ShannonAlbert.com - June 2009

Had no plans with extended family this year but enjoyed the time at home on a rainy, cold day.

Saturday, we dyed eggs. Had two kits to use - glitter and tie dye. I knew Blake would pick the glitter kit.





The eggs were then scattered around the house by Andy for the kids to find Easter morning.

In the meantime, the Easter Bunny also hid baskets for the kids. Payton's was so hard that the kids spent a lot of time looking for it.

Blake's basket:


Payton's basket:


I made french toast sticks with fresh fruit for breakfast and then put some fresh green beans, new potatoes and ham in the slow cooker for dinner. We intended to go out to eat for lunch but Blake fell asleep so Andy and I napped when he did. I guess that means we skipped lunch.

Overall, a very relaxing, great day. Hope everyone's was good as well!

Just realized that my kids are getting so old that I've begun "remember when?" type of stories.

Payton's always had a thing for animals. She used to call ants her friends until she realized they love to bite her, she loves dogs of all sizes and shapes and even farm animals. One time when Payton was 2 or 3, Andy drew a picture of a farm and Payton declared that something was definitely missing. Unable to figure out what it was, she let him know that every animal needed a purse. Of course they did. Everybody needs a purse!

When we'd drive by farm animals, she'd matter-of-factly declare that she needed to take the cow home. Nevermind the fact that we lived in an apartment. Once we did buy a house, she told us how excited she was that now she could have a horse! Too bad our yard was 12x12.

Payton's also flirted with being a vegetarian over the years. Complicating this was two things: she wasn't a big fan of vegetables and the minor detail that she really loved the taste of meat.

Until now.

She's recently acquired the taste for lots of vegetables and is varying the food she eats a lot more. Her conscientiousness is also winning over flavor and she's been meat-free for a couple of months now. I admit that sometimes I find it annoying. We are meat eaters and having her not eat meat is not very convenient many times. However, like everything in her life, she wants to do what she believes is right and is persistent in that effort. I admire that.

In 14 years, I've never been a fan of chore charts or paying for chores but recently, the kids just weren't doing what they should be so I've done what I said I'd never do: create a chore chart and even more, there's money involved.



The kids have the same tasks to complete everyday and at 8:30, I check the list and sign if it's complete. They each get an amount for each day complete and if they complete every day of the week, their weekly amount doubles.

We are just getting started on this system but they are very excited about it. I'm surprised since we've never done it but apparently they were craving something more structured. We'll see how it goes.

We had been on hold with vacation plans due to job insecurity but Andy recently told me to go ahead and plan a trip. I'm pretty sure he did it to save me from a trip to a mental hospital. It worked.

And then Andy found out more layoffs are coming this month at work. At least we have a trip to look forward to.

Little known fact: we've never taken a family vacation with just the 4 of us. We've always been with other people which is fun but it will be nice to just have the 4 of us for the first time.

So I set out doing what I like to do: research, research, research. The requirements for the trip were that a beach be involved, plenty of activity to keep Blake busy and some time with just Andy and me needed to be included.

I researched lots of islands off the coast of Florida, various areas of California, all-inclusives in a few countries and finally decided where we'd go: on a cruise.

Since we require 4 plane tickets, the airfare is often the thing that dictates our plans. I was having trouble finding somewhere affordable that we could fly but kept coming back to Tampa because it was so much cheaper than other places. I looked at maybe just staying in the Tampa area and maybe even driving down to Sarasota. I came across the cruise options out of Tampa and they had one for our dates and a Kansas resident discount was available that gave us a balcony room for the same price as an interior room.

So, the last week of May, we'll be sailing on the Carnival Legend (hate to be a snob but I never thought I'd go on a Carnival cruise but this one gets fantastic reviews) and going to the ports in Belize City, Grand Cayman, Honduras and Cozumel.

Excursions are currently being discussed and booked, kids passports are being applied for and shopping for our vacation clothes is being done. Can't wait.




Cave tubing in Belize


Zip line in Honduras


Swimming with dolphins


....and beaches galore.


Now the next inevitable step has begun: explaining to Blake how a cruise ship works. Shows have been recorded and watched to discuss how a ship is assembled, how the food is prepared, the engines required to power the whole boat, how the wiring is put together, where the ship gets the fuel, etc. All of these are questions he asked us immediately and thankfully there are shows to answer it because we didn't know. Maybe after he gets his questions answered, he'll be able to focus on just having fun. I know the rest of us will.

Both kids recently have developed new smiles for different reasons.

Payton got her braces off and now has big, perfect teeth. Feels weird to her but she'll get used to it.


Blake, on the other hand, loses teeth constantly. He's lost one per month for the past 5 or 6 months. The last one, he didn't even bother to let us know about. Decided if the tooth fairy was real, she'd figure it out. That kid and his tests.

He's lost another one since this (crazy) pic was taken.


Obviously braces are in his future too.

Hiatus is over for now. I read a lot of blogs so I know it's not normal to disappear for weeks at a time but since it's my life I talk about here and saying "I worked a lot" would have been boring, I had nothing to say. After about 4-6 weeks of working ridiculous hours and feeling sick most of the time (I think I have a high tolerance for stress but I apparently reached it after such an extended time), I was gone for 5 days to get away, have fun, relax. Miraculously, I no longer feel sick or crazy. Well, maybe just not sick.

Drove down to Texas last weekend, spent the night with Kami on the way, drove to Amanda's house and did stuff with her for a few days.

Some random tidbits from the time away:
- ran into Abraham Lincoln
- accidentally ran two toll booths in two states
- fell on my face in a parking lot
- sushi, sushi, sushi (including Nobu which lived up to its name)
- standup comic that insulted everybody in the front row but called us "fashionable" (ha)
- saw the best lip synching pole dancer live
- Dunkin Donut appetizer
- barking puppies
- a spin in a sports car
- naked time at the spa
- renewed appreciation for my family. Time away was good for us all I think but it's good to be back together again.