Well, this week has been great - I am back working in the field with DeVry and it couldn't be better! Ok - it could be a little better, I could have some applicants to show for my work this week, but I am sure that they will come soon enough. I love it so much! Working from the house is great - I get to be with the kids more, clean the house a little more, cook dinner a little more (I know this doesn't sound THAT great, but it is). I just feel like this really gives me the ability to effectively juggle work and family. I hate to fail at things...anything...and I felt like I was failing my family a little over the past 6 months...but I am back on track!
Also, this week hit off some great TV. My Sunday night shows are back on - Desperate Housewives (which I am quickly becoming dis-interested in) and Grey's Anatomy (I love Dr.McDreamy). Monday night: The Bachelor in Paris...I am such a sucker for any Bachelor or Bachelorette - they get me reeled in so fast. I am actually not too big on TV the rest of the week but Sunday and Monday are good enough for me. I just found out that we can get Verizon Fios TV with DVR for less than what we are paying for DirecTV so we are going to switch and I wont ever have to worry about missing a show again! I am very excited about that.
Oh - another great thing that happened this week: I always get my hair cut at Tony Cao Salon (www.tonycaosalon.com) and I went in on Wednesday because I really needed a haircut - well my girl, Shaina, who I love - was not there and I really NEEDED a cut - so I just cheated on her....and despite my remorse, I thoroughly enjoyed te best hair wash EVER then I was seated in a chair and this man just comes up and starts cutting my hair with no introduction - I asked him who he was...and...he was Tony Cao, himself. He did a great job so I am over my remorse of cheating on Shaina - I am going to get Kip to take a picture tomorrow when it is cute so I can post it on here.
Ok - so I had a great week! I will post the picture tomorrow - I promise.
It is funny how we all seem to be back to our blogging now that we are back to working. Is it odd that we have so much more time on our hands when we are at work opposed to at home? Well that is exactly the case for me. Here is a little update of the holidays - Christmas was wonderful - it just gets more and more magical for the kids as they get older. I never got around to telling this story of Mackenzie and Kip's shopping trip and I have to share this:
First - they spent one day before Christmas shopping for yours truly. I talked to Kip that morning and he told me what they were doing - as we were getting off the phone - I asked to talk to Mackenzie. I asked her what she was doing that day and she proceded to tell me that they were taking a trip to Nini and Opi's house and that was it. BLATENT LIE. I was so shocked that she could make up a story right there on the spot. Then, that afternoon, I called Kip and they were at the mall - we talked for a minute and then he handed the phone to Mackenzie - I asked her what she was doing - She completely sidetracked me by saying "Ok, I love you mom....bye" She avoided my question and moved right on to get off the phone with me. You know this is my fault - I made such a fuss when she spilled the beans about Kip's party that she has learned how to come up with a cover up story right on the spot. What have I created?
Ok - and Mall story #2 - During the shopping trip, Mackenzie needed to use the potty. Kip stood outside of the ladies room while Mackenzie went inside to do her thing. Kip noticed a few ladies coming out of the restroom laughing - finally - a lady stopped and asked Kip if that was his daughter inside...She proceeded to tell him that Kenzie was sitting in a stall with the door wide open, talking to everyone about how she was so good at pooping on the potty. She is so funny - I laugh so hard everytime that I think of that story.
Anyhow - I love the holidays and spending time with family - we really do both have great families. We are so blessed.
Oh - and I skipped bootcamp 2 times and started back today - ouch. But I have lost 1 pound over the holidays...when you think about that - I think it is pretty impressive - I am on my way - I am shooting for 3 lbs a month! If I do that for one year - I will be smaller than I was in college.
I may have to get into some of my 2006 goals in another post - I dont want to bore you! Oh - I start back working from home next week - YIPPPEEEE!!
Ok - I am sure that I have mentioned this before but we will be travelling to Cape Cod in September for Laura and Rob's wedding. Well, Kip and I had some different opinions on how we would get there. So I have been doing some research to support my opinion. He believes that we should DRIVE to the Cape and I believe we should FLY. So here is a little comparision of the affordability factor - the sanity factor doesnt really need proving at all.
FLY: $235/person for 4 people = $940
Car Rental in Boston = approximately $200 for 5 days TOTAL Flying = $1100
DRIVE: We will have to rent a car because neither of our cars will comfortable fit all of us. Rental of SUV/MiniVan = $440-$950 for a week (will probably be longer than a week)
Gas: 1750 miles from Dallas to Boston = 3500 miles round trip at about 25 miles per gallon = about $375 in gas
Food: 2 days of driving - $20/meal for 3 meals each day = $240
Hotel: 1 night there and 1 night back = $50-75/night = $100
Ok - Grand DRIVING Total = $1155 (modest approximation)
So, it looks to me that we will be spending about the same amount of money to drive or fly! Probably less with Flying. BUT...With 3 children 5, 3, and 1 in September, we will save our sanity and our family love. Kip just thinks that I am against road-trips all together but it is mostly just because the kids are so young and their tolerance levels are young too. Please give me your support in this! With the cost being the same, doesn't it make sense to FLY???
Ok - I just thought that I needed to post a little tribute to my friend Jann who skipped Boot Camp this morning! I got out of my warm cozy bed this morning and went to dreadful Boot Camp only to be all alone in a gym full of strangers. It was quite sad but I struggled through it and I better be skinnier than Jann soon or else! Happy Monday!
On Monday of this week I started Bootcamp at my Gym with my workout buddy Jann. I am telling you that I must be really desperate to do this because it is aweful! I don't want to say that I was never an athlete growing up because I was - I was a gymnast and a cheerleader - which takes a lot of strength, energy, flexibility and endurance. But I am learning a whole new level of endurance that most "real" athletes have. Monday, I got to Bootcamp right on time at 5:30am. Well right on time is not really good enough at bootcamp because you have to run 5 laps around the gym before it starts. So I was RUNNING around the gym trying to get warmed up and had to go right into the drills (already out of breath). We started with running lines, then did lunges, did bear crawls, crab walk, relays, situps, pushups, and more things that I dont even know the name for. The entire time I was just waiting for the barfing to come because my body did not know what was going on. I was so sore on Tuesday and then bootcamp cam again on Wednesday - it was not quite as bad but Wedneday we had to run stairs also which did take me into high school flashbacks. I forgot to mention that Jann and I did have one other friend start bootcamp with us on Monday - Kelly. Kelly ran the 5 laps with me and quit! She just up and went home. So funny! So anyway - I have got to find some time today or tomorrow to get to the gym so that Monday is not a replay of last Monday. I really feel like bootcamp could be the thing that will bring me out of my "fat funk." I am just kind of stuck at the 3 babies in 5 years body change! So - I will keep you updated on Bootcamp - wish me luck!
Last week, I got together with some of my closest friends who just happen to be friends that I made many many years ago - some in middle school and others in high school. I remember graduating from high school and people telling me that I would never stay friends with the people I was friends with in high school and I hate to say that I kind of believed them and went on to college. I kept in touch with Czarina through college - we probably talked about once a month and saw each other at holidays when we were both home. But as for Lindsey, Ashley, Andrea and Cassidy - I think that we talked about three or four times over a 3-4 year span. And even through our growth and changes, we have become great friends again now that we are all back in the area. We get together for dinner about once every 2 months and just catch up. As we get older, we all have new adventures and struggles and it great to have the support of people who you have known so long. We haven't lost a bit of our comfort level around each other, the conversation flows so easily, we laugh loud enough to be kicked out of restaurants. It is great! Anyhow - we had dinner last week and finally got a picture of the 6 of us.
Dinner in the Verandah
Ok - I am getting in trouble about not posting again. But I have a good excuse because Kip and I were in Jamaica, man! The trip was great (with a few quirks) but overall, it was wonderful. I am having my pictures processed today at a one hour photo. So I hope to have some online tomorrow! They should be interesting. Our Thanksgiving was great. Laura, Rob and Pat Price were in town for a week and we had a great Thanksgiving on Wednesday with Kip's family. Dinner was wonderful as always and the company was great as always. Thursday, we went to my grandma's house and had quite a day. My mom has 3 sisters that each have about 100 kids each. Ok - it ranges from 3-6 kids each. But it seems like a hundred. It was so neat to have everyone together again after many years. I would say that it has been about 5-7 years since all of her family was in once place for a holiday. I am the oldest grandchild (at 26 as of yesterday) and then the youngest is Mackenzie's age (4). So we have a nice range of kids running around. I feel terrible about it but I dont know if I could list everyone's names if I tried! It was fun to reconnect with my aunts. Now that I have kids, I feel like I can connect with them on a different level and it was great to enjoy their company! I hope that we can keep in close contact now! Then, Thursday night Kip and I walked out of my grandparent's house with no children in tote, no diaper bags in tote, no worries in tote! While we were driving home in silence, I told Kip I would probably run to the store when we got home and he had a frantic look for a second...then we realized all that we took for granted before we had kids!
When there are no kids around - you can just run to the store, go get gas, pop into Walmart, etc, etc, etc. But I will tell you what - the trip to Walmart was pretty boring. I really don't know what I am going to do one day when my kids would just rather stay at home than go everywhere with me!
Anyhow - we had a great trip to Jamaica. We missed our babies so much, but we truly believe that one of the best gifts you can give your children is a great marriage, and we believe that having some time alone really helps us to enrich our marriage! And we did just that - we held hands, we kissed just for the heck of it, it was great! When I have pictures tomorrow, you will hear all of the events of Jamaica - it was quite a trip!
2 - names you go by: Mom and Shauna
2 - parts of your heritage: German, Irish, Native American
2 - things that scare you: Scorpions, Anything biting Chase
2 - of your everyday essentials: shower and Dr.Pepper (I just cant shake that one)
2 - things you are wearing right now truthfully?: Black pants and Purplish shirt
2 - of your favorite bands or musical artists: I am actually not a big band/music fanatic - I like it but I dont really have favorites - I know it is weird
2 - favorite songs: please reference last comment
2 - truths: If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten. God will never give you more than you can handle.
2 - things you want in a relationship (other than real love): Lots of laughter and continuous growth
2 - of your favorite hobbies: Working out(doesnt really seem like a hobby but it is) and doing fun things in my house
2 - things you want really badly: an Ikea entertainment center in my gameroom and french doors to our office
2 - places you want to go on vacation: Italy and Hawaii
2 - things you want to do before you die: Watch my kids grow and enjoy life, lose 30 lbs. :0)
2 - ways that you are stereotypically a chick: by selling Mary Kay and my weakness for gossip
2 - things you are thinking about now: I should be working...
2 - stores you shop at: (most frequently?!?!) -- Kroger and Ebay
I decided last night to make a little tribute to Laura and Rob in regards to their engagement. Through much needed peer pressure, I was convicted that I am not blogging nearly enough. So here's to you, Laura! I think that is encouraging to married couples to see two people preparing for and excited about entering this world of married people. We take it for granted some days that we have a bond that so many people long for. It warmed my heart to see you so happy and I am so excited for you to experience all of the joys of marriage. Of course there are some downfalls to marriage and those are:
Just kidding!
There really aren't any when you marry the right person! (And I am not just saying that because Kip has found my blog)
I am so excited about the wedding next year - that we will be flying to! Not driving in a car with 3 kids ages 5, 3 and 1. I thought that I would make that clear one more time.
Anyhow - Congratulations again and remember that:
"It's not your love that sustains your commitment, it is your commitment that sustains your love."
Love you guys!
Yesterday's message at church was about laughing and how God created us to experience joy. So I got to thinking all day about some things that make me laugh and have made me laugh over the years. I thought that I would cummulate a little list (some may be a little vague to protect the innocent)
1. All of the things that Mackenzie says...she is so witty at the age of 4
2. The way that Chase laughs when you tickle him
3. Megan's scar on her forearm from doing handstands in the hallway our Freshman year of college
4. Meredith walking home at 8am across the campus in last nights clothes
5. "Bubby"
6. Laying on top of the van at Frio Rio singing "Somewhere Out There"
7. Czarina tumbling down Frio Rio or one of the other rivers we tubed
8. The time that Kip dressed Mackenzie in a cheerleading top and Chase's Overalls to go to her ritzy daycare
9. Kenzie singing "My Humps"
10. Kip's theory of how all the lights turn green on Main street so that you can drive straight through them if there are no other cars around
11. The full blown rendition of all my high school cheers with my fellow D'Ville cheerleaders that happened about a month ago (and the fact that it is caught on tape somewhere)
12. BUNKO talks and the BUNKO necklace that is still around from when I got married
13. How I knocked my gas door off
14. Coordinated dance routines in Shakazulu and Starlight's room
These are just a few that I could think of right now. I laugh at myself alot - I dont really think that I am THAT funny but I think that if I laugh everyone else will just join in. I think it is important that we do laugh alot and find the wonderful things in life. People always ask me why I am happy so much...why not!? If I allow everything to get me down that should, I would be miserable. So thanks to all of you who contribute to my laughter!
We had a regional meeting in Austin, TX this weekend. I was very reluctant and annoyed that I had to go but I put my smiling face on and made the best of the trip. I really liked Austin - Kip says that is the one city that he would move to - I dont know if I liked it that much, but I did think it was a cool city. For anyone who is from Austin, answer this for me - Why in the world is that highway called MoPac? It caused me a lot of problems while I was there. The google directions called it MoPac, my husband called it MoPac, locals called it MoPac - but I did not see a single sign referring to Highway 1 as MoPac. This could have been a contributing factor to how lost I was in Austin. I did learn alot about Austin and Texas history while I was there (we participated in a scavenger hunt around downtown). I feel like a bit of a 6th street expert now. We did encounter a few obstacles in our scavenger hunt though. First of all, there was a KKK rally going on in downtown Austin on Saturday. That is never good - but to make it a little worse, we were made to wear bright white DeVry polo's all day. So there were groups of us running around town in those all day. We recieved a few angry glares until they read our shirts. Also, there are a ton of homeless people in downtown Austin. I felt like a moron running around town asking people stupid questions about armadillos and jackalopes when there were people who desperately needed help all around. It just seemed a little ridiculous. It put a lot of things into perspective.
On another note- my family survived the weekend without me. I didnt really doubt that they could, but I am very impressed with Kip. There were no traumatic accidents, no one starved, Macy didnt cry all night because he couldnt hear the monitor because he sleeps through it every other night...oh - did I just say that?! :0) The point is that he did a great job and I should go out of town over the weekend more often! :0)
Macy.....And Mackenzie in the Morning
Chase as Frog and Mackenzie as Vampire Princess Ballerina (Scary!)
Today is Halloween and the candy madness has already started. The kids had candy all day yesterday, this morning and I am sure they have not stopped at Kaycee's this afternoon. That and the time change are really messing up our schedule. Everyone was wide awake at 5:00am this morning. They were not at all phased by the fact that it was still dark outside and cartoons were not even showing on PBS yet. That should be a clear sign that kids do not need to be awake yet. I am sure that tonight is not going to be the night that everyone gets back into their routines! I will probably need to give it a few days.
On another note - I have decided that there are all different kinds of "smart." I was a little concerned and disheartened last week when Mackenzie brought home a report card from her preschool. There are a good number of areas that Kenzie is exceptional in - She knows her full name, she knows the letter A, she can show you all of her upper extremeties, she has excellent social skills, and is pretty coordinated. But I was pretty bothered by some of the areas she is behind in. She is having counting issues and letter issues... kind of the core areas of education these days. But I decided yesterday that she is still a genius. We were talking about Halloween and she said: "Next is Halloween, then it is Christmas, then it is Easter, then it is Mother's Day." Show me a 4 year old who knows that! :0) Just kidding - I am sure that there are tons of them, but I decided that we can work on the other areas, I am confident in Mackenzie and I think she is quite intelligent!
I hope that everyone is safe tonight and I pray that it stops raining so we can load up on candy.
I am now a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant. It is very exciting. I really love the products and the business opportunities are great! I know that you are wondering....."Shauna - what in the world are you thinking adding one more thing onto your plate of food? The corn is falling off on the floor, the chicken is on top of your cake and your milk is spilling onto your mashed potatoes!" Due to the food falling all over the place, mama needs to buy some Happy Meals! A little extra cash around here is very appealing if you get my drift. So - if you are looking through the pictures of my family and you feel a bit of sympathy for me - please visit my MK website. It is www.marykay.com/shaunacallaghan . I vow not to go around commenting on everyone's blog and leaving my website! Although, I know you would all love that! Please check out the website and buy stuff! :0) I am so sure....do I sound desperate or what?! I am just very excited! Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions!
Every year we go to the Flower Mound Pumkin Patch - it is a family tradition. We don't have too many of these yet but they are starting to add up. The kids really enjoyed themselves, we got a gigantic pumpkin, did a few bounce houses, were swarmed by bees and then came home! It was a great time. Enjoy the pictures.
Well, I realized tonight that I really had not taken time to sit down and verbalize about us in a little while. Life just gets so hectic around here. The kids are doing great - for anyone who was keeping up with Macy's sleeping patterns - she is officially sleeping through the night now. It is a rare occasion that we are up in the middle of the night - still an occasion, but at least a rare one. Chase has hit a milestone tonight. He is sleeping in a big boy bed. No more crib! He was perfect - I took him upstairs, read him "Noah's Big Boat," and left him to sleep - no crying - no opening the door to his room - no throwing toys out of the room (Mackenzie tendancies) - He was perfect! That is all of the child updates that I can think of.
I had a really fun weekend. All of my wonderful ACU girlfriends came in to town and it was so much fun. We had a wedding shower/bachelorette party for Audrey. She is getting married in November so she can join our little club. :0) Meredith stayed around all weekend, despite her hubby being just miles away. Tricia and the baby in her belly were here also. It was so much fun! I have such a strong bond with these friends and I think that part of that lies in our common faith. What a difference that makes in our friendship. Anyway - we had a blast and I miss them already.
This month is going to be so busy - who would have thought that October would be a busy month. I think we have something going on every weekend. So - I hope to keep current on the blog - Good night!
Mackenzie had her bi-yearly Dentist visit on Friday. Everything went well - she is such a pro at going back into the dentist office alone. She doesn't freak out like my sweet husband Kip. They took x-rays for the first time. And she has 3 cavaties between her teeth so, okay - we have been slacking on the flossing. About the flossing: Anyone with advice on this???? What a pain!! It is a huge endeavor just to get her to brush her teeth each day, moreless, me meticulously flossing between each tooth every day. I will do it for the sake of her oral health and my $300-$400 but...uhhhhh..... For those of you who think that having kids is going to be a walk in the park (no names) consider the flossing every day. It is a little more than I bargained for. I am not even that worried about her mouth - let's consider my shark boy - Chase. He has had teeth since he was 2 months old and will bite down on anything. He never picked toys up as a baby - he grabbed them with his teeth. I don't even want to try flossing his teeth - scary. So - if anyone has any ingenious advice on flossing, please keep it coming!
Chase crashed again today!!! Kip called me at work around 6:45pm and told me that Chase had "CRACKED" his head. Now, to me, CRACKED would involve some definite bleeding and an emergency room - but CRACKED, in reality, mean a pretty nice bruise - in addition to the face full of them that he has. They were playing in the living room and Chase was running around Kip. He tripped over Kip's feet and fell, head first, into the base of the couch. What is up with this kid? I am seriously going to take him to the doctor to find out what is wrong with him. Kaycee and I were discussing how his head is just in the clouds most of the day. He is a sharp kid - as sharp as a 2 year old can be - but just kind of spacy. I know that this is probably a stupid thought but Chase had a ton of ear infections as a baby and he has tubes in his ears now. I just wonder if his equilibrium is not as stable as it could be. I am sure that I am thinking too far into it, but who knows.
On another note: Hurricane Rita
Kip and I have been talking this evening about how much we need to be proactive about the possible effects of this hurricane on Dallas and on our home. I would really like other peoples' opinions on this. We are doing some research into the safest places in our home in case of tornados. I expect to lose power because we do even with a little thunderstorm. I am calling tomorrow to have a patch of our roof fixed because it leaked when it last rained. I will probably go fill up my car with gas tomorrow, buy some bottled water and candles. My mind is going in a million directions. It seems kind of silly but it cannot hurt, as we have seen. I am trying not to stress out about it, just to think soundly about precautions we can take. Please feel free to post with advice! Goodnight.
Macy slept last night from 8:30pm to 4:30am. I need to stretch that sleep time about an hour and a half and I think that I will be good.
I am so happy to hear that I have regular blog readers. I talked to my very good friend Meredith today (hi Mere) and she let me know that she has been reading this each week. So she forgot that she hadn't called me in about 2 months because she knew every detail of my daily life! But we are back on track with the phone calls so I have not blacklisted her yet. Well I am almost to Friday so I am trying for 8:30pm to 6:00am tomorrow - I will let you know how the sleeping goes!
God Bless!
Well, last night was not as successful as I had hoped. But Macy did have a little different pattern of going to sleep so that could be the cause. I had to work late last night so the kids were over at Fran's house (my mother in law). I dont know exactly what time Macy went down so that could be the disruption. She was up at 2:30am and because I didnt know her schedule from earlier, I went ahead and gave her a bottle. We will get back into the groove tonight!! Here are some pictures of the kiddos.
Here are Macy and Chase before bedtime on Monday night - oh how sweet they are!
Here is Mackenzie before school today out in the front yard.
Well, either we had a fluke night of sleeping or the training is working. I woke up around 4:30am and Macy had not woken up yet. She finally woke up around 6:00am!! Maybe I do know what I am doing. We'll see.
Well, the sleeping project is going well. Saturday night I let Macy cry herself to sleep and she cried for about 20 minutes and was out. She woke up around 12am-1am which is in her routine and I let her cry for a few minutes and she went back to sleep. Last night I put her down around 8:30pm and she cried for about 10 minutes. She did not wake up until 4:00am. Progress!! So tonight, I laid her down around 8:00pm - she was so sleepy that she did not lay down awake, which I am worried will break the cycle. We'll see. Wish me luck!
I feel like I am working way more weekends than I really should be. Here I am at work on another Saturday...uhhhh. At least we spent yesterday bowling in place of working. Speaking of bowling - I am really bad at it. But I have decided that this is not a bad thing. I have not wasted time in my life really perfecting my bowling skills and that is okay by me.
On another note, Macy is 3 months old now and still not sleeping through the night. I really thought that I had become an expert on sleeping babies after I got Chase to do it by the time he was 2 months old. I think that he was just an exceptional baby and I dont know what I am doing at all. Last night I was sleeping so soundly that I dont know how long that Macy was crying in her room. I woke up abruptly and went it to check on her. She had rolled over (for the first time) and was screaming her head off. She is really showing her gemini characteristics already with going from perfectly content to unwired in a matter of seconds. She is so funny. Anyhow - This is week is "MISSION SLEEP" for Macy and I will have her sleeping through the night by Friday night. Just wait.
Ok - Back to work...
We decided to go on a walk this morning around the neighborhood because it is finally starting to feel comfortable in Dallas. Not cool - but bearable. The walk ended up being quite funny. First - Macy has had a snotty nose for the past week or two. So I have been suctioning her nose with the bulb thing(which I hate to do). I brought the bulb with us because I was sure I would have to use it and sure enough, I did. I suctioned one nostril - and mindlessly sqeezed the bulb to suction the other nostril.....blowing all of the snot onto Macy's forehead. It was so funny and I didnt have anyone to share it with - I didn't really want to bring the other 2 kids in on it because it was really gross. Then as we were nearing home - we came upon some fresh dog doo doo - I, of course, told the kids to stay away from it - but Chase, in his boyish glory, decided it would be smart to stomp down into it! Uhhh.. Boys are so gross. I am sure this is only the beginning of it. Growing up with all girls was so easy - I cannot imagine the things that I am in for with him.
We are so blessed to have our family so close by. There are a ton of reasons why:
- Saturday morning visits from Nini
- Weekends getaways for Kenzie to the Lake with Mimi and Pops
- Sunday night dinners
- My mom's chicken fried steak dinner
- Kaycee watching the kids
- Holiday frenzy made possible
- Chris the Handyman
- Ted the computer-whiz
- Queeny to love on the kids
- Ed's yard equipment
- Random visits from Randi "sister" (my sister that Kenzie considers her own)
- Ashley the last minute babysitter (we miss you!!)
- Kip and I being able to have a dating life (with each other of course)
Another one of the fun parts is having all 5 of these guys together(soon to be 6).
