man vs. tech

Our direct TV couldn't get a signal because there was too much snow on the satelite (misspelled). Jeff took matters into his own hands and "built" a long pole to dust the snow off the satelite. The poled consisted of a pole to screw in light bulbs that are extremely high (someone gave that to us), the end of a broom stick, a fishing pole, and a flag. He got on top of the ladder (I wouldn't let him climb onto our snowy roof) and would hit the satelite and the vibration knocked off the snow. A few minutes later we had a signal and he was happy watching basketball in HD. Goes to show what is top priority around here
The tip of the fishing pole is above the tree. This wasn't long enough so he then added the flag...hey, whatever works, right?

Thanksgiving week

This has been a great week, and it's not even over yet. The main reason it's been good is because Jeff took the week off work. He was planning on volunteering at Sydney's preschool, but this week has been warm (I say warm, but I hardly call mid 30's warm). It's been warm enough to rain and melt the snow and then at night it's been in the 20's so all the rain and melted snow has created an extremely, dangerous ice on the roads. So dangerous that they closed schools and Sydney's preschool. Unfortunately Jeff couldn't volunteer (he was looking forward to it), but he did manage to steam clean the whole upstairs, clean the garage and cars out. The girls and I decorated for Christmas. Wednesday we made it outside to see the movie Tangled. Thursday, we had Thanksgiving at our house. We had 3 families in our neighborhood over and the sister missionaries (11 adults, 10 kids). It was the perfect amount of people, any more and it would have been mayhem. It was my first time cooking a turkey, a 21 pounder. It turned out good, not great, but good. I'm glad it's over, it was causing some anxiety. I can't say everything I'm thankful for because the list is infinite. So I'll write down 3 things I'm thankful for, actually 4: 1. my family. 2. my God 3. my health and 4. my freedom. (In college I went back East and went to many wonderful places, but one of my favorites was visiting Lexington and Concord, places were the Revolutionary War was fought. I'm not much of a history buff, but being there was powerful for me. Standing on the grounds where men were killed for the future of America caused the hairs on the back of my neck to raise and a lump in the back of my throat made it difficult for me to swallow because I feel much gratitude and respect for those people who fought in that war, people I don't know. Did they realize the impact they were making on our country? Because of their vision, pride, and bravery I was able to sit down and have a peaceful Thanksgiving with people of different races and religion. I'm grateful for my freedom and grateful to live in a place where people of different ethnicity and religion are treated equally).
Then in the early hours of the morning, I woke up to experience my first Black Friday shopping. Yes, I actually sacrificed sleep to wake up and spend money.....my sister would be so proud. (FYI--I love my bed and I love to sleep. I often describe myself as neither a night person nor morning person). It was crazy, but perfect. I got in back of a loooong line, probably behind at least 500 people. But right when I got in line the doors opened and the line started moving. I got what I wanted and was out of the store within 25 minutes and back into my nice, warm bed not long after. It snowed all day on Thanksgiving, literally. It's awesome because now the ice is buried and we can play outside. The rest of the weekend we will go skiing and sledding and I'm sure hot chocolate will be involved too. Outside on our back deck
Me and my friend Elaine. We're team coaching for Sydney's and her daughter's b-ball team.
Jeff w/ the turkey and Jeanette. She's also our pediatrician and has saved us many times already. We like playing Cities and Knights (if you know what that game is) with her and her husband.

the latest

Before the hectic chaos that the holidays bring, and with our family this include two little birthdays in December that need celebrating, I thought I should give a brief update of what we've been up too. I'm warning you that this isn't exciting stuff either, but they are the little things that I want to remember. Let's begin with the youngest.
1. Levi turned 8 months a few days ago. WIth every month that passes, I am in awe how quickly the time is going. This past month is no different. His 7 month should be called the Month of Mobility. He learned in one month to sit up by himself and mastered the art of crawling. As if that wasn't enough, he's learned to climb upstairs and furniture walk. He's a busy boy now exploring all the details of a house i.e. the water comeing out of the refridgerator into a cup, the vacuum, the dishwasher, outlets, remotes, and door stoppers are just to name a few. Last Saturday, I had my scentsy thing on, and he yanged on the cord, spilling the liquidfied wax on his head and onesie. Luckily he didn't not get any burns, but he still has wax stuck on his head. Not sure how to get that out. The good news, his head smells like cinnamon.

2. Jordyn has stopped taking naps and her and Sydney go to bed no later than 7pm....of course they wake up earlier than I would want. Jordyn's 3rd birthday is coming up in less than a month. She will start sunbeams in January and I hope to get myself in gear and sign her up for a dance class.

3. Sydney is almost finished with basketball. I love her aggression on court. She goes after the ball and if that means falling and sliding on court to get the ball, so be it. I secretly hope for her to score every game, because that's all she cares about. When she doesn't, I praise her for an assist, rebound, good pass, cheering for her teammates, her tenacity to get the ball, and trying her best, but all she cares about is seeing the ball go in the basket. She recently was whipping a belt around and whipped the end of it on her eye, thus her black eye. She is also looking forward to her 5th birthday coming up, also less than a month away. We're planning on spending the night at a hotel, swimming in the pool at the hotel, watching movies, pigging out, and opening presents. That's what they want to do and I'm looking forward to it. She is pleading to do gymnastics. I've been delaying the inevitable since we've moved up here. Mostly because it's quite the drive to the gym, but deep down I think this could be a talent of hers. Her favorite toy is our pull-up bar. She actually does a full pull-up. She walks up the door posts and stands up in the door way.


Sydney hangs out on this pull-up bar and the ledge to the side 50% of the time. Always has been a climber. Seriously, I'm thinking her future will include circus acts.
4. Since my kids are going to bed early, I've been doing some projects. Here are a few. As mentioned in other posts, we've also started to x-country ski, Jeff and I are raising money for special olympics and will participate in the polar plunge, I'm also planning on competing in a 5K snowshoe race with a friend the end of January (never thought I'd ever say that).
Thought our home could display the creative work of our children.
Finally put up some pictures of our family.

Getting sick of bows and clips stuffed in a drawer so made this frame, actually I already had the frame, to clip their bows on. I did however paint the frame a soft pink and glazed it black, glued ribbon to the frame and there you have it. Love projects that I can make in 5 minutes or less.
5. Opps. I messed up the age thing. Jeff should've been number 4, I'm 3 months older than he is. What has Jeff been up to? Work. Unfortunately I don't have many pictures of him because he works--ALOT. I'm sure there are lots of work updates I could give, but I don't know all the details and would sound pretty lame if I attempted to explain. He works hard and I'm thankful for all of his hard work and devotion to be the best he can be at what he does. I'm thankful because I'm blessed to stay home with the kids, we're blessed to have the luxuries we enjoy, food in the fridge, heat to warm the house, and good health insurance. When Jeff isn't working he is playing with the kids. He unwinds by watching the Lakers and reading. Of course there are many things he'd want to do, but someone has to work.

brother and sister

Levi started making this face. He usually makes it when I'm feeding him and he wants more.


This is Jordyn in the picture below a few years ago. She made the same face when she was 11 months. She did it for more food too.
I guess they are related. Jordyn is very protective of her brother whom she calls Boo-Bye. Sadly boo-bye is starting to evolve to his real name, Levi. Back to the protective part. One day Jordyn was holding Levi by his onesie so he wouldn't fall down the stairs, and Jeff and I made a big deal about it, calling her a HERO. Ever since then, she has taken it upon herself to watch his every move (literally). Every time he stands up against the couch or anything, Jordyn is right there trying to help him. Little does she realize, she probably causes more falls than preventing them. She also regulates what he does and does not put in his mouth. I love it when she tells him not to put the book in his mouth because he might choke on it or some of the other big, bulky toys we have around.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Freezin' for a Reason

I am trying to fundraise money for Special Olympics in Alaska. Many of you know that I worked with special need kids before having children. I have many wonderful memories of the friendships made with working with this population. As much as I love being a mom, I also love working closely with special needs kids and the Special Olympics organization. Please visit this website. If I can raise $100 for Special Olympics then I can take the polar plunge along with other people that have raised money. Just check out the website. If I take the plunge, you will be sure to see the video. Thanks for your support. xoxo

www.firstgiving.com/laurenshaw1

P.S. In exchange for your donation I will do something of service for you i.e. shovel your driveway, send a postcard, give you a ride to the airport, give you a "bear hug," watch your kids.

More pictures to come when I take the PLUNGE.

X-country skiing

Last night we all went x-country skiing for the first time. We weren't expecting the kids to last long, but they all did great. We were out skiing for about 45 minutes. By that point, Jeff and I were exhausted anyway. Sydney skied by herself while Jordyn and Levi sat in their stroller turned sled and had a nice ride. So nice that Levi fell asleep. Sydney did awesome. I love how she tries anything and everything without thinking twice. She has such a good attitude. She fell alot, I fell, Jeff fell and we all laughed at each other. Sydney was a little slow so one of us would stay with her while the other went ahead and then we would switch. Jeff and I LOVE that this is an activity we all can do together. I love that this is another activity we are experiencing living in Alaska thus embracing one of Alaska's many winter traditions.