Happy Halloween

Thanks Grandma Dee for the great costumes!

Little Indian Princess Wow. His smile is definitely one of a kind. It cracks me up!

That's more like it.
I made D put on this get-up. When he came downstairs I think I laughed for a good five minutes. I look hot with long black braids.

from our tribe to yours....

luv those chubby cheeks

Just a picture of my little miss P.

carving the pumpkin part deux

Love that little face.

Okay, so D found patterns for pumpkins and set out to carve a witch . He wasn't too impressed with it, but as soon as J saw it he said, "cool witch." I will take a pic tonight and you can see if you can tell what it is. I carved a good old fashioned J lantern. Jackson wasn't much help in the carving process.

Carving the pumpkin part 1

Still hasn't figured out the whole smile bit.
Thanks Nana for my Skeletor pjs (too bad he doesn't even know who Skeletor is) "It's dark in there" (this is what he was actually saying when I shot this pic)

Drama anyone??

Our little thief.

So we went out on a family walk yesterday. We made it to Andrea's house when J started getting kind of rough with Paige. After a warning or two he wouldn't stop so I got him out of the stroller and told him he had to walk. He refused to so I said,"all right, we will miss you then." and we headed back towards our house. I thought it would be a short while before he started running after us crying, but no, he would just occasionally walk down the driveway to see where we were and then go back up. We made it back to the stop sign when D informed me that J had won the battle of wills...(we will just see when I make him go to bed early...hmph.) Anyway, we head back to get him when all of a sudden he comes walking down the street pulling the little decorative wagon that Andrea keeps by her door. You know, the one that is probobly an antique or something.

Douglas heads back to Andrea's door with him and as he is getting it situated J rings the doorbell.

Thanks for not being home.

Little stubborn stinker.

Mr. Chatterbox

Typical Conversation with J

J- "Where are we going Mama?"
M-"On a walk"
J-"What walk?"
M-"A walk around the neighborhood."
J-"What neighborhood?"
M-"This neighborhood."
J-"What this neighborhood?
M-"The one we are walking around."
J-"What walking around?"
M-"The walk we are on."
J-"What walk?"
M-"The walk where we are just quiet and look around."
J-"What walk where we are quiet?"

and you can extrapolate where the conversation goes from here....

here's j

it's a pony...

tail...does this look goofy or cute?? I hesitated to put a pony in because I thought it would rip her hair out, but she is doing a good job rubbing it out in her crib anyway so I figured why not.

p.s. Paige started puking today. Oh joy.

p.p.s. i threw one of J in there just so you realize that I love him too. I just have to fight him to take a picture and it's not worth it most of the time.

One more

Love my Paigie Girl

Nicky Names

Do you have any??

here are some for the kiddos:
Jackson--bubba, bubba lou, jack a roo, j man, j, jack a roo bonsai, little bubba

Paige--missy moo, minnie may, itty bitty, chubba wubba, squak box (or as J says Squak bock)

How do we come up with such crazy nicknames?


The flu has hit my kids. It was a sad night at the Shaw house. J started throwing up while I was at work and continued to do so through the night. Paige had diarrea which, surprisingly, is preferable to throwing up (even after yesterday's post). I think I would sort of freak if my baby was throwing up. I have a great hubby who got up with J everytime he was sick. It takes me like a minute to wake and register what is happening and D would already be taking care of it. J is great too. He would go straight to the bathroom and throw up in the toliet. No cleaning puke off the carpet this time around. Today was a good day though. No one was sick and we are hoping to keep it that way. We have been quarentined for a few days now and I think I will stay away from others for one more day just to make sure. Being sick stinks (no pun intended) and not sleeping stinks.

Can you believe Christmas is around the corner. I really want to simplify this year. I hate the stress that comes from trying to find the perfect gift and worrying if you spend enough and not wanting to spend too much. I have talked with a couple friends about forgoing friend gifts (there are really only a few close friends that I give gifts to anyways). I thought it would be more fun to go out to eat and see a show together and forget about the gifts. We will see what happens. I just really want to enjoy the season. I want to enjoy fun activities with friends and family, I want to enjoy teaching J about Christmas.

Off to bed. I have been tired this week and going to bed early (although not sleeping well for various reasons.) I need to have energy tomorrow so I can tackle my pig sty. We also get flu shots tomorrow. I will be happy to have that under my belt!

I am now the age all claim to be...

29. uneventful and kind of crummy. That is a good way to describe my birthday. We had a whirlwind weekend with little sleep and by Sunday, we were all feeling it. Plus, who wants a bday on a Sunday?? And, little did I know, but I was getting sick. That night and Monday I had some sort of stomach bug that knocked me out. It was so bad I even turned down German Chocolate Cake which is my favorite. So, I was grumpy and crabby for my birthday. So was Douglas. So was J. Delightful.

Now on to another issue...why do people still do bowl cuts on their little boys. Please don't-- they aren't even cute.

And, why is it that I am always covered in poop, pee or spit up?? Seriously, Paige doesn't poop without having a blowout. I am not kidding either. It is infuriating. I went to get the car washed today and the world's slowest car wash and while there J had to go poop. Great. I love public restrooms. I take him in, get him on the pot and realize that my sweet Paige has had another blowout. So, I change her, finish up with him and take my ghetto baby out with a diaper and unbuttoned onsie to wait for the car to be done. Why do I even leave the house?

Now on to tackling the house. Coming home from a trip and taking a few days of from house hold chores=total and utter chaos. To survive yesterday I let J do whatever he wanted so there was play-do all over, toys strewn everywhere and piles of laundry covering the upstairs landing. I love being a homemaker.

And lest you think I am all grumps...I really do have a great life, good husband and adorable kids...minus the poop part.

Good times in Georgia

Just chillin' after the aquarium.

We went to Georgia for Douglas' 10 year reunion and to see his family. All of his siblings were there and we had a great time. Jackson was in heaven and so well behaved. It helps when there are a million people doting on him, new toys everywhere and no boundaries! He loved being around everyone. The kids slept well, ate well and all was hunky dory (haven't said that in a while) until the fateful trip home. Here are a few highlights...

Went to the Children's Museum where J had a blast. He could have stayed all day had we not all been starved.

Went to the GA Aquarium--the largest in the US. It is pretty amazing.

Went to D's class reunion. Of course any reunion would be better compared to mine, but it was actually fun. Lots of his friends were there. I guess it helps when you were "popular" or as his siblings said, "a hero" in highschool.

Had fun playing games, talking, and chilling with his family.

Went out with my best friend from HS and her hubby who now live about 20 minutes from D's parents.

Had a fun relaxing trip. Georgia is a beautiful place. I could totally live in the south.

J was so not cool with the picture. He wanted Grandma Dee no where near the cookie. Too bad it was hers.
Loved the penguins

Waiting for the Deepo "3D" movie with Uncle Jeff. We didn't sit by him, but Douglas' sister said he was mesmerized during the whole movie. That is pretty tough with J so it must have been really good!! With gpa George and Gma Dee.
Grandma and pa "Great" as J calls them. They flew out from Burley Idaho to be with everyone.
J having a great time!

The huge whale slide. He was really hesitant to go down because it had teeth. Makes sense.

They had a water pond at the children's museum. I swore he would have gotten into it had we not stopped him. He tried to throw a stuffed frog in as well...I mean it was a frog and they do belong in water!?!Wearing a lady bug rain coat to fish in the pond. They didn't really have any more masculine raincoats so this is what he got.
Patiently waiting his turn on the crane.
A half normal smile with Deepo at the Georgia Aquarium.
Grandma Dee and Paige

A rare occurance for J. He usually doesn't fall asleep anywhere but in his bed. We took j to the children's museum and he loved it.

This is the deer in headlights look.
I love this outfit!!!!

a little taste of hell...

My personal hell....

11 hours traveling alone with Jackson.

how could this be so bad you ask?? Let me see...

Flipping out every time I make him buckle in the plane.
Running away from me every time I don't strap him down in the airport and me having to drop everything--including Paige to run after him.
Jackson head butting me as hard as he could when I told him to look at me so we could talk about his behavior
Pulling away and screaming when I put his harnass buddy (leash) on him. When I tugged him back him flew to the ground and hit his head.
Flailing and screaming when I buckled him in the stroller to alleviate the whole leash problem.
Wanting to change DVDs every five minutes and screaming and crying as loudly as possible (in the plane) if I said no.

Oh, did I mention we had to sit on a plane for two hours before they pulled us all off and made us switch to another plane which caused me to miss the next two connecting flights?

And that I was lugging Paige, her car seat, Nemo backpack, diaper bag and carry on bag.

HELL.

she's a growin!

I took Paige in for her four month check up/shots today. I have to admit that it totally feeds my ego when people gush about how cute my baby is. I can look pathetic (which is not uncommon, let me assure you), but nothing makes me feel better than when my kids look cute and people notice. So here are her stats:
16.25 pounds--92%
16.7 inch head--84%
25.6 inches long--88%

I love my big babies.

I love my new jogging stroller. It is a smooth ride and now I am able to walk around the neighborhood and exercise (if I ever decide I want to again....sigh...I am tired.)

Gave J back his binkie. I don't even want to talk about it. He is going to have that thing until his wife makes him give it away. sigh again.

We leave for Georgia this week. I am so excited to go, but I HATE packing. sigh again.

I felt a little baby hungry this weekend. Don't get me wrong, I am not even considering another at this point. However, it made me remeber why I chose to have Paige when I did (I guess "we" chose to be more precise). There is nothing quite as sweet as a little baby. She is happy when she wakes up in the morning. I love to hear her babbling to herself and then when she sees my face she just lights up. Who can't love that??

So, we went and bought Jackson a trampoline last Saturday. It is his Christmas present (probobly his ONLY from us!!--I mean Santa) We drove down to Vegas and back making only one stop at Sam's Club. It was like $200 more online. It was worth the tank of gas and five hours. The only funny part was that the second box didn't fit in the car and we had to unpack it to get it all in. There was no way we were leaving without it!!

I really enjoyed what I heard of conference this weekend. Ill be honest, sometimes I sort of drag my feet to listen, but when I do I am always so inspired. I loves Elder Oaks talk which I felt was on setting priorities in life. I have thought a lot about the priorities in mine and always want to make sure they are balanced. I also love Elder Eyrings talk where he talked about noticing the Lord's hand in your life each day. Wouldn't it be great if I really did that. I would be a much more grateful person. Let's see, today I saw the Lord's hand in my life when I got home from shooting some pictures and the kids were happy, J was fed, the dishwasher was emptied and dishes loaded...all because I have a hubby who loves me. Douglas is by far the greatest blessing in my life.

Well, it is late, I am tired and I am going to bed.

Just a preview

Four Months Old

I have a lot of work to do and what do I do instead?? She really wasn't too happy to be taking pictures.

Ahhhhh...

I was trying to be the patient mother, but after five times out of his room, the door is locked. He is now crying at his door.

We threw away the binkies today. Actually Jackson did it. I talked with him about it all day. None the less, I think it may be a hard few nights. Isn't it amazing that a binkie can bring so much comfort?

I had a crazy weekend. Douglas was canyoneering so I was a single mother. Things more or less went smoothly. We had a little poop incident on Saturday--thank heavens with Paige and not J. I needed to go to Target so I got Paige fed, dressed and put her in her car seat. As I buckled her in I heard a little tooting. Oh great--of course she waits until I put her in the carseat for this. I figured, I will let her finish her business while I get the stroller in the car. As I walk away I notice a nice mustard colored stain right across my chest--POOP. Nasty. I take her out of her car seat which is also covered in poop. We go in and I lay her down to get her onsie off. The poop is all the way to her neck--no joke. There, interestingly enough, was very little poop in her actual diaper. By the time the onsie is off I figure a bath is the best way to clean up the mess. I get her bath all ready, Get her in and as she soaks I wash out my shirt and her onsie. I look over at her and realize that she has filled her tub up with poop. So, out she comes, I clean the bath out, refill it and put her in again. I go back to washing out the clothes. As I do I look out the back window and notice Jackson with his pants down peeing on the lawn. Then I look at Paige again and she has filled the bath with poop AGAIN. So, out she comes, bath is cleaned out, and finally Paige is bathed. Whew. I was exhausted after this escapade!

And speaking of J peeing in strange places...today when we left to go to the park he came waddling over with his pants down--a sure sign that he had peed somewhere other than the potty. I ask him where and he says, "in the garage." Sure enough, I look out the garage door and there is pee right in front of the freezer. What goes through a two year old mind?

Paige is back (knock on wood) to sleeping through the night. Thank heavens. It is so much fun to have a little girl.

Well, that about sums it up. all in all, life is good.