Shannon’s World

to stop and smell the flowers!

I made a few requests of Mike for my 30th birthday….and all were met - it was a an awesome day!

I asked that he wake up with Libby and do the breakfast thing so I could sleep in - I slept until 9:30am!

I wanted to go out for lunch and thought Trader’s Point Creamery would be a fun spot.  I went there a year ago and Mike had never been.  We had a great time and a fantastic lunch that included homemade milkshakes.  Libby seemed to enjoy the cows and chickens we were able to get close to.

After lunch Mike and Libby dropped me off at the spa for a massage, pedicure and a little shopping.  It was quite relaxing and such a treat!

I came home to Libby’s first masterpiece.  Mike and Libby did a water color picture for me - so sweet!  Mike said Libby really seemed to enjoy the painting - I can’t wait to do it again.

We headed to church and then I wanted sushi for dinner.  While Mike went and got the sushi, I put Libby down for an early bedtime (she fell asleep in the car that afternoon and didn’t have a great nap).  It was a treat to give Libby a bath and put her to sleep (something Mike typically does).  Mike and I enjoyed a great sushi dinner on our deck!

I had a great day and can’t believe I am 30!  I must say it made my day when the girl (she was 20 so I can call her that) doing my nails thought I was in high school - LOL!

Three gals in the tub!  As promised here’s a pic of Libby and the Oskay girls:

Libby and I had a busy few days. . .I took Wednesday and Thursday off and we had a blast with the Oskay Girls.  On Wednesday morning we headed to the Zoo.  Emmerson (2.5) was a great guide and full of useful knowledge (she knew all the animals names!).  We made our way around the zoo (Emmerson got to feed a giraffe!) and enjoyed a packed lunch together before heading over to the carousel.  I was really excited for Libby ride the carousel….Libby was not very excited.  After putting her on an animal next to Emmerson and Delanie (14 months - about 3 weeks younger than Libby) Libby started to fuss and reach for me.  So I spent the ride holding Libby who had a death grip around my neck.  Maybe next time we’ll try the train!

After the carousel we headed to the Dolphin show and that continues to be Libby’s favorite.  They changed the show since our last visit to the zoo and she loved the techno music and to watch the dolphin’s do their tricks…..she was clapping, dancing, whoooting and hollering!  I’m not sure if I had more fun watching her or the dolphins!

On Thursday we met the Oskay’s and headed to Edinburgh outlets.  I was a little nervous how Libby would do with a few hours of shopping - but she did great!  She loves watching Emme (who is always accessorized to the nines: bracelets, purse, umbrella, blankie and real flip flops!) and Dee Dee.  We found some great deals, grabbed a bite to eat and then headed back to our house. . . I don’t think I had the car turned on and Libby was fast asleep!

That night the Oskays’s came over for a pre-fourth of July bbq and Mike was in hog heaven having a house full of kids!  We had a great time eating and playing with all our girls!   During dessert we had the first of many birthday celebrations.  Jorie made me a beautiful platter using an Uppercase Living phrase (and Jason later hung it for us in our dinning room!) and she also got me a great pair of earrings that I’d admired a few weeks ago.   We put Jason to work again and he was able to help us install a dimmer that we had some trouble with (I know installing a dimmer sounds very easy, but Mike and a few other people had tried for some time and couldn’t get it right).

Thanks for a fun few days, Oskays…we’ll have to do it again soon!

P.S. I’ll post some pictures tonight….

and a big kiss, too!

My weekend started with a text message from Matt stating that Alison was having her baby. . .and less than 90 minutes later, she did!  Ethan John Hunt was born 8 weeks earlier than expected but he is a fighter and doing better and better each day.

After loading up on fruits, vegetables, honey and goodies at the Farmer’s Market.  Jorie and I drove up to Chicago to visit the Hunt’s.  Alison was doing well and looked great after being in labor for most of the night.  We had a good visit with a lot of friends (Ethan’s shower was supposed to be on Saturday, so a few of us congregated in a small room at the hospital and enjoyed some Sweet Mandy B’s cupcakes and drinks, opened some presents).  One of the highlights of the visit was going to visit Ethan in the NICU.  It’s safe to say I’ve never seen a baby that small and it was just so amazing to watch little Ethan lay there so peacefully (and other times not so peacefully - he was quite the grabber!).

After leaving the Hunt’s so they could get some much needed sleep, Sarah, Jorie, Carolyn and I headed to Adobo for some guac and rittas - the meal did not disappoint!  After dinner I headed back to Carolyn’s, where I spent the night at their beautiful new home.  Believe it or not, I’d been outside their house a few times, but this was my first trip inside and it was just gorgeous.

Sunday morning, after getting sucked in to a little Tori Spelling reality trash TV, I headed back to the hospital for another visit with Alison and Matt before heading to Crown Point, Indiana for Eliza’s bridal shower.  It was a fun shower with lots of present opening and great favors (I’ll post about those later).

Jorie and I met up in Merriville and drove back to Indy with some new tunes loaded on the Ipod, thank you, Duke!

For some reason when I got home I was exhausted but couldn’t sleep (could it have been the XL McDonalds sweet teas I’m obsessed with?).  I got home too late to see Miss Libby, so at about midnight I snuck into her room, picked the ton of bricks up (26 lbs of dead weight is hard to work with in the dark!) and held her for a long time just rocking.  She never woke up, but it was the best feeling in the world to hold my sweet girl after a weekend away.

Nana and Grandpa are having a hard time watching Libby’s babbling post while on vacation - try this link:

http://mike.shannonandmike.net/2008/06/26/babbling-in-the-bath/

Libby recieved a present in the mail and surprisingly enough it wasn’t from Nana!  It was from our friends the Lutz’s (Nana’s neighbor).  They sent Libby this adorable outfit and I just love it.  I snapped this picture quickly after trying it on, but I think we might have to get a professional picture taken next week.  Pink and Green don’t get much cuter!

To say your body changes after having a baby is an understatement.  I’m not sure if my body is delayed in going through some of the changes because I breast feed for so long or what but things are getting interesting!  For example, I have all kinds of new hair growth at the front temples of my scalp.  Nothing wrong with new hair, as my Mom said it’s better than losing hair.  Unfortunately this new hair is curling!  You should see me on a hot day or after working out, it looks like I have 2 curly q horns coming out of each side of my head.  Everyday the straightener comes out and I try my darndest to straghten the horns…it’s a loosing battle.

Another problem I am having is acne…worse than when I was 13 acne.  My chin of covered with big, nasty zits.  To make matters worse, Clinique stopped making my favorite acne cover up with zit medication in it - I can’t find my old tube and I have no good cover up to use that also treats zits while camouflaging them  (any recommendations?).

I have found one good product that I “roll” on my chin everynight - Burt’s Bees Herbal Blemish stick has done a good job a warding off some of the little nasties errupting on my chin.  It certainly hasn’t stopped them all, but it’s helped and hasn’t dried out things too much.