Saturday, December 29, 2012

7 things you may not know about me...

I found a list of blogging prompts and since my everyday life is quite boring, I thought I would use some of them.

1. I'm a YouTube addict! I LOVE watching beauty channels. I can waste hours and hours watching makeup tutorials, product reviews, vlogs and hauls. Some of my fave gurus:

Samanthaschuerman
Makeupbytiffanyd
Leighannsays
Grav3yardgirl
Eleventhgorgeous

I could go on for hours. Watch them if you have a chance!

2. I have a serious problem when it comes to the sound of people eating and breathing. Smacking,slurping,crunching,scraping of teeth on the utensils and loud or heavy breathing absolutely drive me insane. I'm not exaggerating when I say I am positive I have misophonia.

3. I don't have any tattoos and probably never will.

4. I have never smoked anything. Seriously nothing. Ever. I don't plan on that ever changing.

5. I use to be terribly shy. It was so bad that in HS I tried to pick my college major based on which one didn't require me to take Speech. Turns out, there are none.

6. I'm 27 and I have A LOT of gray hair. It's unfortunate.

7. I'm a planner and I obsess over details of everything. My mind never turns off. It causes a lot of sleep loss.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Like a Child

As a parent, one of the most rewarding parts about having children is seeing the world through their eyes. Little things that we take for granted or hardly notice are so exciting and new for a small child.  For a VERY short time they just accept and/or believe what they see and hear. Their pure innocence does not allow them to question "why" or "how". They just believe.

At our church for the past 2 weeks we have been studying the attributes of God through the eyes of a child. This series has really been speaking to my heart. So much of the time, at least for me, we try to make having a relationship with God so much more complicated than it is. We feel we have to pray a certain way or act a certain way. If we feel like our prayers/actions/works aren't up to a certain standard we feel distant from God and the more distant we feel the less we try to become closer to Him. As a Christian, I know that even if I did all of those things perfectly, I would not be deserving of His grace and mercy. But I still can't help but feel like I can't get close enough to Him because I'm just not good enough.

When you tell a child that God is always with them they just believe. They don't feel like they have to do certain things to keep him there and when they make mistakes they don't think he has left them. When you tell a child that God will always forgive their mistakes they without question believe and fully accept His grace and mercy. When they pray they talk to Him like their talking to their best friend. They don't feel they need to use big or fancy words. They don't feel like they have to pray for a certain amount of time. They say what is on their heart and that's it.

My heart needed this message. A great reminder to stop making things so complicated. Just be with Him. Just talk to Him. And most importantly for me, just receive Him. No, I don't deserve it, but His grace and mercy are endless. God wants to bless us if we will just stop doubting and questioning Him and have that child-like faith.

Just believe.

If you don't have a church home I would love to invite you to Life Church. No matter where you are you can listen to all of the messages here.


Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Christmas Train

I know I've been slacking a bit since Thanksgiving, but I've been really busy with a lot of not-so-interesting activities. Cleaning out closets, cleaning the garage and organizing the attic...not much to blog about :) I did make a couple of trips out to my grandma's house to help her with her Christmas decorations. If you've ever been to her house at Christmas time, you know what a big job that is! Little K and I went while big K was at school and we had a wonderful time helping her

This past weekend we went to the Christmas Train. It was our family, my grandparents, parents, brother, cousin, other brother and my soon-to-be SIL. It was so much fun and the temperature was in the mid seventies so the weather was fantastic!! If you ever get the chance to go you should! You can read a little more about it here.

I promise it won't be another 2 weeks until the next update :)

Here are a few pictures from the weekend :
My sweet family <3

Big K and Aunt Hollie

Big K enjoying her cotton candy :)

Little K and Nana <3


My loves <3

Love them!


Melts my heart!!

Friday, November 23, 2012

Thanksgiving

This year was a first for our family. Since we've been married we have rotated where we spend the holidays with each of our families. This year we decided to stay home for Thanksgiving. The hubs had the entire week off and we thought it would be nice to relax at home. And our toddler isn't the easiest person to travel with right now :) I have very fond memories of spending time with grandparents and cousins during Thanksgiving. I want my children to have the same memories so this won't be a tradition, but it was nice this year.

We invited my grandparents, who usually stay home or go out to eat, to join us. Even though it was just going to be us I still wanted all of the traditional Thanksgiving food and I was VERY excited to cook it! I was a little nervous because mostly everything was a first. Thanks to Pinterest I found some great recipes. It took a lot of preparation and time, but everything went smooth and turned out great!

I have so much to be thankful for and it was nice spending time with the most special people in my life.

Now, bring on Christmas!




Monday, November 19, 2012

Just another week

Nothing out of the ordinary happened in the McKee house this past week. Other than some cabinet and pantry organization it was just the same everyday routine with lots of picture taking :) I usually post my pics to Instagram so if you want to follow me you can at Instagram.com/shanonmckee

























Sunday, November 18, 2012

So, you like to clean?

I'm going to guess and say most people would say, "NO". I know there are a few out there who actually enjoy scrubbing, dusting and washing the day away, but I am certainly not one of those people. Unfortunately, (fortunately?) my dislike of cleaning is heavily outweighed by my dislike of a cluttered messy house. I would like to say that I have complete control of the kind of mood I am in, but in reality the condition of my house completely determines what kind of day I'm going to have. Nothing puts me in a foul mood quicker than waking up to a messy kitchen or coming home from a weekend away to a  messy house.

I feel like I have spent all of my adult life searching for a way to keep my house tidy and clean while spending as little time as possible actually cleaning. So, for the past year I have been using a method that has worked very well! I follow "The Fly Lady".  As long as I follow my routines and put in 15 minutes of "zone cleaning" my house stays clean and visitor friendly. Now, when I say clean that does not mean there aren't toys in the floor or blanket forts built somewhere. That's something that's never going to happen as long as I'm living with another human being and I have accepted that...at least I try. If I stray away from my routines for even a few days my house is in complete chaos.

I share this because I know a lot of moms who either spend their entire day cleaining in a circle and end their day exhausted or they are so overwhelmed by the mess and clutter that they don't do anything and end their day stressed because of the environment they're in. I've been on both ends. Neither of which are very fun. If this sounds like you I encourage you to give her method a try. I firmly believe that feeling good about yourself and having pride in your home will make you a happier person :)

If you care to know my routines, here they are:

Morning:
  • Make the bed, pull back curtains,and open the blinds.
  • Drink my coffee
  • Get myself ready
  • Pack big K's lunch
  • Get both girls ready
  • Take Big K to school
  • Feed little K breakfast
  • Put clothes in the dryer
Mornings can be really stressful so I make sure I give myself plenty of time in the morning. I don't like getting up early, but things just run smoother when I'm not rushing to get out of the door. Something else that makes things easier is that my big girl is able to fix her own breakfast. I'm big on encouraging kids to do things on their own. Not only does it teach them responsibility and independence it makes things a lot easier on you!

Evening:
  • After dinner immediately I clean up and load the dishwasher. I set mine on a 4 hour delay start so if any dishes find their way into the sink I can stick them in. My goal is to never go to bed with anything in my sink!
  • Wipe down counter tops and table
  • Get the next mornings coffee ready and set it to start 15 minutes before we get up.
  • Put a load of laundry in the washer and set a delay start for the next morning.
  • Before the girls go to bed they pick up their toys and after they go to bed I do a quick pick up. This is the only time of the day when I pick up and it stays that way <3
As you can see I do as much as possible in the evenings to make less work for the mornings. I love any appliance that has the option of delayed or timed starts!

I hope this helped someone or gave you ideas on how to make your life a little easier :) Let me know if you have any tips or tricks on how to make mine easier!!

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Yummy Rainy Day Recipe

Today has been a cold and rainy day. I've got my sweats on, a fire going and I'm loving every second of it! One of my favorite things to eat on a day like this is potato soup.

I have a really good recipe that I've always relied on, but I'm always open to trying something new. So, when I found this recipe on Pinterest (because where else do you get recipes?) I gave it a try. Oh. My. Goodness. This is by far the best potato soup I've ever had. It's easy, delicious and the best part is you don't have to peel the potatoes!

This recipe can be made in a crock pot or on the stovetop. Here is the original recipe: http://pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com/2011/03/outback-aint-got-nothin-on-me.html?m=1
I pretty much followed it exactly with the exception of adding onions.

Ingredients:

3- 14 oz cans of chicken stock
1 can of cream of chicken
1- 30 oz. bag of hashbrowns
1 block of cream cheese (NOT fat free)

No for the very complicated cooking instructions. Are you ready?

Open everything except the cream cheese, put it in your pot or crock pot, and heat.

If using a crock pot, cook on low for 6 hours. About an hour before serving add the cream cheese.

If using the stove top, cook on med/low heat for 1 hour. Add cream cheese about 20 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Thankful November

Every day last November I posted something I was thankful for on FB. I loved doing it! Some days when there's not a lot going on in life, I tend to forget to be thankful for the little things. Posting them every day helped me to appreciate the big and small stuff.

For whatever reason I haven't done it this November. So, since I'm not getting on FB anymore I thought maybe I could do it here. I'll catch up today and then add to it every few days.

So here it goes :)

I am thankful for:

1. My savior. His love never fails me. I am far from perfect and I know I am not enough. I am so thankful for His grace and mercy
'
2. My husband. I truly believe "I have found the one whom my soul loves." He is kind, caring, funny and I could not have picked a better daddy for my babies <3 I could use every cliche` in the book to describe him, but I'll spare you :)


3. My 1st little sunshine. She showed me that love at first sight is real. She has the kindest heart and her daddy's sense of humor. I have loved every second of watching her grow. I am so thankful God trusted me to be her mommy. Sometimes I feel like I fail at it, but she always forgives and loves unconditionally.




4. My 2nd little sunshine. She is such a joy and blessing. Who knew a toddler could be so funny?! She is sweet, independent and a little bit stubborn. I am so thankful that she came into my life.


5. My country. I love the USA and I'm so thankful to be able to call myself an American.

6. My right to vote. It's such an important responsibility and I am thankful to live in a country where I have a voice in what happens.

7. My parents. I am thankful they raised me in a Christian home and they have always be there for me. They are wonderful grandparents to my girls and I know they are thankful for that :)

8. My little (taller) brother. I am thankful that God made us siblings. I am so proud of the man he's become. I'm also thankful for his soon to be wife. I believe she has brought out the best in him and I'm thankful they found each other!

9. My little (almost taller) brother. What a little surprise blessing he was! I am thankful God sent him to us. I am thankful for the funny, polite and sweet young man he is becoming.

Well, that covers Nov. 1- Nov. 9. I love reading these so I encourage you all to do it! I would love to read them!