The Shipps' Log: October 2008

23 October 2008

It's my birthday!

Stephen and the kids threw a special birthday party for me yesterday. They showered me with presents (seriously, Stephen out-did himself finding just the right gifts), we ordered pizza (yeah for super-yummy and oh-so-fresh iFratelli!), and enjoyed the last half of a delicious ice-cream cake that Megan made for us last week (just as good as the first time, maybe better :) My own excitement and anticipation was heightened by Nora's. You'd have thought it was her party. She only slipped and revealed the contents of a couple of my presents :) And Joseph was pretty fascinated by the concept of party hats. I felt pampered and loved. It was a good day.

Nora shows off a red leaf we found when we went to pick-up the pizza. A cold front blew in yesterday and we're loving it! Now I just need to find the time to dig out some warmer clothes...

Thanks for the flowers Garry and Susan!

My present-opening assistant :)

Amused by the party hat :)

A present celebrating fall - yummy hot chocolate. (I'm listening to Nora explain to me "It's chocolate that you drink with cream," her eyes as big as saucers :)

I love having a fall birthday....it's my favorite season, even if it does come late and inadequately in Texas.

Texas State Fair

Thank you Megan and KC for our fair tickets!!!

Last Saturday, we took a much needed family trip to the TX State Fair. We were all SO excited, especially the girls :) I was impressed with the animal feeding barn. It went beyond your basic farm animals. We saw kangaroos (above), tortoises, a giraffe, zebras, ostriches, myriads of species of antelope -like animals as well as goats and other farm animals. And most of them, we could feed! It was hard to get many pictures though; just a bit crowded.

Nora's ride choice. We were pushing the Ferris wheel, but maybe next year...

Our pre-dinner sugar appetizer.

We had gotten a book about fairs from the library (unintentionally), and once we had announced the day before that we would be going, that's all Nora could talk about :)

Our one stop fair booth. Turkey legs and funnel cake, what more could you ask for?

Food highlight of the fair -roasted turkey leg. Stephen, Nora and I were all starving, and we all filled up with one leg and some leftover! And it was delicious. Food downside of the fair: funnel cake is not an elephant ear; good in it's own way, but you can't be expecting the other. Sadly, elephant ears don't seem to be offered here (or in Georgia, according to my hubby; maybe just the Midwest? But seriously, what is a fair without an elephant ear?!?!).

Yep, they fry everything here too. Didn't try that one, so can't report on how they fry coke?!

Goodbye fair!

13 October 2008

$2.84 a gallon

Something I never imagined would be newsworthy...but today I fueled up at that price and loved it.

06 October 2008

Thoughts on childcare

Cuddling his baby

First wake-up smile

When I tell people that I care for two extra kiddos two days a week, meaning that I juggle four children aged three, two, one and three months for nearly 20 hours a week, I receive looks of sympathy. I appreciate that because I have had a few long days. I quickly add though, as I will here, that it sounds much worse than it is. Honestly, the situation couldn't be better for us. The kids' parents have them on a schedule that meshes well with ours. They are well behaved. Francis is a miniature priest and recites, I am convinced, at least two full masses daily (complete with hand motions and voice intonations that crack us up). He is serious and intelligent and requires little extra attention. Rosie has a sweet disposition and my kids LOVE her. Both Nora and Joseph play with dolls when she is not around to compensate for missing her. Nora begs to feed and dress her. Joseph tries to hug and kiss her constantly, and he is really rather gentle. Both my kiddos are learning to share -my attention and their toys. Good prep for a future Shipp, I say. Stephen, thankfully, does not have evening classes those days (since I watch the kiddos until 9pm), and we've gotten into a routine of dinner, walk to the park (both of us pushing double strollers, we're quite the sight; while the kids play, Stephen goes running), baths and bedtime. As nice a situation as it is, I admit that I am grateful, at the end of the day, that I am not the mother of four children, ages three and under. That would take loads of grace.

Sit a spell and take the tour

Scroll down to check out the before pics and room-by-room posts!

The "before" pics

Stephen's office

Kids' bath -the teal definitely had to go!

Kept the red front door -love it!

This became our flower bed. Stephen took a chainsaw to the tree. I worked inside; even thinking about it made me weak-kneed.

We chose a similar (though more olive) shade of green to save from having to do two coats

Kids' room

Our room (It may look like the hall, study, kids room and our room are the same color, but I counted three different shades. Some of them used all in the same room.)

The most dramatic change. That thing was a bear to paint, let me tell you. Two different primers and an oil-based paint that refused to come off my skin for days -ouch!

We went to war with the shelving unit armed with an electric screwdriver and won. Note the plethora of bathroom accessories. It seems the previous owners were beginning a toiler paper holder collection.