This is how I feel about dieting/losing weight.....

"And then add some GOOD dessert to go with it!!"

Quick Note

Having a blast here with family and have gotten to see a few friends so far. Would post pictures, but long story as to why that ain't happin' yet.

Mostly wanted to post to say that Kevin heard back from one job and didn't get it. However, he also got contacted today (Thursday) about another job possibility and so far, it looks promising. He had to take some online tests first, which he did well on. Hopefully, after talking more with the recruiter tomorrow (Friday), an interview will be set up. Please pray! This would be a great job for him.

Will post more later and with lots of pics.

I'm off...

....to the hills of WV to visit family and friends and to take a break from my crazy job! This will be my first ever SOLO trip with Stone, meaning Kevin isn't going with us. He's going to stay behind to be available for any job interviews that might pop up and to study for some things he wants to try to get licensed in. So, pray for safe travel and that Stone will do well. He's not the greatest traveler and going it alone is not at the top of my list of "fun things to do." :) However, it will be worth it to see my folks, siblings, and some sweet friends. I'm sure pictures will appear throughout the week!

Inside place to play

Two Wednesdays ago, my SIL and I decided to take the kids to playnation, an inside play place. It's similar to monkeyjoes, but only has one inflatable and the rest are wooden play structures like you would find in people's backyards or on playgrounds. Stone enjoyed this one a lot more, as he's not a big fan of the inflatables (we GOT to get him over that!!). The only crazy thing was that all the slides were SUPER slick and fast and we had to catch the kids cause they would fly right off at the bottom and land on their bottoms and backs, almost hurting themselves! Other than that, they had a grand time.... plus there weren't many other kids there so it was a lot calmer than monkeyjoes too... it was worth the try (and cheap, only $3 per kid, adults didn't have to pay.)

Baby Shower

Last Saturday, I hosted a baby shower for my SIL who is having a little boy sometime mid-June. I say sometime, as she has seen 2 different mid-wives who give her slightly different due dates. I say he'll come when he's ready! However, whenever he comes, we are ready to meet him! It was fun and Gini commented on how she was not used to all the "blue" since her first child is a girl and ever since, she's been inundated with pink, purple, and princessy/girly stuff. I told her, "Welcome to my world!" It's fun to be a mommy of a boy and I know she'll have fun with this little guy. Here are a few pics....

A gift from Gini's grandmother

Hand-stitched gifts from Aunt Kathy

The wonderful, can't-do-without onesies, in great boy colors!!

Been Tagged....

Been tagged by my friend Nikki. Click HERE to read her answers.

This is just for fun so copy this entire post and paste into your own post. Change all the answers so that they apply to you and TAG someone else! I tag GINI and Aunt Minnah!

1) First thing you wash in the shower? Hair
2) What color is your fav hoodie? I don't have a hoodie, but if I did, it would be green.
3) Do you plan outfits? Yeah, if t-shirts with jeans count.
4) How are you feeling RIGHT now? Full. We just had dinner.
5) What's the closest thing to you thats red? A purse.
6) Tell me about the last dream you remember having? I was in a former friend's house, which happened to be a mansion (in the dream) and it had about 10-12 jaccuzzi's in it, which I thought was cool.
7) Did you meet anybody new today? Yep.. a lady in Moe's who had 2 children.
8) What are you craving right now? Nothing.. I'm full, remember?
9) Do you floss? Yes but not as often as I should.
10) What comes to mind when I say cabbage? Slaw
11) Are you emotional? Yes I am, and I'm not even pregnant!
12) Have you ever counted to 1,000? Probably not.
13) Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? Lick it.
14) Do you like your hair? Not usually.
15) Have you ever met a celebrity? Yes.. if a contestant from American Idol counts.
16) Do you like cottage cheese? No! Gross!
17) What are you listening to right now? Stone and Kevin "racing" back and forth throughout the house.
18) How many countries have you visited? Six; Mexico, Canada, Dominican Republic, Malaysia, England, Scotland. Okay, Scotland is part of England, sort of, but it still counts!
19) Are your parents strict? Yes! Ha!
20) Would you go sky diving? Absolutely! I was going to go for my 30th birthday, but I got married instead and didn't have the money, cause we spent it to go to London and Scotland.
21) Would you have dinner with George W. Bush? Sure!
22) Would you throw potatoes at him? Nope
23) Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in? Not really
24) Have you ever been in a castle? Yep.. when I went to Scotland with Kevin for our honeymoon. I've wanted to visit a castle all my life and finally got the chance!
25) Do you rent movies often? Wished I rented more often actually. I usually don't think to do it until it's too late!
26) Have you ever made a prank phone call? I think I have, but honestly can't remember.
27) Do you own a gun? No
28) Can you count backwards from 74? Of course
29) Brown or white eggs? Doesn't matter.
30) Ever been on a train? Yep.
31) Are you too forgiving? Yes.
32) Do you use Chap-Stick? Sometimes.
33) What is your best friend doing tomorrow? Looking for a job.
34) Can you use chop sticks? Yes, but not very good at it.
35) Ever had cream puffs? I think so.
36) What was the last CD you bought? Can’t remember
37) Is your hair curly? Nope.. straight.
38) Ever walked into a wall? A few times.
39) Fav time of the year? Fall
40) Favorite color? Green
41) Are you sarcastic? Unfortunately.
42) Do you have any tattoos? No, but I want one.
43) Do you sleep with the TV on? No
44) What is your favorite animal? Dogs.
45) Can you hula hoop? Nope, but have tried numerous times!

Update on the job search

Hadn't had much to report in the way of Kevin finding a new job. He's applied for many and interviewed for some, but nothing has materialized as of yet. Recently, he had a second interview with Wachovia Bank and really LOVED that possibility, so you can pray for that to work out. I think he would really like that job and it would be something he could thrive in, as well as provide real opportunities for advancement in the future. He is supposed to hear something about that later this week.

In addition, he also has 2 phone interviews next week (Tuesday and Thursday). So, we keep applying, sending resumes, interviewing and trusting in the Lord. What else can we do? :) Thanks to all who have prayed for us and for those who have checked up on us to see how we're doing. We're hanging in there.

Reason for the poll

Wow... it's been an entire week since I've posted. I've been slammed with all kinds of stuff... mostly work related and then I was getting ready for the baby shower I hosted for my SIL. So, lots to catch up, but first, why the poll. Well, simply stated, 2 reasons. First, I like polls cause they tell you what/how people think without them having to admit what their answer was. (AND, by the way, a message to all of the 20 people who actually read my blog, voted but NEVER ever leave a comment any time else you read it, what the heck? I'd love to hear from you.)

Second, in the post titled, "Watch out for that couch!" (click here to read) I mentioned that my SIL and her daughter M and me and Stone went to a new park to play and enjoy the morning. Well, while Stone and I were eating lunch (M had to potty so SIL and M left to find the restrooms) I noticed this man at a picnic table close to ours. He didn't have any food, just a half gallon container of water. At first, didn't think much of him. Then I started to observe: he wasn't with any of the other groups, didn't have any kids there and he started moving around the park from place to place, seemingly to intently watch the kids. So I start to get suspicious. I pointed him out to my SIL and she at first thought that it was a bit strange. We kept our eyes out for him and of course, didn't let our kids out of our sight or close range.

He was there before we got there and was still there after we left, which was about 2.5 hours. Longer than a lunch break, if someone is thinking that possibility. Of course, he could just be out enjoying the day, and maybe I'm a bit paranoid, over-protective, don't-trust-anyone type of person, but if you ask me, it was still weird. And unnerving. My MIL thinks I should have called the police and let them know that this man was there by himself and was just kind of moving from place to place staring at the kids. What do you think I/we should have done? I mean, I have no proof of his character one way or the other and I don't want to be one of those "crazy" people the police and everyone else dreads, but maybe I should have called them.

I mean, when it comes to protecting your kids from the real "crazies" out there, I'm all for that. Child p*redators no longer just want little girls... they want boys too, AND they want them younger and younger. And they are pretty darn smart when it comes to getting kids to trust them. Not trying to scare anyone, but if you have a child, seriously, don't let them out of your sight until they are big enough to take care of themselves. If this means I'm labeled "a crazy, paranoid, over-protective, don't-trust-anyone" person, then so be it. Better that than let something happen to my child. I've said before and I'll say again, "Until Stone is big enough to knock the snot out of someone, I'm going to be doing it for him." It's our job as parents to protect our kids as much as possible and in today's world, I don't think you can be too careful.

Would love to hear your thoughts.....

Time for another poll

Would you be suspicious of a man who was at a kid's park by himself just walking around and sitting periodically, staring at the kids?

• 
  
  Yes, a lot


• 
  
  No, none


• 
  
  Maybe a little


• 
  
  Depends on what he looks like

view results
Free vote poll

Wacky Sunday

Today was a wacky day in the realm of preschool for a Sunday morning. First, we had a burnt shirt, and then we lost 2 kids! Ha! What a day!

The first: I was helping in the baby room, as we were short a person. I got to hold this cute little 5 month old boy who happened to spit up on his shirt. It was wet enough to take off, as it was soaked through, but his mom didn't pack extra clothes. So, he had his pants on and I just wrapped him in a couple of thin blankets and he was fine. He fell asleep, all good. It came time for me to go and check on the other classes (as it was nearing the "in between services" time) and deliver snacks so I gave this little guy to another worker. Shirt still off. (And, this was his family's second time visiting our church.)

I come back in about 5 minutes to check on them and when I walk in, I smell smoke. At first, I don't even register that in my brain, as I'm busy running around and just stopped in to see if they were okay. Then, one ofs the ladies in there exclaims to me, "Shelby, you missed an almost-catastrophe!!" At this point, I'm thinking, oh great, something has happened to a baby. Please don't let it be the visitor baby.

No, nothing happened to a baby, thank goodness. One of the ladies suggested to another worker to put this baby's shirt into the MICROWAVE to get it dry so they could put it on him before his mom came back to get him, as it was dreary, rainy, and wet outside. That's right folks, in the microwave. As you can imagine, it caught on fire! Thus the smoke and flustered looks of everyone in the baby room when I walked in. Thank goodness it didn't set off the fire/sprinkler system, or that would have been a clear disaster, all over the building!!

I thankfully caught the mom in the hallway and explained to her what happened and thankfully, she laughed and thought it was hysterical. One of the other moms who came in gave the workers one of her son's outfits to put on him so he could go home clothed and not naked. Of course, we wouldn't have let that happen anyway, but I guess the ladies thought that the only option! WHUT?!?!?! Those ladies should have known better!! I told them that I couldn't leave them alone for 5 minutes and something big not happen!

Okay, so second catastrophe of the morning... I had some younger helpers with the toddlers this morning during the second hour. Stone is also in this class, so I always make sure it's well-staffed, as I know how toddlers/2's can be! But today, my normal, regular worker was out at the last minute (long story) so I did the best I could. Maybe I should have rethought that, but anyway, the workers took the kids down to the gym to play, as they had been pent up in their small room the whole hour and a half before. Remember, can't go outside due to the dreary rain this morning. They get down there no problem. They play, no problem. They come back up and I go into the room to help with diapers and clean-up. No problem. Then, I talk with another worker who was with the 2 year old boys. He and his wife were also down in the gym with their group and somehow he gets wind that after they came back up to their room, that there were 2 missing kids from the toddler class. He goes and investigates and helps locate them and they were on the 3rd floor! They had somehow pushed the heavy gym door open, got onto the elevator and rode up to the 3rd floor by themselves! They were just roaming around! Oh my goodness... this could have been a LOT worse. Thankfully, the male worker found them, scooped them both up and brought them back down. Holy cow, what a morning!!!

And then, to top it off, my poor Stone must have eaten something he's allergic too (something hidden, as we don't purposely give him things he's allergic to). He has a very red and painful rash on the inside of his legs. It's not diaper rash, but an allergic reaction rash, as I've seen that appear after taking an antibiotic he's had reaction to. We've narrowed it down to a possible cookie we got from a restaurant... oh the joys of food allergies. We've given him benedryl, some pain medicine, and a long warm bath and that all helped a lot. Plus, Kevin kept him this afternoon as I had to go back for evening service and let him be lazy and not walk so much, as to make it worse. I think he'll stay home from school tomorrow with Kevin to hopefully get better sooner.

I'm ready for a brand new day!!

Much to talk about

There's several posts, scroll down to see. I had a lot to catch up on as our last few days have been busy and I just now got a chance to post. Church stuff, plus doctor visits, and play time has kept me on the go.

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm sitting her debating on whether or not to be funny or sappy when writing a little tribute to my own mom to say "Happy Mother's Day." She knows me well enough to know that funny or sappy, I love her and love her muchly. So I guess I'll be both.

Reasons why I love my mom:

1) She makes the best post roast/Sunday afternoon dinner, hands down. Don't even say your mom makes a better one cause you're wrong. Then again, she's a pretty awesome cook, so no matter what she makes, it's going to be good.

2) She never really let us "whine" a lot as kids, as that's to our betterment. I'm thankful for that lesson, as there are plenty of adults these days who make a profession out of whining. My hubs says that "People don't grow up; they just grow older." How true...

3) She let me have a dog when I was in the 5th grade. I begged her to have another dog after their pet of many years passed. She finally caved and Taffy was born into our family. I know my mom really loved that dog too, although she'll never admit it. :)

4) She trusted me as a teenager... huge for most kids, because either a) their parents didn't really care and let their kids do anything they wanted or b) their parents didn't trust them at all, causing the kid to resent their parents. Both my parents trusted me and that meant a lot... still does to this day.

5) Took care of me when I was sick. Of course, I had to be really sick, as she didn't let us fake anything! But she was pretty good being a nurse to me (and all of us).

6) Since I left for college (way back in the fall of 1992), she has faithfully prayed for me, called me, and mailed/emailed me consistently for all these years. And sent me money. :)

7) She amazingly puts up with my siblings and my dad, who, even though they are great, they are inferior to her. And to me. :)

8) I'm her favorite child. I know my siblings think they are, but it's really me.

9) Openly accepted Kevin when I told her that I thought we'd end up getting married. She loves and respects him and that is a blessed gift. Of course, she tried to warn him about marrying me, but he didn't listen. To which I'm thankful!

10) Cause she loves me. And it shows.

And there are many other reasons, but I'll end this tribute at this point. I love you MOM!

And now, not to earn brownie points with my Mother-in-law, but to also say Happy Mother's Day to her and to tell her I love her, I also want to honestly say that she is wonderful and that I'm glad I have her as a MIL and not some other crazy woman, as some girls have. I mean seriously, some folks do not get blessed with good inlaws. I can actually say that I love her and like her! For whatever reason, God blessed us both with great inlaws and my MIL deserves a great big shout-all for all she does for us and for Stone. We love you and hope you have a great day!

And now, "mother" in a bunch of different languages:

French - Mere
German - Mutter
Hindi - Maji
Urdu - Ammee
English - Mom, Mummy, Mother
Italian - Madre
Portuguese - Mãe
Albanian - Mëmë; Nënë; Burim; Kryemurgeshë
Belarusan - Matka
Cebuano - Inahan; Nanay
Serbian - Majka
Czech - Abatyse
Dutch - Moeder; Moer
Estonian - Ema
Frisian - Emo, Emä, Kantaäiti, Äiti
Greek - Màna
Hawaiian - Makuahine
Hungarian - Anya, Fu
Ilongo - Iloy; Nanay; Nay
Indonesian - Induk, Ibu, Biang, Nyokap

But no matter how you say "mom" it really should be pronounced, "love."

Here are some quotes that kind of say where I am, now that I'm a mom. You don't really ever know what it's like to be a mom until you actually become one. And then your world changes forever.

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about."~Anonymous

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~Elizabeth Stone

"A mother understands what a child does not say." ~Anonymous

Watch Out for that Couch!

Seriously, a moving, motorized love seat was the LAST thing we expected to see when driving up to a park we had never been to before. I'm NOT making this up and have the pictures to prove it! See below....(and notice the wheels underneath.)


My SIL had been told about this park that we hadn't explored yet and thought it'd be fun to go to. So, today, we went. As I drove slowly through the parking lot looking for a space to pull in, out of nowhere comes this flying couch! No lie.... if I had been going faster, I could have hit them! He didn't even look before he jetted out into the parking lot! My SIL is witness to all this, so she can verify if you don't believe me! This was the funniest thing ever.. we just burst out laughing. I quickly parked so we could get out and see it a bit closer and so I could take a picture to prove it. I guess this man who was "driving" it was there for some kind of demonstration for a couple of school groups who were there playing and picnicking. We thought our hubs would find this totally cool, even though it is kind of weird. Had to post about it... :)

Below are a few pictures of Stone and Mercy having fun on the smaller, toddler-friendly playground.

We also hit the "big kid's" playground and there is a reason it's for big kids! Watching Stone on that thing almost gave me a nervous breakdown! I told Gini that I wasn't ready to take him back on that thing.. too many chances for him to slip and fall... and fall he would, as one part of it is 3 levels high! I didn't take any pictures, as I was too busy being Stone's shadow as he was pretty fearless climbing up the ladders and going down the slides. I was also trying to keep an eye on Mercy when I could, as my SIL isn't able to climb up and do those things anymore, since she's so close to her due date. But mostly, I was making sure Stone didn't fall through...the thing that worried me the most was that the ladders to climb up were just straight bars, nothing to break your fall or anything underneath. Of course for big kids, no problem. For 2 and a half year olds, not so good. Stone did great, even though he slipped a few times, but not enough to fall. I, on the other hand, was a wreck! I was glad to divert him to take a potty break for me and to change his diaper and then head back to the smaller playground, where we ran into a mom2mom friend, Heather. She just had her 3rd child, which gives her 3 boys and she looks great! I got to hold him (only a month old) and he was so TINY! You forget how little they are when firstborn. Of course, Stone was never that little, as he was a huge baby, but you know what I mean.

Anyway, another FFF....what shall we do next week??

Muffins with Mom

This past Thursday at Stone's preschool, they had "Muffins with Mom." The teachers invited the moms to simply come and have muffins and juice and enjoy time together. Also, they kids got to "present" their Mother's Day gift to us.... a cute flower pot that they helped make by using their fingerprints to make different little creatures... see below.




It was a sweet time together and I though the gift was something sweet as well. I am thankful to have a safe place for him to go and teachers who care about him as well as me.

Hummus

To my surprise, I learned a few days ago that Stone will eat hummus. That's right, hummus.. the dip made from chickpeas, olive oil, garlic and then anything else you might add to it. This particular hummus just had the ingredients above, but nonetheless, it was hummus! I didn't believe Kevin when he told me, so then he demonstrated... gave Stone a carrot with hummus on it and away he went licking it completely off, and then wanted more. I had to take a picture to prove it to myself and probably to him some day.


Currently, as I write, we are in a battle to get him to try something new (which has now gone on for an hour!).... well, it's not really new, because he's eaten all this stuff before: a bite of grilled chicken, one green bean, and a clump of rice. The kid won't eat that, or hot dogs or chicken nuggets anymore, but he'll eat hummus! Oh, and he also tried queso dip today, but still won't eat the chicken and green bean and rice! He's definitely seeing who's in control... don't give in, is what Kevin keeps telling me! AHHHHHHHH!

TP "Incident"

Ha... took this picture a couple of weeks ago specifically so I could post it, and then forgot! Here's the story... was getting ready to go out so I dressed Stone first and got him ready to go and then went back into our room to get dressed. A few minutes later, I go into the living area and don't see/hear Stone. You know how it is: when your kid gets quiet, you get suspicious because they are usually getting into something. So, I think he's either upstairs or in the master bedroom and master bath. I head for the master bath first (he likes to go in there and turn on the water to the bathtub cause 1) that's where he takes a bath and 2) it's fun to play in the water.)

At first, I don't see him by the tub so I call him. He comes out of the toilet room, looking kind of "guilty." And so this is what I find:

I don't get mad, but instead, I say his name, kind of like you're a little disappointed. He looks up at me and points back into the toilet and the toilet paper and says, "Potty?" And I burst out laughing. "Yeah, potty. You're right!" And then I go and get the camera before cleaning up. This was all a pre-cursor before he actually went pee pee in the potty. Love my child!

Zoo Trip

Since all my friends had taken a trip to the zoo, I felt it was time for me to go too! Just kidding! Actually, I haven't been to the zoo with Stone until today. Last year, around this very same time, my very brave and awesome SIL took both Stone and Mercy one day along with some other moms and their kids on a play-date get together. I told her she was crazy cause with the 2 of them together, it's like herding cats!! Ha! She has my utmost respect and awe... for the fact that she didn't lose either one of them last year and that she was able to push them both in a stroller up and down those hills!

Anyway, on to today's adventure... we had a great time, despite the fact that there were SEVERAL school bus loads of kids. We had to manuver around the groups, but other than that, had a great time. I enjoy Stone more and more as he gets older... it's fun to see him react to things and enjoy himself. We looked at animals, had lunch, played on the playground and looked at more animals and then head home. I was proud of Stone... he was fearless when it came to poking his hands through the hole to feed the goats, loved getting his picture taken through the cut-outs where you poke your head through, and even let me put him on the big black bear (picture at the end.) He usually hates sitting on unfamiliar things, but not today! M and G had a great time too and M loved feeding the goats and looking at the other animals as well. M was wearing one of her mom's super cute outfits that she made her and it got a lot of attention from other moms while we were at the playground. G had an opportunity to hand out a few of her business cards! Glad we had another FFF!!!!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Check out our new playground

Been meaning to post these for a while, as it has been several weeks since I took these pictures. However, I took them on the church's camera and kept forgetting to download them on my home computer. Anyway, I mentioned about 2 months ago how the playground was being dug up and prepared for our "new" playground at our church. Well, here's the final product... it's GREAT, complete with turf around the "train" equipment seen above and rubber mulch spread throughout the rest of the area. The kids love it and it looks great... something our church has needed for a LONG time.

Picture above: Stone in a little car type thing that pre-existed the new playground so we kept it. The kids love climbing on it as well. Below: Stone in a swing.. notice all the rubber mulch... if the kids fall on it, they literally bounce back up! No kidding!!