Wahhhhh....wahhhhh...I wanna go. Now!

To Key West, that is! Just a few more months until my sans-kids vacation with the hubby. Hurry up and get me there.

(Picture taken from this website.)

Kate Spade Giveaway

A friend of mine is doing a giveaway on her blog. Check it out!

Homemade Oreos

Thank you, odds and sods for posting this...

Homemade Oreos

Definitely something I'm going to have to try, considering it's part of one of Ronan's major food groups!

Potty Training Sucks Big Poop

Why wear these... When you can wear these....

O.m.g. Honest to goodness gracious.

Riley, ah, my Riley...such an easy child. Potty-trained at 2 1/2 years old...practically on her own. When she decided she was over the diapers, she was over it. And for 5 years, I never thought twice about it...except when we would be out and had to use public restrooms. Let's just say, we used enough toilet paper that you never even saw the toilet seat. (Those automatic flusher toilets, though...man, those were such a challenge to cover...anyway.)

Fast forward to my precious Ronan and it's like nothing we say or do or bribe him with will work. Go ahead and make your judgments. I'm sure I am doing nothing right. But can I just say that I am so.tired.of.poop.

[If you have no interest in reading about poop, I'd stop here.]

My friend gave me hinters on what to do with him...get him in unnerwears (as he says). I did. He loved them. But, didn't mind pooping in them, either. I freaked. I'll admit it. I lost my mind the first time I saw that turd in his brand new Diego underwear. And I was pissed. I'm sorry, but a three-pack of tiny underwear doesn't come cheap. And the companies know that parents will spend the money to appease their toddlers with cartoon-themed underwear to get through this horrific experience. So there we were, down to 2 pairs.

He didn't care. I offered him M&Ms. High-5s. A new monster truck. Two new monster trucks. A trip to see the monster truck show. Tokens for Chuck E. Cheese. A trip to Chuck E. Cheese. A million dollars. Nothing.

But yesterday, oh yesterday...that was the kicker.

I have a bad gag reflex. (Need I say more?!) The boy pooped and I thought I could taste it, I was dry-heaving while changing him. I don't know what to do. And now, I'm down to one pair. One.

Let him go naked? Sure. But then we run the high risk of pee all over my floor and furniture.

Putting him back into diapers is not an option and unless underwear comes in bulk, I am not sure I want to spend the money on clothing I'm going to have to throw away...(for those of you that used cloth diapers, how did you do it?!)

I guess I could face reality and say that the child might not be ready for this step in life. But momma is exhausted. Momma is tired of human sized poo that isn't in toilet. Momma is begging on hands and knees for the lightbulb in little man's head to go off and think that it is cool to poop on the potty. Please. Pretty please.

Although you might be grossed out at this point, I do have to share a funny something he said the other day, when I pleaded with him to use the potty:

"Momma, I can't. It's gonna hurt me. I skerred (scared), it's gonna be a big poops."

Help me.

Outta Shape.

Just when I thought I was making progress on our treadclimber, burning calories, toning up...I decided to try the 30 Day Shred, with the Biggest Loser trainer, Jillian Michaels...and let's just say, I am completely outta shape. Level 1, for the beginners, kicked.my.butt.

I found myself panting during the first minute and it was only the warm-up! I never realized how hard jumping jacks were, until I did them last night, along with all the other cardio I did. And just as I thought I wanted to quit (3 minutes into the video), Jillian managed to say that a ripped body doesn't come for free and that you have to work for it. Even though I hated her, she was right and I pushed through and did the full 20 minutes.

Today, I feel great. Slightly sore and ready for more. Not too much longer until my Key West vacay with the hubby and I am determined to NOT wear a mommy bathing suit there. Minimal coverage, here I come. I think.

Gasparilla 2010

Our last time:
Although the day was gloomy and all weather forecasters called for massive rain...it held out until the very end of the boat parade -- and thanks to Ryan's coworkers for helping Riley and Ronan collect all their beaded necklaces.

Such a great event to experience here in Tampa -- it'll be one of the things I'll greatly miss when we move. And if you ever have the chance to visit Tampa, time it so it coincides with Gasparilla weekend...it's a must see.

Bwoo Funder!

Without ever having seen one in real life, it was hard to comprehend exactly how enormous these monster trucks really are. Surely, the SPEED channel (everyday at 7 a.m.) was correct in saying that they are monstrous, loud and fast...but who really knows until you see one in person, right?

This past weekend, one of the local restaurants had Bwoo Funder (what Ronan calls it) in their parking lot and had drawings for free tickets to the Monster Jam Show at Raymond James Stadium. No, we didn't win. Surprised? I am a little. And while I'm here, I'll tell you why. They were doing drawings at 5, 6 and 7 p.m. We made sure we were there at 4:20 ish to get a table and enter in the drawing. At 4:45, the restaurant was pretty empty, so our chances of winner were insane. Probably 50%. Then, the truck arrived and instead of requiring that you be a paying customer, the owner offered entries to randoms coming into the lot to enter the drawing.

And guess who won. A random person who took their tickets and left. They didn't eat there. Unreal. But, what can you do? It's not my restaurant. Would I have marketed it that way? Would I have given tickets to people who had just eaten at the pizza place across the street? No. But whatever. I'm done venting. Onto the good stuff.
Ronan watches the same episode of Monster Jam at least once a day. It's the Freestyle Championship that was hosted in Las Vegas last year. Bwoo Funder just so happens to be one of the trucks that he loves in this episode...so it was just perfect that this one

was at the restaurant... You can see from the picture how enormous that truck is! I have no idea who that other kid is...

Anyway, it was pretty cool. It was loud and smelly (from the exhaust?) and we saved ourselves at least $60 because we didn't have to take the kids to the show. Did that sound cheap? Totally did, right? But the kids were happy and that's all that matters.

Speed Limit Says...

45 mph.

Wife is driving 51. Husband says to wife, "why are you going so slow?!"

Wife says to husband, "Uh, I'm going 51. If I go any faster, I'm going to get pulled over."

Husband says, "That's in kilometers."

Wife says, "What? What's that?"

Wife then speeds up, but not sure how much faster to go, as she cannot figure out the calculation of km/h to mph. Wife needs to go take a math class. Or figure out how to switch the display.

3 days, 2 nights.

That's exactly the amount of time I have been away from my family since giving birth to Riley over 7 years ago. The only reason I was even away from Riley was because I went apartment hunting with my sister-in-law, Courtney, in San Diego -- over 5 years ago.

And, I have never been away from Ronan for even one night. I know I've had a couple opportunities to go on scrapbooking weekends, but at that time in Ronan's life, there was no way I was going to be able to leave him for more than a few hours (you moms should know what I'm referring to!)

So, when Ryan and I started pondering about taking a vacation, don't think for one second that I didn't try and figure something out that would involve the kids. I know, what a chance to get away from the kids and be at some exotic island location. Nope, not me...all I could think about was how I couldn't leave them because of the possible bad things that could happen to us that would leave our children orphans. Totally morbid. I know.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Ryan and I really need this time with each other. We never had a real honeymoon. We went on a 3-night stay at a bed and breakfast an hour away from Pittsburgh. In March. It was cold. I wore sweats. So not romantic.

Beyond all that, I knew that Ryan's new job would require a lot more time away from home...so I wanted to take advantage of some quality time we'd have now before reporting in at his new unit. So here we are, we've come to decide we're taking a vacay and now, the Type A in me is coming out and the planning has begun.

Key West, here we come.

Easy right? No, not so much. We pretty much have decided on lodging, but it's figuring out the fun things I want to do that make it so much more difficult. I don't want to have this wonderful week and not take advantage of the great things Key West has to offer, but the more I read about the excursions, the morbid thoughts jump into my mind. Do I want to snorkel? Sure! But I can't swim. Think that would be a problem? Scuba dive? Sounds like fun. But I watched this story on the Today Show about this couple who were on their honeymoon and went scuba diving and somehow, the bride turned up dead. Take a plane ride to the Dry Tortugas? Absolutely friggin' not. Small planes make me nervous and I won't even go into the things that could go wrong.

I know, I totally sound like a Negative Nelly. I'm not trying to. It's my nature to think about the danger possibilities, now that I have kids. I will say, though, that I am going to work on getting over some fears and I will definitely try things that I probably wouldn't have...I owe it to myself and to Ryan to have a great time during this week...and I can't wait!

If you've been to Key West, what should we do? What shouldn't we miss out on?

Rockin' with some Rockband

I wish you could have been at my house to see all of this go down live. My brother and his girlfriend, Jesi, came to visit us this past weekend and with them, they brought Rockband for the XBox 360. Never having played, I didn't know what to expect...but quickly realized the seriousness of this event as they brought in a drumset, two guitars and a microphone.

I don't sing. I'll say it again. I do not sing. I can't carry a tune. In fact, I can recall many times that Riley (in her early years) asked me specifically to stop singing. So, to save everyone the headache, I just don't do it. Sometimes, you'll hear me do the background singing for some random songs, but it's rare. Trust me, I'm saving YOU from the horror.

But, Jesi and Ryan can both sing -- so they did! Ronan hit the drums and Mike, well...he was oh-so-serious playing the guitar. Talk about being in a zone. You would have thought he was trying out for a part in a band. I don't fault him at all...in fact, I was highly entertained during the whole thing and got to bang on the drums for a few songs myself...which I am convinced, is my calling.
Ronan was all about the drums and Riley "strummed" on the guitar with Jesi most of the time...

We only played for about an hour, but it was some great entertainment...I'm thinking about starting up my own band here sometime!!! (I won't sing...I'll just fight with Ronan about whose turn it is to play the drums.)

Vietnamese Eggrolls 101 (Homemade Cha Gio Recipe)

I love me some eggrolls and if you have ever eaten at a Vietnamese restaurant or had a Vietnamese friend, chances are, you've had them and fallen in love. Although it was never a staple for daily dinners growing up, if we were having guests or parties, you oughta bet that there were hundreds (and I mean hundreds) of eggrolls frying up in the kitchen.


Now that I'm an adult (and have been for several years...) I finally have the desire to learn to cook the foods that I grew up eating, instead of expecting someone to make it for me. Last year, I learned to make Pho (will document it the next time I make it) and yesterday, my mom taught my brother's girlfriend and I how to make crack. Alright, so it's not really crack...but it can be just as addicting.


First step is admitting you want to make it. Okay good, we're there. Ingredients you will need from your local grocery store: 4 pounds of ground pork, 3-4 carrots, 2 eggs mixed (for sealing of eggroll) and oil for frying (I used canola...but grew up having it fried in vegetable oil.)


At the oriental grocery store, you'll want to hit the freezer section and get yourself the eggroll wrappers...
They come in all different sizes, but we chose the smallest size because we wanted to make small ones AND because we wanted more inside stuff than wrapping to eat. It's like eating a burrito -- wouldn't you rather eat more of the goodies inside than extra tortilla? BUT, it depends on what you want...I wanted small ones!


By hand, I shredded 3 large carrots the smallest I could without making them mush. I guess you could do it in a food processor, but I didn't want it to be like baby food...consider it a good arm workout for 5 minutes.

The next item you'll want to find at the oriental grocery is this vermicelli. It comes in this cute packaging and is portioned out for you perfectly. You will want to soak this vermicelli in cold water for about 10 minutes until it loosens and softens up. Once it softens (won't be super soft), take it out of the water and chop it up.

Set it aside...

Don't be alarmed when I tell you there is a dried fungus in your delicious eggroll. You'll want to take out a few pieces and boil. They will expand and you'll chop them up...much like you did with the vermicelli. Sorry about the quality of the next picture. That's the fungus (I'll call it mushroom) cooked. We literally let the water boil, turned it off and let it cool for a bit. There is a "seed" in the center of this mushroom that needs removed -- so you have to feel around for it.

I wasn't crazy about chopping the mushroom up. It has this strange texture to it, like cartilage!

Put your ground pork, shredded carrots and cooked fungus in a large bowl. We added some salt and pepper. There was no measurement involved, but if I were to calculate it -- I'd say go for 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. We didn't put enough salt in with the amount of meat we used, but when I do it again, I'll use a little more than the dashes of salt my mom threw in.

I think the fun part is mashing all the goodies together. I didn't do that part. I don't like to touch meat in the raw form. So, I had Jesi (my brother's girlfriend) do the dirty work. Get your hands in there and mix it up...much like you would for meatloaf.

Then, you start rolling. Be careful to pull apart the wrappers and place them in front of you on the diagonal. Put a spoonful of meat close to the bottom corner and spread it out in the roll shape. Like a burrito, you'll pull up the bottom, fold in both sides and roll it away from you. When you get to the end, you'll want to brush some egg so it stays closed.

Roll away. Roll until you can't roll anymore. Don't be afraid to make a lot. They freeze very well.

Heat up oil in a deep pan and once it's "super hot" go ahead and put your eggrolls in. Don't walk away from them, as they can cook up relatively quickly. Once they float to the top and turn a golden brown, pull them out and place them on a plate (with a paper towel) to drain. I stood the eggrolls up vertically so they would drain better.

And then you can serve them with the eggroll dipping sauce of your choice. I always prefer to eat them wrapped with green leaf lettuce and cilantro, while dipping them in a fish sauce/vinegar mixture with chili sauce. I can post the homemade recipe for that if you are interested...just post it in the comments!

Okay, so not the healthiest meal on this planet...but it's definitely delicious and something you must make at least one time in your life.

You can freeze the uncooked eggrolls, just defrost and thaw out completely before you fry them. I generally freeze them in sets of 5-6 because it's a good portion/serving size for two people.

Hope you enjoy the recipe and if you have any questions -- post them with your email address and I'll get back to you!

Monster Jam 2010?

As the mother of a boy, I knew he would be into trains and cars and tools and video games...but I honestly never expected him to love monster trucks like he does and since Christmas, I now know more about the trucks and their drivers than I ever wanted to.

There is a Monster Jam show coming to Tampa and I've made it my mission to find us tickets without breaking the bank. And when I say that, I mean: I don't want to pay a lot for tickets for the kids (just doesn't make sense that a 3-year-old ticket would cost the same as an adult ticket)...so, me being the new frugal person I've become, I've been trying to WIN tickets while watching the Ellen DeGeneres show every day at 4 p.m. No, Ellen isn't giving them away, but the TV station is and you have to be the 11th caller to win.

How. Freaking. Annoying. I couldn't hit redial fast enough. I don't like the person I become when I'm in some sort of competition mode. It's awful. And then, the intense feeling of disappointment rushes through me as I realize I've been hitting redial for almost 2 minutes and not winning...well, it sorta sucks.

Ronan won't know if we don't go. In fact, he's pretty content with just watching the same episode of Monster Jam from January 5th OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I, on the otherhand, am tired of seeing the same show and wouldn't mind scrapbooking the memories we would make if we went to a real live show.

I have two more days to try and win. I hope it comes through for us because honestly, if it doesn't we just aren't going to go (unless something miraculous happens!)...but what I wouldn't do to see Ronan's face when his favorite Monster Truck, Grave Digger, comes out into the stadium...

We'll see, I guess!

(Photo above was taken from this site.)

My Resolution Solution: Work Out?

...and I can finally do that with the help of my Christmas present from the hubby (for both of us, really)...our new Nordic Track Incline Trainer.

I have never really been good at setting resolutions for the New Year. In fact, the ones I can remember always set me up for 100% success. Like one year, I remember a resolution being: Do not eat anything I'm allergic to. (Kinda hard to mess that up, especially since I enjoy living and not going to the ER for a bite of salmon.)

The end of 2009 proposed some difficulties for me, as I spent the last 3 months of the year nowhere near a gym, piece of workout equipment, or even in my tennis shoes that might perpetuate the act of working out. Every single time I would hit the gym, Ronan would get sick. And I'm not talking sniffles. I'm talking chest coughs that sound like a lung was going to be expelled from his mouth. So, obviously to avoid the illnesses, I stopped going. But I didn't stop growing.

In fact, I probably gained some substantial poundage over those past 3 months (holidays don't help!) and although I still "fit" into my jeans, nothing looked right and I definitely didn't feel good about myself.

In feeling my distress about not having the gym to go to (and paying for a monthly membership I was clearly not using), we got rid of our membership and Ryan began is research on a treadmill...and after testing out many different styles, we brought home the treadclimber...my baby.

I love it. Not only do I look forward to using it everyday, I don't get bored. It goes all the way up to 40% incline and a 3% decline and when I start to feel bored, I change the incline. It's great...and I'm burning calories -- finally.

Does it look faboosh in our living room? Probably not the best interior designing choice. BUT, while I'm sitting on the couch watching the Biggest Loser and seeing the treadclimber from the corner of my eye, I can tell you that it takes less than 2 minutes to slip on my tennis shoes and jump on and watch while I exercise.

The perfect resolution in 2010 for me: Work out (and get rid of the muffin top...)

Potty Training Boot Camp: Day 10

For all of you shaking your head that I have waited this long to potty train...I know. He's 3. I had Riley potty trained at 2 1/2. BUT, I'm not a boy and I didn't know where to begin with the little man.

I also didn't know if I was ready to let go of the diapers. The decision to stop buying diapers means the end of an era. The end of spending $40 every 2-3 weeks on something you truly have to throw away. The end of screaming, "go get me a diaper so I can change your butt." The end of babyhood. (Although it is the beginning of thinking, 'what can I spend that money on now?!')

I made the decision right after Ronan turned 3, that once Riley had her holiday break, I'd buckle down and put Ronan through PTBC (see title). I knew that we'd have time to hang out at home and I could take my cues from Ronan without the pressure of being somewhere all the time. He's done really well. Except for #2. No desire to do that anywhere but his usual place...and frustrating for all of us that have strong smelling receptors. I can't force him, though. And I'm not going to...but I'm not buying anymore diapers. Plain and simple. (Please note that I didn't say I wouldn't buy pull-ups!)

Anyway, my big boy is slowing becoming a really big boy and even though the transistion is slightly sad -- I'll no longer have a baby to change -- it's great to feel this sense of independence from the Huggies company.

Riley-ism #882

The story goes a little like this:

We have orders to move to an *undisclosed location* summer 2010. We are excited and happy that we got the news before Christmas. So, with the news, came lots of questions about our soon-to-be new state of residence...and no question made me giggle more than this one:

Riley: "Do they speak our language in *this undisclosed location-- in the states*?"

Me: "You mean English?"

Riley: "Yes, English. Do they speak that in *this undisclosed location*?"

(Go ahead and shake your head in disbelief, because I did. But, it was a valid question coming from the mind of our 7-year-old!)

*Note: This post has been edited. Reason is personal at this time...thanks...

Happy 3rd Birthday, Ronan Chase!

Three years ago, I had this:And now, I have this:
I know this post is a little late...as Ronan turned the big 0-3 on the 4th, but being as we were attempting to go to Disney that day, I couldn't write.

We have been so amazed at how much Ronan has added to our lives. I know that Riley is amazed at how easily she is annoyed at him on a daily, if not hourly basis. BUT, what I have here is an awesome little dude who is completely a momma's boy! We love him so much and couldn't imagine one minute without him. And when I say that, I mean it, because I don't think I've been away from him even one night. In his 3 years of life. Ever.

Happy 3rd Birthday, little man. Love you sooooo much. Ah bah bah bah.

Ronan-ism #001

One year ago, Ronan said nothing to us but "dah." That was it. He would point to everything, calling it a "dah" and now, he talks so much we literally, cannot get him to shut up.

Yesterday, being that he is finally understanding all the holiday stuff, said to his dad:

"Daddy, you have Christmas belly."

Riley-ism #881

Riley and I love to watch SYTYCD. If you have no idea what that is, shame on you. Joking. It's So You Think You Can Dance. Secretly, I wish I could be on that show but I would be mortified with the entire world looking at my cheesy butt. I digress.

So, we're watching and one of the dancers is doing hiphop. He's basically grinding himself on the floor. In my head, I'm thinking, this is so not appropriate for Riley right now...hoping she wouldn't notice. Oh, but she did and this is what she said:

"It looks like he's trying to get something off of his shoe!"

I about died. What do you say to that?

Happy Turkey Leg! I mean, Turkey Day!

Thanksgiving has never been a hugely celebrated holiday for us. Growing up, I'd go to my Godmother's house but my parents never emphasized it as an important day. Once we moved away from Pittsburgh, we started doing Friendsgiving on Thanksgiving with friends who didn't have family around and it was definitely something we looked forward to. Mainly because we'd end up in a Vietnamese restaurant and wouldn't have to cook or do the clean-up!

Although we did do it the past two years here in Tampa -- we opted to skip out on the whole idea and celebrate a different way! We headed to Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World and spent it with a million other people and on fun rides!

But, what's Thanksgiving without turkey, right? (I could do without it...but we wanted the kids to experience it!) We bought a turkey leg...

We all shared one. I know, sounds gross...but they were enormous and 1/4 of us doesn't eat anything but nuggets or fries. We had people staring at us as they walked by. Not sure if it was because we were eating this strange thing or if it was because it was at 10am. LOL. We ended up lucking out and getting reservations at Boma -- a restaurant at our resort -- and they had the full-blown turkey dinner with all the fixin's and then some!

So it wasn't traditional in the least, but it was fun and it was all about us being thankful for each other. (And I was thankful it wasn't pouring down rain!)

Back to the 'Burgh

Okay, so mid-November, the kids and I headed back to my hometown for a week-long visit with my parents. Although I originally dreaded the travelling alone with two kids, I was pleasantly surprised at how good they both were there and back. It was nice to spend time with my parents, cousin, half-brother and his family.

The kids had a blast and didn't want to leave Pittsburgh...here they are with my parents...
They don't make parks in Florida like they do in Mt. Lebanon. Okay, maybe they do, but we never have as much fun at our parks as we do at this one...we were blessed with nice weather, so we could go a few times while we were there.

Falling leaves? What's that? I definitely miss the various seasons. Do I want to live in SNOW? Not really, but I love seeing the leaves change color and apparently, my children thoroughly enjoy playing in them once they've fallen.

If you know me, you know I've let loose a little since Riley's birth. Never in a million years would I have let them roam wild among the leaves where there could have been doggie droppings hidden...but I did and as you can tell, they had so much fun. The pictures were worth it.

Okay, so the quest for a Primanti Brothers Cheesesteak. Oy vey. You know you want something bad when you drive all over, sit in traffic, walk blocks in the cold (holding your sleeping son who happens to weigh 30 pounds) in heels, and get treated like crap by the staff at the very place you spent 3 hours getting to...

We tried to go to the one at the Strip District. The line was around the block. No thanks. We drove to Market Square, only to find the massive amount of construction going on...but did I want to turn around and eat at McDonald's? No way. We drove around and around until we could find a parking garage and walked around lots of construction to get here:

Was it worth the wait? Uhhhh, not really once I found out there was one somewhere else with ample seating... I couldn't believe how rude the staff was there. It was as if my being in the building was an inconvenience for them. $25 later, I had my sandwiches...but a place to sit? Nope. No seating, inside or out. So, as a family, we walked back to the parking garage and because we didn't have drinks, had to figure out where to go. No joke, we ended up going to a McDonalds in the Strip District and ate our sandwiches there.

But, at least we got to see some Christmas decorations in our journey dahn-tahn (downtown for you non-Pittsburghers).

And here are the kids just chillin' at the parentals house...

Our trip was filled with seeing great friends and spending time with family...and it was so sad to leave. We are so lucky to have these people in our lives and dare I say it, we can't wait to go back for another visit.