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!

These things I know to be true...

I have been compiling a mini-list of things that I now know to be very, very true. Here are a few...

- It's a good chance when your stomach hurts that you are in need of a 15 minute private water closet visit. Try it.

- Water really, really does quench your thirst.

- No matter how old you are you are always some ones child.

- Cheese that comes individually sliced in cellophane will never taste good nor will I really call it cheese.

- The cure for a bad day can really be a 32 ounce, crushed ice Coke.

- The above world solver does indeed account for 440 calories. That totally sucks.

- Giving your worries to God really does help.

- Stepping on a Lego smarts. The impression it makes on your foot will just piss you off.

- There is absolutely no way, and I mean no way, that I think I could live anywhere without air conditioning. Once you have it it's hard to go back. I'd probably have it in Alaska.

- I'm pretty sure that Twilight is overrated. No, I'm positive. But, with that said there is nothing like an excellent book that transports you to another time, another place where real thinking and emotions happen. Unfortunately, Twilight hasn't done that for me. But, I am pushing myself through Eclipse in case I haven't gotten to the really good part yet.

- My son is not playing flag football. (Let's see if Mr. Shook is reading like he tells me he is!)

What do you know to be absolutely true?

Our Angel...

Yesterday my Grandmother would have been 90 years old. She died in 2006 and she lived a very good life. But, it wasn't without daily pain as she suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and that disease was very debilitating. My Grandma could hardly walk at the end without any assistance. It got to the point where she had to be taken care of around the clock in a care facility. The care givers were wonderful to both my Grandma and my Grandpa, who visited her every day. They were married 64 years and devoted to each other until the end. It is a great example for my whole family of enduring love.

At dinner last night I was explaining to Cameron and Molly that today my Grandma would have been 90 years old. I asked them if they knew anyone else that old. We talked about what a long life that would be.

Then the questions started.

My, had I opened a can of worms.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we opened them but the conversation went in a completely different direction that I imagined.

The kids don't remember my Grandma so I got out some pictures to show her to them. They thought it was funny that one of the pictures is my Grandma holding Cameron when he was just an infant. They were having a hard time understanding that this Grandma is the Mom to Grandma Choo (my Mom). Then the questions began with "where is Great-Grandma now?, why does Papa Mac (my Grandfather) live by himself?, does Great-Grandma have a rock on her head? (I'm pretty sure this means a tombstone), and what does Great-Grandma do in heaven?"

Oh my.

Of course, I did all of this solo while Mike was not home.

We talked about heaven, we decided that Great-Grandma is now our angel and she watches over us. I explained how my Grandpa takes care of himself but now lives in a smaller apartment where nice people help him (he lives in assisted living now). Molly cried and told me that she doesn't want to die and wants to live to be 100.


Sweetie, I hope you do to. You have a long life ahead of you.

I told her she had to become a Mommy first and I had to be a Grandma some day. We called all of her Grandparents and they all assured her they were doing just fine. She seemed much better after that but I'm sure little therapy will be in order. It was a healthy, beautiful conversation that made me cry, too. We try to be as honest as we can with our children. My parents always were when we were growing up and it made things less scary. I think some day, when necessary, we will have kids who can face some of these fears with confidence and not feel blind-sided.

It makes me sad to know that my Grandma never met, never held, never had a chance to make a blanket for my Amanda. There have been 3 more babies in our family also. Lily, Evan and Sadie. My Grandparents have 8 great grandchildren!! My Grandma would have loved all of them.

But, I feel reassured knowing we all have our own Angel...

Hunger Pangs...

Believe it or not I have gone to the gym, consistently, 2 weeks in a row!

Can you hear Mr. Shook mumbling under his breath that he is glad that I have finally taken advantage of the membership he got us?

I have been very conscious about the food choices I have been making, too. Minus last Tuesday, with my Abigail circle girls, when someone had brought the very tempting brownies and I felt that I should really make sure that they were safe for everyone to eat. All be darn, they were!

Here are a few of what I have been picking for my hunger pangs. Don't give me the carrots, celery and other cut up veggies. Oh no, when I am needing something it has to be small and sweet.




This is a real treat. If you get to a Trader Joe's pick yourself one of these bars. Organic dark chocolate with raisins and pecans...heavenly! One square for me and then it goes back to the freezer. Yummo!




My middle child and I love both of these things. We love our "big raisins" and we split an orange. Helps your tummy and then helps the other end, too. We are all about being "regular." Plus it's another yummy treat from Trader Joe's. Pick some pitted prunes up on your next visit. Molly and I will tell you that they are the best!


When you need a little sweet and refreshing taste these bite size York Peppermint Patties to the trick. Can you see I have a dark chocolate theme here?

I am experimenting with other lo-cal snacks so more later...
Happy healthy snacking!

Waiting with your breath held, right?...

I'm sure that all my bloggy friends have been holding their breath to receive an update on our potty situation. Well, guess what...?

SHE

COULD

CARE

LESS!

Surprised? I'm not.

This hasn't been nearly as successful as I might have hoped. In fact I would call it one big fat failure. What is a Mom to do about it? Drowned her sorrows in a Polar Pop? Don't tempt me!

I have decided that we might just have to give up our beloved spot at the preschool, we might have to accept that fact that we don't have a little Einstein on our hands, and I might have to admit that I am not the Super-Mom that you might have thought me to be. I had you fooled, right?

Instead we have been doing things like this...

Filling old water bottles with rocks, grass, ants, sticks...


Then have our brother practice his reading to his little sister while she just sits, and sits and sits some more...


Have a popsicle while sitting some more...


Build creative Lego creations and take all kinds of pictures of them (Mom's job)...



Making a royal wet mess in the back yard and loving it!...



If we go potty great, if not that's going to have to be OK, too. You see, I've decided that I do actually have a little Einstein on our hands because she is certainly smart enough to know that she can go potty. All the control is in the hands of one newly three year old. She IS pretty smart!

The pain has begun...

I can't believe I am sharing this for the whole world, or at least my bloggy friends, to see...I am not one who usually wants to share the potential defeats in her life.

Here is what I am staring down today...



Do you know what these are for??

That's right...

IT'S POTTY TIME!!

Cutie created a potty chart this morning, of course wearing the sacred Ohio State Trickerleader outfit. (That's what cutie calls it!)



I don't have a really great feeling that we are going to be super successful so a little prayer might be helpful. Miss Amanda's brother and sister are breathing down her neck (and mine) to get this pain over with. I think they are feeling hostage to the stickers and Smarties. We are on our second Capri Sun so there has to be some pee in there, right? I have to go myself just talking about all the liquid! Dearest Daddy has promised Culver's to his little one if she successfully pees 2 times on the potty. For the love of all things yummy, please do it, Amanda!!

I'm not due for a highlight on the locks for 2 weeks. After this experience I may need it done soon!

Wish us luck!! And don't judge me if this isn't successful!

Northeast Ohio, home of the...

LOSERS!!!

It's 5:35 central time, a little less than 2 1/2 hours away from The Decision (aka Lebron's announcement) and the more time passes the more angry I feel myself getting. I know, I know. His decision is not based on loyalty, it's based on the green stuff. It's based on how big his ego can be stroked. It's based on warmer freaking weather. All of us from NE Ohio all know this. But it still stinks. No, really it sucks! There I said it. How many times have we been down this road? Seriously.

Remember The Shot. Put a knife in my heart Michael Jordan.

Remember game 7 of the 1997 World Series? That one really hurt.

Remember The Fumble. Gosh, do I dislike John Elway still. 22 years later. Did Ernest Byner ever play another game for the Browns?

I remember heroes like Bernie Kosar, Orel Hershiser, Craig Ehlo, Omar Visquel, Jim Thome. Players who put their heart and sole into Cleveland only to come up short.

I'm not really that big of a Cavaliers fan. I don't really like to watch NBA games. But, I will always be die hard to Cleveland and it's a really hard city to be a fan for year after year. Please, PLEASE don't disappoint LBJ. I will officially have to not let my son be a fan of yours. I will never buy a Nike product with your likeness on it. I won't even drive through Bath and try to spy on your compound. It will be over.

Then on the other hand, if you shock the crap out of me I will first have to visit the bathroom, I'll probably cry and then be a fan for life. It's that simple.

Things to say, just seem so busy...

I can't believe how long it's been since I updated my blog. You would think I had been busy or something! Between vacation, VBS, a little get-away for myself and Mr. Shook as well as the 4th of July things have been kind of hectic...

We had a great time visiting with both of our families in Ohio. The highlight of the week was probably our trip to Cedar Point. We all had a blast and Cameron is already saying, "when we got back next year..." . It was really fun! It's pretty much the same as I remember from the good old days (did you know I worked there a summer in college??!!) but a few things have changed. The biggest being my fear (which is new since 1991) of the rides that go too fast aka roller coasters. I went on the Iron Dragon and the good old Gemini and that about did me in. Mr. Shook reverted back to 1988 and rode quite a few of the big coasters. I think Mr. Shook had a blast! Thank you Regan and Cailin for needing an extra rider and letting Uncle Mike be that guy!

After we came back to Illinois our church's VBS started and what a week that was! Here's where I spent most of my time helping out...

This is Chadder...


and here is our map of God Sightings...


God sightings were ways that the kids shared things that they saw in the world that was evidence of God's presence. You can imagine some of the creative answers that I got! I showed a video to the preschool classes each night and then shared a little something about a bible verse or story. I was so glad to be able to help out even in a small capacity. Our vacation bible school rocks!

Here is Molly and her friend Abbey...


My pictures aren't very good from the end of the week program (too much kid movement!) but here is Cameron and Molly both singing their hearts out!...



We spent last night celebrating the 4th of July with some friends at the Peoria Cheifs game and then watching the Peoria fireworks from the stadium. Probably the best part of the whole night was the kids getting to run the bases after the game. What a fun time!...






What a great Daddy for running with our small fry, too! Hope everyone had a great 4th! I can't believe that summer is 1/2 over already!