My babies...

I have no other reason to post this, but for the simple fact that I thought this picture of Riley was cute.  This was her this morning, with bed head.  

Riley went to a birthday party today at the new bowling alley for a classmate and one of her BFF's, Hannah, was there...couldn't resist taking a cute picture...
After a fun time at Becky's Latin Girls Night, I came home to see this little man passed out on our couch.  Too stinkin' cute.
And I had to get a picture with my girl today while at the birthday party.  I realized that I don't have many with me and the kids and need to make more of an effort to get those special pictures (even if I hate how I look sporting a double-chin and bingo arms.)

Tuesday Dinner with Shelley

We had our regular dinner with Shelley this week (except instead of Wednesday, we did Tuesday because of a commitment Shelley had on Wednesday -- whatever, Miss Important.) I made tacos. Yum. The kids, of course, LOVED the visit, as both Shelley and Elsie provide a great deal of entertainment for them while they are here. Poor Elsie was tortured by Ronan...after he held her for a bit and then decided to take her shopping in his cart. He pushed her to the couch before she decided to jump ship.
And what dinner with Shelley is complete without a few minutes of Wii play time? They were playing Mario Kart (Ronan, not so much. His controller was sans batteries.) Riley was not too happy to be in 12th place (out of 12.) She's over the whole losing thing, I think.
Ronan plopped his little chunky body down right next to Shelley when he knew he would be able to play with Elsie. Lots of laughter and lots of wet kisses from that tiny dog.
And thanks to Riley, this is what we caught Ronan doing at the end of the night. She likes to do handstands and then flip onto the ottoman. Ronan didn't do a flip, but he did walk his legs up the side of the ottoman to get into this position. He should be in gymnastics with Riley, huh?

My Workout

To keep me somewhat accountable, I said I would post if I worked out. I did. That's what started all this Ronan madness...because while Ryan and I tried to workout in the garage, Riley had a meltdown and Ronan had a freak out and I was completely stressed. The exact opposite of how you are supposed to feel when you work out.

Here is what I did: Lots of sets and reps of each -- and I did them quickly!!!

Shoulders -- shoulder presses with the kettlebell and shoulder raises with the dumbbells
Triceps -- overhead tricep presses with the dumbbells and tricep dips on the bench
Biceps -- bicep curls and hammer curls
Chest -- Incline bench press and dumbbell flies
Legs -- squats with the kettlebell and stationary lunges on the bench
Abs -- crunches on the big squishy ball

Ryan and I couldn't complete too many of these together...but I finished them off on my own. I'm proud of myself and I hope I can motivate myself to get another workout in tomorrow...we shall see, I guess.

Why Won't He Stop...

CRYING?

Ronan had such a good day today and for the last 3 hours since Ryan has been home, I swear all Ronan has been doing is cry. Or whine. Or freak out. Enough that Ryan decided he was going to take a drive and return some things.

All I wanted was a shower and I got one, in less than 2 minutes. He started freaking out when I walked into the shower. Freaking out.

I pretty much can't do anything without him...I swear, sometimes I think he wants to get back into the uterus. (Which, would be the most utterly painful feeling at this point, considering how big he is and how much he squirms...yuck.) But, I'm getting a little frustrated and all I want to do is cry.

I can't make phone calls. Did you know that? Because when I pick up the phone, he screams for me to pay attention to him. And when I make lunch, you would have thought that I took away his birthday or something, because he cries. And even though he is happy to see Ryan when he gets home from work, he stays with me. He might run to give Ryan a quick hug, but then he's back in my arms again.

Many times, I have to remind myself that he's still a baby and that these moments will only last for so long. But, it's hard to do anything for myself when you have a little person who won't give you but one minute to sit on the toilet and pee. (He used to freak out when I did that. Now, he'll just stand there, hand me toilet paper, say "stinky" and wave bye-bye when I flush the toilet...and that's just for the peeing part of it.)

Right now, while I type this post, he's standing on my right foot, holding onto the mouse and moving it all over the place and grabbing onto my hand. I know he loves me and that's what I have to remember. But, it still doesn't mean I can't cry for a couple minutes because motherhood has made me forget about who I am sometimes...

The Sopranos Obsession

About 2 months ago, Shelley lent Ryan the first season of the Sopranos on DVD. She had put it in a bag with leftovers and Ryan put the entire bag of food and the DVDs in the fridge (for almost 10 days!) BUT, luckily for us, they weren't damaged and from that moment on...I have been obsessing over this show.

I didn't watch it when it was on HBO. Mainly because we didn't have HBO, but beyond that -- I didn't think I would be interested in it. I'm more of a reality tv person. But, this family intrigues me to no end and sometimes, I feel like it's sorta like how I grew up (without the 'whacking' and drugs and what not...but whatever!)

We finished Season 4 last night and I wanted to start Season 5, but forgot that Ryan has to go to this thing he calls "work" and we couldn't watch another hour...

The last episode of Season 4 was so emotionally draining for me. If you haven't watched it and plan to...well then stop reading. But, if you have watched it and know what's happened...it's the episode where Carmela finally had enough of Tony's cheating and lying and she literally breaks down and asks him to move out of the house. The kids were devastated.

It drained me. Ryan was over her acting, but man, I could feel her pain. (Not that I'm going through that!) But it was after years and years of his cheating and she put up with it and finally she was done. I was relieved for her...as if to say, "Finally!!!"

Anyway, I'm glad Shelley let us borrow all the seasons because I know there is no way I'd be able to wait months before seeing the start of the next season. We'll see...who gets whacked next? Haha.

I will survive...and I did

but not without the help of some happy gas and novacaine. I had my fillings done (the ones I had put off for like 3 years...) at my dentist today and I made it through without an anxiety attack.

It only took 4 hours for the novacaine to wear off and believe it or not, I am looking forward to my next appointment for my cleaning. (I think it's because it's completely covered by my insurance and I don't have to shell out any money out of pocket!) Haha.

Stampin' Up! Bella Rose Mini-Album

I made this mini-album on Saturday, during a little get-together at a friend's house. I can't take full credit for this, as I scraplifted the concept from Shelley. Using Stampin' Up!'s new DSP, Bella Rose, along with Kiwi Kiss, Chocoloate Chip, Riding Hood Red and Pink Pirouette Cardstock, I covered 6 coasters (purchased from Outback). I used some SU! rub-ons and embellishments as delicate touches.
On the above picture, the right side is actually the front of the album. I have yet to add a little title to it...

The ribbon tying each section together is one I took from Joni (so I don't know where she got it.)
The center of the flower is a Bella Bauble.
I also used my own rick-rack I had in my ribbon stash.
All the edges of each section were distressed with SU! Chocolate Chip ink.
The flowers are Prima flowers from a swap I participated in...yeah, so mostly SU! products, but some minor touches outside of the SU! family.

These albums are adorable because you can add your own pictures to them and if you don't have enough pictures to fill it up, there is plenty of room to journal...

Needed some motivation...

and that is what I got when I slipped (or should I say stuffed) myself into my tankini bathing suit yesterday at 5:30 p.m. to get ready to go to the pool with the kids...

ICK.

I'm not blind. I've never had the bangin' rock-hard body I have dreamed of, as I flip through the Oxygen magazines every month. At the same time, I always thought, "hey, Maria, you don't look too bad for having had 2 kids..." Yeah, well that thought quickly ended when I decided to do a quick "full-body" check by standing on the kids' stool in the bathroom on my tippy toes to check out the wide load I had in the back.

We don't have a full-length mirrow. At that moment yesterday, I knew why. ICK.

I have my problem areas. Don't we all? But man, I felt like I was in some sort of clown house with those crazy mirrors when I saw what I did...and I didn't like it. Today, I confronted that bad bad "C" word. Cellulite.

I knew it was there. I mean, who DOESN'T have some, somewhere. And you skinny bi-atches who are saying to yourself, "I don't have any, Maria." Well, you just sit there and eat a brownie, for goodness sake.

It's all about diet and exercise. Yaddah-yaddah-yaddah. I know...I know. When Ryan and I were dating and even during the beginning of our marriage, man, we worked out hard. We had no kids to give us an excuse not to. Then, I got pregnant. And together, we gained the healthy 35 pounds of a normal pregnancy. Then, we lost it and a few years later, we were back on the Mint Chocolate Chip/All-You-Can-Eat diet with my second pregnancy. Now, 21 months after giving birth, why do I still feel that I look like I'm 5 months pregnant?

I saw my friend, Rhonda, last weekend at Disney and she's due at the end of January. I looked more pregnant than her...and guess what? I'm not pregnant!

So last night, Ryan and I talked about the cheese on the back of my legs and we both decided that it's time we got back into our work-out routine again. We have cleaned out the garage and are setting the gym back up, dusting off the weights and we're going to motivate each other to work out hard and hopefully soon...I can be proud of what God gave me. (Because right now, I'm really mad at him for forcing those brownies and cake down my throat. Jerk.)

To jump start me, Ryan took me to the local sporting goods store for some new shorts and tank top...I don't know about you, but new workout clothes always get me a little excited to start working out...I hope that tomorrow, when I rip the tags off and put them on, I'll work out! Wish me luck because I'll need it.

(And in future posts, you might see a sampling of my workouts -- it may be a good way to keep me accountable.)

Now, I'm off to finish the brownies. I'm kidding. I'm gonna have a beer. Kidding, again... ha ha?

Our very own "TERRIFIC KID"

After only 3 weeks of school, Riley has already earned the Terrific Kids award at school. Today, was the award ceremony. I know she was shocked to see that I was there...considering she didn't know she was even getting it! Can you spot her in this picture? (hint: she's in the first row and 5th kid from the left!)
This is Riley with the vice principal, Mr. Sims and and the principal, Ms. Cyr. And this is how happy she was when they found out this group picture was going to be in the local paper...can't wait to see it! We are so proud of her!
On that note, another thing that Ryan and I have to be proud of, is that Riley was chosen to be the Student Council Representative for her class! We don't know what that has in store for her, but it's going to be a positive experience, I think! I was involved in student council throughout high school and I loved it. I hope it gives her the boost to stay involved in school activities throughout her life!

Ronan's Baby...Thalia

Ronan loves this little girl. He is soooooo huggy and kissy with her, it's almost too cute. Thalia, as most of you know, is our neighbor's baby girl. She's a little over 4 months old and apple of Ronan's eye. When we ask him who his baby is (and she's in the room), he quickly points to her and says "baby." Just recently, when we tell him to give her kisses, he really does it. He will hold onto her carseat and lean in and kiss her little cheek...not just once...but several times.

So now he thinks he is a big boy and when Tali comes out of her carseat, he thinks he is able to hold her. The other day, we couldn't help but let him "hold" her on his lap and with that, came lots of kisses for his baby girl...

....if only he would love his sister like that....and not torture her (poor Riley!)

Some other things we did at Disney...

Obviously, our main reason for going to Disney this past weekend was to see Rochelle, Steve and Rochelle's family...but in between our visits, we found some cool things to do while we were at Disney...

One: They have the coolest Koi fish pond at the resort. There were hundreds and hundreds of hungry fish and after spending a quarter on their fish food, we opted to feed them some Kix cereal (which lasted much longer) and then we lucked out by winning a few bags of fish food from the activity office in the resort. I can't even begin to explain how entertaining this was...not just for the kids, but for me, as well. You would truly think that these fish were never fed. They would literally jump into the air to get the food! And then the coolest part was while we were feeding them, this bird would stalk us -- so we thought that maybe it wanted some cereal...when out of nowhere, he flies into the water and stabs one of the fish we had just fed. It was as if we were accomplices to this murder. We led this fish to its death. Ryan said it's the circle of life. Frankly, I thought it was rude. Two: Wouldn't cha know there were these motorized boats nearby and each of them represented a branch of the armed forces...and surprise!!!! the Coast Guard was one of them. I only say that because 95% of the time, we usually don't see the Coast Guard represented on anything military...but at Shades of Green, they didn't forget! So here, you see Ronan "driving" a Coast Guard cutter...
Three: We did a lot of walking around the resort and allowed Ronan to show off his mohawk.
And Four: Why go on rides when your kids are completely entertained by bunnies? We spent over 20 minutes watching this bunny. It was a friendly bunny...and then it died. I'm kidding. It didn't die. (Was that mean?) No, it ran away...but it was fun to look at while it lasted.
And then, of course, we went on rides.

Our Weekend at Disney

The big news of the weekend was all for Riley...my "little" from my sorority in college (Zeta Tau Alpha) is engaged to be married and she, along with her future hubby, asked Riley to be their flower girl at the wedding! Riley was unsure at first, thinking that it would be something embarrassing...but within minutes felt the excitement and couldn't stop talking about what she would do at the wedding. Here are the three of them right after they asked Riley to be in the wedding...Steve, Riley and Rochelle... This next picture was taken in front of the Cinderella Castle while we were waiting to meet up with Steve and Rochelle.
We stayed at the Shades of Green, which is a resort specifically designated for the military and their families. I enjoyed being there -- mostly because of the cost, but I can't say I didn't miss the Disney feeling I had when we stayed in a "Disney resort." There was one big Mickey statue in the lobby which EVERY TIME WE WALKED PAST IT, Ronan had to stand next to it and pose for a picture. Ronan sported his mohawk for this trip and I don't know if it's his size, his extreme mobility or the looks on his face, but people would stop and stare at him as if he was some sort of attraction there. Most of the time, they would say how cute he was or laugh at the t-shirts he wore...but being the hambone that he is, I think he enjoyed all the attention!

Riley fell in love with Rochelle and Steve while they were here. It was obvious with all the times Riley would ask when she was going to see them next...and it was devastating to see her cry when we told her we had to leave Disney for the night and that Steve and Rochelle were going back to Pittsburgh...luckily for her, she's going to get to come with me to Pittsburgh for Rochelle's shower in the spring!

Now, for Steve! Ronan actually let him hold him for a few minutes! By the end of the three days we spent there, Ronan finally was able to say "Deeve" which was Ronan-ese for Steve and unfortunately he fell asleep the last night there too early to play with everyone. He did wake up at the last minute on the monorail when we were on the way back to the car and said good-bye to them. He loved them as much as Riley, I think... We spent a few hours at Hollywood Studios on Saturday morning, mainly to get on the new Toy Story ride...but right after we got our fast-passes, Ryan and I ran into one of his former high school classmates, Christi, and she happened to hook us up for Director's Seats at the stunt show. We literally sat in the very front and away from the crowd. It was awesome. Both of the kids loved the show and in the end, the one car jumps through this fire ball and drove right past us. I can't explain how hot it was, but let's just say I thought that I had lost all my eyebrows. I didn't, thank goodness!
It was such a wonderful trip and I know this one was especially great for Riley with all the memories she made with Rochelle and Steve. (When she was with them, she totally blew us off. Parents are so un-cool, I guess.) We are excited to get back to Disney, but even more excited to see Steve and Rochelle get married...

First Day of School Pictures

(from another perspective!)
Why I didn't have my camera with me after school last week, I don't know...but my friend, Lori, did -- and she snapped a couple of the kids together (Hannah, Riley, Abbey and Ronan).

So cute...

Box Tops For Education

I am asking all my friends who see these on products they buy, to cut them off and save them for me. Please....

We are collecting them for Riley's school and every one of these counts! If you can save some up for me, I would happily send you a SASE (self-addressed stamped envie) and have you mail them to me...

And if you are local, I'll come get them...

Thanks in advance to anyone that can help out! I really appreciate it!

(Just send me an email at maria_egal@yahoo.com and I'll send you the envelop.)

A Riley post...

I feel bad that I didn't have anything to share in the last two posts about Riley...so I thought I would just update you on her little life as a first grader...

1. She LOVES homework. She begs for it and when I have to stop her, she asks for more. It's something I hope she remembers when she is in high school because I'm pretty sure she won't feel that way when those hours and hours of homework come home with her.

2. She hates, hates, hates, the line at the top of her socks. I swear, we spend 10 minutes every morning trying to move that line around so it doesn't sit funny on her foot. I tell her it's just a fact of life and to accept that the line will be there and to ignore it. Then, I catch her fudging with it in the car on the way to school. OCD?

3. She will walk out of the house without her bookbag in the morning unless I remind her to grab it. Nevermind that I literally hand it to her minutes before we leave but somehow, she finds something else to do within those two minutes and will forget that bag even exists.

4. Bedtime is considered a punishment to her. She freaked out one night when we told her to go to bed (at 8:30 p.m.) and said, "you guys hate me! you guys hate me!" Where that came from, I have no idea. But, she falls asleep within seconds of her head hitting the pillow...and it makes me very envious because I don't remember those days of just being able to fall asleep like that.

5. She cannot watch tv and eat cereal at the same time. She can't balance the two activities and I have found that if I threaten to turn off the news or Disney in the morning, she will quickly shove all her cereal into her mouth.

She's been doing great in school, on this 8th day of the school year. She's currently a 'team leader,' which when asked what that entails, warrants the answer, "uhhh, I don't know. I collect papers." Fine, either way, she's happy in school, adores her teacher and is learning something new each day. What more could I ask for?

What does this tell you?

...that maybe we spend a lot of time on the computer? We have two computers in our office and Ronan decided that while I was going to update my blog, that he would check his email, too...and as soon as I whipped out the camera, he turned around and stopped typing...

Ronan's Day at Gymboree

If you have kept up with my posts, you'll know that Gymboree hasn't always been successful when it comes to Ronan paying attention and participating in all the activities. Well, for the past few weeks, we've decided to give it another try and he's actually amazed me with what he decides to do when he's there.

Circle time isn't a nightmare! I mean, he doesn't ALWAYS stand there and do the circle time thing, but at least now, he's not across the room freaking out when the teacher asks all the kids to come to the center mat. He will actually go over to the teacher now and see what she has to say, before he scurries away.

He is still the ultimate daredevil, which makes my heart jump out of my chest EVERYTIME, but I can't help but smile because he is so proud of himself when he does something shocking. He loves to climb up the slides (the wrong way, of course...) and if he can jump off a platform 3 feet off the ground, he will do it. The other moms say he is "all boy" and I smile because I'm not sure if it's a compliment or what! Haha. Either way, it's 45 minutes of decompression and play for him that he surely needs and really enjoys. Now, I have to brag a little about his balance skills. Ronan has been walking since he was about 8 months old. (Talking is another thing...but whatever.) Anyway, his motor skills are really advanced and the fact that he has no fear, helps him do things like this (see pictures below) without any help:

He walked across that beam probably 4 more times after that without any balance checks or slipping...even I couldn't do that now. I don't know...I thought it was pretty impressive for a 20 month old. What do you think?

Stampin' Up! Mini-Convention

I'm not sure many of you even know this, but I'm a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. Well, I use the term demonstrator loosely. I am more of a hobbyist and collector. It's nice to have the discount and still get the opportunity to attend Stampin' Up! events to learn some things or come home with some projects.

Last night, I went to a mini-convention (which is what they called it) and made the three things you see above. I also was able to get a sample of all the new designer series paper (which is 2-sided and pretty).

I'm hoping I can come up with some projects in the near future and hold some stamp classes at my house...maybe possibly do a holiday card buffet sometime in November. We'll see...and I'll keep you posted, in case you'd be interested in coming! (And for those of you far away, I might even be able to assemble some kits with instructions and you can just assemble them yourselves!)

Can I join that club?

My friend, Laura, started a post about clubs she doesn't belong to and wished she did...which got me to thinking about what clubs I desperately wished I was in but aren't...

1. The Eat Healthy Club: I don't eat UNHEALTHILY...at least not all the time. I vowed that after I had Ronan, that I would clean my diet up and eat the right foods -- but it hasn't really gone that way. I LOVE LOVE LOVE sweets and unfortunatly, I can't help but have a lick when I walk by one.

2. The Non-OCD About Vacuuming Club: I vacuum all the time. This is probably where Ronan gets his obsession. I can't help but grab it and use it when I see a pile of crumbs on the ground. It also doesn't help that Ronan just started licking the carpet the other day.

3. The Time To Scrapbook and Be Creative Club: I used to be a scrapper. Now, I am a card-maker...but more importantly, I have very little time to do either. Just yesterday, I had the chance to crop for about 5 hours...which I did accomplish something, but still, it would be nice to dedicate more time to it and be able to finish projects that I start.

4. The Love The Dentist Club: What more do I have to say about it...

5. The Fold Your Laundry Right After It Comes Out of the Dryer Club: I am usually pretty good about this, but when I'm not consistent, I either end up having to re-dry the clothes to get them unwrinkled, or we all walk around with wrinkled clothes. Sexy baby.

6. The Eat Organic Club: I know all the benefits and wish I could switch us over completely...but it's too dang expensive.

And lastly, 7. The Put Your Shoes Away Club: I swear, we are the only house in the world with a pile of shoes by the front door, the back door and the garage door. It's not like we don't have shoe racks or baskets. We all just choose to slip off our shoes wherever we are at and leave them there. Not only is it an issue for both Ryan and I, but now our children have followed suit and it's scary. The apples don't fall far from the tree...

So much for Mt. Lebanon...

...being an A-rated school.

This goes to show that shit (pardon my language) can happen ANYWHERE.

Read this article: http://www.wpxi.com/news/17267142/detail.html

I am DISGUSTED. Being that I am a mother of two kids and one being a GIRL...I am disgusted that our society is filled with absolute sickos. Don't these idiots watch Chris Hanson on Dateline NBC? What's even scarier, is that those guys they lure in and arrest end up walking away on some sort of technicality. I get so frustrated even thinking about it because I have to work just that much harder to protect my children from these ultimate low-lifes that walk among us. Like it's not hard enough having to prepare your children for life!

I know I could ramble on and on...but I won't. It's just so frustrating!!!!