Visit the Shaks

I have so many wonderful memories from my childhood. My family did a lot together and especially during the summer months. I have a memory of a prank that my sister and I pulled that I always remember around this time of year.

We used to go camping a lot when I was young. My sister and I got those little white popper firecracker things...you know what I am talking about? You throw them to the ground and they crack/pop loudly.I think they are called cracker snaps. Anyway, we would go to the showers/bathrooms at the campground and stick them under the toilet seats. Then we would go outside and wait for someone to go in and use the toilet. Someone would sit on it and it would POP and they would shriek. It really was hilarious (and harmless)!

So, do you have any pranks to share or any particularly fun childhood memories?

I wrote about these horrid little creatures called stink bugs back in October. At that point in time, it was a full invasion where the siding of my house was literally covered with their creepy little bodies. They were also getting inside the house. It is now June and although my siding is stink bug free, the inside of my house is not!

I figured I would bring this topic up again because my original post is still getting comments from other unlucky people that have also been invaded by these things. Unfortunately, none of us have found a solution. I truly thought I would get a break from these bugs at least until the fall, but no such luck. The box elder bugs have gone away but the stinky little buggers just keep hanging out in my house. I remove anywhere between 2 and 7 a day.

If anyone out there has any tips or suggestions for the permanent removal of these pests, please let us know. Did I mention that they REALLY stink?!

I am really trying to decide how I feel about kids having cell phones. What is the right age? Is giving your child a cell phone spoiling them excessively? Does the convenience outweigh the seemingly ridiculous notion of it? These are some of the thoughts going through my mind about the subject.

My oldest son is just nine and many of his friends have cell phones already. I just think it is a little too much a little too soon. Although, having a cell phone on your child might provide an extra measure of safety. They would be able to reach you quickly if they needed you. You would also be able to keep tabs on them a little better I suppose.

I was reading a blog called Motherwise Cracks and her article about "Cell Phone Snobbery". This type of thing is what makes me lean towards giving kids cell phones is spoiling them too much:   

"I handed my cell phone to my son’s friend so he could call home. He handed it back to me and asked someone else to use their phone. I asked what the matter was and he replied, “I’m not used to such a basic model.”

Where do you stand on this subject? Kids and cell phones: too much or just normal for the times?

At my son's baseball game last evening, my husband mentioned that he does not think I am as "focused" as I was before I had kids. To borrow a term from the kids that cause me not to be focused, I say "Well, DUH!". 

I truly hope to get back to being more "focused" when my boys are older. I am using quotations around the word "focused" as a way of trying to be slightly sarcastic. See, there were many responses I could have given my husband. I am sure he is not quite as "something" as he used to be either. Instead of finding flaws to sling back at him, I prefer to "focus" on this post and tell you that I found an article that explains why I have this problem.

The article is called  Mom,Interrupted and is on ParentingHumor.com. It explains just how I feel and why I am not "focused", but in a very funny way. Now, what the heck was I doing???

Father's day is June 15 and Shakadoo has a great gift idea for that special man in our lives!

Back away from the ugly ties and golf shirts ladies! This year, give your Father or your children's Father something that he will absolutely love! Love Shak Baby and Wholesalekeychain.com is excited to announce our latest giveaway! 

Shak and wholesalekeychain.com are offering our readers the chance to win three Digital Photo Keychains! This contest will run from today, May 31st until June 11th.

From now until midnight CDT June 11th, here's what you need to do in order to be entered to win:

* Go over to the Wholesalekeychain website and take a look around.

* Take a look at their huge assortment of automotive, sports and digital  keychains.

* Leave a comment on this post telling us which ones you like and your thoughts on how these products could be used as great promotional items.

* Make sure you leave us a valid email address so we can contact you when you win!

* Tell everyone you know! Help us spread the word- link us on your blog, Twitter about this, email your friends, an let all your neighbors know!

Three winners will be randomly selecting to each win 1 Digital Photo Keychain. All three winners will be announced on June 12th! This giveaway is open to US residents only.

The Digital Photo Keychain features a 1.5 inch screen and holds up to 70 pictures! But what sets this company apart is they offer custom engraved messages to your loved ones on the back.

Don't want to wait for the end of the contest for your Digital Photo Keychain? Need one in time for Fathers Day?  -You're in luck! Wholesalekeychain.com is offering free shipping for any keychains purchased by Shakadoo readers. Just enter the coupon code "Shakadoo" when you check out  and your shipping will be free. Prices start at only $19.99, but hurry- this discount is only available until August 30, 2008!

(This is a "sticky" post and will remain at the top of the page for the duration of Just In Time For Father's Day Giveaway but new posts will be written daily and published underneath this post.)

I would like to wish my middle son a Happy 4th Birthday! Not only is it his birthday, but it marks the most joyful day of my life. The birth of each son was a joyful experience, but Lou's was special in its own way.

On the morning Lou was born, I got out of bed and my water broke. We went to the hospital and anticipated a long day of labor. Once I was there, they hooked up all of the usual monitors to me. My husband took my oldest son down to the cafeteria to get some breakfast, thinking there would be plenty of time.

All of a sudden, the monitors started beeping. The nurses came in and tried to readjust them but quickly realized that my son's heart had stopped beating. They moved me around to see if that made a difference but it did not. At that point, they paged the doctor to come to my room immediately. My OB told me that I was going to have my baby now by emergency c-section.

It all happened so fast. They rushed me to the delivery room. I remember staring up at the bright lights on my way there and just praying over and over again to let my baby be okay. Shortly thereafter, I was awakened by the post-op nurse. The first words that registered through my foggy brain were "The baby is in the nursery". I cannot describe the immense feeling of relief that I experienced. I asked her many times after that if she was sure that he was okay and she reassured me that he was.

The reason his heart stopped beating was because the umbilical cord had tightened around his neck. I was so grateful to the hospital staff for reacting so quickly and saving my son. I was told later that he was born in the nick of time. I think I felt euphoric for weeks after his birth. Once again, I would like to wish my dear son a very Happy 4th Birthday! 

School will be over for the year in a few short weeks. Time for summer vacation for all the kiddos. They will be shouting with joy and jumping with glee. How about you, the parent?

When I was growing up, my mother absolutely loved summer vacation. She really enjoyed having her girls home all summer. I know a lot of parents that feel that way, but I also know a lot of parents that dread it. I would say that I fall somewhere in the middle.

I do enjoy getting to spend more time with my oldest son when he is home for the summer. Also, there are the perks of possibly getting to sleep a little later and no homework to worry about. On the flip side, there is more time for sibling bickering. I can count on having my son's friends around my house constantly. The last two things I mentioned might not be such a big deal if I didn't work from home. However, the fact is, summer break means more of a work challenge for me.

So my question is, how do you feel about summer break? Are you a parent that loves it so much that you wish they did not have to go back in September? Or, are you a parent that eagerly awaits the start of the new school year? Maybe you are like I am...... somewhere in the middle?

My youngest little guy is 21 months old. He is talking quite a bit these days. Practically every day, he surprises us with by saying a new phrase.

Every night when I tuck him in to bed, I say "I love you" several times. A few nights ago, Baby D surprised me as I was closing his door by saying "I love you" back to me. It was so sweet! He has continued to do this each evening. Awww, it just melts me every time!

Baby D seems to know what it means even if it is not said to him first. His big brother was leaving for school this morning. He gave Baby D a hug on his way out the door. Right before he walked out, Baby D said "I love you". That just melted my big and tough 9 year old, who was just so happy to hear that from his baby brother. We all enjoy waiting to hear what he is going to say next!

I have referenced The Law Of Attraction several times throughout my time here. A friend introduced me to the concept and I find it very interesting. The reason it interests me is because I can look back on my life and see how my positive thinking has produced the outcomes that I wanted. To me, it is not about "The Secret", it is more about how your positive thoughts will influence events in your life.

I have had some challenging mommy moments lately. My youngest is approaching two and has become a poster child for "the terrible 2's"! Between him and my other two boys, life around my house is often chaotic. I wondered if I could use the law of attraction to help calm my house down a bit. Maybe I have not been doing things right?

I found this article   "Law of Attraction used for Your Parenting Success" - by Kelly Nault M.A. on Rebecca J. Burns' blog.  The author asked some questions that really made me think:

*How am I contributing to my kids behavior? (Gulp!)
*Are my kids responding to my lack of patience and skyrocketing stress?
*Are my children desperately seeking quality time with me because I haven’t been giving them much special time lately?
*Are my kids no fun to be around because frankly, I am not fun to be around?

I admit that my patience has not been very good lately. Working from home and tending to three little boys makes for rather stressful days. It is very likely that my stress level has been attracting more negative behavior from them. I am going to make a great effort to use this parenting strategy described in the above article.

Two days before Mother's Day, Michelle Duggar announced to her family that she is pregnant with her 18th child. The family of soon to be 20, has children ranging in age from 9 months to 20 years old. This famous family was on The Today Show and you can watch this video from the show. Wow, I cannot even imagine having so many children. The Duggar family seems to handle it with ease and is something really special.

This time of year, the sun is very strong. Although the weather might not be hot, it is time to start applying sunscreen on yourself and your children.

If the sun is out, then you are at risk for a sunburn even if you are out for a short time. Not only should you protect your skin, but you should also protect your eyes with some good sunglasses.

May is national skin cancer awareness month. It is a good time to make an appointment with your doctor to check out any moles on your body for signs and symptoms of melanoma. Also, read up on the 5 best ways to prevent skin cancer. My days of laying out in the sun are long gone. I still enjoy outdoor activities but I play it much smarter these days!

Although April is almost over, I wanted to mention that it is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Childwelfare.gov has a resource packet on preventing child abuse and neglect. The resource packet "Includes information on supporting families, protective factors, public awareness, community activities, positive parenting, prevention programs, and more". (This information is free to use in reference to National Child Abuse Prevention Month or the availability of the packet.) You will find an outline below of the information contained within the packet:

Overview
Understanding child abuse prevention and what to do when children are at risk. Includes frequently asked questions and links to related Federal and national organizations and State contacts that work to prevent child abuse.

Promoting healthy families
Information on how to enhance protective factors in families and ways to support and partner with parents. Includes a calendar of family activities and parenting resources.

Public awareness & creating supportive communities
Tools for sharing a child abuse prevention message with your community and building community support.

Prevention programs
Standards for prevention programs, research on what works, information on the role of related professionals, and resources for specific types of programs.

Developing & sustaining prevention programs
Developing a prevention program, conducting a community needs assessment, finding and sustaining adequate funds, and collaborating with community partners.

Evaluating prevention programs
Evaluating program effectiveness and performing cost analysis. Features the Evaluation Toolkit and Logic Model Builder.

I have three adorable little boys and I love them dearly. When they are not so little anymore, I know I am going to miss these times. While I do not want them to grow up too fast, there are some things I am looking forward to once they are a little older.

Here is my list of things I am looking forward to when the kids get older. You will see they are really quite simple but will seem like luxuries when the time comes:

1. Being able to walk around my house freely. No more baby gates. No more thinking of the placement of little toddlers while I go upstairs to grab the laundry basket or run down to the basement for something. I will be able to just go up or go down and not even think about it!

2. Reading books. I was a very avid reader when I was young and that basically stopped once I had children. I am sure I could manage a book here or there but by the time the kids go to bed, I am tired and not in the mood to read. Once they are a lot more independent, I can't wait to dive right back in to some great books!

3. Sleeping later. I know I will never go back to sleeping until 10 or 11 like I did when I was a teen (nor would I want to), but I sure am looking forward to sleeping a little later on the weekends. Maybe 8:00??

4. Doing housework without a little boy trying to unfold what I just folded. Washing a floor without having to wait until my "baby" is taking a nap so he won't think it is a game and slip on it. Doing basic chores without one of them making it harder than it needs to be.

5. No more car seats! Get in, buckle up, get out. Simple as that.

6. Privacy in the bathroom!

I am sure there are a few more things but I don't want to appear too whiny. None of these things are a big deal. However, one thing that I really have learned after becoming a mother is that I took so much for granted before I had children. I will appreciate little things like this when the time comes. So, what is on your list?

I absolutely love this song by Trace Adkins called "You're Gonna Miss This". I keep trying to tell my oldest son this same message. To tell you the truth, on difficult mommy days, I have to remind myself of this sometimes. This song really hits home. If you have not heard it, listen to it and see if you don't feel it too.

The sun is shining and the birds are singing. What a beautiful morning to enjoy a cup of coffee and think about the the wonderful day to come. This calm and peaceful feeling lasted all of about ten minutes. Then my little boys started waking up!

Sometimes I wonder if they have a little pow-wow meeting the night before and all agree to wake up in a bad mood the next day. First up was my middle son way earlier than usual. He proceeded to say "Mommmmm" in a whining voice at least twenty times since his awakening. Next up was my oldest boy who is notoriously grumpy in the morning. He didn't let me down and played his grumpy morning bit to the hilt. Last up was Baby D who let out a ferocious howl to let me know that my last sunshine boy was awake.

There are rare mornings where my little angels get up smiling with the son. Today was not one of those precious mornings. However, the birds are still singing and my coffee is still warm. Maybe Mr. Sun and I can talk these little guys into a smile before the morning is over.

I have been having early morning fantasies today. No need to run and tell my husband because they are all rated G. I have decided that I want an Easy Button. Of course, this would be a magical Easy Button.

Already, I have a full list of what I would like this Easy Button to do for me:

*Laundry

*Dishes

*Bathrooms

*Mop Floors

*Vacuum

*Dust

*Windows

*Cooking

*My online work for the day

*Turn my very fussy baby into a happy go lucky guy

The question is, what would I do with all of my new found time? I don't know but I would sure love to find out!

Yesterday was a warm day and somehow or another I ended up at a park not once, but twice! Me and my youngest met some friends at a park and then went for some lunch. It was good to get out for a bit and Baby D went down for a nice nap once we got home. The fresh air and running around wore him out!

When my husband arrived home from work, he immediately said "Let's all go to a park"! Huh? Did MY husband actually say that? Of course the first thing that entered my mind was that I had already been to a park. Instead of saying that I said "Okay" and started getting everyone ready. I was not going to pass up an opportunity to have a nice family outing. Besides, my two older boys missed the first park outing since they were in school.

My husband and oldest son did some batting practice at the park while my two little guys played. When it was time to go, my husband surprised me again by announcing that we were going out to dinner. Every now and then he is full of brilliant ideas such as these. It was a nice day.

I am looking forward to more park days with spring here and summer approaching. It is great exercise for the kids and myself and the fresh air is great for clearing the mind. More park days please!

Spring began a few days ago and Easter is over. Most children are on spring break right now. Once they go back, they will be on the last stretch of the school year.

Is there really only two and a half months of school left? Where did the time go? This school year seemed to fly by even faster than usual. Of course, I say this every year. Each year just goes faster and faster. In fact, this past winter has been the fastest I can remember!

When I was younger, I felt that Jan., Feb. and March were such sloooooow months. Now they go by in the blink of an eye just as the summer months do. It is kind of scary how every year goes faster than the last. Does anyone else feel time going faster than ever?

I belong to a mom's group. A mother in the group expressed her hesitation and fears about sending her son to preschool for the first time. She said she was a nervous wreck and kept second guessing her decision to send him. The first day ended up going very well and although she cried, her son did not.

Although I am home with my children, I made the decision to send my son to preschool last fall. I felt that he needed the social interaction with other children. Also, I wanted him to get a sense of a structured learning environment before he entered kindergarten. It has gone amazingly well and I am very glad I sent him.

For me, the decision was not as hard to make as it was for the lady in my mom's group. After having three kids, I have learned a few things along the way. Most of what I learned stemmed from a natural progression rather than a great epiphany.

With my first son, I coddled him more and gave in to what he demanded more. With my second, I learned to say no better and stick with it. I was able to "train" him more rather than letting him "train" me! By the time I had my third son, my "devoted" time with him was spread out between three children so it was another learning adjustment for me. What I found out through these years are things I wish I knew the first time around:

• It is okay to say no even when you are met with a disappointed face
• A little bit of crying it out is necessary sometimes so that your child understands you mean it
• Train the child before he/she trains you because SOMEONE is getting trained, let it be you!
• You don't have to entertain the child every second of the day. Let them find ways to entertain themselves otherwise they will grow up getting bored easily.
• If they don't eat at a meal, don't stress about it. You really can't make them eat and they will eventually eat when they get hungry.
• It is only natural to want to overprotect your child and keep them with you safe and sound. However, teaching your child to be independent is probably one of the best things you can do for him/her.

That last item leads me back to preschool. Aside from teaching some basic pre-K skills, it helps them to learn how to be independent from Mommy. Sure, they could learn this in Kindergarten but I think these days children need this before they reach elementary school. With so many working mothers, there is a large percentage of kids that are already advanced (compared to 20 or so years ago) by the time they reach kindergarten.

I think my friend made a great decision to send her son to preschool. When my youngest guy gets to be that age, I will send him too.

Spring is in the air! At least there have been glimpses of it here and there. I have noticed more birds singing each morning and we are being treated to another warm day here in Maryland.

I have started thinking about shopping for summer clothes and my son is about to start his baseball season. All of the signs are here.... I guess I cannot ignore that it is also the season for spring cleaning!

I must admit that I am more of a sporadic cleaner rather than a methodical cleaner. I get it all done but I am not the person to give tips or advice for such things. Luckily, Kristy from Homemaker's Cottage blog sounds very motivated and can tell us how to "Jump Start Your Spring Cleaning!"

"Once you've set your weekly pace, decide how much time you can afford to spend on your cleaning on a daily basis. For me, an hour or two is a realistic goal, but I don't expect that 60 or 120 minutes to necessarily be a consecutive time frame! With lots of interruptions and even lots more to do, I let myself work on projects in small bites of time. Sometimes I can squeeze an hour of work into my afternoon, but more often I get things done in 15 or 30 minute segments."

I told you she was motivated! Usually I just pick a chore. Then, that chore leads to another one because I notice it needs doing while doing the original one. But then again, my computer is not broken so maybe the cleaning can wait!

Every time March comes along, I start getting the urge to start shopping for spring and summer clothes. We always get a couple of warm days around here that trigger this urge.

In reality, there is still a lot of cold weather to come where I live. Do I really want to overcrowd our closets with clothing for two seasons? Yet, what if we have a string of really warm days and all of last season's clothes are too small? Maybe it is just spring fever that is the cause of such irrational thinking!

In a way, it does make sense to start shopping now. The stores always have really good sales when the clothes for a new season arrive on their racks. Once spring and summer are actually here, the clothes will be more expensive. Although, it would be just my luck to buy a bunch of clothes for my boys now and have all of them go through huge growth spurts between now and then!

I would never consider buying summer clothes for myself at this point. You know how it is. There is that infamous "winter padding" that still needs to be shed!

When do you start buying clothes for the new season? Am I jumping the gun here or is the way a lot of moms think around this time?

It seems as if Ivy and I were both sick at the same time. I wish I had read her post If She's Upright, She's Fine a little sooner because that might have helped! Unfortunately, it would not have mattered too much in the end.

This all started with my son who got the flu which progressed to pneumonia. I got sick next with the flu and bronchitis. My oldest son was the next victim and had a sick birthday weekend. Then it claimed the the worst person possible..... my husband!

My husband is the biggest baby when he is sick. He holes himself away in the bedroom and cannot be disturbed. He is grumpy and acts like the only person that has ever been sick. Yes, I am still annoyed by it and cannot hide that fact. If I got more help when I was sick then it would not bother me so much.

How is your husband when he is sick? I would love to hear that my DH is not the only big baby around.