SPT - because of a blogger - personal growth edition

this was the easiest of the five SPT posts for september's theme: because of a blogger - personal growth edition. i guess because i can think of many ways i have achieved personal growth in the past 15 months since i began posting. in the spirit of keeping things short and sweet, i made a list of things i've learned about me and ways i've grown because of blogging...

1. it's ok to post snap shots of my life. not every photograph has to be perfect - as a photographer worried about how every photo is a reflection of me and my work, this was hard to let go of, still is sometimes.

2. my blog is sort of like physical evidence for me, that i really am here on this planet, making a difference, and that i'm important, what i do is important. AND that we have FUN and life is wonderful. this was huge for me.

3. i have a connection, far more than just electronic, to so many women and their amazing life stories. i am not the only woman out there who feels lonely and worried and psychotic sometimes. and recognizing other's needs, and doing what i can to help, makes me forget about my own worries.4. i have good ideas and it's fun to share them.

5. everyone else has great ideas and i love to copy them!

6. it's ok to have a mix of "random" posts and "this is what i did today" posts (or blogumentary style - as jenny calls it!). for a while i was completely caught up in the guilt i was having over not documenting every minute of every day. i know now that it's ok to just have my own style which is a little bit of both.

7. i learned how to take self portaits and now I'M in the photographs too.8. i see how important it is to me to keep in touch with family and friends. near and far. this might be one of my favorite things about blogging. i really wish everyone had a blog!

9. i feel like i was always a pretty good sender of thank you notes and random notes of kindness, but i am always thinking about it now. and, now i'm also the recipient of it and that's always a good thing.

10. i have four new girlfriends that i hold dear to my heart, who used to be more like aquaintences. we all live in the same small city, our kids even go to the same small schools. but the way we got to know each other was through our blogs and now, birthdays, thursdays and girl's day out will never be the same! (in a good way) i had no idea how much i would need their love and friendship in the last year and how much they would help me to grow as a mom and a woman and a friend.i am a blogger - and i love it! this may be one of my cheesiest posts ever...

**how has blogging my your life better?**

**will you check out lelly's blog and do an spt too?**

grandpa says

i never knew rich's grandpa moore, but i've heard tons of stories about him and really wish that i would have had the chance to know him better. one of my favorite photos ever, is of grandpa holding his wife's hands while grandma squeezes him from behind - i think it's just so telling of their relationship and how much they love each other, and a little bit of their silly, playful sides. rich affectionately tells me over and over fun stories of things they did with grandma and grandpa and some of the funny things grandpa used to say. like, "move over bacon, here comes something leaner", when he wanted to sit next to you on the couch, or "save your money". and, "you gotta hold your tongue just right", when it was necessary to concentrate real hard on something. rich was listening i guess, because he does save his money, and one of the many "richisms" at our house is "move over bacon". so i thought of grandpa when i was looking through these random photos of ethan the other day. he's so serious sometimes, and he always plays with such a purpose, even when it's as simple as "swimming" nemo through the house. and apparently, he's been listening to grandpa's advice and knows, in order to do anything correctly, he has to hold his tongue just right...

s-t-r-e-t-c-h

i know what it's like to feel over-extended, or even stretched beyond my capacity to bend. i have felt this way for most of my adult life. but this....has NEVER been within the realm of my capabilities! no wonder she's a beautiful dancer. can you do this?

puppy envy

our next door neighbor bought this sweet puppy zoey for his wife for christmas. luckily, they're happy to share because ethan loves to to have him (yes a him named zoey) to our house to play. zoey loves ethan too, as soon as he's free from his leash, he runs straight to our driveway to entertain him. as much as i think it would be fun to have a tiny dog - this size i could handle - it is nice to just enjoy him for an afternoon and then walk him back home for his real parents to take care of the vet bills and crying in the night. but since there are no other kids ethan's age in our neighborhood, we are grateful for a buddy who lives right next door.

double take

taylor has been walking around our house now for a few days looking like a different person. every time i see him i do a little double take. it's taking a little bit of getting used to, but i think he's finally looking like my son again. why? i'll give you a hint....all because he came home from school on wednesday saying, "i'm sick of my hair, it's driving me crazy...". lucky for him, we had "trims" scheduled for that afternoon, only taylor skipped the trim and went straight for a cut instead. somewhere in the middle of the process, we just had to see what taylor looked like with a mullet...ooooo shivers! taylor hated it so bad he didn't even want me to take a photo! ha! like i could resist this photo op! too funny... the end result was a little - ok A LOT shorter than he really wanted it and i think he intends on growing it out just a little, but for now, we'll just call him "baldie" instead of "long haired hooligan", or "goldie locks" to name a few of our favorites. the truth is, i never minded his long hair, because i'm kind of down with that whole inner rebel thing. and really, he's not even a rebel, he is a fantastic kid, no matter how he wears is golden locks....unless of course he decides to wear them in a mullet. i don't know if i could take that kind of inner rebel, i'm pretty sure i'd have to shave his head in the night. love you mr. goodbar, i mean...baldie.

SPT

SPT - because of a blogger month - in the kitchen edition

thanksgiving has always been a holiday that i try to do everything a little over the top. i don't make anything that isn't from scratch, with exception to the pie crust, they're just such a pain! i've collected the best recipes from sister-in-laws and friends and i love that it's such a fun mix of everything yummy. it has turned out to be one of my favorite holidays and i don't even like turkey! which brings me to the SPT part of this post. i love pioneer woman's cooking blog, her regular blog is fun too but the cooking is so great, step by step photographs and funny bits of info all along the way. she makes it easy to try everything she does. so, last year when she started working on some thanksgiving recipes, i knew i would have to try a few. she made brining a turkey look like fun and relatively easy and she swore that it made a huge difference with the taste of the turkey. and since the turkey itself is not the part i enjoy i figured i would give it a try. it was fun - mostly because i was at ann's house and we laughed a lot - and it wasn't hard at all, but, i just don't know that it made that big of a difference in the taste, it was pretty much still boring turkey taste. i will brine my turkey again this year, but i'm going to try a different brine recipe to see if it changes anything. so because of a blogger, i brined a turkey and i LOVE pioneer woman! so much, that some girlfriends and i started our own cooking blog - blogger mom's cook - and we do cook, lots of good stuff, so check it out and tell us what you think.

all about moi

i was tagged by Nicki –
i am blogging when I should be sleeping – but I’m always doing tons of things when I should be sleeping.

i think non-stop, especially when I’m trying to fall asleep, my wheels are always turning, it’s so frustrating!
i know that God lives and loves me.
i want to be a good wife and mother, to be organized in my homemaking responsibilities, and to some day go to hawaii.
i have a great life, sometimes I have to pinch myself. corny but true.

i dislike two year old melt downs, jr. high homework, waking up too early and people who are mean to their kids in public.
i miss my high school body that I thought was so fat! ha!
i fear for the well-being of our nation in general.

i feel like i could just stay home in my pjs forever.

i hear my mother's voice giving my advise in my head sometimes.

i smell the gardenia wall flower that I recently plugged in from b&bw – I always have a hard time choosing the sent, I love them ALL!
i crave my husband’s squeeze. if I can make it through to the end of this project, it will be a miracle.
i cry more easily than I wish. my most embarassing moment (hour) ever, was taylor's baptism when i could just not pull it together and even had to give a talk! i'm such a boob!

i usually have a really messy office.

i search for my car keys at least once every day. I almost always find them in my purse – the second or third time I look there.

i wonder what it would be like to have a cleaning lady, what it would be like to sleep through the night, what I should fix for dinner and why recycling is not mandatory? it seems like such a no-brainer thing to do.

i regret not holding the babies more. lucky I knew better with ethan and spent the first year of his life holding him non-stop but it still doesn't seem like enough.
i love so many things – lately, girlfriends and sister in laws. and all the love, creativity, therapy and birthday presents that come with them!
i care about the details – “love is in the details” is one of my favorite quotes so it’s painful to do things half way.
i worry about the future, the state of our country, the environment, the choices my kids will make. but I don’t know that “worry” is the right word, “concerned” I guess is more like it, I’m not really a big worrier. ok, and earthquakes, i worry about an earthquake a little too much.

i am not going to finish all the things on my to-do list - ever. I’m not an under-achiever, my to-do lists are just never realistic. there are just aren’t enough hours of the day and I don’t know how to make smaller lists.
i remember when my kids were all little enough to buy them matching pj’s for Christmas eve. this maybe also belongs in the “I miss” sentence.i believe that people are generally good and well-intentioned, that hurt is always underneath anger and that jack black is one of the funniest men of all time!
i dance with my kids in the kitchen to my cd of “big band” music. my favorite is “fly me to the moon” by frank sinatra – my kids know all the words!
i don't always think before I speak.
i argue only when I feel passionately about something – I try to avoid arguing but that doesn’t always work.
i write all kinds of things: thank you notes, to-do lists, grocery lists, journal entries, my planner, etc.

i win when i think of a comprimise with spencer that works.

i lose my thoughts in mid-sentence sometimes, it’s so embarassing.

i wish I had a magic wand to re-do my old house, re-do my landscaping, and re-do my body…just kidding….mostly.
i listen to the song from “little einstein’s” at least once a day.
i don't understand loading the dishwasher but not wiping down the counters and calling the kitchen clean, why wanting one more tiny little baby is such a big deal, and road rage, I mean seriously people, can’t we all just get along?
i can usually be found at home or behind the wheel of my toyota sienna driving one or more teenagers and a toddler some place and running five minutes late to get there.

i am scared of dark parking lots at night, child predators, and being widowed.

i need a tummy tuck – anyone know any good plastic surgeons?

i forget anything that isn’t written down, and even then there’s no guarantee.
i am happy that tomorrow is sunday and rich will more than likely be home.

thanks nicki, that was a fun list to think through, i'm more messed up that i thought! i tag the blogger moms.

what's in a name?

after taylor's birthday post, i had a few people ask about his nick name "mr. goodbar". when he came home from guitar yesterday with one in his hand, it promted us to do a silly little photo shoot. after i saw how much of taylor's personality came through in these photographs (most of the poses were his idea) i decided that now is as good a time as any to tell the story of how mr. goodbar came to be....taylor came home from school one day in the seventh grade, devestated because the girl he had a crush on for years, was moving out of state. i suggested doing something nice for her before she left, but he was completely against it, that would mean actually having to talk to her of course! i finally convinced him that because he has known her since first grade, and she was his friend and was probably struggling moving so far away and it would be a nice thing to do. so off to the grocery store we went in search of candy bars to make a poster/good bye note for her. taylor wasn't too thrilled about this idea, until i explained that it didn't have to be romantic in nature - just friendly, and then he was cool with it - boys are so weird! so he says there is no way, no how that he is signing his name to the embarrassing candy bar poster and that his form of delivery will be to doorbell ditch her because he doesn't want her to know that it was him. so what's the point of this if she doesn't even know who it's from? whatever. so he picked out a "mr. goodbar" to replace his signature and i called him that all night making the poster - except i said it really sappy-like, you know, "ooooo, missssster goooooood baaaaar", ya, he showed me how much he loved that by rolling his eyes every time i said it, but it was just so funny i couldn't resist. why is so fun to tease our kids? so we go to deliver the poster and find her DAD out in the driveway packing the van for the next day's long drive making a doorbell ditch an impossible delivery method. taylor begged me to just drive away, whatever, i spent like $15 bucks on that stupid poster, and he was going to deliver it! finally, allie ended up delivering it, with taylor ducking in the back seat. only, the dad says, "oh let me go get her for you so you can say good bye to her!" thinking that allie must be one of her friends. at this point, taylor thinks he might be sick to his stomach but i am howling with laughter the whole time, it was just so funny to see this side of him that i had no idea was even there! so she comes out and says good bye to allie, knowing of course who's little sister she is and even waves to the car, to the non-visible taylor sinking and dry heeving and wanting to die in the back seat. it turns out that allie actually used the words, "my brother was too chicken to deliver this to you, so here you go." he didn't take that news too well, but you know what? it didn't matter that she knew who delivered it, because i wrote "taylor" underneath the candy bar when he wasn't looking. she would've figured it out as soon as she had a hankering for chocolate and peanuts. (this mug shot-style pose is taylor's favorite of the shoot) and so...now you know the story of how "mr. goodbar" came to be part of the entorage of nick names taylor answers to around our house.

simple joy

this simple, sweet daisy balloon made an appearance on my mailbox today. i love seeing balloons tied to people's mailboxes. they say, "look at me, someone at this house has a reason to celebrate!" the person who left it was not sending me belated birthday wishes - my initital thought when i saw it. it was attached to a thank you note for a young women activity i helped co-ordinate last week. the person who left it also has no idea how much i love daisies, and that made it even more fun to receive it. i'm definitely giving a balloon the next time i need to thank someone. what is it about a simple little balloon tied to your mailbox that makes you feel so special?

worth the wait

is there anything better than the smell of a freshly newborn baby? or softer than their fuzzy skin and hair? or yummier than their little earlobes? or sweeter than nuzzling their wrinkly necks? and don't get me started on their toes! finally the wait is over, cole michael has arrived! and he's definitely sweet enough to make all the waiting worth it. congratulations jake and april! (makenna was at school for this photo)

coming attraction...

our new baby cousin is coming soon....and we CAN'T WAIT to meet him! it feels like it's been an eternity since jake made the announcement that they were having another baby. i just want to swaddle him tight and nuzzle his soft little neck and kiss him all over his little face. will he have red hair? oh man i hope so! hurry up baby, i can't wait much longer!

simple math

what do you get when you add: kristy's suburban

+ lots of little people

+ a long drive

+ a gripping match of catch phrase jr to pass the time+ iceberg onion rings with a whole lot of fry sauce (wow)+ lots and lots of blankets & hoodies+ happy smiling kiddos?all of this can only add up to one thing = ryan shupe and the rubberband!we had a few more kiddletts with us this year (hence kristy's suburban), and it was a little colder than usual, but the atmosphere was still gorgeous, the music was still great, the band was still so much fun to see live, and the most important factor for fun at an outdoor venue....fresh kettle corn....mmmmmm. plus is was warm so we fought over who got to hug it like this. good times were had by all. this concert is definitely one of the highlights of the year for me, i look forward to it every september and RSRB never disappoint! hailey was teasing me because every time a song started i would say, "oh i love this song!". she's right though, i do love them all!

birthday miracle

you've heard of christmas miracles right? well tonight there was a birthday miracle...i was sitting on the couch waiting for the blogger moms to pick me up for a girl's night out. rich has been working his ridiculous hours and they were saving me from having to spend my birthday home alone! (i have the greatest friends - seriously) when much to my surprise, rich pulled up, and carrying daisies, he told me he left work to come home and take me out on a date for my birthday - what?! the sun was still shining outside and i was shocked. the blogger moms were in on yet another "plan b", a date with my long-lost hubby instead of girlfriends. it was a great night that began with a surprise, and guess what? on the way home we stopped for baskin robbins and i thought i would just order my usual pralines and cream, but then much to my delight, for the first time in YEARS, they had oregon blackberry, my other most favorite, so i decided to have a scoop of each...in a waffle cone. could there be a more perfect dessert?and so really i had two birthday miracles today, rich was home long before sunset and b&r just happened to have my favorite ice cream stocked. it doesn't get any better than that!

p.s. while trying to take the self-portait photo i accidentally took some video instead. it ended up being better than the photo, a real look at how much rich loves my new self-portait obsession!
thanks for humoring me honey, love ya!

plan b

wednesday was supposed to be blogger moms go boating, but it rained. so instead, we went to janae's house for a creative day, ate yummy chicken salad and laughed and until we cried -karrie, you are too funny! thursday was supposed to be blogger moms go to the cheescake factory to celebrate my birthday, but patsy fell on her morning walk and broker her ankle. so instead, they decorated patsy's house, ordered food and fabulous lemon pie and made me a party there so she could keep her foot up and rest but still be in on the party. today, my SIL jenny, who shares my same birthday, and i, were supposed to go to our traditional birthday lunch spot, happy sumo and eat sushi to celebrate our big days, but it ended up being a really busy day. so instead we went to paradise and discovered their yummy creamy wild rice soup and chatted about her recent trip to hawaii. so far this week, nothing has gone according to plan, but hey, plan 'b' has been GREAT. i'm sure plan 'a' would've been nice too, but i did get lots of laughs and tons of stuff done on wednesday that i wouldn't have otherwise. i did get a party with balloons and steamers, and a loud volumn of laughter that wouldn't have gone too well in public. and today i discovered a new favorite soup, not to mention the time we saved staying local. so, i'll take plan b, it's working for me and it's way better than no plan. and...i'm grateful for flexible friends who make everything great no matter what or where we're doing it!

half way to seventy

when we found out that the birthday boy wouldn't be home for our traditional birthday family dinner, the kids and i decided to take the dinner to him! the kids love visiting rich's office, all the office numbers are displayed on mickey mouse ears and names of the employees occupying those offices are printed on a character photo. it's not easy to forget who you work for when you're there. i didn't think to take a photo of rich's door until i was in the elevator...next time. we had dinner in the conference room with just our family, which the kids loved because there are wall-size dry erase boards in there just aching for someone to draw all over them, which they did. we weren't sure who was having more fun, ethan or the teen-agers. we brought a billion cupcakes to share with the fellow disney employees who are plugging away to finish ultimate band right now. poor guys it has been a long road. it was a short visit, trying to let him get back to the plugging away, but we're glad we went so we could wish him a happy birthday. so happy birthday babe, sorry you're spending at work!

ten things i love about ricardo...
1. he is an incredibly hard worker, never does anything half way - all or nothing!
2. he gives me good advise whenever i feel frustrated or overwhelmed about anything.
3. he has been in charge of helping with the math homework ever since the kids were in the fourth grade - really, i'm so grateful for this!
4. he is soooooo smart. for christmas santa brings everyone books, rich's are always computer books that may as well be in japanese for how much sense they make. he has an incredible job and is completely self-taught because he never went to college. wow.
5. he is a great dad and gets such joy out of the kids' accomplishments and seeing them do well. he is always concerned about their well-being, i'm so grateful for this!6. rich has a great sense of humor, the smart, quiet kind of humor that you have to be paying attention to catch. if you didn't know him very well, you would never know what a funny guy he is.
7. he grew a goatee (not a cheesy squeeze one either) just for me and i love his bristly kisses!
8. he has lovely blue eyes that ethan inherited.9. he's a peace maker.
10. he chose me, i mean us, and i love him dearly!happy 35th birthday babe! i'm so lucky to have you!

scary or fun, or fun because it's scary?

i thought after all the roller coaster excitement at lagoon a few weeks ago, that he would really enjoy something like this...but it was loud and fast and i think it scared him to death, at least at first. after a drive down the street and back he did actually smile and clap his hands, but no, "again, again!" like at lagoon. kristy sure had fun though!

the boy is dying to shave ok?

so you've read that story, "if you give a moose a muffin" right? well, after all the girls left my house for "get 'r done" day today, allie and taylor found a little treat that patsy had left behind.so after their creative genius display this afternoon, i'm going to write a new book called, "if you give a fourteen year old a can of fake cheese"...he just might want to wear it on his face. it started innocently enough, putting it on crackers, you know the way god intended humans to eat fake squeezy cheese from a can. but then, taylor went a little crazy.apparently, taylor is also in need of an artistic outlet, just like his mother, except fake cheese sort of sicks me out. in fact, my gag relfex was going crazy while i took these photographs. sheesh, "don't you have any homework to do?", i ask. he says, "hey it could've been worse, i was thinking about adding sideburns but i didn't want to get the cheese in my hair...". oh sure, this makes perfect sense, because fake squeezy cheese all over your face isn't gross at all! whatever.

sorry patsy, i'll buy you a new can to send to brian!