Monday, January 28, 2008

Bomb Threat !!

HOLY CRAP !!!

We got a call this morning from Katey's school. Apparently there was a bomb threat at the school this morning, and the kids were evacuated and moved to Brandon's school. They believed the threat was false, but still had to take precautions. So the kids had to sit in the gym and wait for the police to go thru the school from 8am until they gave the all clear at 10:30. What a morning for them. Now they get to get bussed back to school and have to take Tera Nova testing all day. Them poor kids!

Thank God that this was false, and nobody was hurt.
Have a great day,
Shel

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Think positive, be positive

Ok, I have been in a funk for a while now.
Nothing seems to shake it. I have to do something different.

Chris says Think positive, be positive...
So I'll give it a try.

I wonder if it works with Think skinny, be skinny?... Hmm good thought.

Lets see, this could be fun...
Think warm, be warm?
Think rich, be rich? (I am rich with family and friends... ahhh (barf) )
Think clean house, be a clean house?

Anyway, I am going to try to make sure I think of a few happy things everyday, and try to be greatful for all the wonderful things I do have in my life. I need to exercise more, eat better, stop snacking, make sure the people I love know it, and take some time for myself. I think I would like to read more, and walk more.

I really need to work with the dog more or he will never be a therapy dog. That was one of the biggest things I wanted to do with this dog. He got sick and training stopped. I have been working again with sit, come, and walking on a leash. He really is a good boy, but will be so much better with some "manners". I brought him to Bran's school one day and they loved him and LOVED the idea of starting a reading program where the kids with reading problems can read to him. It will encourage them to read, they will look forward to their reading time, they wont have to worry about other kids making fun of them or reading to slow. I am really excited about this. I am also going to talk to a local nursing home and see ab out bringing him for visits. It will be good training for him and also they will enjoy seeing our big loverboy. I know everyone from the train just loves him.

See I feel better just thinking about it.. Im actually thinking of myself 2 pant sizes small.. NICE !

Have a great night,
Lots of Love,
Shel

Monday, January 21, 2008

3 yrs ago today...


3 yrs ago TODAY,
My cousin Adrianne Reynolds was brutally murdered by Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory, then they burned her body.. Together with Nate Gaudet they completly dismembered her body and threw her away like garbage.

May they all ROT in prison for what they have done.

May Adrianne sing with the angels and watch us from above.
You are missed, but never forgotten!


Lots of Love,Shel

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Pistacio's and Portabella Mushrooms


Pistacio's and Portabella Mushrooms make me miss our friends back home.
I miss you Tackett's and Kruse's !!!

Jeni introduced us to the wonderful YUMMY Portabella Mushroom sandwiches. Mmmm We grilled some last night. It was a total Vegetarian dinner! Portabella mushrooms, grilled asperagus, grapes, and Mac N Cheese! It was sooo YUMMY ! But eating dinner made me sad cuz I wasnt eating it with the Kruse and the Tacketts!

Then when I went to the store they had Pistacio's at the checkout counter. Now Pistacio's make me think of drinking and hanging out with the Kruse's and the Tackett's. Nothing is better than having a few drinks, lettin loose, and cracking open an entire bag of Pistacio's. Once you start they are sooo addictive. So of course I had to buy a bag when I was at the store. Now I sit here cracking them open, all by myself.

I need a shot of Tequilla!

I miss you guys!
Shel

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Not much to say, having a happier day!

Hey everyone,
It's Sat. Things are going pretty good here.
I got to hang out with our neighbors for a bit last night. They are great.
It's so cute to see Newlyweds :) Makes me smile! I can't believe Chris and I will be married for 12 yrs this year. It will be great to be on the Cruise with family and celebrate in style. I can't wait to take the kids snorkling and to see all the different places. I can't wait to see their faces when they see how big the ship is. It will be great fun. Can you tell Im trying to think of something warmer, something other than below zero, artic freezing cold? Yeah, I hate the cold. If George was any kind of friend, he'd take ME to the Bahama's !!! HA!

Anyway, bored and rambling....
Have a great weekend,
Shel

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Are you serious??

Ok,
so the other day we are watching TV. This comercial comes on about periods, and at the end it says.. "Have a happy period." With that Katey turns to me with this puzzled look and asks what that was about. I was thinking the same thing.. what do you mean happy period? What could be happy about a period. Well today I am actually thinking that someone should shoot the people that came up with "Have a happy Period."
I mean, it must be a man, because no women would ever say something as stupid as that.

Shel

Saturday, January 12, 2008

This weekend


This weekend has been really fun so far.

My boy is now 8, and my mom turned 58.
I joke around and say, she's an old fart, but she's young at heart.
Brandon loves that he shares his special day with his Grammie.
Mom thought that he made a really cool 50th bday present. :)

Yesterday Brandon had a fieldtrip at school. They are learning about the underground railroad. He said it was pretty fun, and it was on his birthday so it was really cool. Then they got back to school and it was Marchilloni Pizza day. They get pizza and soda with lunch and think its the coolest thing ever.

After school he got to open a few presents. We got him a really cool pair of pirate shoes, and Ashlyn got him some candles (yes we had to wrap them.) Katey had a slumber party to go to so we wanted him to open a few things before she left. When I dropped Katey off, I asked if her friends little brothers wanted to come over for a bit and have Pizza. Brandon know's both of them. Nicoli (cola) and Elli were adopted about a year ago from Russia and are the sweetest little boys, with the coolest accents. They were excited to come over, and Brandon was really surprised when they walked in the door. Then our friend Crystal came over with her 2 kids, and Brandon's friend Jason came over. We had Pizza, cake and ice cream. We used Ashlyn's candles which were trick candles and they all got a HUGE kick out of them. Then all the boys went home about 8:30.

Chris and I had some friends over. George works with Chris at Orbitz and has become a pretty good friend of his. I happen to think he's the cutest, sweetest thing ever, and he has the most awesome girlfriend. Her name is Kristen but we call her K-Rock. They came over and stayed the night, since they live about 45 mins noth of Chicago and the last train downtown is at midnight. They live right off the lake, so they felt like they were in the country here and really enjoyed the dog, the kids, and our HUGE yard. Chris made strawberry banana pancakes and eggs this morning, and we drove them home. Wish they could have stayed another night.

Katey came home for a few hours, we made her take a nap because she has another slumber party tonight. She's such the social butterfly. We hate having her gone all weekend, but like the fact that she has some great friends, and Im sure is having a wonderful time.

I went to Church tonight with my friend Crystal and had a wonderful time. She has a really nice church and they totally rock out with their singing. We now have Brandon and Ashlyn in bed, and Im ready to settle down and watch the rest of a movie and sleep in tomarro.

Hope you all have a wonderful and full weekend too.
Lots of Love,
Shel

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Going out of 7 yrs with a Bang!

Or a face plant on the floor!

We were eating dinner, and having a wonderful time.
We like to go one by one and say what our High and Low of the day was. We went thru everyone's turn and Brandon started laughing at Ashlyn and fell off his chair. Now, that wouldnt be so bad, but we have a high top table and chair, so instead of normal height, ours are countertop height. (this is great to have when you have HUGE dogs) Anyway, he fell off the chair and landed smack on his face. He stood up holding his nose, when he pulled his hand away his nose started bleeding. He bled all the way thru the dining room, kitchen, up the stairs and into the bathroom. Now there was blood everywhere, including all over the sink, and some how splattered on the wall behind the sink. He's holding his nose laughing cuz it "looks like someone got dead in here." It was pretty impressive, it bled for quite a bit and he even got dizzy and thought he was gonna be sick or pass out. We made him sit with his head between his legs, holding his nose. It was really a funny sight to see (after we knew he was ok.)

We decided it was just our crazy boy, going out of 7yrs with a BANG !

Dont forget to read the post below.
Shel

Last day of 7


I just can't believe that my beautiful little boy is turning 8.
I wish he could stay little forever.. but dont we all wish that for our kids?

He is turning into a little man right before my eyes. He's perticular about his hair, he loves to wear cologn, he has to have the right shirt. I am in big trouble.
The only thing I wish he would outgrow is his crazyness. I am ready for the day's when he's not bumping his head, or falling off things.

But I am not really sure that will ever happen. He now wants a motorcycle.

I should have seen this coming when he was riding a 2 wheeler with no training wheels at 3yrs old.
He's always been a no fear, wanna be big like my sissy kinda boy.

At least he still likes to cuddle with me, still wants hugs and kisses from me and daddy, and still thinks Im the prettiest girl in the whole wide world.

Just yesterday he was rushing out the door to go to the bus stop. He got all the way out to the driveway, dropped his bag and came running back. I asked what was wrong and he said nothing, then he hugged me and gave me a great big kiss.


Yeah, I am a pretty lucky Mama!


Have a great last day of being 7 Branner.
Lots of Love,
Shel (Mom)

Monday, January 7, 2008

The boy!

My boy,
Where do I begin? He is a crazy, funfilled, spunky, loving, caring, very affectionate little man. Did I say he was crazy? Yes, he's crazy. If you are a blog follower of mine, you will remember the post about him flipping backward off the swingset and landing on his face a few months ago.
Well, today was the first day back to school since winter break. I got a call from the school Nurse shortly after lunch.

"Michelle, this is Mary..... the nurse."

Yes, we are on a first name basis, and I believe she has my phone number memorized. This poor women calls me several times a year because of my little man. Usually its a head bonk, once it was because he sliced his chin open on the playground equipment and needed stitches, and there have been several other calls. Today's call was once again a head injury.

"yeah, I have Brandon here in the office... I know its only the first day back, but we have a head injury."

I feel so sorry for her, but at least she knows I wont flip out. I am sooo use to it.
I talked to him for a bit, told him I loved him and the nurse felt he was ok to go back to class.

Now, I also said he was loving.... Oh yeah, he totally has a crush on the nurse.
He usually tells her she has a pretty smile, or some compliment and always gives her a hug before going back to class..... I am SOOOOO in for it when he gets older.

Have a great day,
Shel

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Guitar Hero and Haircuts
















We got Brandon and Ashlyn's hair cut...
And as you can see, Brandon can ROCK IT, on the Guitar Hero !!

Enjoy the pics.

Shel

Friday, January 4, 2008

Brandon gave me a makeover!


The other day, Kathryn and her friend were giving each other makeovers.
Brandon was bored out of his mind.. Then he said.. Mom, can we do makeovers.
I laughed and said, no Brandon you can wear make-up. He looked at me like I was crazy and said.. I dont wanna wear make-up, I wanna give YOU a makeover. So I let him.
He had so much fun. He said he loves it when I wear make-up and I look so pretty.
He even picked out his favorite perfume so I smelled yummy too.

We were sitting downstairs later that night, and he walked past. Stopped. Whistled at me and said I was the prettiest Mom ever! Yeah, he's gonna be a heartbreaker some day.

Shel

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Obama and Huckabee win Iowa Caucases

GO OBAMA GO !!!

Whoooop Whooop !!!

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

It was an accident !

Ok, SERIOUSLY !!!

The other day we were at Carol and Jim's house and Brandon "accidently" held a toy car out the window and dropped it. Really??? How do you "accidently" hold something out the window and drop it. Does he really think he's fooling me?

Well tonight tops all "accidents".
Brandon was kinda wimpering a little after he let Capone outside to go potty.
Chris asked him what was wrong and he didnt want to talk. Chris finally told him he had to say what was wrong... Would you believe he said...
" I accidently stuck my tongue on the metal on the door and it got stuck."
OMG, I couldnt help but laugh at him. How do you "accidently" stick your tongue on something. OMG Im still laughing at him.

Dont worry, he's totally fine, his tongue is fine and no blood at all.
I think he was just surprised that it stuck.
Bet he doesnt do that again "accidently" or on purpose.

Lots of Love,
Shel

Christmas and New Years

Hello ya'll

We had such a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
My parents came up for Christmas eve and stayed the night.
Christmas eve we have always had the tradition of opening up Christmas PJ's.
We had fun opening up the gifts and had everyone set in red PJ's for the morning.
Brandon put out some reindeer food and heard some sleigh bells in the distance.
He ran inside and told Kathryn to get her butt in bed cuz he heard bells and Santa wont come unless your sleeping. Katey of course plays along with him and runs up to bed. We put out all the presents and the stockings and headed to bed ourselves.
Christmas morning was a blast. Santa filled stockings for all of us, including Grammie and Papa, and boy did we have a TON of presents. Grammie and Papa had a blast watching the kids open all their gifts. Then we loaded up and headed into the Quad Cities to have more Christmas fun with Chris' side of the family. Mom and Dad got to spend the day with Alex and Barbie and the kids.

Chris' family always has full day holiday's. You can come for lunch, dinner, or both. They always play games and its such a nice long fun filled day of hanging with family. This year, Chris decided to make matching stockings for his whole family. We always hand out gift cards and small gifts or pictures, and he thought it might be cool to fill everyone's stockings with these small gifts and it would look awesome above the fireplace. Oh man, they looked so great, and I think it was a hit with everyone. We spent the whole day hanging out, and even got to play my favorite game Cranium, and then Carol had to throw in a game of Christmas Trivia.... It was a good day.

I was lucky enough to have my 2 nephews Wed, Thurs, and Friday. Blaker and Carter really enjoy hanging out with Katey and Brandon, and they all baby Ashlyn. We stayed 2 nights at Carol and Jims and 1 night at Jen's new house. We got to visit friday night with my sister and her 3 kids and then we headed home to Chicago. We had a few days at home and then NEW YEARS EVE !!!

We invited Jen and the boys up, and our friends Crystal and Tom and their kids.
We had 7 kids running around and it was a great way to celebrate the new year.
We played phase 10, and Cranium, and counted down at 11 (East Coast new year drop) and then we sent the kiddo's to bed. Poor Tommy didnt feel well and went home, but Jen, Crystal, Chris and I counted down at Midnight, and continued playing games. Jen went to lay down, and the rest of us played Guitar Hero till about 2:30. Then we all crashed and Chris made us all breakfast in the morning.

Hope you all had a fun and safe and Happy Holiday too.
Lots of Love,
Shel