The Tough Times Make You Stronger: October 2015

We started off the month with some matching holiday jammie cuteness!

I love that I can hear their laughs :)

all fun and games until two silly laughing kids bonk their heads together!

October 2nd

Her "Have a Diet Coke with Whitney" water bottle. Her glasses on her desk. Her book open. Blankie on her eyes. When did my baby girl get big enough to read herself to sleep?

‪#‎MommyCanIReadJustAFewMoreMinutesPlease‬

October 3rd, my Clemson Tigers faced the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. I was nervous, but excited!

I don't know where this game will take us but I am incredibly proud to be a part of the Clemson family. The traditions. The excitement. The pride.

And I am only a little bit sorry that my kids have asked me, "Mommy! Do you HAVE to scream at the game???" Soon, they, too, will understand the excitement and fear and faith it takes to be a Clemson football fan.

And. I have the best friends who will sit on my couches and watch my Tigers run down the Hill, listen to me scream (and wake their babies 😁), and feel my excitement.
(Well ignore the fact that Jonah O. thinks his Fighting Irish are gonna win tonight.)

Go Tigers! Can't wait to be there on Friday!

We started our morning of the big game day at the Magic Kingdom. Where we intended to just go ride Buzz Lightyear and the tea cups and then head home. But Grady had a rough day and we were "that family", rushing our screaming preschooler to the park exit in a mad dash to get him some rest/food/sanity.

That night we watched the game with our besties, in full team spirit mode!

My Tigers won, and we were even MORE excited to get to Clemson that weekend :)

We left in the evening so the kids would sleep most of the way there. Success!!

We arrived at my friend Melanie's dad's lake house around 1am, and were excited to get up and explore campus with Devon, Dave, and the kids the next morning!

Whitney and Ethan

Hannah and Grady

We couldnt have asked for better weather that Friday! It was gorgeous! Unfortunately, the next day's forecast was grim....

The whole crew at Death Valley!

We headed to do some shopping and get some lunch at Tiger Town Tavern :)

Gas for $1.81. My favorite grocery store on the planet. Tillman. Bowman being prepped for next week's Homecoming. Leaves juuuuuust starting to change. TTT. A house on the lake with friends. A Clemson train. Headphones in an attempt to keep G from going deaf tomorrow. And a ridiculous amount of perfect Clemson gear for Team Bass. Plans to meet with friends tomorrow. Tail gate gear ready. Happy Kat.

The next weekend was homecoming, so it was fun to see the preparations underway!

And my favorite grocery store on the planet :)

Grady got a Clemson train :)

The week before, when the Tigers beat Notre Dame, our illustrious coach, Dabo Swinney coined the phrase, "Bring your own guts!" B.Y.O.G.! We got the last few shirts before they sold out in town :)

And of course, if there is a shirt with a bass and my Tigers, I MUST own it :)

Great weather, fun friends, and fantastic football!

I found us a PERFECT tailgating spot near the stadium. On concrete, with access to bathrooms, enough room for a tent, and no mud to deal with in the rain with kids. SCORE!

We packed enough snacks and drinks to last a week, and we prepared the kids for rain as best we could. And these kids were CHAMPS!

10/10/15

When I was a student going to Clemson football games, I often saw little Tiger fans headed into the stadium in their Clemson cheerleading outfits and Clemson jerseys. I wondered if I would have my own Tiger cubs to dress up for games someday. Well today is the day!! Happy tears.
The rain can't bring me down today!!

Dave rigged our tent since it had a rip in it, and the kids hung out in the car with movies and all was well!

Grady watching the Tigers run down the Hill!

My favorites! Cold, rain, they were the BEST!

My girl was so happy that I was happy :) She is so sweet. She saw the Clemson cheerleaders and immediately gasped, "Oh, Mommy! Those are cheerleaders like Natalia!"

And she fell asleep in her popcorn bucket :)

Eric is feeding Grady peanuts in his poncho "tent" we constructed. And Whitney fell asleep in her popcorn. Literally.

I'll be accepting my "Mother of the Year" award at half time y'all.

And Grady is under this purple "tent". Playing with an iphone. And just generally being awesome. The entire game!

LOVE these sweet boys :)

After the game, warming up in the church :)

The next day, we hit up my favorite deli in Clemson, the Pot Belly Deli :)

These two cuties could not have been better behaved. They were soooo awesome! When someone turns to their own children and says, "Why cant you guys act more like Whitney and Grady!? See how well behaved they are?!?"...you know you must be doing something right :)

After a day like this on the tennis court:

It is fun to have days like this:

Grady rides his hot wheels:

October 8th, Grady Days of the Week

And remember how loooong Whitney's hair had grown??

She asked to have it cut "so my curls will come back!"

That was as short as I could do it. I love long hair on little girls :)

She was SO happy and instantly looked older!

October was when the common core math issues started hitting Team Bass. Seriously. WTHeck!?

And this guy continues to blow us away week after week!

October 17th, Grady Months of the Year

October 22nd, Grady knows Moses

October 22nd, Grady Fruit of the Spirit....Pixie Dust

October 13th

In all the math tears and turmoil this evening, I attempted to explain to Whitney that she not "bad" at math. She is just "new" to math. I reminded her how hard she thought roller skating was, until she worked for it. How impossible riding her bike seemed until she practiced. And now she's a great roller skating and a smooth bike rider. I also tried to play up the fact that she's a great reader. I told her how "I attended a training today so I can help tutor kids in reading."
"Wait. Mommy. You're a tutor?"
"Yeah, it's kinda like a teacher but I only work on one subject with the student."
"Wait. Like.....you....TOOT?? (Whispering) Like? You...fart???"

Oh my. Tutor. Not tooter.
And I'm thankful for the giggles that softened the mood and helped us forget about ten frames and doubles plus one and common core.

You know it's gonna be a great day when both kids are belly-laughing on the way to school, and Grady says, "You are so funny, Whitney!" 💗💙

Then, as Whitney hops out of the car, he calls, "Bye, Whitney! Have a good day at school!" And she blows him a kiss and says, "I hope you have a great day, too, Buddy!"
‪#‎HappyTears‬

If you come to our house in the next two weeks, please keep in mind that a very excited six-year-old decorated our home for Halloween this year. So. Yeah. Dish towels can totally accentuate pumpkins. She's pretty proud of her unique style.
☺🎃

$9 pirate costume at Aldi + $1 Spot swords from Mac and Gramps = the cutest and happiest pirate I've ever seen

‪#‎BuzzLightyearOrAPirateForHalloween‬ ‪#‎GameTimeDecision‬

Benny Boo Boo came over to see his girlfriend, Bow Peep :)

Tennis this morning. Magic Kingdom this afternoon. Clemson football tonight. Perfect weather. Excellent Saturday!

Buzz ride, Barnstormer, Teacups, carousel, Woody & Jessie, & Thunder Mountain front row. Successful, gorgeous Saturday!

Not a dog person, yall. Nope.

I dread sewing/appliqué-ing. Until I'm actually sitting here looking at an almost-finished product. Then. I miss sewing.

We were ready for an 80 degree Pumpkin Patch day!

I love traditions!

Ignore the giant mound of linens waiting to be donated to our church....focus on what's important here. My children. Both. Mesmerized by Back to the Future.

I'm rockin' this parenting gig, y'all.

She loves it. And stunned me when she realized, "But Mommy, if he goes back to the future, won't the Libyans still want to get him for stealing their plutonium?"
😳

This was around the time I started getting really suspicious about Whitney's first grade teacher. My smart, crazy-high IQ six year old should NOT be writing herself motivational notes about math.