Ruby Do Turned Two!

Yesterday, my baby girl turned 2-years-old!  It seems like she was just born yesterday.  She is such a blessing and I am so grateful for her.  Since she was born in 2008, our family has endured so much like my illness, our parent's illnesses, Daddy's job change, and deaths in the family.  Her beautiful smile and pretty face (and precious girlie clothes) has helped me persevere.  She is smart, cuddly, independent, and fun.   Here's a photo from the day she was born, and a photo from her 2nd birthday (with her bathing suit and Minnie Mouse ears). 

We had a nice day of celebrating.  Unfortunately, I had a little too much fun at the Magnolia Ridge Wine Night so I was a little sick in the morning.  I got an early morning birthday cuddle with Ruby and then Chris took Ian and Ruby to Panera for breakfast.  Thank you!   We then got ready for Mom Mom, Aunt Trudy, Aunt Christine, Kyle, Taylor, and Grayson's visit.  Uncle Allen was working.  When they all arrived, we headed to the pool.  We enjoyed swimming and seeing our friends at the pool.  Then, we went home for a yummy lunch of grilled hot dogs and hamburgers.  Thanks Daddy.  We had Minnie Mouse cupcakes and chocolate ice cream and then Ruby opened her presents.  She got 2 phones (Dora and Elmo) and a tackle box to go w/ her fishing rod.  She also got a new bike helmet, pink Crocs, Play Doh w/ shapes, a pink watch, precious girlie outfits and much much more.  She, and the boys, enjoyed her new toys.  Then Ruby took a good nap.  :)  Grayson stayed for a sleepover so Ian and Grayson had a great time playing together.  Ruby had fun busying around with her new toys.  There was a thunderstorm so we didn't head back to the pool.  Ruby got a quick visit from Meg, Landen, and Kate and a great voice mail message from Amanda, Chris, and Drewbug.   We are looking forward to celebrating with the Folsom crew next weekend.

I was proud of my Minnie Mouse cupcakes.  Here's a photo:

Some good news... our ENT physician, Dr. Dodson, recommended ear tubes for Ruby due to the level of pressure in her ears.  It did not resolve w/ a month of Nasonex.  That's 5 out of 6 grandchildren on the Folsom side w/ tubes.  Can we say, genetics?  And unfortunately, Ian and Ruby have it from the Starrett side too.  Luckily, it's a pretty easy and painless solution.  So, Ruby will get her tubes soon, hopefully.  I am hopeful that maybe if she is more comfortable, we will see her pull her hair less and less.  It already seems to be a little better but I'm trying not to get my hopes up. 

Some other GREAT news...my boss/friend, Kiki, was discharged from the hospital on Friday, one week after her lung transplant.  She's doing great.  She will stay near the hospital for about 2 months to complete rehab and be monitored closely.  What a blessing!  Here's a photo of Kiki holding Ruby 2 years ago.   A lot has changed since then. 

A Good Weekend

Chris and I took the kids to Casa Grande on Friday night.  We had a nice dinner.  I keep being pleasantly surprised by the smoking ban in restaurants.  They seated us on the side of Casa Grande that used to be the "smoking section".  I almost stopped the receptionist to let him know that we needed a non-smoking table.  But, then I remembered the new law.  Thanks Tim Kaine! 

I went to Wine Night after the kids were in bed on Friday night.  It was fun to see my neighborhood friends.  Unfortunately, I couldn't stay long so I could get back for Chris to go to work.  But, I still had a nice time catching up.  Wine Night has been great especially in these winter months when we don't get to chat at the playground.  Plus Wine Night lets us actually complete a sentence without "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" being yelled by our kids. 

On Saturday we went to Cracker Barrel and then headed to the Northern Neck to see Mom Mom and Pop Pop.  Chris was tired but he was a trooper after being up all night.  We had a nice time.  I was pleased to see that Pop Pop looked really good!  He seemed to have a good attitude, great coloring, and appeared comfortable.  I noticed that he fell asleep more during the day but that may be the addition of a couple new medicines.  Plus, he's still catching up on the sleep he lost in the hospital.  It was a nice sunny day so Mom Mom and I took Ian and Ruby to the playground at the daycare where she works occasionally.  They really enjoyed the playground and it let them get their wiggles out.  Pop Pop and Daddy were able to take naps when we left.  When we returned Ian, Ruby, Mom Mom, and I made 2 pizzas.  After the pizza, we celebrated Allen's birthday (on Monday) with an angel food cake, strawberries, and chocolate ice cream. 

We headed home after dessert.  We put the kids in their pajamas and hit the road.  They were both asleep by the time we hit the main road.  It was so quiet and it allowed Chris and I to talk and listen to "adult music" (The Dixie Chicks). 

Ian did something funny and cute at Mom Mom and Pop Pop's house.  Mom Mom has a ceramic rabbit in her living room.  It is hollow inside.  He picked it up and said, "Oh, it's a bunny shell".  He put it to his ear and said, "I'm listening for the ocean."  He was completely serious.  It was very cute and clever.   

We've enjoyed our day today.  I took Kate and Ruby to church and Chris took Ian the Church of AMF (bowling).  Then Kathy, Meg, and I took a nice long walk in the sun and wind.  We are all preparing for the Monument Ave. 10k.  Then Chris and I watched the Olympics while the kids napped.  After their naps we took a walk/bike ride to the playground.  It was fun but chilly.  Ruby is so cute when she gets outside.  She was so giddy at the playground today, just giggling and screaming.  She loves it!

We watched the big hockey game between Canada and U.S.A. but were sad by the end.  I'm not a big fan of hockey, mainly because I can't keep up with the puck.  But, Chris thought it was a good game although he was sad by the loss in OT.  I've enjoyed the Winter Olympics. 

Happy Birthday to Donnie and Anna!

Happy Birthday tomorrow to Amanda and Pop Pop!

Yeah March!  I'm ready for Spring.

On to Monday...

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

Ian watched Mary Poppins for the first time tonight.  I've wanted to get the DVD for him since Charlotte's memorial service and I finally picked it up from the library tonight.  Ian was excited to watch it and sat there glued to it for all 139 minutes.  He laughed when they children, Mary Poppins, the Uncle, and friend (can't remember their names) were having afternoon tea while floating near the ceiling.  I haven't seen the movie in years and didn't get to watch much of it with Ian since I was chasing busy Miss Ruby.  After the movie was over and I was doing the bedtime ritual with Ian and we started singing "Let's Go Fly a Kite" and he said, "Mommy, you need the words."  He was right, I was really messing up the lyrics.  But it has such a catchy tune that I'm struggling to get it out of my head, wrong words and all. 

Speaking of kites, the wind is crazy here.  I sounds like it's going to blow the house away.  It poured rain early this morning but then it was warm and sunny during the day and started raining some this afternoon/evening.  Of course, the asphalt guys were here today to dig out some of our dirt/mud to repair our driveway issues.  The builder of the house thought it would be nice to have a nice driveway that was narrow torward the bottom and widened on the way to the garage.  Well, that hasn't worked.  The grass next to the driveway is always driven on and makes a muddy mess.  Plus, there's a big crack in the asphalt that needed to repaired so they are digging that out too.  But, hopefully when it's done it will look nice and be more user friendly. 

I enjoyed a nice walk around the capital this afternoon with my coworker, Marty.  She and I have been motivating each other to go for a walk daily.  Today was very pleasant and now they've taken down the temporary bleachers from the inauguration so you can actually see the beautiful capital again, you just have to look past the really messed up sod. 

I needed a walk because this morning I learned that a 2 of my coworkers are retiring within the next 6 months and my boss, who is battling a serious pulmonary illness, now is using oxygen at work (and home).  All 3 of these people are/were the core of the organization and were there when I started in 2001.  So, although it wasn't a surprise, I was sad and wanting to throw a tantrum (see we're all just socialized toddlers down deep).  I am happy for them to be able to move on and find life past "serving the children of the Commonwealth".  It kind of depresses me that I have 30 plus years before I will be talking about retirement.  Seems really far away but I'm sure it will pass like a flash. 

We had a great weekend full of fun.  I was off on Friday and enjoyed my day.  Ian was sick on Thursday so there was a moment that I thought I wouldn't be alone on my Friday off but by Friday morning he was dressed and ready for school before I even woke up.  Chris had worked from 3pm to 6am on Thursday night/Friday morning so they could work on their big project so he came home and did a run to McDonald's for breakfast.  Ian and Ruby then went to school.  I took the Pilot in for it's inspection, oil change and tire rotation.  Seemed simple enough...$547 later, it was good to go.  I guess it's worth it to keep my trusty Honda running nicely.   While the Honda was being worked on I walked across the big street (Rt. 1) to my optometry appt.  I've set up as many doctors, mechanics, dentists, possible within walking distance of my house and it worked out beautifully.  After my appt., I just walked home since Chris was sleeping.  It would've worked out nicely except I left my house key with the mechanics so I had to wake him up to let me in the house.  Best laid plans...  I then ran errands in the other car and worked on decluttering and purging baby stuff.  I have a coworker that is having her 2nd baby in March so I'm sending a bunch of things to her.  I also had a bunch of baby gear to tackle in the garage and I was pleased that I made a dent in that.  I've posted to Richmond Mommies to try to get rid of some of it. 

I had set up for a babysitter to come Friday night since I thought Chris would be working.  Shira was scheduled to come and was looking forward to hanging out with the kids.  I figured since Chris ended up being off Friday night that we'd just take advantage of having a sitter and go to dinner together.  Shira arrived with a roll of cookies to bake with Ian.  He was so excited I don't think he even noticed us leaving!  Chris and I then went to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner.  We had a nice time.  Then he went to see Avatar at the movies and I went to Wine Night in the 'hood.  We both enjoyed our outings.  Wine Night is always so much fun.  I love seeing my neighbors and we're able to complete our sentences since there are no children around.  Plus we laugh A LOT!  I had lots of fun and lots of wine.  I got home around 1:30am. 

Saturday, my dear husband took the children to the mall and to Romp 'n Roll so that I could nap/rest in the morning.  Then, when Ruby woke up from her nap, the 2 of us (Ian was still sleeping) went for a long walk and to play at the playground.  We had a great time.  She's just exploding with language.  It's so cute.  She says, "All Aboard" when she hears a train.  She loves going "outside".  She will try every word, she's just at the cutest age. 

Later, Chris went to the gym and when he returned I headed out for Girls Night Out at Pizza Fusion.  I met Whitney and a few other ladies.  We had a nice dinner and it was good to catch up.  I then took advantage of being near Trader Joe's to pick up some groceries. 

We had planned to go to Wintergreen for tubing with the Helsleys on Sunday but since the meterologists were calling for rain, we decided to postpone the trip.  Instead, Chris, Ian, Ruby, and I took a chilly bike ride/walk to the playground on Sunday morning.  It is great that since Chris got a bike, he and Ian can ride together.  It seems like Ian seems to be riding a little better (obeying the rules of the road) since he has Daddy to model.  And I feel better since I'm not running after him w/ a stroller screaming "STOP" or "BRAKE" like a crazy lady.  We then enjoyed  watching some great football later in the day.  The Vikings/Saints game was a nail-biter. 

Off to bed.  "Let's go fly a kite..."