Now some would say the 3 years I gave life would be the best but that's not fair, you can't pick just one! 2005, 2007 and 2010 each gave precious, beautiful additions to the world none of which could be topped (the whole two at once gig has a tiny edge but still...). Ever since "Y2K" I have not cared in the least about New Year's Eve and couldn't tell you where I was even last year! I don't do big parties, I don't care about banging pans and I don't even like champagne but this year is different. Somehow, 13 yrs since we lost Shannon, I managed to change my most memorable year and I am pumped for what is in store for the next!
Lets start with getting engaged on the 9th anniversary of the day I cemented my place as Tommy's girl WITH the ring I waited 3 years for! Next our beautiful first born daughter, Riley Shannon, turned 8 years old and has proven NOT to be mommy's little princess. She is mommy's lil bad ass who is afraid of nothing and is in consideration of being moved to gifted in her school.
With an engagement that gave 4 months lead time to the wedding my best friends in the whole world went into overtime and proved exactly why they are the same as family to me. All of whom have husbands, children and jobs but made 100% sure that my special day was not a jaunt to the courthouse and instead made me feel like the most special person in the world. Kattie, Kiera, Stephanie and Tara not only tolerated my wild ways but also helped pick me up when I was that lady from the depression commercial with a dark cloud raining on her all day. Together with their spouses and my family we pulled off the best wedding ever! It was backyard chic with an old school crowd mingling all together to celebrate Tommy and I making it legit. I will never forget what I remember of it...ever ;)
In July I turnt up and turned out at 30 years old! Yeah, that happened! As per usual, my best friends were with me and we came in swinging! LoL! It is impossible to not have fun with my pound puppies and they made sure I turned thirty and stayed purty...
We crashed into August starting with my wittle bebe twins, Camryn Mackenzie & Chloe Morgan, turning 3 years old. Weren't they just wrapped up in matching pink baby burrito blankets? Not but 22 inches long? What's up with that? Chloe is the sweetest yet shows no sign of being a premie baby born at 3lbs 3 oz. Camryn has turned out to be a walking, talking live-action 3 yr old version of me...and it's really funny but also very scary. Believe me, no one is as scared as I am. They are both very bright, mastered potty training and overall pure adorable.
August 16th rolled in and the highly anticipated honeymoon in Miami took place. You know, it wouldn't be MY blog post if I didn't talk about it...you know, the whole, "I saw Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake live at their last stop of the tour and it was so loud and Jay-Z made me pee and then he told the security to look the other way and then Justin Timberlake 'wrote me a symphony, just to show how much I meant to him' and it was all true"...yeah that part. There is NO ONE I would have rather witnessed it with than Tommy plus my very 1st best friend since 1987, Betsy, gave us a ride and got to listen to me babble all the way there and back! C'mon, try and top that with your honeymoon. Nope. Youuuuuu can't.
We came home from Miami on a Sunday and just like any Quadparents we charged right into the oncoming week. Monday was first day of Kindergarten and 3rd grade then Wednesday our 2nd born, Sienna Leah, turned 6 years old. Sienna has the biggest heart and it's made of pure pink, sparkly gold. She inherited both the sweetest sides of Tommy and I sprinkled heavily with sneaky. McDowell plus Morgan meet Sienna!!
It took all of September and October to recover from August. I was looking forward to Thanksgiving just as much as anyone else. You get your designated entrée to contribute, you show up, watch men watch tv, kids play hard and ask "when do we eat" all day then you eat...done. This year though, this year threw me for a loop. If I got on Kattie's Facebook I would know the exact day that I was innocently scrolling YouTube, as I do every Saturday morning, and saw a small thumbnail on the right of my screen. It showed a girl with a long blonde ponytail, sparkly bra top and dark red lips. I thought to myself, "Self, this must be old Gwen Stefani footage, let us look." Well folks, if you are my friend on Facebook and haven't deleted me yet from the related posts, you know that that girl turned out to be Iggy Azalea. All I heard was, "Walk a mile in these Louboutin's, but they don't wear that shit where I'm from..." and the rest is history.
I was "head over heels" and made it my bidness to know the who, what, why and where of this long hair don't care chick looking like what I may have envisioned as myself when I was younger. I mean, I was at one point 9 in the middle of West Palm Beach listening to my Snoop Dogg cassette! :D
Back to Thanksgiving, I some way (stalked), some how (begged/max cc) caught wind that she was coming to Florida and would be here in Miami in 3 days. The long and the short of it (is that how you say it? Like the black cat called the kettle back) is that my BFF Tara and I packed our bags, got our husbands consent, drove down south and stood front row not but 12 inches away from Ms. Iggy Azalea herself. It blew my mind, I managed not to pee and I am forever grateful for cards that fell into their place for that to happen. You may call it reckless, you may say "she should be with her kids" but guess what? Fuck you :) I've been a mom 24/7 since I was 21 years old but I'm also still Shawna Leah! Re-read the first paragraph and remember that tomorrow is not promised. We were back home within 24 hrs of leaving and it was hands down the BEST road trip I have ever had. Seeing as that was only a week ago I am still flying high on the wings of the rainbow unicorn I borrowed from Kattie that gave me the experience. Iggy is ridiculous, like me, and I'm beyond stoked I saw her in that intimate setting. Those opportunities don't last forever. I can't even get Jason Mraz to stop in Orlando anymore and if he does the tickets sell out too fast!
Now it's December, I'm still working with Ian Anderson and since our 1st Office Christmas party in 2011, he has since been elected President of the Daytona Beach Association of Realtors and was able to open his own brokerage with me has his right-hand woman! We are a kick ass team, we bring down the worst short sales with 3 mortgages and dozens of liens. We can show most banks how to do their jobs and we have fun getting it done! So, congrats to Ian for hiring me back on my 28th birthday. He took a chance on a girl with 4 kids, 2 of which were 11 month old twins, an unemployed boyfriend, one car and a request to start the job a day later because she was going to see Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj. Bahahahahaha!!
We'll probably get our tree tonight and will decorate the house. Santa will come, our children will squeal with excitement from their toys and I will sit back with complete contentment. In 2013, I have completed 90% of my unwritten bucket list. It wrote itself as the year went by. Bachelorette party? Check! Marry high school crush? Check! Have fun with my friends and kids, either all together or on "grown ups only" nights? Check! Be grateful for the ups and downs of the year, have no regrets (that's a lie, I do regret that I was unable to witness my long time BFF get married) and thank sweet baby Jesus for all my blessings? QUADRUPLE CHECK!!
Congratulations to all the people in my life "Hi how are you? Yes it's nice to meet me!" and more importantly THANK YOU! You make my life rich with genuine, ride-or-die friendships! To my family, I love you so much and appreciate all that you have taken on this year. My husband, Mom, Dad, Brother and GG picked up a lot of extra shifts while helping me get through gloomy "dungeon days". I could not have made it through with out you... Quadmom/Nawna Leah - OUT!
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