Fall Festivities

What would the fall season be without a trip to Gardner Village to see the witches? My kids love to go, and this year Chris joined us for the first time. He'd never been to Gardner Village before, and after having been decided that it's just a place for women to spend money. However, the kids and I enjoyed seeing the witches--Talia remembered from last year the one that looks like she splattered into the side of the mill, and was very excited to see that witch again. We went on a hay ride and listened to the witch tell stories, and ate soup and bread from the bakery. Thanks to Jay and Melissa for letting us tag along with them!

Another annual tradition is our pumpkin-carving evening. This year was a little hectic, because we did it on the night Chris got home from fishing in Montana, which made the evening last pretty late. Robbie carved AF in his pumpkin for his AF football team, and Sarah and Talia came up with their own faces for their pumpkins. Great fun!

Halloween

Halloween this year was great--the kids were old enough that there was really no whining during trick-or-treating, and that's a first! Robbie went with his friends, and they were much faster than us girls were. There is a gated subdivision next to us where a lot of people hand out full-sized candy bars, and Robbie and his friends devised a plan to hit that neighborhood twice. They went once, came home and changed costumes, and then went out again--pretty sneaky! They were able to hit all the homes twice in less time than it took Talia, Sarah and I to do one round. After we got home, we separated all the candy and put all the peanut stuff up and let the kids go to town. There's still plenty of candy left, but they're working on depleting it as fast as they can! Rob's first costume--the second time around he went as a football player.

Annual Shippen Halloween Party

The annual Shippen Halloween bash is becoming a highlight of the year, and this year was no exception! The evening began at 6 pm, when the first family members showed up. Over the next 45 minutes, everyone trickled in. The best part of the whole evening is watching everyone come in the door in their costumes! The winners this year were once again Jay and Melissa, who showed up as John McCain and Sarah Palin. After taking lots of pictures, we sat down to white chicken chili and cornbread. Then it was down to the basement for games for the kids--bean bag toss, pin-the-nose-on-the-pumpkin, and a pinata. Thanks so much to Meghan, Ashley, and Melissa for doing the games! You guys are great! I think next year we should have two pinatas--one for the older kids and one for the younger kids, seeing as the older ones didn't get a chance to hit it because the younger ones broke it open! After the games, we headed back upstairs to decorate pumpkins and have the doughnut-eating contests. My kids look forward to the doughnut-eating all year. I think the adults have more fun watching than the kids do eating their doughnuts! Colton ate his doughnut the fastest, while the younger kids took their time and enjoyed them. The adult contest followed, with Brian beating Adam out this year. Then somebody came up with the crazy idea for a doughnut-eating-can-of-coke-drinking contest. I missed that one, as I was dealing with a blown-out diaper in Cody's room, but judging from the shouts coming from the kitchen, it was quite a sight! Thanks to everyone who came and helped out! I'm already thinking about what to be next year!

Our decorated pumpkins--hats off to Family Fun magazine, where I got the idea from. The kids cut out eyes, noses, and mouths from magazines and glued them on--easy, and most importantly, NO MESS!

The guys competing for title of Fastest Doughnut Eater.

Sarah gets the last of her dougnut in her mouth.


Robbie chowing on his doughnut--they can't touch them with their hands, so it can get pretty tricky!

Talia preparing to hit the pinata.

All the Shippen family men!

Me and my girls!

Our family--Chris as the Shippen Biggest Loser weight-loss contest winner, Allison as Sacagawea, Sarah as a witch, Robbie as a football player, Talia as sleeping beauty, and Cody as Sacagawea's Indian baby.

Cody's blessing

Okay, so I've slacked off big-time on the blogging, and am now attempting to catch up! These are a few pictures from Cody's blessing, which was Oct 12. It was a great day, and it was so nice to have most of our families there to share it with us. Cody behaved like a champ, and slept most of the day (of course!).

Can anyone tell that Sarah was NOT excited about having her picture taken?!

We are so glad this little guy was sent to our family--he's a great baby, sleeps a lot, doesn't fuss too much, smiles at everyone (but the most at Chris), loves looking at bright patterns, loves being held by his mom--we love him to pieces!

A Bad Hair Year

Well, it's official--it's going to be a bad hair year for Talia. I officially ended my mourning for her hair this morning, but still have had twinges of sadness when I look at her without all her hair. Anyway, for those of you I haven't talked to--I got a call from my crying neighbor on Tuesday afternoon, telling me that her daughter had cut Talia's hair and it was "pretty short". Her daughter Sylvie, Talia, and another neighbor girl, Addy, were playing in Sylvie's room when the hair-cutting occurred. Talia's hair was in a ponytail, and they just cut the whole thing off, and then cut off whatever was left over. My neighbor had no idea that Sylvie had taken the hair scissors a few days earlier and hid them in her purse in her bedroom. Addy's hair also got cut, but not to the extent of Talia's. I went up to the room to get some of Talia's hair for her scrapbook, and the entire bed was covered in hair! What a mess! My neighbor was so upset--I can only imagine how bad she felt. She said that it took her about ten minutes to work up the nerve to call me. After collecting the hair and breaking the news to Chris (who was VERY upset), we went home and Talia fell asleep while I had a silent breakdown. Then I got a call from my friend, Collette, who is a hairdresser. She had heard the news from Chris, and she was on her way over to survey the damage and see what she could do to help. She offered to even it up as best as possible. So after dinner Tuesday night, we went to Collette's house so she could attempt to salvage what little hair was left. She showed me what I could do to make it look as feminine as possible and helped me feel a little bit better about everything--thanks a ton, Collette! Wednesday found us in the Cherished Moments boutique, picking out headbands, hats, bows, and flowers for Talia to wear.
Through this whole thing, Talia hasn't been too upset. She looked in the mirror Tues night while brushing her teeth and said, "Hey mom, I look like a boy", to which I replied that yes, she did, and that's why you don't let people cut your hair! She said, "I want to be myself again with long hair. We need to put it back on." And when she woke up Wed morning she was upset because her hair hadn't grown long over night. But now she just laughs when I tell her to put her headband on and says, "OK, I need to cover up my boy hair!" At least she has the personality to pull off a pixie cut!


The back of Addy and Talia after the hair cuts--Talia fared the worst by far!

Getting her hair "fixed" in Collette's salon. I'm so glad Collette took on the impossible task of trying to fix the mess--thanks a ton babe!

The finished product!

One of her new headbands. They look cute, as do the hats (thanks, Melissa, for lending us Ella's--it works great).

With such crazy fashion sense, who is even going to notice her hair?!

YOU WOULD CRY, TOO, IF IT HAPPENED TO YOU!

The neighbor girls decided to play hair dresser--the pictures speak for themselves. I'm trying really hard to keep it together, and not doing such a great job.

Cody's getting big!

Here's a few pictures to update you all on the baby!

He loves his baths!

He is starting to smile lots at us, and even giggles sometimes. He is ticklish under his chin.

Of course, if he is hungry or tired or has a dirty diaper or wants to be held, this is what he looks like!

He is getting so big! He has officially outgrown that just-barely-born look!

Cody Jacob

Cody Jacob, born 8/22, weighing 8 lbs 5 oz. Not as much hair as the other kids, but he sure looks like he belongs in our family!

He loves his binki, and sister Sarah loves him!

The day we brought him home from the hospital.

I had to put this picture in because I love Talia's face! She's so excited to have a baby brother!

Mommy means.....

Last week Sarah had a fever and sore throat for 2 days, and now Talia's got it. She was up 5 times last night because she was either hurting or had to go to the bathroom. She wouldn't eat much last night, but drank a ton, hence the frequent bathroom trips. Usually she'll just take care of herself at night, but because she was feeling sick, I got the privilege of being woken up to help because she felt she just couldn't handle it on her own. At 2:15 am, when we were on the third trip to the bathroom, I said to her in complete exasperation, "Talia, you can do this by yourself! You don't need me to help!" She looked at me, made an annoying sound like "duh" and said, "Mommy means you wipe me whenever I need you to."

The reason for my existence has never been stated so pathetically and yet so truthfully. I wanted to cry. So my question for all of you today is.... what does Mommy mean to you?

Yellowstone vacation

In front of Castle Geyser, which went off for at least an hour--it's the first time I've ever seen this one go off, and it was pretty cool!

In front of the entrance to Yellowstone--yeah!
The kids and I as Old Faithful is dying down--don't they look thrilled!
At the Canyon overlook--this is Chris's favorite part of the whole park. The kids thought it was cool, but I guess you have to be an adult to really appreciate how beautiful it is!

In July we took our family summer vacation to Yellowstone. The kids had never been before (well, I guess Robbie had been when he was 18 months old, but that doesn't really count because he can't remember it) and they were way excited to see the geysers and animals. Their favorite part of the trip was seeing all the animals--buffalo, elk, eagles, coyotes, squirrels, deer, etc, etc. We didn't see any bears or wolves, but we did see some great movies about them! As far as the geysers, the kids thought they were way overrated. After we watched Old Faithful, Robbie's reaction was, "That's it?!" They actually liked Castle Geyser a lot better because its eruption lasted a lot longer, and they thought the paint pot stink was disgusting and cool at the same time. We covered most of the park during the 3 1/2 days we were there, including visits to Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Falls, the Canyon area and Upper and Lower falls, Yellowstone Lake, the geyser basins around Old Faithful, Hayden Valley, and I forget what else. I also forgot how freaky it is to stand at the top of those huge waterfalls and watch all that water drop off to the canyon floor below--it gave me the heebies big-time, and Chris kept a SUPER tight grip on Talia while we were at Upper Falls. We went to some ranger programs at Madison Junction and Canyon visitors center, saw movies and other cool displays at other visitors centers, and drove A LOT!!! We saw an IMAX movie on bears, which was awesome, and the kids did the Junior Ranger Program and got their ranger badges! The kids were real troopers, considering how much time we spent in the car, but we did have a few episodes. For the first time on any of our vacations, we had some major meltdowns--by the kids, as well as by mom and dad! Thank goodness the hotel had a pool that we could play in at night--that always seems to make everything okay! The only real drawback to the trip was on Chris's end--he was DYING to fish, but since fly fishing is not really a family activity, that was shot down by the rest of us; he had to deal with fruitlessly gazing upon the fish-laden waters of Yellowstone and dreaming of future man-trips where the only purpose of the trip is to fish. Maybe I'll let him have one of those trips this fall--Ill have to see how well he helps out with the baby and the kids to determine if he earns it or not! (FYI--he's not going to be happy with me saying he has to "earn it", but we all know that's how it really works, don't we!!)

Oregon wedding trip

Okay--now I'm attempting to play catch-up with my blogging, and I'm blogging about a few of our summer trips and fun times. Chris and I flew to Oregon in June for my brother's wedding. Jen and Brian were great to stay with the kids, so I was looking forward to some R&R away from home before the baby comes. Anyway, the trip started out with an airline aborted takeoff (like, the nose of the plane had literally started to lift off the ground, then came slamming back down and the plane braked hard to a stop) because of mechanical problems. We had an hour delay while they switched planes. We should've just given up right then and gone home, because the rest of the trip wasn't a whole lot better. When we got to Oregon, we went to dinner with two of my college roommates, and that was the highlight of the trip. I hadn't seen Rebecca in eight years, and it's so fun to see how everyone changes but yet doesn't change that much. Anyway, we enjoyed a great evening with Becca and Kim and their husbands--and if you gals are reading this, I love you guys, and I did send the roommate letter to Stacie! Anyway, from there the trip seemed to go downhill. The next morning we were totally shafted by my siblings, who all went to breakfast but apparently didn't feel the need to invite us. That didn't put me in the best mood, and by thr afternoon of the wedding my allergies were in full attack on whatever was in the wonderful Oregon air. By the evening of my brother's reception, I was sneezing CONSTANTLY, could barely breathe, and my eyes were red and swollen. The allergies continued the rest of the trip, and I spent part of one night and another afternoon in the hotel room with a cold washcloth over my eyes. All in all, it was rather miserable. Chris didn't fare much better, and his allergies were just as bad as mine. Needless to say, we were rather glad to come home and get away from the Oregon pollen count! It was great to see my brother get married, and I'm so happy for him and Katie, but I have no desire to visit Oregon in June ever again!

Eggs for Everyone!

Well, we took Talia to the allergist three days ago, and happy news! She's no longer allergic to eggs! We were told she would probably outgrow it, and sure enough, she has. When Robbie and Sarah found out, they immediately requested breakfast food for dinner. So on Thursday night we enjoyed a dinner of scrambled eggs, hash browns, and waffles. These are pictures of Talia's first bite of scrambled eggs. I can't believe she's three years old and has never tasted scrambled eggs before! The dinner was a success, and she declared that she LOVES eggs now. I'm sure it's just the novelty, but it was exciting nonetheless. On the downside, we did discover from this trip to the allergist that she's actually more allergic to cashews than she is to peanuts. Besides the peanuts and cashews, she's also allergic to pistachios, Brazil nuts, and shrimp. Hopefully the list won't keep growing as she gets older!

The Last Stretch

OK everyone! I am finally posting--expect a flurry of updates since it's been a few months! We'll start out by saying that the last month of pregnancy STINKS! In an attempt to be creative, here are some things that I think STINK about 9th month.

S--wollen ankles, legs, face, hands, everything

T--ake a tumble. You may not remember that 4 days before Talia was born, I did a glorious belly flop in Jen's driveway while carrying a crock pot of beans out to my car. Well, I had a repeat the other day, but this time I wish it was in the privacy of Jen's yard. Unfortunately, it happened at the Gateway while we were there shopping with our friends Dan and Stacie. I caught the toe of my shoe on the edge of some bricks in the walkway, and couldn't regain my balance and ended up sprawled out all over the pavement. By the way, thanks for laughing so much Dan!

I--'m ornery. Let's face the facts and call it what it is. The other day, Chris pointed out how ornery I really am. I reminded him that an ornery day for me is a normal day for him, which he did agree with.

N--o sleep. How can I possibly sleep with my back and hips hurting this much, and a human inside me kicking to get out?! You may see more posts on the blog at odd hours of the night, because lately I've been wandering around quite a bit between the hours of 1 and 5 am.

K--ilograms (or pounds). Can the weight gain just stop already? Who knew I would end up this huge?! I cringe to think of all the lunges and squats I'm going to have to do, along with all the months I'm going to have to go hungry, just to get some semblance of my old body back. It's so depressing, I don't want to think about it. Hand me another cookie to take away the pain!

S--upport hose. What a marvelous invention! When it's a hundred degrees plus outside, let's make poor pregnant women with bad veins wear glorified nylons that are so freaking tight they take 15 minutes to put on and raise your body temperature another 20 degrees! Curse the women in my family for giving me the varicose vein genetics! Let's hear a round of applause for laser vein surgery, which has replaced a tummy tuck as #1 on my list of procedures to have done in the near future!

Another fear alleviated...

For those of you who heard about my mouse predicament, I have good news! The mouse I saw in my basement a few weeks ago has successfully been caught and killed! Halleluia! I DO NOT like mice, and the thought of one running around free in the my basement was giving me the heebies. We have more traps downstairs, just in case there was more than one, but so far they have caught nothing and I am sleeping easy again!

Loose tooth!

If you look closely, you can see the gap where Sarah's tooth used to be. Yep, that's right, she lost her first tooth! She came home on a Friday and told me that her tooth was loose. I felt it, and that thing was barely hanging on. She worked with it all afternoon and evening, and all day Saturday she complained that she couldn't chew anything because the tooth was too loose. Well, finally on Saturday night she let me have a go at it, and I pulled it right out! No tears or anything! She looks so cute with her gapped smile! We sure do love her!

The day I've been dreading...

Okay, so I knew this would happen some day, and I'm just glad it happened when I was at home and not out running an errand. Last Thursday I was at home getting the house ready and dinner preparations done because I was going to teach my last class at that hospital Thurs night. I'd finally told my boss that I just needed to be done working for good, so this was my last time working and I was trying hard not to feel sentimental about it. The kids were at school and Talia was at the neighbor's playing with her new BFF Addie. And then I get THE CALL from my neighbor--Talia is coughing nonstop, and then my neighbor's voice becomes slightly panicky as she says, "And I can hear her starting to wheeze". Well, at that moment I know what's happened--peanuts! I rush down to my neighbor's, and sure enough, she's having a full-blown reaction to peanuts. It turns out that her and her friend snuck some chocolates when my neighbor wasn't watching, and they had peanut butter in them. Anyway, I give her an epinephrine injection, and she proceeds to throw up all over me and my neighbor's kitchen. Then it was a mad dash to the Dr's office to get there in 20 min before the shot wore off. Once we were at the Dr's office, it's a steroid injection, 2 breathing treatments, and a mega dose of Benadryl before she's stable and we can go home. Can I just say that this allergy sucks big time! I knew that one day she would get into something she wasn't supposed to while away from home, and I'm just really glad that it happened when I was four doors down (my neighbor is very glad too!). Anyway, it has renewed my vigilance for checking all labels and being extra careful--not an easy thing to do with Easter coming up! Well, I did end up going to work to teach that class Thurs night, and I told the nurse I work with about it and then said, "And this is one of the reasons I'm not working anymore! Stuff like this always happens on nights I'm supposed to work!" Well, I'm just glad Talia's okay--if you ask her now, she'll tell you that peanut butter makes her sick and she doesn't want it. Poor thing!

Where have I been?

I was reading Summer's blog the other day and decided I probably needed to add some posts, one of them appropriately titled (like Summer's) Where Have I Been? Well, let me tell you, if you notice the new addition to our blog--the baby ticker--you'll know that we're expecting this summer, and when I'm pregnant I value my sleep too much to stay up and blog! So I guess you could say that I'm in survival mode around here--I'm struggling to get the bare necessities done, and not worrying too much about anything else. That being said, I can't complain too much about this pregnancy. I wasn't nearly as sick this go-around as I was with Talia, and not nearly as emotional as I was with Sarah--maybe that means it's a boy! Either way, we're ecstatic about the upcoming addition to our family although I am dreading the HOT, LONG SUMMER I have ahead of me. Can you say swelling and water retention? Anyway, hopefully I'll get into more of a normal routine again (if there is such a thing as normal) and post a few more blogs to let you all know what we're up to! Here's a few pictures of things I missed blogging about this winter.


Robbie's baptism day--I can't believe he's that old! It was a very special day for him, and we're so proud of him!

These are pictures from our snowmobiling trip to Island Park in January. There was tons of snow, and we had a blast! Thanks, Worthingtons, for the invite!














Robbie played Jr Jazz again this winter, and ate it up! Way to go, kiddo!