Hi, My Name is Shannan...and I'm a Scrapaholic!

My husband let's me have all the scrappin' supplies I can hide.

So much cropping, so little time.

When life hands you scraps, make scrapbooks.

Memories are forever!

Scrapbooking is cheaper than a psychiatrist.

Visa. It's everywhere my scrapbook wants to be!

Friday night was spent with my girlfriends scrapbooking...nights like this are more than a productive night for creating a tiny piece of history, they're also a well deserved girls' night out. Our regular scrapbooking hangout closed this winter and we've moved our "crop spot" to the community rooms here at our apartment. It's been perfect...eight foot tables, kitchen, radio, sewing machine and Cricut set up in the corner, and no one telling us we're closing in ten minutes. We utilize the space well and go into the midnight hours. Denell, Kim, Diane, and Terri came tonight and we had a great time. I don't think there's ever been a bad night of it truthfully. When we're together, doing our thing, everything is wonderful! Scrapbooking is life...the rest is just details.

Making the Grade

Nolan @ age 4

This picture was created by Nolan this winter...

It makes me smile everytime I see it. The blonde hair and blue eyes are perfect!

We had Nolan's spring conference today. Mrs. Smoley shared what a delightful little boy we have and how much she truly enjoys having him in her class. She said that he doesn't miss a beat. He even keeps her on track sometimes. Nolan is very intune to what is going on around him and follows the schedule and routines of the class. He is an active learner. His favorite classroom activities include the sensory table, science experiments, math manipulatives, building blocks, and the creativity corner. She also said he had an active and creative imagination. This comes out at circle time and story hour each day.

He knows his numbers up to 100, can identify all the letters of the alphabet (both upper and lowercase), can zip, button, and snap, and performs all other preschool skills with proficiency. Handwriting is his area of weakness, and this is something Mike and I are well aware of. Having a left handed child has been a challenge for us as parents too. The world really caters to right handed people and Nolan is adjusting to this. His cutting, coloring, and drawing have come a long way since the beginning of the year, and we are proud of his accomplishments as a preschooler. Mrs. Smoley said we have a "Little Einstein" on our hands. He needs to be challenged and loves to try new things. Nolan has expressed his desire to read and is in the beginning stages of it. I can't wait until he recognizes the world of books, and all the knowledge that can be acquired. School days continue to be his favorite days of the week. It was a great conference and we are extremely proud of our little guy.

Life Goes On...Without Mom

Though I am needed here at my house, life does go on without me. I had locked myself in our bedroom the past few days; trying to regain the strength I needed to return to my daily rountines. I can't recall ever feeling quite this sick. Not sure what virus rocked my world, but what ever it was, it was nasty. Fever of 101.9, body aches, chills, cough, headache, sore throat, dizziness, earache, exhaustion...pure misery to say the least. Couldn't sleep because my body ached, couldn't read because my eyes hurt, couldn't talk on the phone because my throat hurt, could hardly get myself out of bed. Despite my aliments, the world went on around me... and for that I am grateful. Mike did an awesome job taking care of me. Making me hot tea, getting me NyQuil, oranges, and giving me time to rest. He took over my morning routine by getting the kids up and taking them to daycare. He picked them up yesterday, took them out for supper, and spent most of the night outside with them so I could continue to rest. The kids came into the bedroom frequently to check on me. Lilly asking each time if I was better yet? It was sweet to see their concern for me. It was also a little sad to see them going about their daily routines without me. As much as I needed my rest, I so wanted to be doing what they were doing. I reassured them by telling them I was getting better. I couldn't kiss their soft faces like I liked too, but we did manage to blow each other kisses from the doorway.
Being sick really makes a person appreciate life.... I can't wait to hug and kiss my family again, I can't wait to get out of this apartment, I can't wait to return to my busy, chaotic, healthy life. Even though life went on without me, Mike admits, "It wasn't the same without mom!"

Goodbye Frosty...Hello Spring!

As much as the kids like to play in the snow, they are so ready for spring. The warmer weather is something we've all been waiting for. With temperatures close to 50 degrees today, Mike took Nolan outside to build what we hope is the last snowman of the season. I am not sure how they managed to get him on top of this snowhill, but it was pretty impressive. Nolan thought Frosty could greet all the residents in our apartment as they drove in and out of our garage. As cute as he is, I am okay with watching him melt. Goodbye Frosty...Hello Spring!

P.S. Mike and the kids spotted the first robin of the season. I had a hard time believing that, until low and behold, I heard one chirping outside the window. By golly, spring is here!

We Love Weekends

The ship has landed...Mr. Alien found us at our table tonight.
Nolan wasn't prepared this time...
good thing he was able to laugh about it afterward.

Proud winner of two of his own aliens... He has the skill when it comes to skill cranes.
Thanks Mike for encouraging this. =0)

Lilly's favorite...the "Candy" skill crane.

3...2...1...Blast off!

Ready for take-off!

The kids love the weekends, because we get to spend quality time together as a family. Of course, that is every night of the week, but weekend nights are different. There is no pressure, no stress, and not a hundred things that HAVE to be done before going to work the next morning. The kids live for the weekends as much and we do. In fact, Nolan said to me today, "Mom, you love Saturdays don't you?" "Yes, I do!" was my reply. He continued on to tell me why I loved them...you get to sleep in, wear your pajamas as long as you want, and take a nap at naptime. BINGO buddy! I don't think I could have created a better list of reasons to love the weekend if I tried.

Weekends are a time when I also get to "really" play with my kids. We love to hang out in the mornings, snuggle on the couch and watch cartoons, do projects, and venture out to try new things. Going out to eat is another thing we enjoy doing together as a family. I not only get out of cooking, but I also get out of cleaning up! Space Aliens is one of their favorite restaurants. It happens to be a favorite place for many kids...sometimes it is so busy that we don't even step inside to see how long the wait is. Last weekend, Mike tried to take them there, but it was too busy. We thought we would surprise the kids tonight and bring them there before the big crowd hit. They ate their whole meal, endulged in a Supernova sundae, played games, met the alien, and went home with numerous prizes (a.k.a. JUNK!).

My Creative Side

Scrapbooking is a passion and something that consumes a big part of my life. I consider this to be a good thing, because it not only allows me to capture moments in our lives that might otherwise be forgotten, but it also gives me a creative outlet.

Taking pictures, planning my pages, cutting, taping, and rearranging paper makes me a very happy person. This weekend I had the opportunity to unleash my creative side once again. Six dear friends and I headed back to the Villas in Alexandria for three days of stories, laughs, and scrapbooking. The seven of us put in a little over 25 hours and created more than 250 pages. I did not have a record breaking session, but was very happy with what I accomplished. You will see many pictures from this blog simply because I often pick my favorites to post...

Make a Smilebox slideshow

...more photos in my bin to scrap, more pictures to take, more creations to be made. To be continued...

Cayman Pictures.

Pure relaxation...nothing like being on island time!

Don't forget to stay on the left!

Truly Heaven on Earth

We have been blessed by your friendship...

I had a chance to download all 385 pictures that Denell and I took while we were on vacation. It is a little dangerous to get two passionate scrapbookers together on one beautiful island. Our husbands were great participants...thanks guys. I added a small portion of them with the posts I wrote while we were there. I am not sure I will take on the challenge of scrapbooking the whole batch... but hope to put a Smilebox slideshow together at some point. There is no better way to relive experiences...thank GOD for cameras. Mike and I had a short discussion tonight...after viewing all the photos, I told him that I wasn't so sure I could wait another two years to travel with him again. Like I mentioned, it was short...I am going to have to work on that one. Maybe when he looks back on the pictures, he'll feel the same way too.

Back to Life...Back to Reality

I tried to relax on the trip as much as I possibly could. In the past, I haven't been able to completely do this, because I spend a lot of time missing my kids. This time, I tried to set those emotions aside, because I knew once I stepped through my front door...everything would return to normal in less than 10 seconds. And guess what, I was right on:

Shannan's Top 10 "Back to Reality" List:

10. Stepping off the airplane and filling the cold chill in the air.
9. Having to scrape and warm up the car before loading the luggage back in it.
8. Loads, loads, and loads of laundry!
7. Tons of mail to sort and bills to pay
6. Non-stop phone calls and messages to return
5. Kids fighting and whining...bending over a thousand times to keep things picked up
4. Having everyone take a second look at you in the grocery store, because you aren't the same color as those who live on the Island.
3. Updating the calendar and making sure I have all our activities covered, planning meals, cooking, cleaning, dishes.
2. Setting my alarm so I get up in time for work tomorrow.
1. Feeling the stress slowly creep back into my body... because returning from a vacation requires enough work to qualify for another one. =0)

-1. Our current temperature... me sitting here in my flannel p.j.'s knowing I need to get back to my regular bedtime routine....

A Warm Welcome...in Good Ol' Cold MN

We are happy to be home and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our vacation. The kids have been telling people their vacation is over too...which is a good sign that they relaxed and had fun while we were away. Nolan's only request to us when we picked them up today was, "Mom, next time you go somewhere, can you go someplace closer... so we can call you more?" I thought it was a fair request. Mike and I only called home one time, because it is sooo expensive. Thankfully, Mike's laptop kept us connected to them and those they stayed with.

Nolan literally ran into my arms and gave me a big bear hug when he saw me walk through the door this morning. Lilly squealed and giggled with excitement when she saw us. They both talked non-stop all morning about all the things they did while we were gone. Nolan wanted the details... he was especially interested in all the fish Mike saw snorkeling and what we did on the Pirate Ship Cruise. We spent the day playing with all their toys, unpacking, reading books, taking naps, playing some more, and going down to the pool in "our resort" this evening.

Their welcome home was so warm, that it made us forget about the cold and the fact that we were experiencing an 80 degree difference in temperature. Thanks everyone for taking care of our two precious children...we had an amazing trip.

P.S. I made it home in time to celebrate my birthday with the kids. They made me Rice Krispie bars (my favorite) and we had a pizza party around the pool. It was a perfect way to celebrate! This picture makes them look like they're adopted...=0) Hopefully our tans will fade slightly before our church pictures this Friday.

On Island Time~ Day 7

Seven Mile Beach

Swim right up to the bar

Good Bye Sweet Cayman

The memories will last a lifetime!

Today marked the last day of our vacation. It was another beautiful day with lots of sunshine. We all showered a bit earlier this morning and packed up the car for a trip to Seven Mile Beach. We rented lounge chairs and an umbrella and camped out there for close to four hours. The guys did some snorkeling, while Denell and I walked most of the morning away. It truly is miles of pure white sand and crystal, clear blue water. So amazing!!! We went into Georgetown around three o'clock and ate at Hammerheads, a nice local restaurant on the ocean. I had a tasty jerk pulled pork sandwich and Mike had their fish and chips. We did a little shopping in town before we headed back to the resort. On our way back, we stopped at anther quaint restaurant to watch the sunset. It was perfect! The final Catch Phrase battle (men vs. women) took place in my mom's room last night. Men won, but that's only because the women were being so nice. =0) We relaxed and recapped the week in the hot tub before retiring for the night.

It is now Saturday morning and almost time to check out. Mike and I got up early so we could get in one last run and walk on the beach. I love to take that last walk along the ocean and remind myself of how beautiful and warm it is in the morning, because the weather will do a 180 before we go to bed tonight. We've had a wonderful vacation. More than I could have asked for really. Spending time with close friends, my Mom and Bruce, and my amazing husband made it so special and memorable. Even with everything being near perfect, I miss my kids tremendously. We are so excited to see their smiling faces and hear their innocent voices. I just want to hug them and cuddle with them again. Things will be back to normal very soon...and that's perfect too!

Bye, bye sweet Cayman...we look forward to being back on island time next time we return.