PETS

The kids want a pet, I think pretty much any pet would do for them, they just really, really want one. Mr. Shelton wants a pet too, a dog, a bull dog to be specific. Me? I don't want a pet of any kind. I already have four kids and one grown up who acts like a kid (Mr. Shelton) to take care of.

We tend to have the Can-we-pleeeeeeeease-get-a-pet conversation around the Shelton house on a monthly basis. Once from the kids, and once from Mr. Shelton.

With Mr. Shelton it usually goes something like this: "Hon, I think it would be so nice to have a dog. The kids would just love it! It would be so fun to have a bull dog, they are so lazy and cute, they just lay around, sleep and hang out. What do you think?"

"What do I think? Who will take care of the dog? Clean up it's poop? Not me. Take it for walks? Not me. Give it baths? Not me? What happens with if the dog get's sick, or hurt and needs to be taken to the vet? You get upset with the kids Dr. bills, and they are actual human beings, could you imagine how upset you would be with a bill from the Vet after, say, the dog needed a surgery of somekind?"

The conversation usually ends here. At least for the next month, until it is brought up yet again.

With the kids, the conversation varies. But this morning it went something like this:

Ava: "Hey Mom, do you know what my favorite animal is?"

Mom: "No, what is it?"

Ava: "A guinea pig, can we pleeeeease get a Guinea Pig?"

Mom: "No honey, they are rodents and they stink."

Ava: "Awwwww."

Then the boys piped in and proceeded to tell me what their favorite animals were, and what they wanted as a pet. A fish, a mouse, a frog, a snail, a pig (yes, Anthony requested a pig), a monkey (again, Anthony), a bird..... Every time I said "no" to their choice of animal they came up with a different one. Little did they know that I would say "no"to every request.

So they kept on coming with suggestions, ideas, and thoughts on what type of pet would fit perfectly into our family. Then they finally landed on Daddy's animal of choice. A dog.

Ava: "A dog Mom, let's get a dog. Daddy reaaaaalllly want's a dog too! A bull dog, let's get a bull dog!!"

Mom: "Who will take care of the Dog?"

Ava: "We will Mom! Ava then turned to the boy's and said, "Boy's we have to be really, really, good and then Mom and Dad will buy us a Dog, and we will have to take care of it. Alright?"

Mom: "Ava, I never said that. Who will take the Dog for walks? Feed the dog? Give the Dog baths?"

Ava: "We will Mom, we promise!! Right boy's?" [They nodded in agreement]

Mom: "Who will clean up the dog's poop when he goes in the yard?"

Silence..... More silence.... Still nothing....

Ava: "Dad will!" [Yah, right.]

I simply laughed, and changed the subject. The pet debate was over for them as well, until next month that is.

I know, I know for all you pet lovers out there, I sound like a big mean Mom on this subject, but I just can't see this family taking responsibility for a pet. I would be stuck doing it all, and I just don't have the time. At least for now.

I wonder how many more months I am going to be able to keep up with all the "No's?" How many months I am going to be able to go before caving and saying the much sought after response "yes."

Maybe this is their master plan, to ask and ask and ask and ask.... until I finally do cave in. We'll see if that ever happens.

OLIVIA AND HER CAKE: A STORY MADE UP OF PICTURES

IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS

Look who has finally learned how to pump his legs, and swing without the help of yours truly?


Yes, it is true, at 5 years and a few months old, Lucas has mastered this skill. And am I ever happy.

Why so happy you ask?

Let me explain. I believe every Mom has a "thing", something they just loathe doing with or for their kids. (I know, most Mom's don't want to admit it, cause it sounds bad, but I am right.) My thing has and always will be pushing my kids on the swing. Don't know why, just have never liked. Having to stand behind them for what seemed like hours and push, and push, and push until their need to swing was satiated. Yes, never liked it, never will.

So when Lucas yelled the other day, "Look Mom, look!" and I turned to find him swinging all by himself, I was overjoyed. Yes, overjoyed that he was so proud of himself for learning, and with the fact that I had one less child that needed to be pushed on the swing.

2 down, 2 more to go.

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY TO MY OLIVIA GRACE

My Olivia Grace,

Here I sit on the eve of your very first birthday writing you this letter. I was going to wait until tomorrow to write as it seemed appropriate to wait until the actual day of your birth, but a few things came to mind this evening that made me want to write this now.

I was rocking you to sleep tonight in your bedroom, watching you drink your bottle when our eyes met. I smiled down at you and began to sing you our song, and as always, your smile cracked beneath the bottle you had suddenly took a time out from drinking. We stared into each other's eyes for sometime, when I realized I had begun to cry. I was crying out of joy. Joy that I was so lucky to have you, that you were born healthy and happy, that you were growing up, learning new things each day, and becoming your own little person. But I was also crying out of sorrow. Sorrow that you are our very last little baby, sorrow that you are growing up so fast, that tomorrow morning you would be a 1 year old, and that the years would inevitably go by faster and faster.

I need to concentrate on all the joy's and forget about the sorrow's, as the joy's with you my Olivia, are many.

I remember the day I had you as clear as it was yesterday. My labor was a bit difficult with you as you seemed to keep changing your mind as to whether you felt like making your grand entrance into this world or not. After contractions that stopped and started and stopped and started I was finally given pitocin, which seemed to do the trick, as you were born a mere 2 hours later. They laid you on my chest and I got my first good look at you, the little girl that had been swimming around, kicking, and hiccuping inside my belly for 9 months. The little girl that your Daddy and I had created, how amazing. What a wonder you were. So small and delicate, so very beautiful.

We spent that first afternoon together nursing, getting acquainted with one another outside of my womb, and looking into each other's eyes. That evening I could not resist to grab you out of your little crib that was placed next to my bed and nuzzle you close to me, where we slept together, nursing on and off all night long. It was that night that I realized what a peaceful, calm, content little girl you were.

Over the past 12 months you have not changed as far as your disposition. But you have grown in so many other ways. You have sprouted 6 new teeth, yes 6. Most of which all happened to push through at the same time, so we had a few sleepless night around here where you would wake up here and there screaming out in pain. Each time I would go to you and rock you back and forth in the rocking chair until you would finally drift back off to sleep. You learned how to say Mama, Dada and duck. You learned how to crawl, and found your new found freedom very liberating. You loved to climb the stairs, and do circles around the house, exploring. After mastering the crawling thing you started getting into everything. Splashing around in the toilet water, putting everything in your mouth that would fit, whether it was a rock, a toy, a piece of grass, a bug, everything. You would open cupboards and pull everything out of them, you would find your diaper bin and pull all the diapers out and throw them all over the room. You have been one busy little bee this year Miss Olivia, always keeping Mama on her toes!

Of the many things you have learned above, there is one missing. My favorite thing you have learned to do just this week. You started laughing. And this is no ordinary laugh little girl. This is the sweetest little belly laugh I have ever heard. You do this so often, and it is always accompanied by your smile. The smile that most everyone who meets you points out and adores. Yes, this is my favorite thing....

There are days in which I wish more than anything that I could freeze time, so that I could have endless time to revel in all your new found abilities. But then I realize what a joy it has been throughout this year seeing you grow, learn things. Seeing you begin to develop your own little personality. And I realize that I so look forward to seeing you grow in different ways, learn new things, and slowly develop yourself into a strong, independent, beautiful young woman.

I want you to know how very proud I am of all that you have learned and all the milestones you have met this first year of your life. But most of all, I want you to know how very proud I am to be your Momma, and how very much you are loved.

Happy Birthday my Olivia Grace!

GETTING A BIT TOO BIG FOR HER BRITCHES PART 3

Once again, my Ava surprised me with a question this morning as I was getting ready for the day. Actually, I have to admit, the things that come out of her mouth are beginning to surprise me no longer. I have gone from being surprised, to simply being in awe that her little mind is able to think up these questions, and to know enough about certain topics in order to ask them.

The question?

"Hey Mom, when am I going to be old enough to have one of those things that goes over these?"

I turned to see what "these" were, and found both of her hands placed over her chest area. [This subject has been addressed on a few different occasions, yet she still seems very interested in re addressing it.]

"You will be able to have one of those when you are older."

"How old do I have to be?"

"You will be a teenager when you have one of those, so when you are 13, maybe 12. It depends."

"Depends on what?"

Good Lord, this girl is relentless with the questions.

"It depends on when your breasts begin to grow."

"But Lauren at school has one! She does Mom, she really does! It goes on her boobs and she wears it to school. She showed me and it has Camp Rock on it. Can I get one?"

I am assuming what Lauren from school had was a sports bra of sorts. Or at least this is what I got from this conversation.

"Sure, we can look for one the next time we go to Target."

So you see, Ava seems to be growing up too fast, asking questions about things that I am amazed she knows about. [refer to part 1 and two here, and here, of getting a bit too big for her britches for more of her questions that have been asked]. Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

I wonder what it will be next?

THE STORY BEHIND THE POOL [CONCLUDED]

So I had the pool in my possession. Now what next? Well of course, set it up. Getting a 9 foot wide four foot deep pool set up, filter in place, and filled with water could not be that hard, right?

WRONG.

I woke up this lovely morning to major humidity and temps that were going to reach upwards of 90 degrees. Not the best weather to be assembling a large pool, but what the heck, I was going to give it a go.

I corraled all the kids into the car and headed to Wal-Mart to find an air pump. We were successful in finding the air pump, and some kick boards, and some diving rings, and some water balls. [One can never seem to leave a store like Wal - Mart when kids are along without anything extra that was not on the list.]

We arrived home, where I loaded the what seemed to be 100 lb. pool all wrapped up into the kids wagon, and dragged it into the back yard. Already I was sweating. I layed out the protective bottom mat strategically trying to place it in the most level spot I could find [which took about an hour.] I then gave it the old heave ho and carried the pool to the middle of said mat, unwrapped it, and began rolling it out.

After I accomplished this, I went to find an extension cord to reach from the house, all the way down to the yard where I needed to hook up the electric pump in order to fill the top ring of the pool. After searching in our garage for a good 20 minutes, I was only able to come up with 1 cord which was not going to be long enough. SO, I went to the neighbors and borrowed another one. Went to the back yard, attached it to mine, still not long enough. Went back to the neighbors, borrowed another one, went to the backyard, and attached it to the others, still not long enough. Went back to the neighbors AGAIN, borrowed ANOTHER extension cord, attached it to the others, and FINALLY it was long enough. Whew. Thank God for the neighbors and their huge supply of extension cords.

I then was able to fill the top ring of the pool with air, which in turn made it possible for me to fill the pool with water. Or so I thought. After reading the manual a bit further I found that the filter needed to be hooked up before filling the pool with water commenced. Darn.

So, I pulled out the box with the filter, opened it, took one look at the parts involved in putting it together and decided it was not going to happen without some assistance. Some assistance from my wonderful Father - in - Law. He came through yet again and came over and got the filter assembled and hooked up to the pool.

Now for the easy part, putting the hose in the pool, sitting back and letting it fill up, right?

Wrong. Again.

We put the hose in, let it fill for about an hour, and found that the water was all pooling to one side. Guess the area I chose was not as level as I thought. Darn. We emptied some of the water, and moved the pool this way, and that way, discussing, thinking, trying to come up with the most level spot we could find. And by golly, we thought we had it.

Until later in the evening, when I looked outside to find that the pool was obviously not filling equally.

A few swear words, a couple stomps of the foot later, I decided that there was nothing I could do, it was too full now to move, so it would just have to do for this summer. Next summer per Mr. Shelton's request, we are going to pour a concrete slab in the backyard, stick the pool on top of said slab so as not to have to spend a day attempting to find a non-exsistent level spot in our yard. Good thinking on his part, very good thinking.

Later the next day, the kids were begging to go in the pool even though it was not filled quite yet. I thought, what the heck, and let them swim. Turns out the frigid water temperature and the fact that the pool was only half full did not really seem to phase them.

By the end of the day, the hose had done it's job and the pool was completely full. Well, as full as it was going to get with the unlevel ground. I was thrilled to find that I was finally done getting this pool set up. I even managed to get the ladder put together [another long story, that I will refrain from going into]. So it was less than level? So the filter was not operating quite yet [need to fix the outdoor outlet], so the chemicals had not been purchased much less put into the pool? It was filled with water, and the kids were able to get into it, which made them happy. That was all that mattered at this point.

48 hours later, sans a husband, but with the help of my wonderful Father-in-Law, I managed to get this God forsaken pool ready enough for the kids to swim.

It was certainly not done perfectly, and there were a few things that still needed to be taken care of, but they didn't care, they loved it. And this is what made all the work over the past three days worth it. For sure.

THE STORY BEHIND THE POOL [CONTINUED]

So I had finally gotten the Mr. to agree to a pool, but the agreement was the only thing that had happened thus far. I needed to have the pool in my posession before I knew it was for real. But there was a problem with this. Mr. Shelton was leaving town in the morning for a whole week. A whole week spent in a car driving to Florida to deliver a boat. A whole week to sit and think about his decision to finally cave and say yes to a pool. A whole week to possibly change his mind. I decided I needed that pool before he got home from this trip of his so that the changing of the mind I talk of would not be able to happen.

So I began to think of how I could make this happen. Could I pick it up myself? No, I could not manage to get a box filled with a pool, filter, and other things that weighed 130 lbs into the SUV with 4 kids in tow. Nope, not going to happen.

Hmmm, what's a girl to do? Talk to the Father-in-Law. Yes, that was it. He would surely help me in obtaining this much sought after pool o' mine. I sat and typed an ever so friendly email to his lovely, wife, the Mother-in-Law, and asked ever so nicely if her husband would pick it up and deliver it to my door step. To which I received a prompt response, stating that he would indeed do this for me. What a guy.

That morning was spent in doors, kids bouncing off of walls, couches and everything else as it was raining out and they were unable to take their spirited little selves outdoors to burn off that energy. I had not thought much about the pool, assuming he would get to picking it up sometime in the next day or two. But, the rain finally stopped, and the kids happily got their shoes on, opened the garage door to run outside and found.... Our pool. Yes, this wonderful man that I mentioned above had come through, and delivered our pool to our doorstep, and very quickly at that.

You would like to see this pool I talk so highly of, wouldn't you? Well, here it is. No, this is not me, my family and friends - although I am hoping for us to look this happy and have this much fun while splashing around in it.

Nice, right?

So all was well in the world. Mr. Shelton had agreed to a pool, and I had said pool in my possession.

To be continued....

THE STORY BEHIND THE POOL

After asking, and begging, and pleading, and begging some more (for the past two years), Mr. Shelton finally caved and agreed to purchase a pool for the kids. And what a surprise that was.

How did this come about, you ask?

On Saturday, when I got around to asking him (for probably the millionth time) "Don't you think it would be nice to get a pool for the kids? Something bigger than the usual pool we pick up at Targer each summer? The kiddie pool is just not cutting it anymore with Ava being six and Lucas being 5. We could get one of those nice Intex pools our neighbors to the right have, their kids love it, and more importantly our kids love swimming in it too. They would love to have our own in our backyard."

His answer?

"I'll think about it." Which was an oh-my-gosh-someone-pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming answer.

Later that day Ava asked, "Daddy, can we pleeeeaaaase get a pool?"

His answer?

"Sure, alright."

Holy smokes. He agreed. He finally agreed to a pool. This may not seem to be that big a deal to most people, but for the kids and I it was huge. We have spent two years trying to get him on board for this purchase, we have used every angle possible to get a "yes" out of him. All to no avail, the answer was always the same:

"I hardly have enough time with my work schedule now to get home before 8pm each night. Taking care of a pool like that is a pain, having to check the PH levels, get all the chemicals in it when needed, clean it, etc, etc." I just don't have the time."

What changed his answer to a simple "Sure, alright", is beyond me. All I know is I did not question it. Not even for a second.

To be continued.....

MOM UNDERWEAR

A few months back, Mr. Shelton asked a very interesting question. I had just taken a shower, so (naturally) I was standing in the bathroom in all my glory with nothing but my bra and underwear on, drying my hair.... When he asked in a very casual way, "Hon, what is with the Mom underwear lately?"

I did not say anything. At first. I needed a moment to have a little conversation with myself, and that conversation when something like this:


What the heck. Mom underwear?? I don't wear Mom underwear. I wear nice, comfy, bikini underwear that are cotton in nature. [See below - and no, this is not me posing in my underwear. I know, I know, you thought it was.]









So what if I don't wear those sexy slinky, silky, underwear that are thong in nature. (who wants something stuck in their butt all day? Not comfortable.) So what if I don't wear the ever popular boys shorts ( I think they are rather unflattering on any type of body that is not stick thin in the thigh area, plus they bunch up when you attempt to put jeans on). So what if I don't wear the super high cut string type bikini underwear that are silky and see through in nature. (These are similar to a thong, although the key difference is that they are not meant to be stuck in between your buttcheeks. But the fabric is such that it is slippery, and most every time they end up giving me a constant wedgy. Again, who would want to be that uncomfortable all day long? Not me.)

So, after this little conversation between me, myself, and I, I decided to answer his question.

"Because they are comfortable. Because they don't go up my butt every second of the day. Because I did not think you needed me to be wearing 'sexy' underwear every day of the week. And again, because they are comfortable."


His response?


"I just wish you would sometimes wear the underwear you wore prior to having the kids."


Which underwear is he talking about? The ones that I mentioned above in my conversation with myself. Yep, I admit it. I used to wear them. Back in my pre-child days. How else would I know about the constant wedgies, the attempts at pushing down the boy shorts in order for them to lay flat after putting on pants, the itchy fabrics? And simply put, how very uncomfortable and impractical these types of underwear were?


An example of such underwear. (And no need to blush anyone, again, this is not me. Although I wish it were...)

Anyway, the fact that he asked so nicely, and was not expecting me to wear these types of underwear every day of the week, I decided to give in to his request. I decided to bring sexy back to this mom of four, and purchase some new underwear.

I do have to say that I managed to find some great stuff over at Gap Body. I was happy to get a day out to go shopping, and Mr. Shelton was happy to see me in some underwear other than my standard cotton bikini Hanes.

I wear these special underwear on occasion, and they are nice.... But I have to admit, I still find myself reaching for those comfy cotton bikini's every time I get out of the shower. I resist that urge some days for Mr. Shelton's sake and go for the sexy new ones.

So I suppose your are wondering where this post came from. Why, after having this happen months ago am I bringing it up now? Well, because Mr. Shelton is out of town all week delivering a boat to Florida, and I am reveling in the fact that I can wear my nice, comfy, cotton bikini's every day this week without the Mr. home to frown upon my choice. Because really, went it comes down to it, in the case of undergarments of any kind, I choose comfort over fashion any day.

THINGS I SWORE I WOULD NEVER DO

When I look back to my childhood, I often remember things that my Mom used to say and do to my sister and brother and I that I swore I would never do to my kids. You know, the annoying, embarrasing, weird things that for some reason, are ingrained in every Mom out there?

How do I know that pretty much all other Mom's do these types of things as well? Simple answer. When I was young, all my other friend's complained of their Mom's doing these things. Furthermore, now that I am a Mom, (as much as I hate to admit this,) I am doing them as well. And my other Mom friends are doing them too. Apparently these things have stood the test of time.

O.K. so by now I am sure you are just dying to know what "these things" are.

I swore I would never bring my kids to a public restroom, and stand at the door constantly saying don't touch the toliet seat, if you have to go #2, put down some strips of toilet paper first.

I swore I would never see a spot of ketchup left over on one of the kids faces from lunch, lick my finger, then wipe said spot off their face.

I swore I would never go to one of their sporting events and yell at the top of my lungs "GO AVA, GO AVA, GO AVA!!" as she was playing said sport.

I swore I would never tell my kids to "just stop doing that because I said so", when they were doing something inappropriate because I did not want to explain to them why it was inappropriate.

An example seems necessary for this one. Back in the gradeschool days, my sister and I were laying on opposite ends of the couch one day, bored and looking for some entertainment. Our feet were touching, so we decided to start pushing on eachother's feet as hard as we could to see who would give up and release their hold first. This apparently got old, so we decided to start kicking eachother in the hip and yelling "Boner!"[We used this word as we were hitting eachother in the hip bone, get it? Boner?] We found it quite entertaining as this went on for some time: She would kick me, yell, "Boner!" Then I would kick her and yell "Boner!" We were finally interrupted when my mom came down the stairs yelling, "Girls, don't say that!!" our response? "Why Mom?" Her response? "Because I said so, just don't say that!"

At the time, we were both angry and annoyed as we wanted to know why. Now I whole heartedly realize her reasoning for that response.She did not want to give us a definition of what a boner was. And I don't blame her one bit.

I swore I would never drop one of the kids off at a playdate, and while driving off yell very loudly, "I love you honey!!"

I swore I would never, ever, ever use the phrase "because I am the parent and you are the child."

These are all things that my Mom did, and at the time I hated all of it. These things embarrased me, made me angry, frustrated, all kinds of things. I could not understand why she felt the need to do all of these things, and say all of these things. I did not understand until I became a Mom myself. Then I found myself doing and saying all of these things out of love.

I did not want the kids sitting on public restroom toilet seats as they are simply gross, and dirty and I did not want their clean little bottoms coming in contact with that grossness.

I lick my finger and wipe off a spot of food from their faces because they are my children. They grew in my belly for 9 whole months, after which I brought them into this world. So heck, a bit of spit on a finger to wipe of some food is nothing.

I go to Ava's dance recitals and yell "WOO-HOO Ava!!" when she is dancing. I do this because I am so very proud of her and simply can't contain myself.

I choose to say "stop doing that because I said so" because at times, I feel they are too young to know some things, and I simply want to protect their innocence for as long as I possible.

I drop Ava and Lucas off at playdates, school, and other functions, make sure to give them big hugs and kisses and tell them I love them. Why? Because I love them and I want them to know how very much I love them every day.

I have said many, many times "because I am the parent and you are the child" because kids need to respect their parents and respect the fact that what Mom and Dad says goes. All of the time.

So I guess there is a reason as to why these types of things have stood the test of time. As I said, these were all things that my Mom did as we were growing up, and now I am doing the same things as a parent. And I am glad. I believe these things (however silly some of them may seem) are helping my children growing up to be well rounded responsible adults, and most importantly, adults who know how much they were and are loved by their Mom.

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***Oh, and please go on over to Megan's blog here to enter a giveaway for a.... not gonna tell. You will have to go there to find out what she is giving away. It is really, really, great. I promise. Go there and enter to win.***

ANOTHER MILESTONE IS MET

It's official, Miss Olivia Grace has now learned how to walk. I can't decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing seeing that it is summer, and she is practicing her new found ability outside quite a bit and wiping out from time to time. [She has already skinned up her head.]

Anyway, whether I like it or not, she is walking, and I am going to have to just protect her as best as I can from anymore accidents as a result of her new found abilities. But more importantly, I am going to enjoy it, and revel in it as really, it is so darn cute to watch a baby who has just learned to walk. You other Mom's out there know what I mean when I say it is so darn cute - Her walking style is reminiscent of a drunken' sailor, sort of wobbling from side to side, not walking in a straight line, with the occasional loss of balance, which results in falling over.


So in celebration of this milestone she reached, we went shopping for her very first pair of shoes. We found ourselves (we, meaning Olivia and I) wavering between the oh-so-cute fashionable sandals, and the practical tennis shoes. After much contemplation, we went for the tennis shoes - these would assist her best in continuing to master her walking skills, which was most important.

Olivia was happy with the choice we made, although a little bummed as the sandals were really calling her name. She just knew how well they would compliment her wardrobe full of dresses and skirts, and other such girly attire.

In the end, she understood that tennis shoes were the best choice - function over fashion in this situation.

BRIBERY IS A GOOD THING

Today has been quite the day. Actually, ever since the kids got out of school for summer break we have had long day, after long day, after long day. All I hear is, "what are we doing today?" or "I am bored." or "there is nothing to do." I think they are still in the mindset of being at school, having a daily routine, and something to do each moment of the day. And it is already starting to wear on me.

I decided I could not handle any more of the chaos for the day and needed to calm the kids down in order to get them to have some "quiet time". Quiet time so that I could pick up the house, both inside and out after their many hours of playing. Quiet time so that I could clear my head and get ahold of my thoughts without someone yelling "Mom, Ava hit me!" Or "Mom, Anthony is not playing nice!" or "Mom, Lucas took my scooter!" Quiet time for the simple fact that without out it at that point, I thought I was going to have a temper tantrum remeniscent of the one's the kids have. And let me tell you, THAT would not be good.

And calm them down I did. How, you ask? With some good old fashioned bribery. (And no, I am not ashamed of bribing my kids from time to time.)

I explained to them if they sat quietly on the the couch after dinner, and watched a cartoon in it's entirety without fighting, yelling, whining, or anything of that nature, I would let them each do two sparklers. As they heard the word sparklers come out of my mouth they were all grinning from ear to ear and running to their couches in order to begin their half hour of uninterrupted quiet time. It was then that I knew this bribe was going to work.

The kids had a great time with their sparklers,

Anthony even managed to have a great time after grabbing his sparkler from the wrong end out of Lucas' hand and burning his finger.

Lucas finished off the very last sparkler of the night by being goofy and waving it in front of his face. (Lucky he did not burn himself too....)

So it turned out to be a win, win in the Shelton house tonight. Mom got her much, much needed quiet time from the kids, and the kids were able to have some fun with their sparklers.

See? Bribery can be a good thing.

ON GIRLFRIENDS

Growing up, I slowly came to realize that girls could be really mean spirited. Mean in the sense that they enjoyed preying on one anothers insecurities, they enjoyed ganging up on a different girl each month for ridiculous, petty reasons. (which happened to me once or twice and completely crushed my spirit at the time), they enjoyed talking behind one anothers back. They just enjoyed being cruel. For all of these reasons, I have never been one to have a large group of girlfriends. At least not since grade school, as I think all this cruel behavior put a bad taste in my mouth for them - friendships with girls that is.

Don't get me wrong, I have always had my core group of great, great, girlfriends - Maggie, Bridget and Molly. You know, the type of friends that you have known for years and years. The ones that you can manage to not see for 2 years, then get together for dinner only for it to seem that not a day has passed since you had last talked? These types of friendships are priceless, the most special of all types of friendships, and I treasure them.

Beyond these 3 girls, I steered clear of the girl friendships, and stuck with "the guys". They were so easy to be friends with. No catty behavior, no talking behind one anothers back, no worrying if so and so is angry at you. Nothing of the sort. It was friendship in it's purest and simplest form. I happily went about my days with my group of guys, talking on the phone, getting together for BBQ's, going out to the bars. Life was good.

Then I got busy. Busy with College, jobs, and meeting my husband, Mr. Shelton. Then I seemed to loose touch with the guys. Everyone went their seperate ways, getting on with their lives, moving, starting new jobs, and families.

After marrying, Mr. Shelton and I moved to Stillwater, where we purchased our very first home in preparation for growing our family. ( I was newly pregnant.) I spent the next 8 months busy - working, and preparing for our little Ava to come into the world. Of which she did on January 22nd of 2003.

( I do have a point to this story, hang in there!)

A few months after her birth I realized that I was feeling lonely. Lonely and in need of some girlfriends to bounce parenting ideas off of, to vent to, to go grab a drink with, to shop with, to just hang out with. I was unable to fill that lonely void (except over the phone) with my three closest girlfriends as they had all since moved away. So with my sister Anna's coaxing, I decided to join the local Mom's club. I say coaxing as from reading above, you know my hang up's with the whole girlfriends thing. But I was going to go for it, try it out, and hope for the best.

Four years later, I can now say that I have forged some of the very best friendships I have ever had in my lifetime. I have found a group of girls that I am able to tell my deepest darkest secrets to, girls that I can cry with, girls that I find myself laughing until I pee with, girls that I am confident in saying would do anything for me, and I for them. 3 girls that remind me so much of my friendship with Maggie, Bridget, and Molly.

So today I am giving thanks for the girlfriends in my life. I give thanks for my three closest girlfriends that I was so fortunate to have when I was young, and to still have now as an adult.

And I give thanks for the new friendships I have made as an adult with Amy, Mari and Dominique. I feel so very lucky to have found that same kind of friendship with three other women. (Miss Dominique is missing from this picture).

Both my childhood girlfriends, and my girlfriends I have made as an adult are so very important to me. We are not catty or mean toward one another, we don't talk behind eachothers backs or treat eachother with disrespect. We all understand the true meaning of friendship, and know that these acts do not encompass what a friendship should be.

These friendships are rare, truly priceless, and will always be held close to my heart. These girls are my best friends, and without them I would be lost.

PRICELESS

Dance classes for the year: $380

Dance Coustume: $90

Roses: $6

Ballerina Frog: $12

The look on my Ava's face after her very first dance recital. PRICELESS.

WE HAVE A THING FOR STAR WARS 'ROUND HERE

Liv was crawling around the playroom this evening, picking up random toys, trying to fit them in her mouth, realizing she can't, then moving on, finding books that are not of the board variety and attempting to rip them up. You know, the normal kind of things an 11 month old entertains herself with. She seemed to be winding down and getting ready to move on to another adventure, when she came across part of Anthony's halloween costume from last year. His Yoda ears.

Amazingly she was trying her darndest to get the things on her head. I say amazingly, as every time I attempt to put a hat of any sort on her little head she immediately protests by screaming and vehemently pushing it off.

So I obliged, and put the Yoda ears on her head. And there they stayed for an hour, (yes, a whole hour) , while she happily played with toys.

Turns out we have another one who seems to have a thing for Star Wars 'round here. Let's just say the boys were very proud of their little sister's new found interest. Very proud indeed.

RAINY DAYS

We spent the weekend camping. Camping in the rain - pouring rain that is.

We woke up early Saturday morning to the pitter pattering sounds of the rain drops hitting the top of the motor home. I was hopeful that by the time we got up, made breakfast and dressed ourselves it would have subsided.

Not the case.

It rained right through breakfast, right through showers, dressing, a movie, an hour or so playing PSP's, and through lunch.

Then it stopped. It really stopped. I quickly gathered up the kids, got outside, strapped Liv in her stroller, and we all made the journey up to the general store, where they had a small Arcade and some treats to buy. It wasn't much, but it was going to get us the heck out of the camper for awhile, and I was desperate for that.

Not two minutes into our walk to our much anticipated destination, it began pouring out. Again.

We hustled our buns to the general store, meandered around the arcade for a few minutes, went into the store, bought some treats, then ran back to our campsite.

We arrived at the door of the motor home, wet, with mud splashed up the backs of everyone's pants and shirts from the running we did on the muck filled gravel roads. We got in the camper, cleaned up, and hunkered down for what was to be a long afternoon pent up in the motor home.

I resisted the urge to tell Mr. Shelton to pack it all up and head back home. As much as this weather was to my dismay, we were together. Having family time, not being interrupted by constant cell phone ringing, calls that needed to be made, and emails that needed to be returned.

I would take being pent up in a motor home on a rainy miserable day, with 4 kids under the age of 6, my husband and I, and nothing to really do any day over being at home, where Mr. Shelton would most definitely have work on the mind.

Yes, I would take this any day, and take it I did.

So we spent the day doing pretty much nothing, just being together, playing, taking naps,

We made the most out of this rain filled camping trip, and I believe it turned out to be a memorable one.

BOYS, BOYS, BOYS

I was busy packing and cleaning house in order to leave to go camping this afternoon.

In the meantime, the boys were busy upstairs in my bathroom, doing this.

Lucas: "Hey Mom, what are these for?"

Mom: : "Nothing honey, they are just for Mom's."

Lucas: "But what do Mom's do with them?"

Mom: "Never mind what they do with them, you boys need to clean up this mess."

Lucas: "Do they stick them on the bottom of their feet and use them as slippers?"

Mom: "Ah, no. Just get started on picking up that mess you made."

Lucas: "Oh, I know what they do with them, they wipe their butts with them."

Anthony did not seem to be too interested in the conversation at hand, and was more interested in finding fun places to stick these "things-mom's-use."

Oh, boys.....

POST EDIT

I just went out front in order to grab the newspaper that I saw laying on the driveway. While on my way out the front door I happened upon a large amount of these things-that-mom's-use scattered all over the front door step - all over our Welcome mat.

Lucky I discovered them. And lucky our neighbor friends did not stop by for a chat, as that would have been quite the welcome.

BITTERSWEET

This morning I got the boys up, dressed, made their lunches in their new matching Star Wars lunch boxes, and brought them to their first day of the summer fun program at Sunny Hill.

Lucas was thrilled to be able to go to school over the summer with Anthony. Thrilled to show him the ropes. Where the bathroom is, where they eat lunch, where the playground is, and most importantly, he wanted to introduce his little brother to his pre-school buddies. Lucas was feeling very important and needed today as big brother, and it was so great to see.

For Anthony, this was an exciting day, full of new friends, and new experiences. It was his very first day of school, and for me, it was bittersweet. So happy to see him growing up, and becoming an independent little boy, but so sad to see him not needing me as much.

So very bittersweet.

PRICELESS

I must give a little background before continuing this priceless post.

Anthony and Lucas have been having some...trouble, shall we say, when it comes to bed time. By trouble, I mean not understanding that when I say it is bedtime, it is just that. Time. For. Bed.

This is how bedtime tends to go down around our house (with the boys, Ava is stunningly fabulous at getting her little buns to bed nary a whine or complaint.): 7:50pm "Time for bed!" Boys, "AWWWWWWW!" All the while stomping their feet across the kitchen, up the stairs and into the bathroom where they whine and complain as they brush their teeth, and get into their respective beds. We say our prayers, read a story, give hugs, and kisses, say our good nights, then I leave the room. Which is when it all starts. "Mooooommmm, Anthony won't be quiet." "I am thirsty." "I have to go to the bathroom." "My tummy hurts." "I am hungry." "I can't sleep." And so on, and so on. This usually goes on for about 30 minutes before they both fall asleep, and I am straight up tired of it.

So.... I have been bringing a bit of bribery into the picture as of late. Cause really, what is wrong with a bit of bribery in desperate situations? "Mom will buy you a Star Wars toy if you go to bed well every night this whole week." Did not work, no dice. "Mom will buy you the new Count Doooku light saber if you boys are good and go to sleep well all week." Again, no dice. "Mom will buy you each your own pack of giant Star Wars coloring pages if you go to sleep well all week." Still, nothing. I was beginning to give up hope. Until, I finally came across something that worked. Finally. See? Persistency pays off.

Now, without further ado:

Star Wars Galactic Heroes as an attempt to bribe the boys to go to bed nicely: $6.99

Star Wars Light Saber as an attempt to bribe the boys to go to bed nicely: :$7.99

Giant Star Wars coloring pages as an attempt to bribe the boys to go to bed nicely: $6.99

Finding a bunch of Star Wars stickers in my "junk drawer", letting the boys choose one sticker each morning (if they went to bed nicely the night before), and having this actually work in getting them to go to bed nary a whine, complaint, or one of their many nightly requests, (7 days and still going strong). Priceless.