Visit the Shaks

I know that a lot of our readers have their own blogs, so I figured I would help spread the word. You can get the code and imbed this badge on your blog.

What is the purpose? From Brighter Planet's 350 Challenge :

"Post the badge on your site and we'll offset 350 pounds of carbon in your name! 350 pounds! That's like flicking off 100 lightbulbs for a day. Or going two full weeks without your car!"

So go ahead and get your badge to make the planet a brighter place!

I have never met anyone famous but have spoken with (either in person or online) with many people that have. In fact, a woman I used to work with was on the same airplane with my favorite actor, James Stewart.  She didn't want to bother him so she did not say anything to him, but I am still jealous!

Have you ever had a close encounter or sighting of a famous person? If you have, share your story with us. It is a small world after all!

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?!

Talented comedian Harvey Korman died yesterday at the age of 81. I used to love watching him and Tim Conway doing their skits together on the Carol Burnett show. Those two had me in tears from laughing so hard. Here is a video tribute to Harvey Korman and his brilliant career.

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! 

I am a little late here today. Little Baby D is sick and has thrown up three times. Normally I would not take my child to the doctor's office for that but considering what he did on Saturday, I had to play it safe.

We went away for the long holiday weekend. Another couple joined us and we all enjoyed the beautiful weather. We had a cookout on Saturday with barbecued chicken and rock fish. I had to run inside to get something so I put my husband to the task of keeping an eye on Baby D.

When I came back outside, my husband informs me that Baby D reached into the trash can and pulled out the discarded chicken package. Ewww!!! I immediately took him inside and washed him up. He seemed fine so I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

The doctor said that it is probably not salmonella because he has not had diarrhea. She told me to let her know if he were to get diarrhea and also to bring in a sample. Hopefully it is just a little tummy virus and not salmonella after all!

I hope everybody has a wonderful holiday weekend. Have fun and be safe! Before you go, take a look at this video that pays tribute to our troops and the true meaning of Memorial Day. Thank you to each and ever American soldier from the past to the present.

At the end of a long day, it is nice to have a little something just for you. Call it an mental escape or just a well deserved break. Many people find a hot bath to be relaxing. Others might find a long walk to be beneficial. It is just a way to get some peace and gather your thoughts.

My escape is my favorite show...Day's of Our Lives! I have watched this for over 20 years. I tape it each day and watch it right before bed. It is just for me and is my little reward at the end of the day. It helps me to unwind and get lost in the drama of the character's lives.

Do you have a relaxing routine at the end of your day? Also, any fellow Day's fans out there?

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 favorite color has always been blue. I associate it with a bright blue sky and also the color of a body of water. To me, blue is both calming and invigorating.

I stumbled across a blog that has a bunch of personality quizzes. There is a whole set of quizzes that assess the relationship between your personality and color. I normally don't find online quizzes all that interesting or fun but somehow I ended up taking quiz after quiz! They are not very long and to my surprise, they were eerily accurate.

For a little fun (and maybe some insight), take the  What Color Is Your Mind quiz on Blogthings. It came as no surprise when my result said blue! If you enjoy that quiz, there are four other color related quizzes to take. I took them all and actually found it to be time well spent.

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.

Why is it that when you are not looking to buy something, you see so many things that you would love to buy? Yet, when you need to buy something, you just can't find a thing!

I am going to a wedding tomorrow. I have been looking for a new dress to wear for the occasion. I must say, I have never seen such ugly dresses! I went to at least five stores and could not find a thing that I would be tempted to wear. The fashion right now seems to be huge, bold prints with colors that don't even make sense together.

I finally settled on a black skirt with a fun top. The top is a colorful pattern, but I like it enough since I will have a plain black skirt to tone the look down a little. I don't think I am overly conservative when it comes to clothing. However, I found the current dresses to be very unappealing. What are your thoughts on the current spring fashions?

Sensuality involves how sight, sound and touch effects the way you feel. It is an awareness of what the senses perceive. The degree of your sensuality is a factor in how you experience life.

This Time ~ This Space has an enlightening article called "Take the Test: How Sensual Are You?". I really enjoyed reading this post and also taking the test. The message I took from it is to try and live in the moment a little bit more.

I have always appreciated beautiful scenery and certain smells. The smell of cut grass will always bring back memories of my childhood. The smell of gas reminds me of boating with my family. The sound of a diesel engine reminds me of my brother-in-law and his family that moved away and are missed. Blue has always had a calming effect on my mood. Certain songs have the ability to change my mood completely. The senses really play a huge part in your life from minute to minute.

On the How Sensual Are You test, I scored a 69. The results say that I have found a good balance between enjoying my senses and keeping my emotions balanced. I am pleased with the results but it has inspired me to try and tap into my sensual side more often. What do you think your score will be?

A friend of mine shared this with me. It is from the site The Secret, which focuses on "The Law Of Attraction". Whether or not you believe in that, this is a beautiful video that can remind us just how amazing our planet is.

The Secret says this about the video: "When you experience Planet Earth, you will emit positive forces of energy across Planet Earth that will reach every single living thing on it. You will lift yourself, and as you lift yourself, you lift the entire world." My youngest son has made this a challenging morning for me and this video did uplift my spirits. I hope it will do the same for you.

My husband went out Saturday night for a bachelor party. Everything was fine until the group exited the last bar of the night. Our friend was walking out of the bar and was immediately jumped by some guy when he walked out of the door.

This man continued to pummel our friend so my husband got a hold of the guy and put him in a headlock. He continued to restrain him until the police arrived a short minute later. The police told my husband to release the man, so he let go of him. As soon as he was set free, the man stomped our friend's face in with his boot... right in front of the police! Our friend was knocked unconscious immediately and blood gushed out from where his head was split open. He had to be taken to the hospital by an ambulance.

The weirdest part of it is that nobody can figure out why this man attacked our friend. He had been in the bar too and walked out at the same time. Nothing took place beforehand that would warrant this fight. My husband said it appeared to him that this guy was ready to hit whoever it might be that walked out after him.

The attacker was arrested and cocaine was found on him. I assume that this guy was hyped up on coke and this was the cause of his actions. What a shame it is that you can't go out for an evening without the possibility of something like this happening. My husband has been in a bar brawl or two back in his younger days but at 37, he expected to be able to go out and not get involved in such foolish events.

Our friend is going to be okay. His whole face is swollen badly and completely black and blue. He is lucky that the boot stomping didn't cause worse damage. This whole incident has reinforced the fact that we all prefer to get together at someone's house, rather than a bar, to have a fun night together. 

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.

If you find yourself feeling negative, try using affirmations. This can help change your thoughts to a more positive  direction.

Your thoughts are going to dictate the choices you make. If you are stuck in a negative thinking pattern, the choices you make will be based upon that negative thinking. However, it thinking positively, your choices will reflect that positivity and help get you closer to your goals.

Here is a great read for motivation. Personal Development For The Book Smart has a list of 101 Affirmations You Can Start Using Today!.

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?

There is one thing that always makes it a little easier for me to get out of bed in the morning. It is the thought of some nice and warm coffee waiting for me in the kitchen. I make it the night before and have it programmed to brew in time for my husband to grab a cup before he leaves for work.

Yesterday, I got up and discovered that my coffee pot was shot. No coffee for us. Hubby tinkered with it when he got home but it was beyond hope so it went in the trash. I was not thrilled with facing another morning without any coffee.

This morning was a slow start! No coffee, no motivation and a slight headache started. By 10:00, I packed up the kids and headed to my little country store around the corner. I got my coffee fix and I feel sooooo much better!

I only drink coffee in the morning. You will not find me at Starbucks or any other coffee house. However, it is apparent that I am addicted to my two cups of coffee here at home. Without it, I am dysfunctional and rather crabby. I drink Folgers coffee and their little jingle is so true "The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup"! Do you need coffee to get you going too?

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.

If you are interested in learning more about Earth Day and finding some fun crafts, activities and interesting information, check out the Earth Day page on Kaboose.com. In the meantime, here is a brief Earth Day video that tells us a little bit about the history of Earth Day.

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 would like to relay a story that shows us that you can overcome anything with pure determination. Hopefully this might give someone hope and inspiration when dealing with obstacles in their own life.

This story is creative commons so it can be re-printed. It is a little too lengthy to publish the whole thing here so here is a start with a link to the rest:

Professor had a ninth grade education.