The Great Debate

Today, in Missouri, is the August Primary election; did you vote?

I did and I proud to say that I did.

We had several issues on the ballot that I had to do some studying on, but I figured out the wording enough to know which way I wanted to vote on the issues at hand.

We had a couple of big county seats available and we will see if the old stays around or if its an "in with the new" kind of election.

Do you regularly vote? Are you even registered?

If not, I'd like to tell you why you should...

Its one of the freedoms that was fought for and won. And as women, we had to fight harder to win this freedom. It should be considered an honor.

You get the opportunity to make a difference on issues that mean something to you.

You help decide who runs your city/ county/ state/ country.

And lastly; your vote entitles you to an opinion on all of the above mentioned items. Your lack of voting (by blatant choice) gives you the right to keep those opinions to yourself.

Soapbox over.

Hope you all are enjoying your last days of summer before school starts back.

MommyShelle C

Noises

Children

They are cute, they are *always* hungry and they make LOTS of noise!

This summer has been filled with the following noises:
I'm hungry
I'm thirsty
I'm tired
I'm not tired
I need to go potty
Can I pee in the corner? (boys love to pee outside and they are supposed to 'hide' in the corner of the yard to do it)
I want to go outside
It's hot outside
There are bugs out here
He won't leave me alone
He won't let me sleep
He ate my _______
HE took my ________
He hit/bit/pinched/stepped on me
Is today my baseball practice/ game?
Can you rub my back?
Can you rub my eyes?
Can you tuck me in?
I didn't get a kiss and a hug

And so on...

Today, L started whining about his lack of snack having abilities (he had just finished breakfast 15 minutes before this) so I made a decision; I whined back at him. Every time he made a whining sound, I made one back at him. He DID NOT find this amusing! He got mad at me, but the whining stopped. Point made!!!

In other news:
I am slowly getting more of our boxes/stuff unpacked. I know we've lived here for almost 5 months, but I'm a procrastinator. I am also a bit of a pack rat collector of stuff. There might or might not be are some boxes in my garage that are still packed just like they were 5 years ago when we moved to our last house.
I'm not proud, but it's the truth. I am working on the problem, but as with any good 12 step program; admission is the 1st step.

Summer baseball/ T-ball is coming to an end. I am going to watch L's T-ball games tonight; it's the first time all summer I have been to one of his games. Typically I work on Monday nights, but I switched with Boss Man so I could get to at least one game since it's his first year playing. He has a double-header tonight, so it's a 2-for-1 deal. Next week is his last game. B has 2 games this week to make up for a couple of rain-outs and then his season is over as well.

I scored some good deals on some clothes for both boys the other day at the local Gap Outlet. I do LOVE that place. And its one of the few places I can find jeans for B. He is so skinny and long legged that its hard. Most jeans for children are boxy and when the adjustable waist is pulled in as far as he needs it pulled in, the jeans bunch in the butt and at the crotch. Not Gap jeans! They have a good shape to begin with, so no bunching. And to find a 7Slim, skinny cut - near to impossible! I found 2 on sale. Yay me!!!
So that means, back-to-school shopping has officially started. The boys are excited to get pick out their new school supplies and some new shoes.
And we got to find out who their teachers are for this year. We got a top-pick for B and L got a good one too. Hopefully we have a great year with both of the boys.

We had a great 4th of July. The boys stayed with J's parents for the night and we went out to dinner and fireworks with some friends. We did this last year as well. I think it needs to become out new annual summer tradition.

Last weekend, we had a good-bye BBQ for our friends that are moving to KY for his job. They leave in about 2 weeks and I get sad just thinking about it. So I try not too...
The kids had a blast playing in the sprinkler and on the slip-and-slide while all of adults enjoyed getting some time to just sit around a chat.

Well, I think pretty much catches up the last few weeks.
So until next time,
MommyShelle

Taking The Ordinary out of Extraordinary...

**Warning-this is my attempt at being Philosophical

Have you ever thought about...
Ordinary: to be regular, normal, run of the mill (my definition)
Extra: more, plus some, to be in excess of (again, my own definition)

Extraordinary: to most people and common acceptances of this word; it is said to be great, extravagant or super-duper.

Does that even make sense? To be more normal? To be in excess of regular-ness?

I for one want to take the ordinary out and start living more EXTRA!

For the last 10 months, I have been anticipating trying not to think about one of my dearest friends moving out of state (in 4 weeks). Her little family of 5 is moving 9 hours away to pursue an incredible new opportunity.
So...to make life with more EXTRA, we are cramming as much time together in this summer as possible. We have celebrated her birthday, I have kept her kids for a day, she is keeping ours a couple of times, we are having a good-bye BBQ (lots of kids, food and slip-n-slide fun) and we are planning a couple more girls night dinners and shopping days.
And to add to the EXTRA, her new geographical location will become a new, fun place to visit and vacation with the kiddos for spring breaks and summer weekends.

EXTRA: we had new family pictures taken and the pictures of the boys are incredible. I love our photographer and the job she does. Her country farm setting (and I ordered way too many pictures but I can't help it) is blending beautifully with my new and old decorating style I am trying out in the new house.
*The friend from above helped me plan my entire picture wall, Pinterest style, and once the pictures I ordered come in and the wall is complete, I will post some pictures on here.

EXTRA: J and I took a mini-vacation and couple of weeks ago and went out of town for a couple of nights. We didn't go far or do anything overly great, but we enjoyed a couple of nights with no kids. I did convince beg J to go zip-lining with me and he gave in, once. It was not the normal harness style, but more of a ski lift chair that took us up the hill backwards and then rushed us back to the starting point at somewhere around 43 MPH. It was a blast and I did another 2 times without J. Each ride only took about 50 seconds (I recorded it once on my phone, while clutching my iPhone with a death grip so I wouldn't drop it in the lake I was flying over).

EXTRA: J and I will also get one more kid free night this summer; July 4th. We are going with some friends of ours to a nice dinner at a resort in a near-by town and then staying to watch the spectacular fireworks display. Of course, there will be outlet shopping before dinner!

EXTRA: I am going to make myself enjoy the next 8 weeks until school starts back. I am going to be less harsh and ridged. I am going to loosen up and have some fun with these boys. I am going to be okay with a house that isn't always is almost never a clean I am happy with. I am going to finish decorating my house (I know we have lived here 4 months and that I have only hung pictures in the last 4 days). I am going to spend far more time thanking God for all the little blessing in life. I am going to continue to love my job and try to be less high-strung about the little things at work that irritate me. And finally, I am going to love my husband more deeply and less critically.

Its all these EXTRAs in life that I am going to use to make life more and in excess and far less ordinary.

Being less ordinary,
MommyShelle

Summer Time, Summer Time, Sum Sum Summer Time

Ask anyone who knows me well, and they'll tell you...I love music and can break out in a bit of a song at anytime and for all sorts of reasons.

Today's songs would have included "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and a made up song about how much I love the new wedges I just bought.

They are Gianni Bini, brown, tall and lovely.

B had his first baseball game of the summer tonight.

13 boys between the ages of 6 & 8, many very loud parents/ grandparents and a coaches wife who doesn't know how to properly run a batting order; all made for an interesting ballgame. B loves baseball and the idea of playing baseball, but not so much the actual playing and paying attention to the game. In the last inning, he was far more interested in sitting in the grass in his Left Field position.

Oh well, he also loves to sing and listen to music. He will probably end up my band/ choir kid. And that's cool. He comes from a long line of beautiful singers and band geeks.

L has learned to ride a big kid bike in the last couple of weeks and every chance he gets is spent riding his B's bike in the driveway and garage. I am so proud of him, despite the fact its a little sad that he's growing up so fast.

Once August gets here and both boys are in school (B in 1st grade and L in pre-K) I'll be singing a new song; "All By Myself."

The new house has 3 rose bushes that came with it. I don't really like roses as a general rule, but I am so excited that they have bloomed, that I can't help but love them.

L got several bubbles for his birthday. We spent quite a while one morning playing with a bubble blower he received. I was able to catch a couple of really cool shots.

B has 1 1/2 days of school left before summer break. Yes, that means he has to go back to school for 1/2 a day on Tuesday; after a 3 day weekend. Kind of silly but in MO, the winter weather usually causes some make-up day requirements.

Here a few of the pictures I promised the other day:

My younger sister (Aunt T), our mom, Tanner (the puppy) and myself

First picture of the 3 of us in a few years

Mother's Day

Food art at work

Tulips are my VERY favorite flower and this is one that came with the new house

L's birthday breakfast at the restaurant

J's grandpa turned 92 on the day of L's party, so I made each of them blow out candles. This will be one of those pictures that I treasure for a lifetime!!

 L, B and K digging into a 'Pazookie" in Oklahoma City when we all went outlet shopping

 

Family time is rare these days, but sometimes we all pile into our bed, laugh, snuggle and pose for awkward selfies.

Rare moments of brotherly love are worth catching on camera

These 2 beautiful girls took me to dinner to commemorate my 30th birthday.

We had steak!

We ended up with some free birthday cake!

I am NOT embarrassed about the cake, but slightly embarrassed about how we came about getting the cake.

It was FREE. From the table next to us. Another girls was having a birthday too.

They offered us all some cake and we decided to go for it.

The cake was fabulous! And totally worth it. And it makes for a great conversation.

Red Velvet Cake

My Favorite (so I didn't have to bake my own)

Made by a friend (so I

The frosting was TO DIE FOR!!

The New House

We only moved about a block and a half from the old house (2 streets over to be exact)

A lady at worked teased that she wanted a picture of me moving stuff down the street.

J ended up rolling the dumpster to the new house the morning of the closing

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the picture filled journey,

MommyShelle

 



 

Alas, We Meet Again!

So it has been awhile, so let me catch you up quickly:

Made an offer on a house, it got accepted, we went under contract.
J got another year older.
I got to buy a brand new refrigerator and washer and dryer set.
We had a very handy moving crew of friends and Boss Man that got us moved quickly.
My mom paid us a visit and measured all of our windows for curtains.
We celebrated my 30th birthday in the new house and a dear friend made me a Red Velvet cake, so I wouldn't have to bake my own birthday cake.
B and L are both playing baseball/ T-ball.
L turned 4.
We had the first big birthday party in the new house and my dad and sister finally got to visit and see the house.
B graduated "Bloomed" from Kindergarten.
L was screened for and accepted into the schools pre-K program.
J has to do most of the running for the boys' ball practices (in the evenings while I'm at work) and is getting a taste of what all I do in a days time.
I have had several cupcake orders and they keep on coming in.

That has been life, in a large nutshell, for the last 4 months.

I will try to get some new pictures loaded soon and some pictures of the new house as well.

Until Next Time,
MommyShelle

I'm Back and what a ride it has been...

So it has been almost 15 months since I last posted anything and it has been a very eventful 15 months.

Here goes (and it is very long!!):

In August 2012, I received word that the two sisters I had been keeping were no longer going to be in my care due to travel expenses for mommy and daddy. I was distraught over this, (BP had been in my care since she was 10 weeks old) but I thought all would be okay. Less than a week later, the other little girl was leaving too. Oh wow!!! What were we going to do??

So, I decided it was a sign from up above that my wonderful insane adventure of in-home daycare provider was over. So, after much prayer again on where to go from here, I started a part-time job hunt. We knew how much I HAD to make each week in order for the bills to get paid and the kids to be fed, so we figured on 3-5 nights a week should do the trick.

I put in applications all over town one Sunday afternoon in September and on Monday morning, got a call from the owner of a local restaurant. I had applied for a server position. They only needed part-time help a couple nights a week and that's what I wanted, so it was going to work well for all parties involved. We set up an interview for Thursday afternoon. (Bless the poor guy, he worked with my insane schedule demands on what time I could be there.)

Now as many of you know, on an application, they ask for a list of references...keep in mind that I had 3 VERY good references listed. I went in for the interview, all went well and as we were standing up at the end, he said, "I think I will give Big Man (my boss from my previous banking job that I did NOT have listed on the application, but whom he knew really well) a call tomorrow and see what he has to say about you."

Holy Crap Batman!!! I did not expect that and did my very best a lousy job of hiding the terror in my eyes and on my face. I had no fears that he was going to say bad things, fore I left the job on good terms and feel as though I was an asset to the bank for my 7 years with them. My fear, was that Big Man would not really know what to say, because we usually did not work directly with each other.

But alas, interview guy call Big Man and he gave me a raving review and even recommended me for something better down the line of interview man decided the business needed it.

Friday afternoon I got the call that I could start ASAP and was Saturday at 2:00 too soon? Nope! (Please keep in mind that I interviewed for 3 days a week and very quickly ended up at 5 days a week due to a sudden turn-over in staff)
I learned quickly and was turned out on the floor to fly solo very soon after starting. I immediately loved the restaurant, most of the staff and the customers. I knew several from my years at the bank and from church. Many knew me, because J knows everyone, therefore they think they know me.

Fast forward to February...I had put in an application with a bank in Tulsa sometime in January or so and they called me for an interview. So I set up the interview, informed interview guy (from here on out known as Boss Man or Uncle R) that I needed the day off. I traveled to Tulsa, did the interview and left feeling odd. I did not have a good feeling that I would get the job, but I felt more at ease with my current job and realized that I actually really liked it. I met my dad for dinner before leaving town and was back home by bedtime.

Little did I know that Boss Man and his wife (known as Boss Lady or Aunt B) were super excited that I didn't get the job; fore they had much better ideas in mind. You see, right before I started, they lost a manger and started training a new part-time manger for a couple of morning shifts a week. Well, I entered the picture and they started toying with the idea of a second part-time manger for a couple of nights a week. Guess who they chose...you got it, me.

So in late March or early April I started training to do all the managing stuff I would need to know and now I manage the restaurant two nights a week and serve three nights. All in all, I love my job and it is some form of using that Business Management degree I spent 4 1/2 years earning and am currently paying for.


B turned 5 last fall, L was 3 in the spring, I hit the last year of my 20's and J keeps losing his hair. Fairly normal for all of us. J's Grandpa had a heart attack on Easter Sunday and a stroke a month or so later. He is doing well and stays active and in fairly goof health for a 91 year old man. My grandma turned 95 this summer. She might just be the cutest grandma ever!!! Well late this summer, 31 years and 1 day after her husband passed away, she did too. She lived a very full 95 years of life and she will be remembered for a very long time. She was loved by not only her family but by many friends and an entire community.

In early summer, J and I traveled to Denver (kids free) for the wedding of close friend of his. A & M got married in a beautiful ceremony and left for a week long honeymoon to an island I will really probably only ever dream about. We had several days of just us and we had a great time. We did not get to do much, but it was nice to get away. It was the first time flying for both of us, and what an experience it was. I loved it and can't wait until next time...

B started Kindergarten last month and L had the hardest time seeing him go. B is L's best friend and playmate so L had a rough first week of school with no B to play with. After a month now, he has adjusted and we have special time for just us and library dates to keep his mind from getting too lonely.

With the back-to-school thing came the potty training thing. L is going on 3 1/2 and still didn't use the potty very well. That changed quickly. On the first day of school is when my grandma passed away, so J and I went out of state for the funeral and left the kids here. B stayed with Granny and Pa so he could get back and forth to school. L stayed with a good friend of ours. She has 3 kids of her own and was more than willing to take on a 4th for a few days. Well, while L was at her house, there was an incident. She had to scold him for the results of said incident, and he really felt bad. He came home and within a week, was using the potty with regularity. Now we still have some accidents, but we are mostly done!!!

My side of the family got a new member this summer, Little A. He is an adorable little boy and is sure to keep things interesting now with 4 grand kids running around for Grandma and Grandpa. His big sister, K, loves him to pieces and is a big help to mommy at 6 years old.

And finally, we put our house on the market right after the new year. We had had all the interior walls and ceilings painted last fall and all new light fixtures installed. So we took the next step; listing the house For Sale. We have not sold it yet, but we are praying it will happen soon. This mommy wants needs a house with two bathrooms. We show it a lot thus resulting in it staying much cleaner on a regular basis, but no luck so far...

Now back to Boss Man and Lady: they have become fast friends of mine and J is starting to warm up to them. We went to dinner (no kids) with them on the 4th of July and we had a good time. We were worried that J and Uncle R would have little to talk about, being as J loves sports and music and Uncle R likes guns and cars. Uncle R also likes music, but not even close to the same type of stuff we listen to. Aunt B and I love to go shopping and she has even watched the kids a few times for us when I need to work on a normal day off and have no other daycare options. The kids lover her and that is how they are now known as Uncle R and Aunt B. They also have 2 kids, but they are older and in college, B & L are like nephews. They also have dogs that L loves to pieces and scare the poop out of B. I don't think B is EVER going to be an animal guy.

So, in a (very large) nutshell, that is what has been going on the last 15 months. Sorry the post was so long, but I feel it was all important (to me).

Until next time...
MommyShelle C

Life...Where does the time go?

Just yesterday, I was weighing the pros & cons of staying home with our boys.

Really, it was 6 months ago already and I now have 4 others to care for as well.

I love it (most days).

I like it (most days).

I hate it (less days).

But, mostly, I am glad that I did it. I can't believe it has already been 6 months. I really does feel like yesterday.

I had a friend bring me lunch today and she still is amazed by the whole transition and swears she could never do it. (You could if you had to)


Just a glimpse of what has been going on...



Spaghetti O lunch with Daddy!

This weekend is our semi-annual Scrapbook weekend with the girls and all the Daddies are their own. Here is a glimpse of what it looks like with 8 girls in 1 condo for 3 days!

So until next time after a few days of a much needed break,

 MommyShelle C