It's a Wrap

As many of you know close to this time last year we received the news Danny's job was being moved to Singapore and he would no longer be employed as of the summer of 2009. Then in March we learned the end would come sooner than expected; his final date was moved up to April 10th, 2009. We didn't panic....we started planning. Then by the grace of God in April I was contacted by my former employer offering me a contract position. Knowing the change was going to be hard for all of us, I took the position and watched our family dynamics change drastically.

Here we are nine months later still surviving and not denying 2009 has been the most challenging year our family has had to endure to date. Future plans were put on hold, major role reversals took place and cut-backs happened and then happened some more. Frustrations ran high, hopelessness peaked, patience levels were tested and some days felt endless. In the end it will be a year Danny and I will always remember.

This year brought some difficult times, but for Danny and me it also brought a newfound respect for each other. Going back to work, I have a much better understanding of the pressure and exhaustion a long day at work brings. And with him being at home, he now realizes running a household and managing two small children is no walk in the park. We have learned we can live on A LOT less than we ever imagined. We made some hard decisions towards the end of this year and decided to get real serious with our money. Our decisions to part with things we thought we “had to have” and other sacrifices has allowed us to be debt free with the exception of our home and it feels REALLY good. Never in a million years would I have believed you if you would have told me we would be here at this time last year.

One of my favorite things born from this penny pinching time is our Family Movie nights. One Friday night a month is spent in our darkened living room watching a rented Blockbuster movie the entire family can enjoy while munching on movie theater popcorn with butter (Brynn’s favorite). It has turned out to be a big hit in our house. So far we have seen Alvin and The Chipmunks, The Cat in the Hat and How the Grinch stole Christmas.

Another thing I am truly grateful for is during this past year we were able to keep both Brynn and Braden in their Mother’s Day Out program. They both love school and their teachers. Brynn amazes us daily with the things she is learning. She is constantly quizzing Braden on Spanish words. Her favorite class in school in Music, she loves to sing and dance. Braden on the other hand is our little prankster. His teachers tell us he’s a bundle of joy and keeps them on their toes in class. I am so glad they get this interaction with other children and teachers.

To wrap up a trying year on a good note, Danny received a phone call from his old boss a few weeks ago and was offered a job. It is a contract position and he started work today. He is excited to be back at work. It has been a long road for him and although this is not the end as this position is a contact position, but it is a job and it gets him back out into the workforce. Danny’s first day was my last day at work. I will now be back at home with the kiddos and it is a little bitter sweet as I have made some new girlfriends I will miss seeing on a daily basis, but at the same time I am looking forward to being home again to witness Brynn and Braden’s daily growths. To be able to be home with them again is a true blessing and we can not wait to see what the year 2010 brings.

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and has a Happy New Year!

** THIS BLOG IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION **

Did she say Santa?

So the last few weeks Brynn has been talking a lot about Santa Claus. She's been asking things like:

How does he know where we live?

Can he see me all the time like God?

Does he have a key to our house?

Doesn't he get sick from eating all those cookies?

and the questions go on and on...and then the BIG question that completely stops me in my tracks.

Can we go see him?

If you don't know the history behind Brynn and Santa you might be thinking what the heck is the big deal, the girl wants to see Santa so does every other four year old. Well, all Brynn's life she has been extremely scared of Santa or any other person (including children) dressed up in any custom of any kind. So this is sort of a shock and possible a fragile situation.

I hesitated and then asked her, "Are you saying you want to go see Santa, sit on his lap and talk to him?"

She looks me dead in the eye and says "Yes."

Me: "Are you sure?"

Brynn: "Yes."

Me: Okay, we will go see Santa then (still a little worried about how this could turn out.)

So yesterday we went to Georgetown for the Christmas Stroll to get pictures taken with Santa. We got there early so we didn't have to stand in a long line (and to save some embarrassment in case this went badly).

When it was Brynn's turned she walked right in sat down on his lap and started having a full on conversation with him as if she had been doing it for years! Both Danny and I looked at each other, shocked in disbelief, but we have a picture to prove it (for those of you who won't believe it without a picture).

We are very proud of our little girl! 

Hello, my name is Shanda and I am an addict...

So I've thought long and hard about this post and decided it's time to let the cat out of the bag. Whoa, this sounds a little serious. Let me assure you, it's really not, but for some of you it may come to as a complete surprise.

I am a Scrapbooker. There I said it. And I have been for the last five years.

Now you might be thinking that wasn't so bad, but any of my scrapbooking girlfriends can tell you they too have friends they have kept this hobby from (at least in the beginning). There was a time in my life I too was snubbing my nose at the word scrapbooking and it was because I just 'didn't get it'. It took my first pregnancy (where I was already documenting the journey in writing) and then the birth of Brynn before I really understood it. Now, I can not imagine my life without it.

Not only am I documenting the milestones of my children, our life as a family and now my story; I am constantly learning. It's a creative process I have become addicted to. I have interwoven my love of photography and found I am enjoying writing more and more (even though I am not great at it). It has become my outlet.

With all that said, I want to mention an on-line class I am taking and thank a friend who recommended it to me (Katey). The class is called Yesterday and Today at Big Picture Scrapbooking and is taught by Ali Edwards. She is hands down an incredibly talented women. The class is 12 weeks long and we are in our sixth week. It focuses on telling your story about your life. The last couple of years I have been struggling on how to start a book about me and my life for my children. Taking this class has been a wonderful journey as she takes you through the steps of documenting your life from childhood to present. She talks about documenting good times, not so good times and the challenging times. It has been a complete inspiration and has me running to my computer every Thursday night for the new assignment after the kids go to bed.

The layout below is our latest assignment.  It's random things about me.  (If you would like to read it, you can click on the image to enlarge it).

'Houston'

Tonight at dinner Brynn was recapping her day when she informed us there would now only be six girls in her class instead of seven and that she would no longer be able to play with her friend Layla. Of course this prompted both Danny and I to ask why?

She looked at us with a serious face said, "because Layla is moving to another country."

When we asked her if she knew which country she was moving to she thought for a moment and responded, "I believe it's called Houston."

Pumpkin Painting

I don't have a very long post today, mainly just a few photos to share with you of the kids painting pumpkins this past Friday night.

They were working so hard they wouldn't even look up at the camera....

Braden was really into it, he actually set still more than five minutes!

Oops, I spoke to soon. He's on the loose with a paint brush in hand....

He's back, but only to torment his sister.....

Brynn finally decides to look up at the camera....Can you tell her favorite color is purple?

They had lots of fun and we all had a much needed laugh. Brynn is our serious child (who gets deeply involved in what she is doing and trying to accomplish) while Braden is our little prankster as I am sure you can tell from the photos. They make a great pair.

Playing in the Mud

It's no secret most little boys like to play in the mud and Braden is no exception. In fact, I believe it is safe to say my son LOVES to play in the mud and lately with all the much needed rain we have been receiving there’s no mud shortage.

This past weekend the weather was absolutely beautiful and both Brynn and Braden were fever ridden (you would have never known it), so we pretty much stayed around the house. We ended up spending lots of time in the backyard; the kids playing while Danny and I worked in the yard. We spent hour working in our flower beds and trimming the bushes and Braden spent hours in the mud. He managed to dig several holes, cover the slide on the playscape in mud, loose ‘Bill the train’ in the mud, torment his sister by trying to feed her a mud pie, giving up and deciding to eat the mud pie himself (literally). He was absolutely filthy, we had to strip him down and rinse him off outside before bringing him inside for a bath. After his bath we had to scrub the tub!

Bout' Time

UPDATE ALERT: I know it has been awhile; okay it has been a LONG time, but I do promise we are still here, alive and kickin'.

We had a great summer and are glad to be back in a routine. The kids are doing great. Both Brynn and Braden started a Mother's Day Out program in September where Brynn attended school last year. Brynn is happy to be back in school and was really excited to see her friend Callie from last year in her class again this year. She walked in like a pro and I must admit it was a tiny bit sad when I only received was a quick kiss and 'see ya later'. Just one more reminder my baby girl is growing up. As for Braden this is his first year at the MDO and he did exactly what we expected; walked into class bursting with confidence, said hi to everyone, started playing and never once looked-back. Talk about a lump in the throat tear-jerker!

And me, I am still working full-time and trying to find a good balance with all the changes. It has longer than we expected, but we are hanging in there and taking it one day at a time. In August I signed up to take a photography class at our local community college I have wanted to take for years. It feels good to be doing something I love, but it has turned out to be a lot more work and time than anticipated. I have to remember to keep things in perspective. I am really enjoying it and have met some talented individuals. I'll start sharing some photos from my assignments here soon.

Danny is doing well. I know he is ready to get back to work, but he has done a pretty amazing job at home with the kids. Of course, Brynn and Braden love to throw in a challenge every now and then to keep him on his toes. Both kids were sick a few weeks ago (antibiotics, breathing treatments and the whole nine yards) and I know first hand it is not fun when you are dealing with a sick child, let a lone two. Braden's hit the terrible twos and developed a ‘deaf ear, while Brynn has moved into the 'I-will-do-it-my-way-and-only-my-way' fours (is there such a thing?). So he has definitely had his moments and I think it is safe to say, he will be accepting the first decent offer he receives ;o)

New York City

This past Saturday I returned from a fantastic trip to New York City with two of my closest girlfriends, Krista and Amber. We have been friends since high school and I could not think of two better girlfriends to go on this trip with. So a big thanks to Amber, who allowed Krista and I to tagged along on a business trip.

We were there for five days and for me......it was not long enough. I absolutely loved everything about the city. If this trip was taken ten years ago (before marriage and children), I am pretty sure I would have packed up my Honda Civic and lived a very poor lifestyle in New York City. I have always been drawn to the city lifestyle, tall buildings, beautiful architecture, history (lots of history), museums, an unlimited supply of entertainment, subway systems, etc. It's all a far cry from suburbia Texas. Life's funny that way, but truth be told I wouldn't change a thing. Besides, New York City will always be there and I have a feeling when winter were to come I would be hightailing my rear end right back home to warmth!

Five days really is not long enough to do everything we wanted to, but we were able to see some amazing sites, shop, eat some wonderful, but very expensive foods, experience a Broadway play on Broadway, shop some more, master the subway system and sleep in. Below are a few of the 300 photos I took (yep, you read that right!) I am hoping in the next week or so I will have the rest uploaded to a site and I will share them with you.

This first two photos are views from the Empire State Building. We were on the 86th floor. We went the first day we arrived in town. You can actually go all the way up to the 102nd floor, but the observatory was closed due to the weather. It was a little hazy out, but the view was still amazing.

Below is a photo of handmade tiles. These tiles were made by family members and friends of victims who bodies were never recovered after 911. The picture really does not due the memorial justice, but I thought I shared it anyway. The tiles actually covered a chain link fence that went on for about half a block. Every year during the anniversary of 911 family members and friends gather here to honor their loved ones.

The firetruck below is from the Fire Station right across the street from where the Twin Towers stood. Everything is still under construction and being there was very difficult. There was a tour you could take, but none of us were ready to do it. Maybe the next trip.

The Gershwin Theatre where we saw the Broadway show "Wicked" which was fantastic. If the show comes to your town I highly recommend going to see it. It might be pricy, but I promise you it is worth every penny!

Time Square at dusk. This was the site we saw everytime we walk out our hotel. Loved it! Not to mention the larger than life picture of Johnny Depp! At night it was so bright with all the lights that it did not even feel like it was night.

The top of the Empire State building. Just checking the zoom on my camera.

The ball drop at Time Square.

A random apartment building and a hint of plant life surrounded by so much concrete.

Central Park, which was so beautiful. It's amazing that 800+ areas of greenry is located in the middle of the city. When you walk in the park you forget you are surrounded by huge buidlings and city life.

Our main source of transportation during our trip.

We saw several funny signs. I am not really sure how they enforced this one considering you could sing a tune to the amount of honking cars.

And of course, no trip would be complete without a picture of the Statue of Liberty. I took this photo from the Staten Island ferry. She reopened on July 4th after 911. You can now go inside and up to the crown. Tickets were completely sold out while we were there. I think the earliest we could get tickets was for September. This is a must on my next trip.

I had a great time and can not wait to go back. In fact, when Brynn and Braden get older I think they would enjoy it. Believe it or not, but there was actually lots of things to do with children (older children).

Brynn's Recital

It was a big weekend for little miss Brynn this past weekend as she experienced dancing for the first time on an actual stage in front of a real audience. She did really well and we are very proud of her. The attached video is of the dress rehearsal (we were prohibited to record during the actual performance) which was held Saturday morning. The actual recital was Saturday evening. She was a little shocked by all the lights and not having her dance teacher leading the way. Her dance instructor was on the side of the stage, which you will notice because all the girls have their heads turned in that direction.

A few warnings before the video starts: it's me holding the camera, so expect some shaking (next year I will make sure to bring my tripod) and of course you will hear me taking at one point when someone is standing in my view (I was a little frustrated - just ignore me.) Otherwise, enjoy!