Bedtime Stories...

During the day to day grind, we as mothers and fathers get very busy. Sometimes too busy that we forget to sit and read, pray, and listen to our children. So I think that a bedtime routine is such an important part of our day. Robert and I have done bedtime routine in our home since the girls were very small. We usually both do it together, however, if one of us isn't available or their the other knows exactly what to do. Every night at about 8:00pm we dress them in their PJ's, clean their hands and face, and brush their teeth. They know this is the routine to ready for bed, and usually they do this without a lot of debate because it is so normal to them now.
Then the girls pick a book for storytime. We sit on Alyssa's bed and we will read a few verses out of the the Book of Mormon, we have family prayer, then one of us reads the bedtime story. Then it is lights out.
This is our routine. It may seem silly to some, but I can tell a big difference in our family and in my children when we take the time out of our busy day to come together every night to do this with them.
I mother wiser than me once gave me some great advice. She told me that she found it was so important to lay next to her older son right before bed and just talk to him alone awhile. She would ask him about his day. What he liked best, or disliked about it. What was on his mind? Stuff like that. She noticed a huge change in his attitude toward her and that their relationship was a lot closer once she started doing that.
My daughter Alyssa is beginning to get older and as she does, she begins to test me more and more. Somedays I feel like I debate back and forth with her more than anything else I do. In my personal prayers I have been asking for patience and knowlege to know how to handle her best. She is so strong willed and independant (don't know where she got that?? HAHAHA!) that I want to be sure I am helping her use those characteristics for choosing good things and not to be rebellious.
This morning that conversation with this wise mother and her simple advice came flooding to my mind. I am grateful for this memory of this advice and that my prayers were answered. I feel like this is a great thing I can be doing every night with Alyssa. To lay down by her and just talk with her about her day. What is on her mind. To tell her what she did good that day and that I love her. I think every mother could do this more because we do get so busy.


This is a picture that Alyssa took of me this week. I am 25 weeks along in this pregnancy. I am feeling so much better. I can tell that this pregnancy at 30 years old is a lot different than my first pregnancy at 25 years old. I have learned to listen to my body more and sit down and rest when I need to. To let some things go when I need to.
My placenta is sitting very low over the cervix. It isn't completely covering the cervix, so my doctor is hopeful that it will resolved itself as the baby grows. I have another ultrasound next week to check to see how it is doing.
It is strange to me to think that I only have 14 weeks left before I am a mother of three little girls. At this point, I am looking forward to seeing our little girl and to know that she is healthy.


These are a couple pictures of Alyssa's twin bed. We are selling the set for $50 dollars. It comes with the twin mattress, twin boxsprings, twin frame, and the white wood headboard. We bought it brand new a couple of years ago, so it is still in really nice condition. The mattress is a nice mattress and perfect size for a starting bed for a child-young teenager.
As I have mentioned in a previous post, Rob is in process of building the girls some custom full over full bunkbeds. They are looking so great, and I'm starting to get really excited to see them finished!
So we do not have a need or the space for this twin bed. If you are interested or know anybody who is interested in buying this bed, please comment on my post, or email me @ shanaw@tulsacoxmail.com
(the bed quilt and pillows are not included in the sale. However, I would give the twin sheet set and bed skirt)


Rob reading bedtime stories to the girls the other night. This is always a sight that makes me smile.

Happy Birthday Alyssa!

Look who turned 5 over the weekend! Here she is modeling some of her new cute birthday outfits for summer.


"Grandma Wyoming" made these cute cooking aprons for the girls to cook in. They are so into watching cooking shows on TV and love to act like they are doing their own cooking show. So these aprons are perfect for them!


Isabella in all her cuteness! She had to model a new summer outfit as well!

A friend gave Alyssa this cute disney pop up tent. The girls would sleep in it if they could both fit in it. It was such a great gift!

Mommy and the birthday girl right before we left for her party at the park!

Bella was enjoying a pink cupcake during her sister's party.

Alyssa had her first "friends only" party. She wanted to have it at our neighborhood park, and wanted it to be a pony party. Those were her request, and that is what she got.
Here she is during the relay horse races the kids had.

Bella and Alyssa getting ready for a cupcake!

Alyssa helped me make these pink cupcakes and we put them in a bed of "hay." I was supposed to decorate a pony face on them, but I am a terrible cake decorated. So they were just pink with pink sprinkles.

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter weekend together! Egg hunts, dinner with good friends, beautiful weather, listening to general conference, or as Alyssa calls it "church on TV."

The girls are a a really fun age for fun surprises. They were so excited to see that the Easter bunny has come for a visit Sunday morning. Here are a few pictures of Easter day!

I'm Joining the Club!

I was told about this really neat blog that a woman (whom I do not know) created for married women to be a part of. She started this club called "The Happy Wives Club." She is trying to get 1 million members to join.
I clicked on it and began to read some really interesting stuff about marriage and becoming a happy wife. I thought it was such a positive and fun idea. So check it out and see what it has to offer, teach, or share with you!

http://www.happywivesclub.com/join-happy-wives-club?success=true

When Alyssa goes to school...

In 4 1/2 months my little girl will be going to all day Kindergarten! I can't believe it! Sometimes I am a little scared for her to be away from me all day long. I have to really trust in the teachers and people over her to make sure she is safe and happy. I haven't had to do that before really that much. The first two years of her life, she went to an at home daycare while I worked full- time still. She loved it there, and it was harder on me to leave her there everyday then it ever was on her.
She is so excited and ready to go and learn. She is so outgoing that she will probably have more of a social life than I do. She's been asking me all sorts of funny questions about being in school, so I know she is thinking about it a lot. She asks me things like, "What if someone doesn't want to be my friend?" "Will I get to ride on a school bus?" "Can I get a cute backpack?" "When I go to school all day, that means I won't take naps anymore?" (that one she is making more of statement to me rather than a question)
I am very excited for her and it will be so fun to watch her learn and grow into this new phase of her life. This year there will be some big changes in our family with Alyssa being gone to school all day, and having a newborn baby around again. I was thinking the other day all the things that I will miss when Alyssa isn't here around the house with us all day.


I will miss watching Alyssa and Bella play together all day long. They are best girlfriends, and it is so fun to watch.

Alyssa started gymnastics class, and she loves it. She isn't scared of the things they ask her to try and she is a tough girl, so I think she could do well if she sticks with it. I think I need to invest in a real gymnastics leotard, so her underwear won't stick out. What do you think? :)

She will still get to keep up her class when school starts, but we won't be doing it in the late morning, and then going for our girl's lunches like we used to.

I will miss afternoon naps with Alyssa. When she's sleepy or sick is about the only time she sits still long enough to cuddle with me.

I will miss bike rides and walks to the park on sunny afternoons. She loves to ride down this driveway across from our house because she can get going real fast! Look at that face!

I will miss baking "after nap snacks" with her. She is such a great asst baker and is such a little helper. On the other hand- maybe I will lose this baby weight faster if she isn't around to want to bake so much? Hmmmm?

I will miss her funny little things she says to me through out the day. She just makes me laugh. Today she said, "Momma if I give you a big kiss, will you let me stay up with you and not nap today?" Come on, how can I resist her charm?

There are Kids Everywhere I look!

Recently I was asked to serve in my church ward primary presidency. Something that I will have to admit completely overwhelms me at this point in my life. I have two little ones I'm at home with all day long, and one that I am in process of growing inside of me. Sundays are supposed to be my day of rest, calm, and spiritual rejuvenation. It is a hard task as it is to try to teach my own kids to be reverent and sit quietly during the first hour of church. Now with my new calling in primary I am trying to teach this to everyone else's children the last two hours of church. With any area I have served in the church, there are good days and not so good days.
The other morning as we met for a presidency meeting, one of the ladies gave this scripture and thought to us from the Book of Mormon. 3 Nephi 17 23-24:
"And he spake unto the multitude, and said into them: Behold my little ones."
"And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels decending out of the heaven as it were in the midst of fire: and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them."
After she shared these verses with us, we discussed how special these little children are to God, and what our roles are as their primary leaders through His eyes. We all talked about how interesting it was that He used the words encircled about with fire when the angels were ministering to them.
I know that I am one of God's angels that have been called to teach, fellowship, and love His children as if He were here to do it Himself. That it is my responsibility to encircle them with purifying things of God to help keep the bad things of the world out of their lives as much as possible.
My new calling isn't always easy, glamorous, or relaxing. However, since I have had this mind set about it, I have truly felt blessed and honored to serve His little ones.

The Official News!

To our HUGE surprise, my ultrasound today showed us that we are having another girl! We were told at an early ultrasound by the PA, that she 98% thought it was a boy. We knew it wasn't a for sure thing, however, we definately had our hopes up for our boy to come.
Today when the ultrasound tech showed us the shot of our baby through the legs, there it was plain as day- the hamburger! Three distinct lines showing us we are in fact having another girl!
After the initial shock was over, we are of course happy to welcome another healthy baby girl.
Alyssa and Bella were able to be in the room with us, and Alyssa was SO excited about that. It was a really fun family event. The ultrasound tech was very generous with her time and explained all that we were looking at to the girls. Alyssa stood up by head so she could see the screen the best. Then the cutest thing of the whole experience happened.

Alyssa: (strokes my head and kisses my cheek) Your doing so good momma!

Me: I'm doing good at what baby?

Alyssa: At not peeing your pants!

I had to have a full blatter for the ultrasound, and I had told her on the way there that I barely could walk because I needed to pee so badly. Oops! Guess I need to filter what I say to her a little more!



We have been in the beginning stages of potty training our little toddler Bella. She is very proud to wear her big girl pull ups, as you can see in this picture. She thinks it is really fun and exciting sitting on the potty, however she has only gone pee-pee in the potty once.


This was after Bella's first successful potty!

I Feel Spring Coming

In addition to the spring season in the air, I have also felt a lot more spring in my step these days. I can't tell you how good it feels to not be sick everyday. I have had much more energy in the past couple of weeks, and I can tell my nesting stage is kicking in. I feel like 5 months just isn't enough time to get caught up on the last 4 months of things that I have been slacking off from because of feeling ill.
Some of the big upcoming events and projects in our home the next 5 months will be:
-20 week ultrasound - the big official reveal of our baby's sex
-Gathering together newborn baby stuff- this will not be hard if it is a girl, however,if it is a boy like we were told, we will be really busy!
-Putting together the nursery for baby.
-We are moving Bella out of the baby crib into a "big girl" bed. We have decided to do bunk beds in the girl's room and have been looking for good ones for awhile now. Robert has decided he can make them a lot better than what we can afford to buy. He promises it will be a good idea and money saver. I am very thankful he is so handy, but having done in a timely matter here is the key.
-We are in the middle of shopping around for who and what to do for a fence around our backyard. As spring/summer fast approaches, we feel with such fast growing neighborhood and small children wanting to run around the yard- a fence is a must!! If anyone has any good references for fence builders or where to get materials for a fence, let me know. Of course my husband has also told me he'd rather put the fence up himself rather than pay someone way too much money to do it for him. Along with the bunk beds, the big question is when are you finding the time to do all this?
-I am so behind schedule for the insurance billing I do from home. Doing a less than great job at my job is just so annoying to me! Working from home is great, but it just chews at my heels all day and night because it is right here. I can't get away from whatever I didn't get done that day, and it haunts me from the next room. I need to get a lot more done before having this new baby. I will leave it at that.
-Robert is going on another business trip to Mexico in June. Actually, it will be the week of his 30th birthday. He is very busy trying to keep up with the demands of his job.
-Alyssa starts all day Kindergarten in August. Right around the time the baby is due.



Rob took the girls to our church's annual daddy/daughter dance. The girls had a blast with him, and it was so fun to dress them all up to go out on a date with daddy.


One of my favorite times of the day and something a lot of friends think is pretty amazing, is that both my girls always nap at the same time everyday. It gives me 2 hours of quiet to myself, and I can get a lot of things done. The other day I snuck into their room and snapped these pics of them napping just to remind myself later how cute they are when they sleep.

Bella has graduated out of her highchair for meal time and snack time. She decided she was way too old to be sitting in that baby chair! This was a pic of her at lunch time the other day. She loves sitting up on the big kid chairs at the bar.

We have been SO happy to see the sun and feel the warm breeze this past week. It has been so nice to go outside and play with the girls. We have been using the park in our neighborhood alot this week. Alyssa loves the swings and she is trying to master the monkey bars right now. I have some funny video footage of her trying to do them by herself, I will post it later.

Look Who Got Married!!

My family spent Valentines week in Wyoming with my family. Love was definately in the air all week as we prepared for the big wedding day. On Saturday, February 13 2010, my little sister became Mrs. Rasch. It was so nice to see her so happy. She had a vintage theme wedding, and she was absolutely beautiful! Her photography, is also our cousin, (check out her website on the side of the pics) and these are some of her pictures from us getting ready that day. I will share more when we get them, trust me, you will want to see them. She took some amazing pictures!



Olivia in the hotel suite after she was ready.


This is such a cute shot of my aunt Becky and my mother trying to figure out the dress bussle.

These are of my older sister, Tamara, and me, helping put Olivia's jewlery on.

One of my favorites so far- is this not one of the sexiest wedding pics you've ever seen?

Stay tuned...more pictures of the ceremony and reception to come!

14 weeks and Counting!

I have felt very, very sick the past couple of months. My days have been filled with taking care of my two girls, cleaning, laundry, working (as much as my body will tolerate sitting at my computer desk), and cooking (as much as my body will tolerate the smells of food). A lot of extra fun activities and running around have been limited or just plain cut out due to momma not feeling like herself. After two months of sneaking breaks, naps, and laying on the couch as much as my daughters would allow me too; I finally decided this pregnancy sickness crap was for the birds! I went to my OB to get a check up before our long drive to Wyoming this weekend, and she gave me a prescription for my nausea. It has helped with the nausea, however it doesn't help my fatigue. I have to time when I take it very carefully so I don't fall asleep! Last night I took one at right before dinnertime, got things cleaned up, put the girls to bed, Rob left at 8:30pm to play basketball, and I went straight to bed. I slept the whole night through! It was crazy!
My doctor's checkup was good. I am 14 weeks along, and baby is doing well. I have had a lot of cramping, but my doctor feels that is mostly ligaments stretching and straining. Already!? I got to take an early peek at the baby in an ultrasound, that was really fun. We thought we might wait to see the sex of the baby when he/she was born, however I have been swayed to to learn the sex early for preparation reasons. (I knew I couldn't wait!) My doctor told me it may be too early to tell, however if she saw something pretty definate she would tell me. She told me she was 98% sure it is going to be a BOY!!!! Can you believe that!? My husband is still a bit skeptical of the news, and we aren't running out to buy a bunch of blue anytime soon. But it is really exciting to think that I have our little son in my belly! We might finally have our boy! It has been really fun to think about that this week.
We are leaving this weekend for Wyoming to my sister's wedding. We are so looking forward to seeing everyone, but not looking forward to the long drive. We just pray the weather holds up nice enough for us to get there and back without any problems.



Can you believe that belly already!? It's a shocker to me too!

Alyssa's haircut we got the other day. She said she wanted her hair cut pretty for the wedding. She is the flower girl.

Got Bella's hair trimmed up too. She threw a fit in the hair salon, I was all hairy and sweaty from holding her down by the end of it. But we could finally say good-bye to her Billy Ray Cyrus mullet!

...Stay tuned for pictures from the wedding and our fun family vacation!

Let me Introduce you to one of the best women that I know...

My Aunt Laurel is amazing! If you haven't had the pleasure of meeting or knowing her, I wish you could. I haven't asked her permission to do this, but I feel the need to share her wise insights with all the young mothers that I know read my posts. Her recent post about motherhood and choosing to be a mother really struck at my heart. Because I am choosing to have another child and I'm have felt a little panicky about how I will be able to handle three little ones; I felt very inspired by her words. I hope you read her words and feel as uplifted and proud to be a mother as I do. You might want to grab a tissue before reading.

http://teapartyplace.blogspot.com/ If you don't have this blog address on your favorites, you really should. It is great reading!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Cutting Up Coats: Motherhood and Sacrifice (part 1 of a 3 part essay)

"I was excited to find out I was pregnant with our third child...mostly. But about every couple of weeks there would be moments when I would panic. Heart palpitations, sweaty pits and palms, queasy stomach--I mean real, physical panic, and I'd think to myself, "What am I doing?"Things had just started getting easier. Mr. Wicke and I were just now able to take a Sunday afternoon nap again. After seven years it felt like such an indulgence. And speaking of sleep, the children no longer woke us up on Saturday morning. I no longer had to scrub scribbles off walls or clean urine off couches. Things weren't getting broken as often anymore. Mostly they had learned to keep their mitts off of my stuff. No one had cut their own hair in years. They could shower and bathe themselves. They carried their own dishes to the sink and put away their own clothes. They dressed themselves! I mean the list of luxeries of a life with older kids just goes on and on. Things were a getting easier, and now what had I done??? Had I honestly gone and got myself pregnant? With a baby?? What was I doing???This time around was much different than when we were expecting our first baby and even our second because now I wasn't naive. I'd been to the rodeo a couple of times, so to speak, and that bull is one tough ride! Parenthood will wring the selfishness out of you better than anything else. So you see, I can understand why people shrink in the face of procreation. Especially when one looks at all she would have to give up. Elizabeth Gilbert, I think, looks at it that way.
In her book Eat, Pray, Love she tells a story about her grandmother, who, born with a cleft palate, imagined herself unmarriageble and so got an education, worked, and lived independently. One of her personal rewards was buying a beloved fur-trimmed, wine-colored coat for $20.00. Later, when she does marry and has her first child, a daughter, she cuts the coat up to use for the baby. Gilbert seems to use this as an argument against motherhood.She says, "That's the story of motherhood, in a large way. You take the thing that is most precious to you, and you cut it up and give it to somebody else who you love more than you love the thing. And we tend to idealize that, and I'm not sure we should. Because the sacrifice that it symbolizes is also huge. Her marriage and her seven children, in a life of constant struggle and deprivation — it was heavy. And that beautiful mind, that beautiful intellect, that exquisite sense of curiosity and exploration, was gone."I can sorta' relate to that in my pregnancy-induced, panicky state of mind. There was some stuff I was going to have to give up. Getting back in the classroom? Delayed another six years, at least. Traveling to Europe? Gonna' have to wait. Shoot, traveling across town was going to be a little tricky again. Some of the things I wanted were going to have to be sacrificed. Sometimes, when that was my focus, it did feel a little heavy.But then a funny thing happened. The baby was actually born. And when they put him in my arms, I did exactly what I had done with my other two: I wept. That moment, connecting with a brand new living soul, is the closest I will ever come in my human existence to heaven. In that sacred space, where love and joy, gratitude and humility, light and limitless potential entertwine, things become very clear: None of that other stuff even matters. It is this new understanding that allows us to do crazy-fool things like cut up coats and give up careers; not for some self-martyring notion that it is what one must do, but because those things no longer hold the value they once did.Believe it or not, there was a time when I could not imagine my life without theater. Acting, singing, entertaining--I loved it! I was good at it. To me, it felt like flying. And a lot of my twenties was spent revolving around that world. Then the kids came, and they became the sun and the center of my universe. I was surprised to find that I didn't like to be away from them every night for large chunks of time. I missed them. It made me feel disconnected from my life. It gave me stress. I don't do much acting anymore. Some people call that a waste of talent. Some people call that giving up. I just call it being happy.
Those kinds of choices may be hard for some people to understand because they can only be judged by experience; one sadly, that Ms. Gilbert has chosen to never have. Just as I finished reading her interview, my son began to awake from his morning nap. Hearing him call for me, I made my way to his room, her description of contant struggle, deprivation, and sacrifice still simmering in my brain. As I opened the door he turned to me, eyes lighting up in joyful recognition, his chubby arms reaching out for me. I lifted him from the crib, pressed his soft, warm cheek to mine as he put his arms around my neck, and I whispered in his ear, "You are my trip to India. You, my darling boy, are my ride on an elephant."If, in fact, I never do those things, I will not consider my life poorer because of it. What is sacrifice after all? It is to give up something valuable for something else. That something would have to be esteemed as something even better, would it not? Heavier? Maybe, but what of value in this life is not heavy? Perhaps the weight of our life should be a measure of its depth. And if to love and to be loved, to feel that one really matters, is the desire of every human soul, I feel I have chosen the better part."

What's been happening?

The biggest change around our home is probably the news that we recieved on Thanksgiving Day. We are expecting our 3rd child! Just Robert, my girls, and our parents have known since then. We have been so proud of Alyssa for keeping our little surprise until I was further along.
However, since this is my third pregnancy, my body seems to want to show a little sooner than I'd like. It is getting very hard to "hide" my baby bump and growing other areas I won't mention. So for all of you who have been wondering if I was just a little thicker from eating too much over the holiday, you know now that this was intentional. :)
I went to the doctor on Monday and we heard the heartbeat. That is always a reassuring sound to hear. I am due August 8, 2010. The first thing my mom said when I told her when I was due, "August?...who wants to come to Tulsa in August?" Thanks mom. But I know I am in for one really hot summer.
We are very excited about this addition to our family. We are all rooting for a baby boy, but we will be happy as long as the baby is healthy.
As far as how I've been feeling the last 11 weeks. Not good! My poor husband. I know he wonders where all my energy and motivation went to? But, maybe this will all pay off for him and he will get his boy. I was never sick with my pregnancies with the girls, and I am sick every morning and every evening pretty much with this little one. So we will see?
I am looking forward to moving into my 2nd trimester and hopefully feeling a lot better.

This is the Gingerbread house we created, well, Alyssa mainly. She was so into it! The icing started to drip in places, but overall it was a lot of fun.
Notice Bella wearing Alyssa's underwear over her PJ's? This is her new thing. We are starting to potty train, so she has a new interest with underwear.

Christmas Footage 3

This one makes me laugh because it shows how funny Bella is getting. She decides to forget the rules and shove the eggs into the hippos mouth on her own.

Christmas Footage 2

I love this one! She is so in love with horses and her reaction is priceless.

Christmas Footage for my Family...

She is very grateful, then notice how quickly she shifts to hunting for the next gift to open. Hmmm...maybe we need to work on that a little more. ?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas morning finally came and all the preparation, presents, and anticipation is all over! The girls woke us up around 7:30am, which was very generous since I can remember waking my parents up as early as 5:30am when I was a child. (sorry mom and dad) The girls were thrilled with what Santa brought them. Alyssa asked me last night on our way home from a family dinner if I thought she had been good enough to get some presents from Santa? I told her we'd have to wait and see? Yes, we do believe in Santa Clause in the Wallace house. I think it is a magical theory that bring extra excitment, surprise, and fun to our children. Why not let them ride that ride until they are old enough to wonder different. I don't believe that any harm is done by this, and I don't intend to use it as a disiplinary tool to make my children behave through the year. I have heard lots of parents chatting about this, and I think it is plain silly. Let the children have a little fun! I think you are overthinking it a little! Santa Clause has nothing to do with the Birth of Jesus or our belief in Jesus Christ. They are totally seperate things. One is spiritual and one is completely commercial. When older, your children will understand that. So enough said about that. In keeping with the Peterson/Busteed family tradition, we had a yummy breakfast of hot pancakes, eggs, bacon, and hot chocolate. I think we consumed all our calories for the day in meal, but it's Christmas! We are now relaxing and enjoying watching the girls play with their toys together. It is nice to not have anywhere to go or anything to do. To just be together and breathe. Here are some pictures of the this morning. To my family far away, I hope you know how much we love you and miss you on this day. Merry Christmas!


Alyssa is turning into quite the artist. She loves to draw and will sit for hours doing it. Which really says something if you know Alyssa. She doesn't sit still for much.

The girls playing hair salon together.

The girls building with blocks together.

Look! We got a White Christmas! It started snowing on Christmas Eve and we it was so nice to wake up on Christmas morning to this outside. It made me feel like I was in Wyoming again.

This is the snow dift off our back porch.

Bella was very excited about her new disney toothbrush. How nice to be able to bring such joy to them with so little at this age.

Alyssa very concentrated on opening her gift. She was more into than ever this year.

The girls playing hungry hippos together.

More pictures and video to follow...stay tuned family!