Saturday Mornings with Shannie

"Saturday Mornings with Shannie"

First I should start by saying Saturday mornings when Connor was little, were amazing.  He'd walk in the bedroom and whisper "Mom, I'm awake, can I watch a show."  I would hand him the remote that I had strategically placed on my bedside table with preprogrammed Disney channel.  He'd settle in on the couch in the living room, push the little red button and sit tight.  An hour later he'd return and ask for some breakfast and which point I'd get out of bed and begin to function like an adult.

Shannie...  is another story. 

6am:   I feel a knock (or 3) on my forehead... 

Shannie: (in a fake whisper)  "MOM - I'm awake!"

Me: ok.

Shannie: (still whispering) "can I snuggle"

Me: ok.

She disappears, I doze

She reappears, and I feel a painful lump on my shoulder.

Me: "What is that?"

Shannie: "It's baby elmo (the one with the hard plastic head) he wanted to sleep with you.

Shannie: thump, thump (3 book go tumbling from her arms)  drop drop (4 more stuffed animals sounds like they are hurled at the wall)  "can I snuggle?"

Me: ok. (moves over)

Shannie: Laying on top of my head... scratching my arm and singing "lullaby and good night..."(quietly)

Me:  "Shannie would you like to watch a show?"

Shannie: "No, i'm ok."

Me: "ummm ok."

Shannie: (3 minutes later, just as I am dozing back off with a girl on my head) "Mom- I need a drink of water"

Me: (wishing we had replaced the faucets in the house like we've been discussing for a year) ok... in just a minute"

Shannie: "BUT A MINUTE IS A LONG TIME"

Me: "ok..."  (I begrudgingly get out of bed and get her a drink of water)

Meanwhile Shannie has snuggled into my nice warm bed under the covers, snoring.

As I contemplate what to do about this new development (you see only the part with no covers is available in MY bed, and this 6 month pregnant girl should not pick up her 50 lb daughter and throw her across the room place her gently in her own bed). 

The dog's 6th sense knows that his link to the overthrow of that darn locked door to the outside world and food, is up and moving.  So the whinging and howling begin.  As I pray that he doesn't wake up Grumpy Dwarf (that is not pretty) I sprint down the stairs and open the front door so I didn't have to put on shoes.  The dog goes chasing a squirrel, I go chasing the dog, it's 19 degrees and I'm still not wearing shoes.

I wrangle the dog back into the house, give up on my bed and start the coffee.

Shannie: (hearing the commotion and most likely the abundance of unkind words) appears in the kitchen.  "Why are you being so loud? the sun's not even up!"

Me: *sigh, I know*

I just can't baby Jesus...

My house is over-run with Nativity scenes.  I have fancy baby Jesus, grown up Baby Jesus (you know the one where sweet chubby baby Jesus actually looks like a skinny serious adult), traditional Baby Jesus, Peruvian Baby Jesus, broken Baby Jesus (the one that got played with a lot to much last year), and this baby Jesus...

The thing I love about this baby Jesus is his inability to break, you can chew him (Shannie's done it), you can drop him off the 2nd story landing (he bounces)  you can feed him to the dog (apparently it wasn't so tasty) and this Baby Jesus can handle it!!!

Shannie's favorite thing about this Baby Jesus is his command of humanity.  Apparently this baby Jesus is more bossy than the others... as is testament to the conversation I overheard at my kitchen table this morning.

Shannie:  "Baby Jesus I just can't, even if you ask me to do it I just can't."
Baby Jesus: (said something very serious)
Shannie: (agonizing over the situation) "but Baby Jesus I just can't do it, don't you understand, it won't be good!?"
Baby Jesus apparently did not understand.
Suddenly a tussle took place between 3 wisemen...  in which apparently 1 wise man took a headfirst dive off the table.
Shannie:  "See Baby Jesus I told you it would end bad!"

Our new family member

We had parent teacher conferences this morning!  As expected: "Shannon is highly creative, Shannon is really good at playing with other children... blah blah blah. Shannon would be great at coloring if she stopped to focus on what she was doing..." Duh.

What was not expected was this conversation:
Teacher: "I didn't know you had another son."
Me: "Yes, I have a 7 year old, Connor."
Teacher: "Oh, I know Connor, I mean another son."
Me: "We aren't finding out the gender of the baby, maybe that's it."
Teacher:  "No, I'm sure Shannon said she had another brother named John who lives in Texas and is in high school."
Me:  "You must have us confused with someone else."
Teacher: (getting the family portrait picture from the "family book" that is on display in the classroom for the entire year) "I thought so..."  

She shows me the family portrait book, sure enough, there is a drawing of Shannie, her mom, dad, and 2 brothers, with names "Connor and John"   And in the "I'm thankful" book...  "I'm thankful for my big brother John who plays soccer with me."

The teacher and I had a good laugh, and the look on Shannie's face when confronted, was priceless.

Paying Bills is NOT fun...

     In the post-halloween insanity, I was hoping that my non-TV watching daughter might actually sit for a few hours plugged in, so I could pay bills and clear off the mess of coupons etc. I had accumulated over the last few weeks.  Not shy of 18 minutes (a new record) she was at my side...

Shannie:  "Mom, will you play Beauty and the Beast with me?"
Mom: (silent sigh)  "In a few minutes I'm paying bills right now."
Shannie:  "That does NOT sound like fun. (as if stating so would somehow make it more bare able)
Mom:  "It's not fun, but it's something we all have to do."
Shannie: (after the briefest of pauses)  "kinda like wiping your own poop?"
Mom: (stifling giggles)  "Yes, something like that."

Hoochie What!?

So the littles and I were driving down the highway jamming to some Disney tunes and suddenly Shannie shouts (remember she rarely talks, SHE ALWAYS YELLS!!!):
Shannie: "Look at that hoochie momma!"
Connor snorts laughing (why he knows that that's funny, We will entertain another day) and I spew yummy Chik fil a lemonade out of my nose.

Mom:  "What's a hoochie momma?"
Shannie: "Look at that dog mom, it looks like hoochie Momma!"
Mom: (looking at the tractor trailer next to us in stopped traffic with both our windows open...)
         "honey that's called a chihuahua."
Shannie: "I know it's just like hoochie mama!"
Mom:  "Who's hoochie momma?"
Shannie: "It's my friend Alex's dog."
Mom:  "Are you sure they call it hoochie momma?"
Shannie:  "Acutally, I think it's name is poochie mama."

Mom: "oh, well that makes it all better."
Connor: "this is the best car ride ever!"

From Sacrifice comes blessings beyond imagination....

Ok, so this blog post isn't a super funny about Shannie...  it's a super sappy about her parents.   16 months ago we made the decision to completely change our lives.  At the time we were living just a few miles from both sets of parents and some of my siblings.  We were surrounded with an incredible support system of friends and family and all felt "just right."  In fact, looking back it wasn't "just right." It was easy in that world for us to go our separate ways.  I had a job that I absolutely loved, and I was surrounded by amazing people who challenged me and supported me and just loved me!!  Because of that, it was easy for me to allow that to be fulfilling in my life.  I didn't necessarily need to pour my life out into my marriage, because I was pouring my life into the people I worked with and for, and was constantly rewarded for it.

We rarely went to church together, in fact we rarely attended many activities together at all.  While we enjoyed each other's company, something was missing.  at the time it didn't feel that way..but in retrospect, I can see it as plain as day now.  when will had the opportunity to move to Kansas City, a whole world away from the comfort and support system we had built for ourselves in Tennessee, I was hesitant, but at the same time excited.  Perhaps I knew of the disconnect, the small little seam in the flow of our universe.

So I tearily said good goodbye to everything I seemingly had ever known... and set out on a grand adventure with my teeny tiny little family all on our own.  Looking back through Facebook status' before and since, memories of the same, I saw that seam close right up.  It seems that from the moment of "I do."  the "I do" I am referring to is the "I do" commit to loving you and supporting you all the days of our lives, back in June of 2003.  I did that: loved, supported etc. all the while forcing my "will" upon every situation.  Where we lived, when we had babies, who was in charge of the kids and when.  It was like we were doing a simultaneous dance without ever touching or looking each other in the eyes.

So, I said "I do" again.  this "I do" was different, it was a throw it all away kind of "I do."  I think this "I do" was said from the depths of my heart, from the place that knows that this man I have chosen for a husband loves me more than anything in the world.  From the place that knows that if I said "no, I will not move to Kansas City," he would not go.  How could I say no?  He has given me everything.  A family I loved, every bit of love he could muster in all the ways and times that were hardest and most important.  the amazing part of this particular "I do" was that this one seemed to trump the first.  Like perhaps the first was setting us up on a road to say "I do" over and over and over again throughout our lives together.

Our move to Kansas was eventful to say the least, we lived in a hotel for 7 months waiting for our home to sell, we shared 1 car for the majority of the time, we enrolled in a school that we knew we would only be in for a short time, we were technically homeless (we are pretty sure the only homeless family in the school district, you think I'm joking).  but all the while, through all the frustrations, and the tears (and there were lots), I was steadfast in my knowledge that this was the right decision.

Now, don't be fooled, I was sad, some might say depressed for a long time, as I mourned the loss of my parish family, the nearness of my mom, and the comfort I had been accustomed to.  But never did I say "I just want to go home"  it was always "I just want to start our life again."  tonight I found a song my husband sent me last May, on his first day of work, and his first week of 12 without us.   His post says simply "to my beautiful bride - I am so lucky and I cannot wait to start our new live together (again) :)   you are amazing in every way, and I cannot ever express all my thanks and gratitude for your love and support."  and attached is a sweet song called "Lucky" by Jason Mraz.  It basically says I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend.

Looking back, that was the start of our new start.  the start that can't wait for him to come home from a trip, not because I need back up, or another grown up hand in the house, or a babysitter, but because I truly love his company and his presence in our home.  The start that makes my heart leap for joy when I can watch him playing and spending time with our children.  the start that keeps us going to bed at the same time every night, and finally sleeping after seemingly hours of talking, giggling and snuggling.  He truly is the most amazing person in my life, and I wonder what the rest of our lives would have looked like had this sacrifice not happened.

I wrote you a note....

Yeah, that's what a million scribbles on a giant piece of paper means.  A note, a letter, or a list of things to do to make her "smile and dance."  Today the conversation went like this...

Shannie:  "Mom I wrote you a note!"

Mom:  "Thanks Shannie what does it say?"

Shannie:  "You know I can't read you'll have to read it to me."

*this is the part that causes the problem...  I have absolutely no idea what she was thinking when she wrote this umm...  note, so it continues...*

Mom:  "Dear Mom, thanks for making me breakfast and..."

Shannie: (interrupting)  "That's not what it says silly mommy."

Mom:  "Okay, what does it say then?"

Shannie: (rolling her eyes) "I can't read!"

Mom: (trying again)  "Dear Mom, today I had a lot of fun doing puzzles..."

Shannie:  (exasperated)  "MOM! that's not what it says!!"

Mom:  "Okay...  can you remember what you wrote?"

Shannie: (Almost in tears)  "Just read it!!"

Mom:  "Dear Mom, is that part right?"

Shannie nods.

Mom:  "Today I danced with princes and rode purple ponies through the wildflowers in the most beautiful part of the world.  (shannie nods)  I met fairies, and magical creatures."

Shannie: "only nice magical creatures."

Mom: "ok."

shannie:  "but there's more (pointing 1/2 way down the scribble page) right here."

Mom:  "on my way home I met a nice queen who traded me a sparkley horse for my purple pony, it made me very happy."

shannie: (nodding again) "and then we had dinner.  The end."

Mom: "Oh, I'm glad you remembered that part."

Shannie: "don't worry mom, I'll go work on another one right now."

Mom: "I can't wait."