You've Gotta Be Kidding

Morning Breath and Other Breath Stories

2012-01-19T08:37:00.000-08:00

Practicing seeing her breath

First thing this morning Amy came up to me and said, "Mom, do you want to smell my breath?"
Having had the pleasure of smelling morning breath before, I politely declined. "Come on Mom! It smells like chocolate."

Oh brother!

Then a few nights later while getting pjs on, Amy commented that something smelled bad (it turned out to be her own hands). Then just as quickly she said, "Don't worry, I can fix that with my breath." Then she proceeded to do a fire breathing dragon impersonation. She was sure that her peppermint candy cane flavored breath would fix the problem, but alas we had to use soap.

Not long after this Amy was telling me a story, a very animated story. When she finished, she took a huge breath, then looked at me and explained, "When I talk too much I have to take a huge, deep breath."

Still not sure where the fascination came from, but we talk about breath a lot.

Drag Car Races

2012-01-18T09:22:00.000-08:00

We are always looking for something new and exciting to do together as a family. When Jared and I told the kids we were taking them to a drag race, they had no idea what we were talking about or what to expect. Kyra was convinced that we were actually on our way to a Dragon Race. Since this was in the height of our How to Train Your Dragon viewing, it made perfect sense to her that we would indeed be spectators to a dragon race.

Imagine our surprise when we saw this car pull up to race.
It was the car of choice for the rest of the night.

We almost drove into the race lane in an attempt to find a place to park. Whoops. Can you imagine the mini van with all 7 passengers trying to race these cars?

It was an exciting night for sure, especially for the boys! They loved the noise, the speed, and the awesome cars. Plus running up and down the almost empty stadium seats was a pretty awesome.

Ian could barely contain himself.

The girls weren't quite as impressed. Keeks managed to sleep through the roar of the motors. Tara was trying to decide whether she should boycott the "boy activity" or just admit that it was more fun than she expected, so she settled for sulking.

We enjoyed picking a favorite car and guessing who would win. The night looked like this:

We saw a car almost crash, and that was a little scary. We shouted over the noise, discovered how pointless it was to get the kids to wear ear plugs, and of course we almost froze our tushies off, but it was well worth it. Plus hot chocolate at home was fun too.

Root Beer

2012-01-17T08:51:00.000-08:00

Making root beer was a tradition in Jared's family growing up. They would give it away for Christmas gifts. How exciting would it be to get that from a friend down the street? I've been working on making family time into something the kids will remember and not just watching movies together. So, I decided what the heck, let's do root beer.

The kids loved it, well more specifically they loved the dry ice.
Who can blame them? It is awesome stuff.

Eric with a wig of dry ice

Keeks getting in on the action.

Let me just say that the making of root beer was much better than the drinking of the root beer. I have to find a better concentrate or never make the stuff again. What we used just wasn't strong enough. Our root beer tasted like carbonated water, but smelled like root beer. Don't tell the kids though. They swear it was the best stuff they have ever had.

Ian the Entrepreneur

2012-01-16T08:09:00.000-08:00

Ian giving Great Aunt Sharon a Back Massage

Ian is the kind of kid that can read the emotions of others. It is one of his talents, being kind. Another one of his talents is being able to see a business opportunity.

We were at Grandpa Shannon's viewing and Ian was concerned about the number of people he saw crying. He sat down next to one of his Uncles and began rubbing his shoulders in the attempt to help him feel better. He is a pretty good little masseuse, and his Uncle made the off hand comment that he would pay Ian a dollar in return for an hour long back rub. That is when Ian's two talents met face to face.

He spent the rest of the evening offering and then charging his captive audience for back massages. It was a brilliant marketing plan. Ease suffering for people when they care so little about the insignificant things, like quarters.

He made $3.25

I didn't know whether to be embarrassed or impressed. I still haven't decided either.

Grandpa Shannon

2012-01-15T11:40:00.000-08:00

I remember when Jared and I were first dating, we had just finished attending a single adult activity at the local roller skating rink. I looked like I had been skating for an hour by the time we left. Then we drove home with the windows down. I knew I was a mess and in need of a brush which was why I was trying to bail out of the family birthday party Jared wanted me to attend. I didn't want to intrude, but he finally convinced me that "only his family" would be there. I relented and assumed I would be seeing Mom, Dad and maybe a few siblings. Instead it was that plus several cousins, and aunts and uncles, and two sets of grandparents. I felt overwhelmed and disheveled (a car ride with open windows will do that to you.). I wanted a brush and some lip gloss, but even more I wanted to go home.

I tried to blend into the couch in the living room, but that was entirely impossible because Grandma and Grandpa Shannon were there. They had a way of pulling you out of your shell, of making you feel like you were the most important person in the entire room. After a few minutes, I forgot how wind blown and out of place I was and just enjoyed visiting with them and soon everyone else in the room that I would eventually love as my family.

We attended Grandpa Shannon's funeral at the beginning of December. It was there that I learned that everyone thought they were Grandpa's favorite. I've spent the last 16 years assuming I was his favorite. What a talent he had for helping everyone feel important. He will be missed.

Now for a few pictures.

Our Family

Jared comforting his brother, Michael

The Pallbearers, the grandsons

Those Shannon Boys

One of the few things I like about funerals is getting together with everyone.
All the Clyde Shannon family

Grandpa was a veteran of WWII. He served in the Navy on the USS Cabot. The US government allows for one military graveside service. Since they also did a grave side service in Nashville, there wasn't going to be one in Lubbock. However, Clyde made a few phone calls and these very kind men, peers of Grandpa Shannon, donated their time and performed another service here. It was moving to see these men, in their old age, fumble to shoot their weapon and perform the 21 gun salute then slowly bend to pick up their shell casings. It was obvious that these men shared the same love of country that Grandpa had.

New House Pictures

2012-01-13T10:27:00.000-08:00

I have been waiting to post pictures of the new house for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted our furniture. Second, I wanted the house clean in the pictures. Those things are just taking too long to complete, so here it goes...

Little Girls' Room

What I love about this room is the natural light and the fact that there is room to play. In the old house the little ones never got toys out because there wasn't room and their big sister would be mad about the mess in her room. What a change. It has been so fun watching them rediscover how to play and imagine.

Tara's Room

What I love about this room is that Tara has a place to be alone. She is at a totally different level than the little girls and combining them was proving difficult. Tara's meltdowns have decreased significantly since she became the owner of her own space. She has also taken some real responsibility to keep it clean. I also love her design choices...and they were hers. She did a great job of creating a room that is mature, but not too mature. (Maybe she could help her mom with some designing elsewhere in the house.)

The girls have a Jack n Jill bath which is so nice! Unfortunately it hasn't helped with the peed bed issues. I can't have everything.

The Boys' Room

This room is huge! It is cold in the winter and I'm betting hot in the summer. The boys are in love and I'm just glad they have room for lego creations and such. I like that this room is down the hall from the girls (there is a bathroom between them) It provides a bit of a buffer. I also like that all of the kid rooms are on one side of the house. Toys stay out of my living room now!

Front Living Room

I love my new chairs! The couch should be here in the next 3 weeks. I can't wait to get this room situated. I like to sit in here and work on Primary stuff and listen to the kids play. The wall the bookcase is on is the wall of the kids' wing. It isn't really a wing, but that sounded fun to say. :)

The Piano and Computer Room

I can be standing in my kitchen and look out those windows and see the kids playing in the front. I love that. My old house you couldn't see into the front at all.

The Kitchen

Oh my! What's not to love. I have a double oven for crying out loud! I have really, really enjoyed cooking here. I don't have to unload an entire cupboard to get one pan. Amazing.

The Main Living Room

I love this room. It makes me smile to be here. It is comfortable and so close to the kitchen that I can do dishes and still be a part of the family.

The Master Bedroom

I love my bedroom (room for my rocking chair and minus the computer and all it's paraphernalia). I can't say how much I love my new closet. The old one was about 1/5 the size of this one. This closet was big enough for me to hide Christmas presents in! Wow, that made Christmas so much easier!

The Back Yard

Big enough for a swing set and four snow men. It has room to run and a great porch (with a ceiling fan) for me to sit at while the kids play.

I'm still waiting for my sister to come visit and say, "you should put a _____ here," because I'm not a decorator so the walls and surfaces stay bare otherwise. Unfortunately for me, she is pregnant with twins so likely will be unable to travel to my house for at least another year. Maybe I will have actually have a "decorate the house fund" by then.

Rain Gutter Regatta

2012-01-12T14:20:00.000-08:00

Our family has started it's journey along the Boy Scout path. Sewing patches onto uniforms, pack meetings, and lost scout books are now part of the routine. There is something very scouty about making your own vehicle and then racing it. It is a rite of passage that is important in a little boy's life, and by golly it better go fast!

Eric came home from Scouts with his rain gutter regatta kit and literally asked to work on it every day until the competition. He was a sanding fiend. I was afraid he might sand it into oblivion.

He was so excited to take his finished product to the pack meeting.

The night of the event came and much fun was had.

Especially when they announced for Eric to come get his first place award!

from Oct 2011

Daddy Kitty

2012-01-11T13:33:00.000-08:00

Daddy Kitty's good side

When I went away to college, my Nana sent a stuffed cat that made a purring sound when you moved him. It was supposed to ease the transition from home and pets to dorm room. It did help, and over time the stuffed cat became a fixture on my bed. By the time I had Tara it was just another thing in the house. Then it became the one thing that Tara couldn't live without. That poor stuffed animal has been through it all. He used to look like a cat too...before I dried him accidentally after a long night of cleaning throw up. He lost an eye once, but hot glue worked its miracle. He has been left in Lubbock and mailed home, found at friend's houses, and finally carefully placed at the foot of Tara's bed. He is thread bare almost everywhere and the stuffing he used to have has been loved away.

When he is missing, I usually find him here.

That picture reminded me so much of Tara that I went searching until I found one of her.

I don't know what magic power this little stuffed animal holds. It's been Tara's most loved possession since she was 6 mos old, and every other one of our children have had the pleasure? of being tickled by his tail when Tara was feeling genrous enough to share. It seems that Kyra has fallen under Daddy Kitty's spell, too.

I usually carefully take him away to his rightful resting place though. No one knows how much longer Daddy Kitty can hold together. He is hanging on by a string...literally.

from July 2011

The Sky is Broken

2011-11-16T12:00:00.000-08:00

We were outside the other day enjoying a nice afternoon in the back yard. Kyra came running to me crying. "Mom. Mom! The sky is broken." I looked up to see a single stream of contrail across the blue, blue sky.

Ketchup

2011-11-15T10:18:00.000-08:00

I'm a pretty good cook. Nothing exceptional, but the food I make is good. I find it insulting when people (my children) put ketchup on the food I make. Look, here's the deal children, if I make a roast, I will season it well enough that it won't need ketchup. There is a reason why the ketchup isn't on the table. It isn't an appropriate condiment or with the volume you use, side dish. Don't ask for me to get it out of the fridge.

Here's the problem. My husband likes ketchup on roast. It is how he was raised. (Quick disclaimer: his mother is a great cook. She's just a lot more patient than me.) Why ruin a good piece of meat with tomato, vinegar and sugar? I'll make a nice roast or pork loin and my kids will sneer and swear it is the grossest thing they have ever had to taste. Put ketchup on the table and the exact same piece of meat is suddenly their favorite dinner and gets rave reviews.

So what's a girl to do? I think I will have to learn patience and let my future daughter in laws fight this fight. I'm apologizing in advance.

Hi-ya!

2011-11-09T10:28:00.000-08:00

Ian is and has always been the defender of the underdog. He can't stand to watch someone getting hurt, and I have never seen him turn a blind eye to it. He will march right over to the culprit and stick up for the little guy. He usually does this with his fists. It was just a matter of time before this happened at school.

Ian saw a friend getting pushed. He couldn't stand it and began yanking the culprit away from his friend. Unfortunately for Ian, his teacher only saw the end of the altercation...the part where Ian was yanking on another student. He was in trouble and rightfully so since Ian didn't bother to explain his actions.

We talked about how it is always right to help others, but maybe he could have done it in a way that he wouldn't get in trouble. I asked him to think about how else the situation could have been handled.

After a few minutes of thinking about it he told me, "I know Mom. I could have shown him my moves," while mimicking his best karate-kid kick.

I was going for tell your teacher...

Swing Set Junkie

2011-11-08T09:09:00.000-08:00

Kyra loves to swing on the swing set,

and she loves to swing high.

Big Brother

2011-11-07T08:39:00.000-08:00

Amy enjoying some brotherly love

Having a big brother is a pretty special thing. There's something amazing about your big brother. They are so cool. They are so strong. And funny. And handsome. And smart. And you want to be just like them. At least that is the way I felt.

Seems the pattern continues. Amy wants to be just like Ian. In fact there is an outfit that Ian particularly likes and Amy tries to wear it almost every day because Ian told her when she wears it, he will always be nice to her.

Ian at 3 after some fun sneaking koolaid drink mix

Amy at 4 after some fun smooshing blue berries.

Reason # 873 Not to Fall Asleep First

2011-11-04T21:06:00.000-07:00

Barrage

2011-11-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to a fiddling group, Barrage, for a cultural event. As we were walking in, we ran into Ian's best girl. It was a special treat to sit with her and have some extra attention...including popcorn and cotton candy.

The purpose of this outing was to help Eric pass off a Cub Scout requirement, and I'm so glad we went. It is fun watching your kids experience something new. All the kids were tapping toes and dancing in their seats, except for Ian who wasn't able to contain his excitement and danced everywhere...the aisle, his seat, my lap, his best girl's lap, etc. My favorite part was after an exceptional solo. The entire auditorium was cheering in appreciation and just as things quieted back down, Ian yells, "You did great!" It was as loud as he possible could scream and it echoed through the auditorium. Awesome!!

Halloween Pics

2011-11-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

Please tell me you were making your kids Halloween costumes an hour before trick or treating...or maybe it's just me. I got my Dad's procrastination genes. It is a great quality to have. Really. It is. I tell myself that all the time. I also tell myself that about his premature gray gene that I also got. It's a good quality.

Ok, so on to what you really want to see...costumes.

Amy wanted to be the blue bird from the movie Rio.

Kyra wanted the same only pink, even though there are no pink birds in Rio.

Ian's costume is the one we were working on last minute. He was set on taking his robot generation 1, but I finally convinced him to create a generation 2. You see generation 1 had a blob of gum on the front with a cheerio in it (to make it smell good), arm holes about 3 times too big, a neck hole that was barely connected, and feathers glued inside and made almost 2 months ago and worn almost daily since then by Ian. It was in rough shape...not that there is anything wrong with that (said in Seinfeld's voice).

Eric was a rubic's cube.

Tara was being moody so the only picture of her is from the group shot.

My favorite part of the night was the girls' attempt (not the first one either) to fly by wildly flapping their arms. It didn't work. I blame the shoddy costumes that were only held together with feathers and hot glue.

Crock pots

2011-10-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

Amy doing her I-know-everything look...and pretending to cook

Today I pulled out the crock pot to make dinner. Amy (my shadow in the kitchen) looked at me and said, "Oh Mom! Are we taking dinner to someone again tonight!"

We weren't, but it made me so happy to hear the excitement in her voice at the prospect of serving others. Service is a blessing in my life. I hope I am teaching my children that we serve others to help their burdens be lighter and to lift our spirits. Nothing makes you feel better than helping others.

Two Front Teeth

2011-10-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

During our move, Eric had a major rite of passage.

Purdy and Cute

2011-10-25T02:16:00.000-07:00

Purdy or Cute?

If you tell Kyra she's cute. She looks at you like you are in serious need of a few extra brain cells, and emphatically corrects you to let you know, " I'm purdy. Amy's cute."

For a very long time (like almost a year), I thought Kyra was being mean to Amy. However, we ok, Jared, finally figured out that if you're wearing a skirt/dress then you are pretty and if you are in pants/shorts then you are cute. Kyra wears a lot more dresses than her tom-boy sister.

For heaven's sake don't get this wrong! Last night Kyra was being exceptionally cute running around in her princess nightgown. I told her, "Keeks, I love you. You are so cute." She quickly corrected me and let me know she is purdy. Then she left me and snuggled her dad who wisely called her pretty.

See, the consequences are serious.

Purdy Kyra

Cute Kyra

Taylor Swift in Concert

2011-10-23T12:11:00.000-07:00

Do you remember when Tara opened her best birthday present ever?

We finally got to use our tickets!
It was so much fun to take her to the concert!

The first order of business was to get a t-shirt.
(no small task considering the mob of people in that line)
Tara had her t-shirt on by the time we got to our seats.

It was torture for Tara to sit through the opening acts.
But finally the lights dimmed, the curtains opened and the screaming began!

It was a full house and so loud!
I was grateful for the ear plugs (does that mean I'm getting old?)
We could hear so much better with those in.

Tara singing along...like we did most of the night.

Tara was thrilled and kept saying, "I've never been more excited in my life!"
With sights like this, who can blame her?

I loved that everywhere you looked there were moms with their daughters. T-shirts that said, "best mom, ever" all over the place. Daddy's with little girls on their shoulders, etc. It was wonderful.

I also enjoyed that Tara and I did this most of the night.
She hasn't held my hand in a long time.

We were really close here.
We walked down to the floor and were just a few feet away.
We were hoping for an autograph,
but she walked back up to the stage on the other side...so close.

Taylor Swift played the guitar, banjo, piano, and ukulele.
What a talented woman.

Oh, and the indoor fireworks blew Tara's mind!
(I missed pictures of those. I was too busy watching them)
Tara also like watching Taylor soar through the air in her cage-thing.

Our favorite dress of the night. She looked beautiful.

It was over too soon.
We would have happily listened to her sing for another 2 hours!

It was exhausting though. Tara actually took a nap she was so tired.

Best Day Ever?

I think so.

A Little Light Reading

2011-10-21T11:18:00.000-07:00

Last night I told Eric he could read for a few minutes before bed.

These are the books that I found on his bed this morning.

Habla ingles?

2011-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

While looking through Ian's homework, I found a paper titled "Get to Know Your Class" It caught my attention and I began reading about Ian's classmates. One question asked the students to find someone in the class who spoke a different language. Ian had answered Taylor.

I was surprised because I know Taylor and didn't remember this tidbit about her. I asked Ian what language Taylor spoke. When Ian answered Spanish, I questioned further. Ian answered me with that sigh that really means I-can't-believe-I-have-to-explain-this-to-a-grown-up. "Mom, she speaks Spanish just like me! You know, uno, dos, trace, quatro, sinko, quatro."

I helped Ian count to ten correctly. Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez. Then I told him I speak Spanish too because you don't have to be fluent to qualify for speaking another language, apparently.

Lemonade Stand

2011-10-14T10:49:00.000-07:00

It was a hundred and hot when the kids decided they NEEDED to do a lemonade stand. I think that's a rite of passage somewhere. You have to have a lemonade stand and realize that some people just don't want to buy what you are selling no matter how cute you are.

We made cookies and took tons of stuff to the park to set up. After I threw a temper tantrum about setting up all by myself (which really wasn't true...I was just frustrated. Not one of my finer moments), we managed to settle into some fun.

We even had some customers. Every time a car pulled up to stop, the kids would scream customers! I felt like I was reliving that scene from "Cars" over and over again!

Here is why we got any one to stop.

They were the only ones willing to brave getting out of the shade. And they ran up and down and up and down the length of the park trying to convince passer-bys to stop.

It wore Eric out just watching!

But they were nicely rewarded.

The kids sold out of cookies and Lemonade and they all decided to donate the money they made to a charity. What amazing kids!

Carlsbad Caverns

2011-10-13T10:21:00.000-07:00

We tried to do some fun things while our BFFs were back. The trip to Carlsbad was my favorite. I spent the car ride there with the boys, the walk down with the girls, and drove home with Steph. I got special time with everyone. It was great.

Even being with her best friends can't calm Tara's fear. She really doesn't like heights. I wonder where that comes from? Jared and I both love them. She was fine when we got past the big hole.

How cute are these stair steps? Between the two families we have kids ages 11,10,9,8,7,6,4, and two 3 year olds!

Amy carried that back pack full of water bottles almost the entire time. I planned on doing it, but since it was in HER back pack, she wouldn't hear of it.

This is the look you get at the end of a long hike, when you insist on helping with that huge back pack of water! She is so stinking determined and when she decides she can do something, no one can stop her. It is a quality I love and fear. I pray I will be able to direct that for good. If I do, that girl will be an amazing woman. If I don't, heaven help us!

Goofing off at the bottom of the cave

The kids' favorite part was the gift shop. It just about did me in!

BFFs were Back

2011-10-12T10:49:00.000-07:00

Tara was in 7th heaven. Her BFFs came back for a short visit over the summer. It was so nice to see her smile again. You know that real smile that has been missing for about 6mos...the amount of time her friends were gone.

The boys did what boys do...wrestle, fight, and fart.

The baby girls loved having Colbie back. Who are we kidding? I loved it! That girl is like my 6th baby. I miss her every single day. Thanks Stephanie for letting me enjoy her for those six months when your life was in turmoil with chemo treatments. Hugs and Kisses Miss Belle. From Mana.

If you want something done right....do it yourself

2011-10-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

While fighting about eating dinner, Ian and I had the following conversation.

Me: Ian, just eat one bite. It's brisket. You'll like it
Ian: No.
Me: Ian eat a bite.
Ian: You eat it.
Me: No. You eat your own dinner and don't talk back to me.
Ian: Mom, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

I totally lost that battle.

Boogers and Thank Yous

2011-09-28T07:59:00.000-07:00

There are a few things I learned about moving.

1. one cupboard takes way more than one box to load. Holy Cow! The number of trips to Walmart for boxes was outrageous.

2. ~~some of my kids~~ all of my kids need a lesson on what a kleenex is and how it's supposed to be used. Obviously they missed the lesson since I spent a good chunk of my clean-up-the-old-house time scraping boogers off the wall.

I consider it payback for my childhood. Once all four of us kids were lined up (in height order) and asked to stare at the wall (with a booger on it) and answer the question, "did you do that?" Everyone but me said, "no," because they are smart. I answered, "I don't know." Really bad answer! I still remember scrapping that booger off the wall with my dad's little swiss army knife. The entire time I felt unjustly accused. I knew everyone else wiped boogers too. I just couldn't remember if that one was mine or someone else's. I actually told the truth and was being punished! Life is terribly unfair sometimes. Wow, I'm getting a really good look into my 10 year old's mind right now. Hmm, maybe I need to try to remember being little more often.

3. I should always, always ask my mom to come. She is like the energizer bunny. My goal was to have the house put together before she left (she was here for 3 days at the old house and 6 days at the new one). We did it too. So many people commented on how fast things were put together and all the credit goes to her! She is the hardest worker I know and one of the most selfless people out there.

Thank you Mom!

Budding Geologists

2011-09-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

We were fortunate enough to have my mom and dad come help us with unpacking and some handy-man projects at our new house. It was such a blessing. Sorry, no pictures. We were much too busy working to be taking pictures plus I probably didn't even know where the camera was.

My dad took the kids on several walks to the edge of the neighborhood where there is a rock garden. He patiently identified the exact same type of rock over and over. My kids were in heaven as is evidenced by the line of rocks on my back porch that were collected in the process. The rocks have been show and tell fodder, bartered for, and the object of heartbreak when one of them accidentally went missing. Who knew moss agate was such a prized possession?

I find rocks everywhere. My favorite find was when I picked up a hand towel from the bathroom counter and out fell two ~~boulders~~ rocks which of course landed on my toes. One of the kids had been cleaning their rocks and left them lovingly wrapped in a towel to dry.

Thanks Papa Bob for making geology such an exciting topic. Each kid has a rock collection. I remember rolling my eyes as you explained rock types and corrosion factors. Now as my kids ask me those questions, I have to rack my brains to remember 7th grade science or one of the many rock conversations I thought I was too cool for.

Burp A, Burp B, Burp C

2011-09-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

Ian's 1st grade teacher uses a warning system to handle discipline in her classroom. You get one warning and then you start moving your clip from green to yellow to red. Obviously you don't want to be on red. Ian tries really hard to be good at school, but every once in a while we'll get a note home about behavior.

Today Ian was playing with his lip and talking oh so softly, my clues that he is nervous about something he is about to say. "Mom, I had to move my clip today." I asked if he got a warning. "Nope. I just had to move the clip." I was wondering what he did that deserved immediate movement. "Ian! What were you doing?" He explained that he was making his friends laugh. After further prodding and a request for him to show me what he was doing, I found that he was making his friends laugh by showing them his newly acquired skill.

Burp talking.

Yep. Imagine a room full of 6 year olds laughing as one of them says their ABC's in burps. I'd have him move his clip too. However, as he retold the story, nervously, at home. I couldn't help but laugh with him, hug him hard, and make him promise to only burp talk at home where I could enjoy it.

Green Cards

2011-09-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

Our family is currently in the throes of green card application. That is why I've been absent from the blog scene for so long. You are probably wondering what we need green cards for since we are all US citizens.

Late July we got a hair-brained idea that we would like to "just look" at some houses for sell in our city to see if we were interested in an upgrade. Three weeks later our house was sold and we were packing up to get settled in the new one.

So, back to the green cards. The new house has 4 bedrooms which means Jared and I share, the boys share, and the baby girls share. Tara gets her own room. She loves the solitude, but doesn't like to be lonely. Therefore, if you want permission to be in Tara's room, she grants that privilege to you once you have earned a green card.

We have all been

doing what Tara tells us
paying money
providing service to her

in order to earn our coveted green cards. I have learned that she does accept kickbacks and bribery, so I get in without the actual card. Come to think of it, I don't think I've actually seen any cards issued. There has been lots of commotion about entering without a green card. Her border control is a little lacking....perhaps Tara taught the government a thing or two.

Message me at larshannon@gmail.com and I'll send you our new address for your address books.

The Best Birthday Ever

2011-08-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

Tara turned 10 years old on Saturday. Ten is a really important birthday...it's the first time you hit double digits. And let's face it, the likelihood of getting to triple digits is really small, so celebrating double digits needs to be big!

We hit the road to Lubbock to celebrate in style with family.

Tara and Aunt Catherine at air hockey. Tara won, but Catherine had a handicap.

Tara and her cousin Hannah enjoying dinner at Tara's favorite restaurant, Rosa's.

Then it was time to head to the grandparents' house and get down to business...presents and dessert.

Kyra has been assigning colors for everyone's birthdays. Hers is pink, Amy's is blue, and Tara was black. Tara didn't like that idea, but since she is old like the rest of us, she decided to embrace her inner geezer and have a black birthday after all. I thought the wrapping paper was super cute.

We taught the Shannon's the heavy, heavy hangover tradition.

Tara wanted donuts instead of a cake and so we made her a Krispy Kreme donut cake.
Her dad bet her she couldn't eat 10 donuts.
She tried her best, but after 4 had to give up.

There were lots of presents she liked and the donuts were yummy, but finally here's the part that made it the best birthday ever...

Amy Rides on Two Wheels

2011-08-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

Every Saturday Jared spends some one on one time with one of the kids. It isn't anything fancy, just some errand running or project completion. But, it does give the kids some special alone time with their favorite person, and Jared gets to reconnect with them and find out what it is that is important to them.

Last weekend was Amy's turn and she requested that Daddy teach her to ride her bike without training wheels.

The coaching

The push-off

And there she went

That girl always knows what she wants and when she is ready for it. It only took 3 minutes before she was riding the entire street just like her siblings. I'm especially fond of the fact that she has only one knee pad and one elbow pad on opposite sides.

Walking on Water and Moving Mountains

2011-07-24T14:01:00.001-07:00

We recently read the story of Jesus walking on the water during family scripture time. We talked about faith and its power. This story is powerful and Ian has really been taking it to heart. Every day at the pool, he "practices" walking on the water. He takes a running start, a big jump, and then moves those little legs as fast as he can before he hits the water to see if this time will be the time when he finally walks on water.

Yesterday, while checking facebook I found this picture of my brother. He and my dad were out kayaking.

I showed it to Ian. He looked at me and with wonder in his voice said, "Uncle Daniel has enough faith to do THAT?!"

I didn't have the heart to explain how Daniel found a tree stump that was almost covered by water and managed to climb from the kayak to the tree stump without falling in the lake. So instead I told him that if we have the faith of a mustard seed, we can move mountains. Then I showed him how small a mustard seed is.

I wonder when he will try to move a mountain?

Right vs. Wrong

2011-07-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

We're big MegaMind fans at our house. It's a fun movie with great one-liners that we quote often.

We were on a road trip recently and Eric piped up saying we just passed through Big Spring. I said, "No, I think this is Andrews because I just saw a sign for Andrews." Jared confirmed we were indeed in Big Spring.

Cue MegaMind movie quote. I turned to Eric and said, "You were right. I was less right."

Eric replied, "No Mom. I was right. You were wrong."

Figures, I always get directions wrong. My siblings will sympathize. Most of them have the problem too.

Droughts and Grasshoppers

2011-07-19T08:28:00.000-07:00

Texas is in an drought. An exceptional drought which means there is exceptional and widespread crop/pasture losses; shortages of water in reservoirs, streams and wells creating water emergencies.

There are many sad results of this like wildfires coming within inches of homes just 2 miles from us (that was an exciting night), dead flower beds because of water restrictions, and the saddest thing for my boys...no grasshoppers.

We went out of town a few weeks ago and they were playing in the back yard enjoying some cooler temperatures. Ian burst into the house holding a treasure and yelled to Eric, "Good news Eric! First grasshopper of the year!"

Only with my boys would that be good news!

All-American

2011-07-18T13:43:00.000-07:00

It doesn't get much more American than this.

Plus Eric passed off a Cub-Scout requirement in the process.

Trampoline Sleepover

2011-07-16T06:16:00.000-07:00

The kids begged and begged to please, pretty please with a cherry on top, be able to sleep on the trampoline. It took a couple of tries, but they finally wore us down to a yes. Not that we really cared one way or the other, it is just funny to hear them beg. (Plus Jared told them they could only sleep on the tramp if they were totally quiet for 10minutes. It was nice to have a quiet discussion with Jared.)

At 9:20 when it was finally dark
we laid the kids out on the trampoline to snickering and flashlight shining.

At 9:31 Kyra came in because she was scared
At 9:45 Amy wanted in too

Then we heard giggling and story-telling for an hour

At 10:30 Ian gave up. Eric wanted to come in too, but Tara worked hard to convince him to stay
At 11:05 Eric came in
At 11:10 Tara did too

They had a great sleepover in their own beds...inside.

Distraction

2011-07-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

Dad, can I play on your ipad?

No.

Dad, if you don't let me play on your ipad, I WILL distract you.

One thing I love about Amy is you always know where you stand with her. Always.

Rain

2011-07-12T15:43:00.000-07:00

We haven't had rain here in so long. To be specific, we've had .18 of an inch since Sept of 2010. Crazy, huh.

We had a tiny 10 minute drizzle today. The kids were watching a movie and suddenly the sound on the sky lights started...the sound of rain. The movie was forgotten and all of us, yes even me, ran to see rain. We forgot what it looked like.

The kids enjoyed jumping

and swinging in the rain.

There was even some singing. It went like this, "rain, rain, don't go away. Come again everyday."

P.S. I am so, so thankful to have our driveway clear of the chalk that has been on the driveway since April!

Rough Couple of Days

2011-07-01T15:06:00.000-07:00

We have clutzy kids. I'm not surprised because, well, I'm their mom. No one has ever accused me of being graceful, and I've had my fair share of war wounds.

Our first event was last night. Kyra was on the wrong end of Ian swinging a golf club. Ian felt terrible...worse than Kyra. Kyra didn't like the blood at all and there was a lot of it. She kept saying between sobs, "my face is broken, my face is broken." The doctor opted for dermaglue to reduce the scarring, and Kyra was a great patient. The funny thing was that her tears made the glue change color. It was clear before she cried and then changed to white...

you can't see it, but there is a cut on her eyelid too
and the black eye 2 days later was spectacular

Then this morning Ian tried walking through the grocery store with his hands AND legs tucked into his shirt, lost his balance, and landed head first on the cement floor. He's sporting a goose-egg the size of a fifty cent piece. On the bright side, we were in the cold food section, so there was easy access to an ice pack. I just added some lil smokies to the shopping list and wa-la, ice pack and lunch!

Seriously that bump is huge!

As soon as we got home from the grocery store, Kyra went to the piano to play. She hopped off the bench and in the process bit through her lip. Things come in threes, so we are good for a while.

Funny story, a day or two after the fall-on-your-face fiasco, Ian was acting up. I flicked his forehead and accidentally got his owie. I know, I know. It was terrible and really not funny, but on the up side I have now decided that flicking isn't an appropriate punishment.

Milk! It Does a Body Good.

2011-06-30T15:04:00.000-07:00

This month I have purchased 21 gallons of milk.
It's a short month and we've been out of town, and still 21!
We only have 1 left in the fridge.
I don't even have teenagers yet.
Can you imagine?!
I'm gonna need a second fridge just for milk!

Ian was here

2011-06-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

When Kyra woke up from her nap she had many new marks all over her body. As a side note, how do kids manage to find the only marker not under lock and key? I asked who did it, but of course no one admitted to it. All of the kids, Kyra included, swore it wasn't them. I found out at bath time who the culprit was...

Motor Cross

2011-06-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

The things we do for our kids. A few weekends ago it was standing in the parking lot of a local motor cycle shop watching a guy pop wheelies on his motorcycle. I was totally ok with it until the announcer reminded everyone to be ready to run if the motorcycle was missing its rider and was barreling in our direction. Has that really happened? I looked at my five kids, then at Jared. I figured the best course of action was for Jared to heroically dive in front of the moving vehicle and I would cower protectively over the children and then the bike would stop inches from Jared. I mean that is how it happens in the movies, right?

Ian loved it. I mean look at that face?

I can't resist Eric's face in this picture.
That's how I'll look when Ian is 15 and learning to drive my car.

Trendy

2011-06-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

I just noticed something. Amy has the same haircut as about 70% of high school boys.

Phone Etiquette

2011-06-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

At the end of the school year, Eric's class got to sign every one's journals. For some reason Eric signed his name and MY CELL phone number in his friends' journals. Why he didn't pass out the home phone number, I have NO idea.

Turns out he gave ~~his~~ my cell number to a girl in his class who is a chatter. She has called three times already and that is almost unbearable for Eric because he gets a lot and I mean A LOT of teasing from his siblings each time he gets a call.

I got another phone call from her this morning. When I told Eric, "Hannah's on the phone," his response was, "again?" I handed the phone to him and he said, "Why are you calling me again?" No 'hello' or 'hi, how ya doing'. Oh, man! I've got to teach him some etiquette...and when to give out a phone number.

They talked about what they are doing and this girl MUST like Eric because their conversation lasted 30minutes and they only talked about Eric's lego collection...and listened to Ian yelling "Eric Loves Hannah!" and Eric denying it vehemently.

White Elephant Exchange: Shannon Family Reunion

2011-06-10T22:23:00.000-07:00

We ended the family reunion with a white elephant gift exchange. It is always fun to see what things turn up and who wants what.

I think that Uncle Michael gets the award for best sport. Ian picked a present that turned out to be a bunch of VHS chic flicks. He burst into tears because he didn't get the "white elephant" part of the gift exchange. Michael promptly stole Ian's present, so Ian picked again and with some directing from Great-Aunt Sharon ended up with this super cool stuffed scorpion that hasn't left his side since. Thank you Michael for your kindness and generosity. It sure helped a lot.

Great-Aunt Sharon got an isolation kit, courtesy of our medically trained family members. She looked great in it too.

Eric hit the mother lode with Grandpa Clyde's mission camera. It is a very neat piece of family history that has been passed from grandpa to first grandson. We'll keep it forever. I think the explaination/instruction time was just as special.

The funniest part of the whole game (for me at least) was when Kyra opened up her present to find a clock that was a wedding gift to Jared and I that we had passed on to Kristen, who left it at Linda's, who gave it to Brent and Tamara to give in the gift exchange.

Memorial Day: Shannon Family Reunion

2011-06-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day is such a special day. About so much more than shopping and a day off work. I am proud to have grandparents who sacrificed their innocence and youth to serve our country. I want my children to understand the importance of their sacrifice and the sacrifice of others who served our country. We spent the morning of Memorial Day at a service honoring veterans.

Please look at my children and be very, very jealous. They were practically angels during the entire program. Please also assume it is my awesome parenting that is causing the angelicness...not the mini notebooks from Target's dollar section. (Best $5 bucks I've ever spent.)

This man offered to let Eric enlist. I told him Eric wasn't ready yet, so he offered to let me sign up with Eric. Even that seemed less than desirable. Do you realize that he is a mere ten years from draft age?

Great-Grandpa Bill Shannon served in the Navy during WWII...still living

Great-Grandpa Cecil Trull served in the Navy in WWII...still living

Great-Grandpa Garner Meads served in the Army in WWII...deceased

I just want to say thank you to these wonderful, wonderful men!

Joyland: the Shannon Family Reunion

2011-06-08T07:53:00.000-07:00

You know those carnivals that set up for a week in the mall parking lot?

Joyland is like a permanent one of those. My kids are the perfect age for a trip to Joyland and most of them are tall enough to go on all the rides. Add a half off Groupon coupon and the day was perfect...well except for the 105 temps and the two baby girls recovering from strep throat.

This ride is like the tea cups at Disney Land. Oh, my goodness. I was so dizzy afterward. It took 30 minutes before I felt normal again. Amy was concerned on the ride. Not about getting sick. She said, "this ride is going so fast it will mess up my ponytail!" Ever the fashionista.

Kyra loved the carousel.
Tara as always is protective of her little sister.

Kristen and Brent are very good sports.
We rode the carousel 6 times before we pried Amy and Kyra off their horses.

Oh, and if the carousel was addicting to the baby girls, the Music Machine was even more addicting to Tara. As Tamara called it, crack for tweens. Tara rode it 8 times. I think every grown up in attendance had a chance to ride with Tara at least once. I can't say that I enjoyed getting squished into the side of the car, but watching Tara and Eric hugging each other (due to the sheer power of centrifugal force) was really fun. And teasing them about it was even more fun.

What is an amusement park without the log ride?
Everyone enjoys the splash of dirty water and the wet butt!

See, everyone!
Ian was so glad to be tall enough for this ride.

It was a big upgrade from this ride, which he also enjoyed...just not as much.

Eric told us, "Today is the best day, ever!"

Fun was had by all.

Field Day

2011-06-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

You can't end a school year without Field Day. This year our school did a "Minute to Win it" version of field day. I'm not sure I would recommend it to others, but you know it was trendy. I missed watching the kids run relays and have a tug of war, etc.

Stacking Plates, what concentration

I don't know what the point of this was....

Sorting Skittles...one handed. What a show-off

Of course the highlight of the whole day is getting a snow cone with a best friend.

Especially if your best friend is your sister

Shot guns

2011-06-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Jared took my dad and I clay pigeon shooting. Doesn't it look like he knows what he is doing?

And him too. He looks like he can handle that gun.

Now look at my picture.

I had never shot a shot gun before and Jared's is a 12 gauge. He assured me that the kick isn't that bad. I assumed he was telling the truth. I walked up to my spot, put the gun to my shoulder, aimed at that clay pigeon, and pulled the trigger. That is when I learned that my husband is either a liar or much, much better at this whole shooting thing then I thought. The gun kicked me so hard I actually stumbled into the wall behind me and hit my head. Yep, I'm that graceful.

It hurt so bad to shoot that dumb gun. I shot 3 times and declared I was done. Then it would be my turn again and I couldn't bear not to to take it. I hate quitters. So, I would shoot again and it would hurt and I would shoot it again and it would hurt, repeat 20 times. I only hit 2 dumb clays the whole time and got a huge bruise in return.

We left the range and I told Jared he needed to buy a 20 gauge if he ever wanted me to go with him again. Wait! Maybe that's why he wanted me to go shooting with him...now he has permission to buy another gun... Sneaky, Jared. Sneaky.

Keeks' Cut

2011-06-02T22:05:00.000-07:00

We were working on homework in the living room. Eric was so close to figuring out a problem he just wasn't getting. I got that feeling to check on the little girls and I said to myself, "I'll go as soon as Eric figures this out." It took about 2 more minutes before Eric had his ah-ha moment.

Just as he figured it out, Kyra came walking up to me and said, "Mom, Amy did my hair done." Oh boy did she. Kyra's hair had been in a bun and Amy cut all the pieces that had fallen out. I was so mad at myself for ignoring my little prompting that could have saved so much frustration and anger.

bangs to your ear...the new style at the Shannon house

really, who needs those side pieces anyway?

This is the part that kills me.
Why snip to the scalp in the middle of the head?
It'll get worse before it gets better.
When those pieces are an inch or two long, they will stick straight up.
Awesome.

She doesn't seem to mind the new do.

Proof that I didn't handle this well.
She did lovingly remind me (after the tears stopped)
"all Kyra has to do for her hair to grow is eat meat."

Amy, dear, please, please stop using scissors on hair. Any hair. I don't care if it is you, your sister, or the stuffed horse. Just don't do it. I don't think my patience is capable of handling another fiasco involving scissors and hair. For the emotional well-being of your mother I have removed all scissors from the house. Before I just locked them up, but apparently that isn't good enough. Your older siblings will just have to tear paper for school projects instead of cut it. Mosaics are in, right?

I Can Hear You

2011-05-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

At night when all the kids are in bed and I begin to clean up and prepare for the next day, I will often hear the chatter of children talking about their day. I enjoy the sound most of the time, but when is gets too late, I call out "I can hear you." It is my nice way of saying be quiet.

The other day we were driving in the car and I began to sing along with the radio. From the back seat Amy called, "Mom, I can hear you!" It was her nice way of saying be quiet.

Which is significantly nicer than her normal way...pinching my lips closed

Amy's Preschool

2011-05-19T18:11:00.000-07:00

Another year of stay-at-home preschool is completed! I've done it twice with Tara and once with Eric, Ian, and Amy. That is five years of teaching preschool that I should add to my resume. I do love the format. The kids meet every Tues and Thurs for 2 hours and the moms take turns being the teacher. Amy's class has 5 kids, so I get a month off and then it is my turn to teach for a week. Each week focuses on a letter, number, and color. Last week we did the letter W and talked about water.

The kids loved the water drop races.

Especially when they won.

Will it float?

But bubble blowing in a huge pan of water...nothing is better when you are 4!

Favorite Things

2011-05-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

Dirty faces and gifts of wild flowers.
One of my favorite parts of summer!

Volleyball

2011-05-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

Tara just finished her very first season of volleyball. It was fun to watch her get better and better each game.

She is a great server, getting several aces. In the last game of the season she scored nine points off of serves including the last four points of the set that made them win the match. She was pretty excited about that.

Announcement

2011-05-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

This little lady is potty trained!
It only took a week.
Even for nights.
Amazing!
I should try and get her older sibling done now...

Sleeping Beauty

2011-05-06T07:05:00.000-07:00

The Lilac Fairy (stock photo)

I was fortunate enough to take my girls to the Russian National Ballet's performance of Sleeping Beauty. It was by far my favorite ballet. I think because we are so familiar with the story and the music, thank you Walt Disney! It was beautiful.

More importantly, I loved that it gave me an opportunity to hold little ones on my lap and explain the story they were watching on stage. I loved their excitement. Kyra enjoyed watching the fairies dance, but really, really wanted them to have wings so they could fly too. Amy couldn't contain her enthusiasm and just had to get out of her seat and try a few twirls, plies, and pirouettes. She kept saying, "I have to practice that at home." But the most enjoyable part was watching how mature Tara has become. She looked like a young lady. She was kind to her sisters and held Kyra for me when Amy needed more attention. It was a wonderful Mother/Daughter experience.

Amy practicing

Eric's Baptism

2011-05-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

As parents, occasionally we have moments that allow us to reflect on how our children are growing, learning, and maturing. When I look at this picture, I think how Eric is so confident. He knows so much about himself. He has very clear views of right and wrong which gives him confidence. He has always been attracted to truth. He can recognize it easily.

It was natural for him to decide to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He just felt it was the right thing to do. It was very special to have this important day on Easter.

After he was baptized, I asked him how he felt. I was expecting him to comment on how good he felt, happy, etc. Instead he surprised me with this, "Mom, I feel the same as always." I was a bit surprised and so I prodded more. "I feel the same way I always do. You always feel good when you do what is right," he answered. In that moment I was humbled to be trusted with a child so close to the spirit and intent on doing and being good. What a blessing he is in our home. A constant example of goodness.

This is such an Eric face.

Eric and his Dad

We are very proud parents

Jared's Family
(try taking a group picture with kids hyped up on Easter candy
and at church for the 2nd time in one day.)

Laura's Family

Easter Sunday

2011-05-03T07:03:00.000-07:00

What a glorious day! It was beautiful. Unlike our attempts at a family picture. They all look like this...

So I gave up and a few days later made everyone dress up again for round two. Not much better. It is impossible to get all of us to look good at the same time.

Happy Easter, anyway.

Cub Scouts

2011-04-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

And so it begins, the scouting journey. Eric is so excited. He asks to work on his Wolf book almost daily. I hope the excitement lasts for a while!

Oh, and I already despise the sewing on of patches. I had 5 to put on this shirt. I couldn't get the sewing machine needle to make it through the thick patches, so I opted to do it by hand. Three hours later when I finally finished, I learned they make GLUE to stick the patches on with! But Mom, the stitches are straight and so are the patches, so something you taught me actually sank in.

Ian's Birthday

2011-04-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

Ian just had his 6th birthday. One of the qualities that I love about Ian is his charisma. He has never met someone that he hasn't won over in less than 5 minutes. It is amazing to watch him work a crowd. He can get people to do what he wants. I pray daily that he can use this power for good. On his birthday I took cupcakes to his class at school. He thought it would be funny to get icing all over his face. He did and then proceeded to show his classmates his face and how cool it was. Within 60 seconds the entire kindergarten class had shoved their faces into their cupcakes and were showing the results to Ian for approval. Heaven help us!

Ian had an oreo birthday cake. It was a dessert we tried with Tara's cooking club that turned out to be a keeper. The trick candles were a lot of fun too. Although I'm sure the cake was covered in Ian spit.

As always the best part was presents. His favorite present? The (synthetic) bird poop pellets that he could dissect to find bones of small rodents like moles and mice. How many boys get poop for their birthday? And it's their favorite gift! He was so excited to dissect the ball of poop and start assembling the bones. He waited dutifully through the singing of happy birthday and the eating of cake. I think he ate two bites of his cake before he snuck into the living room to start working.

He is concentrating so hard. He says he wants to be a paleontologist when he grows up. I guess this is good practice.

Can you do this?

2011-04-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

"Why do you do that Kyra?" I asked.

Cuz mine boogers need a kweenex.

It is an important skill to have. Good thing I passed that on to her.

amy's hair

2011-04-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

Remember when Amy cut her hair? Oh my goodness! She did a number. It's finally starting to grow out, but still looks mullety especially without the help of clips or a headband. She begs frequently to have ponytails like Kyra. We finally tried it out and it took a lot of rubber bands, but it worked. There is hope.

pants on backward

2011-04-10T15:36:00.000-07:00

When I picked up Ian from school, I had a short visit with the teacher about some of his behavior problems during the day. At home I tried to figure out what was going on with Ian to result in a rough day. After brainstorming together, we finally found it.

If you are so sleepy that you don't notice that you put your pants on backward and tired enough that you wore them that way all day long, then you're in no position to handle the intensity of kindergarten. I'd be cranky too if my pants were on backward.

Our solution was an early bedtime and the next day he was back to his normal self.

Cooking Club

2011-04-08T15:53:00.000-07:00

Over the last year Tara's had 3 best friends move away. It's hard to make new friends, and so together she and I developed a plan. She could pick 5 girls that she wanted to make friends with and invite them to our home to be a part of her Cooking Club.

Every other Friday (sometimes every Friday like when one girl convinced her family, "It's this week! I promise!" She stayed and we whipped up a chocolate pie so she wouldn't go home empty handed) Tara and her five friends storm my kitchen and make food to take home to their families. I set out the ingredients, help interpret the recipe like the difference between tsp and Tbsp, and remind them how many scoops of flour they are actually on. I've even had to explain how to scoop flour. We've done cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip brownies, banana bread, and dinner rolls. It has been really fun to see them create yummy food, and gain confidence in their cooking abilities. It has been hard to relinquish control to them because I don't mix, measure, or pour. Even when I really, really want to.

I do clean up though which is not nearly as much fun, but the girls enjoy playing with each other while I do it. I figure it is a small price to pay for Tara to create new friendships.

I think it's working.

Puddles

2011-04-07T14:59:00.000-07:00

Amy and Kyra were laughing and giggling together and I was giving myself imaginary pats on the back for having kids that get along so well. That is quite a parenting accomplishment, you know.

I went to check on the girls and found them splashing in self-created puddles on the top of my kitchen counter.

Sometimes ingenuity in a child is difficult for a parent.
I wanted to be mad because of my extra work, but I was so proud of her brains.

Look at how Kyra's hair is flying after finishing a major puddle splash and how proud Amy is!

I was really glad I had deep cleaned the kitchen early that morning...really there isn't any sarcasm in that. I could only imagine how many important things would have been soaked otherwise.

Eric's 8

2011-04-05T15:40:00.000-07:00

Eric turned 8 on Sunday, and wanted a golf cake since he went to Putt-Putt for his birthday party. I was really glad he picked something easy!

And here is what it looked like after Kyra got her hands on it, literally.
We found her in the corner with a pile of napkins trying to clean the icing off her hands.

Eric is by nature a peacemaker. He doesn't like when things are unfair or there's discord in the home. However, he is still a boy and an older brother and has learned some very effective ways to tease his siblings.

Eric is very smart and holds himself to a very high standard. He doesn't just want to be smart, he wants to be the smartest. Dad, I don't know where he gets it from.

Eric is in love with airplanes and space. He makes 30-40 paper airplanes a week in varying designs. It feels like I am constantly picking them up. (Right now I can see three on the floor in the living room and I just cleaned and vacuumed it a few minutes ago.)

Eric's party

2011-04-04T15:41:00.001-07:00

When I asked Eric what he wanted to do for his birthday, he told me it was a boys only party. At first I was a little offended and kind of sad, but then I realized I didn't have to do any of the hard stuff! So, I put away my hurt feelings and got really excited about the fact that Jared was taking the boys to Putt-Putt instead of me.

Eric invited his two best friends and his little brother (without any coaxing from his dad or me. I was really proud of him for that.) for an afternoon of play at Putt-Putt.

Jared said that during miniature golf one hole alone took more than 18 strokes. See, good thing Jared was there instead of me. I would have called it long before!

Laser tag was a huge hit.
Go figure, boys shooting guns at each other.

Look how happy Ian is!

air hockey

And arcade games. Oh my!

Then home for pizza

And presents

And the very best part of the whole thing!

Lost Tooth

2011-03-25T15:56:00.000-07:00

One month before he turned eight years old, he finally lost a tooth. There was no fanfare or drama. He just announced from the back seat of the car, "hey Mom, I just lost my tooth."

He was really, really excited to finally have a visit from the tooth fairy.

Tubing

2011-03-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

After hanging out at the cabin for a day, we went to enjoy the high speed excitement of snow tubing.

Getting lift tickets on

As always, Tara was very timid and afraid to do something new. She was sure she would fall off the mountain (which was really just a big hill) It took most of the day to convince her she was having fun. Then she was wanting to stay longer.

Tara getting another pep talk

I really only saw Eric when he was riding the "lift" to the top. When I was a teenager and my family would go skiing together, my dad would count how many runs we did and then divide the cost of our lift tickets by how many runs we completed to figure out how expensive the trip really was. I was never a fast skier and my numbers were never very impressive, but Eric would have made his Papa Bob proud with his average.

Ian catching some air

Amy is a lot like her mom...no fear.
She was happy to hop into a tube and slide down the mountain again and again.

Kyra had the hardest time because she still wasn't feeling well.
She did enjoy building a snowman out of the artificial snow that felt more like Sonic ice.

Emily, I finally blogged it like I promised I would. :)

Pre-Spring Break Trip

2011-03-21T15:55:00.000-07:00

We planned a trip to Ruidoso, NM for the week before Spring Break to avoid the crowds. I was so excited, I was practically giddy that is until it was time to actually go.

Here's how the trip started. I spent the day before we were supposed to leave in the doctor's office waiting room to find out that Amy's random vomit and refusal to eat was actually strep without a sore throat or fever. Easily solved with a shot in the rump, so no problem. I was beyond frustrated when in the middle of the night Kyra threw up and Ian woke up with a fever and headache. Instead of leaving town, we went back to the doctor's office and got more medicine for more cases of strep throat. We decided to go anyway because the kids could be sick in their beds or sick in their car seats. Plus it helps that medicine is amazing.

We really enjoyed our cabin with it's air hockey table. Every time I turned around, the kids were playing another game on that thing.

We hiked around outside and played in a creek.

And gathered sticks. I'm old enough now to have forgotten how cool a stick is, but apparently they are very, very cool and need to be collected in large numbers and even larger sizes if possible.

Oh, and rocks are really cool too, but since my Dad's a rock fanatic, I wasn't surprised here.

We built a fire and had smores.

Family time away from home is so much fun.

Awkward Conversations

2011-03-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

I've had my share of awkward conversations. I'm sure you have too. Here's my most recent one.

Ian's teacher: "Mrs. Shannon, may I speak with you for a minute."

Me: "Sure, what do you need?"

Ian's teacher: "We had an incident on the playground today. It seems that Ian felt the need to go the bathroom and instead of asking to go inside, he just peed on a tree."

Me: "Oh." (What do you say to that? I was struggling not to laugh and remain composed!)

Ian's teacher: "I asked him if he was allowed to pee outside at home."

Me: silence and I'm inwardly groaning because what parent of a boy hasn't let their kid pee outside? I'm sure I looked guilty. I really need to work on my poker face.

Ian's teacher: "He said no."

Me: "of course, of course." sigh of relief and mental note to give Ian some extra candy or an allowance or something.

Ian's teacher: "You might want to have a talk with him about that tonight. I've already explained the rules, but you might want to make sure he understands."

Me: "Yes, I'll make sure."

I wonder if I turned and walked away before the smile broke across my face? I'm not saying I condone his behavior. Obviously, I'd prefer he NOT drop his pants in front of his 70+ classmates, but that isn't a conversation that lends itself to decorum.

Pull-ups

2011-03-04T19:33:00.000-08:00

We are currently working to get a child to sleep through the night without a pull-up. I'm all about rewarding for positive behaviors, so we set up a plan. 10 days (in a row) accident free and I'll buy them any toy/thing/treat they want that costs $10.99 or less (the cost of a package of pull-ups)

On day four with no accidents at all, I was singing the praises of this child. Why hadn't we tried this sooner? It is working so well. We are almost half way there without a single restart! That's when another child asked to speak to me in private, and I was told the following...

Mom, you know that so-in-so just puts on a new clean pull-up in the morning before you check, right? The yucky pee ones they just put in the trash can.

I've been duped!

That's one way to clear the table

2011-03-03T17:31:00.000-08:00

It was a long stressful day full of deadlines and whining, clingy kids.

At dinner I had had it. I laid down the law. "You will eat every single thing on your plates! No excuses. No negotiations. It's my way or the highway tonight kids!"

There was an undercurrent of tension and you could almost hear the kids' internal dialogue of, "jeez, what's gotten into Mom?"

Then Amy threw up all over the dinner table. Everyone was jumping away from their plates, scooting chairs away from the table, and declaring a loss of appetite.

No one finished their dinners. Not even in my super grouchy state could I force them to eat. I've been foiled again.

Lego Time Out

2011-03-02T21:01:00.000-08:00

"Boys, I mean it. If the Legos aren't picked up in the next five minutes, they are mine." I'm not one to make an empty threat, and they aren't keen on cleaning. The Legos got packed up and I was looking forward to ~~building my own green race car~~ being able to see the carpet in the boys' room.

"You can have them back when you can be obedient for an entire day."

Ian was in hysterics. A day is soooo long, I'll never be able to do it, and it's not fair were all uttered over and over.

Eric took a much more logical route. Mom, how many hours are in the school day. 7. Why? When do I go to bed? 8pm. Why? When do I wake up? 7am. Why? Hey Mom! Since I'm in school for 7 hours and I'm asleep for 11 hours, I only have to be good for 6 hours tomorrow.

The crying stopped and the boys were already congratulating themselves on being able to earn back their Legos. Being good for 6 hours is no problem, apparently.

I gave the Legos back the next day. Not because they were that good, but because Eric's ~~math~~ attitude was so impressive.

I swear he is destined to be an engineer.

Tara's Got the Touch

2011-03-01T19:47:00.000-08:00

Reflections

2011-02-28T17:14:00.000-08:00

Tara won 1st place in the 4th Grade Reflections Contest with her entry in literature. The theme was "together we can." She wrote a story about two whales talking about the dangers of pollution and how together we can stop pollution and keep the oceans clean.

I'm so proud of my little budding writer/conservationist. She's super excited because the prize was a trophy and 20 bucks to spend at the school's book fair. That's the best gift you could give this girl, more reading material.

I have no idea, at all.

2011-02-25T20:09:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you just don't understand. This is one of them, but they have been pushing those dolls and sugar bags around for 2 days!

Male Chauvinism is Alive and Well

2011-02-24T19:51:00.000-08:00

We have several mantras that we repeat regularly with the kids.

A Man's Job
1. work hard
2. take care of girls
3. teach the gospel

A Woman's Job
1. work hard
2. take care of families
3. teach the gospel

And Tara's least favorite (mine too, but I'm a supportive spouse)...

A lady is quiet and calm.

When Tara yelled across the dinner table for the umpteenth time, Jared reminded her again that a lady is quiet and calm.

Tara gave a herumpf and said, "but Dad if I am quiet and calm, I can't have any fun." Without missing a beat, Eric replied, "you can have fun sewing and cooking."

Yep, that conversation ended well.

Changing Seasons

2011-02-23T15:46:00.000-08:00

Ian was excited to finally wear a short sleeved shirt to school. I guess he didn't realize how warm it would really be that day. His teacher pulled me aside during after school pick up to relay this gem.

"Teacher! It's so hot out here I got another freckle!"

Awesome. I love his freckles.

Life Lesson

2011-02-22T08:08:00.000-08:00

Amy just turned 4 years old. It is hard to believe that much time has past. She teaches me things all the time, but her speedy arrival has been a blessing from the very beginning.

I knew Amy was going to come, I just didn't think it would happen so fast. I hadn't had a single contraction in 3 hours, so I went to pick up Tara from school even though Jared told me not to and other people had offered to do it. I didn't want to inconvenience anyone. It would just be easier to do it myself. But on the way home from the school (15 minutes away) my water broke and those huge every 2 minute contractions started. I made it around the corner from my house when I couldn't drive any further. I called a friend to come get the kids and 911 to send an ambulance. Amy was born at the park, one street away from the house, a whooping 20 minutes after my contractions started.

That day I learned a very important life lesson. I learned that people will put their life on hold, literally drop everything, if you need them. Family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers all stopped what they were doing to make sure Amy made it safely into this world. I am forever grateful to a friend who nearly delivered my baby and the paramedics who did.

I am grateful to have learned that accepting someone's help doesn't make you weak. On the contrary, it makes you stronger. It gives you skills of grace and appreciation. It allows you to get closer to others and feel their love for you. It has taught me how better to give service as well.

Thank you Amy for another life lesson.

The Party

2011-02-21T19:12:00.000-08:00

Amy wanted to have a cooking party. Makes sense. I can't move around in the kitchen without her attached at the hip.

We made cookies together

Iced and decorated cupcakes

Sang happy birthday and blew out candles

Ate cake

Played with playdoh

It was a perfect end to our birthday celebration.

She's 4!

2011-02-20T12:04:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Amy!

Amy turned four. As a special birthday gift, she and I went to see Tangled together...just Mommy and Amy. I thought that would be a super cool gift. (Amy wanted Kyra there the entire time, but I sure enjoyed being able to focus on just one child). Amy's favorite part of the movie was the boy getting hit in the head with a frying pan. She thought that was hilarious! She didn't like the movie theater seats though. She said they hurt her bottom. We ended our special date with a trip to McDonald's. She insisted that I order a happy meal too so I could give my toy to Kyra.

We enjoyed presents
she asked for shoes...not toys just shoes

The cake was good

At least it looks like Amy liked it.

A little about Amy. She is excited to go to big preschool in the fall. She thinks she doesn't need to hold hands in a parking lot or crossing the street anymore because "Mom! I'm four now and big." She is independent, strong willed, fearless, and confident. She is super smart and can usually do Ian's kindergarten homework. She wants to be just like her big sister Tara.

Kyra's Charm

2011-02-13T19:08:00.000-08:00

Kyra knows she has charm. She also tries her best to use it on her parents. She is always more successful with her Dad than with me. Turns out that Jared really is susceptible to little girl puppy-dog eyes.

"Mommy, can I have some fwoot snacks?" No darling. "Can I have pwesents?" Uhm, no.

She's gonna have to work on her game a little more.

Construction Workers Beware

2011-02-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

From Amy:

Red lights mean stop

Green lights mean go

Yellow lights mean slow down

Orange lights mean go really, really fast.

Ms. Independent

2011-02-09T19:40:00.000-08:00

Amy is about to turn four, so of course it goes without saying that she knows everything. If ever I forget that, she lets me know. Like in the following conversation.

Amy: I don't want you to teach me how to do this!

Me: Why?

Amy: Because I already know how!

Finger Wagging

2011-02-02T19:11:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I yell at my kids.

I'll wait while you pick your jaws up off the floor. Ok. Sometimes it's as simple as yelling across the house for someone to come see me. Sometimes it's in frustration. There, nasty secret out.

Every time I do, Kyra comes running with her finger wagging. And then she lays into me.

"Don't well at my Ian. She's mine fwend!"

Generosity

2011-02-01T07:59:00.000-08:00

We had a family home evening lesson on tithing. 10% to the Lord. Simple as that.

The kids were happy to give their little bit back, so we sat with each child and helped them figure how much money they needed to include in their envelope. I was helping Amy when I looked over at Eric. He had a pile of coins and was furiously counting. I motioned for Jared to help him. "No, Mom! I can do this by myself." he insisted. I knew he only had to pay twenty cents, so I was sure he needed help. I mean his entire piggy bank was empty and on the floor.

Turns out he didn't need any help. He had added everything up perfectly. He paid his twenty cents of tithing and then proceeded to donate everything else he had to various other areas of need like building temples and supporting missionaries.

Everything.

He might have learned a little about tithing last night, but I'm sure I learned so much more.

My New Favorite Picture

2011-01-30T12:53:00.000-08:00

Preschool Drama

2011-01-27T12:25:00.001-08:00

Amy wore a new dress to preschool today. She was so excited to show it to all her friends. When she got home she sat next to me and we had the following conversation.

"Mom, all my friends loved my new dress!" Amy informed. "They did? That's great." "Well, except Charlie. He didn't look at it. He didn't even take a peak at it," she confided with eyes downcast and disappointment in her voice.

Oh, the drama of the preschool set. What are the odds I'll have this conversation with her again in 10 plus years? Only then I probably won't be able to distract with fruit snacks.

Vocabulary Parade

2011-01-24T19:55:00.000-08:00

When the note came home that Tara needed to create a costume for the word rickety and present it during the First Annual Fourth Grade Vocabulary Parade, I was glad it was her assignment and not mine.

She decided the best way to portray rickety was to dress as an old woman complete with knitting bag.

She borrowed a walker and put her hair in a bun

She dressed the part all the way to her toes

She even moved slower than molasses.

It was so much fun to see these kids' minds work. They did an amazing job on words like

liter

satellite

lackadaisical

I'm sure they will never forget what these words mean. Kudos to the teacher for coming up with this great teaching tool!

Coupons and Credit Cards

2011-01-22T11:45:00.000-08:00

Tara was so proud to have her very own calendar, purchased with her own money from Krispy Kreme. She excitedly read each and every coupon to us. Finally Jared asked her if she will be buying all the donuts in order to use her $2 off coupon. Without missing a beat she replied, "I'll bring the coupons; you bring the credit card."

I could only laugh as I remembered this.

How Do You Spend Your Big Bucks?

2011-01-20T15:12:00.000-08:00

When kids are good at their elementary school, they earn bucks. You can earn bucks for being quiet, kind to others or finishing work on time. The kids had their Big Bucks store today. That's when they get to go spend their hard earned money on dollar store junk. It isn't my favorite day, but the kids love it.

The boys came home yesterday with their treasures. Eric and Ian had both chosen a digital watch. Eric was announcing the time every three minutes. Literally. 3:40, 3:43, 3:46 and all's well!

Ian was disgusted that his cheap watch wasn't working and Eric's was.

"Mom," he hissed, "I know why they do the Big Bucks store. They just want us to be..." he paused for effect "GOOD."

Making Rolls

2011-01-16T16:04:00.000-08:00

Amy and I were making rolls together when she rolled up the last piece of dough. She looked at me and asked for another. I told her we were out of dough, and we couldn't make anymore. "Well that sucks," she said.

"Amy! We don't say that. It is an ugly word. Promise me you won't say it," I scolded.

"Fine. I'll just say it in Spanish," she replied begrudgingly

Rocks

2011-01-10T08:45:00.000-08:00

Dad, you might be the only one who appreciates this.

We had dinner guests at our home and one of the gentlemen is a geologist. He commented on what nice rocks I have in my curio cabinet. Thanks Dad for making my curio cabinet look good!

P.S. Happy Birthday

Congrats, Grad!

2011-01-06T21:02:00.000-08:00

As Jared got up from the dinner table, Amy looked at him with puppy dog eyes and asked, "Do you have to go to school again?" We have all sacrificed to help Jared get through school. I've cut more grass than I would have liked and the kids have told Jared about goals scored at soccer games over the phone instead of in person. It has been a long road, but it is finished.

Two weeks ago Jared and I packed the kids up and made the drive to Lubbock for a very, very special occasion.

GRADUATION!

Jared really didn't want to go through the hassle of a graduation ceremony, but I overruled him. I thought it was really important for the kids to understand that he was done with school and homework and traveling and such.

Look at that beautiful piece of paper.
MBA, baby!

The graduation ceremony was relatively painless considering I came armed with lots of fruit snacks, new color wonder papers, and an ipod. The last time I was at a graduation, it was Jared's undergrad and I only had a one year old. This time there are a lot more people in the family picture.

Like Sisters

2011-01-05T19:54:00.000-08:00

These little ladies are peas in a pod. They spent a lot of time together before Miss Colbie moved to Kazakhstan...still sad about that. Anyway, I don't think Amy and Kyra have realized that Colbie is gone. The other day one of the little girls dumped some toys out and didn't put them away. I asked who did it.

They both answered, "Colbie Did It."

Colbie, wish that was true. Miss your sweet little face around here.

Sanity Savers #2

2010-12-15T18:59:00.000-08:00

I think potty training is the worst part of parenting. I can say that with confidence because I don't have teenagers. I might change my mind in a few years when I have 5 teenagers at once.

Trick #2
Swim trunks in the car

I keep a pair of swim trunks in the glove box for those unexpected accidents. Sometimes we assume they went before we left the house, or we forgot to pack a change of clothes, or whatever else it happens to be, wah-lah, pull out those swim trunks. Why swim trunks? It's a pair of shorts with underwear sewn in. Think about the convenience of this! One stop accident fixer-upper.

Crisis averted and sanity saved

The most unexpected use of this sanity saver was when Tara was about 5. We were at a park with a pond. Tara and a friend were playing on the dock at the pond trying to lure a timid duck near them. Tara lost her balance and slid bottom first into the very shallow pond. She wasn't in danger but her shorts were wet and dirty. I took her to the car and pulled out our swim trunks. Time makes this memory pleasant, but really Tara was freaking out about wearing pants that were blue AND for boys. Funny she didn't care that the underwear was mesh.

Christmas Cards

2010-12-10T05:55:00.001-08:00

I'm actually sending Christmas Cards this year!

There are so many of you that I keep up with through blogs, but I don't have your addresses. Leave me a comment with your address so I can forward a card to you.

I won't publish your comment so the world won't see your address!

Carol of Lights 2010

2010-12-03T11:21:00.000-08:00

It is a Texas Tech Tradition. It is also a Shannon Family Tradition. The first weekend in December we head up to Lubbock and watch the campus transform into a glow of red, orange, and white lights. It means the start of Christmas. I love snuggling up with my kids and nieces and nephews, seeing my brother and sister in laws, and hearing Mannheim Steamroller pulse through the speakers.

Oh the fun.

I always make sure to have some kind of snack to pass around because that's how you get nieces and nephews to like you...oh and bring extra flashlights to play with while you walk across the campus in the dark. They like you for that too because flashlights are fun to play with.

see, fruit snacks and massive pixie sticks and crying/upset kids.
Hold on, need to get more candy...

So much fun I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer!