Super Noob:
Mamma

Last week...Monday to be precise...we took a little jaunt to Sedona. Not just any day trip...a most auspicious occasion. We were going to meet some very special people. One person, in particular for me. Several months ago, she and I began commenting on each other's blogs...she had no clue about the email response thing, so I gave her a little schooling. Then, we began to email each other almost daily, and sometimes multiple times a day. Through our interactions a friendship emerged. We'd joke about stalking each other all the time, and finally I bit the bullet and said we should try to meet in person some time. Well, could you imagine my surprise when she said she and her family were actually coming here?!? Do you know who I am talking about? Hint: nuts. Peanuts to be precise.

Does she look familiar to you? Well, to those that read her blog, she will. To others, you will think I am off my rocker (pft, that's nothing new). Yes, this is Julie of The Peanut Gallery...exit here.
Again, if you read her blog, you will know that her family just took a trip to our neck of the woods. Of course, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to finally meet her in person. The funny thing is, I have felt for some time now like I already know her. By that I mean, I feel like we have been friends for years. There is a realness and an honesty to her that, unfortunately, you don't find all that often. Or at least not as often as I wish. On some level, Julie and I have connected and formed a real friendship. I have blogging to thank for that. Without it, I never would have met her. That ...I simply couldn't imagine.

With our men behind the lenses, we set out to document our encounter. This is one of the first photos we took. The next one had Julie making bunny ears over my head. Maybe she has a copy and will be gracious enough to share it. I, however, will not.

Our girls realized that this was a day like no other, and that it was cause for a real celebration. So...there was dancing in the streets. Come on every guy grab a girl...

All the children (at least those not passed out on the sidewalk ) got along famously. The Desert Dwellers, and The Peanut Gallery were all fast friends. We spent the afternoon frolicking, eating ice cream, causing near attacks in the hearts of shop owners and generally soaking up all we could of each other in a very short amount of time.

S-Girl is the sweetest little girl ever. Truly. All of Julie's children are warm, open, and intelligent. Given Julie's recent toilet incident, you may have misgivings about her parenting...but rest assured, these kids are loved beyond measure, and it shows.

The littlest ones were just worn out.

Yet, they were troopers nonetheless.

Before we barely had a chance to say hello, we were already saying goodbye. Julie may be none too pleased with me for posting this photo. But I happen to love it. She is every bit as fun in person as she seems to be on her blog. Her nature is friendly, open, honest and just plain old hilarious! She is infectious, and I am afraid I have caught the "Julie bug." She's a vibrant, beautiful woman, and I am blessed to call her friend.

In anticipation of my participation in this new and fabulous meme (shhh...don't tell my friend Julie that it is in fact a meme), I had Andy take a few pictures of me with the kids. I'm quickly remembering why I am never on the receiving end of the lens. It's a lot of work if I want to look even remotely presentable. Here are a couple pictures he took...not bad on his part!

First attempt...not half bad. Next let's see if we can all look at the camera.

That would be a "negative ghost rider"...apparently for Colton..."the pattern is full."

Yes, Addyson...what a lovely and natural looking smile you have.

Me with Drew. I am not in many pictures with any of my kids, but far too few with this big guy.

So we did two. I think he is actually pretty photogenic.
So, there you have it. Thanks to Julie, I am gettin' in the picture with my little ones. Surely something that will have me grateful for years and years to come.
Can't wait to see the rest of you with your own precious little people. Just link up when you're done so we can all have a peek ;)

...I said "I do" to a man who couldn't be more perfectly matched to me. We certainly have our share of difficult times, and disagreements, but I'm happier with him than I ever could have imagined. In five short years it seems as if we've lived a lifetime...with a lifetime yet to go. I cherish the memories we have made so far and look forward, with anticipation, to the memories to come. Here are a few memories from that amazing day...

This last one is of me singing along with our song. So typical.
This was a day I will never forget. It was beautiful, and fun and everything I hoped it would be. It was the perfect beginning to mine and Andy's life together. Happy Five Years, Andy. I love you.

Many already realize that I am weird have some wonderful quirks. I am about to divulge another. When I was a baby I received a white and yellow blanket. As I grew I became very attached to it. The blanket (bidey as I called it) went everywhere I went. Everywhere. I sucked my thumb too. While sucking my thumb I would hold the blanket up to my nose so I could breath in the scent it had acquired after being dragged through who knows what. I am going to digress here to tell you all that Addyson does the same thing. She, however, sucks the first two fingers on her right hand. She started that around 12 weeks, and hasn't stopped. I'm not anxious to make her stop either. It's her comfort, and it doesn't bother me in the least. I find it amusing that she holds her blanket to her nose the way I did.

So...back to my blanket. In second grade my blanket was looking like it had seen better days (yes, I still had it in second grade...but it stayed home at least). The woman who babysat my brother and I after school was awesome at knitting blankets, and she had been working on one for a while. It was pink and brown. I asked her who it was for and she said her son, Brian. Pink and brown? Strange. She lied...turns out it was for me. I happily accepted the blanket, but wouldn't trade it for my yellow and white one. Until...it just fell apart. I was so sad, but slowly I got used to my new blanket. My pink and brown beauty.

Here's where it gets really interesting...I still have that blanket! I am quite proud to announce that it is in my lap as I type this, and I have it with my husband and me in bed every night. Yep. I'll be 34 next month, but I still have a blankey. I imagine you might be a little relieved to know that I don't suck my thumb. That I stopped well before second grade ;)

P.S. Cop Mama was my total and complete inspiration for this post. In fact, I was going to leave her a lengthy comment on this post, and decided to write my own instead. Thanks, Cop Mama!!

This is lame...I mean really lame. This may be the one and only opportunity you will have to see me in a video post...and may I say I hope not many of you see it! I was given a little assignment of sorts by Kate, accompanied with a due date and everything. I can't put it off, or I'll make myself sick fretting over this thing. Brace yourself. I'm serious. It's pretty rough.

Alright...let's have it!

things look a tad wintry. This is afterall, Arizona and we are not used to this view. Here are a few peeks (and peaks) into what we see from our backyard.

Addyson

Colton

Drew

A wash that runs(in weather like we've had recently) directly behind us...

And how 'bout a Saguaro so we can tell it's still Arizona

Currently, these are the views from our perspective.

As my daughter careens toward her third birthday I am plagued slightly troubled by thoughts of what is yet to come. See, she is already so wilfull and mischievous and smart, and...I think you get the point. What scares me most is how similar in personality she is to me. Now that I am a mother, I have a greater appreciation for my own, and all that she endured. One might think I was hellbent on driving her over the deep end. I'm not saying I was a bad teenager, and that I got myself into major trouble. Nope, I was mellowed out (mostly) by then. I am referring to my days as a three year old...not that I remember much of them, but I cringe at some of the recounted tales.

It's 1979 and we are living in Worcester, Massachusettes (my mom's home town). My parents decided to live there for a little while, at my mom's request, to be near her family. My mom is hugely pregnant with my brother, and in no mood for my shenanigans. So she sends me out front to play (I still can't believe there was ever a time when that was okay). After an unpsecified amount of time elapses, she looks out the window to check on me. No Shannon...I wasn't Mamma then ;). Having a brief moment of panic, she goes out front for further inspection. Strewn about the sidewalk are my clothes. With much effort, she bends to retreive my articles from the sidewalk, only to find they are wet...like super soaker style. Blood pressure rising, she looks to the right. Still no Shannon. Looks to the left and there is Shannon, running naked from the waste down. She hollars calls sweetly for me to get my little butt over to her. All sugar and innocence, I come to my mom. My mom rushes me inside to put on clean pants, chastizing me all the way about not peeing in my clothes. "Shannon, when you need to go potty, you don't go in your clothes!" "Okay, momma." I say sweetly. "Can I go back outside to play now?" Of course she lets me...like any mother, she was anxious for any precious moments of peace she could muster.

For the second time, I am outside playing, mom is inside. Time passes, and reluctantly she hefts herself up to check on me. Expecting to see me galavanting down the street with the other little boys and girls, she coems to the window and stares in silent horror at the scene layed out before her. Her daughter, to whom she had told just moments before "we don't go potty in our clothes" was not in fact going potty in her clothes. Nope. Her daughter was squatting on the sidewalk right in front of the house, taking a poop. Paralyzed, my mom doesn't know what to do. Clearly she has to retreive her demon spawn angelic child, and get her into the house. Yet the thought swimming in her head is one of the neighbors saying "I didn't know you had a dog" as she is stooped over scooping the poop. Fortunately for my mother, no one saw her when she did finally go out to clean my mess. In my defense...I did not go potty in my clothes.

If this story is not enough to have me running scared over what's to come, well I need not look any further than my mom's memory of me and my escapades for further horror material.

For over ten years now I have only dared dream about travelling to Russia. It wasn’t until last year that I really began to consider it as an actual possibility, but even then, it seemed so distant. Just a wisp of a possibility.

Then, my husband recently said to me “why don’t you just go. Go this year!” In that instant, the wisp of possibility began to take shape. The shape of something tangible. Reality. I’m going to Russia! Along with a very good friend of mine (as encouraging as Andy is about it all, he has zero interest in going with me). She and I will be setting off to an unknown (to us) world sometime in September 2011. I am giddy whenever I think about it.

So much to plan between now and then. So much to consider. I am wide open to ideas or advice!!

Back in the US, back in the US, back in the USSR! (Oh, I know it's now the Russian Federation), but the lyrics from that song just seemed to fit.

Keely has done it again. She's gone and asked us to share even more about ourselves. So if you are not tired of learning more about me. Then read on. This week she has posted quesitons which require only one word, but I can tell you already, my answers will not be so. After all, this is about getting to know me, and in order to really do that, I think you need a little bit more from me than just one little word. That's my modus operandi.
Following are this week's questions:

1. Middle name?
Marie
2. What do you think is your best asset (physical)?
My eyes. I like my feet too. It has always been between them, but I think the eyes win out. I just like that no one can really say what color they are. They are a blue/green, and sometimes look more one than the other.
3. If you could only eat one type of cuisine for a year, what would it be (Mexican, American,Chinese..etc.)?
A whole year?! Wow, I love to eat, but one type for a whole year might make me not like that type much anymore. I guess I would say Mexican. I do love it, and there are a ton of ways to prepare different things, so yes...Mexican it is.
4. Walmart or Target?
Okay, I love the prices at Walmart, but I always go to Target anyway. I just can't stand how Walmart always seems so ghetto. No matter what, I always get a defective cart. The one that not only squeaks loudly, but takes brute force in order to get it to move!
5. Favorite State besides the one you live in?
I absolutely love Massachusettes. Colorado is also great, and I have lived in both places.
6. What side of the bed do you sleep on, left or right?
Left...that is if I am lying in the bed. Looking at it, it would be the right.
7. King or Queen size bed?
King...and even that feels, at times, too small.
8. Beer or wine?
I love wine...but frankly there are times when nothing but an ice cold beer will do. I love oatmeal stouts!
9. Water..ice-cold or room temp?
Ice cold, but no ice. Unless I am in a restaurant, then I want ice...but no nasty lemon (remember this one?)!
10. Christmas..love it or hate it?
Honestly, I have a major issue with those who say they hate it. Come on...so you've had a bad experience, or many bad experiences...I say change your experiences! Start with attitude. Anyway, I LOVE it. Nothing beats spending time with loved ones, eating yummy food, and sharing old stories while making new ones.

That's all folks! (don't you love Porky?) What about you? Care to share? Inquiring minds (mine in particular) want to know. To play along, cut and copy the quesitons to do your own post, then go back and link it up with Keely. Don't have a blog, or don't have the inclination to do a whole post...then answer any or all of the questions right here in my comments.

So Keely has a sister, Kassi. Who knew? Maybe you did, but I didn't, and I suppose that this is what this is all about. Getting to know eachother just a little bit better. These questions were originally posted by Kassi, but then Keely snaked them, turned them into a little blog hop of sorts. Since my well of thoughts is tapped out tonight, I am playing along.

1. How old are you?
I am 33...but recently told someone at the gym that I was 31. I was serious. I wasn't lying. Not intentionally. Then later, when recounting the story to my friend R, she asked why I said I was 31. It was only then that it dawned on me that I totally forgot my own age. Sigh. I suppose it's all downhill from there.

2.Where are you from and where do you live now?
If by from, this means where I was born, then the answer is San Diego. If it means where did I grow up, then the answer is Arizona which is where I am now. I bet you're happy to have that mystery solved!
3. What music have you been diggin lately?
When my car stereo isn't taken over by toddler tunes, I go between classic rock and country. I am lovin' Antebellum's Need You Now.
4. Favorite food(s)?
Is this a joke? Like many others, I love Mexican food. Come on, you can't grow up in Arizona, and not like Mexican food. I also really like sushi. Oh, and pretty much any sort of dessert.

5. Single,married, divorced?
Hitched. 5 years this coming March. Best years of my life so far ;)
6. Kids? If so, how many and how old?
My step-son will be 11 in February. My daughter will turn 3 the same month, and my son will be 2 next August.
7. What are 3 blogs you read daily?
Yours, yours and hers. Really? Come on. No way am I going to list just three. There are some great reads out there. I happen to like quite a few of them.
8. What is your favorite Christmas/Holiday tradition?
I love Christmas. We have mostly always spent it with my Dad's side of the family. We all get together both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. In my own home, my husband and I started our tradition of decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving. I love it.
9. Lastly, if you're a blogger, how long have you been blogging and if you don't have one..how long have you been reading blogs?
Funny thing, like Keely, I started out reading MckMama's blog. I had heard of blogging, but never stepped foot into bloggy land until MckMama's. I was captivated with the story of her son. Plus she is just interesting. Then, she would link (more often than I wish were possible) to other blogs of families fighting for a child's life. Finally I had to stop going to check them out. Breaks my heart. So I stuck with reading hers, and thought about doing one of my own. Okay, I am going to share more here than required. Please don't judge how ridiculous this bit of information is...just rack it up as yet one more reason to call me crazy. I was afraid to start my own blog. It seemed that all the blogs I had been reading had some tragedy going on. Either the tragedy was the reason they blogged, or it happened after they started what was to be a normal, run of the mill, talk about anything and everything blog. I was superstitious. I didn't want to be one of those tragedies (By the way, if you are one of those blogs, don't be offended. I am not at all saying blogging isn't a great place to get support. I would want the support it lends. I just had this totally unrealistic fear that I might bring it on myself). I decided to hike up my panties and get the hell over it. Here I've been since October of this year.

What about you? Will you share in a post or here in the comments?

It's December 5th and the only person guaranteed to get a present from us as it stands is my sister in law. Yes, M...you are loved. I have been so bad about getting my butt in gear to do shopping. It's just hard. I don't get into the spirit doing my shopping exclusively online, and I can't go out during the week because I have the little ones with me. Sigh. So I have to wait for the weekend when Andy can be here with the kids, and I can go get my shop on. Today is the day.

Another problem...I am fairly stumped. I don't like to just get things for others just to get them. I love seeing the look on someone's face when I got the right something. Nothing better. There is honestly only one Christmas where I know I got it really right with Andy. Isn't that sad? I'd love some suggestions. What are you all getting for your spouse? How about siblings? Kids? How about I send you some money and you just shop for me? No...I suppose that wouldn't be right. Not to mention it would be a sure fire way for me to not get in the spirit at all.

My jolliness will kick in when we get our tree. First things first though...I need to clean this house. I don't like to decorate my mess. Not cute. If only the layer of dust would pass as a snowscape for our Christmas village!

Lazy and large through the holidays. Yes, I think I am on track for that. I have seen all the buzz about hot and healthy through the holidays, but couldn't bring myself to jump on the bandwagon. See, I mentioned before that I allow myself a free day each week where I eat a dessert or whatever else I want. The holidays are the ultimate in free day food! Can't pass that up.

Sweet tooth is a term that everyone uses. "Oh, I have a bit of a sweet tooth." Me? That would be a major understatement. I don't just love sweets, I love sweets. Cakes, cookies, pies, candy...you name it, I probably love it. Again, I don't indulge all that often. So when the holidays roll in with their merry ways, I can't help it. I feel so caught up in the spirit that I just throw all caution to the wind, and go hog wild.

I mentioned in this post that I really am trying to reclaim my body, and I have been well on my way, fitting into more and more of my pre-pregnancy clothes...but juuussst not quite there. Ten pounds give or take. But, alas...those pounds which seem to have taken up a semi-permanent residency on my derriere, will just have to remain put until I decide to start the eviction process again.

While I may not actually be lazy or truly large by anyone's standards other than my own...I have not been as amped about getting to the gym. I have been slightly much more relaxed about what I eat. It happens every year, so I embrace it. I always come out unscathed...perhaps on the brink of a carb induced coma, but really no worse for wear.

My name is Shannon, and I am a blogaholic. Seriously. If this were recognized as a real addiction, I would have to say that I am afflicted. It is the most spectacular way to let go of whatever it is I've got going on in my head. It allows me to have some me time. I love that people actually read what I have to say, and more often than not, have interesting, funny, witty or just nice comments to leave.

Like any addiction, there are lows that follow the high. For me, the low is the serious blogetition. Not because there are so many blogs out there, or even that there are so many out there that cover the same array of topics. What I am referring to is this sort of desperate need for more more more more more. Followers that is. Oh, and to be very clear, I have this same need. You see, having followers is like the ultimate validation. People actually want to read what I have to say. What a strangely awesome feeling. Wait...I was supposed to be describing the low here. Low comes when that number (you know which number I mean) doesn't change despite any and all efforts to the contrary.

In times of the low, I find that I read posts on blogs I love, and think to myself "ah...I completely get that!" Then..."now why didn't I think to write about that?" Then comes the inevitable blogger's block. Blogger's block for me is paralysis by analysis. Too much time spent thinking about what others might like to read rather than what I want to write. Thinking about how I could make something funny, when really it's just not. Too much time worrying about my tendency to be introspective. Well, not tonight.

No more pandering. (Here is where I should slip in a little note about the fact that none of the posts thus far that have made it up onto my blog have been of the pandering variety). No, that only happens in my head.

While I may be broody or moody or at times even downright melancholy in my introspection (sorta like here), it is me. It's how I occasionally feel inspired to write. It's how I feel authentic, and let me tell you this...I would take authenticity over originality any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

I caught myself today saying something that, if taken out of context, would sound very incriminating. Then it got me thinking about the things I say on a regular basis to my kids. In or out of context it amazes me the words that come out of my mouth. To no one but one of my children could I say any of these things and not be looked at like I was deranged:

"Don't run with that pencil...you'll stab yourself in your eye."

"Spit out that rock...it's only pretend cake, you can't really eat rocks."

"Guys, seriously...can mommy just potty in peace?"

"Don't do that, you are getting pee all over the floor."

"You're right, that is a monster poop!"

"Yes, I heard, but you need to say excuse me after you fart." (lovely isn't it?)

"Well, we don't buy babies...but okay, he can be the last one."

"Shhh...he didn't color on his face, I will explain later." (about someone with a large birthmark)

"Yes, I see that person does have a sticker on his shoulder." (tattoo)

"No, you won't have what he has when you get older. Because you are a girl."

"No honey I didn't fart...I need to brush my teeth."

"Why are you outside with no clothes on?"

"No, you can't taste the worm!"

"You're right...mommy shouldn't say a-s-s, mommy should say bottom."

There you have it. I could go on and on, but now I want to hear some of your favorites. So go ahead, leave 'em in the comments. Don't have kids? That's okay, I am sure you have heard some doozies so leave those!