UPDATES -- POST # 500!!!

1. ME

With a few hiccups and what felt like a miserably long race...I finished my first tri.  With the storms the night before and possible down pours that morning we were able to leave the boys home with my parents.  Mike helped get me all set up and Heidi even let me use her extra goggles since I realized half way to the event that mine were still at home!  

This was HARD.  I am sure if I trained that my body would of been a bit more adapt to the events but holy moly it was rough.  It was more difficult that I even imagined.

A few take-aways .... 1. I don't like being passed.  Especially on a bike.  2. You are able to make up time on the running because most people are DONE by the time they hit that event and if you can bust it out....you can pass a lot of people.  **I figured this one out by people passing me** 3. Bring gatorade or some type of nutrition during transition.  I think that the lack of training and being completely out of shape didn't help at all and who know if this would of helped at the time but between the bike and the run I would of loved a gummy.  ....there are actually a lot more but I won't bore you with the rest.

I am not sure if I will take the 70.3 off my bucket list.  This event makes that goal look ginormous.  It took me all day to recover (we let the kids just do electronics almost the whole time) Super impressed that Heidi does these things easily.  I am still in awe.   

It was a super early morning.  I can't express how happy it made me to see his sweet face and hear him cheering me on.  When the race was over all I wanted to do was hold his hand and be next to him.  

2. Owen
My oldest child loves to learn.  He legit wants to sit down and do homework and learning games all day.  I am not sure how to channel this energy and love of learning.  Yesterday -- I just let him play the games -- ALL.DAY.LONG.  I am sure when his teacher sees how much Lexia he did she will not be impressed.  It will look like the kid never went outside. **SIDE NOTE** I did this same exact thing in elementary school.  I created my own book reports.  WHAT??!!  And after my project was complete my teacher let me present to the class.  Yes -- this is a real story.  Obviously he comes by it naturally.

3. Cameron
This sweet child got his Wii privileges back this week so yesterday he was able to play for awhile and he was in heaven.  So was Jack.  Jack sits and "plays" with him and loves the entire experience.  For some reason Cameron's favorite thing to do on the Wii is make people.  I am not sure if this makes any sense to the average reader .. but he found something on the Wii where he creates people.  He has done all of the family and has started on his friends.  It is insanely boring to anyone else in the room....including Jack.  But right now (at least yesterday) it was his thing and it makes him happy.

4. Jack
My absolute favorite part of the work day is picking up SBJ at the end.  His face lights up, his smile gets huge and he runs to my arms.  He grabs MooMoo, says a million "good-byes," is filled with giggles and after a few steps he asks for Cameron and Owen. This happens every single time and boy does it make my heart happy.

5. Mike
I asked Mike last night what he would rate himself on the husband scale of 1-10.  Strange question I know--I don't even know what made me think about it......

He said, being your husband, I would give myself a 9.  Clearly I started laughing immediately because I think that he is hilarious and questioned more.  He said, "I don't think that there is another man who could be your husband better than me."  I 100% completely agree.  I am a whole lot of Mitchell and it takes a special man to ride this crazy ride. ....glad he is here with me.  **Yes -- I just called myself crazy.  To be clear -- I meant crazy wonderful.

Proud to be your mom

****SO I NEED TO REQUEST -- IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE PREVIOUS BLOG POST -- GO BACK AND READ IT.  I WILL QUICKLY REFER TO IT AND IT JUST MAKES LIFE EASIER.****


Holy #*!@*% .  What did I just get myself into? Clearly it's my fault.  I have been talking all year about how I am going to do this tri AND I at the same time I didn't workout.  I decided that beer, playtime, and long evenings of reading or hanging out with my husband would be better instead.  But after I take accountability for those choices I am going to blame Shelby.  On Tuesday at work she told me to stop being a pussy and live life.  Boom.  Challenge accepted.


So this morning I decided I should probably at least try swimming again.  The Lifetime pool doesn't open until 5am so I did 2 miles on the treadmill before my swim.  Fuck.  Yup.  It was insanely rough.  Swimming was a joke.  The miles were hard with lots of sweating and very slow and then when I got into the pool I was still not even close to recovered from my run AND it had been over 10 minutes!!  If the struggle bus passed by I would of jumped on it to at least give me a little boost in life.


Yesterday I was excited & and little worried.  Today -- I am terrified.  Yikes....clearly...this story will be continued. 


1. Family reading time
Yesterday evening we decided to try out family reading time.  We all grabbed books and sat in Cameron and Owen's room and tried to read silently for awhile.  Jack went from book to book and on and off Owen's bed but the rest of us had some quality reading time.  I hope we can incorporate this into our daily routine.  It was pretty wonderful.


2. 45 minute drive home
It only took 45 minutes to drive and grab Jack from daycare and get home after work yesterday.  With all of the tornados in central Indiana (including right next to the hospital) I was pleasantly surprised how quickly I made it back.  As a side note -- I love working at CHE and with my coworkers.  

We made it to the "safe place" late and we were shocked how many people were down in the basement.
#eyebagsfordays. #damn

3. Play dates
Yesterday after dinner we all played.  Usually the adults are trying to get dishes completed, take baths or just "get through the hour."  Last night we just got on the floor and played. 

4. "Proud to be your son"

I frequently tell the boys that I am proud to be their mom and usually one of them replies, "I am proud to be your son."  These moments are frequent and always warm my heart.  I am truly proud to be their mom. 

5. all of the words

Jack is talking more and more every day.  I love this sweet little crazy one.  For sure he is the craziest of all three boys. Not only that but I am sure his #1 wish would that the three of them could be triplets.  When I pick him up from daycare and we head down the hallway after our many "good-byes" he immediately asks for Cameron and Owen.  I don't know what I will do when I have another full blown talker on my hands. 



August 24th

1. Bucket List Goals

I put the hefty goal of an 70.3 Ironman on my bucket list but for as long as I can remember competing in a triathlon has been on my goal list.  Once I quickly realized that 70.3 training was too much with a full time job and 3 young boys I decided to do the GoGirl.  Well here we are at the end of the summer.... I have swam ONE time and every few weeks I lace up my shoes for a run.  I have been on my bike a handful of times over the past few months but those excursions are few are far between. 

That is the background to today -- this morning I signed up for the sprint tri.  I am actually pretty excited to try something new.  I know that I won't die BUT my ass will get kicked hard.  I am borrowing a trisuit from Mer and Saturday Heidi will hopefully show me the ropes. 

Oh -- I did finally work out yesterday.  I. am. so. sore.

What did I get myself into.

2. Soccer has started

Last night Owen had his first soccer practice. Cameron decided not to play this year so I was interested to see how it would all go down.  Immediately when we got there Cameron wanted to play soccer on the field before practice started.  Once the rest of the team was there Cameron worked hard to keep himself busy BUT he constantly tried to talk with Owen.  He encouraged him, updated him when he went to the bathroom, and overall just wanted to check in with his brother to make sure everything was going smoothly.  Jack obviously wanted to play the entire time. 

One of my favorite parts of practice is the time (besides watching Owen thrive) -- it starts at 530.  This means that we are able to eat a quick dinner, get home to shower and have a snack but still make it to bed at 730.  Yay!



This was last night after soccer practice right before bed.  Everyone was clean with fully bellies and exhausted.

3. Back to school night
On Monday Mike and I headed to Forest Glen to hear about what would be going down for the hours that the boys were in school.  I think my favorite take away was that they will only have English for 40 minutes a day.  That makes me happy.  This school is inspiring. I think know that we will struggle at times with the rigorous and challenging work, I am certain that being bilingual is worth all of the struggle. 


ALSO -- we went out for a quick bite to eat before heading back home.  Obviously -- it was great to be together.


4. My parents
Holy moly do these two help us so much with the kids.  We are so lucky that they are retired and love to be around their grandbabies.  Last night when we were walking out of soccer Cameron even said, "Grandma is the best girl that I know."   He's right -- my parents are pretty amazing.


5. Sara
While I am on the topic of people helping us with the littles -- I can't forget Sara.  Basically she is the only one we call to sit (besides the grandparents).  She helps get the boys off the bus a few days a week and we can usually call her last minute if we want a quick night out.  She is reliable and pretty freaking wonderful. 

Backwards.

I have been slacking on my posts lately so I decided to sit down and finally catch up.  Instead of doing 5 things that make me happy I decided to just add captions to my pictures.  

Our fort is almost complete!!  Just a few minor details left.  Mike is the absolute best.

Jack is obsessed with swinging.  He was in heaven last night!

This thing is absolutely massive and TONS of fun.

Jack loves to play in mud puddles.  He actively searches them out and has a ball.  

Clearly the boys love to be together.  This was one of the many baths that Jack took this weekend.  The boys just wanted to be with him so they stuck their feet in while he played.  

My personal chef.  On Saturday night we threw together a full blow meal -- Mike made some amazing tilapia and obviously SBJ wanted to be involved.

The Stahly family came over for a play date on Saturday and as Reid walked in the door Nash jumped up to greet him and we had a mishap.  It was stressful and embarrassing.  Lucky for me that we sent this picture to Kara and by Sunday his lip was already scabbing over.  The kids had a GREAT time playing together.  Looking forward to many more play dates.  

Saturday morning selfies.  It has been pouring ran the last few weekends so we are doing a lot of nothing and it has been wonderful.  

We were wrestling, tickling, and just playing around on the floor so I decided to take a selfie.  I LOVE how we were able to snap this picture of Jack because though he was in mid tackle he got into the shot and smiled.  This boys are the best. 

Please -- holy hell -- the eye wrinkles.
Mike and I decided to have a last minute date last Thursday night.  He has had an insanely busy week at work and I have been insanely bored.  We found ourselves at the patio bar at Harry & Izzys.  It was wonderful.  

He is drawing on Moo because I asked him to not draw on him.  

He is obsessed with Pa.  Obsessed.  

I am sure our water bill is skyrocketing.  

We finally started slumber parties again.  All of the Rouzer/McGuire group were fast asleep while Maggie and Henry played through the night.  

Jack was really upset that I could not cut his toenails.  I had finished with all 10 toes and he didn't want me to pretend ... he actually wanted me to cut his nails again.  

here you go Mike....

1. Mornings at the bus stop

I know that this made the list last year because spending these few extra minutes just talking and playing with the boys makes my soul feel happy.  It is a great way to start the morning.  The past few days it has been hot and muggy BUT we still have a great time walking goofing off.  

2. Daycare is working out great
The first few days this week were rough at daycare.  ROUGH.  I decided to bring the girls some Starbucks, Jack brought Moo and I think that we finally found a sweet spot.  Ever since that day -- he has been doing great.  He still protests when I drop him off but it is short lived and he quits before I even reach the front door. 

I have never had a Frappuccino but I will admit that they looked heavenly.  

 3. Food goals
Right now I don't have many goals -- and those that I have rarely get met.  BUT I do have food goals. For the past two weeks we have planned out meals and stuck to our grocery list.  We haven't made repeated trips to the grocery, we don't have any wasted food and it is easy to prepare dinner at night.  **I think- I think it's easy to prepare dinner at night but I am not 100% sure because Mike prepares dinner at night**


Last night when I came home from work he said, "How does it feel to be a man?"  I questioned him further and he said, "Well every night when you come home from work you sit down on the couch and dinner is already prepared for you. And tonight you opened a beer. You are like a man." It made me laugh out loud but then I quickly stood up and offered to help. There was nothing for me to do.  He had it all done.  He is the best.

 4. Gymnastics
At the last minute I was able to get both boys into gymnastics this week.  Cameron does not want to do soccer so he is trying out gymnastics and of course Owen wants to try EVERYTHING so he started too!  I was trying to wait to see what night Owen had soccer practice but I soon found out that all gyms started this week.  I made a call at 1pm and they were in class at 4.  They both loved class.  Per usual, Owen is thriving and wanted to show off his skills all evening.  Grateful that they both had fun and are stoked.

5. The crazy kind of wonderful
Man oh man did this kid figure out that he had a voice.  The loud type of voice that screams, persists and wants what he wants.  The saving grace right now is that he is absolutely obsessed with his brothers.  Obsessed.  They usually keep him at bay and try to keep lego man heads out of his mouth.  He started to love baths again and cries at the bathroom door so that he can go in.  He wants to be 12.  He wears us out and also makes our whole, entire family incredible happy.  He is the crazy kind of wonderful.

6. Dairy Queen type of night

We were done with dinner by 530 last night and to be honest I had no interest playing outside in the heat and coming face to face with all of my weed beds.  We decided to pack the boys in the car and head to Dairy Queen.  It was amazing.  Surprisingly Owen didn't finish his cone but the rest of us MEALED.  

sharp knives

Holy *#@!K did I over book myself this past weekend.  Overall the week went well last week but with Rouzer Cleaning Services expanding at rapid paces it left us scrambling to keep up on sleep.  I even had to cancel Sunday evening plans. It has been NUTS.  

1. Saturday in Columbus

We had another whirlwind weekend on the road in Columbus for Brian and Lauren's baby shower.  Going to a shower is not fun for most adults and I will say that our kids did GREAT.  I was extremely impressed and didn't have any issues with them at all.  Jack was usually in the arms of grandma and grandpa but of course he loved flirting with all of the guests.  I am glad I got to see Brian and Lauren one more time before the baby comes. We have seen them 3 times since May -- this has to be a record.

2. Rob & Judy's
After the baby shower in Columbus we headed over to enjoy the evening with the Jarretts.  Their house is filled with adventure and we took advantage of the few hours that we were there.  Being out in the middle of nowhere brings a calm and peacefulness that I wish always filled our lives. Living out there would be Mike's dream.  On the other hand I HATE yard work and think it's a waste of time (I will have to post a picture of my weed beds sometime) and I would prefer to live in a condo.

3. Martini's at Melissa's
On Friday evening I left work early so I could spend 45 minutes at home before heading over for drinks at Melissa's condo.  She lives smack dab in the middle of Mass Ave and she just upgraded her kitchen.  It was beautiful.  As always, spending time with the women in our family is fabulous.  We talked about good books, good food and of course we talked about men.  We enjoyed lemon basil martinis and cucumber mint maritins --- so so so good.  Grateful that we have worked to keep this tradition going.

4. Getting caught up/Owen in the kitchen
On Sunday I was finally able to catch up on life.  I was SUPPOSED to head to Amy's house for a girlfriend get together but life got in the way.  Mike had to work for a new client and I couldn't bear putting my kids back in the car for another 45 minute drive.  Instead I busted out laundry, worked on dishes, and eventually sat and played with my kids.  I also took the time to work with Owen in the kitchen.  He loves cooking so we finally had time to learn chopping!

When we first started Owen said that he was shaking he was so nervous.  I couldn't tell but I had him cut and cut until he felt comfortable AND until I felt comfortable --- it's a super sharp knife!  I am going to try and have him do a meal with me once a week.  When I told him about my goal he asked if he could make dinner 5 times a week -- he is my ambitious one!

5. A good start to the week
I went to bed at 7pm last night.  That is not a typo.  I actually fell asleep reading my book which is rare and then didn't wake up until my alarm went off at 4am. I finally made it back to the gym and had a solid run this morning.  If I plan on doing the tri in a few weekends I think that working out would be beneficial to my performance and helping me to not die.

Mike has been insanely busy and stressed with work.  He took the day today to hopefully get caught up on some paper work.  He could do office work for hours and hours and hours.  My hope is that by the end of his day to day he will finally feel that things are slowly getting done as well.

No time to post.

1. 35 minutes

This year the boys were picked up AND dropped off on the first day of school.  This is major improvements from last year when neither happened.  

It was a strange morning yesterday since Mike had to leave for work at 615.  I had only had about 3 hours of sleep that night (thanks to Jack) and Mike had put in a 12 hour day the day before.  Needless to say...we started the first day of school exhausted.  

The boys on the other hand were excited and ready.  After slowly rolling out of bed and choosing their own clothes (with assistance) we had a successful morning. Transportation asks you to get to the stop 15 minutes early so we had time to take pictures, play, and eventually wonder when the bus was coming.  When it finally pulled around the corner about 20 minutes after scheduled the boys were elated.  They were so excited to see their friends and all of the kids were staring out the windows looking back with the same huge grins on their faces.  

Jack was walking backward into their picture saying, "cheeeeeseeeeee"

 2. 8pm bed time
That's what time I went to bed last night.  I am not going to lie -- I feel amazing this morning.  I wish I had time for a morning workout but that will just have to start next Monday. :/  For now I am going to take this energy and conquer.



3. Bath time
Jack has loved water all summer but HATED baths.  He saw his brothers taking showers on Wednesday night and somehow I got him into the bath.  He still freaked out at first and was not happy at all but then he bent down (while still screaming) and picked up a toy.  Eventually he stopped crying and then within a few minutes he sat down.  He had no interest in getting out of the tub but eventually the water turned cold and I pulled his wrinkly butt out.  Let's hope this wasn't a fluke and that he starts taking baths again!

Tuesday. Twins. Tacos.

1.  The twins are home

I can't put this onto my list enough.  I can't put into words how much my soul eases when all three boys are home.  Cameron and Owen are obsessed with Jack and he is obsessed with them.  He essentially calls them both Owen and he just follows them wherever they go.  

2. Fresh Cuts
Jack is not free from my tradition (NOT on purpose) of terrible haircuts for my kids.  I already miss running my fingers through his sweet curls when I rock him at night.

He was super easy and just sat on my lap skeptical of the whole event.  I am sure all of the salon patrons wanted to shoot me though since I brought 3 crazy boys in at once.   I have no doubt that I looked like a total shit show BUT it all go completed quickly and now all three boys have fresh cuts before the school year starts.

 3. No more bottles
Man oh man this was long over due.  So here is the deal...kids are supposed to be done with bottles at 12 months.  Clearly I had a much harder time prying these lifesavers from Jack's hands.  What made me finally just pull the plug and put myself through lots more tantrums and harder bedtimes ---- Dr. Agarwala. They took Niam's bottles away and though I new Shelby & Ezra were light years ahead of us -- if Dr. Agarwala did it -- we needed to suck it up and do it too.  I think that last week was our first full week without our bottles... (except we forgot to tell grandpa who ended up giving him 2 bottles that day for nap!!)

Anyways -- getting rid of the bottles was sort of a big deal and hard for me this time around.  I needed to document that it is finally over.

This is Jack at 5 am (yes you read that correctly).  He wouldn't go back to bed.  I bet a bottle would of helped.  I tried rocking him for 45 minutes but finally put him in front of Mickey while I made myself a cup (or 2) of coffee.

4. Back to school night
We all headed to Forest Glen tonight to meet the new teachers for first grade.  More than once Mike and I have commented back and forth that Owen is due for the best teacher available.  If I had to compare the two right now I think he is in the lead.  I am super excited for both boys and I love knowing kids and parents in each class.  Oh -- and the boys already have projects to complete for homework.

5. Rouzer and Rouzer Cleaning Services
Mike has been working his ass off and the company is continuing to take off.  It is scary and overwhelming because at times we have no clue what we are doing....but also really freaking fabulous.  He is a beast.  **The good kind**

oh my goodness I love this sweet picture.  He climbed up next to daddy so he could  enjoy some bites of cereal. 

The twins had their dentist appointment this evening and both of them passed with flying colors and no cavities. They are really pretty easy to take places like this and they always make me a proud mom.