That's The Way WE Do It....

What do you get when.....

...it takes 25 minutes to check in for a flight -because of being military, a misprint that omitted Boy Bean, and a ticket-printer that runs out of paper?

 ...your bags are randomly selected for search and inspect?

...your husband is ALSO randomly selected for a pat down?

....your plane (that departs in 2 minutes) is at the FARTHEST gate from the security checkpoint?

...you almost miss your connecting flight due to an overly-needy-adult-woman-who-has-to-have-coffee-to-be-a-nice-person?

Well, if you are me, My Love, and Boy Bean, you get a severe case of the giggles.

That all happened as we attempted to attend my cousin's wedding in Wisconsin this past weekend.

Madison's capitol building

The girls stayed with AMAZING friends of ours.

Goodbye kisses to baby boy

And that was only the beginning!

Madison is gorgeous!!!!

I had been the person in charge of travel arrangements for this trip - which is normally no big deal. Typically, I'm fairly on the ball. Ahead of schedule. Have all our confirmations printed out or written down, and might even have directions figured out ahead of time.

Me and my brother

This trip was not typical.

As we deplaned in Madison, I realized I could NOT remember which company we'd rented a car through. OR what hotel we were staying at. I decided to keep that information to myself, hoping that the answers would magically appear before My Love needed to know anything.

My Mom and Dad tasting the delicious fare at the Farmer's Market.

They didn't.

So we waited in line with car company #1....only to find out I had guessed wrong. My number was called - and My Love laughed. Off we went to car company #2.....and I guessed right! Woohoo!

Boy Bean watching the game with Uncle Matthew

Then My Love saw the maps of the area and decided to get an idea of how we would reach our hotel. Which was no big deal....except I could only remember we were staying at a Marriott.

There are 3 in the area.

He just looked at me in silence. And then burst out laughing. I joined in.....and the poor rental car agent was stuck wondering if we were safe to operate a vehicle. 

The view from the capitol with my parents

I was not.

For the safety of our family, we assumed our typical roles - I navigated, and My Love drove. Off we went to find breakfast.

IHOP is always a good choice for breakfast, right? Well, it ended up being a good choice to fit our morning!

Some of the cousins present for the wedding

Total side note: Our waitress was not the brightest crayon in the box. When I asked if they had any NON-Dairy creamer, she paused, thought, and replied: "Yeah, our HALF AND HALF is NON-Dairy." I managed to not pee my pants on that one. 

Barely. 

By this time, everything was funny anyway - and that was just too much!

Hanging out with Grandpa

Apparently, this particular IHOP had some sort of legal issue or something....and was SHUT DOWN WHILE we were there! The manager went in the kitchen and had them turn off everything, and we were KICKED out!  They wouldn't even give us our (already prepared) food in a box. And I had to ask special permission to stay for a few minutes to finish feeding Boy Bean his oatmeal.

Seriously!

This is the way we travel, people. Don't you want to join on the next adventure???

How many people can you fit in one elevator???

The wedding was absolutely lovely. It was extremely fun to hang with my relatives - who are not really known for high levels of sanity. But they all know how to have a good time!

Apparently, quite a few!

Although we were supposed to return on Sunday - due to aircraft malfunction, we were bumped to Monday.

And our connection was delayed 2 hours.

But you know what? It was a BLAST!

Me and my cousin Travis

Perhaps because I travel with 4 beans all the time, I've learned itineraries are more of a suggestion.

Maybe it is because I hope things will not go smoothly so I can have a funny story.

Whatever the reason - I can't wait to travel again soon!

Copyright 2011

Developing My Palate....

So here's the deal. I like food. A LOT.

I like dark chocolate. 

And fruit.

 And chicken salad. 

And chips and salsa. 

And brussels sprouts. 

And cilantro. 

And coffee. 

And chai.

 And every-salad-Shannon-has-ever-made.

 I like crab. 

And lobster. 

And borscht. 

And moo-shu pork.

And, apparently, I like crow.

Yep, I have been making it a habit to eat crow on a regular basis.

See, my problem is this:
I talk WAAAAAAY too much. AND, I'm slightly opinionated.
(Okay, really opinionated - you lover of accuracy!)
So, if I like something - think something is great - thoroughly enjoy something....you are gonna know it.

Unfortunately, the flip-side is true too. 

Which is no big deal....except when I exert my female-right to change my mind. 

Then problems arise....and I typically get a large serving of crow.

Recently, I've been getting more than my usual serving because we made a BIG decision. A large, life decision. A decision I said I WOULD NEVER MAKE. In fact, I've been exceptionally vocal about NOT wanting this particular route in the past.

And yet, here I am. Excited. Thrilled! And extremely happy to have arrived at this conclusion.

What decision could I be alluding to?

It deals with how we will be educating our beans. (At least this year!)

I have joined the ranks of homeschooling mamas. 

Please pick your mouth up off the floor.

After much prayer, thought, deliberation, numerous lists, and sleepless nights.....we have decided to homeschool String Bean (first grade) and Jumping Bean (pre-K/Kindergarten).

(I'd be happy to outline our reasons/rationale if you are interested)

Just be sure to keep my plate warm....I've a feeling I'm not done eating yet!

Copyright 2011

The Romance of Running.....

So, I'm about to tell on myself. 

Apparently, I'm a little crazy.  

(I know this may come as a surprise to many people.)

I'm a little crazy because I've always romanticized the idea of running...but not just running....running until I puked. 

For some reason, joining the ranks of the people-who-push-themselves-to-puking was a watermark that meant I was a REAL runner. 

Well, this past week I hit my watermark. 

I went for my long run - I'm still trying to train for my first half marathon - and had to stop because they were raising the flag. Suddenly, an overwhelming wave of nausea smacked right into me. And there I was, bent over the grass next to the sidewalk, throwing it up. 

And you know what?

It was NOT romantic.

At all. 

It was really gross.

But, hey, at least I've joined the club.

To bad they don't give new members wet wipes and breath mints.

Copyright 2011