The Shafferland Shuffle

I feel like you don't need a shuffle this week, because you've been shuffling through my week ALL week! But watch that stop me from subjecting you to a shuffle anyway! HA!

* So about a million years ago was one week ago today: Mother's Day and my birthday! It really does feel like forever ago! We hosted Mommapalooza 4.0, we celebrated my birthday, AND we had Phoebe all day. It was one delightful and busy day!

* I kept right on celebrating my birthday on Monday, because I still had my free Starbucks drink coming to me. I got the S'mores drink for a treat, and it was delish. Monday was also the start of the speak-four-places-in-four-days tour! Ryan went with me to Fairfield Christian Church, and we had a great time with the ladies there. (And my Mom showed up to surprise me!)

* Tuesday morning, I went to a women's Bible study at Lakeview Wesleyan church to speak with them. They were so warm and kind! Know what else was warm and kind? My coffee and trip to Cato that followed it! I do miss Cato. Ryan and I needed some down time that night, so we went on a nice sunset walk. It was so lovely!

* Wednesday was our big day! Ryan took a vacation day to accompany me to Indiana Wesleyan, where I spoke at the first ever Staff Council retreat! So thankful that went well (at least I think it did, anyway!) and also so thankful that Ryan went with me! It helped so much to have him there! After we were done with that, we did our date inspired by the letter I. Still haven't had a chance to tell you about that! Next week. :)

* Ryan also took Thursday off work, just to get a much-deserved break, and he elected to come with me to my final speaking engagement of the week - at Point Isabel United Methodist Church. Great way to end the week! (Also, please THOROUGHLY enjoy how the stained glass behind me looks like bunny ears on me. I crack up every time I see these pictures!) We got to spend the rest of the day together and it was so nice!

* Because our week had not been eventful enough, we took a little road trip on Friday! We had been looking forward to our little getaway to southern Michigan, but apparently our luck with Michigan returned again, and on May 19th, it was in the low 40's and we were in hats and sweatshirts, trying to enjoy the beach! But you know the Shaffers...we'll make the best of it, even if it's not ideal weather! :)

 * Yesterday was another cold and rainy day, but we didn't let that stop us from having some fun together! Many adventures to tell you about next week, but let's just say the day included (but was not limited to) the following: much coffee, a pie tasting, naps, and SHOPPING!!!

Mommapalooza 4.0

This was the fourth year in a row that we hosted Mother's Day at our house. We began the tradition in 2014 without really intending for it to become a tradition. (The best ones happen that way.) We just wanted to spoil our moms by letting them have the day off from cooking, and that turned into inviting siblings and other family members too, and Mommapalooza was born.

The first year, we hosted it outside at our Marion house, in our beloved pirogi, and we had practically perfect weather. We did burger/picnic food theme and had a great time! The second year, we intended to have it outside, but the weather was unbearably humid, and we feared everyone would be miserable outside, so at the last minute, we moved it inside (still at our Marion house). We grilled pork chops and chicken and had a fun crammed in the dining room of our little house. Last year, Mommapalooza 3.0 was our deadline for having round one of home renovations done, even though we still planned to have the party outside on our deck. Sadly, last May was still wintry, so we feared everyone would freeze to death during lunch, and we packed everyone into half our living room for a pot roast (and all the fixins) lunch.

So you can imagine how grateful we were that this year, we had our garage all finished, and we could plan to party out there from the very beginning, with no fear of what the weather might bring! And multiple people commented that it was a very relaxing and enjoyable space for such a party!

(Find Phoebe in the picture for an extra 10 invisible points!)

This year I went with a breakfast theme! Four kinds of fresh fruit (pineapple, watermelon, blueberries, strawberries), quick cinnamon rolls, ham/egg/cheese sliders, Amish breakfast casserole, the Dashing Dish Sausage/Egg/Cheese Bake, ham and pickle roll-ups, and  smoky links in BBQ sauce.

My sister also brought a breakfast casserole, so we had lots of food!

We enjoyed the food, and Phoebe was a BIG hit with the kids. I'm working on building a better collection of toys and books, and they did play with those too, but I've decided having the dog for the day is really the way to go.

 Also ottomans.

 Also balloons.

We got a group photo and the stinkin' thing was blurry. Sigh.

But we got some other good pictures.

We were so grateful for a beautiful day! Even though we ate in the garage, we were thankful for a chance to be outside after! :)

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday was Mother's Day, and I'd been asked to speak at a church's breakfast honoring mothers. I had a great time sharing with them, and then we came home so we could get ready for Mommapalooza 3.0! We had a fantastic day with our families! I really enjoy having both sides of our family come together and celebrate together!

* Monday was my first day of a new normal, it felt like. We'd been working so hard to get ourselves TO Mother's Day, to have the house ready to go, and to be prepared to welcome guests, so come Monday, it was time to rest and read and write. Ryan made pour over coffee, and we ended the day with a workout that hurt a lot worse than this picture shows. Ha!

* Tuesday, I was bitten by the writing bug and spent the ENTIRE DAY holed up in the office, writing. Braeya slept through the whole thing. Ryan finally gave in to a much-deserved nap after so many weeks of working SO HARD on the house. He's so adorable. And I went to an exercise class with one of my friends. I learned I have no moves, but I had fun! :)

* Wednesday evening, Ryan and I got together with my parents to celebrate our birthdays. I picked Culver's, because it had been a long while since I had a really good burger. It was delicious. Delicious. We even had ice cream for dessert! On our way home, we stopped at a park and went for a long walk. I think we needed it after the burgers and ice cream!

* Thursday I had the opportunity to go to a ceremony at the Sheriff's Department, in support of Ryan's brother and the other officers. They offered commendations to employees who had done exceptionally well over the past year and honored the life of the deputy killed in the line of duty a couple of months ago. I'm so glad I went and got to see a part of that world for a while.

* Friday I went to Ryan's work over lunch, because they were having a corn hole tournament and he was up to play! I like getting to be part of his day for things like that! We went for a run that night and then used the last of the good weather to work on the yard and check out the new flowers that have popped up in our yard! {Fun to find out what we own!}

* Yesterday was my birthday!! Ryan took me to IKEA for the day, which was AMAZING, and we also got to have a treat at Sonic! It was so wonderful to have the day with him, and I was glad we had chosen an indoor activity, since it was so cold we had to bring in all our plants and have coffee by the fire. Hello, mid-May! But thank you, Ryan, for a truly WONDERFUL birthday. It was sweet to spend it with you!

Mommapalooza 3.0

We had a busy but wonderful Mother's Day yesterday!

I was invited back to speak at Chapel Pike Wesleyan to speak at their Mother's Day breakfast, which was a joy! I used to attend there, and it's always good to go back and see my friends! Ryan went with me - I just so dearly love it when he can go with me!

 After I spoke, we went home to get ready for the Mommapalooza.

I don't know if you remember this from last year {WHY would you?} but we had issues with the dinner rolls we bought for the day. No matter how long we baked them, they were still doughy and gross {in my opinion}. So this year we had rolls we bought from a fundraiser. Texas Roadhouse rolls. We got them out before church so they could thaw, and when we came home...this. WHAT!? Are we just cursed in the rolls department?

{For the record, when we baked them the ones that look normal were super doughy, and the ones that look like a pizza crust were pretty decent.

We planned to have Mommapalooza outside on our back porch, but it was COLD in Indiana yesterday, so we moved the party inside. Ryan and I would have been the only two comfortable being outside, so we just scooted the furniture around and put the tables in our living room. Worked great!

I also love my flowers we got so the vase on the counter wouldn't be empty. HA!

 I'm a nerd.

 Our photo booth!!

A quick {and rare} photo with the closest thing to a kiddo I have. :)

{Yeah she's not hugging me. She's definitely pushing away.}

Sneaking more fruit.

My sister, Lori, wasn't there, but here are the Freelan girls present!

And the whole Mommapalooza crew!

This was, for the record, our first big hosting in our new house, and we loved it. Loved having our family over and introducing them to our new home!

 Julie and me with Mom and our Aunt B!

Housewarming gifts from my parents!

Ryan and 2 of his siblings, along with his mom!

With our moms. We are so thankful for them. I'd say both of us got a little extra blessed with good moms and good moms-in-law!

 With my love...who made this whole hosting in our new home a delight. Thank you, Ryan, for working so hard to get our landscaping ready! Thanks for helping me with the food, and best of all, cleaning up ALL of it!

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday was a busy day in Shafferland! I started out by speaking at my old church, Chapel Pike Wesleyan, for their Mother's Day breakfast, and then Ryan and I hosted Mommapalooza 2.0, for both of our families! We had a great time, our families had a great time, and we enjoyed the day so very much. And when everyone went home, we finally SAT DOWN.

* Monday was a busy day at work, including a confusing phone call with insurance. I know NOTHING about insurance, and we had some sort of mixup in billing with a bill from the great gallbladder eviction. I had to call, since the bill was in my name, and Ryan wasn't there to coach my questions. At the end of the call, I had no idea if I'd actually fixed the problem or ordered a large pizza, but at least the people on the phone were nice! :) Then we came home and crashed, exhausted from our long weekend. We took a long nap, Braeya cleaned up our dessert, and Ryan worked on my birthday blog post. {Swoon.}

* Tuesday is proof that Ryan and I really are just dorks at heart. It was some sort of appreciation week in the health care world, and Ryan got a new water bottle as a gift...and he sent me a ton of goofy pictures with it, so then I started taking goofy pictures to send back. One of my co-workers walked in my office RIGHT after I took this picture. How would I even have explained this???? That evening, I worked hard to FINALLY get out our summer clothes. You know. Since it's MID-MAY!?!?

* Wednesday I worked my tail off at work...so much so that sometimes I actually forgot to breathe! And what was Ryan doing? Advancing to the final four of a tournament at his work! LOL!! That evening, though, heaven in a living room: I got a massage! She came to our home and gave me the massage {and Braeya joined me on the table for her turn}...and she even brought me chocolates for my birthday! Ryan came home with pre-birthday flowers, and it was just the perfect way to start the celebration!!

* Thursday was...MY BIRTHDAY!!! {More on this coming soon.} Ryan spoiled me ROTTEN with breakfast in bed at 4:30 in the morning, and then all my work friends spoiled me with hugs and gifts. I felt very loved. That evening, Ryan took me out to dinner, which was, of course, followed by coffee. {Not a birthday without coffee!} Loved my day! 37 is shaping up to be a good one!

* Friday, I had a day off work {trying to use random vacation days before I lose them,}, so I was busy catching up on housework, with the help of Miss Braeya. AND - I tried another new homemade recipe: DIY bug repellent with essential oils. I'll let you know how it works when I get to try it! Ryan went to work, but they had a fun day there, because he and his co-workers threw a baby shower for his their fellow therapist, Amanda. It looked like fun! I should have gone! :)

* Yesterday, we both had the day off, so we slept in and went out for a delicious breakfast. We took it easy all day...did a little shopping...did a little napping...ate a little ice cream...{absolutely meant to take that picture BEFORE I gobbled it up}. We needed a day like that so much. Thankful for it! And of course - thankful for Starbucks to cap it off!