Summer 2003. With our Grandma Twila who passed away a few months later.

Christmas 2005

Grandsons (that is all there was, now at least we have 3 girls) Easter 2007

Just the kids. Thanksgiving 2007

Summer 2008. Jo was pregnant with number 4.

Summer 2009: I was pregnant with Ryder in this picture. Mom made her dress, my dress and the boys ties and vests.

Summer 2010: Ty was a month old  in this picture.  Each family was supposed to be a different color of blue but when the picture got taken it ended up being nearly the same shade.

Summer 2011: Jo's #5 was 2 weeks old and I was pregnant with Boston. Nae and Bubba just started dating at this point so Nae took this picture for us. Mom bought matching polos for each of the boys and we all went with blue/gray/white color scheme.

Summer 2012: A family picture where no one is pregnant...One for the record books.

I think this year was my favorite. All the adult women chose their outfits along with the little girl outfits. The men wore matching ties and the little boys wore tie shirts. I love how we look coordinating without being over the top matchy matchy.
The success of this year has got me really excited for next year. I even made a pinterest board with some potential color schemes, and the adults are voting for their favorites...so far these 4 top the charts. I was hoping that if we got our colors figured out we could take advantage of summer clearance.

Autumn color	Color Locked
Feathered Hues	Flora Color

Which color scheme is your favorite? How do you decide on a color scheme? What time of year do you usually take your family's pictures?

Last year my nuclear family's pictures color scheme were determined by what shirt was least noticeable with my pregnant belly. And when I knew I could take pictures without throwing up but before I looked too big. This year (for my nuclear family) I think I will try to incorporate a subtle color scheme that coordinates without over matching.

As I told you, I said something stupid which lead to Ryder thinking that the calling of "boy" or "mommy" was a temporary position that if you were unsatisfied with the results that you could just go to the store a pick one up or go looking for one.
After I wrote that blog post, it got WORST. Ryder was having such a hard time going to bed or naps, and he was constantly trying to escape to find a "new mommy".
His requirements for a new mommy are that would never make him take a nap and the two of them would  play outside forever and eat gogurts all day. I didn't know what to tell him. I tried not to force his hand so he didn't feel like his needs were unexpressed. We stayed outside for 30 minutes as he thought about how he would get a new mom only to have me then tell him we needed to take a nap. Then the next day he went at it again at nap time, so Al came over and was his new mommy for a few hours. Where he cried to her that, "My Mommy loves me!" Finally he decided to take a nap at her house and when he woke up I was there. He gave me the biggest hug and told me that he wanted me to be his "new mommy".
The "new mommy" moment taught me that even though Ryder is talking a ton (like non-stop) he still is working on how to express his emotional needs. This last week I have made sure we have been on a very strict schedule with nap times and bed times. I have also taken 5-15 minutes to cuddle him in bed before he goes to bed. It has been so good for both of us. He has his one on one time that he needs and it gives me a break from trying to keep up with everything because I realize that he really does need me to show him physical attention.
I love being a mom and how even though there are tough things that through inspiration, intuition and perspiration even the toughest challenges you get through.

In addition to loving being a mom I also love naptime my kids look so sweet when they sleep...I love that my little girl sleeps like a bug and softly sucks her thumb when she gets tired......How she looks with tons of ruffles, she is so skinny that it gives her some much needed volume.

The Shaffer Sisters are so excited to announce our first giveaway: 1 Swim Wrap
We (Al and I) love wearing baby wraps. It is absolutely essential to having a second kid. I don't go out in public without my wrap. I take it to the grocery store, family reunions, church, outside to play with Rhett. I use it when I am prepping dinner and Slim Jim has to work.
Here are some pictures of Al and Power Shoes rocking the wrap (Sorry, I don't have any pictures of me in the wrap but I don't have any extra hands to carry a camera).
One day when Al and I took the kids to the splash park we realized that as amazing as our regular wraps are they weren't the greatest for the water. Because they would keep the baby's too wet. We needed  a wrap for the water.
We went home and ordered the fabric waited patiently (okay, so not so patiently) for our fabric to come. We made up 2 wraps for ourselves and made one for our beloved readers. Immediately after we finished it we went to the splash park and tried it out. Wow, awesome! It was great for all the reasons I love my original one but it was perfect for the water because the kids didn't get too cold and the water moved right through them.

Fine Print for the Giveaway:

1. Must be a follower of Shaffer Sisters through Google Friend Connect.
2. Must live in the Continental US (sorry, shipping isn't cheap)
3. Leave a comment to be entered.
4. You can get one extra entry for publishing this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter or a Blog (come back and tell us what you have done and leave a separate comment for each entry).
5. To get an extra entry you can follow Shaffer Sisters on Facebook.

Opps! I forgot to add that the giveaway will end  11:59 MST August 9th.

Probably about a week ago we had gone to lunch as a family (special treat) and when we were walking upstairs afterwards Ryder and I were in disagreement about whether it was time to play outside or take a nap. As I plead my case to my sweet but very stubborn two year old I said something very stupid, "I said you better come upstairs or I will have to get a new boy." I know this sound terrible but I said it before I thought and all I really wanted was for him to come up stairs without me having to fireman carry him with him kicking and screaming.
Since that day every time he wants to stay outside when we need to go inside, he says, "Mom, you go get a new boy. I will play outside." (him looking as a new boy as a positive)
He has had a hard time going to bed or nap time because he is afraid that he will be replaced by a new boy, he usually says something like, "Mom hold me....I don't want you to get a new boy." Or when we are both frustrated with the sleep situation, he says, "I go to the store and get a new mommy."
I realized the moment I said it that it was the wrong thing to say but now I think he is dealing with abandonment issues. YIKES!

Ryder with a panty liner on his head. He said he, "had a big owee."

As I was pondering how to undo this and I came up with some ideas:
Maybe Ryder needs to spend time in his room with me that doesn't involve falling asleep.
I might need to put him to bed a lot sooner or at least be winding down in his room a lot sooner than no.
He might enjoy classical music.
Do you have any suggestions to get through this latest parenting slump?

Sickness+Motherhood= Rough Day.
Luckily Slim Jim was only scheduled to work for 5 hours today so I had a lot of help this morning. But still I have had several hours where I have had to keep an almost 3 year old from driving me nuts and a recently crawling 6 month old from getting into something she shouldn't. When Slim Jim left for work I told him I didn't know what we would be having for dinner. And I honestly had no good ideas (which is very rare, I usually have more ideas than is useful). At 6:30, I looked in my pantry and saw two cans, and I suddenly was brought back to my childhood. Most Sundays after church in the winter we would have.....


Creamy Vegetable Beef Stew
Equal parts Campbell's Cream of  Mushroom soup: Milk : Canned Beef Stew
Pour ingredients into stockpot and heat until warm.
Notes: I think that Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup is better than off brands especially if you are using it in a soup application such as this. As far as Canned Beef Stews I like Dinty Moore, or Western Family, or you can use Campbell's Beef Vegetable/Beef Barley....Nelly's makes good chilli but terrible stew.
Enjoy with wheat toast, and get feeling better!


I love cooking/eating so many different recipes but when I am sick or exhausted all I want is the simple basics I grew up on.
 

I didn't realize I didn't until lately that when I posted the Butter burner that the link wasn't working. Now it is fixed.

PDF / DOC / JPEG

Dear Al, 
Your post broke my heart, because I know that I have been there on numerous occasions and felt the exact same way.
And My Dear Jo,
Your post gave me hope that it won't always be intimidating to go out without back up.

After I had Boston I felt so over whelmed every time we (the kids and I) went out on our own. I remember telling mom, "I wish they (the hospital) would have told me how two kids safely in the car by yourself, instead of making sure my baby was perfectly strapped in (something that I had been doing for almost 2 1/2 years when she came)."
Well guess what, I figured out my own systems.
When Boston was little I figured out that by leaving Boston in her infant seat and keeping her in the shopping cart. I could with one foot hold onto the cart and with the other one I could anchor myself while I put Ryder in the car. This was an act of mommy acrobatics but it allowed me to get both of the kids in the car without sacrificing one of them to traffic.

Other day Ryder told me, "I am going to drive my mom's car."

Now that Ryder is a little older and Boston is no longer in her infant seat, I have now reversed the order. I have given Ryder strict instructions to put his hand on the gas tank door (this gives him a target to focus on so he doesn't go running in traffic). As I put her in her seat and then secure the buckle, then I grab his other hand and we walk to his side of the car where I strap him in then I start the car (get the ac/heater going), load the groceries and put the cart away.
I think one of the most important things us hermits (aka mommies) can if the shell doesn't fit change it. What failed today if you prepare enough might be a success the next. I like to think over my failures by saying to myself what could I have done/packed/prepared to make this experience easier on my kids and myself? I then make a mental note of those items and the next time we are in a similar situation I try to test out my hypotheses. If it goes significantly better I pattern the future after those preparations if the experience has no change or gets worse, I go back to the mothering drawing board.
Hermits have to have a tough shell. Anything embarrassing your kids actions are more painful to your pride than it is physically painful or annoying to the strangers you are around. People might give you annoyed looks, they might snicker at you and they might not help you at all.
Last weekend when I took the two kids out on my own to get some much needed groceries while Slim Jim was working an 11 hour shift. Ryder kept telling me that we needed this or that (coffee creamer he said, "I need this for my hot chocolate" and the brownie mix he threw into the cart without even asking) and I was pushing the cart in the wrong direction. And as I told Ryder that we weren't getting the brownie mix and we went further down the isle to grab some vanilla pudding an elderly lady chuckled and gave me the sweetest smile. It was like her eyes were communicating, "Good job! I know that this is hard for you but doing okay, just keep up the good work."
At that moment I realized that maybe we don't always need to be a shining example of how kids should behave maybe instead we can be a real example to how no matter how tough we will mill through it. The best thing that we can do for our children is pattern for them how they should behave and sooner or later they will pick it up. Until then don't be too tough on your little ones and especially don't be too tough on yourself. 

Boston's now crawling which means she is always getting into things she shouldn't.

On occasions you might ask your fellow hermits to lend a claw. This last Sunday Slim Jim had to work (after the 11 hour day he had to work a 10.5 hour day, we love our hard working Daddy). I put the kids down for a nap before church but it didn't go according to plan so I had to wake the kids up, run them down to the car and run into church. Before the meeting started I needed to take Ryder to the bathroom so I turned to one of my friends and ask her to hold Boston while we visited the bathroom. Through out the span of the 3 hour church block I had to get the assistance of two other friends (Ryder was sure that he needed to go potty so I was taken out of meetings to only have him dribble a few times).

I have struggled for several years to keep bed clothes on my boys bed.  The top sheets make good capes, the pillow cases are great for carrying loot, and the bottom sheets are "Scratchy, Slidey, and Slippy".
So over the last week I re-evaluated the situation.  I decided that the boys needed a little more knowledge and investment.  You know that old statement, " Teach by example"  I don't believe it for a second!  I have never used my blanket to go bouncing down the stairs.  I believe in firm instructive teaching and also instilling ownership.

So, having said all of that, this week we bought fabric that the boys picked out, and made each boy a pillow case.  Except for #1 because he was happy with his pillow and its case.
Big Man #2 opted for brown, because it would never look dirty.  He also wanted me to make it from a baby blanket that was his when he was a baby.  This is what we ended up with.
 This is left overs from a baby blanket I made for him when he was little.  It is super soft fleece.  He is happy with it.  He also decided to go with a memory foam pillow.
 Little man #3 wanted a bright fleece pillow case, that he could make all by himself.  He did a softness check with his cheek on all of the fabrics.  This one won out. we just cut and tied the edges.
 Little man #4 wanted transformers.  He was so excited when he found this fabric.  I folded the fabric over twice, to make sure there was no raw edges.
 I also used the selvage edge.
I love how their personalities came out in the choices they made.
 #1 wanted the store bought case that he already had- because it looked "cool".
#2 chose something familiar, personal, and practical.
#3 chose something fun, comfortable, and independent.
#4 chose transformers- which he has loved for at least 2 years.
Any way, this was just a fun little project, to help us keep those pillows covered up, and it worked.

My Dear Al,
In response to your post, I know what you are going through.  I have been there.  Believe me, I have been there.  Whenever I see mothers with younger kids at the store, climbing out of their shopping carts, or wrestling them in to the car, or looking half crazed at church, I smile, rub their shoulder and say, "Don't worry it really does get better."
I say the same to you.  This moment is fleeting and sweet.  You may not get to do all the things that you want to.  You may have to do less of the things that you think you should.  But focus on loving and training those little ones, because as they grow up, they become your best friends.  And eventually your little hermit crab shell gets a little bigger.  Soon enough you will be expanding.  Soon enough you will be sharing your love of serving others.  Soon enough.  So now, become a hermit for a while and do what you CAN do.

Recently, we have done a few things that a couple of years ago I thought we would never be able to do.  We went to the lake, with everyone.  No one drowned and no one ran away.  We had 3 hours of peaceful fun.

I also took the kids in to Minneapolis, for a field trip.  We went to the sculpture gardens.  The art work was amazing and the kids were terrific.  I realized that my little hermit crab shell has expanded!  Here are a few pictures from our excursion.  


























I am in a new phase of life.  It is the leave-the-stroller-at-home-and-go-exploring phase.  It is amazing to me that I no longer have to worry that my kids may destroy someone's house.  I can count on them to do their chores, get dressed, feed themselves, make their beds, bathe, brush their teeth, stay with me at the store, be safe at the lake, and cross the street without causing me a heart attack.  I still serve as the reminderer, but it gets done.  My life with 5 is so much easier than my life with 3 was.  Age really did make all the difference.