Life With Ruby

Mermaid Treasures

2012-01-18T14:06:00.001-05:00

A lot of sleepy days and sick days over here. On the upswing now, but since I couldn't (or didn't feel like) doing much else, I crafted. Planning Ruby's birthday party each year is so much fun for me. This year's theme: Mermaids and/or Under The Sea. I am very early this year, but am so happy to have a lot of the details done already. And, hey, what is more uplifting in the winter than to day dream about seashells, birthdays, and Spring?

Lots of pretty pastel sea shells! I painted them with Martha Stewart's luscious new colors: Beach Glass, Antique Silk (pearl finish), and Wintermint (w/glitter added). I mixed and blended and then coated them all with a heavy helping of glitter glue for added shine and sparkle. So pleased with them!

This will be the kids craft. They are wooden shells and starfish I found at Michael's. The top ones will hang on a net or string to show them examples and the rest will be painted a solid color. Will put out glitter glue and gems of all sorts to make their own. The wooden wands we did like this last year were a big hit. Still on the look out for some sharks and/or fish to make it more interesting for the boys. Yea, I know... I've got time!

Got myself a hot glue gun and reinvented Ruby's barely-worn Jasmine crown. I decided I was not going to buy another costume that will just sit in the closet and would instead buy her something in the same color palette. Something that can be worn again. But to jazz it up a bit I will layer over her aqua tutu, add this crown, and add this seashell pin...

Feel like this needs a little something yet. Maybe pearls???

Had a ball with this stuff, but now it's time to get busy around here and do all the things that have neglected since I have been down and out this week. Like laundry, taking more Christmas stuff to the basement, and rehearsing some new material for an upcoming gig (now that my voice is back again).

Happy hump day!

The Lost Post...and Sleepless Nights

2012-01-11T12:26:00.002-05:00

I started this post in early December. A catch up post that I never caught-up with! Here are some reflections from last month and some adoption related concerns. Would love to hear from you all out there on the latter.

She's growing so fast. What a strange feeling of pride and sentiment. So proud of what she is learning and doing and yet hate how fast it's going. Tonight I played my lullaby CD for her. It was the 1st time in a long while. But, hey, not THAT long ago, I thought. Wasn't it just yesterday when she asked me to sing Butterfly Moon (the song I wrote for her)? It was her favorite of all the songs I sang to her. "Bu-MOON" she'd say. Tonight she seems to have no recollection. A little pang of sadness for the short "baby" time we had together and forgotten memory. But oh, MAN, how I love this girl. We have so much fun. The honeymoon hasn't ended. She is still my sweetie pie and the best part of my day, the best part of our life.

So many things to catch up on and some cute things to share. Will just bullet point a few of the highlights and random happenings around here since it's been so long.

* Today I cleaned the playroom. I mean REALLY cleaned the playroom. Rearranged, got in the corners, wiped down all the toys and toy boxes. Still in the organizing phase. Hope to finish taking all the doll toys and accessories upstairs and leave art and music stuff downstairs. Moving her easel out of my kitchen gave me great joy. Now if only we had a new home for that rarely used play kitchen. But, one step at a time. The rearrange had me finding all sorts of fun crafts and art supplies I forgot I had. Ruby came home from school and instead of asking for the TV, she asked for the Moon Sand I had laying out. Played with it for 2 HOURS! Yea! Hopefully, now that I have her toys and art stuff out and easy to find, she will have renewed interest in them.

* Went to Disneyland. Had a blast! What a place. I feel so grateful Jeff & I could take her this year. So much magic for her. The castle, the princesses, the rides, the Bippity Boppity Boutique make-over...it was precious. But there was something even more special that happened during our trip. We got to see Lily again. Ruby's 1st friend. The sweet girl that slept in the crib next to her in Nakhon Si Thammarat Home for Boys. It was so amazing to see the girls together, knowing where they came from and how long they had to wait for this joy. Especially Lily. So great to see how well she is doing and see her with such an amazing family. We just loved getting together with the Moeller's! Lily is doing so great and we are so so happy for them. The 2nd time we got together Ruby, Jeff, & I were in line for the Alladin Magic Carpet Ride. My friend Ellie handed Lily over to me so she could go on with Ruby. The two looked at each other, smiled, and held hands immediately. They stayed like that for the whole wait (maybe 20 mins or so). Hard to tell what they remember, but a bonding of sort was there. Pretty magical moment.
* I am singing 2-3 times a month now. Feels natural again and fun and really, really great! Enough to have music in my life again, but not so much that I'm away from Ruby much. Really a great balance for me. Of course, Rubes still doesn't like it. She's been good for Jeff or whoever's watching her (my mom or my friend Dawn once). But then has nightmares or trouble sleeping. Of course, sometimes that is when I am working or she knows I am going somewhere and sometimes for seemingly no reason at all. Has a little trouble with change and any of us being away from home. Even at Disney, she asked to sleep at home in her pink room by day 5. She likes to be home and that security of knowing what's coming next.

Been a bit of an exhausting week here with her up 3-5 times a night crying for me, until she finally crawls in bed and crashes with her mamma, clinging to me like a vine and reaching for me in a panic, should I budge. Poor thing. I wish I could just heal her scared heart and make her realize I will always be here. So hard to see her worried like that and sometimes crying with big sobbing tears. She often has dreams that she's alone or that I am not there. Poor thing. It's always the same theme: being alone. I know this will pass and she will feel more secure in time. Right now she just needs to be home a few weeks I think and back into our routine. We went to see relatives the week b4 Disney and again for Thanksgiving (a few days after we got back). It was wonderful, but a lot of time away for her.

* Tried no TV tonight, nice warm bath, and read books upstairs a lot earlier. Also denied her request for a "snack". Wondering if this is triggering the dreams (and she JUST ate a half hour b4 we came up) so I skipped it. She was out at 8:00pm so hopefully she will get a good night's rest tonight. Last night I think we both got a collective 4 hours. Not sure how either of us got through the day!

* A few weeks ago I asked her what she would ask Santa for this Christmas. Her reply?
"A purple doll, a genie, a blue cup for Daddy, a map, and a rope" LOL! "A map? And a rope???" I replied, quizzically. With arms out to the side in a grand "what" gesture -as if I was really clueless- she explained: "a map to read and rope for LASSO!!!!!" Ahhhh! Like Jesse in Toy Story. But she still ain't getting a rope. Oh, the things they come up with!

* Fast forward 2 weeks later and she met Santa. Was so in awe with the man she just smiled and cooed. When he asked what she wanted, this was her reply "ummmmmm" along with a shy smile and more awe inspired staring. SO cute! Was all giddy (and angelic) the rest of the day. I do think I may love that dear mall Santa. :-)

*Having fun doing holiday stuff with the little miss. Crafts, wrapping presents, decorating the tree. She is so into decorating with me this year. Such a good lil helper. Did one small tree all byherself in the dining room and I sware it's never looked so nice! Was SO proud of her self. We had such a great few days making the house all sparkly.

* Not sure if it's Santa, the elf, or she's just happy to be home, or all the fun of the season, but the lil bug has been extra special good lately. Following me around saying, "Yes, Mamma! Thank you, Mamma! I love you, Mamma!" Ha, ha whatever it is, I am liking it!

Well, fast forward to today (Jan 11th). As we got closer to (and through Christmas) Ruby was less and less interested in presents and more interested in just being with everyone. She liked everything but all this sweet girl said she really wanted was her family. Hearing her say that makes my heart both break and swell at the same time. We are still having restless sleep, but the nightmares have stopped for now. It got much worse b4 it got better. She's asking all sorts of questions. Questions I was prepared to answer, but didn't think would come up at such an early age. Watching Tangled at school got her all confused and made matters worse. (I talked to the teacher who was very understanding & took it off the shelf). Didn't affect her to see it last year (just went over her head) but now she is remembering things from her past and it really made her think this time. She wanted to know where her "real" family is and had nightmares and night terrors. Heartbreaking. After weeks of reassuring, looking at old photos and talking about her "story" she is feeling better I think. We talked at great length about Rapunzel and the mean witch that kidnapped her. How she is NOT being adopted and how different that story is from her life. We read some sweet adoption books and I think it helped her understanding a bit. But the battle is surely not over. She is such a deep thinker. Last week she mentioned a nanny from the orphanage. Never seemed to have any recollection b4 when we looked at the pics. She remembers what I fed her on the day we met and how she felt and is filling in gaps of the story. In some ways I am glad she can talk about it and share with me. In other ways, it breaks my heart that she still worries about being alone or that she won't have a family. We give her all the love and reassurance we can, but it's gonna take time. How I wish I could take all her fears away. For now I can just give her love and comfort her as best as I can. She is sleeping with me again. I'm not worried about her sleeping in her own bed right now. If it helps her to feel secure than I am glad to be there with her. The last 2 nights were restless but in the morning she said she had good dreams. Always about her family. Good or bad she is dreaming about her family. Almost every night she calls out "Mamma" and reaches her hand out to make sure I am still there 2-5 times a night. God bless her. I lay awake trying to think of ways to help her. We talk about having "happy thoughts" b4 bedtime. We play relaxing music and read happy books. I think it helps a little.

I am curious if anyone else had these questions at such an early age? Any tips or thoughts? Gonna go back and read the adoption books on the shelf and see if there is something I missed. It's definitely been better this week but I want to know all I can for the next time it comes up. Need to join the post-adoption group, too. I switched emails and have been off for awhile. Are any of you on it?

Our Disney Trip

2012-01-10T08:58:00.001-05:00

Yes, it was in November. And I am posting about it in January. Started this post awhile ago and never finished! With the holidays, 2 blogs, 2 FB accounts, and lots of holiday guests, trips and activities, it was just too much to keep up with. Gonna try to be better about it this year.

The 3 of us at Animal Kingdom.

Writing "Minnie" in Thai at a great little Thai stall they had in the Asia section of Animal Kingdom. They wrote her name in Thai, too. Gonna frame this for her room!

Sweet Thai lady made Ruby a fish (pla) out of bamboo.

Ruby smiles with our new friend.

Lil bug having fun seeing the animals

Loving the tall bamboo

Loving the tigers

Me and my sweet pea!

This water fountain proved to be a HUGE source of amusement. She laughed and played her for a good while.

In awe watching the fireworks at Epcot on our 1st night. Pretty much her face the whole time. Priceless!

Hard to get good pics at night on my camera, but this was the Cinderella carriage with 6 white horses. Stunning! Rubes was equally smitten. The whole "Mickey's Christmas Party" parade was amazing. Crowded. Insane. But amazing.

Waiting her turn at the Bippity Boppity Boutique. This place was just magic.

With her "fairy godmother"

Getting her make up done.

All done!

My lil princess. This was her favorite day of the trip by far. So magical.

On the merry go round. So fun for her to feel like a princess for the day!

Gorgeous mosaic mural on the wall of the castle.

Love this picture. Rubes and another princess admiring the wall at the gift shop. The Aurora set came home with us and will under the tree from Santa this year.

Meeting Cinderella

Little rhinestone Mickey bow they put in the back of her hair. Cute detail!

Meeting her fav - Aurora!

5 star kid meal at the castle

The Little Mermaid was gorgeous and oh so sweet.

Dessert came with a cup of marshmallows, a cup of choc chips, and a cup of sprinkles.

She didn't waste one single crumb!

Her face in 'It's a Small World'. "Look at the dollies, Mommy!!!"

I believe this is Siam - as in Thailand

Princess Tiana and Prince Neeven. Some of the best characters in the park. Really great and so in character!

Ruby just loved them and they spent a lot of time with her. Really sweet!

Fort Wilderness Lodge. Quite a hike to get there but a fun dinner at Whispering Canyon and a beautiful resort!

Hollywood Studios. This wasn't actually just a prop shot. This was an actual crew shooting promo shots for the park that let us take one with them. In fact, they invited us to be in the promo piece on the main street where they'd be filming later, but we totally forgot! Were having too much fun, I guess. :-)

Character bfast at Hollywood and Vine was so worth it. She loved seeing Handy Manny, June (from Little Einsteins) and Jake from the Neverland Pirates.

Love this. Pure joy.

She's a BIG fan of Jake.

Toy Story army man.

Was beside herself about meeting Buzz. They were great. The 2 Buzz rides were her favorite in the park. Also Soaring. We all loved that one!

3D glasses

Fun play area

Meeting Belle at Akershus dinner in Norway.

Aurora again

Rubes had a crush on our waiter. She flirted with him all through dinner. Too cute.

Another amazing dessert.

Holding hand with her 1st friend, Lily. We rode the Alladin Magic Carpet ride together.

Two cuties met this week for the 1st time since they were babies in Thailand. It was so amazing to see them together! Not sure if they remembered...hard to say. But they sure did have fun together!

Fun day going on rides with the Moeller's. Such a great family!

Meeting Alladin & Jasmine

Dancing by the big tree at the Grand Floridian

Water slide at our pool

Daddy catching her on the slide. After a few times she did it herself!

Playing Bingo with Daddy poolside

Our little Rapunzel. I gave her a side braid with lots of clips and flowers and she was all giddy.

Meeting Mulan!

Love this shot. Says it all.

Got to see friends Ellie and Lily one last time b4 we all headed home.

A new friend Ruby met in line at the Soarin' ride. (Our fav ride in the park) So cute. The girls jumped and danced and played together for the whole hour long wait in line!

Sleepy lil traveler on the way home.

Such a trooper. Had a great, great time, but was happy to be going back to her home.

Working on the Disney photo album today. I put it off until after the holidays, but now it's got to be finished b4 the deadline tomorrow or my photos get dumped from the Disney site. Half way done and down to the wire. Glad I have some time to finish it today!

HOLIDAY RECAP (Warning: Long Picture Laden Post!)

2012-01-03T10:53:00.006-05:00

Our Christmas started with a relaxed Christmas eve. It was just the 3 of us, my brother, and our nephews. They came over early so the kids could play, then I made us a big Italian style dinner.

The table was set by 3pm. I was so on top of things for once!

Ryan & Ruby had a lot of fun together.

The kids exchanged gifts and Ryan loved his Star Wars Lego set.

Rubes was entranced with Barbie riding set. A perfect gift for her! She loves horses & loves Barbie.

I love this sweet pic of the kids! Ruby & I did a quick change for church. And in case anyone is wondering...Mine is the "I've Been Very Very Naughty" stocking and Jeff's is the "I've Been Very Very Good". I have no idea why. :-) They are reversible and it must have got turned around. Yea, that's it.

Uncle Jay gets some love from the kids

3 guys we love - My nephew Ryan, my bro, and my nephew Anthony

All dressed up and ready for church. Jason had to get Ryan back to his mom's and Anthony was going to his girlfriends so it all timed out well.

Me and my baby

Clowning around with the kids

Putting out "reindeer" food b4 bed

Ruby could hardly wait to give Jeff his gift. She told him what is was at least 5 times b4 Christmas and was bursting at the seams for him to open it. It's a football, Daddy! You like football!

Santa's gifts for Ruby. There was supposed to be a 2 story castle here with lights and sound and 30 some characters and such, but it didn't work when we took it out of the box. We were thoroughly bummed! Had to unwrap some of the gifts from us so it looked like more. She was SO proud to be on the nice list and such an angel. I was hoping she wouldn't be disappointed. Of course, I should have known better. She didn't even ask for the castle. Or for much, really. She said she loved her family and wanted to be with us. How sweet is that? I just can't tell you how much I love that girl. I think I must tell her 50 times a day.

Our Christmas morning was just magical. At 5:30 Rubes climbed into bed with us. Daddy was out cold but the lil miss & I whispered and cuddled and giggled for an hour. We did try for a bit to sleep but to no avail. Not once did she ask about Santa, her stocking, her presents, or anything. I didn't either but said, hey do you want to get up? "No. Just snuggle with Momma". So snuggle we did. It was one of those sweet moments you just want to hold onto forever. Finally, around 6:30 we woke up Jeff and she remembered the stocking. She found her fairy walnuts ("WALNUTS???" she said). LOL! She liked them once she saw what was inside and then we headed downstairs.

We didn't need to worry about disappointment! This kid was so happy with every little thing.

All this joy for a few stocking stuffers and dollies. Seriously.

Hugs for the new Pocahontas doll.

She really loves her and I love that it looks kinda like her. After a nice morning then packed the car and headed to Harrisburg to visit our family.

1st stop was Grammy & Pappy's house. Rubes loves the fancy red chair. (Me too!)

Chilling with her Daddy

Awesome hanging out with Joe, Tammy, and our nephew Dailan.

Jeff's parents, Woody & LaRae, made us an awesome meal and gave us tickets for a family vacation. Woo hoo! What a present! We are all going to the Mexican Riveria this summer!

Me and the hubs

Ruby & Grammy. Rubes models her new purse and scarf.

Later on, we headed to my mom's house for our Christmas with the Kimmel's. My mom refuses to let me post her pic anymore although she's lost over 60 lbs now and looks AMAZING! Go figure? But anyway, it was a very happy Christmas for her which makes my heart happy. We all had a fun time playing Catch Phrase (above) ! Saw my Dad the day after Christmas for a nice afternoon, met up with some friends, and then it was back home for us. Ruby was really missing her home. It's a big thing with her lately.

Happy at home having full conversations with her mermaids.

Play date with her long lost BFF. Been a busy season for all of us and we sure missed Dawn & Brie! Such a great time for them and us mom's, too!

Rubes & Brie making silly faces

Too silly girls caught hiding in Ruby's closet

They love hiding in there and are always shocked when I find them. hehe

Love her!

Laughing hysterical together. How great is this shot?

More fun awaited us the next day. It was REALLY cold, but we braved the weather, bundled up, and headed to Sesame Place for a couple hours with some friends. Rubes was quite happy with the hot chocolate!

Mom and daughter stop for a quick shot b4 hitting more rides

The guys take the kids on the Blast Off ride....twice! All were thrilled.

I think Elmo & Murray were the warmest people at the park. They sure looked happier than they do in the dead heat of summer!

"I'm READY!!!!" And she was. Had her shades, her favorite backpack filled with toys and her movie ready for the car. She nearly bounced out of bed when I told her she was seeing her cousins this day. We headed to Harrisburg again for Angie & Dino's annual holiday bash. Was such a wonderful time.

The guys

Rubes taking a little rest

Snuggle with "Uncle" Jack

Hanging with the cousins. Dino, Michael, Lisa, Angie, Jeff, Me, Chrissy

Me and Angie

Cousin chat. Ang, Tina, and Gina

Sweet pies Dommy & Rubes take a break from playing to pose for me

The whole gang

Alessia helping Rubes with a Santa toy.

A happy Rubes snuggling with Nina

A great holiday spent with many people we love! Life is good!

Welcome 2012!

2012-01-02T14:19:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year! Can you believe it's 2012? Are you ready for a brand new year?

Now I don't buy into all the end of the world stuff associated with the Mayan calendar ending in 2012. No more than I believed the world was going to end in 1999. Seems pretty likely to me that the 2013 Mayan calendar was broken or lost - seeing that it was, ya know, a pretty long time ago and all. However, I did allow myself to reflect on this thought for a minute: What if this WAS the last year of civilization? What would I do differently? Who or what would I dedicate my time to? Would I worry less and laugh more? Be more daring? Care less about what others think? Try something new? Forgive more? Love more? Give more? Go with the flow more? Yes, I decided. I absolutely would do all of the above. So then the next question I gave myself was -why not live every day like that? I am certain some days will be easier than others and sometimes I will fall short. But I am gonna give it my best shot.

This year instead of writing resolutions I am going to continue working on the ones I set in 2011 and stay on the path I started last year. I read a few blogs lately where they come up with a word for the year. Being a gal of many words, I couldn't narrow it down to just one so here are my few:

LOVE, PEACE, BALANCE, CREATIVITY, GRATITUDE

Of the resolutions I had last year, I'm happy to say I achieved a good many. I found a band, started singing again, got distribution in 3 countries, learned the in's and out of social media (with the help of a good friend), marketed my CD's a lot more, sold a lot more, and raised more for charity. I changed my look, updated my website, got new pics done, and lost 5 of the 15 lbs I wanted to lose. (The last 10 are coming off this year!) I did go back to the gym as intended, but never started Zumba. And I sure didn't cook more, but hey, maybe this year! I watched and guided my daughter as she has grown and cherished every moment of it. I made more time for dates with the husband. I also sought (and continue to seek) balance. For me that means the balance between family and career, compromise and standing my ground, working hard and letting myself rest, knowing when to hold on and when to let go. Knowing when to get those posts and photo albums done and when to just be in the moment instead of feeling like I have to write down every last detail. It's all a delicate juggling act and I think as women we are both naturally inclined to try to handle it all and hard on ourselves when we fall short of our expectations. Trying to be more gentle on myself these days and be content in my own skin. That means accepting myself even with those few extra lbs, those few lines, those few tasks still undone... on those days when I don't cook, those days when I'm not supermom, and not beating myself up for the suitcase from Disney still not unpacked in the closet. It's all ok. I am just like every other woman. Doing the best I can with what I've got. Somedays I am stellar. Someday I am definitely not. But it's all part of the journey and I (think) I am learning much as I go along. :-)

But the most important of my New Year's words is this: GRATEFULNESS. This year there is so much to be grateful for. 1st, my husband. We've made it through 16 years of ups and downs and are stronger than ever. We had such a nice holiday this year. It was more about being together and less about gifts. Seeing our family, giving more to the kids, and helping those in need. Tied for 1st is my Ruby. My incredibly sweet daughter who lights our life every single day. I can't imagine life without her and the honeymoon is still not over. I thank God for her every day. No words can really describe how much we love that girl and how much joy she gives us. It's amazing to see her grow and learn and discover her world around her more each year. I am grateful for my family. I love how much more often we've gotten together with everyone. I am very thankful that my mom's health and well being has improved this last year. Also for our health, our home, our friends, our animals, a warm fire on a cold day, a rare warm sun-shiny day in winter (like yesterday) when I can watch Ruby laugh and run at the park with the dog. For the good things in my life that have made me smile and the "bad" things that have made me learn and grow. I have been blessed by all of it.

This was our quiet New Year's eve dinner by the fire. We ate finger food and watched Mr. Popper's Penguins. So nice and relaxing. Out b4 midnight. I never thought I would do that (let alone admit it) and be glad for it. We were so partied out from the holidays. It was the perfect way to ease into the New Year.

My wish to all of you is to have the very best new year you wish to live! One lived in the moment. One filled with laughter. One filled with LOVE, PEACE, BALANCE, CREATIVITY, & GRATITUDE.

More Pre Holiday Stuff!

2011-12-23T12:24:00.000-05:00

This year we went with friends to a farm to get our tree. Because, you know, chopping down your own tree is more fun...hahaha. Well, ok, at least the kids thought so! They had so much fun running around and hiding amongst the trees!

Ava & Ruby

Cuties pies posing amongst the trees

Me and my girl

Ruby loved the sweet little tree but we opted for one a wee bit bigger

Dinner later on at Bertucci's. Rubes snuggles up with her Daddy

Ruby takes a pic of us together

Daddy hoists her up to put the angel on the tree.

3 sweet girls wait for the holiday parade the next day.

This was a few weeks ago. A fun and festive weekend!

Pre Holiday Fun & Crafts

2011-12-23T08:09:00.000-05:00

Lil miss decorating the pink tree in her bedroom

Lil snow bunny in her fuzzy boots.

Santa came early this year with an Elf on The Shelf...

...and special note from Santa

Jeff & I have been having a ball with this thing. Ruby laughed so hard when she saw Chippy hanging upside down! Looked a little freaked though when Chippy took a picture of us sleeping one morning and then sat next to the bed with the camera. LOL. I thought it was pretty funny myself but we won't be doing that again. :-)

A little Christmas craft I am all excited about. Sparkly fairy walnuts with little charms inside! I can't wait for all the kids to open these! Ruby is gonna love hers, I bet!

My girl sporting some modern day elf wear.

A little tree Ruby painted

Presents for the teachers...dressed with the cinnamon/applesauce ornaments we made.

A little Santa hand print craft we did.

The table, dressed for the holiday

This year's Christmas tree.

So excited about the holiday this year! Everything is done and ready. I am so prepared (which is SO unlike me). Plans for Christmas eve in place, meal prepared ahead of time, travel plans for the weekend ready, bags packed, house cleaned, presents bought and wrapped, gifts sent out far and wide. Things are merry and bright around here! I'm also super excited about raising $300 for the children at Mercy Centre through the sale of my lullaby CD! Plus I just had a request for 10 more! Woo hoo! So happy!

Hope all my friends and family are enjoying this holiday season!

Fall

2011-12-13T06:52:00.000-05:00

My Thanksgiving cutie in an outfit she made at school.

Thanksgiving - at my mom's with my brother David

At our cousins anniversary party. This is Rubes and I with cousin Hannah.

Horse back riding classes - early fall.

Indian summer day.

Heading out to school in her typical head to toe pink.

Peace baby!

This is the first of several catch-up posts! Stayed tuned for Disney pics and pre-Christmas fun!

Hope you all had a wonderful fall and are enjoying the holiday season!

A Very Special Anniversary

2011-11-05T14:18:00.003-04:00

What a wonderful evening! The best anniversary I could have ever dreamed of. My sweet husband planned the whole thing. 1st we renewed our vows at St. Luke's.

Ruby climbed (London Bridges style) under our arms in the beginning, LOL.

She was not particularly crazy about this whole event at first...as the attention was not on her and SHE wanted to marry Daddy. But she soon settled into her chair (after a bribe from Grandma) and was a good and patient little girl.

It was such a sweet ceremony. It was just us. Jeff & I, Ruby, and my Mom. We wanted it to be very simple and small. Reverend Trent said such beautiful words - both traditional vows and some nice prayers, too.

Here we are lighting the unity candle

To my complete surprise, Jeff wrote his own vows to me...and just blew me away.

I had prepared something for him, too.

We were both choked up. It couldn't have been more romantic or more perfect.

A real cute moment between Jeff and Ruby. Ruby got HER turn. When we were done with our vows, I asked the Reverend if he could just say something for them real quick. He said something nice about her being Daddy's girl and how she always will be - forever. Well, as you can see, it just MADE her day. I think she thinks SHE married him. So sweet. She sure loves her Daddy!

A very happy lil Rubes poses with us all at the alter.

Family shot. Was so nice to have Mom there. Jeff had planned the whole night and I didn't know any details until yesterday. Of course, I had hinted and secretly hoped. And I bought that dress for it - just in case. (Cause you know, that's how I am! It's a wonder Jeff can surprise me at all.) Anyway, it was a magical night. We all went out for an amazing dinner at The Bridgetown Mill Inn. Hubs is a class act. I thought it was so nice that he had Ruby and my Mom come with us to dinner.

The Princess was all excited when her mushroom sauce arrived in a fancy gravy server. She wasted no time dumping it all over her ravioli and gobbled it up. She was such an angel at dinner and we all enjoyed our meal by the big fireplace. Afterwards, we dropped Mom and Ruby off at home and got our overnight bags. Yes, I said OVER NIGHT BAGS! The hubs had another surprise in store... a night at The Four Seasons!

We checked in and found this waiting for us. My brother totally hooked us up! Champagne, dessert, a decadent cheese tray and a fab bottle of red that we brought home with us today. We had a great city view in front of the square and fountain as we sipped our champagne and talked for hours.

Thank you, Jason, for the awesome spread. Thank you, Mom for taking such good care of our little Ruby. And thank you, Jeff...for being the best husband I could ask for. I'm so glad you are mine.

Packing For Disney!

2011-11-03T09:39:00.001-04:00

Only 2 weeks till our trip and we are getting rather excited around here! So much going on this month... This weekend is Jeff & I's wedding anniversary. Next week I have a big gig for the Avenue of the Arts (see here for fun details). Next weekend we go to our hometown see our family and celebrate my father-in-laws birthday. Then we come home for a night and turn right around and go to Disney! I figure I better get packing TODAY.

Ruby's stuff will be easy. Princess gear, Minnie ears (I bought and have hidden until our trip), cute sundresses and shorts. Me...well, I put all my lightweight stuff in bins so I better go dig it out. So excited for FL warmth and fun. Gonna be a GREAT time!

And something really special is gonna happen at Disney, too. Ruby's 1st friend, Chan - from the baby home - is coming to Disney with her family! Not sure how the girls will be when they finally meet but I'm betting the mom's won't have a dry eye! How incredible it's gonna be to see sweet Chan (now Lily) again, but this time happy and with her family! Meeting up with some other great friends, too, and their darling kiddos and WAY excited. The whole trip is gonna be magical!

When we get back, we are home 2 days then it's my birthday, Thanksgiving, and on the weekend we have a party for some awesome family members to go to. Is it any wonder November is one of my favorite months?

Yea! Bring on the fun!

School Parade

2011-10-31T11:20:00.000-04:00

Rubes leading the way.

Stopping to pose for a quick shot.

All the "littles" singing a Halloween song. So cute!

The event was indoors this year and I'm happy to say we were all were toasty and warm. So cute to see all the kids in costumes, parading around and then singing their songs. Ruby was all excited when she spotted us in the audience. She was first in line and just smiled and waved the whole time. It was real sweet. She is now back with her class...no doubt filling up on sugary snacks of all kinds. We'll have a brief sugar crash after school followed by full throttle trick or treating tonight. LOL! Should be a fun day!

Snow Day In October

2011-10-31T09:20:00.004-04:00

Funny to read that title aloud. Even funnier to see my summer canna flowers out back, fall foliage in the front, and snow on the ground. Freaky weather around here! Still, it was fun.

Ruby BEGGED me to go in the snow Sat. I had to say no cause we were having a little Halloween party that day (and guests were about to arrive). So as soon as we got back from church Sunday, we changed clothes and went out. She was SO excited she didn't even want to go to Sesame. Only play in snow. Well, ok then! Glad I picked up a snow suit at Target just the week b4. Who knew we'd actually need it already?

Working on her snowman (well, snow WOMAN, actually)

Uh...who should I throw this at first? Mommy or Daddy?

All the girls pose with the snowman.

hehe...look at the snow - I mean - SHOW dog.

Plotting her next snowball attack.

Fall leaves and winter snow.

Daddy and Rubes all snuggled up waiting for hot chocolate and marshmallows.

What do ya think? A little happy with her treat? I could always tell when she grabbed another marshmallow cause she left a powdered sugar trail.

Halloween Fun

2011-10-30T09:27:00.003-04:00

Had a small gathering at the house yesterday for Halloween. Fun time! The weather was crazy (Snow in October? WHAT???) but, hey, we had a fire going, lots of treats, and good friends. What more could we need?

The table

Festive snacks

Ruby & Mommy's crafts - glitter bats and pumpkins - hung everywhere

Ruby's little pumpkin's she lined up in a row.

Halloween cupcakes which were barely eaten because they sat next to my orange marshmallows. Those things go quick! Have to make more tonight for Ruby's class tomorrow.

First guest - my nephew, Ryan arrives.

All the cutie pies bear the cold for a couple quick shots. I mean, REALLY, how often is there snow on the ground on Halloween weekend?

Cute boys getting into character.

Girlie girls having a tea party in Ruby's room

The last survivor.

A little reminder on the porch that says it IS still only Fall!

And a little reminder that when it snows unexpectedly...be sure to put it to good use!

Sign of a good party...trashed play room and pooped kiddos on the couch watching a movie. Nice night! And we all slept like ROCKS!

Chilly Morning

2011-10-25T08:32:00.000-04:00

Seeing her in her little hat just make me smile. Had to share.

I Never Liked Early Mornings

2011-10-19T07:18:00.004-04:00

In fact, I would have sworn I was allergic to them. I've always been such a night owl, preferring to clean the house or work on music (or come up with my best creative ideas) after 10 pm. But not so much lately.

Oh, I will still get up in the middle of the night sometimes and make notes about things I have to do or people I need to call. Jot down ideas when they come to me. If I can't fall back to sleep I will blog or write or check email. But lately, these early mornings are something more. Quiet time. Those "still" moments before the sun is up all to myself when I can gather my thoughts and plan for the day with a warm cup of tea in my hands. Instead of dreading the mornings, I am starting to embrace them for all the beauty they can hold.

Life has been busy lately. Since September, really just a whirlwind of activities. A lot of fall fun, family visits and birthdays. Halloween decorating, party planning, field trips, and play dates. But at the same time there have been some changes around here, too. Namely, me going back to work and Ruby having nightmares again. And with that comes lack of sleep for all of us. (Those, BTW, are not the mornings I find bliss). Mind you, I am not away that often for work. My day gigs are usually 7-3 or 7-5 so a few mornings a week Jeff will take her to school and also pick her up. I also have one band rehearsal a week from 7-9ish. She LOVES her Daddy time and is great for him. She goes down now without me there (once for Jeff this week, and once for my mom last week when I did my singing gig in the city and we were both out). Outwardly, she's been GREAT. But inwardly, she is feeling unsure again, crying my name out at night and needing me to be near. She slept with me 3 times this week. Poor thing. I hate that she worries I won't be there. Of course, we talk about it during the day and she puts on her brave face. I tell her it's okay to miss me, but to remember I ALWAYS come back and never will go away for long. Just a few hours here and there. Oh, but there is one overnight this week. Ugg. But anyway, I guess this is all normal for her age (and circumstance) and it will continue to get easier. I mean, look how far we have come from a year ago?

I am finding lately that going back to simple things helps me keep the balance. We found a new church. I started yoga again this week. I am cooking/baking a little more. Decorating for fall. Instead of trying to come up with all these super-mom activities for after school, I am simply talking and playing on the floor with her or making up silly games together and singing songs. Being in the moment. We went to a local apple orchard yesterday with her class and she came home early with me. It was such an awesome day. We just laughed and cuddled and tickled and played. Just wanna bottle up days like that.

Sure we are still crafting and we both love it. Have her Halloween pumpkin crafts hanging all over the walls. She's so proud and drug her grandparents around the room almost upon arrival to show them her art. It's so cute. Today we are gonna make black glitter bats and hang them all over the place. Doing a small Halloween party next weekend for some of her old school mates we don't get to see anymore. Should be a real fun time. Ruby was really excited when I told her we would have her friends (from last year) come over. They were all so close.

Well, I hear the husband stirring. The dog is up and the cat is at my feet. Soon, the little miss will join in on the morning procession. Time to grab a cup a'Joe and get this party started!

'Tis Autumn

2011-09-28T17:00:00.004-04:00

Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Crisp mornings. Leaves changing color. Soups, roasted veggies, gingersnaps, pumpkin pie. Fires in fireplaces. How I love this season!

We are just getting a few of those cooler mornings now and I'm so loving it. Hung up a few decorations and am getting ready for Halloween, hey rides, harvest days, Thanksgiving... all the fun this season has to offer. It's also the season of change and I love to get organized, get back in a routine, and get a fresh start with diet/exercise. I'm back to working, too, which is great. Have 2 gigs lined up in October singing with my new band. Refreshed my whole website www.macimiller.com (with the help of an awesome friend of mine). I'm marketing and selling my music again and also booked 4 trade shows. Feels good!

Ruby continues to love school. While I enjoy my free time, I sure do miss my lil bug and can't wait till she bounces out the school door and tells me all she did that day. Still trying to come up with lots of unique/fun stuff for us to do after school. Thanks for all your great suggestions on the last post! Arts & crafts and rock/leaf collecting are among her favorites. Need to find a few interesting new crafts...do send any over that you love!

Last weekend we hit our 1st harvest festival with some friends. Was a nice day for the kids...and for us!

The kids were so into decorating their 1st pumpkins of the year.

A sweet lady that owns Alpaca's taught Ruby how to use a spindle to make the yarn. Well the lil Miss thought she was Sleeping Beauty. She was so into it.

Yesterday after school we got a couple more pumpkins. Starting early this year...may have quite the collection by Halloween! I love how much more creative she is getting. She calls this her rainbow pumpkin and made big stripes.

And, of course, the little pumpkin had to match.

This is the 1st time I've seen her paint something and than outline it in another color. Definitely more imagination coming out.

Left her alone for all of 5 minutes and returned to find a very green daughter. LOL, she was so cute I just started laughing. Although her arms were covered she somehow managed to not get any on the chair, the table or her face. A tiny bit in the hair. She told me "Mommy, I FROG!" LOL! Anyway...let's just say she enjoyed this thoroughly! :-)

We let all the art dry on the table overnight.

...and today I surprised her after school with it all proudly displayed. Is this great fall decor or what? To this proud Momma, it is seriously the prettiest fall art I've ever seen.

And last, but not least, are these not the snuggliest Halloween jammies ever?

Happy Fall!!!!

A Week In Fashion

2011-09-22T14:39:00.003-04:00

Really nothing much to talk about over here. Just same ole same. School for Ruby. Work for me (rehearsing, online marketing and the like) and work for Jeff. Housekeeping, laundry, endless amount of dishes to do... (insert over-exaggerated yawn here). Really an uneventful week except for the little miss and her fashion. So without further adu...I give you a week in fashion:

Lil sassy pants must have known how cute she looked this day. I was just dying for the 1st chilly day to put this ensemble on her.

Got those fab boots at Nordstrom Rack. Love! (And so does she).

Trying to chase the lil bug down the yard to get a picture was not easy...but fun!

"I'm faster than you-oo!"

And yes. She was.

Finally snuck around and got her b4 she went back to hiding behind the tree. :-)

Pink outfit by Naartjie with converse pink sneakers. Love it as much as Ruby does. And Ruby LOVES her pink!

Silly lil miss in Naartjie sweat suit. Could have just gobbled her up in this. She was so cuddly and cute this day - both in looks and personality - I just wanted to play hooky, keep her home, and snuggle all day. I didn't as my better judgement got me, but, man, was I tempted.

Sassafrass

Bright and dotty

And today...Ruby's pick. We like our polka dots and she picked a red outfit to match her cowboy boots she wanted to wear today. Glad I bought those things big. She is wearing them OUT. Must say I love her in red. Ok, I love her in anything. My sweet lil fashionista. Is it time to pick her up yet?

Need to think of something fun to do after school today. We don't have any extra curricular activities yet and I am pulled between her boredom and not wanting to tire her out too much. So what do you do? What fun after school stuff do you do with your pre-k aged kids? Would love to hear your ideas!

Family Day

2011-09-15T11:30:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was our official "Gotcha" Day. The day we went to the orphanage that fateful day 2 years ago and took her home with us forever.

Driving away from the baby home with my sweet girl in my arms. There was no better feeling in the world! As my friend, Anna, said at that moment "No words, Jenny. No words." And she was right. No words could capture how we felt that day.

Back at Anna's beautiful hotel (Ekman Garden Resort) as a family.

Loving on our baby girl.

With our dear friend Anna at the baby home with Khun Wailai, the orphanage director.

So how we did spend our special family day? Together. And although it was "Gotcha" day and not a Thai holiday, we chose to celebrate who she is and the beautiful country she came from. First we looked at photos of our 1st days together. We watched a cute Thai movie (free English version now at ON DEMAND) called The Blue Elephant. (Ruby LOVES this movie). We went out for yummy Thai food for dinner. And we gave her a little Thai doll I had waiting for her upstairs for 3 years. Here are some shots from the day...

Mommy & Rubes hanging on the porch:

Daddy & Ruby at the restaurant:

Love her hanging on her Daddy's neck. So sweet! Can't believe I failed to get a shot of all 3 of us together. But I guess by the time we started eating that yummy Thai food, it never entered our minds!

A very special day/night for our little family!

Our Ruby...2 Years Later

2011-09-13T09:12:00.009-04:00

The first day we met. Sept 13, 2009.

Today, Sept 13, 2011.

Our Ruby. Part Princess. Part dare-devil. Loves her rides fast and spinning. Totally gets bored on the kiddie rides. This kid is a thrill seeker! Loves to climb, jump, hang and swing like the silly little monkey she is. She doesn't walk. She bounces, jumps, flutters, or skips. Not kidding. Mostly skips around like a little fairy with her hands flailing about. She twirls and tosses her hair like a little princess and jumps in puddles like a little boy. With a mischievous little smile on her face on the latter. Been taking to calling her Sassafrass these days due to her ever-silly, sassy nature. Cracks us up. Not just sometimes, but almost ALL the time. The other day I put her in the car for school and was like "do you have lipstick on?" Little sneaky bugger went in to her vanity and got some sparkly gloss and put it on for school." Oh my. I would have made her wipe it off but she smiled so cute and actually got it on her lips and not all over her face this time. She was so proud of herself. LOL, it's only light pink sparkles...why not? She is growing so fast. Sprouting up like crazy. And LOVES to talk about how big she is. At 40" she is tall enough to ride the big rides at Disney and is WAY excited about that. Oh, how she chats up a storm now. Seriously funny little conversations. She will not only excitedly chat our ears off but she will act things out and is highly animated. It is so cute. She notices EVERYTHING and will point out stuff that I don't even notice. Very observant, this one! Oh, and she's a back seat driver. "SLOW DOWN! SLOW DOWN!" when she sees a yellow light. "Go, Mommy! GO!" when the light turns green and I am still busy doing something and not going yet. The little miss doesn't miss a trick so I have to be on my toes!

Sesame, a few weeks ago.

With Grover, last weekend.

Oh so content getting her face done. Love the folded hands.

kissy face

4 going on 14

Ready to climb

Loving on Daddy

Her current favs: All her dollies, horsies, and fairies get play time. Any "little" toy. Like little dolls and figurines, those rubber balls you get out of the machines for a quarter...anything miniature that she can carry around in her many little purses. Loves bath time cause, of course, that involves water and the kid LOVES water. She plays with her mermaids and this diver she calls "Daddy Swimmer Guy" lol. Could be in there for an hour if I let her. Loves to play board games and has to win. Is very competitive these days and has to "win" everything, in fact. Loves her princess dominoes. Plays with them for an hour at a time. And loves collecting rocks and sticks. Enjoys picking flowers and nature, too. Still all about accessories. Will play dress up with her friends but not much on her own. BUT, she'll play with shoes, jewelry, and/or magic wands on a daily basis. Thinks face painting is the main reason we go to Sesame, lol, and the best thing on the planet. Especially excited if they put "lipstix" on her. She will pucker into every mirror or glass surface available the first 1/2 hour. Seriously.

But most of all this kid has a heart of gold. So caring and sweet I can hardly believe sometimes how lucky I am. If someone coughs or has the hiccups, she will go running in the kitchen and grab a bottle of water. Says excuse me and please and thank you 99% of the time. Gets up each morning with a sweet closed mouth smile that melts my heart. She's finally getting dressed head to toe by herself and undressed and into her jammies at night. Sleeping in her own "princess" bed and very proud of herself. Loves to giggle, hide, and pretend. Has such a sense of humor and quite the imagination! She still loves to snuggle, to hug, to touch the faces of the people she loves and just stare for a minute. She is so loving. And oh she cares. About people, other kids that are crying somewhere, animals, if the flowers have enough water, and if the streets are cleaned up. The other day as we were leaving Sesame Place, we she spotted a juice box on the street. Sometimes we will stop and clean up some trash when we see it but someone else's sticky juice box was not entering my car. I told her don't worry, they have someone that comes and cleans up later. She said "Oh! I have seen him! He clean up like this" she said with a wide sweeping motion. There are lots of guys (and girls) that have brooms and a dust/trash pans and clean around the park so she must have been talking about that. I got her settled in her car seat and got in. She said "Mommy?" "Yes, Ruby?" "I wanna do that. I wanna clean up when I grow up". What a proud Mommy I am. And what a kid. We can't imagine life without her.

Today is the 2 year anniversary of the day we first met. Only 2 short years and yet we have packed so much life...so much love...so many memories into them. And to think, we have so many more! Our lives have been blessed beyond measure with this sweet girl.

Dear Ruby, you are so deeply, so truly loved. I thank God for you every day. Thank you for being in our lives and making us the happiest parents on the planet!

Morning Tea

2011-09-12T10:16:00.001-04:00

Lil miss wanted to have a quick tea party before school one morning last week.

"Want some Mommy?"

Sassy gal loves to wink!

Happy play time and then off to school!

The whole first week of school went SO well. In fact, when I picked her up on Friday I said, "No school tomorrow, Ruby. It's the weekend!" Her reply: "Aww.. I LOVE school!" Well, how about that? A far cry from last year! So so happy to see her loving school and having a great time this year. Just incredible. Was happy and bounced out of bed this morning.

We had a great time this weekend. Friday I treated her to ice cream and the rides at the mall. Saturday we took her to Sesame Place. Spent the whole day and since Daddy was along she go to go on every ride. Was in her full glory! At one point she kissed both of our hands and said "I love you, Daddy! I love you, Mommy!" Boy if she's this excited over Sesame (where she's been many times b4) WAIT until she sees Disney! I can hardly wait to see her face!

Happy Monday! Have a beautiful week!

Daddy's Birthday

2011-09-11T22:28:00.002-04:00

Today we had a laid back day at home celebrating Daddy's birthday. His only wish was to watch some football so I invited some boys over, got some wings, beer, nachos and a football ice cream cake and they were all set! (No healthy eating here!) The guys loved it and my hubs had the awesome, relaxing, but fun day he was hoping for.

Rubes was an angel all day. We played, watched some movies together and then hung out with the guys. A fun day for my sweet husband on his birthday. We are so grateful to have this wonderful man in our lives!

First Day of School!

2011-09-06T11:49:00.001-04:00

Well, we did it! Made it through our first morning with no tears or drama whatsoever! In, fact she was really into it and happily bounced out of the car and into the school. Not too surprised cause when I took her in last week for a meet & great she didn't want to leave! We played in her classroom - just her and I - for a good hour while she carefully looked at and played with puzzles and games and then put each one back. Last night she played "school" with Jeff & I (being her students). It was really funny...she was so animated! We knew she was excited. But when this morning came, we were all rather sleepy. After spending a week getting her back to an early bed time, she was too excited to fall asleep last night. Then she tossed and turned all night. I had to (literally) pick up out of bed and carry her to the bathroom for a bath. Turned around for a minute and came back to find her sleeping like this on the rug! LOL!

Sleepy head eventually decided to get into the tub and was a happy camper after that. What a little trooper, my miss! Think we will all go to bed early tonight!

I was all giddy to make her a happy little bento box lunch for school.

"I'm READY!" she said with a full back pack consisting of a note for teacher, lunch box, and 2 dollies. When I asked her if it was too heavy. She said "No, Mommy, cause I too STRONG!" Well, alright then! A good start to the new school year!

Play Dates & Parties

2011-09-04T11:49:00.004-04:00

End of Summer recap here...Part 1. Forgive all the pics. So many fun days!

Play date and picnic at Tysons park with friends, Brie, Drew, and Dawn.

Throwing rocks but keeping her favorite tightly in her hand for her "collection".

Bouncing with M at a bday party

Sweet O's bday party. Ruby's school friend.

Awww.

With school friends again at A's bday party

O & Ruby. Matching little butterflies!

Birthday girl and Ruby (who is looking a bit scary here in that makeup, lol)

Cute classmates from last year. So glad we have stayed in touch with them!

Picnic and play date at home with Rubes & Brie. So. Much. Fun! I just couldn't stop taking pictures!

After the picnic was bubble play. I went in to get us some drinks and came out to find Brie "washing" Ruby's legs with bubble juice. Hilarious! Guess they spilled a good bit and decided to make use of it!

Got a bucket to wash off their legs and they thought this was just delightful. How cute is this shot?

Still in there and thinking it was the best idea ever.

Later the same day....dressed in princess costumes, they were hiding out in the "cottage". I went to get a sneak peak at what they were doing and it was all giggles! As if I had just happened upon a great conversation. How I love these two!

Guess they were trying to tell me something.

Play date at Sesame with good friends Ava & Logan

A wonderful, active, friend-filled summer!

Safe & Sound

2011-08-31T08:51:00.005-04:00

Well, the weekend came and went and we all went unscathed. After a great weekend at retreat de Kitzmiller (Jeff's parents house- where we could have stayed all week long) we headed home on Monday. We were so lucky! A little dampness in the basement and some limbs down in the yard, but really, that's it! Had such a wonderful time with Jeff's parents, as always. They take such good care of us! (Thank you, LaRae & Woody! We love you!) Our hearts do go out, however, to the families living near water that lost a lot of stuff. It wasn't nearly as bad as they expected it to be in our area, but still it was messy and flooded by the water and people in NJ REALLY got hit hard. Power was out for days. Ours was out Sat-Tues but since we were out of town we only had to deal with it one day.

Ruby was great that night. My mom had given us some glow wands (which she LOVED). We got her flashlight out and lots of candles and had it all standing by. We grilled and ate outside and when it finally got dark we lit up the table like 4th of July and played board games. Later, we read books by candle light and tucked her. We all slept in her room so she'd feel safe if she woke up...but she never did. You know, it was actually a nice night. I think I like it better, in fact, with no TV/computers/media to distract us. Just 3 people enjoying each others company...old fashioned style. Ok, for one night, anyway! We might have had withdrawal if it went a few more days. :-)

We really have to giggle at our paranoia last Friday. The news (as always) made a big spectacle out of it and before you know it, we joined in on all the hype, expecting a category 2 hurricane to plow through.

We cleared the patio and put the chairs up.

I took pics of the landscaping as a "before". LOL, it still looks pretty much the same. My beautiful moon flower vien from my mother in law is still hanging and going strong!

We cleared the porch, too. I have to say it was kinda nice to come and see a clean slate. Motivating Jeff & I do a deep house and yard clean and some redecorating.

The silliest thing we did was to cover all the "nice" furniture in the middle of the living room...

...and tape the windows. Yes, we were over the top. But hey, thank God, we can sit here and laugh at ourselves, though, instead of coming home to a mess! :-)

The best thing about all of it is my fridge. I emptied it last week and brought what we needed to Hbg with us. I gave it a much needed deep cleaning when we got home and now my fridge looks brand new! That alone was worth all the paranoia!

I leave you with a few shots from the weekend...

Snuggling with Pappy

Working on a craft we brought along - her new rock box...for her "collection". Didn't even know she knew that word. At the park the week b4 she informed me she was a rock collector and the rock in her hand was for her COLLECTION. Well, ok then! Time to make a box to house them! She was thrilled.

All giddy with her work and her rocks.

Pretending to eat them. Nice. (Luckily, none actually got close to her lips).

Reading with Grammy.

Have a happy and safe week!

Getting Out of Dodge!

2011-08-27T09:37:00.003-04:00

With a big storm - (a HURRICANE) a-brewing, we are packing fast and furious and getting out of town. Tonight while rips through our town, knocking down trees, and flooding our basement with water, we will be casually sipping wine and watching the news from the comfort of my in-laws couch. Monday we will come home and assess the damage, if any. We know the basement will be wet so we got everything up and out of the way. We are taking our animals and our most important docs and photos with us. What else can you do? Just pray for the safety of our friends and neighbors and let the rest up to the universe.

Good luck everyone! Drive/be safe!

Well It Took Me Long Enough

2011-08-19T00:01:00.003-04:00

I was all giddy to get this year's birthday party pics and start a book. Then it hit me that I still hadn't done LAST year's birthday book! Not to mention our Thailand trip, first year home, photo shoot on the beach, this year's party, etc. I am so backed up and ashamed it has taken me so long to get it all together. Time to get it done!

So I spent hours on it today - much to the dismay of my bored kid and in between playing with moon sand, working on numbers, doing laundry, and cleaning up my kitchen that looked like a bomb went off in it. Anyway, I re-worked what I had already started a year ago and it's finally done! You can click on the link below to see the preview on Blurb.

BLURB.COM

Next up is The Fairy Party book! Will post here when it's done!

The Professional Birthday Party Photos!!!

2011-08-16T10:27:00.011-04:00

So so so SO HAPPY! My talented friend, Sarah Zimmerman shot these beautiful pics for me during one of her busiest times. This spring Sarah graduated from Hallmark, was in the middle of doing her final work, set up a new website and business, and moved. A lot on her plate! Still, she found time to come out and photograph Ruby's birthday party. We are so grateful! They were really worth the wait!

My sweet girl. I love this picture!

Pretty pink things: home made cupcakes & pink marshmallows, pretty teacups, and mini roses. Love the little bunny she noticed sitting on the table. What a cute shot!

I'm so excited that Sarah captured all my hard work. Had so much fun planning this party!

More details. Forgive some of the duplicate shots. I couldn't decide which party detail collages I liked the best! Which ones do you like?

Table setting and sweet stuff.

Special party moments

Sweet, sweet faces.

Me and my girl

A few of my creations: fondant bow cupcake and tulle pom poms. (These 3 are photos I took).

Ruby and her friends

Girlie fun

Grandma

Pinata time

Sweet eating

And my favorite...the magical birthday wish. I was so busy that I didn't get any cake shots. It just made my day to see these! LOVE LOVE LOVE! Thank you so much, Sarah, for capturing Ruby's special day so beautifully.

Friends and family: click on the the link above (Sarah's name) to see more of Sarah's work. Also, if anyone wants to see more pics of their child from this day, email me. She took a TON of gorgeous shots and set up a password protected site for viewing. My email is macmiller@verizon.net.

A Royal Find!

2011-08-15T12:37:00.005-04:00

On Friday we went to Central Park & Castle in Doylestown, PA. In a word: AMAZING! I got Rubes out of the car and wheeled her down the pretty path till it was in view. Finally, we got our first glimpse. "WHOA" was all she could say. We met our friends there - Dawn, her mom, Brianna, Drew, and his buddy. All had such a nice time.

Ruby and her BFF Brie running with excitement!

So many cute things here...like this amphitheater area

And this cute town. Was trying to get a pic and only got her hand. She was running through the sand with all this glee checking out one place to the next.

Finally got a shot when she served me "pretzels" at A Taste of Philly. Evidently, all the "vendors" in this town are real businesses throughout Doylestown and Philadelphia. So cool.

One cute lil heiney climbing through a mini covered bridge replica. You see many of those see here in Bucks County. (The bridges, not the heineys!)

Ruby in true form. She's back in the amphitheater singing the theme song from Jake and The Netherland Pirates. Love it.

Cute magical forest with slides and stuff to climb.

Inside the maze of the big castle. After going through on my knees the first time, I realized that A - she could do it safely herself (and faster) and B - It was not made for adults. LOL. She went in by herself and with friends the rest of the time.

Brie and Rubes running happily through the castle.

Huge spiral slide that goes from the top of the castle...

...to the bottom - outside the entrance of the castle. Ruby was crazy for this! Lost count of how many times she went down.

A separate pirate ship between the big castle and the swings.

Some sweet kids saw Ruby waiting for the tire swing and invited her to join them.

Lil miss LOVES tire swings. After all the go around and around. And lil miss likes to spin around and around. Thinking of hanging one of these in the yard somewhere.

In between playing and climbing on everything, Ruby and Brie entertained themselves (and us) by just climbing up and running or rolling down this gorgeous green hill. We had a blanket set up under a big tree and had a picnic. The kids wandered to and fro. It was such a nice afternoon spent with good friends on a gorgeous, gorgeous breezy day. Life is good!

A Week Of Fun Activities

2011-08-14T05:33:00.004-04:00

Well, the weather's cooled down a bit the last few days, taking us outdoors once again. What a fun time! I should say, though, that even when it rains or it's entirely too sticky to go out, we try to find something fun/interesting to do. Wednesday, was just that kind of day...

Pic is a little blurry, but the lil miss has now embraced bowling. My friend Dawn suggested going and it was a hit. We stayed in AC all day while the kids had a ball. Literally. And hot pink ones at that!

Rubes is the queen of silly faces these days.

By Thursday, the weather was GORGEOUS. Perfect day for a zoo trip. We went to a nice little one in Conshohocken called Elmwood Park Zoo. Our first MUST DO was the pony rides. This kid LOVES her horses!

She also loves an opportunity to stick her head in these things...or to get her picture taken anywhere for that matter. It was such a picture perfect day just walking around with my little love. It's a nice, easy to walk zoo with lots of shaded areas and a large playground. Lots of fun. The only downside to a small zoo like that is the animals don't have a lot of area to run. Ruby was particularly concerned about the Jaguar and where he lived. She said he was sad cause he wanted to go home. "He misses his family" she said. That made me a bit sad, too. I love her sweet, caring nature and how she loves animals. I also think maybe we should support the larger zoos that have mates and full habitats for the animals next time.

Back at home being silly with the camera. Face painting was another MUST at the zoo.

And, of course, no day is complete without a little fairy dress up!

I think I am gonna have to end here as there are SO many pics that were taken the next day. Stay tuned!

Family Time

2011-08-12T09:30:00.003-04:00

I am a bit behind on my posts so playing a little catch-up today. Last weekend we spent in Hbg, visiting both our families. Such a nice trip!

Saturday it was raining so Jeff's mom suggested the Whitaker Center in downtown Hbg. A great idea and Rubes had a great time discovering this and that. (Kind of like the Please Touch Museum). Here she is working the grocery check out.

They had the cutest conveyor belt that Rubes thought was just the best.

Very serious about her task. :-)

Water play was, of course, a hit as well.

Pappy and Daddy getting in on the fun with a calorie burning contest.

Rubes has so much fun with Grammy & Pappy this weekend.

Now those are some serious tinker toys!

Sunday, hanging at my mom's. Jeff with the kids.

Ruby LOVES her Uncle Jay.

Picked up my brother David for a visit and we all went to the local church picnic together.

David and Mom

David catches up with one of his favorite people - dear family friend, Fritzie.

Ruby entertained the little old ladies and danced her heart out. This child LOVES music. On another visit weeks back, she was dancing her heart out also. Here are some shots:

Sweet cousins Lessi, Rubes, Nina, and Ryan dancing up a storm. They are doing kolos - traditional folk dances originating in Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, etc.

Even Mommy got in on the action. Used to dance these a lot when I was a kid. Forgot how much fun it is! We danced and danced and danced that night!

Dommy and Ruby were inseparable this day. Very cute.

Rubes kept dragging him around and he happily obliged along with another sweet girl, Bella.

Getting love and tickles from the cousins - Glenn, Nina and Dino.

Lovely ladies Joanne and Dorthea. My cousin Dorthea is having a rough time right now battling cancer. She is one awesome, life-loving, tough lady so we know she's gonna be ok, but we hate what she is going through right now. Please send some good vibes and prayers out for her that she has a quick recovery!

So grateful for time with both our familes!

Big Girl Bed, Little Girl Nightmares

2011-08-02T22:51:00.002-04:00

Well, we did it. We got the crib/toddler bed out of there. We picked out new sheets. Again, the ONLY choice was the Disney Princesses. Luckily, Target had exactly what we needed.

Day 1 she was super excited. I believe she slept through half of that night. Hard to say because I have been sleep deprived ever since. Two steps forward and three behind, my friends. She sleeps in her new bed with no problem, but the part about me sleeping in the other room with Daddy has not gone over well. Some nights I sit (like tonight) on the computer in her room until she is out. It's just easier. Other nights I explain that I'm going but then she says she's not tired or gets herself all worked up. She has nightmares and still gets a bit afraid of being alone...

Of course, it's not like she is totally alone in that bed. She has quite the posse in there!

Anyway, we are still trying. For 3 nights she woke up between 3 and 4am crying, so I slept there half the night. Once I was able to comfort her and leave. Now the last 2 nights she slept all night but then woke up at 7am to cry for me. We are getting there....I think. I mean this HAS to be progress, right? I am hoping so cause I'm REALLY tired this week.

We are back to doing star stickers on the calendar. This time it's for not only sleeping in her bed, but in her room alone all night. I give her a star if she makes it till 7am (although CLEARLY that is not what time we should be waking up! At least not until school starts!)

I leave you with one last photo...

Munching on tea and bread in our room. Is it me or does she look sooo big and long here? I feel like she has really grown this summer! When did that happen? Guess we were all having too much fun to notice.

Wish me good luck sleeping tonight! Praying for a late wake up!

Tea Party In NYC

2011-07-29T11:26:00.007-04:00

Life is full a wonderful things. One of them is the friends you meet along the way.

Last week Ruby and I headed to New York for the day to see our friends Mireille and daughters Jasmine, and Juliet and finally meet another blogger family - Wendy, Lily, and Becky.

Such a nice afternoon. We met up at Alice's Tea cup on the upper East side and it did not disappoint.

Cute shot of all our Thai princesses. I have to laugh at Ruby sipping her "tea" here. There wasn't anything in it yet!

Such a little lady. She was all excited to go to the "big city" today and dress up.

Great pic of Jasmine and Ruby that Mireille took

Another sweet group shot...by Mireille

Ruby gives Mireille some love

The whole group after tea

After tea, Rubes and decided to stick around. It was sooo hot, but we were there...so what the heck! I figured we might as well walk around a bit. So we wondered over to Central Park and spent a few hours. Above, we stopped to hear a local musician. We love to hear music whenever possible!

Turned a corner and what did we see but a carnival going on! Of course, we HAD to go!

This swing thing was her favorite. Rode it 4 times!

And now for one of my fav shots of the day...

My lil angel posing in front of a big rock. Afterwards, she proceeded to climb up it in her white dress. LOL, I didn't care about the dress, but I was concerned about her climbing it so there are no pictures of that! It was just me scuttling up the rock (also in the wrong shoes/clothes) after her. Haha - I love her sense of adventure though!

A very hot, but fun day in the city! Thanks Wendy and Mireille for meeting up with us! So glad to have you as friends!

Arts, Crafts, and Silly Days

2011-07-29T08:31:00.001-04:00

The above title pretty much sums our days in between beach trips. Been awhile since we did anything creative so we pulled out the paint this week and got messy! Little miss painted for some time then we did puzzles and crafts together. Nice to get back to simple stuff like that.

Earlier this summer we tried something new - sidewalk chalk paint. A clever idea I stole from the supermom over at Salsa in China blog. (I just LOVE all her ideas!)

Silly girl having a ball.

Another fun project we worked on earlier this summer and I forgot to post. Hoping to do something else like this b4 summer is out.

No I didn't cut her hair. One day the lil bug said something about short hair so I tied it up to show her what it would look like.

Adorable (actually reminds me of when she was little) but there is no way I'm cutting her gorgeous long hair! Luckily, she likes it better long, too!

Hope your summer days are lazy, silly, artsy, crafty, or just plain fun!

I've Got A Band!

2011-07-29T00:12:00.000-04:00

So excited! Lately I have been scouring the pages of Craigslist in search of opportunity. Itching to sing again, I checked for someone looking for a singer. All the great players I know and have worked with are in center city Philly, Atlantic City, and/or Bangkok. Not really easy to do a local gig. Well, one night I looked and there was a guy looking to form a jazz trio or quartet. I took a chance and asked if he needed a singer. We hit it off right away and made a plan. Within days the whole band came together and we had our first rehearsal tonight. So thrilled! To jam with some great musicians again was just fantastic. Think we are gonna get some great gigs...and have a lot of fun, too!

The Absentee Blogger/Beach Bum

2011-07-28T07:21:00.001-04:00

I am quite the bad blogger these days. Truly, I don't know how many of you out there still read this. I myself haven't had a whole lot of time to blog or read blogs lately. When I do post something it's easier to just put it on Face Book. So if you don't see an update here, check FB! Hopefully, I will back in the swing of things as fall gets closer. On this organizing and purging kick right now. Started with Ruby's crib - sold it to make room for big girl bed (twin) from upstairs. She is now (knock on wood) sleeping in her own bed again in her own room BY HERSELF. Woo hoo! A few early morning night-mares and wake-ups, but we are getting there. Let's call it progress!

Been a beach bum most of the summer and it's been GREAT. Two beach trips, a couple family trips, 2 day trips in NYC and Sesame Place in between. Life is good, my friends. HOT, but good. Summer is going by soooo quickly! Guess that's what happens when your having fun! Many pics and posts to catch up on so look for an onslaught here in the next couple days.

Latest happenings...

Latest beach trip - this time with my family. Amazing time! 5 days in Wildwood, NJ. Love that beach. Reminds me of family trips when I was a kid. Long, flat beach. Great for the long walks we all took every day - the whole lot of us. So fun. The waves were calm. The water was nice. Spending time with my cousins was incredible. The kids had a ball. Need I say more?

Sweet Nina carrying Ruby

Rubes with her cousin Nina. These two were inseparable the whole trip. Really sweet.

Water baby would have stayed in the pool all day and night if I let her. She learned to do the doggie paddle this week and swim all by herself without a tube! Hooray!

Dreamy girl in her favorite princess night gown

Cutie pies Rubes and Ryan snuggled up watching a movie

Ruby and Nina looking for dolphins

Cute cousins! Ryan, Mikey, Dommy, Alessia, Ruby & Nina

Another fun beach day!

Quick (blurry) shot of our group headed to the boardwalk

Last night on the boardwalk

Lil bug poses for me in Cape May. We stopped there the last morning b4 heading home.

Picked up a new friend...a cute little ostrich marionette that Ruby walked the whole way back to the car.

Back at home and dressing up the cat. Who was strangely willing...go figure???

Pure Silliness

2011-07-14T00:35:00.003-04:00

Giddy

Silly

Spunky

Sweet

These pics are so indicative of Ruby's personality. This was just an ordinary afternoon turned to magic by one silly sassy 4 year old. Here's a little video I took of her silliness. Amused for the longest time playing with her stool. Of course, she loves to jump off anything and any time possible. Funny lil girl. I'm so glad she is mine. :-)

Pirate Adventure!

2011-07-14T00:19:00.000-04:00

This post could also be called Bethany Beach Part 3. Mirielle, Jeff, & I headed to Ocean City, MD for a little pirate adventure one day. Very cute. All the little pirate girls seemed to enjoy it.

Very excited with her new cap and eye patch

Pretty lil pirates

Nice afternoon, followed by a yummy lunch with the crew at Harpoon Hannas, followed by a little crabbing and hanging out back at the family beach house.

Jasmine and Juliet were really into it and Rubes kinda hung and watched and joined in a little.

Here Jeff got one out of the net for them to all see. Love this shot and how they look like they are posing although they didn't even see me at this point. They were all too engrossed with the crab! Very cute.

Another great day at the beach spent with wonderful new friends! We miss them already!

Tomorrow we are off on another adventure...a beach trip to Wildwood, NJ to spend time with my brother, nephew and cousins. Should be an awesome time!

Bethany Beach Part 2

2011-07-10T15:18:00.002-04:00

Date night for me and the hubs! Woo hoo! That's makes exactly 3 dates in almost 2 years. Uh, I think we need to kick that up a notch! Jeff's parents watched Ruby this night so we headed into Ocean City, MD (just 20 mins down the road) and had a FAB dinner at Liquid Assets. It's both a wine bar and wine/liquor store and looks like you are in the cask room of a winery. Very cool and great food. But more than that, it was a much needed night out with the hubs.

I feel like my blog is more like a pictorial these days with just a few comments here and there. Life - and summer in particular - is moving by at lightening speed. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. We are having fun, seeing friends and family, and are enjoying summer more than we have in a long time. After Ruby's ceremony in Phila, we headed straight back down to the beach for another week of fun and sun.

Ladies in pink

Lounging at Planet X restaurant in Rehobeth

Jumping for joy because we said she could have ice cream. As if that wasn't a daily occurrence lately!

Pretty and pink and quite happy with her choc ice cream with sprinkles

After dinner and ice cream, we were off to the boardwalk.

Lil miss likes her rides FAST. Good thing Daddy has the stomach for it!

Hanging out in her pint sized pool the next day.

Looking so grown up in the back yard chasing bubbles. Pappy was putting out some HUGE bubbles and Rubes had a ball running to try and catch them. Sometimes it really is the simple things that give so much joy. Rubes really had a great time with Grammy & Pappy this week.

Cracking up at this pose

Almost got one!

Oooo, here it comes!!!!

Silly pirate

More beach pics to follow!

A Happy 4th in the City

2011-07-09T21:43:00.004-04:00

One sweet lil US Citizen

It was really a nice day. A good bit of fan fare they put on for the 13 kids chosen for the ceremony. One for each of the original 13 colonies. Held at the Betsy Ross house where the 1st American flag was sewn. Held in the nations first capital (and also Pennsylvania's 1st capital) on the 4th of July. Pretty cool. Rubes enjoyed the attention and got that it was something special, but I think later on the significance of it all will sink in.

Excited to see the balloons.

Happy girl

The kids made these cute little clothes pin dolls

Proud Momma with her "baby".

Lots of costumed actors and "officials". LOL, Rubes said "Mommy, look! Pirate hats!" Luckily, she saw them and made this comment before the ceremony. :-)

10 of the 13 kids receiving citizenship.

13 star flag

Betsy Ross House. Small, but rich in history. We were able to tour the place b4 the ceremony started.

Flag procession

All the kids sat in the front row with the parents in the back. Rubes would peak back at us but did a good job staying in her seat and paying attention to a ceremony that had to be a bit hard to comprehend.

Um, it might have been a good idea to tell Rubes about raising her right arm. All the kids raised their right hand for both the Pledge of Allegiance and an oath they had to say. Well, Rubes saw all the kids raise their hand so she did too.....but, ooops, it was her LEFT hand! Also crossed her left hand over her chest instead of over her heart. I tried to get her attention to no avail. Oh, well. She tried!

Proud lil citizen with her certificate

I think she somehow got it. There were a lot of really nice speeches welcome the kids and congratulating them on becoming citizens and wishing them well.

Ruby's turn at the bell ringing ceremony

Bummer this one's blurry, but had to post it as it's the only family shot. Jeff was busy video taping the whole thing. Got some great footage, too!

Walked around and lunch afterwards at the trendy Continental. Glad this kid eats anywhere!

Walking the city with my girl!

Mom and Rubes LOVE the city. Gotta get there more often!

The lil miss thought the old cobblestone streets where oh so fun and "bumpy" to walk on.

A very cool way to spend the 4th and a great way for a kid to become a US Citizen. She's legal! The long wait (and paper work haul) is close to over! (Still waiting for the Thai gov to send us an invite to the consulate and we are applying for her SS card this week). But hey, this was a pretty big deal so we are thrilled!

To Ruby: We are so so proud of you sweet pea!!!!

Bethany Beach Part 1

2011-07-03T11:59:00.004-04:00

We just got back from the beach tonight. What a great week! Sun, fun, friends, and family. Makes for some nice long days and solid sleeps! Mon-Fri we stayed with my friend, Mireille, and her girls. Such a great time. Mireille (as those who follow her blog know) is this amazing person. Fun, dynamic, interesting, easy going, and kind person. So easy to be around. JJ & Jezz are adorable and sweet. The kids had fun together and Mireille and I chatted into the wee hours. Was so great to talk about everything from food to life to travel to decor to kids and everything in between. They brought Ruby the sweetest gifts - a cute backpack and birdie change purse (that Rubes has been carrying everywhere) and some gorgeous jewelry from India. Mommy is especially excited for her to wear the head jewel for some occasion. Thanks so much Mireille for your kindness!

Here are a few beach pics for ya b4 I crash:

1st day at the beach

Loving the sand.

Back at the house with all the kids. There was another friend of Mireille's there the first 2 days with her 2 boys. All the kids warmed up to each other the 1st night and stayed up way late. A lot of fun for them!

Hooray for rides!

And hooray for Jasmine and Juliet, too! The 3 of them had a blast together on the rides.

On the tea cups!

Back at the beach

The girls were on the hunt for jelly fish and found this huge one. Don't worry, Jasmine knew that when the tenticles are gone they don't sting.

Ruby going for a jelly fish in the bucket.

Love this funny shot. Rubes is engrossed in sand play while the rest of the kids on the beach find another big jelly fish.

Lil miss LOVES the water.

Ready to "surf" the waves.

JJ & Ruby playing together in the sand.

Love this shot too. 3 sweet girls enjoying the ocean.

Friday we moved to the family house to meet Daddy, Grammy, & Pappy. After some time on the beach, Rubes likes a little pool time. Here she is "fishing".

Daddy and Ruby having a moment on the canal.

They are looking at this huge bird that came to visit. A Heron maybe??

Here it is in flight.

Our lil bikini babe having a ball in the sand yesterday. She was absolutely COVERED in it by the time we left.

Daddy made her into a little mermaid. She loved it.

More soon...sleep is calling. Tomorrow we have Ruby's ceremony followed by a trip back to the beach for fireworks and another 4 days at the family beach house. Loving the lazy summer beach life!

Dance Recital Weekend

2011-06-26T22:59:00.002-04:00

What a great show! Big kids, little kids...really great routines. We were seriously impressed. But, of course, there was one little group we loved the most. Yep. Those lil ballerina's in pink and purple! Rubes had no stage fright whatsoever. Me, I was all nerves. I even left her backstage b4 the show (with the other girls and an assigned mom, of course) so I could go watch it in the theater with Jeff. She did GREAT! So darn proud of her. We had a trial run on Thursday with the dress rehearsal so she knew what to do and knew I'd be back for her after her number. Was such a big girl and to my amazement, Rubes remembered a good bit of the dance and did so well. Above she is lined up with her class.

After the show I presented her with a tiny bouquet of pink roses. I think she really felt like a little princess tonight. All smiles and giggles and twirls.

Proud Mommy gets a shot with her lil ballerina.

Outside I tried to get a smile but she was soooo silly. Just wanted to ham it up and give me a wink. I said "Come on, Rubes, not a wink silly! Give me a big smile"

I got an even bigger wink with a smile. Cutie.

She paused then for a serious one...

Then back to silly again.

She just kept on posing so I kept on shooting!

Getting restless and practically hanging from the steps waiting for Daddy. Every time someone came out the door, she said "Your not my Daddy. Nope, not you. Nope, your not Daddy either."

And then there he was. All smiles.

Grammy, Pappy, Daddy, and Rubes

Changed out of her costume and excited about the big blue ball (art of some sort at the college) that happened to match her outfit.

This was after Sunday's show. I think she did even better today. Was so into it and smiled big. My mom was there today too and I'm so bummed we didn't take pics with her! Instead of rushing home (like Sat. night) we stayed and let Ruby watch the rest of the show. She was mesmerized.

We headed back to the house and were met by my bro and nephew. We ate, the kids played, and we had a special ballerina cake I made for Ruby. Very last minute and sloppy but if you squint it kinda looks like ballet slippers, right?

Ok, it's A LOT sloppy, but the kids sure liked it!

A fun, festive weekend!

Now we are off to the beach! 4 nights with my friend, Mireille and her girls at her beach house, then an additional 4 or 5 days with Jeff's family at their beach house, with a trip back home in the middle for Ruby CITIZENSHIP CEREMONY! Woo hoo! Been waiting for that FOREVER and we just got invited to a special children's citizenship ceremony at the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia on the 4th of July! How cool is that? It will be a bit of running back and forth, but so worth it. Will try to post on the 3rd or 4th when home b4 we head back to the beach.

Until then (or just in case) enjoy what's left of June and Happy almost 4 of July!

(Is it me or did June fly by really fast?)

And NOW Go Beach?

2011-06-26T18:15:00.000-04:00

"And then go beach? And today go beach? Mommy, NOW we go to beach???" She's been asking me nearly every day for a month when we are going. We are finally just a few days away. Ya think she's a little excited? Oh yea. The other day I gave her some beach toys we bought her. Just a bucket, a shovel, goggles, and a few things. Oh, and flippers. Who knows why I got them cause she can't wear them in the ocean, but they were only $5 and have princesses on it. I knew she'd love them. Well, THAT was an understatement. Here she is flipping around in them and pretending to swim on the floor. Better find a pool for this girl!

"AND NOW GO BEACH??????"

Oh yea. We are ready. :-)

This and That

2011-06-23T09:07:00.023-04:00

A lot going on here lately. A lot of beginnings and endings. Ok, mostly endings. School is over. Little Gym is done. Dance class done and her 1st recital is this weekend. Actually, the dress rehearsal was today followed by shows on Sat and Sun. It was sooo cute!

Trying to get used to having no schedule. We are loving the sleeping in part but I feel I need to step up my game with no schedule. So we are crafting and playing and doing all sorts of fun things...and yea, a little TV, too. My back went out Monday - just when I had about 8 million things to do - so I was somewhat limited. My friend Dawn took her for a few hours on Tuesday (huge help and Ruby did great!) and Jeff helped with Ruby and got her to the Dr's. Poor thing woke up Tues at 3 am screaming that her ear hurt. Turns out she ruptured an ear drum. My poor sweet girl. The Dr. was shocked she hasn't been moody or complaining of pain b4 it burst. We all think maybe the ear tube fell out leaving little tear but have no idea how she handles pain so well. She hadn't complained about it at all before that night. She is on antibiotics and out of pain for now, but hearing may be muffled in her left ear for awhile and have to keep water out of it. Armed with earplugs and ear drops.

We buried Jeff's beautiful Grandmother last Saturday. A very sad day. But what followed was a really nice visit with his whole family. What a great bunch they are. We looked at pictures, we laughed, and we celebrated her life. Sunday we had brunch with Jeff's dad and a BBQ with mine.

Pooped after bouncing with Aunt Tammie

Upside down girls cloud gazing

Jeff & his Dad enjoying a Bloody Mary. We got to see my Dad later that night for an awesome dinner and hang. So nice. I got Jeff one of his favorite freezer mugs and a cell phone case (he's so easy and practical). From Ruby, he got a sweet book called "The Daddy Book" by Todd Parr. Love his books and so does Ruby.

Daddy opening his goodies. I got Jeff one of his favorite freezer mugs and a cell phone case (he's so easy and practical). From Ruby, he got a sweet book called "The Daddy Book" by Todd Parr. Love his books and so does Ruby.

Family shot

On Ruby's 1st day off of school we had 3 play dates! 1st my nephew Ryan was here and the kids did 2 hours of crafts and puzzles. Then my bro picked him up and Ruby and I headed to Dawn's house to play with Brie and 2 other girls. They splashed in Brie's little pool, did crafts, and had a ball.

It was giggly delight! Later, Ruby got to swim in a big pool with her friends Ava and Logan. She did really well. I forgot my suit and had to borrow one from my friend, Charlsey. I'm sure she thinks I am crazy cause I didn't want to swim but had to put one on anyway. I know she was right there but I don't feel comfortable not being in the water or very close when Ruby is in the pool. Gotta take her somewhere local for lessons so I can relax a little. That being said, Rubes is a fish and loves it. She wears her swimmies and an intertube and kicks herself all the way to the deep end. Jumps off the side, too, and has no fear. I guess that is a good thing. :-) Of course, that was all b4 her ear drum burst. We have to be super careful now as water in her ear could cause more problems but we are armed with ear plugs and ear drops!

Headed into a very busy weekend! Ruby has recital Sat and Sun., lots of family coming, and packing for the beach!

Little Things That Bring Big Smiles

2011-06-15T10:00:00.000-04:00

Butterflies and flowers. Sunshine. Being outside in the garden. When I am having a bad day being outside in the sun is like a soothing balm. Flowers are blooming now and the yard looks colorful again. Fresh herbs and veggies are growing in the garden. Sweet little birds are finding their way to our bird feeder and, yes, our butterflies are hatching! This week we saw 7 beautiful butterflies emerge from their chrysalis. Such a cool experiment. I'm so glad we did this. Ruby has really enjoyed it and so have I.

So excited to see them flying around.

This face is priceless.

All excited to go pick snap peas.

Fresh yummies from our neighbors garden. Snap peas, scallions, arugula, and flowers for the butterflies.

My favorite new plant. Ain't she a beauty?

Setting some butterflies free. Ruby was all concerned that one of the butterflies were sick cause he was "bleeding". I have to admit it's rather gross and blood-looking when they drip wing dye down the side of the net, but I assured her they were all okay. Glad someone told me cause I would have thought the same thing!

A few of our little lovelies.

Climbing to the top. Come on guys...you can do it!

They made it!

Another thing that brings smiles: watching your daughter fall in love...

with a horse.

Oh yea, she is smitten. There's a new pony at the farm. His name his Prince. So long Cookie!

He's a sweet horse and just beautiful. But if you ask me I think Ruby likes him cause he looks like all the Barbie horses. Okay, minus the pink hair. She was just loving her time riding him. Had that day dreamy look on her face the whole time.

After the riding they treated the kids to small hay ride.

A nice time with my sweet pea.

Today I thank God for smiles big and small and the little girl who lights up my every day.

A Great Loss

2011-06-13T22:27:00.002-04:00

Today we got some real sad news. Jeff's Grandma passed away. She was one GREAT lady. Strong, kind, generous. She loved her family truly and wholeheartedly. Our world has lost a beautiful person but God has gained another angel. One that is finally with her husband again. Hugs and prayers for the whole Kitzmiller family today. We will greatly miss her. :-(

Dear Ruby: You Win

2011-06-12T20:05:00.001-04:00

We just had the most hilarious hour with Rubes. Jeff, Ruby, & I played 3 board games. First a princess game and then Candy Lane. She won them both. Fair and square! After the 1st two, we pulled out Chutes & Ladders. It's so cute cause she really gets games now and they hold her attention. At one point I was so sure I was going to win. I was very near the top and Jeff and Rubes were way down near the bottom. I made the grave error of saying "uh-oh! Looks like Mommy is gonna win this one!" which led to "NO! I WIN!!!" and full tears. We had to stifle our laughs and explain that while the game wasn't over yet, you can't ALWAYS win. Well she quickly calmed down and proved us wrong. Sure enough, we continued the game and Mom hit a slide, Ruby hit a ladder and Ruby won again.

As we were putting everything back in the box Ruby grabbed an instruction sheet and pretended to "read" it out loud. "Dear Ruby. You WIN". LOL. And so she did. Good thing she doesn't gloat or anything. :-)

Impromptu Cook Outs

2011-06-12T18:03:00.000-04:00

We had 2 this weekend. Very laid back and fun.

I told Rubes we were gonna make cookies. I turned around to find her in her Chef's hat and holding her apron around her. "I'm READY!" she said. Man, I love her. So many smiles she brings!

On her slide with the fancy white tutu her Aunt Tammey got her.

We had absolutely no plans this weekend. Turns out my brother didn't either. So Friday we decided a gathering should be had! He brought my cousin Jack (also his room mate) and their sweet neighbors (now our friends) and wala! Instant party! The photo is us later in the evening sitting by the fire pit. Felt so bad for Rubes when the other 2 families invited had to cancel at the last minute. There were supposed to be at least 3 kids there for Ruby to play with. Little bug took it in stride and hung with us big kids all day.

A certain little miss ADORES her Uncle Jay.

The feeling is very mutual.

Cute couple Glenn and Lauren

Ruby snuggles with Daddy

The next day Jason came over again. This time with Ryan. The kids had a ball bouncing.

Sunday was all about the kids. They went from bouncey to pool to playroom and back again. With a short stop at the table, of course.

Loved seeing them have such a good time together.

Cutie pies making music.

Sometimes the best times are those you don't plan for.

Lump In My Throat

2011-06-10T12:13:00.000-04:00

Ruby knows school is almost over. We both are so exited for summer and trips to the beach, Sesame Place, picnics, sleeping in, etc. But even though I know school is soon out it somehow it caught me off guard yesterday (when picking Ruby up at school) that when I said "ok, honey, say goodbye to your friends" she didn't just hug the few friends around her and bolt out the door as usual. She went around sweetly - and almost thoughtfully - hugging each one and saying good bye and smiling at them. I thought I was gonna cry. We've talked about her being in another classroom next year with a new teacher. She may or may not know that some of her good friends are moving on to another school or another class. But I am guessing she kinda knows. So brave, my sweet girl. She seems okay about going to a new room - the one across the hall - and knows who the new teacher is. She even knows some of the kids in the class cause her class shared recess with them. Still, it really got me all choked up to see her saying goodbye to her friends. Silly sappy Mamma! This is only pre-school!

That was yesterday. Today was the school picnic. Such a fun time. Great to see the kids having fun and get together with some of the moms we've gotten to know. Her (current) teacher was particularly nice to us. She knows she rubbed me the wrong way and seemed to go out of her way to make conversation. Of course, I was nice to her but it felt odd being that I still was annoyed with her for what I felt was unjust treatment of my little one. Ruby went up to her b4 we left and gave her the sweetest long hug...and even a kiss on the cheek. More forgiving than Mommy. Ahhh...another life lesson learned from the wee one. We all make mistakes. Time to love and understand that everyone is dealing with something at any given time. And we don't know what that person may be going through. We don't walk their path. Love is all there is and we need to practice it as much as possible. Not just when it's easy.

And there it is. The lump in my throat that showed up when Ruby bravely said goodbye to her friends showed it's uncomfortable self again. Time to let bygones be bygones and live in this moment. And love and forgive everyone. Even yourself. :-)

Some pics from the picnic...

Adorable tricycle and big wheel park.

This is Ruby and her best school friend, Olivia.

Look at the stop light. How freakin cute is that?

This park was awesome! The water sprayer was (as you can see) a HUGE hit.

Lil gymnast

LOVE this shot. Two sweet girl grabbing each others hand and running off to have fun.

Got the 2 cuties to pose for a shot. Olivia is sweet and soft spoken like Ruby. She's adopted from Guatamala. Funny how these two gravitated to each other. Her mom is great, too, and we're excited to get together this summer.

Sad that this sweet friend is moving up to kindergarten next year. Still in the same school though which is great. They will still run into each other and we will have play dates.

Did I mention I LOVE her new teacher? Such a nice, nice lady. Her classroom is called by other moms the "Zen" room. Exactly what I want for Rubes. Have heard raves from other moms about how their kids did in that class too. And I found out one of her little friends from ballet class will be in the same class room next year. Bonus! Love when things work out like that.

Have To Have A Fun Play Date

2011-06-06T18:52:00.000-04:00

Start with a picnic.

Do a little dress up...

Take a dip in the pool...

Splash and share

Snuggle up...

and giggle.

Craft Time

2011-06-03T15:33:00.037-04:00

It's amazing how much fun you can have with a little glitter and play-dough! One day last week, me and the lil miss crafted for almost 2 hours! She came home with a tiny "magic egg" she got at school and then promptly lost it. Still have no idea where it went. Probably somewhere in my car. She told me it was play dough so I got to thinking. Hmmm...maybe one with glitter would be fun? She LOVED this idea.

Rolling her eggs in glitter

Soon there were flowers, hearts, and letters made. All in need of sparkle.

Many glittery things and one happy glittery girl.

One last thing...a telescope for my lil pirate. We put pink and green bits of tissue paper all over it after she painted.

Fun afternoon!

I Think We Need A Pool

2011-06-03T15:09:00.000-04:00

It was scorching hot last week and the little miss decided to take a "bath" in her water table. LOL!

Bug Whisperer

2011-06-02T11:00:00.001-04:00

Well, my friends, summer is just about here and Camp Mommy has already begun! I am armed with fun ideas as well as learning experiences to share with Rubes this summer. Jeff was out of town for business so it's just been the two of us this week. We've missed him, but had a lot of fun playing outdoors and trying new stuff. Decided not to send her to summer camp this year for 3 reasons. One is I wanted her all to myself. :-) Two is I wanted her to have summer off. And 3 is that it's so expensive and we can do the same stuff ourselves. So our first Mommy camp experiment was all about bugs. Not typically my favorite subject, but I saw this cute Live Butterfly kit and thought I'd give it a try. Ruby was all excited to hold the jars of tiny baby caterpillars as you can see. We check them every morning to see how they've grown. You can find the kit at www.insectlore.com. If all goes well, we will have 10 beautiful butterflies to set free next week. Then we'll hatch us some ladybugs next month.

The kit comes with 2 jars filled with the larvae and food. You don't have to do anything for a week but watch them grow.

It also came with lots of flower and butterfly stickers, a cute card board "scene" to put them on, and a poster that shows the life cycle of a butterfly - now promptly hanging in the play room.

Little bug catcher on the hunt for other bugs now. Armed with her butterfly net and "manga" glass. Haha. Guess it was too long a word so she gave it a nick name. She just loves that thing even if she can''t quite say it! We looked in the grass, in the dirt, under rocks, under bushes. I only squealed a little bit when a cricket jumped at me. Ruby stepped back but when I laughed she came right back to see it.

So sweet here.

Inspecting the rock for tiny insects.

Ah, we discovered an ant "house".

I'm not sure but she may be unknowingly scorching some ants to death here.

And here are our little pets a week later. It will be so cool to see them turn into butterflies! Wish us luck!

Peep Show

2011-05-27T20:39:00.027-04:00

Ruby's first chorus show at school was last Thursday. So cute! The kids were just adorable and at some points they were down-right hilarious. Did a great job, though. To our surprise, Ruby actually sang a tiny bit, and acted out the parts. However, she also gave a little more performance than we were expecting!

Sitting with her class and happy she could see Jeff & I.

Little diva saw me with the camera out and immediately posed.

Such a character she is, hamming it up for the camera and for Mommy.

She loved her new dress. It was the first time she wore it. In fact, she loved it so much that she was playing with it, tugging on it, and pulling it up over her waist during much of the show. Let's just say I wish I would have thought to put matching underwear on her this morning. Or better yet, some biker shorts! I decided not to post any of the undie shots to protect my daughter from future embarrassment. However, it could prove to be good blackmail in years to come with, say, a future boyfriend we don't like. (insert evil villain laugh here) hahaha.

The funniest part of this one is around 2 minutes when she is getting perfectly bored in the middle of the school like "oh my this is such hard work". Her face just cracks me up. Wish you could see it more clearly. Then, of course, the dress goes up in the air again. Such a silly miss!

Not sure why the videos looks like this. After several attempts and different mediums I am giving up getting a better version on here. Suffice it to say it was really, really cute show...and funny! Now we have a new phrase around here Mommy has coined the "princess legs". It's when we sit with our knees together and keep our skirt down like a little lady. Really, she is just a kid and it's funny, but hey, she'll be a teen b4 we know it (God help me) so I am training her early! haha!

Two Years Ago Today

2011-05-27T06:32:00.001-04:00

We got our referral. It actually got to Wacap on May 22, 2009 and they were nice enough to email it to us so we didn't have to wait the whole holiday weekend. But we got it in our hands on this day - the 27th - 2 short years ago. Hard to believe how quickly time has gone by. The painful wait is almost forgotten now as we live our daily lives. Lives filled with more laughter and joy than I even could have imagined back then. I know I've said it before, but it's odd to think Ruby has only been home a year and half - well a year and 8 months to be exact. It feels like she has always been here. She is such a part of our EVERYTHING and I can't think of my life without her. Thankfully, I don't have to. I thank God every day for this little girl that makes me laugh and take life less seriously. For her smile and her voice and her silliness. For her sweetness and snuggly little self. For all of it, I am seriously grateful. :-)

Yo Ho Ho

2011-05-26T22:51:00.001-04:00

Current obsession: Jake & The Never Land Pirates (Disney Junior). Apparently Jeff watched this with her once and she was "hooked". No pun intended. She was delighted when I put a "pirate" scarf on her head today like Izzy.

There aren't many episodes on On Demand so she begs to watch the same ones over and over.

I'm not sure there is the slightest bit of educational value to it but look at this face. Could I say no to such cuteness? Such excitement?

Not on this day. In fact, I wouldn't have had the energy if I tried. Ruby thought it funny to take this next picture of me. I'd say it just about sums up how I felt after the last 5 days of events AND having to watch one more episode of pirates:

Is it bed time yet?

Sesame Days Again

2011-05-25T22:29:00.002-04:00

The weather has been gorgeous and sunny - hot even - so I took Ruby to Sesame for some fun in the sun on yesterday. First on our agenda? Face painting, of course!

I love this cute tee shirt my friend Kerri gave us. It says "Ruby's Fruit Juice Stand".

We hit lots of rides (much to my stomach's dismay) then Rubes did some climbing up....

and sliding down.

She bounced a bit then we hit yet another ride that went around and around and around. I said no to the tea cups. I just had to or I'd have brought up my lunch. Thankfully, she accepted it ok when I explained that it would make Mommy sick.

We watched a super cute "Elmo Live" show. They let the kids come down and dance with Mr. Noodle and to my surprise Ruby wanted to do it.

She was a little shy once she actually got down there on stage, but still she danced.

Hmmmm...that's a very big bird.

She looks so teeny tiny next to him.

"Driving" the big fire truck

Was going to stick to just the dry rides today, but threw a suit in for her just in case. So glad I did. Was soooo hot and I knew she wanted to jump in there. Really great cause it's not crowded this early in the season. Practically had the pool to ourselves!

I pulled up a chair and stuck just my feet in as I watched my lil miss splash away.

Far as I can tell, it's gonna be another awesome summer. :-)

The Little Moments

2011-05-24T20:41:00.001-04:00

Thai dinner with Daddy while Mommy worked Friday night.

Passed out in Mommy's new car.

Self portrait

Posing with BFF on a play date

Hugging her BFF, Brie. They are so dang cute together.

Morning hair and her adorable butterfly headband she made at school. I love it. She woke up like Medusa this morning. Hair everywhere. Has a great sense of humor and laughed at it herself when I showed her in the mirror. What fun days we have - me and the lil miss. She is so darn silly. Was so wound up tonight at bed time tonight, too. She pretended to paint my face and was so into it. Did my face exactly the way they painted hers today at Sesame Place. Cracked me up how precise she was and how she'd pause to put her imaginary brush back in the jar of "paint'. After she was done with me she proceeded to carry a "cricket" and it's cage with her (like Mulan) and was talking up a storm to it deciding where it should live, sleep, etc. This leaf? That one? No. It should sleep in it's cage cause the caterpillar is on the leaf! Her busy little mind at this hour! She cracks us up. Seems to have a second wind and brain storm half a hour b4 bed. It's quite the show. Some nights she helps Daddy "read" the books and other nights she will resight the ABC's or numbers or songs she knows. Other nights she pretends to paint the wall, paint our nails, or act out a part from one of her movies. Life is never without entertainment around here! How lucky we are to have this sweet pea to make us smile, laugh out loud, and enjoy the simple little moments.

Full Day

2011-05-23T21:28:00.003-04:00

Such a fun day today. Field trip with Ruby's school to the NJ Aquarium. The place was a mad house. At least 15 school buses there and excited kids everywhere. Still, we managed to keep them all together and the whole bunch was so well behaved. Such good kids. I love her class.

Coral cuties: Ruby's classmates pose for a quick shot.

Touching the starfish.

Touching the stingrays. They had so much fun.

The highlight of the day was actually the hippos but it was too dark to get a decent shot. Ruby loves hippos and they didn't disappoint today. They were very active and showed off for the crowd. It was a fun, fun time but very exhausting. Ruby fell asleep in my lap on the bus ride back and we both laid down for an hour when we got home.

Rested, changed, and ready to go horse back riding late this afternoon.

Pee Wee Pony Time at a local farm. First all the kids gathered in the barn for a book read. An A-Z book about horses. After the book they learned where and what the horses eat and then it was time to ride.

Ruby riding her favorite horse, "Cookie". She's been talking about this horse for 2 weeks. Jeff took her to her first class while I was away then last week it rained. She was so excited to go today and was sure to tell me the horses names and which one she wanted to ride!

I love this happy proud face.

A fun day with my Rubes and an early bed time. Suspect she will sleep like a rock tonight. LOL, me, too. :-)

Party Girl

2011-05-22T22:32:00.005-04:00

It was a party weekend around here. Saturday started with a bowling party for my nephew, Ryan.

Sweet pea waiting her turn. Haha, you should have seen her face when they handed her the shoes. Her smile was quickly replaced by a look like - "seriously? You want me to wear THOSE?" LOL, she's so like me sometimes it's scary. She looked at me for approval (as if surely Mommy will agree that they are not too fashionable!) and I assured her they were really cool shoes and so fun for bowling (ha!) She seem happy with that response and put them on.

Again there was disappointment when she tried to pick up the heavy ball. Oh and then there was the incident of one of them rolling over her finger while trying to pick it up. Ouchy! Let's just say bowling was not "love at her first try".

However, with a little determination and help from her Daddy, she soon enjoyed herself. I had to leave to work my first Nissan event (boo-hoo) and Jeff took her to the 2nd party of the day. It was a b-day party for one of her classmates' brothers that included a magic show. Jeff was too busy to take any pics but said it was a lot of fun.

Hmmm... If I was to guess I would say I think she liked the magic show. Pranced around in her magic hat for much of the next day.

I love all this animation. Such a trip. When telling me about the bunny he made appear I asked her how she thought he did that?? She said. "Um...I think it was fairies." I just love her.

Here she is waiting for me, hanging out by my new car. After months of trying to decide (and save) I finally broke down and got myself this last week. It's a 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan. It's not my BMW, but it is really cute, sporty, and great on gas. Has a nice interior too and navigation. I'm happy.

Magic Miss casting spells around the yard.

Party no. 3 was over at my bro's house on Sunday. A family party to continue the celebration of Ryan's bday. Jeff and Ruby outside by the fire pit.

A few of our kiddos waiting for the cake.

A sweet shot of Ryan beaming up at his Dad while we sang Happy Birthday. Couldn't get a single decent shot of him the day b4 at the bowling party. Was having way to much fun to stop for a picture! This photo makes up for it tenfold.

Cracked up at Ruby delicately walking through the yard. "I don't like mud, Mommy. Mud is for pigs. Pick me up." LOL! I told her she would survive just fine and it wouldn't hurt her and in no time she was running with all the kids. Too funny, my girlie girl.

Grandma surprises us!

Me and mom....who is 40 lbs lighter and feeling better than ever! Go Mom!

My brother and nephews hanging by "The Pit".

Most of the gang at Jason's. 5 little kiddos (not pictured) were jumping in the bounce house. A good time was had by young and old alike, but it's time to put away our party shoes and rest now!

Home Sweet Home!

2011-05-18T03:00:00.004-04:00

My sweet girl. How I missed her! Mommy had her first business trip in over a year and half. Got offered a few easy gigs (as a spokesperson/product specialist) for Nissan. The special events I am working are local, but the catch was a 3 day training in Nashville. We decided it was time I start doing some things here and there and gave it a go. I was gone 2 nights and nearly 3 days. More like 2-1/2 days really. Got home tonight in time for dinner. Jeff was super dad and his parents came down and stayed a few days to help. LOL, I am seriously thinking of moving them in with us. In the 3 days I was absent, Jeff's dad painted our front doors and shutters and sanded the porch. Jeff's mother cleaned out my refrigerator, did laundry, and tidied up the house. They had great bonding time with Rubes and it helped Jeff a lot so he could be there for Ruby but still get some work done. It worked out really well. They all went together to the movies and Ruby's first Pony class. We are so grateful they could be there this week. I really think it was a big comfort to Ruby cause she was such a trooper. And of course, Daddy is just awesome with Rubes. Can't leave him out of the credits!

The first night wasn't easy for her. She knew I was leaving and we had read a couple books about Mommy going back to work and leaving/coming back scenarios. She got it and was fine during the day, but when I called b4 bedtime she cried as soon as she heard my voice. Like full sobs. Oh my heart! I talked to her for a while and she calmed down and then Jeff's mom soothed her a bit but I heard it wasn't easy. Finally Daddy laid down beside her bed and held her hand till she fell asleep. (Sweet Daddy!) He also put my lullaby CD on so she could hear my voice. Such a sweet idea and she really liked it. So that was day 1. I was so emotional the night b4 I left that I didn't sleep well. I thought I'd sleep hard once in Nashville, but, again I tossed and turned. So weird to be away from home and be working again. I was a tad nervous about the full day of training ahead of me but mostly I was just missing my Ruby something awful.

Day 2 was better. Ruby did great with no tears all day - not even at bedtime! Training was a breeze and I got together with an old girlfriend that lives in Nashville for dinner. We had a blast catching up and talking over a long fabulous dinner. Slept hard but stayed up too late. So much for all the rest I was gonna get on the road. Ha ha.

By Day 3 I could have cared less about lack of rest. Was just so excited to go home. Jeff said there were tears when Ruby woke up and I wasn't there that morning. But as soon as he reminded her they were picking me up at the airport later she was okay. Oh her sweet face when I saw her at the airport. Jeff said she cried at first site of me. Our reunion was so emotional. I jumped in the back seat beside her and she looked at me as if she never really expected to see me again. She was happy yet still had tears in her eyes. Of course, I started crying too and Jeff just chuckled at his silly girls. The big one and the little one. I kissed her and hugged her through her car seat like a HUNDRED times and she kept looking at me smiling sometimes yet still in shock. We were all starved and went straight to a restaurant where Ruby finally started to loosen up and realize I was back to STAY. Then she got giddy. And oh so sweet. She jumped on my lap (facing me) after finishing her dinner. She stared up at me and touched my face and said "My Mommy!" or "Momma" and then hugged me again. Seriously, this kid is so loving I could have cried all the way through dinner. How she owns my heart! It was such a sweet home coming and by the time we got home she was sillier than ever. Dancing, singing, jumping around...so so happy.

There's no place like home. :-)

Lounge Lizard

2011-05-16T14:06:00.003-04:00

Lots of warm afternoons means lots of water table play. As far as I can tell, that water table was the best thing we ever bought. Right up there with moon sand, her vanity, Barbies, and play jewelry. Ok, and shoes. LOVES her shoes. Anyway, she spent a lot of time splashing lately.

She likes to get completely SOAKED and seems to equally enjoy lounging around afterward in a snuggly towel. Was a little cold when this particular shot was taken, but the sun came back out shortly and she was perfectly content.

Another day...another opportunity for lounging. Think Jeff is gonna have 2 spa girls on his hands some day....me AND Ruby. Just a hunch.

Earlier that same day splashing away.

When we finally gave Ruby her bounce house, Ryan was over that day. They had such a ball.

Little bug has been (finally) showing more interest in getting herself dressed. The bad news? There are some really interesting color combinations! Cute, though.

Hanging out on the neighbors home made monkey bar.

So great to be outdoors! Love spring! And summer is just around the corner! YEA!