I'm the Baby Mama Causing Drama

Ahhhh....just when you think you have this blended family thing down, a new situation will rear its ugly head and it's back to the drawing board.   I' m at the drawing board.  My son generally sees his Dad at the business his Dad owns.  The business is close to my home, and my son likes to go up there and mess around.  He sweeps, answers the phone, welds, etc.  Occasionally, my son will spend the night at his Dad's house and they will get up very early to go into the shop the next morning.  Last night was one of those nights.  My son enjoys it because it is a good time to bond with his father over guy things.   And, since I know is already going through your head, you're welcome.

So, this morning I wake up to do my usually Facebook check over caffeine and my son's father posted a picture of him welding.  Have to admit...I always get a little panicked as I loathe welder's eyes and don't want my baby to get hurt.  This is why I don't go up there and watch.

In the comment section, baby daddy's new girlfriend made a comment about how much fun they were having and it was clear to me she was at the shop with them.  They live an hour from the shop, so if she is there,  she rode in with son and his father early this morning.  So , I'm annoyed.  My son sees his Dad for an extended period of time maybe once a month.  Why can't she just stay at home and allow them to have 5 minutes of time by themselves?  Seriously, did she wear her usual 6 inch Louboutins to the shop this morning?    Yes, the shop where they weld and fix lawn mowers.   It would be stupid to wear Louboutins to a place like that, MMS.  Why would you even think that?  Ummm...maybe because she wore them to EVERY baseball game this season, and that is also stupid.  Clearly, I'm bitter.  If you're a step-mom reading this, please allow your step-child to have some uninterrupted time occasionally with the bio parent.  They need it.  Please? 

Smiles and Shakes,
MMS

Happy Homecoming!

Last week, we welcomed my son-in-law home from Afghanistan!  My daughter is obviously thrilled and ready to start married life together.  If you recall, they were married last September, however, her husband deployed 2 weeks after the ceremony and they have not been together since then.  My daughter has already prepared their new home, and we just continually thank God for His provision and protection.  Thank you dear blog readers for all of your prayers as well. They were so appreciated during a very stressful time for our family.

Indiscrimiate Musings

Random:  The fact that AJ Mclean of Backstreet Boys fame is now a spokesperson for Hair Club for Men confirms I am securely middle aged. 

Additional Random:  I was given the Myers Briggs test last week.  I discovered I am an ESFJ..  I think it is pretty right on.  Leave me a comment if you have taken it before and let me know if you also found it reflected you well. 

My husband posted this video on my facebook page the other night after we got home from church.  I was rocking a sweet sock bun.  Obviously, he was impressed.  You gotta remember times like this.  They compensate when he is annoying the snot out of me.   Amirite?  Yes, I think you know what I mean.

If you haven't read this blog post about the church and how we relate to the issue of premarital sex, you should.  Jamie, ie:  the Very Worst Missionary, makes some extremely thought provoking points.  Admittedly, I have a love/cringe relationship with Jamie's blog.  Her language is a bit too salty for me, and we definitely have some differing viewpoints regarding the church, but have to give credit where it is due.  Holla. 

The oldest shake moved to her husband's base this weekend.  Or, I guess I should say, near her husband's base.  They rented a townhouse, and she wanted time to get it ready before he arrives back in the States from Afghanistan.  We are hoping that will happen by the end of this month.  She has been accepted to the University in their town and will be able to finish her degree in Elementary Education.  We are thrilled they have such a great university nearby.  She definitely hasn't been on the four year plan (it will be more like 6 or 7 by the time she is finished), but all that matters is she hangs there.  There is hope, dear readers, if your child is meandering through college.  They may eventually kick it into high gear. 

Signing off with a shout out to the Louisville Men's Basketball Team for winning the NCAA Championship last night.  What a gift for Kevin Ware, a young man who showed us what determination, bravery, and grace under really bad circumstances looks like.  Also, thrilled for Louisville because my Dad is from Kentucky so they have a place in our hearts.  Hope the women keep it going tonight, however, my husband would disagree as he is a huge UCONN fan.  We shall be a house divided tonight. 

Have a great day!  Even if it doesn't start out that way, do your best to make it fall into line.

Smooches and Shakes,
MMS

Gym Rant

So, my son is really trying to get in shape for baseball, and has been going down to the gym in her neighborhood every evening.  I go with him because I think he is too young to go alone.  Our neighborhood has about 900 houses, and although the gym is nicely appointed, there is limited equipment.  As a result, the rule in the gym is you can only use the cardio equipment (treadmills, ellipticals, etc) for 30 minutes. Every time my son and I go down to the gym, there are 2 young girls (late teens or possibly early twenties) who remain on the treadmills for the entire time we are there.  This is usually about an hour.  They keep the treadmills on the lowest possible setting and stroll along while watching TV turned up to the highest possible volume.   Generally, it's not an issue as there aren't enough other people in the gym for it to matter.  My son and I put in our ear buds and listen to our own music and tune the TV's out.  Tonight, we arrived and the gym was PACKED!  There was one open elliptical and my son jumped on it.  More people continued to arrive and were waiting for the treadmills.  My son was on the elliptical for about 15 minutes and hopped off to start lifting some light weights.  Finally, someone spoke up and asked when they would be off, and they tried to claim they had only been on the treadmills for 10 minutes.  HILARIOUS!  You could clearly see one of their timers said they had been on for 45 minutes!  A back and forth "discussion" ensued, and all of the sudden they both started acting like they could not speak English.  Why must people be so selfish?   Get your 30 minutes done and share with the rest of the community.  Also, wipe down your machines people!  There are only 19 reminder signs up and they provide bottles of cleaner and paper towel all over the place.  I don't get it.  A little bit of effort goes a long way toward a happy community.  Get with the program people. Rant over.  Do you  have any gym annoyances?  What piece of gym etiquette do you wish people would follow?  Leave me a comment!

Smooches and Shakes,
MMS

Happy Easter!

He is Risen!  What an exciting day and I look forward to spending the day with family and enjoying great company and yummy food. I'm making corn casserole.  What is on your menu?  The Easter Bunny came last night and left great presents for the kids. 

The older kids get less basket and more gift card.  Just how they like it. Of course, I couldn't resist a little candy...Jelly Belly's are simply a must on Easter.

We intend to soak up having our oldest Shake home for one last holiday before her husband returns from Afghanistan and she moves with him.   Happy Easter to you and yours! 

Smiles and Shakes,
MMS

Good Friday

Quick Update:  If you read my last post about my Etsy experience, I wanted to update with the news the banner came in and it is gorgeous.  So, while I was annoyed about the shipping/turn around time, I'm totally thrilled with the finished product and I'm so glad I bought it.  Little Shake's birthday is tomorrow, so I'm going to hang it tonight and it will be a surprise for her in the morning.  I'll take pics, of course.  By the way, would love to have you follow me on Instragram.   Now onto today.....

Good Friday is a seriously big deal in my family.  In reality, all of the Easter weekend is celebrated in grand style.  It's bigger than Christmas in many ways.  We really stress the true meaning of Easter, and focus on what it means to us as Christians.  My Aunt does such a great job of planning age appropriate activities for the kids, and I'm so grateful she thinks of these things as the rest of us are running around thinking about filling Easter baskets and such.  So blessed for her diligence in teaching the children in our family.

Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. - Deuteronomy 11:19

We gathered today for Good Friday and used the Resurrection Eggs to retell the story of Christ's crucifixion and his Resurrection.  As Christians, our faith is meaningless without that one event.  This weekend should fill us with joy, hope, and expectation as we wait for the return of Christ.  There is a book to accompany the Resurrection Eggs titled Benjamin's Box.  I read the story to the children as they opened the eggs to reveal the different artifacts reminding us of the journey of Christ.

Each child has their own set of eggs as we want it to be a very personal experience as they open the eggs and consider the suffering Christ took upon Himself in order to reconcile the human race with Him. 

We finished the devotion time with my son sharing a devotion he read earlier this week.  He plays baseball and has found a devotional site that speaks directly to ball players. First of all, how cool is that?  In this particular devotion, the author compares interference from a catcher when a player is attempting to hit, to the way Satan distracts us with sin.  It was really great to hear my son speaking Truth and I'm so grateful for those equipped to speak to athletes in a way that appeals to them.  Isn't the Body of Christ cool?   My cousin did a beautiful job hosting us today and there are many more pics on Instagram.  Her decor is definitely "pinnable" so check it out!!

Smooches and Shakes,
MMS

Kinda Testy Over Etsy

My littlest shake is turning 7 on Saturday.  Since her birthday is the same weekend as Easter, I decided to do a little family party along with Easter lunch.  She'll have a slumber party with 2 little friends next weekend.  Anyway, Little Shake told me she wanted a Hello Kitty Cake for our family celebration.  Hello Kitty cake?  No problem at all.   Publix has one.  What What!!!  I hopped over to Etsy to see if I could find a cute little centerpiece, wall decoration, something to add a little pizzazz to the party.  I found a really cute Happy Birthday banner and ordered away.  It was a great price and as I was ordering it at the beginning of February, I thought I would have it in plenty of time for this weekend's events.  

Fast forward to today.  I started getting dishes, centerpieces, etc. out for this weekend and realized my banner from Etsy had never arrived.  Now, granted, I rarely order anything from Etsy, but the few things I have ordered have always been great quality and exactly what I wanted, so I trusted this would go the same way.  I honestly could not even remember the name of the Etsy seller, so I went back into my Paypal account, found her store name and sent her an email inquiring about my order.  Here is the reply I received: 

Hi!  I have sent you so many emails in Etsy that your inbox is probably full.  Sorry about that!  I

work on orders in order of the event and ship 2 day priority the week before the party.  If I had known that your party was on Saturday I would have shipped the banner last week.  I am so sorry, but I have been so swamped that your order just kept getting pushed to the bottom of the list.  I have been completely booked since February.  I say all of that so that you know that you were not forgotten.  Would you like for me to go ahead and ship the banner today?  You should receive the banner by Friday.  If you would rather me cancel the order and refund the money I can do that too.  Just let me know ASAP how you would like to proceed as every order is custom made. 

Before you read my thoughts, please keep in mind, I ordered this item on February 18th.  Obviously, she is a super nice person, and I honestly believe she will have the item to me by Friday.  Here is what I don't get....why would my order continually be pushed toward the bottom, and why does she work on projects and only ship them the week before the party.  Why is the date of my party really any of her concern?  Seriously?  I'm really not trying to be a jerk, but if you accept an order, shouldn't you just create the item, and send it.  What if I was someone who planned way ahead and my child's birthday wasn't until November.  Would she have held my order and money until November and sent it out the week before?  If she is completely booked, then why not put a hold on your shop or state there is a 3-4 week turnaround as I have seen others do.  Why would someone who is shopping at the last minute have precedence over my order just because they procrastinated?  Is this like normal Etsy procedure and I am totally misunderstanding?  Granted, she did send 3 emails to my "etsy mailbox", but I never check it and really had no idea it existed.  The check out instructions on my Paypal order never specified it was necessary to let her know the date of my party, and she would not ship until I did so.  I really have way too much going on in my life to order something, and then keep checking back for additional correspondence.  I order things, and then move on with my life. 

So, sound off people.  Is this the usual?  If so, maybe Esty isn't for me.  I'm more of a I pay, you send the product I paid for and don't concern yourself with the dates of my calendar type of gal.  

 

P.S.  As evidence that my littlest shake and her Hello Kitty fandom has not waned in the least, a picture of her and her sisters at last year's celebration.

 

 

Smooches and Shakes,

MMS