Just exactly HOW MANY are there?

Nine. There were exactly 9 sippy cups in our playroom. So when Ronan asks for his cup of water and I rummage through the cabinets like a racoon in a garbage can and cannot find a darn cup, well, I know where I'll look. The playroom. The room that I gave up, so that the kids would have a place to play, lounge and, well, store sippy cups.

Oh where...are the Little Einsteins?

I wasn't going to waste a blog post about this, but for the past 20 minutes, it's all I can think about. Since the birth of our love for Disney World and all things Mickey Mouse, we have grown to LOVE LOVE LOVE the Little Einsteins. Although it might seem a silly cartoon to most, it's really quite educational and one that I don't mind having the kids watch, moreso, Ronan. He loves them. He loves the classical music and even though he isn't always a man of many words, I know he understands what they are teaching.

Well, for the past month or two, I have not been able to find even one episode of it on the Disney Channel, the HD Disney Channel or any channel affiliated with Disney. Yeah, yeah, I DVR'ed a bunch a while back, but we tape a lot and had to make room...and with that, was the sacrifice of all our Little Einstein episodes. Had I known that they were going to stop airing them, I would have saved them all...but alas, I have found not one episode.

So here I am, lost. And believe it or not, I have not one Little Einsteins DVD. It's not a huge deal, in the big scheme of things...but I feel bad when Ronan asks for "Ein-tines" and we have nothing for him -- so then he asks for Yo Gabba Gabba and blah...well, you know how I feel about them. Guess I'm going to have to break down and buy me a DVD today...

No Gabba Gabba!

Ronan has a new fave. Yo Gabba Gabba. If you have never seen it, well, don't start! I am no exactly how it came to be a staple in our house, but after Ronan's tantrums or if he's tired, some how, some way, it ends up on our TV.

I prefer to not sing any of their goofy songs in my head and I would be ever so appreciative if my husband would stop singing them out loud, also...especially when it's NOT on TV and then triggers something in Ronan's mind to ask for it.

Thank you.

My Coota (Ronan-ese for My Scooter)

I recently purchased a scooter from a consignment shop in the area. And since I don't yet have a helmet for the little dude, I've resorted to only allowing him to scoot around here and there in the house. He's figured out that the fastest place to scoot is in the kitchen (don't mind the slight mess) and he doesn't just scoot around, he is artistic about it.

And he doesn't call it a scooter, yet...it's either his "cakeboard" (skateboard) or "coota" (scooter). Luckily for us, we understand what he is asking for!

Happy Happy Joy Joy

The other night, Ryan went out for a couple hours and so the kids and I hung out at home doing random things. At one point, I pulled out my camera and just tried to get photos of them laughing and smiling...but being that they are my children, they couldn't just NOT POSE for the camera, so when I would point it in their direction, they would instantly cheese it up and smile. Riley is wearing an outfit she got from my dad (that he got from Vietnam). I just love this color on her!
The funniest part of this outfit is that she calls it her "China outfit" because it looks Chinese, I guess. No matter how many times I say it's from Vietnam, she still says it's her "China outfit." Someday, it'll stick.

And of course, the cheesiness didn't stop with Ronan. He was so goofy around the camera, I almost wished I would have done a video instead. He would make me take a picture, ask to look at it and then do this dance where he'd spin around in circles, scream like a girl and point his fingers like he was doing some sort of John Travolta move. It was hysterical. This is the look he would have right before he would start his dance:

And then this is the look he would make when he would tell me to take the picture, BEFORE he would ask to see it, do his dance, scream like a girl and do his John Travolta moves.

What a fun night that was for us!

Story Time with Riley

"Wead me, Why-Wee!" Translation: Read to me, Riley?

Now that Riley is reading a lot, it's been really beneficial to Ronan, who loves to read or rather, have someone read to him. It's so nice to see how well they get along when reading is involved...no hitting, no yelling...it's pretty relaxing!
You can sorta see in this picture that Ronan's arms is around Riley...it was so adorable.

Just love it when they love each other like this....

Too Sweet on Tuesday

Most of my days are ordinary.  Or maybe even ordinarily crazy...but today, although manic at some points, had one of the most sweet and tender moments I could possibly experience in my lifetime...

Ronan is a lovey kid.  I won't deny that he has his moments when he hits his sister or screams like Mariah Carey or when he discovers his favorite tool and says, "my pee-nish momma!"  But today, well, I wish I could bottle it up and save it for those trying days.

He had been awake for a little while already but was still cuddly with me when I had him sitting on my lap facing me.  He gently grabbed my cheeks and said, "momma, you purdy. you a pwincess."  And then he made me stand up and walk to my wedding picture, where he pointed and said, "momma, you a pwincess. you purdy."  

How could you not love that?!  Such a sweet boy.  And the best part?  I wasn't wearing any make-up!!!  And he STILL said it to me...

Can't you call BEFORE you are supposed to be here?

I just have to perform this quick vent...and then I'm done.

Our alarm system has been beeping strangely and after a phone call to the company, they insist that they need to come out and charge us a $25 service fee. Fine.

We scheduled this on Thursday, for TODAY...living all weekend with this annoying beeping. They schedule to come anytime from noon-5 pm. That's fine and all, except that for about 25 minutes of that time, I have to go get Riley from school. And with my luck, it would have been the short window of time they would have showed up and charged me $25 for nothing because I wouldn't have been home. So, I work it out with Ryan that he pick Riley up from school and at 2:30 p.m. they finally call us and tell us they can't come.

Really? You can't call us at noon, or preferably BEFORE noon, to tell us that you can't keep an appointment? So now, we have to live with the beeping for another 4 days. Nice, right?

And it's probably something we can fix, too. Argh.

RaysBall Game

I could probably count on one hand the number of baseball games I have been to in my lifetime. I've just never really had a strong interest in going to these games that seem to last forever. I will say, though, that since Ronan has been born, I have had this inkling desire to get him into sports and baseball just happens to be one of them...so maybe someday, I'll be one of those moms going to every game. Until then, this is all I have to show for it:
The Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg is pretty cool. It's indoor. And being that we are in Tampa, it just seems to make sense. I would've never volunteered to go to a game if it were outside, either in the brutal heat and humidity or the insane afternoon rains. But, I did want to go to a game, so Ryan was able to get our family some inexpensive tickets for Coast Guard Day with the Rays.

And yes, that is a big blow-up something wearing a Coast Guard uniform. Pretty cool, huh?

Our seats were out there. We were near the broadcaster guy I see on TV occasionally, when I happen to be in the same room when Ryan watches the game. Other than that, not too exciting. Haha.

Hmmm...let's see...How should I sum up our experience at the game?

4 tickets to the game: $34.00

Parking that was supposed to be free, but wasn't because they said the lots were full, but weren't: $10

Blooming Onion and a Beer from the Outback Stand: $15.50

An order of nachos with cheese and jalepenos: $12

Going to the baseball game to have the kids play at the play area: Free

Hearing Riley ask how long this was all going to be, one minute after we parked: PRICELESS, and slightly painful. LOL.

Can't wait for the next one, although I think Ryan said, under his breath...that he was going to the next game alone. Not sure why...since we had such a blast. Haha.

Stop Being So Cute!

I call them hambones. Because they are. Naturally, I take lots of pictures. I'm Asian, that's what we do. So, being that these little beings are my children, they have had their picture taken more than a Victoria's Secret model during a fashion show. They see the camera and immediately say "cheese." They pause after the flash and then ask to see the picture on the screen of my digital camera. It's what they were trained to do. These photos were no exception...they smiled and smiled and laughed...and these are the shots I got:

No, really, could they be any cuter?

So fresh and so clean...

Why give them a bath, when you can just clean them with the laundry?

Ronan and I do laundry together. I prop him on the washer, hand him dirty laundry and he shoots baskets with it. After he finishes putting everything in, he looks at me and says, "My do wand-ree? My put feet in?" To which I nod my head yes...and there he turns, letting the "fountain" run over his tiny feet.

He only does it for a few seconds before he realizes that the water is cold, too cold to stay for long. He turns around and lets me dry his feet and graciously says, "fank ooh" and I smile...until he loses his balance and has the fear of God in his eye because he almost falls in.

"Hold me momma." I grab him and we go back for the next load after the dryer buzzer goes off...never-ending cycle.

Annie

Last night, Shelley, Riley and I went to see a local high school production of "Annie." (I am so sad to report that the photo I took of Shelley and Riley became a 'file error' on my camera...boo hoo!) Anyway, it was performed by the students at the high school. Funny thing is that none of us had ever seen the movie -- even though I knew a few of the songs. I just love musicals and it's a good excuse to support the local theater. Riley was a bit hesistant at first, but she ended up loving it (and asking me a million questions about what orphanages were and why kids had to live in them...)

I'm totally looking forward to going to see more productions, wherever we can find them...especially with Riley. I finally have a partner-in-crime.

Happy Birthday, Courtney!

Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law, Courtney! She's all the way in Harrisburg, PA, so I can't be there to celebrate with her, but I hope she has an amazing day! Love you, Court!
And of course, a picture of us...where else, but Disney!!!!

Listen, you'll have it forever.

Ronan first discovered it over a year ago. He yanked at it, pulled it and slapped at it. I was mortified. I thought it was going to fall off, considering how rough he was with it. Now, he doesn't try to pull it off, instead, he sleeps with it...making sure it'll still be there when he wakes up. Picture perfect moment.

Happy Mother's Day

This is my 6th year of being able to celebrate this holiday...pretty cool, huh?

Ryan said that this weekend was MY weekend, so we ate breakfast at my most favorite breakfast place of all time that Ryan dreads: Cracker Barrel!

I love this place because I love the hashbrown casserole. I mean, how could you not love onion and cheesy goodness, smothered amongst a heaping pile of carbs? Delish. And yes, I had two orders of it.

Both pictures have the kids looking slighty goofy, so I had to post them both.

We also went to MOSI to watch an Imax movie, Under the Sea. Afterwards, we spent some time at our community pool, working on our tans. (Or, as Riley refers to it: the area of my body that doesn't match the rest!)

We didn't do anything super fancy, but it was a perfect weekend...with the most amazing weather!

Punishment Fit the Crime?

On Friday, I got a phone call from Riley's first grade teacher. I wasn't surprised by the call, mainly because she keeps in touch with me often and figured that she might've needed something for the Field Day happening that morning. The call, however, came with some interesting news...something I really didn't expect.

Without quoting her, she basically told me that on Wednesday, a "situation" occurred in the lunchroom and she wanted me to know about it before I heard it from someone else.

(And after conferring with Riley...this is what I found out):

On Wednesday, all the kids in the lunch room were punished with a "silent lunch." What that means is that because they were loud the day before, they were not allowed to do anything but eat their lunch...no talking, no whispering, no nothing. Well, Riley and two other kids (who according to their teacher are "not trouble-makers") were playing with some small toy one of the kids brought in. Riley said she and the other two were whispering...clearly something not allowed...and the CRAZY lunchlady singled the three of them out, reprimanded them and made them stand up and face the wall.

Face the wall.

My 6-year-old daughter and two other children were put in "time-out" for whispering.

They were singled out among all the children in the lunchroom and told to face the wall.

Un-freaking-believable.

Don't get me wrong, I don't agree that Riley should have disobeyed the rules. In fact, I would have reprimanded her myself by separating the three that were whispering. But really, she made them stand up and face the wall until the end of lunch, when their teacher finally came in and got them to bring them back to class.

I was infuriated by it. I called Ryan and told him and he suggested I talk to someone at the school. I called my friend, Christine...who told me to go straight to the top. And I did.

I went to the school, with Ronan still in jammies...and met with our school principal. And for as busy as this lady is, she made time for me and made me feel like my child was the only one in the school. I was assured that the situation was addressed and that she and the vice principal spoke with the CRAZY lunchlady and informed her that it isn't something that the school does and noone should ever single a child out and make them do what she made my child do.

So here is what my brain has assessed since I've had time to think about it:

If you are a freaking lunch lady/lunch man or bus driver, you should expect that children will talk. If you can't handle steady noise like that, then don't sign up for the job. And honestly, get a bunch of ladies at a Pampered Chef party and I'll tell you that we are so much louder than a roomful of kids.

Anyway, my intention wasn't to make a big deal about it...but I had to get it off my chest. I was mortified when I heard it and thought about how Riley must have felt when it happened. Surprisingly, she didn't tell me about it (she said she forgot because she went home with a friend afterschool that day and just forgot to tell me!)...but did assure me that she's "getting over it."

Buy This House

...or if you know someone in the market for a house...

My brother and his girlfriend are going to be moving to FL! Yeah for me! Anyway, they need to sell this house, as soon as possible. I've been in it...it's been well taken care of!

Here is the website with more information!

And yes, I know it's a plug...but if you have ever tried to sell a house, you know how hard it is (and this economy isn't making it any easier!)

Help them move to Florida with less stress!

Happy Birthday, Conner!!!

I know I posted this picture already, but here is my nephew, Conner, and Riley at Disney. Conner is 7 years old today! I guess I should wish his mother a Happy Birthday, too, since she gave birth to him! He's in Harrisburg and we wish he and his family lived closer to us, preferably next door...but we'll settle for vacations and visits for now!

Love you, Conner! Happy 7th!!!

Terrible Twos

(This is a mobile picture I took of Ronan being a not-so-good boy for his momma.)

Just how long is this phase supposed to last? And when they talk about the 'Terrible Twos,' does it start right at two, right before two or the entire first two years of their life? What about the 'Terrible Threes' -- tell me that isn't true, please.


When Riley was two, she was never terrible, at least I don't remember her to be. It was so different taking her places because she was always like a little adult, seeming to act so much older than she was. And maybe that was the case because she was an only child. But honestly, I don't remember going through with her, what I am with Ronan.

I'll preface this by saying that not all moments are bad. In fact, I have lots of wonderful and amazing moments with both my kids that I am truly thankful for. But man, oh man, could it be possible that an almost 2 1/2 year old little person, who wears tiny clothes and still craps in his pants could make a grown woman, almost 32 years old and has given birth twice out of a place where nothing bigger than a walnut should come out of - shed tears, just because he can?!


When pregnant with Ronan, I called him my little ninja. He would kick and hit my ribs, my bladder and do flips and turns that still make my stomach churn thinking about it. I thought after birth, he'd grow out of it, but he hasn't. In my previous posts, I have mentioned his hitting problem. It's still here. I don't know what to do or what to say to get him to stop, but I'm at a point where I might have to call Nanny 911.


Whenever we have friends over, I fear that he'll swing at them for no reason. And most of the time, it's him "tagging" them, but a little too rough. So, we worked on the "gentle tag" and even though it's brought him down one level, it still stresses me the freak out.


I spend 99.99% of my time with him. The 0.01 % is usually when Ryan keeps the kids so I can go grocery shopping...but honestly, I take him everywhere I go. And the past two days, it's been no different. He's been with me every second of every minute of every hour I am awake, not awake, whatever...and yes, I am aware he is two years old. I know I can't just leave him outside or in a crate -- it's not an option. But, I am begging someone, anyone...that I'd love about 120 seconds of just peace and quiet when I pee. I'd love to be able to sit on the toilet (do you have a good visual? If not, just picture a supermodel body -- because that's what I have) and pee without Ronan saying, "mom. momma. mom. momma. mommy? My fwush a toy wet? My fwush a toy wet pay pa?"


Is it great I have a little helper and someone so willing to be there at every important moment...like when I'm down to only one square and need a new roll? Yes. He's awesome at it. But I just need a break.

I know...you are now thinking...how is it possible that Maria is blogging, if Ronan is such a terror? I am currently thinking past the whining and staring at my beer (yes, my beer) in the cup on the dresser, furiously typing to get this post published!


Anyway, I know it's just a phase and I know it's just the age...but I can't help but be so exhausted sometimes at what my day brings. I am thankful for my two happy and healthy kids...so please don't think I am not. I would much rather have my life be with, than without them. I'd just love to have 2 minutes each day to myself...to see it. And guess what...I just did...


(He was crying and was mad at me for sitting in the chair. He pouted and put his head down and within seconds, he passed out. Standing up.)

Twins: Separated at Birth

They look nothing alike. In fact, they are several months apart, but put the two of them together and you would have thought they came from the same pod.

Ronan and Sophie are the same kid. Both have lots of energy, love to snack and run circles in every restaurant that Christine (Sophie's momma) and I take them to. They run circles in Qdoba. They run circles in Wendy's. They run us in circles, too.
The best part of their friendship, is that they happen to be two two-year-olds who get along well (with the occasional freakout or swordfight)...but everytime we go over to play with "Fo-Fee" -- well, she's "sweeping"...or what I like to call, giving her mom a well-deserved break and napping.

On this night, Sophie was all about "Wo-nan" and wanting to play with him. They were so cute together and surprisingly, caused no trouble. (Although if you look closely, you can see that they are so up to something.)

Gotta love these two, though...they are just so cheeky!!! Thanks for being such a good friend, Fo-Fee.

Bowling Birthday Bash

When I asked Ronan if he wanted to go bowling for a birthday party, he walked over to the Wii and immediately started looking for Wii Bowling (it was too cute!) He had no idea what was in store for him only an hour later!

We went to The Alley for Serina's 6th birthday party on Sunday. It was Riley's 3rd or 4th time being there, so she was practically a pro, but Ronan's first time...so we were a little nervous at how he would react to everything.

He loved the shoes.
When Riley bowls, we feel like she's going to get some sort of hernia. She does this turn/toss thing, all the while flicking her wrist. I swear she's going to get hurt bowling some day...lessons maybe?

But, she was fashionable and that's all that matters, right?

Ronan wanted nothing to do with us that day. He picked up the 6 pound balls on his own, would walk up to the line and push the ball, ever so slowly, that I was able to drive home and come back and still not miss the ball falling into the gutter in the back. I'm kidding...I didn't leave...but seriously, the ball went so slow, I felt like I aged a few years everytime he went. You see that Ryan is in the picture above, right? Well, that didn't last long. Ronan would literally FREAK out if either one of us tried to help him. So, we just let him go on his own. It was a good thing the toddlers had their own lane!

And of course, we can't forget why we were there! Serina's first official friend's party! The big girls had their own lane and had fun being "on their own." Such a fun time!

Happy Birthday, Serina!

Hanging with Holly

On Friday, the kids didn't have school. Don't ask me why, I have no idea...but we took it as an opportunity to enjoy the day. Riley's friend, Holly, came to hang out with us and spent half the day with the Egal's.

What day is complete without a trip to Panera, right? So, off we went to get some breakfast with Holly. She wanted something soft, so we got her a muffie, Ronan's ultimate favorite, and when it was time to go, this is what I found on her tray. I couldn't help but take a picture.
Riley had a really good time with Holly...they both enjoyed running lots of errands with me (and reaping the benefits of an immense amount of snacks, icees, more snacks and then lunch.) I felt like the visiting grandma who couldn't say no. But, it was a great time and nice to see the girls having so much fun.

Cooking With Shelley

Whenever we are at Shelley's, if she's cooking or baking -- she makes it a point to include the kids. We happened to be over when she was preparing the dough for mini-quiches (for her party) and she grabbed Ronan to join in the action.
I thought he was going to be resistant at first, but he wasn't. He got into it and helped her pour the various ingredients in the mixer. She's well aware of his texture issues, so she definitely tries to help out with that...and well, you can see that he could care less about what he was touching. It was more of a game for him!

She put it on his nose and he had no idea...

What a cute little man...

He wasn't there for too long, though...he felt the need to clean, so he spent the next 20 minutes vacuuming her living room. Don't think that Shelley really minded that, though!

Dos De Mayo at Shelley's

I don't have many pictures to share of this event. Well, I lie. I have a bunch of pictures of people I don't really know, so with that being said, I am just posting the few I have from that day and I'll let Shelley post the ones I took so she can label who the individuals are!

Dos De Mayo started earlier for us than most of the guests. We headed over to Shelley's immediately following the cheer competition, so we could hang out, catch up and let the kids swim before the partying happened. It was a good time for us because we needed to have our Shelley time...

This is Ryan after he finished swimming...
I didn't think he was dressed Mexican enough (whatever that is supposed to mean) but when I looked at his shirt, it was a Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos) shirt, so it was pretty Mexican. More Mexican than me!

Riley was probably the most festive of us all, with her sombrero. What the party lacked were facemasks. I still think Shelley should have handed one out to everyone coming into the party...it would have been hysterical...or maybe I would have been the only one laughing, but still.

It was pretty cool, though...she had a musician come in and play live music during the party. I feel awful that I don't know his name (I'm sure Shelley can help me with this!), but Ronan loved watching him. I think he might have spent a good half hour just sitting and listening!

And here are the kids eating tequila popsicles. I'm kidding. They are just regular ones. Wouldn't be a nice summer day (is it summer yet?) without a popsicle!

More cheer stuff...

Stage moms, cheer moms...whatever...we look good. (Lori, Me, Christine and Jodie...moms of Hannah, Riley, Holly & Serina, and Megan; respectively.)
And a nice little family picture after the competition was over...

Fun fun, can't wait for the next one!

Go Red and Black!

I didn't pull a Toddler's and Tiaras on Saturday at Riley's first cheerleading competition, but man, was I freaking excited for her to be on the mats, doing her thing! Her last practice prior was on Thursday night and they basically made it a dress rehearsal for the girls. How adorable are they in their uniforms?!

And let me just take a moment to say that those uniforms did not come cheap. They aren't your typical costume-type uniforms. We paid $75 for them. Yeah. You read that right. Yes, it came with the pom-poms, but writing that check out was painful. Don't think for one minute that Riley isn't going to be a cheerleader for Halloween this year. It's all about price-per-wear, baby. And I am determined to bring that average down as low as possible!

That was Riley during her water-break at practice on Thursday night. I was so excited to see her...

And you know, it isn't an proper cheer competition without signs! So, I made great use of my Cricut Expression and made the girls a few signs. They got judged on spirit from the crowd, so I wanted to make sure they got full points for that. And trust me, us moms can really bring out the high pitched 'woo-woo's' when it's necessary. (Holly and Serina's dad wasn't a quiet one, either...I think he definitely beat us when it came for the crowd cheers!)

Riley and Hannah were all smiles before the competition!

And here are all the girls with the sign. They were stinkin' cute.

Do you wanna know what made Riley's day, though? It wasn't the uniform or the hair bows. It wasn't even the glitter in her hair. It was her first grade teacher, taking time out of her day to come see her compete!!! Mrs. Graves is the coolest. What a way to make a kid feel special. She probably doesn't realize what she did for Riley that day, but from a parent's perspective, it's pretty awesome that she spent a few hours of her own time to cheer on her student...

Couldn't leave little man out of all this, right? When he saw my signs being made, he wanted to hold them, so I made him his very own sign. Had I written it the way he talks, it would have said, "My Why-wee Wocks." But, considering we'd be in public and they don't know him, I made it the proper way...and he held it the entire time she was out there!

Three other teams competed after her. Sure, they were cute. Some were even good. But did any match up to Riverview? Absolutely not. LOL. When it came time to announce the winner, my heart was racing. I didn't think I would be so anxious or nervous about the whole thing. I mean, there is no "last place." They all get trophies. But when they called out third and second and Riverview wasn't part of those, I shuddered at the prospect that maybe there was a chance they didn't place at all. The other squad used Paula Abdul music and who knows if the judges liked that one better...but then they said it..."In first place....RIVERVIEW!!!" Us moms/dads were all on our feet, screaming and clapping (probably not as loud as Ryan was when the Steeler's won the Superbowl...but pretty dang close!)

It was so exciting and most of all, I was so proud of the girls for accomplishing their goal with all their practicing.

(Not sure who that girl is, but she's on Riley's squad...)

Riley was stoked!!!! A new trophy!!! She loves cheerleading. She actually wants to stick with it, can you believe it?! So, we're doing it again this summer! More practices and more money...but so worth it...I mean, really...look at that face!