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.

CKITW: Cutest Kids in the World

Every mother thinks their kid is the cutest, I know. Heck, I think my friends have the most adorable children born on this planet...but there are just some days that I look at them and think "man, I must be the luckiest mom in the world." Yesterday, was one of those days.

Riley eats a popsicle almost everyday when she gets home from school. They are sugar-free, okay? (Haha.) Anyway, Ronan decided that yesterday was going to be the day he was going to give it a shot and take a lick. He did. At first, it may have seemed as though he liked it, but he quickly turned his nose and decided it wasn't for him...oh well, it was worth a shot!

Ronan is a hambone. He will now say "cheesh" when I point the camera at him and tell him to smile. He's so much like his sister, in that regard. Listen, my kids are part-Asian. They are used to the camera and having a ton of pictures taken!

Seriously, how cute are they? I can't believe that they are mine. I'm so lucky. Even with the whining, the crying, the tantrums and the demands, they rule my world in the most amazing way. Thank you, Ryan, for being the baby-daddy and giving me the most PRESH kids in this world. Okay, enough emotions for the day.

Shuttle Take-Off

We had the amazing opportunity the other night to see the space shuttle take off from our front yard! We saw them counting down on the news and Ryan wondered whether or not we'd be able to see it...and sure enough, there it was. By the time I had even considered bringing out my camera, it was just the leftover smoke...but it was still pretty cool, nonetheless.

If you look closely in the the second picture, here, you can see a tiny white speck in the top left quadrant of the photo. That is the shuttle. How freaking insane is that?

Anyway, you don't get to see those too often and especially not from your front yard. I'm looking forward to hearing the sonic boom the shuttle makes when it comes back into Earth's atmosphere. Ahhh, the little things in life, right?

My Little Monkey

Who would have thought that we would be this excited about a kid eating a banana?

Love him so much....