christmas has begun...

today we celebrated christmas with my mom's side of the family at the fox valley country club in lancaster. my grandparents treated us all to a delicious sunday brunch, its the 3rd year we have been able to get the family together there and each year its been a little bit different and just as nice!

the kids all got personalized animals from build a bear, which were all embraced by instant love. tuscan got a dog dressed in sabre's clothes and the twins each got bears, one a little bit darker than the other, both wearing camo boxers. they are so cute and the kids were all so excited about them! i can only imagine though what my grandparents looked like walking out of build a bear with 8 animals in boxes!! we just have to take the kids back to the mall to register their animals and get their birth certificates!

cenzo with my uncle les....two goof balls!!

we decided to give my mom her "big" gift a few days early (she'll be here on christmas morning with us) but i had made her an album from snapfish full of pictures from this past year with a letter at the end explaining why the album was from november 2007-november 2008. it wasnt because it was the twins first year, but because it was the first full year that she had really been back in our lives. there were many tears between the two of us by the time she was done looking at it and tuscan had been very excited to give it to her and show her all the pictures of himself! he's so vain! but we decided to give it to her a few days early so she would have a chance to show her family and some of her regular customers that would be coming in for their christmas haircuts. my mom doesnt have a computer so she doesnt have the chance to see all the pictures that i send out to everyone. so who knows, maybe this will become the new christmas tradition for us, an album a year!

tuscan wanted to help his great grandpa les open his present to!

tuscan hanging out with the girls, what a surprise!! (my cousins, his 2nd cousins, madison and julia)

on our way back from the country club we ventured out a little further in the horrible snow storm to church, my mom joined us. it is always so magical being at church during the christmas season, singing the christmas songs. our church has a christmas tradition of forming a giant circle, all in attendance, around the room to sing by candlelight, silent night. it was such a blessing to be able to share that with my mom. because of the weather, service was pretty quick, we were in and out in an hour, but thankfully because it took us just as long to drop my mom off and get home in the near white out conditions!

overall, it was an amazing way to start our week of celebrating and we are so looking forward to the next few days ahead. God bless you all this holiday season and remember, jesus is the reason we are celebrating. its not about the presents or the cookies, but about spending time together and being grateful for all that we are blessed with. my love to all!

good job taylor swift!!

this could possibly be my new favorite christmas song. taylor swift's music has always been pretty impressive to me, i give a lot of credit to any musician who can write and sing their own music and i think she really hit the nail on the head with this one so i just wanted to share. its a great way to remind people what the true reason for christmas is. and remember - its not "happy holidays" its "merry christmas!!" this holiday was not created entirely to exchange gifts and eat lots of food and talk about santa, etc. this holiday only exsists because jesus was born, our savior, our Lord. so praise him and and think of him on christmas day the way you would want others to think of and celebrate you on your birthday!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCwbeiBiOAk

be sure to listen until the last verse, its the best part!!

my dream came true!!

every year i always hope and pray that we will have snow for christmas. the season just isnt the same without the white wonderland!! and this year my dream came true yet again...and its coming at a pretty rapid pace. i drove to work this morning without a snowflake in the sky - they had been calling for the storm to roll in at about 8am...at 802 i looked out the window and there it was, white wet snow, blowing in from every direction! by the time i left work, 90 minutes later, the streets were covered and horrible for driving. i had to floor it to get the car up the driveway and i think its safe to say the snow is coming at a rate of about an inch per hour! its beautiful. i just wish frank was home safely enjoying it with me instead of at work. but schools were closed before the snow even started falling so maybe ill get lucky and the resturant will close early too! nothing is more romantic than being stuck at home with the love of your life during a snow storm. a christmas snow storm is what brought frank and i back together after he left for college and in the midst of our crazy life, we have been in love ever since!

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!

thursday ritual...

jess came over today for our usual thursday shan and jess thing...i colored her hair - it looks amazing. i wanted to take a picture but she didnt have any makeup on and it just wasnt the same. so as soon as she emails me one ill be sure to post it so you can all see my work of art!

but the kids loved the fact that she was here and were showing off as usual, so that we were able to get a few pics of!

danny and lindsay also stopped over to show us what danny got her for christmas...a little black kitty cat!! tuscan was so excited, tarzan was completely terrified and the twins were already in bed. for tuscan it was love at first sight and he was extremely willing to share his blankie with Boo Boo....

quick and delicious dinner...

just thought i would share with you the dinner i made last night. its easy, delicious, my kids loved it (as leftovers today) and its warm and filling...

spaghetti pizza

pasta (preferably whole wheat angel hair!!)

spaghetti sauce (homemade??)

2-4 eggs (depending on how much pasta you're making)

mozz. cheese

any or all of these - pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, peppers

cook pasta, pour into 13x9 (6-8 big servings) lasagna pan or 8x8 (4 big servings). wisk eggs and pour over pasta, stir together to spread evenly.

pour sauce over pasta, top with cheese and other "pizza" toppings and bake.

350 degrees for about a half hour or until cheese is melted.

serve with a nice salad and some garlic bread (preferably tuscan garlic bread from the wegman's bakery!!)

and if you want to get really fancy, have a nice glass of wine and enjoy!!

today hasnt been anything special of a day. frank went to his dr. appt this morning, waited about 40 minutes to see the doctor just to be told he needs to schedule an ultrasound on his foot and then make another appt to see the doc. $35 and an hour later he was on his way home with no more information than he left the house with. gotta love the medical world! anything to make a buck...

everyone is down for a nap right now though, so i think i am actually going to sneak "away" and scrapbook a page or two! wish me luck...

wordle of the week

its monday again...already!! here is last week in a nutshell -



how appropriate..."just time" its the perfect title for my upcoming week!

sunday school for big boys!

tuscan made his first adventure out of the house and to church with a pull-up on today!! and he did soooo good. as soon as we got to church he used the potty successfully and once again right before we left! during the hour and a half that he was in sunday school he had dampened his pull up a tiny bit, but not even enough that he needed to be changed before we headed home! so today was a very successful potty training day to say the least!

i worked for a few hours this afternoon, which was nice - i think i really missed it yesterday! and i finally splurged and bought myself this tumbler that i have been eyeing for the last 2 weeks...everything was 20% off at starbucks this week and i got my 30% discount on top of it, so it really didnt cost me much at all, and when compared to the joy it brought me as i carried it home filled with an eggnog chai...it was worth every penny!

the simple joys in life!

after work i ran to pick up a few groceries and came home to make a wonderful dinner, which i was fortunate enough to share with my honey and tuscan over an hour of rudolph! it was perfect! the twins went to bed without a problem, which gave us our time with just tuscan and he went to bed shortly after so that frank and i could enjoy a movie together. it was just the kind of night i needed....we talked, we laughed, i had tears a few times just because i was so happy to have that kind of time together.

but tomorrow is the start of another week...the chaos begins all over again!

saturday part 2...

and just to prove my point to myself, that my life truly is amazing...i just had to deal with a crying matteo - he was the one that got hit in the head with the train, by tuscan who was also crying because i spanked his bottom and made him sit on the couch until he was ready to listen. once matteo stopped crying i went in to have a talk with tuscan about hitting. when all was said and done he showed me what i really needed to see today - i am a good mom, i am teaching my kids well and they really do love me...i ended my little "play nice" speech and without any prompting on my part he threw his arms around me, gave me the biggest hug and said "love u too mama" he then went back into the playroom, kissed matteo on the head and is now teaching them how to put the train track together, so im going to help...

thank you Lord for reading my blog and answering my prayers tonight. i am so blessed and need to just keep reminding myself to come to you first in a time of need, no matter what it may be, i need to put my relationship with you first so the rest can fall into place!

saturday=the worst day of my week...

most people spend their whole week looking forward to their weekend...not me! i think i have finally decided that saturday is the worst day of my week. by saturday i havent had a chance to be a "family" or spend time with frank in 4 days (since tuesday). friday nights he is supposed to get out of work early, but it never happens, unless you think 930-945pm is early, when he left the house at 1030am... usually i work on saturday morning, but to my surprise, i had today off. i can honestly say i wish i would have had to work because working at least gives me a jumpstart to the rest of my day. i may start to tucker out mid afternoon, but at least during the early half of the day i have the energy and ambition to feel accomplished. on my day off, nothing. i have no energy all day, i want to just sleep the day away.
man, i am so out of it today i feel like i am doing nothing but rambling...so for that im sorry.

i feel like i have been phasing in and out of these horrible funks lately and its sort of scaring me that they seem to be coming more and more frequently lately. i have these days when i feel so lonely and in many ways i am but in so many other ways feel horribly guilty even thinking it. i am surrounded all day by 3 little boys that love me no matter what i look like, although tuscan has expressed he prefers me with "pretty" on my eyes! but the love between a mother and child is so unconditional and i am so grateful everyday for my boys. but i feel bad for them when i get into these funks because i feel like my mood and attitude takes a toll on them. if i feel bad inside then im usually not the nicest on the outside. i try to pay attention to it and take a deep breath before anything comes out of my mouth...blah blah blah...

there have been so many times today when i have felt overwhelming sadness/lonesomeness...and then i look at my boys, or tuscan says something totally adorable like "love u too mama" or matteo crawls over just to hug me or cenzo is blowing me giant kisses and i remember i am so blessed. i may not have a lot of friends that i get to see frequently and my extended family (other than my parents) may not be around that often, but i have 3 little boys who love nothing more than spending a day with me, even if it is just another day couped up in the house in our lazy clothes...i know someday it will all be different and there might come a time when once in a while i miss the simplicity of our current life. but i do truly look forward to taking all the boys places, places as simple as target...i hope that time will be here by the end of winter. right now its just so much work to try and take them all somewhere by myself - i just dont have the energy for it or the time management to try and work it all around 3 naptime/bedtime schedules. i also look forward to the time when it is easier to ask for a babysitter and easier emotionally to leave them for something selfish like a night out with frank. that is something that he and i need to do more than just once or twice a year! i want to be a wife, not just a mom...by being a wife i am reminded of who SHANNON is and when i take a moment to rediscover who i am it makes me a better person over all.

i know that overall im a good mom, people tell me that all the time, my kids tell me that by how wonderful they are, how well behaved and loving, caring and sensitve. but i know i could be a better mom day to day on a smaller scale if i could only find the time to "get caught up" mentally, emotionally, spritually and even just around the house. but that would take a miracle...or a week with no kids, no job - just time...(and now i feel like i sound like my dad!) this is my life and as a whole i love it...i am in tears as i type...i have all the big things i could have ever dreamed of, the house, the cars, i love my job, my kids are amazing and my husband is so good to me...my life is near perfect, i just feel like im missing a lot of the small stuff...lunch with friends, taking the dog for a walk, quiet time with the kids and conversation with my husband, all these things that seem so simple, that in the past i have completely taken for granted and now desire more than ever.

anyway - my sad saturday is nearing an end, well as a mom anyway - its jammie time and hopefully everyone will sit for a book, time to build a train track and dry some tears...some just got hit with the train! aaahhhhhhhhhhh

speechless and in shock...

thats how i was feeling about 5 minutes after tuscan got up from his nap today. and surprisingly it was for a very good reason!! he had been a complete monster about taking a nap today, he was in his room for a good hour before he finally went to sleep, i had gone up there 3 times and tucked him back in with the "i dont want to hear you up again" speech...each time he responded with "yeah mom" in his sweet little voice. about an hour after the last time i went up there i once again heard the little knocking on his door so i went upstairs and we agreed that he had taken a long enough nap. a few minutes later, he comes walking over to me at my desk and pulls his pants down to show me that he had a pull up on...he went down for a nap with a diaper on and i had not yet changed him. so i asked him "tuscan, did you put that on yourself?" (it was on backwards) and he said "yeah mom..." "well where is your diaper?" he pointed up the stairs, so we went up there and i asked him again where his diaper was and he opened his closet. low and behold, the pull-up on his butt had been replaced in the drawer in his closet by the diaper he had already peed in. tooo funny that kid!! and he was so proud of himself that he had done it all.

i have been told many times that when they are ready they will let you know, i think he is starting to let me know!! i love that kid, he just cracks me up!

the twins were a ton of fun tonight too. they are slowly becoming very good eaters but they also know what they do and dont like...they are a ton of fun about 30 mins before bottle time, crawling all over me, giving me kisses, laughing with each other, chasing tuscan around the house. cenzo is trying so hard everyday to walk.

poor frank was in even more pain today...his foot was much more swollen than it has been all week. it sort of scares me because it looks like it could literally explode! so hopefully the doctor on monday will have some answers for us. keep sending the prayers our way and i will be sure to keep everyone posted.

and just to make it known, to hold myself a little more accountable, i am setting a goal for a 5 year plan...in 5 years i want to have eliminated all of our debt, other than our house payment and regular monthly bills (utilities, etc) but that means no more car payments, no more student loans, no more credit card balances and no more balances for work on the house. the majority of our debt is obviously our car payments, both of which should be paid off in about 3 years. there are quite a few small debts that can be paid off with our tax return this year and if the talk about another stimulus check is true we can probably pay off the construction that has been done thus far. leaving us with one student loan, 2 car payments and one major credit card. not bad for a young couple with 3 kids!! so we'll see if life actually wants to take the path i have in mind, because for once it would really be nice! i guess say a little prayer once in a while for that one too!!