Dancing Queen

Tonight was Cate's very first dance class. (Yes, it was also the first day of school, but I'll get around to that another day!). So, a few months ago, Adriane and I decided we were going to put Cate and Gabby and Gracie in dance class together. But, life happens, and we just now got around to signing them up. We chose The Little Gym because it offers an hour long class and breaks it up into 15 minutes of tap, 15 minutes of ballet, and 30 minutes of gymnastics. The session is like 22 weeks long (!) and there is no end-of-the-year recital...something I was trying to avoid. I really wanted a place that was laid back and didn't concentrate on routines, etc. Of course, anytime I spoke of dance class, Cate wanted nothing to do with it. I found this great deal online for a tutu, leotard, and tights for $12.99..holla! I figured a new outfit would be just enough to bribe her into the gym! MauMau bought her tap and ballet shoes for Christmas so we were set. This morning she woke up and immediately started whining about dance class...it was the perfect time to break out the new outfit. Yay for Cate's love of clothes, it worked!! By the time class started, she was super excited :)

Her tap shoes were missing strings, so I improvised with Disney Princess ribbon :)
She was very unsure at first...a few tears were shed, but she sucked it up and joined in the fun
I was so proud of Cate's behavior tonight...she listened and followed directions perfectly. After the class, the teachers commented to me and Scott about how great Cate did and how much they appreciated her listening skills. (and let's be honest, this wasn't a sure thing going into it!)


At one point, they turned on the radio for "free dance" time. All of the girls were jumping around and dancing, but Cate parked herself right in front of the mirror and did her one and only move...turn and leg kick :) She loved the mirrors!





I love this picture! She was so eager to learn :)

High-five for learning first position!


I love this picture too...admiring herself in the mirror again :)

Uh-oh...double trouble is back in action! Cate and Grace had a great time in the gymnastics room and Gabby joined in the fun too. The girls have missed each other!

Such good listeners!



The lighting in the rooms was no good for my camera...I may need to tell them about it so I can get some better pictures!
Cutest dismount ever!

Grace is still a wild woman!
Next week they're learning "Ta-Da's" and how to bow. Cate is VERY excited about this!!

I'm so glad we signed her up and that she really loved it. Finally, after years of watching her brothers get to have all the fun, it's her turn! On the way home, she made a list of everyone she expects to come to her next classes to watch her :) With 21 weeks left, we may be able to fit everyone in! Gabby and Grace were very shy during the dancing part but really got into it during the gymnastics and I'm hoping Adriane keeps them in the class...the girls will have a blast!! Oh and if you're wondering what Scott thought about sitting through his first dance class...well, let me quote him "Cate you did so great and followed directions really well. But Debbie (I knew what was coming because he never says my name) if she acted like those other two girls in class, I'd have yanked her out and beat her butt, then I'd smack you too. Where were their mothers?? They were out of control and disrupting everyone. Cate, if they ever push you, you give it right back to them". Soooo, I will now be video taping the future sessions and showing it to him when I get home! Even a calm dance class can turn into a freak show for the Smallie's!!!

Photo Dump

I'm clearing off my cameras memory card...here's a look at the last few days :)

Cate can hold her breath underwater for soooo long....

Roadtrip!

Last weekend, Carter and I spent the entire weekend in Iowa by ourselves! His 3v3 soccer team played in a regional tournament in Cedar Rapids. Because Brady had a baseball tournament in Glen Carbon, we decided that Carter and I would make the trek by ourselves. It was so weird to travel with just one child. I wasn't a fan of having to drive the entire trip by myself..especially when Carter plugged in his headphones and watched movies on his computer or when he took a two hour nap...I was soooo bored. FYI, the only thing between here and Cedar Rapids is farmland....lots and lots of cows, horses, and corn.

Awww...look at that empty car seat in the back :( Carter was thrilled to have an entire weekend without siblings!10 and 2. This was the first time I've ever used cruise control. I seriously don't have the attention span for road trips...I think I looked at everything but the road the entire time (sorry Mom!)
Welcome to Cedar Rapids!

This was heaven for Carter...he could play on his laptop while admiring himself in the mirror :)

Practicing his backstroke. He was in rare form most of the weekend. All I wanted to do was lay in my own bed, read a book, and control the remote...but he sang and danced for 40 hours straight! At one point I kicked him out of the room....told him to go find his friends and do something fun. Wasn't ten minutes later he walked back in...they had gotten in trouble by the hotel manager for playing full-blown soccer in the hallway. They were threatened to be kicked out of the hotel...it only took 10 minutes!!! Ugh.

I have no idea what this is about. But he did count his bday money over and over and over. Thankfully he has since bought a new Ipod touch and has no more money to count :)

I had to take a few soccer pictures to prove to Scott that I did not send Carter to the games with teammates so I could stay in bed all day!

"Those Guys" are Disney-bound!!! Woohoo!

Take Six

I'm finally catching up on all of Carter's birthday celebrations...the first party we had for him was quite comical. It took six tries to get the candles lit and blown out. Scott made the first attempt, followed by Uncle Josh...then Bennett blew them out and Carter took over trying to light them again. Of course, everyone sang Happy Birthday continuously throughout each attempt. Just another wild night here at the Smallie house!

It looks like the sun or a light is shining on Carter's hair, but it's actually naturally highlighted from the sun. So unfair!!! People ask me (and him) all the time if he's had his hair "frosted"!!

Out of Control

Remember when our pumpkin plants looked like this?
They've quickly grown out of control...along with our tomato plants and squash. I can't fix the picture size, but you can see how big the pumpkin plants have grown in the last 14 days. I am hoping this does not mean we are growing cow pumpkins that are too big for us to even carve and move to the front porch!
These are a few of our daily picks out of the garden....banana peppers, cucumbers, and green peppers...delish!

Why I'm Crazy

A conversation in the car tonight:

Scott: "Your mom and I are going to stay in a hotel in Clayton one night soon and you guys are staying at Fran's"

Carter: "You're going to Mexico without us? This sucks!"

Bennett: "They're not going to Mexico, they're going to France"

Brady: "Why would you go to France for one night?"

Cate: "MY BOYS STOP TALKING, IT'S MY TURN TO TALK!!! We are going to Frannie's while those people stay in a hotel without us"

Bennett: "Why would you want to stay in a hotel without us?"

Me: "Seems crazy doesn't it Ben?"

Conflicts

warning: ramblings of a very tired soccer mom

With all of the sports my boys play, there are bound to be conflicts with schedules. But lately, Scott and I have been struggling more than ever with which game/practice holds the most priority. I'd love to say that spring is baseball, summer is swim team, fall is soccer, and winter is basketball, but in reality, all of the sports run together and everything overlaps forcing us to choose who goes where and what gets skipped. For example: one night, Brady had baseball practice, soccer camp, Carter had 3v3 soccer practice, Bennett had a baseball game and they all had a rescheduled swim meet. We chose the swim meet because they only have five a summer and we could all go and not be running in three different directions. But to be honest, it was a decision we went back and forth with for days. Does swim team trump soccer camp when there are only five sessions of that too? Should Bennett miss a league game? And with only 5 kids on Carter's 3v3 team, it's hard to practice when not everyone shows up. On the other hand, all three boys are in relays on the swim team and missing a meet could mean being bumped from races at the championship meet. We often talk about making the kids choose only one sport to play, but they love playing everything and it's hard to tell a 6 year old that even though he's great at soccer and baseball, he can only play one. Why not put them on rec teams?? Well, because then they're not playing at a competitive level and they'll be behind when they're older. When you have 50+ kids trying out for highschool baseball and only 15 make it...it's clear that only the kids who have played at the highest level since they were SEVEN are going to be the ones wearing those school jerseys! Making this all the more stressful is that Scott and I are the worst decision makers. Three years ago when Cate was born, I gave up on trying to make every practice and game...it's seriously just not possible. We have a friend whose son plays select hockey and soccer...when asked how he does it, his answer is, "I pay $1000 for each and miss half of everything". And he's right..it's just not possible to get them to two places at once. This drives Scott insane. He hates making a commitment and then not showing up 100% of the time, but he is going to have to accept that with four kids, it's just the way it is. Another example...last night Carter had 3v3 soccer practice, select soccer practice, Brady had baseball practice and we were celebrating Carter's birthday(the only night in the next two weeks that we could do so). Obviously, we skipped everything else and had everyone over for Carter, but it bothered Scott all night and tonight at Brady's baseball practice, someone else was practicing in his position (as if!). Which then brings up the argument that why should Brady get to play infield all game every game if he is not at every practice when everyone else is??? No way to win in this game and it stinks. And you can imagine what all of these schedules do to our "family time" ......and sit down dinners??What are those?! Ugh, I'm so tired :/ Thankfully, we all have the summer off work/school and at least have between the hours of 12 and 5 to chill. Damn, saying that out loud makes me sound even more ridiculous. I told Scott we're taking a "radical sabbatical" from all sports next year but the kids went nuts as soon as the words were out of my mouth. So, for now, we'll continue down this path of overbooked kids, no downtime at home, and zero dollars to spare :) Poor baby Cate won't ever get to play sports...I'm gonna be just too damn tired!

fourteen

On Friday, Carter will turn 14. Is this shocking to anyone else? I can't decide if it's more shocking that he's starting highschool or that I'm old enough to have a 14 year old child. Tonight is his first highschool event and it's breaking my heart! The highschool soccer team and cheerleaders are having a pool party and sniff sniff parents sniff sniff weren't invited waaaaahhhhhh. So, I had to take pictures before he left, which isn't the same, but I'm thankful he humored me and posed for a few. And since Scott won't let me sneak through the park and take pictures through the fence of the pool, I'm left to just boo hoo over Carter starting highschool. BOOOHOOOOO :(