ShannonAlbert.com - June 2009

On Thursday night at midnight, I took Payton and 2 friends to see the much-anticipated Twilight movie that they've been counting down to all year. I love midnight showings because they bring out the most enthusiastic fans that will actually talk to the movie and clap loudly when it begins and ends. I've had a few people say I was crazy for going out at that time and encountering the teens but I was so excited for Payton and her friends to see it that it was totally worth it. Despite getting home at 2:45 and their buses coming before 7, they all got up the next morning and made it to school just fine. The only one that didn't? That would be me.

Today, Andy and I went to Blake's school to take treats to celebrate his birthday.

While we were waiting for it to be time to go in, we spotted his clip in the hallway with his most recent work including a picture of himself from Halloween.


Always enthusiastic about getting his picture taken...


Passing out brownies to his classmates...


Everybody sings to him...



The kids seemed very grownup, probably due to Mrs. Taton insisting they all chip in to help and always use proper manners. They are also impossibly cute with their missing teeth and funny senses of humor. Such a great age.

Blake's birthday is today but on Friday he kept saying "nobody is even thinking about my birthday!" He was very worried that we didn't have plans but we definitely did!

Starting Saturday morning, Blake had requested that I make bacon and Mickey-shaped pancakes. Easy enough.


Then we told him he could pick where we ate lunch. He chose Freddy's Custard because it's his favorite, especially because of the fries. When we were wrapping up our lunch, I gave Blake a card signed by the three of us. The card had flaps in it with jokes written on them which Blake methodically read through. He loooves jokes.


The card also said that we'd be going on a GPS scavenger hunt and his first clue was enclosed. The clue said to go to specific coordinates and look under the big metal sunflower for the next item.

He programmed the GPS very quickly (none of the rest of us know how to do it with the coordinates) and we were on our way.

The coordinates led us to a parking lot at Sedgwick County Park and after searching for a bit, Blake spotted the windmill (sunflower) and his gift under it.



It was windy and cold so we headed back to the van quickly for Blake to open his gifts and read his next clue. The gifts were a couple of books - one of them a Klutz book about building contraptions and the other a book w/laces to help learn to tie shoelaces. The clue gave some coordinates for the next stop and said to look under a sign when you get there.

Payton thinks she's a gift.


These coordinates led us to a spot in a rural kind of area and then Blake walked to the sign for his next gift and clue.


This gift was a Rainbow in my Room that Blake's been wanting forever. He shrieked with excitement at getting it. The clue indicated that we should go to a specific address and then ask for an envelope with Blake's name on it.

That address led us to Imagine That toy store - my favorite toy store in Wichita but not one the kids had ever been to.


They had his envelope behind the counter and were expecting him today!


The envelope contained a clue for the next stop as well as a gift certificate for the store. The clue indicated that Blake should shop and then proceed to the next stop which would be the last.

He loved the toy store and enjoyed looking for things to buy. He spent exactly the amount of the gift certificate and then Payton bought him one other thing he wanted with her own money.


The clue that Blake got here said to go to a specific address and said that address would be the last stop. It also said to ask for a bag at the desk.

The address led us to a hotel.


The man at the desk was expecting Blake and knew right where to find his bag.


The tag on the bag said to get your room key because we'd be spending the night! Blake LOVES hotels so this was especially exciting. He still hadn't opened the bag to see what was inside. He waited until we got to our room to do that. The kids were SO excited about the room because it was so nice. It was a suite that included a kitchenette and had a total of 3 beds. It's the #1 best rated hotel in Kansas on Tripadvisor.com and affordable as well. Loved it, highly recommend it, stay there if you are ever in town.

His favorite snack - Fudge Brownies with nuts. I never buy them so this was a special treat.


More treats and finally, the Zero Gravity Racer he wanted most of all! He was so happy because he had planned to spend his own money and a gift card on it.


Andy and I got our luggage and Blake's gifts from the car. We explored the hotel, checked out some free DVDs from the front desk and then Blake wanted time to play with his new things and Payton wanted to watch a movie. I took the opportunity to take a nap since I was still feeling the effects of the meds I came off of.

Once I got up, it was dinner time and we headed to Red Robin for dinner. Fun time and good food. We came back to the hotel and swam for a while and then came back for showers and ended the night with a movie. It had been a GREAT time and Blake was so happy about his "totally awesome" day. His happiness was apparent:


Sunday we woke up and had the free breakfast buffet at the hotel and Blake was concerned that we weren't going to have cake or balloons for his "real" birthday. After we got back home, I headed to the grocery store like I always do on Sunday and made sure to get things to celebrate his birthday at home.

Dinner was Blake's favorite meal, Indonesian Chicken (chicken with fresh green beans and a peanut sauce) and a cookie cake for dessert.



Fantastic weekend for a fantastic boy. Happy 7th birthday Blake!

Looking for cool music? You won't find it here. My pleasures are other people's guilty pleasures. This is a mix tape for myself. I predict that Adele may soon make an appearance to this list. She's fantastic.

There's a blog that links to me and other Wichita bloggers called Douglas and Main. It's created by Bobby Rozzell and although I was suspicious why someone would want to post about my personal blog, it has helped expose to me to other Wichita bloggers and it's been interesting to see the evolution.

One such blogger just tagged me to post 6 random things about myself. I never "forward" things so I won't be tagging others to do the same but I'll answer the tag.

1.) Andy and I take naps most weekend days. I don't actually understand why people get so against naps as adults. It's relaxing and so nice to cuddle in the middle of the afternoon.
2.) The bed that we nap in...we never make it. The only time it really gets made is if a cleaning crew does it. I don't really get why it should be when I'd like to just be able to crawl into it without undoing all of the trimmings.
3.) I don't do the dishes after dinner. I put them in the sink, wipe off counters and the table and do them the next day. I hate having to cook, eat and then get up to clean. Wondering why I have to do both? Yeah, me too.
4.) I love stockings. It's my favorite part of Christmas. I do stockings for my parents, my kids, my husband, my dog and now my parents dog. I spend a lot of time thinking of small things that people will love. The stocking contents usually cost more than the gifts.
5.) I sleep 1 - 7 most nights (the last 6 days have been 2 - 6 though). I've tried changing it by taking medicines, exercising more, gradually trying to reset my circadian rhythm, etc., and nothing works. I'm not tired and it doesn't affect my life negatively so I've given up trying now.
6.) Whenever I go through a yellow light, I block my vision of the light with my visor so I don't see it turning red. Every time.

I won't be tagging anybody but if you'd like to list 6 random things, please do and let me know in the comments.

One of the benefits of my crazed energy is that I've been cooking everyday and making things that take quite a bit longer than a weeknight meal normally would. I made this Bacon-Wrapped Chicken, Chickeny Chicken Rice and corn for our dinner tonight. It was really good but the others in my household didn't agree.

Side note: we eat too much corn. Fresh green beans being added to the grocery list for this week.

This is what our dinner looked like after Payton threw it at Andy's face. Food throwing: a new habit of the teenager.


This is what it looked like before being thrown.

A few weeks ago when I was very busy at home and work, I had a dream that I had resorted to shooting up heroin to handle it all. It felt so real (like I imagine heroin might be because I haven't ever experienced it first hand) that I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep.

Now I've discovered something better: steroids. The doctor prescribed me both antibiotics and steroids last week to combat tonsilitis and ever since, I've only slept 2 a.m. - 6 a.m. each night and while I'm awake, I'm always moving. I imagine it's how Casey feels all the time.

So tonight after spending an hour making dinner, I decided to organize the food cabinets. We lost quite a bit of storage in our kitchen when we moved here and it's been hard to get it all straight. If I have steroids for another 2 years, maybe every section of the house will be as organized.

All of the spices, organized alphabetically. The next time I get some steroids, I will be sure to put them all in the same type of containers for a more uniform look.


Pantry shelves organized by grains, packaged goods, baking items and beverages/sauces.


I also reorganized the canned goods in a different cabinet and moved stuff to a storage area downstairs since we don't have room in the kitchen. It's finally how it should be.

Today was the last day of steroids so we'll see if the energy level continues. I hope so. Or maybe I'll become a bug chaser for illnesses that require 'roids as the cure. :)