Happy Holidays!

Keeping with my theme of not having enough time in day to do anything, I thought I would share the picture I used for our Christmas card. That never got sent out - go figure.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

I'M BACK -- AND BREAKFAST WITH SANTA!

I'm back! Sort of....

I haven't been blogging, and here is the reason why. Life has been as crazy as ever with school, getting Ava to and from dance 5 days a week [more on that to come], getting Lucas to and from hockey 3 days a week, keeping up with housework, laundry, and all the other day to day "to-do's." Not to mention Christmas is a week away - which means I have had a house to decorate, holiday parties to host, holiday parties to go to, gifts to buy, gifts to wrap -- you get the idea. It has been busy 'round here.

Another reason - because I really do feel the need to find excuses for not posting for months on end - is that my camera has been broken. And if I don't have pictures to go along with my posts, it just doesn't seem worth writing to me....There is something about having a picture to go along with my words. Anyway - the Mr. claims he has fixed it, but I don't believe it for one darn minute. He tinkered with it and managed to get the flash working again, but it still isn't taking good pictures. I am thinking it is just done for and that I need to come to the realization that my $700 camera is now a piece o' crap. But for now, I am going to just use it, post my words with crappy pictures to go right along with them.

So, crazy life + broken camera = severe lack of posts as of late.

But I am getting back to it today with some not-so-wonderful-in-quality-but-chalk-full-of-sweet-memories pictures from our Breakfast with Santa.

Daddy and Nathan getting ready to eat breakfast...

Checking out Santa from a distance....

The boys, all full of fake smiles to show their excitement that my camera is now in working order again [sort of.]

Nathan oh so happy to be stuffing his face full of syrupy filled french toast sticks. This kid has a serious love for eating.

Miss Liv with her very best friend in the whole wide world - her cousin Lucia.

They love each other so much. It most certainly is the cutest darn thing to see these to girls hugging, whispering secrets and giggling when they are together.

They had quite an extensive chat with Santa about what they wanted...

So did the boys....

Nathan? Notsomuch. In fact, he was incredibly scared of Santa. So scared he screamed, cried and kicked his legs the entire minute he was on his lap.

Liv couldn't stop hugging him - most likely trying to butter him up for her insanely long list. The one that includes pretty much every single toy ad she has ever seen on T.V. over the past month.

Nathan steered clear of Santa for the rest of the morning, and proceeded to walk around with his delicious, yet very messy blue candy cane while waving to all the other people there to see that scary, scary man they call Santa.

One final picture with the Santa before leaving. Nathan, of course, was shaking in his boots when Santa approached, so we didn't force him to sit in on the picture. Ava was at dance class and really wasn't missing anything as she "so knows he isn't real anyway." [Her words.]

One last wave to Santa as he heads back to the North Pole to get ready to deliver all those presents!

IT'S A FIRST!

Nathan had his first haircut today; and I have to say he did very well. Meaning he didn't freak out, scream and flail around wildly in the chair while the poor soul who was given the task of cutting his hair attempted to do just that. He did seem a bit confused as to what was actually going on -

why there was this strange girl standing behind him with a pair of scissors in her hand and a big ol' smile on her face and talking some serious baby talk in a high pitched voice,

but that confusion seemed to fade once his big sister handed him one of those glorious dum-dum's. With sucker in hand, he sat back and enjoyed that sugary deliciousness to the fullest, with no other care in the world. Especially one as little as some girl trimming up his lovely locks.

I was happy, he was clearly happy,

and the hairstylist had to be happy.

All was well in the world.

LOVE ♥

There is endless fighting, yelling, crying, more fighting, back talk, time outs, sass, chaos and more chaos that happens within a single day in the Shelton household. All this makes me stop at times to question myself, wondering if I am being a good Mom; teaching my kids and helping them grow up to be responsible, loving, well rounded adults. But it's moments like this that make me stop to realize that I have to be doing something right.

Just look at the love this little girl has for her baby brother.

These pictures speak a million words to me. Love, patience, and kindness to name a few. All from my three year old daughter. So it isn't me thinking "I have to be doing something right", it is me saying "I am doing something right", and that feels really good.

BACK TO SCHOOL

The kids were all surprisingly very excited for their first day back to school. Most surprising of all was Anthony's excitement over starting Kindergarten. Why, you ask? Well, because all summer long, whenever the subject of starting school would come up, he would tell me "I don't want to go to Kindergarten. I want to stay home with you forever and never, ever learn anything." As you can imagine, it did not go over well when I told him he didn't have a choice, and that he had to go. Every time we had this discussion, it ended in a knock down drag out tantrum. And honestly, toward the end of the summer I was having that tantrum right along with him out of pure frustration over the fact he couldn't seem to get over this whole you-need-to-go-to-school thing. Very frustrating.

So, like I said, I was pleasantly surprised when I dropped him off at school the first morning and didn't get any crying, yelling, or a tight vice grip on my leg while I tried leaving him there.

[black eye courtesy of his trying to "fly" off the rocking chair "just like Superman"]

As for Lucas and Ava, they were as easy as ever. In fact, they didn't even need my help getting to class and finding their desks. I followed them to their rooms anyway, tried to help get them settled in and said my tearful goodbyes. All the while they were busy getting the stuff in their desks situated and talking to friends they hadn't seen all summer. I got a quick wave, a look over their shoulder and a simple "bye Mom." I have to admit, it was a little bittersweet knowing they didn't need my help.

And lastly, my Liv Grace. This little girl started preschool today, and I cried. I cried when each and every one of my kids went off to preschool. It is so great to see them gaining new found independence, meeting new friends, and starting a new adventure in life, yet at the same time it is so sad to see them growing up, and not having them at home with me anymore.

She was just thrilled to be starting preschool. My girl was happy, smiling, and dancing around pretty much all morning, and it continued into the afternoon when I dropped her off at her new school. I was so happy to see her smiling face as I left her there.

So there you have it. The first day of school for my preschooler Liv Grace, my Kindergartner Anthony, my 2nd grader Lucas and my 3rd grader Ava. Whew.

You know, my Mom always told me, "enjoy your kids to the fullest - they will only be young once and they grow up in the blink of an eye." My eyes usually glazed over half way through her telling me this little tid-bit as I was thinking, "yah, yah, yah, they grow up, that's what happens, don't worry I won't miss any of it..." But I have to say she had a point, the years do indeed fly by, faster than I have really been prepared for. It is all so bittersweet.

I love you Ava, Lucas, Anthony, and Liv. Happy first day of school - Mama is so very proud of you all!

1

My sweet little baby boy is 1 today. 1! My very last baby turns 1 today - did I say it enough?

I am happy, I am sad, I am feeling all sorts of different emotions. But mostly I am so very grateful for having him - my chubby, snuggly, sweet little Nathan James.

You are loved more than you will ever know my little "Juje bug" - Happy, Happy Birthday!

M.I.A.

I am less than thrilled with myself as of late when it comes to keeping up on this here blog o' mine. Life has been nothing short of hectic this summer - hectic in a good way though.... Camping trips ,a trip to Wisconsin Dells, an adults only Chicago trip, basketball for Lucas, Dance classes for Ava, play dates, beach days, boat trips, and all sorts of other fun summer stuff.

I am promising myself that I will get back to posting regularly once my monkeys are all back in school and I have some "breathing room" so to speak....

3

Happy Birthday to my sweet, spunky, little blue eyed girl.

I love you so much Livi Grace, and for so many reasons. You always know how to put a smile on Mama's face. You can show me one of your ever famous dance moves, sing a little Kesha or Katie Perry, or ride around giggling away in your pink Escalade with the wind blowing through your hair. You can share your nuky with me when I am sleepy, play dolly's with me for hours, give me a kiss or just snuggle up nice and close and watch Dora with me. Whatever it is you do, you make me so happy to be your Mama.

I love you to the Moon, to the Sun and to the Stars Olivia Grace Shelton.

Love, Mama

JUMP!

My little monkeys are really loving the trampoline we bought last year. Actually, I should say, the trampoline they bought last year. Yes, they saved and saved, checked under cushions, couches, beds and any other place they could think of for loose change, and emptied out every last penny from their piggy banks to make this purchase possible. And let me tell you, it was worth all of their hard work. They spend time jumping, flipping, twirling and doing all sorts of other tricks on that trampoline every single day. Not to mention, all their neighbor friends think it is the coolest thing ever, which makes my monkeys beam with pride.

It is just plain old cool seeing your kids work hard to save their own money, purchase something they have dreamed of having for two summers, and seeing how very proud they are of themselves in the end. It makes this Mama beam with pride too.

PRESCHOOL GRADUATION

My Anthony Thomas had his very last day of preschool a few weeks back, and it honestly brought me to tears. I am not certain as to why, as this didn't happen to me when Ava left Sunny Hill, or when Lucas left either. Olivia will be starting school there this fall and Nathan will be following right behind her in a few years, so it's not like it's the last I will see of this wonderful school and those amazing teachers.

Whatever the case, it was a bittersweet day.

I cried, he asked what was wrong, I said nothing, that Mama was just happy and excited for him, he asked why, I said because he will be starting kindergarten in the fall, he said "No WaY", I said he would like it, he cried and said he wanted to stay at Sunny Hill, I said he couldn't but that we were going to have a party for him for being such a big boy and graduating preschool, he went from crying to laughing and jumping up and down in excitement for his "party" and all was well. WhEw. Talk about emotional.

Very last time singing the Goodbye song...

One last picture out front of school....

A special kiss for brother Nathan....

Pizza party to celebrate this memorable occasion....

His very favorite meal - of course without the cheese and toppings....

A few gifts on graduation day....

Fun with chalk and sidewalk paint, that he shared ever so graciously with his brothers and sisters...



Another big milestone met for my Anthony - with many more to come.