a good day, gone to the dog....

is there anything worse than having a good day go bad on account of your once-was-over-weight-but-has-since-lost-the-weight dog?

tuscan was insistant on taking a shower today and who in their right mind would tell their child they are not allowed to get clean??!! so after dinner, that i cooked, i put him in the shower with some of frank's shaving cream on the wall, gave him the spray head and let him to to town...he loves to make pictures on the shower wall with the shaving cream and then wash them away. while he was being a little picaso, i took advantage of the "i have to be in the bathroom" time and cleaned it! well low and behold, Fat Tar, thought he would "help" me clean up the kitchen by clearing Frank's dinner right off his plate, which i had purposely placed very far back on the kitchen counter. needless to say, he got a very hard smack on his butt and that put the bump in today's path.

otherwise it was a great day! we all slept in a little later than usual and after a delicious breakfast of my (according to frank) amazing french toast, we headed out as a family to run some errands. we ordered a 10x12 carpet for our familyroom, no more ceramic tile floor in my babies playroom! we have had enough bloody lips already, and now that they are walking...forget it! we also did some comparison shopping for tuscan's mattress and we're able to make a decision, they will be purchased tomorrow! (thank you caren for your bj's membership!) we also stopped by ashley to look at the furniture we had been eyeing up for tuscan's room....we love it even more now that we have seen it in person! i cannot wait for his birthday!!

there really arent any other updates this week. its been kind of a blah couple of weeks for me. i've sort of been stuck in a miserable rut, but hopefully with some spiritual and medical intervention i will be back in Happytown soon! i do have to say though, God is amazing and i so appreciate the way that He works through me, my family and my friends. i feel so blessed to be the mother of my 3 little boys, to have such a hardworking, understanding and loves-me-anyway kind of husband, to have a job that i love, a boss who is so willing to work with me and my crazy life, family who is there when i send out an SOS...and my new found love and support group that frank and i have joined in through our church. all in His time, and i truly believe that...

the last few days...

so i have to say, i am so grateful that i chose to sacrific my daytime internet time because in the last few days i have heard more giggles and less crying, i have tickled more bellies and nibbled more piggy toes, i have mastered lego skyscrappers and spent more time snuggling with 3 little boys on my lap... my house seems to be a little more "put together", i have seen my kids personalities really shine through and maybe even learned more about them that i would have otherwise missed. matteo has mastered climbing up and (pratices going down) the stairs. i have attempted to put an end to running back and forth on the couch (that the twins find much pride climbing onto by themselves!) naptime seems to be more so used for scrapbooking or grabbing my bible! it has been wonderful!

although, i do miss my ladies - it has inspired me to commit more time at night to my blogging and has given me more reason to pick up the phone and have an "old fashioned" chat. there is definitely something to be said about actually talking to someone on the phone, its something i did for way-too-many-hours a day as a teenager and very rarely ever do now, but i miss it - darn internet!

yesterday i never once turned my computer on! it was weird at the end of the night, but i didnt even think about it during the day! instead i had a photoshoot with the twins when they got up from their nap and i have to say, the pictures turned out pretty darn cute! (to see more of them, check my facebook page or look for an upcoming email from snapfish)

vincenzo

matteo

after the shoot was over, our greatest friends from church, matt and bridget and their 2 kids, zach and chase (tuscan's bff) came over for dinner, that was unfortunately cut shorter than i would have liked by my needing to go to work. but it was so nice while it lasted. the meal of course, cooked by frank, was amazing! and dessert was even better...pudding filled homemade crepes! the kids had a ton of fun playing (wish i had some pics of that!) and the adults had some fun just hanging out - although i think next time we need to get together without the kids, for once! having friends that share something with you as intimate as your faith is something that words could not explain. it gives such a wonderful base for all other things you may have in common. we are so grateful to have found friends in matt and bridget and their (now) growing family! we love you guys!! (and we need to get together more often!)

mickey mouse saves the day...

so let me ask, if you woke up from your nap today (assuming you are as lucky as my kids and find the time in your busy day to take a nap) is there anything that could cheer you up more than...oh wait...so you wake up from your nap and realize that your pull up was not absorbant enough to contain whatever beverages you consumed before you fell asleep. you realize that your "Nie" (favorite blankie) has to take a bath (be put in the washer), your bed has to be stripped of all its wetness and your mom is forcing you to take a shower to wash the pee off your legs. when your almost 3, this is a very tragic event - although i guess it would be more tragic at our age!!

but that was when mickey mouse stepped in to save the day! when the tears started pouring, i had to think fast..."who wants mickey mouse pancakes for dinner?" it was the first thing i could think of and thank goodness because it put that meltdown right in its place! and it was a delicious idea too! breakfast for dinner has always been a favorite for me, ever since i was little...and it probably originated from the fact that my dad hated when we had breakfast for dinner, so it was always a special treat! well now that i'm the mom, we have breakfast for dinner quite often, sometimes once a week! my cooking skills (patience) are not that great and breakfast food is quick, easy and deliciously wholesome! we had honey whole wheat blueberry pancakes (although all 3 kids gave me all their bites with the blueberries in them. apparently cooking the blueberries makes them to sour!)

of course the picture uploaded in the wrong direction and doesnt want to flip, but you get the idea...i can even be creative with my food! tuscans is the one on the blue plate with m&m's for eyes!

give it a try some night, let me know if it works as well for you as it did for me!!

tuscan's ABC book!

Tuscan and i have spent the week working on this project, we have been taking pictures of things around the house that begin with each letter of the alphabet. originally we were going to print the pictures and put them together with cardstock ourselves, but then kellie sent me an email for a free book through shutterfly...but...it wasnt until i had the whole book put together that i read the fine print that said the free one was only for her! so we are a little disappointed that we cant order our work published just yet, but i am on the hunt for some good shutterfly discount codes that will get us this book very cheap! if anyone finds anything, let me know!! i was not about to pay $42 for this...but $10-$20 would be reasonable, maybe for a birthday present for him! but anyway, i thought i would post it so you could check it out, its super cute!!

View Project at Shutterfly

for the next 40 days...

this year for lent i have decided that its time for me to put more focus on the one job that is most important in my life...being a mom! for much of the last 15 months i have spent my days meeting the kids needs while trying to balance a little time here and there for myself. well now that the twins are a little older and more interactive, it gives us a chance to all play together. they arent tuscan's baby brothers anymore, they are his playmates! and today seemed like the best day ever to really embrace that idea and turn off my computer! so for the next 40 days and hopefully longer...i am making a vow to only turn my computer on while my kiddo's are all sleeping, be it naptime or after bedtime...there wont be any shannon via the internet during the day anymore! i am allowing myself 20 minutes every morning to check the bank account and other various things that need daily attention, but i have to say - the totally focused time that i spent with my kids today was better than anything i ever could have read/researched or discovered on the internet! (although i did miss the instantaneous ability to chat with my girlfriends whenever a thought popped into my head!)

these boys are growing up so quickly on me though and if i dont slow down and take it all in now then in a few years i will regret it. the twins are finally old enough that i can sit down with all 3 kids, some paper and some crayons and we can all become artists for a little bit, or we all sit in a circle and play catch...we can all build skyscrappers with legos!! the list just go on and on now and if spring ever comes here then we will be able to take wagon rides through the neigborhood, go on scavenger hunts in the backyard! i am so blessed with 3 amazing little boys and from now on i need to make sure that they are my #1 priority, all day long!!

and with that im off to watch lost! if anyone else watches lost, leave me a message, i sure would love to have someone to discuss it with!

our bad mood remedy...

having a bad day?? dance your cares away!! that's what we have been doing in this house anyway...slightly inspired by mandy and her girls, otherwise inspired by the fraggle's, the fraggle's of fraggle rock that is!! for valentine's day i picked up a dvd with 3 fraggle rock episodes on it. it was a favorite show of mine as a kid and i was so excited to be able to share it with my boys. little did i know that it would finally be the one video that would ease all tensions in the house and put us all in a good mood! but who couldn't be with little fuzzy guys running on your tv screen singing, "dance your cares away, worries for another day, let the music play, down in fraggle rock..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSDeoO-j3G0

frank apparently had never seen fraggle rock until i bought this dvd...he looked at me like i was crazy when i asked him about it! but if you feel you can support me in saying you also remember the fraggles, leave me a comment!

the ball is rolling...

my debt snowball that is...here is my jingle of the day - hope you can pick the tune up in your head... "bye bye loans, bye bye credit cards...hello mortgage payments? i think im gonna cry..." good tears though. paying off our debt in exchange for finally owning a house again. thats a trade im willing to make! our federal return made its welcomed appearance in our bank account today and i am happy to report that payment is posted for monday to pay off two credit cards and two student loans! road to financial freedom, here we come!

i also spoke with the mortgage guy at the bank today...this sounds like an almost-done-deal. he was able to work it all out in a very "specific" way but in a way that will be (tight) do-able for us. so i really think with in the next few months i will be the proud owner of a house that still need quite a bit of work! anyone want to help?? we wont be able to afford to pay you, but i know someone that will cook you a really good meal when your done working!!

but for now we just wait and see how things pan out. frank and i have a little more of our tax return that we need to make wise decisions with to help this new financial opportunity as much as possible...so to the praying board we go in hopes that God will show us the way and give us the answers, cause im not totally sure what the best thing to do is right now. so say a prayer that it all works out because owning the house could really make life so much easier, for all parties involved! not to mention the affect it could have on our getting a decent tax return next year!

have a great weekend, my love to all...

pasta, paperwork and prayers...

all i can say is thank goodness my kids are italian because they can never complain to me that we eat pasta to often...its the one thing i can creatively cook with confidence!! i made another Kraft recipe tonight and once again my kids loved it!! it really does make cooking much less a chore when i know someone is appreciating what i am cooking!

i had my "every 6 months" review at work today. it was awesome. totally confirmed all these positive feelings i have been having about my life lately. my boss and i dont get to work together all that often so we dont really have much time for conversation. it was so nice today to have her undivided attention for about 45 minutes, we were able to touch base on so much and i felt great when our chat was over! it so wonderful to work for a company of thousands of people but still have the feeling of importance. im not just a number in corporate america, i am shannon, a very valued barista! when i started at starbucks i never would have imagined it to turn into such an important part of my life. i tell everyone, it was my "get me through college" job...well i will have been with the company for 7 years this august...i only went to college for 2 and one of those years i was working at supercuts! i dont know if there could ever be enough words to describe what starbucks has done for me and how it has helped to make my life what it is. when we lived in CO, my fellow partners and my customers were my family away from home. i loved them all dearly and have been fortunate enough to keep in touch with many friends from the powers and constitution group. through starbucks i found one of my most treasured friends, kellie - she and i have more starbucks stories that we could tell, most of which i can assure you would rather not hear!! oh the crazy nights...chai and vanilla vodka on a friday night...we would never! at least not while we were working!!

anyway....i also got online tonight to see about getting preapproved for a mortgage, it looks like we might actually have a chance at buying the house this year. obviously we would need to actually sit down with someone and get some "real" numbers, but i think it may be closer in reach than i would have guessed. there are just a lot of details that need to be looked at, closing costs, etc... so hopefully in a few months this will be something that i am posting about in a much more serious way. right now i think i need to keep the focus on paying off the rest of the small debts because im not sure the bank would be happy with our debt to income ratio right now!! that had posed a small problem when frank and i tried to get our mortgage in CO and that was before we had kids! so we'll see, summertime may have more than just a fun trip in store for us!

speaking of the trip, i pulled out my list of zoo's that are covered by our family membership...there are 7 zoo's in KS that we could potentially visit, one of which is right in the city that kellie and randy will be living in! so hopefully we will be able to pick a few of them to entertain our days with the kids while we are there. there is only one zoo in CO that is covered by the membership, down in pueblo...but we have never been to that one so maybe it will be worth checking out, an early morning trip to the zoo followed by a picnic lunch at royal gorge!?! i cant wait...it is so exciting to know that we are heading back to CO for a few days this summer. it is definitely a place that we want our kids to be familiar with because it is the place that frank and i started our life together. so much of who we are as a couple is because of the life we lived in CO and i think we could both honestly admit that if the time was right and a good opportunity came about, we would move back there are some point while our kids are school age just to share the experience with them. there is something different about CO that you just dont get here...be it the mountains, the fresher air, the non-stop sunshine or the people...i think over the last few years frank and i have become more 'home-sick' from CO than we ever were from buffalo!! we missed family while we were gone, and good pizza...but there is so much more that we miss about CO. who ever knows where life will lead us, but i can say, we we're led to God in CO so something tells me that He will lead us back there again someday!

tonight i also want to say a prayer for all my closest friends. (you know who you are and what your personal struggles are right now)
Lord, i ask that you watch over my girlfriends and their families as their lives are being faced with some changes and new challenges. be with them to guide them in the right directions, answer their prayers as you see fit and help them to see what your plan may be for them in the coming days, weeks and months. help to ease them through their transitions, be it what they are and lay a hand of peace over them as they become settled in their new routines. they are all such amazing women Lord and my life is so much richer because of the relationships i share with them and i pray for nothing but the best for them Lord. in your sons holy name, jesus christ, amen.

i love you ladies and i truly hope that this year brings as much peace to your home and your heart as it seems to be bringing to me! keep your heads up, your hearts open and keep up the good (God) work!

i've been upgraded...

so i think since this year started i have slowly been upgraded. and i have to say i am completely loving it. i have recently started taking more time during most days for myself, whether it be blogging or scrapping or just taking a nap, i am doing more for me. through that i have started to find myself as shannon again and not just mom, and as a result i am becoming much better at all the rolls i play and much happier while doing it too!

my attitude at work feels better and i am so much more motivated to get things done and just keep working! i hate the down time because it makes time move to slowly...

at home i am getting more organized, mentally and around the house. i've been making lists of things to do so that my days are more fulfilling and i can keep my accomplishments and things to do out in the open so that they dont get forgotten.

as a mom i have finally found it to be rewarding to cook meals for the kids more nights during the week, now that the twins are eating all table food all the time it makes it so much more worth my while to cook a full meal, i actually have people to eat it with!

i am financially motivated. seeing our debts get lower and lower is making it that much easier to stop spending which has also been a huge stress reliever. we have even recently started discussing the idea of buying the house from our parents this year. there are a lot of first time home buyer incentives out there right now and because i was never on the mortgage in CO, we can probably qualify in that category. and what a huge bonus that would be come tax time next year!! and just the knowing that we dont owe someone else money to live our life. renting isnt always an easy thing to do, but its much harder to do when your landlord is someone you know, especially a family member! so we'll see what happens with that, please say a little prayer that it may all work out!

but i have to say, as a wife might be where i have seen the most improvement in myself. having found so much more happiness in all the other areas of my life has taken so much of the pressure off me as a wife. i see frank through different eyes and i love what i see. he is such an amazing father, his kids adore him. he is an amazing provider, always working hard and trying his best to make my days easier. i love him so much for all that he does and i am so proud of the man he has turned into. the life we were living just a few years ago, i never would have imagined that we would be where we are today....and i also wouldnt change it for the world.

tuscan - since mastering the use of the potty during the day, he has recently decided that using a stool to stand and pee is what big boys do nowadays...so that is what we do! and hes been awesome about it! i am so proud of him and his accomplishments recently....now if we could only master not peeing while we're sleeping! any suggestions anyone??

the twins - they are walking all over the place, with big smiles on their faces!! we video taped them last night, if i can figure out how to post it i certainly will...it was too cute though. cenzo is a little more advanced at it than matteo is, but that doesnt stop teo...the more he sees cenzo walking the more he tries to do it himself...and they are on a roll! i am so proud of them. they also have both figured out and gained the strength to pull themselves up on the couch. you want to see a face of pure pride, look at my little boys after they have plopped their butts down on the couch to drink their juice!

i got a new hair-do tonight...would love to show you all, but you have to wait for a day when i actually have make up on and my hair is "done" a posting of a picture of me right now could possible break your computer screen!! i also made a very delicious dinner and it looked just as good in real life as the picture in the cookbook...so i took a picture to share with you. it was a super easy, very quick kraft recipe and it was sooo good!

does it make you hungry??

tuscan and i also made some chocolate chip cookies today and i think they may be the best ones i have ever made!! cenzo was my taste tester...he approved!

and when all was said and done tuscan decided he wanted to help me do the dishes. so he pushed up a chair and played the part of my rinse boy...if only he would be so helpful with cleaning up his toys everyday!

baby showers and pizza parties!

sunday we had a baby shower for dave and enna at our parents house. what an amazing turn out we had and what wonderful gifts they received!! we had a little over 30 people at the house for brunch. frank and his cousin richard were busy in the kitchen preparing made to order omlettes for all the ladies and frank made his now famous fried french toast! the food was awesome, as usual! and dave and enna were truly blessed. we had asked that everyone bring a book signed with their name and everyone came through without any duplicates! they got adorable outfits and many other baby necessities. it was a ton of fun and so awesome to be able to share in this exciting adventure with them. if only they lived closer so we could spend more time with them and the lil' guy when he arrives!

monday, dave and enna, dom and dana all came over to have lunch with frank and i and the kids. the twins went down for a nap before lunch started and tuscan was a little to excited about all the visitors to eat, so lucky for me, i was able to turn the leftover pizza into a pizza party/ice cream social for the kids for dinner! and they loved it. i chopped up all the pizza into bit sized toddler pieces and added a side of strawberries and then for dessert we had ice cream sundaes with cookies and cream ice cream, cool whip and m&m's! if only dinner could be that much fun every night!

tuesday was a pretty good day too...frank and i were able to get quite a bit accomplished working together around the house most of the day, as well as spend some good quality time together as a family. he and tuscan went out into the yard to clean up a little bit. we had so many chunks of tree laying in our yard from this windy winter we have had, as well as garbage that had blown in from the neighbors and the good ol' cleaning up after the dogs!! meanwhile, matteo was still taking his nap and cenzo was helping me sort and put away my huge box of scrapbooking stuff that kellie sent me! she is amazing and now i should have more than enough paper in my suppy to finish the twins albums and more! im so excited to get scrapping with all my new stuff. many times a week i say to myself "what would i do without her" this was just another one of those times!

and on another excited note. randy will be home from iraq, back in the arms of his wife in less than two weeks, and i have been given the honor of seeing the pictures of the house that kellie picked out for them to rent while living in KS!! its a big deal to me because i will actually have a chance to see this house in person in about 6 months!! i know six months probably seems like a long time away - longer than most people would start counting down for, but if you check out the very bottom of my blog page, you will find i have added a ticker counting down for our roadtrip to KS and CO this year!

i am setting a goal to myself to get back on track with blogging...i miss it, yes i miss my own daily posts. i read everyone elses on a daily basis, even those of people i dont know, just have common interest with and i think to myself "i wonder if anyone enjoys reading my blog as much as i love reading these" so if there is anyone out there who really loves reading my blog, im sorry for not being better about it and i will try harder to keep it more up to date. i need to make it a priority because most of the time this is the only way i document the things happening in our life!

my post later today (about today) will include: twins walking and climbing up on the couch updates, tuscan's potty progress and will we become home owners again this year??