What I love...

Things I love about Zaine

• He's very outgoing. When it comes to other kids, he's never met a stranger. Takes a bit for him to warm up to other adults but I kinda see that as a good thing!
• He's a natural leader. When we visit a playground, he almost always gets the other kids to come do what he's doing. 
• He has a great self esteem. When he gets something "right" (like catching a ball), he is SO proud of himself. 
• He's pretty fearless. About the only thing that REALLY seems to bother him is the shadow on the back stairs. But if I turn on the light, "that guy" disappears and all is good. He's even learned how to turn on the light himself and deal with his fear on his own!

Things I love about Savannah

• She has a big heart. She accepted me into her life as a step-mom with little to no difficulty. She accepted and loved her first step-father and even though he did some bad things, she's welcomed her newest stepfather into her heart with little to no difficulty as well. 
• She's very flexible. Goes with the flow. It can't be easy living in two households with 3 younger siblings between both her parents. She's moved a lot and hasn't always had stability with her Mom but she rarely complains!
• She's very smart. Her studies come naturally to her. 
• She LOVES animals. All kinds. Between her Mom's house and our own she's had everything from fish, to mice, to guinea pigs, to rabbits, and cats and dogs for pets! She loves them all!

All in all, I have some pretty great kids. 

Bed time requests

Current bed-time routine here is that I lay with Zaine for 5 minutes and then I get up and let him fall asleep on his own. It's made bed time soooo much easier for me. It took a couple of weeks of him crying for up to an hour, but I'm so glad we stuck it out. I mean, really, he's two! Anyways, without fail, when I get up and tell him good night he tells me, "I need Dada." I tell him I'll let Dada know (and I do!) but I don't send Dada in. He'll go to bed on his own. On Tuesday nights, El puts Z to bed and he does the same routine and says, "I need Mama." Well, on Friday, I had an Origami Owl party I was working so when El put Z to bed I wasn't around but Savannah was. So, when El left the room he told him, "I need sissy. " Awwww.

Parent Post

So what's going on with the adults in the Shively family?

Well, a lot of the same old, same old but some new stuff too! We're both still employed at the places we've been employed for 5ish years now. We both recently took on some side jobs. Elery is going into business with some friends making & selling ammunition (working on permits and the such at the moment). He still makes and sells fire toys and held a class teaching people how to build their own! He also has a big, exciting fire performance gig coming up! I'll share details once all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed but I don't want to jinx it. I also started a little side job, selling jewelry with Origami Owl. It's actually really fun. I like the jewelry a lot, so that helps! Never thought I'd get into a social selling business, haha, but it's been a great experience so far and the extra couple hundred dollars a month is nice! Here's my day-dreaming-about-Vegas locket! I've been sporting this beauty for a week now and at the end of this week...VEGAS!

So yeah, I turn the big 3-0 on Sunday and decided to treat myself to a weekend in Vegas with the husband! We're going to see Zumanity on my actual b-day and I rented this gorgeous dress to wear to the show:

Other than that the plan is to catch up on some Zzzzs, lounge by the pool, hit up as many freebie activities as possible (flamingo exhibit, the fountains, etc etc), drink delicious beverages and eat delicious food. We may also get to meet up with a friend and her kiddo for ice cream! 

Picture dump!

Dropping off some recent photos!

Cute stuff my kid does that you probably don't care about!

Oh wow...the last time I updated this Zaine had just turned one. So uh, he's 2 now!

Zaine is the complete opposite of his sister. He's extremely strong-willed, opinionated, and very very social with other kids. Adults he doesn't know? That's another story...he's started clinging to me like his life is in danger but kids? Especially older kids? He's in Heaven. Most times the older kids at the park will play with him or at least acknowledge him and he feels like they're playing together. Sometimes they straight up ignore him and it breaks my heart. I know that's just a part of being a kid, especially a younger kid, but some kids ignored him at the Emporia Zoo on Sunday and he hung his head, sighed, and walked away from the playground all together. Cue Mommy heart break! Even my sister was saddened by the abrupt change in his demeanor. Luckily, nothing keeps him down for long and he was back to his cheerful self after a change of scenery.

Cute things my kid does that you probably don't care about but I want to remember:
* He does a little dance when he gets his way. Like if he asks for a popsicle (which sounds more like bicycle or bopcicle) and you give him one, he makes little "do de do do" noises and dances in place.
* When he wants something, he says "Follow me!" and attempts to lead you to whatever it is he's wanting.
* He recently started saying, "Thank you SO much" instead of just "thank you."
* He knows his colors and most shapes.
* He will repeat almost anything you tell him. I like to tell him to go tell his Daddy to change his diaper. :)
* He says "I love you" and gives kisses and hugs on his own now. *Melt*
* He calls strawberries, "stars." Guns are "pow pows" and Lightening McQueen is "Ka-Chow." The other day he told me he was going to get bad guys with his pow pows.

He's still a HUGE cars fan and also, anything Mickey. We took the kids to Disney in April and his eyes lit UP when he met Mickey Mouse for the first time. He loves cheese, popsicles, yogurt, strawberries--pretty much any fruit. Meats are very hit or miss depending on his mood. Honestly I sometimes wonder how he makes it through the day because he just doesn't seem to eat much! He still wakes up anywhere between 1-3 times a night and only wants me. Yay, lucky me! I can't tell you how many times I've spent the night cuddled up in his crib with him after accidentally falling asleep. Yes, I fit. I mean, I'm folded up, but it works. Perks of being on the shorter side!

Savannah is 10 and is obsessed with MineCraft. We bought her an xBox to keep at her Mom's house (how awesome are we? haha) so she can play when she's there. It's a bonus for us too though because Elery can play online with her when she's at her Mom's house and she can also play with her cousins online. She starts 5th grade this year. Her town recently had a bad thunderstorm that messed up the roof of the school so her start date for school got pushed back by 2 weeks this year! She doesn't start until September now! She's still the sweetest girl around and sooooo easy. Our biggest problem with her is the fibbing. We kind of joke about it with her and call her Fibber McGee. It's ALWAYS over stupid stuff and she almost always comes clean if you press her about it. I asked her the other day why she fibs so much and she said she didn't know, it just "comes out." If anyone's got some tips on how to help her break the habit, pass 'em our way. We're seriously thinking about deducting from her allowance or instituting a "fib jar" in much the same way as people have swear jars. I just don't want her to start fibbing in her friendships and facing social repercussions because of it. Well, and I mean, we need to be able to trust her--especially since she isn't with us full time.

Well, those are the kids. More about the hubby and I later. I gotta get to a meeting!

Playing catch-up

Ready to learn something you didn't know? 

Having a kid really cuts into your free time to do things...like blogging. 


Yep, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Zaine celebrated his first birthday a little over a month ago. He started walking around 10.5 months and has been RUNNING for some time now. He's a busy little bee. His first word was "Mama" and he can also say, "byebye" (his favorite word, I swear), "dada," "papa," and "uh oh." He just started making sound effects during play and he's really starting to understand things well. He can follow simple directions and has learned the steps in our routines. If I hold him and tell him to give someone smooches (daddy, sissy, grandma, etc) he will lean forward and open his mouth. He still seems to think smooches ought to be an open mouth kind of deal. I'm trying to tell him he's going to be so embarrassed to learn he slipped mom (and dad!) the tongue when he was a toddler. 


Savannah just celebrated her 9th birthday. Wait--what?! How is she that old already?! Yesterday we went to her school music and awards program and I could hardly believe she just finished her third grade year. Last year I sat out from picking her up from school (since Z was such a HORRIBLE passenger and it's a 2 hour trip, roundtrip) so we weren't as involved with her school since she never brought her homework to our house and I feel like the year just slipped away. Z is starting to be a better passenger (I still wouldn't say good) so I'm hopeful I can pick her up from school sometimes during her next (school) year and try to get more reconnected with her education. Luckily, she's a smart kiddo and she likes school so she does well. She earned a citizenship award last night for all her participation in school and her community and just being an all around good kid!


For whatever reason, Elery has really gotten into grilling this year. We finally traded in our old empty propane tank for some propane and he's been grilling our supper almost every night. Have to say, it's been awesome not having to worry about what to make for supper or messing up a ton of dishes in the cooking process. We're having a few friends over tonight to grill and hope to make it a reoccurring thing. 


On Saturday we leave for our first family vacation in over a year--and Zaine's first real trip and first plane ride! We're headed up to Buffalo, NY so my father can meet his grandson and we'll spend time with aunts and uncles and cousins as well. It's about 30 mins to Canada/Niagara Falls so we'll drive on over for the experience. I've been but it'll be new for Elery and the kids and the Falls view is so much nicer from the Canadian side anyways!


It's amazing what can change in a year. Babies grow into children, children grow into tweens, friends come and go, pay off old debts (and possibly accrue some new ones).... We've had our share of ups and down recently but I have to say, I sure am looking forward to enjoying the summer with my family!

Sickies, work worries, and Halloween cuteness!

Zaine has his first cold. It was inevitable, I know, but it's just so darn sad!

Last night he slept horribly (somewhat normal) and I had a hard time getting him back to sleep (abnormal) and we were up from about 12:30-3:30am. When he first woke up, he was SUPER stuffy. It seemed to just come out of the blue! The next morning our sitter let us know her kiddo was ill too. She took her son to the doctor today and they said it was just viral so it just has to run its course. We're suctioning, giving Zaine benadryll, and lots of love and cuddles for now. No fever, thank goodness!

Got some concerning news at work today. I don't want to share too much but let's just say the political climate has me somewhat concerned for my job past the 2012 year. There's so much uncertainty in the air and it's super stressful. This is not a good time to be working in social services and with a MS in Counseling...I'm just not sure what sort of employment I could find that's not in social services. Not that I want to leave my current job, because I don't, AT ALL, but should I no longer find myself employed in 2013, I am deeply concerned about finding a different job in my field. :-/

To end on a happier note. Here's our kiddos from this Halloween. Zaine was a tomato and Savannah was a cow girl. :)