I Got The Power

Counting down till lent is OVER

2011-04-23T21:11:00.000-07:00

I'm in count down....
49 mins till Lent is over.

Facebook, HERE I COME !!

Oh, and Happy Easter YO!

LENT- coming to an end.

2011-04-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

WHOOP WHOOP,
Only 1 more day to go till I can get on FACEBOOK !!
I'm so excited, and so proud of myself. I can't wait to get back online and re-connect with all my friends. It's been a long Lent.

We are very excited about Easter and we even made our own Easter Baskets with string and sugar water. They really turned out neat so far and we haven't even put the finishing touches on it. Katey is participating in the Easter service, and has learned so much in confirmation class. I'm really proud of how involved she is getting in our church, and in our youth group. They really are a great bunch of kids and she has made so many new friends.

We are in count down mode for the end of school. Katey Graduates 8th grade on May 26th and we are having a party for her on May 28th. I can't believe my baby girl is gonna be a freshman. She just needs to stop growing.

Oh, Ellie came for a visit with her kids and we had a GREAT time. The kids got a long so well, and miss each other so much. I'm so glad Ellie's kids got to meet Nannie and Pop-pop and will have good memories of them, and of hanging out with their cousins. I hope when they get older they will be close like we are with Ellie. Ashlyn informed us that she had the most fun, more than any of us, with her cousins, and that she misses her cousins more than any of us miss them. She's so sweet.

I am getting over a very nasty "bug". My doctor thinks it was pneumonia aggravated by asthma, but I really think it's whooping cough. It was terribly bad, and I probably should have been in the hospital. They had to change my antibiotic because I kept getting worse and ended up in bed for 4 days straight. Luckily I am starting to get better, but this cough is still terrible.

Ok, hurry up Easter morning, I got me some facebookin to do.
Night,
Shel

hard service

2011-04-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

We are back from the cruise, and the wedding was fantastic. The cruise was amazing, and we are sad we have to be back. Why can't vacation last forever? Ellie flew in from San Diego and we even went home this weekend to visit Nannie and Pops with all the kids. HAD A BLAST. We hurried home so Katey could make confirmation class and youth service.

Tonight's service was difficult to say the least.
It was about Jesus dying on the cross and Pilates wife told him not to mess with that innocent man for she had had a dream about him. Well we were questioned had we ever stepped up and questioned something and spoken up even though nobody else was. He asked if we heard recently about a violent death, or some one being mistreated at school. Immediately Katey and I think of Adrianne.

He went on to ask some very hard questions.
Was there something you could have done? Something you could have said? Could you have done something that could have prevented this? The questions went on and on. Each one questions and guilt that I have asked myself many many times. Katey bowed her head and cried, and I walked out. I got control and came back in, but it was very hard.

When it was over and everyone walked out, we said in the pews and Katey and I just cried. We miss you Adrianne Leigh.

Shel

Wedding and cruise

2011-03-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

I can't wait, we leave in 3 days for Miami, for Jenny's wedding and the cruise. I can't wait. Lucky for us, we have a great youth group we are a part of, and we got friends house sitting and dog sitting while we are gone. Yup, we are lucky.

Last night, we had a bon fire and Katey had a bunch of kids from the youth group come over. It was a great time. They loved the zip line, and its nice that Katey has such a great group of kids to hang out with.

So, for the cruise I am in my last stages of packing and cleaning the house.
Hopefully after gettting everything packed tonight, I will be able to sleep. I can't sleep because I have way to much on my mind. Do I have this packed, did I have enough of these, I need to find these, oh don't forget the...... I just need to pack it, load it, and forget about it.

And Lent needs to get over so I can get back on FB, I miss seeing whats up with everyone, but this is DEF. worth it.

Shel

Happy St. Patty's Day

2011-03-17T06:23:00.000-07:00

Everyone dressed in green and off to school, I am off to meet my friends for some breakfast.
Got my hair dyed last night for the cruise, and trimmed up. Just a few last min. things, get the house finished and we are good to go.

Plans for today include:
Breakfast with the girls, dog to the vet for shots, locate a boarding kennel for Kody, find crocs and shoes for everyone, start packing.

Have a great green-filled day.
Shel

Ides of March

2011-03-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

Today is March 15th.

Beware the Ides of March !!

March 15th - still Lent

2011-03-15T06:15:00.000-07:00

Well giving up facebook has gotten easier. I still have a desire to get on and see what everyone is up to, and I feel like I am missing out on all the hip hop happenin stuff. BUT, I have less and less the over powering urge to look. I no longer have to convince myself that I dont need to just check it out real quick. I have been keeping busy because its when I'm not busy that I have the most desire to get on.

We leave for the cruise in 8 days. I can't believe it. I can't wait to see Jen get married, and then to board the beautiful ship for a whole week. Cruises are my FAVORITE !! plus I get chris and the kids all to myself for a whole week. No school, no work, just family.

My cousin Ellen and her 3 kids fly in the tuesday after we get back. The kids have not seen nannie and Pops since they were just toddlers. I'm really glad they are old enough that they will have some memories of them. We are going to celebrate the twins birthday's while they are here, they have never had a birthday with cousins before. And we are also going to celebrate Easter as a family with Cassie and her kids, Ellie and hers, us and ours, Mom and dad, Nannie and Pops. I'm so very excited about it. Pops loves when we would come visit for Easter, he loves seeing them all dressed up and having an Easter Egg Hunt. I look forward to them celebrating a holiday surrounded my Great Grand Children and 3 grand daughters.

Well off to take care of Ash. She's a bit emotional this morning, coughing like mad, and a slight temp. So no school. She needs to get well for the cruise.

Shel

Day 5- Lent

2011-03-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been pretty easy, however we have been VERY busy. Keeps your mind off of getting on Facebook. I thought I lost my cell phone yesterday at Kohls. We went and tried on dresses for the cruise, which by the way we leave in 10 days. I can't believe it. The girls and I now have plenty of dresses for the cruise. Well i thought I dropped my cell phone at Kohls, but ends up I left it next to my bed. Spent all day trying to track it down.

Last night, Katey got invited to a party at a friend from her youth groups house. Luckily I got to know these kids last weekend at the retreat, otherwise it would have been hard for me to allow her to go to a party with High School kids. It was the first night she went out and had plans till curfew. My baby is growin up. But luckily she has a good group of kids to hang out with. They even wanted me to stay and hang out with them because I am sooo cool! Made me feel good, but it was Katey's thing. We did talk to them about maybe going camping and Geo-caching this summer, and they are all for it. I am so glad I got involved with these kids. Gonna be a great summer.

Today Bran's hanging with his friend Dez, and Me, Chris, and Katey are watching Friday.. yeah, such a great show to watch with your teenager, but its funny, and it lets her see how stupid they act. Great for conversations.

Alrighty, I'm out.
Shel

Day 3 - Lent

2011-03-11T14:23:00.001-08:00

Today is not so bad, and luckily its Friday so that means we will be really busy all weekend. I dont see a problem at all with days 4 and 5. Last night we had wildside youth group at our church. and they all loved the G-Scape video I made. I'm glad everyone had such a great time.

Now to go work on the house before chrispy gets home.
Shel

Lent day 2

2011-03-10T09:14:00.000-08:00

Today has started off better than yesterday. I have taken my little one to school, she usually rides the bus, and I went to the grocery store. So I've been busy. Came home but the groceries away, picked up so the cable guy can stop by, and then I sat down to the computer. Oh yes, I wanted to facebook, but I didnt. Check my email, glance at the news, blog, and now to do some laundry or something to get FB off my mind.

S.H.I.T. (so happy it's thurs.)

Shel

Day one Lent.. in review

2011-03-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

Wow,
I've blogged 3x's today. Today's been tough. I'm sure it will get easier.
I feel so disconnected, so far away from everyone. It worth it though.

We went to Lent program and dinner for the kids. They did a craft and I helped keep some of the other small children entertained. Pastor Sarah has 2 beautiful little girls.. 1st and 2nd grade. They played well with Ashlyn. Then we went up and ate soup and bread. I met a few parents of the kids we went on the retreat with. All the kids that came to service tonight all sat together, with us. It's just so great that they have all taken so well to me. Def. my calling, def. where I am suppose to be. Ashlyn was very nervous this morning when I told her about the Ashes, but I explained what it means and she was very VERY excited to accept the ashes. She kept asking.. "now mama? now mama?" She was so proud to walk up and get her mark. Now we are home, gonna eat some pizza and go to bed.

I got thru day 1, what will day 2 bring?
Shel

UGH - Day one Lent

2011-03-09T13:53:00.000-08:00

Why is this so hard? Seriously, its just facebook. When did Facebook take up so much of my time and thoughts? I have withdrawal type feelings.. just not right. I have wanted to get on and look at least 20x's today. It's everything I can do to convince myself that its not suppose to be easy, thats why its called a sacrifice, but FACEBOOK? I really didn't think it would be that hard, this hard. But I am convinced more than ever that I am def. addicted to facebook. Praying that God helps me get over this, and thru this.. And there we have it... Praying in the middle of the day puts me closer to God, GOAL ACHIEVED! Now lets keep it up for another 39 days.

Tonight we have kid's Lent program at 6, then Lent service at 7.
Looking forward to the distraction and the reminder... Why am I doing this?

Shel

Lent - day 1

2011-03-09T06:57:00.000-08:00

I have decided to give up Facebook for Lent.
Your supose to sacrifice something that is important to you, and that takes you away from God. Well, I feel I spend entirely too much time on Facebook. It def. takes my time away from housework, and playing games with the kids.. heck, I even facebook while I am watching tv, not fully giving my attention to even the show we are watching. It def. takes away from a lot of things not to mention time I could have with God. So far, day one, and I already want to log on and see what everyone is up to. This will be a challenge, but I will be very happy when I accomplish this task. So.. I'll let you know how it goes.
Shel

Noah's Jump Rope for Heart

2011-02-13T08:59:00.000-08:00

We have another great friend who is doing Jump Rope for Heart.
He is close to making his goal.. Can you help?

These kids are doing such a good job for Hearts. It's such a great cause.
Noah had a great time doing this last year too.

Check out Noah's homepage to help out.

Shel

Jump Rope for Heart

2011-02-10T14:43:00.001-08:00

UPDATE :
Emily met her original goal and had raised her goal to $1000.
Lets help her meet this goal

***********************************************

A friend of our's daughter Emily is doing Jump Rope for Heart in honor of her brother Kevin Kruse who died in 2008 from congenital heart disease. She has already met her goal, but lets see how much above and beyond we can go to help fight heart disease.
This family is so close and dear to my heart.
Please will you help?

Check out Emily's head quarters and donate what ever you can.

Thanks,
Shel

New Lenox Wildcats Seniors

2011-02-08T16:18:00.000-08:00

New Lenox, Seniors the best by far
this is the big show, and we are the stars
The name on our vests shows who (clap clap) we are.
Our mission is clear and we plan to uphold
A tradition of champions who will always wear gold
We are everything you're not
You know you want it you want what we've got
Go wildcats!

Senior Wildcats, We're number one
We know exactly how to get the job done
We are comin back for more
2011 we dominate this floor
There is nothing that we cant do
See it, believe it
We speak the truth
NEW LENOX!

*******************************************

Once again Kathryn and her team kicked butt at competition. It was very exciting this session because Kathryn's best friend Ali joined. I am so proud to see my Tom Boy Pirate enjoying being a cheerleader. She has really become so well rounded this last year. Way to Go Kathryn, Ali, and all the rest of the Wildcats! Looking forward to another session.

NEW LENOX WILDCATS JV !!

2011-02-08T16:07:00.000-08:00

We are the wildcats were Gold, Black and White
You know why were here,
and you know were DYNAMITE.
Wildcats are on the prowl,
were ready to attack,

New Lenox will dominate
SO JUST STEP BACK !!

We're fired up
We're sizzlin
We're turnin up the heat.
New Lenox JV
We can't be beat

We're too hot to handle,
Just wait and see
Everybody knows the winner will be
New lenox JV !!

***************************************
Congrats to Ashlyn and her team for winning 2nd place at their competition. I was so proud to watch Ashlyn in her very first sport, her very first competition. It amazes me daily how far she has come, and I am so very proud of her and the entire team. Way to bring it girls.

Holy Snow Balls

2011-02-03T08:49:00.000-08:00

Well once again we were under a winter storm warning, and blizzard warning. Chris keeps getting depressed because he wants all the snow they keep preparing us to get, but ever single time the storm hits just above, or just below us, giving us just a dusting. Well, not this time. We were a direct hit to the bulls eye. We got at least 20 inches of the powdery stuff, and the winds were incredible. It was a total white out blizzard. Chris and the kids were soooooo excited. School let out early on Tues, no school Wed, and then we got the call Wed. afternoon. NO SCHOOL THURS. That's just unheard of. No school 2 days in a row??!!

The roads are pretty much clear, at least one lane in each direction. But a lot of people's driveways and alley's and streets have not even been touched by a plow yet. As of yesteday afternoon, there were still cars stranded on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. Some people were stranded for 10 hrs, and now they are trying to get the cars towed so they can plow and re-open the streets. Its just plain crazy up here.

THEN to add to all the chaos, an artic blast has blown thru here dropping temps and wind chills to -40 degrees. What the heck?! I think Mother Nature had herself a party and passed out!

I hope you enjoyed the pics.
Shel

Snowmagedon 2011

2011-02-01T09:16:00.000-08:00

Well, Snowmagedon is just about to hit and hit hard.
Everyone is freaking out. I'm not. We have food, we have drinks, and we have wood. The fireplace is stocked and ready to go. School's getting out early, and probably no school tomorrow.
BRING IT !!
I'm looking forward to a nice day home with the family.

Shel

Holy migraine

2011-01-27T18:56:00.000-08:00

Well I was surprised by a phone call Tues. morning from Chris's cousin Danielle's friend Kelly, who Katey babysits little Charlie for. She was upset with her daycare center Charlie goes to and wanted to know if I would like to start watching him. HECK YEAH ! He's the sweetest little guy, its in town, and Ash doesnt have to change busses or anything. It works out perfectly. They drop him off in the morning. I get all the kids off to school. Charlie and I play for a few hours, then when Ash gets home from school at 11:45, we head to his house, have lunch, and he can nap in his own bed. Then Ash plays or watching tv while I catch up on my book. (House of Night series, AWESOME) This is a win win for everyone.... and I am totally spoiled because.. have I said HE'S THE SWEETEST LITTLE GUY EVER !!

The girls cheerleading comp. is coming up Feb. 5th!! CANT WAIT !! This is Ashlyn's first "class". She has totally LOVED being a cheerleader, just like her sissy Kathryn. Ash's class is dancing to Dynamite, and Kathryn's is dancing to Apple bottom jeans (?) This is gonna be FUN. Cassie and the kids are coming for the weekend, and Aunt Jenny might make it up for the day with Emma. I cant wait.

This weekend we are going with a bunch of friends to Medievil times, to celebrate Brandon's birthday, and 2 of our friends little girls birthday's. Gonna be a great time.

Well I have a migraine that is kicking my butt,
I'm off to bed.
Night all,
Shel

this' and that'

2011-01-19T06:43:00.000-08:00

The pool tourney was great fun, as usual. Kev. Jr had a very impressive come back after being shaken up the last 2 years. He won on an 8 ball break. Very awesome. The kids had a great time, and Brandon played a few games (not in the tourney), and now he wants to buy a pool table. I helped Ashlyn play one game and she enjoyed it as well. Great Job to all at the Wah-Fop-Toe.

The girls are both in competition cheer leading and very much enjoying it. Their competition for this session is Feb. 5th. They have been working hard and are very excited about it. Kathryn's team usually wins 1st place, so lets see if they can pull it off again this year. This will be Ashlyn's first competition. Carol and Jimbo, Grammie and Papa, even Aunt Cassie and the kids are all coming up to watch them compete. Should be a great day. I'll post pics soon.

Not much is up with Chris, still at Orbitz. I was babysitting for a family and due to issues I had to quit. Looking for another job. I have gotten involved with the youth group at our church. I now am a youth leader, but I dont lead anything. I help out on Thursday nights for the "Wildside" fun and games and then we end with "Time for Jesus" discussion and prayer. Then on Sunday nights we have our Youth Ministry. We have our own service, then we go downstairs and have discussion time. Kathryn and I really are enjoying this time. I have also signed up for the Retreat in March, and they want me to go on the Mission Trip in July.

Not much else is happening right now, just frozen with this darn weather. Can't wait to be sittin on a beach the end of March on our cruise.

Shel

Wassell Family Pool Tourney

2011-01-14T16:03:00.000-08:00

Yes folks... its that time of year again.
The good ole Wassell Family Pool Tourney.

For those who don't know, every year we get together with the adults (16 and older) in Chris' VERY LARGE family and we have a double elimination no holds barred pool tourney. There is a flow chart thingy, a tourney director, and even a plaque with last years winner proudly displayed for everyone to see.

This has been going on longer than the 15 yrs I have been with Chris. It started in the basement of Uncle Wes and Aunt Mabes house, and has quickly grown too large, and has now been moved to an actual pool hall. We reserve 5 tables and it usually lasts about 8 hrs. With lots of snack, drinking and a whole lot of shit talking. It is looked forward to almost more than Christmas.

For the weeks prior to the pool tourney, the shit talking and shenanigans start via Email, and now facebook, and in prior year has even involved yard signs. During the tourney there are often other side jabs and gag games, usually put on by the tourney directors evil diminions Tara Gene, and Jeni, and Candice. I have witnessed a subsititue pod 6 competition, a history board of famous tourney directors thru the years, even a scientific twin challenge (my favorite). This tourney even has a directors chair and septor. I do have to say, even though I choose not to play, this is one tourney I do NOT want to miss.

In years past the tourney has been dominated by Kevin Sr, and Kevin Jr. But their rein of terror is OVER. 2 yrs ago they were shaken in their boots when Jarad whooped their asses, and last years big upset was Wendy and Tim in the finals. I am already biting my nails with anticipation on who will kick who's ass this year.

Now, if Sunday could hurry up and get here.. oh and GO BEARS!!
Shel

Mid Jan.

2011-01-14T15:11:00.000-08:00

How do I go so long without updating?
I guess I am just not as funny or quirky as others.
My life is boring.

Lucky for me, I set up my friend Doyle with a blog, she is funny shit, let me tell you.
I want to remake some of her goofy story's, and if she'd send this stuff to SNL she'd be loaded.

Anyway, life is going good.
I'll try to update more.
Shel

Christmas break coming to an end.

2011-01-02T09:53:00.001-08:00

Today marks Chris' last day on Christmas break.
Tomorrow is mine.
Tuesday is the kids.

We have had a fantastic break. Kathryn had to be part of the 5pm Christmas eve service at our church for her confirmation class. Then we hit the road to travel to the QC for Christmas since a storm was a comin. We made it just in time for the 11pm candle light service at Carol's church. It was beautiful, and with a quick call to Jen, Carol had all of us there for service with her. Then we rushed home to get kids in PJ's, read the night before Christmas, and put out cookies and milk. Getting the kids to bed at about 1am WOW!

Christmas morning I was woke up at 8:15am and the kids had opened their stockings. We waited for Carol and Jim to come up and started opening gifts. Everyone got everything they always wanted of course. The kids recieved air soft guns which Jim and Chris and the kids quickly started shooting, in the living room, at targets and each other.

Lunch was at Wendy's and we had a fabulous time with family.
Dinner was at my mom and dad's, and it was a true blessing to spend Christmas with Nannie and Pop pop this year. Pop's even came out to the living room 3x's on Christmas which is HUGE for him since he is pretty much bed ridden. He enjoyed watching the kids open gifts, and we enjoyed his reaction to the horse Brandon gave to pops, that he painted himself. Nannie got a little overwhelmed, but truly enjoyed spending time with everyone.

Then we had a few days of playing in the snow with cousins before heading home to New Lenox.
It's been pretty easy going here. Jen came up with the boys and Alex, chris' cousin.

Kathryn participated in the 30 hr famine with her confirmation class and youth group.
I am very proud of her for doing this, and amazed at how much she learned and took away from this challenge. They all stayed over night at the church and did some skits and games that raised awareness to the starving children in Haiti. The church had sponsors and raised money for these children.

We had a few friends over for New Years Eve. We had a blast. We enjoyed shrimp, crab legs, and lobster tails, and lots of drinks. We played spoons, and card golf, and counted down at Midnight. Fun was had by all.

Today is laundry and movies, and just hanging out relaxing.
Chris has a fire going in the fire place and I am just gonna snuggle up with my family.

Happy New Year
Shel

officially Christmas break

2010-12-22T20:09:00.000-08:00

Today officially starts Christmas break for EVERYONE in the Power House.
Chris is WFH (working from home) tomorrow and then is off until the new year.

Now if only the weather gets cold enough that the home made ice skating rink they built in the back yard can freeze over!! We have been sledding 2 days in a row, and LOVING IT.

Last night, Ashlyn had her very first friend sleep over. She's had her "best friend cousin's" Malacky, Emma, and Taeya spend the night before, but never a friend. AND it was Kira's first friend sleep over as well. They were soooo cute, and soooo excited. We watched our family remake of Charlie Brown Christmas, had taco's, and the girls played in a strawberry shortcake pop up tent that Kira brought. They also enjoyed playing with dolly's in the bunk bed. They went to bed at 8:30 and at 10:30 I had to threatened to put them in separate beds if they didnt go to sleep. Finally they were asleep and slept until 8am. They had such a great time and they both said they can't wait to have another sleep over. Man, I can't believe how big she is getting, and how fast they are all growing up.

Well, I am tired, and off to dream land
Night all,
Shel

Christmas 1863

2010-12-19T20:14:00.000-08:00

Katey with Pastor Sarah

Our Church has been celebrating its history all year. They have been celebrating a "Rooted in the Past, Giving for the Future" theme. It's been pretty neat to be on the A/V team and watch it all unfold, and to learn so much about this church's past. Plus I work with some really cool people and we have a lot of fun.

Tonight our church had a "Remembrance" service. It was a Christmas eve service back in 1863, during Civil War Times. The characters portrayed in the service were true members of our church back then, and with the amount of research they put into it, it was as close to how true the service could be without actually being there.

We arrived to everyone dressed in fancy 1860's clothing and everyone looks soo darn cute. Katey is doing confirmation classes and her class got to help greet and hand out electric candles to everyone. The service was great and we sang 3 Christmas songs, and even learned about their history. We sang O Come All Ye Faithful, It Came upon the Midnight Clear, and Silent Night (to candles). We even got a really awesome serenade by our very own Pastor Jay, who is an Opera Singer, singing O Holy Night.. it was breath taking.

Even Chris and the kids enjoyed tonight's service, and Katey and I can't wait for the Christmas eve service which she and the rest of the confirmation class have small parts.

Well I am tired and am off to dream land.
Good night, All
Shel

Christmas Break

2010-12-18T21:13:00.000-08:00

Lucky for me, I am not on Christmas break for 2 weeks. The kids start their Christmas break on Tuesday, and Chris has the week between Christmas and New years off. LOVE IT !!

Tonight we had some friends over for some game and spirits ;)
It's so nice having friends with kids, who can come over, bring the kids, and EVERYONE has a great time. I am so glad they came over, I was really needing some adult fun time.

Ashlyn got invited to Mrs. Denise's house for a Christmas party. Mrs. Denise is Billy's mom, and she runs a home daycare. She watches Ashlyn before and after school until I can come pick her up. Ashlyn was so excited to be invited to a Christmas party with her friends. She had a BLAST, and Santa even showed up. Mrs. Denise def. spoils all of her kiddo's.

Well, I am off to dream land.
Nighty night all,
Shel

Christmas Cheer

2010-12-11T18:40:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,
So Chrishel.com is back, but what to do, what to say?
First off, the kids are doing great in school, and Chris is still loving his job. I now have a babysitting job, and watch 3 of the cutest kids. Dillon is in 3rd grade and I have him for an hour before he gets on the bus. Kira is in P.M Kindergarten, so we get to play all morning. I have brought Ashlyn a few time with me and they just love hanging out. And then there is Logan. He is about 10 weeks old and is a little snuggle bug. He is a very good baby and is very happy to be held and rocked. I only work from 7:30 till 12 so I still have my afternoons off to clean the house, cook, and play with Ashlyn. Things are going great.

We are very excited about Christmas, I mean who isn't right?
We went and cut down our real Christmas tree, as we do every year. We got it all lighted and decorated. We have our decorations out, and Ashlyn wont stop singing and dancing to Christmas music. She very much wants to buy Santa a Christmas present and wrap it for him. She is so caring about others and really has not asked for much for herself. She's just a sweet little angel girl. Katey and Brandon are looking forward to Christmas too and are def. in the Christmas spirit. We all cuddle up and watch Christmas cartoons, and we all talk about Santa and the reindeer and can't wait for the big day.

So far we have had some snow, but not tons. I hate the snow and could do without, but I do enjoy watching them play in it, and teach our dog Kody how to take down a snow man. It's quite funny to watch. I'll see about getting a video up ASAP.

Well, thats it for today. Gonna snuggle up next to the fire with some hot cocoa and watch some tv with the family.
Shel

chrishel

2010-12-08T20:32:00.001-08:00

Chrishel.com is back in business.

I will update more tomorrow.

Shel

school

2010-08-27T22:06:00.000-07:00

Well school has started, and I now have all 3 in school.
Being a stay at home mom for the last 14 yrs I am now kinda stuck. I need to re-identify myself, and its been pretty depressing, yet wonderful all at the same time. It's great having time to myself, time to clean without interruption or someone messing up behind you, and its also nice to go grocery shopping all by yourself. It's just that feeling of not being needed that really sucks. I mean, I know they still need me, but its in a different way. But Ashlyn has been doing a really good job at still needing her Mama. She comes home and JUMPS off the bus and runs into my waiting arms. She cant wait to tell me about her day, and how much she thought of me. And when she falls or gets a splinter, all she wants is her Mama to make it all better. Even tonight, as we watched a movie, she wanted to snuggle up in MY arms. All she wanted was her Mommy. Katey and Brandon have pretty much been Daddy's kids, and its so amazing to have one be all mine. I think its been nice having Katey and Brandon be all about Daddy because I was the one who was home with them all day, and I got to witness everything while Chris went to work. So to see how much they loved him really warmed my heart. But Ashlyn, I think I really NEEDED her to be mine. I think I needed her to need me, because she was going to be my last. Its crazy watching them grow up right before your eyes. Its just a miracle all of it. How they form inside of you, and so fast. How they grow up right in front of your eyes, its all just amazing.

Next Thurs. my biggest baby girl turns 14. I can't believe that for the last 14yrs I have been a Mom, it has been my everything, and it has been the most wonderful, and challenging, and rewarding job I could have ever had. But now its time to let them grow up, and to become something myself. I really want to become a nurse. I think I have this need to take care of and help people. So this is what I want to do. I want to go back to school, and really dedicate myself to being the best student I can, and soon to becoming a very compassionate and loving nurse. I will start out slowly. With Ashlyn being in school, we just do not know how her little lungs are going to handle it. So I want to take 1 or 2 classes so if she gets sick, I wont get to far behind or have to drop anything. And she only goes to half day Kindergarten, so next year I could take more classes. This year its a see how it goes kinda year.
I hope to be blogging more, so check in often.. I'll try to post daily.. we'll see how that goes.
Lots of Love,
Shel

more geocaching

2010-04-28T20:39:00.001-07:00

Hello,
We have been BUSY here at the Power House.
We have been out every day this week caching when Chris gets home from work. I just can't believe how much fun this is, and everyone is really enjoying it so much. I do have to say we have not been able to watch any of our shows this week as we have been gone searching. Today we found 4. I found 2 myself, and its a great feeling to find one. We actually found one today that had little trinkets inside. We took a Japanese coin, and left an American flag. Then as we were leaving a guy was outside his house and says.. "did you find it?" It was HIS cache and we got to chat for a few mins. He showed us his "travelbug" on the back of his car and how it works. It was really a great day. I am also excited that my sister Cassie and her family have started geocaching as well. Trysta found their very first one yesterday, and they found 2 more today. Way to go YAMAGUCHI FAMILY !! WAY TO GO TRYSTA !!

Chris and I are hoping to go to Yellowstone in Aug. with his parents, and I think that road trip may have just taken a different turn. I cant wait to geocache our way to Yellowstone. Well I think I may have food poisoning so I am off to bed, hopefully I will feel better tomorrow.
~Shel

Geocaching

2010-04-26T20:03:00.000-07:00

We watched a show, The Forgotten, a few weeks back and there was an episode where they were Geo-caching to find clues. Its basically like a treasure hunt, but there is no beginning and no end. Its nationwide so you just put in your zip code or where ever you are vacationing and wallah, you can go searching for caches.

Well, Chris has been talking about this ever since, and we went and looked for one with Carol and Jim over the weekend and couldn't find it. We were bummed, but had a great time looking for the cache. Well we found some out by our house and tonight we went and found our very first geo-cache. And now we have a little bit of an idea of what we were looking for. We expected something much bigger, but what we found was a tiny, 1 inch container that you open and sign the log and put it back.

It was really cool to finally find one. And upon searching online for other containers, this looks like it could be a TON of tricky fun. If this is interesting to you.. go to www.geocaching.com put in your zip code, and search the google map, and post about your adventure.
~ Shel

walk the walk

2010-04-13T12:42:00.001-07:00

Ok, I have been saying for a while now that I want to get in shape and loose the weight. Well, it is now time to walk the walk. I went on a 2 mile bike ride today, and am taking Ashlyn on a 1 mile walk later, then tonight I plan on doing 15 mins on the Gazelle. I know thats not a lot, but its a begining. I am so out of shape, and I have asthma. In 1 week I will up my distances and time. I will take it day by day, week by week, and I will try to update my progress.

Go Me,
Shel

Not Me Monday

2010-02-08T11:04:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Ok, so I follow MckMama and she does this every Monday. Some of the stuff she puts on there is really funny. So here is how you do it. You write about some of the embarrassing stuff that you "did not do" this week. And you can read what everyone else "didnt do" back on MckMama's site. Its just a funny way to start of a monday.

Ok, I'll start my first ever "Not Me" Monday.
So, on Wed. night I was trying to be a really great wife and get all the laundry done. I did NOT forget I had a load of laundry in the wash and get up out of bed at 10pm and go running down the stairs in my socks to move the last load over.. Nope, not me. And when Not running down the stairs, because I have told my kids many many times how dangerous it is to run down the stairs, I did NOT slip and fall and fracture my elbow. NOPE that certainly was NOT me! And I def. dont have to wear a stupid sling for the next 2-3 weeks as a
constant visual that Mommy didnt listen to her own rules.

Every night right before bed Katey and Brandon always "come down with something". So on Thurs. I certainly did NOT yell at Brandon when right before bed he said he needed to throw up. I did NOT get frustrated and tell him that I was sick and tired of them pulling this every night before bed. I did not tell him to get his butt in -- When he started pukeing his head off. I did not stand there feeling like the worlds crappiest mom. Nope not me, Im sure I really just ran to him, rubbed his back and held his hand when he started not feeling well. Im certain I talked to him gently and calmly and asked if he needed a puke bucket. I positively didnt think he was lying and then watched him prove me wrong.. NOPE NOT ME!

See, that was easy.
Hope you enjoy your Monday.
Shel

not a great day.

2010-02-04T07:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got a call from Brandon's school nurse. He bumped heads with another kid. He was ok but since it was a head injury they had to tell me. Then 10 mins later I get a call from Kathryn's nurse. She said her tummy hurt, she was nautious and wanted to come home. The nurse said she didnt look well at all, but didnt have a fever, but probably should go home. So Chris picked her up.

Fast forward till right before bed. Its now time for bed and as always right before bed the kids get headaches and tummy aches and blah blah. Bran starts saying I think Im gonna puke. I am in the middle of yelling at him saying.. " I am so tired of you guys being fine, then right before bed you dont feel good. You need to get into ---" At this point he starts barfing his head off. Yeah, great mom here. I felt like crap. So we get it all taken care of. Bran's in bed with a puke bucket, Katey's in bed with a puke bucket, and Ash is in bed no puke bucket.

I then go downstairs to move laundry over and FALL DOWN THE STAIRS. I came right down on my elbow and it hurt, BAD. I can move it slowly so its not a terrible break or anything. If I keep it bent and still I feel fine, but if I straighten it, move it, or even the sheet touches it, it hurts. So the nurse at my dr's office said it could be bruised or even a hairline fracture. I go in at 11. I didnt get much sleep last night because anytime I moved it hurt.

So here I sit, sore arm, and 2 sick kids home laying on the couch. Not a great start to my day.

stopped

2010-02-01T10:47:00.000-08:00

Grr, I hate getting all dressed up, bundled up, and go out to the van and it WONT START.

Ashlyn's all dressed and ready for school, and we go out and it wont start. Now she's crying because she wants to go see her friends, she wants to go play at school, and the van wont start.
So, we are gonna play some of her new games, color, and maybe find some kind of project we can do together. Its so easy to get bummed and then not what to get up and do anything.

Tonight I am making a Salad for dinner, and Chili. I am going to cut up some fresh fruit (apples) as well. I plan on filling up on salad and fruit, and just having a small cup of chili instead of a huge bowl. Im also not making hot dogs to go with the chili.

A good friend of mine, Jeni Tacket is a dietician and she has started a blog about eating right, loosing weight and all that good stuff. Check out her blog... http://fitlifespot.com , you may find some interesting stuff there.

Ok, Im off to play with my munchkin,
Shel

Life

2010-01-31T18:51:00.000-08:00

Hello,

(Hey Candice, thanks for checking in.. YOU ROCK )

Sorry, I have not updated in forever.
I am in the process of reorganizing our lives. Dont get me wrong, our lives are GREAT! I am happy, I am in love, I have great children. But, I think we need to get a bit more organized. I have always been a spontaneous jump and do whatever kinda person. But I feel we need more structure. I have started with the house, and next is closets and going thru clothing. We are also going to be incorporating exercise into our daily schedules, and eating better. Im not happy with my weight, and I can continue with the "who cares, who am I impressing" kind of thinking, and start impressing MYSELF. But, I also think it would be cool to be "that wife", "that mom". I want to do more activities, and more game nights. I want to have an active family life because sitting on the couch, watching movies is nice, but I want long lasting memories. My kids are growing up way to fast. I have a 13yr old for crying out loud. In 5 years she will legally be able to move out. These years are slipping away way to fast. So I supose I can slip in some time for updating this site. I mean, why keep paying for a site if I never update it right?

Well anyway, I am rambling.
I will keep you posted on our progress.
Shel

Boo Mama's blog

2009-12-09T13:46:00.000-08:00

Boo Mama, I want to be like YOU Mama,
Go to her site and you too could win an HP touchsmart computer.
I know I want to win one.

NieNie's blog

2009-12-09T13:39:00.000-08:00

Go check out NieNie's blog, if you think you can handle winning an HP touchsmart computer... I dare ya !!

Stephanie's blog

2009-12-09T13:34:00.001-08:00

Who wants an HP touchsmart computer?? Go to Stephanie's blog and check it out.

Another blogger, another chance.

2009-12-09T13:28:00.000-08:00

Hey Ya'll this is Kelly's blog, and she too is offering a chance to win this awesome HP touchsmart computer... Please go check this out. You cant win if you dont click the link !!!

Check out this contest.

2009-12-09T13:13:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

Sorry I have not blogged in a long time, but I want you all to stop what you are doing and go check out this contest. http://mckgiveaways.blogspot.com/2009/12/hp-touchsmart-giveaway.html
You too could win an HP Touchsmart computer.. GO CHECK THIS OUT.. and while you are there, read up about this amazing family, and their miraculous son Stellen who recently had a complicated heart procedure that CURED him from SVT !!!
GO NOW,
http://mckgiveaways.blogspot.com/2009/12/hp-touchsmart-giveaway.html

Lots of Love,
Shel

Oct. 19th, a day late

2009-10-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
Sorry I have not written lately... life has been busy.
Yesterday Chris and I celebrated our 13th wedding Anniversary. It's hard to believe we have been married for so long, yet we feel we have been married forever. I am so madly in love with him, more so than I was 13yrs ago, and every day even more. I feel like we have never gotten over the honeymoon stage. I can just stare at him for hours. I love spending all my time with him and the kids, and the more we are together as a family, the happier we are. He makes me so very happy, and fills my life with so much love. Man, I just love him to pieces. Chris has made being married for 13yrs a piece of cake, and the happiest years of my life.

I met Chris when I was 13yrs old. I was starting out as a freshman, and I had Algebra with him. We never dated in highschool, but we were friends, and there was always something about him. I would have never guessed I would marry him 5yrs later.

We really dont do much to celebrate our Anniversary or Birthday's except for every few years. Last year we went on a cruise with his family to celebrate our anniversary, his twin uncle's bday, his sister's birthday, and his grandparents 60th anniversary. This year, we had 2 sick little girls at home, but we snuck out to a resturate 3 blocks from our house and had the quickest Anniversary dinner ever. I just stared at him and couldnt stop smiling and thinking, 13 YEARS!! I am blessed. We are blessed.

Thanks babe for making all my dreams come true.
Thanks for loving me and giving me your all.
Thanks for being the best husband and father in the entire world.
Thanks for making my heart so very happy.

I love you so much,
Shel

Heaven's newest angel

2009-09-21T07:38:00.000-07:00

My Uncle Jaime has been sick in the hospital for a week now. He had Pneumonia, and started to respond to the antibiotics. Then his heart stopped and they got it going again with just a few compressions. My mother flew out to New Jersey yesterday and took my Nannie up to visit him. He is Nannie's brother. 3 hrs after their visit he passed away. I am so greatful that my mother got their in time for Nannie to go see him and say goodbye. Uncle Jaime was the coolest man I have ever met. Im so greatful to have known him, and that my children got to know him as well. Kathryn remembers him as "crazy hair guy". Which is really funny because his brother Mossey, I knew him as "oreo cookie guy". I remember when they came up for my sister's birthday, and he was so impressed that we were playing Euchre. He wanted to sit and watch us play. He was so proud because this was an old Irish game and that being our heritage just impressed him. He also liked to do drinks and shots with us and was so much fun to hang out with. I will always be reminded of him when I play Euchre, and will always have a smile on my face thinking of his crazy hair, and his love for his family. I miss you so much already.

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-07T14:13:00.001-07:00

We went home this weekend and has a fabulous BUSY weekend.
Friday night we went out with friends. We went Kareokeing and had a great time. I cant believe I actually got up and sang. Then on Sat, we went out to dinner with the family to celebrate Kathryn's 13th birthday. She wanted Chinese and it was very yum. She got many nice presents, and even got a laptop and a bag of her fav. chips. I think she was very, very spoiled. Then Sat. night Chris and I , and Jen and Chad all took the kids to the Circus. It was AWESOME. We havent been since Katey and Brandon were little, and we are going to start going every year. I dont know how many times I screamed OH MY GOD, and LOOK AT THAT. It was fantastic. Next year, we need to get everyone to go and get group tickets. Sunday we went to Jen and Chad's to celebrate Emma's birthday. We had a very nice time and had a bonfire after. It was a very fun, busy weekend. Now we are home, and I am just exhausted. I hope everyone had a safe fun weekend as well.

P.S. My friend Natalie's daughter Sam and her boyfriend Zach made it safely home.

Samantha Jacobs and Zach Knox missing 1 week

2009-09-04T09:04:00.000-07:00

UPDATE 9/4/09 3pm
SAM AND ZACH
ARE COMING HOME!
Plans are being made to go get them in California.
Thanks for everyone's prayers and support.

**************************

Samantha Jacobs and Zach Knox age 16,
have been missing from Moline Illinois for 1 week now.

Zach plays the guitar and may try busking
or show up at open mic nights to make money.

Sam has her right eyebrow pierced.

1999 maroon Lumina with IL plate number K177427

They left sometime on Aug. 28th and had been believed to be headed to Austin Texas or New York. As of 9/1/09, we had confirmation that the kids were in fact in Seattle Washington, and have since notified their parents that they have left the area. They could be headed anywhere.

They have little to no money. If you see them, please contact
Detective O'Brien 309-797-0401

Please keep the parents in your prayers. This is really taking a toll on them. Please also keep the kids in your prayers. We all want them home safe. Thank you for checking in and for sharing our story. Please continue to spread this to everyone you know. Just imagine if this was your child. You would want everyone doing everything they can to help bring them home safely.

Samantha Jacobs & Zach Knox still missing

2009-09-01T06:19:00.000-07:00

Samantha Jacobs and Zach Knox
have been missing since 8/28/09.
They are missing from Moline, Illinois and may
be traveling to Austin, Texas or New York.
They're 16 years old.

Sam has her right eyebrow pierced.

Zach plays the guitar and may try busking
or show up at open mic nights to make money.

They're driving a 1999 maroon Lumina with
IL plate number K177427.
If you see them please contact
the Moline PD at 309-736-5642.

*******************************************************************
UPDATES :

9/1/09

Unfortunatly, we have nothing to update at this time. All we hope is that they are safe for now, and that we want them to come home. If you read this please take a good look at their picture, we are hoping that somebody will recognize them and help us bring them home. Please share this site and our story with everyone you know. The more people who see their picture and have the information about the car, the better the chances we have of getting them home safely.

8/31/09 - 10:22am

After talking to Sam for about an hour via email last night (masked IP addy, unfortunately) the only real new info I gleaned is that Zach doesn't have his phone any longer, either, he just didn't leave it at home. Hopefully he ditched it someplace where someone might find it and use it so we'd get at least an idea of which direction they went. Sam assures me they're fine and have a plan and said they'll "only" be gone for a year and a half at most. She spoke of the plan in general terms - nothing specific except that the future she'd mapped for herself wasn't the future she wanted and she felt trapped and wanted to focus on her writing. She didn't say anything specific about Zach's plan but it's safe to assume it involves his music. That's really all the new info I have but I'll keep people posted as she contacts me.

Original Post

8/28/09 - 9:34 pm
These are the details as we know them:

This morning, Sam was dropped off at Moline High School, where she is a junior, by her dad. By our best estimation, she then met up with her boyfriend, Zach Knox, and drove to Prospect Park where they left Zach's car. They then went to Samantha's dad's house and stole his vehicle...I want to say it's a Lumina but I'm hazy on that and will have to check.Yesterday Samantha cleaned out her savings account and cashed her paycheck - roughly $300. Zach had a little money as well.Zach took his guitars, clothes and laptop but left his various IDs at home, including his drivers license. Samantha, on the other hand, packed virtually nothing (not even her cell phone) but took her wallet and ID.Last week Samantha checked a book out of the library that was titled something like "A Guide to US Hostels". Zach's family found evidence that he'd been researching Austin, Texas on their home computer. They both expressed interest in attending college in New York - for Samantha it was a rabid interest, so there's every possibility that may be their destination.I'm appealing to their friends to please, please think back on anything that might now seem important that might not have seemed so at the time. Any comment, any kind of connections anywhere on the road - anything at all like that. There is very definite concern here for more than a few reasons, one of which is that Samantha's dad (who is a mechanic) said that the car they're driving is not fit for a trip like this. This isn't just a matter of "Oh they'll come home when they're done being kids" - there is a very real risk to their safety and the sooner we can close the net around them, the better. If I've tagged you I would appreciate it if you left yourself tagged until they're returned home safely - you never know if a friend of a friend might see it and remember something that might be of help. I'm asking you as a mother - a very tortured mother who honestly can't understand what I'm supposed to do right now - to help if you can.

Help find Samantha Jacobs and Zach Knox

2009-08-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

Sam and Zach have been missing since 8/28/09.

They are missing from Moline, Illinois and may be

traveling to Austin, Texas or New York.

Zach plays the guitar and may try busking or

show up at open mic nights to make money.

Sam has her right eyebrow pierced. They're 16 years old.

They're driving a 1999 maroon Lumina with IL plate number K177427.

If you see them please contact the Moline PD at 309-736-5642.

*******************************************************************

UPDATES :

8/31/09 - 10:22am

After talking to Sam for about an hour via email last night (masked IP addy, unfortunately) the only real new info I gleaned is that Zach doesn't have his phone any longer, either, he just didn't leave it at home. Hopefully he ditched it someplace where someone might find it and use it so we'd get at least an idea of which direction they went. Sam assures me they're fine and have a plan and said they'll "only" be gone for a year and a half at most. She spoke of the plan in general terms - nothing specific except that the future she'd mapped for herself wasn't the future she wanted and she felt trapped and wanted to focus on her writing. She didn't say anything specific about Zach's plan but it's safe to assume it involves his music. That's really all the new info I have but I'll keep people posted as she contacts me.

Original Post
8/28/09 - 9:34 pm

These are the details as we know them:

This morning, Sam was dropped off at Moline High School, where she is a junior, by her dad. By our best estimation, she then met up with her boyfriend, Zach Knox, and drove to Prospect Park where they left Zach's car. They then went to Samantha's dad's house and stole his vehicle...I want to say it's a Lumina but I'm hazy on that and will have to check.Yesterday Samantha cleaned out her savings account and cashed her paycheck - roughly $300. Zach had a little money as well.Zach took his guitars, clothes and laptop but left his various IDs at home, including his drivers license. Samantha, on the other hand, packed virtually nothing (not even her cell phone) but took her wallet and ID.Last week Samantha checked a book out of the library that was titled something like "A Guide to US Hostels". Zach's family found evidence that he'd been researching Austin, Texas on their home computer. They both expressed interest in attending college in New York - for Samantha it was a rabid interest, so there's every possibility that may be their destination.I'm appealing to their friends to please, please think back on anything that might now seem important that might not have seemed so at the time. Any comment, any kind of connections anywhere on the road - anything at all like that. There is very definite concern here for more than a few reasons, one of which is that Samantha's dad (who is a mechanic) said that the car they're driving is not fit for a trip like this. This isn't just a matter of "Oh they'll come home when they're done being kids" - there is a very real risk to their safety and the sooner we can close the net around them, the better. If I've tagged you I would appreciate it if you left yourself tagged until they're returned home safely - you never know if a friend of a friend might see it and remember something that might be of help. I'm asking you as a mother - a very tortured mother who honestly can't understand what I'm supposed to do right now - to help if you can.

Fantastic weekend

2009-07-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful weekend we had with Candice and Tara and all the kids, we even got to see our George. Friday we met Chris at the train downtown, and took a cab to the Hard Rock Cafe to meet the gang. We had a yummy dinner and the boys were pretty bonkers. There was this rocker looking guy that was a waitor, and Brandon and Josh kept giving him the rock on, whats up every time he passed them. Then they had a few birthday's and anniversaries and a whole lot of yelling that all the kids had fun getting in on. Then we all walked to the Hancock building. We went up to the top and enjoyed a hazy view, but it was still very fun. The kids really enjoyed running around and looking out. Then we walked to the hotel that they were all staying at and hung out for a while and waited for our train. Fun times.

Sat, we went back downtown to meet up with everyone for some beach fun. George met us there with his girlfriends brother and a little later V showed up. We had a great time watching the kids play in the sand and in the waves. We had a picnic on the beach and had plans to go to the fireworks, but everyone was pretty tired so we all just nixed it. Chris and I walked to the train with the kids and got some sushi on the way. It was a wonderful treat to end a fantastic weekend hanging with family and friends.

Sun, we just pretty much relaxed and went to Costco. Went to bed early.

This week, we dont have much planned. 2 days of tutoring for boy, and cleaning for the rest of the week... We got friends coming up this weekend for a warrior dash.. should be great fun.
Shel

Break my heart

2009-07-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

Well we went to 6 flags and to my sister's house over the weekend. Chris got off work early on Thursday so we headed to 6 flags to enjoy a few hours. Then we got a hotel room and spent a full day at 6flags on Friday. We spent most of the day in the water park, and had a wonderful time.

We played a lot in the wave pool because it was warm. The little kid section had FREEZING cold water which I couldn't understand. Anyway, we enjoyed the warm wave pool. This little black girl came up to me when I was teaching Ashlyn how to swim. She smiled and watched us and I smiled back at her. She asked if I was teaching Ash to swim and I said Yes. She asked how, so I told her what to do and she tried it. I was telling both girls what a good job they were doing and the little girl was sooo excited I was teaching her. Then Katey came up and smiled at the girl and the buzzer went off that the waves were going to start again. Katey said come on to the girl and they both went off into the water to jump the waves... When the waves would stop, they would come back and we would practice swimming again. We did this for about an hour and it was time to go. We thanked her for playing with us and left. When we were walking out, Katey said that little girl broke my heart mom. I asked why and she said the little girl told her that white people don't like black people. Katey just looked at her and sighed and said I know, but those people are not nice. But I like everyone. And the little girl smiled and said, I know! This broke my heart, but also made me so proud. Its sad that this little girl at 6 yrs old has been affected by racism, its just terrible. But I was so proud of my Katey, she acknowledged that it does happen, and that she thinks those people are not nice, and made it very clear that she likes everyone. It was the first experience that Kathryn has had with this sort of thing, and I was just so proud of how she handled it.

We went to Cassie's after 6 flags and saw her new house, met her really cool neighbors and had a 4Th of July party and watched fireworks. We had a wonderful weekend.

Shel

Family time

2009-07-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

Brandon looking at the screen.

Blankets all set out, Ash cheesin

Our very own uni-bomber(sp?)

Ashlyn lovin on her Mama before the show.

I had a blast tonight watching a Sharktales under that stars with the kids and their friends. Luckily for us, we moved into a WONDERFUL little town that is very family orientated. The do stuff all summer long to get familys out doing stuff together. On of the things they do (for free) is put on a movie at the town center. You just bring a blanket and snacks and enjoy a movie under the stars. They even put on concerts on the weekends, and do a fantastic 4th of july full day of fun. I love that this town is so into familys and giving kids and parents stuff to do.

Anyway, just had a fantastic night and wanted to share.

Oh and what was really amazing... people in this community actually care about their community. I was blown away when we got all pack up and the place wasnt a little bucket, almost every picked up after themselves and left the place looking great... way to go people, now if we can only pass this on to the rest of the world... care about family's, give your families and children fun things to do (cheap, if not free) and pick up after yourselves.. holy cow, New Lenox is onto something here.

Enjoy the pics,

Im off to bed.

Shel

Twitter

2009-07-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

www.twitter.com/myshel04

Shel

summer

2009-07-01T07:37:00.000-07:00

Not much going on here except for enjoying summer.
We went on vacation with Chris' family and had a wonderful time.
It's so nice having the resort to ourselves and only having family around. It's so nice to be able to let the kids run and not have to worry about weirdo's. Its a blast to watch them play with all their cousins for a week. The fishing was pretty good this year, and we even had a movie night under the stars. Uncle Wes has a projector and projected a movie on the side of a cabin. We did Tonka pies by the fire, and Chris even broke it out in the morning and did eggs, sausage, and pancakes on the fire. It was def. a great time.

The kids have been enjoying being back home and seeing their friends. Brandon has been invited to a party, invited to a beach, and invited to go to a baseball game.... he says this is so far his best summer vacation. Chris and I are hoping to get 6flags season passes, and cant wait to go to the water park and the rides. Also I cant wait to make it up to my sister's new house very soon, oh and being JULY my baby neice will be turning 3 on July 6th!!

I'll update soon with new pics and stuff.
Lots of Love,
Shel

School's out for summer !!!

2009-06-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

YIPPIE !!!

I am so excited that school is out, and I have all my kids home for the summer. Summer is my most favorite time of the year. We get to stay up late, and sleep in. We get to go on vacation, and just be together all the time.

My sister Cassie and her kids, and her st. benard Bella have been staying with us since June 1st. They are staying with us until they close on their new house on June 12th. We will be very sad to see them go, and especially Bella. It's been really nice haveing a dog in the house.

We are very excited that vacation starts in 2 days. We are going to Brookside Cottages in Grawn Michigan for a week of fishing and fun with Chris' family. It's so nice to rent the entire resort out and have family all around. It's nice to not have to worry about the weirdo's in cabin whatever, because its all Aunts, Uncles, Cousin's and Grandparents. It just makes vacation so much more relaxing. Vacation will be bittersweet this year, as this will be our first vacation without Grandma Dorothy, but I know she would want us all to have a great time. She never wanted us to worry about her, and she is enjoying heaven with her husband, brothers, and all her family and friends who went before her. She would want us to be very happy for her, and to enjoy ourselves, but it is so much easier to say than to do.

I am so blessed that I was able to help her in her last few days. I know how much she loved each and every one of us, and I know she knew hos much we loved her. I was honored to be able to hold her hand, and comfort her in her last moments. I could see the love and appreciation in her eyes, and its amazing how much those eyes spoke to you, when she just couldnt get the words out. But she would let you know with a shake of her head, a quick smile, and a squeeze of her hand. She was so brave and so strong in her last few days, and she didnt want us to worry about her at all. We would ask how her pain was and she would reply "I'm fine" even though we could see her wince in pain. She was the most amazing, loving, caring, brave women I have ever met. I am so blessed to have been her Grand-daughter in law.

Ok, enough of that....
I gotta go pack for vacation.

LOVE TO YOU ALL !!!!
Shel

Grandma Dorothy

2009-05-29T09:13:00.001-07:00

Dorothy Power
February 07, 1914 - May 26, 2009

Dorothy Power, 95, of East Moline, died May 26, 2009 at her home. Funeral services will be 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at Christ United Methodist Church, East Moline. Visitation will be Tuesday from 4-7 p.m. at Esterdahl Mortuary & Crematory, Ltd. 6601-38th Ave., Moline. Burial will be in Greenview Memorial Gardens, East Moline. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Christ United Methodist Church Kitchen Fund. Dorothy was born February 7, 1914 on the Rock Island Arsenal to Percy and Cora (Cox) Skelton. She married Hiram Blaker Power on June 29, 1935. He preceded her in death in 1993. She was a member of Christ United Methodist Church, East Moline where she was involved in their women’s group. She was also a member of the Geneseo C.C. She was an avid golfer and enjoyed sewing, knitting, baking and socializing at the Colona Senior Center. She took great delight in spending time with her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She is survived by Son Jim (Carol) Power East Moline Grandchildren Jen Pfaff Rock Island Chris (Michelle) Power New Lenox, IL Jay Power Vashon Island, WA Great grandchildren Kathryn, Brandon and Ashlyn Power Blaker and Carter Pfaff Malacky Power Brother Raymond Skelton Sister Grace Wongstrom She was preceded in death by her five brothers and one sister.

Happy Birthday Chris

2009-05-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

Today is Chris' 33rd birthday.

Happy Birthday sweet heart,
I love you so very very much.
I hope you have a really wonderful day.

Shel

blah's

2009-05-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

Not much is going on today. We had a nice weekend, but didnt get as much done as we had hoped. Chris has been trying to get our riding law mower fixed and so far not any luck. Nobody has tires for it, and we are going to have to special order them. Not terrible, but def. not what we were hoping for. He was going to just weed eat the front yard, and I borrowed the neighbors push mower instead. The back yard isnt a problem because most of it is flowers and trees.

We went to the neighbors yesterday and helped get things ready for their fundraising garage sale. Kaitlyn is going on a foreign exchange type thing in Australia, and they are raising funds for that. This is Katey's best friend Allison's sister. She is 13 and a really great kid. This will be an amazing experiance for her. We are donating Katey's old bike which is in excellent condition, and Chris is making a ton of baked goods to give away with donations. After setting that all up, we ordered pizza then chilled out by the fire, relaxing. It was a nice time.

We are now down to 12 full days of school and 1 one hour day of school left till summer... I CANT WAIT !!! My sister and her kids will be staying with us for 2 weeks - 1 mth, until they close on their new house. It will be real nice having the kids here to play together, and Cassie and I plan on cleaning out closets and going thru all kind of crap to get everything organized around here. (Organization is not my specialty.)

As far as the working out, I am still at it, and hopefully will start showing some results soon. I am not feeling great today, and really hope I am not coming down with the flu, so I am going to rest for the remainder of the night.

Lots of Love,
Shel

Good bye

2009-05-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

Good bye fat ass, good bye flabby tummy, I am just plain ole sick and tired of you. You have not been good to me. You pretend to be my friend, but I have had enough. I banish you from me. I will not go lightly, but I will go with a vengence. Be gone, I dont like you anymore, nothing you say can change my opinion. Dont tempt me with soda and chocolates, dont tempt me with anything, I dont like you anymore... what dont you understand? We can not be friends anymore.

Now, with that being said, I will post daily about my fight against the flab. I am cutting out all soda, including on weekends, and I vow to excercise a whole hell of a lot more from here on out. With that being said, I am getting my booty off this computer and I am going for a jog with the children.

Chris, Katey, Brandon, and Ashlyn,
I promiss you will have a hot mama soon.
I love you very much.
Shel aka, Mommy.

summer is coming

2009-05-12T13:33:00.001-07:00

Every day we are getting closer and closer to summer vacation for the kids. This is my most fav. time of the year. I LOVE when the kids are home, and I absolutly hate when they go back to school. It also means we start counting down till "the fishing trip". We go to Michigan every year with Chris' entire family and rent out a resort for the entire week. Its so nice to have the entire family around, and its really nice that we have enough people to rent the entire resort to ourselves. Nothing nicer than letting your kids run free and not worry about the weirdo in cabin number 5. This year my sister may be coming with. They have 3 kids and a ski boat, this will be so much fun. I wish my family would do something like this, but we never have. Cassie also may be moving in with us for a few weeks. They just put an offer on a home, but have to be out of their rental by June 1st. Im looking forward to a few weeks with my sis and my neices and nephew. Ok, well I gotta go get something done.

Lots of Love,
Shel

Kevin Matthew Kruse

2009-05-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

Kevin Matthew Kruse

November 7, 2005 - May 2, 2008

Has it really been a year?
I sit here today, in this beautiful sunny day, and I am so very sad. 1 yr ago today, our friends Matt and Dawn lost their 2.5yr old son Kevin. Kevin was born with many heart problems, but he survived so many problems. He was so amazing. This little boy could make anyone smile. He was so happy, so strong, he was just the most perfect little boy ever. If you just met him, you would NEVER believe everything he's been through. For me, since I never had to give him medications, the only real reminder was when you picked him up and you felt his pacemaker or his scar. Man, it was so easy to forget this strong beautiful boy had been so very sick.

I remember the last time I saw him. We didnt live in the Quad Cities anymore, so we didnt see him that often. But the last time I remember seeing him, we were over playing cards. He sat in my lap and just giggled and smiled at me. He'd snuggle in and I'd pop out his pacifier and he'd start cracking up laughing. He usually had a few of them so he'd just pop in another one. Then he'd quiet down, and slowly look up at me again and smile... POP, I'd take that one out too, and everytime I'd lay it on the take so he could pop another one back in. He would just start cracking up laughing over and over again. I wish that night could have gone on forever for all of us. The Kruse's, the Tackett's, and the Power's, and all of our fav. little man. Man, I really do miss you little guy.

Matt, Dawn, and Emily,
I love you guys very much, and I am so sorry for the loss of Kevin. I am so greatful that we got to know Kevin, and share in how wonderful he was. He is so missed by many. We are thinking about you today, and sending our love to you.

Shel, Chris,
Kathryn, Brandon, and Ashlyn.

May Day !

2009-05-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

May day is here. I am excited about May, and also sad too.
Tomorro May 2nd, marks 1 yrs since our friends lost their son, Kevin Matthew Kruse, at age 2 1/2 yrs old. Man, this little guy was the cutest thing ever, and year later, his loss is still very strong. I miss you Kevy.
I'll write more about him tomorro.

Also May marks the last month of school for the kids. I cant WAIT for summer vacation. May 10th is Mother's day. May 19th is Chris' birthday, and all those damn April showers are going to be bringing me beautiful May flowers. My yard is already looking so purdy!

Also, I am going to try and do another month of daily posts.
We will see!

Happy May Day,
Shel

S.H.I.T (So happy it's thursday)

2009-04-30T11:04:00.001-07:00

Ok, so my basment is flooded, the laundry is soaked, the cat pissed on the piles of laundry so cat poop fell onto my feet, and cat pee smelling water ran down my arms, and I lost it. I was a crying mess. Now I have all the wet stuff washed and am finally starting on the dry laundry, and this morning it started raining again. The backyard is a swamp, around the house is a swamp, the driveway is a swamp. Im going to pull my freaking hair out. Add to all this, my Great Uncle Don passed away Wed. morning. So sad.

Ok, now that all that is out of the way... on to some better news.
We went home last weekend and got to meet up with some friends I had not seen in years. When I say years, I mean since high school. My friends Kelli, and Natalie met up with Chris and I and we had a BLAST. Our friends Nathan and Jeni, and Matt and Dawn came out for a while too. It was sooo nice having dinner with the Tacketts and the Kruse's. Man, I miss the whole gang. But we had a very good time. I cant wait to come home again and hang out with everyone.

School is quickly coming to an end. I cant wait for summer vacation. Ashlyn's preschool is already practicing for their "graduation". They have a few songs to sing, then she gets to bump up to a kindersprout.. It's like a 4-K prekindergarten class. I am so excited for her. She has loved meeting new friends, and playing and singing. However, every boy in her class calls her their girlfriend... Seriously? She's only 3!!!
Kathryn is excited to be going to Jr. High next year. I cant believe she will be in 7th grade. She is so smart, beautiful, and a really amazing kid. Brandon moves up to middle school, and in 4th grade has sooo many new opportunities in this new school. Choir, Drama club, basketball, all kinds of after school stuff. I am just looking forward to having them home with me every day, and sleeping in.

Ok Im outta here,
Lots of Love,
Shel

Bring on the rain

2009-04-22T07:35:00.000-07:00

It has been gloomy, and rainy here forever.
This weather always makes me so bummed, but I think it has that effect on everyone. I have been trying to not let it get the best of me, and Ashlyn and I will walk in the rain with our arms streatched out and our heads looking towards the sky. We twirl in circles and sing... BRING ON THE RAIN !!! I figure I would rather it rain now while I have tons of cleaning to do, than later in the week when I will be done cleaning and can go outside and enjoy the 80 degree weather we are supose to get.

I am getting sooo excited that we are getting closer and closer to the end of the school year. I am looking forward to summer vacation, sleeping in,and having all my kid's home everyday. Im also excited that my sister just accepted an offer on her house, and cant wait to start doing fun stuff with her and the kids. AND its excited that she and I are both looking to buy a new house. It will be great to be able to paint the walls and do whatever we want without having to ask a landlord for permission.

Well thats all for now, gotta get cleaning Mr. sun is poking his head out. YEAH !
Shel

Camping

2009-04-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

I am really excited. Tonight we are going camping, and it is the first time Ashlyn will go camping. I cant wait to see what she thinks of sleeping in a tent, under the stars. We have hotdogs, and smores, and we are going with our neighbors. It should be a fun night. I just need to finish packing and as soon as Chris gets home, we are to Starved Rock. But first I need a sleeping bag, and an air mattress, and I have to pack my fan. Who camps without an air mattress and fan?? I am also excited that Chris gets to use his brand new tent.

Ok, off to finish packing.
Shel

Easter in New Jersey

2009-04-12T20:42:00.001-07:00

So we decided to come spend Easter in New Jersey with my Grandparents... Nannie and Pop-pop. We have never had a holiday with them and our children, and with Pop-pop's heath not being so well, I didnt want to put it off much longer. I am sooo glad we came. We have had the most wonderful time. We didnt tell Nannie we were coming, and she was quite surprised ( and a little pissed we didnt tell her). But she warmed up pretty quick when she saw the kids with Pop-pop. Kathryn is facinated by Pop-pop's history and stories he tells of his life. We could barely keep her out of his room. Pop-pop stays in his room because he gets too weak. So we went up to his room to visit him so he didnt have to worry about it. Kathryn spent most of her time at his bedside chatting away. Brandon and Ashlyn would pop in and out of his room, but they played so well and really entertained Nannie, and Aunt Peach (My mom's sister Doreen). Chris and I ran to a few stores to get Easter shopping done, and we got groceries for Easter dinner. I didnt want Nannie worrying about feeding all of us. I bought a ham, potatoes, sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, cranberry's, and cantelope. (It's what Pop-pop wanted). We even bought some Humus and tortilla chips, which Nannie couldn't believe we were eating. We were supose to go to the statue of Liberty on Sat, but it poured rain till almost 6pm. Sat night Mom, myself and Doreen played Easter bunny. The kids were so afraid the Easter bunny would come to the hotel and not to Nannie and Pop-pop's house because they wanted Nannie to see them get their baskets. Brandon made everyone pray that the Easter Bunny would go there and not here.... he wasnt disapointed. Sunday, we all got dressed up and went over. Everyone was so excited to see the kids all dressed up, even Kathryn. We decided to take a drive to see the Statue of Liberty and Mom and Aunt Peach came with (good thing we have the van.) We went to Liberty State park and saw the statue from a distance.... it was still amazing to see from the distance. Chris also heard about a 9/11 teardrop memorial from the Russians and we found that too. It was very emotional to see. We made it back in time to start dinner..... Nannie actually let me cook in HER kitchen. She didnt even stand over me, she stayed out of the way. Everyone was very shocked, including me and Pop-pop. Dinner was wonderful, and Nannie thanked me for all of it. We played around for a while and then it was time to say goodbye to Pop-pop. We are leaveing early in the morning and he wont be up yet. It's hard to say goodbye, but we really did have a fantastic time, and I am really glad we finally made it back out to see them. Pop-pop was very proud of how well behaved the children were, and was amazed that the kids wanted to hear so much about him. He cant believe how much Kathryn and Brandon really look out for Ashlyn. He cant believe how much they have all grown. He gave me a hug and told me and Chris that we are wonderful parents, and that he has not been this happy in years, and that we really made his weekend. I hope we can get back out here this summer and actually get to go to the Statue of Liberty and go inside the monument... I am hoping Chris' dad will come with us too.

Anyway,
Happy Easter.
Lots of Love,
Shel

doing better

2009-04-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

Things are getting better here at the Power House. Nobody else has gotten sick,and Ash is def. better. We went home over the weekend and had a great time. We had an Easter celebration with Chris' family, and a HUGE Easter egg hunt. The kids LOVED it. I think its the best Easter turn out we have had in years. Then we hung out with Barbie and her boyfriend Paul, aka Buddy. We had a great time and Cassie and Mike came along too. We played some games and really enjoyed the company. Then we had a really nice lunch at Ryan's to celebrate Grandma Milan coming home. It was a great time seeing everyone and hanging out with everyone. We even got to see our Moo Moo. Such a great weekend.

I am now doing laundry, and cleaning, and preparing to go to New Jersey this weekend to visit my Nannie and Pop-Pop. I cant wait. But anyone who reads this and knows Nannie and Pop-Pop,,,, SHHHH ! Nannie doesnt know yet, but Pop-pop does. This will be a great surprise.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter.
Shel

Ashlyn

2009-03-31T20:11:00.000-07:00

Well I am sitting here night 3 in the hospital with Ashlyn.
Sunday night Katey wasnt feeling very well and ended up puking on the top of the stairs, we got that cleaned up and Ash started puking. Then Katey ran "to the bathroom" and 2 mins later Ashlyn yells... "I have to poop right NOW". In a matter of 3 hrs Ashlyn was puking every 20 mins, and was up to 14x's. I took her to the ER where she pukes as we arrived and they took us straight back. Then they gave her and IV and she puked again, so they gave her some nausia medication. She was extremly dehydrated and her blood pressure was low, and her heart rate was high. Her blood came back with really low electrolights and they decided to admit her. We are now on our 3rd night here and she is still miserable. Her blood pressure and heart rate have returned to normal, but then she started spiking fevers, and her tummy is hurting her really bad tonight. I am hoping this will start getting better and we can go home tomorro. So far tonight her fever hasnt come back so maybe thats a good sign. She's very crabby, but I think she's entitled to feel crappy.

Well, I am gonna see if she will go to sleep, I am exhausted.
Shel

Kit Kat

2009-03-26T17:10:00.000-07:00

My poor little Katey has had this aweful rash for 2 mths now.
We went into the peds office and the nurse pract. said it was extremly dry skin and to shower less frequently and use a ton of lotion. That didnt help. Then we went back in because she had strep, they gave her antibiotics and hydrocortizone cream for the rash. Then we went back in because the rash wasnt getting better and they gave her prednizone. Then we go back in again and they said it was scabies. We treated her for scabies and it was WORSE the next day. We went to the dermatologist and she said it was NOT scabies, but she wasnt sure what it was. She gave her a steroid shot and said she would be feeling better by the time we got home.... NOPE.... We went back to the ped today for a follow up and he said its even worse than the last time he saw it and immediatly got on the phone with Children's Memorial Hospital downtown Chicago and she has an appt tomorro at 1. This is after he had to beg and pull in all the favors to get her in. The last 3 times we have been there he has waived all charges. I tell you, this is the best pediatrician I have even seen. He is totally concerned about the patient not his wallet.

I will update tomorro what they say at Childrens.
Shel

Kathryn's speech against violence

2009-03-23T11:17:00.000-07:00

Kathryn is giving a speech today and tomorrow in all the science classes in 6th grade. She wasnt happy about how boring the bullying assembly's they have at the school and talked to her Principal about it. She told him it was very boring and repetitive, and that the kids dont even pay attention to it anymore. And she told him how important this is to her and about her cousin Adrianne. He was very impressed with her. She wrote a new speech and is giving it today and tomorrow. She's very excited about this.

Here is her speech.

Hi, Most of you know me, but for those of you who don’t my name is Kathryn, those of you who do know me, you know I am a silly, hyper, crazy person. But today I come to you to discuss something very serious.

Raise your hand, if any of you have ever not liked someone.
Raise your hand, if any of you have ever said, or heard someone say “I could just kill her or him”.
Raise your hand if you know anyone who has ever been bullied.

I am going to tell you guys about someone I know who was bullied…..my 16yr old cousin Adrianne Reynolds…. Adrianne lived in Texas and moved to Illinois to live with her dad, my Uncle Tony. Adrianne was pretty, funny, and very quickly became popular at her new school. Unfortunately, there was another girl at her school who was jealous of Adrianne’s new popularity. She started bullying my cousin. She told Adrianne she was going to kill her. She told other people at school that she hated her and was going to kill her. Nobody took her seriously because people say that and don’t mean it………. They were wrong.

Adrianne was killed when I was only 8yrs old….. Adrianne’s murder was very hard on the entire family, but try being a kid when it happens…. I would like to turn my loss into something positive to help other people. Adrianne was killed because of jealousy, and hatred. I can not imagine killing or hurting someone because of jealousy, hate, or any reason at all. I would like to do my part to encourage others to make wise choises and to be responsible for their actions, this is why I am speaking to you today.

I am choosing to stand up against violence, and to speak out to others in hopes that other people will think about what they are doing and feeling, and think about the choices they make. We are the future and we need to stop the violence together, but I can not do it alone. The future depends on you.If you know of someone who is being bullied…. speak up.If you don’t get involved they will keep getting bullied until something bad happens.. It’s easy to think that this wont happen to you, or to someone you know…. But it happened to ME, to MY family.

I am really trying to do my part to prevent this sort of violence from happening again….
But I need help.

Wednesday

2009-03-18T07:11:00.000-07:00

Not much going on, just waiting on some lab results for Ashlyn.
We had a great weekend with my sister... aside from Ashlyn barfing all over Trysta while she was sleeping, everything was great. We went downtown to American Girl store and Trysta picked out a new doll and PJ's that match for her and her dolly. Then we caught up to the boys just in time to see them dye the river green. It was really cool. Then on Sunday Brandon sang in the choir and even had a solo. Aunt Cassie was in tears as she has never heard how good the boy could sing and she was totally surprised. Then we went to Bass Pro Shop with Mike and Cassie and found the coolest out door mall, so Chris and I went shopping with the kids. We went to Aero and to Hollister.

Last night was Kathryn's school choir concert. They meet up with the other 6 schools in the district 122, and each school sings 3 songs, then they all combine for 1 song all together at the end and they sing "This is why we sing". Truely a beautiful song.

Now, if only this week would hurry up and get over.
Lots of Love,
Shel

It's finally Friday

2009-03-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

Yippie,
Whoop Whoop,
HURRAY!

Its Friday, Friday the 13th even, and my sister is coming for the weekend!
I am soooo excited. They will be here tonight around 7, so the kids can have a little while together before bed. Then we will be on the 8:30 train tomorrow morning headed for downtown Chicago. Tryton LOVES trains, and I cant wait to see his reaction to riding a real train. Cassie and I are taking the girls to the American Girl store, and Mike and Chris are going to watch them die the Chicago river green. We will hopefully meet up with George sometime Sat. Then Sat night we are going to have a poker night with the neighbors. Sunday morning we have to be at church because Brandon has a small solo in the choir. And it sounds like Carol and Jim will be able to come with. So this will be a really fun, busy weekend.

Lots of Love,
Shel

Last Night

2009-03-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

Oh My Word !
Last night was aweful.
It started out really great. Dinner was on the table when Chris walked in the door. We ate dinner and got into Jammies and were all cuddled up and watching Chuch by 6:45. Then we got everyone a ice cream cone and finished our show. We got everyone's teeth brushed and all into bed by 8:15. I went up and watched American Idol, and Chris worked for a while. He finally came to bed at 10.

11:20pm.
I had a really bad dream that Chris died, and never came home from work. I jumped away and went to reach for him, and he was GONE. I went to look for him and all the lights in the house were off. He was updating my computer, checking on our plants, and setting mouse traps in the garage. I went back to bed.

1:00am
Ashlyn came in and woke me up. She wanted to ask if she could go pee. Seriously?! If you have to go pee, just go, there is no need to wake me up at night. But she also wanted to tell me that I am the best and she loves me. Ok thanks honey. Got her tucked back into bed.

2:30am
I wake up to screaming. Ashlyn is screaming her head off. I go in and she is laying in barf. I get her undressed and give her a bath. It was so nasty, in her hair, on her face, on her arm, on her back.. and it was STINKY !! I made her a bed of blankets on the floor and accidently woke up Chris in the process. We got Ashlyn all settled in and he got her a bucket. Chris immediatly falls asleep.

3:15am
Just as I am starting to fall asleep, Ashlyn starts coughing and barfing into the bucket. I am so relieved that she actually used the bucket. I bring her to the bathroom and have her rinse her mouth out, get her back in bed.

4:00am
Ashlyn is spitting into the bucket again. I take her to the bathroom, and get her mouth rinsed out. She goes pee, and put her back to bed.

5:00am
Chris' alarm starts going off. I hear it, but dont move.

6:00am
Chris' alarm goes off again, and he is way to tired and decides to stay home from work.

7:10am
My alarm goes off to wake up Kathryn, and Brandon.
Luckily I already set their clothes out the night before, so I wake them and tell them to get dressed, eat breakfast and get ready for school. Katey sets her alarm to be out to the bus ontime and I go back to bed.

8:30am
My alarm goes off again. Time to get up and get boy out the door to his bus.
Ashlyn now wakes up and is ready for the day. Chris decides to get up and log into work.
I go back to sleep and dont get up again till 10:45.

AND I AM STILL TIRED !
Shel

I am sooo irritated! SERIOUSLY

2009-03-10T11:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I went to lunch today with Ashlyn and Kathryn.
We were enjoying a nice lunch when this lady comes in with her older daughter whom had 2 children, and another daughter who appeared to be about 15yrs old. Terry-Ann was her name, and she had some kind of mental disability. She acted more like a 3yr old. Ashlyn waved to her and she ran over to say hello, which started them off yelling at her. They told her to stop it and to sit down. Every time Terry-Ann tried to talk to them, they would yell at her and tell her to stop it, or shut up, or if you dont behave you wont get your drink. Now, Terry-Ann was not even misbehaving, and she kept getting in trouble just for speaking. I SOOO wanted to tell them that Terry-Ann was behaving just fine, however they were being extremly loud and disruptive. I swear the whole place could hear their conversation and it got worse when they yelled at Terry-Ann. Even Kathryn was like, OMG mom what is she doing wrong? Then apparently she didnt eat her food fast enough and she asked if she could take it home and the mother PUNCHED her in the arm, and yelled at her again that she needed to behave and to shut up and eat her food.
At this point I couldnt handle it anymore and asked for the bill.
I should have called the police or something, but by the way they were acting I was not about to confront them, especially in front of my children. I am still disturbed. I cant believe she punched the girl in the arm!!!

Grrrr,
Shel

Visit to my Sisters

2009-03-09T10:42:00.001-07:00

Well, after a horrible week, we had a WONDERFUL and much needed weekend.

We went to my sister's new place in Wisconsin. Right now they live on a lake. Its a really nice place. The lake is completly frozen so we got to do a little shoe skating and the kids LOVED it.Mike fried up fish, and hushpuppies for dinner, and I make potato salad, and cole slaw. It was SOOOO good. Apparently when he went on a fishing trip with some buddies, they forgot to bring a marinade for the fish so they soaked it in mustard just for the heck of it, and it ended up being fantastic. So he made us the mustard fried fish and it really was fantastic. It was so good, we didnt even need tarter sauce with it. The kids had a blast playing together, and when we got them all put to bed we started drinkin and playin poker. It was soooo much fun.

Then we went to Perkins for breakfast and I had the worst potato pancakes ever, and from now on, I will just stick to Chris' potato pancakes. We went back to the house to hang out for a little bit before we headed back home. All of a sudden Mike says, ummm guys it's starting to snow. We hurried up and jumped into the van to get the heck out of town, but the blizzard came way to fast. We ended up doing 35 down the interstate and in a 2 miles stretch there were 11 cars on the side of the road or in the ditch. IT WAS CRAZY !! But we made it safely home, and I cant wait to go back up for a visit.

Thanks Mike and Cassie for inviting us to your home, and haveing such a great time.
Lots of Love,
Shel

It's finally Friday

2009-03-06T09:17:00.000-08:00

This has been a horrible week for me.
Not only did my friend from school Micah die, and I couldnt go to the funeral, but we also had to put our dog Capone down. It's been a very sad and difficult week for us.

But now, its Friday, and I am looking forward to spending the weekend with my sister Cassie. They are all moved into a house in Milwaukee and I cant wait to go see her. The house they are currently in is on a lake, and Mike cant wait to take the kids fishing. Ashlyn is looking forward to seeing her "friends". Mike now works for Harley and has bought the kids each something Harley. I havent told them yet, so he can surprise them. Cassie is getting eye surgery to correct her vision tonight, and we will be going up first thing in the morning.

Here's to a better weekend.
Shel

Micah Neff

2009-03-03T11:28:00.001-08:00

RIP Micah Neff

1977-2009

It is so very hard to believe that you are gone. I will always remember your smile, your eyes, your silly personalitly. Your ability to make everyone around you laugh. I will always think of biology class with you, and how you would take on any dare, including licking the fish, and putting the eyeball in your mouth. You were up for anything. You grossed me out, but I couldnt wait to see what you would do next. I was just telling my kids about you the other day. My daughter was disecting a frog in class and it reminded me of you. They laughed when I told them about you. All of my memories of you bring a smile to my face. You were smart, funny, kind, and I am really going to miss you. God Bless You Micah

Lots of Love,

Shel

March.. ok already

2009-03-03T08:56:00.000-08:00

So its the 3rd day of March already.
I am already ready for spring already. I even got my spring cleaning done. The house is clean, dusted, and oil soaped up the wazoo. Now I need the nicer, warmer weather to hurry up and get here.

This year, unfortunatly, we will not be in the ST. Patty's day parade in the QC. Last year our float started to break on the bridge and we were trying to get about 35 people off the float before the whole bumper fell off and injured someone. Well the one guy on the commitee threw a fit, demanded us to move it, and I wouldnt move it until we got everyone safely off. He got up in my dad's face and was screaming at him and tried to get my dad arrested because we wouldnt move the float. Once everyone was off, we moved it and the parade was able to contine. Because this guy is on the comittee he punished us by not allowing us to participate this year. So since we are not going home, Chris wants to go downtown Chicago and go to the parade there. I think it will be great fun.

Well anyway, I am just wanting spring to get here and fast.
Have a great day.
Shel

Lent

2009-02-25T16:20:00.000-08:00

Today is Ash Wednesday, and I am giving up Soda for Lent.
his is def. a sacrifice for me, because I LOVE my Coke, and Dr. Pepper. But this is a good challenge for me as I am trying to loose weight. I need to drink tons more water, and this is a great start. Oh, wish me luck !!

I am happy to write that Ashlyn is healing very very well. I took her back into the doctor today because she keeps telling me she cant hear me, so I had him check her ears and her right ear is full of fluid. It's not infected, but thats why she is having trouble hearing on that side. I also had him check on her face because one part is not healing as nice as the rest, but he says it all looks good. He gave me a steroid nasal spray to help clear up the fluid in her ears, and wants to see her back in a month. If she is still having trouble hearing then they will set up a hearing test for her. This one keeps me on my toes I swear.

Brandon is having some issues at school. He has trouble with reading and spelling and is very slow with his math. He understands his math, but he's very slow at it. Now, he is starting to act like a class clown along with 3 other boys and is becomeing a behavior problem. All 4 boys were being disruptive and throwing paper wads when they had a sub. yesterday and we got a call from his teacher this afternoon. Lets just say boy is in deep trouble. He's grounded from the Wii and his friends for 1 week. For the first 3 days, he's only allowed to read and write. The next 4 days he is allowed to watch tv, and listen to the radio, and still has to read and write. He's not happy about this at all, and has been reading for almost 3 hrs now. He's not going to be happy when we all sit down to watch tv tonight and he cant. Oh well, he's gonna learn real quick that you dont mess around at school.

Kathryn is healing well, and has a ton of homework to catch up on.
She enjoyed being home with me yesterday but isnt looking forward to all this work. She's a good student though and will have no problems getting it done. She's enjoying being back in the choir, and in drama club, and is excited to have a team vs. teachers basketball game this friday.
Lucky for me its a half day Friday !!! Whooo Hoooo !

Lots of Love,
Shel

almost a week later

2009-02-23T19:45:00.001-08:00

So much has happened since my last post.
I took Ashlyn to the plastic surgeon the day after and I questioned the "rug burn" on her face, and he said it was NOT from teeth. He said she must have fallen and rubbed against the wall, or carpet or something. It just seemed odd to us. Then on Friday, a friend of ours was over and was looking at Ashlyn and she questioned if Capone even bit her. I told her I didnt see it happen, but its just what Brandon told me. She said, to her, it looks like he pawed her face, which would make the "rug burn" make more sence. I told Chris about this and he really looked closely at her face. He said the "bite" marks, and the "rug burn" all go in the same exact direction. So its impossible that he bit her, AND she happened to rub against something to make marks that ran exactly in the same direction. But still this sounds strange to us. Well today when I went into the ped to get her stitches out, I was going to ask him if it was possible the dog scratched her, but I forgot. But he looked up at me puzzled and asked "what kind of dog did this?" I said a Great Dane. Then he looked at it some more and asked if I was sure the dog BIT her because it doesnt line up for a dog bite. So I told him I forgot to ask him about that and told him what the plastic surgeon and our neighbor said. The doctor is convinced that this is NOT a bite at all, but that he pawed her face. WHEW !

However, this doesnt leave us in the clear. He still has dominant issues when we are not there, and he still did this in a dominante manner. He growled and barked at her. I asked Brandon about this and he at first said Capone Bite her, but when i asked if it could be from his paw, and he thought about it for a min. and said he wasnt sure. I asked if he saw Capones teeth in Ashlyn's face, and he said NO. He said he heard him growl, so he yelled no and was going down the stairs when he heard Capone bark, Brandon then looked up to see Capone jump back and blood all over Ashlyn's face. So either way, Capone has some issues that need some major fixing. Luckily we have a few options. Our friend Dawn, who works for a animal welfare place back home called, and her work is willing to take him and try to place him with someone who does not have small children. So relief that Chris doesnt have to kill my dog. The other option is seeing if this place that rehabilitates aggressive animals can work with him and get him some intense training. So I am just relieved that this doesnt appear to be a dog bite, I am relieved that our friend Dawn read my blog and came to the rescue, and I am relieved that their might be a way to keep Capone and keep everyone safe. WHEW !

Ok, now on to another topic.
Today Kathryn had 3 teeth pulled. They had to put her out for this because one took was stuck in her jaw. When sh woke up and was completly "high" I was cracking up laughing at her. She was totally off the rocker hysterical, and we even video taped her first hour of being home. I cried because I was laughing so hard. She is resting now, and more comfortable. However the pain meds are now making her dizzy and slightly nautious.

Well the kids are all in bed, and I am exhausted.
I'll write more soon.
Shel

Not a good day

2009-02-18T14:59:00.000-08:00

Last night our Great Dane Capone bit Ashlyn in the face.
Dont worry she is ok.
Im mortified.
If it were about his food, we would understand because he gets nervous when the kids come around his food. But he had her doll and when she went to take it, he snapped one snap and it got her in the face. We took her to the ER and she had 5 puntures that didnt require any stitches, but he also got the corner of her mouth and that required 3 stitches. Im beside myself with sadness. Sadness that my poor little girl got bit, sadness that it hurt and she had to get stitches, sadness that she flintches when he is anywhere near her.. Dont worry he's locked in the laundry room and is only let out to go potty and eat.... But its not like he's an aggressive bully dog. He's a big lover, he's still a puppy, he's just trying to restablish were he ranks in the family. This is normal, and if he were a small dog he wouldnt have even broken the skin. But he's too big to take chances, and Chris is putting him down after the 10 day quarantine. There is no choice here, I understand and realize that we cant keep a dog who bits, but Im also really sad... he's MY dog. He was my mother's day gift, and I love him so much. He never is like this with me or Chris, and he loves all people who come to the house, he's even great with the kids when we are around. He just thinks he is the boss when we are not around, and thats not acceptable. Im so sad.

Shel

What a weekend.

2009-02-15T16:33:00.000-08:00

WOW, what a weekend.
It's a long weekend because Chris and the kids dont have school on Monday due to Presidents day. YIPPIE !!! I love long weekends. It also happened to be Valentines Day AND my sister/cousin Ellie's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLIE !!! ( I know, I know, sister/cousin?!?, she's my cousin, but I love her like my sister) We dont do much for Valentines Day, actually we dont do anything out of the ordinary for Valentines Day. Chris decided after we got married, and we were very broke all the time, that he loved me every single day, and he didnt need 1 day to tell me how much he loves me... he loves me so much every day. Also, he hates doing things because everyone else does, so we just dont do Valentines Day. However, if he brags about me or the kids at work, or to a friend, he will come home that day with flowers or surprises. It's really great. So we spent the whole day cleaning and rearranging. We dont use the basement for anything, so we moved Katey down there. It's totally finished, and you can see down to the basement from the living room, but we dont use it. Plus she thinks its cool because she has a bathroom right off of it so she says she has her own bathroom. Now Brandon and Ashlyn have their own rooms too. Nobody to get into anyone else's stuff, and everyone responsible for cleaning their own rooms. So, we have been busy hanging curtains, and hanging curtains to block you from being able to see into Katey's room from the living room. It's looking soooo cute and everyone is happy.

Well, today since everyone did such a great job yesterday, I decided to make Lobster and Shrimps for dinner. Im also making twice baked potato's, grilled asparagus, breadsticks, and my fav... sweet potato cassarole !! All's going good until we are ready to put everything on the grill and its out of propane. So off to the store Chris goes. He's back now, so Im gonna go and help grill our super yummy dinner.

Lots of Love,
Shel

We are horribly cruel parents

2009-02-08T19:29:00.000-08:00

So we went home this weekend to celebrate Grandma Dorothy's 95th birthday. We had a wonderful dinner with us, Dorothy, Carol and Jim, Jen and Chad and all the kids. Chad has a little girl Emma and Ashlyn just loves hanging out with her. We had a sweatshirt made with all the great grandkids pic on it. We had a decent pic taken last year on the fishing trip with all of them and I thought it would be great on a sweatshirt. Gma Dorothy just LOVED it.

Then we went to Nathan and Jeni's house and just hung out chatting. Its so nice to be able to hang out with friends and not have to worry about doing anything. Just chillin, watching some SNL and talking about everything and nothing. The Tacketts are great! (What up Jeni YO!)
I was even surprised when all of a sudden Chris got drunk dialed by George. (Love me some George!)

Then this morning we had a really nice breakfast with my parents, then we went and got the kids shoes. We were supose to get pics taken today but since it was so gloomy out, we decided to pass. So we washed the van at our fav. carwash with the 3 colored soap, and we got some Whitey's ice cream, then we went to see if there were any Eagles out by the Hampton dam. Then we decided to head on home.

Ok, now here is where we are so horribly cruel......
So we get on I-80 and head towards Chicago, well we have to go past Carol and Jims exit and we looked over to see if we could see their house and they were actually going down Hubbard road. So we start flashing our breaks and waving trying to get their attention. Then Chris notices in front of us is a semi being towed backwards by another semi. So he distracts them by telling them to watch for Gma Carol and Jim and he speeds up to get right behind the semi. He then yells OMG and I scream. The kids turn around to see a semi "heading right towards us". But its actually being towed. Brandon freaks out and braces himself, and Katey yells "WHAT THE !"
We then quickly start laughing and tell them its being towed and they were not very happy with us at all. But we thought it was great,,,,, until Brandon said it freaked him out so bad because of the car accident we were in 2 yrs ago.

So anyway, we are horribly cruel parents, but it was really funny.
Lots of Love,
Shel

Kathryn the vegetarian

2009-02-04T11:09:00.000-08:00

My Katey bug is 12 and is really starting to have concerns about different things. One thing she really doesnt like is that animals have to die so she can eat her dinner. She's been bothered by this for a while and finally decided to try vegetarian for a week. So far she is going great, and even has 3 of her friends trying it too. This Sat. we are having a Prime Rib dinner for Gma Dorothy's 95th birthday and she said she's going to have a small piece of that because she does like the taste of it, but she still doesnt want it to be a huge part of her every day diet. She thinks after this week she will continue to have vegetarian food, but occationally have meat. Im really proud of her for experimenting with new things, and standing up for something she really believes in. So tonight I am making corn dogs for us, and vegy corn dogs for Katey and Chris. Oh, Chris is doing the vegy for a week diet too because he wants her to feel supported.

I'll keep you updated on her progress.
Shel

Ashlyn is a preschooler

2009-02-03T17:30:00.001-08:00

Well, our baby is now a preschooler.
She loved it so much, but I'll let the pics do all the talking.

Enjoy,

Shel

Ashlyn and her new friend Bruno

Ashlyn and her new friend Zoey

Ashlyn and Mrs. Paige

Ashlyn exploring her new class

Circle time (going on a bear hunt)

What a weekend.

2009-02-02T08:24:00.000-08:00

We had a very good busy weekend.
Sat. we invited Brandon's entire class to a bowling party for him. We had 22 kids, and it was crazy. It was dark because it was cosmic bowling, so dark with flashing lights, and we didnt know hardly any of the kids. Then the kids couldnt play until we added them all, one by one onto the computer. After that it was pretty smooth. Then we let the kids invite a few friends over to watch the super bowl. It was a really good time. Now Im sitting here in a clean house and all I have to do is laundry and clean my bedroom . WHOO HOOO.

I got a call from the church, and the preschool has an opening for Ashlyn on Tues, and Thurs. afternoons, so Im hoping to get her started. She is so excited to go to school like Katey and Brandon.

Ok, off to the laundry and bedroom.
Shel

KY--- Yeah, thats what I said.

2009-01-31T20:02:00.000-08:00

So today I went to the store to get some femenine products, and I happened to take Katey with. Well as I am looking at the pads and such Katey is examining the bottles of lotion and such that are right next to the pads. She picks up a bottle of KY ( actually I have no idea what brand, but you get the point) and said, "Mom what is this?" Now she is 12 so we have had many talks about S-E-X, and I am very honest with her. I looked at her and I said, "oh Katey put that back, its for sex". Ok no big deal right? WRONG! She then with a very puzzled look on her face picks up another bottle and said "Then why is this one strawberry flavored". I took a deep breath, smiled, then looked at her and said "Do you really want to know?" She waited for a moment, covered her face and said "NO!, oh gross.... gross, gross, gross"

Im really glad she feels so very comfortable talking to me about stuff, and I think it is very important, but seriously !!! Will this get any easier?

I am going to bed,
Enjoy the laugh,
Shel

Gma Dorothy

2009-01-28T09:57:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,
If you could please keep Gma Dorothy in your prayers today. She is having outpatient surgery today to replace the batteries in her pacemaker. Simple surgery, but her age always makes me nervous.

Thanks,
Shel

***** UPDATE ****
Gma Dorothy is recovering nicely and should go home tonight.

My boy

2009-01-27T19:47:00.000-08:00

Good lord this boy will be the death of me I swear.
Tonight while Brandon was playing on my Gazelle he slipped and fell and the leg swung up as he was falling and slammed into his arm. He screamed his head off and then wouldnt move it. After about 1 1/2 hrs Chris and I were concerned. If you touched him anywhere on his lower arm he would say it hurt, so off to the ER we went. We signed in, took his vitals and got into a room and what do you know, he starts to move it. By the time the Xray guy brings us back for Xray's he asks Bran to put his arm up on the table and oh yeah, lifts it right up and turns and moves it no problem. I was soooooo annoyed at this point. Its always that way, you take them in and once you get there, they are fine, but of course its not until you have signed the papers and gotten into your room. So $500 later, my boy has a bruise and a really cool sling that they gave him in triage.

Im going to bed.
Shel

TGIF

2009-01-23T13:28:00.000-08:00

Today Ashlyn woke up just FULL of energy.
I decided she needed to get out of the house. So we went to play McD's. She had sooo much fun, and I met 2 really nice ladies. One lady comes every friday and has a 5yr old boy and 9, and 11yr old girls. She was really sweet. We both have Great Danes, and she does animal rescue. And the other lady has a 1yr girl, and a 3yr boy. She doenst have any kids in her neighborhood that are her kids ages, so we hope to get together and let the kids play. I think it will be so much fun to get out on Friday's and enjoy some Mom time, and let the kids have play time. Ashlyn just doesnt have anyone her age to play with, and both the mom's commented on how grown up she acts.

Anyway, I have to clean and work out, so have a super duper weekend.
Lots of Love,
Shel

Adrianne Reynolds

2009-01-21T14:19:00.000-08:00

I was going to write about the inauguration, but realized what today was.
4yrs ago today my cousin Adrianne Leigh Reynolds was brutally murdered.

4 yrs ago you were taken away from us.

4 yrs does not take away the pain and sadness of you being gone.
4 yrs does not make it any easier, or the pain any less.
4 yrs is a long time, yet when the pain comes back,
its still as hard and as strong as the day you were taken from us.

So much good has been done in your name, and we continue to do things in a positive way. You are always in our thougths, and you are always near our heart.So many times I wonder how you would have lived your life. What would you be doing right now? Would you be in love? Would you be a mother? Would you be in the Marines? Would you have tried out for American Idol? Yes, I still watch the show, and yes, I still cry and think of you when I watch it.
I miss you Adrianne.

4 yrs later, and I am no closer to getting the why's answered.

4 yrs later, and still no peace with what happened to you. I really hope you are looking down on us, and you are at peace. I really hope that you are singing with the angels, and that you are helping God take care of the children in heaven. I really hope that some day, we will see each other again.

I miss you Adrianne.
Lots of Love,
Shel

Gma Dorothy

2009-01-19T09:18:00.000-08:00

Holy Smokes....

Chris and I got a call last night from Carol.

Gma Dorothy is turning 95 on Feb. 7th.

95 !!!

I cant believe it. Gma Dorothy is the most amazing, loving, sweetest, person I have ever met. One of the funniest things I remember about her is when Chris and I were pregnant with Katey. She told me she never thought she would live to see Great Grand Kids and she was very excited we were giving her a Great Grandchild. So she decided to crochet me a blanket. But she was really excited, and was really hoping it would be twins so she made me 2 blankets. When I see one of those blankets, it still makes me smile and remember how happy she was when we told her. And seeing all the Great Grandkids just brings her so much pride. I love Grandma Dorothy with all of my heart, and I am so excited that she is turning 95. I cant wait to go home and celebrate with her. And I have to bring lots of balloons, she loves balloons, at least that is what she told Katey at one of her other birthday's.

Happy Birthday Grandma Dorothy.

Lots of Love,

Shel

Wii Fit

2009-01-16T20:31:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting a Wii Fit for months now. My father in law Jim got me one for Christmas and I have been sooo excited to try it out. Well, our Wii broke and its under warentee so we will be getting a new one any day now. Meanwhile, We got 7 new games and have not been able to play with any of them. So we borrowed a Wii from Katey's friend and have been having a blast. Everyone LOVES the Wii Fit. Chris and I have been working out every night, and I am actually down 2Lbs. Whoo Hooo. That being said... Im about ready to smack that Wii Fit Biotch. First of all when you set your Mii up, it puts your weight and BMI right out there where everyone can see, PLUS it makes your Mii Fat or Skinny debending on how you are, so I have a Fat Mii. But the worst part is when you step on the board it will either say Okay, or she will groan at you. When Chris steps on it, she usually says Okay, but everytime I step on it, she groans. Everytime she does it I call her a bitch and get irritated at her. Well, Brandon's been playing on it all day and she groaned when he steped on it and he groaned back and called her a jerk. I started cracking up laughing. At least I am not the only one ready to smack her. Speaking of Brandon, I can not believe how much this boy enjoys working out. He is all about being fit. He loves to do push ups and crunches and really enjoys doing all the strength training, and Yoga stuff. He's gonna be my running buddy come the spring. My Gazelle will be here on Monday and thats what I plan on using all winter, but come spring, Bran and I are gonna start jogging so we can do a 5K run together. I cant wait.

Ok, Im off to go Wii Fit some more.
Lots of Love,
Shel

D-Cold out

2009-01-15T16:22:00.000-08:00

Holy Crow it is C-O-L-D out.
School was called off today because its just too cold. Its neg 12 degrees out with a wind chill of Neg 45. Thats way to cold and dangerous for kids to be walking to school or waiting for a bus. So we played Wii all day and just got the call that school is cancelled for tomorrow too. WHOO HOOO ! Plus its a long weekend, they have Mon and Tues off. Im so excited to have my kids home for a short mini vacation.

Ok, so D-Cold? whats that mean? HA
When Katey was about 3yrs old we would always say something was D-licious. So she thought the D ment it was VERY licious.. LOL Well one day we were going out to the car and it was freezing. She said Brrrr Daddy, it is D-Cold out. We cracked up laughing and have used that saying ever since. She is now embarassed by it, but it reminds us of her being a little girl.

So bundle up, cuddle up, snuggle up, whatever you gotta do to stay warm cuz baby it is D-Cold out!
Lots of Love,
Shel

Frozen like a bag of peas

2009-01-14T13:17:00.000-08:00

Holy crow!
It is freaking cold outside. I swear we have had so much snow and cold, I am soooo done with it. We get it all plowed and do-able for a day or so, and then KABOOM another dang winter storm. I was totally amazed the kids had school today. We had recieved 3 inches yesterday, then another 4-5 inches overnight, and supose to have another 1-3 inches today. Also starting at noon today the temps are supose to just drop. Chris drove the 4wheel drive jeep to the train station, which is only 2 miles from our house, and it took him 20 mins. He said the roads were horrible and people couldnt get past the stop light because the roads were so slick. He ended up missing that train but made the next one. Good Gravy!

Today, Ashlyn, Kathryn, and I are all doing pretty well. If Katey doesnt get a fever tonight, then she gets to go to school tomorrow. She's had 2 doses of the antibiotic now, so Im hoping it will be good and kicked in by tonight.

Not much else is new, just cleaning the house and lysoling everything, and looking forward to a nice LONG weekend.

Shel

Katey Bug

2009-01-13T10:54:00.000-08:00

My sweet sweet girl is sick.
Katey NEVER gets sick.
She had a little bit of a fever yesterday and she looked like Death smacked her in the face. There was no way I could send my sweet girl to school. She didnt leave the couch all day. Then last night, she looked and sounded worse. I gave her a theraflu and sent her to bed early. I woke up at 3am and found Katey stretched out asleep on the bathroom floor. She didnt want to move, she just wanted to sleep on the bathroom floor. I never in my life saw her look so pitiful in my life. I took her temp and it was 103.5 HOLY CRAP! I got her some Ibuprofin, some vics vapor rum and a cool washcloth for her forehead and got her all settled back in bed.

She has an appt today at 2:30.
Lets hope she doesnt end up in the hospital like her sissy did.
Shel

Poker Night and BOY

2009-01-11T10:20:00.000-08:00

Last night we decided to have a poker night at our house.
Michael has been here since Friday and our friend Tommy brought his girlfriend, and one of Brandon's friends dad came too. It was $10 in and 1st place got $40 and 2nd place got $20. We had so much fun, and tons of laughs and Tommy won 1st place and Chris won 2nd. I cant wait for Cassie and Mike to sell their house so that we can start having poker night once a month. It's been nice having Mike here, but I really miss my sissy.

Then today, our Bran Buster Brown turned 9yrs old.
Its amazing how fast time really goes by. He got a pocket knife, and a nerf machine gun. He's really excited about both.

Chris is busy making breakfast, and I think the rest of today will just be relaxing and enjoying Buster B's day.

Lots of Love,
Shel

Friday

2009-01-09T13:43:00.000-08:00

I have been coughing for a few days now and fully expected to catch what Ashlyn had, so I wasnt surprised to wake up this morning coughing up a ton of yuck. But my throat, or should I say neck hurts. Its not my tonsils, but lower and on the sides of my neck. The dr. said its around my thyroid, so he ordered some blood tests since my mom has thyroid troubles and my dad had thyroid cancer. He also said it sounds like I have pneumonia in my right lung and started me on meds. Im completly exhausted and am going to finish cleaning and hit the bed early tonight.

Ash is doing so much better. She still has a little gunk in her lungs so they want her on the steroids thru the weekend but she's doing really really good. Her pulseoxy was at 98% WHOOP WHOOP !!!

Ok thats it for now,
Shel

another hospital story

2009-01-08T14:30:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I told you my scare with the code over the intercom.
So later when I had to go get Chris from the train, I didnt want to leave Ashlyn alone again. So I left Kathryn at the hospital with her. I figured Kathryn babysits her, so of course I could leave her at the hospital. Well, Im just lucky my kids are soooo well behaved and sooooo all about Ashlyn because I guess it is against hospital policy to leave anyone under the age of 18 alone with the patient. The nurses were so blow away with how much Kathryn helped out. Ash had to to potty, and Kathryn said ok Ash, lets untagle you and unplugged the Pulse/oxy machine and then pulled the IV stand closer to the bathroom door and then helped her go potty, wiped her, washed her hands, then put her back in bed and re-connnected her to the machine. The whole time the nurse just stood there amazed that Kathryn knew what she was doing.

The nurse asked Katey, "how did you know what you could unplug and how to hook it all back up?" and Katey replied, "well, this isnt the first time she's been admited, I guess I am just use to it." Then when the respitory lady came, she was nervous because I wasnt there and when she gave Ashlyn her last treatment (the first time I was gone) Ash just cried the whole time. So Katey told the nurse "oh dont worry, she will be fine, we do this at home all the time. Just make sure you use the mask, not the blow by." Sure enough Ashlyn sat thru the whole treatment like a perfect angel. I guess the nurse assumed Ashlyn wasnt use to the mask and thought she was helping by not useing it when I wasnt there. Ashlyn HATES the blow by and prefers to do it herself.

Anyway, when I got back, the nurse complimented me on how amazing Katey was, and how helpful she was. She told me I was doing a great job with all 3 of my children and asked if she could send her 2 kids to my house.

Ashlyn is going good, and has a follow up appt. tomorrow with her Ped.
I'll update on how that goes, right now, we are going to go watch a movie.

Shel

2 posts today, wow

2009-01-07T15:32:00.001-08:00

Ok, after a nap I still have no energy.
I am so excited to sleep in my own bed tonight, and have all 3 kids and Chris under one roof. Katey and Brandon are just such super big brother and sister, they get so concerned when Ash gets sick and they def. dont like to see her cry. She is soooo spoiled by them.

Oh here are a few stories from our hospital stay.
First off, we dont have anyone who lives close by or people we have babysit our kids, so when Ash is in the hospital things get difficult, plus we only have 1 car right now. So, I unfortunatly had to leave Ashlyn alone, but surrounded by nurses, to go get Katey and Brandon from school. This was the first time she was off oxygen and I was already nervous about that. The ped's floor is on one side of the building, but the ER parking lot is on the other side. I walked all the way thru the whole hospital and get to the ER, when all of a sudden I hear
"Pediatrics, Code Yellow, En-route to the ER"
Ok, now you must know I was on day 3 of sleeping in the hospital and I was already nervous about leaving her, add the fact that she was now off oxygen and her numbers were low... I turn and RAN thru the whole hospital in total fear that is was Ashlyn being rushed from the Ped's to the ER and not sure exactly what code yellow was. I ran around the last corner as the Floor nurse practitioner came around and saw me and put her hands up and said... "Oh no honey its not you!" I repeated the code to her and she said, no that means like a child got in a car accident or something and is on their way to the ER, this way peds, and respitory and everyone can be there ready when they arrive. She hugged me and we walked back to the ER together... This scared the crap out of me!!

Then that night, the respitory lady came in to give Ashlyn a breathing treatment, and I didnt sit up right away. I finally sat up and rubbed my eyes and OMG she took my breath away. I put my hand to my heart and gasped. She was surprised and I informed her that she looked exactly like my cousin Adrianne. I told her about what happened and she of course was very sorry, but I told her no, it was nice meeting her, and I was glad I got to meet her because Jan 4yrs ago was when she was taken from us and its nice to be reminded of her. When she left I thought to myself, wow, crazy... When Ashlyn was born we prayed to God to heal her, and we also prayed that Adrianne would watch over her. It was like Adrianne saying, Im still here, Im still your guardian angel. I felt so peaceful after she left, and thanked God for allowing me to "see" Adrianne this way. The next day, she was off oxygen.

Anyway, I'll have more stories later... Ash is on steroids and Im sure you will LOVE to hear all about her attitude.

Shel

Ash is home

2009-01-07T09:50:00.000-08:00

Oh My Word !!!

Friday/ Sat morning Ash woke up in the middle of the night with a croupy cough and a 103.7 fever. Sat was the annual pool tourney and my aunt watched the kids. It was hard to go knowing Ash was sick, but its only once a year and I had all the meds so we went. Sat night she stayed the same, fever and cough. Sunday when she woke up she was miserable, 103.5 and just not herself at all. I told Chris I had to take her in, and surprisingly, he agreed.

I get to the ER and tell them she's retracting and breathing hard and they get us straight back. Her fever had come back so they gave us Tylenol and Ibuprofin and a double breathing treatment. They checked for flu, RSV, and a chest xray. The ER dr. came back and said it looked viral, but they were waiting on an "official" read because one part looked suspicious. Official report said Pneumonia. The ER dr. was impressed with how calm and on it I was and said she was gonna send Ash home... I said, wait, wait wait.. I am not comfortable with this and explained her history to her for the 10th time. I said, I would feel better if you call her Pediatrician and get his opinion on this because I am doing everything I am supose to do at home with breathing treatments, steroids, and she keeps getting worse. She wasnt happy about it but called the dr. The nurse came in and I said, "she wants to send her home, they havent even gotten a pulse Oxy on her and they want to send her home." SO the nurse takes her pulse oxy and she was only at 92-93% She takes this info to the dr. who comes back, obviously annoyed and says, well her oxygen levels are too low we have to admit her.

She kept tettering at 92-93% all day and the ped. ordered her on Oxygen if she stayed at 92 or below. When she went to sleep she dropped to 89-90% and had to be put on oxygen, and had to stay for 4 days because her oxygen levels kept dropping. I just wanted to go smack that ER nurse for doubting me and giving me sass when I know my kid. Ash has NEVER been like this before, not even when she was in Resp. distress. She's never required oxygen since leaving the NICU and I just knew things were not right.

She's on antibiotics, which the ER dr. wouldnt order because she thought it was viral, and when the ped. came in he was surprised that she wasnt on antibiotics and ordered them right away, and she's on steroids, and breathing treatments.

Im exhausted and going to go take a nap with my little munchkin.
Lots of Love and tired hugs,
Shel