Things I am NOT!

1.  I am not organized - I try to be, and I want to be..but I am just not. 

 

2.  I am not a hoarder - My mom saves everything.  Every piece of paper I ever did in school, every art project, and every card I have ever given her, she saves.  I refuse to be that way.  It can be hard to throw things away, but I refuse to keep things I don't need.  Even later in life, my mom has given me things she has kept since I was a baby and I wonder what I am going to do with these things.  Half the time I throw them out.  Who keeps icing baby shoes from their baby shower cake?  My mom did and then gave them to me a year ago...They were 35 years old.  I threw them out!  Sorry mom!

3.  I am not a list maker - I should keep a list of things I need at the store, but guess what?  Since I am not organized,  I loose my lists.  So, I do not even bother anymore.

4.  I am not good at keeping up with the laundry - I try very hard to do laundry everyday, but I get 3-4 loads done, and I am spent.  I am always behind in laundry and I do it every single day.  I am bad about keeping it in the washer and having to rewash it again.  

5.  I am not always patient with Larry -  See, Larry is an Engineer.  They have a different way of thinking about everything.  He is very meticulous, organized, and a perfectionist.  I am NONE of those things.  So, projects take him a very long time to do.  While I try very hard to be patient with him, sometimes I am not.  He also forgets something every time we leave the house.  He will back out of the driveway, just to turn around to get his wallet, sunglasses, or to make sure the coffee pot is unplugged. Even leaving the house takes a very long time because he is so slow!  He literally can drive me crazy like no one else. I think it took him an entire summer to build our small deck because it was never good enough.  It takes a special person to be married and stay married to an Engineer!  I guess I am one of those people.

6. I am not very creative - I am not very good at anything "artsy."  Scrapbooking is actually difficult for me at times because I lack the ability to be creative.  My pages start looking the same after a while.  I am so grateful for my friends who help me with idea's and suggestions.  It is what makes scrapbooking fun.

7.  I am not musical - I can not sing or play any type of instrument.  I was in the band when I was younger and I hated it.  Sometimes I would just pretend to play because I was so bad.  I think I was the last chair in clarinet.  It was embarrassing.  So I decided to be a cheerleader instead! A very smart decision on my part.

8.  I am not a loner - I hate to be by myself.  I am a very social person, and when I am alone for long periods of time I get anxious.  Now, I love when Larry takes the boys for the day or even a few hours so I can have some alone time.  But I always find myself on the phone with my mom or friends because I need to talk.  I love chatting with people and I could never be the type of person who would enjoy living alone.

9.  I am not adventurous - Not one tiny bit!  I am not into fast things, such as skiing, sky diving, roller coasters or climbing a mountain.  I like my feet firmly planted on the ground.  I am not one to try something new or different.  

10.  I am not one who likes to go to the movies - While every once in a while I enjoy a good movie, I am not one who looks forward to going, or really even cares to go.  I like being home and watching my own TV.  Even on Netflix, I am more prone to watch reality shows than movies.

11.  I am not a person who reads a book more than once - To me, this is a complete waste of time.  Why would you re-read a book you know the ending to?  It does not make sense to me.  I actually feel the same way about movies.  I never buy movies because after I watch it once, I will not watch it again.  It is one reason I love libraries and Netflix!

12.  I am not one who holds a grudge - I could never understand why someone would want to hold a grudge or a long period of time.  I have family members who quit speaking to other family members for years over the dumbest things.  Some of the members of my family can and will hold a grudge for years.  I just don't have time for that silliness!  Plus, by the time you make up, do you really even know what you were mad at for so long?  It just seems to age you and bring you down.  I just don't care to be involved in that type of behavior.

13.  I am not very good at taking care of myself - I really should take more time for just me.  But when you have children, you are not the important person anymore.  I put my children's needs and wants first and that leaves me out in the cold many times.  But that is okay, as long as they are happy.  I should really make more of an effort to do things more for myself.  I should put me first once in a while...Maybe I will do that and it will make my "Happy List."

14.  I am not perfect - I do not want to be, nor do I care to be!  I am who I am and I love my life.  I make mistakes as a mother, wife and a friend, but I always try to do right by them.  Perfection is so over rated!

That is all I could think of for now.  Tomorrow, I am going to move on to "The Things I am".  Now that should be interesting!

Thanks for reading...

Shelby

My Favorite Teacher...

School was something that never came easy for me.  I have many memories of my elementary school days.  I remember the smell of the school, standing in the lunch line, and going to the school store to buy erasers.  I remember feeling the building was so big, even though it only housed K-6 grades.  Washington Elementary School,  was a time I will never forget because it was during this time, I met a teacher that changed my life forever.

Kindergarten back then, was basically a time when you just learned your ABC's, counting to 100, and learning about "Letter People."  We would be playing, and then there would be a knock on the door.  Behind the door, stood one of the "Letter People."  We would watch a movie about that letter person, do a craft and then sit in a circle and see who in our class name started with that letter.  My Kindergarten teacher was very strict. There was no having fun in her class.  I think she had taught Kindergarten for like 100 years, and she really needed to retire.  I think even Aubree may have ended up with her as her teacher.    But Kindergarten was nothing compared to the misery of 1st grade...

By far, first grade was MISERABLE.  My teacher hated me, and hated me with a passion, and the feelings were mutual.  I remember one time, I had gotten a bad grade on a paper.  She knew it was mine, but I had forgotten to put my name on it.  After she handed out the papers, I did not get one back.  She held it up, and showed it to the class and yelled at me for not putting my name on it.  Everyone knew it was mine, and very visible was the bad grade.  She accused me of lying in front of the class because I did not claim the paper when she held it up.  Who does that?  Especially to a young, impressionable kid?  She was awful!  I will never forget that as long as I live.

Second grade was a little better, but not by much.  The one thing I remember most, was she would teach us math.  Now, I am not math minded person.  She would always show us how to do the math on the board.  Then she would hand out a worksheet.  She would sit at her desk and put a folder up on her desk that had a lady bug on it.  It said "Do Not Bug Me."  So, we were not allowed to ask her a question.  We also were not allowed to talk to our neighbors.  So if you had a question, you were on your own to figure it out.  This has made such an impression on me.  It is like throwing kids in a huge pit and having them fend for themselves.  Teachers should NEVER do this!  Hence, one reason I had to repeat 2nd grade...and guess what?  My mom put me back in HER class!  What was she thinking?

Third grade was good...cant remember much.  But I remember really liking her.  But it was 4th grade that forever changed me.

This is when I was introduced to Mrs. Bullock.  Mrs. Bullock, is by far the one person who has made a huge impression on me.  I thought she was amazing.  From what she wore, to the smell of her perfume.  She never spoke a mean word.  She is the example of the perfect teacher!

I looked up to her like no one else.  I would love to go to school because she was there.  She would read to us everyday.  She had this rocking chair in the front of the room, over in the left corner.  We would gather there for reading hour.  She always wore this bangle bracelet and when she would read, the bracelet would hit the rocking chair arm.  I loved this bracelet!  It was silver, and I wanted on just like it, so I could read and have it hit the arm of the chair.

She treated me with kindness, respect, and she cared.  I had never had a teacher do that for me before. She helped me when I needed it, and never singled me out.  She was the type of teacher I needed to succeed.  At the end of the year, my mom even wrote her a letter telling her just how much of an impression she had made on me.  My mom still has a copy of this, and a few years ago, I got to read it!

I can't remember when I contacted her later in life.  But I did.  I wanted her to know just how much she meant to me as a child.  We began a friendship that I cherish till this day.  When I would come home on breaks from school, we would meet for lunch.  Our lunches would last for hours because of all the talking we would do.  We would catch up on our lives, and just spend some time together.  In between these lunches, we would email each other.  I would tell her about all the major events in my life. She was present the day I married Larry, and she was one of the first people I told when we were expecting our baby's.

Honestly, the reason I went into teaching was because of her.  I wanted to be the influence on children that she was on me. I wonder how many other former students feel this way about her?  I wonder if she really knows, how much she impacted children's lives?  I hope she does.

My Happy List....

Sometimes it seems that so many people focus on the negative.  I decided that once a week, I am going to make a happy list of all the incredible things that made me happy that week.  Never will anything be negative, I may look on the bright side of bad things...but only happy thoughts for my list...

My Happy List 3-22-11


Scrapbooking with my friends - 4 days of scrapbooking with my awesome friends
Coming home to a very clean house
Listening to Kloe laugh
Making cookies with Colt
Kade passing swimming and moving on to the next level
Having my new Miche bag returned after leaving it in a store
Making plans to go on a long weekend over spring break to Aubree's house
Getting my new Kindle case with a light attached
Blake coming up behind me and telling me he loves me
Danielle coming over to my house for dinner on Monday
Getting my nails done with Danielle
Talking to my friend Pam on the phone
Eating at Cold Stone in Gaylord
Drinking coffee in the morning
writing in my blog
Cuddling with my dogs
Watching The Deadlist Catch
Watching American Idol
Getting a good nap

I love focusing on the good things in my life :)

Friendship

 Friendship for me is a necessity.  I have made and kept some wonderful friends through my life, and I have also lost friends too.  A wise person once told me that "When you are older, it is hard to make new friends, so you should do everything you can to keep the ones you have."  I try very hard to live by this, but apparently sometimes I have not.  Losing a friend is devastating, especially when you have no idea why.

I have this one friend, Pam, who has been a staple in my life since the very beginning of 9th grade.  We were in the girls locker room after gym class, and she had this horrible smelling perfume (but at the time, we loved it) and our friendship began just like that.

We have been though just about everything you can imagine.  The hours we spent together in high school, were some of the best days of my life.  Many of my "firsts" were with Pam.  For example, we decided we were going to start smoking.  Pam had just turned 18 and she wanted to go into a gas station and buy a pack of cigarettes.  She wanted to see if she would get carded.  She came out all angry and said "The stupid guy did not even card me.  Now what are we going to with these?"  Well, we decided to smoke the.  Now, neither one of us had ever done it before.  So we were going to be cool, and become smokers.  We lit up and hit Ashmun Street for our usual "Slashing Ash" evening.  So, about a week later, Pammy said to me (as we were smoking our still 1 pack of cigarettes) "Do you like this?"  I said "no, not really."  "Do you?"  and she said "No!"  That was the last time either of us ever smoked.  We had not even finished the one and only pack we had bought.  Our days as smokers was behind us.

High school sucks, and it would have been even worse for me if I had not had Pammy.  I think of all the phone calls, sleep overs, nights out,  baking crazy things, her amazing dog, and her amazing family, and it made that time so much better for me.  They were my second family.  The one friend I had that I could always count on.  The one person who made me laugh, and the smartest girl I knew...I was so lucky to have Pammy in my life...

After college, I went to PA, and Pammy did some schooling in Mexico.  I remember thinking "what I am I going to do without her being in the Soo?"  Even though I was not there, it was comforting to know that Pammy was.  Once she was done with Mexico, she moved to Colorado.  Where she is today.  We still are as close as ever.  Our lives have paralleled each other.  I got married, and she got married, I had 3 boys, she had 3 boys.  Even things that happen with our boys are so very similar.  I wish we lived closer to each other so our children could grow up together.  But, when she comes home, the boys play, and Pammy and I sit, talk and laugh.

I really do not think anyone knows me like she does.  I have been truly blessed to have her in my life.  She is one of those friends that no matter what happened to me, I know I could count on her.  I love our phone calls as we talk about our family's.  I love that she calls me to ask me advice about the boys.  I feel honored that she trusts my parenting skills, and honored that after so many years, she is my friend....Thank you, Pammy!

There are a couple of other friends that have really made an impact on me.  One being my friend Katrina.  Katrina has been someone I can lean on and ask for help and parenting advice and she has never steered me wrong.  What I have learned from Trina is the importance of nursing a baby.  Before I had her as a friend, I was alone in the breastfeeding world.  Nobody in my family had nursed a baby before.  When I had Blake premature, Trina helped and guided me through the whole process.  She ignited my passion for breastfeeding.  She taught me the value of following your heart and not to listen to the negative comments my family was giving me.  I truly have learned so much from her.  She is wise in her 27 years.  We have spent hours on the phone swapping stories on raising chidlren, breastfeeding, parenting a preemie, natural childbirth.  The list could go on and on.

When I got pregnant with Kloe, early on I had asked Trina to please try to be present.  See, she is such a cheerleader.  She knows questions to ask the doctors, when my head is not in the game.  She is a childbirth expert (in my opinion).  Even though, I had been there 3 other times, I had visioned a "perfect" birth and I knew Trina could help make that possible.  When I went into labor, Trina packed up her kids and took them to her in-laws.  She packed up her youngest daughter and husband and drove to Petoskey to be with me.  For any of you who really know Larry, he is USELESS in the delivery room.  He hates blood and anything to do with it.  I knew that Trina would be way more valuable than Larry.  So, she was kind enough to up root her family for the night.

She never left my side.  At one point we were walking the halls and we could not find Larry.  We walked into the waiting room, and there he was sound asleep!  I looked at Trina and I could have slit his throat, but we both just laughed.  I woke him up and said "What are you doing?" he said "sleeping" and I told him to get his butt back to my room!  What the heck?  Trina and I laughed, and I told her "I told you he was going to be no help!"

If I would have asked her to rub my back for 3 hours straight, she would have!  She was so wonderful.  The whole experience was amazing because she knew what I wanted and she made sure I got it.  When the horrible pain of labor began, she was right at my side talking me through it.  By this time, she had been up for more than 24 hours and not once did she complain.  She was there when our gift came in the world, and I wish I could let her know how valuable she is to me.  And how I truly love her and our friendship!

The last friend I want to share with you is my friend Danielle.  Danielle and I met two years ago when she had Bichon's for sale.  My Mom was purchasing one from her and I went to look at them.  I remember sitting across from her and we had so much to talk about because of our love of Bichon's.  Our friendship was instant. Danielle, is someone I love to be around.  She makes me smile.  She is the best dog owner I know.

Danielle gave me something that I did not know my family needed, and that was Kooper.  Kooper is my almost 2 year old Bichon.  See, when I went to visit with my mom that first time, I was so proud of myself; I left without purchasing a dog.  The second time I went, I was not so lucky.  What happened was, Kooper was to go to Danielle's daughter Chelsea.  Chelsea changed her mind and Danielle had bonded with Kooper.  So, standing over the sink, watching Danielle cry because she was going to have to part with Kooper was to much for me to handle.  I said, "I think I would like him" and Danielle was so happy that he was going to still be part of her life.  Now, I was a little hesitant because I have Bella, who at the time was 8.  I was afraid that Bella would be upset at the new addition.  But I have to say, Kooper gave Bella her life back.  And for that, I can never thank Danielle enough!  Plus, Danielle spoils Kooper like crazy...he loves his Grandma Danielle!

My kids LOVE Danielle.  From the very beginning, Danielle was so interested in my children.  They love
going to her house and they love spending time with her.  Recently, she has been coming to our house every Monday to have dinner with us, and to help the boys with their homework and bedtime.  It has been so wonderful to have her around and the boys just love Mondays.  Sometimes it gets a little crazy because they want her attention, but I will tell you what...Mondays are my favorite day of the week now!

I do want to share a funny story with you.  You see, Danielle has taught me many things.  One of those being, how to properly decorate a cake.  She does amazing cakes!  So for my boys birthdays, I have taken to making them.  Now, for those of you who really know me, I am not the cleanest baker in the world.  I have tried but my kitchen always looks like a bomb went off.  Well, Danielle is a very clean baker.  She is shocked at what I can do to her kitchen in ten minutes flat! Flour will be all over, powder sugar flying through the air, and Danielle's face is nothing but pure shock.  I love those moments!  Because even though I have single handedly destroyed her kitchen, she still keeps wanting to bake with me...We do quite a bit of baking together and it is one of my favorite parts of our friendship!

One thing I have to say about Danielle is, she is the most caring, unselfish, loving friend.  She would give me the shirt off of her back if need be.  I have never met anyone and bonded so quickly as I did with Danielle.  Our friendship came naturally, and she truly has been a blessing to me and my children.

These 3 people who I have highlighted today are just a few of the many wonderful friends I have been so fortunate enough to have made.  I will be talking about many others over the course of my blog.  Each of my wonderful friends I have in my life have all impacted me in different ways.  Friendship is a so important for me and I love each of my friends for the different, unique, and wonderful things they have taught me.  So, thank you Pammy for being my longest and best friend, our friendship is endless.  Thank you Katrina for being the wonderful teacher, doula, and care giver you are.  And Thank you Danielle for being the amazing listener, dog breeder, and the amazing Grandmother you are to my children.  All 3 of you have made me who I am today!

Things I Wish I Would have Done, Things I Have Done, and Things You Will Never Catch Me Doing...

Things I Wish I Would Have Done....

1.  I wish I would have gone to Law School - I LOVE the law!  I wish I would have had my act together when I was younger and I would have put the effort into Law School...Oh, maybe someday!

2.  I wish I would have never moved back the area - As much as I love living close to my family, I hate the weather here.  In the winter, I am pretty miserable.  I love the heat, beaches, sun, and a good tan!

3.  I wish I would have traveled to Hawaii or Europe when I was a Flight Attendant - When you work for an airline, you get to travel for free.  Why did we not use that perk?  Just stupid!

4.  I wish I would have gone to Mexico when I was on a layover in California - A bunch of my co-workers went to Mexico during a layover.  It was a short trip, just a few hours, but I chose not to go.  I was so exhausted from flying 8 legs that day...the last thing I wanted to do was go to Mexico!

5.  I wish I would have taken a good cooking class  - I love to cook/bake.  I wish I would have taken the time to learn how to properly do it!

6.  I wish I would have never listened to many family member's when they told me not to nurse Kade - No one in our family had ever breast fed.  For some reason, I listened to the negative comments from them and I formula fed Kade.  He was so miserable.  By far my most unhappy baby.  I believe that if I would have nursed him, he would have been a much better baby.  I learned a huge lesson from this!

7.  I would love to be a contestant on the Amazing Race - But Larry and I would kill each other.  He is horrible with directions, and I am very impatient if we are slow.

8. I wish we lived in the woods in a bigger house - As much as I love our house, I wish it was bigger and it was tucked away in the woods.  That is where I want to live...Maybe in time :)

9.  I wish I would have learned how to pilot a plane - a secret wish of mine!

Things I Have Done


1.  Been to New York City for New Years Eve - The year it turned 1995, a small group of friends went to New York City.  What a great trip!  One I will never forget...We spent a week there and saw some pretty amazing things.  The highlight is climbing to the top of The Statue of Liberty!

2. Flew on a plane with Robert Redford - He was in first class on one of my flights.  Very private man and not as handsome as he is on TV.

3.  Saw Phantom of the Opera - Something I always wanted to do!  Loved the show.

4.  Saw Cher in concert - What an amazing performance!

5.  Explored many caves with Larry - This is something we used to do all the time.  Spelunking was fun, especially in Indiana.

6.  I have given birth twice completely natural - This is a HUGE accomplishment for me.  Twice I went drug free...It is something I will never forget and worthy of my list (to me, anyway).

7.  Been to The Grand Ole Opry  - Larry and I enjoyed our evening at The Opry!  We saw some great performers.


Things You Will Never Catch Me Doing

1.  Eat Ranch, Mayo, Sour Cream or Fish
2.  Bungee Jump
3.  Sky Dive
4.  Ride on a roller coaster
5.  Go down hill Skiing
6.  Swimming in deep water
7.  Ice fishing
8.  Cleaning the chicken coop
9.  Walking across the Mackinac Bridge
10.  Anything that involves heights (besides flying)
11.  Anything that involves tight spaces...I am very claustrophobic.

My Passions

1.  My kids
2.  Reading
3.  Baking/cooking
4. Grocery shopping
5.  Buying bows for Kloe
6.  Keeping in touch with my friends
7.  Scrapbooking
9.  Talking on the phone
10.  Taking pictures of my kids
11.  Clothes shopping
12.  Spending time with my family and friends




 

The Many Mishaps of Larry....

For those of you who know my husband, he is a very private guy. He never talks about his feelings, his private life or especially the crazy things that have happened to him. But this is my blog, and I can talk about it all I want;). So, I am going to.

He has had some pretty outrageous things happen to him. So much so, that I can still think back to when it happened and I can laugh uncontrollably. You see, these things could only happen to a man who pretty much keeps to himself and does not bother many people (well, besides me)and I just feel the need to share them!

When I was living in Atlanta, Larry was still living in Pittsburgh. We had a cute little apartment, with a balcony (that becomes important later). When you look out our balcony, it was all trees and bushes that sloped down to a huge hill. It was so steep, you could not see the bottom of the hill. There were picker bushes, wild rose bushes, trees, branches, and poison ivy. It was a mess of vegetation!

One day, Larry was coming home from work. He owned a pick-up truck. We had just bought a beautiful red Dodge Avenger, and the before mentioned 89 Ford Tempo..He kept the 2 cars behind the apartment building parked safely away. Anyway, as he was pulling into the apartment building, he sees this figure go running by. He take a second look and sure enough, it is a young man probably late teens, early twenties. He is buck naked and he is jumping on the hoods of people's cars and smashing his head into the windshield! I kid you not! Can you imagine? Anyway, this kid is going crazy, naked as a jay bird, head completely bloody from smashing his head into windshields. The boy begins to make his way around back where are two other vehicles are parked. Well that was not going to fly with Larry. He follows the kid around back. By then, there was a crowd gathering and someone had called 911. The police show up as the boy was beginning to do his head smashing routine on the cars back behind the building. The kid sees the police and dives head first down the steep hill of vegetation! Larry stood there in amazement! This kid was now sliding down a hill, buck naked, through picker bushes, poison ivy and who knows what else. Larry could hear him yelling... Ouch, ohhh, ouch,as he is heading down the hill! Well,the police had to go after him. They caught him and pulled his naked ass back up in hand cuffs!

Larry had to talk to the police to let them know what he had seen. Apparently, the kid was on some crazy drugs! If I would have been there, I would have been useless because I would have been laughing so hard! Not Larry! He was to busy protecting our cars from the "naked windshield smasher!"

Now also around this same time, we were packing up to move to Cincinnati. Again, I was still in Atlanta, and Larry had taken a trip to Cincinnati to finish up odds and ends with his new job and the move. All of our belongings were packed up. I believe he was moving the following weekend. Anyway, when he got home our front door was unlocked! Larry knew this was odd because we never go anywhere without locking the apartment. He thought he must had made a mistake and not locked it. So that night he is sound asleep. He is awakened by the door being opened and the chain catching on the door. He bolted out of bed and the person had slammed the door shut. Who ever it was, was not expecting the chain to be on. Larry was instantly freaked out at the idea of someone trying to break into our apartment. So, the next few nights are uneventful..he had moved a bunch of our furniture by the door to see if the intruder was coming back for our stuff. Well a couple nights later, Larry hears the door open ever so gently waiting to see if the chain is on or if he can access the apartment. Well of course the chains are on. Larry bolts out of bed with his gun this time! The intruder hears Larry and bolts again. Now, for the remainder of the time he is there, Larry pushes all the heavy furniture up close to the door and puts every butter knife we have in the door! The intruder never comes back. We figure that it was the janitor because whom ever it was had keys to the apartment. They also knew we were moving and probably were going to clean us out! Till this day, Larry has a gun next to the bed (in a case, locked, and not loaded) that was one freaky, messed up situation. And to go though that by yourself,was pretty traumatic!



The story that really cracks me up every time I think of it, is a story about Kade.  See, Kade was Larry's first experience with baby's.  He had never changed a diaper before our son was born.  This was a whole new world to him, but he did get pretty good at it!  Anyway, one day I had changed a pretty nasty diaper of Kade's.  Larry had gotten home from work and decided to take out the garbage.  The whole time he is trying to get the bag out of the garbage can, he is gagging.  He is saying "Oh, it stinks" as he proceeds to gag.  He did this many times.  Well, all of a sudden I see Larry running through the house holding his mouth.  I kid you not, when I say, he was running to the bathroom.  But sadly for him, he did not make it, and he proceeded to projectile vomit all over the wall in our bedroom.  All I could do was laugh.  Really? over a dirty diaper?  He learned quickly that he better get a stomach of steel...because there was definitely more where that came from!

One more good story for you.  Larry has this thing about the closet doors being shut at night.  I don't know if he had fears when he was younger, but he gets all worked up if the door is not shut.  So anyway, one night I had gone to bed after him.  He was asleep when I went in.  I proceeded to get all comfortable and all of a sudden, Larry shoots up in bed and is looking at our closet.  He points to it and says "shshshsh...shut the shshsh...shirt door" and I said "what?"  He starts over "shshsh...shut the shshsh...shirt door" (by then I am laughing so hard) and he is so serious.  He is still pointing to the door, and then he said "I cant spit it out! I cant say it" now, I am about to pee my pants because I was laughing so hard.  He is trying to tell me to Shut the Shirt Door!  Now, we have NEVER called it that.  He was so upset because he could not spit it out.  I said "Larry, the door is shut".  He looked at me, and said "okay" and went back to sleep!  I actually had to get out of bed and go in the bathroom and laugh.  He was so serious and so upset to think the closet door was open!

As you can see, we have had some pretty funny times.  Crazy, unbelievable, and hilarious times! Some a little scary, some very outrageous...so if you see Larry, remind him of these things and ask him about them.  And maybe he will open up a little, and not take things so serious!

My Life as a Flight Attendant

This is a part of my life I rarely talk about. Unless somebody directly asks me about it, I usually keep it to myself. My biggest regret in life is not giving flying more time. While I will explain all of that, I will say that I learned a lot about myself during the months I lived by myself and spent a lot of time alone. If anyone really knows me, I am not a person who likes to be alone. Especially hundreds of miles away from everyone I know.

My life as a Flight Attendant starts when I was very young. When I was in 5th grade, my Mom and Bad Papa took us to Memphis Tennessee. As stated before my Mom is an Elvis fanatic, so she decided to take us to Graceland. This was our 1st time flying and our 1st real family vacation. I remember being so excited to fly. Now, anyone who knows my Mother well, knows she is deathly afraid of heights. She also is the worst person in the world to fly with. She drugs herself up on nausea medication which normally knocks her out. Then she proceeds to fall asleep on the plane with her mouth wide open!! She is very embarrassing to fly with. So anyway, I remember the feeling of taking off and how I loved it so much. Right then and there I wanted to be a Flight Attendant. I wanted to keep flying. I wanted that excitement everyday.

When it came time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, I longed to get a job with an airline. I knew it was very hard to get a job with one of the major airlines. So I decided to go to Lake State for a year, and I hated it! So the summer of 95, I decided to leave the Soo behind and head to Pittsburgh, PA. I was going to be attending The Boyd School of Travel and Tourism. I signed up for the 18 month program where you left with a degree in Travel and Tourism.

During the last few weeks before my graduation, Delta Airlines came to the school for the job fair. They interviewed over 200 of us. They only offered 2 of us a job and I was one of them. I was so excited. I could hardly wait! This meant that I would be spending 6 weeks in Atlanta, GA by myself for training. Larry and I discussed it and it was the best possible outcome for me. So, on a Fall day in 1995, Larry dropped me off at the airport.

Now the training was intense. I remember so much of it. I remember learning how to crawl into smoking plane and find the fire and put it out. I remember learning how to jump out of a plane into a pool for a crash landing course. We had drills upon drills, we had CPR training, service training, book work like you would not believe, emergency landing training, maintenance training. 6 weeks of hard core 10 hour days. It was exhausting. You had to get at least a 90% to be officially hired. I believe I left with a 98%, and I was hired.

During my time in Atlanta, Larry had applied and got a job in Cincinnati, OH. This was a major hub for Delta. Now there was no guarantee I was going to get placed there, but I could request it. So I did and I was placed in New York City. But anyway, one thing I will never forget is when I was in Atlanta, we got every other weekend off. Well, I could not afford to go home, so I would stay. There would be a few girls around, but not many. Anyway, I remember being so lonely. During this time, Courtney was pregnant for Presley and I knitted her an entire blanket that pretty much took up all of my spare time. While I was alone, knitting away, Princess Diana was killed. I will never forget this as long as I live. I watched the tv in horror as I heard the story. It was one of those moments where you can picture where you were when something happened...


Anyway, I got my orders to live I NYC. Larry had moved to Cincinnati and I had put in for a transfer when a spot became available..Now living in NYC is something else I am pretty closed mouthed about. It was the loneliest period of my life. I missed my family, I missed Larry and I had moved into a two bedroom apartment in Queens with 7 other Flight attendants. Now, none of us were all home at the same time because when you are first hired in, you are on call for the first few years. So we had 9 days off a month and the rest were up for grabs by Delta. We had to purchase pagers and if we were on call, they could page us at any moment. I hated my time in NYC! Because of being on call, we could never explore the city and plus I was a small town girl living in a crazy city. It was wild and not for me. Finally, after 2 months in NYC, I got my transfer.

Just a word about flying itself. I still loved it but it was during the Alnino season (sorry, my spelling is terrible) anyway, I had some pretty hairy flights. Flights where the coffee is splashing out on to the table. Where the bins are shaking uncontrollably, and where the captain says seat belts must be on and the ignorant passengers ignore him and do what they want. Even though the conditions are horrible, they still want to walk around. But the hardest part was not the conditions, or being away from my family, or the loneliness. The hardest part for me was the passengers. They had no respect for you. I got to the point where I would walk down the middle of the plane and look straight ahead because I did not want anyone to talk to me. Half the time they treat you like crap, or the gross men would hit on you! I had one incident where we where circling in Florida because the run way lights were out. We did this for a while and we landed in Orlando (not where we were supposed to go). While on the tarmack, a lady called me over and asked when we would be going to Key West. I said the lights were still out and we can not land in those conditions. She freaked out on me and I said "
Mam, we are all inconvenienced here". She looked at me and pointed her chubby finger at me and said "you are the Flight Attendant, it is your job to be inconvenienced, not mine!". Like I could control Key West's runway lights! Well, we ended up back in Atlanta and that women had fire coming out of her nose!!!!

Another hard thing for me was always being alone. You could never really make friends because you would fly with a crew for 3 days and then never see them again. The time I spent by myself was staggering. You would fly for 6-8 legs a day, go to your hotel and collapse in exhaustion, just to get up extremely early to do it all over again. I lived alone in hotels and was to tired to see the sites of any town I had a layover in!

So while I was with Delta, Larry and I got married. I was given 1 week off from flying. We went on a beautiful honeymoon and the whole time I was dreading going back. We were married one week when I was told I had to go to Seattle. I couldn't do it. I physically could not do it. I knew right then that I was not cut out to be away so much. I wanted stability. I decided to leave and go back to college for Elementary Education.

It was a crazy time for me. But I know one thing, I may regret not giving it more time. I may regret not having the cool job I once had. But I know for a fact, that my 4 children would either not be here, or they would not have the attentive mother they have now. You can not raise a family effectively when you are a Flight Attendant. I could never be the Mother and wife I am today if I had stayed. So, you see, like with everything else, life is a series of choices and I chose to live mine for my husband and children.

Please excuse any spelling errors or typo's. I am not on my computer and I can't get back in to make corrections!

Following My Yellow Brick Road...

17 Years ago, Larry came into my life...and I did not like him. 


16 Years ago, we had a very long chat at my sister's house.


15 Years ago, we started dating.


14 1/2 Years ago, he asked me to marry him.


13 Years ago, we got married.


8 Years ago, we became parents.


Today, we have built an amazing life together and I could not imagine my life without him!

Larry and I at Aubree's Wedding.

So many years ago, Larry walked into my house during a birthday party my Mom was having for me. He sat there and I was thinking "why is he here?"  See, he dated one of my sister's friends.  Through this friend Courtney met Brian (whom she later married).  Larry and Brian were friends in college.  They both were in Engineering classes together and quickly became friends.  Larry set Courtney and Brian up, and they dated and then married.  Larry and his girlfriend split a couple years later.  But anyway, during this time, I did not care for Larry, and I don't even think I spoke to him that night.


Fast forward a year and Larry was single.  At this time, he was attending Ferris State University.  When he would come home, he would stay with my sister and Brian.  One evening, I just happen to be at Courtney's house after Brian and Larry got home from the St. Ignance Car Show.  Larry and I started to talk and we chatted for hours into the night.  But at the time, I was dating someone else and had no interest in him at all.
That year, Larry brought me home a Christmas present.  It was a tall thermal cup that said Ferris State University on it.  I was a little shocked he even thought of me.  It was the very first thing he ever gave me, and to this day, it is the only cup I drink ice water out of.


The summer of 1995, while I was working at the Photo Lab at Walmart, my Mom and I went into the store. One of my co-workers said "There is a really good looking guy looking for you."  I had no idea who would be looking for me, so my Mom and I kept our eyes opened for someone I knew.  As we were leaving the store, we ran into Larry.  He said he was looking for me, and wanted to know what I had planned for that evening.  Well, my friend Pammy and I had plans to go to a house party.  I told him about it and said he was welcome to come.  We later met him at my sisters and off we went...That was July 8, 1995.  We went on our first official date one week later.  We have never been apart since.


Larry asked me to marry him December 19, 1995.  We had only been dating for 5 months, but we both knew what we wanted.  We set a date for December 6, 1997...


That next fall, I moved away to Pittsburgh, PA.  He still had to go to school until the following May and then his plan was to move to PA with me.  That time apart was so difficult.  He came to visit during Spring Break and a couple other times.  I will never forget the time he was waiting for me to be done with class.  I looked out the window of my classroom and he was standing there.  I was so excited to see him.  He brought a single red rose from the Soo all the way to PA.  That meant so much to me.


After a trip to Alaska with his dad, Larry packed up his truck and moved to PA to be with me.  We moved into a small apartment and he got his first engineering job.  We did not have much at the time.  We did not even have a toaster because we could only afford one appliance, and we chose to buy an air popper!  On the first night we moved into the apartment, we locked the car keys in our car....Some crazy things happened to us while we lived in Pittsburgh, some of the best times of my life were there with Larry...


We then moved to Cincinnati when I was working with Delta as a Flight Attendant.  Larry got a very good job as a Manufacturing Engineer.  We bought our first house together there.  I left Delta to go back to school for Elementary Education.  Our first son, Kade was born in Cincinnati.  We made some wonderful friends there.  We lived in Cincinnati for 7 years.


When Kade was 5 months old, we moved back home.  


My life with Larry has been adventurous, entertaining, educational, and many times exciting. Oh, we have had our disagreements, but we always come back to each other.  We have built a wonderful family together and I could not ask for more.


Thank you Larry for all you have given me.  You have given me the most precious gifts ever in our 4 children.  You are always there for me and you support me in any decision I make.  I am very lucky to have you and know I love you very much.

This song makes me think of our life together.  Edwin McCain "Could Not Ask for More."

Things My Mom Said, and Things She Did Not Know About...

Now that I am a mom myself, I think back to the things my mother said to me growing up.  I have even found myself saying them to my children.  I stop myself and think, "My goodness, I am turning into my mother."  


1.  "If you push your sister down the stairs and she loses an eye, you will have to give your sister your eye".


This scared the crap out me.  I truly believed she would haul me off to the hospital and make me give Courtney my eye if I had caused her to lose hers.  One thing we used to do, and something she knew nothing about, was take our comforters and slide down the stairs with them.  Every Saturday morning, we would haul our blankets from our bedroom and make nice slides.  We would go sailing down the stairs.  We would open the door (which was located directly at the bottom of the staircase) and see how far we could get.  Now, just to let you know, neither of us ever got hurt.  We spent countless hours doing this.  When we were older, we told her how the comforters made great sleds:)


2.  "No man is worth the salt in your tears."


I have said this same thing to friends when I was older.  I spent countless hours crying over break-up from boyfriends.  I was devastated...and my mom's word of advice was this!  At the time I thought she was crazy, but by golly, she is right.  No boyfriend was worth that time I spent crying in my self pity.  I still live by this today:)


3.  "If Courtney was to jump off a bridge, would you follow her?"


Well duh mom!  Of course I would!  


4.  "You never leave home without mascara."


For those of you who know my mom, she always has makeup on!  There have been times when mom had to go pick up Tanner late from getting off the Cross Country bus, and sure enough, mom may have her pajama's on under her coat, but I can guarantee you that she has on her mascara!


There are times When I go to mom house with no makeup on.  Come on..I just don't feel like wearing it some days, and sometimes I really just don't care.  She will say "Where is your makeup?"  I say...at home :)


5.  "Never go in water deeper than your ankles."


This came from her being afraid to swim.  When we used to stay at our dad's for a month in the summer, she always pushed this into our heads.  She was so afraid that we would drowned.  Of course, we never listened to her on this on.  My dad would take us to the beaches in Manistique and we always swam in the beautiful water.


6.  "The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plane."


Why she said this?  Who knows.  Did it ever make sense to us?  No! But, she still said it.  


7.  "Why buy the cow if you get the milk for free?"


I will leave that one to your imagination.  


These are some of the things I did as a child that my mom never knew about:


1.  Played with my Great-Grandmothers good dishes in the early mornings on Saturday's.
2.  Gather up as much food as I could in the kitchen and sell it to pretend people.
3.  Wear my mom's good shoes around the house and hide them.
4.  Pretend I was Wonder Woman in her high heeled knee boots.
5.  Use the vacuum as a microphone.
6. Wear her silky night gowns as dresses and put on a crinoline underneath it.
7.  Tap dance on her coffee table (which she ultimately found out about because of the scratches)
8.  Throw my raisin packs away that she would pack for me in my lunch.
9.  Use my lunch money to buy things from the school store.
10.  Pretend I was Olivia Newton-John.
11.  I had this dresser in my room that we were not allowed in.  It has all of our Hush Puppy Shoes in it.  I used to open it and put the shoes on and play in them.  Then put them back ever so neatly!
12.  Pretend my window was a bank teller's window.  The Monopoly Money was used for this:)
13.  I used to tell "tall tales" to my friends and teachers.  She found out about this when I was in Kindergarten and told my teacher that my mom would not be attending conferences because she was in the hospital with a broken leg.  My teacher believed me and was shocked when mom showed up!
14.  Pretend I was one of "Bob Barkers Beauties" and I would show off all of her expensive china.  Anything we were not allowed to touch was up for grabs to me.
15.  Courtney and I used to climb up the top of a snow pile and then onto our garage roof.  We would then proceed to jump off of the roof and into the snow.  How stupid were we?
16.  We used to sneak next door to the neighbors house and eat all of her raspberry's off of her bushes.  Sorry, Mrs. Manchester!
17.  Secretly long to be just like her!


That felt good :)  While some of these things she knows about now, others she does not.  Through the years, I have told her about some of them and she has been shocked.  And I obviously don't care if she knows now.  These are wonderful childhood memories for me and I will be calling her to let her know about others.


So thank you Mom for the wonderful advice.  Many of it I took, and others I have let fall to the waste side.  But I appreciate you steering me in the right direction....


Until next time my friends:)


Shelby

My Mom...

My Mom, Cindi, holding Kloe

If there has been one constant in my life, it is my Mom.  As I mentioned before, my parents divorced when I was 3.  I can still picture my life with just Courtney and Mom.  She was working and we went to Central Childcare Center.  I still can see my old teachers and I can remember the smell of the building.  When I have walked in there as an adult, it has brought me back to the time in my life where the only people that mattered were my Mom and Courtney.


I remember so much of this time.  Especially Christmas time.  For those of you who know my Mom, she is crazy about Christmas.  Every year she would decorate our house till you could not find one more place to put a decoration.  I remember picking out our Christmas tree...Mom always had to have the biggest tree R&R Marine had.  She would pick us up from school and we would be so excited to head down to the lot.  The owner would set aside the biggest trees he had cut down, and he would begin the lengthy process of showing them to my Mom.  She would pick one out and then it would get delivered.  It was so big, I have no idea how she ever got it in the house.  But I can remember her sawing the bottom off the trunk and counting the rings to see how old the tree was.  If when the tree got home and it was not big enough, she would return the tree for a different one!  Who does that?  Well, I can tell you...only my Mom!


We would then begin to decorate the tree...only Courtney and I were not allowed to do much decorating.  She would buy Peanut Brittle and Courtney and I would watch her put all the ornaments on the tree.  We had some that we were allowed to put on, but they had to be put on just perfect.  She took great pride in her tree.  It would take her all night to decorate it!  But when it was done it was a beautiful piece of work!


When it was just the 3 of us, we did not have a lot.  But what we did have was a wonderful Christmas!  We would wake up Christmas morning to a boat load of gifts.  Now, when you are little, this was nothing but pure joy for us.  I think she lived for those moments when we would get the Cabbage Patch Doll we wanted so badly, or the many other gifts that were present under the tree.  She worked so hard to give this to us!  And at that time, you really do not appreciate the hard work and sacrifice she did for us.


Even today, Christmas is a huge deal for her.  Courtney, Aubree and I have told her many times not to spend so much money on us, but it is in her blood and her heart is so huge that she cant help it!


When my Mom remarried when I was 8, Courtney and I were thrilled.  We were becoming whole again.  It took some time to adjust, but we did okay.  Then when Aubree arrived, our life just got better.  Growing up, I would have never imagined that I would have another sister besides Courtney, and we were given a great gift.  We spoiled her rotten and played for hours together.  We were one big happy family.


Another tid-bit about my Mom is her love of shopping.  She lives to shop!  You get her in a mall and forget it, you are stuck there for hours.  She will shop anywhere and any day!  I think Walmart is her favorite battle grounds:)   She loves the people, the crowds and the whole idea of it!  When I lived in Cincinnati, she loved going to the big malls there.  We would leave early and not come home for hours.  We have even shopped during Tornado Warnings!  Nothing stops this lady:)  


When I decided to move away, I know my Mom was devastated, and it was hard for me also. But Sault Ste. Marie, was not were I wanted to live my life.  Being away was very difficult, but I also got my wings and learned how to fly on my own.  I was experiencing some wonderful things and I was happy, so I know my Mom was happy, even though she missed me.  Our phone bills were huge! And my visits home were some of the best times I remember in my life!


Moving back home was not something I wanted to do.  But I had a 5 month old and Larry got a job at Precision Edge, so I did not have a choice.  But looking back it was a wonderful decision for our family.  Our children have gotten to really know their grandparents and they have become quite close.  Especially my Blake, he LOVES his Grami!


I can't imagine where I would be without my Mom.  She has been such a huge influence on me.  And we have had our fair share of disagreements, but we always come back to each other.  She is my best friend, the only person who would give their life for me, the only one who loves me unconditionally.  I would not be the person I am today without her.  I appreciate the sacrifices she made in her life to make us happy.  She is my hero...there is NOBODY in this world like my Mother!

As everyone knows, my Mom is an Elvis fanatic!  This song makes me think of her every time...Here is The Wonder of You, by Elvis.

The Story of Me and My Sisters...

Me on Mackinaw Island

I grew up in the small town of Sault Ste. Marie, MI.  My parents divorced when I was 3 years old.  This was never really to hard for me.  My Mom did a wonderful job raising my sister Courtney and I.  For many years, it was just the 3 of us.  


My Mom remarried when I was 8, and that is when Bad Papa (more about him later) entered our lives.  My sister Aubree was born the next year.  I remember standing over Aubree's  crib praying for her to wake up.  I even would touch her tummy trying to get her to wake up so I could hold her.  That was such an amazing time for me.  Courtney and I used to fight over holding her.  My Mom would give us 15 minutes each to hold her.  She never got put down, she was our little doll!


As Aubree grew up, I would use her as a Guinea Pig.  I taught myself how to French Braid on her poor little head.  I would braid and re-braid her hair until she could not take it anymore.  Even this day, I can do a mean French Braid! Aubree and I spent hours together doing "girlie" things.  I guess our close relationship started when she was born.  Aubree is now one of my very best friends.  We have so much in common and I love her very much.


Courtney and I are like oil and water, but still she is an amazing person who I love very much. Growing up I looked up to her so much, but her goal was to torture me.  Which you can imagine,  was pretty annoying.  But anyway, we are as opposite as you can imagine.  I was very "girlie", she was very a tom boy.  I loved to play house, she loved to rip worms apart.  But non the less, we spent hours together doing crazy things.  On the occasion she would play house with me, she had these Burt and Ernie dolls from Sesame Street.  I always got the Burt doll because he had the ugly shaped head.  Courtney always had  Ernie be"because he had the "cute" face, the perfect head.  I wanted to have Ernie so badly, but as long as Courtney was playing she got Ernie.  But to be honest, that was okay with me because really all I wanted to do was play with my sister.


I wish I had some pictures of our childhood to post.  But they are all in books and I do not have a scanner.  My Mom took hundreds of pictures of us and kept them up in our books.  Of course, Aubree has like 10 books and Courtney and I each have 1 or 2.  But I am so happy she took the time to put them in books for us.  


Now that we are older, the three of us are very close.  I talked to Aubree at least once a day.  I was sad when she decided to live her life in Grand Rapids.  But she met and married a great guy and she is a Special Education Teacher.  

Aubree and I, June 20, 2009

Courtney is Dr. Paula Rechner's Medical Assistant.  She is very much well liked at her job.  She treats her patients like they are family.  Courtney has 3 amazing children.  Tanner is 17, and he is the smartest person I have ever met!  My niece Presley, is 13.  She is amazing!  She can do anything on a computer.  She comes to stay with me in the summer and I love having her here.  She loves to cook with me, and she is a huge help with my boys.  

Tanner, Courtney, and I

Presley and Blake at Aubree's Wedding

Courtney also has an adorable 4 year old, Lennon.  Courtney was pregnant with Lennon the same time I was pregnant with Colt.  It was so cool to share that experience together.  We had our pictures professionally taken together.  Lennon was born 3 months before Colt, and today those two are inseparable.  

Colt and Lennon

I just want to thank my wonderful sisters for the impact they have had on my life.  They are my best friends.  We have had our ups and downs, but I would not want to have it any other way.  I love you both very much!

Courtney, Aubree and I

Welcome!


I have been thinking about doing this for some time now.  I am excited to share my crazy life with you.  For those who don't know me, I am a Stay at Home Mom, of 4 beautiful children.  I have a degree in Elementary Education and a degree in Travel in Tourism.  My husband, Larry and I decided, while I was pregnant with my oldest son, Kade, to stay home.  It has been the best decision I ever made for my family.  This blog is to chronicle the good, the bad, and the hilarious of raising our children.


I am also an avid reader, scrapbooker, baker and cook.  I will share many of my recipes, books I love, and stories about my scrapbooking weekends.  I am also a gardener, and I am all about canning my veggies, so I will happily share my experience with canning!


So, why the title of my blog?  Well, when I was contemplating doing the blog, I asked my Facebook friends, for some creative names.  I got many great replies.  One of my friends said,"Shelby, the name should mean something to you, otherwise it is not really your blog."  Thank you Kandy for this advice, because I spent the next few days thinking about a name that would really mean something to me...


So, I came up with "Wouldn't It Be Nice."  Many of you might recognize the title as a Beach Boys song.  That is where it came from.  When my husband and I were dating, we used to play this song over and over.  We longed for the days that we could be together everyday.  One time, while I working at Walmart in the photo lab, I was leaving work.  When I turned on my 1989 Ford Tempo (I know right,) Larry had the song set to play in my tape deck.  I sat there smiling and thinking how lucky I was to have such a great guy! Needless to say, we have been married for 13 years and we have experienced many wonderful things together.  It has been nice...It has been wonderful...We have been blessed!


So today I will leave you with the lyrics to Wouldn't Be Nice...


Wouldn't it be nice if we were older?
Then we wouldn't have to wait so long
And wouldn't it be nice to live together
In the kind of world where we belong

You know its gonna make it that much better
When we can say goodnight and stay together

Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up
In the morning when the day is new
And after having spent the day together
Hold each other close the whole night through

The happy times together we've been spending
I wish that every kiss was never ending...
Wouldn't it be nice?

Maybe if we think and wish and hope and pray... it might
come true
Baby, then there wouldn't be a single thing we couldn't
do...
We could be married
and then we'd be happy,
Wouldn't it be nice?

You know it seems the more we talk about it
It only makes it worse to live without it
But let's talk about it...
Wouldn't it be nice?