Christmas Eve

Here I am, waiting for Sawyer to fall asleep. Blake and I have to put together a whole kitchen tonight! I'm already looking forward to an all-nighter. Sawyer used to be the best sleeper. We could tell him it was bedtime and he was asleep in minutes. But now he is the worst! I don't think he's been to bed before midnight in the past 2 weeks! On top of that, I don't think he's slept in his bed all night in the past month!!! Don't get me wrong, I love cuddling with Sawyer and don't mind him sleeping in our bed at all... but it seriously is taking a toll on the quality of my sleep, not to mention the sanity of my husband (lol).

But now it's Christmas eve and there is a huge lie that parents worldwide are ethically permitted to tell their children in order to get them to go to sleep... so far it's not working but we'll see...

I guess I just wanted to write a few words and post a couple of the fun Christmas pics we've been taking... so that's it! I hope you all have a great Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Shealy Family!!!

We have our very own elf!!! And the cutest Christmas smile of all!!!

Addicted to crack...berry that is!

Well, the semester is over (almost- 1 more online final) and I realized I haven't blogged in quite awhile. I've been SO BUSY! But I'm pretty sure I pulled out of all my classes with an A. Which is quite an accomplishment since I went into this semester hoping to just pass everything. So now I know all I need to know about Chemistry, it was by far the hardest class for me. But I studied it twice as much as I did all the others and still ended up with an A! Microbiology was actually very interesting and I enjoyed studying it- which made it a lot easier to study as much as I needed to. Nutrition, my online class, is the most annoying. It's all about things that I probably know already and hate to study.. luckily the tests aren't very hard. Nursing ethics, we won't even discuss... (I didn't study at all) But now that this semester is over and I have passed everything for sure I will be starting Nursing School in january. So, only 2 1/2 more years... (why does it sound so long?!) So this week I had to get a tetanus shot, a hepatitis shot (the first of 3) and TB skin test. I generally don't mind needles and have a pretty high pain tolerance but let me tell you about the tetanus shot... IT HURT! I wasn't able to sleep on my left side for like 3 days! But it's all better now. On Tuesday I have to go to CPR certification and then I will be done with my requirements for nursing school.

The kids are doing great. Sawyer has started becoming really imaginative lately. He's always got some sort of baby animal that needs our help and we have to run to its rescue. It's really funny. Sophie is about a week away from walking really well. She has gotten really brave and will take up to about 10 steps or so. I can't believe how grown they're getting!

As far as running goes... I have been SUPER lazy for the past 3 weeks, and haven't run at all. In my defense, It was Thanksgiving week followed by two weeks of sickness (both me and Sawyer) and then finals. But yesterday, for some unGodly reason, I told Erin I would run the 10k course at McClellan with her today. Now, 10k's are long runs for me. I really like 5k's because they're enough to make me tired but I can do them pretty comfortably... 10k's on the other hand are usually pretty tough. Following 3 weeks of sheer laziness I definitely shouldn't have been so ambitious. But, I ran at least 4 miles of it and walked (at a brisk pace) intermittently between the running. So, needless to say, I'm TIRED! And my ankles for some reason are covered in these giant blisters! I've NEVER had a problem with blisters while running. Hopefully I'll be okay to run the rest of this week, because I really need to get back in the swing of things. Now, here are some pics of my ankles because I'm sitting here with my new crackberry and want to play with the camera and the bluetooth connection to my computer... lol

Don't think i'm a pansy because they definitely are much worse than they look in these pictures... this is my left foot...

...and this is my right.They hurt. (but so far not as bad as that darn tetanus shot!)

Well, I guess that's all that I really have to update now. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas (or a Happy Holidays or whatever generic greeting you prefer to receive this time of year) and a Happy New Year!

It's bedtime

I went to see Wicked on Tuesday at the Fox in Atlanta. It was pretty much awesome. I would probably give any number of my limbs to be able to sing like the girl playing Elphaba... who, by the way was the standby. If she wasn't cast in the role then I think the only reason the "real" Elphaba wasn't there was because she was SO good she would have made everyone pass out and not see the whole show. So, needless to say, it's totally worth the money and we had a blast.

The kids have been crazy sick and it seems like one thing right after another. Sophie got hand, foot and mouth disease somehow and gave it to Sawyer who in turn gave it to just about every other kid we see on a regular basis (which is actually more than you would think.) And now, Sophie has another fever! I don't know... we're treating the fever now and if it's still really high on Monday we'll head to the doc.

Our chemistry teacher gave us the makeup test for the first exam and I made a 90%. I'm so excited that I'm not failing anymore. It's very nice. I can't believe it's midterm time already! In just a few months I'll actually be in nursing school. Crazy.

We went to the Homecoming Parade. It was a little disappointing. I haven't been to a Jacksonville parade since I was a kid but I thought they were bigger than that. Sawyer doesn't really do "loud" very well but he liked the candy. And Sophie had a fever so she wasn't happy anyway. But I guess it was okay.

This was after naptime after the parade. Sawyer was still sleeping but Sophie felt a little better.

Our flash goofed up a bit but I thought it was a cute picture. Notice our matching red... I wanted to show our JSU spirit... lol.

I've decided that I'm going to audition for Sweeney Todd. I'm a little nervous about it. It's been a long time since I've done anything other than worship music or opera. I think watching Wicked helped me to remember how much I love Musical theatre. So, I'm really excited too! Wish me luck...

I guess that's all that's new... Talk to ya soon!

I'm running.

Hello! Here's an update about a little-known fact about me. I like to run. Well, I wouldn't so much say that I like it... but I do it for enjoyment. And not that I enjoy it while I do it but I enjoy the feeling after. Some friends and I started running last June and so far we were doing anywhere from 1-3 miles at a time. We probably ran 3 times a week on average and I was feeling great! Well, school started and Sawyer had surgery and lots of other things happened that kept me from running a lot so I cut back to like 1 time a week... I started feeling terrible! So I decided that there would be no more lolly-gagging! I was serious about it... and yesterday I ran 5 miles! I know that God is helping me with this because otherwise I would have stopped after 2 steps... I'm not a very determined person on my own. So, I just wanted to let you all know about something I'm pretty proud of this week! See ya later!

Say Whaaaat?!?!?

I DID IT! I made an A on my first Micro test... do not ask me how... all I did was read the book and take the practice test... over and over and over. I am so flabbergasted (yes, I said flabbergasted) by the fact that I made an A. Yay Me!!!

And now for chemistry.... well, I didn't quite make an A... actually, I didn't make a B, C, or D either... yes, you are hearing from the terribly humilified owner of an F... how long, you may ask, has it been since I made an F??? Try... freshman year... of HIGHSCHOOL! I was livid... I made a 57! And after he explains how over half the class made below a 50... I felt a little better (not much). Then he reviews the test and tries to make us see that he really doesn't suck as a teacher (even though over half the class doesn't understand the information)... and he tells us that instead of counting 30 questions on the test, it was only going to be 25... then add another 5 points on top of that... so, on the gradebook I have a 73%. Enough to get into nursing school... not happy but bearable. And I have a few more tests to bring it up. PLUS, he's going to give us a makeup... (he must really feel like a bad teacher... lol)

So, a 96% on the test I barely studied for and a 57%(73%) on the test I've been busting my butt for since the first day of classes... who knows where the justice in that. I guess that's all for now. See you all soon!

Do the Hustle!

I am so overwhelmed with everything. This semester is so hard! I don't remember the last time I took such a tough semester. Even when I was in Music History... it was close but at least I was familiar with the subject matter. I feel like I don't get a break. I guess such is life, right?

The family is great. Sophie is crawling around and pulling up on everything. I forgot how un-baby proofed your house can be. lol. Sawyer is doing great too. He got attacked by a bee! But he was okay.

We got a kitty and named her Smudge. She's a cute little girl. Sawyer loves her... especially carrying her around and pulling her and pushing her and throwing her and grabbing her tail... please don't call PETA... we are guarding her from him and she has some safe places where he can't get her. Plus, she loves him and always comes back for more.

Well, that's really all that's going on around here. Lot's of science, kids and cat. If anybody has any ideas about how to study micro please let me know... I'm struggling (ahem... emily. lol)

Talk to you all soon!

I love free stuff!

School is setting me back into a routine and I am so glad about that. Maybe now I can finally get over the chaos that is a new baby and begin to schedule things again. My classes are not as dreadful as I thought they would be but I still am going to have to study my 'you-know-what' off!!! Microbiology is probably going to be pretty fun but I find myself getting afraid of EVERYTHING! Especially since we took swabs today of everything, put them in an incubator and next week we'll look at the nasty microorganisms that grow EVERYWHERE! Chemistry is really going to make me use my noggin again. I've kind of set into a "only study the subjects I'm familiar with" routine. So now that I've totally changed my plans around my routine is ... (for lack of a better word) SCREWED!

On another note, I found a website that gives you free jewelry. I know, you're thinking I'm crazy but it's true. http://www.silverjewelry.com/. It's nice. I ordered a pendant and chain so I'll let you know if it's rinky dink when I get it. I don't wear much jewelry but I still like to buy it.

I think I've talked Blake into getting a cat. I don't know why but lately I've wanted one so I looked in the paper yesterday and I need to call about some kittens. If any of you guys have any or know of someone who does... let me know.

I guess that's really all. I just wanted to update.

Sophie started crawling and pulling up into Sawyer's lap. It's hilarious. Here's a picture. I don't know why her nose looks funny but it's always a wierd color in pictures. I hope she grows out of it.

Maggie Moo Memories

Today we took a trip to the Oxford exchange because I needed some jeans. It turned into quite an adventure! We first went to Target because we also needed some baby food. While perusing the baby aisles, which happens to be my favorite thing to do... something caught my eye. It was a cover for nursing mothers. Not too unusal, but it was made by a company called "Hooter Hiders". Yes, we lost it. No, I didn't buy it. Although, I should have just for laughs.
Blake got a hat and I got a tank top... no jeans. So, we went to TJ Maxx. By this time Sawyer was over shopping so he, Blake and Sophie stayed by the toys playing with some random kid who's parents were no where to be found. In the meantime, I found a pair of jeans and white shirt for family pictures next week. Yay! Now we can go home. But we had an idea... before we leave let's stop at Maggie Moo's! Sophie was sleeping in her carseat so I ran inside and picked everyone's flavors. Blake got a chocolate dipped waffle cone with Berry Cheesecake Lake ice cream... Very good. I got a chocolate dipped waffle cone with Vanilla Cookie Dough Yo Yo... (yeah, the names kill me). Then I thought... hey! I'll get Sawyer the blue kind because he really liked it last time. Except this time we were eating in the car...


Needless to say, he LOVED it... After this picture he resorted to 'drinking' it straight out of the cup... I resigned myself to the fact that I was already going to have to wash the carseat cover and remove the stains from his super-cute GAP outfit (thanks Aunt Deven for the birthday present)... so why not just let him continue to enjoy it.

And enjoy it he did! I'm contemplating sending this picture to Maggie Moo's for publicity because of course, his product placement was perfect... (I guess only the son of a drama queen would have that down pat!)






And the more he ate, the more he turned into a smurf. We began to have a lot of fun taking pictures...

And then we started saying the "picture phrases"
for example, "say cheese", "Macaroni & Cheese", "Blue Ice cream", etc....

This turned into "what does the ___ say?" conversations....







He showed us his wit with the following conversation...

Blake: What does the cow say?
Sawyer: MOO!!!
Blake: What does mommy say?
Sawyer: MOO!!! Hahaha....


So, thanks Sawyer... I appreciate the vote of confidence in all of your mommy's efforts for getting back in shape.






Well, that concludes the funny part of our day... I know, we're pretty boring. And just so you'll know that our kids are from the same Pod... here's a good one of Sophie...

Back in the Saddle.... again... again.

School starts the day after tomorrow. I still remember what it felt like my very first day of college... 8 years ago. I was so nervous I would be late. I stayed the night with a friend and we had our first class together... well, we were late and both too chicken to walk in so we skipped. That's how I started my college career... skipping class. Luckily I've turned around quite a bit. Of course now I feel like a pro... after 8 years how could I not???

Each year when school starts I begin to get a little antsy and worried about the upcoming semester. I wonder if I will be able to make good grades in the courses, if I will make any new friends, if I will be able to balance home life with school... of course, I always am back to normal a couple of weeks after classes begin but still, each year I go through the ritual. This year is no different... I am worried about my ability to make A's in Microbiology, Chemistry, Nutrition, and Ethics in Nursing... all at the same time. I'm sure I will be just fine but I wonder all the same.

The classes aren't my only concern at this time. I am a little farther behind than I normally am 2 days before classes start. I don't have all of my books, I don't have all of the kids' stuff done for their 'care' situations, and my house is a disaster with weeks worth of laundry continuing to pile up. I'm sure I don't have to be as prepared as I usually strive to be before classes start but it still makes me more comfortable if I am.

With all this being said... I'm super ready for school to start. I feel very cooped up from staying home all the time. I love being home with my kids but I'm not one of the women that is blessed enough to be able to stay home 24/7. I wish I had that kind of patience. So, here's to another great semester... one more down on my way to a viable degree...

Super Duper Craftiness

Sawyer is starting a new daycare next Thursday. His old daycare supplied sheets for his "napcot" so we only had to send him a blanket. This one asks for "napmats" to go on top of the little cots. So, I went online and saw that these "napmats" can get crazy expensive. I didn't really want a super extreme one so I kind of put it off and figured I would buy a cheapo one. Well, I waited too long and now I can't find one anywhere!

So, I decided that instead of wasting my time looking for one I would go to Hobby Lobby and buy the stuff to make one... I'm pretty crafty, and I own a sewing machine so I took on the project and was suprised by how easy it was...

I went to the 30% off rack and picked a fabric that was 'boyish'... well, blue at least. Then I found the softest fleece I could that would match and some ribbon and thread. When I got home I got everything out and started... It wasn't but an hour later and I was done!

It's super cute too! The blanket is attached and it rolls up into a nice little bundle... I'm going to have his name monogrammed on the blanket and then I won't have to add a nametag. So, Yay for me! Check it out...

Random Rambling

Every once in awhile I get a little nostalgic and begin to wish I still had parts of my "old life". This never means that I want to give up any part of my "new life" because that would be much worse... but I still can look back at all of the wasted opportunities.

This usually happens when I start stalking on MySpace or Facebook and see people that I used to be close to and the places they have taken themselves. I feel as if I've missed out on part of my dreams because I'm not working in theatre or entertainment in any way. I'm so proud of all of my friends that have stuck with this and even if we don't talk anymore it's amazing that they are on the path we always dreamed of.

I can remember a time in my life when I wanted nothing more than to travel the world singing for a living with nothing to tie me down and nothing to hold me back. Some would say that I got careless and made a mistake by getting pregnant. That I ruined any chance for fulfilling my dreamlife... I'm not sure I agree... Sure, I did get careless but the so-called "mistake" was the best thing that ever happened to me.

I guess the only thing I really hate is that while I was living that life and working in theatre and being "young and single", I was too foolish to enjoy it. I spent all of my time wanting to get trashed and party hard... that's how I got careless. It's all a blur and I would love to play it all over again... I think if I could I would try to remember every moment and I would put more stock in establishing quality relationships... maybe then I wouldn't have lost most of my friends when I got pregnant and moved on with my life.

I really wish I had put more energy into other people instead of myself the whole time... I almost have no relationship with my family and very few actual friends because of the way I treated people in that part of my life. I think I was never able to show God's love to people because I didn't know he loved me. I spent a lot of time trying to love myself and not really genuinely caring about loving others. I'm trying to correct that now but it's a pretty slow process making good friends and really hard if you're not used to it. I have the hardest time keeping up with people and remembering to hold up my end of the relationship.

So, if you're reading this and you consider me a friend... and I've been a bad one, I apologize... Let me know and I'll try harder in the future.

Our day at the Pool.

Blake's birthday was yesterday and we had a good time at the pool! Sawyer loves to swim and finally got to for the first time after his surgery.

He also loves to be thrown up in the air... over and over and over again... Blake's dad ("G") is great at doing this!

Blake's pretty good at it too I guess. And it makes for some pretty neat pictures.

I got to try out some fun stuff with my camera too... Sawyer and Blake took a trip to Pleasantville...And Finally, not to brag or anything... But say Hello to the next Michael Phelps... Olympics 2024... here I come!

Wow.... 2 in a row!

I know, I know... I go months without a post and now there's 2 in a row. Well, I guess I'm just bored and want to figure this thing out a little bit more. This post is going to be pretty boring if you already know me... I just want a chance to introduce my family and display some fun pictures... So, here goes!


First, my husband. Blake. The love of my life...

We've been married for a year and a half and I'm still in love with him... Not to say we don't fuss but I couldn't imagine life without him. We've known eachother for 10 years but we've only been 'together' for 2 and a half. We've got a pretty funny story so if you've never heard it and want to, then let me know....

Next on the list... my son, Sawyer. He was born June 21, 2006. He is such a delight. He is a very high strung and hyper child. He is very independent and is going to grow up to be headstrong and self reliant... I can already tell.















Finally, my daughter Sophie.... She's only a few months old and she has the sweetest disposition I've ever seen in a baby. She rarely cries but when she does... WOW! She definitely has a temper, although she rarely shows it. I'm so excited to watch her grow up and see all of the things she learns to do. Plus, she's super cute!!







Now, to finish this up... I am so blessed! Jesus must really love me to give me the family that he has. And that's all... talk to you soon!

Sawyer's Big Day...

So, Sawyer had his tonsils taken out last Friday... It was by far the toughest thing I've had to endure with him. We arrived at the hospital at 5:45 am as instructed only to wait until about 7:45 for the doctor to show up... I'm a pretty early riser but sitting at the hospital with a 2 year old that early in the morning is not my idea of a good time.

Blake and I found ourselves becoming more and more creative as the time went by. Cartoons worked for about 20 minutes but then we resorted to latex hand balloons and other fun hospital toys...
Then self-portraits... Notice the really nice hospital employee in the background who is sitting in the middle of all of the patient rooms eating her yummy hospital cafeteria breakfast... meanwhile she is surrounded by children who are told they cannot even have water... NICE.
Around 7:15 they let him drink a shot of "happy juice"... so he relaxed a little bit and they came to get him at 7:45. He was so tough... he didn't even cry. I almost did though...

We waited for about 30 minutes or so and then the doctor came and told us his tonsils and adenoids were huge and that everything went really well. Then they took us back to recovery where we sat and watched him sleep...

and sleep....

He slept for about an hour and then he woke up and hasn't stopped whining since...

He's slowly getting better and I'm sure it'll all be over soon but he is definitely a handful. I was really hoping to be able to put him on pain meds and have him sleep for a week but no such luck... Hydrocodone makes him hyper. So, we're at the end of day 5 now and I think we'll be back to normal soon.

Other big news!?!?!

Sophie got her first tooth today! Yay for Sophie!

Here's to all you bloggers out there who read my page... I mean, Here's to Juliet... lol.

I've been taking Anatomy and Physiology 1 for the last two weeks and I feel like I've learned more than I ever did in the 6 years it took me to get my bachelors in Music. Well, maybe that's an overstatement... but I've been working my butt off and I've learned a lot. I could use this as an excuse for why I haven't blogged lately... but it would be a lie. Honestly, I'm not a "blogging" kind of person... so maybe once a month or so you'll hear from me.

My baby is turning 2 in 2 days. I can't believe it. It seems like just yesterday I was having the time of my life living the "college" life and planning my career on broadway... now I'm the mother of a 2 year old and a 5 month old. Wow, times have changed. For all of you who know me now, be glad you didn't know me then. I was caaarrraaaazy!!!! I guess having Sawyer really calmed me down.

I think we're going to the zoo tomorrow. Maybe.

Well, that's all! See you in a month or so!

My First Time

Here I am. Writing my first Blogger Blog. I am not a blog virgin by any means. MySpace is the place I write most of my thoughts but I decided to give this a try and see if it was anything interesting. This will be a very short and boring blog as I don't really have anything interesting to say. So, next time may be more exciting. We'll see!