that time at the lake...2 months ago.

post by casey.

my phenomenal mood today is brought to you by 12 straight hours of sleep last night, a run this morning and my sweet, well-behaved children!

KIDDING. My husband just came home on his morning break and dropped $200 cash in my lap. ah, boom.

soooooo. It's the last day in August and instead of focusing on the school year beginning (perks of having younger-than-school-aged children...is that a perk...is NOT sending a child to school a perkkkk?;) and summer coming to an end...I'm day-dreaming about kidless Target trips and future tattoos and some late night reading and catching-up on Bachelor in Paradise with a pint of Ben&Jerry's and all the travel and fun September is bringing!!!!:)

daydreaming brought to you by children who started the day at 450AM...forcing me out of bed to begin the day 3 hours earlier than normal. Walk, dishes, laundry, lawn, budget - CHECK...check, check, check. I only daydream after ALL.THE.THINGS.ARE.DONE.

soooooooo. I'm kindaaaaa nailing these posts where I post photos that have nothing to do with anything I'm talking about. Have I found my calling?

Casey M. Smith

Advanced Administrator of Mindless Chatter M.D.

and some photos...of a day in July...when we went to a lake.

not everyone warmed up to my watermelon bottoms. 

Their concerns didn't sway me from believing they're anything less than AWESOME.

*I forgot where I bought them from but I'll keep those of you who are dying for a pair...posted;)

my husband + the simple task of taking a Sister Pic;)

i can't look at this photo and not be happy:):)

hello, third trimester!

post by Courtney

as usual, pregnancy (and our summer) :( has flown by. while I thoroughly enjoy pregnancy, I'm feeling more of the symptoms a little harsher with this pregnancy. 

heartburn... can't I just enjoy strawberry lemonade all.day.long!?!  

coffee... only 1... 1 and a half cups *tops* daily. 

weight gain... seems to be right on track for my 50+ weight gain ;)

swelling... a bit more during the summer. I should probably be more lazy ;)

let's just take a trip down memory lane...

20 weeks

I'm certain this naughty little boy was spitting at me... hmm...

24 weeks

why I'm taking all these photos in my suit is beyond me. those thighs are serious business!

30 weeks

and the most recent photo...

32 weeks

photo credit to Lia. while I prepped the camera, she did her own thing ;)

SAHM wear

does it frighten you to know that prior to taking this photo, we were all:

"we don't look toooooo shabby today, we should do a Fashion Post!"

i don't have enough time today, to explain the process of looking this gooooodddd - there's more sarcasm in that sentence than extra sugar-butter on my Cinnabon...and that's A.LOT...also, taking any opportunity available to give Cinnabon a SHOUT-OUT. #sponsormylifecinnabon. 

Oops. Blah blah...so with all the zoning out I'll be doing and those trips to the coffee maker and the pop-tarts aren't just gonna put themselves in the toaster!!!;) - I wish I could deny that this is what my day will and is consisting of;), that leaves LITTLE to NO time to step you through my creative fashion process;(

well, heck...while I wait for my 4yr old to finish taking a dump...I'll give you the play-by-play.

wake up, after 5 hours of interrupted sleep, to my 4yr old sitting silently in the corner of my room drinking a glass of milk, staring at me.

START COFFEE IMMEDIATELY.

do the bathroom stuff, where I wash my face/brush my teeth/apply face shit that has yet to improve what that 5hrs of interrupted sleep is doing to my face.

smell pile of clothes laying on the bathroom floor and hesitate too long in deciding (luckily, for anyone I'll be encountering that day) that I'll need to make the trek back upstairs for some 'clean' clothes.

grab skinny black yoga pants.

THE END.

the most difficult part of this entire process is finding a top that's long enough to cover my ass in the skinny black yoga pants;)

and so on with it. The perfect Having-Coffee-With-Your-Sister-On-A-Monday outfit.

Details below:)

courts

maternity tshirt HERE

maternity jeans HERE

flip flops HERE

casey

tank top similar HERE
pants HERE mine were on super sale for less than $40
flip flops HERE


also. CINNABONS.

theo daisy: 28 months and rocky peyton: 9 months

post by casey.

today I'm thankful for a house large enough for 2, very separate, time-out spaces. 

the end.

obviously, I'm kidding. If I ever put up a blog post with anything less than 1 MILLION words, send help;)

okay...what is that saying? That reallyyyyyy annoying...totallyyyyyy correct...but infuriatingggggg saying:

"stop REACTING and start RESPONDING. it doesn't matter what happens, it's how you respond to what happens that makes the difference." 

- Bob Proctor

anyone want to save me the time and google this dick and see if he ever had kids? Or received a period every month?

I can't entirely blame this on that because I've yet to get a period...in like 2 years...maybe this is all pent up, lack-of, period aggression??? I think I just invented a new diagnosis: I'm sorry Mrs. Smith...but you have what we refer to as, PULOPA. Pent-Up-Lack-Of-Period-Agression. NOT CURABLE.

THANKS, BOBBBBBBBB!!!

basically, I need to not react to everyyyyyy littleeeeee fit they throw. Their bi-bolarness is rubbing off on me.

SO. The kids are older. Blah Blah Blah. I love them. Mean it.

theo is talking so much more. I mean, she has been. Trouble is, only Homer can understand her. So now we're forced to make sure they're together at all times - que the physical toddler fights ALL.DAMN.DAY. If Homer's not there, there's no way to know what she's saying. And saying 'sure' to everything she says has turned out to be disastrous 97% of the time;)

she still sleeps like a champ. She looks SO soooo old and big to me, especially when being held by someone else:( She's "soweeeeee mommmmyyyy" 100 times a day. But it's freaking cute and apology accepted, every damn time;)

oh, Rocky P. The thought of you not being...you? Here? It's a frightening one. You've added so much love and patience to my life:) I shudder to think of that ever changing but alas...you're one of 'them' and sooner or later they'll turn you;)

rocky is still a solid nurser. We've introduced table foods slowly. He's still in bed with us...that's not a super negative thing but I really need to stop being so lazy and get him converted to the crib. 

i have a wedding in Oregon at the end of September. September is a pretty full month, travel-wise. I'll be away from the kids for at least 6 days that month. Which has been unheard of in the 4-1/2 years we've had kids. SO I'm considering taking him with me. It would be the first time flying with any of the kids and I'm excited to give it a go.

The trip to Nashville, that I'm taking at the beginning of the month, will not include any of the kids. Since I'll still be nursing Rocky, I'll have to pump while I'm gone. Anyone having any experience being away and pumping? Specifically, if the baby was a tad older? Rocky will be 10-1/2 months and I'd like to nurse him until he's a year. 

I'm sure it'll be totally fine and I'm over-thinking it but I'd be so sad if I got back and he didn't want to pick-up nursing where we left off. Like, what if he prefers the bottle because he got it for 4 days straight? Anyways...thoughts???

we didn't buy a zoo.

post by casey.



rocky, just short of 9 months, has officially grown his nails longer than I ever have - unless, there's a slim chance I wasn't a nail biter back in my...baby days? Not likely. - So, you win, Rocky:) Well...the whole world wins because I bite my nails like no other. It's gross, I fucking knowwwww. This has been proven to me twice:
1. Walking by my reflection. Ew.
2. Being secretly taped by my niece. EW.

i still bite my nails. Moving on.

sooooo i just keptttttt forgettingggggggg to clip Rocky's nails. A looming check-up at the docs is always a good reminder to bath and make him presentable to the outside world. Oh, and all the tiny cuts on my breasts and chest and neck anddddd face were starting to bring up some questions from the fam. 
Tiny, long nails = tiny, painful cuts;)

at this point I think it was arguable as to whether I should even cut his nails anymore. It was like deciding whether to dewclaw a cat - I'm sure I'm striking a nerve bringing up such a touchy subject with all my cat-lova followers;)
1. You love cats.
2. You don't. Hard.
*I land near 4. Where you don't believe cats have feelings...KIDDING - kinda;)

so his nails were to the point that I questioned whether he had become accustomed to them. He needed them to survive. To defend himself against my force-feeding breast and those siblings who can't keep their damn faces out of his damn face. SURVIVAL.

we cut them. Just so you and the pediatrician know. 


SO we went to a zoo today. THIS zoo. The FREE kind. The only thing better for our budget would have been them writing us a check;) - we did make a donation:)

it was hot. It was pretty. We were very impressed and really enjoyed ourselves. 
Minus Jacob hating the heat and then buying slushies for the kids, which the kids found to be too cold - it was 92 degrees out. Really. Ninety-two-degrees. Hawt - to hold with their bare hands. So Jacob held 2, melting slushies, through the lion exhibit. Yay, dad!!!;)

so here's our day. And it was great. We had ourselves a pretty neat Tuesday:)

my new fav pic of.all.time - you decide if I'm talking about the family photo above or the Cinnabons below;)

HINT: you can chew on one - Rocky vs. Cinabon - both VERY chewable;)

the conservatory was just...gorgeous. Blazing hot andddd gorgeous. Already planning our 10 year vow renewal in this very spot. You're ALL invited:)

who's going to release the butterflies when we say "I Do"? 

who's going to supervise my kids throwing $27 worth of pennies into the fountain and then STILL whining for more and then throwing themselves into the fountain to fish more out to re-throw in? - that $27 will come off your base pay and included in that shitty job will be to make sure Rocky doesn't choke on any pennies. - BROOKE, I knowwww you're up for the challenge;)

hi, Rocky P:)

this was pre-nail-clipping...get a look at those lady thumbs!!!!

theo wanted to "hold and pet" all the large animals:)

okay, let's talk about this gorilla for a minute...or 10. My mind was blown. I mean...Jacob and I definitely exchanged "Whoa" glances and may have forgotten we had kids for a sec there, while we elbowed our way towards the glass;)

zoo's are hard. I mean...when, other than a zoo, might we get the chance to see such an amazing animal? This is a great opportunity and a good learning experience for the kiddos. But on some level it feels sad:( BUT I think the more we can learn about the zoo we're visiting and what they're doing for the animals - the gorilla space was just enlarged and a new little baby was just born, helping to ensure that this animal lives on.

alas, I know nothing...so, that's the end of that;)

after the zoo we ran downtown, where I had a tattoo consultation!!! This will be a blog post for another day. One which involves me going on and onnnnn about how much I hate the status of my current tattoo and how I'm - and by 'I'm', I mean the rock star tattoo artist that I've been stalking for the last 2 years while I birthed and have been nursing a baby - gonna solve that HUGE/FUGLY pickle, permanently etched into my arm.

Saint Sabrina's...look um' up.

Gosh, I love me a tattoo though:)

and then after that...I ran into MOA to return some shit and grab enough Cinnabons to put me into a larger pant size, all while Homer peed on the top floor of the parking garage and Homer/Jacob/Rocky & Theo - I was told, by a VERY amused Homer;) - farted in the van, while watching the planes take-off. Gosh, I am the luckiest;)

coffee.

#NOREGRETS ;)