I did it

I read it. I fought it for months. I didn't want to read it b/c everyone was so crazy about it. I certainly didn't want to like it! But I did! It was good. I don't see the obsession that some have. Of course, I've only read 1 out of the 4 books. Maybe the obsession will come. I don't see myself proclaiming, 'I love Edward Cullen'. If anything Carlisle is my type :) Anyway, if you haven't read it, don't be a hard head like me. Read it now!!

So proud!

I am so excited about this cake you would think it was made for me!! Since Amy first told me the concept I have been anxiously awaiting her finished product and thus the photos. And here it is...
The Tiki Hut Cake! I love it. It makes me want to have a beach party. The whole thing is absolutely amazing! The details...wow. I do not have that kind of patience! She rocks!

So if you're ever in the Greater Birmingham area and in need of cake....you know where to go!!

Friday Food for Thought

I stumbled across the blog of a woman who posts Food for Thought Friday. I decided since I don't blog enough and certainly never put my business out on the WWW for all to see, I would do this. I encourage all of you to do it too! They are neat thought provoking questions that help people get to know you better, or start great conversations. It's great for those who think their lives are mundane and don't have anything to blog about. Well, now you will have something at least once a week! She also does Friday Fill-Ins , but I'll take it one step at a time!

So here is my first Food for thought Friday!!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Breakfast
What is the most interesting car you have ever owned and why?
Hmm, I would it would have to be my first car. It was a 1978 Chevy Chevette. It was a piece of crap, but it was MINE! I paid for it will my own earnings from my very cool job as a Sonic carhop. It was maroon with 4 doors, and the crappiest sounding radio ever. Since I was one of the only people of my age(and in my group of friends) to have a car, it did the job just fine. The poor Chevette met her demise in the spring of my Sophomore year when I thought it would be cool to race down a dirt road, fish tail, and hit the brakes. Yeah, it didn't work out to well for us. I ended up flipping the car 2-3 times, it landed upside down about 2 feet from a telephone pole. Thankfully I, nor my 3 other passengers were hurt. Two of them are still my friends, with one of them being an avid reader of this blog. Good Times...

Lunch
What book are you currently reading?
I am currently reading 'Two Little Girls in Blue' by Mary Higgins Clark. It's about twin 3 year old girls who get kidnapped and how twin telepathy brings them both home.

Dinner
Did you have any pets growing up?
Trojan. My 2nd most favorite dog of all time. He was a pure bed chow-chow. He was brown, and very strong. He was super protective of our family. I remember I was already married to Jason when I found out he had died. I was so upset! No one even thought to tell me. It came out offhandedly in a conversation.

Midnight Snack
How do you unwind at night?
Surf the net, then snuggle with my sugar daddy while watching 'Unwrapped'.

Recipe of the Week (instead of your recipe for life what is it just for the week?)
Don't sweat the small stuff. Money isn't everything, it can't buy a wonderful,l loving husband, 3 healthy, happy children, and the greatest friends a girl could ask for. I'd rather have those over a pocketbook full of cash any day. Although....it would be nice to have those AND a pocketbook full of cash :O)

Happy Friday!

OH YEA....
******HAPPY BIRTHDAY TERESA!******
Love you girl!

Jonathan's Prayer

Dear Lord,
Thank you for this day. Thank you for bringing Harrison to us, and for keeping Harrison healthy. I love him.
Amen

I can't begin to describe how it warms my heart to think that even after 4 months the kids still thank God almost daily for giving us Harrison.

Jason was right, I was wrong

I shouldn't have cut my hair. I hate it. I have always liked it short and I thought it would be easier to keep up with, but I hate it. Every time I look in the mirror I hate it more. If I was rich I'd get extensions until it grew out. Since I'm not, I'll have to be patient. I think I'll start taking my pre-natals again to try and speed up the process.

Na-Na-Na-Na

It's childish and I don't care...

Na-Na-Na-Na

Na-Na-Na-Na

Na-Na-Na-Na

Na-Na-Na-Na

Stupid Twit, bet you didn't see that coming!!

TGIS!

I love Sundays! Seriously, could there be a better day? Today Grammie and Grampy took Jonathan, Savannah, Ryan, Kaitlynn, and Sammy Jack to Exploration Place. That left me and Jason home to clean and "spend time together"! Now I'm just finishing up the last few loads of laundry, and updating this here blog!

Thank you to all of you who took the time to leave comments about my sleep and cereal dilemma with H. I appreciate it. Friday night we gave him cereal from a spoon(photos below) and I put a little in his bottle. He slept in his crib from 9-2:15! After that he woke up every 2 hours to nurse until Jason finally got up with him at 7:30( and let me sleep until 10!) I don't want to stop nursing, but I don't seem to be filling him up. I'm not giving up yet. I'm going to try and nurse him more during the day and see if that helps.

He seems to like sleeping in his crib. Our only problem is when that damn binky falls out. He much prefers his side to his back. As you can see below he still pulls the blanket over his head.

I feel compelled to pull it down, even if he's going to pull it right back up!Cereal...
Hmm..he's not sure what to think

I placed him on his tummy to nap a few times, but have decided I'm not ready to put him on his belly to sleep. I'm not overly freaky about SIDS, but since I did have a sister pass away from it, I'm not taking any chances either. So it's been side to sleep for H the past few nights. He's 4 months now so it will only be a matter of days before he starts rolling himself.

Friday Jason went and toured the WSU campus and spoke to the nursing advisor. He's pretty stoked. FASFA stuff is done. We should get a decent amount of Grants. The goal is to take as few student loans as possible since the VA will pay for school. It will really depend on if Jason can stay on at his current job part-time and if I can get a decent job too. Lots of variables. They went over his current transcripts and he only needs somewhere around 20-23 credits of pre-reqs. WSU has a traditional 2 year nursing program, and a 15 month accelerated program. Jason wants to get in to the accelerated program. It will depend on his grades in his pre-req classes. They have pretty high standards, but no so high it's unattainable.

My boy just looking plumb cute! Funny story about these headbands..

I commented to Savannah how I thought it was a neat idea to hang her headbands on the wall and she says, "Well, I really have 9 headbands, but I didn't want to hang them up all up b/c it would look uneven don't you think Mom?" Ha! Who knew my anal retentiveness was hereditary! I agreed that 9 would like awkward, and 8 is perfect. At which point she "hinted" that if she had 10 it would be even again...

Another pic of Handsome Harrison!

No time to write right now, I will post tomorrow!

BUT..He slept in his bed last night!! He's in there tonight too!

I'll give you the whole story tomorrow!

OPINIONS NEEDED

Prince Harri is getting close to a couple of major milestones, and I want some input from ALL you mommies!

1. Cereal and food. It used to be start it at 4 months, don't put it in a bottle. Now I'm reading wait closer to 6 months, and maybe a tsp. in the bottle won't hurt. So...here's my questions:

When did you start cereal? foods?
Did you spoon it, put it in a bottle, or both?
Is there a benefit to waiting until 6 mo. VS starting at 4 mo.?
Anything else you feel the need at add on this subject...

2. Stomach sleeping. Everyone knows 'back to sleep', but most people(including babies) sleep better on their stomach. The Dr. said it's OK once they roll onto their stomach themselves, but always back before then. H is so close to rolling..... I want to put him on his belly to sleep. He's getting too big to sleep in his car seat and isn't sleeping well b/c he's uncomfortable. So..here's my questions:

Did you always but your kids on their backs? Or stomachs?
Why or Why not?

THANKS!

Say What??

So the DB manager called last week and offered me the job, then said she'd call me back later that evening with my schedule. Fast forward to today, I STILL haven't heard back. So I called the store where the training was supposed to be to speak with her and they said she wasn't there she was at the new store. I spoke to the other manager, and she said that I was supposed to work last night and they wondered why I didn't show up?? Well, it's b/c I had NO clue! I explained I never received a call back with a schedule, she said she would pass along the message.

I imagine she just got busy with the whole new store opening and all, so I guess I'll wait and see if I still have a job. Nothing else is one the horizon :O(

SHOUT OUT!

I want to give a super big THANK YOU to Amy and Staci for putting up with my numerous phone calls today. Thank you for venting with me, laughing with me and cursing the circumstance with me! Ya'll ROCK!!!

I have no dirty laundry!

That is until my family puts on their jammie's! Today was a mighty productive day for me. I did ALL the laundry. Not only is it done, it is folded, hung, and put away! WOW! I also pulled out all of H's 0-3 month clothing and packed them away. I also moved up his 3-6 month and dug the 6-9 month clothes out of the closet. So they'll be ready when he needs them(and I had an extra drawer!).

Harrison earlier this week, looking mighty cute!

This one is my favorite!
I dressed Harrison up for our day out with Grammie. Lunch was awesome. I had Catfish, onion petals, and Logan's Mac and chz. Super Yummy!

Check out those eyelashes!!

I had him in a sweater vest to begin with, but it was pretty bulky and he didn't like it. He looked SOOOO cute though!! I LOVE a preppy boy!

Harrison has started to enjoy his swing. Before it was just another device to get him to fall asleep, but now he can sit up and touch the toys. He loves it! If you click on the pic you can see his " I love my GOD Moo-my" onsie!

H playing with his daddy!

I LOVE my boys!!

Last night I was lying in bed with Savannah and I asked her what she wants to be when she grows up. We chit-chatted back and forth for a bit, then got on the topic of college. She said she didn't want to go b/c she didn't think she'd be able to stand being around boys for 4 years. I told her she could go to an all girl's school...she loved that idea! Well, of course Jason and I do too so we had her sign the "contract" below. It'll be a hoot in 11 years when she starts looking at colleges and I whip this puppy out!
Tonight after dinner Jason and I made this baby:
It's a chocolate cake you are saying to yourself..... Yes, it is, BUT it's a HOMEMADE chocolate cake! Yup, no Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker here. This is SO not normal for us, but I have been trying to bake/make stuff to save on money and most importantly to give me something to do!! Here is the cake recipe and the frosting recipe

Lexulous and Poop

My newest obsession is an online game called Lexulous. It's basically Scrabble by a different name. You play with a friend (or 2), and receive notices via e-mail when another has made a move. I play all through out the day with Amy, Misty, and Jason. So if you are ever home, hanging out on the 'puter, and want to kill time, let me know I'll be more than happy to set up a game :O) I have become something of an addict!!

Poop, I'm so tired of it. One of the curses of breastfed babies is they poop...like crazy! My son not only poops, he poops up his back, ALL THE TIME!! Today he was in his 3rd outfit by 11 a.m. Crazy huh? In addition to the 3rd outfit he pooped in his carseat and bouncy seat. So it's all in the wash. Fun Times! You sure you still wanna have a baby Shannon???

I'm going to brag, and I don't care....

I have the best husband ever. I won't bore you with a long list of how awesome he is, but if you've ever met him or been around us you know. He rocks, plain and simple. This was shown again today when I e-mailed him and told him I accepted the DB position for pay WAY less than what I'm worth and it's part time. He replied this:

Well, it gets some money coming in until we can find you a good full time job.

The frickin market sucks now.

We might just end up both working part time when I go to school.

We can do it though.

I LOVE YOU!!

What you do for our family is AMAZING.

YOU ROCK MY LOVE!

SOOOOOOOOOOO PISSED OFF!!!

I called the IRS today to check on our refund since we never received it, and you won't believe what they told me. THEY NEVER RECEIVED THE INJURED SPOUSE FORM!!! Do you know what that means?? DFAS got our whole freakin' tax return!!! I can still fill out the form and mail it in, but I have already lost 2 weeks! I'm so freakin' pissed off. I want to go kick them in their yoo-hoos! GGGGGRRRRR.

On a happier note, I had another interview today. It was a group interview with 3 other people. All 3 of which had a degree, but little personality. At the end of the interview the interviewer asked everyone to choose 1 person in the group that they would hire based on the information given during the interview. 2 out of the 3 choose me!! They have 2 positions open, and have been looking for 3 weeks! That seems like a long time to not have found anyone. They have a pretty rigorous process though. There is the phone interview, the group interview, one on one with the campus director, then one on one with the national director. WOW! The job is close to home(10 minutes), pays decent, and the hours are OK(9-6). It's the best one I have interviewed for so far. i have been avoiding the DB lady like the plaque, not sure what I am going to do about that. I don't want to turn it down in case this doesn't work out, but I don't want to only work there for a week then quit. AGH! I need to check my powerball ticket....

So happy my Grammie is taking me to Logan's for lunch tomorrow!!

I Love Blogging

I used to get upset that people didn't update as often as I did. That they didn't leave comments when I knew they had been here. That me not updating for 3 days is a travesty, but they could go weeks in between blogs. Then I decided. Who gives a crap?? I enjoy blogging. It's as much for me to get my thoughts out as it is for others to catch up on my life. I like sitting down and thinking of something to write about. I make time to do it. My life is in no way exciting, but I always find something to write about, and ya'll must love it b/c I get at least 30 hits a day. I have readers who read and never comment(Michelle and Delta!) I know you're there and I don't mind. I'm flattered. I blog stalk. It's kinda cool to know I'm being stalked too.

Don't forget AI tonight!!

Tired

Is an understatement. Harrison is still not feeling well and was up most of the night last night. I think I slept about 2 hours, and I don't mean straight! It was 20 minutes here, 10 minutes there. Exhausting. He's snoozing now, but of course the big kids are up and awake, dishes need done, laundry needs done. A mother's work is never done...

We had an awesome time Saturday night making Sushi. My brother cam over and stayed the night. He had never has sushi before and enjoyed trying it for the first time. Jonathan even broke down and tried it. Savannah has always loved it. I think I like the Spicy Tuna roll better than the philly roll. It was fun to make our own combos.

The manager of the retail job I interviewed for last week called today. She said they like me and I have a great personality, but I lack retail experience for a management position. Soooo, she offered me a part-time sales position. It's not really what I want, but I suppose it will do for now. I need a full time well paying job by July. I can't put Jason through nursing school on a part-time retail paycheck. It works OK for now though b/c I won't have to be away from H as much and Grammie will probably keep him so he won't have to go to daycare. One day at a time. I'll worry about the rest later.

I LOVE MY FAMILY

ME AND MY BOY

YUMMY FINGERS!

SERIOUSLY, COULD HE BE ANY CUTER??

HALLOCK SUSHI BAR

RICE, NORI, CREAM CHEESE, SALMON, TUNA,

CUCUMBER, AVOCADO, CRAB, AND SPICY MAYO

JASON AND RYAN MAKING THEIR SUSHI

ROLLING

SAVANNAH FEEDING UNCLE RYAN SUSHI

After my rough night with Harrison it was wonderful to get this e-mail from my hubs this morning:

I LOVE YOU:

I love your smile
I love your devotion
I love your mommy skills
I love your dedication to our family

I appreciate everything you do for us.

You Are My Girl.

I'm a lucky gal :O)

A Lil' Somethin' New

On this fine valentine's day we decided to re-arrange the living room.

Only a few more hours until sushi!!

Looking in the living room from the dining room-BEFORE Looking in the living room from the dining room-AFTER

We uncovered the window to add more light to the room.
Looking from the front door into the house-BEFORE
Looking from the front door into the house-AFTER
We moved the shrank to the back wall where the painting was.

Looking from the hallway into the living room-BEFORE

Looking from the hallway into the living room-AFTER

Can I tell you how much I can't wait until we get a sofa. The living room is much brighter and more spacious now. Yay us!

Going to do sushi about 6. More pics later :O)

RSV

For 20 minutes(while we waited on the test) they thought that was what Harrison had. It's enough to scare the daylights out of a momma!! He's had a nasty cough for a couple of weeks, so I finally took him to the Dr. Thankfully, she said it's just a normal cough due to cold. He is eating okay, sleeping okay, and sucking on his pacifier, all indicators of a baby that feels decent. She recommended a cool mist humidifier. Grammie was going to let us use hers, but decided instead we needed our own, so she bought us one. I've always wanted to get one but have always been to cheap to fork the money out. It seems to be helping. Harrison hasn't coughed as much since I set it up. He even slept for almost 3 hours after the appointment.

Of course since my last name is Hallock, we did not get our return. I doubled checked the routing and account number to be sure it was correct and no one else got our money. The website says I have to wait until the 18th before calling them, so that's what I shall do. I should have known better, if it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck.

I didn't hear back about my interview :O( I guess it's back to career builder for me. BLAH.

Hoping and Praying

I checked the IRS website to get the status of our tax return and was shocked to see it said:

Your tax refund is scheduled to be direct deposited on February 13, 2009. If your refund is not credited to your account by February 18, 2009, check with your bank to find out if it has been received. Please wait until February 18, 2009 before you contact us again because we are unable to take any action until then.

Wow! Don't they know that their own website states 11 weeks to process returns with an injured spouse claim? Don't they know we still owe the Army $3,500? They must b/c under the above statement was this one:

Your refund may be reduced to pay a past due obligation such as child support, another federal agency debt, or state income tax. If this applies to you, the Financial Management Service, who issues IRS refunds, will send you a notice informing you of any offset they have made. The details of the debt are not provided to the IRS. Please do not call us to inquire about the details because we will not be able to answer your questions. Instead, direct any questions you have about the offset or debt to the agency identified on the notice.

So what does this mean?? Hell if I know! I'm just hoping we get our tax return tomorrow and it's at least 1/2 of what we are supposed to get, but I'll be freakin' ecstatic if all gets deposited!!

Savannah is staying at Grammie's tonight so I decided to tackle her room. She is a bonafide slob! Jason says it's the artist in her, I say it's she has a mother who will clean up after her! Anyway, below are her before and after pics! I threw away all those damn pixos she got for C-mas. What a bad idea that was!! Plus a bunch of drawings, and other crap. I'm guessing it will stay clean for...about 3 hours...

Happy Friday Folks!!