My Sweet Boy

Yes, I know...I complain that he's a monster in all his 2 1/2-year old glory! But Ryan can be the sweetest boy!

I was making this card for a friend whose husband passed away last week. Ryan came in and said "What-choo doin' Mommy?" (That's his newest thing to say...over and over and over!) I told him that I was making a card for Denise because she was sad. He didn't say much, but went behind me and started rummaging around, which is what he usually does when he's anywhere near my craft stuff.

A little while later, Ryan brought out a little box he found that he had filled up with little wooden craft hearts I had stashed somewhere. Then he told me that he wanted to make a card for "Ba-neese" too. It was so sweet.

So I gave him some card stock and we pulled out the glue stick so he could glue some hearts to the card. Then he used my markers (with my supervision of course!) to color it. And here you go...the final masterpiece! I love it, and I'm sure Denise will too!

(By the way...this "cheese" look is what he does now when I ask him to smile for the camera...*sigh*)

Plugging some sites

You may or may not know that I teach part-time at New England Tech. I've been there for almost 2 years now. It's the BEST gig ever! I love working with the kids who go to school there, and I love the topics I teach.

One of them is XHTML - the basic backbone of the Web. Because I've been able to stay up with HTML, I've also been lucky enough to pick up a few clients on the side! Woo Hoo! (In addition to maintaining my stamping business website.) So, I'm going to plug the websites I've designed and maintain here on our blog. The main reason is because blogs are indexed by search engines A LOT quicker than regular websites are...since getting these sites FOUND is the reason they are there, here we go! :)

First, Tactical Prints. I've actually been maintaining off and on (mostly off, right Dad?) for the past few years. If you are a WWII Vehicle person, you might be interested in it. My dad restored his own GPW Jeep and then had a architectural drawing/print made of it. He's also filled the site with military links and other things like that. Poke around a little, you might find some fun things! (And if you find any broken links, typo's, etc - let me know! :) Here's the link again: www.tacticalprints.com

Second, I just finished the site for New Jersey Property Management Services within the past couple of weeks. I was referred to this company through a friend, and it worked out really well! She was looking for an informational website with a clean design. I know that she's happy with it, and I was pretty excited about how it turned out too! We were able to put everything together via phone, email, and fax. So if you're in New Jersey, and need a rental or need to rent something, contact Sandy, she'll hook you up! Here's this link one more time: www.propertymgmtsvs.com

If anyone reading this is interested in a clean, simple website, here's what I do:

• XHTML - well-formed pages that work on any user device. (i.e. PDA, iPhone, Blackberry, and other browsers, etc.)
• Javascript - simple scripts to enhance your website.
• Email Forms - collect information from your customers via email.
  
• Graphics - I can create a logo for you, or enhance what you already have.
• Written Content - Yep, I'll do that too. At the very least, I'll edit what you send to me so it's "web ready."
• Shopping Cart/PayPal integration.
  
• Domain Name Registration/Setup - including email accounts
  
• All according to your needs, using your color choices, etc.
  

What I don't do - right now anyway... :)

• Flash Animation
• Server-side databases

Interested? Just contact me and I can put together a proposal/quote for you!

Our Weekend

We couldn't have asked for a more GORGEOUS weekend and even though we didn't have any big plans, we made the best of it!





A couple of walks to the neighborhood beach... Ryan is definitely turning into a "beach bum" - he's always asking to go to the beach to find treasures; things like sticks, shells, jelly fish, etc.






Personally, I like finding the sea glass, and I found some really pretty pieces this weekend! Megan didn't leave the stroller, but enjoyed "singing" to the seagulls.


(We also tried our hand at flying a kite, it was definitely windy enough! But we found out quickly that it needs a tail!)























We also worked on THIS little project. Nothing that a little Rustoleum won't cure! But more on that whole story later. :)

All Boy

All these pictures were taken within 10 minutes. It's hard to keep up with this kid! :)






























































By the way, I didn't notice when I took the last picture, but as I was uploading it tonight, I noticed a tiny little caterpillar on Ryan's neck! Too funny!

The Farewell Cookout

So, I'm the kind of person who LOVES to entertain. Ric, on the other hand is not. BUT, I force him into it once in a while, and he usually comes around...especially if there's grilling involved.

This past weekend, we invited three families over for dinner. These families have been in our Ward for about 2 years, and are all going their separate ways in the next month or so.

Rhode Island has fabulous schools and programs, that people from all over come to work on their master's degrees or do their residency, but when they're done, they're gone!




So anyway...we invited the Montoya's, the Warner's, and the Craven's over for dinner. Doug Warner and Steve Montoya are both finishing their residencies in Pediatric Dentistry. (VERY handy when we want to check to see if Ryan's overbite is anything we should be worried about!)
Nathan Craven graduates in just a few days with his Master's Degree in Ceramics from RISD (Rhode Island School of Design.) More about that below.

It was so great to have everyone over...8 adults and 9 kids under the age of 8. FUN! In fact it was fun... until... the kids were playing with the dog who lives behind us, giving her treats, and one of them got bit! Eeeek! I felt so bad! (So did the dog's owner!) Molly just wanted the treats and was a little too aggressive. So a visit to the Emergency Room and 3 stitches later, Alyssa was OK. (See more info about that ordeal on Diane's Blog!)

After eating tons of burgers and dogs, S'More's and just enjoying the company of great friends, we all decided to call it a night. (I even got to use my Tupperware Service Center that I bought about 15 years ago from my "Celestial Sis" when we were roomies and she was a Tupperware Lady! In fact, I think that THIS was the first time I actually filled in the bottom with ice to keep things cold! WOW... memories... *sigh* By the way, mine isn't as fancy as this one, but Tupperware STILL sells it!)


Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures like I had wanted to. BUT, Emily took some of the three littlest kids - all born within 3 months of each other. Check it out - the commentary is hilarious!

I wanted to give each of them a gift - so I made frames with "family portraits" and their names on them. You can see all the details on my business website if you want to see the full pictures. They turned out pretty cute - but if any of these families add more kids, they'll HAVE to let me know so I can update it for them! (Thank goodness we all have blogs to keep in touch!)

One last thing... Master's students at RISD have to create a thesis project to graduate. Because it is a design school, there's a show that pretty much shows off these projects. Nathan Craven's project had to be the most AMAZING thing I've seen, there really were no words to describe it! He wants to combine his ceramic talent with architecture and I've included one picture of what he created here, but you can see more here as well. These are clay extrusions (sp?) that are about 5" high that have been glazed, fired, and are standing up next to each other. If you can picture it (actually, you can see more pictures here) these were all close enough together that you could walk on it. SO hard to describe, but incredibly AMAZING! Definitely the best thing at the show (if you don't count the MANY free spirited students with their interesting clothing choices!)

We'll miss ALL of you when you go your separate ways! PLEASE don't forget us here in L'il Rhody! :)

Bobble-Head Baby

Megan has gotten into the habit of sitting up when I put her down for a nap; just because she can! She doesn't cry or anything like that, she's just making a statement that she's still awake and not going to lay down for a nap. Well... she usually falls asleep SITTING UP!

I took this video the other day...she's asleep, trying to keep from falling over. Too funny!



So...we're thinking about sending this to Funniest Home Videos. What do you think? Would you vote for it? (Maybe it's only funny to us since she's OURS!)

Those GORGEOUS Gams!

Don't you just LOVE Meg's squishy legs? I can't get enough of them! Just a few pictures I took today...

PS - Details to come about our little BBQ with some families from Church who are leaving in a couple of weeks! It was QUITE the event!

PPS - I PROMISE I won't be calling her legs "squishy" when she's older! For now...she's young enough that she won't get a complex! :)

Ahahahahha - couldn't be MORE true! :)

Thinking of Having Kids?
Do this 11 step program first!

Lesson 1
1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...
1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.
Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3
A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)
2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)
Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? To find out...
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons.
How does that look?

Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.
Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
1. Buy a chocolate ate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7
Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8
1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

Over-reactive mom?

Megan has had a fever off and on since Monday. Last night it went up to 103.8. That freaks me out just a little bit! She was so fussy and restless last night that it didn't make for a very good night's sleep!

Today she woke up and was relatively "normal" (99.6) and was acting like her old self. Until the Motrin wore off again! So, I decided that it was time to call the pediatrician...who knows what could be happening with her! They are able to see us at 10:15 am, so in just 45 minutes, we all get dressed, I drop off Ryan with a friend from Church (who is rushing around herself because a home inspector is coming over at 10:00 - so she takes her kids and Ryan to the park!), and I run to the doc.

Megan is DEFINITELY not herself. Just laying all over me, pretty lethargic. We get there, they take her temp (99.8), the doctor comes in (Not her regular one), listens and looks at everything, and then says...it looks like it's just a cold. Kids will get "summer colds" this time of year. But since she's still eating and there's no sign of ear infection, etc. She'll come out of it. Just keep doing what you're doing.

OK, so I could have stayed home and done what I'm doing without the doctor having to tell me (after a 45 minute mad dash AND a $15 copay!) *sigh* Here's hoping she gets over it soon!

(At least it got Ryan out to play a little and I was able to hang with Emily for an hour or so after we were done! So it wasn't a total waste of a morning!)

A question...

How does someone this pretty....

this cute....

this sweet....









...become THIS MESSY??? (Hmmm...could it be the pasta and sauce I gave her?)












I can't believe it - Happy 11 Months Megan! Time has flown by WAY too fast! You have 5 teeth, you're telling us all sorts of stories. You say "Da-a-Da" now. You pull yourself up and cruise around a little. You're the fastest "crawler" in the East! And you're ALL OURS! Can't wait to see what you're doing in another month when you turn ONE!

Just a few more pictures...these were taken the first time Megan sat on the grass without freaking out. She didn't move much though. Every time she tried to crawl, she touched the grass and changed her mind!

Two Blond Boys

Ryan has a cute little friend from Church who is just a couple of months older than he is. Braxton comes over about once a week to play while his mom runs errands, etc.

I had the chance to take this cute picture during a rare moment when they weren't chasing each other all over the house.

Two little blond boys, sitting on a cardboard box, watching Tom and Jerry. What's better than that? :)

Ryan will definitely miss Braxton when they move to Montana in a couple of weeks! :(

What's Your Sister's Name?

Ric and I had our annual eye appointments this morning. The kids usually tag along with us since I used to work for the eye doctor and the girls who work there like to see them.

While we were checking out, paying our co-pay, etc., one of the gals I used to work with was talking to Ryan. It went something like this:

Lelia: Are you a big brother now?

Ryan: Uh huh

Lelia: Do you like having a little sister?

Ryan: Uh huh

Lelia: What's your sister's name?

Ryan: Baby-cakes

From there Lelia has a strange look on her face while Ric and I laugh. That's what Ric calls her, and Ryan has picked it up too. hehe (We did fill her in on her real name eventually!)

----------------------

By the way...it's all FINALLY caught up with Ric...PRESBYOPIA! hehe He's been prescribed reading glasses! :) While, me, on the other hand...still no change since I worked there 5 years ago! (Ric had the feeling that this would be his year...and he was right!)

Do horses sleep standing up?

Megan has been sitting up in her crib lately after I put her down for a nap. Up until the last few days, she just lays there and goes to sleep once I put her down, but since she's figured out that she can sit up (and pull herself up) in the crib, she does it!

Today was no different. I put her in the crib and she sat right up. I left the room for a while and heard her babbling to herself. About 20 minutes later, I peek into the room. Megan is still sitting up, eyes closed, head bobbing, etc. Too funny! She's asleep and still sitting up!

(Darn, I should have gotten a picture!)

An artist and his art

I just have one thing to say...."someone" needs a haircut!

So I....

....had a mammogram today! Woo Hoo!

I guess you know you're getting older when your doctor says that it's time. Today was my baseline, and hopefully, it won't change!

You know, it really wasn't that bad! In fact, it was over in 5 minutes, and just a little awkward, but didn't hurt like all the horror stories I've heard over the years. The machine is actually really cool - it takes really crisp digital pictures that the doctor can blow up huge so they can take a look at every little part. After each picture was taken (4 of them in all), the x-ray technician had me take a look. (Not that I wanted my boobs to be digitized or anything...but it was kind of cool to see "through" them!)

Anyway...if you are one who has put off your mammogram - don't! Technology is so advanced that it's really NOTHING to have one! Really!

The boy can spell apparently!

This morning's discovery went something like this:

(Speaking to Mommy in front of Ryan)
Daddy: "Should I take the boy and go get some M U N C H K I N S?"

Mommy: "Sounds good, go ahead".

Ryan: "Dunkin' Munchkins Daddy! Let's GO!"

Time for Stake Conference

Yesterday, I had to attend my meeting at the Stake center in Groton CT (which is where the Providence RI Stake is located...go figure). This time, I was treated to my first lesson and talk given by a General Authority of the LDS Church, Elder Marlin K. Jensen. Elder Jensen has been a General Authority since 04/01/1989 and is the Church Historian. He also holds a law degree and is considered to be a major authority on the Doctrine and Covenants. To put it mildly, he was quite impressive.

Needless to say, since Elder Jensen was coming to town, the Stake President brought out the "big guns" for all of the talks given at both our meeting and for the adult session at night, which I also stayed to attend. Our Temple President and Mission President also spoke last night as well. All of the talks and testimonies given were terrific. It was time well spent away from my family and inspiring to be in the company of Elder Jensen.

Ric