Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Day 47


No caption needed.

Day 46.

We had our 2nd attempt at making our own crayons this evening with a crayon maker the kids got for Christmas.



                 
The kids laid here and stared...and stared...and stared some more. After about 3 times of running them back thru the melter the crayons were still hard. We then finally realized we had the wrong size light bulbs in the machine. We will make our 3rd attempt in the near future.

After this fell thru - the kids started to wrestle. Apparently Riley hurt Ayden. So he comes over to me in this wimpy voice and said Riley broke one of his bones and he needed an xray. What else to do...pull up the xray app on our iPhone and give the boy an xray of course! He was so excited when we showed him that he had no broken bones.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Day 45

                         HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Little Morning treat for my valentines (tim had a big whopping chocolate PB cupcake, but i didnt take a pic)....



Afternoon treat for me....


Evening treat for Jaelyn....



Yep...my baby sister got engaged tonight. She asked me to be her Maid of Honor. I am so excited and cannot wait to enjoy all of the planning. I wish them many years of happiness!!!!


Day 44

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Day 43

I only have one picture from today and I don't think Becky is going to happy with me for posting it.
Sorry Beck...I have to. Because if I don't, there's another blank day and I already have way too many!!

Today we took the kids to see The Big Miracle.

We were debating to take Ayden or not, finally I decided that Tim could use a day to himself and I could use some one on one kidlet time. So he came. Good decision....ahhh not the worst, but he wasn't terrible.

Gotta love it when you have no idea there is about to be a flash in your face!

Ayden was into the movie for the first part. After a little bit though I was thankful I allowed him to bring in his Leap Pad. He ended up sitting on the floor in front of me playing it for 3/4 of the movies. Oh, in between the multiple bathroom breaks. Including one needed 5 mins before the movie was ending - u know, right in the middle of the best part!!!??? 

Afterwards we had a makeup ice skating class for Riley. We still use rental skates at the ice rink and normally never had a problem. However, this week something was definately going on with the skate. Becky and I noticed that she just didnt seem right. So i went out to the ice and asked her if she was ok, sure enough most of her fott somehow slipped out of the skate. A little annoyed that the coach (which wasnt her normal coach) didnt assist Riley. She had to notice. I took Riley off of the ice and fixed her up. But by this time, she was already in what i believe was an embarressed state and i could tell there was no getting her out of it. Plus i'm pretty sure her foot hurt a bit to. She went back to class but stayed glued to the way the rest of the session. She still says she is excited to go to class again. We have no class for 2 weeks..so fingers crossed that this was not a set back because up to this point she has loved it!!



         

day 42

Happy Birthday Dad.

Not a day goes by that my dad is not on my mind. The beginning of the year is the worst. Between birthdays and remembering this time of the year in 2010 when we were unknowingly losing him. I can really get myself down i choose to ponder off back to those months, so I try really hard not to. Death just sucks!

Today after i got off of work..we all got together at the Olive Garden for his birthday celebration. What a great time we had. Mom bought my dads favorite desert...hershey chocolate bars for everyone. She also bought another favorite...chocolate peanut butter cake. We sang happy birthday, raised our hershey bars, and thought happy memories.

I love you dad.

        

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Day 41

Mother/Daughter Valentine craft night with Tesla.

Tesla is a girl in Rileys kindergarten class. I will tell this first...

When Riley came home with this invite...i was ecstatic!!! I mean, this is one of those moments you think of the day you find out you're having a girl, isn't it?? I didn't hide my feelings either. Immediately i started telling Riley how exciting this was going to be and how I can't wait..etc. She didnt care. So what, I'm excited now - she will be excited that day. And as the day got closer she was constantly talking about it. So when we got to Tesla's that evening and Riley completely shut down, wouldn't talk to anyone, wouldn't even take off her jacket..i was pretty shocked. These little girls that she knew were trying their best to make Riley feel comfortable but she wasn't trying to hear it. As much as i wanted to get mad at her and then leave, obviously that is not the way to handle it. So i walked her around with me to the different stations that she was to be at in hopes she would start to come around. Wasn't happening. She didnt want to color, she didnt want to play any of the fun games we were kicking the night off with.
I decided to try a little trick. I told her i had to pee really bad and that i would be right back. I went up the steps and sat there (unnoticed). Sure enough, she came around. From that moment she was playing, laughing, having a great time with her friends. Riley just needs that little push to get over the hump of new experiences and then she is usually ok. We ended up having a really nice time, met some new moms, and made some really cute valentine crafts. Do you think i took any pics of them? You got that right, NOPE! I did however get one picture of a few of us at the one craft station. Thanks for a fun night Riley Elizabeth. I am looking forward to many more!! 

                   

Day 40

Relay for Life means alot to me. Before my dad passed away, i knew very little about it. After however, a friend enlightened me on the ins and outs of Relay. I knew instantly I had to be apart of it. We created our team Soles for Souls. Our first year we raised $1500.00 and had just an amazing time at the actual Relay event. This year, our team isn't as big but we already have $2300.00!! We still have 4 months to raise more. I love making the new friends, meeting new people in general, and just feeling like i'm doing my small part in hoping that someday my children won't have to lose anyone else close to them from cancer. They have already lost too many.

Tonight was the first annual Taste of Relay Survivor/Caregiver Reception. Each team had a table and got to bring a dish to serve. The survivors and caregivers got to walk around to each table and we would serve them. My sister, Maria, and I went from our team. Mom was home in bed sick.
I had a great time just being there, looking around at the survivors enjoying dinner with their caregivers. Certainly something I plan to look forward to every year!

Us serving

                  

Day 39

As of right now, i'm a few days behind and can't find a picture from today. Please stay tuned.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Day 38

Cooking is not something I get to do often. I am a very lucky woman.. Tim does the cooking during the week. I'm sure he I know he doesn't enjoy doing it every day, just like there are some days I wish i could make supper. But the way our schedules work, he is able to have supper ready at a decent hour. The days my work schedule actually enables me to be home at a decent hour, I love to get right in the kitchen and make something. Tim always says I take too long when i cook..but hey, isn't the saying "Good things come to those who wait?"

The day I was off with my sick family, I got to watch Rachel Ray. Isn't she the cutest??
She happened to show a glimpse of this burger that she was making for her husband on the show that day. After a few minutes i caught my mouth hanging wide open and i'm pretty sure saliva was dripping out. I'm not a huge big fat burger fan..but this Double Bacon Cheeseburger with Worcestire Onions looked AMAZING!!! So i attempted it and it was pretty tasty. It's no Rachel Ray burger...but not too bad, right?


Day 37

We get prouder by the day. The best thing is...she is so proud of herself!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Day 36

Super Bowl Sunday. Patriots Versus Giants. Patriots Lose. My husband is unhappy.

I'm happy however because a large amount of our friends and family came on out to our SuperBowl Party that our Relay for Life team had at the Villa Nova. What a great time, great people, and lots of money made!! The amount right now isn't sticking to me but i think it was close to $900.00!!









Sunday, February 12, 2012

Day 35

About 2 1/2 years ago...a certain someone showed up at our front door around 10pm at night with the cutest baby ever!!! This certain someone (aunt becki) found this baby roaming her property and instantly she knew where she could find him a home. Today this baby is ours and his name is Kunk. He is the sweetest cat I have ever met. He loves to come and go in and out of the house as he pleases...lately with the cold weather he's been here and lounging out with us more in the evenings.
He has even been caught sleeping with the kids a time or two. Thank you Aunt Becki for bringing Kunk into our lives. We love him so much!!



                                  

Day 34

Another Friday night skating session. I got off work at a reasonable time this week so we had time to have dinner before lessons. We went to Infinitios Pizza Buffet. We always love it there. Unfortunately...my camera did not see light today :(  

Day 33

Got to have a subway lunch, recess, and then helped in Rileys classroom with her today <3




Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Day 32

Back to work for me. The big couch for daddy and the little couch for Riley. Again, no picture. They were all still sleeping when i left for work. I'm assuming this was probably how it went though.
When i got home, everyone seemed to be doing much better. (told ya it was short)
 Aunt Becki got Riley her very own Valentine making kit..so we started working on these. This is quite fun I may add. We are making up our own quirky sayings and she's making up her own designs. Here is the artist in action.




     
I have to get a little chuckle at Chloe laying in her favorite spot in the backround. Thats pretty much all she does these days when she isn't getting the main focus...unless we're outside or if I sit down somewhere, she comes to find me. What a life!!

Day 31

Strike 2 and 3!

After staying home with Tim today to take him to the doctor (verdict = vertigo and stomach bug)..i decided to walk the dogs up to school to meet Riley. It was unusually warm for this area, during this time of the year so i was excited for our first walk home from school of the year! Little did I know..half way home...Riley would puke in the middle of the street. She said it was because she looked at Smokeys "stash" he left lay in the neighbors yard but i wasnt falling for it.

Apparently the girls in the neighborhood had already plotted at school that they were going to meet our front and ride bike. She was pretty excited for this. I told her to come in the house and change first. After a few minutes of her not coming back out of the bedroom, i went int and she was laying in bed looking like she would be there for days. Obviously she would not be joining her friends. I know she really wanted to, but no matter how hard she tried - the energy just seemed to have disappeared.  Ayden being the sweet heart he is, grabbed a blanket and a movie and laid on her floor saying he was going to take care of his sissy. (no picture)
I went out to make dinner, came back in and she was in tears saying her ear hurt. I took her temp and it was the highest she has ever had. 102.8. Our pediatrician is open pretty late so thankfully they were willing to wait for us to come in. Sure enough my baby girl had an ear infection and the start of an upper respiratory infection. She had to have a breathing treatment at the office and then we got to take a cute little pink panda machine home of our own just for Riley to take every 4 hours. Poor girl. She looks so pathetic with this thing on....

This equals no school tomorrow for her and Tim also has no work tonight. DOCTORS ORDERS!!                                 

Day 30

Monday Monday MONDAY...aaaaccckkkk!!!

Tonight unexpectedly, i became a nurse. Got home from work and Tim was very ill. He said everytime he would get up he would feel like he was drunk. As well as other symptoms. When he called in sick from work - i knew it was bad. This is pretty much where he spent the whole day and night.


                       
       In the meantime....2 little ones were banging on a new game Ayden got for his birthday on the floor in front of daddy  : x   WHACK A MOLE??  Who bought this game anyhow??...PAYBACKS!




                         
   Oh plus we had an easy dinner night...Kraft Mac and cheese for Ayden and I..Chicken Noodle Soup for Ri!! Added bonus - in the living room, watching cartoons.


                                                  
                                       

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Day 29

We all packed up and went to family skate at the ice rink. I was pretty worried about a few things..mainly the pain my rear was probably about to endure. Surprisingly, Tim and I both did well and didn't wipeout once. Ayden enjoyed it but didn't want to stay out long, which was fine with us because we had to pretty much lean over and push him to go and that was not very comfortable. Riley did great!! I know i have said it a few times but it just gives me this great, warm, tingly feeling that she has finally found something. To actually go somewhere and not have her freak out or scream that she doesn't wanna do it is AMAZING!!!

Here's one of the very few pics that I took at the ice rink. I certainly wasn't feeling confident enough to take my camera or my phone out on the ice with us.

Day 28

Breakfast.