How Do You Do It?

Scott will remain in Iowa until (at least) February (he thinks). He gets to come home, on average, every other weekend. Sometimes it does not work out and he has to be away for two and a half to three weeks at a time. It is taking a toll on him. He texts me throughout the day, but I am so busy dealing with my kiddos at school that I don't respond right away. By the time I remember to text him back hours have passed. I know this has to annoy him terribly bad. It would aggravate me. The afternoons are worse when it comes to communication between us. When I get Suzy I definitely don't have much time to do small talk through text messages and I am not a big phone talker. We do good to send, on average, about 10 texts per day. Not only is he struggling with not having contact with me as much, but he is having a hard time watching Suzy do things through pictures and blog posts. I know it  has to be the hardest thing in the world to deal with. I cannot stand being away from Suzy for a full day. I am fully aware that everyone needs a break to unwind and catch up on abandoned housework, but it is so empty around here when Sue Baby is not here. I cannot imagine how Scott feels on a daily basis. Although departure days have gotten easier on him I know it still breaks his heart to leave us (especially Suzy). He is still terrified that she is going to forget who he is. I try to assure him that it will never happen, but it haunts his thoughts regularly. When he came home last weekend he arrived in the middle of the night. Suzy and I were both asleep, so we weren't able to greet him properly. When I woke up the next morning I got Suzy up and brought her in the bedroom to see her Daddy. She just lit up with excitement. I had to remind him at that very moment that she definitely knows who her Daddy is. She loves him dearly and thinks he is hilarious. I hope that Suzy meets a guy half as great as Scott. There are not many men in the world that will sacrifice what he does for their family. He works the job he does to create a great life for us. I hope that the traveling will slow down. I hope that he will eventually be permanently located closer to home. I hope that he can continue to work for the company that has helped establish us thus far.

People often ask me how I survive without him at home with us. The best answer I can muster up sometimes is, "I'm just very tired". If I don't say that it will be something along those lines. I have an amazing support system. They help me out tremendously. I usually get one night a week "off". "Off" is used loosely. Being off is a joke around here. When Suzy is not here I don't have time to do anything relaxing. I have housework to catch up on, laundry to do, closets to clean, grocery shopping, etc. I cannot seem to get any extra rest or enjoy being at home alone because I am too busy catching up on what I got behind on the previous week. It is a never ending story. I miss Scott so much, but Suzy keeps me busy and my mind off of it until she has gone to bed. When I am lying in bed trying to go to sleep I miss him. I sleep so much better when he is at home. I also miss all the suppers that he cooked. He is definitely the chef around the Smith Household. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder... We are a great example of this statement being true.

As you know, I try to spend my afternoons doing things that make days more enjoyable. Melissa, Casey's girlfriend, (we like to call her Lissa) met me at the greenhouse to take some pictures of Suzy for Fall/Halloween. We had a fun little afternoon. My Suzy is just a doll baby. I don't know how we ever lived our lives without her.

 

 

Walking, Talking, and Stalking

Sue Baby is taking steps towards toddlerhood, literally, steps.... She is almost full out walking now. Memaw told me that she took like 6-10 steps at her house Monday. When I got there she wouldn't do anything, of course. I knew the time was coming, because she had been trying for a week or so. When I got her home from Memaw's house that afternoon she showed me for herself. I told Scott about it; he was disappointed that he had missed the production. He asked me to video her doing it so he could witness it for himself. Every single time that I have gotten my phone out to record her she doesn't even come close to making a complete step successfully. The gals at Tattle Tales sent me messages this morning ecstatic that she was trying to walk... I was pleased to announce that I had witnessed it before them. I think I may have let them down a little bit. Gosh, I love all the women that help take care of Suzy!! Memaw and Tattle Tales are my heroes.

 I had a terrible sinus infection and had a little cough last week. I would start coughing and then all of a sudden Sue Baby started mocking me. If I coughed she would cough. Kalon would cough then Suzy would follow. It was hilarious. We would start laughing and Suzy would start laughing. She has baffled me with what all she has caught on to lately. She is developing so quickly. I just cannot believe that babies grow up so fast. Before long I won't be able to call her Sue Baby!

She still looooves the car!

Since she is so mobile lately she likes to follow me everywhere I go. If I go to the bathroom she comes to the bathroom. If I am doing laundry she thinks I need help and comes to assist. I can't go anywhere without her right in my tracks.

She has gotten a bit hard to handle lately. I like to blame it on the "Smith Genes", but they tend to blame it on the "Geeslin Genes".... I think it is the Smiths and I am sticking to it. If you take something away from her that she has no business having (i.e. clothes tags) she throws a royal fit. I mean a TEMPER TANTRUM. Screams bloody murder. She is also starting to spit her baby food at me while I am trying to feed her supper. The teacher in me had enough a couple nights ago. After fighting the supper battle I had decided that enough was enough. I told her very sternly that I was not happy with her and she was going to be "punished". Her punishment was no toys during bath time or afterwards. She really understood that didn't she? Well, it made me feel better just saying it I guess. I held strong and didn't allow her to play. She held strong too and gave me a run for my money! She screamed from the time I took the toys away from her in and didn't stop screaming until her mouth was occupied with a bottle. I do remember telling her during the fit that "I was not going to reward bad behavior"...... Poor Suzy.... Poor, poor Suzy.

We have had several photo shoots the past few weeks.  This season is the best for picture taking. I love taking pictures of her, but I am no good at the creative part of photography! Here are a few for you enjoyment. We did some with some pumpkins yesterday... I'll post next time!

Mama's Favorite Things: Part I

I will admit that I am a creature of habit. I use the same ole things all the time. I am always too scared to switch things up. I order the same entrees at every restaurant we eat at and buy the same mess over and over at Wal-Mart. I could probably use some variety, but why switch it up when I know what I like?

Toiletries

Deodorant- Well, I cannot use the cheap, perfume smelling deodorants. I have to use the butch manly smelling types. They are mainly butch and manly smelling because they are men’s products. The only thing that I have found that semi keeps my armpits from sweating down to my elbows is men’s clinical strength deo. It doesn’t help 100%, but it is definitely worth the $9.00 bucks that I spend on it. I have been to dermatologists and family doctors hoping they could give me something to fix this problem, but I think I will just be stuck with it for life. I don’t stink, just sweat. You will probably NEVER see me in a button down top for this very reason!

Face Lotion- A friend of mine got me started with this lotion. This is the only canister that I have had to buy. It has already last 2 years. It will expire before I have to buy more. I love it. Not too greasy, not too dry.

 

Toothpastes and Toothbrushes- I will fall for anything that says “Whitening” when I am on the toothpaste aisle. With all the crap I use on my teeth they should be transparent. Needless to say, they aren’t, but I continue to buy the mess. I feel better using it, I guess? My toothbrush even states that it has “Whitening Cups” built in bristles…. Yeah right…

Shampoo- I will admit that I am pretty cheap and ridiculous in this area. I buy good shampoo from the salon to use for special events: dinner dates, weddings, etc. and I use cheap mess from Wal-Mart for every other occasion (such as work and errand running).

 

Face Wash- Remember going through “the change” and getting acne here and there? Well, my mother always told me that I would grow out of break outs… She told a big old story. I am 27 and still struggle with gross blemishes. I ever so desperately wish I could get rid of this problem. I am like a 13 year old boy in the department of sweaty pits and zits. I try to use face wash that contains 10% benzoyl peroxide, but it is gotten pretty hard to find. Thank goodness OXY still makes stuff for poor folks like me J

Facial Clay Mask- Freeman makes an Avocado and Oatmeal facial mask that I absolutely love. There is nothing better than getting home from a yucky day and using this product. I am sure it is just a scam, but it does make me feel better. It dries and crusty on my face and makes it hard to even smile or open my mouth. Whether it really works or not is beyond me. I don’t know and I don’t care. I like it.

 

Oh, the things we do.......

 

 

The Big Accomplishment

Our very first set of numbers.

Kalon and I started training for a 5K in June. When we started we really couldn’t complete the first day without groaning and complaining while being out of breath. It was miserable. We picked the hottest time of year to start this torture, but I am kind of glad we did. We ended up missing a few weeks of “training” due to us being sick and things of that nature. We started this training to eventually be ready for The Color Run in Memphis. Well, the run was Saturday and I am pleased to say that we actually completed it without stopping. We ran the entire 3.1 miles and we couldn’t be more happy with our accomplishment.

 

The night before the run Lauren, Kalon, and I had dinner and stayed in Southaven. We thought this would allow us a couple more minutes of sleep time, since it would cut our drive approximately 25 miles or so. We woke up, got dressed, got breakfast, and got on the road. When we arrived at the destination we ran into some fellow Senatobians. Kalon’s parents also came to show support and volunteer. It was great to see everyone and meet Kalon’s parental units.

Ali G!!!!!!

 

JoJo and Brittany

We made our way down to the starting line to notice a sea of white in front of us. There were already probably 1,500 people waiting in the starting line. We heard there was approximately 8,000 participants, so they had to do the “start” several different times. We heard that there were 8 or 9 flights. We were in flight 3. My nerves did not start getting the best of me until they had let flight 2 go through the starting line. Then I was really starting to get antsy and nervous. Kalon and I have worked our tails off for this dang run and I was ready to get it over with. When we were sent across the start line with our massive group of people it was like something lit a fire under my tail. If we would have been running at home I would have been complaining after the first ½ mile, but for some reason I didn’t start to even feel winded until the last corner of the race. Each mile was marked by a different color. Mile one was yellow, mile two was pink, mile three was orange, and the finish was blue. Somewhere in the middle of all that was a water break, but I have no clue where it was squeezed in. I think it was after pink? I know that we grabbed water at the water station, gulped it down, and kept on trucking.

Anxiously awaiting to be released!

 

The line ahead of us....

And, the line behind us....

Mile One. Yellow.

Mile Two.

Lauren did all her running on her own so we lost her within the first couple minutes. She is a slow and steady kind of gal. You could definitely tell that Kalon and I had been practicing together. We would come up to a slow group of runners/walkers and be divided in half. When we got around the slower group we would magically reappear together. It was the neatest thing. We never left each other’s side. I was so happy that we kept the same pace and stayed together. It was an amazing feeling to complete our goal of running a complete 5K together. We started together and we finished together. I know that there are tons of people that run religiously and complete marathons, and probably think that we have low hopes….. But, we worked our tails off in the 125 degree weather in the Mississippi heat just to finish a 5K without stopping and we did just that. I could have just cried with excitement. I had to take a trillion pictures and call and text everyone I knew would care. I know it probably seems like a small accomplishment to some, but I assure you that we thought we had just won a gold medal.

YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!

Accomplished!

Our very own "water boy", Kalon's dad (Jon Ferguson).

Laurie decided to join our party.

Yes, those are pit stains under my arms! Haha... hard work=sweat, right?

A mouthful of happiness.

When we crossed the finish line we met back up with Lauren and all the other Senatobians for photos and festivities.

plus Ashley, Smitty, and Sally

 

Will you please notice that we not only have a personal water boy, but we also have a personal photographer, Cindy Ferguson... Yes, that is us standing with amazement as she captures the moment.

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!!

It didn't taste as pretty as it looked.

We were still waiting for our gold medals to be delivered.

The lens may have gotten a little dirty?

Kalon's sweet daddy.

Our favorite guy of the day.

 

The Fabulous Fergusons: a runner, a  photographer, and a waterboy

We had such a great time and it was such a great experience. I am so glad that Lauren talked us into doing it. We have already started looking at 10K programs… Maybe one day we will make it to that!

Who needs Cover Girl?

We did have to clean my car with Clorox wipes that afternoon, but it was SOOOO worth it.