So blessed

Has the reality that your life isn't that bad, ever bitch slapped you in the face? Well it just did it to me!

Let me start off by saying I don't think I live a bad life, infact I'm overly blessed and I realize it more and more! But you know sometimes your kids make you crazy or your husband and you have a fight or you had a bad day at work and it really gets you down! Well this afternoon I was watching Season 6 of "The secret life of the American teenager"( yes, and I love it so shush!) Well the last episode Adrian is pregnant with a baby girl and ends up having a still born. This is where the Bitch slap starts!

How many times have I been overly annoyed with my boys? How many times have I "joked" about shipping them off? How many times have our days not gone perfectly? The answer to all of the questions...too many times! 

Drew and I were extremely blessed to become pregnant quickly with both our boys,and have full term pregnancy(yet again another thing I would complain about because of being uncomfortable) while I saw friends and family try for months on end or they got pregnant and lost the baby. A pain and a feeling I will never understand because I haven't been there personally. 

I'm very emotional when it comes to my boys, they are my everything! I live and breath for them! Everything Drew and I do is for them! So why does it take seeing , even on tv, someone loosing a baby to make me realize this, make me hold them close to me, crying, praising God for them and there healthy bodies? I have no idea! I guess I often saw/see ourselves as invisible, as I'm sure many others do too, but there's one thing I've learned, sickness, death, anger, hate, they see everyone, no one is safe! I need to actually remember that though! I need to remember to hold them close and praise God for them EVERYDAY!!!

Today was a small reminder of how short life can be, how things don't always go the way they should. That even though some days the boys drive me up the wall, I am blessed! And I should never take advantage of that! And I'm hoping I can remind others of that too, hug your kids, your spouse, your grandparents, whoever it is hug them! Remind them no matter what you love them!

Pumpkin Patch

I've gone quite again! Finally got a new computer! I really love it, it works great runs well and has internet!!! I wasn't ever able to mail off Drews laptop to him as it broke again shortly after getting it :/ Luckily we have a wonderful friend helping us along this loooong road! The boys and I have been very busy with day to day life, really nothing to exciting you've missed out on! WELL, except that I FINALLY heard from my surgeon and I will be getting my reduction done the 30th of this month!!! I've been on cold nine since I found out( I cried upon reading the email saying I could call and book at my earliest convenience!), all the people who said they would help have stepped forward and are making great efforts to do what they can, so I can't even describe how BLESSED I am!!!! Counting down the days!

It's also that time of year!!! PUMPKIN EVERYTHING!!!!! I love all things pumpkin so I love this time of year! Today the boys and I went with our super awesome friends to the local pumpkin patch! Isaiah had been talking non stop about it since I told him we were going and even more so since he knew his bestest buddy Daniel would be coming with us! Isaiah and Daniel are two months apart in age and always have the best time together, it will be very hard to leave England because they have made such a great friendship and Zoe, his mum, and I are very close!!! This entry will be mostly pictures with captions, because well the play by play wouldn't make for good reading but I got some good shots and that will do!!!

Little G Money ready to hit the patch! Yes I made that hat! The pattern can be found here, from my wonderful Salena who was kind enough to let me pattern test this for her!!!

Aren't they just the cutest, sweetest boys ever?

From cute to this hahaha, boys will be boys!!!

He really couldn't keep his hands off the pumpkins!!!

Time to make some memories!

                                      

Me and my little loves!!!

 Our beautiful friends!!

Isn't that pumpkin hat the cutest?!

"ok Mommy can I pick a pumpkin now?"

Finding the best one!!

Daniel and Zoe found one!!!

Strong man!!

And no day is complete without a sword fight through the pumpkins!!

One last shot of the boys!

Let the sword fighting continue!!

We had a really great afternoon out! Isaiah loves being with Daniel and I love spending time with Zoe, so it was a win win!!! 

With a little over three weeks until my surgery I plan on doing as much as possible to make the time special for us as I will be away from them for a few days while in the hospital and then coming home I will be restricted as well, so extra love, snuggles and adventures need to happen now!!! Stay tuned to see what I decide!!!

Until next time....

Still alive!!

I know I Know! I promised!!! But I still don't have a working computer!!! Ok except for right now!! I have Drews computer back from the doctor ;) But I will be mailing it off to him tomorrow!

Whats the hold up on a computer you say? Well the wonderful US of A has decided that no item containing a litium battery can be shipped to APO boxes and the PERFECT computer Drew found contains a back up litium battery :( We may just resort to going without one until we move back to the states in June but that also means I don't have a real computer until Drew gets back in December, just my tablet and phone :(

So here is a speedy quick catch up of what the boys and I have been up to!!

 Well after we left my friend Amandas house last weekend everything became a blur! HAHA! 
We had several errands to do Saturday before I got ready for the birthday party I attended!! First stop... 
HUGE sale and the BX. I don't normally do our clothe shopping on base because it's a rip off, they hardly have anything I like and then everyone else will wear the same things! I do most of our clothes shopping online or out on the economy! But this sale was FAB!!!!

I got all these clothes for $75 saving $315!!!! I'm still really happy about, a week later hahaha. I had a nail appointment after that, and birthday party for a little sweetheart, then home to get ready!!!

The details of my getting ready are pretty boring but Isaiah did tell me I was pretty and that made me happy!!

So I took the boys over to my friend Tamaras house for the night. I got there early thinking Gabe would have  a hard time settling in but boy was I wrong!!! He was all over the place!!! It really made my night so much easier knowing he was happy! So I left the boys and headed to meet the girls!!!

Remember I said we were all getting dolled up and cute?! Well it was beyond that! Everyone looked amazing and felt amazing too!! The birthday girl of course shined more then all of us! I usually see Sasha pretty casual or in gym clothes but she stepped out of her car in the hot little black party dress and she blew me away!! She looked amazing from head to toe and she knew the smile on her face all night was the best one I have ever seen on her!!!

We forgot to get a group shot but here are most of the ladies who went out Saturday night!!!

We headed to Norwich, got our grub on at a yummy Mexican restaurant then headed down the road to get our ass shaking started!!!

We hit up three clubs, the first was um ok! The coolest part was them having acrobats lifted into the air in hoops doing tricks!! That was pretty awesome! We stopped at another club for a couple minutes wasn't much of an improvement from last so on we went. We all wanted to really get down and dance, shake our asses to some hip-hop!! So headed to a club called Mojos, it was packed and some people were pretty much having sex with there clothes on! But as soon as we heard the music of the night we knew it was the right place!! We stayed there for quit a while until some creepy men started grab assing at the other girls, so after a few "kind" words with them, we threw up the deuces and peaced out for the night!!! 

I do have to say never feel old, being at a young 24(25 in Decemeber), but going out to British clubs does the trick! The drinking age here is 18 so there are a lot of YOUNG kids trying to have a good time and just being plain ol' stupid because they can be! But I still had a great time and I know I will always love dancing!!!

Got home late that night/early morning, I'm talking nearly 4 am!!! I can't remember the last time I saw 4am without it being for feeding one of the boys as babies!! Got as much sleep as  I could then started getting ready for 80's day down in London!!

Aside from the obviously sweet gear I picked up for the day, I needed a jacket because it was a chilly England morning! I wanted to keep with the theme and as soon as I checked the wardrobe full of coats and hoodies I knew I found what I needed! This jacket has a lot of sentimental value to Drew and I and especially his parents! This jacket use to belong to Drews Dad  John back in 1876 ;) just kidding!!! But this is the jacket he was wearing when he asked Kelly, Drews mom, to marry him!! Drew has held on to over the years and I remember several of dates having this being worn. It was a simple way to have Drew close to me for the day

 *cheesey*

 I met the girls out in Cambridge to take the train down and we were on our way!Have I ever mentioned I'm a Harry Potter nerd? Well I am! And no stop at Kings Cross is complete without a stop at platform 9 3/4!!

Yup I am silly bear!!!

 All the looks and stares we go were awesome hahahaha people had no idea what to think of us!! We had a quick little walk around/ lunch in Covent Gardens then headed to the theatre!!

The show was absolutely amazing! We sang and danced the whole time through. It completely reminded me of my childhood, growing up with a  man still stuck in the 80's, but it was actual good memories so I didn't mind it!! When the show ended one of the girls suggested going around back and meeting the cast, WHO KNEW?! So thats what we did!!! I had my eyes on one man the whole show, he was hot, hilarious, a good singer, good dancer, and did I mention HOT?! So when he came out I went a little 15 year old star struck teenager on him and begged to have my picture with him, ok maybe not beg but I was a little excited!!!

HOT right?!!

All the way back to the train and the train ride home we kept busting out the songs stuck in our head! It was a blast! We said our goodbyes and last Happy Birthdays to Sasha and all went our separate ways! I enjoyed this weekend more then I can really describe. I was honored that Sasha considers me a close enough friend to share her day with and I got to celebrate her and make her feel special!! It also was a good way for me to get away from the boys a little while, and have some me time!!

I love my boys to the moon and back but when you don't get that 4/5 o'clock text message saying" I'm on my way" and you can breath a sigh of relief for help with your crazy kids, life can get a little overwhelming!!! I'm so thankful to Tamara and her husband Tim for taking care of the boys for me. We haven't ever left them over night with anyone but family so this was a little hard for me but I knew they were well taken care of and Isaiah told me what a great time he had the whole way home Sunday night!!

It has been a hard week for all of us trying to catch up on missed sleep and Gabe got a little bug this week as well but seems to be better! Isaiah is still loving school and from what his swim teacher has told me, he is going to be like the rest of our families and love the water!! I'm hoping to go next week and watch him swim and hopefully get some pictures to share with you all and of course Drew!!!

Well the kids are getting hungry and to be truthful...so am I!!! Left overs tonight, nothing special, but I have started our new clean eating lifestyle and with a few more weeks of trial and error I will be ready to share what we are doing with that!!

Hope you all are well and have a safe and fabulous weekend!!!!

Until next time...

Boys will be boys!

My dear friend Amanda and her husband Chad are in Italy to celebrate there fifth aniversary!!! They were able to snag a sitter for the whole weekend except for last night to this evening, so I stepped in to fill the gap!! But oh how I could us a getaway to Italy!!!

 

I have spent the last 15 hours watching 4 BOYS all 4 and under in age!!!! Sounds crazy right!!!

To be honest it hasn't been that bad! They are all so close in age they have just been keeping eachother busy and I only have to step in here and there to break up a wrestling match getting out of hand or to make sure everyone is sharing nicely!!

 

 

I thought I knew a lot about boys raising two myself but really, why are boys so gross? I can't change a daiper without at least one of them up in my grill to check if theres poopy or not and damn near touching said poop to make sure I know that it's poop! Why are boys so rough? Isaiah and Gabe have just gotten into the wrestleing stage and for the most part it's pretty mild because Isaiah understands he has to be soft with him! But having 2 bigger boys has not helped!!! They have not gone more then 20 mins without a wreslting/kungfu/hitting match!

 

We have about 8.5 hours until the sitter for the rest of the weekend comes and I'm hoping we survive!!!

 

I have a big weekend ahead of me and am looking forward to a solid nights sleep tonight!  A busy day tomorrow during the day followed by a crazy 24 hours to celebrate one of my favorite people ever!! My friend Sashas birthday is Sunday and as this is her last one here in England and it's getting close to her leaving :( She is going out with a bang!!!! So tomorrow night 16 of her closest friends are all getting dolled up in short sassy prom/homecoming dresses going up to Norwich to dinner then club hopping(Yes Drew is ok with going clubbing with my girlfriends don't roll your eyes at me!) We will be out late Saturday night, then getting up Sunday to get decked out in 80s gear to head down to London to see Rock of Ages!!! It's a pretty well kept secret that I love me some 80's buttrock! So I am excited to sing along with the songs I grew up listening to all my life!!

 

This is going to be so much fun celebrating someone so special to me and it will be nice to have some SHAYNA time! I get to be a big grown up women for about 24 hourd! It's going to be great!

 

I'm hoping to have a computer soon so I can share pictures from the weekend because it is going to be great! So stand by for that post!!!

 

Until next time... 

 



busy busy

UPDATED 9/21/2012

I know I said I would be checking in here more often but my computer has officially gone off the deep and I prefer to update with pictures and don't have the option and i know everyone is dying t hear about my life and the boys ;)

Well a week ago Isaiah started pre-school!!! He is absoultely loving school! He goes everyday from 9-12 with swimming lessons on Thursdays! This school is turning out to be completely awesome!!

With Isaiah in school so much Gabriel and I get a lot of time together and I get more gym time with driving near the base area everyday instead of only three times a week! 

With Drew gone I feel like a machine! I want so badly to shick and awe him when he comes back!! My new gym routine will have me working out 6 days a week with ine active rest day a week! I currently do a HIIT( high intensity interval training) three days a week and work on my cardio the others. I wi.l be changing it up in a few weeks with some weight training but this is good for now!!

The boys seem to be adjusting well with Drew away, Gabriek surprisingly has been a lot more clingy and really only wanting me but being ok with a couple other people. This has made a hard adjustment because I feel like I can't walk away from him at all but I do get a lot of extra snuggles from him and Isaiah too so that has been nice. Isaiah tells everyone that Daddy is off fighting bad guys( relate it to a movie and the kid will understand anything! hahaha) so don't be surprised if he lets you know!! I've been adjuatung well too, it a,ways seems the worse at night once the boys go to bed and I'm all alone but at the same time the quite time is great! Silly as it sounds I'm more thankful for my dog when Drew is away, she sleeps on his side of the bed and makes it feel like someone is in the bed with me so that has helped a ton!!

Hoping to get a computer soon and I will continue posting as normal and hopefully more often! Great week ahead for us!! Hoping the same for all of you!!

Until next time...

Childhood cancer awareness month

It's officially September! September has a big meaning to me and most of my family, it is Childhood cancer awareness month. Some of you may have just raised and eyebrow as to why that would have meaning to myself and my family, well let me tell you!!

You know how some moments in life you look back on and can remember exactly what you were doing what was going on around you and who was with you. For most Americans that day is 9/11, I can tell you right off the bat how I found out what was going on in NY without even a second thought! These next two memories are the exact same way. 5 years ago I was taking my lunch break at beauty school, I had just sat down and was going to start eating when I opened my phone and had a text message from my step mom that my niece( nearing her third birthday) had been diagnosed with leukemia the night before. This was one of those text messages I had to read several times over to actually have it sink in and realize it was real. I left school immediately!! Thankful my school was extremely close to the hospital and I was there in minutes. When I got there I walked into her room and my heart broke even more. My sweet niece, first born niece. was laying in a hospital bed with tubes and machines all around her :( my sister 8 months pregnant right by her side and my brother in law on the other. When Anna saw me she got excited to see me, and for the first time ever said my name the right way ( Shea-nuh, instead Say-nuh), another one of those little things you remember out of everything else.

The mood in the room was obviously not ahigh happy one but it didn't matter we needed to be together as a family for Anna. I stayed at the hospital as long as I could because my bitch of a boss would not let me have the night off(  I later quit this job because of this boss comparing her sons busted lip to my niece having CANCER and there was no reason I should have had the night off...Fuck you lady!!!) I tired for the next several months to do all I could to come to the hospital and see her but sometimes it just didn't happen. Anna however was a star and kicked cancers ass!!! She was doing so well in treatment she was even breaking standards for treatment, she was my little hero!!! That November 8 months after she was diagnosed she was the most beautiful flower girl in mine and Drews wedding and not too long after that was done with treatmeant

This is one of my favorite pictures of her and I from my wedding. She was getting really bored having to wait for us to go and get married, but snuggling me in our watching white dresses made happy long enough!!

Well you'll remember I said my sister was pregnant at the time of Anna diagnoses. She had little Madeline on April first( same as Uncle Drew) She was a beauty from the beginning just like her sister!! Well almost exactly 3 years later she was diagnosed with leukemia as well. I got the call early in the morning here in England and I knew it had to be bad news because it was a call on our stateside number which only our family back in Washington ever call on and there is an 8 hours time difference between us. It was my sister Becky calling to tell me. I thought the first time getting that kind of news was hard but let me tell you to hear the same words again for your niece who you love so much and now at this point being a mom myself, my heart broke in so many ways! For my niece because I knew the road that was in front of her and for my sister and bother in law, to have to hold your childs hand yet again and try to explain to them what is going on, I can't even imagine it and frankly I don't want to! Nor would anybody else!! It was very hard to not get on a plane and fly straight home but I knew I would be in the way and really I wouldn't be doing anything productive accept be another shoulder to lean on. We had a trip planned home shortly as well so that was my only smoothing factor.

I kept a close eye on my sisters Facebook updates and her caring bridge updates. I called when I felt like it might be an ok time, and I always knew that if she didn't pick up that wasn't going to be surprise but I always wanted to try. We finally made it home in June and we got to my parents house from the airport and went straight over!! It was so nice to see them and hug everyone and feel like I could do something now!! Maddie much like her sister kicked its ass!!

Here is Maddie

Sister lovins!

The girls having a tea party with Isaiah winter 2010

Both my nieces are my heroes, they have faced so much at such a young age and have come out on top! I am so thankful to God for the amazing healing he did in there bodies and how much strength he gave them. I am thankful he helped my brother and sister through these hard times and even though the path may have gotten dark at some points, they came out on top too, they even renewed there wedding vows to each other last summer! One of the few couples I can look up to see that "for better or for worse" was really what they meant!

Aside from there story there are some very real facts about Childhood cancer I want to share.

• Childhood Cancer remains the #1 disease killer of America's children --more than AIDS, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, and asthma COMBINED, making it the leading cause of death in children 15 and younger

•  About 12,060 children in the United States under the age of 15 will be diagnosed with cancer in 2012. Childhood cancer rates have been rising slightly for the past few decades.

September is childhood cancer awareness month, the ribbon for it is GOLD!!! I know many people get caught up on buying PINK over and over, and let me firstly say that I support ALL cancer awareness and research because I fully believe that all cancers are linked together and once one is cured then slowly but surely all others will get cured as well and the DEVIL can take this disease back down to hell where it belongs!! BUT I wish people would remember the other cancers need love too not just breast cancer!!!

I am also FIRM in not playing the stupid "cancer awareness games" on Facebook! Yes it got a lot of media attention the first time around when everyone was putting up there bra color( others taking it too far and going on about lace and such) but in hind sight, you did nothing productive! I can sit and write this blog and people will probably say the same thing BUT I have been there! I have been in the hospital seen other patients and helped where I can and this post is actually about Childhood cancer not my bra color( or as one of sisters friends joked, the character on my sons underwear), this blog post is not all I will do because that would be too easy! I would like to encourage those that can to volunteer, that means more to hospitals patients and there families then anything else! Do you have a craft? Make some stuff to donate to the children, it will light up there face to receive it, trust I've been there for those random gifts!

During this month I will be wearing GOLD when I can and telling as many that will listen the story of my nieces and how amazing they are. And hopefully one of these years when my life isn't so crazy I will organize some kind of fundraiser to give back to the people who need it most!!! 

Hope everyone has a wonderful Labor day weekend!!!

Until next time...

Too many good byes

I'm back from a week off of the social networking life. As the time for Drew to leave got closer I decided it was best and fair for me to completely sign out of Facebook, and not get on my blog! 

I did cheat once but that was because I kept getting emails from my friends on Facebook commenting on a picture of me saying how fantastic it was so I got confused and curious, so I got crafty and got on my FB without logging in to check out this picture. My friend Sasha had posted a preview from our family session she did with us and oh my gosh it melted my heart! It was the perfect sneak peak to have put up this week before Drew left, check out her fan page  Here and scroll down a little bit to check it out!!! Have I said yet how much she rocks?!

Saying goodbye to Drew was not the only one I had to do this past week :( Part of the military I will never get use to is letting people in only to have to say goodbye. I have made some life time friendships while here and it hurts to see them leave. Early last week my dear friend Salena had to leave to New Mexico. I first found out about Salena when we got Gabriels newborn pictures done and our photographer had these beautiful crocheted hats, so I asked where she got them and got sent Salenas way! I ordered a few hats from her before I decided this was a craft I really wanted to re-learn( was slightly taught by my gramma several years ago) so I took lessons with my friend Shala( yes all our names start with S and yes it did get jumbled around alot!!) I fell in love with the craft and formed a wonderful friendship with a fabulous women!! 

Our friend Natalie through her a going away afternoon tea party so the boys and I headed on over to say one last farewell to her.

Drew got off later in the week so that is when I went off line. I would love to say we had a fun family adventure, or traveled or....anything but stay at home and chill out. Looking back now I did enjoy that time but it also would have been nice to have one more outing but Drew decided to just have some chill time, and for a man getting ready to work 12 hour days 7 days a week for the next 3 months, I can understand his want for that! Drew still had a few things to do around the base before leaving so did leave the house, I took a sewing lesson with my friend Natalie and even got a pedicure! Not bad right?

We did have one tiny venture out to Cambridge for some returns and after we took care of business decided an impromptu picnic would be nice, so got sandwiches chips(crisps) and drinks and started walking into town, stopped at the park, sat and almost immediately started feeling rain :/ so we hid out under a tree thinking it would pass but it only got more heavy and the boys were starting to get wet so Drew and I decided we just needed to make a run for the shopping center our car was parked at. Isaiah has always been like me, very cautious,. when it comes to new things, be it food, toys, games, people etc, so he started getting upset about the rain and getting wet, but once I started splashing in the puddles and making it fun he LOVED it and the smile on his face was priceless!!! And we got soaked!!!

Monday was our second set of good byes for the week, and originally was suppose to be when Drew was leaving, but it got pushed back. I have been apart of a workout mommy swap group on base for almost a year now. I have made some of the best friendships I could ask for and met the most amazing ladies from it. This week my friend Vanessa left. So Monday a group picnic was organized to send these her off with some love!! It was definitely a hard good bye, Vanesaa and I always swapped watching each others kids because our kids got along great ( Gabriel loves Vanessa) and our kids just got use to us watching them so it made easy on them and us. I have grown really attached to her two little princesses and my boys to her but I know I will see these girls again, it's a small Air Force!! 

I had been doing fine most of the past week not getting to worked up about Drew leaving all week even as the time got more and more close. I actually get into a protection mode and try to put up some walls before he goes, I think it makes it easier to not get super close and all lovey dovey with him before he leave because other wise I will only miss him more, I know it confuses him and he doesn't like it but it what I do. Last night is when I broke though, we bought Isaiah a Leap pad before our trip home to the states and it has a camera to take pictures or make videos, so I had Drew make a video for Isaiah for when he misses his Daddy. As soon as Drew started recording I was crying. That was when it came real.

Waking up today was not fun, I got to sleep in one last time (thanks baby) but all I wanted to do was stay in bed and pretend it wasn't going to happen, that my husband wasn't going to leave me, our kids, and go take part of a war. I wanted to walk down stairs have him give me a hug and kiss and have him tell me he'll let me know when he's on his way home from work. That just wasn't going to happen though, I did get my hug and a kiss, a wonderful long hug that no words are needed but you know that person loves you more then anything and that everything will be alright. 

I had to take a few last pictures of Drew and the boys before heading out

After a the quick photo op, we packed up the car headed towards the base made a few stops then went to drop him off. I remember how I felt last time he left and I was extremely sad but today I actually got sick to stomach at the thought of him leaving us, one of those reminders yes I really do love this man more then anything. We made our stay short saying goodbye as it started to rain on us, but it was still really hard. It's not something I enjoy. I had a good little cry session in the car, which Isaiah was very sweet during, telling me its ok and we'll see Daddy when we get presents( Isaiah and Drew watched Polar express this morning and Drew explained that he will come back before Santa comes, so all day he thought he was getting presents hehe)

We had a few other things to take care while on base but after that we went home and just relaxed. Isaiah I don't think really get it yet but I know soon it will click and we'll have a rough couple of days but he will be alright! And Gabe, well he's a Mommas boys so he'll be fine ;) We'll see how tomorrow goes but so far we are alright! 

THANK YOU to all my friends who have checked in on us and let me know that they are here for us! It means more then you can ever know! 

I'll start checking in here more often now! I will be showing what the boys and I are up do! Start showing some of the crochet I do( that are not Christmas gifts) maybe a few DIYs I have thought up( picked a furniture piece this past week, gonna have a go at painting it, stayed tuned!) and whatever else I feel I need to share!!!

But until next time...