Road Trip!

I'm going to see this little lady tomorrow ... along with her brothers and parents of course! I talk to this little lady on the phone several times a week. We have lovely conversations, and then she asks for Kace (not Kacey, just Kace ... because they're tight like that).

Here we come sweet baby Kristi!

American Seamstresses

We've always thought of our little Jake as a bit of a smarty pants. He walked early, talked early and has kept up with adult conversation for far too long. Unfortunately, our pride in his prowess has given him a bit too much confidence for his own good. It is beneficial for him to be brought down to earth occasionally ... and this morning he did it all on his own.

Driving to school, listening to the radio, we heard that Martha Stewart had stepped into the "judges race" and made an offer to replace Simon on American Idol next season. Jake was completely baffled by this and exclaimed "Martha Stewart is dead!"

Me: "No she's not. Why would you think that?"

Jake: "She made the first American flag! She can't still be alive!"

Me: "Jake, that was Betsy Ross."

Jake ... grinning: "oh."

P.S. I have NO mutation that would link me to any genetic form of Breast Cancer or Ovarian Cancer. Which is odd, because I totally think of myself as a mutant! It's a good day.

Me & Schwarzenegger

I just finished a week of steroids for my back.
By Thursday I should look like this ...

P.S. I had some genetic testing done a couple of weeks ago about my link to Breast Cancer. Guess what I found out ...

Oh dear -

I think my painter does crack ...

Flying the coop ...

Remember how I'm old?

Ya, you remember.

Well this little newsflash is proof positive.

Child #1 is moving out this week. You heard me. He's finally taking off on his own and has found some other people he'll call roommates. I'm so excited for him!

It seems like just yesterday he was that difficult child that darn near refused to join in on the family swim suit photo. Looking back, it really was a dumb idea. But it cracks me up every time I look at it. I must have been inspired by Sports Illustrated that month. I think child #4 knew that this was going to be traumatic in the future.

Child #2 has completed her Associates Degree at the Community College, she begins her first semester at ASU next week ... and her little missionary comes home shortly after this semester is over. I'm not making any assumptions, but just read the title of this post.

It seems like just yesterday she was sporting a tie dye swimsuit, hair slicked back and proclaiming that she was the only one that looked clothed in this genius photo op as she gathered her naked looking brothers to her side.

Child #3 is graduating from High School in May and is going to be beginning his paperwork for a two-year mission somewhere else ... far away. It seems like just yesterday he was strutting his shirtless self and posing a cute little smile in hopes that Sports Illustrated was paying close attention to that infamous family photo. Some things never change.


I'm not sure if you're counting, but this little bit of info means that I could quite possibly ... very soon ... be down to two baby chicks left at home!

At least we still have three chickens. :)

I'm old!

Red to the Rescue -

My back is testing me. It is literally screaming
"HOW MUCH MORE CAN YOU TAKE?!"
I'm about to give in and shout
"UNCLE! I GIVE!"

I am finally getting substantial relief in my lower back ... thanks to my genius massage therapist, but yesterday it all moved North for the winter. I went all day without looking right, or left ... pretty much just straight ahead.

It was a long night. Why does everything seem worse at night? After a series of heating pads and bags of frozen corn, I was reaching the point of tears. I needed some help.

My man is out of town, but little G was sleeping in his spot. At 4:30 this morning, I softly pleaded ... "Garrison can you help me?"

He sat straight up and asked me what I needed. I apologized for waking him, and asked him to try out this handy dandy vibrating thing that I got for Christmas (every gift I received this year from my little family was an offering of something that might help their poor old mother's back).

Garrison hopped right up, told me that he was already awake (of course I knew better), and got to work rubbing my back and then applying Bengay.

Before the end of the day, I might opt to have my back amputated. But for the time being, my heart is happy because of this kid.

Thank you so much Garrison!

Hindsight makes me nauseous -

It's the end of an era around these Shaker parts. For about nine years now, our weekends have been filled with our little Keaton sporting his athleticism in the game of football. His time on the field truly compiled some of my best memories. We are super proud of him and the character that he brought to the game.

Little did we know, that every time we were applauding his holds and hits, his very life was in danger!


During one of the last games of the season, and the last game of his senior year, Keaton received a pretty "good" concussion. He didn't recover from it quite as quickly as the trainers would like, so they sent him off to the team Doctor. This was followed by an MRI, which sent him immediately to a Neurologist, which was followed up by Dr. Spetzler himself ... the Chief Neurosurgeon at Barrows Neurological Institute. BIG STUFF!

What was found left us all speechless.

Apparently our little guy was born with Chiari Malformation. The Neurologist made it very clear that he should have never played one day of football, let alone nine years. In an instant he was done with the season and contact sports of any kind.

For a moment (because I never dwell on anything that makes me feel guilty for more than 29 seconds), I was riddled with guilt, sweat and nausea! I was the one that sent that boy out on the field yelling phrases such as "HIT SOMEONE!" "ATTA BOY! DO IT AGAIN!" "SHAKE IT OFF SHAKER!!!" Oh ya, I was a loud mouthed mother.


The guilt quickly left, and I remembered that there was no way for us to have known of this funky brain quirk, and that this was Keaton's love as well. He learned such amazing concepts from the game of football, and was blessed with incredible friends that taught him more than the game. It's just another lesson in life, providing more knowledge that we aren't in charge. It was a gift that Keaton was able to play what he loved, without any negative ramifications. It was a gift that we found out about this before anything irrevocable happened, and that this didn't take place until he was almost finished with his senior year. Big time gifts.

I love being provided with stories that remind us we are all being taken care of ... even if they are preceded with nausea. Atta boy Keeter.

New looks ...

A lot has changed since I began this blog! I can't believe I started this blog 'o mine clear back on 5/15/2007. My kids are all bigger and my life is larger as well. The biggest change is me.

BEFORE ...

AFTER ...

Oh man I'm getting old! I'm much wider and my wrinkles are getting deeper and longer by the day. My gray hair pleads to be colored every few weeks and my vision is finally corrected with the progressive lenses in my old-lady glasses. My lower back doesn't allow me to stay in one place for very long, and carpal tunnel has set in in my right arm. I'm a rickety-crickety mess!

I'M OLD!

But if there is one thing I've learned during my 44 years on this Earth, it's that I wouldn't want to go back ... not even one year! I LOVE what I've accomplished. I LOVE what I've learned. And I LOVE that I am now in a position to be sharing what I know.

So here's to a new year. With the help of the amazing Lindsay ... my blog got a fine change as well. Grab a button from my sidebar and keep checking back.

This is going to be fun!