On Turning Six

On St. Patrick's Day, my oldest child turned six years old! How did this happen? I have a 6 year old???  Sheesh, it's mind boggling.

We had a family party and then one with her little friends, and it was so much fun!

My sister Sarah baked and decorated the cake with Kate.

Don't mind the mess in the background ;-)

Liz and the girls, with icing on their noses. =)

This is Sarah, and her daughter Lilly. Lilly may or may not have taken a spill on our back patio and scraped her eye. Oops.

We turned our nasty brass "chandelier" into a flower. =)

It was a fun time and Kate got her heart's desire- a baby doll with all the accessories.

Which means mom gets to help put it all together; not my strong suit. :-P

Kate decided to name her baby Juliette; except she can't ever remember that so she calls her Christina. True story!

We also had a party with her friends, the following Saturday.  The house was decorated and it looked great!

The girls are signing a shirt for another one of their friends who is currently battling cancer and couldn't be at the party.

  

Kate and I made the cake =)

I had no idea those were chocolate covered sunflower seeds, but no one complained! :-D

I'm having a heckuva time posting this; the formatting is all messed up for some reason. So I'm just gonna publish this and say that we love our sweet Kate!!!

A real post is coming...

But for now I don't have time to look at and download all the pictures I have from Kate's 6th birthday party and also for the 3rd installment of my kiddos: Owen Joshua.

So I'll leave you with these:

Also.  If you suddenly get the urge to exfoliate your nose, but don't have any Biore strips on hand... Duct tape works.  Not as well, but it does work. :-D

Friday Randoms

I confess:

*I see a car driving around town with vanity plates that say "Bio Cln".  The funny part is that the car is... a Hummer.

*I made Strawberry Pop Tart Scones yesterday and they were quite delicious.

*My 3 year old has said some funny things in the last week.  "That is so distasteful." is the one that stands out the most.  He said it after he went poo. ;-) 

*I haven't been on the computer hardly at all this week and it sort of feels really great.

*I told Kate to "Put the pancakes back in the bathroom!" instead of in the fridge.  Luckily, she looked at me funny and I realized what I had said.

*I almost broke my pinky toe when I got out of the shower two days ago. It got caught on the sliding door (don't ask) and now it's all bruised and swollen.

*I can not decorate cakes.  Voice of experience speaking, here.

*I also can not ski or snowboard.  Again, with the voice of experience.

*These CREEP ME OUT.

*Kate has been playing Christmas music lately. It's kind of fun.

*I have absolutely zero desire to visit Alaska.

*They say that North America is supposed to experience a large earthquake tomorrow, and that the moon is the closest and biggest it's been in some time.  I am just hoping and praying the earthquake (if it happens) doesn't happen during Kate's party.  Josh told me if it does, to make everyone get under the table.  Smart man.

*In 7 years, I have never used my wedding china.

*I will be letting 10 six year olds use my wedding china tomorrow for their tea party.

*I am getting really distracted and this has taken me far too long, so I'll sign off for now. 

*Give yourself a big pat on the back if you made it through that mundane list. :-D

ABC Meme

I've seen this floating around blogland and I'm a copycat cuz it's easy post material, and I do enjoy reading other people's answers. =) (JEN-you should do it!) ;-)

Age: 32 (I actually had to think about it and ask my sister!!)
Bed Size: Queen
Chore You Hate: folding and putting away laundry
Dogs: Had my dog Lady from the day she was born (we owned her mother) until the day she died (was hit by a car.) =( Now we have Charisma, a purebred Shih Tzu and a very good dog.
Essential Start of Your Day: Coffee with Vanilla Nut creamer
Favorite Color: Depends; anything bright and warm
Gold or Silver: Silver (or white gold)
Height: 5'4"; I wish I was 3 or 4 inches taller!
Instruments I Play: None. =( I've contemplated getting piano lessons, but we don't own a piano.
Job Title: Mother and Wife :-D
Kids: 3
Live: In a very wet state in America
Mom's Name: Cynthia Marie
Nicknames: Ray (cuz I sign my name RA a lot of the time)
Overnight Hospital Stays: only to have babies
Pet Peeve: People who chew/talk with their mouths full
Quote From a Movie: "It's so EAHrly, do you want to get some coffee or somesing?" (Name that movie!)
Right or Left Handed: right handed
Siblings: 4 sisters and 2 brothers
Time You Wake Up: Whenever the kids get up. Anywhere between 5:30 and 7:30a.m.
Underwear: Cute Cotton bikinis (I had to clarify that they're cute, lest you think I wear granny panties!)
Veggie You Dislike: Steamed/cooked spinach
What Makes You Run Late: Getting on the computer and checking blogs
X-Rays You Have Had: Teeth, and I think I may have had one when I fell down a cliff as a kid; but I can't remember for sure.
Yummy Food You Make: Scones. And, apparently, lasagna. I made it for a family who just had a baby and they both made a point of telling me how delicious it was. :-D
Zoo Animal You Like Best: Giraffes; they have such sweet eyes

COLOR

I'm going away to a women's retreat this weekend and as I was packing my bag it hit me.

EVERYTHING in my suitcase is either black or gray.  That's what I wear. Black and Gray. And jeans.  Eesh!  So, I thought I'd do a post on color today.  A pick-me-up to get me in the Spring Spirit and inspire me to brighten up my wardrobe!

Oh, happy spring sunshiney day!

 

Tulips!!!

Fun Socks!!

Art!

Ice Cream!

 

Paper Lanterns!

 

Fabric!

Fun Rooms!

 

Glassware!

 

Headbands!

 

Macaroons!

 

Notting Hill Houses!

 

Umbrella Drinks!

Fruit Platters!

 

Paddle Boats!

 

Happy, Colorful Friday!!

My Kiddos, Part Two: Christian Michael

When Kate was a mere 4 months old, I got pregnant with Christian.  Actually, I had a miscarriage and then got pregnant with Christian.  The doctor was as surprised as I was that I got pregnant so soon after the miscarriage, but when I went to have my hormone levels checked, there was no denying it.  Well, that and the non-stop puking and nausea. ;-)

Kate and Christian are a mere 14 months apart.  When I look back at pictures of when he was born, I am shocked at how little Kate was! She was still a BABY!!

Christian tried to come early twice.  The first time I was 30 weeks pregnant and Josh was out of the state for work.  My sister took me to the hospital and I don't remember being scared or worried.  In my head, it was too early for the baby to come, so the hospital would stop my labor.  Easy peasy, right? ;-)  Josh was a bit frantic on the phone, wondering if he should catch the next flight home, but I kept reassuring him that it would be fine.

And it was.  They gave me Terbutaline which slowed the contractions down and I was allowed to go home the same day.  Then when I was 35 weeks pregnant, I started having regular contractions again.  This time the doctors said they wouldn't stop the labor (isn't that weird!? WHY would they not try to stop it??) but it ended up not mattering; they stopped on their own the next day.

In the end, I had the doc strip my membranes and that got things going and Mr. Christian Michael arrived.  He was only 6 pounds 7 ounces and SO tiny and scrawny.  When he first came out he looked scarily similar to Bozo the clown.  He had hair all around his head, but none on top.  And it looked very red.  I have red hair. I hate it. I was very sad to see he had red hair.  But it lightened up quite a bit and he now has blonde/brown hair. Whew! :-P

 

 

Look at my little old man (and see how red his hair looked!?):

Look how tiny KATE was! And SO excited to be a big sister. :-D

 

Our little family.

Here is my MIL with Christian; she is the one who has brain cancer.

 

I remember that after I had Christian, Mom and Dad H came into the room, almost right after. I was still in the birthing room.  And I was so so so exhausted.  I was so glad to have her there, loving on my baby boy because I was too tired to even see straight.  Mom H noticed and went out in search of food and came back with a lunch box she had rummaged up and made me a sandwich, and it was JUST what I needed to perk up and enjoy my newborn.  She is an amazing woman.

I'll be the first to admit that Christian was an odd looking baby. He really was.

He was so tiny that the first two months of his life he wore preemie clothes. I can't even tell you how tiny they were!

He was a happy little dude.

 

And he had such a sweet face. No more Bozo/Old Man syndrome!

 

 

Once he got a bit bigger, it became obvious that he had a lazy eye.  So he got glasses. At the ripe old age of 4 months!

 

Look at my tiny little professor.

When he got bigger and started rolling, they wanted me to try out some flexible rubber glasses.

 

HA HA!  Have you seen anything sillier!? Unfortunately (although I was quite glad) they wouldn't stay on his head right.

 

They kept flipping up and ending up on his forehead. So we went back to the original style.

 

But he didn't wear them all the time.

 

He is ALL boy and loves sports and being active.

 

Here he is playing hide and seek.  He's hiding behind the tree. :-D

He is a very sweet, sensitive soul.  He is also really silly and brings lots of joy and laughter into my life.  He is a wonderful big brother to Owen, and he puts up with Kate's shenanigans.  Usually. ;-)

We love you, Christian!

7 years

Josh and I celebrated our 7th anniversary yesterday. Seven years we've been married. It's crazy. In some ways it feels like we've been married for 7 decades. In other ways I can't believe it's been seven whole years.

We went to the eastern part of our state for the weekend and we had a really good time. We had several good, long, hard conversations. Conversations about his job, about the kids, about our budget/finances. Although those things aren't necessarily fun to talk about, it's so good to be on the same page and have some peace and quiet so we can actually talk and hear what the other person has to say. As opposed to trying to figure out these things with our 3 hooligans running around. Much better to go away, get some rest, and then tackle them.

The first night we were in bed by 8:30. And we were so giddy about it. ;-) Sleep is a very precious commodity and the thought that we could sleep, uninterrupted, all night long... well, yeah. Giddy. That's what we were. I woke up the next morning at 6a.m. and got up. I opened the blinds and watched the sunrise. It was so pretty! Purple and pink, over the white blanket of snow that covered everything. I don't have a camera, so I didn't get any pictures, but it was really beautiful and peaceful.

I read my book and drank my coffee until Romeo wandered out of the bedroom around 7ish. It was so nice to wake up to calm and peace. Our bodies and minds could slowly awaken without having to deal with cranky kids, breakfast, etc... So what do you do when you're both up early and have the whole day ahead of you? Well, if you're us you play Phase 10. =) So at 7:30a.m. we started a rousing game of Phase 10 and it was super fun. =)

Around lunch time we decided to head out to eat at Red Robin (since that's where he proposed to me...) but then we took a detour and decided to see if any good movies were playing. We paid $15 to watch a matinee show. What is the world coming to?? Fifteen bucks!!?? And Josh's SMALL slurpee was $5.75. Sheesh. Who can afford that!?! Anyway, we ended up watching Just Go With It with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. I loved it. I am NOT a fan of most Adam Sandler movies, but this one was good and funny without being crude. Well, mostly not crude. It *is* Adam Sandler, after all. ;-)

We were 20 minutes early for the show so we sat and watched all the previews that they do. Do you know they had a preview for a Mr. Peanut commercial!? I kid you not. Mr. Peanut had his own preview, and they introduced Alejandro... the Almond in Tight Pants. He's like a matador. And the creators were shown saying, "Basically with his character we started with the tight pants and went from there." Seriously. An animated almond.

Also. Jeggings. Unless you are built like Twiggy, you probably shouldn't wear them. And especially if you're short and wide, jeggings are not a good idea. I always wonder when I see people in really unflattering outfits if they just don't look in the mirror? I mean, can't they see that if they would just buy a bigger size or different style that it would flatter their body so much more? I don't know. I'm stumped.

***Side Note*** The other day Liz and I were out shopping and this lady walks in wearing a shirt and... tights. Seriously, it was like she forgot to put her skirt on. And it wasn't even a long tunic type shirt. Her tights were wedged in her bum and it was just so awkward and flustering. For me. I don't know how she felt. She may or may not have been a little inebriated. **End Side Note***

Anyway, back to our Anniversary Getaway... We caught a music video on CMT for "Brown Chicken, Brown Cow"... It was disturbing. A little bit funny, but mostly disturbing. It seems like people might have too much time on their hands if this is what they are creating.

I finished two books over the weekend and Josh finished his magazine. :-D We laughed really hard about that. ;-) It *was* a business magazine with long articles, but still. We laughed.

The second night I did NOT sleep well. I fell asleep fine, but then woke up approximately 78 times so I was tired in the morning. We sipped our coffee and Josh decided he wanted to sit in the hot tub. He tried to convince me it was a good idea for me to join him, but going outside in like 27 degree weather in my bikini did not sound like fun. So I stayed in and cleaned up and packed and left him to his crazy ideas of fun. ;-)

***2nd Side Note*** The water was TERRIBLE. Nearly undrinkable, for realsies. It tasted so bad; like it was full of water softeners. And when it came out of the spigot it was white. Like milk. That can't be a good sign, right? It even made the coffee taste weird so we had to use even more copious amounts of creamer than normal. So we're talking a LOT of creamer. ***End 2nd Side Note***

We headed home around 10:30 on Sunday, with enough time to settle in and relax before Monday hit us.

Our babysitter was great; a super amazing young lady. She left us a note of their weekend, play by play style. So sweet. And she said our kids were some of her favorite to watch; I know she was telling the truth because she said there are some kids that she has had to say she can't watch because they are so difficult. So the fact that she liked our kids, and even THANKED us for asking her to watch them was so nice and makes me feel good about asking her again in the future.

Anyway, it was a lovely weekend and I'm so thankful we got to go away and reconnect and relax.

Our 7 years of marriage haven't been complete bliss. I don't think anyone's marriage is all happiness and sunshine and roses. We've had a particularly rough go of it with my health problems; basically the first 3 years of our marriage I was pregnant non-stop. And then I got PPD and went extra crazy. And now things are at a place where I'm getting healthy and it's sort of like we're getting to know each other all over again. Hi, my name is Ruth Anne and I was crazy for a couple years there, but I appreciate all your love, care, longsuffering and compassion for me. Want to get to know me? Again? ;-)

I am very thankful for Josh, for the man he was when I married him and for the man he has become. He has stood by my side through my worst moments and hasn't held them against me. He loves me more today than the day we were married, and I can say the same about him. He is a wonderful father and a spectacular husband.

I'm looking forward to the next 7 (hopefully more healthy and less crazy) years, and beyond. =)