Another Year, Another Candle

I officially add another candle to my birthday cake today ~ grrrrr! It has really kind of snuck up on me this year ~ although I new it was lurking in the shadows since the grass is greening up and the springtime birds have returned ~ that always tips me off that is is approaching. I once again find my self spending my birthday as a swinging single ~ okay maybe not swinging since I have 2 kids ~ but single none the less. If you were to look back on last year's birthday post I believe you would find that I was spending it single as well ~ talk about a low blow to get out of having to buy me a present! This year Scott is in Louisiana for a 3 day meeting ~ although since I do look forward to him travelling maybe this is the best gift ever! It's kind of like the gift that keeps on giving ~ I don't have to cook, the house will stay clean and picked up, my laundry pile won't quadruple in size, and as soon as the kids aer in bed I will have silence ~ talk about a FANTASTIC gift! It's almost like when he worked offshore, just on a smaller scale ~ I'll take what I can get! I awoke this morning (I got to sleep in until 7:45) to Hunter and Scott hopping up on the bed to sing "happy birthday to you, you live in a zoo, you look like a monkey, aaaand you smell like one too!" ~ Maisie was in having some cereal, so she didn't participate. I will even give my parent's snaps as they remembered that TODAY was my birthday, not yesterday and not tomorrow, but TODAY ~ they called to serenade me about 9:05. I haven't heard from my sister as of yet ~ normally she is the first one to call howling through the phone at me ~ maybe I will be spared this year ~ not counting my chickens on that one though! I also haven't heard from my brother, but he's a boy so that's not so unusual ~ he might get around to remembering in July! My friend Avis is going to venture up today from Tiny Town so I don't spend my birthday alone ~ we are going to head out to Cafe Adobe for a birthday feast ~ YUMMY! The weather is BEAUTIFUL so we will get to sit out on the deck and enjoy the sunshine ~ the kids can feed the ducks chips which will keep them entertained so we can enjoy our food and actually have an adult conversation ~ what a novel idea! Thank you Avis ~ can't wait until tonight! When my sweet little mouse gets up from her sleepy we are off to take a birthday walk and enjoy the beautiful weather ~ my gift to myself.

The Devil Wears Pampers

My sweet, fabulous little mouse appears to have gotten to the stage that I had completely blocked from my mind ~ the stage that I had forgotten just how much I don't like ~ the ever dreaded "toddler" stage! Quick, run for your lives! Okay, so I am somewhat exaggerating here ~ her behavior is still far superior to Hunter's at this age ~ but it's still unpleasant none the less! And yes, the sign to the left does hang on her bedroom door. She has 2 major problems here ~ number one being that she now has an opinion about things and an all out agenda that she intends to carry out ~ number two is that she doesn't speak any English to let you in on just what her agenda or intentions might be ~ mix the two together and voila, you've got tantrums ~ grrrrrr! I now remember WHY I blocked this from my memory ~ I really should have already carried out my baby fever desires when she was still helpless and cute all of the time ~ in her current state she is putting out my baby fever flames! Scott asked if this meant he was off the hook for number 3 ~ I informed him no, as I know this is a stage that will pass ~ sucker! Now Maisie is a major drama mama ~ but one of her tantrums doesn't hold a candle to what Hunter used to pull. He was a VERY theatrical tantrum thrower ~ starting about the day he turned 1 ~ at least she held off a few months! I vividly remember him throwing himself on the floor and rolling around and kicking the wall ~ I would just walk off and ignore him ~ unfortunately as soon as he realized that he no longer had a captive audience he would get himself up and go to wherever I had gone to escape him and then throw himself on the floor and start all over again ~ kid you not. This was happening on a daily basis, probably 5-7 times a day ~ did I mention Scott was in Korea at the time for a month during all of this? This went on for 2 solid months and I was ready to kill the boy ~ so we packed up and headed off to Mexico for a week ~ the first time I had ever left him ~ needless to say he had done me in to the point that we walked into my parent's house, deposited him, and turned around and walked right back out ~ I was MORE than ready to escape him! We went to Mexico the next day and I never called to check on him the entire week we were gone ~ I was far too busy sitting at the pool bar wondering just what I had really gotten myself into? As soon as we got home I was of course THRILLED to see my boy again ~ and it was amazing ~ the sweet little boy I had know (up until his 1st birthday) was back ~ and boy I had missed him! Maisie's tantrums are nothing like this ~ she doesn't follow you around, instead she stays in the same place you left her and just screams ~ also tends to flair her little arms about too. She will stay in that same spot until she decides you aren't coming back, or something else catches her eye and then she is over it ~ now this could be a solid 30 minutes, but I figure EVENTUALLY she will realize it isn't getting her anywhere and she will knock it off ~ at least I hope this is how it is going to play out! So too bad Scott, I do recall that this is just an unpleasant stage in their little world that will pass with time ~ and in time when my sweet baby girl comes back from the devil's clutches she will be fanning my baby fever flames once again!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture from Lee's wedding ~

she looks like a little angel kneeling down to pray ~

I look forward to her return!

Here Comes the Bride ~ Part II

Okay, okay, okay so the wedding was 2 weeks ago and I am just getting around to blogging about it ~ so sorry! I have been so incredibly busy the last 2 weeks that I haven't had a chance to sit down and do anything ~ and let me just say that Scott is less than impressed that I am currently sitting in here blogging instead of working on my business taxes! But, I bet he will get over it!

So on to the wedding! The trip over was pretty uneventful ~ the kids did really well ~ not that I was the least bit concerned about Hunter, but I was a little about the wee princess! She did very well ~ I think we blew out of here about 9:30 and drove into the plantation on 2 wheels at 5:00. It was a long drive, but like I said pretty uneventful. Friday night we had a "meet the family" dinner to attend that Wilson's family was hosting ~ it was down on the river above a tavern that is also part of Dunleith Plantation ~ we had a lovely time ~ all of Wilson's family are very nice ~ not to mention the food was FANTASTIC! We rode in carriages from the plantation down to the riverfront which was a really nice was to go ~ the carriage driver gave us a tour as we went along which made it all the better ~ I LOVE historic homes! One of these days I will get my own historic home on the Island to renovate ~ I may be 75, but one of these days!

On Saturday all of the menfolk went for a game of golf at the nicest golf course in Natchez ~ they all came back sporting stunning raccoon eyes from their sunglasses ~ we really should have suggested that they wear sunblock! The women headed off to a private home tour of Melrose ~ one of Wilson's sisters is the head of the National Parks Service so she arranged and guided this tour for us ~ VERY NICE! Then we went off for lunch and margaritas at Fat Mama's Tamales ~ home of the "knock you naked margarita" ~ now everyone who knows my history with the margarita also knows that I did not partake in the margarita consumption! Actually, the bride also did not take much part in the margaritas as she was still a little green around her bridal gills from the night before! Maisie had fallen asleep on the way from Melrose to Fat Mama's and I was not about to wake her ~ it was a lovely day and very breezy so I rolled down the windows, locked the doors, and let her sleep. Now before you start screaming child abuser let me say that we were sitting on the deck all of 5 feet from my car ~ nobody was going to get that baby unbuckled from her seat, much less out of the car before I, and everybody else there, could jump over the railing and tackle them! When I saw her start to stir I went to go get her ~ didn't bother to take my keys with me since the windows were down ~ reached through the window and unlocked the door ~ first trying with the automatic opener which wouldn't work (should have been my first tip off something was amiss), so then I just flipped the lock itself ~ well when I did the alarm started going off, the horn honking, the works! OMG! I raced back to the deck to get the keys only I couldn't immediately locate them! Once I found them and got to car to shut up I received a standing ovation from the other patrons! I figure I should receive some points back towards my "mother of the year" award since the alarm also prevented a person from stealing the baby from the car! After this we loaded up and headed off for the spa ~ Maisie went back to the plantation with my mom. I got a "desert heat" body wrap ~ I was a little concerned that I might get claustrophobic during this wrap, but it was actually very relaxing ~ I highly recommend one!

The ceremony itself was very nice ~ it was on the front porch of Dunleith ~ I think there were about 100 people who came for the weekend. Hunter, my niece, and Maisie came out of the front door hollering "the bride is coming, the bride is coming" ~ okay so Maisie didn't holler anything she just followed like a little puppy! About that time a carriage carrying Lee and my dad came around the corner and made the big circle drive up to the front where they disembarked. Some friends of Lee and Wilson's sang and spoke about them at the start of the ceremony, and then Wilson's brother-in-law actually performed the ceremony. It was short, sweet, and to the point, and the kids managed to stand still and do exactly as they were supposed to ~ hallelujah! After they said "I Do" they loaded up into the carriage with the kids and rode off into the sunset ~ okay around to the other side of the plantation, but you have to admit it was very romantic picturing it in your mind!

The reception was held inside the main house of Dunleith ~ beautiful! Again the food was FANTASTIC! When the dinner was over a large group of us gathered out in the courtyard and hung out ~ the guy who sang at the ceremony brought his guitar out and entertained while we drank beer and had a good time.

Sunday morning after another FANTASTIC breakfast at Dunleith ~ there was whipping cream in the grits, normally I wouldn't touch a grit to save my life, but I was told that I must try these and let me say these ROCKED ~ we loaded up the car and headed out for our treacherous journey back to Texas. Maisie was so wiped from her weekend that she was asleep 5 minutes out of the joint and didn't wake up until we were about 30 miles outside of Lake Charles! It was a VERY peaceful journey home!

So now it is all said and done ~ my dad has issued the "no return policy" that goes along with each one us of, and they are living happily ever after. Congratulations Lee & Wilson ~ may your new life together be one of eternal newlywed bliss!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Everything But the Kitchen Sink.....I Think!

So today we are packed up and headed off to the big state of Mississippi......I refer to it as this because in the not too distant past the state only had 1 area code (601) ~ from what I hear now though, they have added a second! I find it amazing that an entire state could have only 1 area code ~ there are 3 in Houston alone! I always seem to block out the amount of garb that one must haul with them when travelling with a baby! My title says Everything But the Kitchen Sink, but I bet if you look closely you just might find it tucked away under something! It is crystal clear to me once again why exactly I drive a land yacht ~ if I didn't, we would have to strap one of the kids to the luggage rack ~ anyone else getting a National Lampoon's Vacation visual here? Our reason for jetting off this weekend is to witness my sister's nuptials ~ yes, she did just get engaged at Christmas ~ nothing like a short engagement! It's a shotgun wedding of sorts ~ only the bride isn't knocked up ~ thank god! We are actually pretty excited about our weekend getaway ~ the kids are in the wedding and there will be all kinds of fun stuff to do ~ I will be getting a "desert heat" wrap at the spa on Saturday before the ceremony ~ let's just hope I don't get all kinds of claustrophobic as soon as they wrap me up! We are also getting a private tour of one of the historic homes, and the wedding as well as where we are staying is at a beautiful plantation in Natchez. It is pilgrimage weekend, unfortunately since my children are in the wedding that means they will be in Natchez with us, so I don't get to go tour all of the beautiful homes that I would like to ~ oh well, maybe we will make it back another year to check it all out. Instead of the usual cheesy ring bearer pillow I managed to score Hunter a really cool ring bowl from a little Etsy shop called Paloma's Nest ~ the bowl is AWESOME! If you are ever looking for something of this type, or an anniversary gift, baby gift, etc. you really must check her out! She was really very nice and got me a bowl even thought the usual turnaround time is 14 days (I just ordered it on Sunday and had it by Wednesday). So thank you Caroline with Paloma's Nest ~ I know my sister will LOVE the dish! Hopefully our drive will be uneventful ~ we'll see how well Maisie fares in the car for this extended time ~ although it took us 8 1/2 or 9 hours to make it to Dallas when we evacuated for Ike and she did pretty well. Now that she gets to face forward and can see out of the windows and watch TV I figure it should be alright ~ keeping my fingers crossed though just in case! I will post pictures of my fabulous little kids in their wedding finery when we return as well as all of the wedding details for those who didn't get to attend.

Mr. Liver's 15th Anniversary

15 years ago today my dad got a new liver ~ sadly this also means that another family lost their loved one on this day in order for this to happen. I remember it like it was yesterday ~ I was a senior in high school and my brother was in college in between quarters and had literally just driven into the driveway in a fully packed GIGANTIC U-Haul. He had come home in a U-Haul because he was changing campuses, but couldn't get into his new apartment until the new quarter started ~ so here we were out in the driveway unloading the GIGANTIC U-Haul when we got the call. Dad was actually in the hospital, and had been for about a week, getting IV antibiotics for an infection ~ at the time he was # 1 on the transplant list, but they had taken him off of the list while he was in there ~ a real emotional blow to all of us. Luckily he was being discharged the next day and when they got the call that they had a match, they decided that this was probably a pretty good time to give him that liver ~ I guess they figured any germs he could have possibly had were dead! When mom called, Bryan and I stopped what we were doing, loaded up, and headed off to the hospital. On the way there we had to go by my dad's plant to pick up some paperwork, and after that we were off to the hospital once again ~ now of course I was speeding and got pulled over on the way in the big city of Pasa-get-down-dena ~ the cop asked why I was speeding, and when I told him that my dad was about to have a liver transplant he looked at me like I was crazy! He informed me that he was sure the liver would still be there when I got there if I were to be driving the speed limit ~ apparently he thinks they just let the harvested organs sit around in coolers for an unlimited amount of time. Whatever! So he let me off with a warning and off we went again! When they were preparing to wheel him off for the surgery it was a real emotional roller coaster ~ we didn't know if we were ever going to see him again ~ to make matters worse the week before all of this he had gone completely deaf over night and so the only way we could communicate with him was to write notes. It was an incredibly long surgery ~ over 14 hours ~ during which he tried to die on the table on them a couple of times! Being that he is a stubborn old bird though, he pulled through and hasn't looked back ~ the liver is the best part of him at this point in time! I remember my first trip into the ICU to see him ~ mom had tried to prepare me for how bad he was going to look because of all of the tubes and things coming out of him. When we walked in all I could say was he looked FANTASTIC! Despite all of the tubes and wires he looked phenomenal! He was actually white again instead of yellow! His new lived had started doing its job as soon as it got in there ~ normally they will reject their new organ in the first week, dad never rejected his. He was home not many days after the transplant and was like a whole new person. If it weren't for the generosity of the family who donated their loved ones organs my dad wouldn't be here today. He would have never seen me graduate from high school or college, or walked me down the aisle, and he would have never had the opportunity to meet his 4 grandchildren. We have never met the family who gave my dad the gift of life, they wished to remain anonymous, but I would still so love to meet them and be able to thank them in person for the 15 additional years they have given us. My dad is an "old timer" in the transplant world ~ I thank god for every additional day I have with him, and pray for many more to come. I love you daddy!

My Name is Shannon & I Will Be Your Magical Tour Guide!

So our upcoming Disney visit has grown by 8 feet ~ our friends Chris, Avis, and their kids have decided to join us! Yes, this is the same Chris and Avis that we insist on punishing our livers with! Scott has already laid down the ground rules of NO staying up until 4:00 AM! He feels quite confident that one full day in the park will do Avis in and she will be the first one in bed ~ we average about 8 miles a day walking while there! We're very excited that they have decided to go with us ~ Avis hasn't been since she was a kid, and their kids have never been ~ Hunter is soooo excited that there will be another little person his age there! We were supposed to stay at Animal Kingdom when we went, but unfortunately there was no availability for a 2 bedroom there during our trip, so we will now be staying at Old Key West instead. I'm still quite excited about this, as we have yet to stay here and it looks awesome! Maybe we will catch Animal Kingdom on our next stay ~ we will still have enough points leftover for another short trip this year should we so desire! Scott and I have apparently lost our minds ~ we are thinking that we will be driving to Orlando this time ~ the airfares just aren't coming down ~ but we will make that final decision after our drive to Natchez in 2 weeks for my sister's wedding! If Maisie is hideous during that drive we are flying to Orlando, no matter what the cost! We plan on hitting the road around 6:00 and driving through the night ~ at least this way Maisie should sleep the bulk of the trip and hopefully it will be okay ~ I'm not concerned about Hunter in the least, he will be perfectly fine ~ he will watch movies and listen to his I-Pod and sleep. I guess if it is truly hideous getting there Maisie and I can always fly back and have my parent's pick us up at the airport! It should be a great trip and I can't wait!!!! Fun, fun, fun!

A Whole Year Already?

I made my first entry a year ago today ~ the traditional first anniversary gift for those of you feeling the need to send me something is paper ~ let me know if you need my mailing address! I might ought to read back over the last years worth of post to see just where the year has gone! My original intention with the blog was that I would post pictures of my growing kids instead of bombarding people's inboxes with pictures that they may or may not want to see (although I don't know how you couldn't want to see pictures of my kids! There's that bias part of me surfacing again!) ~ this way if you wanted to see what my kids were looking like or the things they were up to you could check it out at your leisure. I thought I might, occasionally, actually write something too ~ wasn't really counting too much on that happening though ~ guess I was way wrong on that front! I quickly found that I really enjoy blogging ~ sometimes I sit here typing things and laughing out loud as I relive the topic at hand events! Since I don't leave the house to go to a job where I would get to have adult interaction and conversation this is like my my adult interaction ~ my dad says if I have time to blog then I have too much time on my hands. The truth of the matter is I don't have spare time on my hands ~ in order to sit down long enough to make an entry I have to carve time out for myself to do it ~ typically I find the time after the kids are in bed and I have finished all of my daily items ~ I do on occasion sit down in the daylight hours to post an entry, but I can almost guarantee you that it took me several hours to compile the one entry because of how many times I had to stop and take care of something else. I love my job ~ although it is undoubtedly the hardest job I have ever had in my life, it is also the most rewarding and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm thrilled to get to share a piece of our lives with you through this blog and even more thrilled that you care enough and choose to make us a part of your life ~ thank you!