Kathylynn, Author at Shakadoo

And The Winner Is…..

The big day has finally arrived. This is my favorite job here at Love Shak Baby!! I love picking winners for our giveaways. Today is even better because we are able to pick two winners.

The first winner is…..Tanyetta from Days Like These…congratulations!!

The second winner is….Susan Chester…Congratulations!!

Keep your eyes open and check back often at all the Shaks for more awesome giveaways.

Freeshipping.org and Love Shak, Baby would like to extend a sincere thank you to all of you who left a comment and posted about our contest on your blogs.

Make sure to use Freeshipping.org for all of your shopping needs.

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Beware Of Road Rage

by Kathylynn 9 Comments

My hubby and I just got back from a get away in Orlando, Florida. I have to say it was quite an adventure due to the fact that we could have been shot at.

The very first night we were on our way to dinner and witnessed some major road rage. Two men that were right in front of us were out of there cars and going at it. They banged on each others cars, pushed each other, screamed and while doing this they were holding up the rest of us from getting were we were going.

With that being said I looked at my hubby knowing that his face was starting to turn red. I warned him "don’t you dare say a word" but do you think he listened? Nope. He stuck his head out of the window and yelled at the men to get back in there cars or he was calling the police.

The next thing I saw was one of the guys walk over and open his trunk and pulled out a gun. My whole life flashed in front of my eyes. I thought we are dead. Luckily, the other guy freaked out and jumped in his car and took off. The guy with the gun took off after him. We called the police and gave them the license plate numbers.

The moral of the story is keep your mouth shut. People are crazy and you never know what they are going to do. I already know this, I can only hope that my hubby learned a big lesson.

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The Behaviors Of Cats

by Kathylynn Leave a Comment

Have you ever wondered about the different things that cats do? For example, I will be laying in my bed and here comes Louie the cat. He very delicately walks on me and starts kneading me with his paws. What does this mean? I found some of the answers…..

"Why does a cat "knead" or "make biscuits
"?

When a kitten is nursing, it typically kneads its paws against
its mother, either as a sign of contentment or to encourage the
milk flow. When the cat matures, it kneads to show its contentment
and pleasure."

Here is a whole list of cat behaviors that I found very interesting. If you own a kitty then I think you will get a kick out of these explanations.

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Please Get Help Britney!

by Kathylynn Leave a Comment

I am so serious when I say "please Britney get help"! It is such a shame to watch her life unfold this way. Here is the story according to AOL News today….

"LOS ANGELES (Jan. 31) – Britney Spears was taken from her home by
ambulance early Thursday and escorted to the hospital by more than a
dozen police officers in cars, on motorcycles and in helicopters.

A Los Angeles police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorized to speak on the matter, said the
26-year-old pop star was being taken to the hospital to "get help." The
Los Angeles Times cited unidentified authorities who said Spears was
being placed on a "mental evaluation hold."

"She went willingly.
It was like something in her heart was telling her she should go. She
knew something was wrong," told Britney confidant Sam Lutfi to PEOPLE." read more..

I remember back to the JT and Britney days and how happy she looked. It must be hard to be so successful at such a young age. So many child stars have grown up with such problems.

I truly hope that she comes out of this healthy and happy again.

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No Needle Flu Vaccine

by Kathylynn Leave a Comment

Ten days ago my fifteen year old came home from the movies with 103 fever. He was shaking so bad and felt so awful. He ended up missing the entire week of school. It probably took him a good eight days to feel back to normal.

I took him to the urgent care because I just knew it was strep but I was wrong, it was influenza. My guilt started right away. You see every year I take all four of my kids in for a flu shot. This is such an ordeal because of my boys freaking out over needles that I blew it off.

Great news at Web MD for my family and yours about a new vaccine that requires no needle…

"Jan. 28, 2008 — An international team of scientists reports promising results from testing an under-the-tongue, no-needle flu vaccine on mice.

The
researchers dropped a little bit of the liquid vaccine under the mice’s
tongues and let the vaccine sink into that area; the vaccine wasn’t
swallowed. A few days later, those mice resisted a flu virus test.

Under-the-tongue vaccines don’t affect the digestive system, liver, or nervous system, note the researchers."

I hate to admit it but I don’t care for needles either. Every year when the kids get their flu shot I find a way to get out of getting mine. I figure that if everyone else in my family has the shot and are protected, then my chance of catching it go way down. LOL Shhh thats our secret!

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Great Reason To Eat Together As A Family

by Kathylynn 2 Comments

How many of you out there would like to do anything to make sure that your kids stay sober? I know that I would. According to Supernanny Rules that can happen by just sitting down for meals together. Read this….

"Research by the National Center on Addiction and Substance abuse
compared the drug and alcohol consumption patterns of teens that ate
family dinners 5 or more times per week, with those that ate them 2 or
less times per week, and the difference revealed is dramatic.

Families that don’t often eat together have teen children that are:

300% more likely to smoke marijuana

250% more likely to smoke cigarettes

150% more likely to drink alcohol"

Do you think this is true? I do know that when we sit down as a family for dinner we have great conversation. I think I learn more about my kids in that time than any other.

I am am skeptic when it comes to studies. It just seems that there is a new study every day and it always contradicts one that came out prior. If this is true then my kids will be less likely to get into trouble. I say less likely because we are not able to do this every night but we do try at least two or three times a week.

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Teen Lingo Decoded

by Kathylynn 2 Comments

We all know the importance of monitoring our children on MySpace and other internet messaging. I was watching my son last night chatting away to some friends and couldn’t understand a thing that he wrote. Everything was in code. So I decided to do some some decoding myself and found exactly what I was looking for at MSNBC.

They have a whole list of abbreviations that teens use while messaging. Like POS means "parent over shoulder", I just love that one. PIR is "parent in room"…. KOL is "kiss on lips"…TDTM is "talk dirty to me"

Every parent should have this list. I printed it and now I will know exactly what my son is talking about. He tells me that I’m old all of the time, but what he should know is that along with age comes wisdom.

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My Space Looking Out For Kids

by Kathylynn 2 Comments

I was so happy to read a post written at Strollerderby called MySpace Tries To Clean Up For The Kids. I am right in the middle of the whole MySpace chatting thing with my 15 year old. While I understand how much fun this can be, I also know the dangers involved.

I am sure that most of you have heard the awful story about the teenager that committed suicide because of a joke that was played on her. That girl lives in the same town as I do so it feels much more real. I don’t want this to happen to my family.

Though I am still skeptical of MySpace, I am glad they are finally taking some steps to help our kids stay safe…..

"Letting parent submit a list of their kids’ email addresses to MySpace
so that if the kid tries to create a profile there they are turned
down. Except, uh, a kid can create a new email address in like 20
seconds. Brilliant, MySpace!"

I am not sure if the other things they are going to do will work but at least they are trying. If anyone out there has any good tips that they use at home, we would love to hear it. Every little tip helps.

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A Much Needed Break

by Kathylynn 1 Comment

I just got back from a four day Inman Real Estate and Blogging Conference in New York. I went with my friend and fellow blogger Kathy and left the husband and four kids at home. I will say that my hubby has a new appreciation for my job now and a whole new perspective on what I do all day.

I have been a stay at home mom for so long and always felt like my job meant so much less than those that work outside the home. I know now how wrong I have been. My job is one of the most important jobs you can have.

My kids were so glad to see me when I walked in the door and all I heard about was how crabby their father
was. Ladies we are what keeps the house running smoothly. Take it from me, never feel like "just a mom" because you are so much more than that. I now believe that about myself.

Be sure to check out Kathy’s posts at Shak & Jill to see everything that happened in New York.

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My New Years Eve Nightmare

by Kathylynn 2 Comments

I just read Kelly’s post this morning about her eight year old son having a girlfriend. She talked about how kids are doing things earlier these days. Which brings me to my nightmare. Let me tell you about my New Years Eve…

My oldest son turned fifteen on the 31st. My husband and I decided to let our son have some friends over to celebrate. We even told him that his girlfriend could come. So we ended up having three of his guy friends over, my fifteen year old niece, his girlfriend and one of his friend’s girlfriend. My fun has only just begun.

We have a finished basement and that is where the little party was. I wanted to give my son his space and not be overbearing. I found my first excuse to head on downstairs and check things out. There on the couch sat my son with his babe and his friend with his babe. The others were hanging out and eating. I thought they were sitting a little too close with there arms around each other but no big deal. Yeah right.

Back upstairs now we here the door in the basement open and they head outside. This is our chance to turn out the lights in our room and see what they were doing. Yes spying. I will never forget the look on my husband’s face as he looked out the window and I am sure he will not forget mine. My son had his hands all over his babe and his friend was now in a total make out session.

We didn’t know what to do. How do we handle this. My twelve year old son and 10 year old daughter were outside also. They were getting a show. We called our son in and told him to tell his friend to cool it with the making out.

The next time we headed downstairs was the last because I never went back up. My son was practically laying on top of his girl on the couch and his friend was so into making out that they didn’t even stop when they saw me. Was I in the twilight zone?

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the whole kissing thing but not in front of the parents. I tried to make light of the situation and asked if they needed chapstick. They still didn’t move. To my relief the girls phone rang and it was her mom saying she was waiting outside. Both girls got up and left without even a glance at me. No goodbye, nothing.

I am new to this so I am learning. I used this to teach my other kids what not to do. I wish I could rewind a few years and take some classes on how to handle teenagers! Help!

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