Shannon Yee

Summer is pretty much here. It is humid with thunderstorms in the afternoons and trips to the park in the mornings. I’m able to hang my laundry outside and it actually dries (and quickly too!) and Josiah points out bugs everywhere. These are the signs of summer.

I love summer and being hot, spending countless hours in the outdoors, eating picnics and I especially love vacations. Summer is the time for vacations in my mind. This summer we have several family trips planned. At the end of June, we will venture out into the tent camping world again with several of our friends who also have young ones. We would like to have celebrate another Christmas (minus presents and cold) sometime in July and spend a night at the waterpark and eat a good German chicken dinner – the Kralys may join us, which would be very fun. We’ll be joining Brian’s extended family for a few days in a condo near the lake at the end of July. In the middle of August, my extended family will be spending a week on a different lake. The crazy thing is that with all this fun and travel, we won’t even leave our beloved state. Maybe one day we will again travel to distant lands and places never before seen (by us).

The other thing I love about summer is the long days. It feels like I’m able to do so much more and be more productive. One of the things that I’ll be spending a lot of time on is MOPS. If you have any great ideas for the Adventure of Motherhood, which is our theme for next year, let me know…

Over Memorial Day weekend, Brian and I did a lot of random tasks around the house, but we also had a lot of family fun. The trips out to dim sum, cemetery, zoo, parade, and Grandma’s were actually really refreshing for me. We were able to talk about the whole point of the Memorial Day holiday and remember and thank God for all the freedoms and gifts we have as well as remember and talk about other family members and even spend time with some of them. We didn’t really have to cook all weekend and ate really well, which is very relaxing for me. And, the time at home was pretty nice too. The kids enjoyed playing in the water table (with the arrival of summer and hot, humid weather!) and I felt like things that had been hanging over me to do for a long while were finished – what a relief.

Appetizer

What is the nearest big city to your home? Detroit

Soup

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how well do you keep secrets? I can keep secrets except from my husband. So, I guess that would be an 8 or 9.

Salad

Describe your hair (color, texture, length). I have long (to the middle of my back) very fine and straight naturally blond hair, getting darker with age, but colored to have some reddish highlights.

Main Course

What kind of driver are you? Courteous? Aggressive? Slow? Lucky. My driving is very much influenced by my emotions and mood at the time as well as if I am running late, which I usually am.

Dessert

When was the last time you had a really bad week? last week – A few days in a row where my kids didn’t nap and a nasty headache don’t make for a good combination.

Appetizer
When someone smiles at you, do you smile back?
I sure do. Even the suggestion has me smiling right now.

Soup
Describe the flooring in your home. Do you have carpet, hardwood, vinyl, a mix?
Hardwood throughout the house, except in the kitchen (laminate, I think) and bathroom (a wonderful 1950s shade of green and black tile).

Salad
Write a sentence with only 5 words, but all of the words have to start with the first letter of your first name.
Surely, sometimes snakes slither slowly.

Main Course
Do you know anyone whose life has been touched by adoption?
I know lots of people who’ve experienced the great joys (and trials) of adoption, but the most exciting to me is my niece, Gracie, who was adopted at around 10 years old from Zambia to join my sister’s family with four other girls who love her like crazy!

Dessert
Name 2 blue things.
My son’s pants and Thomas the Tank Engine.

Respect and Knowledge.

I enjoy learning and researching all sorts of things. I like to read how others do things and why and I really feel that it is important to know and understand this world and the reasons we do things the way we do. This is also something that I really like about my husband, too. He knows all sorts of things and shares his knowledge with me – astronomy and space, photography and online role-playing games are just a few of the things that I have learned about from knowing him. I am also learning about trucks and cars because of Josiah’s great interest. When we go to the zoo, we always learn something new. Eila is frequently explaining to me the ins and outs of make-believe worlds. We have so much getting to know each other more and learning about everything around us. I could never run out of things to learn about or study.

One of the things that I hear myself say over and over is: “We treat others with love and respect.” I am constantly teaching Eila what it looks like to respect others, self, the world and the belongings of others, as well as what respect does not look like. It seems like almost every action relates back to respect in some way – the way we talk, share, play, react, help, and even eat and sleep. Other people might phrase things differently, but I see issues of respect in so much of how we act. For me, I desire to be respected and admired by others, which effects so much my motivations, fears, and in turn my behaviors and words.

Appetizer

What was your favorite cartoon when you were a child? Strawberry Shortcake. I really just liked the way she smelled.

Soup

Pretend you are about to get a new pet. Which animal would you pick, and what would you name it? I’d get a frog because it is the year of the frog and I’d probably let my daughter name it, so it’d be called something like: Froggy or Hoppy.

Salad

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy getting all dressed up for a special occasion? 10. I really love to wear nice clothes, shoes, and jewelry and do my hair. I feel so glamorous, but it really is for special occasions only!

Main Course

What kind of music do you listen to while you drive? While I drive, I usually like to listen to NPR, but as for music, I guess I like 90s rock or something that I can sing along with and won’t put me to sleep.

Dessert

When was the last time you bought a clock? And in which room did you put it? The last clock I bought was a gift for my grandmother-in-law, and she put it in her bedroom.

So, I entered a writing contest at MOPS Int’l. My true story of a very exciting weekend – just two weeks ago- of the adventure of motherhood. Basically, Eila and Josiah got into lots of trouble… lip stick, bug spray, bodily fluids and solids, cooking oil up, down, and all around. I’ll let you know if I get published…

Family.

I am beginning to realize more and more how much I really value family. I need to change how I spend my time a little to reflect this value, but I love spending time with our family – immediate and extended. I love them all and appreciate the variety in the bunch. I want my kids to know and love each one of the members of our family too, and I think that they do, sometimes better than I do!

Appetizer

Name a color you find soothing. Lavendar (and it smells nice too!)

Soup

Using 20 or less words, describe your first driving experience. When I first drove a manual, I sat through three green lights trying to turn left with a patient Dad.

Salad

What material is your favorite item of clothing made out of? 100% cotton (but the close second is made of silk)

Main Course

Who is a great singer or musician who, if they were to come to your town for a concert, you would spend the night outside waiting for tickets to see? I cannot imagine ever waiting outside overnight when I could be sleeping in my own bed to hear some musician in concert, especially if I can get a much better studio recording of said singer to listen to in my bed! I am far to lazy and comfortable for that type of sacrifice.

Dessert

What is the most frequent letter of the alphabet in your whole name (first, middle, maiden, last, etc.)? E (with 5 occurrences)

You might not be familiar with this term, but babywearing is pretty self-explanatory and refers to carrying your baby around after they are born, usually with some sort of sling, baby carrier or fancy way to tie the baby comfortably to you so you can still use your arms and hands, but have the baby on you. My babies are growing up and our recent sling moment made me remember fondly my babywearing days.

I started babywearing out of necessity. My first born was carried somewhat, but she was very happy to sit or lie and play by herself. Her little brother was not so much and didn’t get a lot of chance to develop a fondness as the danger of being sat on or hit by big sis was great. Josiah wanted to be held all the time and so he babywearing became our modus operandi. I have a Baby Bjorn and three slings that I made. Now, I don’t sew, and it shows, but they work great and were extremely cheap as far as sling go ($20 total for all three).

When I started carrying Josiah it was mostly just because it was so much easier. He was happy to be held close to me and I still was able to take care of Eila and he slept great when so snug and cozy. It became a habit rather quickly and worked really well for our family. Even when we went places, like the zoo, with the double stroller, I still brought the sling along because I knew that if it wasn’t going well (ie. there was lots of crying), I could carry Joe and at least he would be happy. At times, though, Eila would be the one who wanted to be worn and she would get a chance, but being significantly bigger (read heavier) than her baby bro, she only had a limited time in the sling. I can’t imagine how we would have maintained the pace of life that we did with two little ones if at least one of them wasn’t being worn. I personally, came to love holding Josiah close and grew very adept at all sorts of activities while wearing a growing kid. He became very good at getting in and out quickly and getting comfortable. He knew that he could cuddle up and go to sleep anytime if I had the sling and when he got tired, he would signal that he wanted in…

I stopped wearing Josiah when he was a little over a year old. It was a very gradual drop off once he started walking really well. He didn’t want to stay put when he could explore and wasn’t needing as much sleep. He was getting heavier too, so I didn’t want to carry him quite as much. Then, some friends and family started having new babies and I lent them my slings and carrier, so there wasn’t even the option for a few weeks at about 15 months of age. So, we were done with babywearing. I guess even if we did it now, it wouldn’t be babywearing so much as kidwearing or toddlerwearing.

So, that’s my babywearing story, I hope it will inspire and encourage you to wear your baby. For me, it really was the best! If you are really excited about babywearing, there is a conference you could attend.