Bywater

Santa

2012-01-27T10:12:00.003-08:00

No tears from this little one... she just spit up on Santa's gloves...sigh, only my daughter.
Thank goodness Santa traveled with a spare set of gloves. And Miss Elsi still got everything she asked for.

4 Months Old

2012-01-25T21:06:00.000-08:00

Ms. Elsi turned four month old a while back... :) And we are just loving this baby. She is now 27" long. I know, my child is already taller then I am.
She is loving her cereal...
...and is now not spitting the whole spoonful out, we actually know she is getting something.
She is also REALLY attached to this...
Literally attached, we have two long family lines of thumb suckers, so it was inevitable. One thing that I hear more and more is how pretty this little one's eye color is. It is very odd for who she came from (Scott: Brown Eyes, Me: Hazel- More Green Eyes), but nonetheless, her darker blue, almost gray eye color is stunning. Put that stunning eye color in this babies big eyes and she is the most darling baby in the world.
Elsi is also a talker, she loves to ramble, scream, growl, and just generally make sure no one is forgetting that she is around.
She did roll off the sofa a few weeks ago, and instead of crying when I picked her up she started bossing me around for leaving her on the sofa alone. Go figure...

Half of the Holidays

2012-01-25T20:33:00.000-08:00

Well, I am not sure where my holiday photo's have gone. I will find them....I just know it. So here is half of them. :) It's like today I bought myself a pack of Dr. Pepper (a girl's gotta have a treat in the house) and then left it in the shopping cart at Target. Good news though, I remembered to put the baby in the car.

Back to the holidays....

We got up very early to get to the airport, it was a madhouse. And for some reason I have priority status on the airline I fly for work. Let's just say it was AWESOME. Cut our airport time in Chicago drastically. Elsi was great, she slept the whole way. Our four bags made it (that is right, I said four) one got torn, but hey, as I said earlier at least we remembered to bring the baby as we exited the plane. We even fit in Jena's Ford Focus. It reminded me of this....
Except for we weren't in Costa Rica, it was cold when we got on the plane, and then again when we got off. Holidays.....Utah.....
Anyway we spent Christmas Eve with the Bolander Family. Here is a snapshot....
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever- complete with a donkey (that would be me) and "the camel" (Christian.) Not to mention the best baby Jesus (Elsi) and the best manger (think plush and pink), the best Mary and Joseph, and the best hairdo goes to "the wiseman" (aka Papa.)
We didn't use a tripod, hence the upward angle.
Christmas Day we made gingerbread houses at Chris and Jena's. Scott just sampled the candy, and egged a few contenders on.
And this little one? Well, she was just along for the ride. She spent a lot of the time sleeping whenever she could get a nap in, and being her charming self.
Family Photo's were a hot ticket item. Scott requested no more for at least six months...

Get it Together

2012-01-20T16:05:00.000-08:00

Please forgive me as I try and get my life together....my blog seems to be the last to get organized and updated. :) So much for New Years resolutions.
We sure love this little one, enjoy!

The holidays etc. are coming soon, I promise. :)

Hard Decisions

2012-01-06T13:10:00.000-08:00

Hard Decisions are always the worst..."should I really get up? It is after all only 8:00 in the morning" and here is the best one I am always conflicted about... "should I put mushrooms in this?" (the Mr. doesn't like mushrooms) But there are those decisions that really stop me in my tracks, probably because they take time to make and I agonize about every minute details and small layer. And this stops me up short, and I find myself yelling at the top of my lungs "I am such a great decision maker normally, what is the deal Shelbi Ann!" (yes, I do use my middle name when I am upset with myself.) That is why as I was making my list of new years resolutions this year and the word "simplify" made it onto that stinking piece of paper I knew I had some hard decisions that needed to be made. I ate three pieces of chocolate staring at that one little word, this would mean days of agonizing, torturous, long drawn out sessions with myself going where I don't want to go.
Luckily, I have these two...
They don't make things less agonizing, but they sure make it worth it.
Happy New Year

Super

2011-12-17T20:35:00.000-08:00

Saving the world one binki at a time....

Christmas Presents

2011-12-17T20:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas presents are oh so fun. Scott did say as we walked downstairs last Sunday, and I quote "I think you are more excited then Elsi is." I am pretty sure I was, but who can blame me. With this little cutie around everything is exciting. We opened up some presents from Grandma and Grandpa and Jensen the other day because coming home for the holidays makes that possible. :) Won't she be excited when she's 5 and gets two Christmas's!
We had a lot of fun with just the paper (noted for future gifts)
Loving our lamb that Grandpa Bywater picked out...
We love the new Bumbo, and are learning to sit up quite well these days. (p.s. side note here, I am sitting in Elsi's room typing this and she is sawing logs...literally, my daughter is snoring...rough day.)
Dear Jensen,
I love the tub ducky you gave me for Christmas... it sings and dances so much better then my mom and dad.
Love,
Elsi

3 Months Old

2011-12-11T11:29:00.000-08:00

Gosh! It seems like just yesterday..... :)

This baby is growing up so much. Three months has brought out so much of her personality, she is funny like her daddy, she is quiet like her mommy, she loves to smile at us, is very curious, continues to try and roll over, has decided she is not so much a fan of being on her belly, and she still eats like it's going out of style. Frankly, she is a beautiful little baby...
We may be partial, but we're the ones who change the poopy diapers, so we get to be.

New York City Part 2

2011-12-11T11:05:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to finish up this post with some extra photo's and fun things that we did. We had such a great time!
Lunch in New York City - We had to change the babies and there was only a small space on the counter in the bathroom, but the automatic hand dryer was located right above said small space...try doing that with such a long little one. Needless to say Elsi's head kept turning the dryer on, imagine the expression on her face. I laughed the whole time. However, the pre-story to this is that Scott tried to change her in the men's room and had promptly walked right back out stating that he was not changing his daughter on the edge of a urinal. Picky.....
Rockefeller
Central Park- Was Gorgeous and HUGE! I never realized it was so big!

Times Square....
This was such an amazing, fun trip!

The Mouse

2011-11-29T09:11:00.001-08:00

Back to New York in a bit, I just had an experience I needed to share. I came downstairs to get the baby her food this morning and had a visitor...
This visitor was so excited to see me it died on the spot. I had to put on my big girl pants and deal with said visitor. I firmly rebuked him for dying inside the house and told him he was no longer welcome. He took his leave via broom and dust pan.
Another image brings this full circle...
Nope you're wrong Tiger didn't eat the mouse, he just sat on it.

NYC- Post 1

2011-11-27T05:31:00.001-08:00

We were so excited to go to New York for Thanksgiving and spend some time with Scott's sister and her cute family that we scheduled a flight out at 6 am....what were we thinking!
Elsi and Daddy are pooped...

All went well on the plane, except for I get the mother of the year award for feeding Elsi just before we took off from our layover. Good thing I had a sweater on that I am not partial to, come to think of it I don't wear anything I am partial to these days. :) Anywho, we were so excited to get to Kristin's house! We love Mr. Marcus, and he and Elsi loved to play together i.e. Marcus loved to pull her bows off her head and grab her cute hands.
Or her head, whatever was available, he wasn't picky. So, here is the low down on how we do things in the Bywater family. Nadia and Jensen are 6 months apart and are great friends, so we figure because these two are six months apart they should be great friends too. When we layed them together on the sofa Marcus was maybe a 1/4" longer the Elsi, but you add his darling tummy and he has a little more to brag about. :)

Playing together- with mom's pink toes...ya, I should pay attention. :)
Scott and I had meant Marcus once when he was a few months old, so we absolutely loved getting to know this cute little guy.
And have I mentioned how much we miss Nadia?
We love her, she is growing up so fast and is this wonderful, helpful, beautiful girl. She could only be with us until Wednesday, so we made the best of our time together.

So, we played for a few days with the Daines family, and decided to have our Thanksgiving on Wednesday so that we could do the unthinkable...head into NYC for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade with 3 Million other folks...
I am not really sure what my problem is (I just think good food overwhelms me honestly) but I only got pictures of the name plates I made for Thanksgiving, hey, don't judge, you were stuffing your face too.

So on Thursday we bundled the kiddo's and Scott up and headed downtown.
Here we are with our cute pink marshmallow waiting for the parade to start. Here is a great little story. We were standing on the sidewalk and up walked some folks to check out the parade, well, the next thing we know we look over and they are setting up ladders. That is right I said ladders. Needless to say they set their kids on the ladders and blocked everyone's view. Fantastic....
We got a tip from one of Kristin's friends to get into the M&M store and go up to the second floor for a better view.
Here we are headed up the escalator with other mobs of people...
I love the look on Mr. Bywater's face. Priceless...

Roll Over

2011-11-17T14:04:00.000-08:00

5 in the bed and the little one said roll over, roll over....

I won't sing the rest of the song for you, but I am going to stop singing it to this little one! She is getting the hang of rolling! Help!

p.s. No, she wasn't alone in her crib with Grammy's awesome pillows, I stood there the whole time. :)

One more Halloween Photo

2011-11-05T18:42:00.001-07:00

I pick this guy up at the train every day... he's great with the baby...

2 Months

2011-11-05T14:51:00.000-07:00

Wow, the little miss is two months old. I cannot believe it! At her two month check up she was 24.5 inches long (95th percentile...yes, she is my child, hard to believe I know), 11 lbs 14 oz (75th percentile), and only shed a few tears when she was given her shots. She is smiling and talking to us, and we love every minute of it...well, except for when it is 2:30 a.m. We don't have many of those however, we are lucky to have a little one that sleeps for 7-8 hours every night. That is pure bliss friends, pure bliss.
Her favorite thing is a bath, especially now that she can sit in her tub and splash. She would do that all day long if I let her, she wouldn't even care if she ate...well, that may be going a little far. This little one LOVES her food. Her least favorite thing?? When she can't see anyone and is alone in a room...we are working on that. :)

Carving Pumpkins

2011-11-03T06:16:00.001-07:00

Carving pumpkins was a special treat this year. Holidays are so much fun with children, even though she doesn't understand anything yet. We make sure that we do the little things, and maybe that is what is special about them.
Mr. Bywater planning his attack. This face is pretty normal these days. It's the "you're nuts Shelbi" face. :)
Elsi told her dad she wanted a smiling pumpkin, so that is what she got.

Happy Halloween

A Note

2011-11-02T21:35:00.001-07:00

To Mom and Dad
From Elsi
Next time just buy a binki...forget all the other stuff.
And get rid of these bows, even if I am wearing a pink flower at church on Sunday someone will still ask you if I am a boy or a girl...

More Visitors

2011-11-02T21:17:00.000-07:00

Aunt Cole and Miss Anja came to see us this month. We were so excited to see them, and I know that the animals enjoyed every ounce of attention they received.

Sadly, I don't have any photo's of the trip downtown. All I know is that Scott went with them to the American Girl tea party. When I asked if he had gotten enough food he promptly replied that the turkey sandwich was the only thing that wasn't pink and was the size of a quarter. :) I'll bet he had fun anyway.
Watching morning cartoons
I was in Kansas City for my first show since the baby that weekend and I was so sad I missed out on being with my family for the first few days. My mother also went home while I was gone which made my trip a little bitter sweet.
More morning cartoons. This looks very calm, however, there was a rousing round of "Head, Shoulders, Knee's and Toes" during the commercial.
One of my favorite photo's...we miss little Anja and her mommy so much. All the girls went and had a pedicure on Monday, it was so fun to be together!

Halloween

2011-10-30T15:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from "owl" of us....

Nauvoo

2011-10-29T04:47:00.000-07:00

We decided a few weekends to take a quick trip to Nauvoo. It is about 4 hours away from where we live, and we kept promising Grammy we would get her out of the house. The baby is a great car rider, she even got a shot that morning and was out the whole time we drove. We arrived in Nauvoo Friday night and really only had time for Dinner and a bath before bed. Elsi was done with the car and done with the rest of us and so she threw a little fit in the hotel room. I walked out of the room to go get some warm water, and all I could hear was my child screaming. :) Luckily there was no one next to us, and the fit lasted for only a few minutes and then she was asleep.
Scott and I snuck out to get some pictures of the temple at night. It was beautiful...
Grammy and Scott got up early the next morning and went to the temple, and the baby and I slept. We had a rough night before...that translates to two hours of sleep for mommy. We then went and toured the town. I kept telling my mother that it looked and felt like Orderville.
In front of the temple- this little one has been to more places in her young life then I had by the time I was 12. It makes for some fun stories.

The temple is on a hill overlooking the Mississippi river, the scenery is just beautiful. We took a wagon ride around the area and we were able to hear some history, and fun stories of the saints time in Nauvoo. We only had a few minutes to check out the houses, we have to go again that is for sure, but here is Bringham Youngs house. Some important decisions were made here after the Prophet Joseph Smith was martyred.
We tried to find Carthage...however I took us back to Nauvoo instead...:) Mommy brain. But the drive along the river that we took was beautiful, that was worth the confusion, and being lost for a bit.
We all looked like this after dinner, so we headed home. It was a great trip.

Behind

2011-10-29T04:44:00.000-07:00

I am way behind...please forgive me as I try to catch up.

One Month Old

2011-10-11T14:29:00.002-07:00

It is hard to believe Elsi is already one month old. We took her to the pediatrician for her check up and she weighs 9 lbs 7 oz, Eats like a bear for her age, and is 22 3/4" long. She is in the 95% for height 50% for weight.
She is still our Noodle....

Vistors

2011-10-06T22:31:00.000-07:00

We had several visitor's the weekend that we blessed sweet Elsi. My sister came into town, and if the traffic police wouldn't have given me a ticket when I picked her up at the airport I would have hugged her for hours. I miss her sarcasm, and honesty.
She brought one of my favorite little personalities with her...
Enough seen.....This is the first thing she did when she got to our house and saw her "room" for the weekend.
We did lots of fun things together, stories were told....
And there were lots of "Mom, isn't she sooo cute." It was great.
We went to the local zoo in town and strolled through Glen Ellyn, where Mr. Bywater and I used to live.

Papa joined us on Friday night, and we were all impressed with the ease in which he made it to Chicago on his own. :) We love you Dad. Scott and I were so grateful to have him here.

We also welcomed the Grandma and Grandpa Bywater on Friday, and we are so grateful they were able to change their schedule for a visit. Sunday we blessed the little one, and it was wonderful. My Mother made a beautiful little dress for Elsi and she slept through the whole thing.

Blessed

2011-09-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

I find myself using this word every day. I am feeling enormously blessed. Not to say that I don't have those "other " days. Who doesn't. Here are just a few updates....
Grandma and Grandpa Bywater just couldn't stay away, they visited us the weekend after we had the little Miss. We love them and are so grateful that they came.

We also took our first outing a few weeks ago to get some photo's of Elsi before she grew up too much. Have I mentioned that I think she changes every day! I put a 3 month onesie on her this morning and she was too long for it...trouble I tell you....
I love her face in this shot, she looks like she really is starting to get tired of her parents already.
Grammy AKA "the maid", "the Cook" , "etc" has been here with us too. She is great at calming a fussy baby and even more patient then the dog.

We feel very loved and blessed.

Busy

2011-09-22T09:27:00.000-07:00

We have been busy at our house....reading Good Night Moon. Now if that would bring on the sleepy eyes at night mom and dad would be oh so rested.

More Pics

2011-09-11T19:45:00.001-07:00

I just can't help it. :) I keep finding more pictures.
Lovin' her daddy
I love the look on her face in this one. We were getting ready to go home from the hospital.
I love the look on MY face in this one. We have had some trouble with the eating thing. I had two hours of sleep that night, and had just spent about an hour with TWO lactation specialists and a screaming hungry baby. It was awesome. :)

Baby Notes

2011-09-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

We are loving this little one, and having so much fun with her. I was thinking about some things that I want to remember about her birth and this first week of her being a part of our family...

Mr. Bywater likes to have poop on his fingers, however, he is the best little daddy to our little Princess, and the best husband to his wife...He puts up with feedings at 3 a.m. and helps me get up and down the stairs, brings granola bars and makes sure I eat and drink. He came downstairs the other day and said "I have poop all over me!" he then went out later to clean up after the dog and came inside and said..." I seriously have poop all over me!"
We are grateful for the priesthood too. We had a little scare at the hospital, our little one had a very low heart-rate. They did an ekg to check out her heart and then kept us at the hospital for the night to do an echo of her little heart. We were stressed to say the very least. We had a wonderful friend that came and helped her dad give her a blessing and things were just fine.
Note to parents: don't loose the owner's manual.
Late nights and lots of crying make your neighbors bring you "welcome baby" gifts.
Don't listen to Mr. Bywater when your water breaks in the middle of the night and he says "Maybe we should wait for 30 minutes and see what happens"
Pushing for four hours is exciting, well at the end because you get 18 years with a darling little girl
Get pregnant and go into labor in Chicago with no family member there except for your husband. He ends up being a great labor coach and loving you more for pushing a watermelon out of your...well lets move to the next bullet...
No stress makes great babies, and even better parents
Staying in the hospital for three days makes you go crazy
Don't let you husband play with the baby monitor that sings computer generated lulibies with your mom sleeping on the worlds best air mattress in the babies room. Said lulibies end up singing to her until 2 am.
Make sure you laugh a lot. If you need some help I'll send Mr. Bywater...when I am finished with him.
When you breast feed you get a snack at 2 am...DIVINE

We are so happy to be parents! Who knew this was so wonderful... :)

More Photo's

2011-09-06T15:29:00.000-07:00

Here are more photo's of the little one. Enjoy, we sure are. :)

Elsi Claire Bywater

2011-09-06T08:12:00.000-07:00

Is finally here! We are so thrilled! She is such a darling baby, so sweet and content. She weighed 7 lbs 15 oz., and was 22 inches long ( for the record I won that bet.) She was born at who knows what time, I certainly wasn't paying attention to that, go figure...
She has a head of hair and is the cutest little snorter! She has a great frowny face already and sure loves being held by her dad.
We are all happy and tired and tired and happy... We'll post more photo's later...

Published

2011-08-30T14:08:00.001-07:00

Take a look at page 60 in your Creating Keepsakes Magazine this month. You may recognize two of the people in the photo's on one of the layouts on that page.

Still Waiting....

2011-08-30T14:05:00.000-07:00

This photo says it all....
Olive is sitting in front of baby e's room...waiting....

No Hurry

2011-08-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

Even though my counter top is full of these...our sweet baby is not in any hurry to get here. *Sigh*
We are still zero on the dilation scale and "Maybe 75%" effaced.

"That is not really what I wanted to hear, can't you just tell me I am ready to start pushing?" I said to the doctor on Wednesday. "Sure, but I don't think you would get the desired effect at this point."
"Well, then I guess we are done here. " Said I. "Great, just pay the lady out front."
I love my doctor.....

History in the Making

2011-08-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

It feels like last week, but okay, maybe it was two weeks ago, I had the privilege of going to my last scrapbooking convention for a while. Yes, that is right, I am going on the shelf for a bit. They thought I was too rowdy, and they want me to stay home and have a baby. Silly people...
We stayed in the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, which you may recall was under water last year when we were supposed to have our event. Here are some shots from the balcony of my room (that's right I said my room had a balcony...)

Needless to say, it wouldn't be a good show if the pregnant lady didn't go touring. We spent our day at the Hermitage the home of Andrew Jackson (for those that don't know he was the 7th president of the United States- it's okay, I didn't know either, the internet is a wonderful thing.) James Parton described him this way: “Andrew Jackson, I am given to understand, was a patriot and a traitor. He was one of the greatest of generals, and wholly ignorant of the art of war. A writer brilliant, elegant, eloquent, without being able to compose a correct sentence, or spell words of four syllables. The first of statesmen, he never devised, he never framed a measure. He was the most candid of men, and was capable of the profoundest dissimulation. A most law-defying, law-obeying citizen. A stickler for discipline, he never hesitated to disobey his superior. A democratic autocrat. An urbane savage. An atrocious saint."
We all came to the conclusion that he was a bit of a rude, mean man. Put precisely in those terms. However, he was the only president to leave the white house with the country out of debt...that says something.
Here are some of our exploits...
This movie about Andrew Jackson was the best ever, they even had the PBS special for sale in the gift shop. Move over Baby Einstein.

The driveway to the house. Where's the concrete? One thing that I do remember is that Andrew Jackson brought in trees from the places where he fought in the war.
A great option for Time Out...

We had a great day roaming around Nashville, even if we did get caught in the rain. :) Swollen ankles and all it was a good last trip...now up on the shelf I go.

And the Belly Taketh Over...

2011-08-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

Or the child taketh over rather....yes, if you lean up against me I will fall over face first. More later...

Settling In

2011-07-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

We are settling into the new house, and life as to be parents in 6 weeks. My belly button and ankles no longer exist, but hey, who needs those anyway....
The animals are doing well, more to come soon... I am finishing up my last show this week, and then I can unload boxes.

The New to Us House

2011-07-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

We spent our first week/ weekend moving into the new condo. Scott is sore, I am tired (oh wait that is normal), our two bedroom condo is looking very sparse, and we no longer inhabit a storage unit.
Our first load of stuff. We have a garage! This is a first for me in 28 years of life! Olive seems to like it, we had her over for dinner last night. :)
Here are just a few shots of the house, I am sure we'll be back with more of the fun soon. Right now we need to wade through boxes...equate that to not being fun.

Summer Time

2011-07-13T02:49:00.000-07:00

While everyone else is sleeping, I am not. I thought for sure this didn't happen until AFTER the baby was born.
Oh well, I will just expect to fall asleep at breakfast again. Now on to our topic, Summer Time in Chicago.
We have had several unannounced random storms, sat through a tornado in the women's locker room at the gym, and of course, last but not least played softball through it all.
One thing I love about Mr. Bywater is that he is athletic, I hope for our child's sake that she gets her daddy's genes and not her clumsy mom's genes. Scott is on his softball team at work, and so I braved the traffic, and the confused gps to get downtown for a game. How do you play softball in the city you say, well here is what it looks like
Kind of cool to have the buildings as a background. Here are more shots of the Dyson softball team.

We have been mostly indoors for the summer, except for softball and the Taste of Chicago last week. I enjoy being able to see my ankles, and we have been very busy with all things moving. We also had the luck this weekend when the air conditioning went out in the condo. It was fantastic to come home from Houston to an 89 degree house, and times that by two because of humidity. We are so blessed to have such great friends out here that are willing to lend their guest bedroom to us for a night.
We are so ready to move, have I mentioned that. We are packing and packing and packing....again. :) This time is a little more interesting because we have stuff spread all over the place. It's great to try and chase it all down.
Tiger is ready and excited to move, and so is Copper. I wish they would learn how to pack boxes too.

30 Weeks

2011-06-26T06:40:00.000-07:00

We have been up to lots of things lately, and each one of them has been a blast...well, maybe except for the moving boxes. I can think of lots more fun things then packing those.
We stayed overnight with some of our dear friends kids while they jetted off to New York. We always have so much fun with them!
Austin playing lacrosse. This is a HUGE game here. Scott is busy trying to figure out the rules and I am still trying to figure out how these kids see a little white ball the size of a baseball.
We got back to the game a little late and the kids were really looking forward to the park, so we walked over to the playground.

Reagan and I took the longest to get there. She didn't care, and neither did I . :)
We also roasted marshmallows. This was really my doing, Kirsten made the mistake of showing me these marshmallows that her mom got for smore's and of course these baby cravings went into high gear! Or maybe it was the chocolate part?
We had a great time at a movie on Monday. We went to see Kung Fu Panda 2 and just had a blast with the kids.
In other news Scott has been busy selling the world vacuums and fans, and growing his new plant.
And while he grows the plant I grow baby E who has now taken over quite a bit of real estate
So here we are at 30 Weeks. They started making every other week visits for me at the doctors office, and I think I looked at the receptionist and said "are you sure it's that time already?" Baby E and I have been very healthy so far, and we are entirely grateful for that. I now have bragging rites in my family because I took that fantastic 28 week test to test my glucose levels and they were great! My doctor then said, "AND you're not even anemic. " I asked the doctor to look again. :) (this is something my mother and my sister struggled with.) All I can figure is it must be the fact that my husband always asks "where's the meat" if dinner doesn't contain any. Isn't he sweet.

Personality

2011-06-22T05:24:00.001-07:00

Mr. Bywater and I finally got a day off together on Monday. We have both been out of town, and the funny thing is that as much as we both love the little break I think baby "E" makes it such that we miss each other more when we are away. So, even though we were doing the not so fun errands, grocery shopping, fixing the car, etc. I loved every minute of it. Mr. Bywater's personality is something to behold
So when the baby figured out a few days ago how to play in my ribs I knew instantly who had whispered to her "try playing in mom's ribs." I also LOVE the fact that she seems to know when her dad gets out of bed in the morning and LOVES to keep me up until I decide my sleep is over and just get up. Now if she comes out with the signature "Scott" smile...
Well then, we can safety say that she thinks she is at a big event where she has to behave, and then she will be her daddy's baby.

Water Aerobics

2011-06-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

Scott joined me at water aerobics last night. It was bring a guest/partner day. I was nervous about not having any friends afterwords....luckily he behaved. I had this thought on the way home about how nice my husband was to do something he totally didn't want to for me (did I mention he missed a softball game to come?) However, my second thought was that he didn't do it for me...can we say the princess already has her daddy wrapped around her little finger? :) I'll say it, and I love it.

More Changes

2011-06-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

It's crazy to think that we have lived in Chicago for almost a year now. We have known for several months that our lease on our little condo was knocking on our door. We have also known for several months (try 7 months to be exact) that our little family was going to get bigger. WE started looking for a new home in May of this year. Here was the list Mr. Bywater and I compiled....

Must have in unit laundry (or else Shelbi will die)
Must give us the opportunity to get rid of that dumb storage unit (weekends at the storage unit having boxes fall on your head will make Scott die)
Must fit in our budget (more on this later)
Good landlords a must (we have them, but they are a bit distant. The furnace not working for several weeks this winter was slightly rough)
Must stay in the ward (Hey! Now is probably not the time to be switching up when I can forsee our absence for a while- plus , we have some great friends out here)

Let me tell you that Scott and I were honestly shocked at all the "crap" (I really couldn't think of a better word) that we looked at. We tried to contact a Realtor...to no avail, I am sure because we weren't buying we weren't worth the time.

I do have to stop for a minute here. When we first started calling on places we found on craigslist we found that my phone calls were being returned more often then Scott's. We thought it was a funny coincidence until I heard him call on a place and leave a message. "you have to threaten to get a Realtor" I said. "oh...ya, that makes sense." said Mr. Bywater.

We then enlisted our friends from the ward. I have been faithfully receiving e-mail after e-mail probably written in the car from a friend who was probably trying to get a kid here and pick another one up in a different place at the same time, and I am sure she did it AND sent me an e-mail. We have been looking at craigslist for the last several nights, packing our weekends and weeknights with houses and condo's to go see.
Finally Saturday I do have to say that I had had enough. It pushed me over the edge to go see a place that was apparently "newly carpeted" and "newly painted." I consider myself a pretty good judge of those things....but concrete floors and a promise to carpet had me considering murder for the wasted time and gas.

We set a date for the middle of June and if we had not found a place by then we were just going to sign another lease and as punishment walk up and down our three flights of stairs for at least three hours. (it was going to be a party)

Then, I stumbled across two new listings in the same condo complex area for condo's that had three bedrooms and 1.5 baths. Seems to be the fad out here to have a three bedroom house and only one bath. I called and set up appointments to go see both places not realizing that they were across the street from each other...talk about awkward!
The first place was okay, but we were meant with total hesitation on our own personal animal kingdom. We moved onto the house across the street and were shocked. It was in FABULOUS condition- and here is the thing- the landlord kept apologizing for its condition.
I would post the craigslist posting so that you can see photo's but we are the proud new tennents of the condo come July 15th, and it was removed from Craigslist before I could snag the photo's.
Upstairs has three bedrooms, one bathroom, main floor has a new kitchen with granite countertops (yes I did drool) and a great living room. AND that is not all, a finished basement! Finished in actual drywall and carpet. A huge laundry room, and tonz of storage. Did I mention the garage?

To say the least we are so thrilled...and no more stair parties for us...

Birthday's

2011-06-01T06:24:00.000-07:00

We have a month of birthday's in May, and I would love to tell you all that we are fantastic party people but, we aren't, and my birthday involved cake in bed and me asleep 15 minutes later. Hahaha! There is no other place I would rather be right now!

Let's start off with Scott. It was his week for sure! He came home Monday with quite the story to tell.
These are Scott's jeans (take a look at the left side of his back pocket)
This is the inside of his jeans after he had an unknown encounter with the train and the train won and ripped a hole in his pants. A helpful co-worker pointed out that he may want to dial down the air conditioning. When you live 45 minutes away from home that means "quick, get the duct tape from my drawer." And can you imagine being the person to be in the restroom when he was taping his pants back together!
Another unfortunate event happened on Friday night. We took the garbage out.
I know, sounds harmless right.....wrong......there was a racoon in the garbage plotting to scare poor Mr. Bywater to death! Oh, and how lucky I was to be there! I laughed so hard I almost wet my pants (honestly, try being pregnant) Scott screamed his "Scott scream" and ran away from the dumpster.
Let's move onto the big day. He is going to withhold the Pop- Tarts if I tell you any more (and yes, I am craving them lately.)
I made Mr. Bywater a cake befitting of a king! Okay, not really, but I was able to get 28 candles on it WITHOUT burning myself or the house down.
Scott is one happy camper after this birthday present...
We had a great time the next week watching 6 kids for some friends in our ward, and then celebrating my birthday on Friday, in bed with a cupcake.
Oh, and the milk, we can't forget the milk. With heartburn like I have never had heartburn before heartburn, we go through several gallons of milk a week. Check out the belly. I joked with Mr. Bywater that while I was at water aerobics the other day I tipped forward on my noodle and landed face first in the water all because the belly is taking over.
Scott took me to a great restaurant for dinner, and it was entirely delicious! The new ring on my finger is my birthday present. I am hoping that the third time is the charm...so is Scott...

Lots Going On

2011-06-01T06:01:00.000-07:00

So sorry I have neglected this blog lately. We have had so many things going on that it is hard to even know where to start!
We'll start with our lovely trip to Utah...
Scott showed up early (I was in Manchester, New Hampshire at a show) and surprised our nephews by picking them up from school on Friday. I am told that they had a great sleepover, I have no proof however of that, but I am sure my sister in law's house was rockin'.
We were party people this visit. My dear mom, who has taught in Granite School District for 30 years took the leap a few months ago and signed the papers to retire. We had a little party for her and it was great to see all those that we as children heard so much about.
Aniston and I making sure that everyone had a fantastic time. We had licorice (my mom's personal favorite) and Cheesecake, mine and Aniston's favorite.
We also had a shower for Baby E. It was great to see all the people that love and support us in this fantastic endeavor of becoming parents. :) We are so blessed to have such a wonderful support group.
Here are the cousin's and married into the family cousins that I dearly love. And my sister, who flawlessly did such an amazing job on both parties. Being pregnant and tired all the time made me a delightful help, and Jena took the reins (like usual) and even crawled through my parents dearest neighbors rusty old shed to get a wagon for our decorations.
I have officially joined the ranks of motherhood in our families, I will love it when my back doesn't hurt, I have Baby E to hold and cuddle with, and I can run a mile. :) (please don't squash my hopes about running a mile)
We also had a Bywater family tradition. We celebrate May birthday's in our family with a fantastic Cinco De Mayo party. This year was no exception. We had a great big pinata, fantastic food, a Tre's Leche cake to die for, and so much laughter it was uncanny. Sadly however, I lost our travel camera somewhere between Manchester, New Hampshire and Salt Lake City, Utah. Please tell me the brain cells return... (keep the faith for me people :) )

Easter Festivities

2011-04-25T11:30:00.001-07:00

The festivities at our house this weekend were more focused on the little one. :) We did manage however to get in some time of our own. We were feeling a little lame because we had no plans, no candy (well okay, that is not true I am pregnant, and Scott is well....Scott), and no ham. Lame....
So Wednesday as I was rushing around trying to put food in the fridge and do the laundry I managed to sneak a few things into the shopping cart that would de-lame us as a couple, and redeem us in the eyes of the nieces and nephews.
Here is Mr. Bywater dying Easter eggs...

We had a great time together dying Easter eggs, and cleaning the house. Yes, the real truth is that we are so lame we needed a little Bywater around to force us to do the little things that we often forget.
These beauties were promptly turned into deviled eggs Sunday morning. I had a craving, and Mr. Bywater was an all too willing accomplice.
I will say that we love and miss our families the most on holidays, but we received a lovely phone message (well, several) on Saturday night to remind us that we were being thought of. Mr. Bywater always chooses the best gifts for the nieces and nephews, and this year was no exception. He found a toy cow and chick that would "moo" and "peep" and then poop Easter candy... Joyous...I just go along with these things and pray that my sister in law's and sister will have the fortitude to forgive us.
Farewell to our last Easter as a lame couple.

Belly Photo's

2011-04-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

Here is the belly at 21 weeks. This is a shot in the morning, the nighttime belly is just....well, let's just say that gravity and I have a hate relationship after 6 p.m.

The Babe

2011-04-23T11:58:00.000-07:00

We have a new babe coming to our house...Here is what this babe is coming as...
That is right folks, we are going to have a little girl in our home. We went to the doctors earlier this morning to check our sweet little one out, and she is a jumper. :) The ultrasound tech was really laughing because I had just said to Scott that it was kicking me in the FULL bladder, and the first photo the tech took was of her kicking me in the FULL bladder. :) Needless to say, we all had a good laugh. She is healthy and a happy girl, she is 13 oz. and moves around constantly.
The tech had trouble determining what the sex of the baby was at first because the umbilical cord was between her little legs....modest is hottest folks....so the tech had me turn onto my side and we watched the little stinker flip with me and then when the tech had me lay back on my back she flipped again. :) It was such an amazing feeling to have her kicking me and be able to see it on a screen.
We are so thrilled and excited. I have been bouncing out of my seat all day long. :)

Arizona

2011-04-21T12:12:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been full of traveling fun. Maybe that is why I am so exhausted this week, oh wait that is because I am growing another person in me... :)
We had a show in Mesa, Arizona, and I somehow talked my mother and sister into coming for the show and to have a little visit with Stefen and Bree who live near Mesa. They drove for 12 fabulous hours, and I know that Jena loved every minute of it.... :)
We had such a good time hanging out by the pool, and having four of us cram into my hotel room, playing at the scrapbooking show, having great sisterly bonding time (if you haven't experienced Jena and I in the same room yet, you are missing out on life), and getting told who's turn it was to be the boss (that was Aniston's job...anyone shocked?? :) )
At Olive Garden Friday Night...Who knows what Jena was doing, the rest of us however, including Junior were anxiously awaiting food.
It was fantastic to be in 80 and 90 degree temperatures. The first thing I did when I got to Arizona was go to the pool, well okay, the first thing was eat, second was pool. We had a great time all weekend swimming and enjoying ourselves in the sun.
Junior and I enjoyed getting a tan. It is really hard to beleive that I am halfway done with this pregnancy business, it has gone by pretty quickly. I think we'll have another cake once it is over, okay, well Junior and I will anyway :)

Jena had a class with me on Saturday morning, and in normal Bolander fashion she was a minute late for the class. Well, a lot can be accomplished in a minute, so I used the time to set up a conspiracy and asked that all of the class attendee's clap when she came in. I should know by now that it is impossible to embarrass anyone in my family publicly. It was great to have her there however.
We ended up having a delicious dinner with Stefen and Bree on Sunday and hanging out at their apartment.
We stopped for some lunch at Sweet Cakes on Monday afternoon before Jena, Aniston, and my Mom dropped me off at the airport.
Fun times were had by all! It was very hard to leave on Monday because 1) it was 37 degrees in Chicago, and 2) I love my family, and it is hard for me not to have them around when I am in the middle of this life changing event. It is a good thing I have such a good husband that is so sweet, he makes up for all of those times I freak out and wish I had my mom's advise closer.

Signing off,
Shamu

A Visit to Chicago

2011-04-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

We had some visitors a few weeks ago. Scott's Mom and Dad brought his niece Nadia to Chicago.
I was in St. Louis at the time (300 miles up the road)
But I heard it was all fun and games here at the Bywater house. We sure love to have our family come!
The sleeping arrangements here are the best in the world, I think so anyway....

Quick Update

2011-04-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to get a quick update in... sorry, two shows in a row will take all the gusto out of you, and more so when a baby takes the gusto initially.
Just got back from St. Louis and had an interesting trip. The crowd was a little harsh, I am not kidding when I say that this was probably the most stressful show yet. It ended well however, when my co-worker and I took the time on Sunday to go to the Gateway Arch. It was amazing. Words cannot describe how excited I was.

Scott and I visited the doctor today and Junior was happily sleeping, and Scott was thrilled to hear it's little heart beating away. I was just thrilled to be laying down on a table and almost stayed there. :) We find out if Junior is a he or a she on the 23rd of this month. Needless to say we are slightly thrilled.

I am headed to Mesa this week, and I am so excited to meet up with my family. We decided to make a weekend of it and visit my brother.
We also had my in laws and darling niece Nadia here this weekend, I am sure that made for a full house. Photo's are coming....I promise. :)

Portland

2011-03-30T14:36:00.000-07:00

I had the chance to go to Portland this last week for a scrapbook show. The show went really well, and I had this darling lady come up to me after one of my classes. "do you remember me?" me: "I recognize your face, were you in Seattle?" Surprising that I did, but I had several people in my classes that I knew had been in Seattle in November of last year. Anyway, this sweet women proceeded to tell me that she was a beginner in Seattle and that I had totally calmed her fears that weekend and she just loved my class, so she had to make sure she took another class that I was teaching. I was so surprised and grateful that she came and told me. It really made my day. I wished I would have had my camera...famous last words of a scrapbooker.

So I took some extra time in Portland and visited Matt, Scott's brother, and was able to have dinner Friday at the restaurant that he works at. I drank vinegar water, and ate and ate and ate. It was all very delicious! I stayed until Monday touring around because I have always wanted to drive the coast. Scott and I, once a long time ago, talked about going and then never did. So, while Mr. Bywater was home cleaning the church building (he really was, good thinking on my part to be away that weekend) I was driving up Highway 101.
I started on Highway 6 which is the road through Tillamock State Forest. Map quest suggested it, my GPS was adamant that I turn around, but I was proud of myself for staying on the unknown course, especially because I was alone. It was beautiful. I find the longer I live in the midwest the more I miss mountains.
I seem to be thinking in the realm of "lasts" lately. Probably because I know that this baby means no more just me. :) No more just Scott and I. Don't get me wrong we are so thrilled to be blessed with being able to have a family, we just know it is a life changer. So along the lines of "lasts" I knew this would be a "last" alone trip for a while for me.
SIDE NOTE: Public restroom standards...go by the wayside when pregnant. I of course started up this canyon with my trusty mug reminding myself to drink water. Well, sure enough I had to use the facilities about halfway through my trip. I do have to say that I passed a few other throwns up prior to coming to this beauty
and then of course it looked the same on the inside as all the rest. Yes folks, it was an outhouse. And yes, I was the queen for about two seconds. Might I also say that up the road about a half a mile was the Forest Information Center and flushing toilets and a sink...sigh...I will admit I laughed quite hard.
END SIDE NOTE
As I came down the mountain I noted the altitude signs "1,000 feet above sea level", "500 feet above sea level." We're not in Kansas anymore Toto. And you don't see those types of signs in Utah. Usually the altitude is a bit more prominent.
I ended up getting spit out in Tillamock, which was fantastic because they have cheese, and Junior and I were starving. We were living on granola bars.
Here is a shot of the cheese factory
The place was much to crowded for me, so I moved on and ran into some beautiful sights heading to Cannon Beach

I could have lived in one of the little towns that I drove through that day, well I could live in all of them really. It was fantastic. Cannon Beach is a great little tourist attraction, so I stopped there for some retail attraction and a few photo's

After I was done at Cannon Beach I got back in the car, much to the protest of my back- aka Junior's Pillow, and decided that I really did want to continue on up to Astoria, Oregon before going back to Portland. I was glad I did because I was able to snag this photograph
The rainbow makes the photo, and was a great end to a wonderful trip!

Latest CK Post

2011-03-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Here is my latest CK blog post. I truly had soo much fun with this one! And they tell me it was a huge hit!

http://clubcreatingkeepsakes.com/blogs/ck_community/archive/2011/03/24/one-hour-challenge-use-beads-and-bling-on-your-layout.aspx

Shamu

2011-03-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

I am coming to you from Portland Oregon. I called my mom this morning and the first thing she said to me is "where are you?" I love starting conversations like that. I laughed and filled her in, but honestly sometimes I cannot remember where I am.
We just finished our Portland scrapbooking show, I will share more on that later. But I had to post about this hysterical story that happened last week.
We had a party with cake from the grocery store FYI to celebrate/mourn the loss of normal clothes at our house. They are now safely tucked into our storage unit. However, we were headed down the stairs of our building on Saturday morning off to do some errands (aka the Saturday Costco trip- my father in law trained Scott well) when I began to lament. "I look like a whale in these pants. " (speaking of some great maternity pants that I love) Scott: "Stop it! No you don't" (insert slight pause here) "Shamu".
I laughed so hard I almost fell down the stairs. I am still laughing, I definitely asked for that.

Seminary and Strechy Pants RIP

2011-03-16T10:23:00.000-07:00

I have a new calling. Every morning I drag my body out of bed at 5:00 A.M. to get ready for Seminary. I am now the constant substitute for our early morning seminary out here. I do have to say that I was shocked about being called to this. I thought when my bishop asked me some time ago to be a substitute, that I would simply be substituting every once in a while, I also was not expecting a baby when I was asked, so I thought and I quote from the book of Shelbi "Oh! See, here is a way that the Lord is going to help me get back into the habit of being an early bird!" Beware of what you ask for in your prayers people.
I have a small class of just three kids. Pat, Sam, and Sarah. They are great kids, and have an understanding of the gospel that I know I did not at their age. We meet in Pat and Sam's parent's basement every morning at 6:00 A.M. We are studying the Doctrine and Covenants, something that they know much more about because most of them have been to Nauvoo and the church's historical sites that are so close to this area.
Are you noticing a trend here. Poor kids, this calling is much more for me then for them.
I have to admit that I do come home afterwords and go back to bed for another couple of hours. If not I spend my day on the sofa unable to move, and Scott eats his spit for dinner.
(my next scrapbook page is going to be called "the many faces of Mr. Bywater" - fitting I think)
Life is full of exciting things...5:00 A.M. and a pregnant lady are one of them.

On to the Stretchy Pants RIP part of this post. Sadly, I had a little going away party for my last "normal" pair of pants yesterday. I choose to wear them all day even though at every moment they were digging into junior's space. I had to explain to the baby that this was a mommy thing and to just give me this one last day.
So I had a going away party last night, and set up a plan for a larger party this weekend when I say good by to all the "normal" clothes in my closet as they take up residence in the storage unit.
We are having cake...
Happy Belated Birthday to my 17 year old littlest brother

Catching Up

2011-03-14T12:47:00.000-07:00

It seems lately like Catching Up is always my main focus these days. Which, those who know me really think that weird, and I agree with you folks, it is weird. But if you noticed the last post about Scott and I expecting our first baby in September this year it may all make sense. I have to say, I don't know how that gives me an excuse, but I tend to be harder on myself.
Sick would be the main word I would use to describe this pregnancy business. Sick, Sick, Sick. And just so you know, when the books and the doctor tell you it should pass...I say where's your information coming from. I am officially 15 weeks along, and the sickness hasn't stopped. Sweet Mr. Bywater asked me last night after I dragged myself off the sofa to eat something if I was happy to be pregnant. My answer: " No, I was just wondering when this will be over." I immediately felt badly and the little peanut ultrasound photo hanging on our fridge caught my eye, and I said I was sorry. Then as the toilet and I were having a DTR (determine the relationship) discussion last night I took that sorry back and went to bed with it.
I do have to say however, that my sweet husband has been so gracious and wonderful about taking care of me. He is always asking me how I am feeling and indulging me when I know he would like something other then macaroni and cheese or pizza. And he tells me daily how "hot" I am, not that I believe him because I surely feel like a whale of a gal, but I know he loves me anyway. He sweetly talks to the baby and his favorite question to ask me is "have you eaten anything." How did I get so lucky?
My family has been great as well. My dad called me the other day, nearly knocked my socks off. :) He wanted to know how I was doing and if I needed some more of his chocolate covered raisins (my mother gave them to him for Valentines Day and when I was in Utah a few weeks ago I kept creeping out to my dad's shop to get a handful. He caught me and we had a good laugh) My mother is thrilled, my brothers think it is great, and my sister fields all of my panicked calls and questions. My in laws spoil me and my mother in law is always the voice of reason as I complain. Then my sweet sister in law Kristin was gracious enough to provide us with this darling playmate for our little one... his name is Marcus Steven, and even though we haven't seen him yet, we love him already.
More to come...

News from the Bywater Front

2011-03-04T09:40:00.000-08:00

A picture is worth a thousand words my friends....

Enjoy... :)

My First Blog Post

2011-02-17T07:16:00.000-08:00

Not here, but at CK. I am so thrilled!

Go here
http://www.creatingkeepsakesblog.com/blog/2011/02/17/write-from-the-heart-with-ckcs-journaling-class/

Be My Valentine...

2011-02-10T11:29:00.001-08:00

Every once in a while there is a glimmer of hope that these two really do love each other. Those moments are few and far between and are not easily captured.

We needed some color in our Valentine life the other day, so after I picked Mr. Bywater up at the airport from one of his many trips this month I claimed we needed milk, and came out of the store with these little delights.
Tulips scream spring, and that is a little of what I need right now. :) Who couldn't use a little reminder right now.
This morning I went out the the car at an hour that really shouldn't exist (again Mr. Bywater off to one of his many meetings in another state) only to turn on the car and see that the temperature was 6 degrees below zero. That is right folks, add the wind and you have 15 below zero (courtesy of the news this morning.) Our car finally warmed up when we got to the airport. Now, had I known it was going to be that cold I would have stayed in bed, but the fact of not having a car all day leads to a bit of a trapped sensation. Needless to say it has been a cold week. I got all this gusto on Monday (not normal) to take Olive for a walk, lets just say the poor dog has been shut inside with me because I finally decided it wasn't fun to walk in frigid temperatures. Anyway, back to having gusto...my gusto only lasted until the end of the driveway to our condo. I found I was shivering, that makes for an interesting walk. I gave up my gusto and Olive sadly hung her head as we turned and headed for home again.
And just think...last year at this time we were in Costa Rica....

Snow Day

2011-02-07T08:04:00.000-08:00

We recently had the storm of the century in Chicago. Tuesday didn't look to stormish of the centuryish, so really Scott and I just rolled our eyes and kept on keeping on. However, at around 2:00 in the afternoon I happened to glance out my window. Okay, so it had turned into a blizard outside, and I didn't have any quarters for laundry. Sad that that was the first thought out of the little door in my mind. I jumped up and grabbed the car keys and headed to the bank. I kid you not, combined with the wind Chicago is known for a mild snowstorm can turn into a deadly one. I made it to the bank and home while narrowly missing several possible accidents.
The next thought out of the little door in my mind..."Oh no, what if the trains stop and I have to go get Scott!" For as much snow and cold as these Chicagoan's get you would think they could drive in it. Well, just like Utahn's they can't. Which in turn makes the two hour drive downtown into the stuff made out of nightmares.
I must back up for a second here. We went grocery shopping on Monday night, which is a usual ritual for us, and can I tell you, the grocery store was packed full of people planning for Armageddon. Scott and I snickered and threw an extra candy bar into the cart.
Chocolate saves people.
But in all seriousness, we later learned that several gas stations were all out of fuel, several stores had bare shelves and produce was at a nill. And I thought Utah was crazy....It looked like the local caselot sale after everyone gets their tax return in Utah.
Back to Tuesday... Scott called at 3:30 p.m. "I just barely got on the train" (Relief for me) "And I had to push to get there. I felt bad for the guy that I had to push out of the way, but he'll figure his life out. Oh, and this train is supposed to leave at 4:10, but they can't stick another person on, so they are not making any stops in the city and I should be straight home." Sometimes the beauty of mass transit can be a little rough on a very winter day.
Needless to say Mr. Bywater was soaking wet when he cam through the door, but otherwise all was well and good. We went to bed, because really, what else was there to do.... :)

We woke up to this....
That is right folks, notice that the snow is taller then my large dog. She was loving life, while we began digging out. Well, sorry, let's be honest here...Scott began digging out. Just because he got a day off work didn't mean that I did. :)
I need to mention here that the city was in a state of disbelief. We laughed a lot at the hype, and news reports on this blizzard. One very sad, idiotic thing that happened was the closure of a much used highway Tuesday night during the middle of rush hour. Folks sat on this freeway so long they ran out of gas, and many ended up abandoning their cars and walking to their homes. The emergency rooms were busy with frost bite and hypothermia, and then to add to the insult when it came time to clear the roads and cars were still buried in snowbanks, the city cleared the cars, and no one knew where to find said cars. I say, good form Chicago mayor.
Anyway, I am done boring you with my stories, here are some other good photo's...
The plow finally showed up around 1:00 in the afternoon, but the snow here is so heavy and wet, and again, they are not used to dealing with this much, the plow spent most of it's time being stuck in our parking lot. There was a group of men from our building that mostly included my hubby and a neighbor who were out helping the plow shovel and get unstuck for about four hours. It was crazy.
The snow drifts made things all the more interesting. Apparently the wind was stronger at the back of our building, the snow is almost up to Mr. Bywater's hips. This makes things hugely funny for the dog, and talking care of her business. We went out to get some dinner on Wednesday night and were met with a very closed city. McDonald's, Giadorno's (famous pizza) and a little Mexican restaurant were the only things open. And there was so much snow that there was no place for the plows to put it. We drove down Glen Ellyn Main street with a huge bank of snow in the middle of the two lanes. It has all been very interesting.
We had a little more snow on Sunday, but the plan now is just for negative degree temperature...JOY....Here was my game face for the Super Bowl.

The Boss, signing off.

The Goings On...

2011-02-04T12:06:00.001-08:00

We have been somewhat busy lately. Okay, well I have, and I guess the Mister has been too! We had a terrific snow storm this week, so terrific in fact that it will get its own post later on. First I had some musings that I would like to muse. :)

I have been doing a lot of scrapbooking lately. Imagine that... :) But my only problem with this hobby is this...
I know, I have a heart attack every time I open the office door, literally. I have been on my hands and knees scrapbooking for several days, and I woke up yesterday with a hearty, happy back. I think it was done, I had to push through one more layout, but I am done for a while, so maybe now I will just have to beg cupid to bring me a table that I can fold out when I need it and then put away when I don't. With limited space it makes things all the more fun. Also, the cats and dogs have not been allowed in the office for a week, they were thrilled...
However, I have been having a riot lately with cork. I found these beauties from Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago. They are adhesive back cork sheets and are perfect for the Big Shot!
I will post more layouts a little later. I must muse now on the new addition to my kitchen cupboards. Meet the traveling post it note...

Okay, so this is the freezer, but here is the cupboard...

It is a very well suited job for Mr. Bywater to sell vacuums because he is one. I know his mother would agree with me wholeheartedly. If I purchase something for myself at the grocery store I will find the empty container on the bedside table the next day, or somehow that lovely treat that I was so looking forward too, has found itself into the "treat drawer" at work. The phrase "whats mine is mine and whats yours is mine" is the best description of the Bywater kitchen I can think of. While I don't mind sharing at all, I do mind not getting even a taste of the treat, and that has happened before. Now, however, we have the traveling post it note. All of our problems are solved.

Speaking to the Boss...

2011-01-26T10:31:00.000-08:00

I got to speak with the Jones Boss last night. Well, I heard her tell her mother that she needed the phone. :) So, I am not sure that she was even going to give anyone a chance to escape...
"Are you coming to get me at the airport" She demanded (and I mean demanded, this three year old is a boss.) "Yes" I replied, I grew up with her mother, so I know it is just best to say yes all the time.
"Okay, I am going to get my purse, and my phone, and the keys, and then you haf to come to this new house of mine to get me and then we are going to the airport." Miss Aniston is very much the grown up.
The funny thing was I was on my way to the airport to get Mr. Bywater who had just gotten to fly to Kansas City for a day...wooo...hooo... he says. :)
So I tried to get Aniston to talk to me about dance class and her new house, but it was all in vain. "Okay, I'll see you at the airport, love you, bye!"
That was it. That was all I was getting.
Then when I logged onto Facebook this morning my brother in law had posted this...

my 3 year old threw her moms purse on her shoulder and said "see you later, I am off to the airport to fly to costco."

:) Happy Wednesday.

Dreaming of Sugar Cookies..

2011-01-20T15:16:00.000-08:00

I am dreaming of Sugar Cookies today for some reason. I think that Valentines Day must be around the corner, or I just have a sweet tooth.

Either way, who can blame me? :)

Minneapolis, Minnesota

2011-01-19T14:22:00.000-08:00

Scott and I were lucky enough to go to Minneapolis for our anniversary. Well the real story is that Scott had a vacuum show, and plane tickets were cheap, so that ment I got to go too!
We had so much fun! Well, I had fun anyway, Scott worked most of the time. Here are some things we did.
Shopped! Hello Mall of America! You are Scott's dream come true!

Ate and Ate! :) We had Bubba Gump the first night, and then my personal favorite Johny Rockets the second night.

One of our favorite stores was the Lego store. We probably could have spent hours looking at the cool figures that they had built out of Lego's. I am partial to Woody, Scott really liked the snake.

Well, the sales person shared with us that it takes about 50 guys, four months to build some of these characters. Holy cow, do you think that job would get boring?

My favorite part was going to see the Mill City Museum. No, it wasn't because of the cab ride that felt more like an amusement park ride on the way to and from. It was the most fabulous building! Minneapolis is known for it's history of flour mills, and this was an old flour mill that the city had made into a museum. I couldn't get enough, really, shopping holds no ground for me when there is a museum nearby! So, this mill was the old General Mills flour mill until they shut it down in 1965. I learned how they made flour, how they used the hydroelectric current of the St. Anthony falls to generate power for their mill, and where and how Betty Crocker became involved. My favorite part was the ninth floor of the museum, where I ran into a device that was used to circulate the explosive flour dust out of the air of the mill. Hello! It was a Cyclone. It was like being stuck inside of a Dyson! I was so excited I had to call Scott and tell him.
Funny enough the Pillsbury mill is on the other side of the river from the old General Mills flour mill, it is still in operation. Sorry, I am a nerd and forgot my camera, but I did get the best souvenir ever from the gift store. It is a dish towel that says "so I am not Betty Crocker"

Coming home was a lengthy process, one I am not thrilled to repeat but funny in its own way. So, Mr. Bywater thought it would be good to get an 8 man tent at the show...???....????
What???....?????
We dragged it everywhere, it was knocked off the suitcase a time or two, it wouldn't fit through some of the doors. Then we finally unloaded it at baggage claim. Thank Heavens... Now, note to all that this is at 5:00 in the morning...not really a time of the morning I aspire to be up at anymore, there once was a time, but alas, no more.
So, we then proceeded through the crowded security lines for our morning massage. Then to our gate. Well, let's just say our plane came in and they announced it had a flat tire and would need to be fixed. Long story short, the 10:00 A.M. flight to Chicago left before the 7:20 A.M. flight. We figured out we could have driven home faster then we flew.

When it snows, it's a blizzard...

2011-01-12T10:31:00.000-08:00

We've all heard the phrase "When it rains, it pours." I believe I have said it myself a time or three, but since I now live in the "Windy City" I choose the snow. And yes, I am talking about the blizzard that dumped on us yesterday, and the blizzard of good things, and bad, that seems to be surrounding me.

I had the worst experience this morning trying to take my first test of my back to school life. I tried and tried to make sure that the necessary things were in place and working for said test to come to fruition. I was taking a Math test and I know Shelbi and Math don't mix. I also can admit that sometimes Shelbi and technology don't mix. Well, my advance thinking got me nowhere with people at school, but then I got somewhere with set up and thought all was well. Let's just say that Math, Technology and Shelbi are an explosive combination. After 30 minutes of trying and trying to take the test I finally typed up a frustrated e-mail to my mentor and hit send. I also in the meantime spoke to a rude representative who apologized that their technology couldn't support mine and asked if I had another computer. "oh, yes sir" I replied politely" and it is a MAC too." I then hung up on said representative, and then gave up trying to take said test.
Five minutes later I called Scott
Scott: "Hello"
Shelbi: "Tell me to calm down"
Scott:"Honey, calm down. What is going on?"
Shelbi: "Hang on I have to finish this Reese's Peanut Butter Cup"
Long story short, I freaked. Which I hate to admit, but I did. Call me a control freak, but when I can't control things I assume the worst and that there is no solution. Happily for me, and for everyone who talks to me in that 2 hour period, there is chocolate.
And, there is always a solution, I am taking the test on Friday at a testing center.

On two the second snowstorm...

Okay, so it is not a bad snow storm, but a good snow storm. I have been asked to be more of a part of the magazine I work for in writing blog posts, creating layouts, and having more of a face with the readers as well as the convention attendee's.
I am very excited about this, but of course, as is very typical for me, give that chocolate 10 minutes to wear off, and I am trembling.
Am I good enough to be a part of this?
Will I make the cut? Or will the editors think "What the heck is this?"
I love being a part of the convention attendee's experience, but there are stalwart readers, will they be as nice and forgive me when I say button without a "t"? Will they love me like the convention attendee's do? Or will they say "Who is this weirdo? "
Will I have time for this with school, and everything else I do?

Good thing that there is always a solution. :) I am headed to the kitchen for some more chocolate.

So, here are my snowstorms, all before noon. Wow, I think a nap is in order.

9:50 am

2011-01-05T07:51:00.001-08:00

The dog is snoring, I am working, and missing these ladies. And these people....

One of the things I miss the most is being surrounded by my people.

6 Years...Or is it 60??

2010-12-31T13:49:00.001-08:00

My sweet husband and I reached out six year anniversary mark yesterday (and the ten year mark since we met.) It started with me giving Scott a bloody nose. :) At least that is what he will tell you all. :) And I don't mind because it was such a funny story, and we will always remember the day for that. As my sister in law lovingly said "Life is always interesting with Scott around." I couldn't agree more. :)

Happy Anniversary Mr. Bywater! Love you more every day! ( and yes, we are wishing we were in Costa Rica right now :) )

Christmas Morning

2010-12-25T08:53:00.000-08:00

Well, we had a great Christmas!(Sorry for those friends who don't want details :) You can stop reading now :) )

Scott woke up FAR to early for me...he was excited, though he would never admit to that.
We dug through our stockings first. They were filled with both of our favorite goodies. One common theme with both stockings was the chocolate. :)
Olive and I were a little blurry eyed and tired but we made it to the living room.
This was Scott's favorite gift
Yes, he is holding an iron, yes, the man does do all of the ironing in the house, yes, I am very grateful for that and will indulge the expensive irons. :)
His other favorite gift is the Ipad. This hasn't found its way into his hands yet because he is waiting for the 2nd edition to come out. Apparently it has EVERYTHING he wants.
Here was my favorite gift...
Yes, my sweet husband gave me a guitar and some lessons. I am SO SO SO SO excited to learn how to play!
Here are some other shots...
I am an official Chicago resident...I have some ridiculously expensive, but well worth it snow boots, and this great down coat that goes to my ankles. Hurray for the cold!

My parents sent us a lovely book and some great stories from my Dad's childhood. We loved it!

Tiger liked the toys

Olive likes her new coatAnd here is the toy that Mom and Dad Bywater sent...(flip video)

We love you all and miss you! Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve!

2010-12-24T14:46:00.000-08:00

I walked by a gift under the tree the other day and saw this
Yes, my husband made these tags. I was so impressed... he even inked the edges!
This is the proudest moment in my scrapbooking life! I cracked my husband!

Merry Christmas all!
We love and miss you!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-22T17:01:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Family,

We feel so blessed at this time of the year. Or maybe that is the numb of the cold in Chicago? Well, we haven’t decided what it is, but whatever “it” is it is responsible for the snot that is frozen to our faces, and these musings.

Speaking of musings, I always rolled my eyes when my Bolander mother would start with these boring letters every year. I remember thinking “Mom, we are boring, we have nothing to tell people.” Well, that is why this letter is going to be packed with great breaks, snot frozen to our faces, and doggy poop in a bag.

Our year has been stuffed (literally- you should see the scale when both Scott and I stand on it) with challenges, changes, and good food.

I started the year out by going out with a bang. I was given the opportunity to move on from my job with a local homebuilder for six years. It felt a little bit like I was a baby bird being pushed out of the nest. Horrible, but very necessary. So, after many years of working very hard I didn’t have much to do...my break went well. I was lucky to jump back into a great company where I scrapbook and travel all over the United States teaching scrapbook classes.

Scott’s job still “sucks.” (literally) He is still with Dyson vacuums and loves every minute of it. We both are grateful for the blessings that this company has brought to our family, the first of which came during May when we decided that a change of scenery would be good, too many mountains said we. SO, we decided to relocate to Dyson headquarters in windy Chicago. I stayed behind for a while opting for a life of craziness with scrappbooking shows, and taking care of our fur babies (Olive- the lazy lab, Tiger- the good cat, and Copper- the trouble cat) while “Account Manager” Scott lived smack in the middle of the glitz and glamour in downtown Chicago. However, Mr. Bywater and I (Boss) got a little tired of our life apart, and in September we moved everything to Chicago. Sadly we left our home in Utah unsold but happy to welcome anyone with promising credit. (Seriously, if you know anyone let us know- our Realtor suggested we try this new marketing idea, we call it “Christmas Letter Blast.” We hope it works.) After starring at the back of a moving truck for three days we arrived only to then trek up to our 3rd floor, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo about a million times with all of our stuff. Long story short, Five bedroom house + 6 Years of marriage = One REALLY big storage unit and 2 fully stocked bedrooms. Last week we actually were able to eat the last #10 can of wheat stashed under our bed, we had a party (so did the Raccoon who frequents our garbage can.)

We now have a life of glitz and glamour...I get to take another “break” and work part time from home for now. At 2:00 in the afternoon you will see Olive and I cruising the streets of Glen Ellyn, in one hand I have a baggy of dog do-do and in the other a sign that says “will work for work”. My resume is stapled neatly to my forehead. In other words my second “break” is going well.

Scott rides the train (and if he doesn’t we spend 2-3 hours in the car getting him to work, sometimes traffic even moves so fast here we have to get out and push the Subaru) to work every morning at 6 AM, and is in charge of several accounts for Dyson. Again, “sucky job.” Yes, we live in glamour, and love every minute of it.

I am learning to cook- Mr. Bywater has to remind me on some occasions that “crap happens” (this was said over a plate of my first try at meatloaf the first week that we moved out to Chicago- Hey! We had to use the wheat somehow!)

Scott is now Scott Bywater M.B.A. That is right, he finished his masters degree in October. (We had another party; this time I made...wheat cupcakes!)

Scott is active with the Young Men in our ward, and me, well, let’s just say they keep me on my toes from week to week, but I am currently teaching Relief Society. We enjoy our new ward, and have made some great friends. We now have the hook-ups in the lawyer category, dentist, accountants, chiropractors, at Boeing, and our personal favorites- nurse and doctors. Yes, if you are wondering Scott is still trying to grow- up.

We are so grateful this year. We have had a prayer in our hearts daily (okay, so in reality it has been hourly) and lets just say those prayers run into the night. We have had so many wonderful learning experiences (or maybe those were commercial trains running along side our condo at night blasting their horns...still not sure.) Needless to say we are freezing, short on Kleenex, full of love for our savior and each other, all cramped into 2 cold bedrooms, enjoying our time with each other, learning to cook with wheat, doing laundry better at the Laundromat (they no longer throw me out for starting machines without things in them and then begging to have my quarters returned- those arrows are confusing!), and missing all of you!

Best wishes for a safe and warm holiday!

Things we're doing

2010-12-14T10:18:00.000-08:00

We are getting ready for Christmas...
I have gone back to school....
First class....Math.....yuck....this is why I did Interior Design initially.
Scott has been selling vaccum's to the RV industry. Really, they are now putting Dyson's in these things! Crazy!
We have evolved, and now have a "modern kitchen"
And finally, we are eating lots of these...Mint M&M's...they are the best....

We live in a Bubble with a Heater and a Dog...

2010-12-14T09:44:00.000-08:00

Sounds like a great reality TV show.
Well, this is our reality lately. I thought I would post a little about the weather we are having here.
It is cold. The furnace has stopped working correctly. It is cold. We had the repair man here yesterday and the furnace ran for about 30 minutes. Did I mention it was cold. BUT the heater man told me I wasn't just being sensitive, and that the heater wasn't working properly. It's cold. Meet my new best friend
Her name is "Heather the Heater". She is a joy to be around, the "sunbeam" in my life, and usually for me that means my fingers and toes are sitting right next to her (dang Mendenhall family circulation.) Which in turn makes it a bit difficult to get things done (sorry if everyone's Christmas cards are late.)
Here is the window I look out of from my office all day long...

When I moved from Utah I thought I left the "bubble" behind.
*sigh* Guess not. Our whole house is decorated with said plastic.

Okay, so things are not all forlorn and rough! It is beautiful here! Icicles hang everywhere, the parking lot is an ice skating rink, the battery on your car dies, and dies again at the Laundromat last night. We sat there really not knowing what to do at first. Oh, did I mention the shivering? It was 12 degrees. Luckily we had just done the laundry so Scott piled some on top of me and then got out to flag down the sweet policeman from Glen Ellyn. The sweet man said, and I quote "Well, I can call you a tow truck, but I can't give you a jump." I was mad, to say the least. I am sure there was a perfectly good reason he couldn't jump our car for us, but I was still mad. Luckily we have some wonderful friends we were able to call, and they came before I froze to death.
Side note: Notice that I am the only one that is freezing to death. Mr. Bywater is a furnace. Really, the man is always warm...even at 2:00 in the morning.
So now to the dog...

She was so excited to go for a walk yesterday. Our neighbor in the building next to us gave us a weird look as she ran for the warmth of her building and we ran from the warmth of ours (alright, I am not sure that I would call it running, the word, skating, is a better description.)
Well so halfway around block one (we only made it all the way around block one) we came upon an what looked like a normal driveway, and in her usual fashion she ran for the squirrel sitting on the other side. I had made the mistake of wearing cowgirl boots with no traction and so pulling on the leash wasn't an option. However, I didn't have to pull on the leash because the four legged child got a quarter of the way across the driveway and started sliding. Her claw marks are still in the ice. I laughed so hard I cried, and then almost fell on my duff.

Long story short....it's cold in Chicago.

The House...

2010-12-10T12:08:00.001-08:00

Scott and I closed on our home in Utah today. We have had many moments to stop and count the blessings that we have been given in making this move to Chicago. Believe me when I say there is a list forming, and as much as we loved our first home, we are very relieved that this new family will be able to feel the love and the spirit that has always been there.
It has been fun to reminisce through the 26 years that I spent in 5042 Rocky Road, but my home is where my sweet husband and family is. We are excited to officially move along on our journey. I know that the haven and warmth that it provided to me and all the other members of my family will always exist, and Scott and I are happy to pass this haven on.

The Rest of the Visit

2010-12-10T11:59:00.000-08:00

Okay, so really, I get so easily frustrated with my lack of computer knowledge. To complete the rest of our lovely visit... We took Jensen and Grandma shopping, which what visit to Chicago is complete without shopping!
This is what Scott and Jensen did the whole time...
It was wonderful to have them here with us. We had a hard time taking them to the airport on Monday, even though they had to go a little later then originally planned and we got to spend the day with them. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful family! The support that Scott and I get is always wonderful, and I know that they are always just a phone call and 1,600 miles away!
Thanks for coming Jensen and Grandma! We love you!

Visitors

2010-12-10T11:14:00.000-08:00

We had Jensen and Grandma with us last week. It was so much fun! Scott and Jensen play well together...LOL! Really, they do, and it was lovely to have some chatting moments with my mother in law. We love them both dearly!

Friday morning (Grandma and Jensen flew in Friday afternoon) I got a call from the Mister..." Why don't you plan on picking me up at 1:00, then we can go to the airport together to pick Jensen and Grandma up." Boss(aka- Shelbi) " Umm....I thought you were working ALL day." Scott: "Well, I am going to take a half day off." That is really the amount of excitement. We got to the airport and Jensen was ecstatic! Grandma had to put a restraining hand on his shoulder so that he didn't tip over! It was such a funny thing to see!
Here were the sleeping arrangements

We did all sorts of fun things, like going to Navy Pier
It was cold...to say the least! It snowed the whole time, but we had a lot of fun.

We also went to the Brookfield Zoo. That was by FAR everyone's favorite. I was surprised how active the animals were, and that made it all the more fun (I am talking the wolf's and bears, not Scott and Jensen)

These guys were hysterical

The Polar Bear was my favorite. He was swimming next to us the whole time!

Visitors

2010-12-05T20:36:00.000-08:00

Jensen and Grandma are here! They brought the snow, and we have been busy, busy! More soon...

Sneak Peak- Seattle

2010-11-23T16:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I only have two photos...(still no cord...) but here is a sneak peak at the last show for the year.
This is my co-worker Ashley and I hanging out at the crop Saturday night after all the packing, and the partying festivities.
Notice we are still somewhat vertical. This is an accomplishment.

I was also sooo excited to be teaching with Teri Anderson one of the FABULOUS and a personal favorite Go To Papercrafts Gal! AND I got to meet Maren Benedict, who is another favorite and fabulous Go To Gal!
Hopefully more later...cross your fingers y'all.

"Katch"- Up and a Few "grateful for"

2010-11-18T13:36:00.000-08:00

I just got back from a great scrapbook convention in Seattle. The last CKC of the year! It really seems crazy that we are done for the year, and that means that I have worked for them for a year...weird?!? More on that later... (Mr. Scott has to find the cord for the camera...please let's all pray it is not in the storage unit...or we won't hear about it later :) )

So, I just had a few musings I wanted to share. I am in another grateful mood, and have started putting down thoughts for our Holiday cards and letter. I used to think my mother was such a goober for sending holiday letters telling everyone all about the goings on in the Bolander house- I guess I thought we were pretty boring. However, as I have started said letter I am so grateful that I have family and wonderful friends to send it too! This year has been one heck of a year (that sounds very countryish) for us, and I am happy to tell anyone who will listen about it I guess!
Okay, so here are a few things we have been doing...
Voting
I love Mr. Scott's face here... It really says everything about voting this year....I have never witnessed, or maybe noticed is the word how mean politics is!! We stopped turning on the TV for a few weeks because the only commercials were slamming opponents and then politely telling voters who they should vote for. It was rough. Scott and I stared at each other for two weeks...
Then the day after we voted I read an article on the fact that many voters went to the poles unhappy with their choices. I was just grateful that Mr. Bywater and I had the opportunity to vote.

Things have turned cold here, and by cold I mean cold! My fingers are quite cold as I type this (our little home gets minus five stars for an energy star rating) and the sun came out for a few moments today (of course this was after Miss Olive and I went for our daily walk) and then disappeared, but I am grateful for afternoon sunshine coming in the windows
After I took this photo I sat in that square on the floor of my kitchen for a while to warm up. And yes Dad, I AM wearing socks, A long sleeve shirt, AND a sweater. BUT as much as I would like to tell you all that I will turn up the heat in this place, I am still my fathers daughter, so I just cook dinner....which leads me to my next "grateful for"
Cooking!
Never thought I would say that! But as I spend more time in my home I have found that this is the little oasis of my day. AND provides some heat. I stood in front of the stove with the door open yesterday as the lasagna cooked just because I could. BUT I am grateful for the Shelbi Crocker that has come out in me.

REALLY Official

2010-11-07T16:30:00.000-08:00

Mr. Bywater just got his grade for his last class....and he has now officially passed his last class and achieved the MBA. He ended up with a 3.81 Cumulative GPA. Nice job Mr. Bywater, you are now a Phoenix...

I am grateful....

2010-11-03T17:59:00.000-07:00

For so many things right now! Scott and I feel very blessed at this wonderful little time of the year. Even though we are so far away from our family and friends we just really like each other so that helps. :)

Seriously though, I am so grateful for the blessings that I have!

The Banter...

2010-11-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

Mr. Bywater and I always have this wonderful argument about taking the dog out. See, it is getting cold here, and by cold I mean....cold and wet and I have to wear socks every day...ikk...
so there is always some banter about who's turn it is to take the dog outside to see to her business. Well, okay, so this is my version of the schedule...Scott differs obviously, or there would be nothing to write about. I get the "day shift" which includes yelling at the dog on the walk, getting up in the morning to take her out, and then whenever in between we need a little break from the house. Scott gets the midnight shift. :) That makes me happy. He always says that when we have children he will be the only one getting up in the midnight hour. Now too the story...

Mr. Bywater got out of our warm bed last night around 2 am because the dog was whining to be let out. He had told said dog to be quite three times...I heard that, and instead she insisted that he get out of bed and see to her needs. Well, a little later, (note to all audiences: I am a HEAVY sleeper- or maybe it is best to say I am a good sleeper :) so while all of this is going on I am falling in and out of sleep just fine) I am not entirely sure how long the escapade lasted outside, he got back in our warm bed, now very cold...ick....and was ranting and raving that he was going to have it out with Miss Olive.
I believe I sleep chuckled and said "Can it wait until in the morning?"

It is Official

2010-11-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

It is official, Mr. Bywater has officially turned in his last school assignment... I cried, I wept, and that was mostly because now we have to pay for this wonderful education, well and the fact that I read said assignment last night at 11:00 pm...
Okay, so I am totally kidding, but I am feeling a bit nostalgic today. I really never thought that we, well okay, Scott would get to this point. The man LOVES school (not) and just really couldn't focus ten years ago (shudder, that is a LONG time) for two seconds on an assignment.

I remember when we started school together at the Salt Lake Community College. We had a Political Science class together (among others) and when we took the first test of our college career in that class dear, sweet, Mr. Bywater got mad that I got a better grade then he did. My sweet husband is one of a kind, that he has pushed himself through tests and papers and all sorts of projects to come to this point.
But truly, he has worked so hard through so many life changes (hence our recent early midlife crisis to jump up and move from our cozy Utah surroundings to beautiful Chicago) and curveballs that we have been thrown, to be at this wonderful point of being done.
So, it is with A LOT of pride that I announce my new husband...
Scott E. Bywater MBA

Hurry Home for Dinner Tonight Dear!!!

2010-10-30T06:48:00.001-07:00

We are having a specialty! CAT!
This week has been entirely interesting. From throwing one subject into the dog kennel at 3 a.m. to waking up to this today....
The suspects.....

So...instead of cleaning it up this morning, I promptly took the dog and put her in the car and left the house...someone once said that I was not mature enough to have children...this weekend was all about proving them right. :)

Love,
Shelbi

Lovin'

2010-10-28T13:08:00.000-07:00

I am loving this show...
I was laughing so hard last night when I watched it that the neighbors below us had to knock on the ceiling to get me to be quiet. Okay, well they didn't do that, but that would have made things even better.

And the thunder rolls

2010-10-26T12:52:00.000-07:00

The rain they said! And the wind they said! And then they said "watch out for the tornado"!

So our plants have made their home inside....
And then I tossed and I turned all night long with the thunder booming! It was really a great time for all. :) The dog slept through it and the Mister snored all night long too. Both cats hugged MY legs and slept on MY feet, as I tossed and turned.
Scott had to go to Florida this morning, so I then draaaaged myself out of bed and got in the car to drive to the airport (with no GPS, the Mister announced on Sunday that this was broken, and that he had ordered the "free" CD to fix it...we had a talk about fixing things that were broken, and not things that weren't broken. Unfortunately that leaves me without direction for the week...) At least I have the route to the airport memorized, then I had to drive home...Think traffic...Think raining cats and dogs sideways...Think sleep deprived me....Think bad news...and finally think 25 MPH . :) It was a treat let me tell you. And then....it has looked like this the whole rest of the day, and at noon, the sun came out.

The End

The Joys....

2010-10-26T12:44:00.000-07:00

Of condo living...Here is where I spent some of my time yesterday...
That is right...in the belly of our little home, surrounded by storage closets and meters....
And if you are not totally jealous you should come visit, and you will become jealous. I know you will... one thing is for sure, I only paid this much money to go to a Haunted House this year...Fantastic...

More Wedding Photo's

2010-10-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

Found them... :)

Wedding

2010-10-17T09:20:00.001-07:00

My younger brother Stefen got married this last weekend, the wedding was great! Gorgeous colors, they let me do the flowers, and we are all so excited that the new Mr. and Mrs. Bolander are joining our family! However, I do have to say that I tear up every time I think about my little brother being married. Is it because I think I am getting old you say? No...alright... maybe a little. I just remember Stefen as the little boy who was my dad's shadow and always had a squeaky voice and a love for cars and four wheeling.

Anyway, enough of that, here are some photo's from the wedding

Aniston is always entertained. We had a dinner Friday night. Which just so happened to be the day Scott and I flew in. We were late for the dinner because when we left Chicago they could not find our pilot... I offered to fly the plane, but they said no...I was hurt.

Saturday was my Dad's Birthday, so we celebrated with pie.

This is Stefen's grooms cake. Now, let me just tell you about this cake . My parents have the sweetest next door neighbor, that has the sweetest most talented daughter. She would make my grandpa Bill a fabulous cake every year for his birthday, and that became the highlight of Grandpa's party. So, in typical fashion this sweet talented woman made this great cake that totally fits my brother.

May I just point out here that I had high heels on to compete with this tall family I seem to belong to....Never a dull moment with us!

We were so excited to see our nieces and nephews! We had to get a shot with all of them at the reception! We had a great time talking about old times and old, and new dress debacles. :)

This has to be my all time favorite photo of my husband, our niece Anja just ran into his arms while squealing his name. It was a tear jerker.

More photo's and fun things to come...First I have to figure out which computer they are on.