It's a hockey night in Pittsburgh...I mean, Tampa!

A couple weeks ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins played against the Tampa Bay Lightning here in Tampa. We were able to score really great tickets (Thanks, Joni and Jessica!) for a great price...so we couldn't pass it up that our original home team was playing our current home team!

The kids had gone to a game with Ryan in the fall and loved it, so we just knew it was going to be a fun time. They were so excited. Riley was probably more excited for the junk food, but Ronan couldn't stop saying, "I go hockey game. I go hockey game." Here is my precious family in front of the St. Pete Time's Forum:

What was really great about this game, was that it felt as though you were really in Pittsburgh. I was actually surprised to see that half the fans were Pittsburgh fans and when we scored, you would have thought you were in Pittsburgh, so many people were cheering...

Riley was enamored with Joni and spent most of the game chatting with her, and less time watching. Not sure how Joni felt about not being able to pay attention 100% of the time, but she was a good sport...

Ronan + Popcorn = A Very Happy Ronan. It came as no surprise that Ronan wanted popcorn when he saw it. And even though we can make it at home for pennies, or buy it at Disney for $4, I was in a state of sticker shock when I saw the price jump to $7 for a small bucket of popcorn. I couldn't believe it. I winced when I'd see some of it drop on the floor...but I assure you that after I saw the state of the ground, I didn't pick it up and eat it (the 5-second rule does not apply in stadiums, arenas or ball parks.) Even though he didn't finish the popcorn...it was worth it, I think.

And here we are, enjoying the game together...he wasn't as interested in smiling for the picture, as he was with what was going on with the game...

We didn't stay the entire game. *Gasp!* I know, how could we do that? Leave?! Well, the kids were exhausted and we just knew we didn't want to sit in traffic after the game...so we headed out at the end of the second period. Unfortunately, we missed some great goals, but we are happy the Pens won!

We had such a fun time and Ronan still talks about the hockey game...gotta start 'em young, I guess! We get to go to a Rays baseball game in a month, so we're looking forward to adding more sports experiences for the kids!

Hit Me Baby One More Time

This was our solution to Ronan's hitting issue. A classic toy back in the day, it's basically a punching bag with a weight on the bottom, so when you hit it, it bounces back at you.

Since we're in FL, we only had two options, the Gators or the other team with the maroon and gold...so, we picked the Gators. Originally, Ryan named the little guy Tim Tebow, but then I started to get nervous that one day, maybe Ronan would meet a little man named Tim and punch him. SO, we named it Bing Bing.

Ronan loves to hit it and have it bounce back in his face. I think Riley enjoys having Bing Bing around because when Ronan winds up to hit her, we scream, "Hit Bing Bing, Ronan!" and there he goes to give poor Bing Bing a big hit.

He has been with us a couple weeks and the novelty of it all has worn off...but Ronan will still walk by and give him a little slap. Wonder if we are teaching him the wrong thing...

Pizza

It's time to add pizza to the list of things that Ronan will now eat. Yes, he ate crust. And that's all he would eat from the pizza before. We'd cut all the crusts off of various slices of pizza and that's what he'd fill up on...

Tonight, little dude was handed 2 pieces of crust and looked at my slices and said, "Momma, I want pizza." I said to him, "Ronan, you have pizza." He said, "Momma, I want pizza preeze" (translates to: I want pizza, please), while pointing to my slices. I immediate got up and picked him a small slice and because he's allergic to cheese, I had to scrape it all off (still managing to keep a piece of pepperoni on there...)

AND, HE ATE IT. No, he didn't just eat it, he's on his second slice. He's devouring the slice, with all the sauce! I can't believe it. It just means yet one more thing we can feed him -- and there is just so much potential to it! He is actually eating the tomato sauce...I just can't believe it. I'm sitting here next to him, in awe, because he's just chomping away. Although he does stop and look at me occasionally, telling me to "eat, eat, mommy."

So awesome.

Why do they call it SPRING BREAK?

Obviously, it's not really a break for stay-at-home moms!  I remember the REAL days of spring break, you know the ones when you started planning the year before which Mexican resort you were going to stay at?  And then, you would spend all year trying to get into shape, so you could wear that tiny string bikini on the beach while doing shots of tequila, washing it down with Coronas, and sporting a hefty hangover all day until you were out drinking again that night...

Those days are over baby.  My spring break has consisted mostly of listening to the kids fight and then play really well...and instead of spending all year trying to get into shape for this week, I've just been trying to figure out if I should have 2 peanut butter Easter eggs or if I should just eat all 6 that come in a pack.  And now, who can spend all year planning what we're going to do this week, when I can barely plan what I'm doing in the next few hours.  Motherhood has changed me...99% for the better...but I blame my immense junk food cravings on the fact that I gave birth twice and that process messed up my better judgment when it comes to choosing the right foods to eat. 

It hasn't been all bad, though.  The kids, surprisingly, have gotten along really well for the past 20 minutes.  Yep, I haven't heard one scream or peep or cry.  That's why I decided to blog just now!

We had the chance to go to Mosi, which, if you haven't been there...you need to check it out.  It's a science center (most large cities have one) and it's got an Imax theatre, a planetarium and lots of things for the kids to do.  We haven't had the opportunity to actually see an Imax movie yet (we tried, but it was sold out) and we haven't been to the planetarium (again, sold out), but we bought a family pass for the year -- which means at some point, we'll be able to see something. They have the Body Worlds exhibit which we are planning to see before it goes away...

Anyway, we are surviving the week together.  Only a few more days until Riley goes back to school and even though I love having her home (I really do!), I'm sure Riley is ready to go back to school and see her friends...at least for a few days because of course, we are leaving to go back to Pittsburgh yet again for Rochelle's wedding!

My Accident Report

Yesterday, I was in a car accident. Of course, I was on my way home from my very [non] favorite place, the dentist office. Like I wanted to be there in the first place...but whatever.

I was driving in the pouring rain, on Rt. 60. I saw my sign for 75 S and signaled to get one lane over to my right. Seeing that I had substantial room, I merged over and was in the correct lane. The light in front of me was turning yellow, so I slowed down to a stop. The car behind me swerved to not hit me, but he did anyway...and this is what my car looked like, except the piece that is missing, was hanging my the sticky stuff used to keep it on...

So, in the pouring rain, we had to pull off to the side and because it's a major highway, we ended up on a side road near a shopping center. The guy was mad. He gave me the look of death and nowadays, you never know if someone will kill you, so I stayed in my car and called 911. Within 25 minutes, a "sheriff" arrived and asked us to pull into a parking lot adjacent to where we were and there, we were to file our report.

He only asked me what happened, which I gave him the short story, and asked me nothing else...not to point out where I merged, or where we ended up. He asked the other guy for some info and whaddya know...the officer had responded to this guy's wife's accident a few months back and they bull-shatted about that for a few minutes.

The officer got back in his car, I got back in mine and I waited and waited for him to finish and for Ryan to show up. Ryan arrived and by that time, the officer had approached the other guy, chit-chatted with him while I sat in my car waiting...before he slapped me with a citation for "IMPROPER LANE CHANGE." I was hit from behind by another vehicle and here I am the one getting a citation/fine for $157.00. I have the option to pay it and take the points, pay it and go to traffic school and not get points, or go to court. At first, I thought I would just take the second option. But the more I think about it and talk about it with other people...I am realizing that the officer never asked me where I switched lanes and had no reason to cite me unless he believed the other guy...which he apparently did. Ryan said it was discrimination against a female. I am not a bad driver. I'm really not. I haven't gotten into any accidents in over 10 years (and that one was not my fault either...someone ran a stop sign and hit me!).

I don't get tickets.

But apparently, this guy wanted to cite me for something, so here I am, in the midst of insurance claims and trying to figure out if I'll survive going to court.

I talked to the insurance companies. Mine was awesome...super nice and prepared me for what the other company might say. The other insurance company tried to tear me a new one and the lady actually said to me, "how can you not expect to get hit if you switch lanes and have to stop?!" I laughed at her. Is she being serious? How can you drive like a crazy person in the conditions we were in and try and speed through a light like that? I know he was wanting to go through that light. Because...if he were paying attention, he would have hit the breaks like I did. It was raining for goodness sake. You can't drive like that in the rain.

So, it stinks. My car is not looking pretty. And, I'll have to pay a deductible...yuck.

Thankfully, my kids were not in the car. I'm grateful that I was able to walk away from the accident with no injuries...these days, you just never know what could happen. But what a pain the rear...haha, get it? Rear? The rear of my car? Man, I just crack myself up sometimes... I guess I'll update ya once I go to court. That should be fun. I hate public speaking and I know they will ask me questions...but it'll be worth it. Can't let people walk all over me like I do...

Our Vietnamese Hammock

This hammock was given to us by my dad over 8 years ago. He gave it to us before we were married and surprisingly, it made it through all of our moves and was never even put out at any of our many garage sales! We found it the other night and even though Ryan thought for one second that we should sell it, I told him "no way!" and said we couldn't part with it. It's been through too much! We've probably only ever opened it less than a dozen times, but now with the nice weather, we might have to pull it out more often. The kids definitely enjoyed it. It's low enough to the ground that we don't have to worry about them falling too far to the ground!

Just chillin':

What's funny to me is that it was made in Vietnam...and most of the population there is quite tiny. So, to see that it fits my boys the way it does, makes me laugh. Wonder if there is a weight limit on that bad boy!

How many licks does it take...

to get to the end of a banana-flavored popsicle?

I don't know if you love them like we do...
But we've even gotten crazy little Ronan to try them, too!

With his texture issues, still, we didn't think he'd even try it...but he has! He licks them in the middle and refuses to bite them. He won't let the popsicle touch his lips, but he'll stick his tongue out as far as he needs to in order to get taste!

I know, not totally exciting, but these pictures were too cute to not share!

Make Me An Offer

I had yet another garage sale today and what a wonderful place it can be to make a few extra dollars.  We all have stuff lying around.  Most of the stuff I had was collecting dust, literally.  I had to wipe it down and then wipe down the area it was sitting on for the past 2 years.  $262 later, I'm a pretty happy camper with a lighter load. 

I didn't empty out the garage...like I had wanted to.  A lot of the bigger items I had displayed didn't sell.  I know they were higher than garage sale prices, which is why I had them on craigslist, too.  I'm not dying to get rid of them, so I wasn't going to let someone rob me by pricing it too low.  

It does remind me about how I need to stay strong when people make offers and that what I had for the past 10 years, doesn't mean as much to someone else, so them offering me a quarter of what I priced it at shouldn't be a surprise.  I mean, how could they know that the Partylite candle holder was my first Partylite item and that I paid way too much for it.  They just know it holds candles and they want it cheap.  Makes me think that I need to start shopping more at garage sales, haggling and making offers, rather than pay full-price for a new item that might sit and collect dust at my house.

I'm taking a break though, from selling.  It's a lot of work.  I put up some signs.  I posted ads on craigslist.  I posted ads on other online communities in the area.  I priced everything.  I brought it out to the garage...and eventually, I'll have to find a new home for it somewhere in my small house.  I can see how people make a living out of it though...there is some major money to be made from people's junk becoming another's treasure. 

I'm just happy my old blender found a new home with her momma who paid a whopping $2 for it.  (I was asking for $3.)  Haha.

Happy 8th Anniversary!!!

The fact that I have no digital pictures of our wedding just shows how far the digital camera has come in 8 years!  

8 years ago today, I married my best friend.  We survived the 7-year itch (whatever that is -- I thought it was a disease), have 2 children together (and he stayed with me, even after being in the room for the births!), and 2 moves across the country!  Ryan knows how lucky he is to have me. I'm kidding.

But, it's not everyday I get to tell him (which I probably should) that I still get butterflies when I see him and love him more and more everyday.  He gave me the cutest kids (obviously from my side of the family) in the world...[even when they are moody (obviously from his side...)] -- and I love him for that!

Happy Anniversary and looking forward to many more...at least to the 50 year mark.  That's a diamond anniversary, right?  You know what that means...new diamond, baby.  New diamond (love you....)

Please Clean Up Your Doggie Poo

Dear Mr. Owner of a Dog Who Drops Deuces The Size of a Large Meatloaf:

Honest to goodness, sir...could you not show us the common courtesy of picking up your dog's steaming pile of dog crap after he or she unloads it? Is it going to be necessary for me to set up surveillance to catch you in the act of stopping in front of my house or my neighbor's house, waiting for your dog to do it's duty and then looking around slowly before you make your way to your home, where your lawn is probably empty and free of turds?

I would gladly provide you a bag. I get a dozen everytime I go grocery shopping. I'm sure you do too. Unless you bought the canvas bag and you bring that everytime you go grocery shopping, so as to not pollute the Earth any further with plastic that is unable to disintegrate. Perhaps that is why you choose to allow your dog to defacate into my yard, thereby fertizing the grass that is great need of TLC. Please sir, if that is the case, then could you not do me the honor of at least spreading the poo in an even layer across my lawn.

I would also be appreciative if you wouldn't mind pushing your dog's arse into the grass, rather than letting him shake off the last nugget onto the sidewalk. My children walk on the sidewalk and occasionally, I pull into the driveway with my vehicle which also goes over the sidewalk. In the event that your dog does leave it on the sidewalk, I would just prefer not to make it a permanent fixture because I'm careless with my car and happen to press it into the concrete.

I thank you for your time and hope that one day, you don't find all those various poops strategically placed in your lawn or on your walkway by your furious neighbors who have stepped in it or had their children accidentally fall in it. I will make a request with the homeowners association that I be allowed to have a stand outside my home with a bag dispenser for your use.

Sincerely,
The Neighbor Who Has To Yell At Her Children To Not Step In The Poop Everytime We Are Outside.

He can drive me to drink...

...but then he can be so stinkin' cute sometimes. Here is Ronan coloring in his new $1 dinosaur coloring book: (Please note the tongue sticking out...)
And then here he is checking out the bubbles from the bubble machine my dad bought when we visited Pittsburgh earlier this month. He was so happy (until he decided HE wanted to hold the bubble machine and then threw a fit when I wouldn't let him.)

And he is in his glory when he's around animals...which he was this afternoon when we were babysitting our neighbor's daughter. He loves doggies. Loves them...but apparently, he can't have them because he's sensitive to their saliva. Poor dude can't get a break, right?

He's been ultra moody lately. I chalk it up to the Terrible Two's taking over but wonder where it comes from since he can be so cute, too. It's quite scary if you ask me.

Time to say goodbye

I have a strange attachment to this stroller. I'm not sure why, but I do. We have 2 other strollers we can use, but for some reason, I never want to sell it or give it to anyone. After seeing how big Ronan was in it tonight, I realized that it was time for the stroller to go...

(His shirt says: Judge me by my size, do you? In case you were curious...and it's quite fitting for this post).

Alright, so I know why I can't get rid of the stroller. It's because it holds the most, it's easy to maneuver, and it marks the end of the baby period in our lives. We're finished having babies. And yes, we are sure. We know that we can only handle 2 kids and we feel blessed with the ones we have -- and the fact that I refuse to see my butt expand to sizes unimaginable, well, we're done. I'll miss the stroller. I hope it makes it to a good home...

And if you are in the market for a stroller, infant carseat with two bases, please let me know!

Ode to Riley

I feel bad that sometimes I don't blog enough about Riley. I spend all day with Ronan, so I end up taking a ton of pictures of him...but tonight, I made sure to catch a few of the Nugget while we were outside...

Let us note that not one tooth is loose. Not one. She's going to be 7 in July and most of her friends have lost several teeth. I'm going to enjoy this smile, though, while it lasts...

And this is her outside of our house with our favorite palm tree. Shockingly, this is still alive...but we didn't plant it. We had professionals do it!

She's doing better with the bike-riding. Our goal this summer is to get her off the training wheels and confident in swimming. She gets extremely nervous on her bike when she goes down the driveway and doesn't quite understand the braking thing...but I think it'll happen eventually. As for the swimming -- little missy is going to get some lessons. We're still searching for where, but she and Ronan will be taking lessons this summer for sure!

Plant a tree, save the world...plant something in our front yard...

...and pray that it lives for longer than a week!

Ryan and I hold no secret that we lack the green thumb. In the 11 years we have been together, the only thing we've been able to keep alive is the Lucky Bamboo that Ryan bought me for my birthday 2 years ago -- and even then, one of the stems died. So, it's no surprise that the various plant life we've tried to nurture hasn't survived longer than a few months. After agonizing over our "rock garden" in the front of our house, I decided to nip this crap in the bud and plant SOMETHING.

And it looks good, if you don't mind me saying so! I did 4 green thingies and 3 red thingies and then 3 Mexican Petunia bushes along the side closest to the house. (Do you enjoy the proper names I used for the plants, or what?!)

I'm proud of myself. I have a sore back, aching thighs and my biceps feel like they went through a major bootcamp workout, but it was worth it. Now, let's hope they live through the drought and the ban of watering that Tampa has imposed on us...

Hit me with your best shot...fire away....

...or maybe a better song would be the theme song from Rocky.  

Ronan hits.  He hits a lot.  But he doesn't hit everyone.  Just Riley.  And Ryan.  And me.  I don't know what it is.  Sometimes, he hits me when I tickle him.  And I know why he does that -- he's trying to stop me.  But, what I don't get is when Riley is standing next to the kitchen sink and he decides to punch her in the stomach.  Or, when Riley is brushing her hair, he will swing at her...wherever he can reach.

It's never-ending.  It gets to the point where all I can do is lock myself in the office, so I don't yell at them...because once he hits Riley, she'll pull out the huffing and puffing and screams right back...and it's like most horrible sounds you would ever hear.  

Ryan seems to take it the hardest.  I think it's mainly because Ronan and Riley start fighting after she gets home from school and Ryan comes home shortly after.  He doesn't really get to hear them NOT fight.  I just don't understand.

We have never ever hit them.  And I've read that it's a way to get attention.  Surely, I give the boy a tremendous amount of attention during the day.  And even when Riley gets home, he still gets a whole lot of attention from both of us.  He just hits and it's awful.  It's stressful.  And, it's mean.

What are we supposed to do?  Now, we do the time-outs.  He hates them.  He cries and cries and cries and apologizes and says he is done.  Once he comes out of it, he's fine for about 10 minutes, before he gets frustrated at something and lashes out again.  Then, it's back to time-out.  Today, his tantrum was about 40 minutes and I finally was able to get him to sit in his bed and after 25 minutes of calming him down, he fell asleep.  Finally.

I just feel bad.  I know I'm doing something wrong, but I don't know how to fix it.  Every kid is different.  And he definitely reacts to things being taken away.  So, we do that.  But, he still doesn't stop hitting.  I don't want him to be the kid in pre-school that hits...so what do I do to stop him?

Help!

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Ryan turned 31 yesterday! He decided to take the day off and this is what he did for about 20 minutes before I forced him to go with Ronan and I to a Disney Cast Sale we were invited to: I felt bad dragging him out, but after he saw the deals they had there, I think he can vouch that it was worth it (considering how much money we have spent on Disney-related items!)

And speaking of Disney, yes, we went back! Disney gives you a free admission on your birthday to the park of your choice. Because we have passes already, they give you the option of fast passes for some rides OR a $75 birthday fun card (a gift card) to use on Disney merchandise. Of course, we couldn't pass that up...so off we went:

Riley had testing at school, so we couldn't take her out for the day, but we did pick her up afterwards...the kids were so excited, they couldn't contain themselves:

We went to the Animal Kingdom. We couldn't stay all night because Pitt was playing and Ryan wanted to catch the game -- and Animal Kingdom was the one that closed the earliest. It was great, though. We were able to both jump on Everest (the rollercoaster) and a cast member gave us 3 fast passes to get on the Safari ride right away.

We went on only a few rides, but it was fun. We sat and watched the parade -- several characters stopped and gave Ronan lots of "high-5" slaps. And while Ryan proudly sported his Coast Guard t-shirt, he was stopped and asked what he did. To that he replied, "I save lives." Haha. It's not funny ha ha...it's just funny because the Coast Guard has so many different aspects to it. He didn't really say that. He was really humble about his job...but don't think that we didn't walk away from that conversation coming up with a thousand other funny things he could've said.

We met a few characters along the way...but none I could name for you....some sort of bear in some bear movie...

I'm pretty sure that Ryan had a good day. He was home in time to watch most of the Pitt game. He got his fried shrimp from Raglan Road and with his gift card, was able to buy a Rays baseball jersey he really wanted. It was no cruise or week on a beach, but it was a fun day.

Happy birthday babe. Love you soooo much!!!

2 years = a world of difference

Two years for me has been a blur. Everything goes at lightning speed. Hours become days and days become weeks and weeks become months and next thing you know, your kids are graduating college. But everyday, Ryan and I reflect on how fast they are growing (not always intentionally...it's not like we have a specific time we sit down and say, "oh, let's see how much they have changed...but it does hit us). We both remember how tiny they were and how much they have grown...

This is Ronan, exactly two years ago from today:
And here's Riley, exactly two years ago:

We had just left San Diego -- to make our way back to Pittsburgh -- before we moved to Tampa. We were in Yuma, Arizona...in a hotel...and it would be two years later that the kids would look like this:

I took this picture this morning. I can't believe how much they have changed....And no, Ronan's thighs don't really have those creases anymore. I wish they did, though. Then, they'd probably look a lot more like mine.

Swiffer-Happy

I was in a cleaning mood yesterday. Yeah, I even cleaned the baseboards in the kitchen. Believe it. And because the cleaning mood is so contagious, Ronan joined in the spirit of cleansing by happily swiffering the kitchen. And guess what, he did a really good job. I didn't even have to go over any spots. Probably because he swiffered for about 40 minutes...but whatever. It entertained him and he was helpful. It's a win-win situation.

Now, if only he knew how to cut the grass...we'd be really good to go.

It's Public...

Were you shocked when you went to visit my blog and found that you didn't have to log in? Yeah, I decided to unlock it...for now. I have the ability to somewhat monitor, or see, where I'm getting visits from...so I opted to make it easier for some of my friends to keep up with what I'm doing. Don't get too excited, though. If I find that I'm being spied on again -- the bars will come back down. I'm harsh, huh?

Enjoy it while you have it!

Have any cars? Anyone?

My kids can never ever say they don't have toys. From the day Riley was born, she was spoiled with toys and stuff and more toys. Even now, we have to limit what we buy because our house is just filling up with stuff. Our budget no longer allows us to purchase anything that has the word "toy" in it...or anything that can be played with. But, apparently, those rules don't apply when it comes to my parents (or Pa and Grandma)...the last time we were in Pittsburgh, my dad bought Ronan HUNDREDS of matchbox cars. And I'm no exaggerating. We had a suitcase full of just matchbox cars. I hid it in the kitchen, until today...so Ronan went to town:

The sad thing, is that this wasn't even all of them. I had to put half of them away in his room because I couldn't handle it. There were so many. And he was whipping stuff off of all the shelves and before I knew it, the room was completely chaotic and overwhelming. Needless to say, I picked it all up before I went to pick Riley up from school....

I got me some bangs...

Okay, so I took the plunge the other day. Ryan had taken the day off, so on Friday, I decided to just go and do it. I got me some bangs. Nothing of hotness value, but man, I felt so much better afterwards. He cleaned up my layers and now, my hair looks like it has some sort of shape to it... I didn't get many pictures, but this is a self-portrait I took of Ryan and I:

And then here is another one that Ryan took of Ronan and I. I am wearing my dorky glasses, but I had to because my eyes were all red and itchy from allergies. I couldn't handle my contacts for another minute...

Biker Boy (and his sister!)

Shelley bought Ronan a cute Harley shirt a couple weeks ago. He sported it yesterday and I told her I'd take a picture of him wearing it. I didn't say he'd be awake, though...he was exhausted!

But then he got all silly on me and was playing in the kitchen with Riley. He found these sunglasses (which are for a Build-A-Bear -- from Joni) and being that he has a tiny head, they fit him...

And then he thought he'd finally be nice to his big sister (who he had been hitting all day and I mean ALL DAY) and hugged the poor girl right as I took this picture. When he wants to be nice, he can be so cute!

It's so nice when they get along...wish it was like this more often...

Disney...Again...I know!

Having the luxury of living so close to Disney, we decided last minute to go this past weekend. The weather was amazing and the best of all, we were able to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for a great deal. Since we've already been to the parks a bizillion times, we opted to enjoy the resort and were picky about which park we'd actually go to.

Ryan was able to get last minute reservations at Hollywood & Vine for a character breakfast on Saturday morning...so we went to Hollywood Studios. We saw the Indiana Jones show. I have never seen the movies (except for the last one), so I can't say it meant anything to me, but it was cool to watch. Both of the kids seemed to enjoy it...here is Riley at the end of the show, in front of the set:

This is Ronan at breakfast. He was overly excited for the characters -- Leo and June from Little Einsteins (his fave show) and Jojo and Goliath from Jojo's Circus.

Ronan didn't smile for the pictures -- mainly because he was to enamored by them and was trying to figure out exactly how many hugs he could fit in before they would leave the table. Riley was just more into them signing her book...but she hammed it up for the camera at the right time!

On a side note, we sorta starved the little dude this morning. Breakfast wasn't until 9:05 and normally, he's eaten 2 waffles at home by 7:30am. But, we held off as long as we could and by the time we got to breakfast, he was hungry! He ate almost 2 of the of Mickey waffles and then the characters started to come by and all was over by then....it was a good try, though!

B-I-N-G-O and flabbo are my arms-O

If you know any little bit of me, you know I have an extreme mental issue about my arms. I suffer from the disease called: ithinkmyarmsarefat. Now, I lift weights. In fact, I really enjoy it. I like the muscle growth I've seen in the past. I enjoy seeing the progress I make, as far as how much weight I can lift, and weight training is also a great way to burn calories.

No matter how much I lift, I can't seem to get my arms to look cut or ripped or even remotely toned. I know...diet...blah blah blah...cardio...blah blah blah...whatever. Okay, so after the lectures, let's get back to what's really important. My arms.

This story I'm about to tell you, is what has made me even more neurotic about my arms and increased the fear that I'm going to die with bingo arms:

I hosted a mommy lunch at my house a few months back and after the lunch had ended, a couple of us stayed and chatted about diet and exercise and other random things. I opened up more about my concerns and stated that I had flabby arms, to which another mom said I didn't. To prove her wrong, I held out my arm and shook it lightly and showed her the waves it made as I moved. The other mom said, "oh yeah they are, how did they get that way?" I told her "probably from poor diet and lack of exercise, I don't know..." but what I really wanted to say was, well, I probably shouldn't write what I WANTED to say.

I about died. Now, I wasn't asking for her to say, "oh Maria, they look great!" or "Maria, everyone's arms shake a little..." No, the girl confirmed my biggest fear and no joke, I looked into liposuction that afternoon. Don't worry, I'm not doing it, but don't think that I wasn't considering it!

I feel them shake when I fold towels. I see them flab around when I hold my arms out for hugs. It's such a huge insecurity I have, that I notice them all the time. When I'm at the gym, lifting, I stare at the little dimples on my arms that are magnified by the lighting and wall-to-wall mirrors.

But this is what they look like when I flex. I'm no body builder, but I don't think they look too bad. I just want to know why they can't look like I have even the tiniest bit of muscle tone when I'm not flexing. It's so annoying.

So yeah, I love lifting weights and thanks to the oh-so-honest mommy from that lunch, I'll continue to lift weights until I can't do it anymore. I guess I should thank her for her honesty, but man, I can't say it didn't hurt just a little....

I need a haircut...I really need a haircut...

It's been since July. Of 2008. Yeah, you read that correctly. It has been 8 months since I've had a haircut or trim or anything stylish done to this frock I call my hair. I don't know why I haven't gone. Let's see, Ryan and Ronan go about once a month, at about $12-15 each. Riley hasn't gone since before Kindergarten, but that's because she doesn't want to and she wants her hair to be LOOOONNNNNGGGG.

I feel guilty spending the money on it. What would it cost me? Uh, about $35-45 with a decent stylist, right? And I know I wouldn't go every 6 or 8 weeks...but I still cringe when I think about the money I would be spending on dead keratin.

Does it stop me from complaining about it every few days? Absolutely not. I talk about it everytime I find a new gray hair or if I can't get my hair to part in the right place. I think I want bangs. I don't know. If I would just make a stinkin' appointment, I could get it all over with. But, I'm stubborn and I probably won't.

EXCEPT, for the fact that I'm in Rochelle's wedding and I'd like to mask my scary forehead. I'm going to have to take the plunge in the next week or so...just in case I don't like what they do. I should just start wearing wigs.