Monday, January 30, 2017

4 of 52

post by Courtney

a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017
best big brother. you can hardly see Coy in all those blankets.

planning class for her freshmannn year :(

her contribution for their Catholic Schools Week dance

about as well as most of his homework completion goes :|

cavity free dude. 10 between the other 4 kids #notwinning

Sunday nap day

that pony. that profile!

grainy, blurry perfection

dude is just too cute

Sunday, January 29, 2017

#the52project WEEK4

i have to admit...this is about to get annoying...but I'm thinking about going to be taking a wee bit of a 'break' from my phone/social media. And by 'wee'...I mean...a week-ish - which I'm ashamed to say, will probably be difficult for me;)
We have a family get-away planned for the end of next week and then Jacob and I will be headed on our quick vacation and so, of course, I'll probably jump back on to document and share some of that:)

facebook and the polllllliiiiiticcccssssss - I apologize for my part in sharing memes and articles and the like...I know it's been a long and annoying road on both sides and we have a ways to go...I'm gonna take a step back from that (mostly, cause I know how I feel but lack the knowledge to back it up). Any.hoo. Not only that...but I'm guilty of having my face in my phone...a.lot. I honestly think it's more of a crazy habit/addiction at this point?!...just.always.checking! Arg!
The plan is to delete these apps from my phone so that I'm not checking them constantly. In order to check-in, I'll have to jump on the computer...which I'm much less likely to do too often during the day. I deleted Facebook, Messenger, Pinterest, Etsy, Snapchat and Instagram from my phone. Which felt scary. Which means it needed to be done;)

i struggle to find balance and be present. Not think about the things that need to be done and plans that need to be made and taking a photo or video of what the kids are doing instead of just forgetting all of that and just staring at them or participating in what they're doing...engaging:)

and besides the battle with electronics and social media...having a somewhat tidy house makes me less stressed. And having plans set and bills paid makes me feel productive. And having photos or video of them to look back on after they've gone to bed, after one of those long days where nothing does get done and they scream and cry more than they smile and my 1YR old shits in his cloth diaper and my *almost* 3YR old refuses to shit in the potty and they nap for 40MIN instead of 3HRS and spill their milk and my 4YR old misses the toilet and the baby brings you a turd from his own diaper and they tell you you're no fun and scream for the computer...I need that photo...I need them in bed, quiet, and me looking at a moment that day that didn't suck. So I can be reminded of why I absolutely love them...and THIS...so damn much:)

this is all making me sound pretty stressed-out;) but honestly, I'm not. I enjoy my days and even though I love a clean house/well-behaved children/paid bills/home-cooked meals/lists and plans...more times than not, it doesn't bother me to put those things off.

orrrrrrr this could all be related to me having just did the math on how old I could, potentially, be if we wanted to have 6 kids (BIG if). It's older than I'd, personally, like to be while still having babies - 38. So I don't know...I'm feeling a bit defeated today and I diddddd eat a shit ton of Mac and Cheese at 1030PM last night and a bagel this morning...all of which I'm having some regrets about this afternoon;)

it's all going too fast for my liking and I don't want to make it all more blurry than it already feels. So...this is my attempt to slow things down a little bit:) 

i know it's damn-near impossible...but have you guys figured out a way to balance things a bit more? Are you on a strict schedule? Do you have brilliant rules on electronics usage? Fill a failure in!!!!!;) Share your secrets! Teach me your ways!!!;)

happy Sunday, guys! Thanks for tolerating my thought-puke. See you next week!


and the real reason you were tricked into coming to this post;)...


a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017
homer - watching Tayt play video games:)
Hair cut scheduled for tomorrow;)

theo - snoozing with her 'babies' and wearing her new sweater
Found at Target for $5:)

rockyp - rarely unhappy but maybe his knees and legs hurt from being drug around on the floor?!;)
Going on 15MO and still not walking:)
Hair cut scheduled for tomorrow;)

Monday, January 23, 2017

3 of 52

post by Courtney

not shocking, I'm not on schedule for my weekly photo post. if you're looking for some sort of regularity in your life, you've come to the wrong blog ;) Casey was right, I was frantically running around last night attempting to catch the kiddos in the most candid moments I could. Last nights candids looked more like Will losing his minddd and Nash standing at the chalkboard so those didn't turn out so well...

so these instead ;) 

a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017
these photos get harder and harder with the older kids. Peyton is hard to find sometimes :)

Lia thought her chicken pjs would help the Pack win :(

Austyn helping with those dishes

cheated Tayt out of an individual photo this week, but seriously... 

cheating Nash and Drew out of individual photos as well. they were playing. together. nicely! 
disclaimer: she was actually trying to put something in his nose ;)

Meg watching the nonsense of Nash and Drew 

there really is no explanation for this

Coy is 3months+1 week and this sleeper is 6months. what gives, gordo!?!

Sunday, January 22, 2017

#the52project WEEK3

post by casey



week3 guys!! I'd be lying if I said this wasn't becoming COMPLETELY INCONVENIENT!!!;)

i kid. But seriously. It's already hard. And I only have 3 kids. You knowwwww Courts is currently lining 9 kids up for individual photos before she sends them to bed tonight;) HA!!!

so here we have it. The lights of my life. The not-organic peanut butter to my very organic jam. The shit to my show;)


a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017

homer and Birdie, Aunt Pigg's new puppy:)


we went sledding and discovered that snow, snow hills and sledding down snow hills scare and upset Theo. So there's that;)

#thankgawdforrockyp


Wednesday, January 18, 2017

theo daisy: 33 months and rocky peyton: 14 months

post by casey.




holy moly. We're inching up on a mom's worst nightmare...the aging of my children to ages that make me want to vomit hyperventilate vomit AND hyperventilate!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!

theo will be 3 in just a few months...not to mention that Homer will be 5 in May...and Rocky...well, he's good yet;) But thinking back on the fact that I was already 4MO pregnant with Rocky when Theo was his age (I got pregnant with Rocky when Theo was 10MO:)...
I basically don't know where the time has gone:(




SO we'll start with Theo Daisy:) Theo. Theo. Theooooooooo. She's found that she currently has only 2 emotions: Okay and PSYCHOTIC. We're walking on eggshells around this ticking time bomb but outside of that...she's basically adorable and I still find myself just staring at her perfect little face and teeth and mouth and eyes while she tries to spit-out a story that makes no sense and that I understand so very little of. Gosh, she's cute as ever:)

she also got her first big hair cut, recently! My Aunt Vicki gave her the most adorable 'bob' while we were visiting her just a few weeks ago! I love it!

theo has been potty-trained (ONLY #1's) for a while now...but we're having trouble getting her to go #2 on the potty. She doesn't have any accidents but she'll hold her shits until I put a diaper on her for nap-time and bed-time. SO...yeah. I'm at a loss with this one. Not sure I'm in the mood to 'force' her to sit on the toilet for a lengthy amount of time, until she 'goes'...she just doesn't seem interested in shitting on the potty yet. SO there you have it. And I promised myself after potty training Homer (which turned out to be relatively easy) that I wouldn't force anything and so we're just going with the flow and I'm waiting to see if she gives me any cues that she's 'ready'.
PS. I'm READY to be done with wiping 2 shitty diaper asses daily. The end;)



and Jacob found a nail in her diaper today. Don't worry, she didn't eat a nail and shit it out, she was just playing with a bunch of nails earlier in the day....Okay. So this was supposed to be funny but maybe I should just link the number for Social Services here for you?!;)

good golly, Theo...you are so fun...and crazy...but mostly fun...and a lot crazy...and difficult to understand...but SO cute;) 



and RockyP. What is new with that kid?!? Hmm. He's sleeping through the night...sometimes...is he though? A lot or maybe not...or mostly I just never sleep...so I'm just not sure?!;)



he's eating a ton and drinking a ton and just all around a brute:)

he's 14MO and still not walking. Walking next to stuff. Walking while holding both your hands. Standing up and sometimesssss letting go and standing alone for a split-second. Over the weekend he spent some time with 2 other little babies that are within 2WKS of his age and they were running circles around the joint. No, like actually runninggggg...with their legs...run.ing;) Rocky was not affected by this. Not walking at this point in your life, while other babies run circles around you...is a bold move;) Leave it to Rocky to Not.Give.A.Shit. That's his current motto: I Don't Give A Shit.



he's saying Bye Bye, Dada, Mama, Ny-Nyyyyyeeee (Night Night:) and waves bye, blows kisses and gives kisses (with tongue...which is so disgustingly cute and also pretty bold...I didn't get to tongue until I was like...15 - for real;)!!!!!). He's developing the most adorable personality and this is my favorite part...them finding their footing is this family and staking their claim on a piece of us and becoming something all their own! I always think...what else is there?! What else could he/she be??? But they always become something that's so different than all the rest:) - Ah, Wednesday afternoon ramblings that may not make sense to anyone but another tired mama out there;)



so there you have it. The other loves of my life (made with the guy that holds 1st:). And of course, Homer...hate to leave him out but he's just getting so old in a whole separate way from these 2 and so maybe he needs a whole post of his own some time soon:)


and because everyone comments on how Homer and Rocky are twins - twins born 3 years apart:)...here is Homer (TOP) and Rocky (BOTTOM). Both 14MO old:)


Sunday, January 15, 2017

2 of 52

post by Courtney

a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017
Peyton. he told me he fell into someone's bumper while having some sort of snowball fight. 
he tells me to stop telling people he got in a fight ;)

Lia. all-consuming phone

Austyn.

Tayt. testing out his birthday gift from aunt Pigg

Nash. movie watching.

Drew. a new tube of lipstick she wears almost everywhere

Meg. we have a couple nose pickers in the house lately

Will. dinosaurs and mascara.

Coy. the happiest. usually.

#the52project WEEK2

post by casey



ending/starting our week (not sure where you side on the: Sunday being the end or start to the week? I'm gonna say START...hope we can still be friends?!;)...anyhoo. STARTING our week by sitting on Homer's bed, tucking him in and then come the conversations and secret handshakes and questionssssss. All. The. Questions.

will you get old? Soon? Will your legs still work when you get old? Or will you have to sit in a chair? I suppose you'll go to heaven? But I can come visit you? Boy, I'll miss you when you're in heaven:(

moving awayyyyyyy from DEATH;)...we've moved into Week2 of the 1/52 Challenge - check Week1: Courtney HERE and Casey HERE!!!! - which also means another week has passed us by...closer.to.the.enddddd;) I KID!!!;)

okay, for real this time...no more death-talk this close to me heading to my dark...silent...bedroom;)

it was a good week. Chill - the laziness of our week is oozinggggg out of these photos:)


a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017
not gonna lie...he got a.lot of screen-time this week!:/ Not super proud of that but this bitch needed a nap. SOOOOO, YouTube Video Detox this week - wish me luck;)

if our week wrote a book...this would be the cover;)
Also...Theo and her St.Vinnies baby doll...she's been gifted so many cute ones over the last year but this stinky 2nd Hand Store one is her die-hard:) 

rocky and his new BFF - thank you, Aunt Vicki!! 
I've always, secretly, wanted my kiddos to be addicted to something. And now it seems I may have finally gotten my wish! So.Much.Cuteness:)

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

the Smith's go to church.

anddddd Rocky puked on Jacob - it wasn't that much puke;). anddddd Homer said 'butt-crack' and cried when the 'scary lady' asked him to participate in collecting the donations. Not entirely sure where Theo was in all of this?!;)
So basically, we nailed our first night at church;)


guys. We went to Church. For the first time...as a family:) It's something that's been on my mind for some time now. Since Homer's gotten a little older and especially since we made the decision to send him to the private Catholic school in the fall - he'll be in kindergarten, full days, starting in September. So there's that!!!!. And a few other things, like feeling more like a grown-up these last few years and feeling like I want to find a place in my community and...I don't know?! I don't know what it is I'm looking to get out of this, if anything...but I felt compelled to go. And I'm glad I have a husband that supports that, even if going really isn't something he felt compelled to do:)

soooooo, we're not Catholic. And we're not especially religious. We have our beliefs and we can appreciate what the Catholic school brings to the table for Homer. Jacob and I both feel like the class sizes and the opportunity for Homer to get more attention and help or discipline, if needed, just seemed appealing and right for him and his personality. We feel super lucky that it's even an option. And really only an option because I've been diligent enough to set aside what will be needed for his tuition, over the course of the last year.

sooooo, we're not Catholic. Courtney is. She converted when she married Dave, 15 years ago. Jacob is as well, but was never Confirmed. 
My sisters and I were baptized Methodist. There have been times in our lives that we attended church but not locally and not very often. BUT being Methodist is something I feel proud to be. I feel like it's a good fit for me and any time I have attended a Methodist mass, I felt like it suited who I am and what I believe. 

because Homer will be attending a Catholic school, he'll be attending mass weekly with the rest of the students. He will be taught about that Catholic religion. I respect those beliefs and we're comfortable with Homer learning about that. But mine and Jacob's beliefs don't fully align with those of the Catholic church. SO what we hope to do, by attending the Methodist church weekly, is to introduce the kids to another religion. Eventually, they'll decide what works for them and what doesn't. 

and I'm actually kinda excited to learn about the Catholic religion right along with Homer. Right now we listen to him and his 6YR old cousin argue debate about Jesus vs. God and whether the world is flat or round...it's pretty adorable listening to them and hearing that they already have such strong convictions at such a young age. Good lord, they really are sponges:)

blah, blah, blah...Catholic, Methodist...round, flat...God, evolution...potatoes, poe-ta-toes, right?;)


when we came home from Church tonight and talked about how we could be better church-goers next time - by not being sassy out of our mouths or on our faces;) - and talked about what we had heard and learned....Homer said that he felt like crying...not because he was sad, but because "I was so happy to know that Jesus is all around us":) 

a part of me hates the growing-up thing and the learning new things, thingggggg the kids are constantly doing! But more than that, I love who they are becoming and I love that moment AFTER the sassy mouth and the sassy face, when I doubt anything I'm trying to do is sinking in...that moment AFTER that, when he says something that makes me think it's all gonna be okay:)

so whether you go to church or don't or believe or don't...I really have nothing to say about that. Tonight was Night1 for us. We're trying church on. We're going to see if it's a good fit. Theo said she liked the songs:) And Rocky threw a toy across 2 pews - the kid has a great arm!;). What I do like, is us going together. And even though Jacob and I are mid-fight right now - which meant we walked there in silence and let the kids sit between us - for the 5 total minutes we were actually able to listen to what was being said...and exchange a smirk/glance when the guy a few pews up sang like his life depended on it;)...we silently pulled our shit together:) So maybe church isn't all bad;)

we live 2 blocks from church, so walking is the obvious choice:)

Monday, January 9, 2017

#the52project

post by casey



soooo what we have here is a classic case of a younger sister - emphasis on HOTTER and YOUNGER and TIGHTER;) - copying the older sister! Feels like just yesterday I was forcing her to let me tag along to one of Robbie Smazal's parties;) She did and now I'm forever addicted to Grasshoppers - don't ask;).

i'm going to jump on the 1/52 bandwagon! I had forgotten about it and Courts and I are down to, like, 2 or 3 coffee mornings a week - DOWN from our usual 5-ish;) - and we just can't keep up with each other's lives when we only have 12hrs, per week, to sit and talk about nothing;).

the difference will be that I have 3 kids and she has 19 (minus 10;) and I don't have a 'nice' camera. So this will be where you come after looking at her amazing photos of her beautiful children, to feel better about yourself;) There's Courtney and then there's me: attainable;).


a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017

homer practicing his bow & arrow:)

theo getting a ride to bed:)

sleepy-heads, Rocky and dada:)


Sunday, January 8, 2017

#the52project

post by Courtney

firstly, it's been awhile since I've posted. Casey is wayyy better than I am. and all of my posts from now until forever will start with those same two sentences.

moving on... 

a friend of mine asked about the weekly photos I took of my kids a couple years back. I can't believe it was in 2014 when I did that last. I can't hardly believe it! ...looked again... I did about half of 2015 before giving up. and now I'm crying because they're so littttttle!!!

so we've challenged each other and I started. a day late, buttt here's to a fresh new start!

a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017
Peyton snuggling Coy

Lia doing homework

Austyn drawing

Tayt tormenting Nash (see next photo)

Nash being tormented

Drew being Drew

Meg dressing herself

Will preoccupied with cartoons

Coy being perfect

initial inspiration for the 52project