Key West, Here We Come

Today we are flying off to beautiful, warm and sunny Key West without the kiddos.

We will spending the week soaking up the sun, laying around on the beach, sleeping in extra late, and drinking those fun fruity cocktails with umbrellas in them. Pure bliss.

More importantly, we will be there to witness the much anticipated nuptials of these two love birds. Mr. Serpico and Mrs. Boehme (soon to be Serpico).

Oh - and I should mention that Mr. Shelton and I will be celebrating our anniversary - 4 kids and 7 years later - here we are!

So I am off now for a fun vacation where we will be celebrating a wedding, anniversary, and being without kids for a whole week!!

Helping Hands

I had some help today washing the floors......

Anthony seemed to enjoy playing in the water bucket more than washing the floors.....

Lucas was pretty serious about doing a good job....

When Anthony was not playing in the water he was hard at work scrubbing away at the same spot on the floor. Over, and over, and over again....

Ava (ever the mother-hen) was hard at work telling Lucas how to wash the floors (while scrubbing them herself. I am surprised how well Lucas takes to her bossy tone. She is quite the multi-tasker. (Mr. Shelton seems to think she is just like me. Ahem.)

It was so nice to have the kids help me, and see them having fun doing so. So there were a few "bumps" in the road on our quest for a clean kitchen floor....

- My dish rags (meant for cleaning kids faces, countertops, etc) were used without my prior approval for washing the floor, and now need to be thrown in the garbage.

- There was quite a bit of residual water left on the floor here and there, (in some places there seemed to be mini puddles)

- And the floors did not get quite as clean as I would have wanted them to.

But who cares? We had fun.

Rough day

This is how I found Anthony this evening at the ripe old time of 6:45pm.

Why was he fast asleep in the family room chair so early you ask?

Well, Anthony had a long, bad day today. To give you an idea of how long and how bad it was, I could tell that he was in need of a nap just a few short hours after he woke up this morning......... I was packing the crew up into the car and he decided he did not want to go. He was too busy playing his beloved Star Wars playstation game, and clearly did NOT want to be interrupted.

Mom: "Anthony, it is time to go now."

Anthony: "No Momma, I am not going, I am playing Staw waws." (Star Wars)

Mom: "You need to turn it off, it is time to go."

Anthony: "NO! I need to finish this lebel!" (Level)

I proceeded to pick him up and put him in the car - he was of course kicking and screaming the whole time.

[SHOULD HAVE HAD A TIME OUT]

He calmed down by the time we got to Amy's, and played nice. For a while. I was talking to the other mom's when he decided he wanted me to read him a book.

Anthony: "MOMMY, READ ME A BOOK!"

Yep, straight to yelling, no asking nicely for him today.

Mom: "Anthony, Mom is talking right now, you read the book."

Anthony: "No! I don't want to read the book! I am mad at you Momma."

[SHOULD HAVE HAD A TIME OUT]

He managed to calm down quickly and played nicely. Again, for a while.

Then he decided he wanted Livi to go upstairs with him. I overheard him halfway up the stairs saying "Come on Livi Grace, come up the stairs." I told him Livi was too little to go up the stairs, and he clearly did not like this response.

Anthony: "I WANT LIVI TO COME UPSTAIRS WITH MEEEEEE!!!!"

Mom: [now I am starting to get pissed] "Anthony Thomas, I told you Olivia can't go up the stairs to play because she can fall."

Anthony: "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" [when he gets really mad he likes to scream]

[SHOULD HAVE HAD A TIME OUT]

Again, he calmed down pretty quickly and went on his way playing nicely in the playroom.

Until it was time to go. I told all the kids to get in the car as I strapped Livi into her car seat. Ava and Lucas listened well and got right in. But not Anthony. Surprised?

Anthony: "No Momma, I am not going."

Mom: "Yes you are Anthony Thomas, get in the car."

Anthony: NOOOOOOOOO!!!! Total meltdown. Again.

I managed to get him into his car seat and buckled, which was difficult in between all the kicking and screaming.

Anthony: "Momma, I am NEVER playing Staw Waws with you again!"

This seems to be his latest thing. Whenever I put him in a time out, or make him do something he does not want to do, he decides to threaten me by telling me I will no longer be able to play Star Wars with him on the playstation.

Funny, as he does not understand that it makes me happy to think that I would never have to play that darn playstation again. Curse it, and Mr. Shelton for ever taking the darn thing out of storage.

So do you see a pattern here in relation to how our day went? If not, I will help you out. Anthony throws a tantrum, Mom does not discipline him correctly by putting him in a time out. Anthony throws another tantrum, Mom, again does not discipline him correctly by putting him in a time out. And so on, and so on..... I guess it was not just Anthony who was having an "off" day, yours truly was also.

[sigh] This was our day. It was not a very good one, but here's to hoping he gets a good nights sleep and that tomorrow is better. Less tantrums - actually I am going to be so brave as to say no tantrums, and if he does happen to have one. or two. or three.... I need to follow through with a time out. [which I usually do, really, but today I was not good about it at all.]

He really is a good little boy, and does not act like this all the time .....we all have our bad days, right?

BFF's

Today I had the pleasure of taking care of my lovely, sweet little niece Lucia. Her Dad had a meeting over by our house, so he asked to drop her off over here for a few hours while he went. I of course jumped at the chance to watch her as I don't get to spend that much time with the little cutie. So as you can imagine, I was very excited for her arrival this morning - although my excitement dimmed in comparison to Ms. Olivia Grace. She was simply thrilled that her cousin, her BFF, was coming for a visit - she could barely contain herself. [For those of you living under a rock and do not know, BFF stands for Best Friend Forever.]

After Lucia arrived and was fed lunch, I put the two BFF's in the playrooom to get some much needed playtime. They were simply tickled pink to be spending such an unexpected afternoon together playing...

Holding hands a bit, and sharing toys so nicely....

At one point Livi tried to sneak away for some alone time, but Lucia was not liking that idea, and held her back by grabbing her diaper.

Liv decided to forgo the alone time and play some more, after all, how much time does she really get to spend with Lucia?

The day came to end way too soon when Joel arrived back at our house to pick Lucia up.

Olivia and I had a nice chat after they left. We decided that we do not like the fact that Aunt Cindy, Uncle Joel and cousin Lucia live so far from us. The solution to this? They need to move closer to us. Yep, that is what is going to have to happen - for 2 reasons.

1 - we just plain old do not see them enough and we miss them - all three of them, not just Lucia. :)

2 - and most importantly, Olivia is missing, and wants to spend more time with her BFF. She informed me that this once a week stuff at Grandma and Papa's is just not cutting it.

Seems that Ms. Lucia agrees...

Our Food Battle

I am trying to get myself to be better about the eating habits in the Shelton household. Meaning I am trying to get my kids to lessen their consumption of frozen pizza, chicken tenders and macaroni and cheese. Now don't get me wrong, I have no problem feeding my kids this sort of stuff on occasion as it is easy, they actually eat it, and it pleases them - but we have been eating it WAY too much for WAY too long, and these are just not the types of meals you should be eating on a daily basis. Yuck. Too much of anything is not good, right?

So I have found my way to a few food blogs, trying to find some inspiration, some recipes - new things to eat that both the kids and Mr. Shelton and I would enjoy eating. But all of these food blogs (at least that I have come across) are littered with fancy shmancy type recipes that I simply do not have the time to prepare. I seriously wonder where these Moms have the time to cook such meals, AND blog about them, pretty pictures attached and all. Wow - can we say super Moms?

Anyway - I am wondering where you can find some food blogs that contain somewhat healthy recipes with the words crockpot or casserole in them. This is a key point as I like EASY.

I really need to get on this as I believe if I don't there will be no turning back from the chicken tenders, frozen pizzas and mac n' cheese slump we have been in. My kids are slowly becoming addicts. Seriously.

A story to confirm this addiction?

We were in the car on the way home from a play date the other day when I asked the kids what they wanted for lunch.

Anthony: "Pizza"

Lucas: "Happy meal"

Anthony: "Oh yes, Mommy - chicky (chicken tenders), fry (fries) and chocolate milk!" (Meaning happy meal)

Ava: "No! I want Subway!" (at least this is a better choice than the happy meals and frozen pizza, right?)

Mom: "How about we do something healthier and get Subway?"

Anthony and Lucas: "No Mom, we want happy meals!"

Mom: "I am sick of always eating junk, we are going to stop this."

Anthony: "No Mom, I like junk. I ONLY like eating junk - happy meals and pizza."

Yep, my three year old said that.... I think I have my work cut out for me.

Why So Mean?

I am fairly new to this whole blogging thing, and to be honest, I did not really know what it was all about. Meaning, why people start blogs in the first place - I guess I thought these were started by most as a way to journal about their lives, kids, families, daily adventures, etc. A place for their kids, Moms, Dads, even perfect strangers - whomever - to go to keep up with their lives. This is for the most part, is what I am finding.

I say for the most part, because I have had the pleasure of stumbling upon some - shall we say... interesting blogs out there. These blogs seem to be the opposite of what I explained above, and are all about putting people down. More specifically putting people down who do things that they deem to be stupid, cheesy, ridiculous, etc. This drives me wild, nuts, crazy - all that stuff. Not to mention it is just plain old mean.

I understand having things that bother you, things that other people do/say that drive you nuts, you know "pet peeves". If we did not all have a few of these "things" tucked in our back pocket, I don't think we would be human. I have some of these pet peeves myself, and have, on occasion, vented my frustrations about said pet peeves on my little old bloggity blog, here is an example.
But to have so many, and to feel the need to dedicate an entire post each day to one of these pet peeves seems a bit over the top. A bit school yard bullyish. Not to mention, it is pretty pathetic that you can't come up with anything else to write about other than what you loathe about other people.

A few examples?

Why do "people" care so much about other people putting a vinyl stick figure sticker on the back of their car that shows all the little members of their family? It is not your car, your kids, or your family.

Why do "people" care about people using (again the whole vinyl thing) vinyl lettering on their walls at home stating such things as All because two people fell in love. Faith, Family, Friends. Always kiss me goodnight.... So what if they enjoy such inspirational sayings, and choose to put them on the walls of their own home. You don't have to look at them, right?

Why do "people" care so much if people want to put a sticker on their blog stating "I love comments." "Comment Please." or any other phrase that states you would enjoy it if people commented on your blog. I don't think it is always about people needing validation, or that they have no self -esteem. Maybe, just maybe people simply enjoy seeing what others - grandma, sister, brother, whomever, have to say about their posts. Maybe all bloggers out there are not blogging in the hopes that complete strangers will pass by their blog, fall in love with it and leave comments all the time. Maybe they are blogging for themselves, their kids, their families, and want these people to comment, and are not laying around pining for complete strangers to tell them what they think of their posts. Maybe?

Why do people care about what words people choose to use in order to describe their family? Such as amazing, beautiful, perfect, etc. It is only natural for a wife to find her husband amazing, her kids perfect, her family beautiful. Would you rather hear my husband is a loser, my kids are always messing up, and my family is ugly?

[To get the full feel of said examples you would really have to read these posts in their entirety, but I won't go there.]

You "Meanie" bloggers may say, "what is with all this 'why do people care' crap she is writing about - I really don't care." And I would have to say, yes, you really do care. Too much. If you did not care you would not feel the need to devote an entire post on your blog pretty much every day to something that people do/don't do/say, that drives you mad. And it is not just the fact that you are writing about how much said things drive you mad, it is the manner in which you express yourself. There is a way to go about it in which you are respectful, but you seem to not care to take that approach. Your approach is downright mean spirited. As I mentioned earlier it is reminiscent of a school yard bully.

You may also say, if you can't take the heat, then get outa my blog. And you are right. But I won't because I can't seem to stay away. ( I know, as much as all of this putting down of others drives me mad, I do love reading these blogs.)

To sum it all up - Just cause something is not right for me does not mean it is not right for someone else. Just because I don't like something does not mean no one else should like it, or that I should put others down for liking it. I guess I just believe in the whole "Different strokes for different folks" thing. Cuz' differences are what make the world go round.

Oops - one of those annoying inspirational sayings. Drat.

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It is only fair that I mention that the above examples were just a few of many, many, many. Also, I need to admit that all of these examples hit a bit close to home for me - I have a "family sticker" on the back window of my car. I have, (although not vinyl) various framed art pieces with inspirational sayings around my house. Heck, the name of my blog is All Because two people fell in love! I guess I am a bit sensitive - even to complete strangers knocking my personal taste for the above things. I guess I need to learn how to care less (a lot less) about what other people think. [sigh]

Should I feel bad for this post? Wonder if the authors of said examples will happen to come by my blog, read what I said and not be happy?

Nah.

I am pretty confident that these "meanies" do not read my blog on a daily basis, if at all for that matter - and if they happened to come upon it they would more than likely be bored to tears and feel the need to vomit by my posts about my "beautiful" kids, "amazing" husband, and simply "perfect" existence. (alright, now I am being a smart ass.)

Recipe For Disaster

Mr. Shelton called me as I was on the way home from an already long morning out and about with the kids. He asked if I would be so kind as to stop at Kohl's and find 4 king size pillows for him. Why, you ask? He is having a bachelor party for his good friend at our Beachhouse this evening and is in need of someplace for all these soon to be intoxicated young men to rest their heads when they decide to pass out for the evening. Apparently there are not enough pillows already, hmmm.... But I decided to not ask any questions and agree to pick up the pillows.

But not without thinking about it long and hard.....

The kids had just burned off oodles of energy at the play park and were tired. On top of that I had just dragged them all out of the car and into Gap Body in search of a cute little nighty for my girlfriend's bachlorette party tomorrow night. (The "other half" of the young gentleman whom my husband is having the bachelor party for tonight - if you did not already guess.) Anyway, I was successful in finding the nighty, but not without a bit of chaos... Of course, what do you expect shopping with 4 kids age 6 and under. Ava and Olivia were simply pleasent throughout, maybe it is because they were so enthralled with all of the soft clothes around - just like their Mother.

The boys, on the other hand, not so great. Anthony and Lucas were running around picking up random pairs of underwear all the while oohing and aahing at them. (Just like their Dad). Lucas then announced he had to use the bathroom, so I had to put down my purchases and go in search of the nearest place for him to relieve himself, which was thankfully close by. After that we made our way to the check out counter where as I paid, Anthony and Lucas ran circles around a display full of - take a guess - underwear. And to top the shopping experience off, as we were walking out the door, Anthony turned around, looked at the three manequins dressed in various types of lingerie in the entryway, and said "Oooooh! See you girls later!" (Again, he takes after his Dad - Brian would be so proud.) Alright, that part was funny. And cute....

So it was not a total disaster, but it was certainly enough shopping for one day. But of course, against my better judgement, I went to Kohl's.

I managed to get Olivia and Anthony to sit in one of the carts, with Ava and Lucas following. We of course went over all the rules of being in a store, as we always do prior to doing any shopping. Unfortunately the rules did not get followed. Anthony hopped out of the cart minutes after we were on our way to the pillow section. I found the pillows just in time for Olivia to start screaming bloody murder, and I can't blame her as she was in desperate need of a nap. Then Lucas started crying as he was not able to squeeze his body underneath the cart in order to take a ride. (you know, like you can with the grocery store carts?) All this was going on while I was trying to manuver this large cart down a much too small aisle.

ARRRRGGGG!!!

I decided I was done with the cart. So I left it, and the kids next to a bedroom display while I ran around the corner in search of the pillowcases.

Bad idea.

When I returned I found Anthony smack dab in the middle of the bed (which had a pretty little display on it specifically stating not to get on the bed.) I told him to get down. he told me no. I told him to get down again, again he told me no. I finally got ahold of him (as he was jockying back and forth in the middle of the bed in the hopes of me not being able to catch him) and pulled him down. All out temper tantrum ensued. We made our way up to the check out counter, Ava's carrying two pillows, face buried in them as they were the size of her, Lucas as well, Anthony 10 feet behind screaming bloody murder, and Olivia in the cart screaming. Nice and embarrasing - to top it all of I was getting the "would you get your kids under control" looks from people.

We managed to pay for our goods, and get out of the store. [sigh]

Oh, but the story does not end there folks... We were all standing out in front of Kohl's when I realized I could not find my keys. Yep, let's top it all of. So I searched in my purse while Anthony ran into the parking lot. I yelled for him to get out of the street. He yelled no. I was beyond frustrated by this point, put Olivia on the ground, bags and all, and dumped my purse out right there on the ground. Boy was that messy - crumbs, coins, barettes, cheerios, all kinds of things came pouring out. NO KEYS. I stood up in utter desperation, ready to cry when I felt something in my pocket. THE KEYS.

So that was my shopping day with kids in tow. Excruciating, wasen't it?

Sing To The Mountains, Sing To The Seas,

Raise your voices, lift your hearts this is the day the Lord has made, let all the earth rejoice!

So for those of you who do not know, this is a fabulously beautiful song I used to hear at church all the time as a little girl. I say "used to" as I am not a frequent church goer these days - alright, I don't go at all. Which is a whole different subject, for a different day, for a different post. But I remember this song very well, and I love, love, love it. It actually sprang to mind this afternoon as I came to the realization that today marked a very special occasion. What occasion you ask?

Anthony being potty trained!!



Yes folks, I find it safe to say that my Anthony Thomas can go out in public with big boy underwear on. No more diapers. Praise the Lord. I never thought this day would come... I will explain.

Anthony has been a bit stubborn on the whole potty training front for the past 6 months. I know, I know, he is only 3, but he has seemed more than ready to be going on the toilet for quite some time now. I know this as over the past said 6 months I have found him making his way to the bathroom on numerous occasions - When I ask him what he is doing he casually says "going potty" or "going poo - poo". And he really does just that. He closes the door, takes care of business, flushes, washes hands, and returns to whatever it was he was playing with before he had to go to the bathroom. Great, right? Well not really, as he only does this when he feels like it. On the days that I am not so lucky, and he leaves a little "treat" in his diaper for me, we have a conversation that goes something like this

Mom: "Anthony, why didn't you go in the toilet?"

Anthony: "Because. I wanted to go in my diaper today."

Very matter of fact. Just like that. Little stinker...

So this is how it has been going down for the past 6 months, some days we use the toilet, some days we use the diaper, and some days we use the carpet (sorry Grandma.)

Until this week - all of a sudden he has been all about using the toilet ALL the time. Monday I did not think much of it - just thought he was feeling especially into the idea of going on the toilet, same thing for Tuesday. When Wednesday rolled around and he was still going strong I started to get excited and hopeful. Then this morning he woke up with a dry diaper - Alleluia!!! But the true test was today when we went to an indoor playpark to play with friends... He stopped what he was doing (which is huge for him when he is busy playing), walked up to me and said he had to go potty. I brought him to the bathroom, and he went. About an hour later he came to me and said he had to go # (ahem) 2. So we made our way to the bathroom and he went. AGAIN!

Now off to Target to buy some Diego, Spiderman, and Star Wars underwear. All per Anthony's request - which is just fine. He can have whatever kind and however many pair of undies his little heart desires. In this case I will spoil him rotten.

"Sing to the mountains, sing to the seas, raise your voices, lift your hearts this is the day Anthony Thomas is officially potty trained, let all the earth rejoice!!"

Again.... Alleluia! Praise the Lord!!



Can you tell how thrilled I am? Sometimes it's the little things....

Yuck

It was a long weekend, and I think it is safe to say that this week is turning out to be the same. Long and needing to be over. Now.

Monday was busy as Mondays usually are - catching up on laundry, housework, and the added task of cleaning out the garage (which was MUCH needed). It was busier still as the kiddos are on spring break and are of course wanting to be entertained by yours truly all day long. [sigh]

So yesterday I was pleasently surprised with tickets to a Wild hockey game. Mr. Shelton, myself and our dear friends Bill and Sarah headed out for a fun evening - dinner, drinks and hockey. Even better, the kids were staying with Grandma and Grandpa for the evening so we were able to come home to a childless house which is always heaven sent. We had a rousing time at the game, chatting, drinking some alcholic beverages, cheering on the Wild, drinking some more alcoholic beverages.... Needless to say, by the end of the evening I was wiped out and ready for bed.

I believe once my head hit the pillow I was out cold. Until I woke up at 2am not feeling so swell. Sweaty, heart beating fast, nauseous, you know, all the feelings of being "overserved" aka hungover. I managed to toss and turn all night long until I finally dragged my butt out of bed, into the car,and through the Starbucks drive through for my morning coffee. My stomach was still not feeling well, so I was wondering if it was the best idea to be consuming a grande mocha full of caffeine, chocolate, and whipped cream. This was very likely a recipe for disaster, but I ignored the little voice inside of me that said "don't drink that" and drank every last bit of that Mocha.

Turns out that was a bad idea.

I came home after picking up the kiddos, took a shower, ran into my bathroom and, ahem, got sick. I still did not feel better after I got the Mocha out of my system, and then realized that I may just have the stomach flu. Just my luck. I just got over a head cold that really,truly never seemed to end. Really. It was 14 days of coughing, stuffy head, goobery nose crap. Yuck. Finally I was on the mend - at least I thought. I was not going to give into this stomach flu thing so fast, I was going to be positive and stick with the "it's just a hangover" scenario. Until I went to drink a glass of water. 5 minutes after drinking said glass I once again, found myself in the bathroom getting rid of that water.

Dang. It is the stomach flu.

Let's just say Mom vomiting and having to take care of 4 kids all day long just does not mix. But have no fear, Mr. Shelton is coming to the rescue, he will be here at 3pm to relieve me of my parental duties so I can climb in bed, nap, and wake up occasionally to vomit. Fun.

Time to end this post, and get to the bathroom to get rid of this second glass of water I just consumed while writing this post.

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(Hours after my original post......)

So it is now nearing the end of the day, and although I am not feeling fabulous, I do have to say I am feeling a bit better. I also wanted to add that this past weekend and the week thus far has not been that bad. I guess I just have some negative vibes about me lately... So I felt the need to come back and post about something good. That being the weather we have been having in the great Midwest lately. It truly makes me, and more importantly, the kids happy as can be. We have been playing outside, riding bikes, scooters, 4 wheelers, and having a grand old time. There is nothing better than the warm sun and fresh air....

Daddy riding Anthony's four wheeler and looking a bit silly

Anthony's first four wheeler ride of the season....

The three amigos riding scooters together...

My Liv Grace, who seems to be pretty happy about this weather we are having....

So see? Things aren't really all that bad.

My Man

It has been a long day - actually a long weekend.I am tired, and worn out, from hanging with these four rugrats of mine by myself since Thursday morning. On top of all of this, I am missing my husband something terrible. Mr. Shelton is away this weekend working hard at the Mpls. boat show trying to bring home the bacon by selling some boats. We really need to sell some boats. We really need to sell lots and lots of boats, so it is a good thing that he is away at this boat show. But it still does not make me miss him any less.

Because of all the aforementioned things, I am trying to keep busy and make the time go by fast... this morning I gave the house a much needed top to bottom cleaning, then got all the kids fed and dressed, only to realize that most of the cleaning I had done was undone. Crumbs were all over the kitchen floor, toys were strewn all over the family room, and to top it off Anthony had spilt his milk on the table and it was slowly drip, drip, dripping off of my clean table onto my clean floor.

I was frustrated to say the least.

I decided we needed to get out of the house as I was pretty sure cabin fever was going to set in very soon and then I was really going to be in for it. So I got everyone loaded up in the car for an afternoon of fun at the Giggle Factory. It was a good afternoon as everyone did what I had wanted and burned off most of that pent up energy. I say most as they saved the remaining bits for the car ride home. Yelling, fighting, antagonizing eachother. ARGGGGGGG!!!! Needless to say, by the time I pulled into the driveway I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, tired, cranky and in need of a glass of wine.

Until I saw these.....

They were left on my front doorstep. My favorite. Wild flowers. There was a card attached:

"Did I tell you I love you today? I miss you and the kids and can't wait to see you Sunday."

Beautiful flowers. Sweet card. All I needed to make my day. He always knows just what to do.

I really, really love him.

Funny How Things Change

I was dropping Lucas off at preschool this morning as I do three times each week, nothing new there. But this particular morning I happened to pass by one of his teachers who mentioned how much she loved my pajama pants. These are one of my personal favorite pairs of pajama pants, so her observation came as no surprise to me as they are quite lovely. And yes, you heard right, I wore pajama pants when dropping my son off at school. Here are they are....


They are comfy and are littered with cute little snowflakes. Lovely, right? Oh, and I cannot forget to mention my beloved slippers, I don't walk around the house without them. Dearfoams. Fabulous.

Anyway, now that I have showed you my beloved pajama pants, back to the story.

I tend to not have time in the morning for such things as a shower, getting dressed in "daytime" clothing, doing the hair and make-up, you know the things most people do in the morning before venturing out into public. Not only do I not have time to do these things before bringing Lucas to preschool at 9am each morning, but I also do not really care to.

Is that a gasp I hear?

Yes, it is true folks, I don't really care to race around trying to get myself put together in order to walk into preschool looking presentable to all those other Mom's. I simply throw on a baseball hat, jacket, shoes (sometimes I have even gone in my slippers), and out the door I go. Here is a gander at what my appearance is each morning prior to making the drop off at preschool - sans my hat. I figured the least I could do is cover up my hideous rats nest when dropping him off, right?

As I write this post I have to laugh. Laugh because 6 years ago I would have never been caught dead going out in public looking like this. Oh the horror! Every morning I made sure I was showered, clothed, perfumed, contacts in, hair done perfectly, make -up applied, and heels on before even thinking about leaving the house. HAH! I am exhausted at the thought of even trying to accomplish all of that before leaving the house each morning.


Boy how having 4 kids, growing older, and wiser changes a person. I just don't care about looking perfect in order to drop Lucas off at preschool...

Let's just hope he doesn't care either. :)

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Side Note: This post was inspired by a post that I came across on fellow blogger Megan's blog the other day. Go here to read it. It is worth your time, really great, believe me.

Today I Had A Moment

Often times I feel like I get caught up in the chaos of having 4 small children. Running here, running there, getting the laundry done, cleaning house, making sure everyone is bathed, fed, happy, healthy... the list goes on, and on, and on. Some days I just want to scream in frustration - wondering when things will slow down, when things will get easier. But then I hear stories, speak to other women who yearn for children and the chaos that seems to come with them, and are sadly unable to have babies. This is when I realize I too often forget to stop and be thankful for these four little beings that make my life so darn hectic.

I am truly blessed not only to have these 4 kids of mine, but to also have had the joy of (1)getting pregnant, (2) carrying each one in my belly for nine months, and (3) giving birth to them all.

1.) The getting pregnant part was very easy. Very. All four times. In fact, family and friends have the tendency to call me "fertile myrtle".
Side note: Where on earth did this stupid saying come from??? Obviously there must have been a woman named Myrtle who was very fertile, and someone found it quite funny that fertile and myrtle rhymed, and decided to call her that. And from then on women even without the name Myrtle, who found themselves to be quite fertile, where given this name. Interesting, right?
Back on track here... I have also been told things such as "Geeze, you and Brian would get yourselves pregnant by simply holding hands!" Another weird one, but I have heard it. So you get the idea, Brian and I are quite good at (ahem) making babies.

2.) The carrying said babies in my belly for 9 months was great. Actually, I would say beyond great. I LOVED every minute of every pregnancy (minus the three straight months of continuous vomiting I endured being pregnant with Ava.) The anticipation of waiting to see the first signs of a "baby bump", to the ever coveted feeling of those first kicks, to the gynormous belly stage where you can lay in bed and watch your belly jut out in the shape of a mini elbow, or knee due to baby needing to stretch. All of it - AMAZING.

3.) Giving birth to all my four babies was nothing short of miraculous. Don't get me wrong, there was a grand amount of pain that was felt before my ever loved anesthesiologist came in to give me my epidural, but it was all well worth it.
Side note: I really mean he was loved. All four times. I recall when he came in to give me my epidural when I was in the throws of labor with Anthony. I took one look at him and said "I love you." Really, I did. He just smiled and said he hears that a lot.
When I held each of my four babies in my arms there was an indescribable feeling of love that came over me. The man who I love more than anything else in this world, and I created these little beings. They were each a part of him and a part of me - beautiful, amazing,miraculous. Really, there is nothing better in this world.

My mom always told me that I would never understand how much she loved me until I had babies of my own. Boy was she right. I would do anything for my children. Anything.

Strange Man At The Indoor Playpark Story

Before I start this story, I will give you a little background on Lucas, his personality/demeanor. Lucas has always been known as the shy, quiet, sweet little boy. He most often plays nicely with others, and when confronted with a child who pushes, hits, plays rough, ususally begins crying and immediately runs to me or his Dad all worked up into a frenzy. On many occasions Brian has told me that we need to "toughen him up". After saying all of this, I must add that he is NOT a perfect little specimen, he has his tantrums, he knows how to use his words, and he has the ability to fight back when people bully him, although as I said earlier, it is rare that he does. So I am not one of those "Oh my little Lucas is so sweet and could do no wrong" type of Moms. He has his moments.

Now that I have given some background, onto the story...

I took Lucas to his friend's birthday party at the Giggle Factory yesterday. The boys were busy playing while Amy and I were chatting, when I noticed Lucas running toward me and a strange looking man following behind him. I call him "strange" as he seemed to have this pervo window peeper look to him. I know, it is mean to say, but haven't you ever noticed someone at a playground, kids play park, Mall - wherever that just looked "off" or "creepy" to you? I know I can't be the only one....

Anyway, Lucas came and hid behind my leg as the man approached me.

Strange Man: pointing at Lucas "excuse me, do you know who this little boy belongs to?"

Me: "I am his Mom, what is wrong?"

Strange Man: " Your little boy just ran up to my little boy, grabbed him by the neck, choked him AND drew blood."

I was shocked. For a moment I just sat there and did not say a thing. I asked what had happened, and this is when he proceeded to give Amy and I what had transpired.

Strange Man: (with an eyes popping out of his head look.) " Our boys were not even playing together and all of a sudden your little boy walked up to my son and attacked him. My son did absolutely nothing to him."

Yep, attacked. Good Lord, I have to say that is a bit of a strong word. He is a few months shy of his 5th birthday - I don't see him "attacking" another little boy.

Me: "Wow, I am sorry, that does not sound like something Lucas would do unprovoked."

Strange Man: "Well, he did. I told him he needed to apologize, and then get off of the play structure."

Excuse me?? You tell my son to apologize and that he needs to get down from the play structure and not play anymore? Who the heck do you think you are? This frankly pissed me off. I understand that Lucas needed to apologize as it is wrong to hit, push, choke (I still find this this choking thing hard to believe) another person no matter what. And he did need to take a little time out to think about what he had done. But it is NOT Strange Man's place to parent my Son. Hmph. I held it together though and did not tell him how I felt about his inappropriateness. (Is that a word??)

Me: "Lucas, come here, you need to apologize."

Strange Man: "I will go get my Son."

Me: taking Lucas by the hand leaning down to his level "what happened Lucas? Why did you hurt that little boy?" He gave me a grunt, and then I saw it coming, the flood of tears. "It is alright honey, you just can't hurt people, we need to apologize."

Strange Man: (still with eyes popping out of his head look)"Here is my son. See, look at his neck, look what your son did. Son, you need to tell us what happened, what did this boy (Lucas) do to you?" No response from the little boy.

I looked, and saw a few red marks on his neck. No blood, no serious injuries, nothing that looked to me like the result of being chocked. But that does not matter, Lucas hurt the little boy and he needed to apologize.

Me: "Lucas, can you please say your sorry, you hurt this little boy."

Lucas looked over at the little boy and quietly said "Sorry." The little boy said it was alright, and that Lucas let him play with his Bakugan and it was really fun. Strange Man then said that Yes, Lucas would not listen to him and aplogize and that was not alright, but did let his son play with his toy which was very nice. Weird. Still, I felt the need to also apologize, so I also said sorry to the little boy and the Dad.

Strange Man: "That is alright. I just really felt that he needed to apologize to my son for what he did. He really did nothing to deserve being choked." Again, weird..... Do we really need to say that Lucas choked his son? I know I was not there, but from the sounds of it Strange Man was not either so need we come to our own conclusions without having the real facts? We are listening to what happened from the mouths of a 3 and 4 year old, and we are not getting much as far as details. I am sure there was a little scuffle of sorts, (I am guessing over the Bakugan) which they both had a hand in.

In any case, it was over. Strange Man FINALLY walked away. That took 30 minutes to resolve. Really. No jokes. I walked away from that feeling like he made a mountain out of a mole hill. Whatever the case, I am glad it is over with.

Oh, and I felt the need to add that about an hour after this episode, I was watching Anthony as he was playing when Strange Man's little boy walked up to him and pushed him over. No reason what so ever. Hmmmm.... Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

The Shelton Family Mantra

Anyone other Mom's out there on occasion turn on the good old "boob tube" (still don't know why anyone would ever call it this) to keep your kiddos occupied for a bit while you have some "me time"? Well, I do. Admittedly, I do it a lot, and our channel of choice is Noggin. This is a great channel as you can find a mirad of fun cartoons that manage to keep the kids faces glued to the T.V. for a good hour. So if you have not had the pleasure of viewing this channel, and are like me, and enjoy a bit of down time, take a gander...

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Anyway, another perk to this channel is that they have great music videos that come on between cartoons for your viewing/listening pleasure. I am pleasently surprised that I have yet to find one song that is off the wall irritating, which frequently seems to be the case when listening to kids music. I actually find most of the music get-up-and-dance-and-sing-along kind of music. For real. To see a variety of said songs, go to http://www.noggin.com/. You will find songs by good old Laurie Berkner (one of my personal favorites), Guy Davis, and David Weinstone.

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Let us take a moment and chat about David Weinstone. I did not enjoy much of his music at first as I was so very enamored with Laurie Berkner and her diddies - that is UNTIL I heard his song "Grumpy." I love it. It sums up how I feel about crabby little beings perfectly.
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Go here and take a listen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giTIlL_QAeM
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Good, right?

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This is why I have adopted this song as the Shelton Family Mantra.

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Everytime I see a cranky face, hear a growl come out of the mouths of Lucas or Anthony, see Ava stomp her foot and start breathing heavily (which signals the beginning of a tantrum of grand proportions), I start to sing this song. Yep, I do.

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Call me crazy, but it actually works in turning their attitude around. Most of the time.

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And for those times it does not work, there is always the time out chair.

I Am Not Perfect

But somedays I wish that I was. So that everything would get done, and more importantly, so that everyone would be happy with me.

I wish I had time to clean the house from top to bottom all at one time. So that the upstairs was not clean one day, and messed up just in time for me to clean the downstairs.

I wish I could get everyone's laundry cleaned and put away so that whatever they wanted to wear was always in their drawer or closet waiting for them.

I wish I could help Brian out more, relieve some of his stress by helping him with paper work, cleaning and other things at the office.

I wish I could fulfill all of Brian's needs/wants all of the time as they are so very important to me, even though I believe he does not think they are.

I wish I was not so darn tired at the end of each day so that I had more quality time with Brian each evening, where he is not feeling neglected, or unloved.

I wish I could sit in the playroom and play Star Wars guys with Anthony for hours on end, or read Ava's Julie books to her front to back without interruption, or lay on the couch with Lucas and watch Star Wars the Clone Wars with him from start to finish, or spend more time laying on the floor with Livi reveling in the joys of her new found crawling abilities.

But most of all, I simply wish that I could will myself to understand that I am doing the best that I can. And that as the kids get older, things will get better. Easier. I will find more time to keep up with the house work, laundry, etc. But more importantly, I will find more time for the things that really matter in life, spending more one on one time with each child, finding more time to help Brian who works so darn hard trying to sustain the family business, finding more time to just "be" with Brian. Just us. One on One. What I savor, what I look forward to most at the end of each day, no matter how short the time may be. I love him so much.

Every few months I find that this all seems to build up and take me over, like a big wave crashing down on me, I feel defeated and want to just give up. But I can't. I won't. There are too many beings that are counting on me.

So Much To Do So Little Time

So I have oodles of things to accomplish today, which really does not set this day apart from any other day of the week. But.... I have a yucky head cold. I am tired. I am lazy. And I just plain old don't feel like doing anything. {Sigh} But I am going to pull myself up by my boot straps (silly thing my mom used to say) and get to it. Actually, I have to give myself "props" (another nice one, right?) for accomplishing some of the things on my list thus far.

1.) Drink some coffee in order to wake self up (out of my fabulous new coffee cups - see below.)
Aren't they fabulous??? The coffee gets cold quickly as they are really wide and let the heat out quickly, but no biggie, I just toss the cup in the microwave and heat. They are asthetically pleasing, and in the case of coffee cups, I take that over functionality any day. Brian seems to disagree, but I pay him no mind. Hmph.

Hmmm.... I guess that is all I have accomplished thus far. Bummer. Well, here are the millions of other things that need to get done today.

2.) Take a shower. Yep, this is one of those things I don't find much time for anymore being a Mom of 4 little kids. I usually end up getting to this around mid afternoon, but hopefully this will happen sooner today as I am not feeling all that "fresh."

3.) Vaccuum, wash floors, clean bathrooms. YUCK. POOH. SUCKY. BLAH. So now you know how I feel about cleaning house. I was spoiled and had a cleaning lady for about a year, had to give her up because of this yucky economy. No money = no cleaning lady.

4.) Put away laundry, 3 baskets full of it. Oh the laundry in this house - It is simply Out. Of. Control.



5.) Figure out how I am going to go to a pool party with Ava on Saturday with Lucas, Anthony and Olivia in tow. Daddy has a meeting and won't be around to help. A pool, 4 kids, and one adult simply do not mix.

6.) Go over our monthly budget and look for things we are able to cut out. Again. I am thinking a certain someones Monday "poker nights" need to get the nix. Ahem.

7.) Adjust Olivia's crib so she can no longer stand up and have the ability to fall out headfirst. How did she get so big so fast??? Darn. This is such a pain in the butt, pulling the crib out from the wall, taking off all the bumpers, taking the mattress out of the crib, unscrewing all of the thing-a-ma-bobs, pushing the thingy down, rescrewing all the thing-a-ma-bobs in, putting the mattress back in, putting the bumpers back on, and pushing the crib back against the wall. WHEW - that was one heck of a run on sentence.

8.) Feed Anakin Kenobi Starwars (our hermit crab).

9.) Finish putting together a gift basket for Grandpa's birthday. Simply have to finish this and get over to visit him in the nursing home. I have been getting a heavy dose of guilt poured on me by my lovely family members (you know who you are) that I still have not been over to see him. And I understand I should have gone by now, I love my grandpa immensely, and want nothing more to go and spend a nice afternoon with him but finding the time to do so is not that simple. 4 kids age 6 and under, a husband who works crazy hours 6 days sometimes 7 days a week makes it hard for me to accomplish tasks that for most people are done quite easily. Not sure they will ever understand. [sigh]

10.) Come up with something to feed the kids for lunch other than chicken tenders or frozen pizza.

11.) Get kids loaded up in car, wait for Ava to get off of the bus at 2:45, rush to Lucas' preschool in order to pick him up by 3pm.

12.) Get everyone home, snack in hands and settled in front of the good old T.V. so that Mom can have a half hour to myself.

13.) Drink a Diet Coke in order to stay alert for the next 5 hours until the ever so coveted bedtime.

14.) Wait in hopes that Daddy will get home by 4:30pm. Why, you ask? so that we can pack all the kids in the car, drive out to the Mall of America, and pick out two more hermit crabs to join Anakin Kenobi Starwars in his homey little cage. The kids have convinced me that he is quite lonely and needs a few companions.

15.) Hopefully eat dinner at Hooters so that I do not have to come home and cook dinner. This is our all time favorite restaurant at the MOA. The kids beg to eat here everytime we go to the Mall - "please Mom and Dad, can we PLEASE eat at Hooters??" They really to beg - something to be proud of, our kids pleading with us to eat at Hooters, right?

16.) Drive home, praying that the kids will fall asleep en route so I don't have to deal with bed time. Sometimes it is soooo nice to just scoop them out of the car and put them into their beds. No fights, no teeth brushing (they can miss one night, it won't kill them), no "I need water", "I am cold." "I need another blanket." "I am too hot." "read me a book." " I can't sleep". You get the idea.

17.) Get kids into said beds.

18.) Put on pajamas, pour a glass of wine, lay on couch with remote in hand and watch one of my Tivo'ed shows.

19.) Go to bed nice and early in order to gear up to do most of these things all over again tomorrow.

20.) Oh, and maybe fit in some "quality time" with Mr. Shelton. It has been a while. I know, too much information, right?

The Newest Member Of Our Family

It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you the newest member of the Shelton family. Our Hermit Crab, Anakin Kenobi Star Wars. Yep, that's his name, the name Anthony gave him. I suggested "Hermie", or Batty (as it is living inside a batman shell), but he rejected both of these names and decided to go with his name of choice. Which is a bit long and quite strange, but it was his birthday gift, so he should have the honor of naming the little guy, right?

Ava and Lucas loved the little guy from the start, playing with him, picking him up, etc. I even like him, though most likely for different reasons than the kids. He does not smell, he does not need to be walked, he does not poop all over the place, or make messes. He simply sits in his little home, and comes out of his shell on occasion to hang out. All I have to do is feed him and give him a little water once a week. Oh, and I have to clean the rocks and his cage once a year - yep, only once a year! Easy Peezy.

But I guess the most important critique here would be from Anthony as it is his "pet", and I guess you could say that he is not too sure about him. Actually, he is down right scared of the thing.

Hopefully he will warm up to the little guy, as it is the only pet we will ever have. Ever. And I really mean that Mr. Shelton aka Daddy.