back up and running!  Woo to the hoo!!

Sorry to the phone guy who had to climb our telephone pole during a pre-storm and then had to ride that storm out in my house with my four kids + Tyler + Hadley + neighbor Jack.  I'm sure that poor guys life has been forever changed.  But YAY! for finally being able to update my blog.  Of course today is friggin' beautiful out so I'm going to just post a quick picture of the cutest baby ever and then I'm heading back outside with the girls for some more playtime.  Not ready to give up my pool weather, but I do appreciate this fall-like day after weeks of 100+ heat :)

Be back soon with more updates!

Baby Trevor--2.5 weeks old.  Cute! Cute! Cute!

Potluck...

Brady took a major dive off his bike this afternoon....later, I found Brady and Jack attempting to make vinegar bombs in our backyard....currently, all three of my boys are downstairs beating the crap out of each other.  I'm ignoring everyone.  Just another day in paradise. 

Enjoy some random pictures!

No explanation needed!

Green Machine had another successful 3v3 tournament last weekend!



Cate always seems to wander off in Target and I find her in the most random places :)



Bennett guest played with the E'ville Tigers last weekend.  I have to admit, it was really hard to cheer for the Tigers ;)

When Cate is quiet, bad things are happening.  Like she's trying on EVERY piece of clothing in her room..and then throwing them on the floor.  But, sometimes 30 minutes of peace is worth it :)

Swim Banquet

Trevor stopped by today!

Outfit change for the both of them!

I love that Trevor knows to cover his ears when he's at our house!



Bennett LOVES this baby!

Most Dedicated....

At tonight's swim meet banquet Brady was awarded the "Most Dedicated Award".  Our swim coach, Celeste, (who has been coaching for over 30 years) is kinda long-winded at the swim banquet each year (it lasts more than 3 hours!) and in addition to the medals each swimmer receives, she chooses a few kids to award special honors.  She gives a long speech about each recipient and then gives them a copy of her speech.  Here is what she had to say about Brady.....
"Our male 'most dedicated award' belongs to a young man who caught my eye early last summer at a very young age and continues to amaze me and other coaches with his drive, hard work, attitude, and positive determination to go after the big, big goals.

About two weeks before the end of the season he told me he wanted to break Pat Curry's record and then shortly after that he asked me what it would take to win a High Point Award at the championship meet.  I was taken back thinking 'ok kid, you are a young one'- and then I thought twice about who was asking me this question and tried to explain how the scoring was done for High Point!

This guys placed 2nd in 25 Fly, 3rd in 25 Back, and 3rd in 50 Free which earned him a third place High Point Award! AMAZING-he is only 7!!!

This guy eyes up the competition- not to check out how big they are- but rather to pump himself to swim hard and beat them no matter who they are!  He works out at 10:45 with the older boys and often goes first- and is not afraid of any hard set!  I can see the next few years as being his very best- for he is getting stronger and smarter with each new summer!

I plan to use this young swimmer as my permanent anchor relay swimmer because he never gives up.

Congratulations.....BRADY SMALLIE!"

At the beginning of the program, she asked the three High Point winners (Noah & Maia Cain & Brady) to stand up and had this to say about Brady.....

"After the championship meet when they called the High Point winners up, the other two 8 & under winners were huge.  Like, they looked me in the eye!  When they lined up, I could see the other two boys eye Brady up and I thought "You boys have no idea what you're messing with, this kid is only 7 years old"

Congratulations Brady.  You worked so hard this summer and your dedication and focus really paid off!!!