First day of school 2012...

Today was our first day of school here in town.  As Mr. Shook likes to tease he says we ease in to things here like they would at Cloverleaf, it was just a 1/2 day.  With the amount of school supplies needed Cameron and Molly needed as extra set of hands carrying things in.  I was glad to be able to help.

Here are a few photos from this morning...

Cameron 3rd grade!

Molly 2nd grade!

For Kindergarten they have the afternoon class come for just an hour starting at 10:30 so Amanda and I had a few hours to kill beforehand.  She was very anxious to go back to school and see her class.

We were both very excited that Daddy got to join us for that hour at school.

Thanks for putting forth the effort to be there, Mr. Shook.  I love you for it!

Always great to see a few friends...

We are praying for a great year!  It should be fun!

One last one with me and the little "BIG" girl! 

MY BABY IS IN KINDERGARTEN!! 

All smiles here!

A few highlights in bullet points (which I am admitting I copied from a friend's blog)...

Things are really winding down here.  School starts in single digits and we are about ready.  This morning my small people are lounging watching Tinkerbell on DVD (the male small person is pretending like he isn't watching but I'm sure he is) and I'm getting ready to host Bunco tomorrow.  Here are a few highlights in bullet point fashion on our last few weeks...

* Today is THE day in school world...class lists will be posted and we are excited!!  Fingers crossed for the teacher's of our dreams.

* Soccer has started!  Cameron is on 2 teams this year so we will see how the juggling of our schedule goes.  We will also mix in dance for the girls so I'm pretty sure I will need a Taxi sticker for my car.

* The beloved pool time is wrapping up.  It was a fun summer of swimming and sun.  I'm pretty sure Cameron's hair may have a tinge of green to it so we're off for a school haircut this week.  It is amazing how much better swimmers all the kids became this year.

* Mr. Shook is gearing up to run 2 1/2 marathon's in September.  This is the time of the year when I become a runner's widow.

* We have all of our school supplies purchased and they are ready to label.  I am procrastinating on this task. Any volunteers are gladly welcomed.  I will provide the labeler!

* The kids are very, very interested in all the Olympic events.  Of course this thrills me as I love watching all the excitement and competition.  I think our favorites so far have been women's gymnastics and swimming.  Molly was so sad for Jordyn Wieber when she didn't qualify for the women's all around competition.  My favorite has been watching the hottie Ryan Lochte.  What a sight for sore eyes!  Wow!

* Yesterday both girls had great urologist visits and we don't have to see Dr. Rhee again for a whole year.  Hip Hip Hooray!  This is huge and I am thrilled.  Dr. Rhee commented that Molly has also gained 2 pounds since March which is a nice improvement for her as well.  Mike and I both wonder if it isn't from fun summer visits to DQ :)

* We have registered to walk for the 4th year in the MS Walk-a-Thon in Peoria.  It's always a nice time for a very good cause.  We joke that it's Mr. Shook's warm down as he runs a half marathon that morning and then we walk 3 miles for MS.  If anyone is interested in donating to our efforts we would love to hear from you.  We are always happy to support our friends The Sullivan's in Traci's efforts in finding a cure for MS.  We have our orange shirts ready!

* And speaking of orange shirts...5 weeks to Pumpkin Festival!!  Need I say more?  Fun times are a-coming!

Special gifts...

Happy Mother's Day!  I hope yours was a good one.

I received a couple of special gifts.  They were made from the heart.

A pinwheel flower and two books.

Molly had things written in her book like:  

My Mom Helps Me...to tie my shoes.

I Love my Mom Because...she takes care of me.

My Mom's favorite hobby...going shopping.

(My favorite) My Mom likes to...play on her phone.

Cameron's book was very sweet...

If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have delicious snacks.

If it weren't for you, I'd have to walk three miles to baseball practice.

If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have help with my homework.

If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have love.

If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have a clean room. (damn straight)

If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have good meals.

Such nice and kind words from the loves of my life.

I am thankful to God for letting me be there Mom!

Leaving my babies...

This Saturday, Mr. Shook and I as well as 2 new friends, Joe and Sondra are taking 13 8th graders on a Confirmation retreat. It's just 24 hours, but 24 HOURS without my kiddos. On one hand it's very exciting but on the other hand it's very terrifying. I'm not use to doing this at all. We haven't have the ability or the luxury to leave our kids with anyone for any extended time. Count your blessings now if you have someone who will willingly do that for you. Besides having 2 babies and 2 one night getaways that's the extent of us leaving the kids. They will be fine, I already know that. But let's get to the real topic...

We're taking 14 year olds on an overnighter!! What are we thinking??!!

Actually, I think it will go well. We have spent every Sunday since September teaching the Confirmation class at our church with Joe and Sondra. I have actually learned a lot and our time together has been pretty enjoyable. We are in the home stretch now. Confirmation is April 29th and we will have 13 new members of Morton UMC. A few of our students have started coming to our church because their friends asked them to. A few are soaking up the information like it's sun rays. And let me tell you that is AWESOME!! Mr. Shook spends every Wednesday night will these kids in a youth group type setting. They do some devotion, they do gracing projects and they have fun. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to get a taste of it.

And, I have to say that I hope sometime you get an experience like this in your life. Even when these kids can be silly they are still talking the word of God and really trying to lead real Christian lives.

So as you read this will you please say a prayer for us this weekend. For our 8th graders, for their families, for my family and honestly for me. I hope that we are all aware of God's presence in our lives and this weekend allows us the opportunity to slow down and soak it all in. How great is our God??!!

But, before we leave on the retreat we have one matter of business...THE LINCOLN SCHOOL CARNIVAL!! Maybe all the parents need prayers so we survive it! It is a year's full of fun in 3 short hours! :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day...

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Shook's!

Hope you have the luck of the Irish!!

And...Go Buckeye's!!!

27 days...

We have had a first here.

This is really quite a stride for The Shook's.

27 days represents something for us in the month of July.



27 days of NOT EATING OUT OR EATING FAST FOOD!!



Unbelieveable.

But, really not that hard and I'm not sure I even really missed it. And I mean the fast food part. It's nice every once in a while to eat out. It can actually be fun. But we are really trying to do everything in moderation.

No running through McDonald's, no stopping at Jimmy John's or Subway. No LaGondola. Now I'm not going to say that every meal here was gormet, but I fixed 27 dinners. And some of them were pretty darn creative and yummy.

I rewarded the kids by making a trip to McDonald's on Friday with some friends. We actually ate inside, which we rarely do, and I have to say that I immediately remembered that I don't even really like McDonald's. Of course, the kids had a blast so I can see where a treat, every now and then, is actually a good thing. A sacrifice from their Mom!

Less eating out is also good for the wallet. It can get really expensive for us to eat out. For a family of 5, who's small people don't actually eat that much, we can't leave McDonald's without spending $20. That's kind of ridiculous when you think about it.

I think this is an experiment that we will continue for a while. It's a healthier choice, too!

What we are thankful for...

I may have shared this before, but for our dinner grace we go around the table and share something that we are thankful for each day. Of course we start with the kiddo who's day it is and work our way around. Here's how tonight's went...


Molly: I am thankful for the last day of swimming lessons and that Big Abbey is coming over tomorrow.



Cameron: I am thankful for my health, Daddy's job, Mommy's job, the last day of swimming lessons and that Big Abbey is coming over tomorrow. Oooooooh, and this yummy dinner. (Bonus points for that one, Son.)



Amanda: I am thankful for going off the diving board tomorrow, church in the park and ring - around - the - rosy.



To be 3 and to be thankful for such fun and innocent things. Amanda gives the best what I'm thankful for's because we never know what she's going to say. She's thankful for church in the park a lot. And a good day at Sunday School (on a week day). We might be doing something right here!

But, I have no idea about the jumping off the diving board part. Not happening. I wasn't even planning on going to the pool!

And, to clarify, Big Abbey is one of our sweet baby-sitters who unfortunately got the name Big Abbey because Molly has a 5 year old friend she calls Little Abbey. Big Abbey is hardly big. All 75 pounds of her.

Sk8er Boi

So today my 3 year old was running around singing...

He was a skater boy,

She said see you later boy.

This is what my life has come to. Anything, ANY SONG, played on Radio Disney is like crack to my kids. Remember my liquid crack was McDonald's Frappes. Well their crack is Radio Disney. We listen to it ALL THE TIME. And, it really isn't that bad.

They know a lot, and I mean A LOT of popular songs now. I challenge anyone to a kid version of Name That Tune. All 3 of them, but especially Molly, will smoke you. I would almost bet money. Another positive to the constant entertainment of Radio Disney is that our car satellite radio displays the name of the song and the artist. Cameron has learned to read almost every song name and who sings it from the display. If it's ever important to be able to read Demi Levato we have that covered.

It has also become a contest to see who can yell at the top of their lungs first the name of the song. "Today was a Fairytale by Taylor Swift. I said it first, I said it ha ha I said it first!" Imagine this almost every time a new song comes on.

It is very comical entertainment for Mike and I in the car and I have actually caught myself listening to it when no one under the age of 6 is in the car.

SCARY.

And in case you didn't know the lyrics at the beginning of this post it is a song entitled Sk8er Boi by Avril Lavigne. I said it first, I did!!!!! I know this song, you didn't!! Ha ha!

Who's day is it?...

I hope this is a problem in other households and not just ours.

The kids fight/disagree/bicker over things such as who gets to sit by Daddy at dinner, who takes their shower first, who's turn it is to pick a movie, etc. We copied an idea that Mike's brother's family uses and assigned a "day" to Cameron and Molly. Originally Cameron was odds and Molly was evens. Worked well and I could easily figure it out as long as I knew what day of the month is was. That can be trickier than you might think if you are a SAHM, right??

Well...small fry figured out how to get in the mix and wanted a day, too. We use to humor her and pretend to make it her day but this is one smart cookie we have on our hands. That didn't work for very long. Take note Mark and Emily...Michael Shook solved the problem.

Doesn't everyone have one of these?



You need a closer look, don't you?



Oh yes, it is a chart FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR!! Every 3 days it is their day again and boy do they remember now that we have a chart. Cameron is blue, Molly is pink and Amanda is red. It has made life a lot easier for me. I now go look at the handy, dandy chart and I know exactly who's turn it is to hand out the silverware. No more counting to 3's for me. That was tricky. Ha ha.

On the off chance that there are 31 days in the month guess who gets a day. Bingo, me. Well guess what...I'm going to cash in all of my days on Sunday and have a very good Mother's Day. Right, Mr. Shook??

To get a 2nd dose or not...

I'm pretty sure that the kids aren't going to be able to get their 2nd dose of the vaccine for the H1N1 virus. The health department has cancelled all clinics in our county due to a lack of vaccines. I can't imagine that by the first week in December there will be a whole bunch more for round 2 children. I read an article in yesterday's Peoria Journal-Star that says 1 flu vaccine dose is working in pregnant women. It says 21 days after receiving a single 15-microgram dose of the vaccine 92% of the pregnant women showed a robust immune response. A larger, 20-microgram dose produced a strong response in 96% of pregnant women. The same test says that just 1 in 4 children ages 6 months to 35 months had a strong immune response after 21 days. There was a sharp improvement after receiving a second dose. I guess that is why a second dose is recommended in kids. It will be good luck trying to find it though. I guess one dose is better than none. I hope to not to have to find out.

My life when I existed in the real world...

Believe it or not today is the 5 year anniversary of the last day I officially worked outside of the home. I can't believe it's been that long! Mike often reminds me that there is a real world out there that I may have lost touch with and I'm afraid he is right. Some days my time exists with really basic questions - what to have for lunch? Does your diaper need changed? Do you want to drink out of the blue cup or the orange one? Do you want to watch Caillou or Little Einsteins? Nothing earth shattering. But I think that's where I'm hoping I am making a difference in the lives of our children. I am here. I am present. I meet their needs and truthfully, they meet mine, too. I cannot imagine a world without them. After the last 6 or 7 months I jump every time one of them tells me something hurts. I worry if they get a fever or say their stomach hurts. We have recently gone on a big band-aid kick here. It may be on the verge of becoming ridiculous but if a band-aid solves the problem I'm all for it. I sometimes wish we could band-aid the world! But the whole point is that they can turn to me and I can attempt to fix it. So to say that I haven't worked is a bit of a stretch. We all know that. This job can be very demanding but also very rewarding. Today I was baking those big frozen pretzels in the oven for our after school snack. I asked Amanda if she wanted one and she said, "Yes, please, Mommy." Dang. That just melted my heart. Those 3 simple words. And, I think that I'm doing a darn good job if I may toot my own horn (a little)! On days when I question my worth in life (and my sanity) I just try and remember the long term impact I am making in their lives. One wet, sloppy kiss validates the whole thing!