Pay it Forward

I won, and you can too! Pay it forward!

The Rules...
1. Be one of the first three bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which entitles you to a handmade item from me.

2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway.

3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It's the Spirit and the thought that counts!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!

If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Start your own Pay It Forward game/link/chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

*Leave a comment even if you're not one of the top three, and who knows...maybe you'll get something anyway. (This part is not really part of the game. If you play, you don't have to add it--the stuff in red. I just thought it's how I would play.)

Thursday Thirteen, Edition "G"

1. Grandmas & Grandpas - Who else is going to spoil my kids rotten?

2. Garnet - My birthstone.

3. Giggles - I love the sound of my boys laughing.

4. Google - How else would we find out everything we've ever wanted to know--and then some?

5. Green & Grass - I love when the snow finally melts & everything is green again.

6. General - One of my dad's nicknames for my mom (The General).

7. Gardens - There is nothing like vegetables right out of the garden. I also love really colorful flower gardens.

8. Games - I love getting together with family or friends & playing games.

9. Gambling - I am not a gambler. I hate losing any money at all. I always think of what things I could spend my money on rather than losing it. (alright, i have been known to get crazy on a nickle machine)

10. Gears of War - A video game that David loves. I finally gave in and played it with him--I really liked it, too.

11. Golf - I've only been golfing a couple times, but I love it (even though I'm horrible).

12. Gremlin - Apparently our apartment is gremlin infested because David blames everything on them--"it must have been a gremlin."

13. Glad - Don't get mad, get Glad! :)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Dear Mom,

Today, I thought about you often & hoped your birthday was everything you wanted it to be. I wished so much that I could have been there to tell you Happy Birthday & share in the birthday festivities. I thought I could at least try to tell you how much you mean to me (if words can even express).

You are such an amazing mom. In the last few days I've needed a bit of encouragement, & I definitely got that from you & so much more. Thanks for the wonderful advice & uplifting & loving words. I hope I can be the kind of mother that you are--loving, fun, kind, patient, giving, a great example, a mountain of support & encouragement, tough when necessary, and an awesome hugger (this is just as important as anything for a mother).

Being a mother myself now, I am starting to realize all of the time, energy, & love you put into raising us. You sacrificed so much of yourself for your kids. I'm also beginning to understand now how much you've loved us & how much you've worried about us--and continue to do so. I can't imagine what we've put you through at times. You definitely deserve awesome rewards for all that you've given of yourself & all that you've taught us. [Maybe part of that reward is cute grand kids. ;)]

You are everything I hope to become. And I hope you've had an amazing birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!!

Love,
Rachel

Bowling Fun

These pics were from a few weekends ago, & I'm just getting around to blogging them. Since Lance hates the snow, & we have tons of it, we've been trying to find fun indoor things to do with him. He even hates snow on the bottom of his shoes! There isn't much to do here, but swimming & bowling have been hits (what kid doesn't like either of those things). Lance insisted on carrying his own ball. What is it about boys & needing to prove they can carry heavy things? ;) There were many tears shed because he had to wait his turn. We're mean parents, & we wanted our turns, too. He would roll the ball down the ramp & immediately turn around to get another ball. I'm not sure he ever saw the ball hit the pins, but he clapped every time--maybe for successfully getting the ball to the top of the ramp (without dropping it). This is how Lukey passed the time bowling--slobbering & smiling. And just a side note: Happy 6 months (today) to my baby. Afterward, David & Lance hit the arcade for some racing. And for those of you who know David, this Daily Dose is for you. My family & I like to play a game with David. We give him the line of a well known children's or Christmas song, and he has to fill in the blank--just one word. He never EVER gets it right. He can't remember the words to songs. And I mean any song. Even if he's heard it a million times, the words he sings are different every time. Okay, every once in a while he sings a line or two right (and completely shocks me). But mostly, it's a new song every time. And let me tell you...there are some pretty interesting ones. I laugh my butt off at some of them. Just yesterday this is what I heard him singing. "The farmer and the Joe, the farmer and the Joe, hi ho the dairy-o, the farmer and the Joe." If you're a bit like David & don't know what he's attempting to sing, it's his very own rendition of 'The Farmer in the Dell.'

Thursday Thirteen, Edition "F"

1. Father - David is such a wonderful daddy.

2. Family - It's what it's all about.

3. Farkle - Such a fun & fantastic game (got a couple more F's in there).

4. Free - David's motto: If it's free, it's for me.

5. Fabric - I love to sew & quilt, and I LOVE to shop for fabric.

6. Fall - It's my favorite time of the year.

7. Fish - Of the Swedish variety--yum!

8. Friday - Today is David's Friday...Hooray!!

9. Fart - All I'm gonna say is MEN STINK!

10. Friends - It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

11. Fun - Who doesn't like to have it?

12. Flipper - Everyone's favorite dolphin. :)

13. Forever - What our family is.

*This is just an extra one for my mom who will be Fifty and Fabulous in February (in just a couple days)!!

All Tuckered Out

But from what?Don't let these pictures fool you. He didn't jump once! He still just hangs in the jumper kind of twisting a bit. He hung there for about 10 minutes while I did some cleaning. And then he fell asleep. Here I was, thinking that if only he would jump, he might tire himself out. But he obviously didn't need physical activity. Just the thought of jumping wore him out.

And here's my favorite Daily Dose of David yet! I was cleaning up Lance's toys one day & discovered some tiny BB's in the carpet. I wondered where they could have come from. But as I went about my day, other things occupied my mind, & I forgot all about the little BB's. A couple days later I hear David say to Lance, "Get all your little people for Daddy, so I can line them up." I looked over to David & Lance placing the (fisher price) little people in a straight line on the hood of the power wheel. David then says, "Wait here while I get the gun." WHAT??? Of course the faint memory of tiny BB's in the carpet now flashes through my mind. Yes, David had lined up the little people & helped Lance shoot them off of the power wheel...in the house. I, being the boss of course ;) told the boys that there would be no firing squad tonight. And disappointed Daddy asked, "Why?" I gave my best because I'm the mom and I said so answer--with the matching look. And David asks again, "Why?" Now I'm wondering if there's an echo in the house, or maybe he just can't hear me. Slower this time, "Because...I...said...so." This is when David informs me that he needs an actual reason that he can't shoot his gun in the house and that "because I said so" is not a reason. You've got to be KIDDING me!! And do you know what I came up with? A whole lot of nothing. Scrambling for a reason, I tell him that I don't want to pick BB's out of the carpet. He tells me he'll pick up every one of them. I try telling him it isn't safe, & he tells me it's okay because he only pumps the pellet gun once. My mind is racing for a reason that will satisfy David, and this time it lands upon the trusty "you'll shoot your eye out" reason. I tell him that it isn't safe & what if by some weird accident Lance takes a BB to the eye (I know, I know, lame...give me a break, I don't think fast under pressure)? David says (he really said this), "That's why I make Lance wear a helmet." Of course he would have thought of everything!

Here is Lance in his eye protecting, safety "helmet."

Pleeeeease will somebody give me a suitable reason that David cannot shoot his pellet gun in the house?! I'm pretty sure it's just not okay. But someone--and I won't mention names *wink*--has taught my husband that you should tell your kids WHY you said no or won't let them do something...that you should EXPLAIN your reason. Apparently, David believes the rule applies to husbands. I still say that sometimes "because I said so" is a sufficient reason (when it comes from Mom). Kids are so much easier than husbands. :)

Thursday Thirteen, Edition "E"

1. Eat - I love to--that's no surprise. It's also how Lance tells me when he's hungry. He says "eat, food."

2. Escargot - Never tried, probably never will.

3. Eyes - I love my boys' baby blues.

4. Established - The Shelley Family was established 2005.

5. Estrogen - I'm so glad I'm a girl. :)

6. Easy - Everything should be.

7. Envelopes - I hate to lick them.

8. English - The only language I know.

9. Energy - What my husband and boys have too much of. What I wish I had more of.

10. Elmo - Lance loves him!

11. Earwig - Super creepy little bugs. I HATE them!

12. Embrace - I love to hug. I think moms give the best hugs.

13. End - Of my list!

Pictures for the Grandmas

I've not really wanted to blog lately (I still enjoy reading other blogs). But my mom told me to get some pictures posted, so this is my blogging effort for today--or a while, who knows.

This is one of Lance's favorite things to do..."fight." That's what he yells after he puts on the Hulk hands and right before he beans me or David in the head. Then after we fall to the ground he yells, "Hulk Mash!" (The hands say Hulk Smash.) He even puts the hands on Luke, which he thinks is downright hilarious.

Remember in my last post when I said Lance never wants to take his boots off, & I would probably be the mom who lets him wear swim shorts & boots? Well, Daddy let him first. They've been swimming a few times lately, & one time Lance absolutely did not want to take off his boots. David had to let him walk out to the pool--in his swim shorts & boots. He was fine taking them off once he saw the pool. I don't have a picture of the shorts & snow boots, but here are a couple of Daddy & Lance in the pool.

This picture is of Luke the "Lump" who doesn't jump. :) He just sort of hangs in his jumper--like a lump. He doesn't even usually hold his head up in it. No matter what I do, I can't get him to bounce even a teeny bit. I think he knows he might wear himself out and actually have to sleep. This would destroy his plans of staying awake ALL the time.

But as you can see, he certainly is a happy little guy. He's always smiling & laughing. Everything amuses him. Oh, I mean, everything amuses him when he's getting all the attention. This one does not like to be without attention for more than a few seconds. It's a good think that Lance loves to play with "Wukey."

And who's missed the Daily Dose of David? We were watching Duck Tales with Lance. David was just as entranced as Lance was (he loves his cartoons). Scrooge McDuck and Huey, Dewey, & Luey were all captured in the ocean by some frogmen--and they found the lost city of Atlantis. Then they use some "fizzy" stuff to lift the lost city out of the ocean, and I hear David snort & say, "Yeah, right!" Because he obviously didn't believe in the power of the fizzy drink. Apparently he could believe that frogmen exist, but getting the lost city out of the ocean? Whatever...like that could happen. I had to say, "Honey, it's a cartoon...."

*This scenario happens every time we watch cartoons with Lance. I hear "yeah right" quite often. And I continue to remind him that it's a cartoon, & therefore, anything can happen.