14!

Nikolas turned 14 this past July. He is the youngest and the tallest. 

                                         

I call him gigantor cause compared to me well he is!  That's me standing flat footed behind him. I love this boy so much. He can push my buttons and drive me insane with always saying "Hi Mom" when ever I walk by him in the house. He is a great kid. Always thinking in the what if this or what if that mode, another thing that drives me crazy too.  

This last month we were able to get his teeth taken care of. He had a front tooth that was not straight from an accident he had with a skateboard about 6 years ago. It also got a cavity in it. So was black and bent as Nik would say. But now...

He can smile all day long, and he does. He looks great. 

The dentist did an amazing job.  

So my baby is growing up and doing great. I am a blessed mom.   

And yes in my phone he has a nickname is it "bugaboo". 

He has had it since he was little. 

So happy birthday Bugaboo, I love you!!! 

Mush of stuff...Famous time?

I have been thinking about a lot of things lately.  Here are a few of them in no certain order.  How life is not always what I want.  Why can't picutes take themselves.  Do I put to much on my Instagram? Is Facebook still my friend? What on Pinterest have I not found? And the biggest question of all...If I blogged more could I become FAMOUS?

 

Yes famous...there are so many blogs that I just look forward to reading (sometimes more than once a day).  I was talking to my friend, I need to give her a nickname cause that's what I like to do (all my contacts in my phone have nicknames), about how I wished I blogged more and that is would be a blog that people loved reading and followed too.  I wondered if I put one post a day would people like hearing from me? Would they want to hear what I have thought about for the day.  Or what I cooked? Or pictures I snapped? Or how my dog is doing? Most of the blogs I love are full of stuff but what I love the most is they keep it so simple.  Sure some can have a long post here and there but for the most part they are pure and simple.  Which we all need right.

I thought this blog would be about my kids something for them to look back on as a sort of updated version of a scrapbook (which I tried to do but always epically failed at).  However the more I have thougth about it I realize it doesn't always have to be about them...Right!  

I can blog about... get this... ME too!!

So in my attempt to become a famous blogging person if you're reading this (which I am so glad you are) maybe let others know about it.  Be one of the first that can say I knew her at the begining.  Just kidding don't say anything like that at all.  It will just make me embarresed and well I have been doing this blog for a few years now so it really isn't the beginning.

It's time.

Here is a journal entry from my new DayOne app I got for free from the Anniversary of the App Store. I want to say this app has helped me in overcoming things and so now I feel I need to share it too. 

I laid in bed this morning wondering why I am I unmotivated when I have really the easiest life right now. My kids are all teenagers which means they can feed and clothe and entertain themselves. My dog is now 2 so the puppy phase is over. I get to be a stay at home mom (SAHM) with access to my own car! And yet I dread every day. I read blogs of moms with younger children doing so many things all day long and yes they are tired and want a nap but still keep going and they blog about, Facebook it and even Instagram it. I work only at night for 3 hours tops. Papers are easy for me I am fast and good at it. The rest of the day should be easy. Blogging should be easy, taking pictures should be easy, working out should be easy, keeping up on house work should be easy, being active in my ward/church should be easy, making dinner or sweets should be easy. Cause I have nothing else to do!  Yet I lay in bed and think I just can't!  So last night I thought its time Shana time to change, be the person you want. Have fun with life this is the easiest it gets so take advantage of it. Enjoy yourself have a laugh or a cry. Be active not a bump in the bed that can't function cause it might not get done all the way or be the Martha Stewart way. So here's to change and may it be a good one and make smiles last forever!!!

Love ShanaMarie

AYFKM!!!!

     Are You Freakin Kidding Me!

(AYFKM)

I just watch a few clips on Yahoo! this morning and I have to vent.  

(please know this is my opinion and as such on my blog I am allowed)

There is a young womanhttp://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/utah-teen-kicked-class-because-her-hair-color-192700681.html in a Utah middle school that has been dying her hair a very pretty shade of red  it makes her feel beautiful!  I know this feeling when I color my hair I do feel lighter, happier and even more confident. But this school decided that cause in the sunlight it cast a shade of pinks and purples it was deemed a distraction and gave her a suspension! 

There is a young man growing his hair out for Locks of Love he is just 1inch away from being at the 10 inch mark for it to be used to make wigs for children with cancer.  What did the school do? 

Threaten the boy with school suspension.  

This makes me yell AYFKM!  Have we really come to a place where we can't do things to make us feel better or help others?  

My son hasn't cut his hair for almost 3 months now he is growing it out for http://www.stbaldricks.org , which is an organization that raises money for Children's cancer. (if you want to donate to my son's cause please let me know in an email he is trying to raise $100). 

Last night my daughter was having me paint her nails for awareness week at school, Wednesday was purple for domestic violence.  While doing this my son and nephew decided to do the same.  So yes today my boys and girl had purple nails at school.  If I had gotten a phone call saying my boys were in going to be suspend over this I would turn into a MOMMA BEAR and have to rip into someone. 

It made me proud that they did this to show support of a cause! Why have we come to a point in life where we can't do this or we can't do that?  I am not one easily offended by things in fact I see most things as a GOOD FOR YOU that you are doing that when it is a worthy thing. 

But Burn a Flag and I will be all up in your face!

So I just need to vent and BTW my boys will have Pink nails tomorrow for another cause!

Only one ROUTE!!!

YES!  Set in stone and no going back.  

                We as a family looked hard at the way things have been going in our lives and realized we needed a change and it needed to be a huge one! We have been flirting with the idea of giving up one of our paper routes for a long time now, just always seemed like it wouldn't be a thing we could do.  When we went on our wonderful Vacation to Disney World we saved and saved not only for the trip but to pay some one to throw our papers too!   I know Right how sad is that!!  Think of all the $$ we could have had on the trip.  This is one of the down falls of papers, you can't just call in sick or take a few days off it is your business and as such you have to take care of it ALL THE TIME!  When Dude got his new job we knew it would be hard for him to do papers and turn around and head to work.  So through this past summer me and the kids did it, he helped on the weekends.  Then came the fall and the route began to climb and I kept doing it alone no big thing at first it jumped to 500, and then came December and I was throwing an average of 850 every night and our District Manager gave us a 30 day notice cause of misses.  (back note my routes have at least 5-8 stops and starts a day which can get to be alot when you're throwing papers) (silly snow birds think they can come and go all the time).  So with the termination hanging over my head the weight of so many papers on my shoulders and still life at home with 4 teenagers and a hubby I had had it!  I talked with the kids about it and they were all in the stage of hating it as much as I did the next person to convince was Dude.  So when I talked to him about it he at first was like we are already there throwing what is another hour?  I explained that he needed to start helping everynight then.  My body was breaking down I couldn't keep it up.  Well I don't think he liked that much so We all talked and talked and decided that end of January we were done.  

                  And now I don't hate it as much! I get up at the same time but I am done way earlier than ever and I don't stress (as much).  I am a bit happier and that is a plus.  I have to say that through all the crap of it the best thing came from it was that I got time with my kids.  Time that alot of parents don't get with their kids.  We are a close family we do alot that most don't with teenagers, like go to movies, dinner out, shopping.  By this age I was done with family time for the most part.  But my kids are so different and I like that I know them and get to hear things that maybe I wouldn't if it hadn't been for it being 2:30 in the am.  

              

                 Would I ever tell someone to take on a paper route the answer is NO!  It sucks the life from you, you age faster, blah blah blah just like other jobs I am sure,  I am not saying it is only papers. 

              Sorry this is a lame post and has no fansy pics or anything else. But I wanted to get it out there.