Lauren's Concert

Here are some pics from Lauren's concert.

Here is a song from Lauren's concert.

mirror mirror on the wall..I'm becoming my parents after all!!!

For those of you that actually knew my father well..you'll catch on! I caught myself at dinner time today rocking back in my seat and lacing my fingers behind my head!! I remember him doing that so often and it just brought back lots of memories:) Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!!

OOPS...forgot to mention

I have to add...if y'all (horrible I know) haven't noticed...Ab's hair is beginning to get some curl in the back:) I am one HAPPY Aunt Shannie:)

WOW...we were moving down the list!!

I just realized I haven't been on this thing in AGES...I have noticed our names moving down the list on Paula's blog page!!! Nothing entirely new around our place. 5th grade is keeping Lauren busy...I cannot believe it is her last year in elementary school...pray for my mental state-I really am quite terrified by my child being mixed in with 8th graders when she is in 6th. Seems SO young to me!!!
We got through Halloween. Lauren was with Jason, so we missed her at the trunk or treat. Dean's kids were with him so we took them out to the church. The inflatables were set up so everyone had a good time. Avery wanted me to race her down the slide...but little did my big behind know...you don't bounce down at my age/height/weight!!! You sit down gently and slide. You are no longer 10 yrs old and rail thin Shannon:) A good laugh was had by all that witnessed my stopping mid slide!! Not my most graceful of moments!!!
Work and school as usual otherwise!! I should really get some photos put up, which means I should really get some batteries for the old camera:)

Paula tagged me...but I'm boring:)

Okay...6 things about me...I hope you're not tired, you may be asleep by #3!!!

1. I cannot sleep with a pillow. I lay down on my back, but usually fall asleep on my belly with no pillow.
2. If you use the toilet at my house, put down the lid. I don't know when or how this started, but it just must be done!!!
3. I always wipe down the toilet (even at my house, where only family uses it) before I use it. Again, don't know where this came from...perhaps from growing up with a little brother?? (sorry trav)
4. My thumb nails grow at an angle, away from each other.
5. I have a strong selfish desire for Abigail's hair to curl!!!
6. I love bleach!!! Clothes, cleaning, have to use it!!!

SO...those are the first 6 things that came to mind!! I haven't been on this in FOREVER...so much has changed it seems. Abigail is one...Lauren is in fifth grade, my sister is moving. Changes in the Smith family!!! I will try to get some pictures put on here.

Changes

Wow...a lot can happen in a month!! It's been crazy! I have some good pictures...but Paula has posted the one I really wanted to put up on her blog...between the cheek shot and the spiked hair!!
Lauren wrapped up softball. Thankfully...no more driving out to the middle-of-nowhere-MO!!! Dean has helped her a bit with her pitching, and she really seems to be listening, so that's nice to see. She stayed the night at my sister's place Thurs night, my grandmother's last night and thankfully is home tonight!! (although a bit of adult time is nice)
I am still helping out at the clubhouse where we live to continue getting that nice rental discount!! When gas is $4/gal and you drive an explorer...you look for ways to save a few bucks:)
Abigail is still with us a couple days a week, and we may be taking on a 4 yr old on Mondays...wow...what a house-full that will be!! Oh well...it will be fun. We all need help sometimes:)
Wish me luck on Mike's house. It has been shown tons lately with a couple 1st time buyers REALLY interested. A close would be GREAT!!!

Okay...I haven't done this in a LONG time...and I don't really have time to do it now!! SO...been busy, year older, daughter gone for 30 days w/her dad (frown...tear), working more hours (that's good & bad at the same time), did I mention I'm a year older?? :)
There is a pic of Lauren before her 1st softball game, isn't she pretty!! She is having a good time with it, and I hope to get out to one of her games this week!
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Then there is Lauren on the 4 wheeler...she had a good time...as much as you can riding around an oval over and over and over..did I mention she rode around A LOT??!!!
Then there is my niece on my bday enjoying the cake frosting!!! Anyway...been busy. Paula has had the laptop too, so I haven't been able to use it much, and I gave them my house computer (well...I let them use my house computer). SO, once they get it put up over at their place I should have more frequent use of the laptop!!! Anyway...I'll get back to doing this Allen...I heard you called my mom commenting on my lack of blogging!! I hope you had a great Father's Day!!!

Can't think of anything clever for a title!!!

What a busy few weeks it has been, or maybe just one week and it feels like a few!! Hours are crazy where I work, more than what I had expected...but let's face it, who couldn't use the extra money!!! We're still keeping Abigail while Paula works, and now her hours will be changing too. Lauren has wrapped up choir for the year, they had several shows, and performed yesterday at Crown Center. She was SO excited yesterday when she got home to tell me they got Sheridan's ice cream. I would've been excited too!!!!! Anyway...LONG week:)
Julie is FINALLY married!! No more stress of the wedding. Amazing how such a happy time can get SO crazy. I will be running off, getting hitched, and we'll party when I get back...FYI. IF I can find anyone bold enough to take me on:) Who knows...I'm just more concerned with having a great marriage than a wedding!!! Hopefully someday...I don't want to be the old cat lady!!
Lauren has her first softball game coming up this next Monday. Hopefully they'll be short games, considering this one doesn't start until 8:15 and we live almost an hour away. Crappy...
She was late to practice this past Monday. There was a stalled semi on 435 and traffic was horrible. So we detoured and the stop and go of 135th was not much better!!! Anyway, we were almost there and a guy (looked homeless and drunk to me) was yelling and very much in the face of a woman with a baby stroller. So, since I thought he had alcohol in him and in his hand (Lauren later told me she thought it was Lipton Green Tea), I called 911. I was concerned for her, and too scared to stop myself. So on we went to practice, and hour and a few minutes late. Just a little bit beyond our control.

TIIIIIIRRRRRRRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my goodness, am I EVER exhausted!!! I decided to help out at the complex where I work, because let's face it...a girl can use a rent deduction and some extra cash:) BUT...am I ever tired! 15 hrs weekly helping out has turned into 30!!! Yesterday, I was up at the clubhouse at 9 until 5. Went up North to list a house and didn't get home until well after 10:00.
Lauren has made a new friend, whose name just happens to be Lauren Elizabeth!!! Go figure:) Her parent's are the new managers at our complex and they get to hang out on the afternoons that I'm up there.
We have yet ANOTHER program tomorrow night!! The 4th grade music program at school. To be honest, I'm glad it's on a Thursday. I don't mind driving Lauren ALL THE WAY into MO for practice, but I'm not too sorry to miss one:) Gets pricey...and quite time consuming:)
My little cousin is getting married this Saturday, thank God it will be over soon!!! I got Abigail a bib that says "are these people REALLY my relatives?" LOVE IT:) Explains lots!! Anyway, I'm upset Jason isn't letting Lauren attend, but I guess that's part of the territory I must live in. I did Julie's bridal shower on a weekend that I had Lauren so she would be able to take part in at least one part of the wedding process for her.
I should start to clean...I'm running out of evening:)

Choir concert

Two more days to go!!! Tuesday will be the last choir concert of the year!!! Lauren is getting really excited, and kind of nervous:)
Tomorrow we have softball practice...yet another crazy drive!! She definitely should be playing ball in Shawnee!! Or at least the state of Kansas!!!
Yesterday I brought Abigail over to visit Bina. She did a really good job...ate two large bottles and finished the rest of her carrots. The child can eat...clearly evidenced by the size of her chunky thighs:) Love it!!!
I cannot believe it is already April! School will be out in less than 2 months, what will we do with the summer??

SLUGGER SMITH...JR

When I was playing ball growing up, Rick Atteberry gave me a nickname...Slugger Smith. SO...Lauren had her first ball practice last night, and I think she may have taken over the title!! I was SO impressed!!! She got up to bat (and didn't have many hit-able pitches), but made contact with one and got a double!!! Abigail and I sat in the car watching, it was so windy I coudn't really take her out there. So she had fun staring at herself in the mirror...I don't think the child will have any self-esteem issues!! She loves to look at herself:)
Lauren's last choir concert is next Tuesday. The choir from each school in the district will be performing together, about 450 kids total. I'm sure it will be pretty impressive:)

Spring Break/Sprint (yuck)

Spring Break is here...and Lauren is quite happy about that!! She was supposed to have softball practice last night, but it got rained out...no shock there considering there was over 2 inches of rain:) She got a bat and her shoes, my grandmother took her out on Sunday to pick them up, and she is pretty proud of them:) Lot of pink. I remember the only option I had for shoes was black & white..now there are all kinds of crazy color combos!! But, she is happy, so that's what matters I suppose.
My niece (I love her to death, but it aggrivated me none the less) drooled on my phone and now I can't hear anything out of it!! The earpiece sounds muffled, and it's quite frustrating. And when I'm on speaker, nobody can understand me. SO...I try to reach sprint today, and their customer service is something less than excellent!! We have a rep through work who is trying to sort things out for me, so hopefully she can get me some good news:) Cross your fingers!!
My little brother (such a god send when it comes to my car) has been my handy man/mechanic whatever you call it for awhile now. Considering he is much cheaper than an auto shop...buy the supplies and cook him dinner and he'll take care of it for me!! SO...the other morning I found out my left brake light/turn signal is out...and Travis is going to take care of it for me this evening...after changing my oil last week!!! (and my old green car)
Hope you have a Happy Easter!!!

Hi this is lauren i got signed up for softball finally!!!! and that is the first sport that i have played since i was about three or four years old and i did gymnastics then and i learned how to walk up a wall do a front flip and back flip on the bars and jumped in the foam pool alot! and shortly after that i did ballet and swimming classes but when it was the day that we were going to compete and win the gold medal or gold trophy or what ever no one was there! not even the coach! and i was so upset all that practicing and hard work and doing my best for nothing! i was so bummed! and now i am in softball and the name of my team is the petties . in know right? kind of weird. but any way my cousin is on my team and her name is kayla and we are going to have the best time!!!! we had practice last monday but they cancled that because no one was going to go and i did not like that and now we have real practice on monday and it is going to snow tomorrow and saturday and i hope it does not snow on monday because then i would be super duper wuper bummed!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wouldnt you? but anyway check out my blog at www.thesmithworld.blogspot.com! see u there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some new pics

Nothing too much...but it's been awhile!!!

Lauren has one month until the all district choir show, which had ought to be pretty impressive!! The choir from each school in the district will perform together, and then they get to go to Crown Center this month, so that's loads of fun for her!

Paybacks are HECK!!!

Now I know just how frustrated my mom got when my room was a horrid mess...because I'm living it. Lauren has had a fascination lately (and by lately, I mean all the time, everyday) with taking EVERYTHING out of her dresser, cabinet, shelves, you name it. It is all in the middle of the floor! Granted, it's just untidy...it's not dirty, but it's still driving me up the WALL!!! (and it's a short wall that I'm at the top of). Last night, Paula came over to take Lauren to play Bingo at her school. And before they left, Paula told her to pick up a bit. Way to go Paula!!! Unfortunately, they didn't win any prizes...but it sounds like they had a good time. They stayed until it was over at 9:00. They had snacks, and it was all free, so you just can't beat that!

Last week, I got a pretty frustrating call from the KS Real Estate Commission. My fingerprints for my background check couldn't be read by the KBI...so I got re-printed and sent them in. This was the third hang up in processing my KS license, so I was feeling pretty bummed. The lady told me they would expedite my re-prints...so we sent them off Tuesday of this week, and my license was back at my office yesterday!! THANK GOD!!! So I was ready to roll today and got to show a house in Basehor.
Nothing much new around our place. Lauren is growing like a weed (like a weed on steroids, I've never seen anything like this!!), and is nearly as tall as me!! We're gearing up for my little cousin's wedding, which means 4 trips to Columbia over the next month, but it's worth it!!

Conferences/Valentines/Awanas

Well it has come that time again!!! This Thursday (yes Valentine's) we had a "student lead" conference. Lauren had to do a power point presentation showing her strengths, areas for improvement, favorite projects/subjects, and mapping out a plan to work on the improvement. I was really impressed. I always STRESS majorly over these things, like I'm being put on trial as a parent. But, she is doing a great job. She has the highest score for reading fluency in her class, and is doing great in each subject.
Submitting everything for my KS license proved to be an adventure. I had a packet of papers that had to be sent to Topeka, and ONE page of probably 8 turned out that I sent in the copy. Whoops...KS needs the original. SO...as I'm filling out the form to request it AGAIN from MO, the office where I live called me and it had been left up there while I was making my copies. Relief:) I love it when things turn out like that:)

More good Lauren news. She finished her book this past Wed night at Awana's. The whole bunch was on fire!! Lauren finished her book, Avery finished hers, and Kade did 4 verses I think. Each week I am more impressed by these kids. I just love it!!!

I've Been Tagged

Okay...I'll have to do one and then get Lauren to do one also. Six things you may not know about me...it'll be boring for sure, I think everyone knows most everything there is to know

1. I wrote a poem after my grandpa died that was published
2. My right leg is shorter than my left by almost a full inch. (I was told once it was due to me being a breach baby..HMM)
3. I am terrified of complete darkness.
4. When I was young, (probably up to 4 yrs old) I cried uncontrollably when I would have pictures taken...then I would cry when I looked at pics of myself.
5. I am totally blind (couldn't even read my speedometer w/out aid)
6. 27 Dresses was based on my life...j/k, but it really feels like it!! Always a bridesmaid, never a bride:)

Spelling Bee

Lauren got through three rounds of the spelling bee! She did an awesome job, we were all really proud of her! My mom, Paula and Abigail went along to watch, and thankfully Abigail was on her BEST baby behavior:) Both Smith girls were pretty impressive Friday morning:)
Lauren got a medal for participating, and was really excited that it wasn't a plastic one! She wore it all day at school, and has been showing it off like crazy!
The morning of the bee was a bit rough for me. I got pretty much NO sleep that night before. Lauren got to bed pretty easy so she could be rested for the bee. I fell asleep around 10:30 or so, and was woken up around one o'clock to what I thought was someone breaking in through a window...panic of great amounts followed!! After making calls to whoever I could find would answer, I walked around my place to find all the doors and windows still locked. Relief...for a minute. I walked back into my room and heard more glass shattering. I opened my bathroom door, and saw that my shower door had fallen apart. WHAT A MESS!! Then, I got really nervous thinking someone was IN the house and had hit it. (yes, I'm paranoid...sometimes I question if I should live alone) SO, I looked under the beds and in the closets. All clear, more relief:) The door got replaced by maintenance late Friday morning. By a door that looked like they had ripped it off a filthy abandoned apartment...so I got a bottle of bleach and went into clean it. Stepped on probably the only piece of glass that didn't get picked up by the shopvac. What a mess!! I am still not letting Lauren walk around barefoot. We have mopped/swept/repeated SEVERAL times. What fun!!
Paula got a pic of Lauren with her bee medal, so I'll be sure to load it soon.
In some good news, everything has been sent for my KS real estate license, so being legal in both KS and MO is a great thing!! Hopefully I can find a few good people to work with!! (shameless, yes I know, but if y'all have any referrals for me, HOW AWESOME WOULD THAT BE!!!)
Have a great weekend:) Super bowl party safe!!

The Countdown has Started!!

We now have less than one week until the spelling bee!!! Lauren has been studying over her words, so I really feel she will be prepared!! (if she can keep control of her nerves, she'll be fine)
In Abigail news...she rolled over at my house this week in an exhausted fit! She ate (like a horse), had an atomic poo bomb (as Lauren called it), burped a few times and still was not happy. SO...I thought, I'll just take her into my room and lay her down. She was quite obviously exhausted. I layed her on her back, she cried and kicked for a few minutes, then rolled over and by the time she hit her belly she was asleep. I had to call Paula, because only a couple hours earlier, she said Abigail hadn't rolled over again since that first time. She really gets herself upset fighting sleep! She definitely has the stubborn Smith streak!!!
REALLY, I promise, I'll get some new pictures in:)

Wish Lauren Luck

Friday, Feb 1st Lauren will be in the Horizon spelling bee!! She is studying hard, and hopefully her nerves won't get to her!! We got a letter sent home yesterday that the winners will go onto the Johnson county bee on Feb 9th. That is pretty exciting stuff!!
We will have to get some new pics on here sometime soon

NEED NEW PICS

I know I haven't posted ANYTHING lately, certainly no new pics...so I will get back on track someday (Paula, since I think you're the only one who reads this). I have some really cute ones of Lauren and Abigail to get posted.
Everything is great otherwise.

Good News

I have no new photos to put on, but I have some great news. I was very proud this afternoon when Lauren got home from school and told me she qualified for the school spelling bee. The best two spellers from each class get to participate, so she had to earn the spot. It has been a really great week around our place!!!