Family Member of the week

Hello world...I know its been a while, but we are back to share with you on a regular basis our Bzzy life! I have broken up with Facebook and decided to go back to the old school way of doing things, updating you in the ways I love best, writing and pictures. So here it goes...

This past week we launched "Family Member of the Week" here in the Thomas household.


Think STAR of the week but for the family! I can't take all of the credit for the idea, as I had heard a brief mention of this idea in a movie that Ian and I watched a couple of weeks ago. But that was all I needed to hit the ground running. So take movie mention and add a quick stop at our local Ben Franklin for some art supplies and voila, a very cool family fun recognition program is brought to life!

Seeing as how it is a Family Recognition program we thought it necessary that we all work together on the project and its details. So all weekend long we were busy drawing, cutting, coloring, and pasting. Shilo drew pictures of each of us and we collectively came up with the "rewards" for being family member of the week. Below are all the details of how our new Family Recognition Program works.




One family member is selected randomly each week on Sunday evening. Names are drawn from a hat. The selected family member then puts their picture up on the Family Member Of the Week Board so we all remember who is the star for the week. For that week, the chosen family member then gets 6 special choices that they get to make throughout that week. The special choices/rewards are listed below (each idea was brainstormed and agreed upon by each family member before posting):

You will select one night where you get to choose dinner
You will select one weekend morning where you get to choose breakfast
You get to select the books to be read at bedtime for the entire week
You get to select a special family activity during the weekend
You will get to pick one special eating treat
You will get to go first every night at dinner when we discuss "Favorite Part of the Day"

Our hope with this is to continue to teach the kids about sharing, feeling special themselves and also having an opportunity to make someone else feel special as the "FAMILY STAR" for a week.

In a life that is so busy filled with work, school, bills, cooking, cleaning and everything else in between, leaving so little time for the really important things, its nice to have something simple and fun that helps us stay grounded and focused on the simple yet MOST IMPORTANT thing in our life, our family.

Family Song

I have always loved music. Growing up my mom always listened to music. I have such fond memories of her blasting the stereo while cleaning the house, doing yard work, or doing the dishes after dinner. Whenever we went to the beach or the park we brought along our little "boom box" so we were always surrounded by music. My mom was always singing if music was playing. A few of her favorites: Anita Baker, Taylor Dayne, Heart, Connie Frances and of course Patsy Cline. She knew every word to every song. I always loved hearing her sing. She had such a beautiful voice, even as I write this, I can hear her singing. We would listen to the same albums and tapes over and over again and overtime, because of this, I have learned to love music in much the same way. I love dancing to it, singing it, and listening to it loud. I love listening to the same song over and over again until I learn the words. I will buy a CD and I can listen to it for months at a time, leave it in the CD player in the car and it will be all I listen to. Overtime, I will most likely be able to attach each song I listen to from that CD to a moment, a person, or a feeling I have had in my life. I would love to someday put together a CD, "The Soundtrack of our Life" for my kids. It would be another way for me to tell them my story, their story, our story; another way to express how much happiness and love they bring to my life! Ian is a lover of music too, its one of the many reasons that I fell in love with him. He brought new music into my life; new songs and new bands that brought along new moments, new memories and new meanings. There are so many songs that I listen to now that will take me back to a moment, a place, a conversation or a look between Ian and I. There are so many songs that express my love, my happiness and my beautiful life with him. All of these songs would be played on my soundtrack. Because of our love for music, we have always surrounded our kids with music. Shilo and Thatcher both rocked out to the tunes of Bob Marley, Neil Diamond, Ben Harper, Dave Matthews, Sarah McLachlan, Norah Jones and many many more while in mama's tummy. The music continued for them both once they entered into the world. Little to no TV and lots and lots of music. We dance a lot and we sing even more. Shilo now is at an age where she is requesting songs and even more so specific artists. Some of her favorites: Bob Marley (of course), The Heptones, Neil Diamond, Keith Urban, Dave Matthews, anything Classical and Paolo Nutini to name a few. She too will listen to the same song over and over and she will now ask me to "turn it up a notch" if its a favorite. While listening to music with her lately, I have noticed her concentrating more while listening to the words, not only trying to learn them so she can sing along but also trying to understand what they mean, trying to understand what story is being told. Shilo is doing what I do, she is listening and finding her own meaning and attaching herself to the songs. When I really realized that this is what she was doing was when we were driving to school one morning. She asked me to put "Dave" in and play the "You and Me Together" song. I put the CD in and selected track #13. The song started and Shilo listened carefully to the lyrics:

Wanna pack your bags, Something small
Take what you need and we disappear
Without a trace we'll be gone, gone
The moon and the stars can follow the car
and then when we get to the ocean
We gonna take a boat to the end of the world
All the way to the end of the world

Oh, and when the kids are old enough
We're gonna teach them to fly

You and me together, we could do anything, Baby
You and me together yes, yes

You and I, we're not tied to the ground
Not falling but rising like rolling around
Eyes closed above the rooftops
Eyes closed, we're gonna spin through the stars
Our arms wide as the sky
We gonna ride the blue all the way to the end of the world
To the end of the world

Oh, and when the kids are old enough
We're gonna teach them to fly

You and me together, we could do anything, Baby
You and me together yes, yes

We can always look back at what we did
All these memories of you and me baby
But right now it's you and me forever girl
And you know we could do better than anything that we did
You know that you and me, we could do anything

We sang together loudly until the song was over and when it was done Shilo said to me, "mama that is my favorite song and you know what else mama? Its our family song. That song is about you, me, dada and Thatcher and we do anything together!"

My little miss is a 25 year old in a 4 year olds body, she truly amazes me! I have a feeling that this was the first of many moments where a song will define a moment or a memory in her life and I look forward to watching her and Thatcher create the soundtracks of their lives.

The new man in my life

I am officially in love. Hands down, head over heels in love. Who is this new love in my life, this new man that has stolen my heart in a new way? The answer is easy, its my son! MY SON! I never thought I would utter those words, I was so certain that we were going to have another girl, we would forever be "team pink" Ian outnumbered by stubborn, independent strong willed women and me loving it yet dreading the teenage years. The years that will be here sooner than I am ready and it will be Ian and his girls teaming up against mama! We were all pretty sure that is what life was going to be for us so much so, Ian has perfected his "mother's/daughter's speech".

Well, I am gonna have to brush up on my father/son speech because nature had other plans for us and we have even teams now (with Dori in the middle playing referee) Ian has his princess and I have my prince. Thatcher Wallace Thomas born Monday December 7, 2009 at 8:20am. He was 7lbs 6oz 20" long, has a full head of dark hair and big beautiful blue eyes (that are still 6 weeks later very blue). He is beautiful, handsome, and perfect in every way just like his big sister Shilo.
Speaking of Shilo...talk about a girl in love. She is in love, LOVE, love with her brother. He is all she talks about. He is the first thing she asks for in the morning when she wakes up (she has forgone the milk for her big brother), he is the first thing she asks for when she gets home from school. She wants him to come everywhere with her shopping, swimming, walks, play dates, you name it and he has been there with her. I knew Shilo would be a great big sister, but seeing her love him, talk to him, hold him, cuddle him and embrace him has been such a beautiful thing to see. I hope that it's the beginning of a very long and beautiful friendship between brother and sister.

So there you have it. Its a boy and we are all in love. And we are embracing team blue! We will keep you all posted on how life unfolds for us with little Miss Shilo Valentine and mister Thatcher Wallace...let the adventure and fun begin!

The time is here.... we go from 3.5 to 4.5 (.5 for Dori girl)

I can hardly believe that 39 weeks have passed, it feels like just yesterday we found out we were pregnant and in 24 hours, we will be meeting the newest family addition.... What I find even crazier is not how quickly the last 39 weeks have gone but how quickly 3 1/2 years have gone with Shilo. I feel like just yesterday I was holding her for the very first time and we were bringing her home in this very same outfit and now here she is, our beautiful brown eyed big girl; so very excited and so ready to be a big sister!

This pregnancy has been an easy one very similar to my preganancy with Shilo, and I feel very fortunate for that, not only becuase it makes the whole experience enjoyable but also because when you have one to take care of, well, we just don't have the time to lounge and relax like we did the first time. But, even if that is what I needed to do, honestly, I have had my little helper every step of the way and she would have probably allowed that to a certain extent.

Through this experience, I have watched Shilo grow and mature into such a beautiful little girl. Her kind heart, gentle spirit and overall tender and caring demeanor is truly amazing. Since the day we told her we were pregnant, there was never a sign of jealousy, only signs of love, joy and excitement for her new baby that would be here when Santa comes. A few weeks ago I actually got a note from her teacher and it said that recently Shilo had been playing with the younger kids in her class, taking care of them and telling her teachers, "I can help them, they are little, they don't know how to play yet, so I will show them." On another day, there was a new little girl that started in Shilo's class and the teacher's asked Shilo if she would play with her and without hesitation Shilo did, she will take any opportunity to be a helper and a caretaker. She absolutely loves to "love" and I couldn't think of a better attribute for someone who is about to become a big sister.



As the countdown has continued over the last several weeks for Shilo's new baby we have been wrapping up all the final details to prepare for baby. The room is done.





Shilo was instrumental in every detail from picking out the furniture and bedding to providing all of her original art work to put on the walls. Its a room that was truly pulled together and decorated with lots and lots of love. We did have some trouble negotiating certain decor due to the fact that Shilo has insisted since day one its a girl in mama's belly (which naturally means pink) and well, we won't know officially until tomorrow but we were able to work that out (phew). And yes, she is still insisting its a girl and she has picked out a pink bib or blanket here and there, but other than that, she created a room that is original, beautiful and perfect for our new little boy or girl.

My next post will undoubdtedly be about how we are doing as 4.5 versus 3.5 and though I know it will be an adjustment, and I know I won't be sleeping much and my house will be a mess and life will be crazy, as it always is when you bring home a new baby. I also know that this baby truly is a miracle and is already loved so very very much so I am prepared for the lack of sleep, the messy floors and an overall chaotic household because honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present; we were able to give Shilo the gift of being a big sister and Ian and I were given the gift of a new baby, I don't think it gets much better than that!

Bath Time with Bebe and Gogo

I have not posted anything for a while... lots going on with the change of seasons and prepping for the newest Thomas family member. But tonight's conversation with Shilo was too precious, too classic and too hysterical to not share. Of course being her mother, I do think she has a great sense of humor and a one of a kind imagination and tonight's bath time conversation proves just that.

I must explain that during this entire conversation Shilo would interject requesting various "hair products" for Bebe and Gog's (IE her Barbies) hair. She would soak, massage, blow dry (with her invisible blow dryer) and then rinse and repeat. This conversation and Barbie Spa Treatment lasted about 30 minutes.



Here is how it went:

Shilo: Um we need to wash Bebe's hair, she has some glue in it, um can you please hand me some of that "Breve" (pointing to the shampoo) so I can soak her hair?

Mama: Breve, now what exactly is breve?

Shilo: Well um we use this to get the glue out of her hair. See all the glue (showing me barbie or excuse me Bebe's hair)in her hair? We need to massage in the breve to get the glue out.

Mama: So this breve, how much is a bottle of that? I mean I am asking because sometimes I get glue in my hair and I hadn't realized that there was such a product to get glue out of your hair.

Shilo: Um well it's like, $40 dollars for one bottle.

Mama: Wow $40 dollars and how long does something like that last? I mean $40 is a lot of money and I want to make sure that it will last a long time if I am going to spend that kind of money.

Shilo: Well it should last you like 40 weeks.

Shilo now moves onto rinsing out Bebe'e hair.

Mama: So you are doing a great job on her hair, is this part of a spa package that you offer because it seems to me that you are doing more than just getting the glue out with the massaging and now the soaking.

Shilo: Um yes, it's part of the spa package that I have. It's really great for your hair.

Mama: And how much does the spa package cost?

Shilo: Oh it's just like $40, its not very much

Mama: So the Breve shampoo cost the same as the spa package?

Shilo: Um yeah, it's just like $40 for both.

Mama: And how long is the spa treatment?

Shilo: Um it's about 27 minutes long.

Mama: 27 minutes for the entire spa treatment?

Shilo: Yes 27 minutes but you have to come back three times.

Mama: Oh really, 3 different times, how come?

Shilo: Well, because you can't really do this all at once. I mean, Bebe is gonna soak here for a week while I do Gogo's hair now. She has to let the "Leve" (the conditioner that she put in Bebe's hair while we have been having our conversation) soak in to really make sure her hair is nice and beautiful.

Mama: So um, the three day treatment is only $40?

Shilo: Yes it's $40.

Mama: Do you pay that up front or when you are done with the treatment?

Shilo: Oh um, you pay before the treatment.

Mama: Does that include a tip?

Shilo: Um no, the tip is not included, you pay that at the end. And that is like $500.

Mama: $500 for a tip.

Shilo: Well yeah, I mean it takes three times! (with hands waving in the air)

Mama: Well, I don't know, I might have to think about that I mean $500 is a lot for tip.

Shilo: Well yeah but its totally worth it.

We then moved on to provide the same spa treatment for Gogo who also had glue in her hair.

I honestly wish I could document and write down every thing that Shilo says and does. She constantly has us laughing, keeping us on our toes and realizing what life truly is about...its the little moments. I can try and put these moments into words, though the words can't truly express the moment that we may have had but, at least we can remember these moments as she continues to grow bigger and bigger every day keeping us entertained and amazing us with her beautiful mind.

In Shilo's Own Words

Well as my belly continues to grow bigger the question of how and when the baby will come out has come up. Those of you that know Shilo know she is just like her mama, likes to know EVERY detail, asks a lot of questions until she is satisified with the answers given and does not miss one single little detail.

So, based on our numerous conversations about the day "her baby" will come, here is her story, in her own words:


Dada will take mama to the hospital. Mama will put on some cozies so she is cozy (she interjects with, hey that's the same word) and then she will lay in a bed. Dada will put on a cozy outfit too so him and mama are matchy match. Dada and mama both have to wear special hats so their hair is not in their face. Mamas baby doctor, Dr. Zimmer (yes she knows his name) will come in to see mama and ask mama if she is ready to see the baby. Mama will say yes. Dada will take mama into a special baby room and they will put a big blanket over mama's tummy. I will not be in the baby room, its just for mama's and dada's. I will wait patiently outside. Next, Dr. Zimmer will come in and with special baby tools he will take the baby out of mama's tummy. Dada will clean off my baby and will wrap her (cause she insists its a girl) in a blanket and then dada will come and get me and will give me my baby so I can hold her.

And there you have it, the story of how Shilo's baby will enter the world! Sounds simple enough right?

Tiny Dancer

I remember when I was a little girl, I loved the staples: barbies, babies and princesses. Seems to me that those are just the staples in the life of growing up "girl". Its kind of funny too because having a daughter of my own, I have watched her fall in love with these same things and I can honestly say, it has not been because of anything that Ian or I have pushed on her. We never even guided her in that direction, it just seems to naturally happen. So we have approx 7 barbies (both princess and non princess), 8 babies, and some princess attire to get us through our day to day love of the girl necessities.

Well in addition to these favorites, Shilo has another love, dancing or shall I say ballet. Last year we took a mommy and me ballet class together for 8 weeks. It was every Sunday for 30 minutes and it basically taught the little ones about balance, body awareness, movement, and following instructions. It was a lot of fun and Shilo loved that she got to wear a tutu and ballet slippers. Although it was hilarious at the same time because a year ago she was still so little and I could tell not really ready for anything more advanced than the basics that a mommy and me class provided. So, the class ended, and we decided we would wait a while before we re-enrolled to see if it was something she would want to do again or if that was all she would be interested in. We moved on to swimming.

Well, it seemed ballet was something that she really attached to. She would mention it all the time and would even call herself a "ballerina" when she was doing some of her moves or singing her cute "Cris Cross Apple Sauce" song. For me, I was happy to know she enjoyed it and that it was a positive and fun memory she held onto but honestly didn't really think it would go much further than that. I mean I had planned on signing her up again at some point but we had so many other things to try out in the meantime. However, Shilo had other plans. As her birthday started approaching and we started talking about what she wanted for her birthday she was consistent about one thing, "ballet". It was all she could talk about... ballet, ballet, ballet.

I started to look into the ballet options for her age group and there weren't really any more mommy and me classes, it would be a full blown dance class with an instructor and a recital at the end and everything. And more important, it was a class that the mamas were not allowed to stay and even watch (uh oh) it was a drop off and I will be back situation. I was a bit hesitant with this scenario as standardly Shilo is pretty shy and needs some time to adjust to new people and places. But, the girl kept talking about BALLET. So, after several consistent weeks of the Cris Cross Apple Sauce song, the tutu's just because and the question of "mama can I do ballet" I figured it was probably worth a shot. So when Uncle John and Auntie Randa called to see what Shilo wanted for her birthday I told Auntie Randa all about ballet, it didn't take much convincing for Auntie Randa and Uncle John to set it all up and get Shilo signed up for her first "official" big girl ballet class.

You can imagine her excitement when we told her that Auntie Randa and Uncle John got her ballet for her birthday. It was all she could think about, it was all she could talk about and to make it all even more exciting, grandpa and grandma sent her a brand new tutu and a ballet case for ballet slippers! It was all a dream come true! The only problem... her birthday was in March and ballet didn't start until June. I can only imagine how long those three months must have seemed for Shilo cause they seemed like a lifetime to me - ha!

But, the time finally came, it was "ballet week" and the anticipation and excitement were unforgettable. I will say, watching your children love something so much and knowing that you helped make what they love so much become possible (either directly or indirectly) is truly one of the best gifts a parent can ever receive.

On Wednesday morning Shilo woke up at 5:30 AM SO excited to get ready for ballet and to put her new leather ballet slippers on with her pink ballet tights and her new leotard. She could not wait to spin in her new tutu and put her hair up like a "real ballerina", it was literally all she could stand to wait until... 10 AM!!! Poor girl had to wait 4 1/2 hours before she could actually go to her class. But she did. She waited patiently, and she waited patiently the entire time in her beautiful ballet outfit.

On the way to her class I reminded Shilo that mama would drop her off and she would be with Miss Sue and all the other little girls but that mama would be right outside and then when the class was over, Miss Sue would open the door and then mama would come in and get her. I kept watching her from the rear view mirror her eyes fixed on her new leather ballet shoes not listening to a word I was saying and I will admit, I was a bit nervous about how all this might go because the instructions explicitly say, we are to drop our children off and then pick them up, they do not want parent distractions, and I so did not want to be the mom with the kid who decides to completely flip out at the thought of me leaving her ballet class.

So, we get to the class, we get out of the car and walk into a room filled with other little tiny dancers all dressed and ready to go and one teacher, Miss Sue who is responsible for my little girl for the next 45 minutes. So I walk Shilo up to the stage where they all sit and wait for class to begin and I point out who Miss Sue is and then I begin to remind her of where I will be and before I can even finish my thought, Shilo grabs my hand and looks at me with those beautiful big brown eyes and says, "its okay mama, you can go, I will be brave." And with that, my little girl has officially become a big girl and more importantly a beautiful ballerina.