Mr. McGee

I have been brought up and uphold to the ideal that treating people with respect is just something you do. It doesn't have to be earned, its just a given. Whether its the girl taking my order at Starbucks ("please" and "thanks you"s - ALWAYS!), or the old man who sits at the stop light a little too long (I'm never in too big a hurry to honk)- I am kind, have patience and give people the benefit of the doubt because sometimes you just don't know the whole story, and when you do, you sometimes end up having a little more kindness and a little more patience.

But as quickly as I give that common respect, it can be lost.

And as of late, I have lost a lot of respect for a lot of people. I can't understand their actions, because I don't treat people the way I have been treated my them. I sit and scratch my head, and wonder how in the world can they go through life acting the way they do and not think twice about it? Being rude. Being shady. Acting as though so many things are owed to them.

I have tried to turn the other cheek. Tried to understand where they might be coming from that would justify their actions. But all that that makes me do is get more and more angry. It just reminds me of why I am mad in the first place. It brings back the sting of what has been said. And worst of all, it makes me sit here and feel like an idiot.
How did I let this happen?
Why was I so trusting and easy-going, when I otherwise would have been very cautious?
Why, still after everything that has happened, have I not taken the action that I would have if it had been anyone else?
Why do I CARE SO MUCH what they think?????

Its too late at this point to do much more. And I hate that for that reason too, all I do is sit and be hurt and angry. I can't shake it. Because, it seems like any time I am this upset over a situation its because its been someone close to me that has caused the hurt. In this case, it was family (and I use that term in the loosest sense of the word). So, now, if I choose to distance myself from them- I am the crazy one. I am the one being overly sensitive. I am the one who should buck up and get over it, so I don't upset the balance of things.

I wish I could say I have given up on caring what anyone else thinks of me. That it doesn't matter- but this time it hit a little too close to home, literally. I couldn't sleep last night. Its the stress of moving, getting everything ready, shuffling between two cities with 3 children in tow. I am just worn out and worn down, so of course everything seems 15 million times worse than I know they really are. I sat there telling myself, "Get over it. Let it go. Forgive them. Pray for them because they obviously need help in the moral compass department."

Nothing. I woke up in such a foul mood.

And then, the funny thing is, as I checked my Facebook this morning, an old friend from high school had written this quote as her status:
"Satan's formula for self-worth being the sum of your performance plus the opinion of others." Robert S. McGee

It was just the message I needed. That was the bottom line of all of this. I felt insulted by the opinion of someone whose opinion really doesn't matter. AT ALL. I have since written that on a Post-It and it is stuck to my computer. I've read it about a million times and have felt a weight lifted off of me. I've been able to clear my mind. Focus on the blessings we have been given over the past few weeks that we wouldn't have had if these things hadn't happened: A beautiful new home, the out-pouring of support and love of our friends and family to help us make it happen. The joy of coming back to a place that is special to us in so many ways, and knowing that so many new memories will be formed there. That's what matters. What truly matters.

(Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig breath out.)
(Shoulder shake-it-off)
Thanks, Mr. McGee. I owe ya one.

Happy Father's Day

To our daddy who...

Gets up at 4:30am to go to work.

Puts up with Luke's feet in his face. Every morning.

Can make throwing a ball on top of the roof and watching it roll down the funnest game. EVER.

Will sing and dance to "Bop To The Top" for a few laughs.

Wore a suit and tie to Miss O's Open House at school because she asked him to.

Lets this tired Mommy sleep in once a week (and makes coffee for when she wakes up.)

Will sit through iCarly, Hannah Montana and Suite Life without complaining.

Smiles when he walks through the door at the end of a long day.

Tells our kids he loves them and hugs them a million times a day.

Plays the same Guitar Hero song over and over because its the kids' favorite.

Sets a great example for our kids. Everday.

I am blessed beyond words to have the father of my children be so patient, selfless and loving. I know that they feel it, even if they don't know it- and that's all that matters.

OB-SESSION

I CAN NOT get enough of this print:

Where did I find this treasure??? My favorite store in the universe: Hobby Loobby. On sale (its ALWAYS 30%off) so its only like, $10 a yard. I bought 2 yds. about a month ago and have used almost every last inch of it. Once we move, there will be a touch of it will be in almost every room!

Here it is all fun and French in my kitchen window treatment: Here it is mixed in with my new bedding fabrics....And then, right as I was about to put away the sewing machine, I saw a scrap of it laying on this floral print and had to whip up a quick pillow to put them together. It will go on the chaise in what-will-be-the-office area. Added the bow at the last minute. So sassy.I spent most of yesterday making pillows. 9 to be exact. Sooooo much fun! Can't wait to see it all put together in the new house!!!...

"...With a Sipping Cup Of Milk"

LESSONS LEARND:

1) Don't turn your back on Morgan for even one minute.

2) She needs a sippy cup with a shut-off valve
3) Even covered head-to-toe in milk, she's pretty cute!

Karaoke King

Thanks to Guitar Hero World Tour, this is Bubs new favorite song. This and "Livin On A Prayer". He sings it in the car all the time and it takes everything I have not to drive off the road from the tears of laughter clouding my vision.

I talked him into performing it tonight in front of the webcam. I know its a little slow starting, but I promise, the last 10 seconds are priceless, and totally worth the wait.

Jas and I are in talks about shopping around the idea for his own webshow. What a toot.

Diary Of A Mad Wallpaper..-er

Okay- When we moved into the house, the first thing we did was rip off properly remove all of the wallpaper that was in the kitchen. It was beige. It had navy and burgandy flowers. It was HOR-RI-BLE. It was a labor of love, and as we peeled away that wallpaper, we started cracking up at the wallpaper that was behind it. I would not lie to you: It looked like 80's fashion colored sperm. Yes, forest green, navy, burgandy, pink and turquiose SPERM, swimming all over the walls. I. die.

We had the huge mirrors that were in both of the bathrooms removed, soon to be replaced by stand-alone ones. I was talking to Royce yesterday, getting an update on the progress and he commented on what a pain in the tush it had been to get our master bathroom mirror down, and then he added with a laugh, "You should see all the wallpaper back there!" Now- I knew about the "80s Pinecones On Acid" wallpaper that we had lazily painted over given a quick make-over, but had NO idea about the many, many others that were hidden in there and in the kids bath!

I took a little sample of them to share- and WISH I had a piece of the two that were in the kitchen. Don't you just wonder the decorating plans that were made to go with each of these lovely samples???:

THE SHONKA HOUSE MASTER BATHROOM WALLPAPER TIMELINE

The "Little House On The Prairie"

Nice, tame beige. I feel as though this was somewhere in my home growing up.... The "Miami Vice Cherries"! Of course, the cherries have to be PINK, and the background has to be GRAY! Its the 80's folks. Don't you just know they had gray and pink towels?!?! They had too!!!

This is my FAVORITE! The "XY Chromosome" graphic. Please take a moment to take in the vibrant color palatte. Where else are you going to find purple with light brown? Pink with forest green?

"Pinecones on Acid"!! This was the wallpaper that was in our bathroom FLOOR TO CEILING- even in the window sills!- when we moved in! But I saw the potential! I knew she could be fixed! This wallpaper look came complete with HUGE navy glass ball knobs on the cabinets- we are talking golf ball size. Crazy town. Now, sadly... the kids bath wasn't as exciting. I guess because its the guest bath, and they didn't feel they had as much decorating freedom as the master!... But check out this festive paper. Kinda reminds me of Christmas wrapping paper. I will admit- done in a different color scheme, this could be fun. I could see myself decoupaging it to something...

Jas and I spent most of the day at the house painting. We got the flat pink of Olivia's tone-on-tone stripes done, the master bedroom (as high as we could reach without getting the ladder out) done, and I was able to put two coats on the kids bathroom cabinets. Now theres just the entry way, the hallways, the living room and the den/ office to do, the high peak of our master, our master bathroom cabinets.... Only. Sheesh.

Don't Let The Door Hit Ya' On The Way Out

Holy S#@t! There's nothing like walking into your house and having it look like a tornado ripped through there!! Whoo-hoo! The demo has begun!

We ran up to the house tonight to drop off some lights and I just about jumped up and down at the glorious destruction!


So, I take this time now to say a fond farewell to the parts of our house that are hitting the road (in teeny-tiny pieces- whahahaha!!!)...

Good-bye low random beams that served no purpose other than what I can only assume was to display tons of 80's fake plants! Oh, how we just about hugged our contractor when he told us you could come down!! How I will miss shaking the popcorn ceiling bits out of my hair as I walked under you as I answered the door...Adios, pantry that was oddly located facing the door out to the garage! Your strong shelves held all of my art supplies with care for years....(Oooooooo, I cannot wait to have a REAL pantry with a real door next to my fridge- not three wacky cabinet doors with braces that blocked the usable space!!! But don't tell the old pantry that!)

Auf Wiedersehen, awful tile that no matter how hard I Cinderella-On-My-Knees scrubbed you, you always looked dirty! Oh, how you will not be missed! What ever will I do the the insane mop collection that was started because of you??...Au Revoir, original-to-the-house blah beige laminate counter tops that went all the way up the wall! 再见, window ledge made out of the same laminate!
Hyvästi, walls that we messed up the texture on when we removed the wall paper within 5 minutes of inhabiting the house! While you were pretty bad, the burgundy flower wallpaper was way, way worse...

Paalam, paint colors that the renters chose! To my dear, sweet, long-lost blue: you are sadly missed....

Tot ziens, flat panel doors with the gold hardware! Your willingness to open up to us will never be forgotten! We hope you go to a good home...Hagoonea',"Miss Piggy Hollywood" lights, old faucets, shell sinks and huge mirrors! You were always there for us when needed you to shine some light on us and offer a bit of reflection...I cannot wait to see how it turns out, but until then- here is a peek at whats to come:

Nothing Says "Summer" Like A Plastic Pool

So Bubs and I hit up the 'Mart the other day to see about getting a little plastic pool to get him out of my hair so they could bask in the glorious sunshine. We saw the old school molded plastic ones outside for like, $10. Perfect. So we went into pay, and spotted these inflatable ones for the same price. Even better!

Believe it or not- Jas blew this thing up in like 3 minutes. I wanted to pass out watching him.

Brought back memories of him blowing up this thing. Again, in like, 3 minutes. (Please note: This photo was taken after a tornado hit Olivia's room after a Christmas trip to AZ. We found her under a pile of stuffed animals and dress-up tutus. She was a little dazed, but okay overall.)

This pool was Morgan's first dip in water other than the tub. Lets just say, as cute as she looked, she did not enjoy herself. There was a lot of shivering, and crying. Then a little distraction. Then she would remember that she was shivering and would cry again. After she was in there for about 10 minutes, she was fine, but then she decided to try to crawl through the water and as soon as her hands touched the bottom, she TOTALLY freaked out. Frozen in fear almost. Okay, Times Up! I took her out, but O and Bubs played in there forever. I'll have to tape it, but you've got to see how psycho Mo goes when you turn on the house. Jas swears that all dogs do this, but its the most insane thing I have ever seen. Want to see my Amazing Discovery of the day? We celebrated Luke's birthday at Nanna GG's yesterday and she gave him the cutest set of puzzles- there are four of them, all in packaged in a precious lunchbox with funky illustrations of fire engines and steam shovels on either side. Adorable. Anyway... He saw them on the counter this morning, and wanted to get them out. I gave him one that looked like it had larger and fewer pieces. I didn't know if he could do it since he didn't have a picture of the puzzle itself to look at. Whoomp! Done. Then he wanted the other ones, but I told him I thought they were too hard and he needed to wait for me to finish drinking my coffee so I could think clearly help him. He insisted that I get them out, so I gave him the remaining 3 bags and went to sit on the couch. I haf just finished my cup, when he said in that Luke-y way, "Maaah-m! See- those are naw-t too hard for meeeeeeeee!" Then he got up, asked for some Bunny Whop and was on his merry little way. I came back into the kitchen to make his BW and HOLY MOLY! He had done them all. By himself. I then said a quick prayer that this was a sign that he had great logic and deduction skills and that math would come so easy to him that he would NEVER have to ask me to help him with his math homework. Amen.

Schooooooooooooools Out For Summa'!

TOTALLY wish I had done this with Luke, but I did remember to take a picture of Miss O on her first and last days of First Grade. Do you think she looks older???

This is the first official weekend of Summer '09 and its already been filled with friends and fun! We met up with the Fraziers yesterday at the Rosemeade pool to have a playdate there. Too bad Morgan hated it, and Luke had lost his swimming mo-jo! I'm sure they'll both warm up to the water again soon. I was thrilled to see O hop right in and start swimming like a little fish. She came so far last summer with her swimming and I've been praying that we didn't have to start from scratch again!

Then today, thanks to someone coming to show our house, we got to spend the morning at the Kaster's, just hanging out, doing a little crafting and ploting for some playdates for next week. Yea!!

This afternoon we are meeting the Marie and Royce and finalizing the plans for the house so we can get that show on the road! Can't wait! Now I just need to make up my mind about light fixtures, door handles, paint colors....

Also, take a minute and say a little prayer for Gary, and please keep Jas, Martha and Jon in your thoughts today.