Mr and Mrs Hawk

The Update

2012-01-26T11:18:00.000-08:00

We are still here :)

We had a really crappy second half of 2011 and we are just starting to feel normal again, and for me, at least, it is taking some effort.

I wanted to write a post about Lucky's story but can't really bring myself to do it yet. I need to soon, I want to remember everything later...but right now I just need to try and forget.

To say we are thankful for SJ is such an understatement. Of course I have always loved SJ to the moon and back, (He's pretty much the greatest thing, ever.) I have always been beyond excited to start my day with him and enjoy the hell out of the good and bad. I appreciate every second even more, and I would not have thought that was possible!

Here is what we have been up to lately...

For the record...I stood in line on black Friday for almost two hours so SJ could have this jeep...only to see I could have had it for the same price, and delivered to our door for free a week later. Yeah.

He loves saying "Cheese!" for the camera :)

2011-09-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

Holding SJ a little closer today and from now on. Waiting to find out what might have happened to sweet little Lucky Lee. Feeling very thankful for my family.

I live with my sister.

2011-05-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

Our babies don't know the difference between cousin and sibling.

I get to love on my my sweet nieces any time I want.

My all time favorite picture of Rory. Love. This. Girl.

We might blow bubbles in the back yard, or take a morning bike ride around the neighborhood. Or, we might randomly break from drawing and photo editing at quiet time to have a dance-off in our toy littered living room.

Girl gets all her moves from her Mama.

Get. Down.

And photograph it.

We're loud and busy and messy, and it's all good.

Nugget? Don't mind if I do!

California

2011-05-10T03:49:00.001-07:00

California, a photo by MrsHawk86 on Flickr.

Peter Weiner. Bitch.

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2011-05-10T03:37:00.001-07:00

_MG_6429invite, a photo by MrsHawk86 on Flickr.

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Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T05:56:00.001-07:00

"Obama"

2011-05-05T04:13:00.000-07:00

France Park April 2011

We were this close to not going. It was going to rain and storm, and I was nervous to leave our baby. But, we did. We brought a tarp, Shaun's latest Craigslist find, smore's and beer.

We're campers, always have been :) It's just what we do. We have been known to wake up on a Saturday morning, get bored, grab tent and the old black sleeping bag to share and not return until noon on Sunday.

We have to have a water-side spot, because what's camping without fishing? He sets up the tent, I blow up the air mattress. And there's nothing like a good camp fire. And a cold beer.

But I'm totally in it for the smore's.

This trip, SJ got his first sleep-over with Mamaw Bethie and Papa Dave. Or in my husbands words, "We dumped him for the night". I put on a brave face, but uuuuugggghhhh, it was hard. But, we needed it.

Shaun's Craigslist toy, a 10ft metal boat, has a slow leak (we came to find out).

At first, we were bummed. We trolled back to shore, Shaun pouted and started the fire. After a few beers, we decided we weren't leaving without enjoying a brewski on a boat. We brought our trusty McDonald's cups, and bailed out a couple of gallons every half hour. Yeah, we did that. In true hillbilly fashion. I think at one point we named the boat "Obama". Get it? Obama, bail out? No? Well, it was hilarious after a cooler of beer.

We fished and talked and probably laughed loud enough to scare away all the giant catfish. Though, there was one little bluegill that took pity on us.

And it never rained :)

No camping adventure is complete without an IHOP breakfast on the way home. Coffee, eggs over easy, hash browns and a little footsy under the booth, we so needed this.

No Fear

2011-05-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

Partly out of necessity to finally finish my most challenging portrait yet, and partly because I was feeling extra artsy and confident, I did something crazy today. I made it up. GASP.

I draw from photographs. I'm a little obsessive about getting it right, recreating the picture exactly. I have endless hours invested in teaching myself how to replicate (measure it! I dare you!) photographs in pencil. The process is downright tedious, but relaxing. And the result is rewarding.

I can only think of a few people who will appreciate the significance of this, mostly my Mom :) but today, I did something nuts, inconceivable! I used my artistic license to make an educated( I have spent hours and hours starring at my subject) likeness of little miss A, that is not exactly like the photo I am working from. I let the creative juices flow and got to it. No Fear. It sounds silly, but this is huge :) The drawing is still, unfortunately, a work in progress. Getting there.

A birthday.

In other, more exciting news that I should have reported weeks ago, SJ is one. On his birthday, we celebrated with dinner, cake and beer at Hooter's.

The boy knows how to celebrate, he ate a hotdog, two sides of baked beans and a good chunk of this giant piece of cake.

The following weekend, we partied in the back yard. And the boy ate a cupcake, or two.

It's like he has to shove it in, and let it squish between his fingers and smear on his face to fully appreciate it. And I can totally dig it :)

Our first year with SJ is over, and it went by quick, just like every other parent told me it would.

I'm proud of us. I feel like Shaun and I kicked this year's ass(The year before kicked ours!). We had fun. We snuggled our babe. We saved our house. We lived in hotels for weeks at a time. We bought diapers. We made big decisions. We got closer, better.

And now, we are looking forward to our second year with SJ. Bring. It. On.

No Fear.

Quiet time.

2011-03-07T07:37:00.000-08:00

If I'm lucky, and no one decides to take a short nap, I get to spend my "Quiet time" next to a window with coffee and my drawing.
My favorite me time activity :)

I'm drawing this gorgeous girl and her two siblings. I couldn't resist starting her drawing first, she has the greatest curls that are so fun to draw.

It's far from finished, but I thought it would be fun to track my progress. I used to crank these drawings out in less than six hours...

but this guy slows things down a bit :)

One day maybe I'll have time to draw my own baby :)

Cabin Fever.

2011-02-24T06:21:00.000-08:00

I keep getting butterflies in my stomach just thinking about warm weather. Seriously. Short sleeves, butterflies. Park swings, butterflies. Swimming pools, butterflies. Open windows, campfires, bare-foot baby boy, BUTTERFLIES!

I had no idea I had cabin fever until we had one day of 60 degree weather. Then I started thinking about SJ. He probably has cabin fever, too. ICK. Then, I decided winter is a horrible thing. We should all live where it's warm, by the sea! Yeah, all babies should be beach babies!! Shoes? Shirts? ICK. I'm so done with winter.

I started making a list (I have a weird thing for lists. I get it from my Mom. I love a good long list. I make a rough draft and final draft of my grocery list every week. Kind of embarrassing...I'm a freak, I'm over it) of all the stuff we HAVE to do this spring, summer and fall, when we can be outdoors!

. Buy SJ bright, colorful collection of t-shirts from Once Upon A Child.

.Find an awesome place to camp. With a lake where we can take our baby swimming. A clean place where we can let SJ run around bare-foot. Oh, and it has to have a playground with a tire swing.

.Make dinner on the grill. Outside. Every night.

.Parks. Chase ducks and ride the train at Columbian Park. Lazy River it at Tippecanoe Cove. Take pictures of Shaun trying to fit down the tunnel slide at Happy Hollow. Walk around the pond and have a picnic at Armstrong Park.

.Start my morning walk around the neighborhood ritual again.

.Walk to Igloo and buy my baby an ice cream cone.

.Learn what SJ's favorite ice cream flavor is.

.Take a trip to the Indianapolis Zoo...or 20.

.Swim at Bethie and Papaw's. Watch SJ stand on the deck in his trunks, eating a melting pop-cycle.

.Eat Papaw's specialty, hockey puck chicken.

.Sit around the pool with family. Babies sleeping in laps. Watch someone lovingly shove someone else into the pool, freshly showered and fully clothed, cell phone in pocket.

.Let SJ hold his first sparkler, taste his first s'more, maybe get his first knee scab?

.Take pictures of SJ riding on Daddy's shoulders.

.Tag along on Bethie and Papaw's boat trip. Turn SJ into a fish.

I can think of at least 20 more, but the list is getting long! Oh my goodness, butterflies.

2011-02-18T07:47:00.000-08:00

Sometimes SJ wakes up early and for a second I think, oh crap, I'm so tired. Then I remember how great it is to pull him out of bed and kiss him all over. He smiles with his mouth and eyes closed and pushes his forehead and cheeks to my face so I can kiss them. Then, he opens up wide and plants a huge slobber kiss right on my mouth. GOOD morning.

If I'm lucky, it isn't too early, and Shaun has left for work. Usually, all the Callahans are still snoozin'. SJ and I brew some coffee and let Charley out to pee. (Soon, it will be warm enough to take my coffee and my baby boy outside with Charley. We will walk down to the end of our road and watch Charley chase nothing, just like we did last summer when Grandma Carol was staying with us. We will have bare feet, and this year I'll put my baby down so he can walk on his own. I'll pretend to chase him and I'll call for Charley and it will be great.)

I take my coffee, my baby and my dog back to SJ's bedroom because it's too early for bananas and Cheerios. SJ plays on the carpet in his pjs. I get to watch him from the awesome green Target-clearance chair. Charley alternates begging me to pet him and sniffing the baby.

SJ pulls down every book from his shelf and adorably looks through some. (He looks through the farm animal one and makes a "Rrrraaaaaarrrrrrrrrr!!" sound for every animal. Duck, pig, sheep, "Rrrrrrraaaaaaaarrrrrrr!!!" lol.

I actually get to finish my coffee before he is in need of a diaper change, bananas and Cheerios.

SJ woke up early this morning. We did all of this. What a happy, happy Friday.

Lately

2011-02-16T10:47:00.000-08:00

Life has just been too sweet to blog about :) but I will anyway.

Our boy keeps us busy.

We have a nice little rhythm going to get us through what is left of this winter. SJ spends his days playing cars and reading his books with Nivedh and I. I have been so thankful to have found the best of both worlds, spending my days with my baby while earning a second income. Nivedh is a sweetheart who will turn two soon, he and SJ play together really well.

We have slowly and sleeplessly worked 5 little chompers out of his little gums. I say "We" because I think I deserve some of the credit, I have served as a late night teather for many nights.

We have 2 on bottom and 3 on top, with one more still on its way to even things out.My sister, Uncle Bobby, and their girls are our roomies, lately. There are more messes to clean and not enough room at the table, but they are great company. We're likin' it. The CallaHawk's, we are.

Shaun and SJ spend their evenings playing dinosaurs and wresseling around the living room.

He can make some pretty adorable dinosaur growls. Speaking of this, one of my very favorite things about parenting with Shaun lately are those little moments when SJ does something that makes Mommy and Daddy immediately turn to each other and smile. Huge, "Omg, did you see that!?" smiles. Like the way our baby just slurped in a slice of kiwi or stuck a finger up his nose is so awesome we just can't stand it.

quick update

2010-12-29T14:11:00.001-08:00

Christmas was so great this year! The best ever I think! SJ got a few little presents from Big Shaun and I (A Tonka dumptruck and some animal toys) and Santa left him an awesome blow-up ball pit! He loved it!!
Christmas day was really busy, but fun. After Little Shaun opened his presents here and took a quick nap, we were off to Mamaw Bethie and Papa Dave's to open more presents with cousins. Then to Grandma and Grandpa Hawk's for even more presents and cousins, and we saw Grandma Carol and Grandpa Cary for more presents and one last cousin!
SJ and I have until the 4th to hang out at home, and Shaun is only working 1 more of those days! We are enjoying our little holiday! More pictures later :)

Daycare Christmas party 2010

2010-12-16T10:01:00.000-08:00

SJ went to his first daycare Christmas party last night. This is a long-time tradition for Bethie and Grandma GG..almost long enough for me to sit on Santa's lap (Well, for more than a picture at least). I don't even think Shaun attended all of them.
Every year the kids get bigger and bigger... usually there are kids there that haven't needed daycare for a while. Eventually they get big enough to just sort of stand close to Santa and tell him what they would like for Christmas, like Lainey did this year :)

We ate pizza and cookies and Big Shaun drank beer.

SJ got his turn with Santa.

This was my favorite shot of the night!! haha! I can't wait for next year!

SJ and my always helpful cousin, Logan.

SJ ate..

and ate...

and ate.

Aside from SJ getting to bed almost 2 hours late (Which he HATES) it was a fun night :)

Big Shaun...

2010-12-15T06:42:00.000-08:00

...is so awesome. ...really wants to shoot a deer, it's all he talks about! Poor Bambi. I hear deer is pretty yummy though...

...Fed and bathed our son and had a delicious pork chop and cheesy potato dinner waiting when I got back from grocery shopping last night. Love him.

...and I are planning for the very distant future...

...Isn't shy about sharing his craziest fantasies.

...has always been my favorite clothes shopping partner. He is brutally honest and will keep shopping until you get it right.

...requires more sleep then most.

...is domestically...talented. This guy can fold laundry and vacuum like nobodies business!

...always makes a hard day better with one huge bear hug.

...won't even allow my own mother to talk crap about his wife. Apparently, I'm perfect, HA!

...is predictably unpredictable.

...and I are stalling...we need to put the finishing touches on our new bathroom floor.

...is happy if I'm happy, most of the time.

...just got new work boots that don't fit... I swear he's still growing.

...loves to be busy.

...calls SJ his little "buckaroo".

...always asks what he can do to help.

...and I are such a great team. Go team.

...and I met January 1st, 2004...almost 7 years ago now.

...makes me wonder how other people get by without a Shaun.

SJ

2010-12-14T07:17:00.000-08:00

Will be 8 months old later this month.
can crawl, and can army crawl really fast.
Grabs me by the ears or hair and pulls my face to his mouth to suck on when he wants to nurse..he does this to whoever has him :)
loves to jump.makes hilarious scrunchy faces.
won't nap for more than 1 hour... even though he needs it.
chews on his toothbrush while we read bedtime stories.
loves to have his feet tickled, especially in the bathtub.
is sleeping through the night... pretty much :)

loves the phrase, "Whoa baby!"
gives slobber kisses if he's in the mood to.
will only let Mamaw Bethie and Grandma rock him to sleep.

loves Saturday morning "DoughDoughs" from Papa Dave. (Doughnuts)

despises his winter coat.

"Danced" on all fours while Grandpa played the pots and pans.

Down with the Blue Box.

2010-12-09T10:42:00.000-08:00

I am so in love with watching SJ shovel in mini shells with real cheese sauce, butternut squash, green beans, carrots and turkey. He's lovin it, too.

It seems like we just got started breastfeeding, and I'm already thinking of starting to ween. sigh.

SJ is eating more and more purees and table food, and needs less milk. He's such a big boy :)

Our Weekend

2010-12-06T13:09:00.001-08:00

This weekend was like most recent weekends around here... Shaun is determined to bring home his first deer...I hope he does, for him, but I'm still trying to get use to the idea of Bambi hanging in our garage. I guess II'll just deal with that when it happens.
We took advantage of all the pretty snow we got and took some great pictures of the three of us...but then realized we had no memory card in the camera... bummer.
Before a yummy fajitas dinner at Mamaw Bethie and Papa Dave's, I got to sneak away from my guys for a bit and meet the newest member of the family, my cousin's new daughter, Addison. Congratulations Colton and Courtney, she is beautiful!
SJ is really starting to enjoy our pancakes and eggs weekend breakfasts. He shovels it in by the fist-full. He is all about eating these days. Well, eating and giving Mommy and Daddy great big Saturday morning slobber kisses! (One for Mommy,One for Daddy, one for Mommy, one for Daddy...)
An awesome chili dinner with Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Brook, Uncle Joel and Keatyn..a whole lot of scrambling to get laundry done before Monday.. and a failed attempt to hang Christmas lights, and our weekend was all over!

Is it December already?!

2010-12-01T07:20:00.000-08:00

Wow, It's crazy how busy one baby can make someone! It's all about SJ around here! Shaun and I are loving every minute of it. Our first few months with him were rough since Shaun was working out of town, i'm really not even sure how we did it? SJ spent more time in hotels/cabin in Illinois/Iowa than at home for his first 3 months. It definately would have been easier at home, but all the travel made for some good memories.

SJ is one big, happy baby. He is now 7 months old and on the move! I don't quite have to chase him around and keep him out of things yet, but he is getting quicker everyday. Him and I spend our weekdays playing with another little boy I have been watching for a few weeks, which is going very well :).

We had a very happy Thanksgiving, probably the happiest actually! It was SJ's first real experience feeding himself, and he LOVED it! He had a little, well, a lot of everything...including dessert. It was by far the most food he has eatin at one time. We ended up doing a little Christmas shopping for SJ Thursday night and sleeping at my parents' house, which turned out to be a huge mistake. We came home to a flooded master bathroom Friday morning. We had ruined bathroom floors, and soaked carpet in the master bedroom and living room. We spent the rest of our Thanksgiving break laying down new tile. Well, my very handy husband did most of that work, actually. I was in charge of drying carpets ...fun fun! Shaun did an amazing job, our new floor looks beautiful!

To my surprise, we even found time to pick out a Christmas tree on Sunday. We are pretty excited to start stuffing presents under there!

2010-10-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

Sent from my BlackBerry® by Boost Mobile

SJ!

2010-10-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

Hi aunt kor!
Sent from my BlackBerry® by Boost Mobile

Just some pictures..

2010-07-15T07:22:00.000-07:00

from the week before we left.

Laughin at Grandpa :)

Tipp!

Cousin Keatyn.

Cousin Marley :)

Papaw Dave

More cousins :)

He has grown out of three pairs of swim trunks already!!

Found a Funny Photo From the Fourth

2010-07-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

Shaun Anthony Hawk, Jr.
July 4th, 2010

Mississippi Riverboat Ride

2010-07-13T06:40:00.000-07:00

We went for a ride on this big boat over the weekend...

(Idid not take this cool pic, by the way)

It was fun for the first 10 minutes or so, then it got a little boring...but still cool!

Faster, Faster!!!!

Hotel Livin

2010-07-13T06:12:00.000-07:00

Some hotel swimming pictures! Yes, I know, I look so sexy in my MOM-SUIT from Walmart, lol.

We are starting to develop a routine here. I swear Little Shaun knows when Daddy gets back from work,we go swimming!! And if he doesn't get his nightly bath by 7:30, he gets cranky. The boy LOVES water. Every night we let him wear himself out in the pool, then he naps in the stroller while Mommy and Daddy enjoy some hot tub time :)

Random...

2010-07-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

We are back in Iowa.
This time, we got a hotel with a pool.
It took a little talking, but we got it for the same low price as the smaller motel. :)
Hopefully Shaun will only be working here for a month more, tops.
Hopefully.
We have no idea where we will go next.
Hopefully Tennessee.
Hopefully.
We got a room upstairs, then realized there was no elevator...then realized that no elevator
SUCKS with a stroller.
We are moving downstairs tomorrow.
If we can swing it, we are going on a short cruise on the Mississippi River this weekend.
Little Shaun LOVES to swim.
Big Shaun and I are loving the hot tub!
I am the only one who gets to enjoy the big, hot, free breakfast. (Shaun has to be at work
too early).
Little Shaun has a LOT of stuff...that I have to move to our new downstairs room tomorrow, by
myself!
Little Shaun and I have been reading all the Eric Carle books that the Delany's got for him. I
LOVE them. :)
I wish I had brought my drawing supplies.
Last time we stayed in this hotel, Little Shaun was still in my tummy.
I was worried being here would make me feel sick like I was last time. But, I'm not.
A winning lottery ticket would be so cool right now :)
I have to go feed my baby!

Breastfeeding thoughts

2010-06-24T12:18:00.000-07:00

This morning Shaun's alarm didn't go off. We had to jump up and start rushing around so I could take him to work. When we pulled up, Big Shaun kissed us bye and was off, and I hopped in the back seat to feed The very hungry baby who didn't get to eat before we left. And all I needed were my boobies :) How cool is that? Shaun didn't have to wait until we got back to our hotel room in the next town and made a bottle to eat. I love it! It has been really, really rough and we still don't have it quite figured out, but I'm so glad we stuck with it!

Mommy's little

2010-06-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

thumb sucker :)

The many

2010-06-22T05:48:00.000-07:00

Faces of Little Shaun.

First Daddy's Day.

2010-06-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

We started out Father's Day by testing out Little Shaun's new quad! He thinks he's pretty cool. Shaun and I found it at a garage sale out here in Illinois for only $5! We also found some classic Disney movies on vhs for the little guy.

Then, Mamaw Bethie and Papaw Dave met us at Poopy's for dinner. Little Shaun loved the outdoor dining!! Outside and in his little stroller is becoming one of his favorite places to be.

Uncle DJ is a goofball :)

My awesome Dad.

I love my hard-core biker parents. (ha!)I can't believe they just strap a tent to the back of the Harley and head off to a concert or two. It looks like so much fun! Yep, those are my parents!

Happy Father's Day

Searching...

2010-06-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

Saturday.

We loaded up

and headed out to find something to do ...

We missed the big riverboat ride : (

But we found a cool windmill to visit

I don't think Little Shaun liked the wind lol.

Don't think he liked this either!

Rainy day in Iowa.

2010-06-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

We had some great rain yesterday.

Little Shaun and I just watched. But it was the kind of rain that makes you want to get out in it and play!!

Maybe next year!!!

An update.

2010-06-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

Iowans. Well, Illinoisans actually...depends on which side of the Mississippi we happen to be on! Little Shaun and I finally found a way to be with Daddy. It's affordable(well, more affordable than other places), clean, and close to Big Shaun. We had planned to be here for several weeks in a row, but Little Shaun and I might be making the trip back home this weekend for a doctor appointment and photo gigs!

Right now, we are planning on some changes. Changes involving selling and buying and searching and traveling and deciding and letter writing and waiting and hoping and praying. We have already done some deciding. We have decided we need to be together whenever possible. Shaun has to go where the money goes, and that means Little Shaun and I will follow. Right now, the money is in Iowa. It makes me sad that Little Shaun probably won't be sleeping in the bedroom we put together for him, but I'm sure he will thank us one day for choosing time with Daddy over adorable green walls and the cute little shelf with that cute little lamp from Target.

Little Shaun.

He is doing great! If I had to describe him with one word? HUNGRY. First, I thought he was really hungry, then I thought he was just using me as a pacifier, then I thought he had to just be hungry!! Next, I thought he just really liked the nipple guard I was using(but have successfully stopped!!!) now, I am convinced he is just ONE HUNGRY KID. I did give him a little rice cereal, but after reading more about it, I have decided to wait as long as possible to officially start him on anything but my milk.

He does really good at night. He usually wakes up every 4-5 hours to eat, and passes back out. Thank God he doesn't like to eat every hour or half hour during nighttime like he does during the day! I would be a crazy person by now.

Addicted.

2010-05-24T08:35:00.000-07:00

I have a serious addiction to my baby boy. I love his tiny little everything. I am completely obsessed with his floppy little head and his wobbly little legs. He is such a sweetheart. He smiled for his Daddy twice already! I was a little jealous at first, but Daddy deserves those smiles, he is working his booty off for us.

It's a good thing I like Little Shaun so much, because all I can remember doing in the past month is feeding him! He is one hungry little guy. He was already about 9 lbs at his last doctor appointment, and has already outgrown way too many clothes for Mommy's liking!! :( He is so long he has to wear 3-6 month one-piece pj's. It's almost like I can just sit and watch him grow.

Sigh. What a quick month.

2010-05-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

Little Shaun's first few weeks

2010-05-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

I can't believe he is already 3 weeks old :(.... He is already growing up too fast, it's a little scary how quick the days are going by! We spent last week in Iowa with Daddy, but other than that, Little Shaun and I have been hanging out at home...taking naps and practicing breastfeeding. I have never had this much fun, ever. I love getting to know my little baby. So far, this is what I know about him...

His favorite thing to do is eat! and eat, and eat.

Close second is snuggling. He is very snuggly :)

He loves a warm bath, especially when the water is running. (This doesn't surprise me at all...once I could get out of bed on my own, I took 2 baths a day during my pregnancy.)

He has (Well, had) lots of hilarious cries, but they have kinda meshed into one loud cry now. Instead of the regular "Waa, waa, waa" cry, his was "Noh, Noh, Noh!!!" We think it's pretty cute.

He smiles when I rub his head :)

He loves to be in his sling.

Charlie is already very protective of him. Before we went to Iowa, Little Shaun was sleeping in his room. We had planned to put Charlie's bed in the baby's room to encourage him to sleep near Little Shaun, but we hadn't done it yet. But Charlie just left his bed in our bedroom and slept on the floor next to the crib in Little Shaun's room. Oh, and he tries to EAT anyone who comes to the door lately. We think Charlie likes Little Shaun :)

Little Shaun, Charlie and I are all missing BIG Shaun so much. Working out of town has been really hard on us, especially Shaun. We all look forward to Friday night!

I have a ton of pictures to share, but right now, I need to sleep while I can :)

P.S. Thank you everyone for all the gifts and congratulations.

Welcome

2010-05-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

Shaun Anthony Hawk Jr.

"Little Shaun"

Yes, we changed our minds about his name at the last minute.
Today is my due date, but Little Shaun decided to show up on April 21st.

He weighed 7 lbs, 13 ounces, and 21 3/4 Inches long. And even has a little bit if hair!

Our first week has gone really great. Our only challenge has been breastfeeding, we aren't sure if that will work out for us or not. Either way, I am having a blast taking care of Little Shaun :)

More later :)

36 weeks, 4 days

2010-04-07T08:17:00.000-07:00

Yep, STILL pregnant here... Complete with puffy face, giant ankles and a few stretch marks!

I found this easter-egg looking dress at Walmart and it looked SO cumfy I couldn't live without it. After trying it on I knew I would not be wearing pants for atleast another month or so.

Shaun and DJ got a 4-day weekend for Easter. So, Shaun, DJ and I took Ethan and Michah fishing on Saturday. It rained THE WHOLE TIME, so this is the only picture I got of that...

Later that day... hotel and indoor water park!!

A few more random pictures...Liam and I washing my truck a few weeks ago

Charlie exploring Liam's room...

Daddy-to-be practicing his baby-wearing!

29 weeks, 6 days.

2010-02-19T10:19:00.000-08:00

And counting! It feels like I have been pregnant for years! The two most common comments I get from people when I tell them how far along I am: "Wow, that's it?! It seems like you have been pregnant forever!!" and "Wow, really? You don't look big enough to be that far along!" The second one keeps giving me nightmares where I have to hurry to the doctor because Liam is shrinking!! lol. I saw my doctor a few days ago for real, and he says my belly is measuring exactly where it should be.
I am still feeling really good. I have a bad day now and then, and it scares the crap out of me. If I wake up vomiting and can't seem to stop or eat anything, I start to panic. I convince myself that the evil sickies are coming back, and I won't be able to keep anything down for Liam, again. But, so far it only happens for about a day, then I feel normal again.
I do still feel like the laziest person on the dang planet! There is SO much stuff I want to get done, but just can't seem to do it! I have been meaning to vacuum my house for weeks!! I need to clean out my closets and brush my dog and there are people who want pictures from me. And OMG, apparently I am just NOT capable of folding or putting away laundry. Oh well, at least I shower daily now, I get out and get all the exercise I can handle, and I remembered to take the trash out this week.
My other frustration is food. I have tried for several weeks, but I can't plan what I am going to eat ahead of time. I end up throwing out (or throwing up) everything I grocery shop for. I still can't eat or cook anything at my house. 10 more weeks, 10 more weeks...

Shaun comes home tonight :) That always makes me feel better. Unfortunately, he has drill this weekend, so we get tonight and Saturday night together before he heads back to Iowa.

2010-02-10T09:29:00.000-08:00

I decided on a theme for Liam's room....

So cute!! I'm pretty excited! I am 28 weeks, 4 days and Liam keeps kicking me harder and harder. I can go days without vomiting, but I have a lot of heartburn. Shaun is still working in Iowa, can't wait to see him Friday. I keep dreaming that he has a supermodel/construction worker girlfriend who I have to beat up. I'm slowly getting my house back in order, finally. It has been pretty gross since I got sick. I have the pantry and fridge completely cleaned out. I can't wait until eating at my house doesn't make me vomit. I'm having fun being prego, but I can't wait for it to be over :)

26 weeks, 4 days

2010-01-27T18:44:00.000-08:00

I went to see the doctor again today. Everything is going well! My belly is the right size. The doctor tried to listen to the heartbeat, but Liam wasn't having it. He kept moving from side to side and kicking the little wand, really hard! After about 10 minutes of this, the doc gave up and decided Liam was obviously doing okay in there without hearing his heartbeat.

I am getting so excited, I just can't wait to meet Liam. I have been trying really hard to imagine what he might look like. It's really fun to hear the excitement in Shaun's voice, too. I can't believe I get to see him be a daddy in 3 months! Crazy.

Liam with all his Daugherty cousins :)

Next year...

2010-01-26T18:30:00.000-08:00

Well, this year...There will be TWO more little people in the Christmas PJs picture.

Yep, two more of these...

Getting a picture should be fun!

"Wow, he is REALLY proud of that thing!"

2010-01-21T16:54:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard yet, we are having a boy :). We found out almost 6 weeks ago, but I've been pretty lazy about blogging, and everything else. Shaun is still working out of town, and he insisted I go to the ultrasound alone so he would be the second to know. The ultrasound technician didn't even have to move the wand-thingy around before she knew. She kept saying "Wow, he is REALLY proud of that thing!" She kept moving the wand around trying to get a picture of his little face for me, but every time she moved it, LIAM (HEHE!!) would adjust himself so his other end was all we could see, lol. He just would not hold still. Liam David Hawk is measuring normal and apparently looks perfectly healthy. Shaun and I are incredibly happy and can't wait to see our baby boy!
So far, being pregnant has been the most horrible and most awesome experience. Obviously, I am in HEAVEN compared to how was feeling for the first 20 weeks. I usually still start my day by vomiting, and if I don't go to bed, eat, nap, shower or just rest exactly when I feel the need to, I will vomit. If I eat the wrong thing, I will vomit. Also, I might just vomit for any random reason (Like seeing Shaun's combat boots on the bedroom floor because I once vomited on them). Or, I might vomit for absolutely no reason at all. It might sound bad, but it is so great!! I would gladly vomit daily for the rest of my life if it meant I would never, ever have to feel like I did in my first trimester again.
The awesome part about being prego, feeling this boy move!! Wow, what a crazy feeling. It's so amazing, he is really in there!!! Liam moves all the time, I LOVE it. He will roll from side to side and bounce around like crazy. Watching my belly wiggle around is my current favorite thing to do. Especially when Shaun is here to watch him with me.
Well, I'm off to slather my mid-section in oils in hopes of avoiding whatever stetch marks I can! I know, HAHAHA. A girl can hope!!!

Found a few pictures to share...

2009-12-08T08:10:00.000-08:00

Getting pretty bored here in Iowa...

So I found a few pictures on my camera to play with.

Us after the unit Christmas party last weekend. You can't see because of the huge sweatshirt I'm wearing (door prize) but I was looking all spiffy in a little party dress that made my little belly look pretty cute :) The party was fun, it was great to be out of the house and all dressed up. I met some of the guys in Shaun's unit and their families.

The next pictures on my camera were from August! These are from the go cart races with the Brown's. I can't believe that is the last time I touched my camera! I have a lot more pictures to take of these boys to pay Amey back for all the baby things she has saved for me :)

Okay, still bored... now what?

19 weeks

2009-12-07T11:42:00.000-08:00

Wow, longest 19 weeks, EVER! ha! Right now I am sitting in a Super 8 in Clinton, Iowa (Shaun is working here for the next several months). Watching A Baby Story and drawing. Liam (or Hilary) is moving around constantly :).

Bethie took this picture about 5-6 weeks ago(I think) in the ER. Eww, I am so glad this is the only picture of me from the past 3 months (I think). I do not want to remember this. ugh. But, no more hospital for me :) I went home and had a really good couple of days before I started to get bad again. When I went to see my doctor about a month ago he was shocked when I told him I was eating only Jello and crackers, and drinking water.(I was pretty proud of this, but I guess I need a little more nutrition). He also freaked out when he saw I had lost almost 20 pounds, and still loosing. So...they sent me home with a home-care nurse to be on IV therapy for 8 hours a day. Shaun also left for Iowa around this time, and the Callahan's moved in to help out (Thank you Kor, you are awesome!) I stayed on the IVs until Thanksgiving day, which wasn't easy. My home nurse had a really hard time finding veins, thank God for medic Uncle Robbie!! I LOVE YOU!! He was SO much better and faster at getting the IV started. Anyway, I had my first actual meal on Thanksgiving. Since August. I. WAS. HUNGRY! I have no idea how many plates I had, but I kept them all down!!!!

So, I am feeling pretty close to normal now. It doesn't take much to make me spew, though! I am okay with it because I can eat! and drink! and have conversations! and stand! and walk! and even DRIVE!!!! The baby loves the food, I think he (or she) does a little dance after every "successful" meal. I love it!!!

So now I have things to do. TONS of pictures to take, drawings to draw, lots to clean, walls to paint, things to move, things to buy, a room to decorate. I am ready to start enjoying this pregnancy. We get to find out the babies sex on the 15th!

Remember?

2009-10-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

Remember when I used to shower...daily?

Remember when I used to answer phone calls, and return them?

Remember the Kristina who used to take pictures of anything and everything? All the time?

The Kristina who used to have the energy to wake up at like 5:30, walk her dog, spend around 9 hours entertaining two toddlers, walk her dog again, do five loads of laundry, pay several bills and make dinner for her husband all in one day?

Remember??

I remember.

For the past couple months, maybe more than that...I have ssooooo missed this person. The only way I can describe what I just went through is...Hell. No exaggeration. And I'm not actually sure it's over yet.

I'm not sure yet how to explain my first trimester to everyone. Probably just in bits and pieces whenever I feel like mentioning something.

A few things to say for now...

First, Shaun and I are very excited. We have a healthy baby a brewin. I am 13 weeks along. According to an at home test from CVS, our baby is a boy. And if this is accurate, we plan to name him Liam David. And if not...Hilary Bethie.

I have something called Hyperemesis gravidarum. More on this later. Kor wrote about it some, she had it, too.

For my first trimester, I was completely helpless. I literally could not roll over, could not care for myself.

If you tried to call, I didn't answer because I was not here. My mind went somewhere else completely. It was weird and scary.

I have the world's greatest husband. He was put to the test these past several weeks. He brought me water, he did his best to make sure I drank it. He told me that everything was going to be okay. He insisted that I was beautiful (Even when I was not able to shower, brush my teeth or hair, and was covered in my own vomit). He got my medicine, and made me take it when my dehydration-induced insanity kicked in, and I didn't want it. He moved into my parents living room with me, because I was convinced there was an EVIL smell (That would definitely kill me) in our perfectly clean, brand new home. He slept at our smelly house all by himself when the air mattress popped. He assured me that our baby doesn't hate me, and doesn't want to see me die a slow, painful death. He was so patient and awesome. I love him so much.

I'm sorry to all the people who have been trying to get ahold of me. If I haven't called you yet, I will soon. Promise.

When I do talk to you again, please, PLEASE...no one tell me how hard your morning sickness was, and how I should try eating a few crackers before I get out of bed.

More bits and pieces later. And I'm pretty sure there is a picture of my little problem-child floating around on facebook somewhere, I'll have to get that on here, too.

Thanks for all the sympathetic smiles and all the prayers. Please pray this is over!!

I think...

2009-10-09T08:53:00.000-07:00

I might live. That's all for now.

Traveling Chucks.

2009-08-18T07:12:00.000-07:00

Shaun and I went here over the weekend....

Shaun has wanted to take me to a Cubs game for a long time. It was so fun! We drank lots of over-priced beer, but we forgot to eat a hotdog. Oh well, have to go back again!!!

These are the new Chucks! ...and Wrigley Field :)
Security.

Looking very tourist-ish at our hotel...

We decided to stick around on Sunday and explore Chicago for a while.

We ended up sitting on the edge of Navy Pier and drinking more beer. Then, we caught an Imax movie.

Fun, Fun!!!!

Drill weekend

2009-07-31T12:05:00.000-07:00

If tomorrow works out the way I want it to I should be getting up early for some garage sales**, then heading to an Army family picnic thingy..?? and then photographing a wedding. This is just about as busy as my days get. Shaun will still be doing Army stuff all day Sunday, so I have plans to edit wedding pics, draw, fold laundry, and sneak off to the grocery store, solo! (I have decided that Shaun and I can no longer grocery shop together. We have two very different ideas about what a weeks worth of groceries should consist of).

Our grocery list(If Shaun got his way):

Pop Tarts (the big box)

1 tube ground beef

1 can-o-Pringles

candy bar on the way out

Ramen noodles would also be on the list if we hadn't bought a 2 year supply at Sams.

His plan if we run out of food? That's what Bethies and Burger King are for!! DUH! I guess I should be happy he even considers grocery shopping at all (We didn't buy all that Ramen for nothing!!).

Anyway, thats why I'm shopping solo. And that's my weekend plan so far.

**Wana come with Kor!?

Car game.

2009-07-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

"Hey Anja, what do you want to eat?"

"Ummmm, something green on the outside, green on the inside, and it has a big brown pit in the middle".

"An avocado?"

"Yep, Hey Kristina, what do you want to eat?"

"Ummm, something red-

"An apple!?"

"Nope, something red and-

"A tomato!?"

"Nope, something red and small and sweet"

"A cherry!"

"Yep! Hey Isabel, what do you want to eat?"

"Taaaaaaaaandyy!!!!"

I...

2009-07-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

...really need new Chucks.

...am enjoying Quiet Time.

...found some really cool glass jars at Goodwill that even Shaun likes.

...have recently decided that I need to live somewhere besides here, some day.

...am eternally gratefully to my sister, who has been letting me use her computer lately.

...sometimes drink orange juice from a sippy cup on my way to work. (Don't judge!)

...am one hell of a procrastinator.

...have always been certain that I would get married and have babies, and have never been certain about anything else I would do.

...am totally happy to be so much like my mom.

...try hard to understand Shaun's "Need for speed".

...drive like an old lady.

...get up early (almost) every morning to make Shaun breakfast and lunch, because he would probably eat Pop Tarts and french fries if I didn't.

...have recently (and forcefully) discovered that I can live without cable, a cell phone, and an Internet connection in my house...lol, but that's only because I have access to all these things at Bethie's, Ha!

...love my job :)

...have a great sister who just bought me a new back-up camera! She is just the sweetest!! (haha!)

...am already attempting to prepare myself mentally for Shaun's maybe deployment in 2011.

...am photographing a wedding this weekend.

...am entertained by almost ANYTHING on TV.

...have no idea why I logged on here and started listing things about myself!

More pictures from the hill climb

2009-07-29T10:42:00.001-07:00

That I stole from Amey's facebook!

Straddle it Amey!! Straddle it!!!!

2009-07-28T06:48:00.000-07:00

The Brown's invited us to our first hill climb over the weekend.

So, we loaded up, borrowed Ethan and followed Tom and Amey to the middle of nowhere for two days of camping in the mud!

What is a hill climb?? Well, from my point of view... it's a bunch of people who put on helmets, boots, and a bunch of other protective gear, hop on a really fast and really loud dirt bike, point the front tire in the 'up' direction at the bottom of a HUGE, STEEP hill, and hold on for their lives.

And whoever gets the fastest time wins!!!

This is Tom...calm and cool. Crazy!

Oh yeah, they also have to hope they make it to the top before gravity takes over and this happens!!

This hill was seriously scary huge. I was nervous just walking up the thing! My favorite part was the tiny little kids with tiny little MOTORcycles and huge helmets on their heads. These fearless little kids got a couple pats on the helmet, and they gassed it up this giant hill!! Then about 10 spotters would attempt to chase them up the hill to try and catch them before they roll down!! I had a small heart attack every time I saw a three year old do this. lol.

There were dirt bikes and quads everywhere...

The twins were chillin.

The Squincher* was flowin!!!

The mud was inescapable!!! Even oh-so-sensitive Ethan loved the mud. Except for the half hour Tom spent flushing gobs of it out of his eyes! He was a tough guy though, he got right back into his boots with Lainey.

I'm pretty sure Ethan was in heaven. So was Shaun.

I don't think my camera has been somewhere so dirty and dangerous! It survived though.

I don't think this will be our last hill climb...I'm sure Shaun is already searching for a race-worthy 4 wheeler and picking out riding gear for our future children! Wonderful. We all had an awesome time!! Thanks for eveything Browns!

*Generic Gatorade. You arn't a hard-core Rhino riding, hill climbing bi-otch if don't have some Squincher in you! LOL Straddle it Amey!!

Quiet Time!

2009-07-27T11:47:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, quiet time here on the west side : )... Only a few more hours until I can get to Bethies to play with pictures from the hill climb with the Browns!! (Just warning you Kor!) Love you!! It will be so wonderful when I have my own computer again, won't it?

Goin campin!

2009-07-18T07:27:00.000-07:00

I just got back from pictures with Sophie and Max! Max was a little grumpy, but super cute!! I can't wait to get the pics on the computer and play, but Shaun has decided we are camping! So, Marley and I are waiting here on the couch at Bethies while the boys get things packed into the truck, and Kor packs everything in this house for MarMar! The boys did all the shopping for this camping trip, so i'm guessing all I will be eating today is hotdogs! Super. I'm taking my camera so i'll have something to play with :) Oh, this reminds me, I have some pretty funny pics from our last floating/camping trip with Kor and Bob...have to get those on here! Anyway, Shaun and I are heading to the Brown's tomorrow for some riding and some pictures!! Should be fun!

Peace!

Tropicanoe Cove

2009-07-17T17:28:00.000-07:00

Waiting for the water park... Playing with my camera...

Isabel took this one...

Then, we made it :)

We swam...

We snacked on granola bars...

We played...

We soaked up some vitamin D...

We got sleepy...

We headed off to watch The Little Mermaid II.

That's all :)

Long time, no blog

2009-07-15T10:59:00.000-07:00

I'm finally feeling normal again after a ba-zillion doctors visits and ultrasounds. I even got my camera back out and have a couple photo-shoots scheduled for this weekend :) Anyway, anyone reading this has probably already seen these pics of Marley on facebook or Kor's blog, but here they are again :)

It's Swim With Jim time at Bethies, so the girls nd I have been hanging around the daycare lately. Which is okay with me, because the girls are part fish (I swear!) and will swim for most of the day, and I love a pool party! :)

Bethie got out the big Barbie bin and I couldn't stop myself from going through them, dressing a few, and maybe setting up some furniture for my Barbies house. I had to stop myself, though, when I realised I was trying to talk Sophie out of a dress that my Barbie HAD TO HAVE. I might have a problem. Then, I decided to take pitures instead.

I took the last picture just for Amber!

Peace out!

Real quick, before my computer spazzs on me again!!

2009-05-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here's what we have been up to...

Meet Skud, our SA-WEEET 4 wheeler :). WAY too much fun!

Shaun even shares :)...

Oh, guess what happens when you combine this...

With our cool new kegerater for Hawker's Pub.

Yep, you get this...

Okay, I can tell my computer is gonna freeze again!! :( Peace out my homeys!!!

Guess what happens when...

2009-04-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

You put Velveda in the microwave for 5 minutes!

Dreaming of...

2009-04-20T17:38:00.001-07:00

And...

Saving my pennies!!

Oh MarMar...

2009-04-17T17:10:00.000-07:00

How did this family ever feel complete with out you?

E.A.S.T.E.R. S.U.N.D.A.Y.

2009-04-16T19:40:00.000-07:00

E...ggs

A...nd they're off!

S...o cold

T...oo cute :)

E...ggs...R...eally warm!

S...ooooo excited!

U...mmm, where's my money?

N... o one said, "Go!"

D..."aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaisy!"

A...nd more eggs!

Y...es, Amber found the "Golden" egg... again!

Dear Marley.

2009-04-06T10:35:00.000-07:00

Dear Marley,

Your Mommy asked me to write you a letter like I did for your cousin Daisy when she was the size of a peanut, so here we go.

The day before we found out you were growing in Mommy's tummy, your parents and Uncle Shaun and Aunty were being very silly. (We'll tell you about this later) :) Anyway, the next morning, a gallon of water, 6 baby tests, and 3 trips to CVS later, we were finally convinced that you were on your way.

By the day after that, Aunty had already decided a few things; you were a girl, you would look just like your Mommy, and that you and I, we would always be "like this".

I loved watching your Mommy change inside and out as we waited for you to come. Your mommy is my baby sister, and my very best girlfriend. She has always been my favorite person to tell secrets with and fight with. I can't wait to tell you all about the silly things we did when we were little. (Ask Mommy about the trampoline, cheesy butt and pizza face, Sexy Sam, and Mary-Kate and Ashley.)

Aunty is so proud of you, sweet girl. You are 17 days old, and you are so beautiful and perfect in every way. Aunty loves your chubby little nose, your long, skinny, girly fingers, and your tiny little lips that always have the smallest little smile on them. Marley, you and I are "like this".

Love, Your favorite Aunt(Remember this!)

Aunty

Pizza and beer

2009-03-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

Tonight...

I'm having pizza and beer, with my husband.

As of Thursday, March 19th at 4:57 pm, I have a brand new, and absolutely beautiful niece. She is amazing.

I have a BA-ZILLION pictures on my camera, just begging to be downloaded and played with on Photoshop.

I'm having pizza and beer, WITH MY HUSBAND!

Tonight, I am a very happy girl. :)

Seriously.

2009-03-11T18:59:00.000-07:00

I can't sleep. Since Sunday night when I last talked to Shaun.

When he was in South Carolina for 2 months and I couldn't talk to him, I couldn't sleep. The past 2.5 months have been so great. I go through the whole day looking forward to getting home, taking a shower, and getting into bed to wait for Shaun to call. And I sleep like a freaking baby! No, like a rock. Seriously, dead. to. the. world. And usually by 9! Something about listening to Shaun complain with his very noisy roommates in the background knocks me out.

So, for the last few nights, it has been just like Basic again. I'm seriously tired. I lay in bed until about midnight, when I finally take a Tylenol PM. Then, I wait another hour or two, finally fall asleep, and all of a sudden, it's morning again.

Hopefully Shaun will call tomorrow night, so I can sleep!

Anyway...Holy crap! I'm almost done! Did we seriously do this?! I went through almost 6 months with no Shaun?! I have to say, I am very proud of myself for not going completely crazy. I can't wait to see My Shaun! And give him his side of the bed back, and go camping, and have breakfast at IHOP on Sundays, and have a reason to shave my legs, and eat dinner with someone! WooHoo! I'm gettin all excited!! When he finally gets here, I am going to be one seriously happy girl!!

11 days and a wake-up

2009-03-08T18:44:00.001-07:00

Shaun left for log warrior this morning, which means I won't be talking to him until Friday. But, he will be heading home about 1 week from then! Woohoo!

..........................................................................................................................................

My new favorite song...

You know what I want to do?

2009-02-25T15:14:00.000-08:00

1. Breathe through my nostrils, but they are stuffed with snot. My whole head is and it constantly makes me feel top-heavy and like I am going to sneeze. At least I can still breathe through my mouth.

2. Get out of bed and go walk my dog. Don't feel up to it, but I can get up to go pee.

3. Eat. Anything.

4. Kiss, hug and snuggle with my husby, oh, and have him bring me a really big ice-cream sundae like he always does when I'm sicky. This one isn't going to happen for a while, but I can talk to Shaun a little. Sometimes he is on the phone when he shouldn't be. I was talking to him this morning...

"Hi honey, how's it goin?"

"Oh, okay except I'm still sick and it won't go away. I love you and I miss you like CRAZY!"

"Aww, I..."

"WHERE THE F*** IS ALL YOUR GEAR?!"

Bee bee boop. (The sound my phone makes when a call is ended.)

lol.

Funny at first, but then I remember if he gets caught with his phone he has to spend 10 days without it.

Thankfully, he texts, "Just a sec, wait for Sgt. to leave!"

Then, we had to finish our conversation while Shaun pretended to poop! ha!

Shaun and I have a date tonight...Yep, we are going to snuggle up to each other (pillows), pop some popcorn(just me-that's a no-no for him), and watch a movie(The Little Mermaid-because it happens to be the only movie that is on Shaun's borrowed ipod, and I happen to own the movie because it is my favorite)...(But not the whole movie..maybe 20 minutes if we are lucky, because wake-up is around 4 for Shaun), and talk and laugh (cell phones). I am so excited.

22 days and a wake-up

Sneezy McSnotface.

2009-02-23T09:37:00.000-08:00

Anja: "Kristina?"

Me: "Yeah babe?"

Anja: "Why do you speak funny this morning?"

Me: "Because I have a cold and my head is full of snot."

Anja: "Oh."

Pause...

Anja: "Kristina?"

Me: "Yeah?"

Anja: "You know what I'm looking forward to?"

Me: "Nope, what's that?"

Anja: "Next Halloween."

Me: "Oh? Why is that?"

Anja: "Because it is a long while away, so you won't have that awful cold anymore."

Me: (Big smiles) "That's sweet honey. I can't wait either."

Long pause.

Anja: "Kristina?"

Me: "Yes?"

Anja: "Do I get to watch movies when you're sick?"

Okay, this is really embarrassing...

2009-02-21T07:59:00.000-08:00

For the drive to Virginia, I borrowed my mom's CDs. My favorite Tom Petty CD is currently in her giant binder of music, and she has plenty of other great CDs in there. Perfect road-trip entertainment. So, what is the first cd I put in on my way out of Lafayette? Yep, Lindsay Lohan. I'm not really sure what possessed me to put this cd in, (Or why my mother owns it, LOL). I listened to the whole thing as I drove, and thought, "Wow, this REALLY sucks." Bad CD. But what do I do when it's over? I let it play again! WTH? Before I know it, the CD has played 5 times. And 6 hours into my trip, I know every word to all 11 songs. How embarrassing. I don't know how this happened. When I got to Fort Lee, I took the CD out and put some Maroon 5 in so Shaun wouldn't make fun of me, LOL. On the way back home, I listened to the radio for a couple of hours, then realized I was really tempted to put Lindsay back in!!?? Voodoo mind tricks??!! So, I gave in and listened to it some more. :(. So, I decided that when I got home, I would put the evil thing back into my moms binder, and return it. Never have to see it again. But, what did I do? I stole it!!? Why did I do that?! LOL! I have no idea what is wrong with me. The damn thing is still in my cd player. Every time I listen to it, I am reminded of rest stop signs, cruise control, huge semis and roads, road, roads.

Shaun update Bellow...

2009-02-21T05:46:00.000-08:00

My Shaun has been sick for the past few days. A cold, I think. He spent Thursday in sick bay (I think that's what he called it?). He showed up with a headache and they gave him Tylenol, Mucinex, Pepto-Bismol and a couple other pills, and told him to go to sleep. lol. They gave him a dead man's...um, I want to say dead man's pass, but that's not right. Anyway, a dead man's something? Which means he doesn't have to do a whole lot for a couple of days. He is officially done with the classroom part of his training. He says that now he gets to "Play war" for the next month or so. Hopefully this is a little more entertaining for him. He is definitely sick of where he is and ready to be done.

He sends me pictures a lot :). He knows how to make me happy :). This is him in all the gear he will have to wear with his uniform for this part of training. Ha, doesn't look so cool without the ACUs, I'll have to get him to send a pic of that.

I am sick today, too. But, I decided this morning that I was not going to let my sickies waist my weekend. I decided I would get up, take a hot shower, take Charlie for a walk, do my laundry and take Charlie to be groomed! So, I got up, took a hot shower, and went back to bed. Tomorrow sounds good.

Fort Lee

2009-02-15T18:49:00.000-08:00

I got home from visiting Shaun in Virginia last night. Wow, it was a quick trip. The drive there wasn't bad. I had some trouble getting into Fort Lee (Apparently I have that "don't trust her she is a terrorist" look? lol. But after driving around the post to another gate, I was finally allowed in. Shaun told me later that it probably would have helped to show them my military ID instead of my driver's licence, lol. Whoops! Then, Garmella (Papa Dave's GPS) decided to lead me to the middle of a very large construction sight, and expected me to believe it was my hotel. So,over an hour of the very small amount of time I had with Shaun was wasted :(.

Because I was late getting in, Shaun got busted for wondering around post without a battle-buddy. But we got that straightened out and then I was allowed to be his battle-buddy :).

The weather was PERFECT! Yay! I love Toy Story clouds!! Shaun showed me around post, and we went to the places with weird names, like PX and Commissary, just like Fort Jackson. I got to see where Shaun's company was, and meet some of his battle-buddies. Then, we left post to eat and do some shopping. We planned on going out for dinner and a movie on Valentine's Day, but ended up hanging around the hotel room with a movie and ordering pizza instead.

I got to stay in the Army Lodging on post, but Shaun wasn't allowed to sleep in the hotel with me. He also wasn't allowed to drive. I had to drop him off at the barracks Friday and Saturday night. The room was more like a small apartment, it was pretty adorable. It was so weird how a hotel room 500 miles away from here seemed like home just because it was where Shaun was. I was instantly attached, and I knew I wouldn't want to leave. It still feels like I was only there for a few hours. On the drive home I let myself be sad and lonely and cry until the first gas stop, then I forced myself to pull it together and stop being a drama queen. I reminded myself that Shaun will be home in 5 weeks, and that I am lucky he is somewhere safe and wants to be home as much as I want him here. The drive was SO LONG. And I'm pretty slow, so it took me around 14 hours to finally get home. Yuck.

I made it home in one piece, and didn't even get lost :). Pretty good for my first solo-road trip I think.

Michah turns Four!

2009-02-08T16:03:00.000-08:00

Amber and DJ had an adorable party for Mich today. The theme? Disney Princess of course! Shaun called me a couple of times during the party and he sounded pretty bummed. He and Mich are good buddies, and he was sorry to miss the party. He made this video for her...

She watched the video on my phone. She thought it was pretty funny and asked a few times if he was coming to the party.

One of those days...

2009-02-02T15:18:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days that start out seemingly normal, but then something happens (like getting to work and realizing you were expected to be there an hour earlier that day, but completely forgot even though you reminded yourself all weekend!) And this sets the bar for the rest of the day. This was today. lol. Thought it would be fun to document, something to do while I wait for taxact.com to wake up...

We got to school (Only a little late). I managed to slam two of my fingers in the car door. yep. The girls didn't notice this stupid mistake, but they did notice when I smacked my forehead while bending down to unbuckle J'Isabean. And, this was obviously hilarious. I'm sooo entertaining. I was laughing and crying at the same time.

Next, I decide laundry doesn't sound fun yet, so we are off to goodwill to find some laundry room hooks. On the way out, this...

Happens. Slipped on the ice. Ripped my jeans. Tore up my knee. Bleeding. So, we limp to the car. J'Isabean: "Wooooow, BooBoo!!" (Blows kisses) Woooooooow, BooBoo!!! (Blows more kisses)". Such a sweetheart. Laughing and crying. Then, on our way to pick up Yaya from school, this...

Happens. Five minute nap= very crabby baby/big girl who will refuse to sleep for the rest of the day even though she will be very tired, and who consequently will get crabbier and crabbier as the day goes on. Yep. So, we are at the school. Baby/ big girl isn't waking up. I carry her into the school. Yaya sees my ripped jeans: "Wow, Kristina you are sooooo trendy!" LOL. Then, she insists we should get home and get me a Barbie band-aid. The plain one won't do. Barbie will make it feel much better.

Okay, all better :)

Home. J'Isabean's 5 minute nap has turned her into a monster. Spaghetti for lunch. I sit the girls down at the table to eat. Then, leave the room for 30 seconds to grab laundry basket. Return to kitchen and find both girls in underwear(or diaper) and the dog on the table(front paws only), eating J'Isabeans lunch. HAHAHA!!! Banish dog from kitchen.

Take spaghetti-filled diaper off in kitchen. She darts, naked. HA! I chase her, but it's too late. She pees on the floor(hardwood). Nap Time!

Yaya and I listen to a VERY tired baby/big girl scream for a while, and finally decide she really isn't going to sleep! lol. Off to Hobby Lobby...

Which actually went really well :).

At least I didn't catch Yaya locking me out of the house, or squirting hand-sanitizer into my coffee...today! ha.

HAHAHA, These are actually my favorite kind of days with the girls. Weird, I know, but I like the challenge, and the day goes by a lot quicker when I am dealing with problem after problem, lol. Thank you Bethie, for giving me the patience to deal with bad days with a smile on my face :).

Now, my next challenge... taxes :(

My Shaun :)

2009-01-31T06:49:00.000-08:00

Every night around 7:45, I get what I wait all day for, a call from my Shaun. He's so sweet :)

Thank God for our phones. lol. So easy to send pics and video.

Can't wait for Valentines Day! Shaun talked to his Sargent about where I should stay for that weekend, and he said to let him know about a week before I get there and he would set something up? So, don't know where I will be staying, but hopefully it's cheap!! I'm really excited about being able to see Shaun so soon! Woohooo! Only 14 more days!

I'm loving this!!

2009-01-28T22:25:00.000-08:00

The snow! I love the snow! Don't you LOVE the snow!?! This morning, my alarm clock went off. (Which is set on K105, the country station :( Ugghh, need to change that before Shaun gets home and stops me!) They were listing school closings! (For some weird reason this still gets me all excited?) Oh how I love a snow day!! So, I ran to the door in my pjs! Like 8 inches of sparkly, fluffy, delicious virgin snow :) And more coming down!! I love it!!

But, I think at least one of the girls is getting pretty sick of it, lol.

"Smile, J'Isabeeeeeeeeaan!!"Haha, I think Fluffy loves it even more than I do!

Happy SNOW DAY!!!!

Shaun update

2009-01-27T12:18:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Advanced Individual Training! (Compared to Basic Combat Training at least!) Shaun has his cell phone. SHAUN HAS HIS CELL PHONE! We text and talk almost any time we want(I'm talking to him right now!!!). I get to say good morning every morning, and good night every night. Thank you Fort Lee!! Shaun seems to be having at least a little bit of fun. He gets on-post passes every weekend. He gets to go shopping, bowling and there is even a skate park!?!? Yep. He only has to share a bedroom and bathroom with three other guys instead of 60! So, that's good. He has classes, physical training and several formations everyday. He says the classes are easy but boring. He is having a hard time staying awake! I asked him to send me some pictures of everything, and this is what I got...My SexyMan!Shaun's battle-buddy getting a hair cutSexyMan is starting to get his abs back.Battle-buddy again.

Shaun sleeps on the bottom. This is where he lays every night and we try to find something to talk about. There are a lot of "Well, I love you!" s and "So, how's it goin?"s. Haha. And a whole lot of just laying there, listening to each other breath, lol. But it is wonderful. SO wonderful.

52 more days to go!

Oh yeah, Friday the 13th...The girls are off on their first skiing trip, and I have the day off. So, (If Papa Dave will allow, I'm heading to Virginia!!) Yay! Valentines Day with my husby!

Baby E?

2009-01-24T08:16:00.000-08:00

I wanted to see what I have learned in Photoshop. So, I went through my pictures and found some of Ethan. These were taken and originally edited in 2007, and I went back and re-edited them just to see what happened...
The difference in the pictures made me laugh. I guess all those hours staring at my computer weren't a complete waste, because I was obviously learning something.
Before... And After...

And some more afters...

I remember I had to literally BEG Baby E to let me take those pictures, but now...

Aunty: "Hey Bubby! If you let Aunty take your picture, she will let you have a BIG drink of her Siera Mist!! MMmmm, YUMMY!!" (Thinking: no way he will let me)

Ethan: (Thinking: wow, Aunty is such a Dumbo, she still thinks I am 3 years old...better humor her...) "Umm, okaaaaay..."

Too Cool For Bethies

Guess he isn't Baby E anymore. Ha.

Thanks for the picture sweet boy. Aunty loves you.

Dear Canon AE-1,

2009-01-21T16:30:00.000-08:00

I miss you. You were my very first camera. I was a junior in high school, and I had to have you to participate in Photo 1. Being the slacker student I was, I don't think I used you to your full potential. But, you still remind me of so many wonderful places, people and photographs. Like, trying to fill up the last few exposures (or half the roll haha) left for my assignment. Usually in the hallway just before class, or shots of Casey Loo sitting in the desk next to me as class was starting. And there were always a few, "Oops, did I just press the shutter release? Whoops, Oh well..." lol. Good times.

Okay, this one was actually taken with a pin-hole camera, but I had to show it because Casey and I took sweet pin-hole pictures. oh yeah.

After a while, I learned more about you and you grew on me. By my senior year, I loved to take you with me. You were with me when I went to see Shaun in the trailer-hood for the first time to take some pictures of Shaun and Joel skateboarding. This was the first of many, many, many photo shoots with Shaun. Lol, good thing he liked having his picture taken as much as I liked to take pictures. Oh how we loved to play model/photographer!

I have put you through so much torture. On my trip to California after graduation, you got covered in so much sand I couldn't believe you still worked. But, the pictures of those two weeks with Shaun will always be my favorite by far.

Before I started at Purdue, I got my Canon 30D. But, I still used you for my assignments. I learned a lot in those two semesters, and became a master at using you. It was fun for me, but involved more torture for you. You now have traces of all 10 colors used for the paint project. And this makes me love you even more.

Even though I have only picked you up a handful of times in the past year or so, I do love you. I love the way you look and feel in my hands. I love the sound your shutter makes. You are the perfect weight. So familiar. I feel a little torn leaving you at home and taking the younger, sexier camera with me to get my picture-taking fix. But it is just too hard to resist its charm. I have become addicted to its hassle-free ways. I don't even have to load film. But, your pictures do have a certain quality that the 30D can't touch. Torn. I want to take you with me, but I just can't say no to the instant gratification of digital photography. It's getting harder and harder to find reasons to use you instead of the 30D. But, I promise to get you out, dust you off, and use you when I think of one.

HEHE!

Oh my goodness!!

2009-01-18T18:48:00.000-08:00

Look at these guys! Too cute. I had so much fun :).. the Brown twins' first session...

Brotherly love...??

Friday.

2009-01-18T18:31:00.000-08:00

Couldn't think of anything very exciting to do on Friday. Anja had another snow day!! And it was FREEZING FREAKING COLD outside. I brought my camera for a little entertainment and took pictures all day long...

Glitter...

Glue...

Always fun :)

Good day.

Oh Yeah...

2009-01-18T18:03:00.000-08:00

We got tattoos! Our Christmas presents to eachother... Anyone I ever asked about tattoos said it didn't hurt. They said it was uncomfortable. I was still very nervous. I sat down next to Shaun to watch him get his tattoo first. However badly it felt for him, I knew it was going to be ten times worse for me. Then I saw Shaun's face. Scary. It looked a little like this...

haha..Shaun getting his nipples pierced in 2005...

Damn we had so much fun on that vacation!

Who knew Amber would fall for my brother, become my sister and have my second niece less than three years later!?!?! So cool...

Anyway, back to tattoos...I looked at Shaun and asked him if I was going to be able to handle going through with the tattoo. He said, "No way". Sooo...I ended up having the artist redraw my tattoo. He made it a little smaller and less fancy than Shaun's. Then, I sat down. I will NOT ever tell anyone it was just uncomfortable!! It was horrible! It felt like someone was taking a lit cigarette and dragging it through my skin!! SLOWLY!! I will never forget trying to focus on Shaun instead of the torture and chanting, "TOO EASY, TOO EASY, TOO EASY!!" LOL (Something Shaun's drill sargent said a lot in boot camp). Man, I am a HUGE baby!

Totally worth it. I love my tattoo!!

One big post

2009-01-13T17:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have a bunch of pictures all the way back to Shaun's graduation last month, so they are all going right here :).
This is Shaun graduating from Fort Jackson on Dec. 17th... I guess they usually graduate in the fancy dress uniforms, but some people didn't get theirs in time?:( so that sucked, and I still havn't seen him in his fancy clothes! Can't see it very well, but I circled Shaun, he's in the back. This is his platoon. Usually when they were all in formation like this, Shaun would stand in front but they put him in back for graduation? So, that sucked too.

Christmas 2008... Was great! I don't know what I would have done if Shaun hadn't been able to come home for Christmas. This was the best Christmas ever! Wow, should have posted these a while ago because I can't really remember a lot of fun details? Woops...Anyway, some pictures...

The girls, hehe!

So.Cute.

Here it is Bethie... Christmas 2008

HAPPY 2009!!!! 1980's style!! This was TOO much fun!!

Family Day at Fort Jackson

2009-01-08T16:47:00.000-08:00

Finally! The day I had beed waiting for!!! The day before family day, Cary and I took the longest road trip, ever! Ten hours is a long time, it was horrible. But everything was great again as soon as we got to our hotel because there was a Hooters accross the street :). MMmmmm, beer. The next morning we got to go take a peek at Shaun leading the platoon. It was so cute :). It was torture though, because we got to watch for about 5 minutes and get a quick hug, then we had to wait a few hours before they gave him to us (we showed up really, really early lol). So, we wandered around the base. Pretty exciting. When we finally got Shaun there wasn't much to do because we couldn't leave the base, so we went bowling :). It was awesome. Best. Day. Ever. Thats my Shaun, the PG :). You can't see in the picture, but his platoon is standing behind him.

Shaun with his "battle buddy" Haidet.

Heehee!!!

Officially FREAKING OUT!!!

2008-12-12T18:33:00.000-08:00

At first, this wasn't so bad... the house was always clean, I always had the TV to myself and didn't have to watch the SPEED channel...ever, and I didn't have to worry about someone spending crazy amounts of money on completely insane ideas (like the chain letter thing, and the online gambling thing!!!! AARRGGGHHH!!!)... LOL! But after a while it was definitely no fun any more!!!! Not talking to Shaun started to DRIVE ME CRAZY! I feel like I have been holding my breath for about a month!

I got to talk to him a lot on Thanksgiving. It was amazing on that day. But, the next day was horrible! I wanted to talk to him so bad! Since he left, I have had two 5 minute phone calls, one 10 minute phone call, and a total of about 3 hours on the phone on Thanksgiving.

I have pretty much just been waking up, doing what I have to do, and going to bed. I didn't want to do anything. I CONSTANTLY thought about and think about today, and this weekend, and next week, and the next three weeks, and the next 4 months :(. But I didn't want to write or talk about Shaun, (I'm not sure why? but, I swear it made time go slower). Just. Functioning.

BUT NOW I AM SO CLOSE!!!! From December 16th until January 1st, I get to be normal again!!! I get to breath!! So I am officially FREAKING OUT!! I have never been so excited about anything!! In 3 days, I get to hug my husband (haha, husband)! I get to hold his hand and have an actual conversation with him!!!!! I can't wait to watch SPEED and listen to country music!! lol.

Bethie and Papa Dave aren't going to make it to Fort Jackson for Shaun's graduation because of Mommy's no-more-pee-her-pants surgery. So, Cary and I are going on an 11 hour road trip on Monday. (This will be the longest weekend ever!) We get to spend about 6 hours with Shaun on Tuesday, but we have to give him back at 9 o'clock. Then, we watch him graduate at 12pm on Wednesday. Then he is mine again :). This will most definitely be the greatest Christmas EVER! We are going to get a real tree! pretty exciting :).

I feel like I have just snapped out of something? Like I was in just get through the next two and a half months mode (THANK GOD for this mode), and now I can be normal!! WEIRD??? A lot of people kept asking me how I was doing it, and telling me that they could never get through it. I was surprised to hear people say that, because it doesn't sound like very much time. But when they told me that I seemed okay and happy...I swear I wanted to scream, "I'M NOT OKAY!!! PLEASE, GET ME A TIME MACHINE!!!!!" haha.

But the first half is over, and (hopefully?) the second half of Shaun's training won't be so bad. uugh, don't want to think about that right now....I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!! All I have to concentrate on this weekend is anything I can think of that involves getting ready to go to see Shaun, and Shuan being home for Christmas. AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Shaun Update

2008-11-11T09:52:00.000-08:00

My Shaun is amazing :)...He is the Platoon Guide, which means he is leading his platoon, and I think this is the coolest thing!! Apparently he is a really good leader! He says there have been many times where he has to pull everyone together and get them to act like a team!He is getting noticed, everyone knows his name and the drill sargents call him Hawk instead of tweety-bird! I think it is so cool that he is standing out. He keeps saying that the guys in his platoon can be slow and don't listen very well. And, he also gets yelled at for anything anyone does wrong...and he has to eat last. So, the yogurt is usually gone :(. My poor Shaun. He is craving some German chocolate cake, and a Maker's Mark and Diet Coke!!

Shaun won both his pugil fights against the other guys in his platoon, and I am pretty sure they have a big competition before they leave? He has his M16, and he also got to play with some other big guns. And I think he gets to throw a couple of grenades. He is in the white phase now, and he has the blue phase left. So, that means I get one more 5 minute phone call before I see him in 34 days!! I'm so excited!

Handsome boy :)

2008-10-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

Ain't he cute!? Look at those eyes! :)

"Kristina, maybe the fishies are using your phone to talk to Shaun?!"- Anja

2008-10-25T19:47:00.000-07:00

I was having a really weird day....on Wednesday I kept spilling milk and stubbing toes and putting diapers on backwards, lol. Then, at the end of the day, I decided to take the girls to the park and play with my camera a little. They were both in really awesome moods and for some reason, Anja was really in to having her picture taken!! (I'm wearing her down!! haha!) Anyway, things were going good..got a few cute ones....

Then we decided to walk over to the pond to see some duckies and fishies. Isabel was being all cute, and pointing and laughing at some duckies. So, I moved to get a picture of all her cuteness...and I heard a splash behind me! When I realised what had fallen into the water, you would have thought it was Anja by the fit I was throwing!! No, it wasn't Anja...it was my brand new phone :(. My silver Shine :( I loved it, and I had just gotten extra chargers and ear buds for it. I went to BestBuy to see if my insurance covered loss, but it didn't :(. I definitely don't have the money to replace it, but my insurance does cover all kinds of damage....so.......I the girls and I recruited Bobby, Kourtney, and Ethan to help us fish it out! We looked pretty stupid with our pool net, but if we would have found it, it would have been totally worth it!! No luck :(. We only found gunk, sludge, leaves, rocks, a knife, and some sunglasses. But we had fun doing it :)

Bobby was great! He even put his arms in the filthy water, just to help me find my precious phone :)
Isabel was pretty entertained by the fishing...but I'm pretty sure she was pretending not to know the crazy people by the pond...

DAMN IT! Five minutes is so short :(

2008-10-21T16:47:00.000-07:00

A few minutes ago, Shaun sent me a text that said, "Get ready to awnrer!" haha...(He meant answer...must have in a hurry!) I immediately turned off the tv, put down my bowl of chicken Chile, kept my phone in one hand and my pen in the other, and got ready for my call :). This sounds a little pathetic I think because he has only been gone for a week and he has been gone for longer while he was working for Kelly, but this sucks! It's so hard to pick up the phone and not burst into tears! And I can tell he is doing the same thing :(. I think this is already so hard just because we know that he still has a lot of time left there. Plus WHERE he is. But, I force myself to giggle and say only positive things. I fib a little when he asks how our bank account is looking and when I tell him that I still look forward to watching football. Five minutes just isn't long enough to feel like I have really talked to him. And it doesn't help that they give him a minute by minute countdown to when he has to hang up. And he sounds like he is in a crowded room with people being yelled at. He said we had one minute left so I started telling him how Charlie is doing, but a few seconds later he stopped me and just said, "I love you, I love you" and hung up :(.
I keep thinking that feeling so sad about this already is pathetic...until I hear him and he sounds so bummed, too. Hopefully someone gives him his gun and a couple of grenades soon! I KNOW that will cheer him up :). And hopefully this gets at least a little easier.

Thank goodness I have these two to keep my mind off of everything!! haha, Anja was so excited! She FINALLY got to get inside the BIG BIG BOAT!!

Bath time for Fuffball!!

2008-10-19T14:50:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling better for the most part, so Fluffy and I went on a walk, watched some football, and had a bath :). Charlie HATES this, lol.

I talked to Shaun for about 2 minutes today, just as the Bears game was starting. He sounded a little bummed :(. I wasn't sure if telling him that I was about to watch the game without him would make him feel better or worse, so I didn't. Not sure what to say to help him? He officially starts basic training tomorrow, and he is ready. He said he will be sending a letter today or tomorrow, but I won't be getting an address to send mine to for at least several days. I'm hoping that once we can communicate on a regular basis, we will both feel better. I have read that they really try to tear them down emotionally and physically, and make them more independent. I hope he is doing okay.

Shauns going away party...

2008-10-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend...Okay, the day started off like this...for some UNEXPLAINABLE reason, Papa Dave decided to let Shaun on his Harley!!! DO NOT tell DJ! he made it about 10 feet, then HE DUMPED IT! Yes, he wrecked Dads bike!! There is a scratch on the safety bar-thingy, but it's not too bad. Papa Dave did not strangle him, which really surprised me. Poor Shaun will never again be known to dad as his friend, or his son-in-law..nope, he will now always be the guy who dumped his baby.. :(
Then there was a prego belly contest.....

.....and Shaun won. (but that is only because I didn't play) ha!
Lainey, Kourt and I had smores and did some target practice with the plastic bb gun

Daisy got a lil tipsy...lol...no, the beer is NOT open...

My beautiful cousin, Kelsey :)

Of course, there was beer pong...there is video of this, if I can figure it out, i will post it

And, in the spirit of boot camp...the night ended with a push-up contest!

Arn't they so cute?!

And the old guys won it! I think.

That was it. Shauns last night to get completely hammered until Christmas, lol.

For Anja...

2008-10-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

Anja,

Hi sweetheart! I heard you still had the sickies, and so do I :( I thought it might cheer you up to see a couple of silly pictures I took...this is me, after I tried to make a fruit smoothie this morning, hahaha!! After I got cleaned up and into my cumfy pink pjs, I decided to watch Sleeping Beauty. No, I still havn't given it back to Bethie, but I will, I promise :) This picture is of me snuggling up with the movie and my CHERRY FLAVORED MEDICINE!!
Hope we feel better soon!! I'm going to take a nap now. See you on Monday!

Love ya babe!

Your friend,

Kristina

I have the best dog in the whole wide world :)

2008-10-18T05:03:00.001-07:00

We do not allow Charlie on our bed. Well, I don't allow Charlie on our bed. Shaun thinks it is HILARIOUS(and it is) to lay on our bed facing the bathroom, then get Fluffy (Charlie) up on the bed and under the covers and tell him to "hide!!" from mommy. When I step out of the shower, I see Shaun laying there pretending to hold back a smile, and a huge lump under the covers SCRAMBLING to get off the bed because he has heard me open the shower curtain and knows he is about to be SCREAMED at to GET OFF THE BED!!! Fluffball knows he is not allowed on the bed and has never tried to get on the bed (if I am in the room).

Here is why I have the best dog in the world.....when I found out Shaun( the person who I have snuggled up with almost every night for the past 4 years) was going to be MIA for almost 6 months, I started thinking about letting Charlie sleep with me while Shaun is away. But these past few nights I have been okay without a snuggle-buddy and I kinda already learned my lesson about dogs in bed when I was pooped on by a certain wiener dog!!! Anyway...Charlie must somehow know how I am feeling without my Shaun, because after I got all snuggled into bed last night for another NyQuil-induced coma, Fluffy jumped up onto the bed, snuggled up as close as possible, and went to sleep. I was not expecting this at all!!He didn't even hesitate! He just somehow knew that I would not yell at him, and that I would be very happy for him to snuggle with me! I just laid there in shock. I have been sick before. And Shaun has been away before. And I have been sick while Shaun has been away before. But he has NEVER tried this. I swear, he knows I am stressed because Shaun will be gone for a long time. I got a picture with my phone (which now does not leave my hand). So, no matter how cool you think your dog is, mine is better :) haha!

Talked to MY SHAUN

2008-10-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

Shaun FINALLY called! He left on Tuesday. I did a lot better than I thought I would. I didn't even cry until I was getting ready for bed that night, and found the chapstick that Shaun meant to take with him laying on the bed. :( I felt pretty stupid crying over chapstick, lol. I think the stress of him leaving is catching up with me though...the girls have had some virus with a fever all this week, and I got it :(. It's awful, I feel so sorry for Anja and Isabel for having felt like this. My fever and headache and tummyache come right back after my meds wear off..the only way to feel okay is to be asleep! So Nyquil and my new snuggle-buddy (Charlie) are my best friends right now. I'm glad I gave the girls all their extra snuggles and babying this week, they obviously needed it.
Anyway, SHAUN CALLED! I talked to him last on Wednesday right before he got on the bus. He said it would probably be the last time he called for atleast a few days, and not to even expect a phone call at all. But, HE CALLED! They took his cell phone from him, we expected that. And so far all we know is that he Might be able to call once in a while, or maybe not? I have already started writing letters, and now I am just waiting to get an address to mail them to. They havn't even told Shaun how to send out mail yet. So far he has been filling out paperwork, getting shots, getting yelled at for no reason (haha!), and standing around in lines. Hurry up and wait. He also got his uniform, which I cannot wait to see!! Oh, this is my favorite part- When Cary was in boot camp, he said the drill instrucors called him Sparrow because he wasn't good enough to be called "Hawk". Well, they already started calling Shaun "Tweetybird"!!! hehehehehe! What a great last name for them, they must love it:). AWW! I just remembered I forgot to ask him if they cut his hair yet! damnit! oh well, i'm sure they have.
uuuggghhhhh, I feel like poo! Pretty sure I am asleep right now...more later.

"Army Strong"

2008-09-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

SO, we thought it would be fun to take some before pictures of Shaun. In a couple weeks, he won't be doing anything but sit-ups, push-ups, and running for miles and miles (hahaha!) Cary and Shaun already have a bet going...Cary(the ex-Marine) says that Shaun will weigh 185 or less when he graduates from basic training. That would mean Shaun losing around 35 pounds in the next 3 months! Anyway, Shaun disagrees and they have bet a 12 pack on it.

Just for fun... this is a picture of Shaun at 17. I had known him for about a month when I took this photo on Ocean Beach. Notice the 6-pack!!! hehe! Pretty sure this is why I followed him out to California!! lol! Anyway...

This is my hubby now :) A little heavier, but still my sexy California guy :)

Thanks for letting me put these on here babe, if you ever did this to me I would have to really hurt you!!

pictures!

2008-09-28T15:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures that I was suppose to share with a lot of people and never did. I know, I'm a slacker!! sorry! Anyway, they are from Carol and Seppy's pre-wedding visit, and the bachelor/bachelorette party!

2008-09-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

So, today was a pretty big day. We're in the Army Reserve. Shaun left for Indianapolis on Monday for testing, and a physical. He did really well on the ASVAB, and passed the phyical test with flying colors. :) They also had his knee looked at, and everything checked out. So....he will be leaving for basic training on October 15th. His training will last 23 weeks, but he will get a little break for Christmas.

Thoughts...

Shaun is out of his mind with excitment. He has always wanted to join the military (or atleast since I have known him). It has been the subject of many arguements between us since high school. I'm pretty sure he would have joined right after graduation if I hadn't talked him out of it. This time, I tried to talk him out of it again. It scares the shit out of me. I argued that we would always have to move around, and that he would have to take orders from someone all the time, and that he would miss the Super Bowl!! Oh yeah, and that he might get his LEGS blown off!! Obviously, it didn't work. So, I decided to be open minded, and we did some research together. We decided the Reserves would be best becuase we will be able to stay home, Shaun can go to school. I'm really proud of him already. I know he will be great at this, and he will love it. Right now, I don't think that this whole thing has sank in yet for me. Shaun is going to leave for over 5 months. Not sure what to think?? I have been spending almost every second of my free time trying to find out as much as possible about the Army. Anyway, kinda scatter-brained right now, probly write more later...

Football 2008!

2008-09-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

We had a house full of losers in the house on Sunday!!!! Once again, Shaun and I were the only sporting Bears jerseys. HAHAHA!!! Dustin and Megan, DJ, Amber and kids, Brady, and even Bobby and PREGO made it over!! Magan and I made the most amazing dip, EVER! SPICY CHICKEN TACO DIP!! mmmmmmm. Oh yeah, THE BEARS WON!! hahahaha!!!

Yup..

2008-09-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, been a while....Charlie ate both of our jalapenos, and bit our tomato plant in half. But Paul and Lynne donated some of their tomatoes to make us feel better :) Thanks!
So, I got to photograph Amanda Overmyer's wedding! I was so nervous the night before, only got about 3 hours of sleep! Then I was even more nervous the day of. very,very nervous. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to get the lens I wanted in time, but I was pretty excited to use my Gary Fong diffuser. It didn't work as well as I hoped, but it was good practice. There were several times during the day that I actually thought I might pass out from the heat, lack of food, and too much Redbull!! Of course, I was offered food, but was just too nervous to eat until the Bundy's convinced me to get a plate with them at dinner. By the end of the night, my whole body was throbbing, and I'm pretty sure I was almost walking with a limp! OUCH! It was the greatest and most horrible day!! SO MUCH FUN! I just finished editing the photos and putting them on my website. My next project will be to get good pictures of Paul, Lynne,Anja and Isabel, and hopefully start drawing soon.

2008-07-21T15:47:00.000-07:00

YAY!! Look what we did! We finally have two tiny little jalepenos! Still waiting on the tomatoes and bell peppers though...

VACATION!!!

2008-07-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I have been taking care of Anja and Isabel for 5 months. It's so weird, this time has gone by so FAST. This job has been so much fun so far. It is really great to wake up and not dread going to work! hahaha, it's so crazy how fast these girls became my new best friends, and how I miss them when I leave for the weekend. I was nervous about making the decision to cut back on school hours to take a full time job, but I am glad I did. I still plan to finish my business degree from Ivy Tech,(no matter how long it takes me, haha) while enjoying this experience. But for the next week, I will be on vacation. Very exciting. But Shaun is working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week right now, so I will be entertaining myself. I will probably try and finish painting, work on my website, and finally send out wedding thank yous!! haha, sorry Mommy :( Love You!!

I am also finding time to work on DaisyLooPhoto :) This summer, I will be photographing my most exciting client yet, Amanda Overmyer from American Idol. She is getting married in August, and I'll be taking the wedding pics! I'm pretty excited! I met with Amanda and her family to discuss the wedding, and it sounds like it should be a lot of fun.