Scherer & Sons

Our girlfriends

or girls that are friends....at least thats the way they mean it...and it means just that for everyone except for maybe Heidi...(ewwwww BOYfriend!! :)) No not really she is just about the most accepting darling little girl I have met...
Sorry Heidi...I caught you with a mouthful of doughnut..she's a bit camera shy like her mama...although I have no idea why...look at this beauty..
Holy cow...isn't she gorgeous??...and Deacon of course is right by her...tell ya fellas he ain't no fool...Needless to say we had SUCH a good time....Ross went to the T'wolves game with Coop...I got to spend time with the girls...it was a wonderful mini-vacay up in the beautiful town of Charlotte...but just in case you aren't convinced that these are the most beautiful girls in a tri state area...check this out...
Holy Cow guys..even with a little schmutz on her mug she's the cutest thing going... ok still not convinced?

Mmmmhmmm...the two middles together...now realize that G and G are only a month apart...but Deacon and Gabbi..two peas in a pod...like action, fiercely independent, strong opinions...like order and not too fond of sudden change...oh yea...incredibly cute...

So we all piled up scout camp style and had a big ol' time...and it was so fun...yea Grady is wearing PJ's that are much more interesting tan the ones I brought for him...in fact speaking of interesting...in this neighborhood...full formals are required for lawn work...
No not really but wouldn't it be fun if everyone dressed up to mow their yard??
Tuxes and ballgowns for Saturday mornings...that would be so surreal....

Here's what's not surreal..this cute thing...Emmi...words cannot describe the amount of cuteness..
Mmmmmhmmm...makes me wanna go through morning sickness all over again just looking at her..and she's teething a bit...so lots of chewing on her thumbs and what not....

Even slobber looks cute with her....

The kids are so funny...they are so much alike even though they are opposite genders...and the ages are a little skewed...they are so much alike it's really quite funny...
Quirky firsts...fierce seconds...and mellow thirds...makes ya wonder if you are doing it as a parent or if they just settle them selves that way...it's a wonder...not for them though...it is what it is..right D?
Riiiiiiight...and now for a moment of cuteness....
Yup....it was time...Not to mention the fact that Grady and Emmi were a little under the weather...told you they're synced...you can always tell with G man...face gets a little swollen...
Then it seems like we had to go..so soon...not really ready to stop hanging out...trying to figure out a way to have a compound somewhere between Charlotte and Charleston where we can have houses that back up to one another...leaving wasn't the funnest part eh Coop?

Nope..not really...but we'll be back...Emmi wasn't into being hugged...she's now crawling and on the move...you can sympathize D...you've never sat still a moment in your life...'cept when you are asleep ...or very ill
BUt that's OK..we'll be back soon and with this group....even the goodbyes are super cute!!

peek-a-boo

Here are some pictures that I took at the Lowcountry Invitational which was a band competition that included our marching Patriots.

We just have a few hours (13.5)before we close and I am totally antsy....

So I am posting these in an effort to burn some energy until I go to bed with a small bit of chemical assistance...(because I would be sitting straight up in bed all night without it)...

I love that Coop is a BIG poser...I mean not like a faker but he gets in the whole "stance" whatever it is...and makes the correct face..and generally will try what ever it is I ask him to do..unless I am asking him to act normally and smile gently..then..it's like I shoved him nearly naked in front of a crowd of second grade girls..total lock-up. This is his second favorite pose...the Statue of Liberty.
Dear God in Heaven..can a child get any cuter?? Hard to imagine...this one is so charming he has several full time girlfriends..(one at T-ball, two at High School, few at daycare..) he makes even a sassy mouth and thermonuclear meltdowns adorable...even comic...and if you're thinking about being his girlfriend...get in line..there's a waiting list available...
And this one...even when he's hurling himself headlong off of a couch or headbutting his brother..there's so many O's in his smooth that a crash and burn is still irresistible...This one too has lots of admirers...he much more selective though..and his technique for charm is truly different..so if you don't mind a few physical take-downs...or suckers in your hair...this is your little guy..watch it though he's admittedly fickle...

All I have to say is..I'm a lucky girl.

Steeeeeee-rike

So we have started T ball a few weeks ago...I haven't been good about shooting pictures to Facebook for my mom who mournfully reminds me every chance she gets of how I NEVER give her any pictures..and how she bought a thumb drive just for pictures...and the reason is that my phone has been filled up with my new crush...this 2700 square foot mammoth of a hunk ...that has filled up my camera memory...

But...there's my mom....and Grandma Nancy and Big Grandmudder..and others (Unka Gregg) that remind me to go back to my first love..this blog and put the pictures here...too..besides you guys get all the good stories

So we went to our game that was preceded by ball pictures..in the rain.

The good news is that we got him in the full regalia..(the pants were itchy before)...

and the best news is that he LOOVES it..we were reticent at first...but once we got all of the NEW stuff...all the THESE PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT ME stuff....the HOLY CRAP I AM NOOOOT WEARING THAT HELMET stuff...and the IS THAT A GIRL ON THE OTHER TEAM?!?! stuff....

he has a good time...honest...

and this game we were having so much fun...because we got put on the pitchers mound...useless as tits on a boar hog in a game of T-ball but it is where most of the balls get hit...

and uh...we've totally got the Tiger Woods fist pump down when we get a ball ...or see a ladybug first...

Even if we're waiting to get the ball....or in the outfield..we can wing it..

He may have Pete Rose's nose for numbers though..as he hold up two little fingers and says "I'm number three".

and he'll tell you he caught ONE HUNDRED balls at this game..well considering that there were only ten players..maybe not a hundred..but close..he also will tell you he hits a mean one too...and he's right...they keep telling him to choke up on the bat...he likes to go low and do a Babe Ruth..

Then he winds those little legs up and ruuuuuuuns...

He gets so proud of himself..and he really tries so hard..I love it...better even than soccer which we tried in the 105 degree heat in July in Texas..for a zero sum game...but this we've been successful so far...

Even when we get bored on the first base line...

And decide that maybe a change of look is in order..

I mean after all when you're fly like he...you gotta look the part...get your swag on...

And say "Wassup?"...Watch out A-Rod....you may be squattin in minors yo!...in about ehh...17 years or so..

Can I have this Dance? Bill Dance that is...

Well After Grady's birthday we got to meet Yaya's friend Michael. He's from Heber Springs, Arkansas. Way out in the country.

Michael is a big time outdoorsman. Fishin' and huntin' and three wheelin' are all at the top of his "like to do best" list.

Now we had bought a couple of fishin' poles  for Deacon's birthday at his request. But we had stuck to the little red fish that comes tied to the line. Ya know the little plastic one? And that only holds a little boy's attention for so long...I mean ya know how many of those dang red fish are in that pond?

But Michael (Arkansian pronunciation sounds like "Mack-el")...had picked up two more poles for the boys..and REAL LIVE HOOKS! Why capital letters?...because I am mixing my three little boys and hooks...and that's the way it showed up in my mind..REAL LIVE HOOKS...and I know mom was on the same wavelength as evidenced by the whites of her eyes you could see all the way around her iris...

But Michael and Ross seemed confident that they could do it..(perhaps complete ignorance of the potential..and in Mackel's case...not having been around little boy children..much less little Scherer boy children)...well ignorance in this case...was bliss.

I cannot tell you what a great time these guys had...

Deacon had one on the hook first of course.. 

And once they realized that there was fish in that there pond..it was on...

Yee haw!! Coop was next..

Little practice...he brought on in himself...

He did ask "Mom if it's not going to make it can I have its skeleton?" Macabre..but hey thus is the life of a paleontologist.

And yes even the little feller got in on the act...with a little help from Daddy..

Bingo flamingo..lookeee here lookee here...

Deacon got the biggest one of the day..

I think they needed grin-ectomies...there were some hairy moments mind you.

After this... we cast or there was a ten foot rule... but as long as we kept the bologna coming...

They were quite content to fish and be there...it was a really really good day...If the quiet that was heard at the adult dinner table was any indication...the boys weren't the only ones that slept really good this night...

Swamp Things

Ok so one of the field trips that I have been wanting to go on with the boys is the Francis Biedler Cypress forest ...it's about a half hour or so drive north of here...

And honestly..it's like in the middle of a bunch of rural country homes..and their small acreages (less than a hundred) and farms and horses...then BLAMMO...you take a hard right then..scoot down a trail...an it looks like this... 

Which naturally I start making ghost noises and singing the Jaws theme...because ya know that's the kind of crap I do...and the kids are vacillating between laughing, asking questions and screaming at the top of their lungs...

And it's like a little wooden house on the edge of woods..with a bunch of cool stuff they can touch...and in the back...well that's the cool part.. 

Yep it's 1.75 miles of boardwalk straight into the swamp....and ya'll it's so cool.  

The boardwalk is over the ground by about three feet. And it's quite a bit cooler in the swamp...and no it's not buggy....ok ok it's got bugs..but not mosquitoes..the swamp has moving water..which mosquitoes don't use to lay their eggs...so it's got lot;s of dragonflys and other winged types..and a cubic buttload of spiders and ants..but not so much mosquitoes...in any case...we had a guide..

He totally wanted to guide us here..which he was great at...better if we could understand half of what he was saying..but really enthusiastic nonetheless...

I couldn't help myself..this may get really boring for ou but...I love the swamp...it's actually quiet...there are birds..but they're alone...single voices in the realtive silence..like a woodpecker or a whippoorwill... the colors are amazing...the greens and other colors seems so much more bright against the neutral background and the neutrals are so rich...pretty soon you find yourself whispering...

Anyway it just holds a mystery...and surprises are always around the corner...

or hanging from a web..

or suspended from the handrail...this guy was very strange...and insect..(6 legs)..but a strange little head and abdomen... but that's part of whats lovely in the swamp..you should expect the unexpected...

Then I gave Deacon the camera...little shit has a great eye...and he's fairly proficient..have to take it off the continuous setting though or you'll have 16 shots of one clump of dirt..

or the moss (which by the way ...great colors I think)

or brothers feet..

and sometimes the little funny...like you forget what eye level they're at...so stuff looks differently to them...

and I got a painful reminder of why this isn't always a great idea in terms of myself as an actual subject..cause this is what he got of me...

Greeeeeeaaat.......

And then of course Grady has to have his turn...first check the guide book...

Yup we're lost in the swamp with gators...so now what Grady?

You have to realize that his eye is not as refined as his older brother's yet...

so leaves...actually this is Deacon's I recognize the flips and toes...

They also took so many of the knees I made a bit of a montage..okok it's only two but you get the idea...

How you doin Coop?

Good? Good great...whatcha see?

A woodpecker in a fallen tree in a swamp??? Un-BEEEE leeeee vable...How bout you Grady?

Are ya keeping up?? Can you move along a little faster?

Come on Grady...I think I see gators!!   see 'em? 

Ok it's just a turtle!!..sorry...well we'll keep walking....WHAT''s that!!

It's a lizard!! K'....be nice everyone..remember he's scared....very pretty with the blue and brown...

Aww nice D... 

K' Let's move on before he drops his tail or something...

Look at those cool trees...the colors are cool...and they are very old...the knees is how they breathe and stay rooted..very functional..kind of like our knees...look at that one!

it looks like a wave...fantastic...and that one..big enough to climb in...

Uber cool....watch the spiders...just kidding...How you doin Grady?

You done big guy? Ok fellers that's enough mystery for today...

But betcher bottom dollar we'll be back....

Can ya hear me now?

Ok so today Deacon and I went "don-town" as he says for a couple of tests. I took it as an opportunity no only to definitively get answers but also a chance to spend a day with my "little middle". A chance to bond and build a relationship. He doesn't get the chance to get one of us all to his self.
Here's the conversation that we had sitting in Cracker Barrel having a sundae later.
Me: "So did you hear sounds coming out of the headphones?"
Deacon: "Yes"
Me: "weeeellll what kind of sound was it a chirp? or a siren? or music?"
Deacon: "no"
(He's a loquacious little turd isn't he?..gonna make me pry it outta him)
Me: "weeeeellll was it a beep?"
Deacon: "a beep"
Me: " A beep really high...like Biiiiiiiiiiiip ...or low like Boooooooop?"
Deacon: (giggling) "nooooo...like beep"
Me: "A long one like beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep"
Deacon: (giggling harder).."No reg-lur..like beeeeep."
Me: Oh...
Deacon: "I like the hea-phones........and....throwing the blocks"
Me: "Yea...it looked fun"...
So we went...and I had a suspicion that they had messed up the appointment. By the third return phone call...I had an idea that the lady may not know what the crap was going on...so when I showed up downtown for an appointment that she had made for Summerville...for an appointment that is to have a screening not follow up for a screening that we haven't done yet...I was amazingly calm..(See what working around 125 teenagers five days a week will do for you?)..
And they got us in...and the audiologist..the supervisor...was awesome...firm, fast moving, purposeful..friendly ..for thirty minutes she put headphones on and screened..it was obvious that she was testing for the things that I had concerns about....things that I had been seeing..took about 30-40 minutes and I felt really good about it...
He still had water behind his eardrums...even after the medicine...but they tested around his middle ear and found out that bypassing the middle ear he hears fine....no hardware problems...just hearing through water makes him speak like he heard the word through water..
And his hearing is in the low range of normal ...his left hear is a bit worse than that at a couple of frequencies (Ross would call them "freaks")...in the higher range of impaired....
So that's why his words sound mushy and roundy. (Yes that is a technical description of it)...
So resolution...we wait..if he gets another infection or the water doesn't disappear in 8 weeks then we consider tubes...and then his ability should bump up...
In the meantime we screen for speech and try to hit this knot from both sides of the tangle...it resolved...
In other news...I have a gabazillion pictures from our great Spring Break but haven't had time to put them together...but I'll take some time this weekend to put them up...
So that's the 4-1-1.
Ya hear me? What??

Frank Patrick

WOW...I am so far behind. It's been over three weeks since I posted...I think the only other length of time that long was after Ross got home...and there were screams of protest from friends and family alike (which secretly I was happy because it means "You like me" >sniff< "You really like me!)...
But I digress...
So what's been shakin' in the South Cakalacky Scherer Diggs?
Lots. Of Course.
When we finished the circus Yaya had to run back home again (jiggity jig)...so Life moved forward. Ross' days off changed to the weekend (sortof)..so it's been nice having him Saturday night though Monday evenings.
and...he's applying to colleges....but more on that later.
I've finished the last few requirements for my first year induction (like probationary..ya know ...every job has one)...so that's been stressful ..and glad thats over.
The boys are really doing well in school..just a few typical boy bumps...and the staff there call them "TIc, Tac and Toe"... I can't imagine why....
We go to the beach quite a bit... Which is lovely...as much as I was a little hesitant about moving to Charleston...this part of it has more than made up for alot of my fear. We are also local members of the Coconut Joe's place on the beach..their burgers rock..(and they serve Palmetto Pale Ale)...So we like to take pictures there...Deacon eats lemons...not afraid of flavor that one... We got Grady to try it.. Yea not so much...he says "Too Spicer momma" We had St. Patrick's Day...Which Coop called "Frank Partick's Day" (love that)...
We go check on Yaya's place....which we like to play Queen's "We will Rock You" followed by "We are the Champions"...Which Deacon sings.."Weeeee are the Chickens..my friends" (high-larious)
Deacon is heavy into the stage where he finds it impossible to see a camera and not make a ridiculous face...
As evidenced here....
And here...
Gotta love him...I have absolutely no. idea. of where he got it from.
And we find lots of treasure...lots and lots of treasure...Coop has become sort of an expert on imitating Jack Sparrow..we've fixed his hat...he wears beads and wraps on his hands and he affects the walk...ya'll it's hilarious...especially whe we get in the car...and Coop pipes up with "We have our heading." and 'Why is the rum always gone??"......But let me tell ya the questions have gotten harder....how do you explain stem cells to a five year old? and DNA?...keep it simple..
Ross went and picked up some coins and the local beach shop and he would drop them then kick sand over them..."discovering them" for Coop to dig up...Coop was sure there was a destroyed pirate ship..we told him that the ship only three Pieces of Eight (if you're lost you'd have to see the movie)..he asked "How do you know?" I replied.."Uh...Email of course"...totally took that...thank goodness for technology...
We also talked baout how he has half mommy's genes and half daddy's genes...in the DNA (the magic molecule)...he looked at me for a long time and pointed to his legs and said..."well..this half is daddy's" and "this half" (the other leg) is mommy's"...ahhhhh the literal youth. Needless to say it was funny....
Speaking of funny....

Deacon has decided that everyone has his middle name...I mean ya know that when your mom calls your middle name you are in deep kaka....Deacon hears his fairly frequently...so now when he gets upset as his brothers its "COOOPER WAAALLACE!!!" or "GRADY! WAAAALLLLACE"...
I wonder if Wally knows his name is taken in vain so frequently..
Speaking of frequently...we dig...alot..here's the boys with the tools to excavate some minerals and jewels from ablock of plaster of paris that Smithsonian puts its name on and charges you 8 bucks for...
Notice Deacon in the back...yup..my little goober...

So ..that's fun..Coop will wear his digging goggles to bed...
Grady wears his flip flops to bed...
 And Dad is just glad to be on the same 12 hour schedule as us...
And so am I...

Piggy Redo

Me: "Now you do it"
Deacon: (Pointing at his big toes) "This little piggy went to the store...and this little piggy went with him"..." This little piggy ate carrots...and this little piggy had cake"..." this little piggy went weeeee weeee weee...all da way home."
Me: "Carrots?"
Deacon: "Yup"
Me: "What store?"
Deacon: "Walmart"
Me: "Mmmmm ok."

And I was just looking through some old pictures (hunting something as usual)..and found this one...LOOOOOVED those curls...Grady looks so much older now.

Beyond me.

Honestly...I have done some pretty gross things in my life. Things that would make an average bear gag I have completed without one retch on more than one occasion.
Like the time my eldest had rotavirus and gave it to me...then as I changed his diaper..exploded in an arc of poop across the bed and the floor hitting the door a full three feet away....now THAT's explosive y'all.
Or the time that I was working at the hog farm and hadn't quite figured out how to work the powerwasher. We were required to clean a room that 21 sows and their 250 or so pigs had been in for about 3 weeks solid after they were moved. Well in the summer it's hoooooottttt. So I volunteered not having a CLUE about how to work the washer....when you get a jet of water going really good that hits a gi_NOR-mous pile of hog poo.....well lemme tell ya....shit smells worse than it tastes...
I got better at powerwashing very very quickly...
Also the last bubonic superstomach virus that hit the Scherers...momma was on clean up..
So I got a stomach that's pretty strong...
Having said that ..
boys are ...generally speaking..gross.
They fart, belch, scratch, poke, rub and generally do things ON PURPOSE that I would consider less than sanitary...no I'll go further...disgusting.
Now one of my boys who shall remain nameless.. Tried to put a booger in my mouth...
Yes you read that right... a booger. Freshly picked into my mouth.
The when I realized what was happening...
And he was giggling like a raving lunatic....snorting he was laughing so hard...
I was totally grossed out.
When I told the boys...they all laughed at me.
Hard.
Ross said it was the Pearcy side of the family not his.
I think I'll go powerwash my mouth.

Rebound..to rivalry.

So after the last two weeks of illnesses...the latter part of this week and weekend has been quite pleasant so far.
With every quart and a half of antibitotics at the pharmacy ...they give you a free hat.. Noooo not really...but at least they felt like putting them on... and flexing their muscles a bit...
speaking of which ...we have hit an all time high of sibling rivalry...seems like their huge vocabulary has been narrowed down to:
"MAAAAAAAAMAAAAAA he hit me"
"MAAAAAAAAMMMMMAAAAAA ___________took my _____________."
"MAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMAAAAAAAA_______________ won't let me______________.
"MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"
it wears me. out. so moments like this... are wonderful...and very very rare.
Most of the time I spend fielding requests or refereeing fights..alot alot alot of that...and a few shining moments of cuteness.. but mostly fighting...it seems that one CAN actually argue with another individual about EVERYTHING. I did not know that until now...and I am a pretty opinionated person.. so is he...
and even when their singing that alligator song or rockin to some Jimi Hendrix.. there are a lot of moments when their song seems to be "I fought the law...and the law won."