First Day of School 2012

It happens every fall, and every year it almost catches me off guard! I'm always amazed at how fast the summer goes and how we never quite get a chance to do all the fun things I'd like to do. I was especially not wanting this school year to start because it was bringing about such big changes for my boys!

Alex started middle school! He went from our little bubble of Westgate where everybody knows him and I know all the teachers and started at a brand new school with teachers I don't know. He has to use a locker and switch classes every hour and navigate a much bigger student body. It was alot for a Mom to process for her baby. So you can just imagine how hard it was for the "baby" to process especially with out 2 of your best friends because they went to different schools!

He was a mess! There was alot of nervousness, questions, concerns, tears and sleeplessness leading up to the big day. In fact the night before I'd be generous to say he got 4 hours of sleep! It took me telling him that he didn't have to go that first day just to get him to go to sleep! He of course went, but thinking he didn't have to go was all it took to get him to chill out enough to get a few hours of sleep!

It's so hard navigating all these new feelings and challenges that your children have. Especially since you don't know what's going on inside their heads! As he gets older trying to figure out what he's thinking/feeling gets harder and harder. And I think he and I can talk to each other pretty well but still, what I'd be worried about and what he's worried about are very rarely the same thing. I tell ya it makes me long for the days that potty training him was the most challenging part of my day with him.

Darn kids growing up! Luckily he survived his first day and decided it was not as bad as he thought it would be. Tonight he even told me that he thinks he's got his locker figured out and that was a huge stress! It also helps that he is VERY excited about his band class. He wants to learn to play the flute.... Again the choice of instrument surprised me, but he LOVES the teacher and seems to have alot of fun so I'm excited to see how this plays out for him. I've always regretted not learning to play an instrument so I'm hoping all three of my kids pick up something musical and can play me songs in my old age! :)

So here he is the big bad 6th grader....

That same day Leah started 2nd grade. Her transition back to school will hopefully be a little easier. She knows the school, the teachers, and the friends. She of course gets REALLY tired the first few weeks and so our bedtime routine becomes even more strict so that she gets plenty of sleep. BUT I will have to say that I'm going to have to take out a loan just to be able to feed this girl lately! She's going thru a HUGE growth spurt the last few weeks... it seems like her legs are growing 1/4 inch every night. Skirts and shorts that we OK to wear in July have suddenly become short shorts on her.... 

I'm Loving her toothless smile!

And then on Thursday this little guy started kindergarten! That's right all of my babies are school age now. He's going to a full day kindergarten so he's gone as long as his brother & sister. Leaving this one at school was like a kick to the heart! I tried to keep it together and managed to make it out the doors and to the first step before the water works started. UGH!!! And the thing is, I'm so excited for him to start. He's totally excited to finally be a westgate kid! His teacher is a friend of mine, and the same teacher Leah had. So it's just the fact that he was my baby. My last little one to snuggle with during the day while the "big kids" were gone. No more quiet times watching loony tunes or eating Nutella sandwiches in the living room because it's just the two of us and no one else has to know...

That Thursday Theo was home from work and we sat down to eat lunch, just the two of us... it was so quiet... so weird....

I know that it's all part of life and that I will get use to this next phase of life, but for that day, I gave into feeling sorry for myself... I cried for the baby days gone by.... There were quiet a few tears!!!

But not from this guy! No sir! He hopped out of bed, got dressed and nearly ran to school!

Although I have to say I think he found some comfort knowing that Leah was just a few doors down. (they actually sat at tables next to each other at lunch)

He was also very excited about having his very own lunch box! But packing 3 lunches is going to be a challenge! I need Ideas of different things to send with them!

Here is Daddy giving some last minute words of encouragement

Then he grabbed a book and sat down at a table and gave a quick wave and was ready to be

 a BIG kid NOW!!!!

I know we will all get use to the school routine again, and having school work of my own will keep me plenty busy while the kids are at school... And I have to say that getting Alex up and ready for school at 6:30 everyday is just about my least favorite thing to do these days. But that's all apart of growing up... for the kids too!

Happy School Year Everyone! Learn lots!

A month of Anson

It's been 11days since I've seen Anson! I know it's ridiculous but it seems like so much longer! Do all Aunt feel like this or do I need to go see someone? I was too exhausted to really enjoy my own newborns babies, and having a newborn nephew to love and hold and squeeze.... Yes I'm like the abominable snowman in Bugs bunny!!!

I wanna hug him and squeeze him and call him George".

But as you can see I'm not the ONLY one that is mesmerized by this little guy... I caught this picture of Alex without him know I was evening paying attention! I took it with my phone so the quality isn't all that great... But look at how they are looking deep into each other's eyes... They sat this way for a few minutes.... I wish I'd been able to hear what they were both thinking!

Another one caught with my phone.... My sister is an amazing mom already! I am in awe at how calm she is! She is so gentle and patient and just smitten...also completely exhausted...but with his every 2 hour feeding schedule.... Who can blame her!

Ethan didn't want ANYTHING to do with Anson the first time he and I visited... he wouldn't look at him, didn't want to talk about him.... all the new babies in his life competing for his Mom's attention was not sitting to well (We are watching a friends 2 month old a few days a week this summer).... luckily 5 days later he was willing to look at him and even let me snap this picture! I guess it was helpful to realize that the babies were NOT coming home with us...and that Mommy was still crazy about him too!

Leah of course is quite the mother hen around Anson. Wanting to make sure that I'm holding him right, and that the bottle is just so...and the blankets have to be .... We fought over who's turn it was to hold him...

And of course I tried to help Christie and Brian catch up on their sleep when we were up there spending the night... It's not MY fault he's so stinking cuddly! and 6AM is pretty stinking early so if He's gonna sleep... then I'm gonna sleep too!!!

I'm Crazy about this kid! I love you Georgie!!

Leaving Westgate

Well a Few weeks ago I took Alex to Kindergarten and then ***poof****...he's done with 5th grade a moving onto middle school! I honestly can't believe how fast the time flew by for him! We've been so lucky at Westgate with awesome teachers and great families!

Westgate has a cool tradition called the Clap out! The 5th graders start at the door next to the kindergarten classrooms and walk all the way thru the school. All the students and teachers line the hallway and clap and cheer as the 5th graders walk by....The first time I witnessed it I got tears in my eyes and chills....It just such a great way to say goodbye to the 5th graders!

I knew it would be hard for him to say good bye...But I was not prepared for all the tears! His entire class was crying their eyes out at the end of the last school day! I don't know if it's the fear of the unknown or afraid that he'll loose his friends...It's hard for an 11 year old to imagine that his Best buddy in the world in 5th grade wont be his best buddy in the world when he's 25. So this has been a rough transition for him. I know he will be just fine in middle school and beyond but I just wanted to take a second to say how incredibly proud I am of you Alex! You have grown and changed and learned so much in the last 6 years! I am so impressed by the young man you are becoming and feel so lucky that I get a front row seat! I am so excited to see what the future holds!

He's HERE!!!!

I'd begun to think that it was never going to happen! My sister's pregnancy last 3 times longer than all of mine put together! I could hardly wait any longer, but the one day that I'd promised to help the PTA at the school with manual labor is the day the call came 10am! Christie and Brian were headed to the hospital! I ran home grabbed my already packed overnight bag, drove up to my Mom's and slowed down just enough so that she could jump in and we headed up to Cleveland.

It's was May 10th, it was a beatiful day with Blue Sky's and big puffy clouds that looked like cotton balls. I headed up I71 at mock speed and about half way there the red and white lights started going..... BISCUITS..... The State trooper sauntered up to the driver side window and I immediately started talking and shoving my Driver's License, proof of insurance etc at him.... My sister's in Labor... Like right now... they are at the hospital and it's here first baby and this is my Mom and we have to be there and I know I was going to fast but I'm just so nervous and excited... and I just..... The trooper holds up his hand and asks "what hospital?"

Uh.... It's oh wait where's my phone... I have it in my phone... Southwest general... I know it sounds like a hopital from a soap opera but I swear it's real it's on bagley road... it's not technically Cleveland, it's just north of brunswick that's where they live....

He holds up his hand again and walks away.... I immediately burst out laughing..... I sound like a mental patient don't I??? Needless to say the statey had pitty on the nervous Aunt.... and I got off with a warning!!!

So after that we crept along at 69 miles an hour and took FORVER to get there! We made it there by 1:30pm Even though we had been in a hurry, Anson was not! Following in his Daddy's footsteps he took his own sweet time.... dinner time came and went..... 9pm.... still at a 6......finally at about 2:30 am they said...Lets start pushing! Becuase of the epidural Christie's right leg was a little wobbly and she had a hard time keeping it undercontrol between contractions so I would hold it for the nurse, but she finally realized that I could hold it during the pushes too so she could do other things to get ready! It was great... Brian had one leg, I had the other, My Mom was holding her head and we were all counting and encouragin her and ... I realized that I would clench my teeth and hold my breath and squeeze my tush together when we were telling Chris to push!

 Finally at 3:18am Anson Norbert Grube made his grand entrance into the world!

I have to admit I thought I'd be a little grossed out by the blood and such, but watching him be born was incredible! I watched him slowly come from his safe little spot...from within my sister.... It was crazy!!!

It's entirely different when your the one doing the pushing. Your so focused on breathing and pushing and the pain.... you dont get to see how amazing it is... His little head came, then his eyes, nose and mouth.... was out before the rest of him and I could see his little face even though he wasnt actually "BORN"!!!!

It really makes you realize how truly amazing and miraculous the whole process is! How lucky we are that so many babies are born healthy and that the mothers are too! Just thinking about it gives me chills!

Anson is here!!! And he is ADORABLE!!!   

The proud Papa!

 I promised him on the day he was born that I would kiss him on his right cheek

 EVERY time I see him for the rest of his life!!!

 A few days later I went back up to check on my sister and Anson just to make sure they were doing alright! Christie is a rock star! She stays so calm and is such a natural! This is my new favorite picture of the two of them!

I'm So Thankful that Christie and Brian let me be a part of his birth! I hope that I'll be as good of an Aunt to him as you've been an Aunt and uncle to my kids! I know I have some catching up to do but Aunt Sassy is READY!!! Let the Spoiling begin!!!



It's Spring time!!!

This year spring came early! The weather has been beatiful! The alergies have been horendence, and trying to get homework done when all the kids want to do is play outside has been challenging but I am so excited Spring has sprung! There is so much to look forward to.... Babies are coming.... Julie & Laura's daughter Gia arrived 5 weeks early but in great health! After 2 1/2 weeks of adoption paperwork and laws they were finally able to bring the little 5lb 3oz peanut home! She is a doll!
AND My nephew is due in just a few weeks..... It's hard to believe she's still had 7 weeks to go in this picture because I dont think there is ANYMORE room in there for him to grow and fatten up! My Sister is the cutest little pregnant lady you ever did see and I can't wait to see her holding her very own baby! She's been holding and caring for everybody else's baby it's time she gets the JOYS and the PAINS of Motherhood! Say a prayer that everything goes smoothly and that everyone is healhty & safe!!!

Spring, April in particular, means that the MONTH OF A MILLION BIRTHDAYS is well under way! In particular this little guy... He turns 5 years old on the 26th! It is impossible to believe that he's 5 years olf already!!! Hope your having a fabulous Spring!!!!

Can you believe this?

Have you ever had someone say simply amazing things about you and it just leaves you speechless..... Well this is one of those times for me... follow this link to read my pre-eulogy


http://byuckeyes.blogspot.com/2012/03/in-2007-when-cortney-and-i-left-holy.html

Trip To DC

You may or may not know that the story of me began in Washington DC...yep that's where my parents met and fell in love back in the early 70's! They have some great stories about their time there and although I know I've been to DC before, Sadly... I dont remember ANY of it! Well last fall when Amy & her crew moved to DC she told us we were welcome to come visit any time. You've got to be careful what you say to me because I might just take you up on it! :)


Over MY spring Break Alex and I snuck down to DC for a 4 day Mother and son trip! It was great! We got in Thursday night and went straight down to the mall to see the monuments. I was not prepared for the grand scale of things! Pictures do NOT do these masterpieces justice! My favorite had to be Abe... I've got a soft spot for him since I grew up in Lincoln Illinois. On Friday we got a personal tour of the Capital Building thanks to the Senator from Utah. Alex got to sit at his desk and we even got an official letter excusing Alex from school on Official US Capital letterhead! We got to ride the train over that the senators use when they go to vote and got to see something that people dont normally see on a regular tour! It was awesome!


Saturday the McAlisters escorted us to the natural history Museum and we spent the rest of the day playing frisbee, eating icecream, and flying kites on the mall underneath the Washington monument! Here is Alex and Will waiting on the Orange train. Will LOVES to ride the train and LOVES the maps of the different lines even more!

Here's a snap shot of Amy and Cort...

This trip to the city was sponsored by SPF 50 Suntan lotion!
And here's a picture of me and "my boys" I love these two little fellas so much and I had so much fun playing with them!

It was a great weekend with the McAlisters and an even better weekend with my Alex! he's turning into such a great young man. We are often so caught in the day to day grind and struggles that we dont get all that much time to just enjoy each other! I'm so glad that I was able to take this time and hope to continue to take solo trips with all my kids... But first I need to take a solo trip with my husband again! :)

Does it get better? Why wait?!?

So today I got the chance to go and listen to Dan Savage talk at the Columbus Convention Center. The afternoon was to be all about bullying and I just happen to be doing a project about bullying for one of my classes. So I went. Not really sure WHO Dan Savage is or why he'd be someone that I'd want to listen to. But Some friends encouraged me to go so I went....

So maybe you don't know who Dan Savage is either. He is the co-founder of the "It gets better project". This group created video's to help give hope to kids who were being teased about or struggling with being gay/lesbian.

http://www.itgetsbetter.org/

Dan Savage is a great speaker! I think I'd enjoy listening to him talk about anything! He's funny, knowledgeable and passionate! Unfortunately the Columbus Teaching Community really dropped the ball on this one...there were hardly ANYONE at this presentation. (This was part of the E-tech Ohio conference for teachers and with Bullying being such a BIG problem in Schools and because of the 10+ teachers that I've talked to, None of them really feel like they know what to do when a student is being bullied! The tell the bully to stop it.... but don't really know what else to do! )

In his talk Dan, yeah I think I know him well enough to just call him Dan, talked about why Gay & Lesbian kids need a "special" out reach... what makes them so "different" or worthy of the little extra attention is this.....

If you've got a Black, Muslim, kid from the Bronx and he gets teased for his accent, the color of his skin or his religion.... it's wrong... but in most cases this kid can go home to his black, Muslim, NY accent speaking parents... and they GET it... they know what it's like to be black... because they are...they know how it feels to get teased for being Muslim... cause they are....and 9 times out of 10 they have the same NY accent.

Now if that same kid gets teased for being GAY.... he goes home to his straight parents...and they've got NOTHING... they don't know what's like to be gay.... So how can they possibly relate to what he's going thru. GLBT kids need to know that there are others out there that get it!!!
This made a great deal of sense to me!

Another thing I took from this talk was about parents, it's OUR job to teach our kids not to judge people. You & I may think we do that... but are we really... what are our church's saying.... GOD loves all people.... UNLESSSSSSSS...... What do the TV shows we watch show our kids..... Disney channel isn't really rocking alot of "diversity"..... Prime time line up.... isn't either...... How about our friends..... do we have a group of diverse people in our kids lives..... or do they all look and act and talk like we do......

Kids bully other kids because they are uncomfortable with something they see or feel towards that other child. If they are different from us..... it scares us.... that is something we need to work on with our selves.... and our kids. I don't want my kids to be bullied..... and I don't want them to Bully other kids.... I also want for my kids to be at least 5 ft 8inches tall.... and for them to have 6 figure incomes when they are adults..... Exactly how much control do I have over these hopes for my kids.... I can't MAKE them be tall.... nor can I secure them a job.... but I CAN do something about how tolerant they are of different people!!!

One of the video's on the It gets better site says this:

It doesn't get better... We just get smarter!

I want my kids to be smart enough to NOT bully and not be bullied! I don't know HOW to accomplish that... but I'm gonna try! How do you teach this to your kids? Share your ideas with me

Secret Revealed

In early October my sister told me a secret.... I wasnt suppose to tell anyone.....It was the meanest thing she's ever done to me! She dropped a bomb and then told me to be quiet..... ME QUIET???? Needless to say I immediately called Theo. Over the next few days I told everyone that does not know my sister or anyone else in my family. Figuring it would not get back to anyone that wasnt suppose to know the "big secret"!!!

Then On Christmas Eve I got the official green light to tell the world......

I'm going to be an AUNT!!!

Now I have nieces & nephews thru marriage that I sincerely love and adore! I've adopted kids thru friendships to act as an Aunt. I even earned the Title "Aunt Sassy" by one of my favorite little boys! But this little one will be my first official blood nephew. Yes I said Nephew! Christie & Brian are expecting a little boy in May!

I got to go with my sister to a doctor's appointment on Tuesday and see the little guy for myself. I snapped this picture before the technician told me I couldn't take pictures... You can't really see the baby, but I love that Christie is looking at the screen at her son! :)
I have to admit I didn't think my sister was going to have children of her own and I giggle at the thought of her with a 2 year old little boy climbing the walls... but I know she's going to be an amazing Mom! I also like to think that my 3 crazy kids have helped prepare her a little, for what she's got in store!
I can't wait to meet this little One in May... I'm working on designing my official "Aunt Sassy" T-shirt to wear to the hospital!